Humboldtian

I like politics. I like history. Thus, the Wasp. The Wasp was a popular Victorian age political mag that entertained the masses in San Francisco with biting, irreverent political and social commentary and outraged the barons of the elite who were often the Wasp’s victims. Among the Wasp’s many editors was fabled writer Ambrose Bierce, author of the Devil’s Dictionary, whose acid-dipped pen helped bring down railroad tyrant Colis P. Huntington and defang his reviled Southern Pacific monopoly, which maintained a chokehold on California politics for much of the 19th century.

“The Wasp buzzed about the powerful and the pretentious, stinging both with relish,” reads the Bancroft cameo of the Wasp. We are blessed in Humboldt with no shortage of the powerful and the pretentious. But at the Wasp, we will also take on politics on the state, national, and international level.

Topics coming in the next week include: The great divide in the Republican Party, the Marina Center proposal and its perplexing lack of housing, an exposé of GOP renegade Ron Paul, how courting those who vote by mail decided the outcome of Eureka’s last election, my take on why the Eureka Reporter is scaling down after it served its owner’s political purpose, and voter disgust over mixing presidential campaigning with the holiday season.

Comments will be allowed. I would like for commenters to at least use a blogonym. But anonymous comments will be allowed. The usual rules apply. If you disagree with what is said here, attack the argument, not the person making the argument. Name-calling only serves to undermine your credibility and dissuades others from your point of view. Times-Standard Web Editor James Faulk will serve as bouncer for T-S blogs. If a row gets out of hand on this blog, you will have to deal with Mr. Faulk.

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I am a 50-year-old white male who lives in Eureka. After a long career in journalism, including a stint as a Times-Standard reporter, I dabbled in lobbying/government relations and in political campaign consulting. I now make my primary living as a technical writer.

Enjoy the Wasp. I know I will.

-Andrew Bird