Welcome to another edition of Tazi Recommends... If you are new to this column, let me explain what is so different about my Sunday column: I offer blog reviews, instead of advice. The reason is two-fold. First, I thought it would be nice to give a "paws up!" to all the great blogs out there that you may not be reading; second, I thought it a genius way to get you to put down the Sunday paper - aka my napping mat. For a full description of what Tazi Recommends... is all about, check out its inaugural column. For those of you who are veteran readers, I thank you for your loyalty and ask you to continue reading!
With all that is political going on in America and around the world, I have been searching for a political blog that had balance; one that addressed the issues in the world around us from both sides; and from different levels, both high and mighty as well as the "what can one person do?" level. I think I have found it in today's blog review, which is why Tazi Recommends...
by "Dreadnought aka Juggernaut", from somewhere in cyberspace
Raw, powerful, and relevant; Hellfire discusses politics from a more youthful point of view than that of a CNN commentator, but in a much more mature way than a high school drone of Rush Limbaugh (even Limbaugh calls those followers "mushheads"; I thought "drone" a more polite term!). The opinions expressed sometimes use language that others find unacceptable in polite discourse, but rather than detract from the material it adds to it. The writing style of "Dreadnought" allows the reader to get inside the head of America's "next generation" and see what its members are feeling on the state of America - its economy and its culture - and at times what is there is anger; other times, compassion; but most of the time calm and rational thought - something that is sorely lacking in much political debate.
Examples of Dreadnought's writings include a first-person view of "Youth and Political Disillusionment", which discusses the recent changes in attitudes brought about by domestic and world events; "Discipline: The Four Letter Word", a short blog (that I wish was longer) describing the reaction he received when Dreadnought suggested to a college classroom that discipline was necessary to success; and my personal favorite so far, a serious look at feminism through the eyes of a man. Replete with thought-provoking questions on gender and society, "Feminism: Man's New Best Friend" will leave you asking yourself exactly what you believe on issues you never considered - but should.
Dreadnought's writing is not for those who are easily offended. As I mentioned, his writing is pretty balanced, which means his political writings will offend people on both sides of the political fence. It is not for those who are uneducated in the realm of debate, who feel that berating someone through commentary makes them correct simply because they are yelling the loudest. Hellfire is a well-researched blog that, in spite of the (occasional) use of relaxed language standards, dissects the issues on a higher level. If you want to argue the points being made, be prepared to fight with acceptable sources (meaning if your stuff comes off of sites with "anonymous" sourcing with questionable credentials, you may want to keep quiet).
The thing I like most about Hellfire is that, because it is hosted by tumblr.com, you can re-blog the work of another without worrying about properly crediting the author - the original link is built into the re-blog, giving credit where credit is due and allowing you to easily expand the debate to new audiences while adding your own opinion, additional points, or critical rebuttal to the mix.
Overall, I would give Hellfire a PG-13 rating for the subject content - it is definitely not something I would read to the children as a bedtime story - but Dreadnought's writing style does not include language or scenarios that junior high students have not already seen or heard. Except maybe for his rant against ITT Tech commercials, but that appears to be an early work; done before the blog took a political turn. I recommend it to all with an interest in the politics of American society, from the fiscal to the social. There really is something for everyone; served up with a dash of humor, just to keep things from getting too heavy.
As usual, I am now off for my Sunday nap!
Snuggles,
Tazi-Kat
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