Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Slobokan's Site O' Schtuff :The Fair Tax Blogburst #1

re: bloggers for tax change in the United States...

Either End of the Curve: The Physics Of Curling (Or, Why I Wish I'd Paid More Attention To The Olympics This Year)

re: "Why does a curling stone curl in a direction that seems contrary to the laws of physics?"...

From the Bleachers: Planned Parenthood at Constitution Center

re: Why in the Sam Hill was/is there a Planned Parenthood display in the foyer of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia? This post is from Feb. 14, and Tim was going to nose around, he said...

Happy Catholic: What Will You Be Reading During Lent?

re: Julie D. will be reading What Jesus Saw From the Cross by A. G. Sertillanges, followed by Adventures in Orthodoxy by Dwight Longenecker. She has excerpts from each, and also lists what others say they'll be reading...

A Rose By Any Other Name: Band Concert

re: what's on the program at the Middle School's band concert where Anna lives...

Camp Katrina: U.S. Military News: The Debut of MilTracker

re: Camp Katrina has morphed again. It's moved to MilTracker.Com...

Cafe Hayek: It's Good to Have a Constitution

re: pinning down the most important lesson of the Holocaust (and, no, it's not that "anybody can become a murderer" or that "hatred is wrong")...

Chaplain doubles as maintenance crewman: Murdoc Online

re: Murdoc is joking in this post (as he notes at the bottom, where he also begs Catholics not to riot in the streets...), but he uses the joke to link to a fact page on the color coding used for navy and coast guard flight deck personnel...

Like Merchant Ships: Scrap Cookies

re: making cookies from scratch (not to mention leftovers)...

Wittingshire: Mysteries

re: the gift that comes to some of no longer being miserable in the middle of suffering, of no longer obsessing about wanting to become well. Includes passage from the mystery novel The Pilgrim of Hate by Ellis Peters...

I have to say...

re: interesting blog to check out...

Wittingshire: Get Real Day

re: the challenge went out to bloggers (while my computer was down, naturally), to have a "get real day" yesterday. Amanda joined in the, ehmm, fun...

BlogWatch

re: World magazine's blog on blog posts elsewhere...

Books & Culture Corner: Divine Comedy at the Cineplex - Books & Culture

re: Craig Detweiler, on finding God in movies that make you laugh...

Monday, February 27, 2006

Number 2 Pencil: The Breakfast Club, with mom and dad

re: British schools planning weekend detention that involves parents...

hat tip: Daddy's Roses

Students Hail Harvard President - Los Angeles Times

re: more on Harvard students versus their leftist professors...

hat tip: Best of the Web Today

Expat Yank: Returning to Class

re: a whole lot of folks leaving the military will be going to college or university -- and winding up in classes taught by folks with "Michael Moore leanings"...

The Common Room: Shakespeare Biographies

re: excerpts from a review of several new biographies of Shakespeare...

Friday, February 24, 2006

OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan: If Cattle Flew

re: Peggy Noonan has been dealing with airport screening and security. She is neither impressed nor amused...

Thursday, February 23, 2006

OpinionJournal - The Anti-Kelo Case

re: the Oregon court ruling in favor of property rights...

Elephants in Academia: Egads, Alan, have I misjudged ye?

re: rethinking her opinion of Alan Dershowitz after reading two articles, "Tony Blankley's preview of Dershowitz' new book Preemption, A Knife That Cuts Both Ways and Dershowitz' own "Coup against Summers a dubious victory for the politically correct" from the Boston Globe"...

Elephants in Academia: Ports, ports, get your ports here!

re: rethinking positions on the ports issue, getting more info...

The Strata-Sphere: The Tide Turns On UAE Deal, Damage Done

re: lots of people rethinking their initial reaction to the proposed ports deal...

OpinionJournal - Coup d'Ecole

re: Ruth R. Wisse, the Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and professor of comparative literature at Harvard, doesn't agree with the faculty that forced the ouster of President Larry Summers. Furthermore, she says, the students polled by a three to one margin in his favor, and many turned out to chant their support for him...

Catholic World News : World Catholic population up 1.1%

re: the world's Catholic population grew by 12 million between 2003 and 2004 (to 1,098,000,000), the number of Catholic priests rose slightly (but very unevenly, with Europe losing many), seminaries grew (again unevenly), permanent deacons rose...

TeachingAmericanHistory.org -- Free Seminars and Summer Institutes for Social Studies Teachers

re: documents, resources, audio lectures and discussions, plus information on seminars for teachers...

The True Legacy of William Tecumseh Sherman by Rich Policz

re: According to Rich Policz, Sherman isn't portrayed properly in most history books, and should be seen instead as one of history's greatest liberators...

Exultate Justi: ...President's Day, and something else, as well

re: another entry in the George Washington deserves recognition category, paired with a lament for the loss of the Lincoln's Birthday holiday and a tribute to Frederick Douglass, who died on a February 20...

TCS Daily - The Father Without a Son

re: American history, with a focus on how the office of the President was created, and how George Washington refused to let it degenerate back to a monarchy...

Reality TV Show Addresses Aftermath of Abortion :: :: ProLifeBlogs

re: a daytime television show featuring women who seek to "re-invent" themselves with the help of life coaches; specifically the heartbreak of one of the participants who is grappling with post-abortion grief. Post has more on the emotional trauma of abortion...

USATODAY.com - Fossil overturns ideas of Jurassic mammals

re: the anouncement of a fossil find of a creature resembling beavers and otters challenges the prevailing notion that the only mammals in the Jurassic were shrewlike creatures scurrying around avoiding dinosaurs...

USATODAY.com - Eye scans: A high-tech hall pass?

re: a New Jersey school district has installed iris-scanning devices at three of its schools, using a $370,000 U.S. Justice Department grant. A school district down the road has also installed them...

USATODAY.com - South Dakota Senate passes abortion ban

re: legislation that bans abortion except to save the life of the mother now heads back to House...

Greenland's Glaciers Melt... and Grow | The Brussels Journal

re: reports that glaciers on Greenland are melting on the edges (which would probably reduce ice mass), but growing taller (which would probably increase the ice mass)...

The Closing of Civilization in Europe | The Brussels Journal

re: an article recommended to me by a commenter on my other blog...

Scotsman.com Heritage & Culture - scotsman.com Podcast - Close encounters of Edinburgh

re: the Scotsman's Heritage & Culture site has launched its first video podcast...

Navy NewsStand - The Source for Navy News

re: news from and about the United States navy...

Scott's Conservative News & Commentary: Tomcat Says Goodbye to Combat

re: the F-14 Tomcat being phased out of the U.S. Navy...

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Happy Catholic: Complete Blog Commenting Guidelines

re: The Harris Twins Blog Commenting Policy...

Happy Catholic: Katrina Hospital Killings

re: those rumors about doctors killing patients before evacuating might be true -- certainly it sounds like some of the staff planned to inject lethal doses...

A Circle of Quiet: Pirate Instruction Manual

re: children's book, The Great Pirate Activity Book by Deri Robins...

Donn's Center of the Universe: The Buzzard, The Bat and The Bumblebee

re: nice teaching story...

Dr. Helen: Daycare, Social Skills and Cognitive Development

re: how much do the studies of children in government-involved daycare in other countries apply to children in private daycare in America?...

GM's Corner : Europe, The MSM, and Others Flunk Psychology 101

re: appeasing and rewarding negative behavior doesn't work...

OpinionJournal - Leisure & Arts: Getting That Last Zinger In

re: Dawn Eden writes about a book which features stories by various people relaying their experiences with getting fired, and about her own experience getting fired...

OpinionJournal - Federation: Branching Out by Alison Berry

re: "Canada offers the U.S. a lesson in timber property rights"...

The Paragraph Farmer: Spiritual health onscreen and off

re: The Fellowship of the Ring, Huck Finn, John Milton, Narnia, and other portrayals of good and evil...

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

The Paragraph Farmer: Another way to think of reading

re: Various ways, actually, of looking at reading. Also the astonishing news that P.G. Wodehouse is currently selling very well in India, thanks...

Betsy's Page

re: different looks at holding kids (and teachers) to state standards by testing, or by not allowing kids to graduate if they can't pass the test...

Castle Coalition: Is Development Really the Goal?

re: sometimes economic development is already taking place, but property is condemned and handed over to a developer of the government officials' choosing...

Castle Coalition: Media

re: From February 6, 2006. Montgomery Bank Won’t Finance Eminent Domain Abuse/ Second Bank Within Week To Reject Eminent Domain for Private Gain...

Oregon Right to Life

re: the website of Oregon Right to Life (tagline: Changing Hearts, Saving Lives)...

Emerging Voices

re: a blog for young pro-lifers in Oregon...

Blog pour la Vie

re: French pro-life blog. In French...

NWCN.com | Washington next in property rights wars

re: "After an Oregon high court ruling on Measure 37 Tuesday appears to have turned that state’s system of land use regulations on its head, there’s every reason to believe Washington could be next"...

NWCN.com | Oregon high court upholds property rights law

re: Measure 37, passed in 2004, reins in property rights abuses by state and local governments in Oregon...

Why Growth Is Good - Books & Culture

re: a review by Kenneth G. Elzinga of Benjamin F. Friedman's The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth...

Who's Afraid of an Argument? The Insecurities of the Abortion Rights Movement

re: the "intellectual maturation of the pro-life movement" and learning how to frame the debate and promote "credible arguments against abortion in the public square," versus the increasing reluctance of many pro-choice advocates to discuss the issue at all...

Vital Signs Blog: In the Abortion Controversy, Which Side Is the One Afraid of Argument?

re: defining an issue as fundamentally religious and therefore beyond debate...

The Book Den: "Manalive" --- As Seen Through the Eyes Of First Time GK Chesterton Readers

re: college students meet Chesterton...

The Book Den: Cracking the Cinematic Da Vinci Code

re: discussing how best to respond to the misinformation...

Always Chaos At Our House

re: blog with Down Syndrome-related posts and links...

Concerned Women for America - Pro-Abortion Hewlett Foundation Funds 'Evangelical Climate Initiative'

re: Abortion support and population control advocacy are main issues for some of the biggest funders behind the "Evangelical Climate Initiative" and the "Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action" statement signed by 85 evangelical leaders. Put another way, some people are questioning the motives of the foundations providing the funding...

Challies Dot Com: The Funding Behind The Evangelical Climate Initiative

re: Evangelicals getting lured into helping radicals who seek "ends diametrically opposed to Scripture"...

Diet of Bookworms: Promote Your Book

re: If you send a copy (or two or more) of a book, they will review the book, and the "reviewer will post a review on his or her personal web site, and the review will be linked from the Diet of Bookworms." No fees. Christian focus...

Addition: Elsewhere on the site it says:

...When it comes to reviewing Christian books, we can only do so from the foundation of our theological understandings. While our editors and the reviewers we link to represent a broad spectrum of denominations and traditions, all are committed to a conservative Protestant theological perspective.

Newman Reader - Palmer's Notes

re: the preface to a book about an effort towards developing a Catholic communion between Anglicans and Russian Orthodox back in the 1800s...

me autem minui: The Elements

re: the writings of Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman...

Monday, February 20, 2006

Book Moot: Once upon a time in Texas

re: "Children's Literature with a Texas Twist"...

Media Blog on National Review Online

re: "The NYT has published back-to-back articles about how the military is turning things around in Iraq"...

Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | We give work a high priority - I wish the same could be said of our children

re: Jenni Russell commentary from January 28, 2006, on her changed views on work and childcare...

Fiona Pinto: on institutionalized child care

re: Jenni Russell article in the Guardian back in January, noting that professional caretakers must retain physical and professional distance, which results in children having to maintain public faces, too...

Suitably Flip: Let's See, What's In the News...

re: a handful of links, including three "on the contorted and misconstrued history of Washington's Birthday vs. Presidents' Day"...

National Statuary Hall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

re: has history on the place itself, plus alphabetical listing of links to articles on the honorees...

Semicolon: Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L'Amour

re: Louis L'Amour's memoir...

Semicolon: Presidents' Day

re: books and more, lots of links...

Reasoned Audacity: Down Syndrome. . . and the Value of Life

re: Gabriel's Angel Network video on a child with Down Syndrome...

Nat Hentoff: An abortionist's day

re: a secular, pro-life journalist reacts to the news that New York City, where he lives, is now called "the abortion capital of the country"...

hat tip: Best of the GodBlogs

Elephants in Academia: A shadow of shame on this day

re: Jimmy Carter op-ed in the Washington Post, re: Palestinians and handouts from the international community, including the United States and Israel...

Wittingshire: "In a sane world, it would be an Oscar-winner"

re: the film that Jonathan Witt worked on getting some good recognition...

Kids in the House - Field Trip!

re: an online field trip to the United States House of Representatives' House Chamber...

Scotsman.com Heritage & Culture - Maps - Customs - Up Helly Aa

re: a Norse fire festival held every winter on the island of Shetland...

David's Daily Diversions: The Road to Sharia

re: Islam in the UK...

An Aid to Memory: Is Religion Dying?

re: the attitude of anti-religion writers in the 1989 book Religion in America: Opposing Viewpoints, with emphasis on the essay "Religious Faith Will Decline" by Burnham Beckwith...

Pro Ecclesia * Pro Familia * Pro Civitate: In Honor of the Father of Our Country - His Excellency, George Washington

re: George Washington's "Letter to the Roman Catholics"...

Oregon Blue Book Almanac/Gemstones-Lighthouses

re: a list of legal holidays in Oregon (which, sadly enough, includes President's Day instead of Washington's birthday)...

Tree topping a common but unwise practice

re: a lot of people in this state don't know beans about how to prune trees properly, and the government is trying to discourage one of the worst practices...

Kids in the House - How Laws Are Made

re: information on federal holidays, written for kids...

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Opelika-Auburn News | Retailers have right not to stock all products

re: government shouldn't dictate what products a retailer stocks...

CVSTOS FIDEI: France Awakens?

re: pro-life movement in France...

BrothersJudd Blog: NO ONE ASKS FOR THE LEAST QUALIFIED DOCTOR OR ELECTRICIAN:

re: Justice Alito's picks for law clerks...

David's Dialogues: We Christians Need to Learn the Art of "Graceful" Communication

re: confrontation versus communication, with reference to the book The Art of Civilized Conversation: A Guide to Expressing Yourself with Style and Grace by Margaret Shepherd with Sharon Hogan...

David's Dialogues: Lierary Divertimentos

re: enjoying Mozart, and also murder mysteries (especially the art mysteries of Iain Pears)...

Captain's Quarters: Liberating the RCMP

re: Canada's new government has begun scrapping the gun registration program, and in the process it is coming out how much the program appears to have cost (much more than reported), much of it pulled from RCMP resources...

Fr. Andrew Phillips: Orthodox Christians in North America 1000 Years Ago

re: there were Vikings and then there were Vikings, and some of the earliest to reach America's shores were Orthodox Christians...

(The author proposes an interesting alternate history ponderable: What if the early Scandinavians had settled in large numbers, with their priests and bishops, perhaps establishing an Orthodox America well before Columbus...)

OrthodoxyToday.org Blog : Orthodox Metropolitan sets out papal primacy terms

re: one of the issues in the ongoing dialog between Orthodox and Catholic theologians...

Raymond J. Keating -- Eminent Domain, Communists, and the Little Guy

re: the problem of property rights abuse by the governments of China and the United States...

Karen Edmisten: Consider it all joy

re: what can come out of suffering...

Karen Edmisten: Feminist atheist meets Jesus?

re: Naomi Wolf...

Karen Edmisten: Hedgie's Treasure Trove

re: Jan Brett's website...

BBC - Drama - 60 Second Shakespeare - Homepage

re: the BBC is inviting people to make one-minute film or audio interpretations of Shakespeare...

Dr. Sanity: OVERLY ALARMED AND APPROACHING HYSTERIA

re: the reaction of some people in the environmental movement to the news that author Michael Crichton was invited to the White House and had a nice chat with the President...

GM's Corner : Multi-Cultural Cowardice

re: calling a spade a spade, and refusing to put up with bad behavior...

Generations for Life

re: Young people forming pro-life clubs in high school and youth groups...

A new opportunity for pregnancy care centers and hospice programs :: Eugenics :: ProLifeBlogs

re: Jill Stanek reports on The Haven Network, a perinatal hospice program that is looking at expanding into other states...

Terri Schiavo: A Life that Matters :: Terri Schiavo :: ProLifeBlogs

re: the upcoming book by Terri Schiavo's family...

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Liberty and Lily: Ronald Wilson Reagan

re: Reagan quote on churches in America...

A Constrained Vision: Losing the magic

re: poor people who dream of a good life, but don't know about how to work toward it, i.e. who need to stop counting on magic and learn "beneficial life scripts":...

A Constrained Vision: Baltimore to Baraka

re: boys who left America and went to Kenya to try to get a better education...

Here in the Bonny Glen: Light a Fire

re: on getting kids fired up about learning (mentions a boy stomping around the house inspired by Beowulf :-)...

David's Daily Diversions: Killing the Comfort of Your Own Home

re: The NHS thinks it can save money by providing abortions outside of hospitals, including having women take abortion pills over a few days in their own homes. Women in a pilot program who experienced pain from the abortion pills were given pain killers. David asks what the NHS has lined up for the mothers when they realize what they've done? More pills?...

Cafe Hayek: You've Had Your Turn

re: UK nationalized health system, and a perception that it's great for children but looks at older people as 'having had their turn', and that there's virtually no preventive care. Russell Roberts is asking for input from people in a position to know...

Cafe Hayek: Jane Jacobs Challenges the Mindlessness of Mercantilism

re: Challenging the assumption "that national economies are useful and salient entities for understanding how economic life works and what its structure may be"...

American Future: The London Times on Anti-Americanism

re: A London Times editorial argues, amongst other things, that "The worst that could happen is that critics of American engagement might just get their wish"...

Out of Control: 40 mpg highway/ 30 city/ 30 air

re: some folks think it's time to dust off the idea of flying cars, and work on some prototypes...

Seraphic Secret: What Was Sharon Thinking? Part III

re: The rise of a pansurgency, and history's evidence for the value of walls...

It's Still George Washington's Birthday (Not President's Day)

re: Matthew Spalding argues we should return to calling the holiday Washington's Birthday instead of President's Day, and we should celebrate the man and his deeds and advice...

WILLisms.com: Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 266 -- The Most Popular Dog Breeds.

re: Among purebred dogs registered at the American Kennel Club, small dogs are fashionable and increasing in numbers, but the Labrador Retriever, followed by the Golden Retriever, still head the list. (Yorkies are in third place, hot on the heels of Goldens.)...

The Scotsman - Business - Bringing real business values into the groves of academic publishing

re: The Edinburgh University Press (aka EUP), now third-largest university press in the UK, and how it has changed with the times...

The Scotsman - Business - Sheep farmers face drastic choice over wool

re: New breeds, new market forces, suggestion that more growers need to consider animals that don't need shearing (which these days can cost more than the fleece)...

The Scotsman - Business - Australian chutzpah would be admirable if it were not so risible

re: A takeover bid aimed at the London Stock Exchange that Martin Flanagan finds unsupportable and no longer entertaining ...

Friday, February 17, 2006

Here in the Bonny Glen: The Quiet Joy

re: when children aren't born healthy, and yet bring joy...

Either End of the Curve: The Elephant In My Brain

re: Episcopalian splits, and a certain Bishop who now admits he's had an alcohol problem for years...

Stones Cry Out: "Cutting Edge" Medicine

re: another example of how twisted the thinking has become in some quarters in the medical community. (Please don't let your kids read this.)...

Considerettes (Lawsuit against Boy Scouts)

re: another lawsuit against the Boy Scouts by people who object to their "religion". The Ninth Circuit has this one...

City Journal Winter 2006 | New Philanthropists Talk Left, Act Right by Howard Husock

Very interesting. Some non-profits that speak in liberal bromides are acting like older conservative charities, emphasizing personal responsibility and hard work to get ahead...

RedState: I Believe In Global Warming

re: Global warming and cooling are part of natural cycles that happen without man's input, yet scientists looking at global warming started from the hypothesis that man has caused the earth to warm and have ignored data to the contrary...

Enchiridion Militis: The new world.

re: Quandries associated with in vitro fertilization and frozen embryos offered as gifts to other couples...

California Conservative: Op-Ed: A Liberal Judge Makes Conservatives' Case Clear

re: Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer speech in which he explains his views on how to assess law...

Suitably Flip: Hey Buddy, Wanna Buy a Port?

re: Flip has a round up of some of the coverage of the flap over turning over control of American ports to a company owned by the United Arab Emirates...

Used Cars and Chicken Soup: The Grinch Can't Steal Christmas, or Just a little pot of oil

re: How a prize package from a Christian radio station, including a book called Just a Pot of Oil, made a difference in difficult circumstances...

Wittingshire: Friday

re: the importance of family stories and traditions...

Crossing the Rubicon2: A Neighborhood Stroll

re: Gail recommends some blogs...

Crossing the Rubicon2: To Do With What We Have

re: Itzhak Perlman (the violinist) doing the impossible...

Gateway Pundit: Cheney Shooting Victim Discharged from Hospital

re: Harry Whittington's classy exit from the hospital...

hat tip: AcademicElephant

Broadway Junior Shows from Music Theatre International - MTI

re: Abridged adaptations of Broadway shows, transposed into "keys appropriate for young voices" and with "educational tools and performance materials designed to introduce your students to the magic of putting on a show"...

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Tolerating the Intolerable by David Foster

re: In regard to the cartoon riots, how might John Locke have looked at all this mess? There seems to be some disagreement...

A Monopoly on 'Relating to Children'?: Teacher Certification Further Refuted by Terrence Moore

re: The disconnect between "educrats" and education. Includes stories from the past for comparison...

Quotes and Stories - The Churchill Centre

re: Winston Churchill speeches and quotes (and quotes falsely attributed)...

NEH Summer Institute on Churchill and America at Ashland University

re: upcoming program...

The Avalon Project : The American Constitution - A Documentary Record

re: numerous documents, from Magna Carta forward...

FTC - SPAM - Home Page

re: US government site for consumers and businesses to learn what the rules are for unsolicited email. Also has link for reporting deceptive email...

Slobokan's Site O' Schtuff : ACTION ALERT: Flight 93 Memorial

re: People are saying that the Flight 93 Memorial design is still rife with Islamic symbolism. And there's supposed to be a big announcement at public meetings this Saturday...

Charis Connection: AH: Switching the Price Tags

re: Angela Hunt looks at how we can be tricked into believing in skewed values...

American Future: Follow-Up: Giving Hamas a Chance

Marc Schulman tries to give the New York Times editorial department a history reminder...

Len Munsil runs for AZ Governor :: Politics :: ProLifeBlogs

re: someone with a family-friendly, pro-life record running for office...

David's Daily Diversions: Life Down Under

re: Australian Health Minister Tony Abbott's moves to block the RU486 abortion pill (defeated), and his plans to get government funding for crisis pregnancy counseling...

Apology from Alan Keyes to Dr. James Dobson

Don't try to put a sneering, smearing article on Dr. Keyes's website. He won't stand for it...

Schindler Family Response to United States Senator Mel Martinez

Martinez is expressing regret for his part in the federal fight to save Terri Schiavo's life. Her family is calling for renewed efforts in providing protection at the federal level for disabled people...

Rebuttal to Andrew Longman by Focus on the Family

Why Focus on the Family is supporting the Reciprocal Beneficiaries Contract bill (S.B. 166) before the Colorado Senate...

Second annual Day of Truth is set for Thursday, April 27

re: students who want to take a stand, intelligently and in a Christian manner (not to mention with well-prepared lawyers watching their backs)...

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Court Scraps Law on Shooting Down Hijacked Planes | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 15.02.2006

The German constitutional court has ruled against a law that gave permission to the German military to shoot down civilian aircraft thought to have been hijacked for terror attacks...

The Anchoress : The death of handwriting?

re: how she learned good handwriting, and has been glad of it, while her children went to schools that thought penmenship was one of those subjects that made children feel bad about themselves...

Book Moot: For the Egocentric in all of us

Post on three children's books: Veronica by Roger Duvoisin (recently reissued); Duck & Goose by Tad Hills, and Me First by Helen Lester...

Seasonal Soundings: A new book

re: new Signet Classics edition of Anna Karenina, with larger print and with a DVD of the 1948 film with Vivian Leigh...

Intent - Journal - beautiful things for ordinary days

One of the nice things about the blogosphere is finding other women who have decided that it's time for beautiful things to come out of the closet and get worn and used...

Considerettes : Aesop's Fables for the 21st century

re: the bad attack of sour grapes the leader of Hamas is exhibiting regarding money that might be cut off if his group doesn't renounce terror...

TomFolio.com: Books, Periodicals, Ephemera

Includes "On this day" listings...

Mom 2 Mom Connection : Meet Author Mary DeMuth

Mary DeMuth and her family moved to France to plant a church, and now she's added book writing and blogging to her activities. Heather has an interview...

Mom 2 Mom Connection: Curious George, The Movie

Another thumbs up for the new Curious George movie...

City Journal Winter 2006 | What Colleges Forget to Teach by Robert P. George

Here's an eloquent appeal for the reform and revival of the teaching of civics. As a bonus, you get a pretty clear sketch of the principles of the Constitution, etc....

hat tip: James M. Kushiner at Mere Comments

BookFinder.com Journal: Final orphan works report

re: Just issued US Copyright Office report on copyrighted works whose owners are difficult or impossible to locate...

BookFinder.com Journal

re: bookselling blog...

Touchstone Magazine - Mere Comments: Opening the Mind

Anthony Esolen had a phone call soliciting contributions to Princeton, and refused on several grounds, including that they hired Peter Singer...

Wired 14.02: The Indie Movie Mogul

Just so you know, Jeff Skoll, the guy who bankrolled some of the message movies coming out of Hollywood lately, is on an overt mission to -- you guessed it -- bankroll movies that spread messages he wants spread...

CHARISMA ONLINE :: Feb. 10, 2006

re: An Asbury College (Kentucky) chapel service that started on a Monday and unexpectedly blossomed into a weeklong community event, that has some people wondering if a revival is in the works...

hat tip: Best of the GodBlogs

A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices

re: "definitions and examples of more than sixty traditional rhetorical devices" (who knew there were so many?)...

hat tip: Best of the GodBlogs

Concerned Women for America: States Taking a Stand Against Abortion

A short article on what's been done at the state level regarding abortion and the issues surrounding it, with emphasis on Unborn Child Pain Awareness bills...

FOXNews.com - Hannity & Colmes - Share Your Eminent Domain Story

OK, so they've been doing this since late December, apparently. I just noticed. Hannity and Colmes at Fox News are collecting eminent domain stories, and giving folks in danger of losing their home or business a voice...

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Activist Groups for Disabled Protest California Assisted-Suicide Bill

California is looking at giving doctors legal cover for participating in "assisted suicide". Advocates for the disabled are fighting the proposed bill (Assembly Bill 651), saying that already, without this, disabled people are often pressured to sign "do not resuscitate" orders when they go to hospitals for treatment...

The Common Room: Abortion, When the Babies Survive

re: Gianna Jesson, other survivors of abortion, and the response of 'pro-choice' groups...

Also has interesting notes on the use of passive voice in speaking or writing to avoid placing or accepting responsibility...

The Common Room: Bathroom cleaning tips from the Pipsqueak

Making the best of doing chores...

The Senate's Dr. No

George Will has a nice column on Senator Tom Coburn from Oklahoma, who is taking on earmarks and colleagues (and good for him)...

hat tip: The Common Room

Introducing the World - The Duckling's Guide to Literature - Homeschoolblogger.com

Fun post on a youngster who likes books about ducks. Also asks for suggestions on more books...

hat tip: Carnival of Children's Literature

Six and the City: Focus on Geography

Includes reference to Madlenka by Peter Sis, about a girl who goes around her block telling people about her loose tooth, and they tell her about their homelands. Also includes reference to My First Atlas from DK Books. In comments, reference to The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller...

hat tip: Carnival of Children's Literature

OpinionJournal - The Western Front: 'Bin Ladenism'

re: what it will take to win the "Long War"...

hat tip: Elephants in Academia

GM's Corner : Miser Refuses to Sell Land to Support Family - Who is he and why?

re: protests against federal plan to sell bits and pieces of isolated or unproductive federal land, less than one half of one percent of the national forest system, to raise money for rural schools in 41 states while cutting upkeep costs...

Monday, February 13, 2006

The Common Room: Power and Non-Conformity

re: the liberal tendency to believe in the fallacy that if people only had material comforts there wouldn't be any war or crime...

OpinionJournal - Wonder Land: Can We Talk?

Daniel Henninger takes a look at the program to listen in on terrorist phone calls into and out of the United States, and asks, among other things, if anyone thinks the terrorists are still using phones after all the publicity...

Moron Abroad: I Wish the Times, It Was A-Changin'...

re: a New York Times article's odd comparison of then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's response to a New York City 'art' exhibit and the decision of an obscure Danish newspaper to depict Muhammed in cartoons...

Also contains this:

...And what Americans probably don't even know is that, within Denmark, the whole issue is being dealt with beautifully. Extremist groups (Abu Laban & co.) have been cut out of "the dialog" with the government, and MP Naser Khader is leading moderate Muslims into a new organization, for which funding is already flowing from every part of Denmark. (He's also saying Denmark has nothing to apologize for, but he himself is demanding an apology from Saudi Arabia.) These moderates are organizing trips to the Middle East to go and explain to their fellow religionists how a free press works in a free country. They've expressed their offense at the images, but have also expressed their understanding that this is simply how things work when you've got a free press. They're moving on. Yes.

The problem is not Denmark. The problem is the militant extremists around the world running absolutely riot over an issue I'd wager most of them don't even understand. Embassies burn, people die, journalists go into hiding, newspaper offices must be evacuated...

...and the Times sees a good opportunity to put that provocative Danish newspaper and those rascally American Catholics in their place!

*Sigh... *

The History of the (Whole) World

Alternate url for blog linked in previous post...

The History of the (Whole) World: The trip to New York

A behind the scenes look at the writing and publishing of a four-volume history of the world...

Either End of the Curve: "Too Graphic" For You?

Some discussion on the newspaper that wouldn't run the pro-life ads with sonogram pictures...

Saturday, February 11, 2006

magistramater's Xanga Site

Blog by another Oregonian, this one from the Grande Ronde valley...

Seasonal Soundings

Interesting blog found through A Circle of Quiet...

Notes in the Key of Life: Reading Mary Stewart

Cindy Swanson asks, "Any other Mary Stewart fans out there?"...

Human Life International - Home

tagline is "Pro-Life Missionaries to the World"...

Clerical Faith Abuse :: Commentary :: BlogsforTerri

re: Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer speaks out against "men in black impersonating Catholic priests" with a specific mention of the clergy who allowed a church wedding for Michael Schiavo and Jodi Centonze...

Friday, February 10, 2006

Mother-Lode: Gentlemen?

Another place where ladies are discussing how to raise gentlemen...

Mark Tooley on Abortion & Religion on National Review Online

The churches that belong to the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), formerly known as the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights (founded in 1973 with funding from the Playboy Foundation, this article says...) are finding themselves an "increasingly isolated minority among America's churches." Go figure...

FOXNews.com - FOX Fan - Father Jonathan - Dear Mrs. Bush and Your Reactions

Father Jonathan Morris addresses the marriage gap and children, sacredness, Muslim rioting over cartoons, among other things...

Semicolon: Book-Spotting #3

Links to book-related posts...

FOXNews.com - FOX Fan - Harrigan on the Hunt - Building the New Iraqi Army

Steve Harrigan writes from Iraq...

Book Moot

Book-related blog, emphasis on children's and YA...

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Bookworm Room: Europe, the indulgent parent

An interesting perspective...

The Common Room: Child Protective Services Just Didn't

More on Haleigh Poutre, with several links to follow up...

The Common Room: Recipe: Florentine Beef Pinwheel

Meatloaf recipe...

BreakPoint | R-Rated Reading

re: books targeted at teen girls, popular with some pre-teens, that would get an R-rating if they were movies...

Welcome to The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation

Terri's Fight has become the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation...

Haleigh Poutre: Bobby Schindler Speaks Out :: Commentary :: BlogsforTerri

Terri Schiavo's condition and situation continue to be misrepresented, and her brother keeps trying to set the record straight. This letter is addressed to Cathy Young, following publication of her “Haleigh Poutre is no Terri Schiavo” column in the Boston Globe...

Blog For Books : Nature Never Stops Talking by Samuel Alibrando

Links to blog reviews of Nature Never Stops Talking, by Samuel Alibrando...

Blog For Books : 10 Action Steps To Sell Your Book

re: a Jack Yoest post on how to promote books...

Slobokan's Site O' Schtuff: Nature Never Stops Talking, by Samuel J. Alibrando

Book review. Favorable...

Slobokan's Site O' Schtuff: A Tale Of Two Standards

Google versus Yahoo re: Chinese Internet...

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

ScrappleFace : Woman Who Coined ScrappleFace Passes Away

From January 31: Scott Ott notes the death of his grandmother, who served as mother to him and his brothers since the late 1960s. An update has where memorials may be sent...

Article: Imago Dei: Faith and reason in the pursuit of freedom and truth

One of the essays that earned an Honorable Mention in the 2005 Essay Competition at the Acton Institute...

Suit Challenging CA Missions Preservation Act Voluntarily Dismissed

From Jan. 18, 2006. The Americans United for Separation of Church and State dropped their lawsuit fighting the 2004 California Missions Preservation Act -- but only because money hadn't been budgeted for the act? The Becket Fund is poised to move in to defend the act's constitutionality if a new lawsuit is filed.

This article says that Sen. Barbara Boxer, with bi-partisan support, sponsored the bill...

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Wittingshire: Salinger, Franny and Zooey

re: J.D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey...

Wittingshire: Mirrors

re: The "Freddy" series of children's books by Walter Brooks...

CBBC Newsround | Press Pack Reports | Your Reports | I moved to a different country

A 13-year-old English boy reports on moving to France, going to school there...

EDF :. European Defense Fund

Works for religious liberties throughout Europe...

The European Center for Law and Justice

Fights for religious freedom and Judeo-Christian values in Europe...

OpinionJournal: An 'Ordinary Radical'

Paul Beston reviews "The Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne, and seems to come away unconvinced that Claiborne and his "radical faith community" have a handle on how the world works...

Saturday, February 04, 2006

BBC NEWS | Americas | Three die in Brazil music crush

What is it about crazed fans and people being crushed to death this weekend? The latest incident was in Brazil, where mostly teen fans broke down a security barrier trying to get to pop stars for autographs. At least three people -- a woman and two teen girls -- are dead, and about thirty other people were hurt, at last report...

BBC NEWS | Americas | One dead in Los Angeles jail riot

re: Up to 2,000 prisoners riot, at least one dead before order restored. Blacks and Hispanics were separated for the lockdown following the violence, since it was essentially a blacks against Hispanics riot...

The Common Room: Give the Gift of Space

re: keeping a little space between the treats of life... (a nice essay)...

AMERICAN FUTURE - The French Connection

France may be the butt of jokes, but, as David Ignatius explains in a column in the Washington Post, it's not as chilly between France and Washington as some people think...

American Future: The American Paradox

re: an Anatole Kaletsky column in the Times, which tries to figure out how such an ineffectually governed place like America could forge ahead of Europe...

OpinionJournal - Five Best

Charles McCarry lists five of his favorite spy books (fiction)...

In a footnote to this article, it says the publisher Overlook is reissuing nine of McCarry's earlier books...

Getting ready for 13-digit ISBNs

The switch from 10-digit to 13-digit ISBNs has been, uhm, bumpy, but it seems to be progressing. Lightning Source has a FAQs page on some of messy (or at least confusing) details, with emphasis on how it will impact their customers/clients...

ABS-CBN Interactive: Govt begins inquiry of Wowowee stampede

re: stampede of people trying to get into a stadium in the Philippines, hoping to become a contestant on a game show. The death toll was 74, with nearly 400 injured...

Mommy Life: Planned Parenthood, propaganda and RU-486

re: Planned Parenthood leaving out important information in its crusade against pharmacists who can't in good conscience prescribe abortion-inducing pills...

Also, Barbara wonders about their membership rolls, since they've still got her listed as a member 19 years after she became outspokenly pro-life...

Anglican Alliance Ministry Expands in North Florida

re: the emerging American Anglican Church is showing signs of getting its act together...

David's Daily Diversions: An Uncommons Man

re: Tony Blair, the Religious Hatred Bill, ayes to the right, noes to the left (the division lobbies), Evangelicals protesting outside the Palace of Westminster, etc...

Friday, February 03, 2006

CBBC Newsround - Your stories, your world - first!

The BBC's news website for children...

CBBC Newsround | Chat | Your Comments | Should you put your hands up in class?

Remember that story about the school in London that is banning hand raising in class? Kids in the UK weigh in...

New to Ingram: Publisher Resources

Information for small publishers...

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Soldier Stories

Website with short tributes to individuals in the U.S. Army...

Big Islander literally moves mountains

I just love it when engineers get to be heroes...

CULTURE OF LIFE - Umbert 01.30.2006

Twins humor...

(Also literary/historical)...

The Anchoress - Attention Dems: The students noticed

Do you have teens? Did they watch the State of the Union address? How did they react?

Both Betsy Newmark and The Anchoress have reports of kids who laughed at the Democrats when they withheld applause or sat on their hands. (Link to Betsy's Page is available through the title-linked Anchoress post.)

I'm sure this was somewhat influenced by the teachers they've had, but of all the people on the planet, high school students notice who's acting like they're too good for the other people in the room...

The Courier-Mail: Catholic GPs set to quit over RU-486 [03feb06]

Doctors in Australia speak out for women and their babies...

(Via Curt Jester, via The Cafeteria is Closed.)

Mountain Press Publishing Titles - Series

re: Roadside History series, etc...

HolyCoast.com: An Accurate (and Funny) Review of the State of the Union

re: a Daniel Casse review in National Review Online...

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Musings of a Lady: Geekish Things...

Krista is looking for good history books, saying "I hate a history that is merely dates, places, battles, and names. I want to know about the people who made things happen, the people who stand in the shadows."

Wittingshire: A Disconcerting Study

Why kids should play more...

Riding Sun Drawing conclusions

Good post on the cartoon madness...

Michelle Malkin: HALEIGH'S STORY CONTINUED: HOPE LIVES

The 11-year-old girl the state of Massachusetts was going to starve to death continues to rally, and is at a rehab center where the doctors say "hope is never lost"...

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | France enters Muslim cartoon row

A French newspaper has published the cartoons that caused threats against a Danish newspaper, as well as one of its own. From the BBC:

Under the headline "Yes, we have the right to caricature God", France Soir ran a front page cartoon of Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim and Christian gods floating on a cloud.

It shows the Christian deity saying: "Don't complain, Muhammad, we've all been caricatured here."

The full set of Danish drawings, some of which depict the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist, were printed on the inside pages.

hat tip: normblog

Update: French newspaper surrenders. GaijinBiker has the news that the managing editor of the above paper has been fired for running the cartoons. He also has a bit of biting commentary in response...

normblog: Hot joke?

Poetic humor...

Berton House :: Stories

The Berton family of Dawson, Yukon, included several writers. Their home was acquired by the Yukon Arts Council in 1989, to be used as the official home of the Yukon's writer-in-residence program. It sits about a block away from the Jack London Centre, and across the street from where Robert Service lived.

Pierre Berton, who lived there as a boy, became well known for his historical books. He says he got his start in writing in the Boy Scouts.

His mother, Laura Berton, gained fame after writing "I Married the Klondike."

The title-linked article is one of several on the website. This one, by Ken Spotswood, freelance journalist, appeared in the Klondike Sun Oct. 31, 1997, and has some great descriptive bits about life in the house...

Happy Catholic: Pope Benedict Explains Deus Caritas Est

re: a letter that the Pope wrote for readers of an Italian magazine, explaining the encyclical...

Luther Library

"Luther Library seeks to encourage the reading of good books by confessional Lutheran pastors, church workers, and lay people through regular reviews and recommendations."

IntolerantElle.com: A Crushing Blow

Noting how feminists have reacted to Justice Alito's confirmation...

Jack Yoest: Keeping the Little Woman out of Nordstroms

re: Charmaine Yoest (his wife) getting mentioned and quoted in the MSM, which is noting the presence of anti-abortion bloggers...

Federal Appeals Courts Rule in Favor of Partial-Birth Abortions :: Abortion :: ProLifeBlogs

The political cartoon that heads this post is powerful. And poignant...

Bookworm Room: Interesting things I read this morning while avoiding work

Links on a variety of subjects, mostly politics, culture wars...

Kathryn Jean Lopez on Abortion on National Review Online

The South Dakota Task Force to Study Abortion, created by the state legislature, let women who have had abortions have their say...