World's Funniest Blond Joke

Swinging throughout the blogosphere today I came across I AM!'s post with the World's Funniest Blond Joke. Some people spell Blond with an 'e' on the end so I've provided links spelled both ways. - Choose whichever you prefer -

- Blonde Joke -

- Blond Joke -

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jokes -
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Free Low Self Esteem Fixer

There are times when people are down in the dumps and need a pick-me-up. Hitting the bottle only works for a short while and inevitably leads to, among other things, loss of friends, character and income. Try this first.

Free Self Esteem Fixer

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Friends -
Health and wellness -
personal -

Blog Mad Is Starting Strong

A new Blog Traffic Site has started and seems to be doing pretty good. BlogMad.net. I can see that my traffic has increased quite a bit and the credit earning potential seems pretty good. Traveling around the site I finally decided I needed to make a banner. Using Irfanview and the internet for a couple pics here is what I came up with

Any suggestions or should I choose one as is??? - Blogmad needs an invitation because it is in Beta stages right now. Leave a comment w/valid email if you want an invite... I'd say it is worth joining.

~~~~~
Update - There is this this statement on the BlogMad.net website:
Q. Are there any limitations?
A. No Porn or any blog that promotes any kind of illegal activity. Nudity is allowed as long as its not people having intercourse, or overly distasteful.
~~~~~

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blogmad -
blogging -

An Atheist Said...

An atheist said, "If there is a God, may he prove himself by striking me dead right now."

Nothing happened.

"You see, there is not God."

Another responded, "You've only proved that He is a gracious God."

- Source Unknown. - (Borrowed from Scotwise)

The atheist in this story was not too wise. Had God struck him dead he would not have had a chance to repent of his sins. I wonder if the response did anything to change his heart. Probably not. He probably would not admit there is any sin in his life.

What is sin??? Simply stated it is disobedience to God's will and His purpose for us.

How can we tell what is God's will? There is a clue in the above dialogue. He is a gracious God. - Check this out from 1 Thessalonian Chapter 5 -

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16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
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This little statement is in the middle of some other instructions that Saint Paul gave in his letter to the Thessalonian Church. It helps to put it back into context however it can be utilized as a simple test to check your standing in God's will.

(16) Are you happy in the majority of your time spent awake? God is not a mean tyrant that wants you under His thumb. He is a kind and loving Father that wants you to enjoy life.

(17) Do you talk to God on a regular basis? - This includes LISTENING for answers and not just a one way dialog. Listen carefully for that still small voice that says, "This is the way. Walk in it." -

(18) Giving thanks in some situations can be near impossible but not totally impossible. Giving thanks sometimes means just throwing it on God's shoulders and leaving it there. It is part of the deal Christians call 'walking by faith'. Just trusting God that He will work it out in the long run. This is not to say that we should not do our 'hands on part' in the circumstances but instead of worrying we should go back to verse 16 and rejoice.

Sounds simplistic doesn't it. Well life is complicated enough as it is and God, being gracious, doesn't want our lives cluttered up with a lot of religious rigmarole to complicate it any more.

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Religion -
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Freedom of Speech Bows Down and Stands Up

I've got two stories about the cartoon kerfuffle I'm hooking together.

The first from the Conservative Voice - Cartoon protesters defy rally ban

Thousands of Muslims defied a ban on rallies Friday in Pakistan's capital, joining protesters across the country in condemning the Prophet Muhammad cartoons printed by some Western newspapers.
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by John Cole, The Scranton Times-Tribune, February 8, 2006
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The demonstrations after midday prayers also gave angry clerics a platform to criticize President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and his government's close relations with the United States.

"America is the killer of humanity, and we will keep raising our voice against it, and its supporter (Musharraf)," said Maulana Fazal-ur Rahman, a cleric and opposition leader who led the Islamabad protest, which drew 2,000 people.

He said protests would also be held on March 3, a day before the visit of U.S. President George W. Bush to Pakistan.
......
A prominent Malaysian newspaper that published a cartoon about the dispute avoided punishment by offering an apology that was accepted by the government Friday. The New Straits Times on Monday printed the Non Sequitur strip, which showed an artist sitting on a chair on a street with a sign saying: "Caricatures of Muhammad While You Wait!"

Although the picture didn't show Muhammad, Muslim groups said it mocked Islam, and the government asked the newspaper to give reasons why it should not be punished. The newspaper published an apology on its front page Friday.

"Obviously, we misjudged how different people would react" to the cartoon, it said.

~~~~~~~~~~~

And this story from MSNBC.com/Newsweek International edition - The End of Tolerance -

March 6, 2006 issue - The world has long looked upon the Dutch as the very model of a modern, multicultural society. Open and liberal, the tiny seagoing nation that invented the globalized economy in the 1600s prided itself on a history of taking in all comers, be they Indonesian or Turkish, African or Chinese.

How different things look today. Dutch borders have been virtually shut. New immigration is down to a trickle. The great cosmopolitan port city of Rotterdam just published a code of conduct requiring Dutch be spoken in public. Parliament recently legislated a countrywide ban on wearing the burqa in public. And listen to a prominent Dutch establishment figure describe the new Dutch Way with immigrants. "We demand a new social contract," says Jan Wolter Wabeke, High Court Judge in The Hague. "We no longer accept that people don't learn our language, we require that they send their daughters to school, and we demand they stop bringing in young brides from the desert and locking them up in third-floor apartments."
......
This helps explain Europe's unusually robust reaction to the cartoon crisis, which continued last week with riots in Nigeria and Pakistan that have left over 100 dead. There were apologies, to be sure, for causing offense after a small Danish paper published a dozen cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. But on one point European leaders were united and bluntly clear: they would not tolerate any limits on European newspapers' rights to publish. "Freedom of speech is not up for negotiation," declared Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, summing up a consensus that has only grown stronger as the cries of outrage from the Muslim world grow louder.

prying1 sez: - This rioting over cartoons has only damaged the image of Islam, Muslums and Arabs in particular. While some bow before the rioters and criminals and concede their freedom of speech others are ready to hammer those who would limit freedom of speech. Is there a happy medium? I don't see it. For a group in one country to demand another country control it's press is reprehensible. Those who really end up being punished are those of the group that have settled in the second country.

Is what Holland is doing right? At this point in time I can see no alternative. If they do not stand firm, show they mean business and hold strong to that which they deem dear to them it will certainly be carried away by those who don't understand or appreciate it.

Hat tip to Rosemead Times for blogging about The Dutch story.
Hat tip to On Tap for the lead to the John Cole cartoon
Hat tip to John Cole for being talented and standing firm!
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Islam - Freedom of speech -