For me, as for so many other people in this country, the events of 9/11 were an unexpected shock, and their aftermath has brought enormous personal change. I was fortunate enough not to lose any relatives or close friends in the tragedy, but know far too many who did, and my heart goes out to them, and to the thousands of others who suffered such quick and terrible losses that day.
Since then, I've made a conscious effort to live a more informed life, and to cherish the freedoms and good fortune which I, and most Americans, had too often taken for granted.
Trying to become a better "citizen of the world," I am working my way through an extensive reading list, including most of Bernard Lewis' books, various histories of Islam and the Middle East, and several volumes on military history. To understand the current role of the US and the challenges we face I read books such as Kennedy's "The Rise and Fall of Great Powers." In the lead up to the Iraq war I read Tuchman's sublime "The Guns of August" and Fromkin's equally good (and more readable) "A Peace to End All Peace." In time I'll offer assessments of these and other books (and am always open to suggestions for what to read next).
But what has really proven educational is regular consumption of the blogosphere. For what it's worth, I was one of the early pioneers of the internet/web --- and no, I don't remember Al Gore being involved much --- and I think that the weblog is, thus far, the truest incarnation of Tim Berners-Lee's original vision: an open marketplace of ideas so nimble, so widespread, and so open that the quality of thought is the only real currency. It's hard to say whether the mainstream media has become passe, or just cowed by a disciplined and heavy-handed administration, but either way, if you want to learn about current affairs, the blogosphere is the place to be.
Here, in no particular order, is a short list of the blogs I try to skim at least daily, mainly centered on foreign affairs, economic policy, and a certain amount of domestic politics. I'll frequently link to stories on one or more of these sites, along with my own commentary. As with my (physical) reading list, I'm always looking for suggestions on good blogs to follow, and make a conscious effort to read a wide range
Talking Points Memo: I'll start with the best! To me Josh Marshall is the master of the game nowadays, respected on both the right and the left, and better described as a "real time on-line journalist" than a blogger. As befits a historian, his posts are almost always well researched and impeccably written.
Brad DeLong's Web Journal: Brad is a Professor of Economics at Berkeley, and he consistently has the best economic commentary to be found on-line. He's also quite a comic stylist, and I'd read his blog every day just to catch the occasional faux Socratic dialogue.
Andrew Sullivan/The Daily Dish: One of the acknowledged masters of the trade. His posts are cryptic, sharp, almost cutting, but on TV he seems different from his written persona: warm, thoughtful, balanced... thus, of all the bloggers I read, Andrew is the one I would most like to meet in person.
Calpundit: I began reading Kevin Drum's excellent work during his well-researched analysis of GWB's national guard service discrepancies.
Daniel Drezner: This eponymous web site by a University of Chicago PoliSci professor focuses on foreign policy, current affairs, and on more than one occasion, beautiful women wearing skimpy swimsuits.
Kausfiles: Long brought to us by Slate, Mickey's daily musings always give me a laugh and more often than not leave me thinking hard about an issue or two. He does such a good job of covering the blogosphere you could almost treat his column as a "blog portal."
Other excellent blogs sampled less regularly:
The Whiskey Bar: An aptly named "hangout" for leisurely and well informed posts by a former journalist with a bent for history, politics, economics, and populism.
Instapundit: Law Professor Glenn Reynolds' musings can be found here, as well as at GlennReynolds.com. I used to read this regularly, but suspect Glenn is pulled in too many directions at the moment. The price of success.
Patrick Ruffini: Want to meet someone for whom being a Republican is a divine experience? Patrick fills the bill and makes it fun, if occasionally over the top. Welcome to "red state" America!
The Belgravia Dispatch: Excellent, thoughtful, blog focusing on Foreign Affairs, and with a non-US slant, by Greg Djerejian in London.
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