Bloggers Wanted – Join the Group Blog, ThePolitic.com

In an effort to expand ThePolitic’s scope and coverage of Canadian and world politics, we are looking for more writers to contribute. We’re interested in finding writers who can provide insight into the following topics/areas:

• Canadian Politics (National and Provincial)
• US Politics
• Middle Eastern / Israeli Politics

If you’re interested, please contact us. Prior experience writing for the Internet (or weblogs) isn’t required, but strongly encouraged. Please include your name, contact information and any relevant writing examples.

Also note, we will not be accepting any candidates who intend to cross-post between multiple weblogs – contributed material must be original. However, writers will retain copyright and ownership of contributed materials.

If you have any questions and or you want to apply, please contact Greg Farries.

Passing On the Torch: A Final Message

In the vain of other Blogging Tories packing away the keyboard, this morning I would like to announce my own exit from the blogosphere and from The Politic effective immediately. It’s been a fun couple of years writing here, with few exceptions, but recently I have begun to feel that I’m a bit out of my league given the attention that my posts have attracted to me. In particular, the recent events with a certain MP from Halton, the overwhelming rejection of my points from the PZ Meyer crowd and the deeply hurtful words from the likes of those over at Canadian Cynic have lead me to believe that I simply cannot compete on the internet anymore. He may not be right on much, but the one thing that Smarter than Ezra was always right on (even if he didn’t know it for certain) was my desire to control the debate and have it focused on my terms and topics. The wild west mentality that the blogosphere is morphing into has become too much of a wildcard and I must confess growing frustration with too many posts going off the rails.

That aside, I also have to consider the reality that blogging has kept me away too long from my friends, people I’ve grown distant from, and from focusing on the marriage I hope to one day share with someone special to me. In other words, it’s time for me to move on. I’ve done my best here, and feel that I can’t do any more. All the best to everyone out there. It’s been real!

ORLY Update: As some had guessed, the post above was my contribution to April Fools! Day, although I have to confess that I was touched when reading all the nice comments left for me and I truly appreciate the kindness that others have shown me here; in fact, I kinda feel like a fool myself now because of the sincerity that I received after writing a prank post. I hope that everyone who truly thought that I was a goner can share my actions in jest and if I have truly offended you, please know that it was not my intention to do so! Regards- Matthew

Furry’s Hour

Blazing Cat Fur gives us the latest on whether someone’s saucer of milk is half full or half empty. Warning: Adult Content.

H/T to Five Feet of Fury 

Addendum: Visual Aid:

Liberal confronts Not So Dead Animal

Alternate caption: I don’t allow comments.

Shaidle’s Our Gal

As much as I enjoy watching Kate mercilessly crush her left-wing competition, I really think you should visit the 2007 Weblog Awards and cast your ballot for Five Feet of Fury. And hurry – there’s only two days left.

Join the Writing Team at ThePolitic.com!

In an effort to expand ThePolitic’s scope and coverage of Canadian and world politics, we are looking for more writers to contribute to the following topics/areas:

* Canadian Politics (National and Provincial)
* US Politics
* Middle Eastern / Israeli Politics

We are particularly interested in attracting contributors with insight in provincial politics of Quebec, Atlantic Canada, and Ontario.

If you’re interested, please contact us. Prior experience writing for the Internet (or weblogs) isn’t required, but strongly encouraged. Please include your name, contact information and any relevant writing examples.

Also note, we will not be accepting any candidates who intend to cross-post between multiple weblogs – contributed material must be original. However, writers will retain copyright and ownership of contributed materials.

If you have any questions and or you want to apply, please contact Greg Farries.

Top Canadian Political Weblogs Ranked

Paulitics updates the list of top political blogs in the country and ThePolitic.com came in at number four! Before we start to break out the champagne and toast our wild popularity, it should be noted that Paulitics is using Alexa data to come up with the rankings. While Alexa is good at tracking patterns of traffic, it isn’t that accurate at assessing traffic (more info on why it isn’t accurate can be found at Wikipedia).

Perhaps a better method of assessing the top political blogs in the country would be to include traffic and other statistical info from a multitude of traffic/ranking services. Companies like, Blog Pulse, Technorati, Alexa, Compete, Google (with PageRank), (among others) provide traffic and or other statistics to assess overall popularity.

If anyone is interested in tackling a project like this, drop me an email and we can work together…

Top Posts from ThePolitic in May 2007

Sorry for the delay – I was out of town at a conference – however, it’s time of the Top Posts on ThePolitic.com for the month May 2007.

Post popularity is determined by ranking the total pageviews (for that particular month) of each of the posts; as determined by Google Analytics. There was a tie for ninth and tenth place, so this month there are twelve top posts.

As you can see from the list below, May was a eclectic month, with topics ranging from US politics, to hockey, to global warming.

1. Jenna Jameson, Hillary Clinton for President!
2. Negotiate with the Taliban?
3. Fred Thompson Responds to Michael Moore
4. Rent Control in Alberta?
5. Al Gore vs George W Bush – Whose House is Greener?
6. Shane Doan: Cut the Tories Some Slack
7. Double Standards in Hate Crime Reporting
8. Global Warming Hypocrites – Get Out Your Eco-Friendly Barf Bags
9. Donald Trump v. Rosie O’Donnell
10. Polling Afghanistan – A Push Too Far?
11. Update: Progressive Conservatives become even MORE endangered…
12. From Gay Rights to Incest?

Congress 2007/CPSA Conference in Saskatoon – Are You Going?

I’m going to be at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for the rest of the week. Congress is the largest annual academic gathering in Canada and I’ll be attending the Canadian Political Science Association part of the conference.

If you’re planning on attending, drop me an email me [greg - at - mediablitz.ca](or contact me here) and maybe we can discuss the state of the blogosphere over a few drinks

Top Posts from ThePolitic in April 2007

Each month I highlight the most popular weblog posts from the previous month. Well, it’s that time of the month again, and here is the top posts from April 2007.

Post popularity is determined by ranking the total pageviews (for that particular month) of each of the posts; as determined by Google Analytics. There was a tie for seventh place, so this month there are eleven top posts.

As you can see from the list below, April was a controversial month, with many of the top ten postings getting a great deal of comments:

1. Al Sharpton’s Daughter is not a Nappy-Headed Ho
2. SSM: Is Incest Next?
3. Three Cheers for Racial Apartheid in Canada
4. Al Gore vs George W Bush – Whose House is Greener?
5. Liberal Party Activists Censoring YouTube Videos Critical of Stephane Dion
6. Gay Marriage: Hazardous to your Health
7. Elizabeth May: Meltdown
8. Rent Control in Alberta?
9. Ben Mulroney to run for CPC in Papineau
10. Stephane Dion on Bert Brown: I could have made a better choice than Albertans did
11. Al Gore and the Farce of Global Warming

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