I just dicovered that the progressive site Cursor.org has folded due to lack of funds. The last posting, October 10th, is still up, as well as the many, many links, and if you never knew Cursor, I suggest you go take a last look around:
www.cursor.org
I started going to cursor in 2003 when the war was marching into town. It is a news "aggregator" so the people there pick up news stories from all over, some large publications, some small, as well as commentary, television, blogs, and radio. A typical day of news features something like this:
After running out of digits, the U.S. debt clock will be retooled so it will be able to display "a quadrillion dollars of debt," as 'shelters and soup kitchens hold crisis front lines' and BusinessWeek wonders how Americans will adapt to 'the new age of frugality,'
The phrases that are in bold are links to other sites. In this case, the BBC, Slate, IPS news, and Business Week. Each story complements the other, so on the question of the economy, you come away pretty well-versed.
Another blog I occasionally visit is Buzzflash. However, Buzzflash has a tendency to be too content-heavy and too all-over-the-place. Plus, the bloggers over at Buzzflash seem to SHOUT a lot. FASCISM IN AMERICA! The headline cries, and you read a small story about someone sent away from a Republican rally for having an anti-war t-shirt. Which sucks, of course, but does it really warrant the screaming, fretting headline?
Cursor, on the other hand, picks its topics and narrows them down to a digestible few. It keeps up long-standing links to powerful stories and commentary, and also keeps a comprehensive list of other progressive sites.
Speaking of progressive sites, Cursor.org is also how I managed to find my way to Kos, just after the miserable 2004 elections. I lurked for a long time, and finally plunged in, I think in the summer of 2005 during the Katrina hurricane fubar.
Cursor has been unflinching in its focus on the war, particularly in calling attention to areas of the war where the news focus has been sparse. They also never let Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib or the CIA renditions off of the radar. Never. They give attention to the Obama/McCain race, but, unlike Kos, not ALL of their attention. This allows the reader to emerge at the end of the day a well-rounded and slightly less obsessive person. (It helps with those little tics, too, especially the one you get in your eyelid.) It isn't set up for commentary or participation--other than asking for funds--but at the end of the day, that works out okay for me.
Thet run a budget on $75,000 a year, and lost a major funder this year. Unable to break even, they had to close up shop. And, so, my little obituary to an outstanding site, and the dedicated people who ran it for so long.