The honor is in taking part

Thanks so much to Batocchio for (1) carrying on the generous Jon Swift tradition of taking a moment (well, clearly a lot more than a "moment") at the end of the year to give a shout-out to blogs who are working on the dark side of the street, and (2) keeping us here at p3 on the list.

I started p3 nine years ago this month, and it's become almost a point of perverse pride here to have done almost everything wrong you could do in the effort to make this a powerhouse internet destination since then – including only starting nine years ago and not about 13 years, of course, but there were other departures, too.

Asked by the excruciatingly-fair Batocchio to submit one piece that was my favorite, this year I self-nominated this bit about the comparative good the First and Second Amendments have done for us in the two-centuries-and-change since 1787. Hope you enjoy it. 2013 was an exasperating year for people who didn't believe in the god-given right to carry guns anywhere and shoot anyone, anytime.

But the choice was a struggle, because I really liked this one, too: Toward a basic rhetoric for right-wingers.You can decide.

I recommend that you patronize all of the fine blogging operations on Batocchio's list.

And Happy 2014 to one and all.