Apolitic

I realize that 'politics' is one of the subheads up at the top of this page, and that I've failed to really address politics thus far on this blog. The reasons for this are many, but the one that rings truest is that I just don't wanna. It's 2005, and 2004 was a bad year for those of us who pay attention to politics here in the US of A. Unless of course you are one of the misled and zombified malignants who sludged forward to support the Dubya, then it was a banner fucking year. But then, who gives a shit about you, anyway?

I digress.

My point is that, after all the turmoil and effort and pain and complete confusion of last year and the way things turned out, the last thing I wanted to do in this space was add to the heaps and gobs of half-informed political commentary clogging up the ether. There's lots out there, and most of it is awful, awful stuff; half-truths or untruths disguised as news or reportage, rantings of lunatics that then show up in daily conversation, again masquerading as truth, being quoted and bandied about as if the parrots actually knew what they were talking about.

This is something I didn't want to engage in. And I still don't. I don't pretend that I'm more fully informed or more correct than most (though if you voted for Bush, you lose, automatically, period, because you are a twit with no conscience and your hand is quite literally one of those ushering in this dark age in America--sorry). I have an opinion on most things, but I feel that until I understand an issue thoroughly, it's better to keep mouth shut and ears and mind open. So, for this reason, politics go missing from this blog.

There are lots of great places to go to get your political fill.
I like to consider these the trinity of political blogs. Left, middle, and right, respectively:
Talking Points Memo

Bull Moose Blog

Andrew Sullivan

I consider myself pretty solidly left of center, so TPM is my source of choice, but Marshall Whitman over at the Bull Moose has a brilliant political mind, and his ongoing tribute to the spirit of TR resonates with me. Andrew Sullivan, conservative though he is, is consistent and fair-minded and is not afraid to call out his fellow righties when they're being assholes. Indeed, in these times, reading his blog is not much different than reading the other two. All of them understand and acknowledge the magnitude of the train wreck that is Bushco.

News:
New York Times

Washington Post

Out there, but good:
Punk Voter

AlterNet

Entertaining Lefty Agitprop:
The Gadflyer

Counterpunch


OK, that's enough for now. I guess I'm just trying to make the point that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. There's a lot of garbage floating around out there, and Joe and Jane America have become as effective at spinning bullshit into acceptable political rhetoric as most campaign managers are, and that's not a good thing. I'm no absolutist, on pretty much anything, but I do believe there is right and there is wrong, and representing untruth as truth and calling it spin is just plain wrong.

But that's politics, right?