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Jul 04 2012

Happy Anniversary!

Today concludes our second year of operation at The Stars Hollow Gazette and every indication is that you enjoy our content as much as we do providing it.

It’s easy to get the impression that this site is dominated by just a few voices, but I think if you follow over time you’ll see that there are a lot of regular and semi-regular contributions.  I want to thank those people because that kind support is far more important than money.  Even casual Authors will notice that there is no piece that is not evaluated for featured status.

It relies on you.  I like to think The Stars Hollow Gazette has developed into a site of character and interest, a place you visit several times a day to read the latest and are proud to participate in.  If you feel the same I urge you to send us your eyeballs and read, link, quote, comment, and recommend.

Thank you for your kind indulgence.

Opening Day- July 4, 2010

First Anniversary on The Stars Hollow Gazette– July 4, 2011

First Anniversary on DocuDharma– July 4, 2011

Hmm… not much Anniversary specific.  How about the next day?

First Anniversary on DocuDharma– July 5, 2011

Also, TheMomCat made note of our first week of programming in Today on The Stars Hollow Gazette.

And we filled in your content with these reprints-

It’s a joy and a pleasure to provide you with a place your contributions can be highlighted and I hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to express yourself.

Jul 04 2012

On Patriotism

(a reprint from our initial offerings at The Stars Hollow Gazette)

It’s an interesting coincidence that exactly 50 years after The Declaration, Jefferson and Adams died within hours of each other.  Ironically Adam’s last words were- “Jefferson still survives.”  In fact Jefferson preceded Adams which could have caused some embarrassment provided you believe in an afterlife and that Jefferson and Adams could have ended up in the same place.

Me?  Not so much.  People forget that our founders were revolutionaries and the establishment of The United States of America led to a string of more or less successful rebellions in Haiti, South America, and France.

It’s certainly not a historical leap of faith to call The Council of Europe and the Age of Metternich a reaction to a little fight we picked on the road between Lexington and Concord.

History is real, and not so very long ago.

These were people just like us.  Every bit as smart, twice as tough, and doing the best they could with the tools they had available.

Recently they’d been through 30 years of Civil War based on religious sectarianism and class warfare.  Fighting the French and Indians was kind of intermittent by comparison.

They were not rubes by any means though it’s a classic American gambit going back to Franklin at least to put a dead beaver on your head and pretend to be an idiot.  It makes the women want you.

My favorite Ben who is not a traitor was considered the head of the committee that composed The Declaration, but the principal Author was Thomas Jefferson whom we find recently to have made a last minute substitution of ‘citizen’ for ‘subject’ that I found reflective of his principles as a Founder.

Revolution is not all skittles and beer.

America had its Cincinattus and a Republic if we could keep it, but political feuding between the Democratic-Republicans and the Federalists was little short of open warfare in the election of 1800.  People were literally shot down like dogs.

Adams had to suffer Jefferson as a Vice-President (Mr. Heartbeat) and successor.  Two Term Jefferson left his office to James “Mr. Constitution” Madison and the rest, as they say, is history until Andrew “Kingfish” Jackson (but that’s a story for another day).

The democratic impulse and enlightenment values embodied in the work of our Founders, little things like the Constitution and Bill of Rights, the institutions of the Congress, Presidency, and Court have always been under attack by powerful elites who seek to influence outcomes in their favor.

The very least honor we owe these brave and principled patriots is to resist those efforts and defend justice and the rule of law to the best of our ability.

Jul 01 2012

Smarter Than Your Average Bear

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

This is an Open Thread

Jul 01 2012

Hey, what do you know?

We’re up.

As it turns out our servers are connected to the Amazon cloud in Virgina that went down last night.

We will continue with our regular schedule tonight and tomorrow.

Jun 25 2012

Bill Maher: Conservatives Are 14 Year Old Boys

Adapted fromThe Stars Hollow Gazette

Bill Maher Slams GOP: ‘You Act Exactly Like 14-Year-Old Boys’

Earlier this month, 14-year-old right-wing radio host Caiden Cowger was pulled from the airwaves after he said that Obama “is making kids gay.” On last night’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” the comedian was mostly amused by Cowger, but had harsher words for Cowger’s adult conservative counterparts. [..]

He also cited Jonathan Krohn, another conservative wunderkind who appeared on the scene at age 13 when he wrote the book “Define Conservatism.” [..]

Maher used as evidence the various controversial outbursts seen during the GOP presidential primaries, as well as a recent vote by House Republicans to block replacing styrofoam with more eco-friendly cardboard in federal cafeterias.

“Take that, knowing things!” Maher said, accusing the Republicans of being willfully ignorant bullies.

Real Time with Bill Maher 22 June 2012 New Rules

“When 14-year-old boys sound exactly like you do and can produce radio shows and books and speeches that sound exactly like yours, maybe you should rethink the shit that comes out of your mouth.

Remember the Republican debates we had this year? They applauded for the idea of letting a sick man without insurance die. Herman Cain got cheers for saying he’d electrify the border fence. They booed a gay man serving his country in the military. No wonder 14-year-old boys can do your act, you act exactly like 14-year-old boys. There’s no ideology here. It’s just about being a dick.”

~Bill Maher~

Jun 20 2012

What Jane Said

There was a recent kerfluffle at FDL that in the light of presidential election, Jane Hamsher, FDL’s founder, felt it necessary to restate and clarify the site policy regarding diaries and commenting. I agree with what Jane said:

In the contentious 2008 Democratic Presidential primary, there were many members of the FDL community who passionately supported one candidate over another.  We chose as a blog not to endorse either candidate because we did not want to alienate either significant sector of our community.

Moreover, we firmly believe that elections are the time when candidates are the most responsive to the needs of the constituents whose votes they hope to woo. [..]

We believe that the Presidential election should be a time for healthy discussion among those who have different and often passionately held points of view. [..]

Individual writers on FDL may take different positions.  It does not mean that as a blog we endorse any of them.  Our goal is to make a fair home for all sides of this discussion, and not shut it down. [..]

The one thing we have no interest in being is a mind-reading site.   “You just want Obama to win” or “you just want Romney to win” or “you just don’t care about X” furthers no conversation.  Its only intent is to poison the discussion and launch a pie fight. [..]

Our only goal is to foster a vigorous and open debate on FDL in the ensuing months.  The fact that we will not be playing the role of arbiter is not a reflection of any hidden agenda, but rather a continuation of what we have historically sought to be during times when our community is intensely divided:  a town square where a fair discussion of the merits of all sides can take place.

That is what our goal is here at The Stars Hollow Gazette and Docudharma

Thank you, Jane, for all you do.

Jun 09 2012

Good Morning From NN12

Well, we warned you posting would light.

h/t John Aravosis @ AMERICAblog who is not here but Chris in Paris and Gaius Publius are.

Jun 06 2012

Open Thread: The Kitty and the Couch

h/t tengrain at Dependable Renegade

Jun 05 2012

Open Thread: Defying Gravity

Jun 02 2012

Open Thread: Fuzzy Love

May 27 2012

Open Thread

Aliens declared people

h/t twolf at Dependable Renegade

May 05 2012

Stingers: Training for the Mint Julep

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

The Cocktail Moment: The Stinger

Rachel teaches viewers how to make a Stinger as a means for acquiring a taste for a real Mint Julep. [..]

Ingredients:

   2 1/4 oz. Cognac or Brandy

   3/4 oz. ounce creme de menthe (get a good brand — and get the clear one, not the green one).

That’s it.

And then you have to shake the living daylights out of it. The key is to make it absolutely frigid. That’s why you shake it with ice and then you pour it over ice.

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