Shoutbox

One of the things I learned about at last nights blogger meetup was shoutboxes. I have installed one from Shoutmix and we'll find out if they are everything they are supposed to be. Looks easy enough and it should help to facilitate participation.

I also followed the Shu's example and added an AIM status indicator to my site. I usually stay on AIM during the day as part of my job. We'll see how that works also.

First Greensboro Blogger Meetup

And it was a success.

Thanks to Billy Jones for taking the bull by the horns and getting this one on track. There were 13 of us and we had a great two hour discussion and meeting. It was nice putting a face with a blog and meeting some people that I didn't even know had blogs. I'm looking forward to checking out some of them over the next few days.

I don't know if anyone took notes but if they did maybe we can get a list of exactly who was there and the name of their blog. Billy took a picture of everyone and Tara Sue Grubb was typing a lot on her laptop, so maybe we have a record of the event we can put together.

Some of the other bloggers there. Waiting for Vizzini, The Shu, Barber Shop Blog, Satoria In Stereo, and The Adventures of Lenslinger, (this is one of my new favorites. He writes it like a private eye detective novel.)

There were more of course, but I just can't remember them all.

The Shu actually has links to every damn one of the blogs present at the meeting tonight. I don't know how he does it.

“We’re calling it ‘post-election selection trauma’

If you're like me you have been feeling in a funk since the election. Well, it's real. And they have a name for it.

“We’re calling it ‘post-election selection trauma’ and we’re working to develop a counseling program for it,” said Rob Gordon, the Boca-based executive director of the American Health Association. “It’s like post-traumatic stress syndrome, but it’s a short-term shock rather than a childhood trauma.”

Click Here for the full story.

The Republican Taliban

I have purchased the url www.republicantaliban.com.

Now what do I do with it?

I would like some help with this site, if you read this post and can offer any help, please send me an e-mail to info@republicantaliban.com.

I want this site to be used to expose the efforts of the Republican Party and the Religious Right to impose a theocracy on the United States of America.

Is it going a little too far to not only imply but to come out and actually say that the Republican Party wants to impose a theocracy on the US?

No it isn't. And here is why. In my opinion, there are different levels and different types of theocracy. A theocracy does not have to be defined as a middle eastern type of theocracy where the actual government consists solely of unelected religious leaders making all the laws based on the Koran.

You can have theocracy light, where elected leaders are making laws and enforcing laws based on their particular religious views.

Just look at the efforts to pass a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. This is based only on religion and nothing else. The same thing goes for issues such as abortion, prayer in schools, the "under God" phrase in the pledge of allegiance, and the phrase "In God We Trust" on our money. To be honest, I never shared the desires of those who wanted to ban those two phrases from the pledge and our money. I just didn't think it was that important. Now I look at it as the "Camels nose under the tent." They never should have been allowed to happen in the first place because it only emboldens those who started it into coming back for more later on.

The biggest reason laws like this get passed and stay in effect is because most of us are scared to oppose them. If you stand up to them, you are demonized. You are accused of being anti-religion or immoral or both. Well I'm tired of being demonized. I'm ready to turn the tables and do a little demonizing myself. That is why I bought this domain name. We need to associate the Republicans with the Taliban. We need to associate the Religious Right with the Taliban.

I would like to offer a voice to people who want to comment on this subject. I want people from all different viewpoints. You can be an atheist, agnostic, or born again Christian. You can be Catholic, Jewish, Methodist, Baptist Muslim or any other religion or denomination. You can be churched or unchurched.

You don't have to write anything on a regular basis. If you only contribute something once a month or once every six months, that is OK. If you want to write something on a daily basis, then more power to you.

I want this site to expose the efforts and the people involved in trying to impose religion on the American people. If we do that, it will be harder for them to get something past the American people.

I want this site to be both a blog and a static website with information about our main topic.

Because of my job in the real world, I am not sure how much I will be able to do on this, but I want to at least try something. I think it is important.

Again. If you can help. Just let me know. info@republicantaliban.com.

Thanks

Red State. Blue County

I talked today about moving to a blue state. Just so I could have like-minded people around to talk with. But they're too damn cold.

But then, I discover that Guilford went for Kerry. So I will settle for living in a blue county, surrounded by a red state.

Does anyone know where I can find the precinct results for Guilford? I want to know if I live in a red or blue neighborhood.

At work, my cubicle is of course blue, but I'm surrounded by red cubicles.

At home, thank God, I'm enconsced within a comfortable blue family.

***Update*** Bummer. I live in a red neighborhood. (I knew my neighbors were looking at me funny. I thought I was just paranoid. Now I know I am. ) Thanks to The Shu for helping me find my precinct results.

Iraq belongs completely to Bush now

Trying to think of positive things.

I was worried about Kerry being able to solve what is probably an unsolveable problem in Iraq. The right wing would not have given him any help. Now at least the total mess there will be the complete responsibility of the man who created the mess in the first place.

It's something.

The Future Looks Bleak

This post reflects my mood right now. Don't read it if you don't want to be depressed.

It's not looking good for Kerry. Maybe the votes will be found in Ohio, and he shouldn't concede until we know for sure, but it's not looking good.

This is going to embolden conservatives. In fact, I think it will embolden them so much, they will go too far.

It is going to be much more difficult to speak out now if you are considered progressive. If the Dixie Chicks thought what happened to them before was bad, just wait until they speak out again.

The "assaults" on Dan Rather, those who are pro-choice, those who lobby for the rights of gay people to be respected, in fact anyone who is considered to be on the "other side" of what is considered to be "The Culture War" is going to increase ten-fold.

The attempt to stifle dissent by labeling anyone who disagrees with President Bush or the right wing agenda as "Un-American" or "Un-Patriotic" is going to multiply.

As much as we thought the conservatives were in our faces before, just wait.

As I said, I think they will go too far, and we will see the pendulum swing back in maybe just 4 years. But the harm that will take place to our supreme court in the next 4 years will haunt this country for decades to come.

If you were appalled at the heavy handed tactics of the conservatives in congress and the senate and in the White House over the past 4 years. You ain't seen nothing yet.

Iraq is going to become a hell on earth. We will probably be forced to leave without bringing order to the chaos that is going on there now. Because of that, the threat of terrorism for us is probably going to increase in the near future.

If you want a sure money-making idea for the future, start making bumper stickers that read,

"Don't Blame Me!

I Voted For Kerry."

Long Lines

I drove by my polling place, Pilot Elementary School, about 6:45 this morning. Good thing I did the early voting last week because the line was all the way out into the parking lot. Huge number of people voting.

Then drove by Gate City Baptist and the Unitarian Church on Hill Top Road. Both parking lots jammed.

Looking good.

I feel confident

I feel like we might actually pull this off today.

One of the reasons I feel so confident is because of blogs. Blogs like Matt Gross and The Daily Kos. These blogs have kept me going for the past few months but especially for the last few weeks. The information I have found in these blogs and others like them has not been found in any of what is called the Main Stream Media. I feel I have become better informed by the blogs than I have the MSM. Will I fee the same way tomorrow? We'll soon find out.

My daughter Cristina

This means nothing I guess and is purely anecdotal, but could you construe anything from this?

My 20 year old daughter Cristina is a full-time junior at UNC-G and a part-time waitress at an area restaurant.

I may be biased of course, but Cristina is very out-going, friendly and caring, and this works well as a waitress since those attributes pay-off in tips, the main way she makes her living.

For the first time in her life, she voted. Participated in early-voting at the Guilford County Courthouse. She was very proud and displayed her "I Voted" sticker on her order pad at work.

That night, a couple came in and noticed it as she was taking their order. The man said, "I bet you a million dollars you didn't vote for Bush did you?" Cristina just smiled and told him he was correct. She didn't offer any other comment or say anything else about it, but she could tell they were unhappy. They ran up a bill of over $60.00 and left her a $2.00 tip.

Later, another group came in and asked Cristina if the restaurant served anything besides Heinz Ketchup. She said no and asked why that was important. One of the men in the group started in about how they couldn't support the Heinz company because of John Kerry. ( I know, the guy was too much of a frigging idiot to know that Kerry has nothing to do with Heinz, but that's another story.) At this point she notices he has on a big "W IN '04" sweatshirt. He then asked her if she had voted for Bush. Again, she just smiled and said no. Then the guy goes on about how it is OK to make one mistake in your life. Again, Cristina just smiles and makes no comment, even though by now she wanted to. She should have gone ahead and said something because this group ran up an $80.00 plus bill and left her a $3.00 tip.

To rub salt in the wound, the same group came in again later in the week, got a waitress that was vocally pro-Bush, ran up another $80.00 plus bill and left the pro-Bush waitress a tip in the double digits.

Some people are just jerks.