JEFF JARVIS goes from a BBC reporter’s thoughts on American politics to some thoughts on the impact of different media:

But perhaps it’s not the use or control of the media but, instead, the appropriateness of the message for the medium of the time. Cue McLuhan.

Broadcasting — sermonizing — to the masses was, then, inherently liberal.

Narrowcasting — ranting — on cable is better for the conservatives.

But what about the internet? It’s tailor-made for the libertarians. The internet is the embodiment of individual liberty, the great product and celebration of freedom.

When blogs started, I wondered why so many bloggers seemed to be libertarian, why they gathered in this medium in apparently disproportionate numbers. That’s obvious to me now. They have found their home. They have the message and the medium for it. But they’re just as disorganized as the Democrats and the Republicans. It’s not just about Democratic disarray. It’s about a benign anarchy sweeping the politics of the land.

There’s an old joke: “How many libertarians does it take to change a lightbulb? Only one, but you’ve got to get him to show up.”

IAN SCHWARTZ has posted some video highlights of my C-SPAN interview.

UPDATE: Now C-SPAN has posted video and a transcript of the whole thing.

HERE’S AN INTERESTING BIT from the transcript I just got in the mail from CNN. It’s the Iraqi National Security Adviser, on “Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer.”

On who is responsible for the recent bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra
MOWAFFAK AL-RUBAIE: The blueprint of that unfortunate event, the blueprints of al Qaeda in Iraq is that. It’s the same design, the same methods, the same objectives they want to achieve, which is a civil war. They wanted to drive a wedge between the two communities in Iraq, between the Shia and Sunnis. And they’ve been trying this for the last two and a half years. And they failed miserably in this.

And I think also this is one of the most horrible, really terrible attacks on the doctrine, on the belief of the largest community in Iraq. And still, Iraqi people have proven that they’ve gone through this difficulty, yet again, and they have shown the al Qaeda and the outside world that they will never be driven to the civil war.

BLITZER: So when you saw al Qaeda in Iraq, you mean Abu Musab al- Zarqawi? Is that right?

AL-RUBAIE: That’s absolutely right. It’s the same organization of al Qaeda, this international terrorist organization, and one — the branch office in Iraq is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi leading this — this terrible attack, terrorist attack against our people.

On whether any individuals have been arrested for the bombing
AL-RUBAIE: We have arrested 10 people. Four from the guards of the Golden Tomb shrine. And six — there were in the city of Samarra, just moved in and rented a place. Six young people there. So we are investigating then. We are very — there are two leads, and these leads are very, very good in our investigations. And we will reveal this in the very near future at Jala (ph).

I wonder if the trail will lead back to Iran.

RIOTS IN DUBLIN were covered by Irish bloggers, here, here and here. Lots of photos and firsthand reportage.

AS I SUSPECTED, the “ricin” found in Texas turned out not to be ricin. The Texans seem to have kept their sense of humor, though.

UPDATE: Not quite so happy at Generation Why?

DESPITE the Mark Steyn column linked below, here’s some good news from France:

Tens of thousands of people have marched through Paris to protest against racism and anti-Semitism after the kidnap and murder of a young Jew. Ilan Halimi, 23, was found naked with horrific injuries, three weeks after he was kidnapped by an extortion gang. . . .

Among those at Sunday’s rally were members of the government and the opposition, Jewish and anti-racism campaigners, and leaders of the Jewish and other religious communities.

Worried as I am, I haven’t written Europe off yet. As Roger Simon observes: “This may not equal the crowds they muster for a transit workers strike, but let’s hope this marks a new resistance to racism and anti-Semitism in France.”

AUSTIN BAY continues his look at captured Al Qaeda documents.

MORE ARMY OF DAVIDS BLOG REVIEWS: From Ed Cone, and Jeralyn Merritt of TalkLeft.

MEDIA OVERLOAD: I’ll be on Brian Lamb’s Q&A on C-SPAN tonight at 8 pm Eastern. I think it reruns at 11.

If you’re tired of hearing about me, An Army of Davids, etc., well, I guess I don’t blame you. It’ll settle down in a couple of weeks, unless a miracle occurs and the book becomes a bestseller, in which case it’ll settle down in a couple of more weeks after that.

MARK STEYN:

In five years’ time, how many Jews will be living in France? Two years ago, a 23-year-old Paris disc jockey called Sebastien Selam was heading off to work from his parents’ apartment when he was jumped in the parking garage by his Muslim neighbor Adel. Selam’s throat was slit twice, to the point of near-decapitation; his face was ripped off with a fork; and his eyes were gouged out. Adel climbed the stairs of the apartment house dripping blood and yelling, “I have killed my Jew. I will go to heaven.”

Is that an gripping story? You’d think so. Particularly when, in the same city, on the same night, a Jewish woman was brutally murdered in the presence of her daughter by another Muslim. You’ve got the making of a mini-trend there, and the media love trends.

Yet no major French newspaper carried the story.

This month, there was another murder. Ilan Halimi, also 23, also Jewish, was found by a railway track outside Paris with burns and knife wounds all over his body. He died en route to the hospital, having been held prisoner, hooded and naked, and brutally tortured for almost three weeks by a gang that had demanded half a million dollars from his family. Can you take a wild guess at the particular identity of the gang? During the ransom phone calls, his uncle reported that they were made to listen to Ilan’s screams as he was being burned while his torturers read out verses from the Quran.

This time around, the French media did carry the story, yet every public official insisted there was no anti-Jewish element.

In-Seine ain’t just a river in France. Everybody should be reading the new books on Europe and Islam by Claire Berlinski and Bruce Bawer.

I’ve linked ’em before, but you can read Brad Miner’s interviews with Bawer and Berlinski online. We recorded a podcast interview with Berlinski the other day, and it’ll be up probably on Tuesday.

GPS UPDATE: In response to a reader question yesterday, reader Bobby Sayer emails:

In response to a reader’s request for in-car GPS info…I’d recommend TomTom’s products. I’m using their “TomTom Navigator 5” software for my Windows Mobile phone (Cingular 8125), and so far it’s been pretty good. The software comes with a rechargable Bluetooth GPS module for $300, though you could probably find it cheaper online. If you don’t have a Windows Mobile or Palm device, TomTom’s GO 300 and 700 are pretty sweet as well.

My brother has a handheld GPS that he likes a lot, but I’m not sure of the model. I don’t own one. Heck, I don’t even own a TiVo — and when I tried to get a DirecTV TiVo-equivalent I discovered that they don’t offer a model that will burn DVDs, which sucks, so I probably won’t own one any time soon.

I’LL BE ON CNN’S RELIABLE SOURCES at about 10:15 Eastern, talking about the ports imbroglio, events in Iraq, and more.

UPDATE: Ian Schwartz has the video.

JOHN HINDERAKER: “Actually, I think this kind of conflict is a good thing: the plain vanilla ad man slogan vs. the early 19th century challenge. Personally, I’m with General Stark.”

WHILE THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS DESERVES SOME PUSHBACK on its irritating and intrusive stance regarding guns, I agree with Eugene Volokh that laws to ban pediatricians asking about guns are a clear First Amendment violation.

MORE PODCASTS: An interview with Omar of Iraq the Model at the Shire. And an interview with Jeremy Zilber, author of Why Mommy is a Democrat, at Power Line. Also, a look at crushing of dissent over at Ed Morrissey’s.

UPDATE: The Insta-Wife liked the Zilber interview, and has thoughts of her own.

A PRO-DENMARK RALLY in Greensboro, North Carolina.

RICIN IN TEXAS: There usually turns out to be less to these stories than it seems at first report, but stay tuned.

UPDATE: Much more from Gateway Pundit, who’s leaning toward the terrorism explanation.

ANOTHER UPDATE: It’s not completely certain, but this is looking like a false alarm:

Preliminary tests on the powder look for a protein that matches the profile of ricin.

Officials say one test returned positive for that protein, while a second was inconclusive, and a third was negative. The definitive test will come from the federal Centers for Disease Control.

Stay tuned, but I’m guessing this won’t amount to much.