The Pakistani Spectator

Would you please tell us something about you and your site?
I was born in 1973 to a middle income white family in St. Louis Mo., I am college educated and had been a liberal until my eyes were opened in the early 90’s, thank you Bill Clinton. My blog is dedicated to beating down ignorance, hypocrisy, stupidity and human ugliness one chump at a time. It covers political topics as well as all current events and cultural news.

Do you feel that you continue to grow in your writing the longer you write? Why is that important to you?
I think that the character I write through will not change but I think that the readers of the blog will drive the overall direction it will go towards. I will continue to write about the topics I enjoy but will always try and stick it to the brainless liberals everywhere.

I’m wondering what some of your memorable experiences are with blogging?
I loved breaking the Poster Boy for the Army National Guard Stewart Zamudio doing an interview in his uniform saying, “If you are considering enlisting DON’T ENLIST”. I got nearly 25000 hits in one day.

What do you do in order to keep up your communication with other bloggers?
I try and post on the most current of events and do a lot of trackbacks to get my link out there. I post all comments and do not edit them except in the most of extreme circumstances, ie racism, personal information. I give credit where credit is due.

What do you think is the most exciting or most innovative use of technology in politics right now?
Definitely blogging. We get the news without the corporate spin from the news networks here in America. We always post with links to the information and it it at the speed of light. I can see what’s going on 24 hours a day and it’s up to the minute.

Do you think that these new technologies are effective in making people more responsive?
Definitely. The poster can be anonymous or not and that makes it easier to say how you really feel.

What do you think sets Your site apart from others?
I have a great sense of humor and love to show it.

If you could choose one characteristic you have that brought you success in life, what would it be?
Honesty.

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?
Happiest = my son being born… Gloomiest = watching the World Trade Center fall to the ground live on TV.

If you could pick a travel destination, anywhere in the world, with no worries about how it’s paid for - what would your top 3 choices be?
1. Maldives Islands
2. Machu Picchu
3. Pakistan (Hint Hint.. Wink Wink)

What is your favorite book and why?
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. It was the first book I picked up and read and remember the emotion it brought to my young life. It made me cry and I have read it about 12 times now. I am waiting to introduce it to my son.

What’s the first thing you notice about a person (whether you know them or not)?
Whether they are attractive or not.

Is there anyone from your past that once told you you couldn’t write?
Nope. My writing is a secret. Only my closest of friends knows that I am in fact Ed Gruberman. I know some people who discuss the posts with me but they have no idea that I am Ed Gruberman.

How bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?
It’s not about the money. But I guess selling Ad Space would work. Taking financial handouts would to me in some way skew your political agenda so I don’t do it.

Is it true that who has a successful blog has an awful lot of time on their hands?
No I work 15 hours a day. But I work on the computer so it makes it easier. I keep a list of things I want to write on and then at the end of the day I put up as much as I can.

What are your thoughts on corporate blogs and what do you think the biggest advantages and disadvantages are?
Corporate blogs are good I suppose. I have never read one but I’m sure someone out there loves them.

What role can bloggers of the world play to make this world more friendlier and less hostile?
Bringing news stories to the entire globe as they happen. Posting video and pictures makes it really difficult for the subject to deny their part in the story. It also makes it easy to put up flip-flops from the subject.

Who are your top five favourite bloggers?
http://ace.new.mu.nu - http://hotair.com/ - http://www.drudgereport.com/ - http://thewickedpinto.wordpress.com/ and http://littlegreenfootballs.com . I have them in my bookmarks toolbar and click down the list 10 times a day.

Is there one observation or column or post that has gotten the most powerful reaction from people?
Poster Boy for the Army National Guard Stewart Zamudio doing an interview in his uniform saying, “If you are considering enlisting DON’T ENLIST”. I got nearly 25000 hits in one day.

What is your perception about Pakistan and its people?
I think that Pakistan has the ability to be one of the strongest presences in the the middle east. However in my opinion the people of Pakistan are too willing to accept our enemies. Also I think that because of the economic staus of your people they are stuck in a situation that prevents them from coming into the 21st century in regards to their choices of religion. I recently read a story where Pakistan’s foreign minister went to talk to tribal councils aimed at stemming the growing Taliban insurgency and putting an end to the worst fighting since the strict Islamists were ousted in 2001. Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri’s visit came amid accusations from senior Afghan intelligence officials Islamabad still supports the Taliban and warnings from Kabul’s western allies that the rebels are being bolstered by the ability to shelter in Pakistan. Which is bad. The Taliban are ignorant cavemen who need to be eliminated from the gene pool, not talked to. Hugging-it-out will do nothing.

Have you ever become stunned by the uniqueness of any blogger?
I love Charles Johnson at http://littlegreenfootballs.com/ he’s got guts.

What is the most striking difference between a developed country and a developing country?
Developed = Treating it’s people as a unique natural resource and let them make the most of their lives by giving them the rights to make their lives as free as possible because they will then give back to their country and make it better. Undeveloped = Treating it’s people as just another natural resource and chewing them up and spitting them out in order for them to maintain power through fear and economic slavery leading them to just want to come to America.

What is the future of blogging?
I shall continue to beat down ignorance, hypocrisy, stupidity and human ugliness one chump at a time. I think blogging will continue to grown and I expect to see a live blog on someones daily life any day now. You can log on and see exactly what they are doing for every minute of every day. It sounds creepy to me but I’m sure someone out there wants to do it.

You have also got a blogging life, how has it directly affected both your personal and professional life?
My wife thinks I’m crazy. But she knows it’s my outlet and gives me a place to talk about the frustrations I have with my country and it’s politicians. She especially likes it because I talk about it on the blog and not to her. I don’t think she’s as passionate as I am about the news.

What are your future plans?
I will be continuing to blog and I look forward to spreading the truth.

Any Message you want to give to the readers of The Pakistani Spectator?
Keep bringing us the truth. To hear the news of your country in the voices of those who are most affected by it is important to us in America. We all know that the major news agencies here are skewed and only wish to promote their own agendas. To hear the voice of your people given your present set of circumstances and the political climate you live in every day means a lot to us. Keep up the good work and for you to not be afraid and promote your ideas is fantastic. We don’t hear that enough from the middle east. The freedom of free thought and free speech are our most treasured rights, it should be yours too.

Last 5 posts by The Pakistani Spectator

• Interview with Blogger Tikun Olam - November 30th, 2008
• Interview with Blogger EngSpeak - November 29th, 2008
• Interview with Blogger Jeff Noble - November 26th, 2008
• Interview with Blogger Jan Marshall - November 24th, 2008
• Asif Zardari: ‘India & Pakistan Share Blood Ties’ - November 24th, 2008