One of the things I love most about blogging is that it is a forum where you will get feedback from your readers, regularly. Sometimes more than you'd like. In nearly two years of blogging, I believe I have improved myself as a writer, through what I have written and through what I have read. While readers may take issue with my politics, they rarely take issue with my writing. And so, in the interest of helping other bloggers as I've been helped, I'd like to share some of the most important tip...

Discussion is a good thing. In a democracy, in fact, I would argue it is essential. Without discussion, laws don't get changed and injustices are never remedied. Government agents that abuse their power are essentially given unlimited authority if there is nobody present to debate the validity of their actions. But discussion doesn't take place if you exclude valid points from the debate. Just as American voters never get a true look at their choices because of the fact that many candidates a...

One of the first rules of "point whoring" for a blogger, I have discovered, is to include the names of celebrities in your article. Preferably with a host of other keywords, such as nude, titties, s&m, or other words describing sexual behavior (even and especially deviant sexual behavior). But the celebrity names themselves will generate hits, if they're hot enough. I found this out the (err, ahem!) hard way when I first started blogging and wrote the now-notorious "Mary Kate" article (as...

I don't think I need to mention the name of the person I'm addressing with this article, but I will offer a few brief words, stolen from an old TV favorite (with minor appropriate revisions):   Welcome back, Your dreams were your ticket out. Welcome back, To that same old place that you laughed about. Well the names haven't changed since you hung around, But those dreams have remained and they're turned around. Who'd have thought they'd lead ya (Who'd have thoug...

I am stoked. This is the kind of fuel someone needs to keep them "on the path" as a blogger. Some time ago, I wrote an article on Theodora "Tonie" Nathan, the 1972 Libertarian vice presidential candidate who, due to the independent principles of elector Roger McBride (the party's 1976 Presidential candidate), cast his electoral vote for the Libertarian ticket of John Hospers and Ms. Nathan, making the latter the first woman in US history to receive an electoral college vote. The article posed...

I'm sitting just short of 1500 blogs in my tenure on JU, and I don't know where I'll go from here. I did not get out to blog at all yesterday, due to feeling pretty lousy, and after perusing the forums today, have to admit, I'm not in much of a mood to blog at this moment. Now, that may all change even before my time online ends, I don't know. But let's just say that I'm in a less than generous mood for communicating online, especially when reading a number of less than civil posts or comments t...

I surf BlogClicker frequently to bring traffic to my blog. While I appreciate BlogExlosion, BlogClicker has at least brought in a small revenue stream. What gets me, though, are the contests. See, there are two contests on BlogClicker every month. One is for sites surfed via BC, the other is for referrals. While I surf as much as I can to earn credits (I have a paid membership, both to make a little extra money and because I get more credits for each blog surfed), I do it in streaks. I still ...

****SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT**** Although I'm not going anywhere, I wanted to alert my readers to my newest blogsite, soon to be linked on the sidebar. As you all know, I have been with blogexplosion for some time. They are a great service for bringing traffic to your blogs (blogclicker is another...both linked on my sidebar). Blogexplosion is launching a blog service that is supposed to pay based on readership and ad revenue. While I have no illusions about getting rich by blogging anytime so...

OK, this will be my final word on "the subject". I'll move on from here. But there's one thing more that needs to be said, and it needs to be said in front of all of you. First of all, this is not an apology. I don't feel I have anything to apologize for. Nor do I feel Sabrina or Simon have anything to apologize for. We said what we said, and we are who we are. What resulted from the recent conflict was simply a byproduct of who Sabrina is, and she should be proud of that, at least. Duri...

One of the pitfalls I've found about blogging is that, while it is my personal journal, sometimes readers tend to misunderstand that. If I write an article, they will always assume that it is about them, or about a current event related to blogging. And usually they're right. It may not be a direct connection, but there is a connection, nonetheless. But every so often something occurs in my life that piles up continually. And then something happens online, the "straw that broke the camel's ba...

This is one of my strongest self edits ever. I began writing an article, wrote about 30 words, then decided better. I killed it. Yes, it is in response to my feelings about the current events on JU, yes, it would have established pretty clearly which side I tend to favor in several of the current conflicts. But it would have hurt a LOT of feelings. A LOT. And while I don't mind getting into it on political views, I don't want to get into it on the personal views. The fact is, I care to...

The following is unsolicited. In the wake of the longer than expected delay in blogging, I thought I'd toss out a few suggestions for a JU premium program based on the program components that I, personally would pay for. I don't know enough about computer programming to know how much is practical, but felt that offering some input from a consumer's perspective might help guide the programmers of this site in implementing something that is being considered anyway. I believe JU is a marketable ...

I've been opinionated since the day I first arrived on JU (OK, so I didn't exactly get off to a stellar start with the "Mary Kate" article, but hey, it's still the number one). I've tried to be reasonable and respectful in many of my writings, and have tried to put out an insightful, quality product. Lately, though, I've noticed that former regulars are avoiding me like the plague, and those who comment are commenting as if I'd committed some sort of personal offense against them. I've even d...

I had a very interesting, very intellectually stimulating "live" discussion with an individual from JU last night. We disagreed pretty fundamentally on the topics we discussed, but when all was said and done, it was a pretty cool conversation. Neither one of us "converted" the other, and the individual gave me several very insteresting, very compelling points for discussion. And so, I got to thinking: while it occasionally happens on my blog, there are several good, compelling articles I've w...

I have a set of goals for 2006. I didn't do resolutions, because they just don't work. But a new year IS a good time to evaluate where you've come from and where you're going. By this time next year, my primary goal is to be preparing for inauguration in the Texas State Legislature. Every other goal takes a back seat to that. While I realize that I am a dark horse, even in the two person race I face, I am not content with the words "moral victory" to define this campaign. In other words, I d...