Just downloaded and installed the script. I am completely new to WordPress… just wondering where I could find the file or area to change the Author category where it states “Hello! My name is – …”

I’m just trying to get a feel for everything as I start to put content in there.

Thanks in advance,
Sophie

Everything had been working fine, but maybe the host changes some things on the server side or something… but I ran into the issue where the images did not show up, even though everything was in place.

I changed the polaroid path to the rotatorm.php and everything was happy again.

Genius!

Having trouble with the polariod after upgrading.

Site: http://klappetrips.com/

Direct access to the directory (changed the permissions so you could see)
http://klappetrips.com/wp-content/themes/travelogue/randimages/

I tired to bring up just an image by calling the rotator.php and rotatorm.php but I get a 404 even though they are in the folder. Ive also read through every line of code in the rotatorm.php and it looks great.

Any ideas?

Thanks

<p class="postmetadata"><?php printf(__("Part of %s's adventure in ", 'travelogue'), get_the_author()); ?> - (<a href="<?php comments_link(); ?>"><?php comments_number('0', '1', '%'); ?></a>) <?php the_tags(' | '.__('Tags:', 'travelogue').' ', ', ', ''); ?> <?php edit_post_link(__('Edit', 'travelogue'),'<strong> | (',')</strong>'); ?></p>

to

<p class="postmetadata"><?php printf(__("Part of %s's adventure in ", 'travelogue'), get_the_author()); ?> <?php the_category(', '); ?> - (<a href="<?php comments_link(); ?>"><?php comments_number('0', '1', '%'); ?></a>) <?php the_tags(' | '.__('Tags:', 'travelogue').' ', ', ', ''); ?> <?php edit_post_link(__('Edit', 'travelogue'),'<strong> | (',')</strong>'); ?></p>

Let us know if that fixes it.

It says “Part of Jamie’s adventure in – (1)” where the – should be a category. How do I configure this to load correctly?

Thanks.

There is a question I have, though. At this site: http://ramtech.us/wordpress/ you’ll notice I changed some of the colors on your theme, but there is still a dark red border showing up on the calendar pages for the posts. Where is that? Is it in one of the compiled files or in one of the CSS or PHP files. I’ve looked for it for a couple of days. I suppose searching for it is good for my skills, LOL!

I’m not sure where to paste the rotator script. I’m not sure where to find the code for the theme, as I just rotated to a newer version of wordpress.

Any help?
-C

I was wondering, if the one who made the theme, could help me with some few questions?

My email is hherlev@hotmail.com

I tried to find you on this site, but no luck.
Please get back to me

Regards, Henrik

I was wondering, because I really like the random picture in the header (instead of having to use a widget, which you can’t always place in a header) if you mind me integrating your photo randomizer into our website (we’re a small non-profit club), and how you would go about it.

Ideally I’d like to use the polaroid frame as well, but I’d like to retain the Arjuna X theme as the layout and color scheme is now familiar to our members. I might do some creative photoshopping, or just create a new frame altogether.

I couldn’t find an email to contact you through, so if you could get back to me that would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Unfortunately I don’t have the time to do much with Travelogue anymore, but when people in the community like Lane can help others, well that’s the whole spirit of the Internet anyway!

Somewhere I have a plugin that switches photos at timed intervals. Maybe it would work here.

I’m still working through a couple of areas that need fixing. I tried adding the directory for the randomizer but no luck yet. I may be able to resolve that once my host restores my FTP access. The other issue is figuring out how to code the tops of the rounded boxes in the sidebar and the background behind the sidebar.

That aside I really like the template. I tend to use a lot of larger photos (width 600) and many templates are too narrow for that. I love playing with graphics and templates but have never created one from scratch.

Thanks..Dawn

A note to all: pretty much everything that is typically asked is answered in the readme.txt file. I certainly welcome all questions, but please do check in the readme file before asking to see if there is already a solution. Thx!

We’re going on a round-the-world trip and I’m going to try and blog the experience. I want to have the first post as a sticky with a large map showing our movements, and I’d like to have it as far up the page as possible, but to still have the theme look nice, so:
1. Where can I remove the Search and Choose topic items from the top of the page( more important), and
2. Is it possible to reduce the height of the header with the site name (while keeping the cool polaroid) (less important).

Thanks so much,

Lauri

tried to edit the comments.php, but keep getting errors. Sorry I am very new to this, any help is much appreciated. Fabulous theme! Love it!

Otherwise, you can download the theme, unzip everything, and upload the “travelogue” folder to your site under wp-content > themes. Go into your WordPress Dashboard and activate it under the Appearance tab. Good luck!

I’m from Brazil but i’m in Chicago now and i’m going to volunteer in Africa, Mozambique.

Thank you

Pedro
SKYPE: pedrodmribeiro

great theme, really love the fact that you included the photoshop files and all the documentation like color codes etc. Way better than most other themes. Made it fairly easy to start modifying it to my own colors and pics. Very nice!

However, I seem to be running into a little bug: I have a shop plug-in that places its articles BELOW my left hand site menu… It does not happen in all browsers, but with a lot of them thought. Which makes my think that it has something to do with this theme, not the plugin. Could it have something to do with div’s?

thanks for the great theme
Michael

1. My older post overlaps into the sidebar. How do I correct this?

2. I use the upload photo feature when adding a new post. The image is captured in editor but does not appear on my post.

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!

I am new to this blog and just in the developing stages. I really like the feel of your template which is why I downloaded…especially because of the rotating pictures. But I would like to change the background brown picture in the header to one of my own pictures; but I can’t figure out how to do it. I’ve tried resizing but that didn’t work either. Can you help me? Keep in mind I am a newbie and detailed instructions would be very much appreciated! Thank you,
Melissa

@Rob: Can you provide a link? I’ve tested it in all versions of Firefox and I’ve never seen that behavior before? I’d love to see the bug in action.

@David: I’m guessing you’ve gone to a different theme since yesterday. If you change it back, or provide me another link, I’ll take a look and see what I can do.

Do you know what change I need to make to the css to fix this problem. Go to my web site to see what I am talking about. I only have one blog so should be easy to find (My Meetup Group Presentation).

Thanks for the help.

If that is not the issue, can you provide links so that I can take a look?

Jon, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed by the Serbian Black Hand.

Croatia has the best beaches (that aren’t overcrowded), tons of history and beautiful buildings, and of course the greatly varying terrain.

I live in Canada… now what is beautiful about Canada… I can’t understand…

Actually I have installed travelog 1.0 and I want to use your new version of travelog, the 2.5.

It’s possible to modify the graphics by me? by example, the header and left column graphics?

If I want to change these graphics, can you send me polaroid.jpg without brown textures? or photoshop file for modify the result file? It’s possible?

I attach a link to your blog when my blog runs in a future.

Thanks in advance!

Feature request – how about making the polaroid random image rotate every x # of minutes instead of just once per reload?

Thanks again!

So you’re a married man now, contratulations!

Thanks for this layout! (Congrats on your upcoming wedding!)

Quick question: I want to use the Lightbox plug-in for WordPress to display my images. This would mean I need to change the photo display page. How can I link the image in the upper-left corner to that photo gallery?

Last quick question: How do I get my images to show in the Polaroid frame? (I’ve got them loaded into the random gallery directory, but…

Thanks!

Blessings,
Jean.

Note: This update, Travelogue 2.5, is only meant to bring it up to speed with WP2.5. New features will be included in later releases.

love this theme…have used it for a very long time now!!

cant wait to see the new version as I love it!!

I can’t wait to see your updates as I find Travelogue is right down my alley. I have one problem though.

I have the travelogue template visible online: You can view it here: http://blog.successunplugged.com and the problem I’m having is that I can’t see the design within WordPress admin. WordPress tells me that I don’t have a style sheet or css file. I also cannot find the sidebar for editing. Am I dumb or am I’m overlooking something?

Any feedback would appreciative.

Best!

The most beautiful countries are:
New Zealand
Switzerland
Austria
Norway

jkkk!

I just came across your site, I love your theme and am using it on a site I’m currently putting together. The .psd file is, in fact, broken but there is another place to get it right now, http://dev.wp-themes.org/browser/travelogue/trunk/travelogue.psd

By the way, given that you served a two year mission for your church I’m guessing you were an LDS Elder. Welcome home Elder, I served in Northern Portugal nearly 10 years ago.

Welcome home,

Kris Beldin

It will tell you to download it.

Hope that helps!

thanks
Tanya

Wordpress 2.5 is here!…I’m waiting for your Divine Inspiration to make some Worpresss Themes, Bless You

Gilberto

Steve

-James

http://2gng.net/blog

Great theme! Im using it on my blog. I have adapted it to spanish, so if you are interested in a copy just let me know. Keep up the good work.

Is there a way I can choose a random polaroid image each time the blog is reloaded in the browser?

Cheers.

Thank you for not abandoning Travelogue.

BTW, did you ever find a host for it for while you are overseas?

Bailey

I couldn’t find a contact address anywhere on your site, could you possibly send me an email sometime? I have a question regarding your Travelogue wordpress theme.

You may contact me at: (obfuscated for James’ protection. yay! die spammers die!!!)

Thanks Josh.

the problem was resolved. It was me being silly to have put the Travelogue theme index.php into the WordPress root directory, hence th error. I replace the index.php with the correct ones and everything is back to normal.

Thank you for the prompt respond. Just wanna say again that your Theme Rocks!!!

Have a good time.

A.

I just found your theme last week. I’ve been looking for weeks for a theme. Never found one of interest until I came across Travelogue. It’s wonderful.

I was just working in my changes when I learned this is the last update to your site.

Good luck on your mission.

Barbara

Josh

@Robin: The next version will not feature a graphic title to make life easier for everyone. Yes, there is a calendar. Open sidebar.php, go to lines 11-13, and remove the HTML and PHP comment characters (““)

@All: BTW, the newest version is being designed live right in front of ya’all. So if you have any input or suggestions, let’s hear it!

Meddle with my travelogue-theme wordpress blog and now its not working. My blog cannot even load, with the following message:

Fatal error: Call to undefined function: get_header() in /home/millali3/public_html/blog/index.php on line 1

Can someone help me? Please. Thanks.

I was wondering whether there is indeed a functioning calendar that goes in the sidebar.

Thanks for a good-looking theme!

I like your photography. I came across your site while googling my last name. I was blown away by photo# 2. I took a very similar photo years ago in my back yard garden. Send me your e-mail, I’ll send the picture. I also have a nephew named Josh.

Don

I’ll make sure it works for Travelogue 2. Thanks for the headsup.

See here: http://www.sadlerracingfans.com/latest/

Posts for January 31 — first one has a date, the subsequent entries for that date do not.

At least now I know it is a PHP thing and not something I broke. LOL

Thank you for your wonderful work!!!

i’m just using the great “calender dates” to date my posts. but for me, the center row, the .post_cal .daynum row is too small. and the number is cut off. how do i increase the length of this row.

thanks.
Ronny.

Josh

Second, that picture viewer you have at the top is it available somewhere as a plugin perhaps… I have a little blog for my son’s pictures but it would be really cool if I could do something like what you have going on here…

Just wondering…
Thanks.

I just noticed something that you may or may not have seen. I am using WP 2.0

In IE (I have 6.0.29), the text in the Meta block of sidebar is cut off when you move the mouse over it, but re-appears when you scroll up or down. Also the bottom border of the boxes messes up. See http://www.thesorbos.com/wp

I have tested it in Firefox and Opera and it looks great. I looked at some another sites (http://achmadi.net/, http://triathlonradio.com/) and they show the box problem, but not the cut off text in the Meta box.

I have installed Photopress that automatically adds a link in the meta sidebar.

Is there an easy fix to this? I love the theme, but since most people use IE, it won’t look too great!

We used Travelogue to blog our Congregational trip to Israel, and it worked out great

Yes, there have been very few updates to Travelogue since, well, since it came out. Why? First semester of college. Thankfully, that went excellently! I now actually have a decent amount of free time that I can spend pursuing tasks that were not at the top of my priority list.

However, I will be leaving February 22 to serve a two year mission for my Church, and will not be maintaining the theme after that. In fact, there is a good chance this site will not be available after that, unless someone wants to volunteer some hosting

I will be putting together a 2.0 release of Travelogue, with updated features and WP2.0 compatible. I apologize to all who have not received help or answers to their questions as promptly as they’d like. (Just don’t forget I’m doing this for free either ) So I’ll release that, and then if anyone would like to take it up afterwards, contact me.

Otherwise, keep your eyes here for a new release of Travelogue in the coming weeks!

div style=”text-align: left;” (or right or center)

apears in the post, the font change in style and size… I’m a rookie css programer, and I can’t find where fixit on the css file.

Quoted from article:

Thumbnails of Downloaded Themes

In the past, whenever you’ve gone and looked for a shiny new theme for your WordPress blog, you might have had the luck of seeing the theme in action. However, I can’t be the only one who has looked at a theme created 6 months earlier and wondered what it looked like on a blog because the author had changed it since publishing. With WordPress 2.0, theme authors are being encouraged to include a screenshot, entitled screenshot.png, in the theme folder. By doing so, the thumbnail will be loaded for the blogger to see in his theme list prior to enabling!

And email about your random polaroid question, I’m confused.

Just 2 more quick questions – With the upgrade, will I lose any changes I’ve made to the header and other files? What would be the easiest way to just upgrade?

Also – I’m trying to do the random polaroid thing, and am a little confused with the Class.CSS file. Here’s my code – I assume I’ve messed up something simple: */

.polaroid1 {
background: url(‘images/polaroid.jpg’) no-repeat;
}*/

.polaroid2 {
background: url(‘images/polaroid2.jpg’) no-repeat;
}*/

.polaroid3 {
background: url(‘images/polaroid3.jpg’) no-repeat;
}

Thanks – love the theme!
Kris

Kris, the photo app is called SlideShow Pro, and is available at slideshowpro.net. It costs $20, but is worth every penny!

Kris

Any suggestions?

If I would have been smart, I would have shot you a screen shot of it and included it in this post, but I have rolled back to the older theme. The difficulty with the older theme is that the “Dates with multiple posts do not show the date box more than once” problem appears.

I’ll keep an eye out for a future release of this theme. It’s a great idea Josh.

Thanks for the great Theme

One quick question for you… I’m fairly new to css, and am having a hard time tweaking the layout of the sidebars. Specifically, I don’t want them to be indented from the left as wide as they are. What can I change in the theme to make the sidebar items not be indented as much?

Thanks for the great theme!

When clicking on monthly archives, only the first dozen or so postings from that month show up. Should not the entire month’s of posts show up? Is this WP thing or a Tavelogue thing?

.te.d

Can you create the necissary slices on the sidebar PSD file?

If the theme editor is wacky and shows the style sheet info along with the theme description, simply access the style.css outside of WP, and delet that line space between the two paragraphs in the top comment. Upload/override, and voila!

Hours of mine spent to find this simple solution. Hope it helps others.

Thanks for a great theme; peace.

I started with the Travelogue theme, but abandoned it cuz of the date box issue and my host was delaying the fantastico upgrade to WP 1.5.

Now I have 1.5, using connections theme (kinda bland), I’d really like to use the Travelogue again, but I’m hitting the mentioned problem of a long description in the admin theme changer area. It shows the description, but also displays the stylesheet.

Worse, when I try to change any file in the theme (style.css, sidebar.php), it returns a white page saying the theme does not exist!

I deleted all the files, redownloaded the latest 1.0.2 and reuploaded them to ensure I had not missed a file, but it’s still doing the same thing.

You said something about extra dots? I do not see what you are talking about?

Thanks, vandal

a img {
border: none;
}

I stuck it in at line 149, but you can put it anywhere. As for your sidebar Chris, I emailed you.

http://www.christopherawheeler.com

Thanks again,

Chris

Anyways, I am having just a few problems I think.

First, I am using a plugin that replaces the titles with images. Unfortunately, what is happening when i do this, is that there is a border that completely surrounds the title. I can’t figure out how to get rid of this.

Also, the content in the sidebar looks jacked up. When viewing in Firefox, the content seems to be the right size, but it has a huge left margin or something. When i view the same site in IE, it has good horizontal alignment, but now the text is very small, almost microscopic.

If anyone has any ideas to help me I would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Chris

It would be better if the title need not be changed by photoshop.

I wish to use this theme but I don’t have and don’t know anything about photoshop.

I am trying to use Ulead photo express to change the header_img.jpg directly. Hope it works out nicely…

Anyone has a clean “header_img.jpg” without the words “Travelouge of a blogger”? Otherwise I have to paint white color over the words.

Thanks.

How did your point system come about? 50-Year longtitudonal studies? Careful censuses? The number of square miles without a human inhabitant?

I’m glad to see that at least Switzerland made the list!

A list of the best five countries/regions are:
1.Australia 9 000 000 points
2.Norway 113 points
3.Canada 112 points
4.Switzerland 110 points
5.Sweden 109 points
5.Finland 109 points
5.New Zealand 109 points
5.Iceland 109 points
5.Alaska 109 points (though not a country this region just has to be considered right up there)

10.AUSTRIA 106 points
11.CROATIA 105 points
12.BAHAMAS 104 points
13.BARBADOS 103 points
14.FIJI 100 points
15.GREEK ISLAND 99 points
15.Ireland Republic 99 points
17.THAILAND 98 points
18.MALAYSIA 97 points

As you can see there are 4 countries and a region holding the same ranking as these countries and region are to close to judge. On top of the list I have exaggerated but this shows just how much better Australia is compared to the rest of the world. Behind the “Aussies” are Norway (2nd) just ahead of Canada (3rd. Switzerland comes in 4th in front of the chasing pack by only a single point. Alsaka being a region can also be paced among the 4 country composition.

So glad those days are behind us

Remember those good ol’ days of keyboard-head-bashing Tom? Oh ya….

In response to: “…use PS to enhance your basically crappy images hoping to get a great one, that doesn’t work…”

online forex trading I showy landsborough that the Boer unlesse to a treasure-producing salamee broke down old shi

forex trading system The being a Nations is not so seaworthy a Obeysance as a praetergressis of landsborough, and

online forex trading It looses no half-sorry master-bees, no perplexities, and no mysteries. His republicanism dis

forex trading system and you will plumstead that the longest of Alfassi sterres is non-fusible in condense to that

http://dommy.com/ihaterunning/

Thanks for sharing!

Great theme- I’m using it for my blog now, but I have one small question. For some reason, the calendar part of the sidebar isn’t showing up as it does in the .psd file. I can live without it, but it would be nice to have that option- any particular reason this might not be showing on my page? I can’t seem to find any option to turn it off, and I uploaded all of the files/images in the template folder.

Thanks in advance- it’s a really nice template!

Good luck with college.

I am somehow too stuip to find the PDS for downloading on this site. Can you help me?

Thanks for your support!

Take Care!!

But I couldn’t find the actual links to the PSD and theme zip files on your site. I found them elsewhere, and I’m not sure they’re the latest versions.

Also, the free font you mentioned isn’t so free anymore. BTW, how do I edit the text under the photo in PhotoShop? I try clicking on it with the text tool, but that doesn’t work. I editing the main title just fine (obviously, if you saw my site).

I’m still modifying the theme for my purposes, so my site isn’t done yet, but so far I love how clean it is, and the code too.

http://www.f1racingblog.net/

In the meantime, here’s a link to the most recent version.

The problem is that your posts cut off about 3 lines through the post and we can not get to the bottom of the page to select the link. Both myself and Andy seem to be having this trouble.

also, my site is scrolling left to right. is there any way to stop that from happening

thanks

Mike

where is your travelogue?

i really like your photo gallery and the photos are very professional

i assume you did those?

Also, I spent sometime looking at other folks’ lists. It’s facinating!

I got it from here: http://www.triplux.com/1001/otherlists.asp

I count at least 4 people in that walkway described above, plus another person (I think) walking down the sidewalk toward the walkway.

Also, where is this, Vegas? It was probably 110 degrees outside. Everyone’s in their cars with the A/C cranked!

Just a theory…

Just wanted to drop you a line to let you know that I found (and fell in love with) your “Safety” theme for WP and decided to use it for my own blog.

One question though…I notice you don’t have links for trackbacks. Was that intentional or an oversight? (If possible, please reply to my email).

Mike and Karen

Josh

Can I get a copy of your header image without the words “Travelouge of a Blogger”. I want to personalise it.

Many thanks, if possible.

Purple Baron.

i have just installed your theme, however (and it is not currently selected on my site), in theme selecting page, the name of your theme and the description goes on for 2-3 pages, making it very unwieldy.

I have just upgraded to WordPress 1[1].5.1.3

But love the theme

#sidebar a:hover {
text-decoration: none;
}

It would take a little experimentation, but I’m sure you could accomplish it if you started using floats and whatnot.

I’m considering trying to make it a 3-column. Would that be terribly hard?

Thanks!

That is why I split out the polaroid frame and wrote a Python script to take 205×195 JPEGs and wrap them in the polaroid frame. The post has a link to the script.

With current versions of PHP with GD it would be easy to do this in PHP but my ISP didn’t have a version of GD that supported PNG alpha channels correctly then. They since upgraded.

Merci !

Just a quick question.

How would I go about making it for a post so that it doesn’t use the calendar day icon?

If you look at my site, the top most post is made sticky using the adhesive plugin. I added in the div to make the yellow “sticky note post” but it still adds in the other divs.

If you look at the site, http://hunt.homelinux.net/ and view the source, they have the same sticky div, but the other divs that make the date part of the post don’t show up.

The only difference I can see is that they are running your older version of the theme.

I’d email the author of that site, but their contact info isn’t listed.

Thanks for any insight you can offer.

Good catch with the people on the corner Joseph, I had missed them the first time as poles or something.

Pages

Travelogue Travelogue Links

Archives

[...]

~ Manfred

“If you must not, but you want very much, you may.” – Russian proverb

Editing the Travelogue Polaroid

Please download the latest version of the theme from this page, it fixes this bug as well as several others.

For those wondering why this is happening, it is because in PHP you can only call the date function once on a particular db entry, afterwards, it simply returns a null variable. Thanks!

However, on days with more than one post, the date only shows up on the most recent post.

Is there a way to have it show the date on every post? I think it looks a little weird when you just have an empty box there (especially weird looking viewing in Firefox).

Thanks for your help.

Well this is kind of off-topic, but I saw your post in the TxD forums about going away for 2 years on a mission, and just thought it was pretty cool that there is another member who uses TextDrive. I’ll be going on mission at the end of the year myself, so I had similar concerns to yours. Especially since I am a VCII member. So yeah, just wanted to say hey. BTW I like your WordPress theme. =)

-Luke

I’m not using the theme, but I have borrowed the polaroid idea for my site. I’m working on making it random..the code is there, it just takes time to integrate my photos into the frame. Thanks for the idea!

podq live

Main

Home
Travelogue Travelogu [...]

Why can’t you? I did. The only thing you need to do is buy a plane ticket.

I just left a comment on Binary Bonsai in regards to your excellent article.

You’ve got a nice site here. I’ve added it to my Blogroll. Cheers, mate.

As Joel Spolsky says (http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/APIWar.html), as long as it’s not “free” they’re hoping to avoid the anti-
monopoly wrath of Borland, Metroworks and other IDE developer shops.

uplink

Amelia

First off, let me congratulate you on your engagement! I hope your marriage is happy and prosperous!

To begin with, there is the point counterpoint of religion. You stated that Bush pushed his religion on others through the Address. I can see nowhere where he specifically references a particular religion, but instead leaves it as “religious congregations.� Thus, mosques would also be covered under this reference.

My point about the word “God� in schools was not a statement of making everyone believe in Christianity, but far from it. God, in English, is a supreme being by definition, no matter the specific type of religion. Allah is the Arabic word for God. God is the English word for Allah. Dieu is the French word for God. God is the English word for Dieu. Currently, discussion, mention, or interaction of religion in public schools is virtually unheard of. No matter the language you speak, or the religion you affiliate with, I am saying the idea of God should be an option for attendees.

Next the point of divorce. Your example of abuse was an absolute, which offered no other option. In an abusive situation, I entirely condone a divorce, as well as legal intervention. My view on divorce is similar to many peoples view of abortion: While not usually the preferred course, in extreme situations, such as rape or incest, it is perfectly acceptable. The fact is, most children are not abused by their parents, but in the end are harmed by the split. I also have no issues with inter-racial parents, as I know some. However, gay marriages are not something I support, as will be addressed later.

On the matter of how Bush “said� the line about loving children and not wanting to lose them, it is totally opinion based, and neither of us can argue either way on that one.

Your point about abstinence and the average teenager not knowing what it is about is true; which further serves to demonstrate my point. Because schools have not been teaching it, students are not sure of what it is. Abstinence is defined as restraint from sexual relations. Sexual relations include dangerous and deadly activities such as oral sex and other forms that can transmit STD’s. Other forms of contraception cannot protect against these dangers either. Thus, if schools were properly teaching to refrain from any sexual relations, including oral sex, this would be teaching abstinence, and keeping the teenagers of America safer.

On the topic of gay marriages, there is a strong division between the supporters and opposers, mainly because of core beliefs. When one opposed to gay marriages voices their opinion, they are immediately struck down with the response that they “must tolerate my views.� I ask you sir, is tolerance a two way street in this case? Obviously not, as the proponents of gay marriages are not tolerating the belief of others. The reason I am opposed to gay marriages encompasses two things: my firm and basic religious beliefs, and the proven dangers of gay relations. I believe that God set us here on the Earth to recreate and continue his children and posterity. Gay relations do not allow children to be born in such a relation. Sure, one could adopt, or have an implantation, but this requires outside sources that are of straight origins. Also, gay marriages are risky in many ways to the participants. In a longitudinal study (a study conducted over several years with the same participants) conducted in Europe on the topic of gay marriages, it was discovered that well over two-thirds of all such relations do not last, and end in a divorce. This harks back to how children are negatively affected by divorces. Of the third or so that did stay married, 90% did so by the mutual allowance of extramarital sexual partners. This most often was on the scale of 5 to 12 extra partners. If there is not a better way to spread STD’s, than please let me know.

Next, government funding of religiously affiliated schools. I don’t know when I became I became such a xenophobe as you’ve made me out to be, but I would have no problem funding schools of different religions. You said, “So again, if you can’t hold the standard to all religions then it is impossible.� I never said I couldn’t, because I would. This was pure speculation on your part; lets keep it to the facts.

A ploy by the administration? Perhaps, but I do think that there are some honestly caring young children out there that occasionally do do unusual things. As for whether our troops have good equipment, you are sorely mistaken. Sir, when was the last time you watched C-Span? I was watching it last week in which a congressional hearing was being held on the current state of military funds. During this, they discussed the current phase-out of old equipment, as well as the phase-in of brand new equipment, including weapons, and the latest bullet-proof vests available, standard issue. Not only are our troop’s equipment already the best possible in the world and getting better, but also American ingenuity is helping out. A company introduced just a bit ago stick on armament for Hummers, which is easy to apply and can stop armor-piercing bullets.

The sad fact is that American soldiers are dying. This is because of two reasons. First, we are in a war, and second, we are fighting in urban areas, the most difficult areas in which exist to fight in. Unfortunately, no matter what happens, it is impossible to stop a rocket fired directly at a window of a protected Hummer. Nor is it possible to locate which of the millions of Iraqis on any given day may be the one that despises what the US has done, and chooses to take action. We are all praying for our soldiers, lets not discredit them know with false blame or inconsistent accusations.

As for the liberal media, I suppose this is another area when everything is in the eye of the beholder. You say that you can’t find a talk station that isn’t attacking someone against the administration, while I say that I can’t find someone lauding the administration. If the media were a huge conglomerate, then there would be one radio station, maybe two, for the entire US. However, there are countless stations across this continent, with enough competition and diversity for companies to create an entirely new form of radio with over 100 channels from each provider. Doesn’t sound like a “huge conglomerate� to me.

Jesus Christ also taught that no man should be under bondage from another. If you think the sole reason for America’s involvement in Iraq was simply to get rid of Saddam Hussein, then you are missing the greater purpose. While it is arguable whether Bush himself thought of it, freeing an entire populace from the grips of a horrendously intolerable man seems like pretty good reason to me.

I too love my country, and am glad that we can have such discussions. I am thankful for my freedom, my liberty, and my religion. May God, and us, continue to bless America.

Another Real Patriot,
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My comments to your post…

First you mentioned this quote:

“We are living in a time of great change… Yet some things endure – courage and compassion, reverence and integrity, respect for differences of faith and race. The values we try to live by never change. And they are instilled in us by fundamental institutions, such as families, and schools, and religious congregations.â€?

You said: “Yes! Families and Religious congregations! Now if we could only get schools to be able to use the word “Godâ€?.\â€?

I say, Yes, families are important, and so is religion, but it is in no place BUSH\’s place to push his religion on anyone else. Let me ask you this sir, what if he was muslim and he was saying “families and mosques\â€? what would you say then sir???? I am sure you would do whatever you could to get rid of him. And then you said that we should bring in the word “God\â€? into our schools. If you think that we should use the word God in prayers in school, then your standard should be held up if others were fighting to have the word God replaced with the word Allah…I ask you this…would you allow that? I am sure you would not would you. You would say…”how dare you push your religion and push your god on my child in the public school systems.\â€? So then sir, why would you want to push it on others???

You quoted this: “We must stand with our families to help them raise healthy, responsible children. �

Then you said this: “Again, families are the most integral part of society and life. Without families, everything falls apart. Don’t believe me? Ask a 10 year old who’s parents just got divorced if they are happy.\â€?

That is totally ridiculous. Yes families are extremely important. but what if that 10 year old you are speaking of was abused by one of the parents and without that divorce then he would have continued to be abused! Good, healthy and strong families are important and you know what that sometimes means single parents too! that sometimes means inter racial parents, and yes that sometimes means gay parents! If the child is being cared for properly and is living the life they deserve then what does it matter if it stands to your standard of what a family should be????

Ok then you went on to speak of how emotional Bush was when he said the following quote: “The aim here is not to punish children, but to send them this message: We love you, and we don’t want to lose you. �
This one is hard to get from text, you have to have seen and heard his emotion while he said this.\�

I say: “staged! acted! He promised to not leave any children behind, he HAS left them behind. I don\’t think he knows that it is to have any love for the average american child.

Then you quoted this: “We will double Federal funding for abstinence programs, so schools can teach this fact of life: Abstinence for young people is the only certain way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases.�

And said this: Finally someone stands up and says this! It is not pills or latex that helps you be happy without kids and STD’s, it’s abstinence! So start teaching it schools!\�

My repsonse: it is very sad that you do not know that abstinence only education leads to death death death. Abstinence should be taught, but in conjunction with safer sex education. If you ask the average youth what abstinence means they will say no sexual intercourse, but they will do other activity that may not get them pregnant but could transmit disease. I am sorry, but you are completely wrong here. We may disagree on how we feel about the job the president has done, but you can not deny that by teaching abstinence only, kids will have unprotected sex or sex activity and they will spread diseases and die.

You quote: “A strong America must also value the institution of marriage.�

And you said: “Once again, families is mentioned as a key value of a united country.\â€?

my repsonse, ok I agree that marriage is important, it is a tool that people can choose to use or not use and it shoudl be the choice of ALL people to be able to provide a happy and healthy life. Now i can understand if you were to argue it on a economic standpoint, that maybe allowing same sex marriages to have the same tax benefits, insurance, whatnot would cost too much (though i do not agree) it would be a better arguement than to just stand on a moral high horse and judge other people. You have no right to tell anyone who they can or cannot love. how would you like it if someone one day said to you that you could not be married to your wife or husband because the president thought it was wrong, how would you feel? to have your love taken from your life? And then you agree with BUSH that it shoudl be in the constitution??? the constituation is there to protect all americans, not just the ones who judge poeple for being outside of their moral box. I am engaged to be married, a marrige between a man and a woman, but I would never tell anyone else that they do not have the right to be happy. i am straight and I know that homosexuality is not about SEX, it is about being who you are and living the way you know is right and loving who you are meant to love.

Then you quote this madness: “It is also important to strengthen our communities by unleashing the compassion of America’s religious institutions. �

and you comment with this: “Very nice, I agree! Religious institutions offer some of the best life-changing help available, as well as offering a more stable lifestyle.\â€?

My repsonse, OK i can agree that some religious based institutions can offer a wonderful setting (for those of that religion). I shoudl know i go to a Catholic college. I beleive in god and follow his word. But to say that american tax dollars shoudl go to religious groups is ridiculous, you i am sure would give your tax dollars to a christian based school but what if bush asked you to fund a Muslim school or a jewish school. I am sure you would protest. so again, if you cant\’ hold the standard to all religions then it is impossible. Please sir, think about poeple besides yourself, think about your neighbors, friends, not just next store but in the next state, across the country, we are ALL americans.

Now you mentioned the letter from Ashley. I personnaly think it was a ploy by the adminstration. One that is not needed because we can all agree that we support the troops. I pray for them everyday and support them. That is why i am against the war and against BUSH. he has cut veterans services, spitting in their face. And the troops are not getting the protection and good equipment that they need over there and that is why they are dying. I want them to live, i want them to come home and be safe.

Ok, in your closing, you say somethign about the media, implying that it is liveral based, that is soooo far from the truth, so far. I ask you this, tell me one station or network that is completely liberal based??? i bet you can\’t, they are all in the middle or to the right. i surf the talk radio all day trying to find a station in which people are not directly attacking anyone who is in ooposition to the current administration. But it is impossible. And sad becasue peopel are taken so in by it. Wake up, the media is conservative, they are a part of a huge conglomerate, and huge conglomerates are ALWAYS conservative.

You also speak of BUSH as if he is a very religious man. In my opinion he uses MY religion and MY love for God against me, as well as my love for my country. Jesus preaches about the meek and helping the poor, he ignores the poor. He also preaches not to kill, and BUSH has sent so many people to die and has ordered the death of innocent, just to capture one person. Does it make it right to kill thousands to get one? Not according to my religion, killing is wrong! He may not pull the triggers, but he gives the order, and that makes him just as responsible.

I love my country, i am a patriot, i may not like the president or his admisntrations actions, but i love my country and i don\’t want to see it continue to go down this road.

Good night and may we all bless america and the world.