tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16007390307377633682024-03-13T23:58:59.792-07:00Polliwog's poliblogThoughts and observations on the journey to adult-hood in self-governanceNaomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-62374227967699223562015-09-23T08:52:00.000-07:002015-09-23T08:52:25.788-07:00Definition of a conservative.One of the commenters at Ace O'Spades HQ mentioned that he had been talking with his wife and she had asked him for a <i>concrete</i> definition of conservatism, and he was wondering what the Horde's definition would be. Another commenter came up with<br />
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: Georgia, 'Century Gothic', tahoma, verdana; font-size: 14.4px;">"Conservatives recognize that human beings are inherently flawed and are not perfectible outside of miraculous/ supernatural means and there will never be a utopia of human making. Therefore, we seek to strike the balance between having just enough in the way of law and authority to hold together a stable coherent society, but not so many as to make tyranny easy. Because people in government are still people, just as susceptible to flaw and selfish impulse as are the regular citizens. "</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: Georgia, 'Century Gothic', tahoma, verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Which I think covers a lot of the world view, although I would add that conservatives also realize that each human has a value beyond their perceived usefulness to the whole.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: Georgia, 'Century Gothic', tahoma, verdana; font-size: 14.4px;"><br /></span>Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-26391424209577286132014-10-01T07:39:00.003-07:002014-10-01T07:39:44.734-07:00Eat your heart out Zeke Emmanuel<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well! I hadn't realized the "lifeboat exercise" had made a comeback. I never had to do it in my mediocre public school and so had made the mistake of assuming that it had gone the way of the dodo. Imagine my surprise then when my high school sophomore Eldest Kidlet is telling me about her day and mentions that in speech they did an exercise where each student had to decide the fate of 22 people in an 18-person "fall-out shelter" (and it was very much "who gets tossed outside" not "how do you make this work").</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Given my background (a belief in the value of every human being as loved by G-d who sent his Son to die in atonement) and the fact that *my* immediate value in many situations is not readily apparent, it's hardly surprising that I am not a fan of utilitarianism. Besides being simply immoral, I believe it is very short-sighted and often prevents long-term good from ever developing because whoever could have produced that good was abandoned before their benefit could be realized or became applicable. I got a chance to discuss this with both older kids (two younger weren't home at the time), which is good, but it left Eldest Kidlet feeling very uneasy about how readily she accepted the premise of an assignment that was by it's very nature evil.</span>Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-82838843825193609722014-09-11T19:35:00.000-07:002014-09-11T19:35:13.227-07:00 RIP Norma Khan. <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"> RIP Norma Khan. </span><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;">On the plane that hit the Pentagon. </span><span style="background-color: #eeeeee;">My across-the-street neighbor. Is the comment from NaCly Dog at the HQ. When asked he provided more detail. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: Georgia, 'Century Gothic', tahoma, verdana;">"S</span><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: Georgia, 'Century Gothic', tahoma, verdana;">he was Venezuelan, married to a Pakistani who deserted her and her son after she became a citizen. She was vivacious, with a winning smile. </span><br style="font-family: Georgia, 'Century Gothic', tahoma, verdana;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia, 'Century Gothic', tahoma, verdana;" /><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: Georgia, 'Century Gothic', tahoma, verdana;">She kept a well-maintained home and a small flower garden. I remember her always volunteering to help clean up the Reston neighborhood during the annual cleanup day. </span><br style="font-family: Georgia, 'Century Gothic', tahoma, verdana;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia, 'Century Gothic', tahoma, verdana;" /><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: Georgia, 'Century Gothic', tahoma, verdana;">She was a reliable worker, and someone who could be depended upon to help when the local community needed assistance. Her son was well behaved. </span><br style="font-family: Georgia, 'Century Gothic', tahoma, verdana;" /><br style="font-family: Georgia, 'Century Gothic', tahoma, verdana;" /><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: Georgia, 'Century Gothic', tahoma, verdana;">Others had more memories. <a href="http://tinyurl.com/nnx3rvv">http://tinyurl.com/nnx3rvv</a>"</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: Georgia, 'Century Gothic', tahoma, verdana;">It is a small thing to copy that to here, but I firmly believe that the more people who know at least something about each of those who was murdered 13 years ago the more "real" they will stay in our collective memory. It is right that the "normal" people be remembered for the lives that were taken from them by a brutal, cowardly, and ultimately (please G-d) futile attack.</span>Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-91957489923207882072014-04-17T13:10:00.001-07:002014-04-17T13:10:06.887-07:00Almost timeTo turn in the paperwork to get a CHL. I took the class in February but, due to various rules here in TX, it made the most sense to wait until just after my next birthday which is coming up quickly. I think I know what handgun I want, a 9mm Bersa, and need to start calling around to find out who has the best price. A neighbor has taken Son and myself to his gun club a couple of times since the class, which has been very helpful. I didn't get to go last month because of schedule conflicts and was surprised at how much I missed it.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-14183707477855806612013-05-09T11:37:00.001-07:002013-05-09T11:37:13.670-07:00A ParableBy commenter "Dang" at the HQ.<br />
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So you live outside of town and your house catches on fire. You call the fire department and they tell you they can't make it there in time to put out the fire and the fire chief goes to bed while your house burns to the ground and members of you family die. When you try to find out what the hell just happened the deputy fire chief asks, "What difference, at this point, does it make?" And then that deputy fire chief gets an award for her service.<br />
<br />
This is the state of the nation at the moment.<br />
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Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-89303348714032896802012-11-10T20:10:00.001-08:002012-11-10T20:10:35.535-08:00Happy birthday to the Marines.Although my real-life experience is woefully short on Marines (clearly I've made a mistake somewhere in life) I truly, deeply believe that they are indeed *the* single finest and greatest force for good and peace in the world. My kids and I do indeed sleep soundly knowing that these rough men stand ready and I am grateful everyday that they have chosen to do so.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-48287011634032718542012-06-08T13:49:00.001-07:002012-06-08T20:37:41.836-07:00There has been progressAlthough my impression is that the overwhelming majority of Americans still know nothing about the on-going fight for the protection of *every one's* free speech, there has been progress made in bringing the issue to the attention of both federal level legislators and the media. <a href="http://www.chambliss.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=9f27a0be-cc7d-43e7-bbd8-6b794f5ba0fd">Sen. Saxby Chambliss</a> and <a href="http://marchant.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=298885">Rep. Ken Marchant </a> have both written letters to the DOJ asking for investigations into the "SWATing of several bloggers including a contributor to CNN. Da Techguy's post <a href="http://datechguyblog.com/2012/06/07/and-the-media-dam-cracks-in-the-us-on-swatting/">CNN scooped again</a> goes into more detail about ABC having broken the story on the networks and also gives a lot of links to help get completely caught up on the story. <a href="http://www.popehat.com/2012/06/07/why-yes-i-am-into-slapping/">Popehat</a> has a very good post on what precisely "SLAPPing" and anti-SLAPP are as well as a link so anyone can find out whether their state has anti-SLAPP laws, and if so how good they are. Through the link I found that, although MO *does* have anti-SLAPP legislation, it seems to be only for the protection of *specifically* political speech, which makes it nearly useless against the type of abuse which is currently at issue.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-48674193812674821732012-06-06T09:59:00.002-07:002012-06-06T09:59:42.547-07:00CongratulationsTo both Governor Walker and the people of Wisconsin. I'm sure the last year has been very trying. While there's no way the political left will accept The People's statement with grace ( in fact I could probably just have stopped at "statement") hopefully there will be at least some time to relax before they can regroup.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-33474532185874361072012-05-31T18:08:00.000-07:002012-06-07T15:49:21.610-07:00The judge told them what?!While reading <a href="http://blogs.investors.com/capitalhill/index.php/home/35-politicsinvesting/7166-brett-kimberlin-hearing-aaron-walker-handcuffed-">the link</a> to Investors.com that Patterico provided in his post about the Walker/Kimberlin hearing, I was struck by something the author, David Hogberg, related. He told how the judge had said something that appeared to me to mean that he, the judge, felt Walker and Kimberlin should fight out their differences. When I started checking around yesterday to write this post Hogberg graciously e-mailed me his notes from the portion of the hearing that I was curious about.<br />
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Here is the relevant portion of his notes where the judge is discussing his view that it's too easy now to ruin some one's character without ever having met them, which he's under the mistaken impression is what <em>Walker </em>has been doing.<br />
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<div class="yiv1462550204MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1338505777781108" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1338505777781107" style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1338505777781106" style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">"Where I grew up in Brooklyn those things—when that stuff was pulled, it was dealt with quickly. I’m not gonna talk about those ways. In my community you wanted to date an Italian girl, you asked the permission of the Italian boys. When someone did something unfair to your sister or girlfriend, you got your friends to take him for a ride. And that stopped it. You guys have got this new electronic stuff and you can just ruin somebody without doing anything. But you (Walker) started it."</span></span></div>
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Now, I don't disagree that it's gotten much too easy to ruin someone by remote-control, after all that <em>is </em>what has happened to Walker. Someone he'd never met, who lived in a different state, decided to ruin him for helping a <em>completely different </em>person and has done a fair job of it to this point. That being said, what. the. heck. is a judge, even a retired one, doing suggesting extra-legal remedies that would <em>absolutely </em>result in further criminal charges if Walker were so mad as to attempt them against a convicted bomber and terrorist?! I realize that this is probably more "pining for the good old days" than an actual suggestion, but it still seems to have been a terribly stupid thing to say. I can only hope that the clear unfitness of this judge, leaving aside his complete ignorance of digital media, will make it easier for Walker to get his case reviewed as it is clear that justice was no where near to being served on Tuesday Morning.<br />
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This post at <a href="http://www.openmarket.org/2012/05/29/injunction-imposed-over-blog-posts-that-criticized-convicted-terrorist-turned-left-wing-activist/">OpenMarket.org</a> gives a very thorough link-up of many of the blogs that have written about the hearing.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-68844378479132486912012-05-29T14:14:00.001-07:002012-05-29T21:07:35.830-07:00I don't know what to say Updated a couple of timesThis is seriously a bad day for free speech as Aaron Walker is arrested over bogus accusations of having broken the harassment "peace order" that was granted to Convicted Domestic Terrorist and Perjurer Brett Kimberlin. One possible bright spot is that Kimberlin appears to be unable to resist gloating and is helping prove that various social media accounts, that he claimed had nothing to do with him other than that they showed support for him, are indeed his or belong to those *very* closely allied to him.<br />
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Update: R.S. McCain has a <a href="http://theothermccain.com/2012/05/29/report-aaron-walker-arrested-after-maryland-hearing-on-kimberlin-case/">report</a> that Walker has been released. He is still charged with having abridged the "peace order" but is on his own recognizance at this time. My prayers are with him and his family that they remain safe and that justice be done in this case.<br />
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Update II: Apparently the charge in Walker's arrest was "2nd degree assault" which commenters at both Ace of Spades HQ and (I think) Jawa Report said was very unusual as it typically results in a fine. What seems even stranger is that the supposed assault is the one caught on courthouse security footage from (months?) ago and the <em>courts own footage </em>shows that no such thing happened. I'm still keeping Walker and his family in prayer as justice is far from being served at this point.<br />
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Update III: Well, according to <a href="http://patterico.com/2012/05/29/aaron-walker-arrested-for-blogging-clearing-some-of-the-fog-surrounding-todays-litigation/">this post</a> by Patterico my information was correct the first time. Apparently the deputy arresting Aaron Walker was under the impression that it was due to <em>the dismissed </em>assault charges but was incorrect. Patterico also links to a post at <a href="http://blogs.investors.com/capitalhill/index.php/home/35-politicsinvesting/7166-brett-kimberlin-hearing-aaron-walker-handcuffed-">Investors .com</a> which seems to agree that this is a case of suppression of speech.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-76044194910746215582012-05-28T08:27:00.003-07:002012-05-28T08:27:37.974-07:00Memorial DayMy deepest thanks for those who gave their lives, both in history and today, to keep myself and my children free to live our lives. I also want to thank the families of those who never came back as their sacrifice is great and can never be repaid.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-52029145376934970672012-05-25T08:54:00.001-07:002012-05-26T06:18:10.426-07:00Sorry Aaron and Stacy, I'm too scaredWhen the creators of Southpark were embroiled in the "Mohamad picture" kerfluffle and getting death threats, the writers/artists at The Simpsons had one of their intros be Bart writing something like "Sorry Southpark, we'd support you but we're scared." That's where I am right now.<br />
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I spent this week intending to write today about how Brett Kimberlin, the convicted "Speedway Bomber" was using the nations criminal and civil courts as a club in his efforts to keep<em> any, </em>not just conservative, journalists or bloggers from mentioning that he is indeed convicted of setting a number of bombs in the town of Speedway, IN as well as committing perjury. But now that I've come to it, I realize that as a single parent who wants to get involved in local politics I'm not sure what is <em>safe</em> to say. Since I don't want Kimberlin or his associates stalking and harassing myself, family, or friends in the way that anonymous calls start "just happening" to be made to bosses, landlords etc. of those such as attorney Aaron Walker, ADA Patrick Frey, and blogger R.S. McCain who have dug into his past and his funding by the likes of George Soros, Theresa Heinz-Kerry and Barbara Streisand, I don't want to say anything that might bring their notice.<br />
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And you know what? That is just plain <em>wrong</em> in a nation with free speech. The whole point of the free speech part of the 1st amendment was to ensure that <em>factual</em> speech about the connections between a convicted domestic terrorist and the big name donors of a political party be protected. The whole point of having a government at all is to protect those who are law-abiding from those who are not. When did that change? And why have we the people allowed it to continue?Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-55469786610231654902012-05-22T07:39:00.003-07:002012-05-22T07:39:41.492-07:00CongratulationsTo Space-X for successfully launching their new rocket this morning. I'm thrilled to see private industry continuing the push into space.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-69846118827615168172012-05-19T12:49:00.001-07:002012-05-19T12:50:48.665-07:00Alternate timeline articleLocal Man in Critical Condition after Beating<br />
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<br />
A neighborhood watch captain is in the hospital and fighting <br />
for his life tonight with a fractured skull and other injuries. He was found beaten Sunday night shortly after <br />
he reported a suspicious man in a gray hoodie wandering through the <br />
neighborhood. George Zimmerman, the <br />
neighborhood watch captain is in the hospital and fighting for his life tonight <br />
with a fractured skull and other injuries. <br />
Police were responding to his report of a suspicious person when <br />
neighbors reported a man screaming for help to 911. Witnesses said Zimmerman was on the ground <br />
and screaming for help and then suddenly stopped yelling. The assailant fled the scene before police <br />
arrived.<br />
<br />
Zimmerman, age 27, is the local neighborhood watch captain <br />
for the Retreat at Twin <br />
Lakes. His wife ________, said he was a devoted <br />
family man and involved in the community. <br />
He tutored several youths in Orlando <br />
last year, and was an activist convinced the local police to bring charges in <br />
the beating of Sherman Ware, a black homeless man. __________, the son of a Sanford police officer was convicted of <br />
assaulting Sherman Ware on December 4, 2010. <br />
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Neighbors report that there has been a rash of burglaries in <br />
the neighborhood in the last year, including a home invasion. Mrs. Zimmerman stated her husband was <br />
returning from shopping at the Target store when he spotted a suspicious person <br />
and contacted the police. “I do not <br />
understand why he did not take his handgun with him on Sunday night. He almost always carries it after he was <br />
advised to by the police after we had trouble with a vicious dog.” Mr. Zimmerman has a valid Florida CCW permit, <br />
but he was not carrying his handgun Sunday night.<br />
<br />
<br />
Police are requesting anyone with information contact the <br />
Sanford Police Department. <br />
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This text was written by a commenter at <a href="http://ace.mu.nu/">Ace of Spades</a> who agreed to have it further publicized but asked to remain anonymous. He said the impetus for writing this came from the fact that he'd been considering getting a concealed carry permit shortly before the Martin/Zimmerman debacle and this was part of his trying to decide whether or not to continue the process.<br /><br /><br /> I think it's important to realize that, as sad as the death of a young man is, once Martin attacked Zimmerman (and *all* physical evidence points to that being the case) someone was at least going to the hospital and, given the amount of damage already done to Zimmerman, it probably would have been the husband and father who tutored under-privileged children. How would that be *less* sad?Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-9743683618240533642012-04-08T17:35:00.002-07:002012-04-08T17:40:46.937-07:00I'm Famous!Okay, no I'm not. But I did get a mention at Legal Insurrection (as part of a group) due to my Twitter addiction. I was one of the several people who re-tweeted LI's news that there were <em>no</em> neo-nazis in Sanford, FL and the blog owner was kind enough to thank us by name for helping the truth be known.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-33475938687754630042012-03-17T19:58:00.002-07:002012-03-17T20:02:45.765-07:00I Swore This Day Would Never Come...but I was wrong. I have entered that den of horrors called Twitter. My <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">tweetnick</span> is <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Polliwogette</span> since I'm Polliwog and a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Moronette</span> ( and Polliwog was already taken).<br />I generally just re-tweet things from other conservatives, but occasionally snark on my own behalf as well.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-45050352960260668662012-03-03T09:59:00.005-08:002012-03-03T10:47:00.670-08:00Farewell to a true PaladinAndrew <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Breitbart's</span> death hit me a lot harder than I expected given that I'd never met him and in fact knew little about his personal life until his passing. Learning that he was only in his early 40's with four children about the same age mine were when John died was an extra shock beyond the general loss of such a courageous voice for <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">conservativism</span> who had seemed so unstoppable just weeks ago.<br /><br />In a desire to do my <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">hobbity</span> bit to carry on his work and given that I "don't get out much" to put it mildly, and those I <em>do</em> interact with mostly agree, I hit upon making a blond human male character for the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">MMORPG</span> that I play and naming him <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Breitandrew</span> (yes that's pretty small stuff but it's what I had).<br /><br />The next question was what sort of character <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Breitbart</span> would have been. Was he a warrior? The term "happy warrior" was used frequently that day and was certainly accurate but didn't seem to quite fit. Was he a rogue? Okay, well yes, in terms of personality there seemed to be a good bit of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">roguishness</span> but as a conservative voice there was certainly never any hiding or sneaking in what he did(although I admire his dexterity with laying traps for the media to run into) so that wouldn't work. A cleric? He seemed to have given many people wise advice over the years but binding up the wounded wasn't really part of what he did. Sorcerer? Wizard? No, although apparently Greg <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Gutfeld's</span> wife called him a wizard, it was not sheer mental brilliance that affected so many people who'd never met him. I seriously considered an <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">artificier</span>, which is a new <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">DDO</span> class combining sniping attacks, magic, and an iron defender pet( that I would have called Ace in homage to the HQ) but it just didn't seem the right fit either.<br /><br />Then it came to me. A fighter with a great deal of charisma, and I thinks it's pretty clear <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">Breitbart</span> had charisma to spare, is a paladin. His role is to both fight the monsters, zombies and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">kobolds</span> seeming <em>very</em> appropriate in this case, directly by going toe-to-toe with the biggest guy in the room and, just as importantly, to strengthen and give courage to those who are with him, which <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">Breitbart</span> certainly did as well. As a paladin advances in levels it becomes impossible to<em> force</em> him to flee even if he's frightened and he extends this ability to the entire party. He also has the "smite evil" ability which deals a strong blow to a foe, making it possible for others to finish it off. I believe that both of these traits were much in evidence in <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">Breitbart's</span> life and many were better for having come in contact with him, even virtually and at third hand as in my case.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-15939831173268172132012-03-01T08:48:00.001-08:002012-03-01T08:49:24.410-08:00He Will be Sorely MissedBest<br />Reporter<br />Ever.<br />Indefatigable<br />Torch<br />Bearer.<br />A<br />Rare<br />Talent.<br /><br /><br />Stolen from LincolnTF commentor at AoSHQ and Althouse.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-79641478785808406202012-01-28T17:56:00.000-08:002012-01-28T18:06:06.574-08:00ParadeI'm so thrilled to see that <a href="http://minx.cc/?post=326184"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">AoSHQ</span></a> is reporting that the St Louis welcome/ thanks parade for our returning veterans had about 100,000 attendees.<br /><br />If I were a better person I would have been there with my children as well. Unfortunately, I'm terrified of driving in actual St Louis city limits and, as Son had a prior commitment, I let me talk myself out of going.<br /><br />I'm particularly happy that the response was so good since there was snow on the ground and somewhat slippery roads this morning.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-76908244470523053142011-11-11T19:43:00.001-08:002011-11-11T19:43:16.259-08:00Thank You VeteransNaomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-58106176582306467342011-11-09T13:19:00.000-08:002011-11-09T13:33:44.557-08:00I feel illJust knowing that I was at State College when an assistant coach was molesting young boys and that the bastard was allowed to retire and<em> start a foundation for troubled young boys</em> instead of going to jail like any normal person makes me feel sick.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-34791091231098225812011-07-04T12:25:00.000-07:002011-07-04T12:34:43.574-07:00Happy birthday America!And may there be many more.<br /><br />This is the first year we read the Declaration of Independence and I think I want to make a tradition of that. In fact, I'm a little embarrassed that it's only the first time instead of <em>already</em> being a tradition.<br /><br />The kids and I also listened to patriotic songs on <a href="http://teresainfortworth.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/happy-birthday-america/#comment-141">Theresa in Ft Worth's </a>blog that she'd kindly linked to the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">AoSHQ</span>. Later we'll be maintaining a tradition I just learned dated to the very beginning of the nation by setting of fireworks and enjoying the municipal display, weather permitting since it's threatening to rain again.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-45802895798354558252011-06-15T23:58:00.000-07:002011-06-16T00:05:54.874-07:00A year ago todayToday makes one year since John passed away. There have been so many times this past year that I've told him how glad I was that he hadn't been forced to see what is becoming of our country. The on-line antics of the representative from New York, who doesn't need his name in print any more than it already is, are just the last in a long line of things that I'm glad John is well out of.<br /><br />From a purely personal perspective I would certainly prefer he was here to protect us and be the responsible party, and I know that was what he had wanted to happen as well. The world is a lot scarier place without him.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-65366503903036725392011-05-14T12:17:00.000-07:002011-05-14T12:19:17.206-07:00Am Isriel Chai!Happy Independance Day to Israel. May peace reign over Jerusalem.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1600739030737763368.post-3649072101274916872011-05-08T13:41:00.000-07:002011-05-08T13:48:43.300-07:00Administration say whaaat!?Sorry, my kids have been watching Hannah Montana and I'm afraid it's rubbing off on me no matter how hard I try to prevent that.<br /><br />Anyway, it's a legitimate question given that it seems like it's a rare twelve hour interval that passes without some major revision of what started out as <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">wonderful</span> news a week ago. In one way though this week has served to confirm my general world view. What is still certain after all the re-writes is that the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">SEALs</span> are a remarkable and extremely competent group of men, and this administration is made up of a remarkably incompetent group who can. not. <em>stop</em>. talking. even <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">when</span> it serves only to reveal their own incompetence.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875151315508648275noreply@blogger.com1