Washington Post: Best Oregon Blogs

Over at the Washington Post, columnist Chris Cilizza's been compiling a list of the top state-level political blogs around the country.

For Oregon, he names five blogs - two left, three right. On the left, Blue Oregon and Jack Bog's Blog. On the right, NW Republican, The Oregon Catalyst, and Write Idea.

Let's use this space to talk about your favorite blogs. What are your must-reads? Especially tell us about local blogs, niche blogs, and blogs that you find especially insightful.

Discuss.

  • Jack Murray (unverified)
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    Are you sure Jack Bog's Blog is to the left?

    On its most progressive day, it seems to be centrist.

    Then again, I'd argue for the creation of a 'curmudgeon' category. And maybe an 'irrelevant' category (RINO Watch, Loaded Orygun).

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    BoJack on the left, huh?

    Whatsamatter?

    Don't they research their stories any more?

    -m

  • Rose Wilde (unverified)
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    Lane Bus! The unofficial blog of the Lane Bus (of the Oregon Bus Project).

    Local, state, and sometimes other politics, plus the "6 E's" Election Reform Environment Economic Fairness Equal Rights Education and.. 'ealth care

    Seeking more authors -- with a Lane County interest!

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    Two blogs spring to mind readily:

    Hart Williams' excellent his vorpal sword.

    The wonderfully quirky Institute of Jurassic Technology

  • his vorpal sword (unverified)
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    Thanks for the kind comment, Kevin. And, while we're in a vorpal mood, might I just snicker-snack this:

    "The Write Idea" is currently running THIS as its posting:

    Sunday, March 30, 2008 American Civil War: The South Was Right A Look at the Moral and Legal Elements Surrounding the Civil War In the Orwellian tradition, he who controls the present, controls the past, and he who controls the past, controls the future. Every political system has a myth which is used to influence the beliefs of the citizens (or subjects) of that particular government. The myth of postbellum American government is simple and yet brilliantly effective: “In the American Civil War, the North fought to end slavery, and the South to preserve it.” This statement contains one of the greatest fallacies of American history. Unfortunately, the United States Government has applied its massive resources to propagate this myth. Schoolchildren study, some even memorize, Lincoln’s speeches—and yet—probably, they have never heard of a man by the name of Jefferson Davis....

    I don't know what the Washington Post writer was thinking, but this Southern Neo-Confederate propaganda is the American equivalent of Holocaust Denial.

    How this kind of horrific, toxic crap gets picked up by a purportedly legitimate newspaper is beyond me. (Unless it was a Supreme Being's synchronistic way of making the WaPo look like idiots).

    Way to go, WaPo. Now everyone will be sure that Oregonians are bat-sh*t crazy.

    (If you're interested, my "pre-buttal" was featured on Crooks & Liars on January 1, and can be found here: "Slavery - It's Not Over.")

    Congrats to Blue Oregon and Jack Bog for being on the list. And, if I might be so bold, leaving off the other best two Oregon blogs, Preemptive Karma and Loaded Orygun, was a gross oversight.

    NW Republican? The bloggy equivalent of the late Weekly World News. Feyh. Ptui. (Having been personally smeared by sleazy Coyote therein, I am NOT without prejudice in the matter.)

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    I agree with those questioning exactly how "left" Jack's blog is, but the man is a good writer. Unlike some of us (that would be ME), he gets the whole "brevity" thing and yet manages to be entertaining at the same time. That doesn't mean that I read his blog regularly - I don't. But the man can write.

    Jack's got a post up today about being unable to sleep or some such thing. That part bored me. But his quip snuggled in the midst of it about the husband and wife team pitching mattresses on late-nite TV and how each new commercial is an opportunity to see how their diets are going is just golden. It may not be PC to talk about that oh so common American struggle with weight, which I am no exception from, but I couldn't help chuckling when I read his quip.

  • Bill Bodden (unverified)
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    "The Write Idea" is currently running THIS as its posting:

    Sunday, March 30, 2008 American Civil War: The South Was Right</i>
    

    I believe H. L. Mencken made the same point about three generations ago. Mencken's reputed quote

  • his vorpal sword (unverified)
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    Mencken or no Mencken, it's still holocaust denial.

    Or is the Klan still big hereabouts?

  • Miles (unverified)
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    Jack Bogdanski's writing is broad and prolific, and his blog is a good read if you live in Portland. Yes, he's a curmudgeon and occasionally veers into "You kids get off my lawn!" territory, but his sharp writing and acerbic wit is worth reading. As for his politics, his blog attracts a lot of wing-nut commenters, but Jack himself mostly supports Democrats (while taking them to task for various sins).

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    My personal favorite is Shortwing Pipers Gotta keep the Ol' Tri-Pacer in top shape!

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    I KNEW this thing would go places! Congrats Blue O, you do a great job for us political nerds. Personally, I've had a chance to be in the Cleveland Plain Dealer and a couple other great plugs because of my little posts and I couldn't have done that without this platform! Thanks a ton.

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    Hmmm.... Let me chime in here. Unlike most blogs in the political blogosphere, Jack's not particularly partisan - he doesn't support Democrats just because they're Democrats.

    And he's certainly not an ideological liberal, but I'd definitely say that he's more left than right. (Maybe the above post shouldn't have divided the world into two camps, that's true.)

    After all, he rails against the abuses of the Bush Administration and has supported plenty of Democrats in their campaigns.

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    Two blogs I'd throw in the mix...

    Bike Portland is the best one-writer niche blog I've ever seen. It's not always about politics, but it's always about bicycling in Portland - which is often political.

    The blog by Eugene's Ali Edwards is about family and scrapbooking, but she's occasionally dipped into politics (her hubbie is Rep. Chris Edwards) and is a key blog in the autism activism world. Great stuff there.

  • Dave Porter (unverified)
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    Sticking to the NW:

    My favorite China blog is the China Law Blog out of Seattle and China. Although it focuses on legal issue, other China related issue are discussed with lots of links.

    Oregon has two great economic blogs: the U of O's Mark Thomas' Economist's View and OSU's Patrick Emerson's The Oregon Economics Blog.

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    Favorite blogs...Lelo in NOPO is a great one about all the things that come to her mind, including food, gardening, great photos and the GLBT community. And I love my own food-focused musings at Karol Cooks.

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    A friend and I just started a blog oriented towards political mothers -- www.poligot.wordpress.com.

    We're happy to invite political mothers to be regular columnists, if anybody is interested!!!

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    The WW Blog and Mercury Blog are great news feeds.

    Oregon Media Insiders is fascinating.

    And you'll never get jucier war protest & Bush protest info than at Portland Indymedia.

  • Murphy (unverified)
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    Yes --OMI is a terrific look inside the belly of the beast. And it also seems to me that paying an occasional visit to the bizarro worlds of places like Rino Watch is a good thing. Anytime we're able to support the conservatives commitment to self immolation, we need to.

  • LT (unverified)
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    Congrats, Kari!

    One really thoughtful local blog is http://www.ridenbaugh.com/

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    Bike Portland is a must.

    But I admit, lately I've been almost exclusively confined (willfully) to Stuff White People Like. It is incredibly illuminating (and I fit far too many of the categories like a glove).

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    Oh! And I can't forget Blogtown, PDX!

    Especially since Scott blogged about my bike getting stolen outside City Hall way back in '06.

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    Congrats, Kari!

    Oh no, no, no... Congrats don't go to me. I helped start this thing, but most of the content these days is written by other people. The kudos go to my co-editors, Jeff Alworth and Charlie Burr; our other co-founder, Jesse Cornett; our first BlueOregon Fellow, Nick Wirth... as well as the many contributors who write for the site.

    If this site were just me, it'd be a boring site indeed. I get way too much credit most of the time (and too much of the blame too!) when this really is very much a team effort.

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    Yes, I deserve all the credit. Kari's really just the front man; I'm the wizard behind the curtain, and all dance to my secret tune.

    (You caught the humor, right?)

    My picks: Oregon Econ Blog, Ridenbaugh, Chuck Currie, Chuck for..., Witigonen, and LoadedO, but only after the primary.

  • Nathan (unverified)
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    http://writeidea.blogspot.com/2008/03/washington-post-best-oregon-blogs.html

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    All kudos to Kari on this!

  • Samuel John Klein (unverified)
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    Interesting list. Jack Bog's vital but a bit overrated. Stumptown Confidential is a must, as is LeLo, and Miles.

    Of the political blogs, this one is the stuff. No question about it.

    b!X should have been a shoo-in.

    NW Republican? Please. That's the best they could do?

    And kudos to The Wrong Idea for dependably trundling out the old idea that this Civil War had nothing to do with slavery and therefore was never an issue. Thanks for helping perpetuate the image of Oregon as a place where Klan can still feel welcome.

    The biggest sin and crime is that my blog wasn't even considered. Yeah, I know!

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    Thanks for the reminder, Sam. I knew I'd left several blogs off when I revamped the blogroll at PK but couldn't remember who. You're back on it.

  • Samuel John Klein (unverified)
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    Thanks, Kevin! You're a bloke ... that's a bonus!

    Now I suppose I'll have to post more political stuff. Didn't work out so well last time ... I'll go find a new nuance.

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  • AJ526 (unverified)
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    Although I don't agree with you most of the time, I think your site is informative and not just hate-filled, which is why I recommended it to Washington Post.

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