Disappeared News

If you enjoy political blogs, treat yourself to Volcanic Ash over at the Advertiser's blogsite.

David Shapiro has created a place in cyberspace filled with insightful commentary, humor, and even poetry. I find that his weekly take on the news often reveals truths the papers don't quite bring forward, though they should. For example, in this week's flASHback:

The number of food stamp users in Hawai'i dropped by 19 percent over the past five years, partly because of red tape involved in applying for the assistance. We know we're in trouble when people would rather starve than deal with the bureaucracy.

In the past it was the Med-Quest medical insurance program which was so hard to join that people just gave up. David is on to a deep truth here, and one that hurts. We need to do better than to deny our own people benefits they are entitled to.

David has become an expert in live commentary, most recently during the primary election. He invites comments and jumps right in to respond. His blog is a multi-party conversation. He's created a sense of community around his blog that so fits the genre it is as though he were born to it.

Maybe it's his perennial good humor. For example, he could have blasted Bob Hogue for a dumb campaign remark, but instead made his point thusly:

Congressional candidate Bob Hogue accused his opponent Mazie Hirono of "negative campaigning" for questioning his voting record, saying he'll run a "nice guy" race. We hope he enjoys his reign as "Mr. Congeniality" while Hirono serves in Congress.

I'll bet that Volcanic Ash generates more traffic than the rest of the Advertiser blogs combined.

It's kind of a mosh pit of a blog. Dive on in, it's informative and fun.