Something to chew on

-- by Dave

Eric Muller was kind enough to include me on his list of "Five Blogs That Make Me Think", after he was listed himself by Sally Greene.

I don't often participate in these "memes" (this one originated here), but this one struck me as a great way of shouting out some blogs that probably deserve more attention.

Now, there are a good number of blogs out there that make me think, and some of them are well known. Any list I'd compile along these lines would be incomplete without acknowledging that people like Digby and Glenn Greenwald help spur my own thoughts tremendously, as do some lesser-known but still prominent blogs like Mahablog, not to mention Is That Legal?, which under the rules of the meme can't be listed anyway.

But I'd like to point out five blogs that aren't so much in the spotlight, blogs that help provide grist for my daily mills, even though they may post as irregularly as I sometimes do:

Pacific Views: Natasha and Mary and their gang of irregulars have been blogging away for some years now, and I always find their takes intriguing and enlightening.

Emphasis Added: Rob Salkowitz is a Seattle guy, and he's often even more irregular than I about posting, but what he does post is of the highest quality. Rob consistently offers intriguing and useful frames of thought.

Creek Running North: Chris needs no introduction to many blog readers, but I'm always struck by the combination of terrific writing and sound judgment and keen insight at his blog. Always worth a stop.

A Chicken is Not Pillage: Wulfgar is a real Montana kind of fellow, which means his take on many issues can be complicated, but always reality-based.

archy: John McKay is one of my oldest friends -- we knew each other in elementary school -- and that may have a lot to do with why I trust his insight and judgment as much as I do. Certainly we think a lot alike. But John always has an interesting angle, and lots of interesting fresh material.

Now, I've always thought that it's important to not trap yourself in an echo chamber. So I do read a lot of conservative blogs, but they are all so comically reactionary and propagandistic that it is difficult to take any of them seriously. Over the years I've been reading them, only one has managed not to descend into the Pits of Dogmatism for anything more than an occasional dip: John Cole's Balloon Juice. John still occasionally writes churlish things about me, but that's OK; I still find him informative and refreshing. So he earns an honorable mention for this list.

UPDATE: Dunno how I missed this, but Ahistoricality also picked Orcinus, but for Sara's writing -- a kudo well earned.