Ah, the Bad Old Days....

Back before the elections, when political blogging was my main theme, I spent a lot of time linking to and commenting on news of ugly incidents where leftist activists used violence and vandalism to intimidate conservatives. Once the elections were over, I pretty much left that behind.

But it's happening again, and it makes me sick. Michelle Malkin, one of my favorite conservative pundits, has been getting harassed for being a conservative. The big issue, however, is that she's a minority and she's conservative. But the comments haven't been just political or personal in nature, they've been downright racist. I won't dirty this Blog with the comments, but check out Michelle's Blog for details.

Ugly. Just ugly. And what's sad is, I highly suspect that if a conservative were to make those kinds of comments about a liberal minority member, the very same people who sent those nasty comments to Michelle would be among those decrying that conservative as a racist.

Pun Fun II

After Russ' (TacJammer) smarmy comment about my Pun Fun last week, I threatened to make it a weekly feature.

I got nothing.

I intended to come up with something witty this week, but I had some dental problems and the toothaches I've had have made it hard to concentrate. I finally got to the doctor's yesterday. Apparently, I'd lost a filling and the fleshy tissue in the middle of the tooth was exposed, causing the pain.

Believe me, I'm no fan of Pulp Friction.

Go Zell it on the Mountain

Thanks for the Memory to Russ at TacJammer and Ed at Revealed Truth.

Russ links to an excellent article by Rich Lowry over at the National Review Online:

Zell Was Right.

It's an excellent article, and I recommend you read it. I heartily approve of Russ' choice of the following comment in the article as his Quote of the Day:

All the Democrats who now say that the party has foolishly given up on the South, that it is unable to connect with religious voters, that it is too beholden to liberal orthodoxy on social issues, that Americans don't trust it on national defense, and that it doesn't speak the language of most Americans should take a deep breath and repeat after me: "Zell Miller was right."

That sums up the entire article well. The main theme is that Zell Miller, for all the derision that was directed at him from the left, was not only right, he was downright prophetic in predicting that by embracing and normalizing the far left fringe of the party, the Democrats have alienatied many moderate Democrats and centrist independents. This "marginalization of the center" is, many believe, the reason the Democratic Party's power in the national arena has slipped. I believe it, most Republicans have seen it for a long time. Ed over at Revealed Truth makes a good point in quoting a statistic gleaned from a Suzanne Fields Townhall.com article: Surveys taken at the national conventions of both parties "revealed that 14 percent of the Democrats had once been Republicans - and 28 percent of the Republicans had once been Democrats." Ed quips,

If I were a Democrat power broker ("there but for the grace of God...."), I'd be awfully worried about that. That sort of descrepancy in conversion levels bespeaks a dramatic contrast in the relative vitality of the two parties.

Indeed. Furthermore, I'd be asking myself what was drawing my former faithful to the "enemy", or, more importantly, what was driving them from me. For all my support for the GOP, I tend to think that a good portion of those former Democrats left because they were disillusioned with their old party, not because the GOP suddenly exerted some irresistable allure. And according to Rich's article, maybe the Democrats are finally getting it -- a day late and a dollar short:

"What I was telling them was right and correct, if only they had listened to it," says Miller, who recently retired from the Senate. Democrats are essentially saying these days that they want a party in which someone like Zell Miller can feel comfortable. Alas, they used to have one. But, as someone once put it, today's Democrats are a national party no more.

Someone indeed said that. You have to wonder who, if anyone, was listening.

Sovereignty

I received an email regarding the following C-Span debate which sounds very interesting:

The American University Washington College of Law discussion between Justice Scalia and Justice Breyer will be re-aired this evening on C-Span at 8pm (est)

C-Span’s home page currently links to the Internet broadcast

The discussion is highly recommended for anyone interested in the topic.


A Conversation on the Relevance of Foreign Law for American Constitutional Adjudication with Hon. Scalia and Hon. Stephen Breyer, Justices, U.S Supreme Court

American University, Washington College of Law Office of Special Events and Continuing Legal Ed.
202-274-4075, secle@wcl.american.edu

Jan. 13, 2005 (Streamed Live on C-Span)

Unfortunately, with ther time zone change, I'll still be at work. Does anyone polan to watch this? Could they viteotape it for me?

Blegging for Info

So I'm this close to being able to Blog. I got a free computer from work, and as soon as I can, I'll have it online. The NIC in it doesn't work, so I'll have to decide whether or not to spring for cable or DSL, or settle for dial-up for now. Usually it'd be a no-brainer, but with Baby B on the way....

It's very bare-bones, only has 98 on it, and no Office. If anyone can suggest a good freeware Word Processor, a cheap but effective AV and firewall software, I'd be eternally grateful. Also, any suggestions on changes to the Blog itself are welcome.

Thanks in advance to all my loyal and, hopefully, geeky readers.

Papa Might Have Been a Rolling Stone...

... But his feet were on the Solid Rock.

It all started yesterday when I read this meme at the Llama Butchers (Thanks for the Memories for real this time, guys). The idea is, on your blog, to let people know a little bit about you. In order to do this, go to Mapquest, click on directions, and plug in your current address and the address of your childhood home. Then, post to your blog the estimated driving time between the two.

I thought that sounded neat. But I had a bit of a dilemma. What do I list as my childhood home? Do I list the home to which I was brought home, but in which I only lived for two weeks (Camas Valley, Oregon, Total Est. Time: 1 hour, 43 minutes Total Est. Distance: 93.34 miles)? Or the home where I spent the fnext three months
(Right here in Springfield, Total Est. Time: 2 minutes Total Est. Distance: 0.44 miles)? Or the first home in which I spent a full year (Santa Clara, Oregon, Total Est. Time: 13 minutes Total Est. Distance: 8.68 miles)? Or Two years (Lorane, OR, Total Est. Time: 46 minutes Total Est. Distance: 26.82 miles)? Or the first house I *REMEMBER* Living in (Norman Avenue, Eugene, OR, Total Est. Time: 14 minutes Total Est. Distance: 8.88 miles)? Or the home I lived in when I went off to Grade School (Vista, CA, Total Est. Time: 14 hours, 12 minutes Total Est. Distance: 946.66 miles)? Or where my childhood diseases finally led to the discovery of congenital birth defects that required corrective surgery (Weott, CA, 3 years, Total Est. Time: 6 hours, 24 minutes Total Est. Distance: 349.83 miles)? Or the home (actually two different houses in the same town) where I spent the majority of my grade school years (Filer, ID, 7 years, Total Est. Time: 10 hours, 11 minutes Total Est. Distance: 674.49 miles)? Or the town not far from where I was born, where I spent my high school years (Tenmile, OR 4 years Total Est. Time: 1 hour, 32 minutes Total Est. Distance: 85.26 miles)?

Yeah, we moved a lot. For most of my pre-adult life, my father was a pastor. He pastored a series of small congregations in Oregon and Idaho, making a huge impact on each community where he pastored. In between pastorates, he would work whatever job God sent his way. He was a very talented man, and whatever he set out to do, he did well. He was a business machine repairman, a city water employee, a volunteer firefighter, a grocery stock clerk, whatever it took to put food on the table, he did it. But his real passion was serving his God and his congregations. He was a self-sacrificing, giving, compassionate pastor, and, if he'll pardon my language, I agree with the atheist friend of his who fought fires with him in Idaho: He was one hell of a man.

The last ten years of his life were not spent in the pulpit, and I think it was the saddest time of his entire life. It's hard for me to be without him, but I honestly believe God was easing my father of a trememndous burden when he took him. I miss him, but not as badly, I think, as he missed himself. My father's childhood was so transient as to make mine seem sedentary, but now, finally, he has a home he'll never have to leave again.

A Question for the Seahawks

How much better of a quarterback do you think Hasselback would be if you GAVE HIM SOME HALFWAY DECENT RECEIVERS TO THROW TO????????!!!!!!!!

grumble grumble grumble....

UPDATE:
Readers Merc and Venom make a good point -- Saturday's game was a distaster for severasl reasons, the most important of which was the lack of a solid defense by the Seahawks. I was not trying to lay the loss at the feet of the Seahawks receiving corp -- just the dismal number of incompletions.

The Real Northwest

My affinity for the television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition has been well documented. Last night, I had extra cause to enjoy the show: The episode was filmed here in the Northwest, when the cast helped a family on Washington's Kitsap Peninsula, across the Sound from Seattle. It was especially heartwarming to see my fellow Nor'Westers helping their neighbors. And it mitigated a frustration of mine.

For better or for worse, the view that most people outside the Northwest have of us is almost entirely shaped by the image present by the larger cities, especially Seattle, Portland, and, to a lesser extent, Eugene. That image is one of NFL teams that choke, Starbucks (two on every corner), Grunge bands, WTC Riots, Anarchist cells, SUV-torching Earth First!'ers, and rain, rain, rain.

Well, ok, the rain part is fair. But the rest of it... well, it's a limited view, at best, and misrepresents the reality anywhere outside the big cities. The Northwest that was shown on last night's EM:HE was the Northwest I grew up in -- Rural, beautiful (albeit soggy), full of good-hearted people who would give you the shirt off their backs. Sure, we have good and bad, just like anywhere else, but the average rural Oregonian or Washingtonian is honest, hard-working, and is almost indistinguishable from the kind of people you'd find in any rural region (except for the webs between the toes and the layer of moss). And they are, almost unanimously, aware of the exquisite beauty of their surroundings. They are as proud, hardy, and hospitable as any Texan, Kansan, or Southerner you'll meet, and in most cases, probably descended from whichever state you're in as you read this.

So the next time you read a headline from Portland or Seattle, take a moment and remember just how small a spot on our map each of those places is. And try not to paint the rest of our states with their brush.

Cross-Posted at Head West, Turn Right.

Blogeography

Hmmmm....

This Visit Map I've added to my blog is cool and interesting, but it's challenging my map reading skills. I'm looking at the visitors from Europe and trying to figure out where they were. Most of them were poor unsuspecting sould from Blog Explosion, I'll wager. So far I've deducted the following dots: Trondheim, Oslo, Helsinki, Munich, Paris, and Lisbon. The other dot in Germany could be leipzig, but I'm not sure, and I'm stumped by the southern French one. Orleans? Bourges? Limoges? Can't exactly say. And is that Casablanca or Rabat Showing up in Morocco?

As for England, wow. LOTS of people from there visiting. London is obvious in its dominance, but I think I can make out Ipswich, Cambridge, Luton or Oxford, and Reading. Birmingham or Coventry? Liverpool, Manchester, and Leeds are there, and so, I think, is Sheffield. I think that northeasternmost dot is Kingston upon Hull.

Also hello to Seoul, Canberra, Adelaide, Alice Springs, Singapore, Riyadh, Porto Alegre Brazil, Charlottetown PEI, Ottawa (or is that Montreal?), Winnipeg, Dryden ON (I think?), Vancouver BC, Whomever that is on the Kenai Peninsula (Homer AK, I'll wager), Fairbanks AK, and goodness, is that Whitehorse, Yukon Territory checking in?

Also a big hello to all my fellow lower 48'ers, too numerous to even try.

This is very very cool (YOu can see how easily entertained I am). It really brings home just how far-reaching the blogosphere has become.

What a Difference...

...only a few hundred feet in elevation make.

Here in the valley floor, it's raining and warm enough that only a jacket is necessary. But up in the Coburg Hills and other low mountains surrounding Springfield, it's snowing. They're veiled lightly by the lowest of the clouds, but what I see as fog is probably the snow itself up there. It's still just a powdered sugar sprinkling of snow, and you can still see the dark green of the trees (almost black in this light( underneath. The last few days, the weather's been teasing us -- dropping below freezing only when there's not a cloud in the sky, and warming up to the 40's as soon as we get any precipitation. Hopefully by weekend's end we'll get some of the white stuff here at the lower elevations.

Blog Call

Do you Blog? Do you consider yourself politically conservative? Do you live in the Pacific Northwest?

If you can answer yes to all three questions, please email me or drop a note in the comments. I'm looking to start a Blog alliance for northwest conservatives. I'm also open to Blogs form a small-l libertarian POV. My perspective and the one I'm most interested in is that of someone who loves this region, wouldn't want to live aywhere else, but hates being in the minority. For that reason, I'm most interested in Oregon, BC, and Washington Blogs, but Bloggers from Alaska, Idaho, and even Montana or Wyoming are welcome (sorry Northern Californians, but you already have plenty of options). Again, drop me a line and see what we can get started.

Pun Fun

Yesterday's post about carpentry got me to thinking last night. And I think that even more than woodworking, I'd like to learn metalworking. I'd love to be able to shape and weld metal into useful shapes. I believe that architecture and the crafts reflect the culture they come from, and I'd love to develop something distinctively American, but functional as well -- maybe grillwork for sidewalk grates that's also esthetically pleasing.

Yes, that's it, I want to wright the novel American grate.

Baby Steps

All my life I've wanted to get into woodworking, but have never had the money or space for a workshop and tools. But I've managed to pick up a couple of rudimentary items (mainly a sander and a drill), and while I cannot yet build much, I was able to strip and refinish a wine rack. It was purchased for $4 at a local flea market, and was in bad shape. But after I stripped it, it was pretty nice -- blonde wood (ash or birch, I suspect) except for the tray top, which is a thin sheet of real teak. I used twak oil on the whole thing, instead of stain, I like the color contrast.

So now I need to fill it. It holds 16 bottles, and so far I only have four:
A bottle of Ars Vitis Moselle Riesling from Germany
A 2001 Cabernet Franc from Abacella Vineyards (Oregon -- Umpqua appellation)
A 2002 Chateau Bianca Gewurtztraminer (Oregon -- Northern Willamette Valley Appellation)
A 2001 Saginaw Vineyards Pinot Noir Blanc (Oregon -- Southern Willamette Valley Appellation)

(Oh, yes. I also managed to rebuild the legs and reinforce the bottom of the 63-year-old heirloom basinette that TFR's family has loaned us for Baby B, using my BIL's tools.)

An Iraqi Perspective

Thanks for the Memory to a comment from Reader Carin (who happens to have an excellent Blog of her own).

Surprisingly, my recent post on Pablo Paredes ha generated more discussion than I'm used to getting. And I welcome that. In fact, I ESPECIALLY welcome the dissenting view being expressed. As much as I appreciate the encouragement I get for my blog, after a while, hearing "You're right" all the time can get old, unless it's followed by the words "I hadn't thought of that before". That's why I had been focusing more on personal entries and less on political commentary.

But this duscussion has my juices flowing again, and now one comment in particular inspires me -- not to write, but to recommend you read -- specifically, read this excellent article by an Iraqi regarding the war:

How the Left Betrayed My Country - Iraq
By Naseer Flayih Hasan

I'm sure there are other points of view as well, but this is the best case for the war from an Iraqi perspective that I've read.

You Don't Talk About Foodfight Club

The Feared Redhead and I have, to some extent, different tastes in television viewing. Most of these differences are stereotypically gender-specific. I like the History Channel and Discovery, she likes Discovery Health, Oprah, and the "Reality" shows. There are, of course, a few exceptions -- Extreme Makeover Home Edition and the Food Network to be precise. But even here there are disagreements. Two fo my favorite shows on TFN tend to annoy her -- God Eats and Iron Chef. And yes, I must admit, I prefer Iron Chef USA. I love the format of the competition.

Which inspired in me last night a great idea for a group of friends/fellow gourmands to try: Foodfight Club. You get together at least 6 friends who love to cook AND eat. Two volunteer to be the competitors. One is the referree, who chooses the secret ingredients. The rest serve as judges. Get together at the home of one who has a big enough kitchen, and... ALLEZ CUISINE!

I think WAY too much.

Delicious Torture

I just returned from a quick visit to the Deli here at work, where my senses were assaulted and taunted by what I must say is one of my top five favorite smells in the whole world: bread baking in the oven.

There's something about that yeasty, doughy, rich, warm, fresh aroma that makes me smile, brings back memories (my mother is a kick-ass cook), and makes me want to tear off a chunk, slather it in butter, and devour it.

I'm a sucky baker, but I think I shall have to break out the bread maker tonight.

Fight On

If my grandad had still been alive yesterday, it would have been an interesting time in my grandparents' home. My Grandfather was a native Californian (of the Old School), and a lifelong, diehard USC fan. My grandmother is a dustbowl okie, born in Arkansas, raised in Oklahoma, moved to California during the depression. She is just as fervent an OU Sooners fan (My childhood nickname was "Boomer"). She also has a soft spot for teams from the southwestern US, and a mild contempt for teams from the west Coast. Over the 50-some years of their marriage, one fight was never resolved, and it was fought off and on the whole marriage: Who was a better football player, Doak Walker or Ambrose Schindler? So yesterday's game would have been a source of pride for my grandfather, who would now be quietly gloating but keeping a low profile. You'd think that I'd have mixed feelings about the outcome of the game, given that family background, and given that USC is a rival of mmy favorite team (The UO Ducks). But my mother is also a California native and a lifelong USC fan, my father had a soft spot for them, and so do I. So congratulations to the men of Troy on a mighty victory. It's about time the Pac-10 once again lived up to the title "Conference of Champions". And maybe the west will once again gain a little respect.

A Dubious Honor

While scanning my Sitemeter stats, and following referral links, I made this discovery:

I'm result # 18 if you Google the word "Moron".

Pablo Misses The Boat

Thanks for the Memory to Powerline and Darth Apathy.

Remember Pablo Paredes? He's the US Navy Petty Officer who refused to report for duty to his ship when it was due to sail from San Diego. At the time his ship, the aircraft carrier Bonhomme Richard, was bound for the gulf to support poerations in Iraq. Pablo opposes the war, and so he refused to help support that mission. He gave up his career, will probably spend time in prison, and be saddled with a criminal record for the rest of his life. He made hist statement.

And so the Bonhomme Richard sailed without him. It's currently fulfilling its mission. But the mission has changed.

The Bonhomme Richard is currently in the Indian Ocean.

Helping with tsunami relief efforts.

Congratulations, Pablo, you managed to do your little part to thwart this ignoble, imperialistic mission. I hope you feel good about that.

Update:

The Bonhomme Richard is not a carrier. Thanks for the correction, Vic.

A Boy's Life

There are strange things done in the midnight sun
by the men who moil for gold,
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
that would make your blood run cold.
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
but the queerest they ever did see
was the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.

Few words can hearken me back to memories of my boyhood faster than those. It was one of my father's favorite poems, and it became one of mine as he would read it to me frequently (at my request).

Last night I read it again, along with others by service, as I took my bath. I had just returned home from a birthing class with The Feared Redhead, and so was in a mood to reflect on matters related to progeny, childhood, and heritage. With that in mind, I have decided to compile a list here of stories and authors that remind me of boyhood. And I do mean boyhood, not just childhood. I grew up a boy, and engaged in activities most usually associated with the male child. That's not to say girls CAN'T do them, but that they usually aren't INTERESTED in those activities. And, for the sake of safety and parental sanity, that's probably a good thing.

Some of these stories ARE universal, and any girl who takes an interest in ANY of them is welcome to them, but for me, when I remember being a boy, these are ther things I remember reading:

Rudyard Kipling
(Riki Tiki Tavi)
The Ransom of Red Chief
Louis L'Amour
Robert Service
(The Cremation of Sam McGee)
(The Quitter)
Homer
(The Odyssey -- I didn't read the Illiad till later in life)
C.S. Lewis
(The Chronicles of Narnia)
JRR Tolkien
(The Hobbit)
Jason and the Argonauts

Update:

I very much welcome comments by others as to their choices for such a list. Carin actually mentioned one that I agree with, and should have added:
Jules Verne

Others that spring to mind as the day goes by are:
Ray Bradbury
Robert Heinlein
Isaac Asimov