I’m finally getting to that Thoughtful Blogger Award so thoughtfully given to me by Mary Ellen, The Divine Democrat . Thanx, M E.

First, I’d like to mention the fact that I feel a little cheated here as I’d really like to award this honor to Mary Ellen, herself. She lives up to the spirit and the letter of it so well. But, since she gave it to me, I think that’s probably against the rules.

Also, I want to give an honorable mention to Robert Rouse of Left of Centrist .
He would’ve been on my list as well except, when I checked back on the rules, I found that he had given it to Mary Ellen who then gave it to me. So, it seems to me that that, too, would be beyond the Pale.
Still, his Blog World Report is so thoughtful and helpful to the rest of us, I can’t let his efforts go unmentioned.
xxx
My understanding of the award is that it is given to bloggers who respond to the commenters on their blogs—thus starting dialogs rather than creating monologs. While monologs have their places, imho, Blogsville isn’t one of them.

The TBA is also for those folks who link their blogs to those of others, who visit the blogging community and drop their 2c in various comments sections, keep discussions civil even when they disagree with other folk’s points of view, etc.

Given those considerations, I’m very happy to nominate the following folks for the Thoughtful Blogger Award:

Polishifter of Pissed on Politics.
This is one of my must-stop-by blogs daily. Poli is always good for informative posts well thought out. I have to admit, there’ve been times when my well was running dry, I’ve blatantly lifted stuff from Poli and given my take on it. He’s always been more than generous when I’ve grazed his pasture.

Knight Errant of Major Conflict.
Always good for current [and often off-the-beaten-path] information about this house of cards we’re living in. Again, I stop by here daily—though I spend more time lurking than commenting.

James Joiner of An Average American Patriot.
James recently sent me his well documented [frightening] ideas about this country. Btw—James, I apologize. When I was midway through it, I got sidetracked by family business and have yet to get back to it. I will—I promise.

Sad but True of Les Enrages. org.
Another blog I read daily. SbT ferrets out that article that's getting past the rest of us and shines a light on it. A service we all can certainly make use of. And, he is an encouraging commenter, always civil, in short, always thoughtful.

All these folks live up to the spirit and the letter of the Thoughtful Blogger Award and I recommend them highly.