As I said, these prizes are, in part, an experiment. Unlike other fields of endeavor, blogging advavances on internet time. Which means better publishing and alternate media tools requiring regular change, and a high turnover rate for those who dedicate themselves to the medium. ‘Publish or perish’ has taken on an entire new meaning in this sphere.

I doubt we’ll see many bloggers devoting ten years to the craft, never mind twenty or more. Even among the highly rated, the wall of burnout is often hit as early as two to three years into the venture. Thus, I don’t think we can adequately honor folks by waiting a decade to judge a body of their work. Which is why I think it’s time a Hall of Fame award is established.

The rules I set to qualify for this award were: the blogger either had to have already received a total of three Koufax awards, with the awards won in at least two different years. Or the blogger had retired from blogging. Or had passed away.

One of the chief reasons I was motivated to do the Perranoski Prizes at all arose from the death of a fellow blogger who I wanted to find a proper way to honor, Aaron Hawkins of uppity negro. Not only was he one of the earliest blogs to rise in popularity to a celebrity status, but Aaron was genuinely - online and off - a nice and good-hearted man. In this world, too often, ‘nice’ and ‘good’ carry a sense of quaintness, of old-fashioned virtues quickly acknowledged and then dismissed as kind of square. There was nothing dismissable or quaint about Aaron. There is nothing easily accepted in losing his presence or his pleasance.

If I’d launched this endeavor and he hadn’t been nominated, I’d never consider taking this past this year. As it turned out, he was nominated and was one of the three Hall of Fame entrants for 2004.

I hope the folks at Wampum will consider taking on this category in the future. And here or there, I think we should broaden the name of the award to the Aaron Hawkins Hall of Fame Award.

Hall of Fame Award

With the conditions I set, not very many people could qualify, except by retirement. I discovered after I created the 3-prize qualifier, only Atrios would have fit the bill in 2004 and in 2005, only Jeralyn Merritt and Juan Cole would fit that bill. Adding Perranoski Prizes as equivalent would add Joshua Marshall and Markos (Kos) Moulitsas to that list.

The condition of retirement was also put to the test as all three of the ‘retired’ nominees came out of retirement after they were nominated. Two of them post at this blog! Clearly, I didn’t think through the qualifiers enough…

So once again, a modification is necessary and in the spirit of inclusion established at Wampum, I propose the rules be modified, as follows:

1) Death, of course, remains a qualifier. So, too, for any blogger suffering from a terminal illness, as it’s better to give honors while folks can appreciate them.

2) Anyone who has been a finalist for two awards (Koufax or Perranoski) can be eligible.

3) Anyone who’s been retired at least 90 days is eligible. And if they subsequently return to blogging? So what? This is a recognition granted by peers that the blogger’s contributions deserve a special honor. Honor doesn’t change when one’s vocation or avocation changes.

So with that in mind, here’s the nominees, largely as I described them when I announced the finalists.

Aaron Hawk of uppity negro. The name itself describes the joie de vivre and spirited attitude that drew many fans to his pioneering blog. The site continues, run by his family and friends, carrying forth his spirit, while adding their own. And aren’t we all an aggregate of the spirits who care for us?

Atrios of Eschaton. A pioneering political commentator who rocketed to national attention with the story that dumped Trent Lott from his Senate leadership position, he’s been a force ever since. I believe Atrios (aka: Duncan Black) left a position as an econ professor to blog fulltime, in addition to appearances on Air America and elsewhere.

Billmon of Whiskey Bar. Between nominations and today, this erudite master of prose, deep research and quote compilation has reopened his bar, but still qualifies for the final voting. Whenever bloggers hear ‘great writing’, he’s always one of the first who comes to mind.

Emma of Late Night Thoughts …. Known for her family tales of Cuba, her stories of Cuban ex-pats, and far more, this weaver of vivid reality has provided a view of Cuban-American politics, in Florida and Cuba, from a personal and familial viewpoint that promotes understanding. Her political views and personal tales on a broader range of subjects, always fulfill. She retired in February 2004 but has joined our blog as a Monday blogger, in 2005.

Hesiod of Counterspin Central (no longer online). Another of the well-recognized early political bloggers known for his pointed commentary and advocacy of a more aggressive progressivism, Hesiod is a rabble-rouser in the fine tradition of the best known patriots and pamphleteers that stirred the country to independence from Great Britain. Retiring last Fall, he is a part-time blogger at American Street, too.

Joshua Micah Marshall of Talking Points Memo. A freelance writer working inside the beltway who also rose to national stature with the Trent Lott debacle, the contacts he’s developed, his research and his persistence at pushing a story or meme have kept him among the best read political bloggers ever since. I’m sure many in the old media would love to hire Joshua full-time, yet he maintains his independence, giving greater freedom to his influential voice.

Our congratulations to the first three entrants to the Hall of Fame: To Billmon, to Duncan Black/Atrios, and to the family and friends of Aaron Hawkins.

Which leaves one award. Normally, I’d do the Hall of Fame last, but I think you’ll see why I altered the order this time.

Best Humanitarian Blog

Here’s the description I provided at the outset:

While this has an element of ‘expert’ to it, it’s expertise that has specifically advocated for or advanced the human condition. So a law blogger might deserve it for their work to end capital punishment - online and/or offline. Or an eco-blogger might deserve it for advancing the understanding of global warming. Maybe the blogger raised funds for a cause. Maybe they are recognized by their peers for research in a specific area. Maybe they’ve advanced or promoted music therapy for developmentally delayed kids.

It can be an individual, a group blog, or a group of blogs working together on a project. Also please note: since the point here is progessiveness in the advance of a humanitarian outcome, political ideology doesn’t matter. So a winner here could be an identified conservative or libertarian. The key is whether humanity has benefited.

I’d add that my idea of ‘progressive’ is not confined to any party, though my bias suggests it’s more evident in some than others. A progressive humanitarian, to my mind, provides the highest form of partisanship, the truest form of pro-life that can be achieved (setting aside the typical usage of the word).

Other categories point to skills that arise chiefly from the mind, eye and ear. This is the category that defines a values statement for progressives. Adverse to the worst choices politicians make for expediency, for political or foreign policy ideology, they often can be characterized by their reluctance to get down into the mudslinging and snarkery of modern political discourse unless the problem-creators are so egregious that it demands fire to be fought with fire. Though some