Monday, May 24, 2004

LIFE IS GOOD

I woke up this morning feeling truly healthy, for the first time in months. I can breathe, I seem to have dropped a few pounds (look out below!), and my energy level is high.

It helps that my daughter has been helping me clear out the house. She's preparing to move in with her husband and 2 children, and we need to clear out a lot of old junk. What's amazing, is that my husband is willing to get rid of his stuff. Imagine, 30 years of clutter, and it's going! It's a miracle!

There seems to be a temporary lull in the news, nothing really blood-boiling, just the same old sniping. So I can focus on the clearing out and renovations.

Sunday, May 23, 2004

REPEAT: DO NOT IGNORE THIS LINK

Which side of the Islamofascist war should you be on?

Consider:
If you are a Feminist: Do you think that women should be treated with respect and equality in all matters, and allowed to reach their fullest potential as individuals by making their own decisions? Or do you think that they should be kept locked in the back room, that they should suffer beating or death for being seen in the company of a man not her husband or relative, that she should never be allowed to study or drive a car, and that she must remained covered head to foot when outdoors?
If you are a homosexual: Do you believe that sexual orientation is a private matter between consenting adults, that all people deserve the same measure of dignity and respect, and that you should be allowed to live your life and love the person you choose without intimidation and fear? Or do you believe that homosexuals are an abomination in the eyes of a vengeful God and should therefore be executed?
If you are an artist, a writer or a singer: Do you feel that free expression is the soul of the artistic impulse, that artists have the right to explore whatever depths of emotion or feeling that their muse may drive them to, and that the free expression of the artistic impulse should never be inhibited no matter how offensive others may find your personal journey? Or do you believe that society should place strict limits on what is permissible expression artistically, and that some entire studies – music, for example – should be removed from society to prevent moral decay and people straying from the Word of God?
Read the rest. I promise you won't be disappointed.

LINK YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST NOT MISS

I was up late this evening, medicating my asthma condition (why is it always worse at night?), when I stumbled upon this. Some short excerpts:

Radical Islam is a religious cult based on constant, never-ending warfare. I personally am aware of no other religious tracts that are as filled with page after page of conquest, strategy and military jargon. Islam rose to prominence under the sword, and the Prophet was, above all else, a military commander determined to spread his faith by conquest and enslavement. Islam has rules for when prisoners should be released, ransomed, sold into slavery or have their throats cut. As a matter of fact, Islam has rules for everything. What to eat, how to wash, where and when and in which direction to pray. Islam has rules for the treatment of animals and the treatment of women. There is no part of daily life that is not specifically addressed, sanctioned or outlawed by Islam.

And contrary to post 9/11 spin, the most accurate translation of Islam is not “peace.” Prior to 9/11, the universally accepted translation of the concept of Islam was “submission.”

Of course, submission sounds a little more prickly to American ears. Matter of fact, it’s hard to imagine a word that would so enrage the American psyche than the concept of submission. “Tyranny,” perhaps, but tyranny is only what we are expected to submit to. Americans have fought against submission and Tyranny since there have been Americans. That’s what we do. That is who we are. And ever since the Revolution against submitting to the tyranny of King George, American revulsion with the entire idea of submission has been watered each generation by fresh waves of immigrants who have fled here escaping submission.
And later:
What is not apparent from history is the simple fact that being an American is a choice. It is a choice we have all made to be here, or to come here, either ourselves, or our parents, or their parents. It is a choice new millions make annually. And any of us can leave, at any time. No one not a part of this experiment, no one who does not hold the truths we live by to be self-evident, can have a glimmer, a nanosecond flash of how deeply and brightly that pride burns inside so many of us.

Folks, I understand the importance of understanding and valuing other cultures, without disrespecting the great heritage of my own. But some aspects of Islamic culture ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO GO!
The truly remarkable, astonishing and galling issue here is that while the multi-culturalists are the ones shrieking the loudest about understanding different people and different values, they are the ones absolutely least willing to take themselves at their own words and so they consistently apply western thought models to people who think nothing like we do.

We are a co-operative society. Compromise, agreements and webs of trust run through our culture in mind-blowing levels of complexity. The most virulent Islamist Arabs, on the other hand, live by completely different rules and values, and time and again we who should know better by now refuse to try to see things through Arab eyes because the view is frankly so jaundiced and horrible we really can’t believe what we are seeing.

Honor and shame trump everything in that world. A pithy sentence, eh? So instead, think about what it would take for you to kill your own daughter with a knife, with your bare hands, because she was seen in the company of a man not her husband or a relative? Think about that. Think long and hard. What kind of hatred and shame could drive a human being to do such a thing? What kind of pressures does that society bring to bear on an individual to make him capable of that? How different is their view of women, of family, of honor and shame? What would it take for you to murder your daughter with a knife, or a knotted cord – with your own two hands and against her pleading, her protestations, and her begging for her life? If your response wasn’t “there is nothing that could make me do that,” then stop reading right here and get the hell off my property.
The people following that tradition would refuse me and mine the opportunity to differ with them. They would force that twisted code of honor on us. And that is simply not going to happen.

Go read both sections. You won't regret it.

Friday, May 14, 2004

ONE MORE TIME FOR GRAPHICS

I have been remarkably UNSUCCESSFUL in getting web graphics to display properly in blogs. I'm going to try again, to link with graphics from a website.





Just checked the output in a browser window - it looks good! For those who don't recognize it, it is the annual picture for the PTRA (Physics Teaching Resource Agent) training.

YET ANOTHER QUIZ!

Like this should surprise anyone who knows me.

Mystery
You're a Mystery writer!


What kind of writer are you?
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WHERE THIS BLOG IS GOING

This started out to be a place for me to blow off some steam, and enable me to interact IRL more sociably. It stalled for a time while I was posting on the Right We Are! blog. Now that Maripat has dropped off the edge of the world (figuratively speaking), I will try to get this site back on track.

I'm not a hard-core political junkie. There are those that can find an issue, research it thoroughly, and post copiously. I can barely find time to keep up with the laundry. And, to be quite honest, although I often have strong reactions to the events of the day, I am not given to searching political analysis that dissects every facet of an issue. Think of me as Politics and Culture Light.

Rather than use the other blogs I have tinkered with over the last 1 1/2 years, I'm going to funnel almost all of my energies into keeping this one going (other than the personal, family news blog).

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

ADOPT A SOLDIER

I've been given a name of a soldier who would like letters from the US, and am currently awaiting a reply. The place to get your own soldier is at:

Soldier's Angels Foundation

Check it out - it was easy to sign up, and I think you would find it so rewarding.

Sunday, May 09, 2004

RECENT UPDATES

I've been busy finishing my Master's degree, but the last class is this Monday. I'm taking a break, as I've been working for the last 3 days, and I'm fried. Whenever you try to finish anything using a computer, it seems that the technology will go wacky. It's been like that.

Good or bad, I'll be handing all of my work in tomorrow. I won't fail, I just might not get quite as good a grade as I could. And I can live with that.

Lies of the Left

This COULD be a lengthy post. But, I'll try to winnow it down to a reasonable length. The CA Parent Bribery 'Scandal' - the 1...