+ 3 - 4 | § ¶Downtown St. Louis on the way back up
I'm a big supporter of city living as opposed to suburban life. In St. Louis, where I live, the differences between the city and the county and beyond are huge, culturally and economically. Fortunately, downtown is starting to comeback. The New York Times has a good article on downtown St. Louis's resurgence.+ 6 - 1 | § ¶Where are the Conservatives?
The Terri Schiavo has exploded into public consciousness in the last few days, as her parents' state appeals were exhausted and Federal Government stepped into the controversy. The debate is essentially a question of whether "life" is more important than law, and whether the government should intervene to save a life. So, where are the Conservatives arguing against this intervention? (more)+ 3 - 4 | § ¶Addicted to Hate
In about 1995, I went to Topeka, Kansas for an exhibition on Russian Imperial artwork. While there, I was surprised to see people picketing the art exhibit with signs like "God Hates Fags" and "Fag = Death". I didn't understand what it was all about, but an ex-girlfriend from Topeka told me that it was just Fred Phelps up to his old tricks. He's theoretically the pastor of a theoretical church in Topeka, and his mission seems to be to offend everyone in the world.I just read an article from 1993 that helps me understand a lot more about Mr. Phelps and how sick and twisted he really is. More than just hating homosexuals, he hates us all, and his hatred has destroyed many lives in his family and around beyond. The article is fascinating, and it helps me understand the thinking behind a man whose church's website says of Swedish tourists missing after the tsunami: "We sincerely hope and pray that all 20,000 Swedes are dead."
The Anti-Defamation League has a collection of choice quotes on gays, jews, blacks, other christians, and America in general. It's amazing.
I'm saddened how low humanity can sink.
+ 5 - 3 | § ¶Intro to JGoodies Forms
As part of my employer's Java News Brief series, I have written an article on an Intro to JGoodies Forms. In the article, I primarily compare Forms and FormLayout to GridBagLayout, showing many of the strengths of JGoodies Forms. I also highlight the debugging features in Forms.Check it out!

