New Blogger

It's A Matter Of Opinion joins Homespun. Check them out.

Best Of Homespun Bloggers July 25th, 2004

Daniel W. Casey's Blog

Hey Kids!  The Circus is coming to Town!

More news John Kerry didn't need. First there is the implosion of the
Joe-Wilson-Uranium-From-Niger-16-words-Bush-lied story, where now it appears
that even the New York Times has admitted that there was intelligence to indicate that Saddam sought Uranium in Africa. Then there is the burgeoning Sandy Berger scandal, which now even the Washington Post can't bury.


The Commons

Get Whitey, Indeed

You know, folks, racism exists. It's palpable. There are times and places where you look around and think, "Hmm, they just don't like that race here." Ever happen to you? "Hmm, they just don't like that race here." It's not just in the South, either, and not just some other crowd. Even your own crowd might sometime say, "We just don't like that race here." Think about it.

pacetown

This Talk of War…

I couldn't help but to think of Saddam Hussein and his pre-war rhetoric when reading this. Even the players - the US, the UK and the UN Security Council - were the same. I am currently reading Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, which chronicles histories of several Russian families during the Napoleonic Wars. The novel begins in 1805, when the Russian troops are beggining to march West in anticipation of Napoleon's onslaught. Certainly, there is much ambivalence expressed by the characters in the opening pages. One character notes, "The means are...the balance of power in Europe and the Rights of the People. It is only necessary for one powerful nation like Russia - barbaric as she is said to be - to place herself disinterestedly at the head of an alliance having for its object the maintenance of the balance of power in Europe, and it would save the wordl!"

The Doggy Diaries

Rep. Culberson of Texas Aims Legislative Amendment at Illegal Aliens

... Culberson's amendment would be a first good step towards reducing
the illegal alien population in this country. It is clear that our
President has no interest in solidifying and defending our borders. In the
absence of anything evenly remotely resembling enforcement of our
immigration policy, it makes sense that we should be doing everything in our
power to remove the tempting carrot from the eyesight of the horse; we
need to make it as difficult to live as an illegal alien in this
country as we possibly can.

MuD&PHuD

2nd Amendment

A good step was made today towards realigning our laws to respect the 2nd Amendment:

(CNSNews.com) - President Bush Thursday will sign the "National Concealed Carry for Cops" bill, a measure allowing about a million off-duty and retired officers to carry weapons out of plain sight.

And, in yet another waffle:

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry made a rare appearance in the Senate, coming off the campaign trail to try to defeat the measure he had originally helped sponsor, Deeds said.

Bunker Mulligan

Blogosphere

Daniel Drezner maintains one of the busiest blogs around, and also happens
to be a professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. He
and a colleague have put together their first draft of a scholarly
paper, "The Power and Politics of Blogs", to be presented this year at
the American Political Science Association.

Speaking My Mind

Prediction realised

In my last post, I asked "How many other foreign workers will be kidnapped in Iraq, now that the Philippine government has encouraged this criminal behaviour?"

The answer? So far, six, possibly seven.

Hmmmm - Questions

Today I don't feel led to rant, rave or fisk a news story, today I am filled with questions and no real answers.

Why do people believe Kerry's lies? Are they just blinded by the Media? Do they not think for themselves? I truly can't figure it out.

Why do people hate Bush so much? Because he is trying to do the right thing in combating terrorism? Because he a professed Christian, and really practices what he preaches? What is it about people that blindly hate?

Why do people love the UN so much that they want to give away America's sovereignty and live in a "New World Order"? Is it because they like having a Gov't run their lives? Or is because they just hate America?

Musing

This week had two important 35th anniversaries.

1) On the 19th, we remembered Neil Armstrong's words, ´Thatÿs one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind...

Chrenkoff

It's preposterous to say that artistic dissent is being crushed in the United States at the same time as "Fahrenheit 9/11" is breaking box office records and the Hollywood's A-list roll out red carpet for John Kerry. Yes, there are many people in America who hate Moore, the Dixie Chicks, and Whoopi Goldberg, who aren't buying their products and are trying to persuade others to do likewise. This isn't censorship; it's free market.

But that's not good enough for Elton John and Michael Moore - in the world of our artistic betters, there are the few enlightened ones (the artists) and there are the masses (us); John and Moore and Co have the freedom to speak, we have the obligation to listen. This is the MTV Constitutional Theory 101.

Bill's Big Bloviating Blog

First Analysis - 9/11 Commission Recommendations

I’ll start with by far the most important of the commission’s
recommendations… which also happen to be the hardest to implement and
which the failure on our part to implement will be most responsible
for the future destruction of our country as we know it
today.  On page 18, we see the following recommendations:

Weapon of Mass Distraction

A More Bizarre Heresy

Albert Mohler shows there is no limit to heresy in this postmodern age:

[N]ever discount the diabolical ingenuity of those who intend to subvert biblical truth and the Christian faith. The latest evidence of the heretical imagination comes from Professor Theodore W. Jennings, Jr. of Chicago Theological Seminary. Just when you think you've encountered just about every possible heresy, along comes something so shocking that it demands painful attention.

Revenge of the Hampster

This week an indignant Hamster reports:

The last thing NW wants is to talk about Michael Moore.

This is an odd situation as: 

• he is grotesquely obese and NW is obsessed with celebrity fatties; and 
• he has a tenuous grasp of the truth, much like NW.

You would think these two would be joined at the hip.

Alas, the work of Michael Moore is probably too challenging for the NW-bimbettes who find it far easier to roll out stories about Britney the Free-Balling Bride.

So imagine my excitement when I saw the F911 heading on the NW Discussion Board.

The Unmentionables

Terrorists Among Us

After reading this article (NEA vs. America's Future) I rummaged about in the attic of my brain, unearthing memories of my high school U.S. Government class. (Yes, I am such a geriatic I actually had such a radical course of study in high school.) There I found the 1947 Taft-Hartley Labor Act which outlawed both closed shops and union shops. It was crafted and passed to force unions to stop coercing workers to join a union to be able to work at a particular business.

Liberal Utopia

Why al-Qerry will lose

No sitting senator has ever been elected president when running against the incumbent. Moreover, in every war no challenger has ever been elected president (Americans "don't switch horses in midstream").

New England Republican

Another Terror in the Skies Update

I was watching Joe Scarborough on MSNBC last night and he was discussing the Terror in the Skies story (see previous posts here, here, and here). He had a reporter on from WNBC,  Scott Weinberger, who reported that the 14 Syrian band members on the flight from Detroit to LA all had expired visas.  That is bad enough, but it gets worse, authorities didn't even notice this until after they had already released the suspects! As usual, Michelle Malkin is all over this:

China, Taiwan, and Sea Power

The Chinese have launched a new type of submarine,
one probably designed to attack U.S. aircraft
carriers. Thank you to Mud & PHuD for finding it
first.

The new boat, which appears to be a
combination of indigenous Chinese hardware and Russian
weapons, suggests that China is building up its
submarine forces in preparation for a conflict over
Taiwan, defense analysts say...

New Blogger(s)

The Terriorists (a potentially misleading name to say the least =)) has joined Homespun.

Yet another blogger joins:

Josh Harvey's Middle East

Spritzy Joins

Spritzy has joined Homespun. Check her out.

New Blogger and a Move

Kasey at The Doggie Diaries joins Homespun!

Also...In Search of Utopia has moved (and an additional link has been added both old and new are accessible). We all send our condolences to the lost Powerbook. That sucks.

Speaking My Mind Joins Up

Speaking My Mind is now a Homespun Blog. Check him out!

Mr. Minority Joins Homespun

Mr. Minority has decided to become an official Homespun Blogger. Here's what he has to say for himself:

CCECMAMIWGOGSUV: Conservative College Educated Christian Middle Aged Middle Income White Guy Who Owns Guns and a SUV - Who is an Engineer!

A Voice for the Most Hated Group in America

New Homespun Blogger

Chiasm joins Homespun Bloggers. Welcome!

Best Of Homespun Bloggers July 18th, 2004

This is the first installment of the Best Of Homespun Bloggers. This will be a weekly event, so please come back at least every Sunday evening to see what we've all been up to during the week. Enjoy!

Considerettes

Controversial or common sense? You make the call.

A controversy erupted at a global AIDS conference on Monday over whether abstaining from sex or using condoms was more effective to prevent the disease.

Question: Which is more effective in preventing injury from moving vehicles: staying out of the road, or wearing armor while playing in the street?

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni brought the issue, which has set many AIDS activists at odds with Washington, into the open at the first full day of the AIDS conference by saying abstinence was the best way to stem the spread of the killer virus.

Bunkermulligan

My Education Rant

"Education is the foundation for success in any endeavor. If you can't
read or write, if you can't speak clearly and coherently, and if you
cannot do basic math, the odds of success in life are slim."

Patterico

After a series of Page One articles trumpeting allegations by Joe Wilson against the Bush Administration (for details see this post), the Los Angeles Times has finally mentioned that the recent Senate Intelligence Committee report concludes that Wilson is a liar. But the story, which took the paper almost a week to run, appears on page A6, and does not cite the most compelling evidence that Wilson lied. (Although there is a front-page story about the Butler report, that story doesn't mention Niger at all.) Incredibly, the Page One space today is reserved for more important stories, like this one about Harrah's buying Caesar's.

Southern Conservative

Workin' On Some Night Clicks
What did insomniacs do before the internet? I have vague memories of long summer nights and Twilight Zone reruns and dog-eared book pages and cigarettes smoked on my front porch in the cool 4 am air.

Weapons of Mass Distraction

ABC News reports Democrats are worried that votes on homosexual marriage in some key states will bring more conservative voters, including some Democrats who may switch parties over the issue, to the polls in
November. "If you keep it in a high-profile vein, it just plays into the Republican strategists' hands, and it will have a negative effect, and could have a spillover effect on the Kerry-Edwards campaign," said Cleveland Heights Mayor Edward Kelley.

Bill's Big Bloviating Blog

The authority of silence is a powerful, though frequently overlooked
concept. Were we to employ it more in our country, we’d have a country
that looked much more like the founding father’s vision. Were we to
employ it more in our religious organizations, we’d have a Church that
looked much more like the Father’s vision.

The Unmentionables

Why Bother?
"Surfing around the various newsites and blogs, it becomes painfully apparent we are caught in an endless loop. The same stories with the same slant with the same rebuttals with the same debates with the same looney defenses. It's a real-life Groundhog Day without the redeeming finale.

"Yesterday Mr. Minority raised a number of questions about why Americans believe the way they do. I don't have all the answers (since I have the same questions) but I do have an inkling of how these skewed ideas take root."

The Commons

Still Simpatico
Barking Moonbat Early Warning System

Our friends at Barking Moonbat Early Warning System must be doing things right. They’ve got a post in which the topic is, basically, “nor prohibit the free exercise thereof.”

Of course, they mimic what we’ve said in Paulie World for a while:

Without Law, there is no bread. Without God, there is no law.

Let’s quote an article from June 2, 2004, Paulie World (The Commons), published under the title, “On Sovereignty, and Jose Padilla.”

MuD&PHuD

Terror in the Skies...Again?!

I've said it before and I'll say it again...there is nothing inherently wrong with racial profiling.  We absolutley must keep our goals firmly in mind.  Our goal: Stop acts of Terror before they happen. 
 
If the vast majority of Terrorists are Outter Mongolians, then would it make any sense to 1) check all Inuits closely or 2) limit the number of Outter Mongolains we can have in secondary questioning for a given flight?  No! of course not.  Jeeze.  If you were going to bring down a plane with a bomb, and you knew that the American government could, by law, search only 2 of your ethic group per flight...how many bad guys would you send?  Is this really so difficult?

Two More New Blogs

Patterico's Pontifications
 
and
 
Chasing The Wind

Off For The Weekend

For all you soon-to-be Homespun Bloggers out there have no fear. I have recieved your emails, but I am out of town and have access to the internet only via dialup. Since this post has thus far taken me about 15 minutes to get this far (it's a really slow connection), I'm going to put off adding any new blogs until I get home Sunday.

However, if you have sent me an email, feel free to send me a "Best Of" excerpt and I promise to include it on Sunday.

Happy blogging,
Tom

Late Evening Addition

The Discerning Texan has joined the hallowed ranks of Homespun Bloggers.  Welcome Home =).

Good Things Come In Twos, Apparently

Two more blogs to add to Homespun.

HipperCritical

and

Bunker Mullian

Two New Blogs (Yet Again =))

The new bloggers just keep rolling in. This morning I found two messages, one from a well-established blogger...

Weapon of Mass Distraction

...and one from a brand new blogger...

Revenge of the Hamster

Welcome one and all!

Two New Blogs

They're still rolling in. The two newest are:

pacetown

and

The Souther Thide of Singz

Welcome and happy (Homespun) blogging.

Bill's Big Bloviating Blog On Homespun Bloggers

I thought this post about Homespun Bloggers by Bill was particularily nice:

We had a big storm blow through Sunday. My wife and I stood in the garage door and watched as it blew. It was quite literally a ten minute hurricane. Actually, we found out later that funnel clouds had been spotted over our location. Trees were felled up and down the street and we lost power for the rest of the day.

What does being without power have to do with Homespun Bloggers? Go see for yourself.

Solomonia

Solomonia has joined Homespun.

Check 'im out.

Dan Casey Joins

Dan Casey has joined Homespun.

Here's what he has to say for himself:

In this blog, you will find discussion of current events, politics, humor, sites I like, history, and politics.

Check 'im out.

Boils My Blood

A relatively new blogger, Boils My Blood, has joined up.

Here's what he has to say for himself:

Leaning to the Libertarian side of politics I have no truck with the Moral Majority or various other varieties of Statists and Nanny State advocates. Contrarily however I'm no pacifist and believe strongly that the defense of one's freedoms means just that... even if you have to use a rifle to do so.

Southern Conservative

That's right folks, we have yet another blogger joining the ranks.

Southern Conservative

I love his philosophy:

I frequently annoy my friends and family with my political rants and have been encouraged to put my opinions where the sun doesn't shine. That means the internet, right?

I think we all feel his pain =).

Redhunter Joins Homespun

Tom the Redhunter has joined the Homespun ranks. Welcome!

Homespun Bloggers Button

As you can see I have added the Homespun button provided by Liberal Utopia. Since 1) other entries were not rolling in and 2) I, quite honestly, like this one I made the unilateral decision to go with it.

So thanks to Liberal Utopia and happy blogging all 'round.

For anyone who's like me (i.e., not all that html-savy), here's the code for the button:

More Additions

Spectra
The Commons

Two good looking blogs. Give them a try.

Cranial Cavity

Cranial Cavity has just joined Homespun Bloggers! Check 'im out.

New England Republican Joins!

NE Republican (a rare beast indeed =)) has joined our ranks. A link has been added to the roll.

Button Ideas

Liberal Utopia has created two candidate buttons for Homespun Bloggers.

---

If anyone else has ideas let me know in the next few days.

Best Of Homespun Bloggers

The Unmentionables:

"...get me within 100 votes and I can steal any election."

MuD&PHuD:

"Yeah, that's exactly what I've always said: The only thing I want from my news sources is that they make me "feel safer"."

--

Look for more to come over the next few days as the submissions for 'Best Of' roll in.

Word Spreads!

Already, at a mere 3 days old, Homespun Bloggers has already reached beyond the original list I had put together. I was just informed by John Rogers (of The Therapy Sessions fame) that he found out about us via Marcland.

So, keep those links were people can find them and let's the pals back in reciprocal links =).

6 New Members!

Well, I have been out of touch most of the weekend and to my delight I returned to find six requests to join HSBs! Here are the new members:

Chrenkoff
Liberal Utopia
Esoteric*Diatribe
The Unmentionables
Considerettes
The Therapy Sessions

Welcome one and all and thank you for joining up!

Corvine Design Joins The Ranks

Corvine Design as agreed to become a Homespun Blogger.

Marcland

Marcland just informed me that he's in. Here's his link to HSBloggers.

Bill's Big Bloviating Blog Joins Us!

I have been enjoying Bill's BBBlog for a while now. Check him out and...

Welcome into the fold Bill.

In Search of Utopia Joins Up!

David from In Search of Utopia has agreed to take part and I (now we) welcome him into the fold.

Homespun Bloggers

[Note: Homespun Bloggers is on a temporary hiatus. We'll be back in (relatively) short order.]

Have you ever been sitting in front of your blog wondering: Does anybody even read this thing? I’ll admit it…I have.

There are obviously any number of ways to get your blog ‘out there’ and I’d like to add Homespun Bloggers to that list.

Interested? Here’s the deal:

Definition
Homespun Bloggers is a loose association of bloggers for whom blogging is a labor of love, and no more.

Purpose
To allow amateur bloggers to provide support (both moral and traffic related) to one another.

Membership Requirements
I) To be eligible to become a Homespun Blogger one must 1) have a blog, 2) keep that blog relatively family-friendly and 3) earn a living in some realm other than selling one’s opinions. In other words, we are a group of family-friendly bloggers who blog for no financial gain. (Note: A blogger may gain some financial benefit from his or her blog, but that compensation should not be a ‘major’ source of income (you be the judge).)

II) Each member will maintain one of the Homespun Bloggers buttons (found here (kindly provided by Liberal Utopia)) as a hotlink to Homespun Bloggers, where links to all Homespun Bloggers will be maintained.

III) Each member will maintain one of two Homespun blogrolls.
-First option: You may choose to post a full, manually maintained (by you), list of links (current html code avaliable at the start of membership).
-Second option: You may use the Blogrolling code found here to display the 35 most recently updated Homespun blogs (kindly maintained by Jeremy at pacetown).

Cool Stuff

Aside from the obvious benefits of joining Homespun Bloggers (lots of links) we are also constantly looking for ways to improve.

The weekly Best Of has been a staple of Homespun since the beginning. This is an opportunity for each Homespun blogger to submit a post they would people to read. If you'd like to take part just put the information in the correct format (to make my life easier =)) and send it along. I'll put all the blog names, links and excerpts together and post them here, at the Homespun blog, each Sunday evening (or Monday morning).

We have also added a Topic of the Week to generate debate among a great group of bloggers. Major Dad (majordad1984-at-gmail-dot-com) is in charge of this weekly feature, so drop him an email when you have a response you'd like to share.

We are also have a feature that you'll be hard-pressed to find anywhere but Homespun Bloggers. Doug, of Considerettes, hosts Homespun Bloggers Radio. Homespun Bloggers are encouraged to submit audio files filled to the brim with their insightful, witty and/or humorous thoughts and just about any topic they like. If you're interested drop him a line (doug.payton-at-fullscope-dot-com) and see if you're got a face for radio =).

Sound good? Send me an email and join Homespun Bloggers!

New Edition: Homespun Bloggers Tech Support

Technical Notes Etc.

This post will contain updated information for Homespun Bloggers. Don't get to excited, none of this is secret...it just won't be of any interest except to Homespuners.

Homespun Bloggers Tech Support

Items found in this post:
1) Hotlinking the Homespun Bloggers Button
2) Blogrolling Javascript (and trouble shooting)
3) Best Of submission format
4) Topic of the Week submission format.
5) Audio Blogging

1) Hotlinking With The Homespun Bloggers Button

Feel free to choose your favorite button to hotlink from these (provided by Liberal Utopia).

The code for hotlinking is as follows:

<a href="http://homespunbloggers.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://ourworld.cs.com/viewer2k/homespun/homespun2.gif" border=0 alt="HOMESPUN BLOGGERS"></a>

This will place the Homespun Button used here at the blog. If you want to choose another style just replace the address http://ourworld.cs.com/viewer2k/homespun/homespun2.gif with the one of your choosing.

2) Blogrolling Javascript And Other Code

We also ask that each member maintain a list of fellow Homespun Bloggers using one of the following code methods:

Java Script

<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://rpc.blogrolling.com/display.php?r=80a2224f97de45badef3283975366855"></script>

RSS

http://rpc.blogrolling.com/rss.php?r=80a2224f97de45badef3283975366855

OPML

http://rpc.blogrolling.com/opml.php?r=80a2224f97de45badef3283975366855

PHP

http://rpc.blogrolling.com/display_raw.php?r=80a2224f97de45badef3283975366855

This Blogrolling account is set up to show only the 35 most recently updated blogs. In theory, each time you publish a post on your blog you should be moved to the top of the list autmoatically. However, some blog services seem to not ping Blogrolling upon publishing. If you experience this problem you can manually ping using this form.

There will be a complete list maintained manually on this blog.

3) Best Of Submission Format

New!

Homespun Bloggers can now send their Best Of submissions via the Conservative Cat's Carnival Submission Form. It's quite straightforward and shouldn't give us any trouble, but if you do need assistance just drop Tom a line and he'll be more than happy to what he can.

We will still accept Best Of submissions by direct email (as outlined below).

Please send submissions to Tom at mudphud11-at-yahoo-dot-com.

Following this the format that all Best Of submissions must follow (because reformatting 30+ sets of code drives me nuts =)):

Name of Blog as a link to the post of interest (make sure to use the permalink)
(blank line)
Name of Post (but not as a link, just text)
(blank line)
Excerpt (short paragraph, no more)

Also, remember to remove all links from your excerpt, as the purpose of the Best Of is to direct people to your blog, not to your sources.

Here is a good example:

The Southern Conservative

The Cinema Politik

I’ve decided to re-examine some of the movies we saw
this summer, and as it turns out, most of them were
deeply political and profoundly meaningful. I’ve
followed the lead of journalists and film critics
everywhere and adopted the liberal agenda while
analyzing these films… you might be surprised at what
I now realize was there...

4) Topic of the Week submission format

The Topic will be posted here at Homespun on Friday evening NLT 6:00 p.m. Central Time.. All submitted links are due by 5pm on the following Thursday.

Send the permalink of your post and the title of your blog to MajorDad1984 (majordad1984 at gmail dot com).

5) Audio Blogging

This feature is currently in the development stages. CJ has offered to host and organize the initial run. Here (and here) is the discussion so far and be sure to check back for updates.

Homespun Bloggers Tech Support

This post will allow you to get in touch with the crack Homespun Bloggers Tech Support team. The services of these bloggers is free to any current or pre-approved (by Tom) prospective Homespun blogger. (Remember to replace "-AT-" with "@" and "-DOT-" with ".")

Tech Support (in no particular order):

Blogger: Disintegrator
Specialty: HTML / Movable Type / Webhosting
Contact: disintegratorblog-AT-gmail-DOT-com

Blogger: PajamaHadin
Specialty: Html, Internet Marketing, B2evolution, php customization of blog software, XML
Contact: mjmarshall-AT-theme-master-DOT-com

Blogger: Watermark
Specialty: See Blogging Blog
Contact: blogdiva-AT-gmail-DOT-com

Blogger:Solomon
Specialty: The BASICS of Movable Type, HTML, CSS, PHPBB and Photoshop
Contact: solomon-AT-solomonia-DOT-com

Blogger: Carpe Bonum
Specialty: "How to host your blog from your own home network,
basic template editing in Blogger and Movable Type, traffic counting
and whatever other miscellaneous questions I can try to dig up answers
for."
Contact: cb-AT-carpebonum-DOT-net

Blogger: Patrick Hawke
Specialty: Wordpress
Contact: patrick_hakwe_1-AT-hotmail-DOT-com

Blogger: Eric
Specialty: html, Blogger template issues
Contact: ecowper@frontiernet.net

Blogger: Jeremy Bol
Specialty: HTML and CSS, a blog on blogging called Pumping Pixels and three additional posts with all sorts of great info...1, 2, 3
Contact: jeremy.bol-AT-gmail-DOT-com

Blogger: Jay
Specialty: Movable Type and Typepad
Contact: radcen-AT-theradicalcentrist-DOT-com

Blogger: David Solomonoff
Specialty: HTML and some Unix for bloggers who host their blog on a Linux/FreeBSD/other Unix system where they need to use the Unix shell.
Contact: dsolomon-AT-nycap-DOT-rr-DOT-com

Blogger: Lennie
Specialty: html, cgi programming with perl, databases (MySQL)
Contact: xbip-AT-xbip-DOT-com

Blogger: Wendy
Specialty: html
Contact: darwendarwen-AT-yahoo-DOT-com

Blogger: Doug Payton
Specialty: Audio recording & editing
Contact: frodo-AT-thepaytons-DOT-org

Blogger: Jay Adkins
Specialty: HTML, Blogger Issues, Graphic Design and PHP
Contact: jadkins-AT-sunflower-DOT-com