I wish off of you a wonderful and safe Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. If you are traveling, may you get to your destination safely. May the season bring you many wonderful surprises as well as bringing you and yours closer together.

I like the way this new theme works (in the background), so I will be sticking with it for the time being. Some things are changing. I will not be using the animated graphic headline any more. I enjoy writing articles, but creating a new graphic to go with each story takes time. Unfortunately, I won’t have the featured blog section on the bottom of the page any more. Instead, the articles will just appear as any other entry. Lastly, for those that wish to advertise on the website, I’ve removed the Project Wonderful banner from above the fold and replaced it with two square advertising blocks on the right-hand side.

If you have any recommendations for the site, please let me know!

On a surprise visit to Iraq on Sunday, President Bush received a rather unusual confrontation for a Western leader. Bush is use to the street protests, effigies, and even verbal outbursts during speeches, but two flying shoes was something new to him. Needless to say, he took it in stride.

Following a meeting with Prime Minister Maliki, Bush and Maliki entered a small room within the Prime Minister’s palace that was packed with reporters and dignitaries. In fact, most of the security detail for both Bush and Maliki were stationed along the sides of the room due to the lack of space. When Muntathar al Zaidi, a reporter for Baghdadiya TV, took off his shoe off and threw it at Bush, the security detail was not able to reach the President. In fact, the second shoe was removed and thrown at the President before the security detail enters the frame. The first person to apprehend al Zaidi was a fellow journalist.

President Bush, besides avoiding the shoes thrown at his head, also avoided blowing the situation out of proportion. He didn’t talk down his assailant but rather used him as an example for how liberty can be expressed.

“So what if a guy threw a shoe at me. I consider it an important step on the road toward an Iraq that can sustain itself, govern itself, and defend itself. But let me talk about the guy throwing the shoe. It is one way to gain attention. It’s like going to a political rally and having people yell at you.”

However, as we remember on the day that the statue of Saddam fell, the Iraqi’s took off their shoes and hit the statue in the head repeatedly. This is because the act of hitting someone with a shoe is a great insult, since it means the person is beneath everyone, just like the ground people walk on. That is why we’ve seen large rallies in support of al Zaidi in Sadr city; the heart of the current anti-American sentiment in Iraq.

The place in history this event takes will depend upon many things, including the eventual fate al Zaidi faces. He is currently in the hands of Iraqi forces, recuperating from injuries received during the press conference assault (according to his brother). But until it is known if he will be released or sentenced to jail, the video of the attack will be viewed numerous times around the world.

Related articles:
Times Online – “Journalist who threw shoes at Bush, Muntazer al-Zaidi, ‘has broken arm and ribs’”
Breitbart – “Iraq to probe ‘custody abuse’ of Bush shoe assailant”
The Washington Times – “Bush visits Iraq, dodges flying shoes”
The New York Times – “Iraqi Journalist Hurls Shoes at Bush and Denounces Him on TV as a ‘Dog’”
Los Angeles Times – “Secret Service faces questions after Bush shoe incident”
McClatchy – “Bush shoe incident caught Secret Service flatfooted”

I am going to try out this template for a week. Please tell me if you like this template better than my last one.

The BoBo Files

Conservative

Read the review

The evil conservative clown mixes passion with sarcasm to the hot topics of the day. Taking a true Freedom of Speech approach towards blogging, he encourages debate by those who share different opinions.

I would like to welcome you to the first website review for our Political Blog Listing. The author of The BoBo Files has graciously volunteered his website so we could create a few sample reviews for future Bloggers to read when considering to have their own sites reviewed. With that, let’s get started.

The BoBo Files takes a Conservative view on the issues, though the website does not follow the Republican Party talking points. Following the hot topics of the day, the author structures the articles in a well-researched manner that encourages discussion. The level of debate is evident, as most of his posts receive comments, many with more than 10 different people sharing their views.

Another way the author encourages the exchange of ideas is through his weekly “carnival.” A Blog Carnival is service where various Bloggers can submit their articles for consideration on a different website. In the case of The BoBo Files, the author encourages Bloggers to submit their articles by Saturday each week, choosing from one of the seven following categories: conservative, democrats, liberal, libertarian, news, politics, or republicans. Averaging at least 15 submissions on a weekly basis for all across the political spectrum, the author takes time to read and comment on the submissions when posted.

In addition to the carnival, the author actively reads other websites and chooses articles of interest to discuss. It doesn’t matter if the article is something the author agrees with or not, but the author gives credit and links back to the original article. With over 150 daily viewers, these links back to other sites drives needed traffic to other Bloggers out there.

One criticism we have with The BoBo Files is the extensive use of advertisements and banners in the right-hand sidebar. The high number of graphics and links leads to a slow load time. We find it quicker to load the site using Firefox rather than Internet Explorer, however using the RSS feed tends to be an easier option for the causal reader.

Over all, the website is very well done, full of thoughtful and interesting original content. Other than a passing four-lettered word from time to time, the content is family friendly with no adult content displayed. And unless you suffer from Coulrophobia (the fear of clowns), you should take a moment and visit the site.