Follow Friday Blogs, June 15, 2012

 Up this week: Poetry, Politics and Play, mostly 'cause I'm in an eclectic mood....

Take a look at the poem "Take Your Child to Work" on From The Files of Nefarious Newt, which the author subtitles "A view of the world from closer to the ground." (Full disclosure: I thought he was referring to Gingrich, but he's not... I don't think. At least the picture isn't--that's a newt with a top hat.) Beyond poetry, NefNewt offers cogent and thoughtful essays. He writes regularly, and always well, so check back often.

Borazon Drill is a progressive blog site from Tony Quatermass, a Universal Life Minister who says he believes "not in tolerance, but in acceptance..." I like that. (Note, though, he does have a thing about his postman and said postman's inability to leave oversized items outside the door.) His site is sometimes Ohio-oriented, but his themes are general enough to encourage my visits.

And, finally, this week, you simply MUST visit Mighty Heaton, and, in particular, the Politics subsection, where Mighty (or M.H.... can I call you M.H.?) will keep you laughing and thinking at the same time as he writes (and rants) about Congress, Grover Norquist, and why he should have been invited to the White House Correspondents' Dinner. And don't skip his the stick figures. They're often part of the story...

Enjoy your week, and, as always, check out my lates post here.

 

Follow Friday Blogs, June 8, 2012

Welcome once again to Follow Friday Blogs.  We have just entered our 2nd year of this fascinating (at least to me) tradition, and I never have a problem finding a few each week worth recommending.  So thanks to everyone out there, and keep blogging!

I start this week with the "It Makes Sense Blog," a conservative site with a fine collection of contributors, and with an even-handed and sensible approach to real problems. The arguments avoid the knee-jerk responses I often see out there.  A good example is this posting on obesity, Bloomberg and government subsidies.

My next blog this week comes from Jikiri, who writes passionately (sometimes VERY passionately) at "Fix America." I had a few qualms about listing this particular blog because, frankly, it's thin: just a few postings, and the last one all the way back in November of 2011. But the writing is just so much damn fun! So take this as an alert, Jikiri! Get back to the writing!

Third up this week is a blog from the Mighty Heaton, who writes about why moderates are pragmatists, attack monkeys (and other pets), and alientation. Check out his political spectrum matrix, too.  Where do you fit?  And, oh, by the way... if you're going to call out the overly cute panda as being dumb, you should expect a bunch of hate mail, Heaton! They're adorable!!!!)

Until next week... And don't forget to check out the blog postings on this site, too. Also, a reminder, as we get closer to the election, Electile Dysfunction becomes more and more severe.  Check out the video, and click here for the cure!

Follow Friday Blogs, June 1, 2012

Three more interesting and provocative blogs this week...

First Things is a very comprehensive website from the Institute on Religion and Public Life. The site contains a blog entitled First Thoughts.  The blog entries discuss the church's point of view on a number of highly charged topics--including the presence of religious messaging in political advertising--with thoughtful logic and a generally respectful tone. For those often distracted by fundamentalist rhetoric, reading these cogent postings reminds us that religion has a long history of intelligent, educated, and polite discourse on many, many fronts.

Knottie's Niche is the blog from our current Tweep of the Week, Angelia Phillips. For my impressions of Angelia, click here. As far as her site, she writes with a balanced poignancy that I find quite touching, particularly in entries like this one, where she talks about the day her son died in Iraq.

My third site this week is Random Thots, which is, according to the site owner, "driven by love of country and concern for its people, both present and yet to be.  It is a well-written collection of conservative viewpoints that offers respectful disagreement with those on the left. It has, for example, links to both Huffington Post and Daily Kos, a clear indication that the author is interested in having readers assess all arguments and then (hopefully) agree.

That's it for this week. And a big thank you, as well, to all those who listened to last week's radio show, my first for CPUSA.

Follow Friday Blogs, May 25, 2012

FF Blogs this week come from a variety of interesting places...

First, I'm returning to Between the By-Road and the Main Road, from Mary Ann Reilly. Dr. Reilly's blog was one of the very first I recommended, and I come back to it this week since she'll be the first guest on my new internet radio show, The Middle Ground (on the Coffee Party Radio Network, this coming Tuesday at 8 PM EST). Dr. Reilly intersects education and art, with a dose of politics thrown in because--simply put--how can education and art not be political?

I'm also highlighting Nuts and Dolts this week, though I went back and forth on whether or not I should.  It's incredibly snarky, and about as far left as a blog can get and not have the word "manifesto" in the title.  However, a couple of weeks ago I pointed out a site on the far right that I found rather deplorable, and I think it only fair to hit both sides. This site, though, is at least well-written and sometimes amusing... Still, can't we all at least try for civility?

Third up this week is First Things, a wonderful site from the Institute on Religion and Public Life, "an interreligious, nonpartisan research and education institute whose purpose is to advance a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society." Rarely have I seen political conversation handled with such maturity. While the site is technically an online magazine, they do have a Blogs page with a number of interesting entries.

And, as always, check out my blog, were I lambast Rachel, from Cardholder Services.....

Have a good holiday, everyone!

Follow Friday Blogs, May 18, 2012

Ran across a few unusual ones this week, with varying points of view and varying degrees of seriousness. All, of course, are of the very highest in writerly quality!

My first find this week is The Feisty Moderate, an occasional effort from an unnamed blogger whose tag line quotes Robert F. Kennedy on the value of higher education: "[A] free mind insists on seeking out reality, and reality is often a far more painful matter than the soft and comfortable illusions of the intellectually poor." The blog has original entries and offers links out to other interesting articles. Thinking pieces, from a thinking person.

My second find is Left/Right (pronounced "left-slash-right"). The authors here believe that we should "follow the truth" and that "ideology is the playground of the foolish." I agree. The site covers a variety of topics from, obviously, both sides. I particularly like the heading for "140 Characters of Truth," behind which you can find tweets associated with particular blog entries. It's a great way to tie things together.

Finally, I urge you to visit The Lester and Charlie Review, a sickly humored site that tickles me. You can read remarks from Aunt Betty, including this one: “Years ago, I stopped eating anything that could see or think during its time on Earth. But after Citizens United, politicians got too damn expensive.” The site is certainly much more than just politics, but when it does cover politics, it cuts deeply, like this week's poll which asks "What's the next boneheaded way some conservative will recognize an important moment in American history?"  One of the choices is "Combining the anniversary of Paul Revere's midnight ride with both National Illiteracy Day and Sarah Palin's birthday." Yup.

And for more fun (and info), don't forget to head over to my two Scoop.It pages, Coffee Party Conservatives and Electile Dysfunction!