Today is the first anniversary of the death of Steve Gilliard. As I’ve written before, I loved his blog and miss his writing. You’ll see why if you click on any of the posts I linked to in that diary.
Steve meant a lot to many others too, as you can see from reading the comments below a diary I posted about him at Daily Kos.
Use this as an open thread to tell us about your favorite bloggers. Whose work should we be reading, and why?
14 Comments
Actually
Desmoinesdem is one of my favorite bloggers. She is even handed for 99% of the time.
Ezra Klein is probably another fav, along with Nyceve (kos) as both are great on health care issues. Erza has broadened his horizons with his job at The American Prospect.
I also like Aldon Hynes at Orient-Lodge, and TomP can whip up a good quick post at Kos, especially on labor union issues.
Montana Maven devours books and ideas, then re-presents them in an original way. She has a local radio show on Saturdays which snares writers and analysts who are shown on Book TV.
Chris Bowers at Open Left is a very good analyst. Often, I don’t agree with him, but after meeting him and getting his worldview about blogging, I found that his heart (not just his mind) is in the right place when it comes to progressive issues.
I used to like Andrew Sullivan but this election cycle he seems to have become uneven. I liked his writing better when he was more libertarian.
I also like most of the posts written by my colleagues at EENR.
benny Mon 2 Jun 9:09 AM
I did not put Benny up to that!
but thanks for your comment.
Daily Kos can be overwhelming, but you can easily find diaries by bloggers you like by typing in the blogger’s handle.dailykos.com. For instance:
http://tomp.dailykos.com
If the handle has two or more words, you separate those by hyphens, such as:
http://asinus-asinum-fricat.da…
I like all the bloggers Benny mentioned. Another one I really like is BruceMcF (http://brucemcf.dailykos.com). I “got to know” his writing because he was an Edwards supporter, but he writes a lot of great stuff on policy, especially transportation (a big issue for me).
desmoinesdem Mon 2 Jun 2:06 PM
Another good one, BruceMcF
Who has moved his Midnight Oil series over to EENR as its new home base.
I forgot to give out a shoutout to Iddybud:
http://iddybudjournal.blogspot…
Iddybud is also very even in her posts and knows how to challenge someone with emotional and intellectual integrity. I’ve seldom see her blow her cool, meaning she doesn’t give out donuts very often at the Daily Kos.
American Street is another good place where many got their start (including Digby, Iddybud). Kevin Hayden does a great job there.
Docudharma is becoming one of my regular places to visit, and I always have a home at JREG.
And last, but certainly not least, I would be very remiss if I didn’t mention Elizabeth Edwards, who now blogs occasionally for Think Progress. I guess she is my favorite blogger of all. She would have been our WH blogger had Edwards won the nomination and the race.
benny Mon 2 Jun 3:55 PM
Agreed
Also a fan of desmoinesdem!
Aside from her, I’m a big fan of Atrios, probably because he and I share a background (economics).
For something a little off the beaten path, please check out Kung Fu Monkey http://www.kfmonkey.blogspot.com
It’s actually a television/film writing blog, as the guy is a stand-up comic and TV/film writer, but when he talks politics, it’s GOLDEN.
Actually, I’ve always been a little taken aback that liberals as a whole don’t tap into the vast communications talent we have in Hollywood and put it to use in the political arena. Imagine Aaron Sorkin writing the state of the union. I know I’d tune in.
mikeymo Mon 2 Jun 11:54 AM
off the beaten path suggestions
are just what I was looking for! So thanks for the tip on Kung Fu Monkey.
Atrios has a strong “voice,” which is probably why his blog became so popular in the first place. The unique “voice” was what attracted me to Steve Gilliard’s blog as well.
desmoinesdem Mon 2 Jun 2:10 PM
Kung Fu Monkey
The first political post I read of his was a masterpiece called “Learn to say ain’t”, a link to which is below:
http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2…
mikeymo Tue 3 Jun 12:21 PM
I've got a fondness for the Blue America guys
The awesome (and hot) Jane Hamsher and Christy Hardin-Smith at FireDogLake, Glenn Greenwald (also of Salon), John Amato at Crooks & Liars (which I find is an invaluable tool for keeping up on vid-clips) and Howie Klein at DownWithTyranny, which breaks some mean scuttlebutt (and to which, full disclosure, I contribute some stuff now and then). Not only a full gamut of news, smart analysis, cross-checking and audio-visual rescues among them, but their collective endorsements are really valuable toward keeping tabs on where real progressives are slogging it out across the country.
I love Larissa Alexandrovna’s relentless reporting at Raw Story, too. She really helped keep the Don Siegelman story alive, which will hopefully, potentially yield Rove’s indictment – so what’s not to love?
DMD, of course, is my first read on all things Iowan.
grimm Mon 2 Jun 12:19 PM
I had not realized
that Raw Story kept the Siegelman story alive. That was a great public service.
Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo deserves the Pulitzer, in my opinion, for bringing the U.S. attorneys scandal to public attention and breaking a lot of news during the investigation of that story.
desmoinesdem Mon 2 Jun 2:12 PM
yup
though Scott Horton over at Harper’s deserves much of the credit too. But Alexandrovna’s multipart series deconstructing the US attorney’s thing in re Rove’s self-immolating wet dream of a “Permanent Republican Majority” drew the inexorable lines to Siegelman, which is the most egregious Plumber-esque smoking gun of that disgusting, venal, fascistic little imperative.
grimm Mon 2 Jun 2:42 PM
The Real Sporer
For those who enjoy engaging with the enemy, I recommend visiting The Real Sporer, http://therealsporer.blogspot.com/. The blog provides a local insider R angle and is pretty entertaining, from Sporer’s own colorful writing to the crazy commenters. Sporer is not afraid to engage in debate.
I think it is helpful to understand your opposition and their thought processes. You have to know the enemy in order to beat them.
rf Mon 2 Jun 1:25 PM
good point
by the way, apparently Krusty Konservative is back to blogging after taking a long break. I need to get that added to our conservative blogroll.
I used to like checking the Cyclone Conservatives blog, especially for the first-person accounts of candidate events.
desmoinesdem Mon 2 Jun 2:08 PM
I miss Cyclone Conservative...
He was a lot less pretentious than Sporer.
Nobody’s mentioned Deeth yet, but he’s a fave of mine. I also like Robert Reich’s blog for economic stuff. Plus, I’ve really enjoyed seeing his transition from Clintonista to Obama supporter.
http://www.robertreich.blogspo…
american007 Mon 2 Jun 3:52 PM
when some anonymous commenter
at Cyclone Conservatives started putting up creepy comments about my family, Don shut him down right away, and the problem stopped.
I think that one reason Don was a relatively fair-minded conservative blogger, even when writing about Democratic debates or rallies, is that he has an older brother who’s a Democrat (caucused for Richardson in West Des Moines).
Deeth is another good example of a blogger who has a strong “voice.”
desmoinesdem Mon 2 Jun 4:54 PM
Not a blog
But RealClearPolitics, http://www.realclearpolitics.com/ is a great one-stop shop for op-eds and other political articles, latest polls, etc. I assume most political junkies have found it by now, but wanted to mention it just in case.
rf Mon 2 Jun 3:20 PM