i have finally wrestled my linking project into some semblance of order.  it's as finished as it gonna get for a while.  this is, of course, an ongoing project.  the more i use the internet the more sites i discover.  it seems there should be an end to this at some point, but really, there isn't. (death, maybe, would do it.)  a link i would like to point out to anyone interested in politics to the left of the center line is the Lefty Directory.  it's an enormous (nearly 500 sites) compendium of links to left/progressive-oriented blogs and sites big and small.  some you already know and frequent, others you probably never heard of. many are possibly nutcases. it's impossible to get to all of them, and most likely entirely unnecessary.  but i intend to sample thru the list from time to time.  i thought about a "columns" link, but Common Dreams has in its sidebar a list w/links to all the columns i might think of, as well as all the newspapers, magazines, media, etc.  it is one of the most indispensible links for me.  and, like Progressive Musings (john scalzi highlights PM today!), i think i may start highlighting some of my favorite links from time to time.  a way to call attention to them. 

so, that's it.  all the news today makes me want to weep or hurl, maybe both, so i'm going out to check my birdfeeders and baths (i have one with a heater in it) and go see how cold it is by the ocean.  it's damn cold here, that's for sure.