It’s been a week since I attended my first CPAC 2010 event, and I’m just now getting to put up the many pictures I took at the conference. I decided to give them each their own page, rather than one long entry that would take forever to load. Enjoy!

Exclusive Photos: Ed Morrissey and Mary Katherine Ham Eating…Arugula!!! #CPAC10

While it’s not on the same level as the end of Soylent Green, I’d say it at least stacks up with Animal Farm. MK pointed out that she can enjoy arugula while still recognizing the political problem it poses. And I can do this.

#CPAC10 Photoblog

That’s Caleb Howe on the end, next to fellow Redstater Moe Lane. Unfortunately, Moe and I never got around to really talking movies, a subject in which we have considerable overlapping interest. Next to Moe is Dr. Melissa Clouthier, who was amused at the novelty of having me around. Don’t know who the next guy is. Finally, I love this shot of Ed Morrissey, looking like he just participated in a random 24 plot twist. He’s the CTU mole!

I was going to take the whole weekend off, but I couldn’t just leave Caleb Howe’s hacker post at the top of my page, and I’ve been looking to do a roundup of my favorite blogs anyway.

I’m breaking them down into several categories, with the disclaimer that I don’t get to read that many blogs.  As you all know, I am super-duper-effing-busy all the time, even in my current underemployed state.  Most of my blog reading consists of looking for clickable things to pitch to Asylum and Mediaite, with very little time devoted to actual reading, and even less time available to read for pleasure.

That’s why I want to make that my first category:

Blogs I Read Purely For PleasureThis promises to be a short-ass category.  I’m excluding all political blogs here, because that’s not purely for pleasure, is it?  First on my list is:

The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker

I don’t remember how she got on my radar, but HPS is, hands-down, the best writer I’ve seen on a blog, anywhere.  She’s funny, sexy, provocative, and the kind of feminist I can really get behind.  How much do I love her blog?  I read it even despite the occasional “Truther” post.

She writes about whatever pops into her head, including politics sometimes, but it all comes out a pure pleasure to read.

What’s Alan Watching?

Alan Sepinwall, TV critic for the Newark Star Ledger, writes this insanely good TV blog.  His writing is so good that I end up reading reviews of shows I don’t even watch. He’s also got a very detailed no-spoiler policy, so you’ll never curse at your computer screen again at having your favorite show ruined.

Unfortunately, I no longer have the time to read Sepinwall every day, but I recommend you do.

What Ricky Thinks

This guy just writes what he thinks, unfiltered and unvarnished.  The results are frequently offensive, and almost always hilarious.

Oh, Hell Nawl Blog

Totally un-PC, totally hilarious.

Old Tommy Christopher Articles

I know, this seems really narcissistic, but I”m just being honest.  Every once in awhile, I find myself digging back through my old posts to grab a link, and I’ll start reading a few.  Invariably, there will be at least one line that makes me spit my drink.  It reminds my why I write.

Political Blogs: Daily Reads

These are the blogs I check to keep myself caught up on a daily basis.  Often, I’m looking for money quotes, or to see if what I’m planning to ask at a briefing has been asked already, or to identify emerging memes.

The Huffington Post

HuffPo is a reliable one-stop shop for political, media, and pop-culture reporting.  They put a lot of content on the front page, and keep it updated frequently.  They’re also usually pretty early to have the hot, quotable video of the moment.  It’s also one of the few places where I can find fodder for both Mediaite and Asylum.

Political Punch

Jake Tapper’s blog is a great way to keep up with the White House when I’m not there, and Tapper’s daily fencing matches with Robert Gibbs are often the threads that make up emerging White House memes.

Hot Air

I usually avoid commentary-heavy sites because I like to get a clean read on a story before I write my take on it.  Hot Air is invaluable, though, as a way to pick out the stories that the right will be focusing on, and the left will be pushing back against.  They don’t usually waste their time with extremist crap, and the commentary is light enough to sometimes engage with.

A more strident site, like Redstate, is a little tougher to read, and a little more scattershot with their subject matter.  Their better writers have their own blogs, anyway.

The Daily Beast

The home of my pal, Meghan McCain, is similar to HuffPo as a one-stop shop, with an edgier attitude and more political content.  When it first started, Daily Beast’s Cheat Sheet was way ahead of other blogs in picking the hot stories, but that has leveled out somewhat.

Crooks and Liars and Talking Points Memo

These are great sources for liberal red meat that’s not overcooked or overseasoned.  Their picks of media clips are reliably useful.

Friends/Frenemies With Blogs

I made this its own category because it saves me having to explain that, for each of these, you can evaluate my level of bias for yourselves, but my assessments are honest.  Not included are friends, like Ed Morrissey and Lee Stranahan, who write for big blogs in the other category.

Acticons

Caleb Howe’s site was designed by the same person who designed this site, and it shows.  Caleb had a long spell where he wasn’t writing much, but he’s kicked into high gear, and has taken on several heavy-hitting contributors.

For conservatives, it’s essential reading.  For liberals, I recommend it if you’d like to shadow-box with the best arguments the other side has to offer.

Either way, Caleb is a great writer, and the funniest conservative I know.

Yes to Democracy

Currently, the best place to find exhaustive, up to the minute coverage of the Birther movement (they were way ahead of the curve on this story), Christina Cedeno’s site was also the first, and best, blog to cover and combat the PUMA movement.  Broader political coverage is on the way.

Below the Beltway

Run by libertarian Doug Mataconis, this blog has one of the greatest names in small blogs.  Prolific and unpredictable, Doug’s blog is a good place to go for a dose of reason.

Mock, Paper, Scissors

One of my favorite tweeps, TenGrain, writes for this funny, gaycentric political site.

Ice Station Tango

My former colleague, Jay Allbritton, is on hiatus for now, dropping in on my blog from time to time.  This is a shame, because Jay was very prolific, had great instincts, and an easy temperament.  He’s a liberal that anyone can read.

Rumproast

Think of a smarter, more liberal Wonkette with a special place in it’s heart for PUMA.

Moe Lane

The Redstater who banned me (after I resigned) is fun to spar with sometimes, but I find a lot of common ground with him on pop culture.  He’s another funny conservative, and a good follow on twitter.

Media Lizzy

One of the best people I know, Lizzy is also a great writer and a relatively reasonable conservative.  Her “Beautiful, Successful, and Hated” is a must-read.

Submitted to a Candid World

Another excellent blog by an excellent liberal tweep, the commentary on this blog is almost uniformly productive.

Cubic Politics

Highly detached, frequently offensive satire that’s like nothing you’ll read anywhere else.  Recent forays into his wheelhouse have yielded some excellent writing.

Ground Xero

Totally unique, provocative writing from the left coast.  Xan is a kick to the head that you’ll either love, or just not get at all.

Minority Report

I have several friends at this commentary-heavy conservative blog.  It’s a good place to go if you find that you used to like Redstate, but don’t anymore.

When I found out, last night, that Keith Olbermann had named my pal, Ed Morrissey, the Best Person in the World, my first reaction was “That goddam copycat!”  I had just named Ed one of the best people in the world over the Twitter, not two days earlier.  Kudos to KO, though, for assembling the weirdest 3-shot ever.  Captain Ed, Stephen Hawking, and Steve Doocy?

My second was to contact Ed for some kind of pot-stirring comment, but he had beaten me to it, accepting the accolade with characteristic class:

I’m sure people would like me to be a jerk about this, but I’ll say thank you to Keith instead for the kind words. We’ll be arguing again tomorrow, and for the … rest of eternity, probably, but I’d prefer to return graciousness with graciousness.

That’s great, Ed. Way to generate the clicks.

All is not lost, however.  Although Ed was debunking a conspiracy theory when he was elevated to Best Person, a careful examination of this still frame from the segment provides fodder for another:It’s made from Olbie! CAPTAIN ED IS MADE FROM OLBIEEEEEEE!”

Two of my favorite conservative bloggers, Ed Morrissey and Moe Lane, gave me a good chuckle this morning, and man, did I need it.  The subject is President Obama’s latest “gaffe.”  I’ll let my friend, Ed, introduce it:

Yesterday found Barack Obama in fine form while meeting with an audience comprised mainly of Russian business leaders, clumsily reminding them of a transaction that still rankles the Russians to this day, as Reuters explains:

Referring to the long history of Russia-U.S. trade stretching back more than two centuries, Obama told an audience of business people in Moscow:

“Along the way, you gave us a pretty good deal on Alaska. Thank you.”

Czar Alexander II’s sale of Alaska to the United States in 1867 for $7.2 million in gold, around 1.9 cents per acre, was regarded by Russians as a national disgrace — particularly once it became clear that the province was rich in oil.

Ed was characteristically measured in his criticism, calling the quip an insult, and an indication that the President might not understand diplomacy.  On the other hand, he called it his “Obamateurism of the Day,” so I guess, when you’ve already decided you’re going to do one of these every day, you’ve got to work with what you’re given.

Moe Lane, on the other hand, ratchets up the mock outrage, comparing the Alaska Purchase, by turns, to the Boxer Rebellion and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

I get that blogging is all about hyperbole, but really?  The Alaska Purchase?  After 142 years and umpteen changes in the Russian government, I’m pretty sure the sting has worn off.  When it was originally made, folks here thought we got hosed.  How could anyone have foreseen that it would produce such a cash cow of a resource?  No, not Sarah Palin, I meant the oil.

This is the very best of the American story, people having the foresight and wherewithal to make something great where others saw only far-flung territories that they were too lazy to hassle with themselves.  We didn’t exploit the Russians here.

Hell, if the Russians had taken that money and bought IBM stock with it, then we’d be the ones getting zinged.

Is it possible that some Russians took offense to this?  I doubt it, and I’m a little surprised that a movement that accuses liberals of having “bleeding hearts,” and of the crime of empathy, would ascribe such wafer-thin skin to the Russians.

This is the nature of political opposition in Obama’s America, though.  There’s this alternate universe where Mr. Spock has a beard, and the President isn’t a duly elected leader worthy of reasonable scrutiny, he’s a bumbling amateur putting the country on a rocket sled to Hades.  (All worth it, by the way, if we get to wear those cool gold sashes.)

At the root of this, I believe, is a desire to get revenge for all of the bile that was spewed at George W. Bush for 8 years.  The constant refrain is, “Well, you did it to our guy.”

This ignores the fact that their guy was, at least, given a chance.  Remember that 90% approval rating?

I’m not going to sit here and catalog all the ways that Barack Obama is not George W. Bush, or produce a pile of actual Bush gaffes, because that’s not the point.  Obviously, conservatives think Bush was treated unfairly, but even granting that, is that a justification to treat Obama unfairly?  I suppose if you’re bartering tits and tats, it is, but I’m in the habit of setting my own standards, not obeying those of my opponent.

Update: I was totally right.

June 8 2009 – You might ask, “Where’s the nuance in that?” I’d reply, “What’s nuance, some kind of fruit-scented shampoo?”  Then, I’d pause for laughter.

Ed Whelan at NRO just ripped the mask off of one of the many internet Batmen who gad about town in daylight, and ply their internet wares under cover of darkness: (h/t Jake Tapper)

One bane of the Internet is the anonymous blogger who abuses his anonymity to engage in irresponsible attacks. One such blogger who has been biting at my ankles in recent months is the fellow who calls himself “publius” at the Obsidian Wings blog.

He goes on to out “publius,” and all that that implies.  You can check out Ed Morrissey’s typically measured response to this over at Hot Air, where the point is debated and polled.  I actually stopped reading it quickly, so it wouldn’t cloud my writing on the central topic, but I’m sure he ended up on the right side of the question.

The term “anonymous blogger” brings to mind some weaselly know-it-all, hunched over his laptop in his underwear, banging away at his blogspot site about how someone smarter and more important than him is “teh suck.”  However, there are a lot of very influential, high quality bloggers who operate under the aforementioned cloak.  Ed’s colleague, Allahpundit, springs immediately to mind.  Ace of Spades is another.

The fact that these two blog pseudonymously doesn’t affect the quality of their work, and since each has a large following, even their cloaked identities have reputations to protect.  If they write “irresponsibly,” there are consequences.  Other bloggers can point it out, humiliate them, damage their respective brands.  You can argue about journalism standards on blogs, but that applies to the named and the faux-named alike.

The best way to handle this is in the marketplace of ideas.  If your attacker is worth responding to, you fight back using your own platform.

Now, if someone writes something that is actionable, the remedy is a legal one, and the outing is a by-product.  Simply outing a blogger on your own blog is what I’m talking about here.

The problem with blogging is that the internet give you all of the detriments of celebrity, and none of the advantages.  An IRL celebrity gets paid a lot, and can afford unlisted numbers, gated mansions patrolled by hounds, and bodyguards.  Their celebrity, also, is not a threat to their livelihood, but rather the object of it.

The blogger is often unpaid, and relies on a real-world job for subsistence.  He or she is ill-equipped to deal with the type of harassment, or worse, that an outing can bring.

Finally, outing is cheating.  Blogging is about verbal combat, and ripping off your opponent’s mask is substantively empty, the quivalent of bringing a knife to a chess game.

I also found my thermal mug, right where I left it, in the press briefing room breakroom.

Maybe bipartisanship isn’t completely dead, but only mostly dead.

Yesterday, I reported that Fox News television personality Bill O’Reilly had stolen my reporting on Helen Thomas’ explanation of her “so-called terrorists” remark, and aired an uncredited, butchered version of my video clip.

Since then, O’Reilly’s actions have been denounced by both Redstate and Hot Air, two of the most influential conservative sites in the blogosphere. I appeared on Ed Morrisey’s web TV show yesterday, where Ed described O’Reilly’s actions as “small” and “unprofessional.”

To illustrate just how egregious O’Reilly’s thievery was, even Redstate, avowed non-fans of yours truly, had the sense of fairness to call O’Reilly out. From Leon Wolf at Redstate:

Memo to Bill O’Reilly: show a little journalistic integrity and credit your sources. Or at the very least, have the common courtesy not to actively obscure a source who did some original journalism. Bloggers do not rip off stories from the mainstream media and claim them as their own; in fact, not only do we credit our sources, but the commonly accepted practice is to link to the original source material so our readers can evaluate for themselves whether we are characterizing it fairly. I suppose it might be too much to hold you up to blogging standards, but the proper thing to do here would have been to either credit Christopher or at least leave his graphic in place.

If O’Reilly’s thievery results in some healing between the left and the right, I suppose it’s a small price to pay.