Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Gonged

The esteemed author of the Vanishing American blog has honored me by including Reflecting Light among his choices for the Thinking Blogger Award. Maybe it's because of my habit of answering questions with, "I have no idea. I'll have to think about it." No, jest justing, er sorry, I mean just jesting. VA is an A-1 blogger, thinker, and writer himself and I'm tickled pink he's awarded me the gong:

thinkingblogger2

This selection does carry an obligation, to wit:
  1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
  2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
  3. Optional: Proudly display the Thinking Blogger Award’with a link to the post that you wrote.
I'm not sure just what no. 2 means, but I will keep the ball rolling by linking in this post to five blogs that "make me think." I'm going to take that phrase seriously. Thus, I have eliminated quite a few blogs that are entertaining and clever but not particularly vitamin-rich in ideas. Likewise, a blog doesn't make the shortlist even if it presents a good case for its viewpoint but is repetitive and predictable.

My choices below are ones I find consistently stimulating. That does not mean I agree with everything in them, but even when I am at odds with their authors about something, they can make me re-examine and defend what I might otherwise take for granted.

Lawrence Auster. In the battle of political and social ideas, liberals have the mainstream media, academia, most highbrow publications, the entertainment industry, and the judiciary. We have Lawrence Auster. It's hardly an even match. Still, you have to give the liberals credit for not admitting defeat and giving up completely.

Steve Sailer. You think you're politically incorrect? Hah. I don't know how Steve Sailer keeps from getting lynched by progressive mobs full of peace and compassion. There isn't a taboo subject he doesn't take on — race, IQ, immigrant crime, right down the list. He states his opinions boldly and unequivocally, but without rant. And he's got studies and statistics galore to back him up, as well as a steady grasp on logic. His argumentation is so good that even when he's wrong … well, I don't know, he might be right.

2 Blowhards. Written principally by the pseudonymous Michael Blowhard, with contributions from Donald Pittenger and Friedrich von Blowhard, this blog takes on almost anything, but principally culture and the arts. It's filled with fine little (sometimes not so little) essays, and each has a point of view — sweet Lord, does it ever. If anything, their postings are so thorough and multi-dimensional that this reader is hard off trying to think of anything to reply. But that doesn't stop other commenters, who tend to be an uncommonly smart and educated lot.

Chris Roach. Perhaps this country's closest equivalent to a good old-fashioned British newspaper columnist, and I mean that as a high compliment. He has a rare gift for seeing through political cant and exposing humbug. A traditionalist conservative, but nobody's mouthpiece.

Belmont Club. Coverage of worldwide political and military events, mostly related to Muslim terrorism and militancy. Some of it is about stuff going down in obscure (to some of us) places; much is depressing; but it's exhilarating to feel you're peeking behind the curtain of official lies, bland public relations, and conventional thinking that passes for news and analysis in the supposedly serious media. The author, "Wretchard" as he styles himself, must have his own worldwide intelligence agency, and it seems to be better than the CIA or MI-6 by a long chalk.

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