It's time to submit your post to the Watcher's Council for the weekly judging of what they consider to be the most link-worthy blog posts. Just follow the Watcher's instructions. For examples of what it is all about, read last week's winning post by a council member and the winning post by a non-council member. The more ambitions can peruse the list of results for the latest vote or even the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.
It's time that you submit a post to the Watcher's Council. Just follow the Watcher's instructions. To see what it is all about, here is the most recent winning council post, here is the most recent winning non-council post, here is the list of results for the latest vote, and here is the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.
Time to get your post in for the Watcher's Council by following the Watcher's instructions. Last week's winning council post can be found here with the winning non-council post here. Peruse the results of the voting or see all nominees that were voted on.
Members of the Watcher's Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around. To join in just follow the Watcher's instructions. Here is the most recent winning council post, here is the most recent winning non-council post, here is the list of results for the latest vote, and here is the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.
Bloggers: Time to pick your favorite blog post and enter it in the Watcher's Council for this week's voting. To see what it's all about, see the most recent winning council post, the most recent winning non-council post, the list of results for the latest vote, and even the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.
There's an opportunity for a blogger out there, 'cause AbbaGav has stepped down from the Watcher's Council and left an opening for an aspiring young blogger. I cannot express how good it was to serve on the council — the exposure is great, the traffic is fab, and it's just plain fun. So go petition the Watcher.
To get an idea of the quality of posts that win check out the most recent winning post submitted by a council member: Education Wonks' Autum Ashante: Child Prodigy Or Something Else?. To get an idea of the competition, check out the winning non-council member post: Florida Cracker's What Did You Do In The Great Gulf War II, Grandpa? or read the list of results for the latest vote and the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.
My father who died last year was proud, proud, proud that he fought not just in WWII, but on Iwo Jima. At his funeral, a Marine talked about the battle of Iwo Jima and the thousands who died there.Journalist and photographer Michael Yon posting from Iraq won the non-members category with Gates of Fire:This was not public relations. This was not a "slogan" or military propaganda. This was a profoundly humbling and moving honor to my father, who considered his service to this country as one of the most significant and important parts of his life.
That such an article could question this honor; or deride the motivation to honor those who have fallen; only further confirms the anti-American agenda of those who claim to be "objective" and "neutral", but who are virulently antiwar and anti-American.
BamBamBamBam! Bullets were hitting all around Kurilla. The young 2nd lieutenant and specialist were the only two soldiers near. Neither had real combat experience. AH had no weapon. I had a camera.Read it all.Seconds count.
Kurilla, though down and unable to move, was fighting and firing, yelling at the two young soldiers to get in there; but they hesitated. BamBamBamBam!
Then peruse the list of all entries that received a vote from the nominees. If you want to participate read the Watcher's instructions.
But my post pales in emotive comparison to Dymphna's An Open Letter to Cindy Sheehan at Gates of Vienna. Read it. It's sad. It's beautiful. It's blogging at its best.
The Watcher lists all posts that received a vote from all of the entries made.
You should consider participating.
For instance, out of the posts submitted last week were these two winners:
The list of submissions this week is worth a read. Nice stuff.
For instance, out of the posts submitted last week were these two winners:
BTW, I haven't seen that the Watcher has filled the vacancy left by my resignation as of yet. Perhaps it's not too late to apply. I highly recommend it.
After all, you can see how long I could stay away.
Thus the Watcher is accepting applications to fill this void. Run on over and read the offer.
As Gaffney says, one could reasonably infer that if this report is true, then Tedax, the Spanish police bomb squad was, at worst, involved in the bombing itself.For more on the story, check out The Adventures of Chester's post, Strange Coincidences in Madrid.
BTW, the Gates of Vienna won this week's Watcher's Council with this very excellent post.
There was a tie for second place. Little Red Blog posted Neither First Nor Last, which is about media-elite Linda Foley, President of the Newspaper Guild, and her comments about the U.S. military targeting journalists in Iraq. The Education Wonks posted From The Political Correctism Run Amok Files: Private Parts Galore At Roger Williams University , an absolute must-read-to-believe entry concerning a day dedicated to celebrating The Vagina Monaloges on college campuses and the suppression of an effort to dedicate a day to newly-created The Penis Dialouges.
The Indepundit (who is blogging from Kuwait these days) takes first place in the non-member category with Blood and Justice, a bit of history behind Saddam's bloody reign.
Second place is taken by No Oil for Pacifists with The Left Isn't Liberal.
All posts that received votes are available on the Watcher's site.
| Votes | Council link |
|---|---|
| 3 1/3 | Bush: A Solitary Voice For
Remembrance Right Wing Nut House |
| 2 1/3 | Villains and
Scoundrels Dr. Sanity |
| 2 1/3 | How Political Correctness
Lowers IQ Gates of Vienna |
| 1 2/3 | What's a Friendly Little
Get Together? Little Red Blog |
| Votes | Non-council link |
|---|---|
| 3 1/3 | Jihad Begot the Crusades
(1) The American Thinker |
| 2 1/3 | Al Qaeda Tours and
Travel An American Expat in Southeast Asia |
| 1 2/3 | Lawrence O'Donnell Explains
It All For Me Cathy's World |
Second place is taken by The Glittering Eye with Intellectual Property and the Trade Deficit. Must read.
Verifrank takes first place in the non-council members category with I Got Your Desecration Right Here Pal, a open letter to Muslims from murdered hostage Fabrizio Quattrocchi. Imaginative and spot on.
Austin Bay Blog takes second in this category with The Press’ Abu Ghraib: Newsweek Apologizes, After 15 People Are Dead.
All entries that earned votes this week are listed on the Watcher's Site.
To participate in next week's contest go see the Watcher of Weasels.
Second place was a three way tie. Glittering Eye fisks a French military report. Gates of Vienna compares anti-American peace-at-all-costs protesters to Lebanese freedom demonstrators in Where Angels Fear to Tread. And the learned Dr. Sanity tells us why those obsessed are not suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder — no, they're paranoid.
In the non-Council member category, New Sisyphus takes first with a dire and timely warning in The Great Islamic Warrior:
Make no mistake about it: a new world war is brewing. And, as before, we in the liberal west are sleepwalking towards it, not really daring to state the terrible and unbearable truth.Done With Mirrors took second place with Wilsonians, part I, a fascinating comparison of Bush and Woodrow Wilson's foreign policies.There is no co-existence possible with the Islamic Fascists. It’s them or us.
All posts that received a vote are available on the Watcher's site.
Second place was a three-way tie. The Glittering Eye writes another in the China series, this one addressing the ticking bomb that is China's banking system. Rightwing Nuthouse writes about a disturbing trend in Russian Revanchism. And the Sundries Shack has a Bible lesson for Kerry.
In the non-Council member category, Blue State Conservatives takes first place with Los Angeles Marketed as Part of Mexico by LA Hispanic Station. Second Place is taken by American Future with a quite educational piece called The EU and the Arabs IV -- War, Oil, EAD.
All posts that earned votes are listed on the Watcher's site. There's some incredible posts there — peruse and enjoy.
Dr. Sanity's essay Narcissism and Society: Part I - The Psychology of the Self and The Sundries Shack's post Dean Promises to Use Dead Woman as Political Tool. Media Yawns tied for second in among Watcher Council members.
Ex-council member Terrorism Unveiled takes first place in the non-council member category with A Change in Tactics, in which the recent moves by Zarqawi's terrorist group is analyzed.
Rantings of a Sandmonkey takes second place with a gloomy analysis of the recent happenings in Egypt in My cure to the "Islam is the soloution" people.
All posts that received votes are listed on the Watcher's site.
Dr. Sanity asks "Is There Evidence of Life at NASA?" The question is prompted by the decision to save a few million dollars (a very few) by axing the 28-year-old Voyager program as it approaches the outer reaches of our solar system. The doctor's post tied for second in this week's contest with my entry, Indonesian Quakes Could Trigger Supervolcano Eruption.
China is the subject of the winning post in the non-member's category as The Redhunter takes first place with a superb analysis in War with China: 2008 - 2010? .
Second place in this category was also a tie. Former Watcher Terrorism Unveiled writes about A Change in Tactics being used by terrorists in Iraq and what it means. Neo-neocon writes about the Jews of Iraq in Talabani, the Kurds, and the Jews. Fascinating stuff.
All posts that received a vote are listed on the Watcher's site. Peruse and enjoy.
Abraham Lincoln, when asked what were his plans to win the war, was quoted as saying "I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.".This must-read post was the clear winner in this week's Watcher's Council, and deservedly so.I thought of this quote when pondering what to write about the imminent death of Pope John Paul II. Was Lincoln correct? Are we condemned to simply ride the whirlwind of history, thrown here and there by capricious forces beyond our control? Or do men command this whirlwind through the force of their own personality and wisdom of their decisions?
Second place was a four-way tie. The always-fascinating Dr. Sanity ties the theories of Freud to healthy societies in Civilization and its Discontents:
A society that meshes with human nature and, in particular, finds ways for the many negative aspects of that nature (e.g., envy, greed, desire for power, desire for wealth, aggression etc. etc.)to be sublimated in socially useful and/or harmless behavior--rather than attempting to crush or deny that they exist--will be a very powerful and successful society. But there will always be the discontents.The Education Wonks posts about a foolish union decision in Washington State Teachers Union Boycotts Wal-Mart And Hurts Itself Instead:
Apparently, the WEA is unhappy that Wal-Mart has successfully withstood attempts by any union to organize Wal-Mart's workers. So... in a show of "union solidarity" WEA has instructed its members not to buy any materials for their classrooms (or their students) from the "non-union" Wal-Mart.The SmarterCop records an incredible story of father and son in Footnotes #1:
This man with severe cerebral palsy, who experts said would be a helpless vegetable and lack the quality of life to live in society, not only experienced life to its fullest, but kept accomplishing things, one after another. In 1993, he got a bachelor's degree from BU - mind you, this man can't talk, walk, or control his arms. In fact, Rick now lives on his own, with the assistance of personal attendants, and helps to develop computers that aid the disabled. And to this day, Dick and Rick race together many times a year.My post Moving Melancholy somehow tied with these fine pieces.
The non-Council members category had a clear winner as well, with PoliPundit's W M D - or how ‘W’ Made the Difference. Money quote:
Second place in the non-members category was a three-way tie:I’d say that counts for a win.
- Iraq is rebuilding as a new democratic republic. They have no WMD stockpiles or programs. Saddam is in prison, his vicious sons dead, his political party dissolved.
- Eight major Middle-East-based terrorist organizations which existed in 2003, have been obliterated. The rest are under attack, on every possible level. No terrorist organization is believed to have any WMD materials, in lareg part through cooperative anti-proliferation agreements.
- Libya has given up its WMD. Pakistan has scaled back nuclear testing, and disavowed BW/CW for any reason. India has matched the promise. Iran has promised to comply (sort of) with UN Inspectors.
- Previously unknown programs in Iran and North Korea have been identified, and pressure (diplomatic, political, economic) has been applied to reach a non-proliferant condition.
- The US is the acknowledged leader in every area of the world, in military, economic, and political terms. American authority is undeniable.
Second place resulted in an unprecedented three-way tie: Dr. Sanity with Where Have All The Mothers Gone?, Wallo World with Of Science Fiction's Dark Side and Little Red Blog with About Last Night — all fine posts.
It's AlphaSweep Week, as my submission of a post from the blogosphere takes first: Democracy in Iraq (Is Here!) wins with 2 Years.
WILLisms takes second with More On The Babe Theory of Political Movements.
It seems that my fears of being permanently shut out with the addition of yet another big-talent blogger were unjustified. Or perhaps the RW Nuthouse is right — begging works.
All posts that received a vote are listed on the Watcher of Weasels site. Peruse and enjoy.
Are you freakin' kidding me? How am I ever expected to win with competition like Dr. Sanity, Sundries Shack, Wallo World, Education Wonks, Little Red Blog, and so on?!
This week I am honored to have tied for second with one of my new blog idols, Doctor Sanity, as she writes about International Women's Day in Iran. My post, Massive Demonstration for Lebanese Freedom, tied her excellent writing. (If only I had featured more protest babes, maybe I would have come in first!)
In the non-council category, New Sisyphus takes first with The New United Nations: American Pressure At Work. A taste:
What is responsible for the momentum of change sweeping through the United Nations at the moment?Baldilocks takes second with Looking at the Navel Again.The answer lies in four related but separate phenomena: Fox News and other conservative media, the rise of the Blogosphere, the Republican majority in the United States Congress and, most importantly, the President himself. Each has played a role which, together, has created a moment of pressure that is bending an unwilling United Nations to the American view of what is to be done.
All entries that received votes are listed on the Watcher's site. Also a special announcement: the Watcher has a seat open! Go see if he'll let you play.
The Sundries Shack takes second place with Greenspan in the Crosshairs detailing how Greenspan, once greatly esteemed by Democrats, is now the victim of a coordinated smear campaign because of his support for private accounts. Once again, the Democrats are unable to attack the position so they engage in the politics of personal destruction.
In the non-member category, BuzzMachine takes first with Bill Maher: Over the edge! Read it if your teeth can take the grinding. If it wasn't for Deadwood and Carnivále I would cancel HBO because they give this slime air time and I don't want to support it. But for once I pick personal over political -- there's so little good entertainment these days.
Second place goes to Publius Pundit for Protests in Unlikely Places, a listing of places (with pictures!) in which demonstrations for freedom are taking place but for some reason don't seem to warrent MSM attention. An excellent post (which is why I nominated it).
All posts that received a vote can be found on the Watcher's site. Bloggers should probably take note of the Watcher's offer to consider independent submissions to the weekly contest -- an excellent way to get widespread exposure in the 'sphere.
Congratulations to The Moderate Voice for taking second place with More Bad News From Russia: The Putin Youth -- a must read, albeit disturbing, post.
In the non-member category New Sisyphus takes first with The United Kingdom and the United States: Civil Liberties in the Age of Terror, an enlightening look at military tribunals throughout our history.
Speaking of history, Right Wing Nuthouse takes second with Washington's Birthday a National Holiday... Again which reminds us why Washington is called the Father of our Country and the debt that this nation owes him.
All posts that received votes are listed on the Watcher's site.
Today, the eve of Ashoura, has seen a marked increase in the number and scale of attacks by terrorist on the people of Iraq, and particularly on Shi’a Muslims. This is Muslim on Muslim violence and yet, the worldwide Sunni population has not stepped forward to demand it stop, to stand between the terrorist and their intended victims or to support the brave American, Iraqi and allied troops who are doing so.This is the beginning of an excellent post by Little Red Blog called Waiting. Excellent post, and winner of last week's Watcher's Council.How long must we wait?
Meanwhile The Education Wonks took second with a post about those churlish junior high children that sent invective letters to a soldier stationed in South Korea, Some Students Need Lessons In Respecting Our Troops.
In the non-Council member category, Gates of Vienna (which has been my "featured blog" for the past several days) won with Co-Opting Jihad, a must-read post that I won't even try to excerpt.
Speaking of must-read posts, QandO took second second with Shattering the Islamic Terrorist Stereotype, which I will excerpt just a bit:
There's much more.
- 90% came from caring, intact families.
- 63% had gone to college.
- 75% were professionals or semi-professionals.
- 13% were madrassa-trained (and most of that 13% from one school)
All entries that received a vote are listed on the Watcher's site.
The post was good enough to cause the Watcher to cast a rare tie-breaking vote in the Shack's favor, causing my post The Complexity of W's Middle Eastern Policy to slide to second place. The Watcher made the correct choice.
In the non-Council member category American Digest takes first place with Red Like Ward = Black Like Me, a rather nice flaying of Ward Churchill.
Second place goes to New Sisyphus with The End of the Cold War: Testing the Left's Central Thesis.
As always, all entries that received votes are listed on the Watcher's site. Peruse and enjoy.
Dr. Sanity draws upon a professional experience to post a comparison of Democrats and a girl with hysterical blindness. Nice, and she takes second place.
Victory Soap earned a place in my RSS reader with Just. Shut. Up., an impassioned defense of General Mattis. She also wins the Watcher's Council in the non-member category.
Hog on Ice takes second in non-members with Today's Hate Essay: Yo, Ward? What are you DOING Here, Bitch?, a post that defies description. Just read it. You'll be glad you did. Just don't be someplace where you'll get in trouble for laughing out loud.
All entries that earned a vote are listed on the Watcher's site. Please no rude comments about me being shut out again. I'm plotting a comeback for next week.
Second place was a three-way tie this week. The Sundries Shack's The Christians are Coming! The Christians are Coming! is a reply to a rather narrow-minded column found in the media. New Watcher member Little Red Blog relates the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz to today's events in Pogrom. My post, Two Tales of One Event which addresses differing media coverage of a recent poll of Iraqis, somehow tied these two excellent posts.
Zarqawi's War On Democracy takes first place in the non-member's category as Cavalier's Guardian WatchBlog continues his very insightful blogging career:
In a recent taped statement, a man who identified himself as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi said, "We have declared a fierce war on this evil principle of democracy and those who follow this wrong ideology." The aim of terrorists in Iraq is to prevent Iraqis from exercising their right to choose their own leaders in next week's election, the first of its kind. This statement, however, reflects Zarqawi's understanding of the overall War on Terror (does he call it the War on Democracy?), and his knowledge that, in the end, he and his kind will lose. Democracy and liberty are rising in the Islamic world at last.Turning from the deadly serious to the seriously funny, Iowahawk takes second place with an absolutely hilarious post, Heart of Redness, which chronicles the travels of a mainstream journalist into the wild, unknown and completely dangerous land of Red State territory.
As always, all posts that received a vote are listed on the Watcher's site. Peruse and enjoy.
Any blogger that wishes to participate in next week's contest should read the Watcher's kind offer.
Welcome aboard!
The entry from the Sundries Shack, Ted Kennedy’s Contract on Your Paycheck, is an excellent post about his strategy to win the hearts and minds of Americans. This excellent analysis exposes a very scary vision (you just thought Kerry was scary!), and took second place.
Speaking of imaginative posts, Verifrank takes first place in the non-member's category with Welcome Neighbor!, which draws a parallel between WMD in Iraq and a crack house in your neighborhood. Again, nicely done!
Blackfive took second place with the now-famous letter from LTC Tim Ryan, titled Aiding and Abetting the Enemy: the Media in Iraq. If you've been under a rock for the past week and haven't read this, go do it now. I insist!
All posts that earned a vote are listed on the Watcher's site.
My lack of attention to my blogging duties are reflected in the fact that I did not receive a single vote (an unusual occurrence, I assure you). Somehow I have to figure out how to get my life from getting in the way of my hobby!
But it still does NOT explain (from what we've read so far) in highly specific terms exactly how the basic checks and balances of solid confirmation were suspended and precisely WHY -- even in the light of the warnings the network received.There's much more, including a nice roundup of coverage from the rest of the 'sphere. It is so good, in fact, that it is the winning member's entry in the Watcher's Council.The program had gotten enough red flags on this story to hold a bullfight in Madrid...
Coming in second is The Sundries Shack with Alberto Gonzales and the Memo Deceit, an absolute must-read post on what the Gonzales "torture" memo actually said and how it is being mischaracterized to attack him:
It’s becoming pretty clear to me that there’s a concerted effort right now to revive Abu Ghraib and to tie that directly to Mr. Gonzales as the archtect of the policies that “allowed” such things to happen. That effort is, to my thinking, a combination of ignorance to what Gonzales actually wrote and purposeful deceit, aimed at severely damaging his reputation and character. We ought not let that happen.Taking first place in the non-member category is Varifrank with Today, I was "Unprofessional"..., an emotive post about an incident involving some Euro-snobs and their attitude towards Bush and the tsunami. I linked to this post last week because it moved me, and am pleased to link to it again. A must read.
Second place was taken by Carpe Bonum with How the Terrorists can Win. After reading this post all I can say is, "Exactly!"
These and many other fine posts are listed on the Watcher's site in a post that details all entries that received a vote. As always, bloggers outside the Council can easily participate in this weekly contest by taking advantage of the Watcher's kind offer.