Council Winners
The winners from July 7 have been posted.
The votes spread out nicely, but the clear favorite was The Wild, Wild West(ern Europe) by Gates of Vienna, which compared crime statistics in American and European cities. I'm always a little wary of such statistics, whether they're used to compare school systems or nations, because the definition of a crime can vary from place to place and the level of crime-reporting is not always the same.
Also getting votes were Escaping the Legal and Moral Quagmire of Guantanamo by Right Wing Nut House, an excellent analysis of an ugly picture. Even if you peel away the anti-American hyperbole, Rick says, what's left is not good enough for America:
Other votes went to Jew-hater Bush?!?? by Joshuapundit; Lives, Fortunes, and Sacred Honor by New World Man; Among the Dead Cities from right here; Why Haven’t We Captured Osama Bin Laden?, another fine bit of straight thinking by The Glittering Eye; and July 4, 1976 by ShrinkWrapped. I remember that day well, but I had forgotten this incident happened at that time.
Outside the council, the winner was Declaration of Independence: A Fisking by Outside the Beltway. Pretty funny, and it shows up the pettiness that the whole blog world is prone to. Or maybe it's just modern civilization.
Other votes went to Sometimes Even the Good Ones Lose Their Way by The Shape of Days; The Bad Guys Are Never Islamists by The Western Media, which looks at recent movies; and Scattered Thoughts: War on Terror Edition by Easily Distracted, which was my nomination for the week -- not in the usual flow of these things, which break to the right, but I thought there was much material for bridge building in the substantial parts of this left-side blogger's post.
Other votes went to The Ongoing War Against Reality by Henryk M. Broder at Spiegel Online; Mr. President, Carry On: The Hamdan Decision by Right Side of the Rainbow; NYTimesWatch: The Public's Selective Right To Know by Villainous Company; and Welcome Back 9/10 by Flopping Aces.
Meanwhile, here are the winners from June 30:
In the council, first place went to The Dance of Escalation and Reaction by ShrinkWrapped.
Also getting votes were How Do You Solve a Problem Like... Korea? by The Glittering Eye; Sanction of the Victim by Dr. Sanity; Except by New World Man; and Troops Charged -- A Proper Decision by Rhymes With Right, which I'm pretty sure was my vote that week.
Outside the council, first place went to It's an Islamic Jihad, Stupid by Diana West at Townhall.com, a column which doesn't seem to be there anymore.
Also getting votes were Peter, Paul, and Ingrate by Florida Cracker; who would have suspected old '60s peace movement folk singers aged into bitter, shrill, rude political extremists? Well, everyone, I guess. Other votes went to Why We Shouldn't Prosecute the Reporters and Editors of the L.A. Times and New York Times -- Just Yet by Patterico's Pontifications; Voting for American Interests by La Shawn Barber's Corner; and NYT, WaPo Again Work Tirelessly To Undermine American Security by Ace of Spades HQ.
Also figuring in the scoring was Americans Need to Be Outraged by Sneakeasy's Joint. I thought this post made a great point, but overshot the rhetoric. Simple would have been best, because the point was such a good one: American soldiers were captured, tortured, and murdered by our enemies in Iraq. And too many of the voices who loudly condemned Americans for far less vicious crimes had not a word to say about it.
The votes spread out nicely, but the clear favorite was The Wild, Wild West(ern Europe) by Gates of Vienna, which compared crime statistics in American and European cities. I'm always a little wary of such statistics, whether they're used to compare school systems or nations, because the definition of a crime can vary from place to place and the level of crime-reporting is not always the same.
Also getting votes were Escaping the Legal and Moral Quagmire of Guantanamo by Right Wing Nut House, an excellent analysis of an ugly picture. Even if you peel away the anti-American hyperbole, Rick says, what's left is not good enough for America:
There are no starving skeletons or daily beatings as there were on Devil’s Island and the Hanoi Hilton. But the brutality that has been confirmed by independent observers, including our own military and the FBI, is real enough and has brought shame to the United States and damaged our reputation as a champion of justice and human rights among friend and foe alike.
Other votes went to Jew-hater Bush?!?? by Joshuapundit; Lives, Fortunes, and Sacred Honor by New World Man; Among the Dead Cities from right here; Why Haven’t We Captured Osama Bin Laden?, another fine bit of straight thinking by The Glittering Eye; and July 4, 1976 by ShrinkWrapped. I remember that day well, but I had forgotten this incident happened at that time.
Outside the council, the winner was Declaration of Independence: A Fisking by Outside the Beltway. Pretty funny, and it shows up the pettiness that the whole blog world is prone to. Or maybe it's just modern civilization.
Other votes went to Sometimes Even the Good Ones Lose Their Way by The Shape of Days; The Bad Guys Are Never Islamists by The Western Media, which looks at recent movies; and Scattered Thoughts: War on Terror Edition by Easily Distracted, which was my nomination for the week -- not in the usual flow of these things, which break to the right, but I thought there was much material for bridge building in the substantial parts of this left-side blogger's post.
Other votes went to The Ongoing War Against Reality by Henryk M. Broder at Spiegel Online; Mr. President, Carry On: The Hamdan Decision by Right Side of the Rainbow; NYTimesWatch: The Public's Selective Right To Know by Villainous Company; and Welcome Back 9/10 by Flopping Aces.
Meanwhile, here are the winners from June 30:
In the council, first place went to The Dance of Escalation and Reaction by ShrinkWrapped.
Also getting votes were How Do You Solve a Problem Like... Korea? by The Glittering Eye; Sanction of the Victim by Dr. Sanity; Except by New World Man; and Troops Charged -- A Proper Decision by Rhymes With Right, which I'm pretty sure was my vote that week.
Outside the council, first place went to It's an Islamic Jihad, Stupid by Diana West at Townhall.com, a column which doesn't seem to be there anymore.
Also getting votes were Peter, Paul, and Ingrate by Florida Cracker; who would have suspected old '60s peace movement folk singers aged into bitter, shrill, rude political extremists? Well, everyone, I guess. Other votes went to Why We Shouldn't Prosecute the Reporters and Editors of the L.A. Times and New York Times -- Just Yet by Patterico's Pontifications; Voting for American Interests by La Shawn Barber's Corner; and NYT, WaPo Again Work Tirelessly To Undermine American Security by Ace of Spades HQ.
Also figuring in the scoring was Americans Need to Be Outraged by Sneakeasy's Joint. I thought this post made a great point, but overshot the rhetoric. Simple would have been best, because the point was such a good one: American soldiers were captured, tortured, and murdered by our enemies in Iraq. And too many of the voices who loudly condemned Americans for far less vicious crimes had not a word to say about it.
