It was July 20, 1993.

I recall I was standing up in the television control room, watching this new system we installed called DirecTV. My office was on the 01 level, just three levels below the flight deck. At sea, during flight ops, a person became used to the monotonous sounds of aircraft landing on the flight deck. While I was watching the satellite feed, the routine sounds continued in the back ground.

And then, something different happened.

That was the beginning of All American Blogger, one year ago today. It was a story I wrote about the men and women who had died while I was aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). One year later, we have posted 1,745 additional posts and made more friends than I would have expected. Our podcast started about the same time, and has also been a channel for us to meet some really fantastic people.

It has been the writing though, that has been the greatest way we have gained attention. It is interesting (for me, anyway) to look back at the posts and see how they have evolved, or improved, over the last year. For a while, we were blogging about just about anything. Then we became more focused and I think it has helped improve the blog.

Some of our articles over the past year have been really well done, but because of our relatively unknown status, received little attention. A few I thought deserved more attention than they received included “Bush Was Right to Veto,” an article detailing President Bush’s veto of an increase in “federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.”

Even the market understands that adult stem cell research is the better of the two options. And if liberals are convinced it is the other way around, nothing Bush has done can prevent them from donating money to companies or schools that are conducting research on embryonic stem cells. Bush is right. Taxpayer dollars should not be part of funding that research.

So while Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill. cites polls that show nearly three-quarters of the public support embryonic stem cell research, I wonder what percent know the difference between pluripotent and multipotent stem cells, or has heard of “somatic cell reprogramming.” Very often, success stories simply say “stem cell,” and leave out the fact it is adult stem cells and not embryonic. The American public may not even know the difference. Besides, the fact that something is popular is not reason for moving ahead. Empirical evidence is. And the evidence shows adult stem cells are far more versatile and effective.

This is not an example of President Bush “ideology before science.” It is the Democrats putting politics before evidence and life. The evidence shows the case is stronger for adult stem cells.

I wonder when Michael J. Fox is going to make that commercial.

My attacks on the left’s knuckleheaded perspectives also began in earnest, right from the beginning, with “Liberal Minds and Homegrown Terrorism: Disbelief and Disrespect.” This was an article on their dismissive attitude toward terrorist threats.

In July, I posted one of my favorite articles. I called it, “I Have a Right to Affordable Health Care…and a Sig Sauer P229.” The premise was simple: just because you have a right to something does not mean the federal government has to provide it to you. After all,

The government has only one role when it comes to health care: protect our right to choose the best health care available. They are not here to provide health care to me simply because I have a right to it.

If that is the case, I want my government to provide my Sig Sauer P229…with a full magazine, of course.

It was well received on Newsvine, but missed on the website.

Looking back through the posts from the past year, one that has been in the top ten most popular posts has been, “NY Times Attacks Fred Thompson’s Wife.” This illustrates two things. First, it shows the importance of pictures in driving web traffic, as I’m sure that people are not that interested in how the Times has attacked Fred Thompson’s wife. Second, it shows the hypocrisy of the Democrat party, who now says Michelle Obama is off limits. I wonder if they think Jeri Thompson is off limits now.

Yeah, right.

I wrote an article that unexpectedly foreshadowed another controversy. In “The Shadow Sexual Revolution – The Push to Legalize Pedophilia,” I gave a short history of the pro-pedophilia movement (yes, you read that right) and where it stands today:

The current movement to legalize and normalize pedophilia may seem unrealistic to some. I have yet to have someone agree with me when I claim that it will be legal in the next 25-30 years. But there are many, as I have detailed here, who see pedophiles as an oppressed minority. They see the road to freedom as being the same road homosexuals marched down. The first step would be the removal of pedophilia as a mental illness, a move the APA has already considered. Then, using the research of Kinsey and others mentioned above, the move would be made to abolish the age of consent. With the seeming support of science, this could be possible and it would effectively legalize pedophilia. With the legal burden lifted, the effort would then shift to normalization and acceptance. This is done by pedophiles casting themselves as a minority, a victim of a culture that rejects them. March after march makes the sight of a fifty year old man giving a six year old boy a deep tongue kiss nothing more than a sign of America’s tolerance, regardless of who gets hurt.

There are some things we should not tolerate. The legalization and normalization of pedophilia is one of those things.

This article was followed shortly by…

“Folsom Street Fair – Toddlers Welcome.” I didn’t plan it that way and, honestly, I can’t think of another topic that has driven more unwanted traffic to this site. Since we covered the homosexual sadomasochistic San Francisco street fair that had public displays of masturbation, yet encouraged folks to bring toddlers, we have not gone a day without getting a hit from Google on: “public masturbation.”

I’m not kidding.

Our first 1,000 unique hit day came on January 9, 2008. It was a milestone day and the post that did it was “Tell Me Again the Left Supports the Troops.”

Prior to the U.S. led invasion of Iraq, Columbia University hosted a six hour “teach-in” conference attended by around thirty of Columbia’s faculty. They took turns castigating President Bush and his plan to invade Iraq. The leftists also heard from Nicholas De Genova. De Genova is a professor of anthropology and Latin American studies who hates the military.

During the six hour “protest,” De Genova said “The only true heroes are those who find ways that help defeat the US military.” He encouraged junior enlisted and junior officers to murder their superior officers. He also wished for a “million Mogadishus,” referring to the 1993 battle where 18 American soldiers were killed and more than 70 wounded.

We are to believe that this rhetoric does “not in any way represent” the university’s position, but, on the other hand, Columbia University does not allow its students to participate in Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) on campus either.

It would not have happened if not for a link from “Ace of Spades HQ.” That was a big day for us, and one that I won’t soon forget. Thanks to Ace for the link, the traffic and the appreciation of our efforts.

Socialism has also been a target of mine over the past year, with one post in particular driving the point home well. The title is so simple, “I Bought a Gallon of Milk Today“:

Chavez’s socialist policies will reduce Venezuela to the same level as Zimbabwe, despite the record oil revenues. There are already food shortages, and inflation. For $10,000,000 Zimbabwe, you can buy one gallon of Heartland Creamery milk, but not much else. The strong bolivar will follow the same path.

Only, in Venezuela and Zimbabwe, there isn’t any milk to buy. Telling someone, “I bought a gallon of milk today” would be a big deal. People would want to know where you bought it and was there any left. But in America, I can find anything I want in a small town of 10,000 people. In fact, in the nearby town of 1,500, I could get just about the same choices.

Socialism fails everywhere it is tried. It always has, and always will. While capitalism may be the unequal distribution of wealth, socialism is the equal distribution of poverty. The only exception is the ruling elite.

The threat of socialism in America was made even more realistic with the words of Maxine Waters just last week.

Illegal immigration has also been a hot topic over the last year, from the Mexican military’s incursions into America to a five part series on the topic, which was seen by quite a few people. If you missed it, check it out:

• Illegal Immigration and National Security – It Is Worse Than You Know
• The Human Cost – Part 1: Coming to America
• The Human Cost – Part 2: Out of the Shadows, Into the Morgue
• The Human Cost – Part 3: Importing Pedophelia
• Secure The Border. Then What?

Finally, global warming alarmism has been a passion of mine. I have written about the threat of global warming totalitarianism since the beginning. In my opinion, this isn’t a threat of the world burning up, but of alarmists controlling your behavior. In “Control by Carbon: The Totalitarian Side of Climate Change,” I show how the global warming, or climate change, agenda is slowing creeping into your everyday life:

No incandescent light bulbs. Big deal, right. Not really, but the big deal is that we no longer have a choice. That is a big deal to me. The government has restricted my access to the light bulb for my own good. I’m not really comfortable with that kind of control from on high. And now California has tried to take government control a step further:

Next year in California, state regulators are likely to have the emergency power to control individual thermostats, sending temperatures up or down through a radio-controlled device that will be required in new or substantially modified houses and buildings to manage electricity shortages.

Imagine yourself enjoying the air conditioner on a hot, summer day. you just finished mowing the lawn, you are hot and sweaty and you just want to stand there by that vent and cool off. Then your air conditioner stops. And you can’t control it.

We have written quite a bit on the Church of Global Warming™, including our most popular article, thanks to John Hawkins and Conservative Grapevine, “10 Reasons to Doubt Global Warming is Man-Made (Part 1)” and “10 Reasons to Doubt Global Warming is Man-Made (Part 2).”

We also had a fantastic talk with author Orson Scott Card (yes, that OSC…think Ender’s Game) on our podcast about Al Gore and the Church of Global Warming™. We’ve had some other great interviews in the past year also. Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch joined us to discuss his book “Religion of Peace?: Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn’t” and Rich Ward of Stuck Mojo came on to discuss the band’s song “Open Season” and conservatism in general. Rich was a surprisingly excellent interview, and if you have not listened to it, you should. It is really inspirational to listen to Rich talk about his beliefs. Your kids could use a rock role model like Rich Ward.

We have also made some really good friends in the past year. Dustin at Dustin’s Gun Blog has been a guest on the podcast and links to our work from time to time. Rochester Conservative is a site run by some really good people. D. Martyn Lloyd-Morgan at A Liberty Sphere also remembers us quite frequently in his posts. Guy Midkiff runs a very good Second Amendment website, and has been kind enough to visit with us on the podcast not once, but twice.

My Newsvine friends were a big support to the blog also. Thanks to Andrew Min, Travis Farral and Doug Weber for helping out with articles and the occasional comments. It’s nice to have your familiar faces here.

And last but not least, the fellas over at A Newt One. They have been a big help in both blogging and podcasting. They encouraged us, with a little help from others, to jump from TalkShoe to BlogTalk Radio.

There are no doubt more, and I appreciate you all as well. Thanks for being a friend.

There are so many articles that I wanted to include in this post, but it just isn’t realistic. So a few months back, I convinced Andrew to create an “Archives” page. One thing I have noticed in writing this post is the number of articles still not featured on that page that should be. Nonetheless, check it out and get to know us. I promise you won’t be disappointed with our past, and I’ll do my best to make sure you won’t be disappointed with the next year.

Thank you all for your support. It means more than you know.