There were some very interesting insights in Kevin Drum's Billmon comments. One in particular gave voice to my feelings of dissatisfaction on those days when the diaries on dKos seem particularly pointless. The blogger talked about all of the small blogs out there which people don't know about or ignore. I'd like it if at the end of each dKos diary, the poster could enter his/her blog URL. That way if we find the post thoughtful or provocative we could check out the poster's blog.
I read PastorDan regularly even though I'm not interested in religious issues. He always has thoughtful diaries or comments and the people who comment on his diaries also seem thoughtful and interesting. There's none of that degeneration into one-line insults in comment after comment. Those threads are just a turn-off.
The Dean blog was so great for several months and then it degenerated into insular, I-only-read-my-friends, superficiality. It seems to me that there is a lot of that going on here also. I'm thrilled when I run into a great thread with great ideas and lots of argumentative discussion. I couldn't care less if the person is a Democrat, Green, or Republican as long as he or she has something substantive to offer. I don't actually pay any attention as to who is posting (except PastorDan).
People here seem to see themselves as activists but I can remember one time Kos asked what we were actually doing to get Democrats or progressives into office and there was very little response. There seems to be more posts from activists now which is very hopeful. Talking isn't a substitute for doing.
One of the things which irritates me about the media is that they seem to have a Rollodex of 12 or 13 people which they go to all the time. I don't see any tragedy in losing Billmon or Theoria. We should have, and do have, equally good blogs with much the same point of view, perhaps better, as the "lost one". There are so many excellent blogs out there that the loss of one should simply make room for others. My favorites list ebbs and flows depending upon the current quality of a blog.
I love the blogs which do original research or fact-checking along with their opinions. Those links often prove invaluable when I write a letter to the editor or try to convince a "leaner" to commit.
Buzzflash used to be one of my daily visits but no more. It's a nuisance to have to weave my way through all the flogging of books and other stuff. dKos gets his ads out of the way of the content which is great.
One last point: Kos is perfectly able to defend himself. He doesn't need groupies or people who people who insult posters who disagree with him.