Can you still do shout-outs in 2005? Am I stuck in a world where Arrested Development and Digable Planets are still hot? I see now that pants kept up by static cling are passe', just as the Virgina House of Burgesses catches up, so I have only just begun to lose street cred in my life.
Nevertheless, I must call attention to the de-provincialised AlsoNW blogroll, newly populated by strong-running, welcome additions. Unlike the AlsoLeft roll, which--this may shock you to know--Zap largely picked out and I have mostly not read, I have read every single one of the blogs under AlsoNW, and they each come recommended. Horse's Ass/NPI and Preemptive Karma have been working hard on the WaGov story, doing some actual legwork and research and critical thinking, along with Road to 2008, who did the best piece on Ron Sims' banking comment. I'm nicely impressed with the NW Portal, a great WA/OR/ID overview of the blogosphere. It's a quickly developing tool. Many of the above are syndicated there.*
Worth a special mention for timeliness is Basie!, who keeps up a steady stream of highly readable connections to the world around us, and who scooped me on two such links that I was going to refer to here last night: WaPo's story on the ticking time bomb that is George Bush's budget legacy; and the current fence-sitting of Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith, who by his reticence has earned a place in Josh Marshall's "Conscience Caucus" of Republicans not ready to drink the Social Security Kool-Aid. Since I pretty much blamed him for the decline of Western Civ in a phone message after his 'yea' vote on Gonzales, I should probably put on the "nice constituent from moderate Clackamas County" voice and keep him tossing and turning at night over this issue.
Orcinus, because he is Mack Daddy and also good peeps, continues to get his props and chill as a member of AlsoLeft. I promise to get to more of the AlsoLeft roll, but in the meantime don't hold me to account for anything you read there. I'm a homebody when it comes to the lefty sites. I go to Torrid's World sometimes to use the blogroll there; that gives you an idea which of the ones in AlsoLeft I do actually recommend.
If I haven't mentioned it yet in a post, I am supposedly receiving answers to detailed questions I posed last week to the Secretary of State's office. I have also obtained a copy of the King County bulk mailing log that Sharkansky has speculated on, and redistricted councilman Irons has been clamoring Dean Logan for. I've found I get good service from King, and any of the counties I've talked to, when I'm polite and friendly.
--TJ
*I've just been informed that AlsoAlso is now on that list, in syndication at the Pacific NW Portal. See us syndicated here...woot!
Comments