Two posts down are the Five Worst.
Time for the five best posts ever. I will throw two out right away, including the #1 post:
1.) John Rogers- The Crazification Factor:
John: Hey, Bush is now at 37% approval. I feel much less like Kevin McCarthy screaming in traffic. But I wonder what his base is
Tyrone: 27%.
John: … you said that immmediately, and with some authority.
Tyrone: Obama vs. Alan Keyes. Keyes was from out of state, so you can eliminate any established political base; both candidates were black, so you can factor out racism; and Keyes was plainly, obviously, completely crazy. Batshit crazy. Head-trauma crazy. But 27% of the population of Illinois voted for him. They put party identification, personal prejudice, whatever ahead of rational judgement. Hell, even like 5% of Democrats voted for him. That’s crazy behaviour. I think you have to assume a 27% Crazification Factor in any population.
2.) The Cogent Provocateur- Operation Desert Snipe:
The Snipe Hunt is an American folk tradition, a rite of passage for the novice outdoorsman … an elaborate practical joke which ends with the initiate crouching alone in the woods, in the dark, literally “holding the bag”, waiting for the nonexistent Snipe.
What if we sift through all the sand in Iraq without finding WMDs? (That means hundreds of tons, as advertised … not lab samples, training rounds or inventory strays.) We’re alone in the woods, in the dark, holding the bag. Paraphrasing NYT’s Tom Friedman, we will have gone to war on the wings of a snipe.
Too early to call it a night. It’s a big desert, our last candle hasn’t flickered out, and the mocking call of the snipe still echoes hauntingly in the distance, but … the original standard WMD thesis is strictly defunct.
We need to work on 3-5, but there is one recent post by Tbogg that makes me laugh every time I read it- “…and my action figures never die.”
The mighty 101st Fighting Keyboarders turn to increasingly sophisticated methods to prove that Everything You Hear From Iraq Is Wrong. In this episode, Power Line reader Stuart Koehl goes out to his backyard sandbox and recreates the story of a “crazed Bradley driver running over a dog”:
***Next up: Warren Commission report disproved using a Hot Wheels Terrordactyl Track.
Just throwing that out there. I am reasonably sure Fafblog and Sadly, No! have something worthy. Another one of my all-time favorites was Will Warren at Unremitting Verse- Merci for Not Expiring.
Punchy
Perusing Sadly, No!, easily the funniest blog on the ‘Tubes, I thought I could find the one that cracked my shit up.
Then I found this, instead.
Good. God.
Mark
This whole post at Sadly No is killer, but the money shot’s the American Thinker picture down at the bottom.
Tom Traubert
Yeah. That’s about all you can say about that.
For best, I’ll nominate this little gem from the same place:
Still Standing (Technically)
It goes on, of course.
PeterJ
It’s not ok to laugh at the mentally ill.
TR
That John Rogers post is a classic, but his all-time best is one that should resonate with you, John: I Miss Republicans.
Jess
Here’s one of my favorites from Hilzoy at Obsidian Wings (“Failures of Will,” Nov. 20, 2005):
I like it because it’s not just a screed against Bushie’s Big Adventure, but a thoughtful, big-picture analysis of how such things can go so terribly wrong. I think it should be required reading for anybody responsible for any big project. Or anybody who wants to lead a responsible and accomplished life in general. But Hilzoy posts so much great stuff that its hard to choose just one.
The Other Steve
Actually with the sound off, it’s not half bad. Certainly better than anything Malkin has ever put on video.
jnfr
Please don’t remind me of Fafblog. I’m still in mourning.
Enlightened Layperson
For side-splittingly wickedly funny, I recommend Jon Swift on hypocrisy.
For a serious post, anything Hilzoy, the queen of relentless reasonableness.
TenguPhule
Atrios and the creation of the F.U. should be on the list.
Warren Terra
An enthusiastic second to jnfr and TenguPhile’s recent comments. The Friedman Unit is one of the few recognizeable blog-created memes that I’ve really seen obtain significant purchase in the wider world and (to some extent) cause offenders to modify their behavior.
I’m not sure it counts as a full-fledged blog, and I can’t point to any individual posts, but Charles Pierce’s Friday letters to Altercation are a highlight of my blogreading week; I give as an example one particularly good paragraph from last Friday:
.
Ben
This one has to be mentioned especially given the mention of Hewitt’s howler of a post about Harriet Miers…this was a perfect response
This one is under password protection (http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/3298458) and I can’t find any info on who wrote it, but can still be found floating around the internet:
———————————————
Shit Sandwich Suprisingly Tasty; I Give It A B+
I know what you’re thinking: “Why should I try a shit sandwich?” I might have felt the same way a few days ago, but now I’m a believer.
I was chatting with an administration insider over the weekend. During a sidebar in the conversation, it was intimated to me that President Bush’s favorite late-night snack was a “shit sandwich” with tartar sauce on the side. That encouraged me to give it a shot with an open mind. I know the president is intuitive yet discriminating in his choices, and isn’t afraid to go against the conventional wisdom. He also needs a lot of energy to get up early and fight the GWOT each day.
So I tried it. The verdict? Earthy, no-nonsense flavor. The tangy contrast of the tartar sauce is initially off-putting, but like Bush, I’m in this game for the long term. I’ll give it some time to grow on me. It’s easily a B+ snack.
UPDATE: My insider friend just called me again; apparently I misheard his end of the conversation, it was a fish sandwich. Well, that shouldn’t surprise me. In addition to introducing bold new ideas, Bush has always shown an appreciation for the traditional eating values that made this country great in the first place.
———————————————–
P.S. little help for a newbie..how do I do the quotes like the other posts above?
Ted
Not within the top 5, but this one from TBogg with a little imagining of what it would be like if Michelle Malkin homeschooled here pre-school aged kids:
Ted
And I don’t know if this counts, since it doesn’t have much writing to it at all, but Famous Lookalikes: Wingnuts Edition at S,N! is always one that’s good to go back to from time to time…
sam
Points for the Kevin McCarthy allusion.
RSA
That’s the only way I could watch it. And it immediately brought a line from MST3K to mind: “Oh, the drunk-aunt-at-the-wedding dance.” (Also, Elaine Benis, but that’s pretty obvious.)
Best blog post? I’ll have to think. There are so many different types of blogs. . . On the other hand, the people who give out Oscars seem to manage.
cleek
this Bush-Kerry debate coverage has always been a favorite.
and this is my favorite Fafblog post.
RSA
I’m partial to The Poor Man’s Poker with Dick Cheney. Good cast of characters.
mk
Ben,
P.S. little help for a newbie..how do I do the quotes like the other posts above?
I believe the tag you’re looking for is blockquote. It works the same as other tags. Insert it between the angle brackets (less than and greater than symbols). No slash in the first, add the slash to close at the end. I’m not sure whether you used “i” or “em” to produce the italicized text in your comment, but to make a paragraph that is shaded and blocked, like above, you substitute the tag, blockquote.
stephen
So many by The Editors deserve a spot. This one, for example. Or any of a number of posts where our gracious host John gets trolled. Hilarious!
Fwiffo
If we’re talking about top 5 best posts ever, I think Kung Fu Monkey’s Bar Talk certainly deserves a nomination.
Tom Hilton
Okay, this is blogwhoring, which I know is bad and wrong, but it’s actually sort of meta-blogwhoring, and it’s even (very broadly) on-topic, so maybe it’s excusable: I’m inviting people to post links to the Best Post Ever from their own blogs (or, in the case of those without blogs, their own Best Comment Ever). Everyone is welcome (even TIDOS Yankee). Here’s your chance to have your best work rescued from complete obscurity, so it can shine in the dim light of semi-obscurity at a Z-list blog with literally several readers.
Notorious P.A.T.
This probably doesn’t count as a “post” but the best thing I’ve read on the web is Dr. Bob Altemeyer’s “The Authoritarians”, available for free here:
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/
chopper
seconded.
Jess
Fwiffo,
That is a good one! Thanks for sharing…
racrecir
I nominate:
Come Over And Help Us! — (see this)
A few more from Jon:
An Enormous Opportunity
The Iron Law of Generosity
Different From Saddam Hussein
On the Melian Dialogue
It’s Frightening To Die Cheated
Bonus Random:
The New Catechism of Cliche — (via)
They’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught
ImJohnGalt
I can’t remember it exactly, but I think the Poorman wrote a post about not being able to un-shit the bed that moved me.
VidaLoca
Well. Since The Editors has come up I suppose a shout should go out to “enormous, mendacious, disembodied anus” (see the last line in the post) featuring our own host, Mr. Cole, discussing the esteemed Ms. Sheehan…
John Cole
Those were good times. He used to bait me and I would give him what he wanted.
ImJohnGalt
VidaLoca, I had forgotten that thread. It was also the ne plus ultra comment by Floyd Alvis Cooper that launched his career and reputation as the trolliest troll on the internets.
To wit:
norbizness
You’ll have to wait for the
bookpamphlet. Regnery is advancing me $2.25 and some irregularly shaped pork rinds (unflavored).Jess
VidaLoca,
That is one hilarious post! It should be a finalist for the last lines alone:
too fuckin’ funny!
Zuzu
Anything that Gen. JC Christian, Patriot, posts at Jesus’ General, though the comments/Reports to the General aren’t far behind.
jcricket
Doesn’t Regnery sound like some sort of new pharmaceutical out of a “SciFi” movie?
Something like that.
jcricket
The whole operation yellow elephant was just about brilliant.
Heterosexually yours,
jcricket.
jcricket
John – the comments to the TBogg post are really great. Obviously you’re one of the sane ones (“Hmm, I look around me and all I see is shit and a giant hole. Perhaps I should stop digging, climb out and take a shower”), but this comment is ringing especially true:
The Malkin/mosque thing reminds me of the Monty Python parrot sketch.
jackdan
Berube going after Richerd Cohen had several posts that ought to be on a Best-Of list:
http://www.michaelberube.com/index.php/weblog/mission_accomplished/
VidaLoca
ImJohnGalt,
Ah yes — Floyd Alvis Cooper. A master of the genre and that was a classic, one of his best efforts. He just pops up out of nowhere on that thread and lays down a line of total insanity — and everybody participating mounts up on their high horse and goes frothing off after him. With a few brief lines he completely highjacked the thread.
Peter Johnson,
are you listening?
Jon Swift
Thank you very much for the mention of a post from my modest blog. Here are some of my favorites:
Ebogjohnson’s Should I Use Blackface on My Blog?
John Scalzi’s How to Make Schedenfreude Pie
Creek Running North’s The Love Song Of J. Edgar Goldstein
Fafblog’s Fafnir Presents the State of the Internet Address
Where have you gone Fafblog? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
Dave Shepherd
Can easily think of five Rogers posts that would qualify (Lions Lead by Donkeys was my introduction), but in deference to our host, I will go in a different direction and give a nod to the now-sadly-defunct How To Write ScreenPlays. Badly. by Jeremy Slater and Dan Whitehead.
http://jerslater.blogspot.com/
Loads of great stuff, including a couple that are no longer up- “On French Films” and the infamous “Rapebear”. I’m going through a horror film revisit phase at the moment, so I’ll nominate this one:
http://jerslater.blogspot.com/2006/08/on-horror-films.html
Also Dennis Perrin’s “The Savior of the Men’s Room”
http://dennisperrin.blogspot.com/2007/08/savior-of-mens-room.html
jenniebee
In Five best, Bob Bateman’s guest blog on Altercation about the death of Mayada Salihi deserves a mention as well.
Kathleen
this is my personal favorite Fafblog: the only thing.
Kathleen
this one is pretty great too. I heart fafblog.