I have been tagged...

...for of all things, the Thinking Blogger Award. Now there is something that made me stop, and think. First of all I thought about what it meant to be 'tagged', then what was exactly this Thinking Blogger Award, then why would someone want to give it to me, and what were the consequences. To find out more about the award I first visited the site of the person who 'tagged' me with it. That person would be Jen from over at Pen of Jen. Jen had sent me a few messages saying she had tagged me, and that I should check it out. I went directly her post @ "The Thinking Blogger Award" to see what all this fuss was about. Once there I saw that Jen had been 'tagged' by Rita (aka the Jungle Mom) from over at the Jungle Hut. I read on and saw that Jen had then posted 5 bloggers in her thread, all whom she thought were bloggers that made her think about things. I was the second blogger she mentioned, and she said some really nice things about me and my blog. I was truly surprised that anyone appreciated my blog so much; but there is a catch, albeit one that now makes me think.

The catch to all of this, and you probably have guessed it by now, is that I am now supposed to name 5 bloggers who are thinking bloggers that make me think. The rules for all of this, and the history of it, can be found at: Thinking Blogger Awards @ http://www.thethinkingblog.com/2007/02/thinking-blogger-awards_11.html. The rules are pretty simple, and in essence are: once 'tagged', and only if 'tagged' with the award, you are to write a post with the names of 5 blogs that make you think; then link your blog to the Thinking Bloggers Awards page so folks can get more info about it, and find out where the meme (whatever that may be, started). In a word: simple. In reality, not so simple. Which 5 blogs, written by bloggers who make me think, do I select. This should not be a real problem, most blogs I read make me think. I guess though it would be best to be somewhat selective and try to pick out the 5 that at least make me think a lot, if not the most. Okay, that is what I will try to do, and by the time I actually take this post out of 'draft' status and publish it, I will have selected 'tagged' them and posted them below. As to whether or not I will contact any of them to let them know that they have been tagged, nope I probably will not. If they come by my site, they will see I have done so; if not they may hear from someone else that I have done so. I don't have most of their email addresses, so I'll leave it at that. As to whether or not they will play along, who can tell. I am sort of surprised that I decided to continue with this, but I am doing that for Jen because she was nice enough to include me on her list.

Okay, here are my 'tagged' selections as bloggers/blogs that make me think:

1. The Other Side Of Kim by Kim du Toit - I read Kim's rants on a daily basis. I used to contribute to his sites, both the blog and his forums frequently, but he and his wife, and I had a disagreement (me with both of them) that we apparently have not gotten over yet; and I guess I am none to welcome to post there any longer. Of course that does not make his blog any less interesting to me, so I still read on. Good stuff is, after all, good stuff despite personal disagreements. It is one of the most interesting sites I have come across commenting on things like: current politics, world events, firearms, education, the arts, and popular culture; all with a fairly conservative view on most, but not all subjects.

2. DebbieSchlussel.com If Deb Schlussel does not get you to thinking with her blog, well I don't know if anyone can motivate you to think. She is right out there in the face of things that she finds a threat to our nation, be it terrorism, sloth or inadequacy in government, the pitfalls of the MSM; but she is also right there to praise the things that she sees as worthy of praise. She cuts no corners and holds no punches in her review of current events, government, politics, terrorism, the media, entertainment, illegal aliens and on and on. She is a blast of outright straight talk on all the issues she covers.

3. Pen Of Jen Yes I will throw a 'tag' right back at her, but not just as a pointless gesture of quid pro quo (did I get that right?), but rather because Jen's blog does make me think, and it makes me think about how others, who are somewhat different than me (nicer than me, and religious) think. Her sight is one that talks a lot about family values, morality, and current events. No she is not out and out preaching to anyone, but she also talks about religion in a way that makes me want to read what she has to say. Her blog is one of the more pleasant ones which I have come across, and besides that it makes me think.

4. An Englishman's Castle by an Englishman on the other side of the pond, who gives us the perspective, from over there, on world events, local events in the UK, events in the EU, and the diminishing rights of people in England. The site is a true wake up call for people over here in the USA; if we follow the scattered brain plans of the ultra-leftists, we will soon have the same problems they do in the UK. In that way this site provides us a warning of a clear and present danger; one that is already bringing down much of England's better points, and that may spread to our own shores if we allow liberalism to go unchecked. Yet the Englishman stands tall in his castle ready to speak out for what is good in his home country as well.

5. The Law Dog Files by LawDog. Another one that makes me think, this one about: current world and US events, politics, morality, family, doing the right thing, firearms, right versus wrong and so forth; with some movie reviews too. A nice well written blog to visit, and some of the posts set you to thinking about things which you may have overlooked recently.


Please don't forget, there are plenty of others that make me think, don't feel neglected if you were not included in my 5 picks, this was no easy task.

As for these 5 bloggers finding out they have been 'tagged', heck I don't know how to contact at least three of them. One that I do know how to contact probably would not read my email, or at least has not responded to my recent emails. So that leaves one I could tell about this. I think I will just let them find out about it in their own time if they ever decide to visit my site for a read, or if someone else sees this post and tells them about it. Then they can decide if they want to play along or not.

All the best,
Glenn B