Fuck it PM, in real life I don't swear but your opinionated pieces (well written, of course) are to be ever uncriticised/never remarked upon because you know best? I mean, come on , this blog has been completely diminished by your refusal to allow anyone else to say anything. If my comment about a much inferior writer getting tons more comments affected your decision to cut off your most faithful followers, then I'm sorry. I never thought that you were so sensitive. If [others] write to you personally that's all well and good but we readers have lost their perspective which although mostly in agreement with your views, did add nuance, if not outright objection or meaningful argument....
As for your commentary on the Ukraine war and how it can and will be won, I've swung this way and that..and you almost had me persuaded that Ukraine could beat Russia, even though I always believed in the numbers game. Let's be real. Russia is far more powerful than Ukraine and our (your) late intervention with serious weaponry is too little. No manpower commitment, you're on your own mates, and a determined Russia..I know where I'd put my money.
But we can't comment anymore unless we write a personal message which still keeps all other opinions unseeable. Much as [one commenter] could be a dickhead (and I'm sure that he'd return the compliment) and [another] could be quite belligerent they enhanced your blog and caused others to think things through and maybe change their minds about some things. I miss that. Also, If you care to look back you'll notice that I've consistently stated that I would never contribute to a site that wouldn't allow commentary. That's not some form of blackmail or anything intended to make you feel annoyed. It's just a fact. Always was. I've not changed, you have.
"I'm sorry to hear about the disgruntled reader who refuses to contribute due to your lack of a comments section. If I remember correctly, you canceled the comments section due to a lack of comments. I doubt this reader would have any intention of contributing even with a comments section. Great writing is worth paying for and that is why I contribute admittedly too small amounts to your site and will continue to do so."
Writes another:
"I don’t read Carpenter to hear the sound of my voice. A long time ago, I gave up perusing the follow-up 'commentaries' to blog posts. They were all too often poorly written, poorly thought out. They seemed to be the only game in town: moral ascendancy. At worst and at best, they were an excuse to display one’s arsenal of invective. Perhaps things have gotten more collegial since then, but forgive me if I am unconvinced."
Note: I was once blessed with intelligent, non-morally ascendent commenters, since this site attracts center-left moderates. Unfortunately, center-left moderates don't tend to comment, since the internet at large does not lend itself to moderation. Just look at Twitter and other social media venues. They're ghastly in their extremism. Anyway, over the years, as these other venues became more popular than "prose" sites, such as this one, as a means to express opinions, the rowdier commenters I did have drifted away. Others had little to say, since they were in agreement with whatever I had written — which is another feature of the internet; we tend to read those with whom we agree. Hence, comments diminished to a pitiable few. So I canceled the comment section. Not because I was "sensitive" to criticism. In fact, I often encouraged it.