State of the Union Reaction

I read Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish blog more than the New York Times these days, but not because of Sullivan. He's pretty predictable and while I often agree with him, there isn't a lot new there (for me). However, his assistants do an awesome job of culling the best stuff from all over the internet and posting it. This has become known as "aggregating" -- websites that browse a bunch of sites and identify and re-post the best bits.

For example, here are 2 links to posts that each have 5+ paragraph length quotes from other sources. These posts provide a nice range of opinion and intelligent analysis in a convenient package. What would have taken a hour's worth of reading is now 5 minutes!

If you ever wonder how I manage to stay informed on a great many public policy issues, this is why. Plus, I often do read for an hour or more a day (it is, admittedly, more interesting than grading your work.) But if you know enough of the context, and that's a big if, a few good blogs can cover a lot of territory without having to read a daily newspaper.