Blogs I read, in case it isn't obvious yet

A significant proportion of my blog posting the last several months has consisted of me referencing someone else's political news or commentary, with maybe a little bit of my own interpretation to dress it up. I figure we might be at the point now where anyone who is still reading this blog would probably just be better off going directly to my sources rather than getting them through the Sparks filter. That doesn't mean I'm going to stop posting them; I usually post something when I'm so pissed off about it that I don't know what else to do. But I feel like I'm starting to do less posting and more reading, so here's what I read and what I recommend:

Glenn Greenwald - Glenn's brilliant blogging has gotten even better since his move to Salon. He puts up a new post almost every day. He is a fierce critic of the political media and the Bush Administration and its supporters. I can't say enough good things about his writing.

Think Progress - A daily news blog that seeks to advance progressive ideas. They're very quick.

Hullabaloo - Digby and friends crank out several insightful posts every day. They tend towards more of a partisan Democrat approach, but this isn't a bad thing as they are very fair-minded. The writing takes on a kind of casual feel, but is very serious.

The Daily Howler - Absolutely an awesome site with a new article around noon every weekday. Their focus is mainly media criticism, with a primary ongoing theme that the media mindlessly passes along flawed conservative talking points while liberals watch and do nothing. The writing explodes with a burning sense of righteous indignation, especially about the way the mainstream media savages prominent liberal politicians, Al Gore most of all.

Pharyngula - The ScienceBlog of biology professor and Man Beard PZ Myers, this self-described "godless liberal" churns out several posts a day on a variety of topics, mainly focusing on biology, religion/atheism, and politics. He's an especially vocal opponent of Intelligent Design Creationism.

Dispatches for the Culture Wars - My other regular ScienceBlog reading is Ed Brayton's blog. He also tends to churn out several posts every morning. He does a lot of social commentary and legal analysis, usually from an ACLU-type perspective, and he's an active opponent of Intelligent Design Creationism. He also mixes in some sports and music commentary on a fairly regular basis.

TomDispatch - "A regular antidote to the mainstream media" is a perfect way to describe this site. A few times a week Tom posts a feature story that takes an angle you'll rarely encounter in the major media. He is very critical of the war and the Bush Administration, and often tackles tough social issues.

Once Upon a Time - I think this is the most unique blog on this list. Arthur Silber posts a few times per week, but I'd have a tough time describing his posts. They are intensely personal to him, and he often seems unable to contain his passion. His topic is usually America's imperialistic foreign policy, so you might think this is another political blog, but his writing is more about morality. My crude summary of his central thesis would be that the world is an incomprehensibly cruel and unfair place, so much so that we use false narratives to shield ourselves from it, and that America's behavior, when properly viewed, is astonishingly hypocritical and immoral. I don't know if that description does justice to his work. You really have to go read it for yourself, and plan to spend a lot of time going back through his archives to see the support that he often self-references.

Media Matters - They relentlessly and astutely document the mainstream media's promotion of conservative misinformation.

Nit Pick - This guy posts irregularly about political matters. I just dig his style. He's into the whole brevity thing.

Crooks and Liars - Media critique and liberal politics. Lots of posts every day, usually built around video clips.


UPDATE: If you have an blog recommendations, please comment!