Yes! Sometimes things just work that way. The DN editorial page staff has launched a new blog where editor Chris Weinkopf (from the right), editorial writer Mariel Garza (leftier) and promised others bat around the issues of the day. They call it Friendly Fire and include Patrick O'Connor's cartoons from the DN print edition. Here's Weinkopf's welcome note. The blogroll doesn't include the L.A. Times opinion blog but, curiously, does link to the personal blog of one of the LAT's main bloggers, assistant editorial page editor Matt Welch.

* Add DN: Ron Kaye called "crazy pirate captain" of the newsroom — in a good way.