Hi, I'm from the Republican party and I'm here to help you
(Image via Hellblazer.)

This morning, Atrios wrote in praise of lesser-known bloggers, and when I alluded earlier today to the blogiverse's role in fighting right-wing media bias, some commenters began to mention various relatively unsung contributors to the fight.

So, in the upcoming-holiday spirit of generosity, here's a toast to some of my personal favorite bloggers you might not have heard of or checked out lately, with links to some of their recent contributions:

  • Azael at Hellblazer writes with a passionate combination of wit and eloquence in the Digby/Driftglass mode (as well as the occasional viciously satirical graphic, like the one at the top of this post) and he's been particularly "on" since the election, as shown in this musing on the post-election unitary executive.

  • The King of Zembla hasn't been especially prolific lately, but even a seemingly offhand, silly post can have a punch line that feels like a hand grenade.

  • If you've ever wondered what a female version of Jesus' General would read like, check out Edicts of Nancy.  This past week, Sister Nancy Beth has exposed the homosexual agenda of guitar lessons and praised sending beauty queens to Iraq.

  • Whatever It Is, I'm Against It is one of the most reliably sharp-witted and sharp-tongued blogs around, whether the author is finding pictures of Dubya leering at Vietnamese girls or noting how Donald Rumsfeld's reverse Midas touch continues to have unexpected and deadly effects.

  • On a more wonky serious front, American Footprints offers some of the most readable and incisive foreign-policy commentary you'll find anywhere, and no one — repeat, no one — debunks media hype about the War on Terror™ better than the brilliant Dick Destiny.

Thanks to the exquisite taste of our founding proprietress of the Lake, I'd also recommend starting anywhere on the blogroll on your left and simply working your way down (or up), one by one.

Please offer your own suggestions, tributes, etc. in the comments.  In what promises to be a week where we're all likely to be desperate to get away from relatives a bit starved for fresh news and commentary, a lot of us might welcome the opportunity to browse through some new voices.