Ah, the sultry days leading up to the end of summer, when the warm weather brings out the torpor and laziness in all of us and little gets accomplished except by the determined and the desperate.
Of course, in this election season, that group would include the members of the political class and a veritable army of consultants, pollsters, advance men, hangers on, hired muscle, campaign workers, groupies, sycophants, body servants, sound men, lighting directors… you name it. Just the thought of it reminds me of the old touring days, slogging down the highway to the next town… an unnatural way to live, but the common lot of political junkies, musicians, carnies and con men always on the way to the next gig, the next score…
The Romans were the first to label this time of year the Dog Days (diēs caniculārēs), noting that the skies were ruled by Sirius, the Dog Star, the brightest star in the night sky at this time of year. And Herodotus, Plutarch, Caesar and Thucydides all noted the effect this time of year has on men… the influence of the days of the Dog Star giving rise to tempers, frustrations, gambles and many times, war and rumors of war. Some things never change. Or at least that’s what the smart money in Vegas, DC and other oracular venues where the entrails get read for omens says. The mood can get ugly very quickly.
This week’s contest is dedicated to letting sleeping dogs lie… at least for the moment.
Welcome to the Watcher’s Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the ‘sphere and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday morning.
Council News:
The Council In Action!!
Tom White over at VA Right! is rapidly achieving guru status as a political expert in the Old Dominion. His latest mention was in a monthly Virginia Magazine, The Chesterfield Monthly.
This week, The MidKnight Review, Blazing Cat Fur, The Political Commenator and The Pirate’s Cove earned honorable mention status with some great articles.
You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.
To bring something to my attention, simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title and a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address (mandatory, but of course it won’t be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6 PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category. Then return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week when it comes out on Wednesday morning.
Simple, no?
It’s a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?
So, let’s see what we have for you this week…
Council Submissions
- The Independent Sentinel – U.S. History Rewrite Takes a Dark Left Turn
- The Noisy Room – Obama and the US Army Open the Door to the UN
- The Right Planet – Flashback: Anarchy USA
- Bookworm Room – J’accuse! The Western media has the blood of Gazan children on its hands
- The Razor – Ebola – Don’t Panic But Don’t Underestimate The Virus
- Rhymes With Right – Yes, Anti-Zionism Is Anti-Semitism
- The Colossus of Rhodey – Why Schools of Education Are a Waste of Time
- Joshuapundit – Gallup:Israel’s Critics Are Younger, Less Educated And Informed, And Mostly Democrat
- GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Revolutionary Guard vs. ISIS
- Simply Jews – Gaza myths and facts: what Peter Beinart wouldn’t tell you
- VA Right! – How These ‘Green’ Groups Convince County Administrators to Harass People Like Martha Boneta
- Nice Deb – Obama’s Coup D’Etat Scheduled To Take Place After Summer Vacay and Labor Day Weekend Golf Extravaganza.
- The Glittering Eye – My Questions About the Ebola Outbreak
- Ask Marion – Calling All Grandparents… Where Are You?
Honorable Mentions
- The MidKnight Review – 14 weeks before the midterms, and the gap between ACA approval and disapproval is at its greatest separation.
- The Political Commentator – Seven photos of the Religion of Peace!
- The Pirate’s Cove – Physicians Say New EPA Rules Target The Poor
- Blazing Cat Fur – The Arabic writing on the wall: Europe learns the hard way
Non-Council Submissions
- Jonah Goldberg/NRO – Tampering Tinkerers of Capitol Hill submitted by The Independent Sentinel
- Michelle Malkin – The DREAMer and the nightmare: Illegal alien teen charged in brutal murder of USC engineering student from China submitted by The Noisy Room
- The American Interest – Why They Fight: Hamas’s Too-Little-Known Fascist Charter submitted by The Right Planet
- Danielle Avel/YouTube – Spontaneous Pro-Israel Rally Erupts in Response to Protestors submitted by Bookworm Room
- Thomas Sowell – Is Thinking Now Obsolete? submitted by The Razor
- Derek Hunter/Right Wing News – An Open Letter to the Political Right submitted by Rhymes with Right
- First Street Journal – Der Führer would be proud of them! submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
- Caroline Glick – Fighting without silver bullets submitted by Joshuapundit
- Christopher Hill/ Daily Star – The West Needs a Strategy for Arab Dissolution submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
- Mick Hartley – We Have No Problem With Death submitted by Simply Jews
- RedState – Obama Administration Lied About Insurance Company Bailouts submitted by VA Right!
- Roger L. Simon/PJ Media – Welcome To The 1930′s submitted by Nice Deb
- Tara C. Smith/Science Blogs – Ebola is already in the United States submitted by The Glittering Eye
- Peggy Noonan/WSJ – Out Of Many, Two? submitted by The Watcher
- Max Boot/Commentary – National Defense Panel’s Bombshell Report submitted by The Watcher
- Brett Stephens/WSJ – Palestine and Double Standards submitted by The Watcher
Enjoy! And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us Twitter… ’cause we’re cool like that! And don’t forget to tune in Friday for the results!