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<channel>
	<title>The Crowbar &#187; Information</title>
	<atom:link href="http://thecrowbar.us/category/information/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://thecrowbar.us</link>
	<description>Leverage Against Absurdity</description>
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		<title>Politico&#8217;s Juxtaposition</title>
		<link>http://thecrowbar.us/2010/04/23/politicos-juxtaposition/</link>
		<comments>http://thecrowbar.us/2010/04/23/politicos-juxtaposition/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Apr 2010 23:20:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ben Grivno</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Information]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ben Smith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jonathan Martin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Juxtaposition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politico]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Power Elite]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tea Party]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecrowbar.us/?p=901</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Any member of the power-elite reading Jonathan Martin &#38; Ben Smith&#8217;s hit piece (posted 4/22/10 5:05 AM EDT) on the exaggerated, inflated, &#38; overestimated importance of the Tea Party Movement would absolutely conclude that they&#8217;re 100% correct. Maybe they&#8217;re right. Maybe the Tea Party is just a bunch of whiny white self-serving rich people blowing off steam [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Any member of the power-elite reading <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36185.html" target="_blank">Jonathan Martin &amp; Ben Smith&#8217;s hit piece</a> (posted 4/22/10 5:05 AM EDT) on the exaggerated, inflated, &amp; overestimated importance of the Tea Party Movement would absolutely conclude that they&#8217;re 100% correct.</p>

<p>Maybe they&#8217;re right. Maybe the Tea Party is just a bunch of whiny white self-serving rich people blowing off steam before the inevitable progressive juggernaut sets in and transforms America into a grotesque perversion of her former self. I guess the power-elite have nothing to worry about; the Tea Party was just an anomaly, a glitch. Now they can go back to making themselves rich &amp; powerful through devious manipulation of the everyday American sucker.</p>

<p><a href="http://thecrowbar.us/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/politico_irony2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-903" title="politico_irony2" src="http://thecrowbar.us/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/politico_irony2.jpg" alt="" width="350" height="252" /></a></p>

<p>Exaggerated - Definitely Exaggerated.</p><div style='clear:both'></div><p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save">Share/Save</a> </p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>How I Handle #FollowFriday on Twitter</title>
		<link>http://thecrowbar.us/2010/01/29/how-i-handle-followfriday-on-twitter/</link>
		<comments>http://thecrowbar.us/2010/01/29/how-i-handle-followfriday-on-twitter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:56:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ben Grivno</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Information]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FollowFriday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thank You]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecrowbar.us/?p=860</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>But, that's why I'm writing this post - so I have a way to tell them that I'm not brushing them off and that I'm grateful for the Follow Friday nod. &#160;</p>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I joined Twitter almost exactly a year ago, but I don&#8217;t consider myself an expert on Twitter etiquette. Most third party analyzers accuse me of not engaging my users enough, which is probably true. Engaging every person who tags me for Follow Friday takes a lot of&nbsp;precious&nbsp;time that I often cannot afford.</p>

<p>The Follow Friday&nbsp;phenomenon&nbsp;is a great thing, Twitter users staking their reputation on you and vice versa. It&#8217;s an honor to be tagged. When I first started on Twitter I returned every #FollowFriday, but then it started taking away from my Twitter experience. It became too tedious and disingenuous, so I stopped &#8211; probably to my detriment, but I just couldn&#8217;t do it.</p>

<p>Then, along came Twitter <a href="http://blog.twitter.com/2009/10/theres-list-for-that.html" target="_blank">Lists</a>. It slowly dawned on me that I could use it to&nbsp;<strong>permanently</strong>&nbsp;and continuously thank all those who honored me with a Follow Friday tag.</p>

<p>Now, every person who tags me for Follow Friday gets added to my Follow Friday list. Then, every Friday I tweet the link to the members of my list, making it much easier for potential followers to add them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I also watch my Follow Friday list as a stream of tweets, as Twitter intended. It&#8217;s great to be able to do that for a specific set of Twitter users.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It&#8217;s not perfect. Because of my method, a Twitter user I&nbsp;recommend&nbsp;for Follow Friday will not see a reply from me. But, that&#8217;s why I&#8217;m writing this post &#8211; so I have a way to tell them that I&#8217;m not brushing them off and that I&#8217;m grateful for the Follow Friday nod.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p><div style='clear:both'></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>I Hate To Cast Aspersions, But Scott Brown Would Be a RINO</title>
		<link>http://thecrowbar.us/2010/01/14/not-to-cast-aspersions-but-scott-brown-would-be-a-rino/</link>
		<comments>http://thecrowbar.us/2010/01/14/not-to-cast-aspersions-but-scott-brown-would-be-a-rino/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:36:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ben Grivno</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Information]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Massachusetts Senate Race]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obamacare]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Scott Brown]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecrowbar.us/?p=837</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Brown would be a RINO because he's from&#160;Massachusetts, meaning he'll face significant pressure from his leftward leaning constituency to vote with the conservative Democrats &#38; liberal Republicans.&#160;</p>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>if he wins, but he&#8217;d still be better than the heinous arch-liberal who formerly occupied the seat. Brown would be a RINO because he&#8217;s from&nbsp;Massachusetts, meaning he&#8217;ll face significant pressure from his leftward leaning constituency to vote with the conservative Democrats &amp; liberal Republicans.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In reviewing his&nbsp;<a href="http://www.brownforussenate.com/issues" target="_blank">campaign issues statement</a>,&nbsp;he seems so center-right. But, as Obama has so skillfully taught America, politicians just tell you what you want to hear.</p>

<p>Brown is anything but a defender of liberty when it comes to health care. Brown has no problem with the unconstitutional government mandated purchase of health insurance present in RomneyCare &amp; ObamaCare. From a Boston Globe <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/11/20/being_the_underdog_never_deters_a_driven_brown/?page=full" target="_blank">profile</a>:</p>

<blockquote><p>Brown supported Massachusetts health care overhaul in 2006 and favors elements advanced in the congressional debate about a national overhaul. But he said he would oppose the bills now moving through Congress because they would help other states at the expense of Massachusetts.</p></blockquote>

<p>His primary reason for opposing ObamaCare is that it&#8217;s it isn&#8217;t fair to Massachusetts?</p>

<p>Moreover, watch Neil Cavuto Challenge Brown for Supporting RomneyCare:</p>

<p>
<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="344" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/f1sLegdL4EQ&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/f1sLegdL4EQ&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
</p>

<p>Brown totally avoided the question because he knows the truth would be damaging. Make no mistake, Brown is just another politician from Massachusetts.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But, he is the best we can expect from blue-dominant Massachusetts.</p><div style='clear:both'></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Good News From Fringe Progressive David Sirota</title>
		<link>http://thecrowbar.us/2009/09/07/good-news-from-fringe-progressive-david-siorta/</link>
		<comments>http://thecrowbar.us/2009/09/07/good-news-from-fringe-progressive-david-siorta/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Sep 2009 01:19:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ben Grivno</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Information]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncivilized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[9/11]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Sirota]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Huffington Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Progressive]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Truthers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Van Jones]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecrowbar.us/?p=640</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In his staggering misinterpretation of Van Jones&#8217; resignation fiasco, unhinged progressive David Sirota screeches on and on about RACISM and RIGHT WING HATRED and LYNCH MOBS, &#8220;crazies, tea baggers, Republican congresspeople and other assorted conservative freakshows.&#8221; Does this guy leave any doubt in your mind that he deserves his position on the fringe of humanity? Sirota is [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In his <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/taking-the-movement-out-o_b_278411.html" target="_blank">staggering misinterpretation</a> of Van Jones&#8217; resignation fiasco, unhinged progressive David Sirota screeches on and on about RACISM and RIGHT WING HATRED and LYNCH MOBS, &#8220;crazies, tea baggers, Republican congresspeople and other assorted conservative freakshows.&#8221;</p>

<p>Does this guy leave any doubt in your mind that he deserves his position on the fringe of humanity?</p>

<p>Sirota is loathed to admit that Jones (and himself) are too fringe for the centrists to stomach. The centrists are Obama&#8217;s true concern if he wants to further his socialist agenda. Sorry, Sirota, Commie Truthers just have no place in the White House.</p>

<p>Sirota does leave us with some good news, though:</p>


<blockquote><p>&#8220;Jones was one of the only movement progressives in a policymaking position in the Obama White House.&#8221;</p></blockquote>


<p>One down, a few more to go. Here&#8217;s to heaving the rest of the Jones/Sirota-like extremists out the door.</p><div style='clear:both'></div><p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save">Share/Save</a> </p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Welcome to the Shiny New Crowbar!</title>
		<link>http://thecrowbar.us/2009/06/13/welcome-to-the-shiny-new-crowbar/</link>
		<comments>http://thecrowbar.us/2009/06/13/welcome-to-the-shiny-new-crowbar/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2009 04:38:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ben Grivno</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Information]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecrowbar.us/?p=563</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At long last my new site is operational! Many more controversial &#38; interesting posts to follow. Ben]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img class="size-medium wp-image-564 alignleft" title="Blog_sticky" src="http://thecrowbar.us/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Blog_sticky-297x300.jpg" alt="Blog_sticky" width="178" height="180" />At long last my new site is operational! Many more controversial &amp; interesting posts to follow.

Ben<div style='clear:both'></div><p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save">Share/Save</a> </p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Top 20 Most Influential Conservative Blogs</title>
		<link>http://thecrowbar.us/2009/05/06/top-20-most-influential-conservative-blogs/</link>
		<comments>http://thecrowbar.us/2009/05/06/top-20-most-influential-conservative-blogs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2009 20:21:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ben Grivno</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Information]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Top 20]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bengrivno.wordpress.com/?p=522</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At long last I have assembled a list of top conservative blogs. It's based on Technorati, Alexa, and Wikio rankings plus my well-honed intuition. It is subject to change if I happen to discover another blog and/or the rankings change.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[At long last I have assembled a list of top conservative blogs. It&#8217;s based on <a href="http://technorati.com/" target="_blank">Technorati</a>, <a href="http://alexa.com/" target="_blank">Alexa</a>, and <a href="http://www.wikio.com/blogs/top" target="_blank">Wikio</a> rankings plus my well-honed intuition. It is subject to change if I happen to discover another blog and/or the rankings change.
<ol>
	<li><a href="http://michellemalkin.com/" target="_blank">Michelle Malkin</a> &#8211; <a href="http://michellemalkin.com/about/" target="_blank">About</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://corner.nationalreview.com/" target="_blank">The Corner</a> &#8211; <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/mediakit/" target="_blank">National Review</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://hotair.com/" target="_blank">Hot Air</a> &#8211; <a href="http://hotair.com/about/" target="_blank">About</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://newsbusters.org/" target="_blank">NewsBusters</a> &#8211; <a href="http://mrc.org/about/aboutwelcome.asp" target="_blank">Media Research Center</a> | <a href="http://newsbusters.org/about" target="_blank">About</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://americanthinker.com/" target="_blank">American Thinker</a> &#8211; <a href="http://americanthinker.com/static/about_us.html" target="_blank">About</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://powerlineblog.com/" target="_blank">Power Line</a> &#8211; <a href="http://powerlineblog.com/aboutus.php" target="_blank">John H. Hinderaker</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.redstate.com/" target="_blank">Red State</a> &#8211; <a href="http://www.erickerickson.org/blog/" target="_blank">Erick Erickson</a> | <a href="http://www.redstate.com/about/" target="_blank">About</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://volokh.com/" target="_blank">The Volokh Conspiracy</a> &#8211; <a href="http://www.law.ucla.edu/volokh/" target="_blank">Eugene Volokh</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/" target="_blank">Instapundit</a> &#8211; <a href="http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/about/" target="_blank">Glenn Reynolds</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Gateway Pundit</a> &#8211; Unknown Identity</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.marginalrevolution.com/" target="_blank">Marginal Revolution</a> &#8211; <a href="http://www.gmu.edu/jbc/Tyler/" target="_blank">Tyler Cowen</a> | <a href="http://mason.gmu.edu/~atabarro/" target="_blank">Alex Tabarrok</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/" target="_blank">Big Hollywood</a> &#8211; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Breitbart#Big_Hollywood" target="_blank">About</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://ace.mu.nu/" target="_blank">Ace of Spades HQ</a> &#8211; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ace_of_Spades_HQ" target="_blank">About</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://reason.com/blog" target="_blank">Reason Magazine/Hit &amp; Run</a> &#8211; <a href="http://reason.com/about/" target="_blank">About</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://weeklystandard.com/Weblogs/TWSFP/TWSFPView.asp" target="_blank">Weekly Standard/The Blog</a> &#8211; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Goldfarb" target="_blank">Michael Goldfarb</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/" target="_blank">Jihad Watch</a> &#8211; <a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/spencer/" target="_blank">Robert Spencer</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/" target="_blank">Atlas Shrugs</a> &#8211; <a href="http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/about.html" target="_blank">Pamela Geller</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/" target="_blank">The Jawa Report</a> &#8211; <a href="http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/104428.php" target="_blank">Rusty Shackleford</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.stoptheaclu.com/" target="_blank">Stop The ACLU</a> &#8211; <a href="http://www.stoptheaclu.com/about/" target="_blank">About</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://rightwingnews.com/" target="_blank">Right Wing News</a> &#8211; <a href="http://rightwingnews.com/faq.php" target="_blank">About</a></li>
</ol>
Ten Worthy Mentions
<ul>
	<li><a href="http://althouse.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Althouse</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://iowahawk.typepad.com/" target="_blank">Iowahawk</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://patterico.com/" target="_blank">Patterico&#8217;s Pontifications</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://wizbangblog.com/" target="_blank">Wizbang</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://thenextright.com/" target="_blank">The Next Right</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.danielpipes.org/" target="_blank">Daniel Pipes</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://becker-posner-blog.com/" target="_blank">The Becker-Posner Blog</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://proteinwisdom.com/" target="_blank">Protein Wisdom</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jammie Wearing Fool</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://debbieschlussel.com/" target="_blank">Debbie Schlussel</a></li>
</ul><div style='clear:both'></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Universal Health Care in UK: Autism Takes 18 &#8211; 24 Months to Diagnose</title>
		<link>http://thecrowbar.us/2009/05/05/universal-health-care-in-uk-autism-takes-18-24-months-to-diagnose/</link>
		<comments>http://thecrowbar.us/2009/05/05/universal-health-care-in-uk-autism-takes-18-24-months-to-diagnose/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 05 May 2009 14:30:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ben Grivno</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Information]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Autism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Keith Duffy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Socialized Medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Universal Heath Care]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bengrivno.wordpress.com/?p=515</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For all you Universal Heath Care lovers out there, here's a dose of the medicine you want force everyone to take; from a UK's DailyMail.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[For all you Universal Heath Care lovers out there, here&#8217;s <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1177240/Boyzone-singer-Keith-Duffy-reveals-daughters-autism-nearly-tore-wife-Lisa-apart.html" target="_blank">a dose of the medicine you want to force everyone to take</a>; from a UK&#8217;s DailyMail:
<blockquote>Despite the fact that around half a million children and adults in the UK are affected, treatment for the condition is woefully underfunded, according to the National Autistic Society (NAS).

&#8216;The services and support available to people with autism and their carers are often hugely inadequate,&#8217; says Caroline Hattersley of the charity.</blockquote>
<blockquote>The family wanted an official diagnosis, but were astonished to find [an Autism diagnosis] could take between 18 and 24 months because health services are so overstretched.</blockquote>
Crikey, 18 to 24 months? And, this is not just ANY family, this is the family of wealthy singer/actor <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Duffy_(singer/actor)" target="_blank">Keith Duffy</a> (Boyzone), his daughter, Mia, has Autism:
<blockquote>For Lisa and Keith Duffy, it was a heartbreakingly long wait before they heard their daughter Mia speak for the first time&#8230; Mia has autism, a developmental disorder which affects her ability to relate to people and situations.</blockquote>
Ahh, but that&#8217;s not all, here we have another example of just how crappy socialized medicine is in the UK, <a href="http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2008/03/16/parents-forced-to-wait-a-year-for-autism-diagnosis-78057-20352581/" target="_blank">Parents Forced To Wait A Year For Autism Diagnosis</a>:
<blockquote>Health boards have been branded &#8220;compassionless&#8221; for forcing hundreds of parents to wait a YEAR to find out if their children have autism.

Experts say the earlier children are treated, the better they will respond.

But NHS Dumfries and Galloway have Scotland&#8217;s longest waiting time of 15 months for 61 children who have been referred for assessment.

In Ayrshire &amp; Arran, youngsters face waiting up to 14 months, while 100 kids are caught up in a year-long backlog in NHS Lanarkshire.

Greater Glasgow is next on the list, with a waiting time of 10 months for more than 80 children.

Bill Welsh, president of the Autism Treatment Trust, said: &#8220;Early diagnosis is absolutely vital. Taking a year to make a diagnosis is crassly inefficient and compassionless.

&#8220;The worry aside, the child may be inhibited from gaining communication skills they should learn at an early age.&#8221;

Evelyn and Iain Lindsay face waiting until next year to discover if their son Ben suffers from autism.

They have been told that three-year-old Ben is 87th on the list.

Evelyn said: &#8220;We are being left in limbo.&#8221;</blockquote>
This is the promise of Universal Heath Care, coming soon to America, to be left in limbo while faceless bureaucrats decide everyone&#8217;s fate.

But, hey, at least everyone will be covered, right?<div style='clear:both'></div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Liberal Blog Readership Declining While Conservative Blog Readership Increasing</title>
		<link>http://thecrowbar.us/2009/03/27/liberal-blog-readership-declining-while-conservative-blog-readership-increasing/</link>
		<comments>http://thecrowbar.us/2009/03/27/liberal-blog-readership-declining-while-conservative-blog-readership-increasing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Mar 2009 05:11:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ben Grivno</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Information]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blog Trends]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[An old but fascinating post by Simon Owens at Bloggasm. Owens compiled some interesting facts from 2007 and noted the trend that top liberal blog readership is declining while top conservative blog readership is increasing. I wonder what the stats for 2008 were? I suspect the trend continues even now. UPDATE: Patterico has recent evidence [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[An <a href="http://bloggasm.com/readership-of-major-liberal-blogs-declined-in-2007-while-conservative-blog-readership-increased" target="_blank">old but fascinating post</a> by Simon Owens at Bloggasm. Owens compiled some interesting facts from 2007 and noted the trend that top liberal blog readership is declining while top conservative blog readership is increasing.

I wonder what the stats for 2008 were? I suspect the trend continues even now.

<em><strong>UPDATE</strong>:</em> Patterico has recent <a href="http://patterico.com/2009/03/16/liberal-blog-traffic-has-fallen-more-than-conservative-blog-traffic-since-the-election/" target="_blank">evidence</a> that this trend has indeed continued.<div style='clear:both'></div><p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save">Share/Save</a> </p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Top 20 Most Influential Liberal Blogs</title>
		<link>http://thecrowbar.us/2009/03/23/top-20-most-influential-liberal-blogs/</link>
		<comments>http://thecrowbar.us/2009/03/23/top-20-most-influential-liberal-blogs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Mar 2009 03:15:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ben Grivno</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Information]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Top 20]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://bengrivno.wordpress.com/?p=36</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The following list is based on Technorati rank, Alexa.com rank, and educated guesses on my part. The list is in descending order of influence. Enjoy! 3/27/2009 UPDATE: Missed Krugman&#8217;s blog and Americablog. They have been added. WashingtonNote and Oliver Willis dropped off the 10 worthy mentions list. Top 20 Liberal Blog/Op Websites Huffington Post &#124; [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[The following list is based on Technorati rank, Alexa.com rank, and educated guesses on my part. The list is in descending order of influence. Enjoy!

<strong><em>3/27/2009 UPDATE</em></strong>: Missed Krugman&#8217;s blog and Americablog. They have been added. <a href="http://thewashingtonnote.com" target="_blank">WashingtonNote</a> and <a href="http://oliverwillis.com" target="_blank">Oliver Willis </a>dropped off the 10 worthy mentions list.

Top 20 Liberal Blog/Op Websites
<ol>
	<li><a href="http://huffingtonpost.com" target="_blank">Huffington Post</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huffington_Post" target="_blank">wiki</a> | <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/p/huffington-post.html" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> May 9, 2005
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianna_Huffington" target="_blank">Arinna Huffington</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Lerer" target="_blank">Kenneth Lerer</a>
<strong>Editor:</strong> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Sekoff" target="_blank">Roy Sekoff</a>
<strong>Note: </strong>Originally competed with Drudgereport.com but that didn&#8217;t work out so well so it morphed into a left slanted news/opinion site.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://democraticunderground.com" target="_blank">Democratic Underground</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_underground" target="_blank">wiki </a>| <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/about.html" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> January 20, 2001
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> <a href="http://start.cortera.com/company/research/k2k3jso9q/democratic-underground-llc/" target="_blank">Democratic Underground, LLC</a>
<strong>Editor: </strong>David Allen
<strong>Note:</strong> DU and the internet are very mum on who actually founded it, it is known for the extreme vitriol of some members. There is also scant info on David Allen. Odd that for such a popular site there is surprisingly little public info available. I&#8217;d like to know more about Mr. David &#8220;Mysterious&#8221; Allen.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://dailykos.com" target="_blank">Daily Kos</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dailykos" target="_blank">wiki</a> | <a href="http://dailykos.com/special/about2" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> May 26, 2002
<strong>Founder(s): </strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markos_Moulitsas" target="_blank">Markos Moulitsas Zuniga</a>
<strong>Editor: </strong><a href="http://dailykos.com/special/about2#bio" target="_blank">Susan Gardner</a>
<strong>Note:</strong> Major conflict erupted on the site between supporters of Hillary Clinton and Barry Obama during the the 2008 US election primaries.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com" target="_blank">The Daily Dish | Andrew Sullivan</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Sullivan" target="_blank">wiki</a> | <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/andrew-sullivan-why-i-blog" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded: </strong>September 2001
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> Andrew Sullivan
<strong>Editor:</strong> Andrew Sullivan
<strong>Note:</strong> Sullivan says he is libertarian conservative, but he endorsed Obama in the 2008 election and Forbes ranked him the 19th most influential liberal.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com" target="_blank">Talking Points Memo (TPM)</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TalkingPointsMemo" target="_blank">wiki</a> | <a href="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/about.php" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> November 12, 2000
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Marshall" target="_blank">Josh Marshall</a>
<strong>Editor: </strong>Josh Marshall
<strong>Note:</strong> The site was a big pusher of the manufactured scandal of the firing of nine US Attorneys who were inappropriately protecting Democratic interests. TPM won a Polk award for it&#8217;s efforts.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://thinkprogress.org" target="_blank">Think Progress</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_American_Progress" target="_blank">wiki </a>| <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/about/" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded: </strong>February 28, 2005
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> <a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/aboutus" target="_blank">Center for American Progress (CAP)</a>
<strong>Editor: </strong><a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/aboutus/staff/ShakirFaiz.html" target="_blank">Faiz Shakir</a>
<strong>Note:</strong> Thinkprogress.org is the friendly face for the hard left CAP think tank.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com" target="_blank">The Conscience of a Liberal | Paul Krugman</a> | <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/ref/opinion/KRUGMAN-BIO.html" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> September 17, 2005
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Krugman" target="_blank">Paul Krugman</a>
<strong>Editor: </strong>Paul Krugman
<strong>Note:</strong> Krugman is also one of the most influential liberal economists. Krugman favors Keynesian economics, using the shaky school of thought to justify bad policy: direct economic intervention through governmental deficit spending.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://crooksandliars.com" target="_blank">Crooks and Liars</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crooks_And_Liars" target="_blank">wiki</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> August 2004
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> John Amato
<strong>Editor: </strong>John Amato
<strong>Note:</strong> One of the first political Vlog sites.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://wonkette.com" target="_blank">Wonkette</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonkette" target="_blank">wiki</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> January 2004
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Denton" target="_blank">Nick Denton</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ana_Marie_Cox" target="_blank">Ana Marie Cox</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choire_Sicha" target="_blank">Choire Sicha</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Pareene" target="_blank">Alex Pareene</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lat" target="_blank">David Lat</a>, Ken Layne, John Clark Jr, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Newell" target="_blank">Jim Newell</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan_Carpentier" target="_blank">Megan Carpentier</a>, <a href="http://sxsw.com/interactive/talks/panels?action=bio&amp;id=201015" target="_blank">Sara K. Smith</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Fruhlinger" target="_blank">John Fruhlinger</a>
<strong>Editor:</strong> <a href="http://kenlayne.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Ken Layne</a> | <a href="http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2008/04/ken_layne_and_wonkette.php" target="_blank">also</a>
<strong>Note:</strong> Wonkette is significantly more vitriolic than most of the popular left wing blogs. For example they &#8220;jokingly&#8221; wished for Chief Justice John Robert&#8217;s death when he was hospitalized in July 2007.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://salon.com/opinion/greenwald" target="_blank">Glenn Greenwald</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Greenwald" target="_blank">wiki</a>
<strong>Founded: </strong>October 2005
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> Glen Greenwald
<strong>Editor: </strong>Glen Greenwald
<strong>Note: </strong>Glenn took a hard left turn in 2005, which he blames on the Bush administration, Karl Rove and the Valerie Plame affair.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://washingtonmonthly.com" target="_blank">Washington Monthly | Steve Benen</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monthly" target="_blank">wiki</a>
<strong>Founded: </strong>January 25, 1999 (thecarpetbaggerreport.com)
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> <a href="http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/?page_id=4702" target="_blank">Steve Benen</a>
<strong>Editor:</strong> Steve Benen
<strong>Note:</strong> Washington Monthly is a political mag founded in 1969, but, as of August 24, 2008, The WM website/blog is the new home for lefty blogger Steve Benen, formerly of <a href="http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/" target="_blank">thecarpetbaggerreport.com</a>.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum" target="_blank">Kevin Drum | Mother Jones</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Drum" target="_blank">wiki</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Jones_(magazine)" target="_blank">MoJo wiki</a>
<strong>Founded: </strong>January 24, 2003
<strong>Founder(s): </strong>Kevin Drum
<strong>Editor: </strong>Kevin Drum
<strong>Note: </strong>Like John Kerry, Drum was for the Iraq war before he was against it. He was previously at Washington Monthly. Before that Drum blogged at is own site, Calpundit.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula" target="_blank">Pharyngula</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharyngula_(blog)">wiki</a> | <a href="http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2006/03/5_silly_questions_pz_myers.php" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> June 19, 2002
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PZ_Myers" target="_blank">Paul Zachery &#8220;PZ&#8221; Myers</a>
<strong>Editor: </strong>PZ Myers
<strong>Note:</strong> Myers was expelled from the screening of the Movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. An active atheist, Myers blog has the tagline, &#8220;evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal.&#8221;
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org" target="_blank">Matthew Yglesias</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Yglesias" target="_blank">wiki</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> January 10, 2002
<strong>Founder(s): </strong>Matthew Yglesias
<strong>Editor:</strong> Matthew Yglesias
<strong>Note:</strong> yglesias.blogspot.com was the original home of Yglesias&#8217; blog. The Harvard grad was editor of the Harvard Independent prior to venturing into the blogsphere.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://firedoglake.com" target="_blank">Firedoglake</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firedoglake" target="_blank">wiki</a> | <a href="http://firedoglake.com/aboutus/" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded: </strong>December 2004
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> Jane Hamsher
<strong>Editor:</strong> Jane Hamsher
<strong>Note:</strong> Hamsher co-produced Natural Born Killers and has worked closely with Glenn Greenwald.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.americablog.com/" target="_blank">AMERICABlog</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americablog" target="_blank">wiki</a>
<strong>Founded: </strong>April 2004
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> John Aravosis
<strong>Editor:</strong> John Aravosis
<strong>Note:</strong> Americablog outed gay conservative Jeff Gannon (James Guckert&#8217;s pseudonym) in 2005 and disrespectfully published Gen. Wesley Clark&#8217;s cell phone records in 2006. Aravosis is also a gay rights advocate.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://feministing.com" target="_blank">Feministing</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feministing" target="_blank">wiki</a> | <a href="http://www.feministing.com/about.html" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> April 2004
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Valenti" target="_blank">Jessica Valenti</a>
<strong>Editor:</strong> Jessica Valenti
<strong>Note: </strong>Feministing was started while Third-wave feminist Valenti was working for NOW to give a voice to the younger feminists who were being shut out by the older ones.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://truthdig.com" target="_blank">Truthdig</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truthdig" target="_blank">wiki</a> | <a href="http://www.truthdig.com/about/?bn" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> November 29, 2005
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Scheer" target="_blank">Robert Scheer</a>, <a href="http://www.truthdig.com/about/staff/2" target="_blank">Zuade Kaufman</a>
<strong>Editor: </strong>Robert Scheer
<strong>Note: </strong>Barbra Streisand and 299 other people protested Scheer&#8217;s firing from the LA Times in November 2005 right before he and Kaufman started Truthdig.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://juancole.com" target="_blank">Informed Comment</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informed_Comment" target="_blank">wiki</a>
<strong>Founded: </strong>April 21, 2002
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> Juan Cole
<strong>Editor: </strong>Juan Cole
<strong>Note:</strong> Cole was denied a teaching appointment to Yale in 2006 because of his controversial viewpoints on his blog.
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://digbysblog.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Digby&#8217;s Hullabaloo</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> January 2003
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> Digby (pseudonym)
<strong>Editor:</strong> Digby (pseudonym)
<strong>Note:</strong> Her real name still unknown, &#8220;Digby&#8221; of Santa Monica, CA <a href="http://www.bagnewsnotes.com/2007/06/digby-1-beal-0-.html" target="_blank">showed up in person</a> in June 2007 to accept an award on behalf of the progressive blogsphere at the Take Back America Conference in DC.</li>
</ol>
10 Worthy Mentions
<ul>
	<li><a href="http://openleft.com" target="_blank">Open Left</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenLeft" target="_blank">wiki</a> | <a href="http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=21" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> August 8, 2007
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> Chris Bowers, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Lux" target="_blank">Mike Lux</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Stoller" target="_blank">Matt Stoller</a>
<strong>Editor: </strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Bowers" target="_blank">Chris Bowers
</a>-</li>
	<li><a href="http://balloon-juice.com" target="_blank">John Cole&#8217;s Baloon Juice</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> January 2, 2002
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> John Cole
<strong>Editor: </strong>John Cole<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Bowers" target="_blank">
</a>-</li>
	<li><a href="http://mydd.com" target="_blank">MyDD Direct Democracy</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mydd" target="_blank">wiki</a> | <a href="http://mydd.com/about" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> April 18, 2001
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Armstrong" target="_blank">Jerome Armstrong</a>
<strong>Editor:</strong> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Singer" target="_blank">Jonathan Singer</a>
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Shakesville</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakesville" target="_blank">wiki</a> | <a href="http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2004/10/inside-jokes-faqs-wev.html#click3" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> October 5, 2004
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissa_McEwan" target="_blank">Melissa McEwan</a>
<strong>Editor:</strong> Melissa McEwan
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://eschatonblog.com" target="_blank">Atrios&#8217; Eschaton</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eschaton_(blog)" target="_blank">wiki</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> April 17, 2002
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> <a href="http://tba2007.confabb.com/users/profile/dblack" target="_blank">Duncan Black</a>
<strong>Editor:</strong> Duncan Black
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://pandagon.net" target="_blank">Pandagon</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandagon" target="_blank">wiki</a> | <a href="http://pandagon.net/index.php/site/comments/about_pandagon/" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded: </strong>November 26, 2001
<strong>Founder(s): </strong><a href="http://pandagon.net/index.php/site/comments/about_jesse/" target="_blank">Jesse Taylor</a>
<strong>Editor:</strong> <a href="http://pandagon.net/index.php/site/comments/about_amanda/" target="_blank">Amanda Marcotte</a>
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://talkleft.com" target="_blank">Talk Left</a> | <a href="http://www.talkleft.com/special/mission" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded: </strong>June 1, 2002
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeralyn_Merritt" target="_blank">Jeralyn Merritt</a>
<strong>Editor:</strong> Jeralyn Merritt
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://democrats.com" target="_blank">Democrats.com</a> | <a href="http://www.democrats.com/about" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> September 27, 2000
<strong>Founder(s): </strong>Bob Fertik, <a href="http://www.democrats.com/davidlytel" target="_blank">David Lytel</a>
<strong>Editor: </strong> <a href="http://www.democrats.com/bobfertik" target="_blank">Bob Fertik</a>
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://bradblog.com" target="_blank">The Brad Blog</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Friedman" target="_blank">wiki</a> | <a href="http://www.bradblog.com/?page_id=4516" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded:</strong> January 24, 2004
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brad-friedman" target="_blank">Brad Friedman</a>
<strong>Editor:</strong> Brad Friedman
-</li>
	<li><a href="http://obsidianwings.blogs.com" target="_blank">Obsidian Wings</a> | <a href="http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/about.html" target="_blank">about</a>
<strong>Founded: </strong>November 26, 2003
<strong>Founder(s):</strong> <a href="http://www.milblogging.com/index.php?entry=entry080109-114139" target="_blank">Hilary Bok (Hilzoy)</a>
<strong>Editor:</strong> Hilary Bok (Hilzoy)</li>
</ul><div style='clear:both'></div><p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save">Share/Save</a> </p>]]></content:encoded>
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