Pay no attention to that Brownshirt behind the curtain
Nunc Scio has the goods on Tory MP for Okanagan-Shuswap Colin Mayes, who has suggested that journalists be jailed for writing "distorted" or "inaccurate" articles. He has since retracted the comments he made in a column he wrote and sent out to local newspapers in BC - I suspect he got an angry phone call from the boss. As a professional journalist of over 15 years experience, I would like to say I support this idea wholeheartedly. I think any journalist who knowingly lies in print should be clapped in irons, right next to any politician who lies or fails to live up to a promise.

Joke
CathiefromCanada: On the lighter side of American history and immigration.

Powerlessness of Prayer
They needed a scientific study to prove this? Power of prayer overrated. What's next, using electron microscopes to see once and for all how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

They've got nothing!

It has been a busy week here in Woodshedland, too busy getting kids ready to start school and enjoying the cherry blossoms of Tokyo - to say nothing of the daily working grind - to blog. As a result I missed the whole Ben Domenech/Washington Post feeding frenzy. Here is the opening shot, followed by a number of 16 ton weights dropped on "Box Turtle Ben's" scrotum. (just scroll around for numerous links)

At one point last week, Atrios wondered aloud who the Post could possibly hire from the Wingnut end of Blogsylvania that would not be a major embarrassment to conservative with IQs above room temperature - and contrary to what you think my politics are, I do admit such people exist. I thought about it long and hard and the truth is this: they got nuthin'. Zero, zilch, zip, nada y pues nada. While some of the wingnut bloggers may not be as obviously horrible choices as the openly racist and clearly stupid plagiarist they picked, but none of the top ten (based on the TTLB ecosystem which measures links) are exactly stellar options.

Top ten conservative bloggers

Instapundit - heh, indeedy! I'm afraid to just google "Glen Reynolds says something stupid" as the bazillion of results might crash my machine.

Michelle Malkin - I won't link to her, I just won't. But Dave Neiwert over at Orcinus has a whole Koufax nominates series about how crapulous her work is that starts here and goes on for six more parts. Ben Domenench helped edit her "book."

Powerline- It's run by a man known as Assrocket, 'nuff said. TIME's blog of the year a few years ago.

Little Green Footballs- You'd need to be on hillbilly heroin to think Charles Johnson and his gang of ignorant yahoos was anything more than a bunch of stormtroopers with a leather fetish .

Captain's Quarters - while generally better behaved, an ignorant wingnut is still and ignorant wingnut

Hugh Hewitt - Everything you really need to know about Hugh Hewitt can be found in this parody of his reaction to the nomination of Harriet Miers. One commentor mentions that Hugh's opinion of The President has earned him the nickname "Monica."

The Mudville Gazette-One of the many popular military fetishist blogs run by a real live soldier who is heroically protecting the homeland in Germany.

Real Clear Politics - not so much a blog as a careful selection of links that slant the news to the right.

Stop the ACLU - I just couldn't read any further than the masthead quote "beating them with their own sickle and hammer." Even conservatives know its "hammer and sickle" dammit! Should not be taken seriously until they stop eating paint chips.

So that's the top ten conservative bloggers - clearly not the cream of the intellectual crop. The Post's Jim Brady has said that they will be looking for someone with a more traditional journalism background. I suppose that means someone like Adam's Apple Anne, Doughy Pantsload or the other NRO dimwits

Now if the Wapo were to decide that instead of hiring a conservative blogger to balance its journalism, it wanted to hire a conservative blogger and a liberal blogger to balance each other, It could choose any of the following without fear.

Top ten Liberal Blogs

Daily Kos - Markos has the street cred and runs the finest group blog going.

Talking Points Memo - Josh Marshall is bright, erudite and ready to fight. A man who does his research and uses it. TPM Cafe is a great group site with very informed writers.

Eschaton - While the comments may get a little wild and wooly and there are a lot of open threads, Atrios is a trained economist who knows what he's talking about and can write like a house on fire when he chooses to.

Huffington Post - A round up rather than a single source blog. I've never really bought Arriana's road to Damascus conversion to liberalism, but she can write a fair stick and has none of Box Turtle Ben's faults.

The Washington Monthly - I don't always agree with Kevin Drum and he takes a fair bit of shit from female bloggers for occasional sexism, but he would still be a decent choice.

Crooks and Liars - More of a video resource for the blogosphere than anything else, but if you want to know what is going on in the television end of the media, this is where you go.

Wonkette - Already a media darling.

Crooked Timber group - A sizeable group, any one of which could eat the entire Pyjamas media crew alive

Informed Comment - Professor Juan Cole is an expert on Middle East History and has had plenty of practice slapping conservatives around on a factual basis.

Hullabaloo - Digby is eloquent, informed and original.

And that is just the top ten, nevermind people like PZ Myers, David Neiwert, Michael Berube, Jane Hamsher, David Noon, Billmon, Attaturk, Roy Edroso, Tbogg -- Hell, even the Rude Pundit would liven things up. Its a deep, deep bench on our side of the rink. Over there, not so much.