Political Sites Worth Visiting

I like to read sites from all over the political spectrum. I believe that avoiding the rhetoric of people and publications that I disagree with would be counterproductive. People tend to get all riled up when they are exposed to views they disagree with, but what better way to continue to hone your own argument? Plus, you might actually learn something and possibly even change your mind every once in awhile. I know I have.


This list is pretty limited, but I figure not everybody wants to spend the amount of time I do in front of a computer screen. That plus genetics is the reason I am so pasty white. I don't care though. My tattoo artist says my translucent ivory skin is an excellent receptical for ink. Even yellow shows up on me. But, I'm getting off topic. Here's some of the political sites I enjoy exploring day after day.

538-Nate Silver is a statistical prodigy who rose all the way to the top of the ranks of pollsters and political insiders last year after being largely known in sports circles for some time.
It's hard to say which is more impressive, Silver's prediction of the Tampa Bay Rays' unexpected playoff bid or his crazy accurate forecast of the popular vote in the 2008 presidential election. I would LOVE to take him with me to Vegas or Pimlico.

Politico- I really enjoy reading Politico, but the tone occasionally bothers me. The site has an engaging, gossipy feel that sometimes makes it hard to take seriously. Either way, Politico has made its way onto my daily read list because it's entertaining and it excels at showing the more human side of the hill.

Weekly Standard- Features well known conservative writers like William Kristol, Fred Barnes and the Weekly Standard Blog. The blog is a good read and the website has content from the magazine as well.

The New Republic- The website of the liberal magazine is a mix of free and paid content and several prolific blogs. Their reviews and arts coverage are also excellent.

Huffington Post- Huffington Post has been described as the future of journalism. While that remains to be seen, the site has writers from all over the political spectrum and has fostered a great community dialogue.

Congressional Quarterly- Congressional Quarterly could be a one stop shop for political coverage and I especially like the transcripts they post. Other fantastic features include bill and vote trackers. I recommend taking some time to explore the site to find all the goodies because the layout isn't the most friend. Still exceptionally useful though.

League of Ordinary Gentlemen- This site chock full of excellent writing and thoughtful analysis. I have been quite impressed with the site's commitment to tackling the most controversial topics without resorting to name calling, accusations and the other nasty habits of political pundits.

Great Use of Multimedia in Texas State Legislature Coverage

The Austin American-Statesman's political blog, Postcards, is a really entertaining read and it's helped keep me up to date with what's happening in politics and state government in my homestate of Texas. Its focus is the Texas legislature and multiple bloggers contribute.

Postcards posted a video today that shows off the more human side of the lege. This is part of the reason why I love Postcards so much. It shows readers how legislators interact with each other, the shenanigans, the tensions and the camaraderie at the capitol building. This video isn't too long, it's well done and for readers of the blog it brings this session to life.

Some of my favorite sites aka How I lose hours out of my day

I spend an insane amount of time online every day reading. I do most of my reading on my Google Reader, which is by far the best RSS feed reader that I've used. All you need is a google account to use the service, so all of you gmailers are set.

One of my favorite features is that you can star posts so that you can read them later or refer to them at a later date. It's easy to keep track of them because you can tag them and organize them into different categories.

Another great feature is that I can share posts with my friends that also use Google Reader. I found some of my favorite blogs and websites through reading my friends' shared items or browsing the feeds that Google suggests for me based on the feeds I already subscribe to.

Finally, Google Reader automatically makes a website of the items you've shared so that people who don't use Google Reader can keep up with what you're sharing. You can view mine here.

It was like Sophie's Choice narrowing it down, but here's a list of some of my favorite blogs, sites and feeds and a little about why I love them.

• TED blog: If you haven't watched any TED talks yet, you're really missing out. TED stands for technology, entertainment and design. What started out as a conference to get creative minds from those three fields together has turned into a cultural phenomenon that spans the globe. TED has uploaded over 400 of the talks given by awe inspiring people who have big ideas about how to change the world. The talks are all available for free.
  

• kottke.org: This is web designer Jason Kottke's site. This site is a real hodgepodge of design and pop culture and science. Kottke posts whatever he finds interesting, but he tends to look at it through an intellectual lense. He calls the site a "wunderkammer," which is a German word that apparently translates approximately to "cabinet of wonders" or "cabinet of curiousities".
  

• ffffound: Ffffound is a blog of found pictures and I could look at it literally all day. And, I'm not the kind of person who throws the word literally around as if it has no meaning. I've lost hours upon hours looking at the images on this site. The pictures range from photos of package design, typography, traditional art and photography to the occasional NSFW post.
  

• League of Ordinary Gentleman: I read a ridiculous amount of political blogs. That's why, for the most part, I've left them off of this list. But, the League of Ordinary Gentleman is a different kind of blog and I wanted to include it. This is a group blog that focuses on in-depth (at least, in depth for a blog) analysis of social, political and artistic issues. The writers on the site are excellent and their views don't fit into the teeny little boxes that most political thinkers squeeze into on the web. The posts focus on dialogue and building a community dialogue between the writers and the commenters on the site.
  

• Neatorama: Neatorama is one of my favorite blogs to kill time on. The range of topics on this blog is HUGE, but there is always a quirky, unexpected or fun angle to their posts. A lot of the blog is reposts of fun topics from other places on the web, but the summaries are great and without neatorama I'd have missed out on a lot of interesting stuff. Neatorama accepts posts from outside bloggers, so new bloggers looking to raise their profile should take a look at the instructions for submitting posts on the neatorama website.

• Wooster Collective: The Wooster Collective is a visually stunning site that focuses on what they call "ephemeral art". The site showcases street art, stickers, posters, graffiti and culture jamming from around the world.

• don't touch my moleskine: First of all, I want to warn you that this site in Portuguese. I don't speak Portuguese, but I lived with a bunch of Brazilians a couple of years ago and I speak decent Spanish, so I can usually figure out more or less what this 25 year old Brazilian journalist is talking about. But mastery of romance languages is unecessary to appreciate the site because most of the posts are photos and some of them feature English quotations. There's a lot of unexpected inspirational messages and interesting pictures of pop culture icons past and present.
  

• Juxtapoz: Juxtapoz is a great art and culture magazine and I was thrilled when I discovered their website. They have interviews with artists, art from emerging artists, readers submissions and tons of other interesting and innovative art and features. With all the news reading I do, Juxtapoz is always a welcome break for my eyes after all that black and white.

• NOTCOT: NOTCOT is a celebration of everything design. The posts are photos of creative design in a ton of different mediums from furniture to graphic design. For those interested in sartorial design, notcouture showcases fashion design in the same format. Definitely a fun place to spend some time.
  

• Marginal Revolution: I read a lot of economics blogs too, but Marginal Revolution stands out for me because of the wide way that the bloggers that run the blog, Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, define economics. It's a great way to get your economic news and theories without feeling like you're reading a bunch of term papers or being talked down to.
  

• Postcards: Postcards is a blog on the Austin American-Statesman's website that has several contributors that cover the Texas State Capitol. I like this blog because it's a mix of posts about policy, politics and legislative antics at the capitol building. I especially enjoy the way that the writers cover the way legislators interact and what's going on behind the scenes.
  

• Ask the Recruiter: Poynter.org is a wealth of resources for journalists and this blog is a fantastic tool for journalists of ANY level who want help shaping their careers. Have a question about your career in journalism? Check the archives and I'm sure Joe Grimm has given a thoughtful, thorough answer. If not, ask him yourself. There are also "Ask the Recruiter" live-chats that focus on specific topics.
  

• Al's Morning Meeting: Al's Morning Meeting is almost like a reporter's cheat sheet. Al shares resources he finds for covering timely topics. Some of briefings give tips to finding different angles on tired stories, like the recession. Other posts list sites and tools for reporters covering government reports that were just released. It's yet another invaluable feature on Poynter.org.
  

• I Love Typography: The name says it all.
  

What's your favorite site to lose hours on?