On Blogging as Subversion: Nicholas Kristof,"Death by a Thousand Blogs," New York Times, 24 May, argues that the internet, 100,000,000 surfers, and 4,000,000 blogs create space for freedom in mainland China where earlier efforts failed. The Committee to Protect Bloggers draws attention to silenced bloggers in many parts of the world. Tomorrow, I will join its fast for Mojtaba Saminejad, who is on a hunger strike in Iran. Thanks to Mark at Big Tent for the tip.

On Proportionality: Brian Montopoli at CJR Daily notes that Bill O'Reilly has railed at the New York Times for giving excessive coverage to the story of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib. For comparison, Montopoli counts the number of programs O'Reilly has devoted to Ward Churchill. In a 12 month period, the Times did 17 stories on Abu Ghraib; in a 6 month period, O'Reilly did 25 stories on Ward Churchill. Is Abu Ghraib or Ward Churchill more likely to be a story of historical significance? Thanks to Kevin Drum at Political Animal for the tip.

On Scholarship and Insurgency: Oneman,"Anthropologists as Counter-Insurgents," Savage Minds, 19 May, finds an extended reply in Tim Burke's"Spies Like Us," Easily Distracted, 24 May.

On Secularity: James Oakes of the Graduate Center, CUNY, weighs in with"History Lessons: Another Way to Think About Secular Humanism," Left2Right, 24 May, on the secularity or religiosity of the young American nation. Caleb McDaniel joins the conversation with thoughtful comments.

On The Deal: Most poliblogs have got their licks in on The Deal that saves the Senate from further public embarrassment. At Horizon, Alan Allport recommends Tim Noah's"The Mr. Smith Fallacy," at Slate for historical context on Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Mr. Sun! gives us the inside scoop on details of The Deal, beginning with the provision that Senator Robert Byrd will be humanely put down.