some things are inevitable

The death of Steve Gilliard seems to have struck a chord. Of discord.
Obviously, some people liked him and some didn’t.
I won’t use the occasion of his death to speak ill of Gilliard, but OTOH, I don’t think eliminationist rhetoric and use of the n word are called for because another blog did.
The vitriol is amazing, really.
Apparently for the crime of not saying enough about the vitriol, Glenn Reynolds found himself accused by Oliver Willis of having “an agenda and a cause to push.” Really? What cause is that? Whatever it is, I’ve been wondering for some time why there are so many right wing bloggers who make a point of not linking Glenn.
But never mind that, I liked Glenn’s response:

Oliver seems to care much more about my blogging than I do about his. But then, he’s paid to, I guess.

Normally, we think of success in writing as being when you can make a living by it.
But isn’t it just as much a sign of success when people are paid to read you?
I’m no economist, but I’m wondering….
If people are being paid money by the highly funded Media Matters to read Glenn Reynolds (or any other blogger), that’s economic activity, isn’t it?
Shouldn’t Glenn get a cut?
I don’t mean to single out Glenn Reynolds, as I’d say the same thing if some right wing think had tank paid people to read Steve Gilliard. In fact, if someone paid me to read any blogger, I’d feel guilty about taking the money.
We’re all going to die eventually, aren’t we?