God, I love SDBlogWatch!  Their takes on my takes and the other local bloggers takes are a hoot.  I mean that in a good way.  It reminds me of the old "Spy" magazine.

Apparently from SDBW, I am a conspirator, according to some on the Right of the local blogocracy.  Apparently I am attempting, with the local MSM, to bring down bloggers.

Yes, the truth is out.  Every morning, I have a double secret breakfast meeting at the Burger King by Hy-Vee on Minnesota Ave. with the news directors of KSFY, KDLT, KELO, KSOO, KELO-AM, SDPB, WNAX, Minnesota Public Radio, and the editors of the Argus Leader, Sioux Falls Woman, the Shopping News, and Etc. and talk about how we are going to screw the Rightwing bloggers.

All the editors sit in rapt attention as I give them their marching orders, which, or course, come directly from Tom Daschle, Howard Dean, Bill Clinton, Paris Hilton, and the spirits of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.  In fact, I have planted microchips into the editors' heads so I can simply type commands at my computer and make them do my evil bidding.  I learned how to do that watching an episode of "Alias."  Or was it "MacGyver?" I forget.

Then, I go on radio and have a "pretend" argument with my "Manchurian Candidate," Randell Beck.  Go through the transcript of the WNAX program and see if you can find the "trigger" words.

Then, because I hate bloggers and blogging so much, I keep up FOUR blogs as a front.

I hope this helps the conspiracy buffs who are out there.  Lord knows I want to make your job easier.

Seriously, for the record, I don't think the FEC should regulate blogs.  The only thing I think MIGHT be worth considering is whether blogs run by and paid for by political candidates have a disclaimer, much like TV and radio ads.  That's it.  NO CONTENT REGULATION except for the laws of defamation and invasion of privacy, the same laws that apply to the media and the public.

I also believe blogs serve a useful purpose.  But if you aren't watching your local news or reading a local paper or watching the national news or reading a good national or regional newspaper or news magazine or journal, I think you are short changing yourself as a citizen. 

The MSM will continue to exist because we need unbiased reporting of important issues. Our friends in the MSM have an even more important job than ever in the age of blogging.  Their information will continue to be the most reliable because of the resources they can bring to bear, their institutional checks and balances, and the inherent curiosity and fairness of the vast majority of journalists and editors.

Oh, and FYI, what do I read, listen to, and watch on a regular basis that is non-blog for my news and information?  KSFY-TV and KELO-TV's news; MSNBC; CNN; on rare occasion, Fox; ABC, NBC, and CBS news; ESPN; KSOO-AM; KELO-AM; KWSN-AM; B-107.2 FM; Time; Newsweek; the Washington Post; the Argus Leader; AOL; the Topeka Capitol Journal; the Wichita Eagle; the Aberdeen American News; the Madison Daily Leader; the Rapid City Journal; The Nation; Sync; Psychology Today; Entertainment Weekly; Esquire; ESPN The Magazine; Sports Illustrated; the Kansas Bar Journal; the South Dakota Bar Newsletter; The Progressive; NPR; The New Republic; various soccer coaching magazines, and Christianity Today.  I subscribe to a number of news alerts through Yahoo, AOL, and Google that bring me stories from a wide variety of sources, left, right, middle, and otherwise.

One thing I've learned in my life is no one person, no one philosophy, and no one organization has all the truth and all the knowledge.  Sometimes, even the people and organizations I detest may have something worth knowing.  Be well read.