More Bright Spots

I don't know -- maybe somehow I'm being infected by some bit of holiday generosity.
Maybe it's that the top 10 lists are starting to appear.
Anyway, I decided it's time to list a few individuals and outlets in the US press that we should be grateful for:

• Paul Krugman -- The best and most interesting of The New York Times' columnists. See my earlier post, "A Bright Spot".
• www.salon.com -- The most consistently interesting of the on-line journals. The only one that follows up on the many stories from the blogosphere that the mainstream press chooses to ignore or belittle.
• David Edelstein's movie reviews in Slate -- The best movie critic since Pauline Kael.
• OpEdNews.com -- The pieces often are not particularly well written, but they express the kinds of liberal thoughts that are increasingly being shut out of the daily papers and the TV networks.
• The New York Review of Books -- This venerable publication has become the best outlet for reporting on the Iraq war and other misdeeds of the Bush administration. Norman Mailer's piece on the war was his strongest writing in years, and a reminder of why he should be treasured.
• The Nation -- What can I say? It's the house organ of the American left. Yes, it infuriates me sometimes, but it offers Katha Pollitt, Eric Alterman, Patricia Williams and so many others who might not otherwise be published. It's indispensable.
• Robert Greenwald's documentaries -- They are not high art, and they don't advance the medium, but these quickly made exposes on current events make lucid and convincing arguments about the 2000 election, the PATRIOT USA act, Fox News and other atrocities.
• Molly Ivins -- The wittiest of all political writers.
• Arianna Huffington -- A former conservative who has seen the light and isn't afraid to talk about the issues that made her evolve.
• Media Matters for America -- David Brock's web site attempts to hold the major media accountable for their biases and misstatements.
• Air America Radio -- Finally, talk shows that you can listen to if you have half a brain and a conscience. Randi Rhodes is the best of the hosts, but Al Franken isn't bad either.