A Huzzah for This Archbishop!

AP: Nigeria archbishop urges Christians to defend themselves against Muslims

(Link via In Between Naps.)

Ceremonial Delinking

The latest controversy in blogdom is bloggers publicly delinking other bloggers for either disagreeing with them or for linking to blogs that they don’t like.

This whole thing is so high-school. If I refused to link to any bloggers who linked to blogs I don’t like, I’d probably have nobody in my blogroll. And I don’t by any means agree 100 percent of the time with those I link to.

I have dropped links in the past, but only because they had become dormant. If I ever drop anyone for any other reason, I certainly won’t state that reason publicly. There’s no point in that, except to be petty and attempt to embarrass the delinked blogger.

I wish some of these bloggers would get their egos under control and grow up a little bit.

New Template

I've been sick with a bad cold the past few days. When I felt like sitting up at the computer, I put together this new template. I don't know what came over me...maybe it's the cold medicine. Coincidentally, it seems like a lot of other bloggers have been changing their templates, too. Anyway, I hope this template is better than the old one.

Yet another quiz...

What Type Of Retro Gal Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

"You are the classy pin-up! You are everything sophisticated and refined about the entire era. You exude class and dignity."

(Via Joshua Claybourn and Jane Galt).

Disgusting

That's my reaction to this Planned (Un)Parenthood "Holiday Card" (there's no way I could call it a Christmas card). This reminds me of something. A few years ago, there was a pro-choice benefit album that consisted of some alternative rock artists covering various Christmas songs. The album was entitled...get this...O Come All Ye Faithful.

While on this subject...I agree with Mark Shea that there will be a ban on PBAs. While I believe that most voters do not support making all abortion illegal, most people do see PBAs for what they are -- barbaric and cruel. The only people defending PBAs are the most militant, rabid pro-aborts. I agree with the strategy of quietly working to ban PBAs, therefore forcing the Democrats to be the ones to make a big deal about PBAs. They will be put in a position where they will either have to defend this "procedure," or admit that it's indefensible (which will put them at odds with pro-abortion extremists like NOW).

Daschle Gets Shrill

This is really rich, coming from one of the leaders of a party that portrayed President Bush shoving an old lady in a wheelchair down some stairs.

Mean Dean and Bryan Preston have more to say about this.

I Hate Netscape!

I just looked at my blog in Netscape 6 and found out the changes I recently made look like crap. I was attempting to make the blog text adjust to whatever screen resolution you're using. However, in Netscape, the lines do not wrap...they just keep going. Sorry about that, Netscape users. I'll try to fix it tomorrow.

Update: It looks like the culprit was that theology quiz. I took out all the table formatting code...should be fine now.

Oooh...Pretty!

Who ever thought that pistols could be works of art? My personal favorite is this one.

(Via Cut on the Bias.)

Must-Read Column

I've had a rant brewing in my head about this subject for quite a while. However, Michelle Malkin says it far better than I could in this column: "A generation of skanks."

(Via Nealz Nuze.)

Very appropriate...

"Sin is incurable by the strength of man, nor does free will have any validity here, so that even the saints say: 'The evil which I do not wish, this I do.' 'You are not doing the things which you wish.' 'Since my loins are filled with illusions,' etc."
You are Martin Luther!
Yeah, you have a way of letting everyone know how you feel, usually with Bible quotes attached, and will think your way through the issues, although sometimes you make no sense! You aren't always sure of yourself, and you can change your mind about things, something you actually consider a strength. You can take solitude, especially with some music.

What theologian are you?
A creation of Henderson

(Via Heal Your Church Web Site.)

Bizarre thing seen on the Web today...

I absolutely cannot find the words to describe this.

Tweaking the Style Sheet and Template

If this blog looks funny (or funnier than usual) the next couple of days, it's because I'm making a few changes to the style sheet and template.

Abortion and Politics

I understand Amy Welborn's frustration. I would love to see Roe v. Wade thrown out tomorrow. I would love for society to respect unborn life. But that isn't reality. Let's face facts here...people support the Republicans because of defense and economic reasons. The American people, for the most part, get very squeamish when it comes to social conservatism, especially on the subject of abortion. Roe v. Wade has been the law of the land for nearly thirty years. People may not necessary approve of abortion, but they don't want to see it become illegal. What I'm trying to say here is that most voters are simply not supportive of the pro-life cause. That is the sad reality. And that's why the GOP has been backing away from abortion as an issue the last few years. If it's emphasized too much, it's a loser of an issue because it turns most voters off. Any progress on overturning Roe v. Wade must be done incrementally. If you push too hard, you will never get rid of legalized abortion.

I know I probably come off sounding like a cold pragmatist. I used to strongly disagree with people who said what I just said above. But that was before I started seeing the world as it is, rather than how I wish it would be.

Update: Joshua Claybourn has a good roundup of posts on this subject.

JYB's Bryan Preston expresses similar thoughts to mine in this post and in this column for Relevant.

Eve Tushnet also has a good post about this subject. She's more optimistic than I am about changing the tide of public opinion.

A rare, grumpy morning post...

You would think people would have figured this out by now, but obviously not, so I'm going to say this as a public service. Forwarding certain emails to however many people will not cause a funny video clip to come up on your screen. It ain't gonna happen. Nobody will send you money for forwarding emails either. And while I'm on the subject, please do not forward chain-mails promising death and destruction if I break the chain. I have broken every chain sent to me and my luck isn't any worse than usual. Thank you in advance.

Bob Crane -- A Sad, Sordid Story

Old Oligarch reviews the new movie about the life and death of Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane. The film documents Crane's gradual slide into the dark world of pornography and sex addiction. It is often said that addiction eventually results in death. This was certainly the case for Crane. Old Oligarch concludes:

...The whole tragedy of Bob Crane is how his addiction embarrassed and alienated those around him. This wonderfully witty, talented, generous and humane man pained so many people with the wicked products of his addiction that it ruined his career, his marriage and ultimately his life. If he had only been brave enough to repent, and to pull the hooks from his eyes, he would have lived to be a better husband, father and actor, instead of making that hopeless, sordid, bloody end, alone and empty in a Scottsdale hotel room.

I recommend reading the whole post -- it's excellent.

Are you sick of the phrase, "root causes?"

I know I am. If you need an antidote to all the braying about "root causes," I suggest this post on Horsefeathers: Madmen in the Room.

(Link via Daily Pundit.)

Catching Up

There's been several things I've wanted to blog about for the past few days, but I've been either too busy or too tired. I'm going to try to post some of those things today.

To All Veterans...

Thank you for your service to America. Thank you for protecting her freedom...and ours.

Post Election Day Comments

Needless to say, I'm very happy with the results of yesterday's elections. I'm no pundit, but I believe that the American people are saying to those elected: "Defend this country from our enemies. Do not take away our right to self-defense. Respect the Constitution. Let us keep more of our own money." Let's hope that the Republicans do not squander this opportunity given them.

Founding Father Quiz

Which Founding Father Are You?

Election Day Thoughts

I’ve heard that some areas are using touch-screen technology for voting this year. I don't think this a good thing. For one thing, technology like that scares and confuses some people. For example, the other day my sister had to help an elderly couple figure out how to use an ATM that had just been switched to a touch-screen system. They kept trying and trying, with the line behind them growing longer and longer, but they just didn't get it.

Another reason I don’t think purely electronic ballots are a good idea is that there should be some tangible record of the votes. Yes, the old-fashioned punch machines used in some areas of South Florida helped contribute to the fiasco of two years ago. But I don’t think going to the other extreme is the answer either.

I think my county here in Northwest Florida has a very good system that combines technology with paper ballots. The ballot consists of incomplete arrows next to each selection. You use a marker pen to complete the arrows next to the candidates or other items you wish to vote for (or against). When you’re finished, you tear off the top of the ballot at the perforation, hand it to the poll worker, and then feed the main part of the ballot into a scanner as the poll worker watches. The number on the scanner increments and you hear a beep. You’re then finished. My description of this method is probably not very good, so here’s an example using a sample ballot I have:

Here is the section of the ballot where you can vote for the Governor of Florida:

Here is what a properly filled in selection looks like (and you can see my own biases here):

The turnout seemed to be pretty good (at least judging from my precinct) despite the nasty weather. Another thing about voting in my county -- you must produce a picture ID and your voter registration card before receiving a ballot. From what I understand, some areas don’t require that much identification. No wonder there’s so much voter fraud.

Update to previous post...

It appears my cable internet connection is back to its normal speed. I emailed tech support and they gave me a list of things to try, one of which was to unplug my modem, leave it off for a minute, and then plug it back in so that it can go through its reset routine. This seemed to do the trick. Why this reset wasn't accomplished by my usual nightly shutdown, I have no idea.

Technical Difficulties

I think there's something wrong with my cable internet. It's been very slow for the past three days. I don't like to call tech support the minute something goes wrong, so I was waiting to see if the problem might clear up. It hasn't, so I guess I'll have to contact Cox about this. Ugh.

I'm also sick of having to go through an elaborate process to get Blogger to update my archives correctly. Unfortunately, I can't use Movable Type on this ISP webspace (yes, I already checked). I really don't want to get a hosting plan for this blog right now, so I guess I'll have to put up with this for the time being.

This is pretty obvious...

(Via Spleenville.)