This week's column takes us surfin' to some blogsites that over time, have become my favorites. I'll start by reminding you that these bloggers' bank accounts rarely see a steady paycheck for doing the unassailable journalistic work the corporate media abandoned long ago, although a few do post at online media sites that earn them pennies a click.
Their veracity is never in doubt because they double/triple check their sources, issue citation links to original documents and conduct their own interviews.
Example: From the day of the shooting and throughout the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman trial, The Conservative Treehouse team revealed the ugly underbelly of corruption and racially-motivated shenanigans associated with the media coverage and the trial. In no small measure, their investigative journalism led to a grand jury indictment against Florida State Attorney Angela Corey for "intentionally withholding photographic evidence of the injuries to George Zimmerman’s head in the warrant she allegedly rushed to issue under oath, in an effort to boost her reelection prospects."
With help from reader donations, Treehouse spent from their own pockets to travel to Sanford, Jacksonville and Miami to interview those involved, make long distance phone calls, and file Freedom of Information requests for documents that helped expose the game players in this racially-motivated courtroom drama.
As recently as this past Sunday, Treehouse published yet another exclusive, this time exposing decision-makers at the Orlando Sentinel newspaper who deliberately slanted or played the Trayvon/Zimmerman coverage. The expose' also showed that investigative journalism, with rare exception, is no longer practiced in the media marketplace.
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Gun bloggers
When it comes to gun control and related Second Amendment concerns, three bloggers get my attention for their dogged persistence in revealing the truth about what the federal government and their local acolytes are doing to wrest away our right to bear arms: Western Rifle Shooters Association and award-winning bloggers David Codrea and Mike Vanderbeogh of Sipsey Street Irregulars. The latter two broke the Fast & Furious scandal, exposing the light of day on allegations by whistleblowing ATF insiders.
This trio of media bloggers also link to other intrepid, unpaid reporters who expose government gun grabbers' constant attempts to render us defenseless against criminals, both elected and otherwise.
Politics
For insightful political commentary, the ascendancy of Bill Whittle who hosts a weekly video commentary titled "Afterburner" for PJTV.com, is remarkable to witness. He is among, if not the best.
Increasingly sought by top conservative organizations to speak at their events, Whittle, a pilot, author, screenwriter, editor and director, points out in logical, rapid-fire bursts, the absurdities and fallacies of our political system and social problems. His video commentary about the Trayvon/Zimmerman case titled "The Lynching" attracted close to two million views, and his "Virtual President" vids are among his most popular. Watch this soft-spoken pilot kick in the "afterburners" and punch through the firewall. He's going places.
Snarky fun
For sheer entertainment of a politically intellectual bent, here's a partial list of my favorites:
I Own The World - Readers' comments are often funnier than the blog. Visual puns, quizzes and cutting edge contests drummed up by blog host and graphic illustrator "Big Fur Hat" and his sidekicks "Mr. Pinko," "Irony Curtain" and "Cardigan" keep readers enthralled, engaged and entertained. Well, maybe not enthralled. ... Caution: Frequent (but hilarious) adult content.
Michelle's Mirror - For pure snark, this award-winning blog takes a clever look at the First Lady from the perspective of her mirror. Featuring "Bo the Dog," "Won the President and the Wee Wons," "Michelle's Organic Garden," "The Boob Belt" and so much more, this is a must-read for Flotus "fans."
The People's Cube - Satire of America as seen through the eyes of a former Soviet agitprop artist. Snark straight from the heart of Marx. Part-time workers, unite!
The Powers That Be - Master of one-liners and guest writer at Michelle Malkin's popular blogsite Doug Powers takes a comedy gold blowtorch to political newsmakers.
In his latest commentary headlined "Obama Says Russia Better Get Some Gay Olympic Athletes if They Want a Good Team," Powers writes, "Putin and Medvedev must spend at least a couple hours a day laughing at this guy. ... If reality avoidance were an Olympic sport, Obama would take home the gold."
Islamification
About the wonderful world of jihad and its termite-like infestation into our government, society, judicial system and culture, Gates of Vienna, Atlas Shrugs and JihadWatch provide the most comprehensive view and reportage. These sites are consistently ahead of the curve, fumigating jihadist termite infestation by spreading truth about the "religion of peace" that has CAIR ululating and the mainstream media ignoring.
Sites worthy of a bookmark
The Gateway Pundit - Jim Hoft and his team typically have the news. First.
Weasel Zippers - Scouring the bowels of the Internet so you don't have to.
Director Blue - Doug Ross, keeper of such things as The Complete Benghazi Timeline; The Complete IRS Scandal Timeline; Obama's Complete List of Historic Firsts; and The Top 150 Conservative Websites.
The Other McCain - Fedora-wearing newsman R. Stacy McCain has his finger in every pot of ink.
The Noisy Room - Owner TMH assembles the best of the blogosphere every day, including her own original commentary. Aptly named, The Noisy Room is a cacophony of video news clips, alert bells and clicking keyboards tapping it out 24/7.
Trevor Loudon - The New Zealander with a heart full of concern for America is crossing the ocean and making waves about it. Big ones.
Twitchy - Who said what on Twitter? Curating the snark, breaking news and trending topics on the popular social medium. Pop culture watchman on the wall.
Memeorandum/Memorandum River - An excellent resource for current news headlines and blogs that comment about it. I use this as well as Drudge and Twitter to keep my finger on the up-to-the-minute pulse of current events.
That's enough of that
Michael Daniel, special assistant to the president and the cybersecurity coordinator, tells us why it's in our best interest to support the president's plan for giving up our privacy. You can read it at Whitehouse.gov.
But you might want to first watch this video by the folks at Funny or Die. It'll, um ... put you in the right frame of mind!