Watcher Winners: Yon Honored

Show me a writer today more important than Michael Yon. His dispatches from the front are every bit as human and moving as Ernie Pyle's from WWII, and often more significant because he discusses policy as well as illuminating our troops, Iraqi trooops, the Iraqis and al-Qaeda.

The Watcher's Council apparently agrees with me, because his post, Bless the Beasts and Children, dominated this week's non-Council blog entries, earning 4 1/3 points, outpacing #2, Small War Journal's Understanding Current Operations in Iraq by 2 1/3 points. SMJ may have done a better job of explaining current Iraq policy, but Yon has heart.

There were three non-Council entries this week that deserve an honorable mention:

• Classical Values' But Who Are They?, about the government drones who forcefully, quietly rule our lives
• Canker's Not Forgetting the Basilisk, a classical tale that just might have something to do with Islamism
• Searching for Bright Light's The Parallel Universe of the New York Times' "Style" Section, a voyeuristic romp through exactly what the title says.

Turning to the Council winners, it was an interesting week, with Joshuapundit's chilling Guess Where Your President Was Wednesday Morning... Insh'allah. If you haven't read it yet, read it. Disturbing.

Then three of my Council co-members joined me (Quote of the Day: Islamophobia Edition) in second place:

• Done with Mirrors' With Snark, which is going to make it hard for me to be snarky ... for a while anyway
• Bookworm Room's Condescension As Bigotry, which got my second place vote
  
• Education Wonks' This I Believe. The Wonks' usually limit their comments to a few lines of pithiness about some horrifying education story or another, but this week we got an essay, and I think everyone liked it.

So thanks again, Watcher! This was really an amazing week of reading. See all the winners here.