TIME Magazine employs Mark Halperin, and yet their list of the year’s 25 best blogs does not include a single wingnut. It’s almost as if TIME recognizes that rightwing blogs are a self-contradicting construct in a party/mentality better suited to the I-talk-you-obey format of talk radio. Remember the times when Erick Erickson tried to make RedState relevant by “forcing” the party to pay attention to his blog? Those were precious.
Needless to say thin-skinned media obsessives on the right will declare war againt TIME (TWAT?) any moment now.
***Update***
Now I have to go see what this Slashfood thing is all about.
***Update 2***
Pork floss just made my day.
Zifnab
Of course, I’m still left somewhat awed. What? No Powerline? Wasn’t it 2005’s Blog Of The Year?
Joshua Norton
The only distinction Halperin has is that he’s running neck and neck with Bill Kristol for the championship title of being the most wrong person on the planet.
Not to be too pedantic, but since it’s only February, how can anything possibly be declared the best of 2009? (I mean, I’ve been a little forgetful lately – it is still 2009 isn’t it?)
sgwhiteinfla
That was a pretty interesting blast from the past on the RedState link. So TimF, do you still think the liberal blogosphere will fall apart now that the Dems have swept in? I would have to say that I HAVE been surprised that for the most part there haven’t been any big intra party flame wars since November. But I don’t know that things will stay that way. What say you?
question mark and the mysterians
The blog I would like to see on that list is Mudflats, the fantastic Alaska blog that came to the forefront during Sarah Palin’s brief flirtation with relevancy. It’s terrific- check it out….
themudflats.net/
Warren Terra
In an apparent attempt to salve the pride of the overlooked wingers, Time‘s list also includes the GOS as one of the five most overrated blogs, which is just crazy. The front pagers at the GOS offer some of the most comprehensive coverage of politics from a Liberal orientation, if with less original reporting or discernment than, say, TPM, and while there’s a huge amount of logrolling and navel-gazing in the diaries there’s also a lot of unique and valuable stuff, and more of a community than about anywhere else in the blogosphere – not to mention more genuine political clout in the form of fundraising and volunteer time than any other blog can dream of.
But apparently the writers of Time are disdainful because the GOS isn’t sufficiently bipartisan, or isn’t sufficiently unhappy with Pelosi and Obama, or something.
Tim F.
Two words: Glenn Greenwald. Two more: torture amnesty. If anything the trenches are getting dug faster than I expected.
Warren Terra
Oh, and having gone to actually look at some of the pages from Time‘s list, can I just say that the bitter, spiteful person who wrote those sarcastic "Entry you’ll never see" bits at the bottom of the page for each "Best Blog" really needed to sleep on that one, or needed an editor who wasn’t also twelve years old.
Tsulagi
Pork floss? I’ll eat damn near anything, and I’ve ate a lot of non-kosher food in my days, but I’m thinking I’ll pass on that hairball looking thing called pork floss.
sgwhiteinfla
TimF
But the thing about it is most of the liberal blogs are with him on that one at least as far as I can tell and again thats very surprising. But honestly I think thats a good thing. The one topic I think there might end up being a big disagreement about on liberal/progressive blogs is if we should agitate just for the sake of agitating. But other than that most of the blogosphere is in lockstep. In fact the funny thing to me is that the left blogosphere even seems to be together on the things they disagree with the Democratic party leaders including Pres Obama on. Now again I don’t know that it will last but if anything what I am worried about now is having too much of an echo chamber rather than worrying about a meltdown. But I have been wrong before.
srv
WE WILL PROVE THE MSM’s IRRELEVANCE BY SHRIEKING ABOUT IT WHEN THEY IGNORE US! TRUTH TO POWER!
They will accidently themselves.
Zifnab
Did you miss the Blue Dog revolt on the stimulus? Democrat fiscal conservatives came pouring out of the woodwork. After eight years of Bushit, it was embarrassing to watch.
I don’t see the torture thing turning into a real fight until to becomes more clear the direction Obama plans to take things. Check back in June or September. The Obama DOJ (my GOD it feels good to type that) has barely scratched the surface on Bush Administration misconduct. Leahy is still demanding his Truth Commission. There’s miles to go on that before it really comes to a head. Right now, Greenwald and his friends are just applying much needed pressure to do the right thing. I wouldn’t call it a revolt by a long shot.
Tom
I know these lists are just there for people to bitch and moan about what is missing. So here goes. Where is fivethirtyeight? Best damn blog for the presidential race. So much crap printed in Time and elsewhere could be ignored if it contradicted Nate Silver.
srv
@Tim F.: Waiting for raves on the Afghan Surge.
But it’s still only 3 weeks. We have to wait another year or two before complaining.
ThymeZoneThePlumber
Fuck the list. The two blogs I always read every day, BJ and WashingtonMonthly, are not on it.
Walker
I would like to point out that after a fall in which it became readily apparent that the economic blogs where the only place you could get reliable economic reporting, there is not a single major economic blog in the mix. Krugman doesn’t count, because he so rarely has wonkish posts, and Freakanomics is fairly lightweight.
demkat620
@Zifnab: The first thing to know about the Blue Dogs is they have no sense of timing.
srv
OMG. Pork Floss… I’m going to have to seriously reconsider having given up pork.
Mnemosyne
Now that you mention it, where the hell is Calculated Risk? Even my Republican brother reads that one.
And fivethirtyeight doesn’t get a nod despite the fact that Nate’s the only one who correctly called the election?
JL
Firedoglake had a few harsh posts but today the founder Jane Hamsher was on MSNBC talking to David Shuster. She did a great job destroying Cantor. Of course Cantor is easy to take down. Firedoglake
sgwhiteinfla
I missed it in the liberal/progressive blogosphere which is what I am talking about. Click on the link TimF provided about RedState trying to make itself relevant.
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
Yeah, Nate Silver wuz robbed.
But I was surprised and delighted to see Confessions of a Pioneer Woman listed there, as I just ran across her blog last weekend when I was looking for a risotto recipe and wound up reading a hell of her writing that evening.
And it’s not every ranch mom whose post about teaching cursive as part of home schooling includes a Donnie Darko reference.
Origuy
Pork floss is awesome stuff. You might also see it called pork sung. A co-worker brought some for Friday staff meeting goodies, to eat along with steamed buns. We don’t just have donuts; sometimes it’s samosas or Mexican pastries. One of the things that make it worth living in California, despite its plunging economy, is the variety of food.
Ash Can
Also not on the list but good for lots of offbeat hilarity: Cake Wrecks. Great humor writing + abundant WTF cakes + a few spectacularly beautiful cakes = mucho entertainment, and a great break from politics and economics.
DougJ
Not such a great list, IMHO.
dmsilev
Speaking of right wing blogs that apparently didn’t make the cut, Our Lady of Perpetual Outrage apparently sees nothing wrong with posing with a guy holding a sign comparing Obama to Nazis. In fact, she looks positively thrilled to be sitting next to a "O with swastika"-bama sign.
-dms
TenguPhule
I’d settle for a long cold war broken by brief moments of excitement.
genesic
I’ve definitely never heard it called "pork floss" before. But then again, I’ve only ever heard it in Chinese. Definitely good stuff, though.
kommrade reproductive vigor
Because they’re too dumb to realize that when a magazine runs a big ol’ space filler like this, the magazine has already surrendered.
In other news: Last Throes!
Conservatively Liberal
@dmsilev:
That’s an unfair portrayal dms. Malkin was with "Swastika Guy" at a Nazis for Obama rally. You can’t blame Obama if the lunatic fringe has decided to worship him.
cleek
pork floss sounds awesome!
and speaking of unnatural food preparation…
i made my first quenelles last night: take raw chicken, egg, cream, bread and spices, put it all in a food processor and turn it into a light and airy mousse. then poach nicely-shaped spoonfuls of it for 8 minutes. throw em in a baking dish, cover with bechamel and cheese and broil until the cheese is golden. it comes out like chicken cake. ridiculously filling. i used one piece of chicken breast for two people and had leftovers.
pretty easy to do, too.
Linkmeister
I don’t know if it will precipitate a blog war, but if Obama’s idea of entitlement reform includes mucking with Soc Sec when he should be worrying about Medicare’s funding, I think you’ll see a lot more agita from Josh Marshall, Digby, and other notables. Me too, but nobody reads me. ;)
media browski
Re liberal blog wars,
Am I the only one following the sirota v silver, populist v pragmatist blog war?
I’ve thought for quite awhile that thgis schism is the one most likely to screw up the Dems’ coalition.
tom p
By the way Tim, I made the Haddock a la Reine for my GF last night… She curses you (or rather, her diet does)… so much so she wants the leftovers again tonite.
One thing I did a little different was I put the pastry shells in a muffin tin and filled them with the mix, then put the whole thing in the oven for about 10 mins. DELICOUS.
mucho gracias.
Michael
Since when did James Lileks get rehabbed?
I mean, it’s not a wingnut political blog, but still…