Monday, March 24, 2008

Council Winners

Watchers Council winners have been posted for the week of March 21.

It was dogpile on Obama week this week, but only two of the more temperate criticisms got into the winners' circle. First place in the council went to Fisking the Obama Speech by Rhymes With Right. Also getting votes was Should We Ignore Reverend Wright? at Right Wing Nut House.

Also getting votes was Judge Not Lest You Be Judged by Bookworm Room; The Problem Is... from right here, and Talking With Terrorists by Soccer Dad.

Outside the council, the winner was David Mamet: Why I Am No Longer a 'Brain-Dead Liberal' in The Village Voice, which I feel safe in assuming is the first time anything from the Village Voice ever won here, unless it was a Nat Hentoff column.

Also getting votes was Doron: Story of a True Tzaddik by Lazer Beams. I grew up on the Main Line and my high school was about 40 percent Jewish, as were many of my friends. I thought I knew from Jewish. But this story was almost a foreign language to me. I guess Reformed really isn't the whole megillah.

Votes also went to Trendy, a timely analysis of media coverage of Iraq at The Mudville Gazette; The AP Style Guide on Defending Barack Obama at NewsBusters, which, with all the nouns turned upside down, could have been written by Chomsky; and The Suicide Vest and the Suicide Mind, a typically thought-provoking post at The Belmont Club. I find he frames the right questions, even if I don't always agree his answers are complete. The post dovetails with the equally thought-provoking Wolf Howling nominee from last week.

A vote also went to The Hate Crime You Didn't Hear About at TFS Magnum, which deserves a wider read than the one vote probably will earn it.