Tag You’re It: Thinking Blogger Award

Skyblu of  A Step Apart blog has tagged me with a Thinking Blogger Award. I am deeply honoured!

Skyblu wrote this about my blog:

verbena-19: another bucketful of insight from Canada, social justice, environment, civil liberties, environmental awareness – great stuff – [old site, new site.]

Skye (Skyler Baguta) is an Environmental Consultant, working as Director – Yellowstone Ecological Research Station. She is an amazing woman with many accomplishments, among them the Boston Marathon! Her blog is very interesting, intelligent, and truly worthwhile to visit regularly.

Now I will try to tag 5 others with the same award. No small feat, as there are so many of you ‘out there’ who make me think, laugh, ponder — and often prompt me to action! — so if I leave you out, it’s only for lack of space and time, and that only 5 are allowed to be tagged, and my brain is not functioning up to par these days…

So here it goes:

1. Harper Valley: Scout does some outlandish, insanely hilarious things with Photoshop and her witty, irreverent humour indeed makes me think, and laugh all at the same time. She is a very wise woman and a healer, and part of my extended family. Scout is also a tireless activist for Indigenous Rights, both in Canada and in Hawaii. Her blog is definitely a daily ‘must read’ and on the top of my favourites list. Harper Valley won numerous 2006 Blogger Awards. Visit her blog and you’ll see why!

2. Politics’n'Poetry: The writer of this blog is a poet, publisher, mother, wife, community educator, and social activist who “likes to stir the pot, literally and figuratively”. Her well-written, cogent posts cover a wide range of important issues from the dangers of nuclear power to Iraqi refugees forced into prostitution, and so much more. Go check it out!

3. liberal catnip: This tireless woman is a veritable font of news, information and commentary bringing to attention a wide range of political and other pertinent issues, many of which you won’t find elsewhere. Her knowledge about politics is astounding! Catnip was also my hard-working side-kick when we launched our campaign to free the 9-year-old Canadian boy and his Iranian parents from Texas detention (T. Don Hutto) early this year. I am happy to say that our efforts — with the tremendous help of many fellow bloggers — paid off and the family was finally returned to Canada in late March. liberal catnip well deserves this award.

(4. Unrepentant Old Hippie: JJ is another woman who is not afraid to speak her mind. Her posts are informative, peppered with humour, wit, and often unabashed irreverence. Ooops, I just checked her blog and see that she’d already been nominated by April Reign. So I guess I’ll try someone else among the myriad of blogs that I visit regularly…. Hmmmm…)

4. JimBobby Sez: Don’t let his ‘country accent’ fool you! Jim Bobby has an exceptionally keen mind as is evidenced by his astute observations in his highly interesting, informative posts which often include some original songs and satire. He was also foremost among the many bloggers who unflinchingly jumped in to help with the Yourdkhanis’ case, writing numerous letters to our PMO and urging other bloggers to do likewise. Jim Bobby’s blog shows superb talent and it will definitely make you think!

5. April Reign: Debra of April Reign deals with issues important to all women, and indeed to everyone who is concerned about human rights and equality. She is a very progressive woman writing from an insightful feminist perspective. Debra is also my ‘mentor’ and most of my site’s graphics are thanks to her diligent work, help, and advice. As well, Debra hosts a wonderful progressive forum: Bread ‘n’ Roses. I strongly urge everyone to check it out as well as her blog.

Whew! That took me a lot of effort, believe it or not. I am still a dinosaur when it comes to ‘tech stuff’, so putting the above thoughts into legible words was quite time-consuming. Plus the fact that there are so many wonderful bloggers who are my faves and make me think — just look at my Blogroll to see what I mean — that narrowing it down to merely 5 was honestly difficult. Some of the other bloggers I wanted to tag have already been tagged with this meme, like Wild Dog Road who has some of the most breathtaking photos on her wonderful blog.

I sincerely appreciate all the wonderful work being done by a vast number of bloggers. They are the true “fifth estate” (or should that be the “sixth estate”, I can’t remember now), taking up the work of sifting gems of truth among the vast amount of available information. You are treading where the neutered corporate mainstream media are too cowardly to go. As we’ve seen, bloggers can, and do, make a difference and are fast becoming a vital part of disseminating news and bringing important issues to the forefront. Kudos to all of you!

These are the rules for those who’ve been tagged with this meme and wish to participate:

The participation rules are simple:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme

3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog).