Homespun Bloggers Radio up again (for good) (we hope)

Within a few days after dealing with the original IP address change, my ISP changed it again. Sorry (again) for those of you who may have tried over the weekend to listen in. This time, I've gone with one of those free dynamic DNS services that will give the machine a name and will detect automagically when the IP address changes. No more keeping one step behind. The links to the right have (again) been updated with this new address. If you tried listening before and failed (and tried (again) and failed) then please try again because (quoting Bullwinkle J. Moose), "This time, for sure!"

2 3 New Bloggers

God & Politics
Commoner Sense
Leger's Landing

Best Of Homespun Bloggers May 30th, 2005

Happy Memorial Day!

Don't Let Me Stop You

Abe Fortas Filibuster?

The recent brouhaha over judicial filibusters has featured Republicans claiming that the practice was completely unheardof prior to GWB's first term. Meanwhile, Democrats were claiming the filibuster has always applied to judcial appointments, and besides the Republicans started it anyway by filibustering Abe Fortas. Perhaps not surprisingly, neither of these is true. This is the first post of two looking into the Fortas confirmation fight back in 1968.

CrosSwords

Help Me Out Here

The latest example of the need to remember this comes from the House. The House operating under the concept that “Big Government is OK, as long as the people running the Big Government are Republicans,” voted to loosen the purse strings on embryonic stem cell research. I don’t have the Constitution in front of me, but for the life of me, I can’t remember where in the Constitution the House gets that permission.


The Redhunter

Thune's Weird Linkage

Of much more importance than the emotional distress of
Voinovich are Republican defections from the Bolton
nomination. Now John Thune, who replaced Tom Dashle as
Senator from South Dakota, has announced that he will
vote against Bolton.

What's odd is the reason he gave.

MuD&PHuD

The Arrogance Of These Fools!

The arrogance of these idiots at the UN amazes even me. They create a commission to study the problem, spend (I'm sure) hundreds of thousands of man-hours (oh, sorry, person-hours (or is it perdaughter-hours?)) on the issue and then come out the this "statement". And as if that weren't enough they make a pronouncement that is so painfully obvious that it nearly made my head split down the middle by just reading it.

Homespun Blogger Symposium XXII

Before I get going on this week’s Symposium topic, I want to thank all the Homespun bloggers that have answered the call to resurrect this feature. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to be on the hook to keep things going, but I’m glad that I decided to give it a go. You’ve been responding in a great fashion…and I hope to see more and more of you responding each week.

And now, without further ado, here’s the question for Homespun Blogger Symposium XXII:

Within the past two weeks, the Secretary of Defense released the list of US bases to be realigned or closed starting in 2006. While we’re still months away from seeing the final list, what do you think about the whole Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process?

• Do you think that it’s fairly administered?
  
  
  
• Do you think it’s necessary?
  
  
  
• Do you think that the politicians with constituents impacted by BRAC are doing enough or too much to alter the process?
  
  
  
• How is your community impacted by the initial results of the BRAC as we know them today?
  
  
  
• If you were the President and had your way (outside the current rules of the BRAC process), how would you change or implement this current round of BRAC?
  

I'll add your links as you send them to me via e-mail...provided Blogger plays ball with us.

If you've been lurking and reading the Symposium responses in the past...why not try and participate?

See you on the high ground.

MajorDad1984

CrosSwords
Cross Blogging (formerly known as XBIP)
SeaWitch

Homespun Blogger Radio (temporarily) offline back online!

I've noticed no one listening to the Homespun Blogger Radio stream, and now I know why. I host the stream from a Linux machine at home. After about 4 years of having the same IP address from my cable modem company, it's been changed, and all links to HBR are via the IP address. For those of you who've been trying to listen in, my sincere apologies. Please watch this space for when the stream has returned.

And those of you with HBR buttons, I'll give you instructions on how to change the link so you get the actual audio stream.

Doug

UPDATE: The links in the right-hand column have been updated (and, more importantly, tested), so you can now listen in on Homespun Bloggers Radio, and decide if audio blogging is for you. If so, please contact me at "frodo (at) thepaytons (dot) org".

Homespun Blogger Symposium XXI

Well, I was at a loss about what to ponder this week for the Symposium, but thanks to "The Sun" in the UK, I think I'll make this one about Saddam.

What do you think about "The Sun" publishing the pictures of Saddam? While I haven't seen all the pictures, the one everyone seems to be talking about is the one of the former dictator in his "tighty whities."

Will this event further fan the flames of Islamic hatred for the West and the occupiers of the Coalition? Or will this blow over? Abu-Grab it's not in my book.

What do you think?

Try and have your inputs in to me by Wednesday evening...but I'll always post links to anything you've written.

I'm easy, but not cheap.

See you on the high ground.

MajorDad1984

CrosSwords
MajorDad1984
Dagney's Rant
Considerettes
CrossBlogging
Mr. Ogre
Thoughts by SeaWitch
Ruah

2 New Bloggers

Nehring The Edge
CrosSwords

Best Of Homespun Bloggers May 22nd, 2005

Collecting My Thoughts

1050 Easy does it, the widening gap between rich and poor

If you are a liberal and you don’t read the Wall Street Journal, you’re missing a great opportunity to find out what is wrong with our business driven economy and culture. It won’t do you much good to read a left wing or socialist screed--everything you read there will be incorrect and biased. Preaching to the choir, as it were. But the WSJ comes down hard on misbehavior in business, government and education and doesn’t pull any punches. The female journalists are particularly ruthless in finding graft, fraud and the soft underbellies of the capitalist system.

Dagney's Rant

"The RNC called me with one of their many surveys, always ending with the caller asking for money. The ploy they used this time is the "threat" of Howard Dean, and his efforts. Now I can understand that they might think that I'm utterly clueless about what Howard and his Deaniacs are up to, but they are wrong:

"In language strikingly similar to Republican rhetoric, Democratic Party leader Howard Dean said Wednesday in Phoenix that Democrats are the party of "moral values," "individual freedom," "personal responsibility" and "fiscal conservatives."

"I am tired of being lectured to about moral values by a corrupt party," the former Vermont governor and 2004 presidential candidate told a cheering assembly of 300 members of the Young Democrats of Arizona."

Alrighty then. He's using our issues to energize his base. How's that working?"

The Redhunter

Fun Facts about the UN

Ambassador Rudy Boschwitz is currently head of the delegation to the 61st session of the UN Commission on Human Rights. He was formerly a GOP Senator from Minessota from 1978 - 91. Yesterday he wrote an editorial that appeared in the Washington Times. He relayed just how antithetical at body has become to concepts of democracy and freedom around the world:

Don't Let Me Stop You

Court Reversal of Ban on Same Sex Marriage in Nebraska

I have compiled links to local newspaper and blog articles on this topic, which is obviously big news here in Nebraska and around the country. I was opposed to the amendment, and I voted against it. However, I think the court decision is another outrageous judicial overreach. I support allowing gays to form civil unions or even marry, provided such arrangements are enacted through the normal lawmaking processes. This is an essential part of the rule of law. With the filibuster fight looming and Nebraska Senators Hagel and Nelson both considered "swing votes," this decision could well affect the outcome in the Senate.

MuD&PHuD

Fragile Feelings

I'll tell you what. I'm sick and tired of all this PC crap that we can never hurt anyone's feelings. Or at least certain, PC-protected groups of people's feelings anyway. Two recent stories bring this up:

The return of Homespun Bloggers Radio

One of the recent features of the Homespun Bloggers is "Homespun Bloggers Radio". You can click here to listen to the most recent 2 shows, or here to hear the four shows before that. (You can always find these links on the right-side bar as well. Scroll farther down to the archives to download the shows for playing later.)

One thing you'll notice is that it's been a little while since our last show. Near the end of the school year, time gets tight for folks, so we've taken a little time off. However, I'd like to get this project back up and running again. When we started HBR, there were slightly under 100 total Homespun Bloggers. Now that there are over 200, we can have an even larger group of contributors (meaning less of a time impact on each of us).

I'm excited about having more folks as part of the project. So, if you have a microphone attached to your PC, and you're not afraid to use it >grin<, listen in on a few shows and get a feel for what we've done in the past. Once you're familiar with that, feel free to break all the rules. :) So far we've had straight commentary, audio fisking, and even music, but while we need more of that, let's not stop there. I'm open to hear folks want to do with this. We're in early enough stages that we can open it up and find out what works and what doesn't. So far, most of our commentary has been from center-right bloggers; a natural consequence of the fact that most Homespun Bloggers are center-right. However, HBR is open to all contributors, regardless of position. (The usual disclaimers about hate speech, illegal speech, etc. do apply, however.)

Send me an E-mail at "frodo (at) thepaytons (dot) org" and I'll put you on the mailing list. This is not a commitment, just an expression of interest. The only requirement is that you be an actual Homespun Blogger. (If you'd like to participate but aren't a member, there's a great incentive!) If you're interested but don't know how to record an audio file, start here and you can direct further questions to me at the aforementioned E-mail address.

Current HBR folks: You too. >grin< Let's bring this back bigger than before.

Doug Payton

UPDATE: Our network had some connectivity issues recently. If you tried to listen to the feed but were unable to, please try again. Sorry.

2 3 New Bloggers

Rev Bill
Moe's Woes
The (not so) Daily Me

Homespun Bloggers Best Of May 16th, 2005

Pattishub

Judge Runs Cover for UN

If there was ever an example of why we need to end the judicial tyranny we are experiencing in this country it is the fact that a US Judge (appointed by Bill Clinton) has ruled against the US Congress in investigating the UN Oil for Food Scam...Congress should immediately suspend all payments to the UN and its agencies until full disclosure is made. Its time to get us out of the UN! And its time to get judges who favor American democratic institutions over the likes of Kofi Annan and the cabal of thieves who occupy the UN headquarters.

black lace mittens

It's just too early in the morning to consume this much WHINE!

There is an interesting little flame-war (OK, not so little, as it has the attention of many influential bloggers) between Roger L. Simon and the UN Dispatch.

Eric's Grumbles Before The Grave

Bloggers: The New Pamphleteer

Perhaps, for those who haven't read a lot on the American Revolutionary era, a bit of background is needed. The 18th century saw the rise of the pamphlet as a major mechanism for communication. Prior to relatively inexpensive printing, the primary means of communication in Western societies, just as in all other societies in the world, was oral except for the wealthy. The wealthy could purchase, or otherwise access, books, but they represented 1%, or less, of the population. Ideas, it is true, did move throughout the upper classes, the nobles and priests and wealthy merchants. But very little in the way of new ideas were communicated outside that group because of the inherent limitations of oral communication. After the invention of the printing press, continuous improvement soon brought the cost of printing to the point where a person of moderate means could afford to buy a book or, indeed,
to have a pamphlet printed.

Weapon of Mass Distraction

Bird Flu, Swine Flu...and Now Dog Flu

Greyhounds are dying at racetracks in Florida from an unusual strain of influenza, and it’s possible that it may spread. There's nothing to stop it from spreading from greyhounds to household pets. More ominously, though, is the observation of virologist Dr. Henry Niman: "Atypical influenza outbreaks in the spring of 1918 preceded the deadly pandemic outbreak in the fall. The signs of unusual spring influenza activity appear to be erupting worldwide in the northern hemisphere."

Homespun Symposium XX

While today's been an interesting day with the announcement of the first list of bases to be considered by the Base Realignment And Closure panel, I'd like to throw out the first pitch for the Homespun Symposium to address "niceness" and government officials...

I'd like to ask you all if Mr. John Bolton, President Bush's nominee to fill the ambassadorship at the United Nations, nomination should be squashed simply because he's not a very "nice" guy and sometimes hard to work with?

I'll chime in sometime during the week.

Please send me your content to MajorDad1984 - AT - gmail - DOT -com.

See you on the high ground...being as "nice" as I know how....

MajorDad1984

Thoughts by Seawitch
Ruah
CrosSwords

Return of the HomeSpun Blogger Symposium

I'm MajorDad1984 and there's a new sheriff in town!

Actually, I volunteered to take over Marvin Hutchins' role as the moderator of the HomeSpun Blogger Symposium weekly feature. Marvin, many thanks for running the show for as long as you did. I hope I can follow a class act like yours.

As a contributor, I always appreciated the thought provoking questions that the Symposium posed to us out in the Blogosphere and I'd like to see it continued. Those of you who contributed in the past, I know you'll support the effort. To the silent majority, and since we rarely got more than a 5% response to the Symposium question of the week, I'd like you to join us in providing input.

I'll be more than happy to accept questions, statements, or topics you'd like to see covered by the Symposium if you send them to me: majordad1984-at-gmail-dot-com (does that really help cut down on spam?)

I think I'd like to change the schedule of submission. I'll post the Symposium topic/question on Friday by 6:00 p.m. Central Time each week. That gives most of us the weekend to put together some thoughts and post them to your blog.

After you post them...send me the title of your submission as a link to that page and I'll post it to the main HomeSpun Blogger site to share with others. Same email as above works for me.

What say ye HomeSpun Bloggers? Will this work?

See you on the high ground.

MajorDad1984

Best Of Homespun Bloggers May 8th, 2005

Blog d'Elisson

Ice Cream Summer

Buried deep in the Archives d’Elisson, there is a photograph of me, my parents, and a Good Humor truck. One of these days, I hope to find that picture and post it. Because I’m the one driving that Good Humor truck.

Yes, Elisson was the Good Humor Man for one distant, dismal summer back
in 1973...

Allthings2all

Babes and Arms: The CHildren of Darfur

It's a common practice - giving children paper and crayons to keep themselves occupied for a while. Human Rights Watch workers did just that when visiting a refugee camp in Chad while they interviewed adult survivors of the Sudan genocide. The unexpected results were reported on television last night by BBC World, and are described here in the The Scotsman ...

Musing

Classic Liberal arrogance

If a vote in the House, which indicated that Parliament no longer had confidence in the governing Liberal Party, was passed, one would think that this was an open statement of non-confidence in the government.

That's not how the Liberals see it though. They donÿt care what the majority in Parliament thinks or says. Theyÿre just going to stay in power.

The Redhunter

Casualties of War

Yesterday I caught Liz Trotta for a few minutes on Fox News during their 10-12am show. The issue being discussed was war casualties.

The question was whether the war was being "sanitized" by the mainstream media. The charge is that by not showing "enough" U.S. casualties Americans are developing a "video game" mentality towards war.

Liz thought the charge to be utter nonsense and so do I, for two primary reasons.

Don't Let Me Stop You

The Real Cause of Inflation

We see lots of reports on TV, newspapers, magazines, etc. about higher prices for oil or higher wages or low unemployment causing inflation. Bunk. These are not causes of inflation but effects of inflation. A rise in the price of one thing, even something like oil that is used for many other things, does not cause a general price increase. The real cause of inflation becomes apparent once we use the correct definition of inflation. In a nutshell: Inflation is a decline in the value of money...

MuD&PHuD

Deadly Force

A while back there was this pizza delivery guy in Niagara, NY apparently minding his own business and doing his job late one night. A couple of kids (allegedly) tried to rob him and (after sustaining a serious beating) the pizza guy fired one .40 caliber round, killing one of the punks. He fired the shot because he saw a gun in the hand of the now deceased punk. Turns out the gun was an "air pistol" that looks a lot like a Walther PPK (you know, James Bonds' gun).

dagney's rant

Showdown in Congress

This story makes it sound like a catastrophe if the President loses a nominee, namely John Bolton. The writer of this piece, Richard Bennedetto, sounds almost hopeful that the defeat of Bolton would result in the defeat of larger Bush agenda plans.

4 5 6 New Bloggers

Palmetto Pundit
oystersnout
Nashville Truth
Our Utmost For His Highest
Deep Thoughts
Steal The Bandwagon

Homespun Bloggers Best Of May 1st, 2005

Musing

Just one more reason

All it takes to be rich - or in the top 10% of earners - in the eyes of the Canadian Federal government is an annual income of $64,500 (USD $51,600). Trust me folks, earning at that level does NOT even come close to making one “rich".

It is truly pathetic that the Canadian government views $65K per year as a line between middle class and rich. Where is the encouragement for Canadians to do more with themselves? If this is the level at which one simply sits back and says to themselves, “I have arrived; I am now ‘rich’ “, this is just one more reason I am happy to be moving to the US.


Mondo QT

deep qt recipe box: 4x4x4, part one

"How has blogging changed your life?" Charles Willeford was a great
American pulpster of the 1950's paperback original school. In the 80's,
he wrote a series of more mainstream crime novels set in South Florida,
describing a landscape impacted by public corruption, real estate
bubbles, drug crime, illegal immigration and a overall culture of
grift.

Carpe Bonum

Canada to Americans, drop dead

But it's not what you think.

Turns out today's American deserters aren't getting quite the same welcome that American draft dodgers did during the Vietnam war.

We're Winning

The Naysayers have had their day. While much could still go wrong, we turned the corner some time ago and are on the way to wrapping this up. The terrorists will create trouble for awhile, but the prospect of their taking control of the Iraqi government is now remote.

And I'm not just talking about the success of the elections and formation of a new government. I'm talking about defeating the insurgency, killing the terrorists and/or chasing them out of Iraq.

MuD&PHuD

Human Cloning

These sorts of things disgust me:

The Case for Cloning Humans

Controversial? Yes. But this approach might just be the best way to understand and treat otherwise intractable diseases | By Ian Wilmut
[...]

The Bull Speaks!

Rosie O'Donnell: A "Hanoi" Jane Wanna-Be

"She also equates herself with “Hanoi” Jane Fonda, stating that Jane was the only person with enough guts to say what “we” were all thinking..."

ruah

There Is Always a Price to Pay

On Tuesday night, the State of Missouri carried out the execution of convicted murderer, Donald Jones. Mr. Jones’ crime was the stabbing and bludgeoning death of his grandmother while he was high on crack cocaine. He then took her automobile and traded it for more crack.

Don't Let Me Stop You

Humpty Dumpty Egged On?

Our recent post about Humpty Dumpty's successful lawsuit in Omaha, Humpty Dumpty Wins Big, prompted this comment from Steve Donohue:

"My question has always been: where is it ever said that humpty dumpty is an egg? It doesn't say so in the rhyme, but he's always depicted as such. "

Clearly, this is a fertile area of ovology. Indeed, the actor in the Omaha World Herald photographs is clearly oviform, but where is the support for this notion? Moreover, as Mr. Lyons says, "The question is: Did he fall or was he pushed? And who was behind the Grassy Knoll?" To deal with these questions ab ovo we return to Mother Goose herself...

Assumption of Command

SPC Gavin J. Colburn, a view from an outsider.

Part of the job of being a company commander is representing your unit at different events. I feel it is important to show support for other units and the things they may or may not be going through. This week I attended the Memorial Ceremony of a true American Hero: SPC Gavin J. Colburn.

Emily's Craziness

Individuality

Taking a quick break from reading/writing about Chaucer's Knight's Tale and post-modernist critical theory. It's kind of interesting. What I've been reading about critical theory, I mean. It seems to me that theorists have taken a slightly more realistic turn in the newer stuff from the last 15 years in comparison to the somewhat idealistic and rather minority-oriented criticisms of the previous 40-or-so years...

...Theorists in general are beginning to "turn away from dense philosophical considerations toward practical, cultural criticism", and recognize conventional ideas of identity society as "hybrid" and constantly shifting...

Weapon of Mass Distraction

A Second Opinion

My 15-year-old daughter weighs in on The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy:

The movie…

Rocked. Oh what crazy rocking it did. It was, of course, better
than the BBC version that we all had to deal with in order to appease
our appetite for a real live Guide…but this is faaar better. Oh it is
wonderful.