The Village Voice's guide to the wingnut blogosphere.

Heh.

GLENN REYNOLDS (Instapundit.com)

ORIENTATION: Glibertarian (sex, drugs, guns, endless wars)

TONE: Gnomic

FUN FACT: Self-described “transhumanist”: “Once human technology passes a certain threshold . . . human beings will potentially enjoy the kind of powers and pleasures traditionally assigned to gods or beings in heaven.”

CANDIDATE: A transparent mystery (see Modus Operandi)

STUPID/EVIL RATIO: 5/95

HISTORY: Law degree from Yale. Currently a professor at the University of Tennessee. Many books and papers, mostly legal perspectives on firearms (“Kids, Guns and the Commerce Clause”) and outer space (“International Space Law: Into the Twenty-First Century”). Began online career as commenter A.G. Android at Slate (“The groupies I’ve seen backstage at rock shows are generally not especially attractive”), where he was praised as “the Pride of the Fray.” Founded Instapundit in 2001, with a stance both libertarian (“GLOWSTICKS AND BOTTLED WATER: DRUG PARAPHERNALIA?”) and pro-Bush. September 11 boosted his circulation (thanks in part to publicity from Fox News) and dramatically reduced the libertarian content. Reynolds cautioned citizens against “being stampeded into giving up their freedom,” but also intensified his identification with Bush (“It’s clear that adults are in charge”) and denounced leftists with increasing frequency and anger (“more than a little in common with Osama bin Laden”). As anti-war sentiment grew, he attacked “Big Media’s bias in favor of the left,” calling for a “guerrilla media” of bloggers to combat it.

MODUS OPERANDI: Expresses overt support only rarely, mostly in reviews of cars and consumer goods. Otherwise cites other (mostly right-wing) writers, adding a few words—or one word (usually heh, indeed, or ouch)—to denote approval. This style is, probably purposely, hard to engage. For example, after a lengthy quote in defense of the 1980s Salvadoran death squads, Reynolds adds this: “makes me wonder if making comparisons to Central America will help the Left, or simply bring up a lot of things that a lot of people would rather gloss over today.” Inquiries as to meaning are likely to go unanswered, as Instapundit has no comments feature.

WHAT TO EXPECT: Quotes denunciatory of Democratic candidates, followed by snotty asides involving Walter Mondale, Robert Heinlein, and Osama Bin Laden. Also, heh.