[Crossposted at My Left Wing and Daily Kos.]

First of all, I've been holding on to this diary idea for months -- every since I discovered the Townhouse list from a MyDD diary.  I've been waiting for what seemed like the right moment, the right atmosphere, to post this.  Now it's arrived, thanks to this excellent diary by the inimitable Maryscott O'Connor, with whom I am completely in agreement.  Something IS rotten in Blogmark; in fact, it has been rotten for some time, at least since the Pie fight and maybe before.  But I digress.

What I want to talk about here is something that I think has been chipping away at the integrity of the blogosphere for months, and that has become a serious, potentially catastrophic issue for the blogosphere at large.  My goal here is not to attack or demean anybody, simply to enlighten and to give my opinion, inconsequential as it may be.

This diary is about the Townhouse list.

There's more...