Blogroll Update

Just updating the blogroll; thought I'd give my reasons why:

- The Alternative Press is one of the best attempts I've seen at real, local, citizen-based journalism. They're hardly perfect, but they do at least as well, if not better, than the "real" local newspapers in the area. I hope they make it; if they do, they are a paradigm for the future.

- The Answer Sheet is surprisingly good, considering it is: a) a newspaper-based blog, and b) a product of the Washington Post. Lots of good links to education issues.

- Blue Jersey is now the mothership for liberal blogging in the state. Jason just added me to their blogroll and I'm going to try to do more cross posting there (Blogger doesn't make that easy).

- Bruce Baker at Schoolfinance101 is what an academic should be: engaged in public policy and ready to contribute to the debates we are having with clarity of thought and command of the facts. And he's a jazz man - what more do you want?

- Capitol Quickies bugs me every now and then, but Method and Symons are smart guys and well worth following. I shudder to think they may have to share office space with Bob Ingle.

- CPBB: The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities is my favorite think tank. Much of it is accessible to those of us who are policy amateurs.

- Center of NJ Life - library news and other topics from Sharon GR.

- Hullabaloo is the model for this blog. In style, in content, and for sheer writing chops, no one in the blogosphere matches Digby. The fact that this woman has not yet been picked up by a major publication tells you all you need to know about our mainstream press today (although maybe she's turned them down).

- Media Matters is invaluable; the only problem with them is that they don't have a satellite in every state.  I dearly wish we could have an organization like this to keep the NJ press on their toes - we can only dream....

- NJPP: New Jersey Policy Perspective. Very helpful, but we need to see more of them, and they've got to star knocking down the blizzard of lies coming from the right faster. I know, easy for me to say...

- NJ Left Behind and I don't always see eye-to-eye. But NJLB is usually on top of the major education stories in the state, so the blog is worth your time if you want to stay on top of this stuff. I do like the genuine concern for the poorest kids in our state and how they are being failed, even if I'm not always enamored with what seem to be the proposed solutions.

- NJ Spotlight  is probably the best news source in the state right now, and John Mooney does a very good job on education.

- Paul Krugman is the best nationally known pundit we have. Period.

I left off a lot of the obvious ones: Kos, Atrios, TPM, etc. Of course, if they blogroll me, I am happy to return the favor and send my vast, vast readership toward their servers - lord knows they need the hits...