Posts

Posted on

A Firm Foundation?

Or shifting sands?

Sunday School kids’ll recall the song about the foolish man and the wise man taken from the parable by a carpenter from Nazareth. Foolish man? Built his house upon a foundation of sand and was naturally washed away in the first flood. The wise man built on a solid bedrock foundation and his house withstood the floods.

Keep that in mind as you read this extract from a Stop the ACLU post on Antonin Scalia’s response to one of the central strategies of the ACLU:

Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court Antonin Scalia was in Puerto Rico at the invitation of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies where he made a few comments on “Originalism”. Which is a term… descriptive of Strict Constructionism. Scalia does have a philosophy; it’s called originalism. That’s what prevents him from doing the things he would like to do. According to his judicial philosophy, he said, there can be no room for personal, political or religious beliefs.Scalia criticized those who believe in what he called the “living Constitution.

“That’s the argument of flexibility and it goes something like this: The Constitution is over 200 years old and societies change. It has to change with society, like a living organism, or it will become brittle and break. But you would have to be an idiot to believe that. The Constitution is not a living organism, it is a legal document. It says something and doesn’t say other things.”

This was a production of Stop The ACLU Blogburst. If you would like to join us, please email Jay or Gribbit. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll. Over 150 blogs already on-board.

For a list of blogs associated with Stop the ACLU, see my sidebar or my “Blogrolls and Alliances” page (in “Site Links” on the left).

Overwhelmingly ratified at Quietly Making Noise and Don Surber.

Posted on

Why We Don’t Rant

Just finished a great conversation with the host of TWC (in case you didn’t notice, this is Lyn from FBO guest posting at David’s invitation).  One of the topics we touched upon is speaking the truth.  Not in love.  Just speaking the truth.  Which is an act of love. (I’m extrapolating here, Dave, so bear with me, it’ll come together in the end, promise.)

Some call this ranting.  I don’t rant a lot at Bloggin’ Outloud.  David likes to rant at more than a drop of a hat.  We have different styles.  We have different purposes.  But we share a belief:  Lies are lies.  Truth is truth.  And if you’re going to blog about life, you’d better be prepared to tell it like it is.  Which means, at times (more often than not?), you’ll have to rant.

But most of us don’t.  Yet we blog.  And boy, do some of us blog … on and on and on. Without saying anything.  Without speaking truth.  Why?  Are we afraid?  That could be.  Anyone who’s gotten a nasty comment knows the punch that idiot lurkers can land with their anonymous jabs in our blogger plexus.  Criticism can cause us pause. (Except in David’s case, who actually wants nasty emails – it tells him someones reading! lol)

Another option is that we’re too kind.  We don’t rant because we don’t want to offend.  For example, I’m prone toward gentleness (or maybe it’s weaniness).  Instead of calling someone a liar, I’ll point out the lie, and show you why it’s a lie.  But I’d never call anyone an outright liar!  How arrogant!  How rude!  How unChristian and unloving!

But wait.  If I really cared about the truth, wouldn’t I do everything possible to defend it?  Even at the risk of alienating the very ones I’m trying to reach?  Wouldn’t it be the loving thing to speak it clearly, boldly, incessantly?

Ah, now we’re getting somewhere.  Maybe the real reason we don’t rant is because we’re 1) not committed to the truth in our own lives (or possibly don’t even know the truth); and 2) not committed to loving others enough to speak light into darkness.  It is no virtue to exhibit confusion as to what is truth and the fate of those who live without it.

Therefore, rant.  Be free.  Let the truth be known.  Shout it from the highest blog.  Speak the truth…loudly.  This is an act of love!  Is there a place for tact?  Gentleness?  Soft words?  Yes (see my blog, lol).  But better, is there a place to rant?  To scream?  To point fingers?  Yes.  (That’s why I’m guest posting at TWC!) 

Ah, but can the two co-exist?  Can both tactics be used for the kingdom?  The answer is: Yes.  And if you say they can’t, you’re a d*mn’d liar.

[Exploding on the scene at TMH’s Bacon Bits and hitting the top of the charts at Liberal Common Sense.—ed.]

Posted on

Weeeelll, let’s just see now…

Nothing like a really informative post title, is there?

Latest scoop on the bleg for traffic to twc to make 50,000 unique visitors (excluding myself and spiders) by the end of March (which about the time I began tracking with Statcounter).

OK, I know my “Shortstats” plugin is reporting some phenomenal number of visitors, but it’s including cspider crawls, so that’s out. Just sticking with the Statcounter stats, which report that I have less than 5,000 unique visitors to go before busting that modest count, so small compared to other bogs the silly Technorati and TTLB games rank lower than twc (silly games, indeed: one counts EVERYTHING and the other weighs data any darned way it wants. *Pfui* :-))

Leading—so far—blog referrers? In alphabetical order,

Diane’s Stuff
The Real Ugly American
TMH’s Bacon Bits

Now, Diane’s already got her keys to post here; all I need to do is beegdle (a combo of beg and wheedle) a while and prostrate myself and maybe she’ll feel free to at least crosspost teasers to some of her stuff here. TMH and Rick… well, TMH is really under the gun with work and DL (also an active referrer from TMH’s Bacon Bits) is getting ready to go hunting (but NOT talking TMH along, so no possibility of a lapse into Cheneyism there), but Rick… Hey, Rick! Why don’t you post about your trip to the gunshow here?

heh.

Posted on

Election reform

“Liberalism is a philosophy of consolation for the West as it commits suicide.”
— James Burnham

But,

“American conservatism is merely the shadow that follows Radicalism as it moves forward to perdition. It remains behind it, but never retards it, and always advances near its leader. This pretended salt hath utterly lost its savor: wherewith shall it be salted? Its impotency is not hard to explain. It is worthless because it is the conservatism of expediency only, and not of sturdy principle. It tends to risk nothing serious for the sake of truth.”
— R. L. Dabney

We need serious reform in our political system. The quality of people running for office in recent years—from both major and darned near all minor political parties—is… appalling for the most part. Oh, sure there may be some examples of decent people running for office, but as soon as they’re in office, they spend way too much time associating with scum (see our current crop of congresscritters).

Remember the next time you’re in a voting booth: voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil. If possible, write in a vote for “None of the above” in cases like that, cos that’s who we need in office—of those running—in most cases:

“None of the above.”

Submitted for consideration at Diane’s Stuff and Don Surber’s Best of Wednesday.

Posted on

Consoling those po’ liddle Muslims

*sigh*

Those poor, backward, dumbasses. Oh, was that a lil too blunt? Let me give but one example of Muslim backwardness and stupidity: The Danish Cartoon Kerfuffle.

Backward? Stupid?

Well, you judge:

The cartoons first appeared back in September in a Danish paper. Plenty of Muslims in Denmark who could have and probably did see ’em. No reaction.

They were republished in THE major Egyptian newspaper in October. No Reaction.

It took five or six months for the “insult” to penetrate thick Muslim skulls?

Dumbasses. Either they are so amazingly stupid that it really did take that long for the “insult” to penetrate, OR they are too stupid to realize that fake outrage raised at a later date is an easily-recognized transparent ploy to manipulate Western opinion.

Dumbasses. We ought to treat them just like any other mentally handicapped: with pity and condescension. (Yeh, that’s what special treatment for idiots of all kinds really is: pity and condescension, no matter how nobly someone wants to color it.)

Let’ em all ride the short bus. But pack ’em in real tightly… Need to conserve oxygen for the folks whose brains actually need the stuff.

Tel-Chai Nation tracked back to my Open Post (below) with an interesting article:

“Two-faced British imam gets caught in the act”

Read the whole thing. My response to but part of T-CN’s post is “Duh.”

Well, of course that ole imam is two-faced. Following the principle of dealing with “dar-ul-harb” laid down by Mohammed (may he rot in hell forever), who made an easy job of conquering the city of Medina by lying to its inhabitants and promising them that no harm would come to them, Muslims readily practice “holy deception” of the “house of the enemy” (“dar-ul-harb”—which is… everyone not Muslim.)

If only one percent (or less) of Muslims are actively involved in violence against “dar-ul-harb” that leaves the rest as

  1. Apologists and/or enablers who lie about the nature of Islam to those outside the tent
  2. “Country club” Muslims who do not actually share the cultic faith of the followers of the Butcher of Medina but who are simply “cultural Muslims” who adopt whatever suits them and throw out the reality of the Koran and the example of the life of the founder of Islam.

Of this last class, it is obvious that, while decrying (tepidly, weakly, disingenuously) the excesses of true Muslims, they are nevertheless passive accomplices enabling the terrorists by not denouncing the root of the terrorists’ justification: The Butcher of Medina, hiimself. until these “cultural Muslims” soundly repudiate Mohammed (may he rot in hell forever), they share in their bloody brothers’ evil.

And they’ll lie themselves blue in the face about that, too.

(Bucking for some Muslim death threats here. I sure hope they come soon, cos I’m feeling left out… :-))

Slapped up on the bulletin board at The Real Ugly American (where Rick has some worthwhile reading posted–go check it out!) and at TMH’s Bacon Bits, where a good blogbuddy is lending me a hand (Yeh, TMH, I just might have to give you keys to this place after all… )

Posted on

Wednesday OTA/Plus

Today is Wednesday, in case you’d not yet noticed (lil reminder for the caffeine-deprived among us), so, it’s Open Trackback Alliance Day here at America’s third World Countyâ„¢. Link to this post and trackback. A reference to your linked post will appear below this post, both on the post page and this front page.

But before all the linky stuff, take a break and check out

American news media: little courage and little honesty, by Dennis Prager. The nut of the piece?

“When it comes to taking on conservatives, Catholics, Evangelicals and the like, liberal news media are Supermen. When it comes to confronting real evil, however, the news media are Mickey Mouse.”

Just read the whole thing, then come back here and do the linky stuff with this post and trackback…

Link to this URL: http://www.thirdworldcounty.us/?p=1735
Trackback to this URI: http://www.thirdworldcounty.us/wp-trackback.php?p=1735

Hit me with your best shot, wouldya?

And CLICK on the OTA graphic below or on my left sidebar for more info on the Open Trackback Alliance, ‘K?

Also note the other fine blogs featuring linkfests at

Linkfest Haven.Linkfest Haven

Posted on

Small bytes

Well, while my Wonder Woman has a late gig at school (who schedules parent/family activity night on Valentine’s Day? Oh, right. School administrators: the stupidest people in the education establishment *sigh*), here are a few lil short takes:

updateblog.gif

Yeh, for those of you who are dropping in but still haven’t changed your blogrolls, take note. I mean you are here, so you do know the address has changed…

🙂

Just how bad is America’s Math Edcuation Pretty darned bad. As bad as America’s reading education, at least, and that’s in the toilet… just hasn’t been flushed yet as it has been elsewhere (in Britain, as per one of The Lost Posts from last week, it’s not just math and reading, the kids are getting dumber).

Islamist Bumper Stickers Some dry humor there. Another blogger who’s buckin’ for a fatwa.

Enter to Win a Legoâ„¢ PC–that actually works!

The Legoâ„¢ PC is an effort commissioned by PC Magazine and built by Nathan Sawaya Neat stuff.

Go read The Dragon of Upways Gorge. Ferdy needs to get Bruce to market his stories. Sure, they were written as kids’ stories, but it’d be useful to get ’em into Alan Greenspan’s hands, let alone into the hands of folks who could read them as bedtime stories to congresscritters…

News you’ll not hear from our Mass media podpeople: Scurrilous Is As Scurrilous Does: A Justice Primer

Nasty stuff that. Justice. Has no place in the faux left’s America–or world. To be avoided at all costs in the same manner as Truth.

Trenchant observations on memetic warfare at Armed and Dangerous: Gramscian damage

An interesting report on John Walker Lindh. It’s a view that doesn’t get much (any) press in our MMPA, so that lends it some cachet, but just because it’s contra the terrorist sympathizers in our media, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true. More of the story will come out as time progresses, no doubt, that will enable folks to arrive at a sensible conclusion about this guy. I’m leaning toward thinking he’s scum, but then I think that about terrorist sympathizers in general.

Where Have you Gone Ronald Reagan has his own perspective on the Cheney hunting accident. Droll, dude. Oh, and be sure to load his front page and catch the Porky Pig post… LMAO.

More good shoot ’em up commentary from DL at TMH’s Bacon Bits. Targetting Mass Media Podpeople: Ready… Fire… Aim. Ahhh, wasn’t a lucky shot DL; you could just fire into the herd!

A lil lesson in econ 101 from Cracker over at The Wide Awakes. *shhh!* Don’t tell the politicians about this post. It’d take too long explaining the concepts in little bitty words, very, very sllllooooowwwwwllllyyyyy…

And one last thing. Be honest with me willya? How many of y’all did steal this?

Steal This Book: Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Facsimile Edition

Steal This Book: Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Facsimile Edition

Perspiring minds wanna know, even at The Conservative Cat.

Posted on

And All the People Rejoiced!

The big kerfuffle in the last few days, of course, never quite got the headline that would place it in perspective:

Cheney shot a Lawyer!

Oh. My.

Injuries not serious

Oh, well… *sigh*

Shouting “First, kill all the lawyers!” at Common FolkUsing CommonSense

[note: I do personally know or know of five lawyers who are decent human beings, and so I infer there must surely be more of that nature. But liking and respecting five lawyers as individuals doesn’t bring me any closer to appreciating lawyers as a class… And do also note that I am well aware that the snippet lifted from Henry VI is really Shakespeare’s tribute to lawyers as a bulwark against tyrants. And yes, I know the mistaken meme I invoked when I typed the words… ]

And yet another update–From Rush Limbaugh, this lil gem:

“Would you rather go hunting with Dick Cheney or riding in a car over a bridge with Ted Kennedy? At least Cheney takes you to the hospital.”

Uhm, was that a rhetorical question, Rush? (h.t. Newsmax)

Posted on

PSA: Nice one, Lady Diane!

Over at Diane’s Stuff, a good piece of info for commenters. “How to Add an Avatar”–to your comments here at twc, or any WP blog that’s configured with Dan’s Avatar Thingy.

Of course, I might add that trolls using fake IPs/email addresses still won’t have an easy time since Spam Karma 2.2 does a fine job of labeling such stupid tactics.

See Diane’s post for info on using an avatar associated with your comments here.

Posted on

Helpful hint (A Free JK’s 180/Open Post)

A helpful hint for Jean Fraud sKerry… in an Open Post so that perhaps alla the linky stuff will eventually carry the help to his jackass ears.

Yep: doing this with the aid of Linkfest Haven and alla the fine bloggers linking in (hint-hint yourself, folks! :-)). Link here and trackback.

Hey! Jean Fraud (and all the skis a-slope), sorry to see you’ve been getting little press recently. Sure, sure, ya had a little press time with your fail-ibuster flop, but you really need to flip that somehow, cos you’ve had virtually zippo for the last coupla weeks.

How are you ever gonna get to be Billary’s running mate in ’08 if you can’t get more press?

Hey! Here’s an idea! Now, don’t ignore this one; it could keep your sour puss on the top o’ the news for MONTHS–it’s a blockbuster of an idea:

Release your records.

Yeh, yeh, I know you promised multiple times to do so. And I know you even said you kept that promise—first during the ’04 campaign when you said alla your records were on your website and released to the press, then nearly a year after you said that, telling us all you finally had released your records… to two “news” organs (let’s not say which organs, but anatomically speaking the LASlimes and the Boston Glob are somewhere near the end of the alimentary canal) who have since released… uh, zippo.

So, you want your mug in the news, ya hafta do something newsworthy, even completely out of character. So, how about you…. *SHOCKER*… make good on your word and *EARTH-SHATTERING NEWS* Let your records go.

If there’s nothing there, it’s still be an amazing news story, “Kerry Stops Lying!!!”

Wow. Think of the ink.

No More sKerry BS_button.jpg

Noted at Cao’s, where you too can join the Free John Kerry’s 180 Blogburst. See my sidebar for tons of other fine blogs involved.

Join the blogbursts to help FREE Kerry’s 180 every Tuesday!

We’ve formed a blogburst group and here are the bloggers who are contributing so far. If you want to join the blogroll for Free Kerry’s 180, click here to email me, include the url for your blog. The blogburst is every Tuesday, so don’t forget to blog about it. All you have to do is encourage Kerry to set his 180 FREE, I’ll send you the code for the blogroll.

Also noted at Adam’s Blog (where Adam needs a cuppa joe… or three :-))