Every day is B.A.D.

By Libby Spencer

Hard to believe it's been three years today since the great A-list blogroll purge started a week long bitchfest among us B to Z list bloggers. Feels like a life time ago in some ways. If you don't know what Blogroll Amnesty Day is, see Jon Swift's historic post on the origins of this holiday and then check out skippy's post that explains how it's evolved into its current incarnation. The two of them, along with Blue Gal have taken on the task of organizing the events. I'm afraid I've lost the link to Blue Gal's vid but you can get it there and don't miss Mad Kane's poetic tribute for the occassion. Mad props to them all for keeping this holiday going.

Although BAD started in anger at the A-listers, I love that it's morphed into a linky lovefest among the lower tier blogs. As I said last year, in the end the big guys did us a favor. We may never have found our sense of solidarity if not for our spontaneous united outrage over the original purge and I, like so many others, made friends and found blogs that I might not have otherwise.

This year finds me in an unusal place in that I'm one Eschacon away from becoming a full-fledged Atriot. Yes, I'm now one of those commenters that everyone loved to mock for their failure to stay on topic and takes inordinate delight in being first on a thread. I spend way too much time over there and have come to adore and appreciate the regs for their wit, their knowledge, their kindness, and their relentless scouring of the intertubz to find interesting links. Truth be told, I've even come to love Atrios and finally added him to the blogroll at my place, after swearing I never would until he linked to me. He still never has, but to paraphrase Joni Mitchell, he's a mean old daddy but I like him. And despite his terse style, he really does often catch good links that I might have otherwise missed.

What hasn't changed is that the A-listers still pretty much only link to each other with the notable exception of Crooks and Liars where Mike's Blog Round Up regularly gives a nod and a huge traffic boost to little known bloggers, and also Avedon Carol whose rankings belie her reach and is the most generous linker to little blogs that I know, not to mention an extraordinarily astute polictical analyst and a really terrific person. Oh, and Joe at TMV, who has given many a new blogger a leg up, including myself. I don't think that will ever change, so it's good to celebrate this holiday once a year to remind ourselves that links truly are the currency of Blogtopia (and yes, skippy did invent that phrase).

Here and at The Impolitic, I try to keep the spirit of BAD alive every day. I make it a point to link to lesser trafficked blogs in my regular linkfests and my blogroll is mostly populated with B-listers, many of whom found their way there from previous BAD days. So let this day remind us all, that BAD isn't just a celebration of an isolated event, it's a state of mind. It's all too easy to fall into the habit of linking up to big guys ourselves instead of linking laterally. Remember to reach out to each other. It's the only way to raise a louder voice for those of us who don't get the big megaphone.

So then, on to the links. I hate this part because I want to link to every single blog on my roll and don't want to offend those who aren't included. That's impossible, of course, so I would encourage you to check out my blogroll, as well as the blogroll here at The Reaction, and read a few blogs you don't recognize. Otherwise, I'm just choosing a few at random that I either just discovered or haven't linked to in far too long, including some Atriots who so often get neglected on this day.

Starting with Keeping it Lit, a brand new blog by a long time Atriot who too often keeps her light hidden under the proverbial bushel basket.

The smart and snarky Southern Beale, who probably doesn't qualify as a smaller blog than me, but deserves much more attention than she gets.

Rorschach at No Capitol is doing fine work and already on my blogroll, even though I'm not on theirs. An oversight I'm sure.

Uncle Blodge doesn't do much politics, but his stories of life on the front lines of an inner city urban school are fascinating reading.

Also non-political are 4 Legs Good at Plush Life where the photos will soothe your psyche and Tlazolteotl who doesn't post nearly often enough, but maybe a traffic boost will encourage her to post more, so if you only click one -- go check her out.

Moving off the Atriot list, Truth 101 at Truth Shall Rule is a new regular in the comment section here and is more moderate than me but has a good perspective on politics and life.

A new discovery is Ordinary Gentleman, a group blog that I didn't even know existed, featuring some friends.

I'm including Comments from Left Field even though they're bigger than me because it's such a terrific blog, and to my horror I just discovered that somehow they never made it to my blogroll, an error that will be corrected today.

Drink Liberal in New Milford has been on my radar for a while. He took on the thankless task of moderating an extremely unruly forum at a local newspaper and did the best of anyone who had the job. The forum I believe has folded, and I don't agree with everything he says, but that's the whole point of BAD. Gathering various viewpoints so as not to lapse into an echo chamber.

Neither do I always agree with my friend Mark at Publius Endures who blogs from a libertarian POV. In fact we often disagree, but we share a hope that someday bloggers will be able to unite around their common goals, no matter what their ideology.

And last, but far from least, my friend and blog-child Kathy at Stone Soup. We don't see each other often enough because we both have too many blogs of our own but there's no better blogger out there on workers rights and all things Michigan.

This is already over long, so let me close by reiterating my own blogroll policy. If you blogroll me, I'll reciprocate and if you've already blogrolled me and I haven't noticed, email me or leave your blog in comments so I can. And remember, every voice counts, no matter how small, so be BAD, not just today, but every day of the year.

(Cross-posted at The Impolitic.)

Blog Amnesty Day: Quick Links 2

By Michael J.W. Stickings

B.A.D. 2008 seems to have been a rousing success. For round-ups of participating blogs, and what they did, see Skippy (with links to previous posts) and Jon Swift. (Our BAD-QL1 is here.)

Once more, I encourage you to check out our blogroll. It is by no means comprehensive, but it is nonetheless quite extensive, featuring many smaller blogs along with the usual suspects. Alas, I do not update the blogroll frequently enough, but I intend to add to it on an ongoing basis from now on. Speaking of which, if you're not on it but would like to be on it, contact me -- my e-mail address is over on the sidebar in the list of editors, co-bloggers, and contributors. I would be happy to exchange links. I know that being on a blogroll may not generate all that much traffic -- unless it's the blogroll of an A-lister, of course -- but we can help ourselves not just individually but as a community by making our blogrolls as inclusive as possible.

So let's do that.

**********

And now for a few late-night quick links:

-- Carol linked to the home blogs of our co-bloggers yesterday, but I wanted to mention Fruits & Votes, one of the blogs of our co-blogger MSS. He is one of the world's leading experts on elections, electoral systems, and, well, all things electoral.

Make sure to check out the home blogs of our various contributors, too, including Bark Bark Woof Woof and Greg Prince's Blog.

You'll find the blogs in our blogroll separated into different categories -- Liberals, Moderates, Conservatives, etc. (Yes, I link to a select few on the right.) Make sure to scroll down to find the other categories, including Canadian Bloggers (many of whom blog on American politics), International Bloggers, Specialty Bloggers, Personal Bloggers, Science Bloggers, and Friends (a few good friends from my pre-blogging days).

Here are a few highlights:

• Dispatches from the Culture Wars: McCain's gay-bashing.
• Dymaxion World: The FutureGen coal project in Illinois.
• The Galloping Beaver: Bush's Guernica-like techno-war in Iraq.
• Mad Melancholic Feminista: On working motherhood.
• Posthegemony: On the peripheries of La Paz, Bolivia.
• Thoughts from Kansas: Barack Obama and big ideas.
• The Unapologetic Mexican: MAPA goes for Obama.
• The Vanity Press: Bill Clinton, global warming, and media distortion.
• We Move to Canada: Canada's wrong-headed war in Afghanistan.

Of course, there are many, many more, but these will have to suffice for now.

The point is, click on those links you find. Go and discover new blogs. There's some great blogging going on out there -- even without links from the A-listers.

Blog Amnesty Day: Quick Links 1

By Michael J.W. Stickings

A good Super Bowl Day to you all.

Check out our previous posts on BAD 2008 -- here, here, and here. And here are some links to some fine posts at some fine blogs.

• Ablogistan: Edwards and the working-class vote.
• Alternate Brain: Why Hillary is the right choice.
• Battlepanda: Obama, Clinton, and health care.
• Happening Here: The MoveOn.org endorsement.
• Low on the Hog: Obama and the delegate count.
• Rodger A. Payne: A state of disunion in Iraq.
• Scriptoids: Nepalese immigration in Alabama.

More later.

The striving lives of little bloggers

By Carol Gee

Today, February 3, is officially "Blogroll Amnesty Day," AKA "Blogroll Bloodbath Anniversary Day. I call it "Blog Action Day." I learned about it in an earlier post here at The Reaction; I quote Michael's intro because I could not say it better:

Two of my favourite bloggers, Skippy and Jon Swift, have organized this admirable effort, Blogroll Amnesty Day. What's it all about? Well, it's about what Jon calls "the Golden Rule of Blogging: Blog unto others as you would have them blog unto you." Which is to say, in this respect: link, link, link! It's about linking to other blogs, supporting smaller blogs, and otherwise making connections and, even more, friends. Links are the "capital" of the blogosphere, but they are also what the blogosphere is really all about. Unfortunately, as I know well, it's hard for many bloggers to get the links they so badly want, namely, links from the A-listers, the big blogs that with a single link can generate enormous traffic. We all want those links from Kos and Atrios and Drum and C&L and all the rest, but, alas, those links aren't always forthcoming. And so we do what we need to do, linking to each other, supporting each other, forging connections, making friends, and otherwise building up the liberal/progressive blogosphere into a genuine network. That's what this is all about.

What happened -- Carl, one of my co-bloggers here at The Reaction, added a very informative history of the happening as the intro to his post day. His words gave me a real sense of how it must have been back then when the Precipitating Event was perpetrated: "Today is the anniversary of a dark day in Blogtopia. . .The unintentional (or perhaps intentional) consequence of BAD was to eliminate an awful lot of blogs from an awful lot of exposure."

I have often posted about bloggers that deserved recognition, or about what it means to maintain a "small" blog." April 10, 2005 -- "Big blog vs little blogs"; July 16, 2005 --"Form vs Content"; June 10, 2006 -- "Little blogs"; June 26, 2006 -- "Blogging as Catharsis"; July 27, 2006 -- "More Women Bloggers Needed".

So the idea this year is to link to smaller bloggers. As my beginning contribution to that effort I have developed an exclusive new Blogroll to my South by Southwest website. It recognizes those of us bloggers in this little community known as The Reaction by linking to each of their primary posting homes:

• Founder & Editor: Michael J.W. Stickings -- "The Reaction"
• Associate editor: Creature -- "State of the Day"
• Assistant editor: Libby Spencer -- "Last One Speaks"

Co-bloggers:

• AviShalom/MSS -- blogs at The Reaction
• Capt. Fogg -- "Human Voices"
• Carl -- "Simply Left Behind"
• Edward Copelend -- "Edward Copeland on Film"
• J. Kingston Pierce -- "Limbo"
• J. Thomas Duffy -- "The Garlic"

A poem to celebrate -- As my concluding section of today's post I have dashed off a copy of an old nursery rhyme that seems apropos to modify for the occasion. From "I'm a Little Teapot" -- from Wikipedia:

I'm a little blogger, short and stout.
Here is my handle (screen name), here is my spout (rant).
When I get all steamed up, then I shout.
Tip me over and pour me out.

A second verse (with motion) is also found at Wikipedia:

I'm a clever teapot, yes it's true.
Here's an example of what I can do.
I can change my handle to my spout (switch arm positions and repeat tipping motion).
Just tip me over and pour me out.

Have a good anniversary!

(Cross-posted at South by Southwest.)

Because I'm B.A.D., ya know it!

By Carl

Today is the anniversary of a dark day in Blogtopia (© Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo).

One year ago, Atrios (also known as Duncan Hunter), proprietor of the feebly-written (except for his co-bloggers) blog, "Eschaton," decided to trim his blogroll for...well, his own reasons. He offered what in Newspeak was called "Bloroll Amnesty Day," which of course makes it sound as if he would throw open the doors of his blogroll and let anyone who asked be added.

Turned out, it was more all about him. He blew up his existing blogroll, then decided that he would blogroll anyone that interested him.

Nothing wrong with that, of course. It's his name on the site and if he feels that people might get the wrong impression by having an inordinately long blogroll, filled with smaller blogs (like mine, altho I was never on his roll), that's OK.

Of course, then, it becomes a little disingenuous for him to lay claim to some form of authority in Blogtopia(©), and has of course, come under fire from some of the more (truly) progressive bloggers who have noted that by stifling access to smaller blogs, a movement tends to risk losing a diversity of thought.

Studies have shown (and this was PRE-BADay) that "A" list bloggers tend to link to other "A" list bloggers nearly exclusively. This sets up an echo chamber of thought, one that resonates and creates a feedback loop that makes it hard to sort reality from a rumour that's shot around the world three times.

Worse, other blogs, like (I'm ashamed to say) Jesus' General, then PZ Myers and Pharyngula followed suit, until the Great Orange One himself, Kos, pulled his blogroll as well. This was, for many, the last straw. The unintentional (or perhaps intentional) consequence of BAD was to eliminate an awful lot of blogs from an awful lot of exposure.

If you look at the large blogs on the right wing (I won't mention names because there's no point in looking and getting ill), you'll see blogrolls that extend well into the hundreds. Indeed, one challenge in winning the Weblog Award last year was that one conservative contestant had his blog on Captain's Quarters AND Michelle Malkin's blog, and was not ashamed to ask for votes there.

A movement arose that truly gave Blogroll Amnesty to people who needed it: smaller blogs. Led by such heavyweights as Jon Swift, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (you know, CNN's favorite blogger, at least according to Jon Stewart), Joe Gandelman, and Kevin Hayden,

I have been approached by some of these guerrila bloggers to add my voice to the protest. Unfortunately, I owe some small sums of money to at least three of these heavyweights, and they have hinted that ThumbPer's name may have to be changed to "Per" if I don't comply.

So I'm making this announcement, altho to be honest, it's never really been necessary: if you've asked, and promise a return link, I've added you to my blogroll.

But as a special promotion, if you ask now, you'll get your own window with each link... free!

You can't beat an offer like that, now can you?

I don't get many hits, maybe 150 or 200 a day if I'm on a roll, but I have a loyal readership, one that doesn't mind exploring a little. Too, links mean more to me than hits.

As a small (but I hope influential) blogger, I can understand the value of hits and links and I confess I do get a thrill down my back when I check out my Technorati listings and see I have one more link, particularly when it's unexpected. I hope by formally announcing this policy, I might encourage other bloggers whose voice gets lost in the shuffle to soldier on, not get discouraged, and know there are people out here who want to help.

So, in the spirit of Blogroll Amnesty Day, I am linking these five blogs who deserve more notice. Anyone of them could and should be A-listers. Some are smaller than even this little outpost at the far left of the radio dial, some are bigger. All deserve your attention:

Mr. Doggity. The Dogg always writes about politics from the perspective of a blue voter trapped in a red (but turning purple) state, Kansas. Always interesting and informative.

Connecting.The.Dots. Bob Stein is a former magazine editor/publisher (including Redbook), journalism teacher, and media critic. He reminds me every time I read him of my J-school 101 classes with William Burroughs at NYU: gets the facts, lead with the biggest fact and make the story interesting. If Izzy Stone was still alive, he'd blog with Bob.

Guys From Area 51. You know most of these fellows if you spend anytime at the snarkier blogs (including my own). A daily stop on my path to avoiding sanity...I mean, INsanity.

The Impolitic. Libby and Cap't. Fogg are co-bloggers with me at Michael J. Stickings's The Reaction, but here, they post stuff that's even more in-depth and more thoughtful than they do at TR. Give them a try.

Adgita Diaries. I was embarrassed to find out two things: 1) Mandt, who comment here fairly often and whom I run into regularly on other blogs, is actually two people (M and T, get it?) and 2) They have a blog of such aching beauty that, well, I almost quit blogging. OK, that last bit is not quite true, but...

A Poetic Justice. You know him, you love him. The Poetry Man's blog.


UPDATE: Well, it looks like I could stand a lesson from Izzy Stone myself! I misspoke when I said PZ at Pharyngula scrubbed his blogroll. He did weed out links that were "dead", and has a fairly generous blogrolling policy. My apologies, and thanks to Kristjan Wager for pointing out my error.

B.A.D. 2008

By Michael J.W. Stickings


Two of my favourite bloggers, Skippy and Jon Swift, have organized this admirable effort, Blogroll Amnesty Day. What's it all about? Well, it's about what Jon calls "the Golden Rule of Blogging: Blog unto others as you would have them blog unto you." Which is to say, in this respect: link, link, link! It's about linking to other blogs, supporting smaller blogs, and otherwise making connections and, even more, friends. Links are the "capital" of the blogosphere, but they are also what the blogosphere is really all about. Unfortunately, as I know well, it's hard for many bloggers to get the links they so badly want, namely, links from the A-listers, the big blogs that with a single link can generate enormous traffic. We all want those links from Kos and Atrios and Drum and C&L and all the rest, but, alas, those links aren't always forthcoming. And so we do what we need to do, linking to each other, supporting each other, forging connections, making friends, and otherwise building up the liberal/progressive blogosphere into a genuine network. That's what this is all about.

Here at The Reaction, we link frequently to the non-A-listers, and, of course, we will continue to do so -- and will do so in other posts this weekend. Stay tuned.

Some of my favourite non-A-listers have become co-bloggers here -- and I encourage you to check out their home blogs, if you haven't already. Click on their names over on the right sidebar. You'll go to their profiles, from which you can go straight to their various blogs. They're all fantastic.

As well, have a look through our extensive blogroll, further down on the sidebar. There are the A-listers in there, of course, but I've made a concerted attempt over the past couple of years to connect with some of the smaller blogs, too. I recommend all the blogs on the blogroll. Seriously, check them out. Click on the ones you don't know.

A huge thank you to Skippy and Jon for doing this. And a huge thank you to everyone who has ever linked here.