Moving to a new site!

Over the last month I've been making preparations to move this blog to a new site.  There are a number of reasons I've chosen to do this:

• I don't like being beholden to Blogger/Google for my hosting.  I have no control over what Blogger is doing or their plans.  I've long had a problem with them incorrectly handling a few links which I was only recently able to rectify.
• Unless I wanted to spend an inordinate amount of time deigning my own template (which I actually did to a certain degree) I was restricted to the stale designs that Blogger offers and which look pretty much like a million other blogs.
• I hate having a blogspot.com address and their means of using your own domain name is too buggy.
• I wanted complete freedom to make any enhancements I could think of.  I'm a computer programmer and being restricted to Blogger's widgets or just a javascript insert or embed just won't work for me.
• I want to integrate my blog(s) with a more traditional website/portal eventually and that's really ugly on Blogger.
• Comments were broken on my blog.

And there are more reasons beside.

I've also changed the name of the site.  There is another blog called The Write Side and that's just too close for my comfort and since the other blog is more established I chose to change.  The new name for the blog is:

The Whole Bird

and I know you're thinking, "Gee, that's stupid!" but you'd be wrong.  It's unique and it's also the logical conclusion to the sentence, "We aren't just the Right Wing, we are the whole bird".  I believe that is a very important concept, certainly one that has been lost by the main stream media.  While they would have everyone believe that conservatism is radical, it is mainstream and is pervasive through society.  Therefore, the new blog is now located at www.thewholebird.com.

What does this mean to you?

Well, hopefully you won't have to change your RSS feed.  I'm working on having it forwarded so you won't have to do a thing.  If you would like to just go head and subscribe to the new feed right away, it's at FeedBurner. But as I said, I'm going to try to make it as transparent possible so hopefully you won't even notice.

One thing I do want to announce is that comments are now working.  Head over and join in and enjoy!

Michael Vick and the Inequity of Justice

Michael Vick was sentenced today:

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison Monday for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy that involved gambling and killing pit bulls that did not perform up to expectations.

Before you think that this is a story about how awful it is that Vick should get almost 2 years for his dogfighting crimes, think again.  The inequity of justice isn't for celebrities, it's for women. 

It's very saddening (and enraging) to me that a person can kill dogs and get 23 months in prison, not because of the killings, but because of the way he killed them.  The case isn't about life and animals' rights, it's about cruelty.  But what I'm forced to wonder is why is it that there is so much outrage because of what happened to Vick's dogs, but the world remains silent about the oppression of women in Muslim societies. 

Just a few weeks ago there were stories about a Muslim cleric giving advice on how to beat your wife.  It's "accepted" (by the men) and accepted (by women who have no choice) that if you're a woman in a Muslim country, you're going to be treated worse than an American house pet and the punishment for abuse is nonexistent. 

Amnesty International and other left-wing organizations like to talk about how awful we are in the USA because we have the death penalty for crimes but they are largely silent on the cultural normality of women abuse in Muslim society.  The tragedy isn't just that Muslim women are oppressed beyond all reason, and they certainly are.  The tragedy is that for no other reason than to advance their own personal agenda of self-loathing and seeking the praise of anyone who hates America, these women are left to suffer and die.

Huckabee says a long time ago that he thinks that homosexuality is a problem and the media goes nuts.  Ahmed-dinner-jacket denies that homosexuality exists in Iran (and he kills gays every day to try to make that statement true) and all you hear from the media is crickets.

The communist left of this country (aka Democrats) and their willing sycophants in the main stream media are guilty by inaction for every homosexual that or woman that is killed in a Muslim country.  It is criminal negligence that they can't be tried for but should be ashamed of.  The blood of untold innocents are on their hands for no other reason than they want to befriend anyone who hates America.

11Alive.com - Vick Sentenced to 23 Months in Prison

 

Technorati tags: michael vick, human rights, gay rights, women's rights, iran, dogfighting

Pearl Harbor - We Will Never Forget

(this is a repost of my Pearl Harbor Day Message of Last Year)

On this day in 1941, the Japanese made an unprovoked attack on our naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

 

The world and our enemies would well remember that this:

Leads to this:

No apologies, no regrets.

 

Technorati tags: politics, war, wwii, ww2, pearl harbor, atomic bomb, hiroshima, nagasaki, december 7

Crazy Ron Paul Likes Team Fortress 2

 

Ok, not the crazy Ron Paul, but I like the game and I've changed my Team Fortress 2 player name to "Crazy Ron Paul" so if you see Crazy Ron Paul on TF2 (most likely on 2fort), that would be me.  Drop in and say hi or friend me or something. 

There's just something that makes me laugh about seeing Crazy Ron Paul (the avatar, not the congressman so let's make that clear) take a headshot from a sniper.  Last night I was tickled when I died in the game and it said, "Guided By Light got revenge on Crazy Ron Paul!"  I thought that was a better nickname than PaulBot or some other goofy name.  :)

I'll probably start posting screenshots of Crazy Ron Paul's accomplishments.  :D

 

Technorati tags: ron paul, politics, election, texas, humor, satire, gop, republican

Romney Speech Analysis from a Mormon

As a Latter-day Saint (Mormon), I obviously come from a different point of view.  Unlike many in my faith, Romney's religion doesn't endear me toward him, quite the contrary. I personally would prefer he not become President because I frankly don't want people to politicize my religion.  But I was keenly interested in this speech and I was able to watch it live, in its entirety.

My summary is that I found the speech to be rather weak.  I don't think he's done anything to convince Evangelicals that they should quit hating us, and that's what he needs to do.  He didn't go into any detail of the criticisms made about our faith, but most importantly, he didn't highlight how being LDS has helped him prepare for the presidency.  Some things I would have addressed if I were Romney:

1. What he learned about people, tolerance, other cultures, etc. because he served a mission.
2. Being a lay leader (he was a Stake President, which is similar to a catholic bishop) taught him compassion for the the poor, and the importance of helping people in need on a large scale such as what was done by our church with Hurricane Katrina.  He wasn't a leader during those times, but there are always disasters that stakes (like a diocese) are called on to assist.
3. How his leadership experience in the LDS Church taught him about volunteerism being more effective than mandates.
4. He should have emphasized that the Clintons are Baptists and so is Jimmy Carter and Robert Byrd.  But Abraham Lincoln was a Baptist and so are Governors Mike Huckabee and Sonny Perdue.  This illustrates that to vote one way or another based on a person's religion doesn't mean anything.

The point here is that Romney is being disliked because many Evangelicals don't like Mormons.  It's a simple fact and it's pure bigotry.  Romney needed to de-emphasize the importance of his faith and emphasize that it's how you live that matters.  He could have stressed that while he's not perfect, he is serious about his religion (which he did do) and make some oblique contrasts to people who claim to follow a religion but don't follow its precepts, like Bill Clinton, John Kerry, and every other pro-life catholic that is running for office, which makes a backhanded allusion to Giuliani without saying his name.

He could have discussed how you can't judge a person by the deeds of others in their faith.  Robert Byrd was in the KKK but Abe Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.  Should all Baptists be discounted because of Byrd's acts?  Of course not.  Then he can do the same with Mormonism.  He can point out some government servants who are/were LDS and then some infamous ones.  He could praise Mike Leavitt (HHS Secretary) and Ezra Taft Benson (Ag Secretary under Eisenhower).  There are LDS who have done great things like Steve Young, inventer Philo T. Farnsworth, and Gladys Knight, but also those who have done horrible things like Ted Bundy and John D. Lee.  He could have used this point to show that you can't judge a person (good or bad) by their religion.

And lastly (but I think most importantly) he should have emphasized his endorsements by people like Bob Jones and other protestants and say that these people have chosen to put aside their disagreements with Mormon theology and seen he is the only viable candidate who is both fiscally and socially conservative.

His best quotes:

"[religious differences] are not bases for criticism but a test of tolerance"

and

"liberty is a gift of God, not an indulgence of government"

Liberals Are Tolerant...APRIL FOOLS!!!

Ok, everyone knows that Ann Coulter is, shall we say, polarizing.  She minces no words and is not afraid of saying exactly what she thinks and lace it with over-the-top hyperbole and exaggeration as a humor device.  It's one thing to confront her on her views publicly, but this is too much:

Coulter contacted police in March to report that a vulgar greeting card was left in her mailbox and, on another occasion, she heard someone screaming "Ann Coulter is a big asshole" from a vacant lot near her house. The pink and white card, which had "Go **** yourself" printed on its face, included several denigrating handwritten statements,

I hate to drag out the old saw of "if this were done to a liberal..." comments, but it's true.  Put stuff like this in Al Sharpton's mailbox and he'll be demonstrating and being the victim.

Coulter does have more class than that though.  She just got her address taken out of the county property records.  It's ridiculous that a public figure has to take special steps to discourage stalking simply because of the opinions she expresses.  But these are Democrats we're talking about.  Ann said it best in the title of her latest book, "If Democrats had any brains, they'd be Republicans."

Ann Coulter Addresses Space Invaders - November 27, 2007

Democrats are Crazy and Now We Have Proof

Not that we needed any validation for the obvious, but here it is:

A roundup of Gallup health polls over the past four years finds that Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to report having excellent mental health.

The survey found that 58 percent of Republicans polled reported having excellent mental health. Only 38 percent of Democrats and 43 percent of Independents reported the same.

It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to deduce that the Democrats are suffering from mental illness.  Look at their multiple personalitied candidates.  They all take multiple sides of any issue, but what makes them insane is that they see nothing wrong with that!

But there's a more likely cause.  Democrats are not happy.  They are not satisfied unless they're a victim of something or feel guilty about it.  Being a Republican is optimism.  It's looking to build people up and find what's good with them and helping them to get better and more self sufficient.  Being a Democrat is gloom and despair.  To a Democrat, the world is collapsing, the economy is collapsing, and they have paranoid delusions that blame Bush and Cheney for everything that could possibly ever go wrong, including the weather.

When you spend your life looking for fault, it's no wonder they are so depressed. 

FOXNews.com - Republicans Report Having Better Mental Health Than Democrats, Poll Finds - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum

Islam: The Thin-Skinned Religion of Death

Well, the Muslims are at it again:

KHARTOUM, Sudan —  Thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and knives, rallied Friday in a central square and demanded the execution of a British teacher convicted of insulting Islam for allowing her students to name a teddy bear "Muhammad."

I am a huge believer in religious freedom and especially tolerance toward other religions, especially those that most people disagree with.  Heck, I'm a Mormon.  I know first-hand the hatred and intolerance that can be leveled at someone just because of their faith.  And historically, Mormons were persecuted in this country like no other religion, except for pagans.  I get it. 

But if there were thousands of my faith calling for someone's execution because someone made fun of Joseph Smith while millions in my faith did nothing and said nothing, I'd no longer be a Latter-day Saint.  It would be indicative of a problem that is systemic and embedded in that belief system.

And such is the case with Islam.  Any time someone draws a picture of Muhammad, names a teddy-bear after him, or simply says something critical about him, Muslims bring out the pitchforks and demand executions.  This is the religion of peace? 

You can't separate extremists from Islam because they are the face of Islam and none of the so-called "good Muslims" are doing anything about it.  Yes, there's the occasional protest here in the United States, but that's it.  But I question whether the people calling for executions really are the extremists or are they the mainstream?  All of these Jihadist calls come from the Middle East, the very center of Islam.  Like Mormonism proceeds out of Utah (even though there are more outside than in) and Catholicism proceeds out of Italy, so Islam proceeds out of the Middle East.

People have said that "Islamic extremists" are the real threat, but I think it goes much, much deeper than that.  It is Islam itself that must be watched.  You can't separate people from their religion.  Yes, Christianity certainly has its extremists, but those are the exceptions.  While these nutjobs will try to quote scripture to say it's ok to kill abortion doctors and the like, there is nowhere you'll find Christians having protests and demanding executions because of insults to Jesus Christ.

I've known many Muslims and they've mostly been great people. But it is their belief system that is in question and their refusal to repudiate such behavior that is the problem.  And why can't they effectively repudiate it?  Because the very center of Islam, the very essence of the Muslim religion is at the very heart of this violent behavior.

We can't separate people from their religion, and Islam is a violent, intolerant religion.  Just because people on the fringes (that is, those outside of the Middle East) don't agree, they are still supporting this violent, jihadist behavior because that is what proceeds out of the center of Islam.  Even the Hajj is proof of that.  You don't make a pilgrimage to Indonesia or a mosque in New York.  You make a pilgrimage to Mecca.  And where is Mecca?  It's in Saudi Arabia, which also happens to be a center of terrorism in spite of their governments overtures to the contrary. 

We need to stop this politically correct garbage of pretending that a persons associations don't matter.  Truman let Communists in his White House in the 40's and to allow Muslims get positions of power is an even greater risk.  People need to make a choice.  Do they want to support the hatred of Islam or do they want to be in our government?  They are incompatible goals.

The Freedom of Religion question is irrelevant.  Courts had no problem outlawing polygamy because they felt that the state had a compelling interest to do so, and it's the very same with Islam.  Being Muslim  should prevent you from gaining any security clearance whatsoever and Congress should refuse to seat Muslims, the same way they tried with Reed Smoot over a hundred years ago because of polygamy allegations.  It can be done, we just need the collective will to do it and recognize that Islam may be disorganized, but it is a collective threat against the ideals upon which this country was founded.

 

FOXNews.com - Thousands in Sudan Call for British Teddy Bear Teacher's Execution - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News