Kieran Healy

Insta-Reversal

I’m sorry, but this post from Glenn Reynolds just made me laugh out loud. All the strengths and weaknesses of the InstaMindset are captured in the space of the first three sentences. He has to shift from fourth to reverse so fast the engine practically jumps out on the road in front of him.

He;s right in one point though – the organophosphorous based pesticides are very chemically similar to certain nerve gases (that’s how some of the nerve gases were discovered).

So a field test for nerve gas that checks for organophosphorous groups may also give a positive result when exposed to pesticides.

Well yes pesticides are rather like nerve agents, due to their, uh, being nerve agents themselves. The larger issue is why is it not possible for a law prof to recall that unfortunate fact before running his mouth?

A reversal is a rarity indeed. Half the crap he publishes is ambiguous innunendo endorsed in some half-assed, non-committal way. It’s his site, so he can choose not to have a comments section, but he does so in the knowledge that he would be picked up on a high proportion of his posts if he had one.

I find it hugely ironic he has this obsession with fisking but ducks a forum to actually debate the points he raises.

Yeah, I was worried he might have suffered whiplash.

On the other hand, at least he’s man enough to admit he screwed up. Well, actually, he didn’t admit that, nor retract his gloating jibes at Roy and Fisk—but at least he posted the correction.
—Kynn

When you say “first three sentences”, you are talking about a post of two sentences, and an update. This is the proper way of publishing new information. Others, like Alterman, would have kept the original post unchanged. And some, like Michael, would have just sent the post down the memory hole.

Glen did the right thing.

Notice that, in my post, I refer to both the strengths and weaknesses of Glenn’s approach to blogging.

“I find it hugely ironic he has this obsession with fisking but ducks a forum to actually debate the points he raises.”

A lot of the right’s actions can be explained with the simple principle that the right never accuses the left of doing anything that the right isn’t already doing more of.

Barry: But the left usually does it first, and is proud of it.