It's nice to have a day where I can ignore most of what is going on in the rest of the world and do some blog-house-cleaning and spend a moment on larger issues. Perhaps you have noticed to the right that I have removed some links. I realized last week that these sites simply don't merit my attention; I just don't go to them and they clog my blogroll. There are others I may (or may not) add at other times, but right now, just having a shorter list will make all our lives easier.
I think I have wasted a lot of people's time writing about "why I do what I do", so if you are tired of reading that stuff, you can skip this part, but comments both here and and Park Life's blog by former blogroller Goat (since I removed the link to the side, why would I provide one here?) have given me a reason to make one point abundantly clear. In comments over at Park Life's place, Goat gloats about his technorati rating (something I have neither the time nor interest in verifying) being higher than Park Life's. In his mind, as I pointed out and he confirmed, this is all a contest, and by his standards, he is "winning". Except, of course, the "contest" only exists in his vacuous mind. Both PL and I called him pathetic, and while that might seem harsh, it is also accurate. Sitting around and figuring up who's up, who's down, who's in, who's out - you know what, I have limited time to do this as it is, and I have no interest at all in worrying over whether I have a higher or lower ranking than anyone else. I have a small, but pretty dedicated, readership, and we all kind of visit one another and comment and converse and it's all good in the end because, you know what, that's what it is all about. We share ideas. We argue. We disagree. We agree. I have learned a whole lot from my fellow bloggers Park Life and Democracy Lover and Neon Prime Time and Erudite Redneck, why would I want to try and figure out who is "more popular"? This isn't high school, and I for one am long past caring what others think.
In a comment in a previous post, Goat asks why I don't read different blogs than those I quote from. The answer is simple - the blogs and sites to which I link, which I read, and from which I learn so much are my lifeline to the world. When my family finally broke down and entered the 21st century last year, I was amazed and pleased to discover that there were people and groups and websites out there that thought about the world the same way I did, expressed opinions about the world in similar terms, and provided and antidote to the toxic falsehoods of our mainstream media. I rely upon these sites to provide me information I trust, opinions that make me think, and a grasp upon reality that is too often missing from our traditional media. I have limited time doing what I do, so why in the world would I waste my time with websites and weblogs that do not provide accurate information, insightful or thoughtful opinion, or a relief from the nonsense in the press?
This isn't a popularity contest, a race, or anything else. If Goat wants to prance around on his little hooves and claim to "win", why by all means let him, because it is meaningless. Besides, I think I just reduced his technorati ranking a bit. . . .
