« Surviving Neocons Scramble to Block Israel-Palestine Breakthrough | Home | Health Care Spotlight »
Friday Good Blog Open Thread
Coffee Houser Ed Kilgore is moving from his New Donkey digs over to edit and blog at The Democratic Strategist. You know him, you love him, get more of him there.
What blogs are you reading that Cafe denizens would like? The thread is yours.
Advertisement
Are there other blogs out there besides TPM Cafe? :-)
Actually, not political, and not even a blog, but for all you coffee-consuming Cafe denizens, I'd recommend CoffeeGeek. Especially the forums.
I should note, you should actually be more than just a coffee consumer. More like, heavily-addicted completely coffee-compulsive-obsessive.
"Thank God George Bush is our president." -Rudy Giuliani
June 22, 2007 6:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
For at least three years, I have been calling attention in comments, and in emails to people who do not have comment sections, that the US is, and has been from the outset, engaged in a policy of permanent occupation in Iraq. This has been clear since the decision was made to build "enduring bases"in Iraq.
As time has past, all the other pretexts have been stripped away by events, and we are left at this point with nothing more nor less than permanent occupation in support of a puppet government.
I have despaired of anybody, in the MSM or in the blogosphere writing clearly about this--or about the severe difficulty involved in ending the US involvement in the occupation because of Iraq's status as a failed state with no national defense capability, surrounded by four states that have reason to have designs on its territory, and who are, in some ways natural enemies.
This is complicated further by the fact that one of those states, Turkey, is a member of NATO, and has legitimate concerns over border security. The positions taken by democratic candidates--the wiggle room in their detailed statements about their plans for Iraq--make it clear that they understand these difficulties, but fear saying so out loud, because of the enormous unpopularity of this catastrophic occupation.
The blathering from the beltway pundits, spouting the FU justification of the week also impedes serious discussion of what is to be done, and is frequently characterized by arm waving that presumes that the US is both sovereign and if not omnipotent, effectively able to impose conditions, like a tripartite division, or the dissolution of the current government or alliance with "good" ex-Baathists. But there is very little written that discusses the reality of the strategic situation.
Last night, over at FDL, swopa actually outlined these issues in the context of parsing democratic presidential candidates statements. He describes why these issues pose difficulties for those who want to end the occupation, and what realistically we have to worry about. The US will not be able to withdraw substantial forces without facing these issues, and making clear decisions about what the least horrific outcome is, and how it can be pursued.
This is a debate that is long overdue. I urge people to read swopa's post.
Also, I've revived a dormant blog of mine, and am crossposting this there, to facilitate discussion that I hope (probably fruitlessly) will take place once Andrew's post scrolls.
June 22, 2007 7:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
Not to suck up but TPM is taking up a bigger block of my blog time lately.
That said, I always make room for:
Atrios
Digby
Feministing
Gawker
Wonkette
Swampland
I know, that's a pretty mainstream list of choices.
I still check in on all the Connecticut blogs from the Lamont/Lieberman era.
Spazeboy
Connecticut Bob
My Left Nutmeg
thosethingswesay.blogspot.com
June 22, 2007 8:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
Is Gawker any good these days?
Guilty pleasure was the Gawker Stalker for quite a while. Haven't read it in a couple years, though.
"Thank God George Bush is our president." -Rudy Giuliani
June 22, 2007 8:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
(Note: If I could I’d modify your topic by dropping the “recommendation” sentiment. I’d just like to know which blogs the familiar aliases here read regularly, with maybe a short comment why. Also sometime it might be nice to have an open thread about what the readers like about the regular café contributors. For example I always read MJRosenberg for just about every reason there is. He is well intended, he has a knack for framing controversial subjects, he engenders lots of good comments with equally good back-and-forth exchanges, and best of all I disagree with him just enough to make a comment now and then.)
My list:
(multiple daily hits)
TPM – homepage – for excellent heads-up’s from the day’s headlines
TPM – Muckraker – does just what the name implies – kind of the Media Matters of muck
TPM Café – just plain stimulating – my favorite among favorites
Counterpunch – Cockburn’s radicalism is almost kitsch but he has so many good writers that I am forever reading more of their stuff
Media Matters – in my opinion the most important site on the internet. It is hard work for them but it does the really important brush cutting that you have to do before you try to plant anything.
Arthur Silber – my Dostoyevsky hit for the day
CrooksandLiars – a video arcade
Firedoglake – I like the writing and I really appreciate the live blogging of events like trials
Stop Me Before I Vote Again – a little lemon to cut the natural sweetness of my disposition (ha)
Finaly I use Escaton/dKos/Truthout/Buzzflash/Huffington just to scan the horizon each day.
And I should read Daily Howler more than I do but it gets a little deep in the weeds of conventional media. A lot of the references are obscure to me because I avoid the MSM. But he does great work.
June 22, 2007 9:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Not as fun as it once was, but still worth the time.
Another Denton site that I'm starting to like is The Consumerist.
thosethingswesay.blogspot.com
June 22, 2007 9:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
I want to talk about Guiliana and Catholicism.
Do the right wing Catholics get to set the political agenda of what constitutes a "good Catholic" just like the right wing Protestants do?
Quote from above regarding Guiliana:
Why is abortion the ONLY issue that counts?
Are there no other moral issues for "good Christians" to consider?
Why must anyone cede ground on what constitutes the primary marker of faith in political debates?
June 22, 2007 9:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
You have no idea my friend. It is a very good subject that somewhere along the line is going to be a first tier controversy in the popular discourse. Why don't you write a separate blog post and be the first one to engage the subject.
I have only one comment at this time. There are some heavy bats on both sides of the political spectrum in the Catholic community. It could be really interesting. I can't wait for Chris Matthews to reprise the Council of Nicea debate for a rewrite of the Nicene Crede. He may even do it in Latin: "Credo in unum Deum..."
June 22, 2007 10:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
My longest standing RSS blog feeds in alphabetical order:
Balloon Juice because nobody rants better than John Cole.
The Carpetbagger Report because Steve Benen is consistently the best rounder upper of what left blogistan is talking about every day -- even weekends.
Cato Unbound because they have good discussions of things libertarian.
The Corner because it is important to know what's happening at the other end of the spectrum.
DailyKos because, well, because.
The Dilbert Blog because Steve Adams is weird and sometimes funny.
Mark Thoma's Economist View because he has best round up of economic discussions that I can usually understand and frequently some truly excellent links for other reading.
Eschaton because Atrios, like DailyKos, leads the daily conversation.
Ezra Klein because of health care; he writes well and his youth gives me hope for the future.
Hullabaloo because Digby is an especially insightful and good writer.
Instapundit because he is for the right what Atrios is for the left.
Obsidian Wings because Publius of Legal Fiction moved there.
Opinion Journal because they are opinion leaders on the right.
Political Animal because Kevin Drum is to me the practically perfect blogger and has some of the best commenters around.
Red State because they banned me for asking a question and I have enjoyed watching them devolve.
Salon's Glenn Greenwald because he is an awesome source for understanding legal aspects of things.
TalkingPointsMemo because Josh does such good work.
TPMCafe because it offers variety and like Political Animal some of the best commenters in the blogosphere.
Matthew Yglesias who like Ezra gives me hope for the future.
I don't read every post of every blog. I generally just scan the title and as much of the first few lines as appear in my feeds then pick and choose what looks interesting that day.
The latest addition to my feeds is Julian Sanchez's Notes from the Lounge. He has a really interesting mind.
June 22, 2007 10:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
OK, Larry. We'll do this the right way.
TPMCafe: Cause we're awesome.
TPM: Josh's model of blogging/journalism is groundbreaking and needed. He, along with his muckraking cast of characters, represents the Fifth Estate.
Atrios: Cause he's (1) funny, (2) succinct, and (3) smart.
Swampland: Cause I like watching old media squirm.
MyDD: Political analysis, blogosphere analysis. Interesting to see what happens with this site, now that it's losing its two major writers.
DKos Diaries: To hear what The People are saying.
ThinkProgress: Vast Left Wing Conspiracy Machine.
BoingBoing and Wired blogs: Tech Culture.
"Thank God George Bush is our president." -Rudy Giuliani
June 22, 2007 12:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why indeed is abortion the only issue that counts. (The abortion issue boils down to an argument between the pro-choice crowd and the pro-against-choice crowd.) As a pro-choice Catholic I wonder why the death penalty, Rome has come out against it and I am adamantly against it, is a non-issue for the likes of Guiliani.
Then there's the 'just war theory': I doubt the Iraq 'war' would qualify as a 'just war'. Then there are the poor who in their mother's wombs must be spared yet once born their fate is off the radar screen of concern evidenced by the economic and social policies of today's Republican party.
June 22, 2007 3:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Will you forgive me for shamelessly promoting my own blog? People seem to like it.
Please visit the Schapira blog, What we know so far ...
...and tell 'em Big Mitch sent ya!
June 22, 2007 3:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
“When he turned and said to Bernie Kerik, ‘Thank God George Bush is President,’” said Mr. Kerrey, echoing one of Mr. Giuliani’s favorite (but now retired) 9/11 anecdotes. “What he should have said was, ‘Why the fuck didn’t George Bush call us and tell us this was going to happen?’ That was a more appropriate response.” From the Observer.
At the 2004 Republican National Convention, Rudolph Giuliani told the audience that while standing in the rubble of the World Trade Center, he spontaneously grabbed Bernie Kerik’s arm and said, “Bernie, thank God George Bush is our President.”
That’s a powerful story and better than the one he told during a 2003 GOP fundraiser. In the earlier iteration, Kerik is missing: “I remember that day saying a little prayer of thank-you that George Bush was our president.” Well, you could see why that story needed a little punching up. But still, it is an improvement on the original rendering.
On December 23, 2001, Giuliani appeared on Meet the Press. He told of the days following the attack. According to this first edition of the story, Rudy did, indeed, utter the words to his police chief. But it was not on September 11th. Rather it was on September 14th, by which time George Bush had finished My Pet Goat and found his way to Ground Zero. It was in this context that Giuliani stated, “Thank God he [Bush] is here [i.e., in New York.]”
The ironic thing is that Giuliani embellished and prevaricated to show a fabricated devotion to President Shit-for-brains.
Adapted from the Schapira blog, What we know so far ...
...and tell 'em Big Mitch sent ya!
June 22, 2007 4:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Then there's the 'just war theory.'" Yeah, I asked Bush about that, and he said, "Absolutely, it's just a war."
John
http://www.haberarts.com/
June 22, 2007 4:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Do I lose points by using the MSN browser? (I also have Firefox if that redeems me a little, and Netscape too.) I'm captive of Verizon where I live, and MSN comes with the territory. Anyhow, about three years ago when DSL finally came to town (cable Internet hadn't) I started to bookmark blogs and organize them by categories. Pretty soon my "political" category became so large I started a sub-folder, read daily, in it. Of course, it is too full now to even read weekly. Here are a few of my faves, which I don't think have been mentioned as yet. I'm going to use the term blog very loosely, including some news aggregators and some sites which I don't know quite what to call them. (Unless I screw up, the links ought to open in new windows)
democratic ideals."
I hope at least one or two of these are new to some of you. The length of my list explains why I think The Sopranos are the choir section which just occasionally sings a little flat.
aMike
June 22, 2007 7:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Surely I am not the only one here who always reads First Draft several times a day? How can anyone live without the great writing of Athenae, the superb New Orleans coverage of Scout, and Holden's obsession with the gaggle and fascination with Bush's version of some language or other (English?)
Hoppy in Sacramento
June 22, 2007 9:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
*sniff* nobody reads my blog.
Actually don't mean to whine about that but to ask a legitimate question of you all.
Better to blog on your own or here at TPMCafe? I know I already spend a lot more time commenting here than blogging at my site.
thosethingswesay.blogspot.com
June 23, 2007 8:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hi Destor23
A suggestion: Turn your signature into a link, then lazy folks like me will click and peek. If you don't update it daily, leave a note here when you do. Then I promise to look over there more than once in a blue moon. I figured out how to do the link thingy, if you need a hint send me a note.
aMike
June 23, 2007 9:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
Aside from TPM, too many to list. Here's some I like:
A Taxing Matter
Aetiology
After Gutenburg
Connecting the Dots
Stumbling & Mumbling
Texas Fred's
Where the Money Goes
June 23, 2007 9:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
OK. I just read some of your blog entries. I liked them. I will recommend it now to others. I hope you will take aMike’s advice and make your address a link on your commenting here.
I especially liked your June 1 post “Left vs. Right – The Debate.” I’d like to see you reprise it here as one of those “What do you think?” challenges. It reminded me of Jacob Burckhardt’s controversial interpretation of the history of the ancient Greek polis*. As you may recall Burckhardt was the pre-eminent lecturer on this subject in the Nineteenth century. What made his analysis controversial was that he found the Greek polis to be anything but an ideal of Democratic inclinations. Rather he saw it as a caldron of demagoguery and oligarchic instincts. Of course today Burckhardt is required reading. Still his far more realistic appreciation of the origins of Democracy are forgotten at our peril. Your post is a nice little encapsulation of the essence of the lesson of Burckhardt’s work.
As to your question I would say that I recognize the dilemma. On the one hand my Café reading stimulates a lot of impetus to formulate responses and comments. On the other hand my reactions often extend beyond the border of the individual Café article itself. I don’t post these more expansive observations. For that I need a different venue. So I would suggest that one should do both, remembering that they serve different impulses and different needs.
Right now the Café is a kind of critical mass that is quite energetic. But as with Brownian motion, we are all destined to fly away from this or any other center.
June 23, 2007 10:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
Who has the time for two blogs??? :-)
I think the real answer is, are you blogging alone, or blogging with others?
Running your own blog can be a lonely business, and, if you become a hit, well, then it takes work. Here, there are already others, lots of smart people to learn from, and talk to.
Of course, if you want to post five or ten posts a day, then maybe your own blog is a good place to funnel that output. Occasionally, I may think of that many things to say, but, it's pretty rare. If I manage one post a day that I'm happy with, I'm, well, happy.
"Thank God George Bush is our president." -Rudy Giuliani
June 23, 2007 1:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
And carry that on to the stem-cell issue: When George Bush says that taking the life of one to potentially help the life of another is not ethical (!)
First of all, George wouldn't know ethics if they bit him on the lip!
But more importantly, sending people to war involves knowingly taking the life of some to potentially help others. Even leaving off the fact that the Iraq war was begun for bogus reasons, he is too dense to realize this basic fact: Those who are being sacrificed for others are actual people with families and histories and lives with hopes and dreams.
As opposed to 8-celled embryos with NO FUTURE, NO HISTORY, NO FAMILY TO MOURN THEM, and which will be flushed down a toilet because this moron thinks it is unethical to put them to use medically.
Jan
June 23, 2007 8:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ok I don't know how to add links but here's my list of daily read blogs:
Of course all the TPM blogs
Waiterrant-it's outrageously funny
The Wall of Separation- from Americans United
James Wolcott- from Vanity Fair
Bob Geiger.com
Glenn Greenwald at Salon
The Daily Howler
Welcome to Pottersville- inciteful and irreverent
No Comment from Harper's Magazine
Ezra Klein
Calling all Wingnuts
Roger Ailes (the good guy)
Matthew Yglesias
Beggers can be Choosers.com
Manifesto Joe's Texas Blues
Those things we say- see Destor you do have a reader!:)
What we know so far- Big Mitch you just gained a new reader!:)
June 24, 2007 8:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
"*sniff* nobody reads my blog." Cute. I have my own site, too. However, I do my more spontaneous commenting here. on my own site I post maybe every other day instead of ten times a day like a proper blogger, I wrote the material days (or at times weeks or months) in advance so I can revise more, entries run from 600 to 2,000 words, and the topic is more specialized in its appeal than politics or one's personal life: contemporary art and art historical exhibitions.
In other words, it looks like a bog but talks like a magazine, which is why it's never going to make me famous. I suppose it'd help if I switched from hand coding to an engine that allowed comments to show, but then I'd have to read them.
John
http://www.haberarts.com/
June 24, 2007 8:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Just want to thank you all for replying to that and for your advice.
In a lot of communities I never would have posted something like that for fear of beign told to shut the heck up about my own blog. Instead, you all gave me some useful tips for keeping mine going and staying involved here. I'll do somehomework and give your tips a try.
Thanks everybody!
thosethingswesay.blogspot.com
June 24, 2007 8:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
James Wolcott's"The Honor of the Upper West Side Must Be Defended!" is a wonderful comment! Wolcott is ever so funny when he tells Irwin Stelzer to go fuck himself.
June 25, 2007 7:45 AM | Reply | Permalink