Catching up on my correspondence
Two quick notes for today (go read this Mark Kleiman post for some background): Dear Atrios, What I said last week about anonymous blogging? I take it back. Sincerely, Daniel W. Drezner Next letter: Dear Donald Luskin, I have certainly expressed misgivings about Paul Krugman’s punditry in the past. I can certainly sympathize with some ...
Two quick notes for today (go read this Mark Kleiman post for some background): Dear Atrios, What I said last week about anonymous blogging? I take it back. Sincerely, Daniel W. Drezner Next letter: Dear Donald Luskin, I have certainly expressed misgivings about Paul Krugman's punditry in the past. I can certainly sympathize with some of your critiques. Hey, I've even linked to some of them. But dude, you need to chill. Legal action and the blogosphere do not mix well. At this point, your criticisms of Krugman are so over-the-top that they are counterproductive. Take a day off. Get some perspective. Sincerely, Daniel W. Drezner P.S. I've glanced through your blog. Intellectually, yes, you're stalking Paul Krugman. That's stalking!! STALKING, STALKING, STALKING!!! Kevin Drum, Armed Liberal, Brad DeLong, Andrew Sullivan, and Glenn Reynolds also weigh in. Actually, a lot of bloggers weigh in. Atrios follows up here, here, and most amusingly, here. UPDATE: NRO's Jonathan Adler, Robert George, and Jonah Goldberg weigh in on Luskin's behavior. I agree wholeheartedly with George:
Two quick notes for today (go read this Mark Kleiman post for some background): Dear Atrios, What I said last week about anonymous blogging? I take it back. Sincerely, Daniel W. Drezner Next letter: Dear Donald Luskin, I have certainly expressed misgivings about Paul Krugman’s punditry in the past. I can certainly sympathize with some of your critiques. Hey, I’ve even linked to some of them. But dude, you need to chill. Legal action and the blogosphere do not mix well. At this point, your criticisms of Krugman are so over-the-top that they are counterproductive. Take a day off. Get some perspective. Sincerely, Daniel W. Drezner P.S. I’ve glanced through your blog. Intellectually, yes, you’re stalking Paul Krugman. That’s stalking!! STALKING, STALKING, STALKING!!! Kevin Drum, Armed Liberal, Brad DeLong, Andrew Sullivan, and Glenn Reynolds also weigh in. Actually, a lot of bloggers weigh in. Atrios follows up here, here, and most amusingly, here. UPDATE: NRO’s Jonathan Adler, Robert George, and Jonah Goldberg weigh in on Luskin’s behavior. I agree wholeheartedly with George:
Wasn’t Don paying attention during the Fox News v. Franken debacle? There’s nothing worse than when someone who has a certain amount of success by sharing his opinions in a forceful, straightforward, manner, then running to the lawyers when he feels like he’s getting tweaked himself…. Luskin[‘s] action can’t help but garner sympathy for Atrios/Eschaton — particularly in the blogosphere — regardless of where someone falls on the political spectrum.
Goldberg tries to explain Luskin’s actions as a result of being new to the medium:
I feel for the guy. Yes, he was wrong to start Litigating the Eschaton — which, still, isn’t as bad as immanentizing it. But it seems to me he made a classic new-to-the-web blunder. This sort of thing happens when you’re new to the hurly-burly argy-bargy of the interent and you think you have to take every little thing seriously…. The ironic thing is that Krugman himself is a great example of this sort of thin-skinnedness. Remember how he freaked out about Andrew Sullivan’s criticism, talking about his site like it was some sort of neo-Nazi compound?
Goldberg is right about Krugman but dead wrong about Luskin. He’s not new to the web. In fact, today is the one-year anniversary of Luskin’s blog. In terms of the blogosphere, that’s a pretty long time to be around. Long enough to know the very simple rules of the game — no tears, no legal action.
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
More from Foreign Policy

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?
The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World
It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.
Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing
The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.