Memorial Day 2004

So many have sacrificed so much so that we can live in freedom.

War Monger

A report put out by Reuters says that President Bush has Saddam's pistol in his office as a "war trophy". I guess we're supposed to be aghast that the president would do such a thing. The fact that it was a gift from soldiers involved in Saddam's capture is underplayed.

I'm not sure why this report is considered news. It doesn't even seem to be new information as it was from a Time Magazine article. Perhaps it was just a slow news day at Reuters. See the article here.

Meanwhile, from Ryan's Head comes The Liberal's Creed which sums up what seems to be the ideals of a lot of people on the left of the political spectrum.

My Secret Plan

I call it my secret plan because I haven't seen anyone else blog about it. It's my secret plan for GWB to defeat Kerry by a landslide in the upcoming election.

But you'll have to go to the extended section to read about it...

Incidentally, I blogged about this back in March. (here)

The Bush Administration needs some new blood. I think that a week or two before the Republican Convention in NYC that Dick Cheney ought to announce that he is retiring from public life and will not be Vice-President for a second term. Cheney has plenty of good excuses for doing this. He's an old guy afterall. (He's 63) Then there's that persistent heart condition.

The Atlantic Monthly, a magazine I used to love because of it's dearth of liberal bias, recently did an article about the VP's heart condition. They interviewed some heart specialists who didn't really agree about whether his health was a risk as the Vice-President. Nonetheless, the article came up with this conclusion,

Although the official White House position today is that Cheney is in "excellent health," the Washington-insider magazine National Journal has recently reported that if in the run-up to the 2004 election too many people raise concerns about his political fitness for office, Cheney "could use health and his history of four heart attacks to construct a credible exit." It's possible, in other words, that the Vice President's medical condition could—ironically—help the Bush campaign dodge other electoral liabilities.[Source]

Dick Cheney has a plausible reason for bowing out that wouldn't embarass the President.

Who would be a good replacement?

It might come as a shock to Bob Woodward, but I think Colin Powell would be a great Vice-President.

Powell has broad appeal to those toward the center of the political spectrum. He's well respected and obviously has a ton of great experience. Many see him as a moderating force in the Administration. The fact that he's a retired General ought to keep the conservatives relatively happy and he would be the first African-American Vice-President.

Can Dick Cheney bury his ego long enough to resign as Vice-President? Are GWB's advisors "thinking outside the box" sufficiently enough to think of something like this? I doubt it but I'm hopeful.

Anybody Want A Peanut?

For those of you visiting this site from here, let me explain the statement, "Anybody want a peanut?". It's a line from The Princess Bride and it's in response to an interesting article titled, They Keep Using That Word...

John Kerry Cheesehead?

As if you needed more proof that John Kerry will say anything to get elected, there's this quote from a campaign rally in Green Bay,

"'No matter what it means to the New England Patriots … you’re looking at the biggest Cheesehead in America,’ Kerry told the crowd, which responded by banging green and gold noise makers.”

Call me crazy, but I have a hard time imagining Kerry wearing one of those cheesehead hats. Go read the rest here.

Pray Without Ceasing

A guy I barely know, while on a business call, ended our conversation with, "I'll pray that this business deal of yours works out." I don't know the guy well enough to know if he's a Christian or not, but it started me thinking about prayer.

On a regular basis I pray that GWB wins the Presidential election over John Kerry. Not only that, but I pray that he wins it in a landslide. Some might say that it's wrong to pray about such things. Afterall, they say, God isn't a Democrat or Republican.

I'll grant them that, but I think God wants us to pray about things that matter to us. My concerns are pretty inconsequential in the scheme of things but they are important to me so I pray about them. I believe there is power in prayer and also that prayer helps to change our hearts towards God. The tricky part is accepting His answers when they aren't what I would want.

I thank God Al Gore didn't get elected President and I plan to keep on praying about our upcoming election. How about you?

Be There

Ever wonder what it's like to be a soldier in Iraq? Go read, A 2nd Lt's View from Iraq and find out.

Don't Forget The "A"

Visit Matt Margolis' blog!

Besides being involved with Blogs for Bush, Matt was involved in a physical altercation a while back while trying to exercise his Freedom of Speech rights in Boston.

I noticed Matt didn't have any blogs that start with "A" listed on his blogroll so I wrote him a corny email suggesting a link to a certain blog that begins with an A. He was a good sport about it and added me to his blogroll so I think he deserves at least a little more traffic.

What color is your brain?

What Color is Your Brain?
brought to you by Quizilla
I saw this over at Candy Universe.

Normally I don't post these kinds of things, but this one seemed pretty accurate for me. If you want to see the rest of my "profile" keep reading below. Otherwise, go to Quizilla and find out the color of your brain.

GREEN:

At work or in school: I work best by myself. I like to focus on my ideas until my desire for understanding is satisfied. I am easily bored if the subject holds no interest to me. Sometimes, it is hard for me to set priorities because so many things are of interest.
With friends: I may seem reserved. Although my thoughts and feelings run deep, I am uneasy with frequent displays of emotion. I enjoy people who are interesting and of high integrity.
With family: I am probably seen as a loner because I like a lot of private time to think. Sometimes, I find family activities boring and have difficulty following family rules that don't make sense to me. I show love by spending time with my family and sharing ideas and interests.

Driving While Innocent

Way back in March (here) I wrote about a court case challenging the right of police officers to demand proof of someone's identity without cause.

The New Mexico Court of Appeals recently ruled against the police in a case very similar to the one I blogged about. No Quarters Blog gives you all the details in his post here.

Strong in The Broken Places

This world is everything. What we taste, see and feel provides the only sensations we've ever known. Yet for all it's joys, it's deeply flawed and beyond repair. There is nothing that we hold dear that we won't lose someday. Fortunately, this isn't the end of the story. There's something else...

The inevitability of being forced to let go of everything and everyone isn't news. It's something we all realize, but in the interests of maintaining our sanity we generally choose to ignore this cold reality. The extent to which we love anything is the depth of loss we'll suffer when it's gone.

This acknowledgement comes not from someone who's suffered any great losses but from a Father and Husband who sometimes worries about when the other shoe is going to drop on this great life I've been given. And it's not just people but also pets, jobs, homes, situations, and comforts that we stand to lose. Our senses cause us to be hopelessly addicted. In the midst of this realization, it's almost enough to inspire someone to retreat to the mountains and live a solitary life. But there aren't too many of us who could survive such a thing. We were born with a need to love and be loved. The fact that we must suffer as a result only illustrates the inherent brokenness of everything.

Fortunately, there's a paradox hidden in all of this tragedy. To the extent that we're broken by this world, a great and merciful God can use our weakness for good. There is no loss suffered by those who are called by God that doesn't bring greater good. There is no loss which doesn't hold forth the possibility of making us stronger. No matter how large that loss or the depths of pain it produces. True, the complete fulfillment of this gift must wait until eternity, but it's there and it will come to pass someday as surely as the pain that exists right now. Until then we still have a measure of comfort even among the wreckage of a world that seems laced with a fatal dose of entropy.

I guess I've been thinking about this because I've been listening to a song called, Faith Enough, off Jars of Clay's latest CD called, Who We Are Instead.

The song explores this paradox that in our weakness, He makes us strong. The chorus helps us to remember,

It's just enough to be strong
In the broken places, in the broken places.
It's just enough to be strong.
Should the world rely on faith tonight.

The lyrics for the whole song,

Faith Enough

The ice is thin enough for walkin'.
The rope is worn enough to climb.
My throat is dry enough for talkin'.
The world is crumblin' but I know why.
The world is crumblin' but I know why.
The storm is wild enough for sailing.
The bridge is weak enough to cross.
This body frail enough for fighting.
I'm home enough to know I'm lost.
Home enough to know I'm lost.

It's just enough to be strong
In the broken places, in the broken places.
It's just enough to be strong.
Should the world rely on faith tonight.

The land unfit enough for planting.
Barren enough to conceive.
Poor enough to gain the treasure.
Enough a cynic to believe.
Enough a cynic to believe.

Confused enough to know direction.
The sun eclipsed enough to shine.
Be still enough to finally tremble.
And see enough to know I'm blind.
And see enough to know I'm blind.

Should the world rely on faith tonight.

Take comfort from knowing that it's just enough to be strong in the broken places.

Review of Who We Are Instead

Drink The Kool-Aid

This is a Blog For Bush and each week on "Wictory Wednesday", many of the Blogs for Bush ask people to contribute to the campaign. Well, I was just wondering...how many of the bloggers for Bush have actually donated to the Bush-Cheney campaign themselves.

I know that I was shocked, shocked to find that my own mother had only given $10. I'm really tempted to start looking up the Bush bloggers to see who's been donating and how much. You can see who's "drinking the kool-aid" by going here.

On The Air: Kevin McCullough

I suppose like many of you. I received an email this week from Kevin McCullough of the appropriately named Kevin McCullough Show. I've never heard the radio show but from the looks of it he seems like a devotee of Hugh Hewitt, the patron saint of many conservative bloggers. (I'm still a little bitter about Hugh though since I've never been able to penetrate the "inner circle" of bloggers he likes to mention.)

If you want to have a popular blog you should take a few lessons from what Kevin is doing...

Before you let your expectations get too high, remember that anyone who has a radio or television talk show has a built in web audience. Their volume of hits exist on a different plane than the rest of us normal bloggers. However, there are some things he's done lately to really kick up his numbers and those things offer some good lessons for the rest of us.

KMC's blog strategies:

1. He makes a personal connection. He recently sent out emails asking to be including on the blogs of others. Instead of looking like a form email (which it was), it looks like he's picked your blog from among many because he finds your posts so engrossing and profound. The reality is that one of his staff did some research and found a collection of blogs that roughly correspond to the same political and religious views. Because those are potential listeners and readers, he invited them to link to him knowing full-well they would come visit his weblog.
   
2. Nearly every post has at least one link back to a blog and prominent mention of that blogger's views. All it takes is one post like that and many bloggers will feel indebted for life.
   
3. The stories he does are all very mainstream. In other words, they're things that nearly everyone can relate to. Many bloggers make the mistake of getting so deep into the subject that they run the risk of boring readers to death. I enjoy researching things and getting every little tidbit of information, but in reality, most people probably don't want to read that much. Most people, it seems, just want a quick little blurb that makes a point so they can move on to something else.
   
4. He keeps it light. I suppose this is very similar to what he does on the radio. No one wants to feel bummed out when they listen to the radio or read a weblog. Even serious subjects are given a lighter touch and he's not afraid to poke a little fun of himself either.
   
5. The weblog is easy to read. There isn't any complex design. It's just real straightforward - almost a little cluttered at times - but you don't have to look real far to get a good idea of his views. (A pet peeve I've had lately is blogs that don't fit into the browser horizontally. Instead you have to scroll to the left or right to see the whole thing. I hate that!)

However, there are a few things that I'd like to see him do differently.

First, I can't find anywhere to leave comments. I'm sure people can do this on his talk show but I don't see anywhere to do that on his weblog. Second, I don't see a way to link to individual posts. If I link to him, I'd like him to know it and I'm also going to be a little more hesitant to link to yet another website outside of his blog. For example, I'd like to comment on the post about Dodgeball which he references on his blog. But to even find the link I had to follow another link to yet another blogger who found the dodgeball article he had written at WorldNet Daily. (By the way, I love dodgeball. Always have, always will.)

Finally, Kevin has taken the liberty of sending out daily email updates pointing back to his weblog. As much as I enjoy them, I don't necessarily want a daily email to add to the tons of spam that I currently receive. Maybe a weekly update would be better?

I enjoy checking out KMC and I would encourage you to check out his site too. He's doing some good things there that can teach a few of us some new tricks and he's fighting the culture war along with the rest of his. He needs out support so let's give him some.

Belief Seeking Understanding

This is the 9th in a series of interviews with bloggers who are part of The Blogdom of God. The Blogdom of God is a loose group of Blogs that identify themselves as 'God blogs'.

Today's interview is with the blogger of Belief Seeking Understanding This blogger will help you to see the phrase, "Fruit of the Womb" in a totally different way.

Q. Are you familiar with the EFCA?

A. I hereby confess I first thought you were referring to the Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability, instead of the Evangelical Free Church of America. That tells you right there that I'm not very familiar with it.

*I asked this question because the church I grew in which I was raised, The Evangelical Free Church of America is headquartered in Minneapolis. -jdm

When I was in college, many years ago, one of my friends in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship was planning to be an EFCA pastor. EFCA congregations are pretty rare in Texas, where my wife and I have lived most of our lives. We have visited an EFCA congregation since coming to Minnesota.

Q. Every created thing reflects some aspect of it's creator. What do you think the invention and subsequent development of the computer reveals about the human race?

A. It reveals that the human race is not only creative, but is continually improving the tools to express its creativity. Apes use a tool to extract termites from a hollow log, but they don't build power drills. I show a slide in my classes that show that the amount of computer power you can buy for a dollar has been exponentially increasing since 1885. The rate of growth jumped with the beginning of electronic computing in the 1940's, and again in the 1980's with the advent of VLSI chips. Moore's Law is just the tail end of this growth curve. The development of computers shows that humanity reflects on the consequences of tools. It means that humanity has
the capacity for wonder. "Hmm, well, if we can do this, what would happen if we try to do that?"

Q. Why did you start blogging?

A. The entry for October 13 pretty much says it, but I will add some background. Looking at Hugh Hewitt's website got me interested in the SCSUScholars, which got me interested in writing about higher education. The blog of Bruce Eckel, author of "Thinking in Java" and a number of other
books, inspired me to blog about things I was noticing regarding software. Some of my students have encouraged me to publish a newsletter about things in my classes, so the blog satisfies some of that. I've read the One Year Bible about four times, and it occurred to me that I discovered some things the second time that I didn't notice the first time, and it might be useful to share some of the things I noticed.

Q. How did you end up teaching? How did you end up teaching at St. Thomas?

A. My first teaching job was at a technical school, which was little more than a tube between the federal government and the proprietors of the school, using the student loan program as the principle means of extraction. I hereby tell the truth and shame the devil. I was going nowhere slowly career-wise, and I wandered into it, because it seemed like a better opportunity than anything else at the time. When I was there, I felt like a safecracker, trying to figure out the combinations of the minds of the students, but for the purpose of putting something into them instead of taking something out. In between teaching at a technical school and teaching at St. Thomas, I obtained a Texas teacher's certificate, and had a brief, undistinguished career as a high school math teacher in Garland, Texas. I talk about this briefly in the post "Purpose Driven Life Day 3 - What's My Obsession?" My father assisted me in continuing my education,
which I did, getting a master's in 1995 and the Ph.D in 1999. I would have gotten it a year earlier, but my advisor went on sabbatical.

I had heard numerous horror stories from Ph.D students about the difficulties of job hunting, so I took a shotgun approach. St. Thomas was very enterprising in responding to my application, sending me emails when I was at a conference in Australia, bringing me up for an interview in the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. My wife was tired of living in Texas, and didn't want to live on either coast. One of our children had significant allergies, and we thought the shorter growing season would be good for him. I wrote about this a little bit in the posts "Purpose Driven Life Day 9 - The Smiles Of Heaven" and "Purpose Driven Life Day 10 - Love, Devotion and Surrender" Minnesota is a great place to live, if you like fishing in the summer and snow in the winter.

Q. In simple terms, what is a Cayley Network?

A. The very asking of that question raised you several notches in my book. A Cayley network (Cayley is capitalized as it is named after the mathematician Arthur Cayley) is a collection of vertices and edges which follows certain rules related to finite groups. These networks or graphs have the delightful property of looking the same way no matter which vertex they are
viewed from. This is a good thing because if you were connecting many processors in a parallel computer, you wouldn't want the network connecting them to have any intrinsic "bottlenecks." The networks used in parallel computers these days (rectangular grids with wraparound, called torii) are Cayley networks.

Q. Can you explain to me why C++ is inferior to Java?

A. Let me count the ways! Bjarne Stroustrup, the inventor of C++, said "C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot. C++ makes it harder, but when you do it blows your whole leg off."

The replacing of pointers in C++ with references in Java immediately gets rid of a number of horrible things which can be done with C++. It greatly reduces that direct control over memory that one has with C++.

Java and C++ are both object-oriented languages, but Java reduces the potential complexity by eliminating the feature of multiple inheritance. Multiple inheritance means that an object can say "I have all the capabilities of both object A and object B." But what if A and B have different ways of doing capability C? Which one is the effective one? Java's getting rid of this reduces the number of ways you can mess things up this way.

One of the big problems of C and C++ is memory leaks, which happen when a programmer reserves some memory at some point, and something happens where that memory doesn't get released. Java solves that problem by using garbage collection, where memory that is being taken up by something that isn't being used anymore is returned to the space of free memory.

Finally, Java delivers on the promise of portability made by C. It was supposed to be possible to seamlessly port a program written in ANSI C that ran on one machine to another machine that supported ANSI C, but there were lots of things about the ANSI C standard that kept this from being the case. For example, if you specify a variable with the data type int in ANSI C, it
could be either 16 bits or 32 bits. Java's additional layer of abstraction (the Java Virtual Machine) keeps this from happening.

The developers of Java claimed that Java was an evolutionary development over C++, as opposed to a revolutionary development. Another way of saying this is that Java is C++ without guns, knives and clubs.

Q. Do you have a shredder at home that you use regularly?

A. I do have a shredder at home, but I don't use it regularly! You must be asking this after I've gone on and on about the Dennis Bennett identity theft case. I should use it more than I do.

Q. What type of church do you attend?

A. Ah, confession time. We have visited a number of churches in Minnesota. We have attended Speak The Word Church, a large interdenomination charismatic church. We have attended the local Lutheran church where some of our children went to school. We have visited Grace Church, the evangelical mega-church in Eden Prairie. We are currently in between churches. This is
something about which I'd appreciate it if you and your readers would pray, that there would be a church where we can both serve and grow.

Q. You've written a lot about The Purpose Driven Life. Can you summarize the most important lesson from the book?

A. And I'm going to write a lot more before I'm through! Somehow reading this book and writing about has given me an opportunity to write about things that are near and dear to me, the existence and discovery of purpose, meaning and direction. It has also inspired me to share my weaknesses, which I think has added some credibility to my writing. The most important
message is that you have a purpose that the world didn't give to you, that the world can't take away. It's not immediately obvious, but you can discover it and live according to it.

Q. On the political spectrum where would you place yourself?

A. I took one of those tests the other day where it placed me on a map, where north and south represented beliefs regarding economic freedom, and east and west represented beliefs regarding personal freedom. I'm a centrist with libertarian tendencies. I thought I was more of a conservative. But I'm not a total libertarian, becuase I don't believe in repealing all regulations on sexual behavior, and I don't believe in repealing all drug laws. I'm not a total conservative, because I don't believe in repealing all taxes, and I don't believe in getting rid of foreign aid.

Q. You have six kids. Did you plan on having a big family or did it just happen?

A. In the immortal words of our former chief executive, it all depends on the meaning of the phrase "plan on having a big family." Dr. Laura Schlessinger says that if neither spouse gets their tubes tied, then both spouses are planning to get pregnant. We consider a big family to be a blessing. It never occured to me until I read the Bible that the brand name "Fruit of the
Loom" was a pun on the Bible verse that says "the fruit of the womb is a reward." Two of our children were planned, four of them happened.

Q. Are you from a big family?

A. Not only am I an only child, but my father was an only child, and my mother was the younger of two sisters. I think my children are better off than I was, because they have to learn to get along with others more than I did.

Q. Is there anything special you'd like people to take away from your blog?

A. Delight in God, skill with computer technology, developing lifelong learners who keep their beginner's mind - it all goes together.

Q. Is there anything else you'd like to say?

A. This poem by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, from the collection "Gitanjali" or "Song Offerings," is my prayer.

Where the mind is without fear and the head held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments;
By narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee
Into ever-widening thought and action;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake!

It turns out that Tagore toured America in the 1920's. One of the stops on his tour was Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. There was a young man attending the lecture named Myron Bass, who was my grandfather. It just goes to show that the seeds one sows have consequences far beyond what we can see.

If you haven't read previous Blogdom of God interviews, check them out here:
Josh Claybourn
Adrian Warnock
Fr. Jim Tucker (Dappled Things)
SecretAgentMan
Totem to Temple
LaShawn Barber
Antioch Road
Ryan's Head

If you are a member of the Blogdom of God and would like to be interviewed, please contact me. -jdm

Michael and Che

Before you get all misty-eyed over Michael Moore's enthusiastic reception at Cannes [source] keep in mind that this is the same festival that is trumpeting a movie about Che Guevera. Che was a revolutionary and quite an accomplished murderer. (Story here)

Grace Under Pressure

Go read this story. Not only is it inspirational, but it highlights the current worldwide struggle between two immense and, some say, incompatible tribes.

Girl On Girl

I'm watching a show on FNC and one of the shows guests brought up an interesting thought. She said that most people would rather see pictures of two women kissing than two men. (She was referring to coverage of gay marriage.) Personally, I would rather see the former as well but I thought that was just because I'm a guy... I'm wondering if this is more of a universal sentiment than I originally thought.

The Myth of Fingerprints

I've been thinking lately about how race and culture are often confused.

Let me explain...

If I understand world history correctly the human race has developed thusly. The human race originated in the area of Iraq now known as "The Cradle of Civilization". At some point in time, groups of people began to emigrate to different parts of the world. Due to factors such as the amount of sun, the degree of isolation from other groups, diet, and other factors the people in these groups adapted physically to their environment. The result was that some groups had very dark pigmented skin and some very fair skin. Not only that but many other aspects of physical appearance changed (over time) in response to environmental factors.

But that's not even the end of the story. The various people groups migrated further over time. Some Asian people groups migrated to the South Pacific and possibly to South America. Some people groups migrated over the Bering Strait to North America. The various tribes in Europe also migrated North, South, East and West. (The history of England is a great example of how various peoples migrated and intermixed over history.) In other words, there really is no such thing as a "Pure" race. The faulty logic behind the existence of a so-called pure race is what leads many to oppose interracial marriage. (See here and here for some related explanation of this.)

Race is a very fuzzy concept and those who discriminate on the basis of race are misleading themselves that there is any such thing as a pure race. Culture, on the other hand, is a little different. (Technically, what I'm really referring to here is called sub-culture.) Culture is self-defining and based on norms (mores) established within a group. Any set of people with a common identity will develop a unique culture. Culture helps the group to recognize others in the same group and, among other things, helps the members to protect themselves from those perceived as outsiders.

Culture is amoral, not inherently good or bad. There is a discriminatory purpose to culture but that doesn't necessarily make it good or bad. People should have the right to freedom of association. The main question then is this: When does discrimination turn from something relatively benign and natural to something that is insidious and evil?

Part of the answer comes down to our identity and how it's defined. First and foremost, we are Americans. As Americans there are some basic rights that should be accorded to all who are members of this overarching group of citizens. However, beyond that we are free to define ourselves any way we choose whether it is as Baptists, Left-Handers, Red Staters, or Midwesterners. As long as our associations in our sub-cultures do not violate any of the rules we've established as Americans, we should be free to do as we choose.

The problem comes when, in the name of political correctness, we are prohibited from holding certain beliefs or engaging in certain practices. An example of this type of legislation is so-called "hate crime" laws. (Not that it's okay to murder someone of another race. Just that murdering someone is already illegal and to try and define what someone was saying or thinking as a hate crime is really beside the point.) These types of laws confuse the issue between discrimination based on race or gender or whatever and allowable discrimination based on the freedom of Americans to associate with those whom they choose.

Racial discrimination is wrong. Discrimination that violates our shared rules for how we should treat fellow Americans (as defined in the Bill of Rights and Constitution) is wrong. Discrimination based on personal beliefs, our ethnic identity, religious beliefs or any similar type of criteria is okay and may even serve a noble purpose.

Now before anyone comments let me add a few disclaimers. I'm not an anthropologist therefore I admit I may be wrong on the particulars of the development of the various races. The main point is that Race is by and large an artificial and arbitrary due to the great intermixing of peoples over time and the fact that we all descend from the same set of ancestors.

Also, I'm not a sociologist, therefore I may be wrong on some of the particulars regarding culture and how cultures develop. The main point is that development of culture isn't inherently good or bad and that it's a normal part of being human.

A Long Hot Summer

Two political conventions, the olympics, and the threat of terrorism looming over everything. It will be a long hot summer.

A group calling itself the "NoRNC Clearinghouse" is coordinating various activist liberal groups in an attempt to disrupt the Republican National Convention in New York City,

When the vote does not place in power those who represent the will of the people, democracy must be taken to the streets. This administration's choice of New York City, historically known for its diverse population, its welcoming of immigrants from far off lands, and its radical politics will prove to be their biggest mistake yet. [source]

From the quote above, it seems they think they represent "the will of the people"...

The NoRNC Clearinghouse offers lots of advice about how to disrupt the convention. They point out where the majority of the delegates will be staying. here There's a collection of snippets culled from the media that provide information about various aspects of the convention. here There's even a guide that shows where cameras are located in public places. Presumably this is so protester's can avoid having their pictures taken.

There's a whole lot more information on the site and it appears to be at the nexus of a well-organized group of liberal activist organizations.

Right now you may be asking yourself, "What about Republican plans to disrupt the Democrats' convention?"

Well, I haven't heard of any, but the Democrats aren't out of the woods.

An organization calling itself The Black Tea Society has plans to disrupt the Democratic National Convention in Boston. They're not Republicans though,

Why should we protest the Democrats? I know I hate virtually all that Bush has done to this country and the world since his administration was placed into office. Why don't I like Bush? Because he is corrupt, doesn’t allow the American voice be heard, because he bases his policies on the ideas and visions that are only shared by the elite and mega-rich. He veils this agenda in a well-spun and calculated manner by which millions of Americans are deceived and the rest are intimidated. [Source]

I'm tempted to say, "That's just not fair" in regards to disrupting a political party's convention but the level of civil political discourse has gotten so low these days that citing "fairness" is just a joke. I suppose these people have a right to make their opinion known. However, a good look at their websites hint that they have more in mind than a peaceful march.

As if all of that isn't enough there's the story of the rocket launcher found next to some train tracks in Atlanta. Via Murdoc Online comes speculation from ACE that such a thing could be a dry run for an actual terrorist attack.

It's going to be a long hot summer. Let's just hope (and pray) that it's a safe one.

Ignorance is Bliss

It's all his fault. I was happy in my ignorance until he informed me that I was a Marauding Marsupial in the TTLB Ecosystem and moving up. At that moment the scales fell from my eyes and I began to see the blogosphere in a whole new light.

Before, I was happy with the number of visits I was receiving each day and I didn't even think about links to my site. Now I spend my time wondering, how can I become a Mortal Human or, dare I say it? A Higher Being...

Since that fateful day I've become a Large Mammal but it's not enough. To make matters worse, I ranked as high as 403 back on May 8th but now I've fallen to a weasely 532! It's almost more than I can bear.

I made the mistake of looking to see which weblogs rank higher than me. How depressing. I don't want to name any names since I doubt that would do much for my blogging popularity. There are some very deserving blogs ranked above mine, and also, some very rotten ones...but I'm not going to let that get me down. No, sireee.

I had high hopes for The Blogdom of God Interviews. Not only is it an interesting project but it also seems like the kind of thing that would be popular. Sadly, I'm now waiting on pins and needles for a few errant bloggers (who shall remain nameless) to return their interview answers. I realize they have day jobs that actually pay the bills and everything, but what could be more important? (I know, it's all about me.)

Besides continuing to keep things up to date and attempting to write witty or otherwise profound posts, I have another idea. I think I'll try one of those little button thingys like a lot of sites have. If you like this blog and you're a really nice person, you could consider putting one of my little buttons as a link on your blog.

There are a few choices below. I'd like some feedback on them and, more importantly, I'd like you to use them for linking to yours truly. As a link, feel free to use either of the following urls:
www.stillmanvalley.org/aoo/
or
www.armyofone.org

This is the petite one for those of you with very little room.

This is the elegant yet tasteful, full sized one.

I think this one looks the coolest, but it might not appeal to some.

So, I'll try this button linking thing. Mortal Human here I come...I hope.

Peace Through Strength

Ronald Reagan had the right idea. "Peace Through Strength" is the argument he used with the disarmament proponents and how he dealt with the Soviet Union. It's just as valid today in dealing with Arab countries as it was then...

I've heard it said about the Arab culture that, "Arabs are either at your feet or at your throat". (I believe originally it was Winston Churchill who said it and he was referring to "Huns". However, I've since heard it also applied to Arab cultures.) An article via Blackfive found here seems to affirm the saying,

"It's a significant change in the right direction," said Capt. Dominique Neal, the new Lima Company commander. "I was surprised. I thought they'd be more fearful than anything. I think the amount of force that we displayed over the past few days definitely has changed their outlook."

The article goes on,

"One thing that I do know is that the Iraqi people respond to who they think is the strongest," said Neal, 29, of San Francisco. "They saw the velvet glove when we first came in, and then we took off the glove and showed them the iron fist." [Source]

An article in The American Enterprise theorizes that societies are one of two different types. They are either shame-based or guilt-based. In guilt-based societies individuals will tend to mistrust their own native aggression and will actively seek to protect others from aggression. In shame-based societies,

By contrast, shame-vulnerable individuals are constantly vigilant toward aggressions of others against their sense of honor. If insulted, they feel humiliation and rage. The shame-prone willingly submit only when the external power appears so invincible that there is no alternative but surrender. Beneath their outward defiance, the shame-prone often hold unconscious yearnings to be submissive; the seemingly omnipotent conqueror allows them to be passive without shame. [Source]

The article goes into great depth about shame-based societies and I highly recommend it.

The point here is that we will not get anywhere in Iraq by showing weakness to the population. Of course, I'm not justifying abuse, however we need to be very careful that when we choose to retreat from a situation rather than fight that it isn't misinterpreted as weakness. From our point of view in a guilt-based culture, walking away from a fight for a noble cause is considered almost heroic, but not in an Arab culture. This is especially true for a nation that feels it has long been humiliated by a ruthless dictator.

With all of the talk of "negotiations" going on in Fallujah and elsewhere I only hope those in charge of things understand how certain actions can be interpreted when applied through a different cultural lens.

Jonah Knows

Let me take this opportunity to toot my own horn. Just for the record, my article about Tim Russert and his ego was posted here on May 17th. It was called King Tim in case anyone wants to check it out.

Jonah Goldberg of National Review posted his article on May 19th. Arguably, his article has the better title, Reality Touches A Sunday Morning Gorilla, but it does agree with what I said in my King Tim article.

Jonah, give me a call anytime you want some ideas for your columns.

Meta-Wictory Wednesday

Wictory Wednesdays is sponsored by Blogs for Bush. It works like this; each Wednesday you invite your readers to donate or volunteer to the Bush-Cheney campaign.

Unfortunately, there's a few problems with it. First of all, it's boring. As soon as people see that you have a Wictory Wednesday post they skip right on to something else because they know what it's going to say. Secondly, I went through quite a few of the blogs listed on the blogroll for Wictory Wednesdays and found an appalling number of them without a WW post. (Also, it was amazing how many of them haven't been updated in a very long time or simply have ceased to exist.)

In my quest to make WW just a little more entertaining, I've evaluated some WW posts and found the best one...

The Best WW Post I found was from The Pudgy Pundit. He had pictures of both President Bush and John Kerry throwing footballs. This was his caption,

Friends, Look at the pictures above, and tell me which one you want to be our "Quarterback" for the next four years?

I know, its a no brainer here, but I had to ask for the sake of "fairness"... Liberals love "fairness" you know, except when it comes to hearing, or speaking the truth.

As usual, I ask you to join me in my fight to help George Bush stay in the Oval Office, an institution that once again has meaning, honor, and new carpeting.

Finally, I want to make sure to invite you to Donate to the Bush-Cheney campaign as I have done. Also, be sure to visit one of the many blogs who are actually participating in Wictory Wednesdays by clicking on the links listed below.

This guy invented the whole WW concept so he deserves a wisit!

Days of Yore

It was 1992 and the storyline was taut with suspense. Patriot Games was a blockbuster in the movie theaters. But that's ancient history now and Patriot Games is relegated to reruns on Sunday afternoon.

A bunch of rogue Irish terrorists sure seem quaint these days. In the movie, no one is cutting anyone's head off. No IED's. No chemical or biological weapons. Just people killing each other with good old-fashioned ak-47's. Those were the good old days. The world seems like a lot scarier than it used to be.

Anybody but Kerry?

Things look pretty grim right now for the Bush Administration. Zogby Polls show the President's approval ratings have dropped to a record low of 42%. Iraq continues to be a gordian knot between the prisoner abuse scandal and the violent gunbattles with Al-Sadr's followers. The "tell-all" books just keep rolling out with scandalous accusations against the President and his administration. To top it all off, conservatives seem to be losing the cultural war with the legalization of gay marriage in MA only the latest disastrous skirmish.

This might be a good time to review why I support President Bush for re-election...

1. We are fighting a World War against Terror. Bush realizes it and Kerry doesn't. Kerry has voiced his opinion that it's basically a law enforcement problem. Bill Clinton tried this approach and it was an utter failure. We need a President willing to fight the terrorists anywhere, anytime, anyplace.
2. The Bush response to economic problems was to cut taxes. Kerry's response is more beaucracy and government regulation.
3. Bush believes marriage should be between a man and a woman. Kerry has also voiced this although he doesn't seem too enthusiastic about it and I wonder what he'll really do when the pressure is on from the gay rights activists who currently support him.
4. Bush voted to ban partial birth abortion and is against abortion. Kerry supports abortion and thinks it's a "woman's right" to kill her unborn child.
5. Bush will appoint judges who follow the constitution rather than those who re-interpret it in the name of political correctness.
6. John Kerry is a war hero who subsequently tossed his medals (or was it ribbons?) over the White House fence and proceeded to accuse his fellow veterans of atrocities in Vietnam. Kerry has shown that he'll say anything in order to get elected.
7. Kerry has an abysmal record in the Senate. He voted down funding for every major weapons system and is ranked as one of the Senate's most liberal members. He's still a Senator although you wouldn't know it by looking at his attendance record.
8. George Bush is known as a man of personal honor who is compassionate and helpful to those around him, even when it won't yield any positive PR. John Kerry is known as somewhat of a prick who blames secret service agents for making him fall down while skiing.
9. John Kerry seeks to "internationalize" our efforts in Iraq. How he would do this is a mystery to me. Why he would want to get the UN involved when they've failed Iraq in every way imaginable is also a mystery. Kerry seems to want the US to be liked by other nations so much that he's willing to sacrifice our sovreignty in order to achieve this.

George W. Bush is the best man for the job. Yet a large number of Americans feel otherwise. It's very possible that this election could be lost. We can then look forward to being the butt of other country's jokes and we can leave Iraq with our tail between our legs. Remember what it was like during the malaise of the Carter years? Well, if Kerry is elected we'll get to relive those halcyon times.

In fact, everything going on right now makes me feel like making a donation to the Bush-Cheney Campaign.

Brown vs. The Establishment

Usually I prefer to provide content rather than just pointing it out, but the post found here perfectly summarized my thoughts as I watched last nights television news.

King Tim

Over the weekend Tim Russert interviewed Colin Powell. At some point, an overzealous staffer tried to cut off the interview by moving the television camera. Powell basically kept talking to Russert and ordered his aide to stop interfering with the camera. Russert made sure to state how "inappropriate" he thought it was that the interview should be interrupted. The interview itself went on and Powell was able to actually address some foreign policy issues. Afterward, Powell telephoned Russert and apologized for the incident. However, it was too late. Russert decided to leave the whole thing in the taped interview because it was "unacceptable"...

In other words, how dare anyone try to step in the way of one of Tim Russert's interviews. Nevermind the fact that the interviewee was clearly cooperating and obviously not complicit in cutting off the interview, Mr. Russert was going to show the whole thing anyway. In The Washington Times Mr. Russert is quoted,

"Now, this is someone paid by the U.S. taxpayers, trying to cut off an interview with an American journalist and the American secretary of state," Mr. Russert said. "I've been in countries where staffers pull the plug on people. This is the United States of America. It really is unacceptable."[Source]

By Russert's tone you would think some great miscarriage of justice had occured. Cutting off an interview mid-question isn't exactly polite, but it isn't exactly like Russert's constitutional rights were violated. Especially when it was obvious to all involved that Powell was more than happy to answer the question. It isn't polite to carry on in an interview past the allotted time period either and it would've been nice of Russert to apologize for hogging Powell's time.

I'm not sure of Russert's politics but this isn't yet another case of liberal media bias. I have no doubt that the Secretary of State would've been treated the same way if it had been Madeleine Albright. Guys like Russert seem to think that it's all about them. They suffer from a common problem that journalists and especially television reporters all experience. They seem to think that because they are interviewing great leaders and have their face splashed all over the news with these leaders, that somehow it makes them great too. In a sense, I think they feel that they're even greater than these leaders because great leaders come and go, but a successful reporter's career lasts a very long time.

Russert is guilty of arrogance and of being petty. This is something we've come to expect from news celebrities.

Wisdom at Abu Ghraib

The abuses at Abu Ghraib have become the focal point for much of the media's reporting, but there's another side to this story. Not everyone participated in the abuses and some soldiers actually reported them. Spc. Matthew Carl Wisdom is one of the soldiers who wouldn't participate in the abuses. He's the son of a Methodist minister who, apparently, raised his son to do the right thing. You can read all about him here.

The New Tobacco

In the news lately I've heard fast-food referred to as the "new tobacco". What that means, of course, isn't that fast food will become as addictive as cigarettes, but that the whole industry will be sued to recompense the fatties that can't stop eating so much. Instead of fast food being the "new tobacco" I have a proposal for something else to take it's place...

With tobacco, I guess, the argument was that since it causes so many health problems even in people who don't smoke, that the cost to society was too great. Somehow the big tobacco companies must be forced to pay in order to reimburse society for the huge health and other expenses.

Although I think it's laughably silly, that's the thinking with fast food. In fact, a recent film fittingly called, Supersize Me! dramatizes the health problems of a man who ate nothing but fast food for 30 days. Last year, federal researchers announced that the health-care costs of obesity now rival those of smoking, with $92.6 billion spent in 2002 alone. So you can see, fast food is well on it's way to becoming "The New Tobacco".

However, there's something else that's way more dangerous to our society. No, I'm not referring to liberalism although that is a big danger.

I propose that we make Divorce the new tobacco. A recent study released by The Heritage Foundation and available here documents the high cost to our society.

For one thing, divorce has become an epidemic in our society,

...in 1950 for every hundred children born, that year, 12 entered a broken family --- four were born out of wedlock and eight suffered the divorce of their parents. By the year 2000 that number had risen five fold and for every 100 children born 60 entered a broken family: 33 born out of wedlock and 27 suffering the divorce of their parents.

The article goes on to summarize the huge emotional impact,

The children of parents who reject each other suffer: in deep emotional pain, ill health, depression, anxiety, even shortened life span; more drop out of school, less go to college, they earn less income, they develop more addictions to drugs and alcohol, and they engage in increased violence or suffer it within their homes.

This excellent article from The Heritage Foundation only scratches the surface of problems caused by divorce. In fact, the effects are so well documented and well reported that you'll find thousands of sites on the web reporting on it's damage.

Realistically, I know Divorce won't become "The New Tobacco". Obviously we can't sue people and force them to stay together and there are circumstances where divorce is the preferable option. Still, it would be nice if we could figure out a way to help people remain in committed marriages with all of the benefits to their children, themselves and to the rest of the society.

The Heritage Foundation report sums it up this way:

In this time of an obvious failure of one phase of America’s experiment with freedom, the challenge before you, the leaders of this nation, is how to lead America back to having a culture of belonging rather than being a culture of rejection; to being a country where people and families belong to each other and especially fathers belong first to the mothers of their children and mothers belong first to the fathers. Parents belonging to each other are what children need more than anything else this nation can give them.

American Pride under Attack

Athletes for the US Olympic team have been warned not to get too exuberant in waving their country's flag at the Olympics in Athens. Officials from the US Olympic Committee are afraid we're going to anger those from other countries. So says a story in today's Telegraph newspaper,

The spectacle of victorious athletes grabbing a national flag and parading it around the stadium is a familiar part of international sporting competition, but US Olympic officials have ordered their 550-strong team to exercise restraint and avoid any jingoistic behaviour. [source]

According to a consultant for the US Olympic committee, such displays are likely to cause problems with our "image" around the world...

As a proud American this type of thing sickens me. I've always thought that part of the rationale behind the olympics was to allow countries to have a sense of national pride and thereby avoid other types of conflicts involving guns and bullets. Perhaps, we should allow people from some of the more "unfortunate" countries to win gold medals. That might make them feel really good about the USA.

It isn't sportsmanlike conduct to taunt other teams, however, if we can't celebrate our victories as Americans then what's the point of even being at the olympics? Our athletes are risking their very lives by even appearing at the olympics. Yet they aren't supposed to celebrate their wins?

It seems to me that there's another agenda at play here and it comes from the same people who are always wringing their hands over the reaction of the "international community". What they don't seem to understand is that part of the reason America is so great is that we don't follow the other nations. Throughout world history we've done things our way.

When we win at the olympics we represent the power of individual freedom and democracy to bring out the best in people. There are those from other countries who will never accept such a thing, but the vast majority of the world's population wants what we have. The elitists would have us "dumb ourselves down" to avoid making any waves. What they suggest is a recipe for failure.

I'm proud of America and American's victories. I hope they inspire other countries to become more like us. The last thing we need is to become more like them.

Since registration is required, the rest of the article from the Telegraph is below:

The plan is part of a charm offensive aimed at repairing the country's international reputation following the deepening crisis in Iraq and damaging revelations of torture and mistreatment of detainees by US forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.

"American athletes find themselves in extraordinary circumstances in Athens in relation to the world as we know it right now," said Mike Moran, a veteran former spokesman for the US Olympic Committee who has been retained as a consultant to advise athletes about the correct way to behave.

"Regardless of whether there is anti-American sentiment in Athens or not, the world watches Americans a lot now in terms of how they behave and our culture. What I am trying to do with the athletes and coaches is to suggest to them that they consider how the normal things they do at an event, including the Olympics, might be viewed as confrontational or insulting or cause embarrassment."

Four years ago, at the Sydney Olympics, the victorious American 4 x 100m relay team were widely condemned for their arrogant strutting with the US flag following their gold medal presentation, and American officials, mindful of the country's precarious standing in world opinion, are desperate to avoid any repeat.

"Unfortunately, using the flag as a prop or a piece of apparel or indulging in boasting behaviour is becoming part of our society in sport because every night on TV we see our athletes - professional, college or otherwise - taunting their opponents and going face to face with each other," said Mr Moran. "We are trying, for 17 days, to break that culture.

"What I am telling the athletes is, 'Don't run over and grab a flag and take it round the track with you.' It's not business as usual for American athletes. If a Kenyan or a Russian grabs their national flag and runs round the track or holds it high over their heads, it might not be viewed as confrontational. Where we are in the world right now, an American athlete doing that might be viewed in another manner."

Mr Moran added that the behaviour of British athletes could face similar scrutiny in Athens, though the British Olympic Association insists that there are no plans to ban them from celebrating with the Union flag.

A spokesman for the association said: "It's up to every athlete how he or she wishes to celebrate their Olympic success and there are no plans to issue any instructions. We are confident that every athlete will celebrate in a responsible way."

The US Olympic Committee's anxiety at over-exuberant displays of jingoism is a far cry from the scenes at the 2002 Winter Olympics, hosted by Salt Lake City, where the American flag became the defining symbol of the Games.

A different environment awaits the American team in Athens, where officials are anxious to replace apple pie with humble pie.

Americans were booed at the World Athletics Championships in Paris last year - largely as a result of Jon Drummond's histrionic protest at his disqualification from a heat of the 100 metres. And at an Olympic football qualifying match in Mexico earlier this year the American team was subjected to sustained barracking by a section of the crowd, including chants of "Osama, Osama".

Despite the extra burden being placed on American athletes, officials still predict a US medal haul of more than 100, and have made it their target to finish top of the medals table. The irony is that finishing the Games as the most powerful nation is unlikely to endear them to the rest of the world.

"We're not the favourite kid in the world right now," admitted Bill Martin, the US Olympic Committee's acting president.

"We are sensitive not only to the security issue but to jingoism in its raw sense. That is why we are sending people around to educate the athletes as to the appropriate behaviour."

from The Sunday Telegraph

Do It With Passion

Condi Rice spoke at Vanderbilt University on Thursday for it's commencement. Of course, there was much hue and cry from many on campus who don't feel it's appropriate to have a Republican (gasp!) speak at a commencement. Protest letters and petitions were circulated and signed by many faculty, including the chancellor's wife.

It's nice to know that free speech and the expression of "diverse" views is so welcomed on college campuses these days...

One of the letters written to protest Rice's visit was from the Wesley Society. It read,

"And because the administration she serves shamefully co-opts religious images and ideals to further justify its ideological objectives in the world, I am saddened that Vanderbilt University is not taking a more prophetic stance against such wanton abuse of power," wrote the Rev. Mark Forrester of the university's Wesley Foundation and United Methodist Foundation. [Source]

Let me take this time to go off on a little tangent.

I've probably mentioned on this blog before how absolutely distasteful I find it when clergy are more interested in politics than in the spiritual well-being of the people they are supposed to serve. Rev. Forrester seems to be one of those people. You can see a picture of him here. Also, if you are so inclined, please feel free to email the Rev at: m.forrester@vanderbilt.edu to tell him what an ass he is. Also, it would be interesting to find out if he thinks any of the 400,000 people buried in mass graves all over Iraq would find it to be a "wanton abuse of power" to overthrow Saddam's regime. Okay, that's the end of my rant. Back to the rest of the post...

The story about Condi Rice does have a happy ending though.

The Chancellor held his ground and didn't cancel the speech. Excerpts have been posted here which I found thanks to a post here.

From what I've seen the speech was an excellent one. According to the Vanderbilt University website here, Rice received a standing ovation and lengthy rounds of applause from the more than 10,000 people in attendance.

Condi Rice is a great woman. She gave up a career as a concert pianist to study the political science of Russia. She ended her speech by saying, "Whatever you do, do it with passion."

Nothing But Fear Itself

CBS is the network I love to hate. As far as liberal bias is concerned the gloves have come off for the media elite. They don't even pretend to be balanced anymore. (It's an election year afterall.) If all you watch is the major broadcast networks then you're living in a parallel universe divorced from the stringent demands of reality.

A new website documents the bias present at CBS and especially, it's main news anchor, Dan Rather. Fittingly the site is called, Rather Biased.

In a story posted today (here), they make the point that the last several years CBS and Dan Rather have really ramped up the Fear Factor on their weekend news broadcasts...

I've noticed that fear is a big item during the week on all the newscasts as well. This is especially evident in all of the health based reporting. Someone who watches these shows and buys into this stuff might as well be a hypochondriac. "Womens" health problems seem to be featured quite a bit.

On an additional note, Rather Biased and others have noticed the vast difference in the coverage of the Nick Berg beheading vs. the salacious pictures out of Abu Ghraib. I'm not advocating showing the video on network television. I have no desire to watch it. However, it's amazing how quickly Nick Berg's story fell off the front page and top of the news.

This just goes to show that it isn't just the slant on the news stories, but even the choice of what's covered and how much time it's given.

Incidentally, I passed a small pickup truck the other day on the interstate. It's bumpers were covered with stickers cheering on various liberal causes. Included was a sticker that said, "What liberal bias?" The guy driving looked to be about the right age to have been around during the Vietnam era. I really wanted to give him the finger until I remembered a couple of key points. First, Christians aren't supposed to do such things and secondly, this is America and one of the great things about it is that we can still hold idiotic views without being persecuted.

He must be one of those people who gets their news from the broadcast networks.

Evangelist Squirrel

I rarely open the little jokes that people seem to enjoy forwarding to their friends, neighbors, and anyone with whom they've even had a passing contact. Unless they're from a certain friend - then I know they will really be funny.

The following link goes to the Evangelist squirrel. It's pretty funny and it's good for a Friday laugh.
Revival!

If you're a religious person that has no sense of humor, move along, there's nothing for you here.

One Question

I raised my hand and surprisingly he called on me, "Yes, JD?" I spoke up, trying to sound as newspaperly as possible, "Mr. President, how can you ever hope to stabilize a country when you don't have it's borders sealed?" and then like an old pro I piggybacked another question on top of that one, "It seems the moment you get a group neutralized, another bunch of foreign fighters crawls over the border and settles in. Do you have further plans for securing the Iraqi border?"

Of course, the whole thing I'm describing is fictitious, but I've never heard a good answer. Don't get me wrong. I support the President and the war in Iraq, but this whole topic seems to be common sense to me and I'm wondering why it isn't to anyone else.

Achieve New Lows!

Not much of a joiner? Me either. I can spout the company line when necessary, but I've never been, as they say, very "Rah, Rah!" I'd like to think I maintain a healthy sense of cynicism.

That's why I've always enjoyed demotivators. There are so many good ones to choose from but my favorite goes like this,
"Hard work often pays off over time, but laziness pays off now."

You should really look at them all, including the graphics, to get a feel for how they can inspire you to new lows.

Some of my favorites:
Underachievement
Mediocrity
Incompetence
Arrogance
...and many, many more.

Interview FAQ

So far I've posted eight interviews with bloggers who are part of The Blogdom of God. The Blogdom of God is a loose group of Blogs that identify themselves as 'God blogs'. For those who are interested, this is the FAQ for those interviews.

What's up with the interviewing thing?

I could act like I do the interviews for the good of humanity or some altruistic reason, but that's not it. I do them because it's a great way to get links from other sites. There's also a second reason. I enjoy doing it. For me, it's interesting to find out a little about the people doing the posting. I find it interesting to see what people think about various issues as well as their rationale for believing them. I'm amazed at the differences between the Blogdom of God blogs as well as the common beliefs.

Why do you only interview Blogdom of God bloggers?

Well, I ripped off the idea of doing interviews from Jen's History and Stuff. However, I thought I had something different to add since I could come from a Christian perspective. Interviewing only Blogdom of God blogs gives me a nice little niche and I hope Jen doesn't mind.

How do you decide who to interview?

First, at the bottom of every interview I invite people to drop me an email if they'd like to participate. I've had a few people do that. Second, I look around at the Blogdom of God blogs and when I see someone that looks kind of interesting I send them an email and ask if they're willing to participate. So far, no one's turned me down although I did have one person who never responded.

How do you decide on the questions?

I go to the bloggers site, read their "about" page, read old posts they've written and whatever else I can dig up about them. The questions are based on what I learn. There are a few standard questions that I always use though.

Besides getting more hits, what do you try to accomplish with the interviews?

Since the blogger has spent their valuable time responding to my pesky questions, I want to make sure they get something out of the interview. I want the interview to serve as a platform for them to promote their ideas and their blog. I'm careful to link to their site at both the begining and end of the interview and I keep a running list of links to past interviews.

What happens if an interviewee doesn't agree with your opinions?

I disagree with nearly all of them on at least some points. I've been really tempted to editorialize and add my own comments. However, I decided that this is their chance to promote their blog and I post their responses as written, without any additional comment from me.

Do you expect the interviewed blogger to reciprocate in some way?

No. It's nice if they do, but that's not a condition of the interview. What I really like is if they promote the interview on their own blog and also give me a permanent link from their page, but if they choose not to do so that's okay too.

Is there anything that has surprised you about the interviews?

Yes. I'm amazed at how willing people are to answer the questions. I come up with some goofy questions, but so far everyone's been a good sport. The second thing that's amazed me is how many Catholic bloggers are out there.

Who's next?

Well, I'm looking forward to getting some responses from Parablemania and I plan to ask Uncle Sam's Cabin. Otherwise, I haven't decided on anyone else.

Any more questions? Let me know.

If you haven't read previous Blogdom of God interviews, check them out here:
Josh Claybourn
Adrian Warnock
Fr. Jim Tucker (Dappled Things)
SecretAgentMan
Totem to Temple
LaShawn Barber
Antioch Road
Ryan's Head

-JDM