From the monthly archives:

September 2009

I’ll admit it. I like some of her movies, but I loathe her politics. Her portrayal of Guinan on one of my all-time favorite series, “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” always gave me a she’s-not-so-bad impression every time I watched an episode with her in it.

But using her national platform to excuse the rape of a drugged 13-year-old, and even saying it wasn’t rape, is the proverbial straw that broke this camel’s back.

The question is, will more feminists in the blogosphere speak out against Whoopi Goldberg, or will they defend and excuse a fellow feminist the way she defends and excuses child rapist Roman Polanski?

Get her, Sherri!

And get a load of Melissa “Laura Ingalls” Gilbert. Good grief.

Why the hair-trigger urge to defend Polanski instead of bringing the full weight of your defense for the child? Unless you’re his defense lawyer, it’s misguided. Is it an effort to be “fair” or “objective”? Don’t get it at all.

Update: People are focusing on Goldberg’s “it wasn’t rape-rape” comment. Bad enough, yes, but the really awful parts are when she said straight out the drugged 13-year-old was not raped, and her rationale for saying so. Watch the first video in this post.

Previous post: WP Columnist Defends Roman Polanski

WP Columnist Defends Roman Polanski

by La Shawn on September 28, 2009

in Liberals, Media Bias

…and fails to disclose that her husband is lobbying for his release.

In 1977, 44-year-old movie director Roman Polanski pled guilty to raping a drunk and drugged 13-year-old girl. After plea-bargaining the drug/rape/sodomy charges down to unlawful sexual conduct with a child under 14 and serving 42 days for the evaluation period, Polanski fled to England, then France, to avoid extradition. He’d been on the run ever since. Until September 26. Polanski was arrested in Switzerland.

Anne Applebaum, Washington Post columnist, defended the child rapist, writing that he “can be blamed, it is true, for his original, panicky decision to flee. But for this decision I see mitigating circumstances, not least an understandable fear of irrational punishment. Polanski’s mother died in Auschwitz. His father survived Mauthausen. He himself survived the Krakow ghetto, and later emigrated from communist Poland. His pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered in 1969 by the followers of Charles Manson, though for a time Polanski himself was a suspect.”

Got it? That Polanski and his family were in concentration camps and his wife was murdered are “mitigating circumstances” to his avoiding serving time for drugging and violating an intoxicated child. This was a column Applebaum should have written just to get it off her chest, then deleted. I’ve done the same many times myself.

Blogger Patterico found out that Applebaum’s husband, Radoslaw Sikorski, is a Polish politician who’s lobbying for the dismissal of Polanski’s case, and Applebaum failed to disclose this fact.

Uncovering this kind of thing is one of the reasons people blog. Back in the day, you had to find undisclosed conflicts of interest going through hard-copy documents (if you lacked personal knowledge), then calling the newspaper and/or sending a letter to the editor. Nowadays, a few minutes on Google and a blog will do.

Addendum: In a child rapist’s defense, Applebaum said it’s possible Polanski didn’t know the victim’s real age. Not likely, since he had to obtain the mother’s permission for the so-called photo shoot. Forgot to mention that part, and was reminded reading Hot Air.

Check out Polanski’s grand jury testimony.

Jew Boy Comment: Real or Hoax?

by La Shawn on September 28, 2009

in Liberals, Lunacy

Have you heard the latest? Alex Rosenwald, media outreach director for Americans for Limited Government (ALG), says an NBC producer named Jane Stone got nasty in response to the group’s e-mail critical of ACORN. As you may recall, ACORN’s the organization that advises people how to cheat the government and set up whorehouses.

Rosenwald claims Stone responded to his e-mail this way: “Bite me Jew boy!”

Stone and NBC are denying she sent that particular response. She says her response was a simple, “Take me off this list!”

From: Stone, Jane (NBC Universal)
Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 1:57 PM
To: ‘arosenwald@getliberty.org’
Subject: Re: ALG Calls on Congress to “Put Up or Shut Up” on Defunding ACORN

Take me off this list!

————————–
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

From: Stone, Jane (NBC Universal) [Jane.Stone@nbcuni.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 1:57 PM
To: Alex Rosenwald
Subject: Re: ALG Calls on Congress to “Put Up or Shut Up” on Defunding ACORN

Bite me Jew boy!

————————–
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Newsbusters’s Matt Sheffield asked ALG for the message’s header, which the group is supposed to send today. Until that happens, it’s he said/she said, so I’ll reserve comments until then. But I will say this: I hope it’s not a hoax. Liberals bloggers, reporters, and everyone else will jump all over it, and rightly so, and try to discredit conservatives.

I have doubts about Stone’s alleged response, because I can’t imagine a producer being that stupid. Wait a second…yes, I can.

A couple years ago, a cable news producer e-mailed and asked for my comment on the Don “nappy-headed hos” Imus mess, which I’d intended to ignore. Later that day, I got an e-mail from someone from a Yahoo! account with the same name. The man called me an a**hole and a self-hater because I criticized Deval Patrick, governor of Massachusetts, for promising to repeal a 1913 law that prohibited out-of-state couples from marrying in Massachusetts if the marriage would be illegal in their home state.

I e-mailed the dude at his work (twice) and Yahoo! accounts, trying to figure out what was going on. I received no reply from either account. I concluded that I’d caught a cable network producer red-handed sending hate e-mail from his work computer. I figured if he were not the Yahoo! person, he’d quickly e-mail back to set the record straight. He didn’t.

I could’ve turned his stupidity into a big ruckus but chose not to, though I’m sure he was sweating bullets. That was revenge enough for me. I still have both e-mails. Maybe I’ll shoot him an e-mail just to say, “Hi!”

Lila Rose Is Getting Things Done

by La Shawn on September 22, 2009

in Child Killing

Young, full of energy, and passionate about protecting unborn life. I raise my cup of lemon ginger tea to “Lila Rose” of Live Action Films, Planned Parenthood-butt kicker.

This woman is making things happen. Compared to all the ruckus she’s causing, awareness she’s raising, and great things she’s accomplishing, I’m walking in place, staring at the wall! Sheesh.

As you may recall, she goes undercover posing as a girl knocked up by her adult boyfriend, and catches employees on tape advising her to cover up statutory rape. Her undercover videos have resulted in pulled Planned Parenthood funding. By the way, I put her name in quotes because I always assumed it was a pseudonym. Might be first and middle name.

Listen to her 2009 Values Voter Summit speech, given on September 18. To make women feel less guilty killing their babies, abortion mill workers dehumanize the life growing inside. Watch the video for details about “first trimester matter.”

Living Colour in Living Color

by La Shawn on September 22, 2009

in Pop Culture

Update: My bad! I assumed the band only recently got back together, as others have. Not true. Lead singer Corey Glover said, “People need to know we’ve been back together for nine years. This new record should help people get the facts straight.”

No, he didn’t tell me personally, but I hope to personally get some quotes from him about…nevermind. Here’s the source.

***

I’m tickled peach that the late 80s/early 90s rock group Living Colour is back together, for how ever long. They’re looking a little older, as we all are, but they still sound good. Last night they performed the Grammy-winning “Cult of Personality” from their first album on Jimmy Fallon’s show. Check them out rocking out:

What does black sound like, indeed!

Update: A Facebook commenter says when he sees Obama, he’s reminded of this song and wonders if Living Colour members support him. If I were a wagering woman, I’d bet $10 they do.

Twilight of Bloody Music

by La Shawn on September 17, 2009

in Pop Culture

A brief interruption, if I may, from blogging about ACORN employees with “contacts” in Tijuana advising a “pimp” and his “whore” how to operate a whorehouse without getting caught and smuggle girls into the country to turn tricks. (And claim the child tax credit!)

I developed a weird fascination with how digital technology has changed the music industry. I still have it. In fact, I’m trying to set up an interview with…Fun stuff. Basically, the microchip altered the whole game, the industry’s scrambling, and the “hit” has been defined down. Radio has suffered, and it’s hard to sell millions of records or even be heard these days. It’s not about the mass anymore; it’s all about the niche.

Some artists try to make up for the attention/access deficit by licensing music for ringtones and games, offering free songs, and interacting with “hardcore” fans and cultivating new ones on Facebook, Twitter, and the like. A few lucky ones get to hear their music in commercials, and on TV and movie soundtracks.

Guess which movie soundtracks are coveted above all (at the moment?). If you’re thinking about fangs, blood, and deliciously engorged veins, you’re on the right track. From the New York Times:

The major labels long viewed soundtracks as low-risk, high-reward vehicles for promoting mega-singles. And until that model was eroded in the early 2000s by the rise of single-track downloads, there was a steady stream of multiplatinum hits. “The Bodyguard,” from 1992, has sold 11.8 million copies. But along with recent films like “Juno,” “Twilight” has emerged as an example of a new approach: choosing songs that are entwined with a film’s narrative, and which appeal to viewers through emotional resonance rather than superstar familiarity. “There have always been amazing soundtracks, like ‘Flashdance’ and ‘Saturday Night Fever,’ where the music was attached to what the story was about,” said Livia Tortella, general manager and executive vice president of Atlantic Records, which is releasing the album on Oct. 20 with Ms. Patsavas’s label, Chop Shop. “Somewhere along the lines it became about a single tie-in opportunity and not about the film itself. It diluted things.”

For bands placement in a “Twilight” film means huge potential sales and wide exposure.

“If you’re an artist that’s successfully branded with a film as enormous as ‘Twilight,’ you get a lasting benefit beyond the movie and the soundtrack itself,” said James Diener, president of A&M/Octone Records. “You’re able to access marketing dollars that the film company has been spending beyond what a record company could or would spend.”

Love it or detest it, there you go. But don’t you have to be somewhat well-known to have a shot at being on a mainstream movie soundtrack? A Christian band called The Wrecking isn’t what you’d call “well-known,” but they’re trying to get on the soundtrack of “New Moon,” the movie based on the second book of Stephenie Meyer’s four-book Twilight series.

Christians and vampires don’t mix, you say? Tell that to Christian writers like Eric Wilson and…others.

Downloading: a blessing and a curse?

Unrelated update: It’s getting old, but I had to try it.

Update II: Ha! The old “English isn’t my first language” trick.

Update: ACORN guy with “contacts” in Tijuana fired.

Congress cuts off ACORN funding.

***
I kiddeth not. Instead of calling the police, an ACORN employee (probably former now) who works on “immigration concerns” listens casually as the “pimp” and “whore” talk about smuggling girls from El Salvador and says Tijuana would be a good place for the drop-off because he has contacts there.

What a Dodo he is, falling for this. Time for the feds to investigate, no? More at Big Government.

Previous posts:

New York Times on ACORN

by La Shawn on September 16, 2009

in Liberals, Media Bias

Update: Mission almost accomplished? ACORN suspends new-client operations.

More videos to come? Check out Big Government.

***

This story should have been on the front page above the fold, not on page 14. But I suppose one should be “grateful” the Gray Lady covered it at all. Need I say, if this were a conservative scandal…

An excerpt (emphasis added):

“For months during last year’s presidential race, conservatives sought to tar the Obama campaign with accusations of voter fraud and other transgressions by the national community organizing group Acorn, which had done some work for the campaign.

“But it took amateur actors, posing as a prostitute and a pimp and recorded on hidden cameras in visits to Acorn offices, to send government officials scrambling in recent days to sever ties with the organization.

“On one of the videos, an unidentified Acorn employee in Washington, told that the pair were engaging in prostitution, explained how to disguise their activities in dealing with bankers and the government. “You don’t put down ‘I’m a prostitute’ or ‘I’m a lady of the night, and this is where I’m getting my income,’” the Acorn worker said.

“At the Baltimore office, a helpful worker suggested describing the prostitute on a loan application as a “freelance performing artist” and said she and the pimp might want to claim some of the young Salvadoran prostitutes as dependents and collect the child tax credit for them.”

Watch Part I of the undercover sting in the DC Office below. Watch the rest at Big Government.

Related post: ACORN’s Intelligence Deficiency

Tiller v. Pouillon Murders

by La Shawn on September 15, 2009

in Child Killing, Media Bias

Jim PouillonWhen infant killer George Tiller was gunned down on May 31, pro- and anti-abortion groups condemned the murder. Planned Parenthood issued a statement. The President of the United States issued a statement. The U.S. Attorney General issued a statement. Within hours. On a Sunday.

Contrast this with the murder of the pro-life Jim Pouillon, gunned down last Friday in front of a school.

As of September 15, 8:39 a.m., four days after the fact, Planned Parenthood has not issued a statement. The abortion mill’s still torn up over the death of Ted Kennedy.

Two days after the fact, Obama had something to say about the murder (see LifeNews), but there’s no official White House statement, as was the case with George Tiller.

You can bet your life the Attorney General’s office won’t release a statement. It still hasn’t condemned the murder and injury of military recruiters on duty, which happened shortly after Tiller’s death.

The stunning lack of media coverage of Jim Pouillon’s murder, given the blanket coverage of Tiller’s, is, well, stunning. Then again, the “pro-choice” think Tiller was a brave and courageous hero, what with helping those women out with getting rid of unwanted infants, and all. Pro-lifers like Pouillon are just right-wing, fundamentalist kooks, what with trying to protect unborn life, and all.

I think my point is made. Is further editorializing really necessary? If so, see A Tale of Two Murders.

ACORN’s Intelligence Deficiency – Updated

by La Shawn on September 15, 2009

in Comedy, Liberals

***Scroll for updates***

You’ve got to be pretty stupid to fall for this.

It’s old news (in blog-time), but I’m doing five things at once these days. Anyway, so you’ve heard about ACORN, the leftist, taxpayer-supported group involved in voter fraud and acquiring mortgage loans for people who can’t afford the loans, and then shouting, “Predatory lending!” with straight faces? Turns out ACORN, or at least some employees, are as dumb as dirt.

Failing to realize the seriousness of fraud accusations and the attention they bring, including the possibility of sting operations, two ACORN employees in Baltimore actually advised a ridiculously dressed “pimp” and his “whore” on how to fly under the radar operating a whorehouse with underage prostitutes. The undercover pair caught everything on tape. As I watched it, all I could do was shake my head at the idiocy. Listen to these idiots:

Did you catch the “prostitute” saying she was sixteen? Unbelievable. And check out the get-up on that “pimp.” Over the top, glaringly outlandlish, stereotypical, and obvious.

The employees have been fired.

That was last week. This week, the undercover pair released a video of ACORN employees in Brooklyn giving similar whorehouse-hiding advice.

Fortunately, congressional Democrats were embarrassed enough to cut off ACORN’s funding in the housing bill. The amendment passed 83 to 7.

I guess this means ACORN is unofficially officially disavowed, at least as far as the U.S. Census is concerned. Care to release a statement, Mr. President?

Update: Gotta be kidding. Glenn Beck says a woman at ACORN in San Bernardino admits on tape to killing her husband. He’s making us wait until 4 p.m. for details. Interviewing “pimp” and “whore” now.

By the way, ACORN operates illegally in Maryland.

More ACORN mess at Big Government. Check out the video of DC’s ACORN office. Sheesh!

Later: Okay, here it is. ACORN woman, former whore, confesses to killing her husband. She’s probably lying, but the video is valuable nonetheless to show the kind of people ACORN hires.

Retro: A Religious and Unconventional War

by La Shawn on September 11, 2009

in War - Islamofascism

Excerpted from September 11, 2006:

Conventionally, countries fight wars against other countries. Territory is well-defined, and the objective — unconditional surrender — is clear. World War II is always a good illustration. Adolf Hitler’s desire for power obviously consumed him. As he marched through Europe, plotting, conquering, and destroying, weaker or just plain cowardly countries surrendered. Germany was eventually defeated and Hitler killed himself before he could face man’s justice.

While some Americans hand-wring over the atomic bombs dropped on Japan — which ended the war, by the way — lost in the lament are Japan’s atrocities. Declaring war on us, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and conquered other territories in the Pacific. The Allied forces asked Japan to surrender unconditionally in July of 1945, and the country refused. Then came the bombs. Japan surrendered in August.

In the current war against terrorism, we’re fighting against an enemy who hides like a rat everywhere. I call him the Islamofascist, a psychotic and murderous adherent of a religion under which “freedom” and “peace” (as reasonable people define it) are entirely foreign concepts. There are billions of Muslims around the globe, and Islamofascists hide among them. The war against terrorism is an unconventional war, so one can’t expect it to look, feel, or sound like WWII.

As wild as it may seem to Americans, especially heathens, the war against terror is a religious war. Whether the enemy chooses to conquer us by force with bombs and flaming airplanes, or by our own suicidal and weak-willed acceptance of their demands to change our way of life to adhere to their religious laws, he will attempt to conquer us by any means necessary.

But he is a weak enemy, one that America could easily vanquish.

As flawed as America may be, it is unique among the ordinary. “Freedom” is not just a word or an idea; this country, above all others, every last one, has been able to put the word into action as the world has never seen. In this country, you can be a Muslim without fear of persecution. The problems begin when you, as a Muslim, demand that our banking system, our legal system, our whole way of life, change to accommodate you. I’m convinced that changing this country to accommodate Islam is the goal of even moderate Muslims.

People like me see clearly what’s going on, but so far, speaking out against Islam is unpopular at the moment, even in the middle of a freakin’ war against their radical members. But speak out, I will continue to do until I’m in my grave.

Retro: Meeting John MacArthur

by La Shawn on September 11, 2009

in Faith

From November 10, 2008:

MacArthur Study Bible“Keep that blog going!” John MacArthur said after signing my Bible and adding the citation Joshua 1:8:

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

I met him last night at Grace Community Church’s evening service, where he preached about putting on the whole armor of God, beginning at Ephesians 6:10. I was surprised then glad he didn’t change his morning or evening sermons to factor in the election. He continued preaching on the series’ he began weeks ago.

It was a big deal for me meeting John MacArthur. Non-Christians won’t get it, and neither will Christians of certain denominations. But this Reformed Christian still carries around and studies from her 10-year-old MacArthur Study Bible, New King James version. In fact, I told MacArthur the story behind it. Years ago, my Bible-believing youngest sister guilt-tripped me into buying it (at which point Pastor MacArthur shook her hand). I wasn’t a Christian then, and it remained on my coffee table for a year still wrapped in its plastic packaging.

Since then, I’ve read it cover to cover at least twice, fallen in love with it, developed a deeper understanding of it, thanks to MacArthur’s study notes, and shared my excitement and awe about the overarching themes of rebellion, faith, and redemption within its pages.

Pastor MacArthur doesn’t preach politics from the pulpit, but I thought I’d take a moment to tell him I was a conservative blogger who wrote about politics from a Christian perspective, and I knew his view on Christians and politics. Being involved in politics isn’t the problem; believing politics will save is the problem. We tend to get caught up in the political process, policy debates, and the day-to-day he said/he said drama of it all. Christians know that being a conservative and/or voting for Republicans doesn’t make someone righteous in the way God requires.

MacArthur said (and I’m paraphrasing here) one has merely to look at what happened with the election to see that. Conservatives tried to create a superficial righteousness, a kind of morality devoid of what really matters: the saving grace of Christ. From that perspective, it doesn’t matter who’s in the White House.

I wanted to have a longer conversation with John MacArthur, but I kept my comments brief, as there was a line of people behind us. I thanked him and began to walk away, and he offered encouragement.

“Keep that blog going!”

As long as God’s willing, I’m willing. :)

Thomas’s Struggle

by La Shawn on September 9, 2009

in Child Killing

Update: A Facebook commenter writes:

“Friends of mine were advised by Yale medical to abort their baby because he had a heart defect. He’s doing quite well in a graduate program at Purdue University right now.”

Wow.

***

Last year I listened to a pregnant caller on Dr. Laura’s radio show, who carried a baby diagnosed with a heart defect. The doctor told her the baby likely would be stillborn or would die shortly after birth. Specialists offered no hope. Despite the diagnosis, the woman and her husband decided to carry the baby to term.

The thought of losing the baby was heartbreaking, of course, but the couple wanted to give their child a chance at life.

A Twitter follower sent a link about a couple who chose to give birth to a baby diagnosed with a genetic disorder, Trisomy 13, a condition that results in abnormalities like a cleft lip or palate, close-set eyes, extra fingers and toes, etc.

Instead of killing the baby in utero, the couple endured the worry and heartbreak to give their child a chance at life. The baby, named Thomas, died, but his mother and father did an invaluable and unimaginably painful thing: they protected his life so he’d have the opportunity –yes, opportunity– to struggle for precious life. It was his struggle to make.

The older I become, the more I find it puzzling how unrepentant people who kill their babies, especially for convenience, and the so-called doctors who do the killing, live with themselves. Even in an unsaved state, my conscience would have eaten me alive until there was nothing left but an empty shell, my humanity having fled the moment I allowed it to happen, sorrow and regret filling the vacuum.

But that’s just me.

Dramatic? Probably. So is life. Then again, I have done things I deeply regret, and at one point, I thought sorrow would overwhelm me. But the more I trusted Christ, the lighter the burden became. Any woman who’s had an abortion, sought forgiveness, and is now touched by grace knows what I mean.

Check out the video.

Slouching Toward Tyranny

by La Shawn on September 9, 2009

in Liberals - Obama, Rants

Some people can’t hack it in a free society.

They want the government to manage every part of their lives, from the time they realize they have to work for a living until they’re ready for the grave. Such people are afraid of “cold” capitalism and the “rugged individualism” upon which the country was built–two of many reasons why the U.S. still is the greatest country on the planet.

As I’ve listened to and read about liberals’ (including elected officials) disdainful reactions to Americans exercising their constitutional rights by protesting government action, I was sort of sad. People who voted for Obama casually and carelessly accuse dissenters of racism for having the audacity to express discontent over government intrusion, control, and wastefulness.

Even lovers of socialism dreaming of a world in which the government pays their bills and manages their lives (and erodes their freedom in the process, a natural consequence) should see the irony of calling opponents of the “health care reform” bill racists and Nazis. Nazis were national socialists. Obama’s so-called reform bill is national socialism. Then again, it’s fashionable to call people racists and Nazis, especially if the protesters are white.

By the way, I don’t think it’s useful or effective for conservatives to call the other side Nazis, either. Let’s strive to be more original and cleverer than that.

Here’s a mini-lesson so simple, my six-year-old nephew could understand it. Fundamentally, “we the people” are the government, but in a constitutional republic such as ours, elected leaders represent us. Elected leaders of all stripes are prone to forget we have a Constitution and conveniently remember it when it comes to something they want. That’s human nature. I’ve got it. You’ve got it. We all have it. The character-building struggle is to rise above it.

A digression: I wanted to make sure you read Eboo Patel’s blog post. A blogger for the Washington Post, Patel had the straight face to call a Marxist an American patriot and lament the “vicious smear campaign” that led to his resignation from the Obama administration. That Van Jones, who fell on his own sword, was hired to work for the President of the United States is appalling enough. Similarly distressing is Patel himself, blogging regularly for a mainstream newspaper, works for the administration. (Well, he works for us, but you know what I mean.) Obama appointed him to the Advisory Council of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Initiatives.

Here we have a current political appointee spreading unmitigated propaganda in support of an anti-America Marxist (redundant, I know). Not an occasional op-ed. A daily blog. (Our hourly or minute-by-minute, his choice.)

Having said that, this is what makes America great. Everyone is free to spout his opinions, from harshly castigating the government and our elected officials to effusively proclaiming our love for them. It doesn’t sit well for me that an Obama appointee has a regular “free press” platform from which to push his man’s policies and sing his praises, and I don’t know how the Washington Post gets away with it. Someone who voted for the president? Okay. But someone appointed by the president? Come on.

(I don’t recall hearing or reading about the Post allowing a Bush appointee to blog. If you have examples, please send them my way, and pardon my ignorance.)

At least the paper allows comments, so real patriots can castigate Patel’s stunningly uninformed and incredible ideas.

You know, some free people tend to forget that freedom costs. They think it rained down from heaven. They think America is the rule instead of the exception. Reasonable and informed people know that American is a successful experiment, one that men and women fought and died to protect. They gave their lives so that I can express my disgust for misguided socialist policies. They sacrificed themselves so that we’d keep our rights to peaceably assemble and petition the government for redress and criticize the government without fear of arrest, and all the rest you learned in school.

The majority of Americans elected a man who, despite having taught constitutional law, doesn’t seem to get the Constitution’s elegant simplicity and clarity and what it takes to protect our rights (unless it concerns racial grievances, also known as pseudo-rights) and the absolute necessity of ensuring the freedom of the individual.

Keep protesting and criticizing and calling the administration out. And let’s hope Obama will gain the title of “first biracial president to serve one term.” There’s no guarantee that a Republican will protect the freedom of the American people and the integrity of our system of government…

…but I’ll take my chances. :?

All Work and No Play

by La Shawn on September 3, 2009

in General

…makes La Shawn a dull girl. All work and no play makes La Shawn a dull girl. All work and no play makes La Shawn a dull girl. All work and no play makes La Shawn a dull girl. All work and no play makes La Shawn a dull girl. All work and no play makes La Shawn a dull girl. All work and no play makes La Shawn a dull girl. All work and no play makes La Shawn a dull girl. All work and no play makes La Shawn a dull girl. All work and no play makes La Shawn a dull girl. All work and no play makes La Shawn a dull girl. All work and no play makes La Shawn a dull girl. All work and no play makes La Shawn a dull girl. All work and no play makes La Shawn a dull girl.

To find out if I had the discipline and stamina, I started outlining, plotting, and writing a story in long-hand in late February. Three months later, I typed it up, then let it “rest.” In mid-July, I started revising. Today, I completed the second draft, 75,000 words and 32 chapters worth. For the next couple of weeks, I’ll let it rest, then I’ll return to it with fresh eyes for draft #3.

What is the novel about? I mentioned it on the blog several months ago. I can tell you it’s written from a Christian worldview with a paranormal twist, in the vein of Christian superstars like Eric Wilson, Ted Dekker, and Frank Peretti.

Will the manuscript see the publishing light of day? I’ll have a better idea once I finish a third draft. It takes as many drafts for a novice like me to turn something of this size into a readable and coherent story.

Why did I write a novel? Partly to see if I could do it, partly because I want to see my books on a shelf in Barnes & Noble some day, but mostly to tell a redemptive, God-glorifying story taut with tension and infused with suspense, and defy negative stereotypes about Christian books…even if my family and friends are the only ones who’ll ever read it.

Can’t believe I did it. :D