Paula says we’re powerful, but others say that may not be so!!!

Alright folks, I’m flexing my blogging muscles now, Paula Zahn says that the defeat yesterday of Senator Joe Lieberman in the USA, was partially caused by bloggers. We are bloggers, hear us roar, in numbers too big to ignore!

Ir used to be that it was the Editorial board of your local major newspaper that carried the big stick and brought down the big players of political life, now it’s Joe, Bob, Sally and Sue and their lap tops and Dell computers (sorry Acer only one plug per entry) who hold the power.

The Blog effect examined the impact that blogs have had on American politics, and they described how the liberal anti-war movement in the USA, galvanized on the blogs to bring Ned Lamont to victory and sending Joe Lieberman off to the land of the Independents.

Michael Moore who has become the poster boy for multi media citizen participation from the left, fired a warning shot across the brow of another high profile Democrat, one which many in that party feels has fallen off the path of the righteous. Moore suggests that Hillary Clinton had best change her ways, lest she follow the Senator from Connecticut off into some form of the Democratic circles of hell.

A hell, which apparently comes complete with liberal dashes of blogs to read.

The bloggers are warming up their typing fingers and scarcastic barbs as I write this.

But far beyond the idea that simple bloggers, in a world now chock a block full of blogs, can have that much impact on a political race (personally I think one episode of the Daily Show can do more to kill someone’s political hopes than all the blogs combined) is a much more important question that must be answered.

Are male bloggers between the ages of 30-55 shiftless, lazy and unemployable?

This is the burning question that has come to the blogging forefront through the CBS webpage.

Below is the entire conversation among the blogging set, as they debate the worth of those male drop outs from society’s daily grind.

Are There Men In Your Office?

One of the most blogged stories on the New York Times website since it was first published last week is about the rise of voluntary unemployment among men. Men between the ages of 30 and 54 are voluntarily dropping out of work, the New York Times reports, unable to find jobs that interest them. According to the newspaper, about 10 percent of men in this age group—or about 3 million workers—are out of work and not looking for jobs.

And, apparently, some of them are bloggers.

"I am the poster child for this story. I am 44 years old and have not had a steady full time job in 2 1/2 years. Not because I don’t want to work, but because there is no longer the fulltime decent paying, job with medical benefits available anymore," blogs The Hollywood Liberal, a man in the film industry. "This was never what I wanted."

Some bloggers sympathize with the unemployed men. "The men in the article aren't slothful or complacent; they are teaching at community colleges, volunteering in their communities, learning musical instruments, delving into historical debates on Charlemagne, trying their hand at writing novels. They're leading full and healthy lives; they're just not making much money," Ben Brothers blogs.

But some bloggers have little empathy for the unproductive. "Unproductive slobs. Dragging the rest of society down with their non-working sloth. Get to work at Home Depot or something...," The Poverty Jet Set writes.

Senacle agrees. "I'm inclined to think of these men as shiftless and lazy but the reality is -- well, OK, they are just that. These days, we can't afford for anyone to be taking prolonged timeouts," he blogs. And John asks simply, "How did things go so wrong?," echoing a popular sentiment among fellow bloggers.

How does this trend impact women, some bloggers questioned. "I am seeing this in my own life and with many of my friends. An increasing number of young women like myself are the primary breadwinners, which is no problem, except for the fact that we end up working full time, doing most of the housework, kin work, consumption work, and care work," Rachel writes at Rachel's Tavern. "In fact, the article notes that many men who are out of the labor force are not raising kids, which significantly contrasts them with unemployed single women."

Perhaps it's a cautionary tale for future generations. "This is looking to me like a lost generation (or two) of men who were trained by our educational system to think in terms of 'jobs' and, when the changing economy pulled that rug out from under them, they could not adapt," a blogger at The Microenterprise Journal writes. "I hope we do better by the kids who are in school now." "Nobody is safe from the forces of globalization," Kenyanentrepreneur writes.

Others issued a call to action. "Somehow we must find ways to bring back these men into society’s fold, so that they can become productive citizens again," a blogger at Total Trust writes.

So, never mind the political power of the blog; it’s all about social empowerment now I guess, a sense of worth and accomplishment.

If those critical blogger are correct, it’s going to be a long hard blog for men! They are but a lost generation; one lost in cyberspace, painfully blogging our commentaries to an increasingly uncaring and mocking audience.

Oh the pain of it all!