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Changes, Part Deux
The changes to the template, to which I alluded earlier, will be forthcoming. However, Blogger is being a real bitch about publishing anything as of late. It's taken 6 tries just to publish this simple post.
Changes
I'm in the process of reworking the template for this blog, so things may act a little funky for the next day or so.
Shiny new sidebar image
In support of GayPatriot and LimeShurbet, I have added a new image on my sidebar. It will remain for the forseeable future.
The assault on gay conservatives continues
Blogosphere Jihad Continues: Another Blog SilencedMarch 29, 2005 Gay activist Michael Rogers, of Blogactive.com, continues to target critics in an ongoing saga of an online jihad within the blogosphere. This time the target was LimeShurbet.com, a blog whose site was taken down overnight by the site's commercial service provider. According to sources, LimeShurbert had taken GayPatriot's "WANTED: GAY TERRORISTS" post and created his own "wanted poster" targeting Michael Rogers and John Aravosis (Americablog). Rogers alerted the service provider which then shut the site down. Here is a message from LimeShurbet.com's blog author, Robert Shurbet: I will be back, content intact one way or another. Michael Rogers has tried to silence a voice of dissent. He will fail. UPDATE 3:16PM - Robert Shurbert posted the following on Haloscan: Show your support for GayPatriot by placing the "WANTED" banner from my sidebar on your blog. GayPatriot deserves to have his voice heard! All gay conservatives have a voice that needs to be heard too! The gay community is not a "liberals only" club any more than the Republican party is for "straights only." It is high-time gay conservatives and those that support them speak out against the terrorist tactics employed by Michael Rogers! Don't let Michael Rogers silence a voice of opposition. He can try to silence one - he cannot silence many.
Medal of Honor Memorial vandalized
I guess the left is bound and determined to make sure that absolutely no one listens to whatever message it is they are trying to convey.
Vandals deface Medal of Honor site
Two glass panels broken, graffiti spray-painted on structure along the Downtown canal that honors America's war heroes.
By Rob Schneider
rob.schneider@indystar.com
March 29, 2005
Vandals damaged two glass panels at the Medal of Honor Memorial and spray-painted graffiti on buildings and walls along the Downtown canal in White River State Park.
The IPALCO Foundation, which pays for the upkeep of the memorial, has put up a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those involved, said Susan Hanafee, a board member of the foundation.
The attack was discovered this morning.
The vandals spray-painted obscene words about America, President Bush and Gov. Mitch Daniels, as well as peace symbols and other signs on walls near the memorial and under a bridge along the canal.
Besides the memorial, the other area hardest hit was the front of the administration building to the Indiana State Museum, where workers were out trying to sandblast the words off the building's walls.
The Capitol Police are investigating.
The nation's only memorial to Medal of Honor recipients was dedicated in 1999. The names of 3,410 Medal of Honor winners are etched on glass panels.
Falwell hospitalized for possible heart attack
I don't normally wish bad things upon people, but in this case, I'm willing to make an exception. Granted, I won't cheer if he dies, but what I plan to leave on his grave won't exactly pass for flowers. Mr. Falwell, when you finally leave this world to take the place you've earned for yourself in Hell, could you also take your pals Pat Robertson and Fred Phelps with you? It would be greatly appreciated. UpdateCNN says his condition is unknown. Update IITurns out it's just a relapse of pneumonia. Oh, well, there's always next time.
The party of "tolerance".
Enough, already
Normally, I like to blog about current events. Lately, however, every news outlet imaginable - even the overseas outlets - are flooded with "Terri Shiavo this" and "Terri Shiavo that." I have refrained from posting my opinion of the Schiavo scenario, and will continue to refrain from doing so, but is it too much to ask that this "controversy" not completely overshadow everything else going on in this damn world? This is like the fucking OJ trial all over again; I couldn't get away from it even on the other side of the world.
Bring 'Em On, Part Deux
As a follow up for this post from March 3rd, Michelle Malkin has an update on the FEC trying to use McCain/Feingold to regulate political bloggers. When Bradley Smith blew the whistle on this flagrant assault on the First Amendment, he was dismissed as being barking mad. Well, it turns out that Smith wasn't the one who's barking. Mike Krempasky of RedState has acquired a .pdf of the draft in which the FEC was beginning to outline its intent to regulate the online blogging community. This is a deliberate assault on the First Amendment that should be of serious concern to all bloggers, regardless of political affiliation.
Does this mean I can sue Creationists?
I'm going to laugh long and loud into the face of anyone who tells me that the modern-day Republican party stands for a smaller and less intrusive government. It's practically impossible to tell the difference between Republicans and Democrats these days.
Capitol bill aims to control ‘leftist’ profs
THE LAW COULD LET STUDENTS SUE FOR UNTOLERATED BELIEFS.
By JAMES VANLANDINGHAM
Alligator Staff Writer
TALLAHASSEE — Republicans on the House Choice and Innovation Committee voted along party lines Tuesday to pass a bill that aims to stamp out “leftist totalitarianism” by “dictator professors” in the classrooms of Florida’s universities.
The Academic Freedom Bill of Rights, sponsored by Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, passed 8-to-2 despite strenuous objections from the only two Democrats on the committee.
The bill has two more committees to pass before it can be considered by the full House.
While promoting the bill Tuesday, Baxley said a university education should be more than “one biased view by the professor, who as a dictator controls the classroom,” as part of “a misuse of their platform to indoctrinate the next generation with their own views.”
The bill sets a statewide standard that students cannot be punished for professing beliefs with which their professors disagree. Professors would also be advised to teach alternative “serious academic theories” that may disagree with their personal views.
According to a legislative staff analysis of the bill, the law would give students who think their beliefs are not being respected legal standing to sue professors and universities.
Students who believe their professor is singling them out for “public ridicule” – for instance, when professors use the Socratic method to force students to explain their theories in class – would also be given the right to sue.
“Some professors say, ‘Evolution is a fact. I don’t want to hear about Intelligent Design (a creationist theory), and if you don’t like it, there’s the door,’” Baxley said, citing one example when he thought a student should sue.
Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, warned of lawsuits from students enrolled in Holocaust history courses who believe the Holocaust never happened.
Similar suits could be filed by students who don’t believe astronauts landed on the moon, who believe teaching birth control is a sin or even by Shands medical students who refuse to perform blood transfusions and believe prayer is the only way to heal the body, Gelber added.
“This is a horrible step,” he said. “Universities will have to hire lawyers so our curricula can be decided by judges in courtrooms. Professors might have to pay court costs — even if they win — from their own pockets. This is not an innocent piece of legislation.”
The staff analysis also warned the bill may shift responsibility for determining whether a student’s freedom has been infringed from the faculty to the courts.
But Baxley brushed off Gelber’s concerns. “Freedom is a dangerous thing, and you might be exposed to things you don’t want to hear,” he said. “Being a businessman, I found out you can be sued for anything. Besides, if students are being persecuted and ridiculed for their beliefs, I think they should be given standing to sue.”
During the committee hearing, Baxley cast opposition to his bill as “leftists” struggling against “mainstream society.”
“The critics ridicule me for daring to stand up for students and faculty,” he said, adding that he was called a McCarthyist.
Baxley later said he had a list of students who were discriminated against by professors, but refused to reveal names because he felt they would be persecuted.
Rep. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, argued universities and the state Board of Governors already have policies in place to protect academic freedom. Moreover, a state law outlining how professors are supposed to teach would encroach on the board’s authority to manage state schools.
“The big hand of state government is going into the universities telling them how to teach,” she said. “This bill is the antithesis of academic freedom.”
But Baxley compared the state’s universities to children, saying the legislature should not give them money without providing “guidance” to their behavior.
“Professors are accountable for what they say or do,” he said. “They’re accountable to the rest of us in society … All of a sudden the faculty think they can do what they want and shut us out. Why is it so unheard of to say the professor shouldn’t be a dictator and control that room as their totalitarian niche?”
In an interview before the meeting, Baxley said “arrogant, elitist academics are swarming” to oppose the bill, and media reports misrepresented his intentions.
“I expect to be out there on my own pretty far,” he said. “I don’t expect to be part of a team.”
House Bill H-837 can be viewed online at www.flsenate.gov.
Democrats show their "support" for the troops
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Everyone pretty much knows that I've been watching the new Battlestar Galactica series on Sci-Fi. Well, I've been downloading all the episodes I can get my hands on. Since the series has just finished its first season in England, I've been able to get episodes that haven't aired in the US. As a result, I have just finished watching the season finale, which is airing in the US over the next two weeks. The finale was so engrossing, I found myself yeling at my computer in frustration because of the cliffhanger ending that came completely out of the blue. The new season better start pretty damn soon.
Ladies and Gentlemen
In keeping with the traditions of Godwin's Law, I hereby present to you Bushwin's Law. Bushwin's Law states that, when having an online discussion with a moonbat, regardless of the topic, the probability of "Bush Lied" being invoked approaches 1. When Bushwin's Law is invoked, the topic is considered to be "Bushed." The invoker automatically loses the thread - unless the original premise of the topic at hand is about Bush having lied. Anyone who invokes both Bushwin and Godwin in the same post is considered to be a total loser.
From the New York Slimes
Bush failed to secure WMDs. Wait a minute. I thought the MSM cannard was that the WMDs didn't exist. Someone needs to make up their mind.
Where do I stand?
A while back, I posted my position regarding a number of different topics. Going back over my blog, I have found that I've covered everything from political beliefs to some personal issues that have arisen. I guess the time has come to once again go over my political and philosophical beliefs. First and foremost, I don't go for this uber-sensitive garbage. If you're looking to find political correctness on this blog, just keep moving on to somewhere else because you won't find any of that crap here. In everything that happens, we have a choice on how we react, including whether or not to choose to be offended. Someone once said that "Real power is the ability to pause between stimulus and response, and in that pause, choose." If merely reading, seeing, or hearing something you don't like is enough to cause you to automatically be offended, then you should just go ahead and pop about 20 valium. I'm sure you'll feel much better in about half an hour. From this point on, I'm going to itemize my beliefs for easier reading. If you find any of these to be offensive, then go see your doctor about some valium.
- Welfare: Welfare was intended, at inception, to be helping hand to those who need it, not the way of life it has become. One of the few (very few) things that Bill Clinton ever did right was to push for welfare reform and turn it back over to the states instead of it being doled out by the federal Mommy State.
- Religion: You're free to worship whomever you choose. You could choose to worship Beppo the Wonder Monkey if you wish, but that doesn't mean the rest of us should have to care. There isn't a religion around today that's not trying to pull the line of "Waaah! Waaah! I'm being persecuted because I'm Christian/Jewish/Muslim/Whatever!" Get over yourselves already. No one is persecuting you, so get off your cross.
Oh, and for the record, I do not subscribe to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, or any of that claptrap.
- Sexuality: What consenting non-related adults (notice the operative words here) do in the privacy of their own home is their own business and nobody else's. If you're straight, that's fine. If you're gay, that's fine, too
Too many people are working themselves into a tizzy over the fact that somone might be enjoying life in a way that they, personally, do not approve. Religionists (especially Christians and Muslims) are notorious for this.
- Same-Sex Marriage: This is one topic where I happen to piss everyone off. Marriage is a religious institution in which the State should not be involved. It is my personal belief that the State should have no hand in religious affairs. Whether or not a church wishes to endorse same-sex marriages, that's their business. Personally speaking, I see no need for a slip of paper - from either a church or the State - to legitimize any of my relationships.
- Church and State: The State has no business inserting itself into the affairs of any church, regardless of the faith or denomination. At the same time, no god (pick one, any one) belongs in government. Keep in the church or in the home where it belongs.
- Taxes: As it stands right now, we pay taxes on what we make, what we spend, and what we don't spend. Pretty soon, the government will find a way to tax us on what we don't make. Oh, wait, they already do that - it's called "property tax."
Our current tax system is unfair in that it treats people differently for various reasons. A more fair system should be implemented, like replacing it with either a flat tax (absolutely no loopholes, shelters, or exemptions PERIOD) or (preferably) a national sales tax. The reason I say a national sales tax is a good idea is that it is a tax on consumerism. Rich people buy more, so they pay more in tax. People who aren't rich buy less, and thus pay less in taxes.
For more information, go to FairTax.org.
- Healthcare: Speaking as someone who used to work in the healthcare field, I can tell you why the cost of good healthcare in this country is so damned expensive: the unholy trinity of insurance companies, ambulance-chasing lawyers, and a gullible public with a belief that they're entitled to something. Doctors weren't able to save the life of your 70 year-old-mother whose been smoking for 60 years, has emphesema, cancer, diabetes, and bad acne? Well, just go get a lawyer and sue! Enter the malpractice insurance agency who will, more often than not, go ahead settle out of court to save costs on a court battle - even in the case of an unwarranted lawsuit. Then you have personal health insurance comapnies who charge you an arm, a leg, and one testicle to provide "affordable" healthcare - at the discretion of some brainless bureaucrat, and, if you should actually happen to use that insurance for its intended purpose, they raise your rates to cover their costs.
If you think the above situation is bad, wait until the Left manages to get government involved in the form of "universal" or "one-payer" healthcare! Historically, any time the government intevenes for "the public good," things go right to hell. Now, not only will we be paying for everyone's healthcare - in the form of higher taxes - we'll also be paying for the bloated bureacracy that will inevitably be needed to run this monstrocity.
- Iraq: I regret that we have to be there now when we could have been finished with this mess back in 1991. Don't confuse me with some pro-war chickenhawk. Having been in the military, and having served in the first Gulf War, I know what things are like over there, what the people are like, how they are treated, etc. When we pulled out back after the Gulf War, I made the prediction that we'd be back within fifteen years. Also, I can pretty much say that, those who have seen war, never want to see it again, but that does not prevent of from doing what is necessary, no matter how much we may not want to do it.
- Second Amendment Rights: What part of "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." is so difficult to understand?
- Partisan Politics: Give me a friggin break here. George Washington had it right when he said that there should be no political parties in the US. Parties lead to an inherent divisivness, which has never been more apparent that it is today. Issues are far more important than parties; a concept that brainless partisans seem to have difficulty understanding.
Let us take the two major parties in the US, the Democratic party and the Republican party, as examples. Fundamentally, there is very little difference between the two. The Democratic party has embraced socialism, while the Republican party has embraced theocracy. Both parties seek to use the legislative (and sometimes the judicial) process to push their disparate brands of "morality" upon the masses. While their goals may be different, the end result is the same: Statist intrusion into the private lives of American citizens.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Dan
Kofi Annan lets us know whose side he's on
It seems that Mr. Annan is bound and determined to destroy what little remaining credibility that the UN posseses. Keep up the good work, Mr. Annan. Destroying the UN is a good and noble goal.
U.N. must accept Hezbollah, Annan says
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Tuesday, March 8, 2005 · Last updated 7:40 p.m. PT
U.N. must accept Hezbollah, Annan says
By EDITH M. LEDERER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations must recognize Hezbollah as a force to be reckoned with in implementing the U.N. resolution calling for the withdrawal of all Syrian forces from Lebanon and the disarmament of the country's militias, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday.
He was responding to a question about the disarmament of Hezbollah, which showed its strength Tuesday at a huge pro-Syrian rally in Beirut attended by hundreds of thousands of people who chanted anti-U.S. slogans. Two huge banners read in English: "Thank you Syria" and "No to foreign interference."
Annan said the world needs to accept that in every society different groups may hold different views.
"Of course, we need to be careful of the forces at work in Lebanese society as we move forward," he said.
"But even the Hezbollah - if I read the message on the placards they are using - they are talking about non-interference by outsiders ... which is not entirely at odds with the Security Council resolution, that there should be withdrawal of Syrian troops," Annan told reporters.
"But that having been said, we need to recognize that they are a force in society that one will have to factor in as we implement the resolution," he said.
The rally by the Hezbollah vastly outnumbered anti-Syrian rallies of the past weeks. The Syrian-backed Lebanese guerrilla group, which is funded by Iran, is the best armed and best organized faction in Lebanon and enjoys strong support among Lebanon's Shiite Muslim community.
Many of the signs at the rally in Riad Solh square denounced U.N. Security Council resolution 1559, which calls for Syrian troops and intelligence agents to leave Lebanon immediately and demands the disarming of militias, referring to Hezbollah.
Syrian soldiers entered Lebanon in 1976 to try to quell a civil war that began the previous year. They remained through 14 years of fighting that ended in 1990, and some 14,000 are still there, though they began redeploying from central Lebanon toward the border began late Tuesday.
WTF?
IForgiveOsama.comWhen will people learn that to forgive those who deliberately wrong you is to give them permission to do so again?
Blogger in the White House
I want to see how the anti-free speech left will try to spin this one.
White House Approves Pass for Blogger
Another signal moment for bloggers is to occur this morning, when Garrett M. Graff, who writes a blog about the news media in Washington, is to be ushered into the White House briefing room to attend the daily press "gaggle."
Mr. Graff, 23, may be the first blogger in the short history of the medium to be granted a daily White House pass for the specific purpose of writing a blog, or Web log. A White House spokesman said yesterday that he believed Mr. Graff was the first blogger to be given credentials.
He is being given a press pass as the editor of FishbowlDC
Back to School
Finally, after much procrastination, I have decided to go back to school. There are several reasons that affected my decision. Firstly, being told I wasn’t qualified to do a job simply because I was lacking a degree – despite the fact that I knew more than the entire IT department of the company at which I am applying for a position. Another reason is the fact that my Veteran’s benefits would be expiring soon, so I figured now would be a good time to use those benefits before I lost them forever. The decision to go back to school was out of a motivation for self-improvement. One needs a degree in order to get a better paying job, especially in my chosen field of expertise. It seems more people are focused on the worth of a piece of paper than they are on actual knowledge – thus the decision to return to school. Thirdly, I happen to actually enjoy learning new things. The choice to return to school, I feel, is a good one for me.
Something about "Pot" and "Kettle"
I saw this article, and the very first thing that entered my head was "WTF?" The idea of China blasting the US on Human Rights is laughable, at best. And, of course, the MSM is eating it up with a spoon.
Bring 'em on.
Hat tip to the lovely and talented Michelle Malkin. Those of us who opposed the assault on the First Amendment known as The McCain/Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act (hereafter called "CFR") saw this little travesty coming from a mile away. The Federal Election Commission is considering extending the CFR to include politically-oriented blogs that may link to a candidate's campaign website. Such an act takes the CFR's assault on the First Amendment to an entirely new level. As Mrs. Malkin states on her own blog, this is something that ahould be of concern to every memeber of the Blogosphere, regardless of political party affiliation or ideology. To ths asshats considering this abomination, I have only this to say: You can have my keyboard when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
I'll take "Irony" for $1000, Alex
Anti-gun activist arrested after firearm found at home By JASON PISCIA STAFF WRITER A Springfield woman who began lobbying against gun violence after her son was shot to death in 2002 was arrested last week when police allegedly found an illegal gun and drugs in her home. Annette "Flirty" Stevens, however, said Monday she's innocent, and the arrest is an attempt by police to get her to give up information about unsolved crime in the city. The handgun, which had a scratched-off serial number, and drugs allegedly were discovered Friday morning inside Stevens' home in the 2500 block of South 15th Street. Authorities said they obtained a search warrant for the residence as part of an ongoing investigation of a recent series of drive-by shootings. No one has been hurt in the gunplay. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted in the search. Although police declined to get into specifics, Stevens has a "close connection" with one of two feuding groups involved in the shootings, Lt. Rickey Davis said Monday. Stevens, 47, who is free on bond, admitted she does know some of the people allegedly involved in the drive-by shootings. But she said she only knows them because her interest in stopping gun violence - sparked by the shooting death of her son Jericko Clark, 20, on July 13, 2002 - has her in the neighborhoods talking to the youths. She said the police wrongly believe she is the ringleader of the shootings, and they think she has information to solve those cases, as well as others, including the December murder of Andre Ayers, 22, who was shot as a procession of cars wound through the city's east side. "This is a blatant attempt to try and undermine me," she said Monday night. "... They can't solve these crimes, and I'm familiar with these individuals, so they're going after me because I socialize with all of them." Davis said detectives working on the drive-by cases - which already have resulted in four arrests - began taking a closer look at Stevens after her name came up in interviews with witnesses and informants. "Basically, she has a close connection with individuals that have been involved in one side of these two groups that are feuding," Davis said, declining to elaborate. After finding the handgun and drugs, police arrested Stevens at her job. Stevens said she believes the search warrant was obtained illegally. She said no drugs were found in her home. And as for the gun, she admits to having it in the house. But she said it belonged to her son. She didn't find it until six or seven months after he died. Not knowing what to do with it, she wrapped it up, put it in a drawer and forgot about it. Contacted later, Davis said he had no comment on Stevens' statements. Since her son's death, Stevens has become involved in the anti-gun-violence movement. She helped establish and is president of a Springfield chapter of the Million Mom March, an organization that aims to prevent gun violence. Last fall, she appeared with other anti-gun advocates at a Statehouse news conference to urge federal officials to renew a ban against semiautomatic assault weapons. Jonathan Lackland, Midwest regional director of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the march's partner organization, said he was shocked to hear about Stevens' arrest. He wished to withhold comment on the case until he learned more about it, but he did say he knew Stevens was dedicated to the cause. "I know Miss Stevens, and I know her character," Lackland said. "I know after the death of her son, it really prompted her to jump full force into activism in terms of gun-violence prevention. "She has been a staunch supporter of gun-violence-prevention measures," Lackland added. "She has lived by (the theme of) 'I don't want anyone to go through the pain and misery I have gone through. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.'" Stevens has not been formally connected to any crime directly related to the drive-by shootings. But Friday's discoveries could lead to her being charged with defacing the identification marks on a handgun, manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance and having no valid firearm owner's ID card, police said.
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