Just Listening...

I took a little break from the Blogosphere this week. Other than posting a tribute to Ronald Reagan in order to fulfill a promise that I made to Mike from Mike's America, I didn't post anything, or leave comments on anyone's posts.

I didn't break from the Blogosphere completely though. I still surfed around and read everyone's posts and comments, I just chose not to participate.

I just listened.

And I heard (read) some amazing things.

I watched as two Bloggers, both of whom I consider to be good friends of mine, and both of whom I know to be Christians, argued about how much of the Bible is actually true, and how much Satanism you can have in your Christianity, and it still be alright. (Calm down guys. I scored 4% Satanism when I took the quiz. The Quiz is flawed. It was written by someone exactly like us, who got bored with television one night, and surfed around until he found the "Create Your Own Quiz" website, then sat there in his pajamas, and made the whole thing up.)

I watched as one Blogger accused another of, shall we say, animal husbandry, and set up a special Blog just for the purpose of advertising that assertion. This led to a lengthy discussion on the accuser's blog about what "Libel" is, exactly, and from what I could tell, nobody involved knew very much about what they were talking about.

I read a post in which a fellow Blogger compared the Bush Administration's efforts to eavesdrop on conversations between confirmed Islamic Terrorists and their agents on our soil to the restrictions of personal privacy in Nazi Germany, and read along as he praised the ACLU's efforts to criminalize efforts to keep Terrorists from being able to plan attacks against me and my family.

This same Blogger praised the idiocy uttered by Hillary Clinton on Monday (MLK day...), when she announced that the Republicans are running a "Plantation", obviously hoping to play upon the supposed ignorance of her audience, and the inflammatory nature of the word. She forgot to mention that Republicans, and more specifically the current Bush Administration, have placed far more Minorities in positions of real, relevant power than Democrats EVER have, and that includes her husband's administration which claimed to have constructed a Cabinet which "looked like America."

I then was treated to a post listing all of the ways that Ronald Reagan was a lousy scum, in response to the celebratory posts on other blogs commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Reagan Presidency. (And one post commemorating the 250th anniversary of Yoda being made a lifetime member of the Jedi Council.) (That one was pretty funny, actually.)

While I wasn't blogging, I discovered that I have time to do all sorts of other things when I don't spend 6 hours a day blogging.

I cleaned the living room. I listed a stack of old textbooks on Ebay, and I bid one penny on a way-cool modification for my work car, and got it. (And installed it.)

I took out the trash, hauled off the Christmas tree from the front porch, and went out to eat with my brother-in-law and sister-in law.

I talked to my wife.

I played with the dog.

I went to bed early every night, and was on time to work every morning.

All of this could almost make me re-think my decision about whether or not to stop blogging. I wonder if my time might be spent more wisely elsewhere.

But I can't stop. I'm totally addicted, and if I were to stop, I would miss all of the friends that I have made in the Blogosphere, whether I agree with them or not.

So I will post more often this week than last, and I will set you all straight when you get out of line.

Besides, from what I have seen over this past week, the Blogosphere descends into total chaos when I'm not here...