For some reason, this system is supressing the most important post I wrote about Chip & Reichen or gay marriage.

Censorship!

Short of a vast homophobic conspiracy from the machines, I'm sure I'm doing something stupid, but I just can't figure out what the hell it is.

So the post, called "Not Yet! We just met Chip & Reichen" is here.

All the rest of my recent posts on Chip & Reichen are here.

Everything on gay marriage is here.

And I just created a special site devoted to the struggle to end the marriage ban, costarring our heroes Chip and Reichen. You may have noticed the new icon/copy there in the left column, under Special Features. You can click on the romantic picture of our boys any time to get to it directly. (And don't tell anyone, but there's also a wedding photo there.)

From page one of today's Boston Globe:

'Blogs' shake the political discourse

Not the greatest story ever told, but it's mildly compelling, and it's lengthy, and it's on the front page of a major U.S. media institution. I think that's the most interesting thing about it: that blogs are getting more and more major coverage in the major press

And of course they focus heavily on Dr. Dean, since his bloggers have been making things happen:

Dean is famously ahead of the pack, with an official blog (blogforamerica.com) plus dozens of unofficial sites dedicated to his candidacy. His campaign has even hired some well-known bloggers as technical advisers.

And I think the piece hits on a key reason blogs are popular with political junkies, even those focused on a particular candidate:

Many bloggers believe that their role is to supply fresh ideas, something official campaign websites don't, in a voice that tends to be more entertaining. Official websites can be boring, said Charles Donefer, 21, a recent college graduate from Washington, D.C., who helps with the Dean Nation blog. ''Everything's been vetted through 20 different people. Nothing written by committee is good to read.''

And one more interesting idea, from the campaign POV:

Of course, bloggers are also free to criticize their candidate, questioning decisions and debating every move -- usually without internal information. For someone accustomed to top-down, hierarchical campaigns, it can sometimes be hard to watch, said Dean's campaign manager, Joe Trippi. But tell a blogger what to do, he said, and ''it just suffocates the entire thing.'' ''You've got to be willing to let go,'' Trippi said. ''You've got to just close your eyes and let them do it.''

The Dean campaign is also excitedly reporting that they've surged to #19 on Daypop's listing of the most popular blogs on the net. For comparison, they cite The Drudge Report at #6, Andrew Sullivan at #10 and Michael Moore at #67.

And I'd like to point out that two of my own new friends and local bloggers made the top 100. TalkLeft is at #46 and VodkaPundit at #80. Both great reads. I link to both of them. (And more importantly, they to me!)