The Nominatons Are Up

Each week, the members of the Watcher's Council nominate one of their own posts and a second from outside the Council for consideration by other council members in a contest for best post. The Watcher tallies the votes and publishes the results each Friday morning. The Watcher also has a process for anyone who would like to submit one of their posts for consideration as part of the weekly contest. You can find out more about that here.

This week's nominations in the Council category are:

1. The Colossus of Rhodey - What Is "Freedom"?
Our founding fathers had the good sense to ensconce the freedom of speech as part of the very first right granted all Americans in the Bill of Rights. CoR ponders how that very freedom is at the very center of any concept of freedom, and to have meaning, it must not be neutered by codes that would limit speech in light of offense that others may take to your words.

2. The Glittering Eye - The Radicalization of American Politics
GE posits that race, gender and religion will is playing a central role in politics becasue so many of us have been trained to interpret all messages through the prism of one or more of those topics. As GE puts it, this development is "wholly pernicious" and it ultimately threatens the ability to discuss and compromise.

3. Done With Mirrors - Liberal Fascism
DWM ponders Jonah Goldberg's book and the inadequacy of using simplistic political labels as the tool for analyzing motivations and actions that are too complex to fit within the perameters of such labels.

4. Wolf Howling - Hillanomix 101
Hillary's latest pronouncements in response to the mortgage crisis and then in an NYT article left me dumbfounded. I had no idea she was either that sophmoric or anti-capitalist. This article is the result of my efforts to find out what I could about Hillary's economic positions. She lays it out, but she does not go quite as far as actually saying "from each according to ability, to each according to his needs." But she is much closer to that philosophy than I had realized.

5. Rhymes With Right - If Ever We Needed a Special Prosecutor (BUMPED)
RWR sets out an appropriate case for appointment of a special prosecutor. A Texas Supreme Court Justice, allegations of arson and insurance fraud, the return of an indictment by a grand jury, and the dismissal of the case on grounds of lack of evidence by a DA who may be biased.

6. Soccer Dad - Rose Colored Rudy
SD sets out a compelling case for why he likes Rudy for President. SD also laments that Rudy's strategy of waiting out the early primaries may fail.

7. Cheat Seeking Missiles - Di Caprio Lies and Hustles Bucks
Remind me not to send Laer any junkmail. A less than honest solicitation from the Natural Resources Defense Council asking CSM to donate to save the polar bears has CSM spitting blood.

8. Bookworm Room - The Problem With Obama's Race
The problem with the left's victimhood and identity politics is that all criticism directed towards a member of a "protected class" is deemed racist, sexist, or, well, pick you '-ist.' In this case, BR takes offense at the suggestion that her dislike of Obama on numerous substantive grounds, none of which have anything to do with his genetics, is none the less the product of racial animus.

9. Joshua Pundit - 'I Have A Dream' -- The Democrat's Version
MLK dreamt of racial unity. The modern left has dreamt of classes of victims - and it is the latters dream which is playing a big role in the Democratic primaries.

10. Big Lizards - Mike Huckabee for Minister in Chief?
Mike Huckabee is apparently seeking a modern reformation in our secular political arena. My view, he is pandering as hard as possible to the evangelicals as it is his only demographic and he has neither the time, money or message to expand his appeal beyond it.

11. The Education Wonks - Our Out of Control Borders: Who's Accountable?
The wonks are posting about our government's inability or refusal to get our southern border secure. They note the recent murder of Border Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar is just the very tip of the iceberg of the problems caused by lack of border security.

12. Right Wing Nut House - Grim Choices Confront GOP
The demise of Fred Thompson's campaign has left Rick Moran feeling like the glass is a bit less than half empty. I admit that its a matter of judging the negatives in deciding how to vote amongst the rest of the field. That said, I think each would make an acceptable president - and that Obama or Hillary would be a disaster for our national security and economy.

The Non-Council nominations are:

1. Oliver Kamm - Media Lens Tries History, Yet Again

2. The QandO Blog - About the Anarcholibertarians

3. The Onion - Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

4. Pajamas Media - The Navy's Failing China Policy

5. Shadowscope - Texas Landowners Refuse to Give Up Their Land

6. The IgNoble Experiment - Doctors and Death and Doctors Death

7. Iowahawk - Bylines of Brutality

8. Dr. Sanity - Let's End the Cold War and Get Rid of Marxist BS Once and for All

9. Gates of Vienna - It's All Israel's Fault

10. Power Line - A Relatively Scientific Experiment

11. Classical Values - The Guy Who Wasn't In Last Night's Debate (But Might As Well Have Been...)

12. BobKrumm.com - What Might Have Been... And What Was

13. Webloggin - Ex-Congressman Tied to Many Current and Former Congressmen Indicted in Scheme to Aid Terrorists

14. Dodgeblogium - Pondering the Google Slap