Hmmm... in looking back through my previous posts I didn't realize exactly how little I had commented on the 2004 presidential race. Given that this was a contest about which I actually cared about, it's a bit surprising. Regardless, I'll admit I participated in the critique of John Kerry's military record. Those who did the research would admit that it wasn't nearly as stellar as he would have liked the American public to believe, and this became an issue when he attempted to make it a centerpiece of his campaign. Perhaps his biggest mistake was not challenging his naysayers more forcefully in a public setting. His love of nuance must have simply been too great. Hello 2004, welcome to 2008, where John McCain is running for president while making his military service a centerpiece of his campaign. Ironically, just about the only thing I respect about Senator McCain is, in fact, his service to our great nation. When attacked, his campaign has immediately responded, very forcefully, that this type of criticism will not be tolerated. I also feel that attacks against McCain will have a much different effect than those directed towards Senator Kerry. The Arizona Senator has a much more detailed, graphic account of his time in Vietnam. He spent a long time over there, the majority of which was spent in a prisoner of war camp. The attacks against him will only serve to unite the fractured base, consolidating opposition to Barack Obama. Good luck, critics. The harder you push, the harder the pushback will be.

It's funny how the different classes in the game can lead to different attitudes, unexpected leadership, and great comradery. Those that play know that I am first and foremost, a tank... and a warrior tank. For the interested, here is a great article on what it means to tank in Warcraft. When I first started playing, I chose a Warlock... and it is still a very fun class for me to play. Perhaps my favorite outside of Warrior at the moment. I chose to level a warrior because there was such a dramatic shortage of meat shields on our server. I never thought I would become the main tank for a large guild, much less be in a role leading several individuals during battle. One of the fundamental things you learn as you gain higher levels is a warrior is people expect you to lead, and know more about what everybody is doing than anyone else. It's a lot of pressure, and at times, a lot of stress. Some would say it is thankless, but the reward comes from the joyous cries over the voice channel when you finally down that boss you've been working on for a week. I've healed, dps'd (ranged and melee), and tanked, but nothing compares to keeping your friends alive, and getting through some of the hardest content under your leadership.

Wow! Who would have thought the Supreme Court would actually rule appropriately per the interpretation of written law? Given that in recent times they have decided personal property can be seized for private development, terrorists have citizen rights (for those who had forgotten, this is something the Al'Qaida handbook had counted on), and various other shenanigans, this truly comes as a surprise. Yeah, I'm a day late. Deal with it.

Sooooooo... I was browsing around today, and found these fun little products. Being as The Big Lebowski is one of my favorite movies of all time I was thinking to myself, 'huh, this is pretty cool... whatever...' until I scrolled to the first comment posted under the article. Seriously, if I could figure out how to channel my hate laser like that guy, the world might be in danger.

Bill Bennett and Seth Leibsohn have written an excellent article on Barack Obama. I'd also recommend National Review as a leading conservative site to my liberal readers, as it is typically a bit more intellectual than most political sites in general. Well written, very detailed, and never shrewd, bitter, or childish in it's content.

In short: yes. Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMO, or MMORPG for short) involve the coming together of several thousand individuals at a time at any particular moment. The individuals that participate are typically from a vast variety of backgrounds... financial, religious, ideological, and even national and continental. Personally, in the guild I am a part of, we have people from across the entire United States (we even let in a few sneaky Canadians), and I believe every time zone is covered. We chat via typing, and in raids we open up voice chat and get to know one another a little better. Some have formed very close ties within the guild, and it's interesting to watch factions form that specialize in enjoying different tasks within the game. One thing that causes me a sort of fascination regarding this phenomenon are people online that will sign up for sites that support the game, only to berate the individuals that play it. Some seem desperate, trying to quell the tide of MMOs that are apparently, destroying society at large. Others are very angry with the MMO community, calling it a group of losers and individuals with no lives... which is sort of odd that they would go to the trouble of signing up for such a site, and taking the time to post that on it... but I digress. There are very real communities of friends with common interests within the walls of the respective games, sometimes resulting in even closer relationships (I am currently in a relationship with someone I met while playing WoW, and in fact owe the inspiration for this post to her as she has written an article along the same lines). Regardless, these games have generated much controversy... some people calling them "addictive," and some actually playing much, much more than they should. Even with these stories, the issue is with the individuals... clearly people that should have not involved themselves in relationships or had children in the first place, let alone been so weak as to rely on a game to replace their very existence. It's the equivalent to blaming a gun for killing a person... as far as I know, guns don't pull their own triggers. That is, unless you're talking about the new super secret bio-engineered guns that also have legs and are currently coming for YOU! So has the rise of this type of media led to a decline in general socialization within society, or a boost? What do you think?

Fr. Fox has an excellent post on the continual assault on specific aspects of free speech on his blog (from the 17th). I have a hard time understanding how groups that have traditionally defended this right stand by on the sidelines and western civilization slide into a 1984-esque society. It could be attributed to the slow, massive transformation of the west into a socialist/marxist state. Control is power, eliminating opposing speech is control, eliminating opposing opinions is absolute control, and absolute control corrupts absolutely. We're in for an interesting ride, folks. As for me, I've found some motivation to start posting again, so I'll do what I can from here.

First off, I'd like to congratulate the left wing on their impending victory in 2008. Be it John McCain or more likely Barack Obama, they managed to win even before the general election had really been considered. Most conservatives will be staying home this election cycle, not as a protest or to make a point, but rather because there are simply zero options at the polls for the presidency. I'll likely go, because if I don't I'll have made myself into a huge hypocrite for pestering people to vote in the past, despite their dissatisfaction with all of the potential office holders. Perhaps a nice third party option will present itself, or I'll just vote for myself. Regardless, America is on a new path now... it will be interesting to see how we handle a socialist society created not by well discussed, considered policies and opinions, but rather how the media has presented each party and ideology. Not only will the full-court press (no pun intended) result in an absolute blowout this cycle, it apparently is not enough for Nancy Pelosi, who seeks to eliminate any opposition, no matter how minute, to the new "progressive" society they have envisioned.

This article at LGF has a couple of interesting points. Both are related to the fundamental hypocrisy that is commonly displayed among those who choose to ignore the obvious, provided it furthers propagation of their respective ideologies.

Just like the title says. The world becomes a much more quiet and peaceful place. You'll never find me wishing death upon anyone, but a Carlin fan I was not.

Again, mostly just tagging this space to let everybody know I'm OK. Things have begun to pick up over here, but hopefully I'll be back on the scene soon enough. I have a few topics in mind, though they don't go along with the traditional focus of this blog. We shall see. Thanks to everyone who has inquired.