Blogroll Review

One of the really cool things about Blogging, is the blogroll. Bloggers will link to other blogs when they get an idea or material from them, but most bloggers also have a roll of sites they recommend. Stolen Thunder is modest in its attendance numbers, but even so, there are some sites I note for visits, and I'm actually pretty picky about them.

Like many bloggers, I read all sorts of blogs. Some I visit out of a morbid curiosity, to see what the Dark Side is up to. Others I visit regularly, like Hugh Hewitt, but don't think their egos need any feeding. And others I like, but haven't made up my mind about the blogroll. This is because while I accept the dinky size of my blog's readership, I like to think of it as an exclusive locale, more like Vargo's instead of McDonalds (Houston reference, that). And so my blogroll represents those sites which I find especially worthy of promotion. It seems appropriate to me, then, to briefly review the blogs on my blogroll, and why I think you should visit them.

I will start with the obvious picks. Polipundit is my daily bread, the site I visit most often, with its regular forum on Politics and Current Events. The fact that I am privileged to write there, is frosting on a favorite cake.

My fellow writers at Polipundit also have blogs worth noting. Lorie Byrd at Byrd Droppings writes political commentary at her site, but also throws in some personal thoughts and preferences (like ‘The Amazing Race’ updates).

Jayson Javitz writes Political Vice Squad for two main purposes: Nailing Liberals and observing Economics. He does both exceedingly well.

Along those same political lines, it’s no surprise I would link to Right Wing News for its links and conservative persoctive, and to Ankle Biting Pundits (formerly Crush Kerry) for its daily evisceration of Liberal excuses and conduct. They’re both funny, on-target, and insightful.

I also like blogs which think along the same lines as I do. That includes Daddy Pundit, Mover Mike, Radio BS and Kitty Litter, as well as Viking Pundit. We’re not clones of each other though, as each possesses its own character and identity. Visit each and you’ll see what I mean.

Other sites have earned my respect through constant levels of quality. That’s why I link to Real Clear Politics, Cold Hearted Truth, and Election Projection. Each of these three provided access to information I found reliable and fascinating throughout the 2004 Campaign.

I also link to sites you won’t find anywhere else, like Blog Houston Net, which covers Houston issues, Dinocrat, which examines the lunacy of the modern Democratic Party leadership, along with other political insight, Passion For Fairness, which examines the hypocrisy in Hollywood and it’s vapid dismissal of religious Americans’ opinions and values through the "Passion of the Christ" controversy, Mission Mind, which examines the intersection of politics and faith, and Gay Patriot, an insightful and well-documented site which, in the process of reviewing politics and news, blows away many preconceptions about the gay perspective and the identity of modern Conservatives.

Finally, I finish with three writers I greatly admire. I’d say I want to be like them when I grow up, but as I’m coming up on 45, that’s not quite the right phrase. Instead, I would say that as I develop this blog, I hope to bring it up someday to their level of acumen and intelligence.

Those begin with Betsy’s Page, which not only covers news and politics, but includes historical and cultural insights that are unique and superior to almost anything else out there.

The next is David Limbaugh, whose rhetorical and reasoning skills are certainly the equal (or better) of his more famous brother, but who understands blogs and the New Media to a much greater degree and depth than Rush does.

And last in note here but first in rank, is the absolute top-notch blog for history and perspective I read regularly, Bill Roggio’s The Fourth Rail. Bill not only understands his subjects well, and writes with precision and insight, he is very,very good at making the topic accessible and interesting to the reader.

There they are, and not a mediocre one in the bunch. If you haven’t tried them out, I truly recommend them to you. And as always, thanks for visiting Stolen Thunder, and for your comments.