The Watcher’s Council

Ah, the sultry days leading up to the end of summer, when the warm weather brings out the torpor and laziness in all of us and little gets accomplished except by the determined and the desperate.

Of course, in this election season, that group would include the members of the political class and a veritable army of consultants, pollsters, advance men, hangers on, hired muscle, campaign workers, groupies, sycophants, body servants, sound men, lighting directors… you name it. Just the thought of it reminds me of the old touring days, slogging down the highway to the next town… an unnatural way to live, but the common lot of political junkies, musicians, carnies and con men always on the way to the next gig, the next score…

The Romans were the first to label this time of year the Dog Days (diēs caniculārēs), noting that the skies were ruled by Sirius, the Dog Star, the brightest star in the night sky at this time of year. And Herodotus, Plutarch, Caesar and Thucydides all noted the effect this time of year has on men… the influence of the days of the Dog Star giving rise to tempers, frustrations, gambles and many times, war and rumors of war. Some things never change. Or at least that’s what the smart money in Vegas, DC and other oracular venues where the entrails get read for omens says. The mood can get ugly very quickly.

http://frigginloon.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/dog-sleeping.gif

This week’s contest is dedicated to letting sleeping dogs lie… at least for the moment.

Welcome to the Watcher’s Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the ‘sphere and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday morning.

Council News:

The Council In Action!!

Tom White over at VA Right! is rapidly achieving guru status as a political expert in the Old Dominion. His latest mention was in a monthly Virginia Magazine, The Chesterfield Monthly.

This week, The MidKnight Review, Blazing Cat Fur, The Political Commenator and The Pirate’s Cove earned honorable mention status with some great articles.

You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

To bring something to my attention, simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title and a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address (mandatory, but of course it won’t be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6 PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category. Then return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week when it comes out on Wednesday morning.

Simple, no?

It’s a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?

So, let’s see what we have for you this week…

Council Submissions

Honorable Mentions

Non-Council Submissions

Enjoy! And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us Twitter… ’cause we’re cool like that! And don’t forget to tune in Friday for the results!