With a Little Help from Our Friends, Part I

 

The Baron’s List: Small Is Beautiful

In the last two years I have gradually switched from news sites to blogs as my way of gathering news on the web. If you stay current on a range of blogs, you will encounter all the news stories that you want to know about, many of which would never show up on CNN, or even on Fox.

At first my sources were mostly the “big blogs”, the reliable and informative ones that perform such a valuable service. But I found that as I spread my net wider, acquiring new contacts through the comments on Gates of Vienna, the “little blogs” can be just as informative and interesting as the big ones.

So today we are celebrating some of the blogs we like to visit, ones that are less well-known than some but still deserving of attention. They feed us a lot of our traffic, and we in turn spend time lurking on their posts, commenting on their threads, and poking around in their archives.

I can’t include everyone on this list, but here is a representative sample:

• At the top of my list has to be Fjordman, who is performing an invaluable service for the world. He blogs from Norway, so he is living dangerously, since European laws restrict speech for PC reasons, and he is as un-PC as they come. He has a dark view of the European future, so don’t go to him for reassurance. But rely on him for wide-ranging news from all over the world, and not just Scandinavia. He may be taking a sabbatical soon, and we will miss him. So go check out Fjordman while you can.
• Florida Cracker brings a crusty and eccentric voice to the blogosphere; there is no one else quite like her. She has an eye for strange and whimsical news stories, and her blog will supply you with very interesting links, ones she culls from her careful perusal of the South Florida newspapers. Warning: don’t join in one of her comment threads if you have a sensitive nature, because she pulls no punches.
• For extensive digests of the news, nobody tops Cuanas. If I just want to find out what’s going on in the world, particularly as it relates to the Great Jihad, I drop in on Cuanas.
• Indus Valley Rising is a new voice in the ’sphere, looking at the Great Jihad from a Hindu perspective.
• For pure unadulterated history, the place to go is World History Blog. Miland posts on every historical topic imaginable.
• El Jefe Maximo, blogging at Kingdom of Chaos, is another history buff. I have to stay on my toes, because I know that if I make a historical error, Jefe will soon appear in the comments to set me straight.
• The boys at Redneck's Revenge are another important source of Jihad news. In addition, interesting and knowledgeable people turn up in the comment threads there.
• There are many important milblogs, but one of my favorites is CDR Salamander, who has quirky personality all his own.
• I also count The Word Unheard as a milblog, even though the Vet is not currently serving. He ranges widely through military, intelligence, and historical topics.
• Neddy has opinions, and doesn’t mind blogging them. She can be found at two locations: Neddy's Palaver and Kerfuffles.
• Jamie Jeffords, blogging at Eye of Polyphemus, took up serious blogging after experiencing a host of medical troubles, ones that would have driven a lesser man into terminal despair. He provides informed commentary on many subjects, and can entertain the reader with the medical expertise that he has acquired.
• Robert Pearson blogs at New Victorian, and is an “unabashed admirer of human freedom and dignity. An unapologetic opponent of those who would take them from others by force. Cultural relativists will be beaten with a logic stick. Finally, if you really believe that ‘A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy,’ then don't come around my boy, or you will get the real stick upside the head.”
• Those of us who have lived in Northern Virginia know that it is a significant front in the American Theatre of the Great Islamic Jihad. Northern Virginiastan monitors the ongoing absurdities and the incipient dhimmitude in the D.C. area.
• For outrageous satire, don’t miss Point Five. When the Wizbang awards come along this year, I’ll be voting repeatedly for a4g and his accomplices in the satire department.
• Bill Keezer keeps a wary eye on the world at Bill's Comments. Brief posts with extensive links give the reader access to a wide spectrum of information.
• Greg at Toe in the Water is a relative newcomer to the blogosphere, blogging extensively on all current topics.
• Minh Duc is a Vietnamese-American, a former member of the military, and an astute analyst. Read his take on events at State of Flux.
• Last, but not least, is Neo-neocon. She is a recovering liberal, and speaks eloquently of the difficulties and soul-searching that led her to her new political views. Liberals jolted out of their former place by the Great Jihad are in a thankless position: they are often reviled and repudiated by their former friends and colleagues, and if they work in the federal bureacracy, academia, or the media, they can face ostracism and harassment. The center-right blogosphere is a big tent, with plenty of room for differing views. Stop in at Neo’s place and hear what she has to say; it’s worth listening to.

One other person who should be included here is PD111, known to his friends as “111”. As far as I can tell, he doesn’t have a blog of his own, but he comments widely in the blogosphere; if you drop in on almost any comment thread, he is likely already to have commented there. Virtually everything he has to say is well-written, informative, and worth reading. (PD111, if you are reading this: You need your own blog. Seriously. Dymphna and I would invite you to blog here, if we could obtain an email address for you.)

These are some of the voices that can aggregate to form the perfect swarm I’ve been talking about. Readers are strongly advised to pay them a visit.


UPDATE: I have been taken to the woodshed by Texas Gal, so I now know that I should have said, “The boys ’n’ girls at Redneck's Revenge are another important source of Jihad news. In addition, they are alert and ornery critters.”

Another response was from Donnah, aka Florida Cracker: “‘Crusty and eccentric’? I did not know that about myself. Now show me a picture of the back of my hair.”