the talking dog |
The Dog Run -- Breeds and CommentsA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z(click to jump directly to letter)AThe Art of Peaceanother thoughtful blog, by the mysterious blogger "David". David says his perspective is slightly to the left of center, but he covers a wide array of topics, such as international regions not oft covered in the blog world, from a careful, well-supported perspective. The Agitatoris the work of one Radley Balko (Bradley Ralko?), a freelance writer living in Alexandria, VA, working for Fox News and the Cato Institute; a libertarian, he lives with a Sharpei/Lab mix (and you all know what THAT means). Radley's blogroll leans a bit to the right of his commentary, which I would describe as "classic libertarian government-skeptical"; too many so-called libertarians are just closet righties, but Radley strikes me as the real deal. Asymmetrical Informationis the work of pseudonymous bloggers Jane Galt and Mindles (that's ONE S) Dreck. The lovely Jane Galt (a pseudonym derived from Ayn Rand's principal character John Galt in Atlas Shrugged, though Jane denies she is an Objectivist, or Randian) used to call her blog "Live from the World Trade Center" (she spent time as an office assistant at the clean-up site) but has adopted this moniker based on her interest in economics and business. Mindles, another New York area blogger, has joined forces with Jane. Jane is a major blogger, occasionally featured in the "mainstream media". The postings are well-written (VERY well written, actually), and from a distinctly right-side of the aisle perspective, arguably libertarian, but I would just say "rightie". Jane accepted a position with the State Department, which is why she limits the scope of the blog to economics issues. Asparagirlis the work of lovely New York area blogger Brooke, who happens to be the fiancée of dog run member Scott Ganz of Captain Scott's Electric Love Bunker. Asparagirl is herself a blog world superstar. Her compact blogroll features (other than the Captain), wall to wall hard-ass righties. This Penn Quaker don't be believing in no silent meetings — she be kicking some ass, be it on war and peace matters, or on taking tough positions on Israel. This is a very well written blog, even if taking stridently tough positions that I don't necessarily agree with. Armed Liberalclaims it’s one of those "moving sites" --i.e., his stuff can now be viewed at Winds of Change, a sorta left group blog. The Apostropher(taglined “Doggedly Searching for the Crux of the Biscuit”) is the work of Russ, who tells us he is a technical writer from North Carolina. Russ joins the vast left wing conspiracy, with humorous and pointed commentary. Russ's blogroll is, well, tiny, all sold lefty platinum (you missed one, buddy!) Alas, A Blog is the work of the mysterious cartooning and blogging genius, Ampersand. Ampersand interjects thoughtful, extensive treatments of issues of the day, including theoretical bases for doctrinaire lefty positions (you'll feel better A., if you just do what the OTHER SIDE does, and just say "I'm right, nyah!"), but you won't often get this depth of treatment elsewhere. The blogroll is extensive and left-heavy, though the loyal opposition (you know what I mean) is represented as well. Ain't No Bad Dudeis the blog of Brian Linse, recently back from a long blogging hiatus. Brian is another fellow traveler, and if I am not mistaken, has some responsibility for "meta-blog" the Lefty Directory. The AgonistSean Paul Kelley's free-thinking treatment of just about everything. I would loosely call this unique, intellectually challenging blog "libertarian" (that being the category I chose to classify myself on The Agonist's interestingly organized blog roll). Amish Tech Supportis the product of Houston, Texas blogger Laurence Simon, and is a wild, irreverent treatment of, well, everything. ATS has an immense blogroll, and the "approach" features many personal details (such as the activities of Laurence's wife and their cat), and hard-ass rightie, pro- war outlooks. There are times I have to avoid drinking soda while reading ATS, lest it come flying through my nose. The Agnosticis a brand new puppy of a blog (which knew enough who to link to, even in infancy!) While we already have a Raving Atheist and an Agonist, we can now add an agnostic. It’s often been asked, where are the fun-loving hard-ass righties on the blogosphere? Why must people with relatively conservative views be so SERIOUS and MEAN-SPIRITED? Well, folks, if the Agnostic can keep it up (BTW, I like HIS talking dog joke), we got ou'selves the answer to that question. Anomalyis the stylish product of mysterious New York blogger Ravenwolf, and is an eclectic collection of just about everything (wait a minute, that's the DEFINITION of eclectic); well, she DID describe her blog previously as the "Randomness of Ravenwolf" — so there you are. Assume the Positionis the work of Lynxx Pherrett, in my opinion, the best pseudonym out there. This blog, BTW, is ALSO some of the most thoughtful commentary on the hard-right side of the aisle: little cheap name calling, just well-thought out, well-documented positions. The blogroll is, well, a who's who of the hard right. Though I disagree with the bulk of L.P.'s positions (including the one he'd like me to assume!), these opinions are worthy of respect and consideration. A Level Gazeis David Yaseen's well-reasoned (i.e., I agree with him for the most part) blog. A Level Gaze is tag-lined "Liberal Elitism", with a healthy smattering of fellow travelers in the blogroll (not yet including your TD, which we hope David will soon correct). Anyway, in my view, you just can't bash Bush enough — and A Level Gaze rarely looks away from the President for more than a moment! A Dog's Lifeis the product of Greg Hlatky of Ohio; Greg notes that he and his wife raise borzois (Russian wolfhounds); a good deal of his blog discusses various aspects of the show dog and dog show world, and Greg gives some solid political discussions, from a perspective somewhat to the right of your talking dog. Arch Punditis a pseudonymous blogger from the St. Louis area, with a leftward tilt. Arch writes some well thought out, often lengthy missives, giving an intelligent, thoughtful (i.e., left-leaning!) approach to many issues. The Agorais the Salon-based blog of Douglas Anders (of Ohio). Doug is one of those "reasonable liberals", that the right wing blogosphere dismisses as "idiotarians" (because he dares to criticize our prevailing power structure) and the hard-ass left probably has no use for him, because he probably doesn't regularly recite the words to the "Internacionale" in his blog. Doug's opinions are, nonetheless, intelligent and thoughtful. A Brooklyn Bridge— a brand new blog by Brooklyn writer Glen England. The vast conspiracy of Brooklyn lefty bloggers is delighted to proudly welcome a new member, and Glen is pithy and subtle in his nastiness as he fights the power. Welcome to the revolution, Glen baby! And welcome to the hood! Ayn Clouter's BlogAyn Clouter is the nom de blog (and I suspect, nom de plume) of the most ruthlessly clever and brilliant conservative blogger in the entire blogiverse... or is she (we all THINK Ayn's a she) in fact, a brilliantly sarcastic arch-liberal who is so diabolically clever that conservatives actually think she's one of them! Such is the genius of this blog, giving hilarious and brilliant take downs of evil leftists the world over-- and pointing out strategems that Dear Leader should employ to ensure his re-ascendance to power. (When I say hilarious, I mean some of the funniest material I have ever seen, anywhere, any context). I'm proud to have been one of the original "evil leftists" on a blogroll that features a LOT of evil leftists, and some American patriots of the right (right as in correct, of course). Much as this blog deserves the "Top Dog" designation to be "unretired", I will show the discipline that Ayn herself would show... Aunt Lowey's Handy Dandy Blogis a proud product of blogging West Virginia, although presumably the part near Pittsburgh, as Aunt Lowey is a big fan of that city's teams. Miscellaneous thoughts, links, rants and cool stuff is the tagline, and Aunt Lowey disappoints not. Come on down for some down home country blogging. The blogroll leans left, and leans FUNNY. Arrogant Rantsis the amusing work of New York area (Nick says he's from "The Island" — Long Island, to those of you not from the tri-state area) blogger Nick Marsala (who, I think, was kinda tight with Raven Wolf, if I remember correctly). Nick purports to be mean and blood hungry, from a hard-ass "blue collar" rightie perspective, designating me as one of two sites that are "the statists and trial lawyers we love to rail against". As long as it gets me traffic, Nick. Arjan El Fassedis something we here in the United States need to see: the unedited views of a real live Palestinian (in this case, based in the Netherlands, because you didn't think ISRAEL, or even ARAFAT, would let him put out THIS stuff from the territories!) Hey, we of the Zionist conspiracy will not be well served not to know the Palestinians (usually) legitimate grievances, and their feelings thereon. Arguing With Signpostsis the work of proud Texas blogger Brian Murley. You get a dose of down home blogging here, with some posts that lean a little to the right, but in a polite, charming way. The blog is supportive of the President, for example, which is peachy keen. The tagline notes that Brian "would argue with a signpost", but he seems more agreeable than all that. The small (I'll say nascent) blogroll features around a baker's dozen of the serious righties, and somehow, I'm on there (maybe the picture of the rotty on the front is reminiscent of Misha. The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler!) No matter. Y'all pay a vist to Brian's blog, ya' hear? Antidotal is the work of Yale's Eric Tam and the University of Toronto's Manu Rangachari (I believe they are grad students, and hail from Canada). The site's tagline is A Little Something to Fight the Poison, Observations and Arguments on Politics and Ideology, Society, and the Media. The perspective is friendly/liberal/progressive (not all that surprising from a pair of Canadian academics). The blogroll is compact and left leaning. Angry Bearis the work of a real, live slightly left leaning economist. Posts are detailed, complete with charts and actual real world justification for the positions espoused. AB also trolls the blogosphere for useful opinions and interesting commentary. Despite covering technical economics, this blog is in no sense dry, but is, dare I say it, fair and balanced. The blogroll features the majors, as well as the big-time lefties. Andrew Olmstead's Blogis a thoughtful perspective from the right side of the aisle; Andrew appears to have some military experience, and phrases his views in terms of being a strong patriot. Like me, he notes that his is a vanity site (God bless you, Andrew.). Amygdalais the thoughtful blog of Boulder, Colorado's Gary Farber (no relation). I'm not so sure I'd call Gary a "moderate" as I would an "eclectic". Gary is very involved in the science fiction world, as well as with his blog, and covers a wide variety of subjects in a manner where I am unable to knee jerk classify him as "lefty or rightie". Because of this inscrutibility, Altercationis the MSNBC hosted product of famous lefty journalist and author Eric Alterman. Though extremely partisan (yes!), Altercation is extremely readable and enjoyable, as well as offering that "practical partisanship" I am so desperately trying to engender myself. The blog has a short blogroll of wall to wall great lefties, an active and lively comment section, and gets more traffic in the next 20 minutes than I am likely to get for the rest of time. Alisa in Wonderlandis the work of an Israeli ex-pat woman who, I believe, now lives in Missouri (and has lived well, all over the place). She brings her own personal views, particularly on Israel and the Middle East situation, and is, well, very interesting (and dare I say it...important) reading. Air Strip Oneis the British-based work of Phillip Caston and Emmanuel Goldstein, and, with its shades of Orwell (nee Eric Blair)'s 1984, is tagged "British foreign policy as if the national interest mattered". Air Strip One has a sorta libertarian bent, with a healthy dose of a "Blair-skeptic" viewpoint, and treatment of a great many international issues that might not be covered by many American blogs. Air Strip One's unique linking policy ("you link to me and I'll link to you"; which by the way, happens to be MY linking policy, except I don't SAY that next to my blog roll, as Air Strip One does!) leads to a very eclectic and interesting group of links. Africa Punditthe work of commentator Noah, who takes us to an area under-explored as a matter of policy, and especially under-explored in the blogosphere. Noah's take is a moderate/conservative one, as he likes to call brutal dictators, well, what they are! This is a thoughtful exploration of an area that gets an undeserved dearth of coverage. I do wish Noah had permanent links or resources, but the posts are well documented. Atrios/Eschatonis another blog world A-lister superstar. The pseudonymous, Atrios and his blog have been called the left-wing Instapundit; he posts frequently, and unlike Professor Reynolds, has a lively comments section. BThe Belligerent Bunny Blogof the mysterious Anna (namesake of Baby TD) and the mysterious Annanova, invites you to "come for the bunnies; stay for the warmongery". And that's it: posts entitled "arsenal of democracy" detail American military weapons and tactics; alternating with pictures of bunnies (and bunny adoption details). Mrs. TD and I once received a rabbit as a wedding present (we said MONEY, not bunny!). This is a unique site, and its popularity is well-deserved. Brad De Long's Blogis the work of an economics professor (I'm pretty sure at Berkeley). Brad is a fellow traveler liberal, and is an extreme Bush-skeptic (seeing as there are lies, damn lies, statistics, and the crap put out by the Bush Administration). His opinions are well-reasoned (i.e., I agree with them), and he is an extremely influential blogger (whatever that means). Busy Busy Busyis the work of (pseudonymous?) Santa Monica blogger and computer maven Elton Beard, who gives us the benefit of a multimedia show (at least lotsa pictures) as he busily takes us through the news of the day (great lefty blogroll) with his inimitable barb (and wicked LEFT hook). Posts tend to be pleasing in both length and content, perfect for us busy, busy, busy people. Value is added to memes already in play. Blamblogis the work of Toronto blogger Brett Lamb, and is entering its second year, coming to us from nascent blog world superpower Ontario (and thanks to Chip Tijuana for telling us about Blamblog). This blog is amusing as all hell, from a kinda left o' center perspective one would expect from our friends North of the Border, and takes us on a very amusing random walk around Brett's life, complete with scripts and everything. The Braxtonianis the work of Dave Ryan and Ry Rivard, both high school journalists from Braxton County, West Virginia. They call their work a "publication", as everyone is sick of "blog". The focus is the goings on in their corner of the world, though they concede they have to leave it from time to time, as not much happens there! Cool pictures, random stuff, small town America. Brief Intelligence Weblogthe work of Tiger Lily, who I understand has a boyfriend who is a Marine Corps sniper. Needless to say, I won't be pissing off Tiger Lily! TL's take is to the left of, ahem, me; the blogroll is solid left gold, and the positions are supported by both fact and energy. Certainly, the perspective on matters military that would blow the *&&^ out of some of the guys on CNN (except General Clark, for whom Tiger Lily would like you to vote...I'm with the program!) Blissful Knowledgecomes to us from a fresh-off-a-blogging-hiatus Dr. Manhattan, whose tagline is "The Yankees, Politics, Religion, Public Policy...and Have I Mentioned The Yankees?" The good doctor's blog posts are detailed, thought provoking and thorough; the doctor is a firm Zionist, and a well-reasoned conservative. His blogroll is big and inclusive, and includes a Jewish reference section as well as a baseball reference section. Big Picnica group blogging effort that tells us its mission is to find the perfect blog post, and then disband. "A News and Opinion Journal of Shiftless Chatter", BP takes us through several points of view, all with the same sorta merrily left wing, mockin' authority (the current one!) point of view, and a nice group on the blogroll. Balloon Juiceis the work of Morgantown, West Virginia's John Cole, who tells us he is a college professor (Communications Arts at the U. of W.V.) making him our second known West Virginian. John wishes me to note that he considers himself more moderate than the views expressed on his site, which appear to be stridently pro-war, and appear to be more in synch with the "anti-idiotarian" (that's not a word!) crowd than someone who tells us he opposes capital punishment, opposes making abortions illegal, supports gay rights, and opposes the War on DrugsTM. The weather-storm themed blogroll lists to starboard, but then has some good port ballast at the end. Still, John keeps up on the latest revolving memes, and will keep y'all amused. Up, up and away... Blogcriticsis the principal work of California record producer Eric Olsen; it is a "meta-blog of over 100 "blog critics" including yours truly, who are supposed to submit reviews of records, books, videos and "etc." It is a huge amount of collected wisdom in one convenient place-- and is on many people's "best blogs". William Burtonis an ex-military man now living with his family in Nashville. William is a doctrinaire liberal (MY kind o' lib'ral), to the left of even me, with a great, lively comments board that William frequently guests on. His posts are bold, daring, well thought out, and he has an uncanny sense of foreign policy. I wish William blogged as regularly as he once did, but his stuff is good enough to wait for. Edward "Ted" Barlow's Blog another Houston, TX blogger, is, well, a rare delight — a blog that is much more popular than mine, and (though it kills me to say so), I see why. Ted is another "reasonable liberal" (“idiotarian” to the right, of course), with a sense of humor (he did an entire week of light bulb jokes — the Andrew Sullivan one still kills.) Baseball Musingsis the work of serious fan (head of research for ESPN's baseball program for ten years and host of ESPN's on-line baseball service) David Pinto. Well, that's a little MORE serious than a serious fan, actually. David appears to come to us from Massachusetts, and is a Red Sox fan. The site is your one-stop shop for major league baseball (including an on-line swap shop for goodies; maybe I can find that Brooklyn Dodgers jacket I've been coveting!) I can't tell if David is swinging from the right side, or the left side of the plate, but who cares! Do you or don't you like the designated hitter rule, David? Out with it!!! Anyway, welcome to our first pure sports blog...a good thing. Blog of the Moderate Leftis the work of blogger Jeff Fecke, a web designer from Minnesota who describes himself as a radical moderate. No, no, no, Jeff, you are a moderate lefty, the single smartest political leaning you can have (because it’s the one I currently hold). He muses on matters musical, Minnesota and otherwise major in an amusing (though moderate) manner. This blog goes down smoooooothhhhh... Bin Gregory Productionsis the work of Bin Gregory, a "how I say", American Anglo who has converted to Islam, and has now moved to Malaysia where he has lived for ten years (he has an interesting chart paralleling himself and "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh). The posts are a fascinating blend of matters Islam, matters Malaysia, and just matters Bin Gregory. The blog has an extensive Islamic resource links section, and limited blogroll and other links of interest. Boyntona wry writerly blog from a female blogger based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Boynton is the name of a minor character in the Shirley Temple film "Our Little Girl". The blog strays from the strictly "political" (actually, politics appears NOT to be one of the literary themes); the blog is like a literary wind-up clock, spring after spring uncoiling slowly, brilliantly, on different themes, seemingly unconnected, until one ponders the grand plan. Body and Soulis the work of that patron saint of lefty blogging, Jeanne D'Arc. The posts are thoughtful, and lefty (hell, she occasional drifts to the left of ME!), and entertaining, and did I mention, lefty? The tagline is "Thoughts on the body politic, the human soul, Billie Holiday songs (and other people's) -- with a lot more questions than answers". The blogroll is, well, left-leaning (with an excellent resource links section). This is a popular blog, with good reason. Bo Cowgill is a student at Stanford; his blog is eclectic, with a sorta politically conservative bend, with discussions of the goings on at Stanford, as well as the rest of the universe. Bo has an extensive and interesting blog roll, that flows on both sides of his blog. Blue Goldfish Cafeis the work of Gene Van Der Bosch, and the attempt is to make a blog discussion comparable to discussions over coffee at a cafe. Gene seems to be a bit "pro war", but we won't hold that against him, at this interesting site we would put as somewhere on the "right" side of the aisle. Blog JunkyOregon-based bloggers Mark (and Chimera?) tell us the blog is for the political omnivore, and that's not a bad description for a blog that's apparently pro-war, Bush skeptical, and all around amusing. The compact blogroll features lefties, righties, HARD righties (LGF and that OTHER Rottweiler), Oregon bloggers and other (of which TD's blog directory has made the cut). Be careful, this blog might be addictive. The Blog of Xanaduis the work of blogger J. Fielek, and features what appears to be a white bichon/yorkie on its masthead (you better like that breed, big guy, even if you insist that Beamer there is a "mutt"). This is an "amusing rightie"; B of X goes for shorter posts with lots of links, and amusing shtick such as "Why do Dictators Get all the Dates?" (a reference to a German beauty queen's desire to "go out" with Saddam, "for peace"). A blog as playful as the cute doggie on the masthead... but it might bite. Bag and Baggageis the serious legal blog of California lawyer Denise Howell. Serious discussions of the legal business, some cases, legal bloggers, and related matters are undertaken. Personally, I could never put up a blog as serious as this, but my vocational profile (Marxist guerrilla) was deemed "not practical" (especially since I never liked Marxism, and was too attached to shaving) so I went to law school. Denise, who thanks in part to her blog, and I suppose to her intellectual property practice, pulls it off with panache. Beautiful Horizonsis the project of blogger Randy Paul, another one of them "reasonable lib'ruls" that seem to be crawling all over the dog run. Randy has a focus on things Latin America, particular Brazil, as I think there is a special someone in his life from that part of the world. Balaganis the work of the lovely Retatinha, an immigrant to Israel from Brazil. Retatinha blogs in English, though her native tongue is Portuguese and she is learning Hebrew. Quite engaging, as we learn significant details of life in Israel, and her own life. CCursoris less a blog than a multi-contributor site exploring the links between media and society. It has a national and a Twin Cities edition, and it has extensive links (leaning to the "progressive"), and it has innumerable posts contributed from numerous sources, again, in what I would call a "progressive" view of the news. Casus Belli is the work of Columbia University political science grad student and instructor Paul MacDonald, whose international relations specialty would doubtless have led me to him in my day at the old Alma Mater, if it were 20 years ago, and I not substantially OLDER than Paul! A relatively short blogroll hits some of the bigger lefties. The commentary, though as thorough as one would expect from a professional academic, is crisp and presented directly. Though arguably "left-leaning", Paul's approach is more pragmatic (as is his apparent opposition to the coming war). The Administration could learn a thing or two reading this guy. Cold Furyis the work of angry blogger Mike Hendrix (who is also a web designer instrumental in the work of several other bloggers). I might describe this blog's views as rightist, or libertarian, but I'll just say "angry". Colby Coshof Edmonton brings us the " Golden Treasury of Colby Coshery" — wit, Canadian and international politics, Canadian football, goings on in the life of Colby Cosh...just...great...stuff...all...the...time...damnit! Cinderella Bloggerfellais, I believe, a UK-based blogger with a fascinating focus on matters Eastern and Central European. C.B. has a sophisticated sense of humour, and a sophisticated sense of the big picture. The blogroll features lots of similar (sophisticated and witty) bloggers, and has a European news resource section (including foreign language sources). Chip Tijuanacomes at you from NORTH of the border. Chip is an Ottawa-based artist now working for the Ontario government, who tells us he is "left o'center" and anti-war, God bless him. Chip takes us on a random walk through politics and culture, and has a "link of the day" section which is, well, that. Carl With a K "political hipster, urban socialite", tells us he may live in Hollywood, but is no starving waiter, is the work of KARL (get it?), who tells us he is a political professional (like that OTHER Karl), 25 or thereabouts, and gives us, well, progressive politics (Karl likes Howard Dean), and more progressive politics. A proud member of the vast left wing conspiracy from the Left Coast (blogroll to match). CounterRevolutionaryis an eponymous, pseudonymous, well, a classic pinko-hating, red-blooded American original. I haven't encountered the offensive term "anti-idiotarian"; when you want a decent justification for the actions of the party in power (of the kind THEY are too busy lying to give you), check out the CounterRevolutionary. Captain Scott's Electric Love Bunkeris the work of LA blogger Scott Ganz. Scott is self-described as a pro-war liberal Democrat, although the blog, for the most part, is about culture, particularly the entertainment biz, which one gets the feeling Captain Scott is a part of [it turns out that he has kin in the screenwriting business]. Scott calls himself "the most envied man in the blogosphere" referring to his pending marriage to Asparagirl [which see, above]. Intriguing, and worth your attention. Steven Chapman,formerly known as Daddy War Blogs, is a UK based blogger, with a distinctly "Blair-skeptical", libertarian, anti-gun control, pro-Israel, Euro-skeptical...mad freaking genius. The blog features periodic caption contests, a lively discussion board often polluted by (among others, me) and awesome sarcasm and wit I usually wish I thought of first. Crabby Says is the work of Crabby, a Torontonian blogger (I guess) who mixes details of her life (including her self-deprecating humor) and her poetry for a most interesting personal log/blog. Her tagline: Because I said so. She would have a future in American politics, would that she lived here. Counterspin Centralis the work of wild and crazy, bomb-throwing lefty the pseudonymous blogger Hesiod Theogeny. No punches are pulled, and the posts are, ahem, punchy, to the point and appropriately biased (the way I like it!) The blogroll is surprisingly concise for as bigtime a blog as this, but it leans solidly to the left. Charles Murtaugh's eponymous blogis classic lefty tour de force. Charles is, if I'm not mistaken, a faculty member of the Kremlin ON the Charles, and gives us the best of its lefty traditions, without the idiocy of leftist academics. Catallaxy Filesis the multi-party work (spearheaded and principally contributed to) by Sydney, Australia economist Jason Soon, with "guest bloggers" Heath Gibson, Jack Strocchi, Andrew Norton, Teresa Fels, and Charles, all of down unda'. The posts are quite interesting, with some "blog-world" references, and a lot of Australia-related matters, and of course, general politics. Jason tells us that the orientation of the site is from left-liberal to moderate libertarian, and the word 'catallaxy' is a Greek coinage-term revived by the classical liberal meaning roughly 'to turn an enemy into a friend by trade' . I note that a couple of posters on the site took the "How Republican are you?" test and came up as moderate liberals. [BTW, on that test, I came up as "0%" Republican — a saint — and Mother Teresa's picture popped up]. Well, G'day to Catallaxy Files, a welcome and interesting addition. Capital Influxis the work of New York area blogger Elizabeth Spiers. This is an eclectic and hip blog from a contributor to several blogs, including New York's "Gawker" and Gene Expression. Elizabeth is a proud graduate of Duke where she studied political science, and the political commentary is always well-reasoned; there is much discussion of matters of the current scene. Calpunditis the handiwork of Orange County LIBERAL (there's more than one) Kevin Drum. Calpundit is one of the most cited bloggers on the left side of the line, and his posts are well reasoned, well documented, and well, damned good. Jeff Cooper's Cooped Upis an interesting "bouquet" of subjects. Jeff is a law professor at Indiana University, and his subjects range from law, to politics (sorta lefty-moderate, I suppose), to wine and wine tasting, to matters personal. A blog that's smooth on the palate. DDe Spectaculisis the work of Boston area blogger Martial, who tag-names his spanking brand new blog (sporting a Roman theme) "throwing myself to the lions". Martial appears to join the ranks of us moderate, pragmatic liberal types, who want to dig deeper into what the &^%$ is going on out there. (I especially enjoyed Martial's take on France: for whatever reason, France was the ORIGINAL and longest standing ally of this country, and yet, somehow, Americans insist that everything is about CURRENT quid pro quos and paybacks, thus, since France has never properly paid us obeisance for Normandy, its current stance vis a vis Iraq makes it somehow a moral welcher on a debt.) It will be a joy to watch this puppy site as it grows up. Daily Kosis a blogging deity of progressive political blogging (after an extensive lefty blogroll listing, there is one — ONE! — righty blogger); the site features the electoral college calculator, perpetual polling data, and hard-hitting daily assaults on our power structure. This is a major, high traffic blog, for damned good reason... Defense and the National Interestis not exactly a blog (and I am not even sure who else in the blogosphere, if anyone, links to it). It’s the work of military analyst Chuck Spinney, largely drawing on the work of the late Col. John R. Boyd on the development (and need to consider) "Fourth Generation Warfare", or, in other words, to drop the idea of warfare from either the Napoleonic era or even the Cold War, and move to a literal new generation of warfare, involving more mobile, flexible weapons, tactics and soldiers. The site is loaded with military technical details, and it is extremely critical of our current government, from the perspective of career fighting personnel. Dodgeblogis the former product of an American ex-pat living in the UK and working as a Tory Party activist, Andrew Ian Dodge. The site has been dormant since November, and Mr. Dodge's blogging activities have been merged into (fellow dog run member) Sasha Castel, who Mr. Dodge recently married. Accordingly, much as it pains us to do so, but for the only reason we tend to do so (extinction), we will be retiring the link to Dodgeblog. Democratic Veteran the work of blogger Jo Fish (not, that is NOT a game to be played with your new deck of Iraqi-villain playing cards...or is it?) who, is a veteran of the United States Navy and used to reside in sunny San Diego [now much-less-sunny Ohio], on the Left Coast, and except for two links, has a blogroll (which is cleverly called the Fish Pond!) devoted to us political feller' travelers. The posts convey the appropriate tone of righteous indignation and moral outrage — not quite bomb throwing — but compelling and passionate, dare I say it, persuasive even... Dissecting Leftismis the work of Aussie blogger John Ray. He don't mess around: he takes on leftism, which does not NECESSARILY mean the likes of me and my kind, but (at least according to periodic e-mails from John) may include Communist China and the sorta nutsy leftists that believe Bolshevism is the answer to everything. Or it MIGHT include me and my kind. John is a hawk, of course, in favor of the coming war, and writes in an energetic and well-spirited tone. Doxagorais the work of the mysterious "Watchful Babbler" — and this is one erudite babbler! The Tolstoy quote at the beginning is just a hint of the well-reasoned commentary in this blog (which I guess is "vaguely to the left"). The blogroll is well-organized into categories such as law and philosophy. Doc Searlseponymous weblog is the ORIGINAL tech blog, with numerous technical details about blogging, computers, and other super cool tech stuff. The Doc refers to himself as "of the left", though the blog does not devote all that much time and space to matters political on its homepage...though in the discussions... The Doc is senior editor of Linux Journal, and a writer, speaker, PR man, and all around bon vivant! As noted, there is an extensive discussion group thing going as well. The Doc is...IN! EErnie the Attorneyis the work of New Orleans attorney Ernie Svenson. Ernie discusses legal and technical issues. Ernie has a fabulously extensive collection of "blawgs", or legal related blogs (of which this is one, in the sense that it is written by a lawyer). Indeed, Ernie's blog makes such a good impression, I have recommended him to a colleague who needed to hire a lawyer in Louisiana. Electroliteis the work of Park Slope, Brooklyn's own Patrick Nielsen Hayden, a science fiction writer and publisher. Patrick's wife Theresa Nielsen Hayden is also an important blogger in her own right. Electrolite is in the best of the New York liberal tradition: smart and witty, covering politics, culture, the sci fi biz, and whatever Patrick wants to talk about. Ezra Kleinis the eponymous blog of a young lad from Orange County, California who has gone North to pursue his education at U.C. Santa Cruz. Man, the amusement pier, the ocean, the nice weather... OK, I'm jealous. Ezra is one of them thoughtful lefty guys, his still-evolving blogroll hits many of the big lefties (and some other notables not YET in the dog run...). The posts are mostly reasonable diatribes against the standing order (such as...all three branches of our government; not enough bloggers are willing to go after the Supreme Court; Ezra has NO PROBLEM.) A promising newcomer blog...we look forward to great things from the left coast! Ex-Pat Eggheadis the work of Britisher-living-in-Israel Adrian. Another personal perspective on life in that nation, this time from a sorta lefty sorta academic's perspective (I believe Adrian works in the technical sciences). Anyway, engaging reading. Eve Tushnet's Eponymous Blogis the work of that Washington, DC based freelance writer and Yale graduate whose "contests" were pretty much the first time your TD managed to be linked by a major blog (and Eve's is a major blog). Eve is what you might call "conservative", or perhaps "objectivist"; she has a number of her occasionally updated blogs listed. She is a relatively recent convert to Catholicism, and it is a favorite discussion of hers. Do not expect to hop in and out: Eve often posts very long missives, as well as extensive "fan mail". The Edge of England's Swordis the work of British-ex-pat-living-in-DC (I think!) Iain Murray, a poltical policy analyst now in between jobs, as he joins the ranks of those "fired for blogging". Iain's positions are well-thought out "Euro-skeptical”, a bit to the right if you ask me, though never unreasonable. Iain often contributes to other blogs; I remember distinctly a guest spot he did on the Volokh Conspiracy at one time. The commentary is smart and crisp. Electronic Intifadais the work of a consortium of Palestinian bloggers, and is your one-stop shop for resistance to the brutal occupation of the Zionist entity. Reports from actual Palestinians living in the territories, from Palestinians and others living abroad, media resources-- its quite the endeavor (its a 501(c)(3) based in Chicago, evidently). FThe Fat Guyis the work of Texas blogger, computer maven, and campground operator Scott Chaffin, who assures us he is not a pundit, just a guy writing about food, music, books and tractors, and when you get right down to it, throw in a little "tech-blogging", a little right-o'-center politics (not as far right in the posts as in the blogroll, by my highly skewed methods of observation) and a whole lotta da' fat guy (who, if his photo is to believed, isn't even particularly fat). The fat guy often asks aloud why he continues blogging: because you're a darned good writer, Scott, and doggone it, people like you! Flitis the work of Toronto blogger Bruce R., and is, a well-written, hard-hitting, humorous, and interestingly eclectic blog; positions seem to be Bush-skeptical, pro-Israel, pro-the-War, with a wide net cast. Also, befitting something with a title "flit", posts are short and manageable to read. Farid Lancherosand his blog "Somewhere Over the Brooklyn Bridge" is, I believe other than Electrolite, the only other Brooklyn blog (I know of) on the entire dog run. Farid purports to be of multiple heritage, including Colombian and Palestinian (I believe he's a practicing Muslim). Farid's is a walk through life in the City, through his life, and occasional forays into the very mildly political. Funny FarmFunny Farm is the multi-media, multi-color work of blogger Tom, from the beautiful Detroit area. Tom tells us he is a computer programmer, and leans (ahem) to the left (as does his blogroll... as does, well.. ); the site tagline is "Adventures of a Basic Force For Good in Our TimeTM ". The posts are witty, and give nice detailed positions on topics popular and topics more obscure, and man... those pictures! Look out for features, like featured blogs. (Tom and I have been trading Haikus on the busybusybusy comments for some time...) Well, read it-- if you like your liberalism a tad humorous. Because we all know that all the funny people are liberals. Free Pieis the work of blogger (and cellist?) extraordinaire Kim Osterwalder, and makes its (brilliant, i.e. lefty-progressive) point with words, pictures, comics and whatever else will do the job. The site features an extensive book and other media link resources section, and a left-leaning blog roll. Fontenelles - Palestinian Archiveis the work of blogger David Dugan, with numerous links to those sympathetic to the Palestinian cause (a healthy Robert Fisk section comes to mind) and other sources and endless discussions of the excesses of Israeli occupation. David Dugan doesn't SOUND like a Palestinian name, but who knows. Fighting with Grabes is the work of Brooklyn's own (via Boston) John-Paul Pagano, who is (I guess) employed in the computer industry and tells us he is an ex-jazz musician. The blog is John-Paul's political "working out"; he describes himself as a "recovering liberal", and if he is sincere in his posts, he is clearly at Step 11 or 12. Be it bashing Barbra (thanks to John Paul, you too can click over and see her blog!), or plain old warmongering, John-Paul gives us an energetic justification of what the people in power are doing. You go, John-Paul! Although John-Paul tells us he is a cat person... Farrellbloggeris yet another blog from new blog superpower, Ontario. From U. of Toronto political economist Henry Farrell and Maria Farrell, we get a thinking person's blog, mixing political thought, background, philosophical and literary matters, as well as popular culture. The blog is politely lefty-progressive, with a nice left leaning blogroll, including a section devoted to academic bloggers (of whom there are several). Food for Thought is the delicious intellectual and political banquet served up by MC Masterchef, and is a relatively recent addition to the blog world menu. The food world conceit is just the appetizer for deliciously laid out political commentary that seems to geared to my peculiar culinary-political tastes. Nice links section to fellow travelers, AND various do-gooder orgs. GGrasshoppais the work of Geoff Meltzner, a (student?) blogger based at some technical school in Cambridge, Mass. Geoff is, at times, all Israel all the time (you go, bubbelah), and at other times, is a "euro-skeptic, moderate kinda rightie". A decently eclectic blogroll is consistent with the blogging, which is that combination of reasonable, yet bad-ass, that I find so appealing. Gut Rumblesis the work of Rob a/k/a Acidman. For those who like their bad-ass right wing politics poignant and FUNNY, go right here. You have found what you are looking for! IF you want to read OTHER right wing blogs, Acidman gives you a pretty definitive list of those too. Glenn Reynolds.comis the blogging-labor-for-money version of the musings of peripatetic super-blogger Glenn Reynolds, who by profession is a law professor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, but we all know is "Instapundit", and how could he POSSIBLY have time for anything else, what with his 20-30 times DAILY updates to his blog, and his uncanny knowledge of virtually everything said on thousands, upon thousands of blogs. GR.Com, on the MSNBC family of blogs, is less "formidable" than Instapundit, and has a lot more "reader feedback", than Instapundit. It also has a much smaller set of links (Instapundit has over 200, I believe). Glenn purports to be a libertarian (and he loves to post things like "Store clerk John X. of Somewhere shot and killed a would be robber today, using his .357 magnum that he keeps under the cash register, way to go John!). But Glenn is NOT a libertarian. He is a conservative. Not that there's anything wrong with that. He is also regarded as the king of blogdom. Gene Healy.Com is the eponymous blog of Gene Healy, a D.C. area lawyer-working-for-a-think-tank who tells us, and SHOWS US, that he is a bad-ass, all-the-way libertarian, not the "neo-lib" Randian, not the "the free market is neither free nor fair enough to rule out serious governmental intervention libertarian" stuff you get, well, HERE. No, Gene's the real thing, and the posts reflect it, in an amusing, intriguing, at times even self-effacing way. Compact blogroll leans to similar thinkers. Gedankenpunditis the work of Seattle area blogger Solly Ezekiel. Solly is what I would call a pro-Israel moderate, with some slightly rightist urges (he's pretty hawkish on Iraq, for example). Interesting politics mixed with culture and personal detail ( and a big mazel tov on Solly's new baby boy Eli!) Gunters Gebloggeris (or was) the personal weblog and musings and ramblings of some guy in Germany named Gunter. The trick here is that Gunter blogs in German, and I don't speak or read German. No one wrote in to complain that Gunter was writing anything untoward, and the German words I knew (coupled with the context I could make up, based on recollections of my grandparents’ Yiddish) showed me that Gunter was just some guy, commenting on his life! Still... Sadly, Gunter appears to have gone dormant, which, as you know, is pretty much the only reason I "de-list" blogs, so we will be retiring Gunter's link. Groupthink Centralis the work of blogger Yuval Rubinstein. This is a thoughtful blog bouncing around (as does a certain blog with which you're probably familiar) between matters involving Israel and politics and other issues here. The commentary is crisp, skeptical-left-leaning (Yuval is one of them "free-thinkin' types"), and the blogroll compact, featuring some "quality" lefties and others. Granny RantGranny Rant is a long overdue addition to our dog run. Granny Rant is the work of rural East Tennessee's own Granny, J.T., who takes on the tough ones, and urges all readers to "Adjust your TinFoil Bonnets, Granny is on a Rant". This is no partisan lefty blog... in fact, I'm pretty sure Granny is a registered independent... but our world now is so ferkacht that just pointing out what is actually going on in it often makes one appear to be out of their mind. I have a long-running correspondence with J.T., no holds barred... and its invariably solid gold... gold, I tell you! And most of the gold ends up in the blog... even more out there than I am... (because its not "are you paranoid?"; its "are you paranoid enough?") Anyway, Granny's blog is a proud member of the Rocky Top Brigade, and Granny has introduced me to many other great blogs... yes, another one for which I regret having retired the "Top Dog" designation. TD Designation: Great Dane
Grammar Policecomes to us from Austin, TX based blogger Kriston (that's a male name in this case), who proudly takes his place at the podium of the vast left wing conspiracy. GP links to the goodies (nice, short, lefty blogroll, formatted on TOP of the blog, for now), and promises to be yet another smart voice for the good guys. Goblin Queenwho, by the tenor of her site, has an interesting approach to the world. Right or left seems far less relevant than, shall we say, other directional adjectives. The Goblin Queen's blogroll features many of the leading lefties, though reasoned discussions from righties are also present, in what I would call a "balanced" approach. Katie appears to be a fellow New Yorker, and is an exciting new addition to the dog run. Get Donkeycomes to us from Houston area blogger (and computer maven) Rob Humenik, and keeps coming at us, with lefty bon mots, and that pleasant lib-lib (liberal libertarian) aura wafting over the blog. The blogroll is lengthy, and...listing left. Taglined "The Big Lots! of blog punditry", come down and get your Texas sized portions of blog wit and wisdom! Genoan Sailoris the work of Kevin, Steve and Anthony from seafaring Columbus, Ohio. More amusing generally left-leaning takes on life, the universe and everything. These guys cover some interesting topics, and have an excellent "bipartisan" blogroll. Gail On Lineis the handiwork of Arizona based blogger and lawyer (I'm pretty sure she's a lawyer) Gail Davis [Gail writes in to set the record straight; she has her own business, after working as a systems analyst and banking executive, she is NOT, repeat, NOT, an attorney]. Gail has a unique daily layout to her blog (with a desert adobe colored background!) with interesting citations and links (just like a lawyer!) and a "two dimensional" blogroll at the end. The commentary is "thoughtful liberal", and Gail goes for many interesting juxtapositions. The Green[e]house Effectis the work of Georgia based blogger Greg Greene. Greg appears to be a high-powered lawyer and lobbyist working the Georgia state government beat. His commentary is 99 mile an hour lefty fastballs. The blogroll, well, the same. Greg also gives us compelling details of his personal life, making this not just interesting and entertaining reading, but clearly, the work of a courageous man (who I'm amazed finds the time and energy to do this). HThe Hamsterwhich tells us it brings us the best of the progressive web, is the project of GWU freshman (that can't be right!) Eric Hananoki. Eric tells us he has written for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and other publications. The "blog" is sort of a round-up of web articles from various sources, as Eric thoroughly explores the given topic at hand. It’s sort of like Instapundit in the sense of a "round-up" of matters progressive from the blog world, but with more value added (by Eric). The link resources, including the big lefty blogs, include an amazing assortment of political and other chazurai. This is an important "one stop shop" for your progressive political needs. The Head Heebis the work of an Israel-obsessed New York lawyer (haven't seen one of those!) named Jonathan Edelstein; he derived his blog's name from service in New York's Army National Guard, where he was only one of two Jews (the other being a Hasidic rabbi and the Jewish chaplain; the rabbi dubbed Jonathan the "Head Heeb"). Jonathan gives us seemingly "insider details" of Israeli politics (he calls the Labor Party "Avodah" — its Hebrew name — pretty inside stuff to me!); he also bounces around subjects Africa and other interesting parts of the world, again, from a detailed, almost "insider" perspective. Details, details, Jonathan gives 'em! Hawspipeis the work of blogger Lawrence Haws, who I believe is a Chicago-area ex-navy man. His is an appropriately patriotic perspective, supportive of our government, and highly critical of the more idiotic realms of lefty thought. It’s good to see that Lawrence has taken to more regular posting of late, as regularly seeing others confident of our government and its actions is comforting. Hatleyis the work of Houston blogger (and photographer, and a good one, if his site be any guide) Michael Hatley. Michael is a computer maven and ex-infantryman, now in college, happily married to his second wife (his first marriage to his ex-wife, Bitch — good dog name — didn't work out). Michael's blog comments on the events of the day and his life in measured tones, I would guess progressive, but skeptical, a fascinatingly grown up way to look at the world, not always found in blogging. The blogroll leans left, but is fair and balanced (assuming anyone can say that anymore with a straight face). How Appealingis the work of Philadelphia lawyer Howard Bashman. Howard covers just about every appellate case in the United States, and numerous other subjects of relevance to law and politics and culture. His net is a wide one, the posts are often long, the blogroll is huge. Howard is THOROUGH. Again, Howard makes me jealous because, unlike me, there are people who are well-suited to my profession — and he's one of them. This is a serious blog for students of law and politics, as well as legal professionals. The Hillbilly Sophisticateis the work of the mysterious "S.", (I can't even tell if "S." is a man or a woman [though in response to my original post, S. revealed that she is a woman, and that the origin of the site's name is her resentment of a local clothier called "the petite sophisticate]). The tagline of the blog is "A dose of sarcasm and venom from the tranquil hills of West Virginia". We get details of West Virginia life and politics, and a view on the world I would describe as amusingly snarky — from a fresh perspective that's, well, homey, yet sophisiticated! High Desert Skepticis a brand new blog by Roger, who I'm guessing lives in the high desert (which usually means somewhere in the Far West). Roger has assembled a group of lefty superstars on his blogroll (including...you know who), and his posts are pure southpaw high heat (what else would you expect?). Roger is a fireballer, and he hits the strike zone consistently. Hasidic Rebel is the work of pseudonymous blogger Rebel, who has been described as a Hasidic version of Salam Pax in the sense that he is a dissenter from the community at large (although the Hasidic community is much less likely to throw the rebel into an airless dungeon and torture and/or execute him, but you get the idea). The posts are a fascinating insight into a community that most of us have little insight into. A short blogroll features mostly Jewish bloggers (including one in Yiddish). Haggai's Placeis the work of blogger Haggai, “a graduate student in mathematics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor; born in Israel, raised in Kentucky, movie fanatic and sports nut,” is an entertaining blogging tour de force discussing, not surprisingly, Israeli politics, American politics (slightly rightie, though Haggai tells us he is a lefty), Kentucky Wildcats basketball and math. Hullabaloois the work of mysterious blogger Digby. Digby is another one of them bad ass liberals I seem to like so much. Digby is a blogger I often dueled with on Matt Yglesias' comments board (to the extent one can duel with a fellow traveler!) Digby's blogroll is a who's who of progressive bloggers — his commentary is witty, nasty — what can I say? IInner Balanceis the work of Israeli blogger Ilana, and it has an almost poetic feel to it, as Ilana describes life (in Israel), the universe and everything. Pictures abound (such as "root for our favorite IDF troops" — with pictures of, well, female IDF troops), and charming personal details. Insolvent Republic of Blogistanis the work of (New Jersey?) blogger Justin Slotman. This is a melange of a potpourri of a mixed bag — sports, comics, food, politics (I guess Justin is a sorta "rightie", though this does not seem to be his primary agenda)... You name it, if it interests Justin, he blogs about it — and in an engaging (and entertaining) manner, at that. Interesting Monstahis the super cool (and super cool-looking) blog of mysterious (California based?) blogger Laura. The site is further to the left than, well I am (right on, sistuh!). The blogroll consists of lots of cool sites, many of which I don't recognize, and a religion section, among other things. Interesting is indeed an appropriate word. Word! Instapunditis the "for the love of blogging" blog of UT Law Professor Glenn Reynolds (already profiled in Glenn Reynolds.com, above). This is it: the Grand Central Station of bloggerville — how Glenn manages to keep on top of thousands of blogs (he even once mentioned the TD!), and still spit out dozens of posts A DAY, and STILL do his "for pay blog", his Tech Central Station columns, AND books, I understand, AND still manage to have a professorship and a wife and child...Huh! Innocents Abroadis the combined work of bloggers Jacob Golbitz, Collin May, John Coumarianos, who I understand are based in both Europe and North America, and comes to us along with Lileks (with thanks to Zach Barbera of Voice from the Commonwealth) as a "highly recommended conservative blog" (hence the "red" designation on the dog run on the home page, as well as here.) The blogroll leans heavy to starboard, as does the commentary. There are some interesting discussions of goings on Europe and financial, and of course, we have political discussion (not surprisingly, pro-Bush). It is an interesting perspective, though again, worthy of attention. Ipse Dixitis the work of blogger C.D. Harris, who, I am advised, is from Louisville. He appears to be an attorney (from his use of obscure Latin legalisms, like...ipse dixit!) and links to a group of attorney-bloggers, as well as the leading lights of righty-blogs. The posts are, well, hard-hitting (there is an Oakland Raiders logo on the homepage!). C.D. is no lap dog, he criticizes the errors of our current government as he sees them too, so, there you go!!! Inappropriate Responsecomes to us from Oregon blogger Moira Breen; I can't tell if Moira Breen is a groovy granola liberal, or just an extremely practical and sensible moderate, or what. Moira gets into many topics, including those of both regional and universal relevance, as well as mixing in details of her own existence (a classic weblog!). She has an interestingly categorized blogroll — by names of BLOGGERS, rather than by names of blogs. Moira was an early linker to the TD, and I'm glad to see her back in more or less regular blogging, as she is entertaining and informative. The Invisible Handis the work of New York blogger Philip Murphy, who tells us that his blog will give us "Vital Information About Euro-snobbery, Islamofascism, and Lousy Modern Architecture". Philip describes his politics as "neo-con", though he spends a fair amount of time blogging political issues and plain old straight Euro-bashing (everyone on the American political spectrum can agree at least on THAT!) Ignatzis the work of DC lawyer Sam Heldman (via Alabama). Sam is, well, a bomb throwing liberal, who, in my favorite rhetorical style, pulls no punches. He blogs on topics political and legal and Alabama — including Alabama law, in a punchy, hard hitting way. Icicle Fief: Home of The Ice Queencomes to us from another Anglospherica provincial capital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This is the extremely amusing work of blogger Susan, who tells of characters named Boomer, and her son, the Ice Prince, and others, as Susan takes us on a random walk around her life, her musings, popular culture, lists of amusing things and amusing questions. Inn of the Last Homecomes to us from Tennessee blogger Barry (Tennessee, the superpower of the blog world, probably because Al Gore invented the Internet). Barry gives us a healthy link section to the Rocky Top Brigade (other Tennessee bloggers) and a few others, mostly righties...and me! The commentary bounces around from matters Tennessee (and Knoxville) to matters national and matters war and peace, and though the perspective is indistinguishably right wing, though in a down-home style that makes it all a little less unpalatable. Israpunditis a tour de force group effort on all things Israel. The articles are hard hitting, and it is hard to imagine a better "one stop shop" for matters Israeli. Israeli Guyis the work of Israeli blogger Gil Shterzer, who recently came off a blogging hiatus (Gil was missed). There's the requisite poltiical stuff, of a "moderate" bent. But call it gallows humor, or call it something else, Gil is just a funny man. There are pics, there are jokes, there's political commentary...the Israeli guy, ladies and gentlemen, he'll be here all week. Isntapundit(sounds like the work of that peripatetic law professor, no? we made that mistake once!) is the work of Oregon blogger "Dipnut". I guess Dipnut can be classified as a "rightie". I'm not really sure he can be classified as much of anything, except an over the top, in your face blogger. You da' nut! Interesting Times is the work of blogger Chris, and has as its tagline that famous Chinese curse that I am so fond of. Chris does not disappoint, with passionate posts reminiscent of campus activism supporting power to the people and standing up to the man; the blogroll is duly reflective of the left. Interesting reading... In Contextis the work of blogger Lynn B.; she spends a great deal of time on matters Israel, and has a links section devoted to Israel and Jewish subjects. Lynn is devoted to the Jewish state, and let's say, more likely to be deemed a Likudnik than I, though I agree with most of her assessments of the world. Her other political stances appear to be moderate to slightly righty, but there you go. Interesting reading on one of my favorite subjects, of course. IMAOis the work of blogger Frank J. Frank is one of them righties, but he is a laugh riot. No political topic is too sacred for the "dumb smart guy", and while I don't necessary agree with much of what Frank says, I think I can agree that this is one entertaining blogger. The Inland Anti-Empirecomes to us from California blogger Kynn, who tells it like it is from Southwest Riverside County. All politics is local, and Kynn does a brilliant job interweaving the local goings on in his particular slice of inland California, with the major national and international trends of the day. Kynn provides extensive local net resources, and a compact blogroll of fellow travelers. I'm told Kynn will soon be adding a companion site, and we'll watch out for it. The Illuminated Donkey(or "the Donk") is the work of Jersey CIty's own Ken Goldstein (actually, Kenny's lived in many places in New Jersey). This is, somewhat unusually for the dog run, not so much a political blog, as an eclectic cultural and blogging pastiche; the Donk has games with prizes (blog poker; rewards for milestone hits, etc.) and discusses music, culture, pizza-- you name it. Ken is a computer programmer and copywriter by trade, and he inserts many interesting visual effects on the blog. JJewschool is the work of blogger Mobius, and is a tour de force of matters of interest to modern Jewry, including resurgent anti-Semitism, Zionism and Jewish educational issues. The links section includes educational and informational resources, rather than blogs, and is worth a look. Well written detail in the professional looking website. Juniusis the work of superstar blogger Chris Bertram, a senior philosophy lecturer at the UK's U. of Bristol. Chris' tagline is "Egalitarian liberalism, some philosophy, some culture, and, with luck and judgement, no bullshit". I can't sum up the blog better; the compact blogroll leans left, the posts are well-reasoned and lean, well, left. KThe Kolkata Libertarianis the opus of Suman Palit, whose tag line is: from the banks of the Ganges, to a treestand in Illinois...defending freedom with a pen and a .357 Magnum. Suman is what Glenn Reynolds only SAYS he is: a genuine, patriotic American (via India) lover of liberty. The posts are to the right of, well, me, but I don't care! This is sincere libertarianism and conservatism in the best sense of the word. The blogroll is extensive, with many South Asian sources as well as blogosphere standbys. Kieran Healy's Weblogis the work of one Kieran Healy, a sociology professor at the University of Arizona. Kieran is, I believe, an Irish national, and has the wit and the gab and the poetry and the empirical details and evidence and all the other laudatory things I can say apropos of same. The site is partisan lefty (and the blogroll reflects that), and Kieran will drift into cute barbs, and waxes poetic...good stuff, and well said. Kausfilesis the seminal work of now Beverly Hills-based blogging superstar Mickey Kaus. Now writing for MSN's Slate (making Mickey an employee of Bill Gates', I suppose), Mickey rails against moderate lefties, while cutting slack to the extreme right, while hypothesizing that Atrios is none other than Sidney Blumenthal (a man I can hate no matter WHICH pseudonymous website he haunts, BTW). Mickey is a great writer, with usually dead-on opinions and observations rarely made elsewhere; his famous shtick is welfare reform, and how "well" it has worked out (before Dubya, Mick baby!) Anyway, not AN important blog, THE important blog (and Mickey's single column run on, the model for the TD's format). Kiwi Punditcomes to us live from blogger Nigel Kearney of...Wellington, New Zealand. The repartee is witty; there is a New Zealand links section, and some major league bloggers (somehow, Nigel has put me there); the discussion is pithy, often involving New Zealand, often of general interest to the blogosphere as well. There are philosophical-related links as well. This is a relatively new blog, and I think it’s cool to welcome this particular perspective to the links...Nigel reports that dog control is now a big issue in his town (NZ's capital), and that he has a favorite dog (Nigel is a wise man). LRachel Lucaseponymous blog is, well, in Rachel's OWN WORDS: "Rachel is a 30-year-old gun-totin' capitalist oppressor college student with two jobs, two dogs, and no kids. If you take offense to that, kiss my ass. Don't mess with Texas, because that's where Rachel lives with John, where they like to make fun of liberals and play with guns." Actually, this is one of the best "truth in advertising" taglines I have seen — the blog is largely just that: "Did you see what this liberal asshole just wrote?" sort of stuff. The blogroll is, naturally, what I consider hard-ass right wing, though, there you go. While not my cup of tea, this is a very popular blog. Steven den Beste links to her. What else can I say? Link Crusaderis simply a list of (now over 250) lefty and Bush-bashing blogs, a list on which many of the blogs in MY blogroll reside, and on which the TD himself romps and roams. Liberal Oasiswhere "The Left is Right, and the Right is Wrong" (Stop right there! How can you NOT LOVE THIS SITE?) is a group effort to restore the good name of liberalism in the post-Dukakis era! The site is a cornucopia of resource links, with selected blog comments of the week, and a floating multifarious (LEFTY!) links section, and articles of relevance. Liberals, wander in the desert no more! Liberal Desertis the work of Arizonan Sam Coppersmith (get a blogroll, Sam, it will help!). Sam fights the good fight from conservative Arizona, and gives us positions of local and universal import, from the right (as in correct, i.e. left) side of the spectrum, and does so with wit and charm. Letter from Gothamis the work of pseudonymous blogger Diane, or Diana Moon. This is a tour de force of matters New York (and Diane's life), and matters Israel and the Middle East (a key part of Diane's blogroll). The politics are well to the right of the Upper West Side, though still not necessarily that far out for the East Side. Still, an often unique and sensible angle to most issues (often of the "I know, but I don't really WANT to know" variety). Lean Leftis the work of blogger Kevin. This tells it like it is: 98 mile-an-hour fastballs, coming at you from the left! The blogroll is extensive and left leaning. The commentary is concise, and left leaning. Late Night Thoughtsis the work of blogger Emma, who tells us that the blog is about "...Books, Photography, Music, and the First Amendment". Translation: it’s a political lefty blog (hence, I LOVE IT!) with a left-leaning blogroll, and interesting and thoughtful forays into matters literary and artistic. Great Stuff! LinkmeisterLinkmeister is the nom de blog of Hawaii's Steve Timberlake, a nice, friendly liberal blogger and linker extraordinaire (Steve, by profession, is a researcher of marketing and internet kinds of things, and often finds links as exotic and interesting as his home state, pictures of which he often puts up as well; Steve tells us he's a navy brat who followed his family around, until ending up in... Oahu. Tough break.) The blogroll comes and goes like the Hawaiian breeze, but lists heavily (but not exclusively) to port. In these compassionate conservative times, its good to see that Steve posts his resume (and other self-marketing items) on the blog. Steve is a frequent commenter here and was a huge help during our (world exclusive!) primary blogbursts... I'm delighted to point his blog out to y'all.
Lincoln Plawgis the work of UK-based blogger John Smith (that might really be his name, you know), and the name is derived from “Politics LAW blog”. John MIGHT BE a lefty, anti-war fellow traveler, God bless him (OR...is he...could he be...a libertarian?...or...does he just THINK about things based on their own merits?) The Lincoln Plawg triggers thought, it does. The blogroll is concise (I'm proud to be on it), and includes standard-bearers of various perspectives. Lileksis the work of Minnesota-based writer James Lileks, who I understand, actually IS a professional writer. The "blog" part of his ambitious site (which also includes interesting miscellaneous chazzurai like old comics and urban planning stuff re: Minneapolis, New York and other places, pictures of "Gnat" and his dog Jasper, who appears to be a yellow lab, though I'm not good at guessing breeds from pictures ) is called the Bleat. Lileks pulls no punches: he is a hard-ass, pro-war, pro-Israel, patriotic American rightie, and makes no bones about it (so nya!) Often, the commentary is outrageously funny, though as frequently, strident. But OF COURSE it’s well-written, people: Lileks is a professional writer! MMind Over What Mattersis the work of New York area blogger (I think) Jay Zilber, and is a wonderfully eclectic collection of things political and personal, and other chazurai. A great blog roll features (presciently) blogs with PET NAMES (of which this is one). Meryl Yourisheponymous blog (a writer, a weblog, her opinions) is the work of Richmond-based (via New Jersey) web designer and writer Meryl Yourish, who is a very popular blogger indeed. Though she purports to be "center-left", the blogroll leans to the right (center-right, of course), and the posts lean, well, hawkishly pro-Israel, and eclectic else-wise, though, well, center something. Humor drifts in there, and Meryl tries to call it as she sees it... Mfinley.comis the work of Minneapolis-St. Paul area blogger Michael Finley. Like you would expect from a Minnesotan, Michael is a reasonable, moderate guy (goes to church, hangs out with his kids) with reasonable moderate politics (he is occasionally outraged by things our government does!). Middle of the road from the middle of the country — and often dead on target. He is also a dog lover, and has written extensively regarding same. Making Lightis the blog of Park Slope Brooklyn's own Teresa Nielsen Hayden, who blog aficionados will immediately recognize as related (by marriage, as well as by business partnership in the sci-fi publishing game) to Patrick Nielsen Hayden, proprietor of the blog Electrolite. Making Light's tagline is "Language, fraud, folly, truth, history, and knitting. Et cetera." While Teresa's politics are compatible with Patrick's (and mine), the blog is, well, less political (though by no means are politics not discussed, deftly and in detail), but matters of language, culture, and other assorted potpourri are discussed as well. The blog roll fits this general potpourri, interesting stuff, of and for interesting people. Myelin: Blogging Ecosystemis simply two lists (500 each) of blogs, based on a computer sweep of inbound and outbound links. Right now, as noted above, your TD is in the top 100 in outbound links, and given the popularity of this blog descriptive directory thing, looks like we're movin' on up... MyDD.comis the work of blogger Jerome Armstrong, and is your one stop shop for matters political from the right (as in correct, meaning left!) side of the political spectrum. His links section gives all the major Democratic candidates, many state political sites and numerous others. J.B. Armstrong does not pull punches, or take prisoners: this is bad-ass main stream lefty politics coming at you. Media Whores Onlineis sort of a blog, and sort of a moving rant and rail against hypocritical journalists (so it says). I added MWO at a time when the great Mickey Kaus of Kausfiles had a urinating contest over his decision to link to Lucianne Goldberg; I simultaneously linked to both MWO and Lucianne (though, Lucianne ceased amusing me and I dropped her from the dog run when we changed formats recently, though MWO is still on!). Though less "bomb throwers" than they once were (and thankfully, less blatantly openly Clintonista), the site is still provocative, nasty and unashamedly biased. Matthew YglesiasPhilosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist... Greenwich Village's own Matt Yglesias is a senior philosophy major at some college in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is a moderate lefty, and is, with limited exception, correct on just about every political, philosophical or other observation he makes on his blog, which also features some of the best comments and commentators in the blog universe (and was the origin of TD's presidential campaign). We understand that Matt is looking for a job after graduation...anybody hiring? You won't be sorry... MadKaneis the work of lawyer and funny woman Madeleine Begun Kane, who has, among other features "Bush's dayly diary", with appropriate misspellings of words like misunderestimate, and collections of legal humor, as well as polite left leaning political commentary. There are no funny lawyers — only funny people who made career mistakes. Mercurialthe work of blogger Camilo, who goes for a slick look, and gives as a tag line, "weighty, fluid, brilliant and toxic". The posts are cryptic, eclectic, shall I say...poetic? The political tone is cool lefty, the blogroll is divided into "Guess Roll" and "Penguin Roll", and the categories are so broad as to be off the chart...one might say that the sensibility is...mercurial... The Moderate VoiceThe Moderate Voice is the work of peripatetic neo-blogger and former journalist Joe Gandelman of San Diego and formerly points exotic with the Christian Science Monitor. Joe is a Connecticut Yankee in King Arnold's Court, and he has put together what he calls "your one stop news source"-- and that's largely true! Joe uses his journalistic sense of what's important for posts that concern the usually most important 5 or 10 events of a given day, which he presents in a legitimately fair and balanced manner (drives me up a wall that Joe actually wants to consider things on their merits before bashing the President!)... Joe also throws in zinging one liners, periodically... Joe occasionally steals a page from this blog with his "blog of the day" (many of which have ended up in the fair and balanced, albeit still nascent, blogroll). Joe now makes his living as a ventriloquist, and entertains the children of the West. I've decided to retire the "top dog" designation, or this blog would be a strong candidate...
Memeufactureis a "meta-blog"; it has some text, but for the most part, it rates various blog categories (such as rightie and lefty politics, various technical details, and of course, law) supposedly in an automated way. It has categories of "most popular" and "most influential", and the players change all the time (though Instapundit seems to always be in there!). Interestingly, this site (the talking dog) was, if I'm not mistaken, the very first site to be rated number one most influential in the law category. For whatever reason, like the original all-Jewish starting line-up of the New York Knicks, I have gone on to be replaced, but there was that shining moment! MaxSpeaksis the product of D.C. area blogger Max Sawicky. Max is another partisan liberal, and puts out what we fellow travelers are hungry to read (to reinforce our own absolute infallibility!) with panache and humor. Max divides his comprehensive blogroll by lefty, righty and libertarian. Come for the Bush bashing, stay for more Bush bashing! Marstonaliais the work of, if I'm not mistaken, State University of NY at Oswego political science professor Brett Marston. Brett seems to be the genuine article — he has a lot of links to journalistic sources IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES — so we know he's serious. The political discussion is amusing, as well as informative. Looks like we got ourselves another crazy left wing intellectual. Dig it. Mark Byronis an eponymous blogger who describes himself as an assistant business professor at an evangelical college in Florida. His blog waxes and wanes between moderate political positions (well-reasoned, of course), and theology; his blog roll is organized on theological lines....remember Mark — Talking spelled frontwards and God spelled backwards... Something's Always Wrong is the manifesto of Boston area writer Jeremy Wahlman. Jeremy mixes current events (political outlook: moderate), sports, popular culture, and interesting events in a mélange that somehow reminds me of...someone...Jeremy has a compact blogroll consisting of people he knows (such as dog run member Steve Silver) and those he doesn't (such as yours truly). I would describe it as... eclectic. Once in a while, it’s nice to find someone without a particular axe to grind (except as to baseball) just giving us a well-written perspective on life, the universe and everything. Man Meets Babycomes to us from J. Fielek of the Blog of Xanadu. The new blog lets us read about the story of the Fieleks' new baby, quite literally as he or she develops. This is the sort of "happy stuff" we'd all like to see more of in the blog world, and I'm damned glad to see it here. Go. Share the joy. NOW! Modulatoris the work of blogger Steve, who moves us along the political scale with a tuneful skill, particularly in the left hand. The blog promises "A gathering of thoughts on life, politics, economics, culture and whatever else I find interesting". Fortunately, Steve finds interesting things interesting, and Steve's writing is also interesting. The "socio-political" blogroll features most of the big lefties and some of the wider-read members of the Dark Side. N"The News, Uncensored"is Israeli blogger Shoshannah's effort. Israeli style, Shoshannah tries to pull no punches, telling like it is, from the unique perspective available to an Israeli blogger. She also has an excellent link resource section. North Georgia Dogmais the manifesto of Ricky West, one of the "house conservatives" on the comment boards of Matt Ygelsias' blog, where I have often done battle and found common ground as well. Kryptonite for lefty supermen! NYC Bloggersorganizes over 1870 (and counting) New York City based bloggers (including yours truly) by subway line and stop. The denizens of NYC bloggers are instrumental in blogger social events |