One of my favorite college experiences happened at Orange Coast in the late 1990s, when my Bible as Lit professor told us there was no way Moses wrote the Pentateuch as tradition maintained for millenia because of Deuteronomy 34:10. The passage stated, “No prophet ever again arose” like Moses, a boast that flew in the face of his documented humility in the Bible. “If Moses really was humble, he wouldn't have written that,” the professor stated.
I share the above anecdote as a roundabout way of criticizing Red County/OC Blog's recently revealed list of Orange County's Top 40 Influential Politicos. Most of the names aren't a surprise given the county's political landscape–mostly conservative, mostly Republican operatives. One of the picks is Matt Cunningham–and that's where the problem lies.
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Per the entry:
OC's vibrant political blogosphere started with the launching of the pioneering OC Blog in June 2004. Writing under the nom-du-blog “Jubal”, Cunningham filled a void in local political coverage and established OC Blog as a very influential source of insider news and commentary.
Who wrote the entry? Cunningham.
Matt: We agree with your self-written entry–OC Blog is muy important to the county's political landscape, Top 40 important. But ever heard of conflict of interest (wait: you have)? You shouldn't write a list about influential folks and include yourself in it, even if it's true–at least that's what us remaining MSMers believe with our antiquated ethics. If you insist on including yourself in Red County's list–and, again: I agree with the choice–get someone else to write it. Otherwise, you come off as a braggart.
And point of order: Art Pedroza's Orange Juice! started the county's political blogosphere back in 2003–and you've admitted direct inspiration to start OC Blog from Orange Juice! in the past. Correction, por favor!
