Blogs I'm Reading

Just coming out of a long blogging hibernation, and still quite focused on editing the film, I nonetheless am going to try to return to general-interest blogging and I thought the State of the Union would be a good opportunity to let you know what I'm reading and will probably be commenting on in the near future.

I don't really have much to say yet about the SOTU myself except that I found it unusually good and that I continue to be impressed by Obama's clarity and incisiveness at the podium. Certainly a contrast to Paul Ryan who evoked nothing so much as LaVar Burton reading from a YA novel set on Capitol Hill.

Here's who I'll be watching for reactions:

Matthew Yglesias

One of my favorite bloggers from way back when, MY has boucned around a bit but has found a good niche as the Center for American Progress' "name" political blogger. He's good on almost everything and great on applied political philosophy and other generalist-type topics.

Progressive Fix

Readers who know politics might be surprised to see Raul Groom's alter ego linking to Will Marshall, who's something of a pariah in true lefty circles, and for good reason. But I've always found Marshall's analysis cogent and sober-minded, unlike so many who call themselves "centrist" and "pragmatic." The time may well be coming that the Will Marshalls of the world can again find common cause with those of us on the true left. At the very least, the PPI doesn't put out the same old crap most Liebermanite orgs push on us.

Pandagon

Issues of feminism and misogyny don't get a lot of mainstream airtime these days, but feminine self-determinism and human rights are still at the forefront of the progressive agenda, and Amanda Marcotte is one of the leading lights of my generation's feminist movement. She's often bombastic, sometimes petty, but always sharp and uncompromising in pointing out the absurdities and injustices of our male-dominated culture.

Center of the Universe

Warren Mosler is best known as the idiosyncratic creator of a long-running line of high-performance cars, but he's also a finance wizard and one of the brightest stars of the school of economics often called "Modern Monetary Theory" or MMT. Closely aligned with L. Randall Wray's Center for Full Employment and Price Stability Mosler offers daily takes on everything from Federal Reserve policy to currency and commodity markets.

I hope some of you come to enjoy reading these sites as much as I do in the coming year. Leave your own suggestions in comments!