Luke Ford | No sacred cows.

Lukeford.net Review

Posted on January 23, 2008 by Luke Ford

I received this:

PROS

Loads of original content
Good Google Pagerank PR 5/10
Good Alexa rank 160,685
Strong Google Backlinks – 2,310
Pages Indexed in Google – 4,870

CONS

Unattractive WordPress Theme
Fluid width is too fluid…
Poor Adsense Implementation
Left sidebar very long and not organized well.
Pages and Posts not optimized for SEO
No Plugins for keywords or Title tags
Non wordpress interior pages are a mess.

FIRST THINGS I’D CHANGE:

WORDPRESS THEME

I would change to a more attractive fixed width WordPress theme.

Using the Fixed Width you can better float adsense units in your posts

WORDPRESS PLUGINS

Definitely Add the plugin

SEO Title Tag – use keyword phrases in your Title Tag
Install a Most Popular Posts Plugins

More WordPress Plugins

http://mashable.com/2007/08/16/wordpress-god300-tools-for-running-your-wordpress-blog/

General Adsense Advice..

Remove all borders from your ads
Blend Ads into text
Float adsense to the right and left of your posts (test)

Use Google Adsense’s Competitive Ad Filter to filter out the ads you don’t want to appear on your site… This can dramatically increase your revenue.

Change your Meta Description in your header.php file to better target the ads you wish to appear… this and Title Tags will give you more targeted ads and increase your clickthrough rate..

RANDOM BULLET POINTS

Install Google Analytics on your site. Remove the Translate tool (depending on Anaytics language analysis)

This is Big… You are not using SEO Pages, but Post ID’s… changing now could hurt your current SEO traffic, but in the long run you may wish to change to /%postname%/ permalinks as soon as possible.

If you do change your Blog path to the root directory.. no sense in redirecting lukeford.net to lukeford.net/blog

Posted in Articles, Personal | Comments Off

How Obama Can Escape The Ghetto

Posted on January 23, 2008 by Luke Ford

Mickey Kaus writes (and this was discussed on Tucker Carlson today):

I thought Margaret Carlson was out on a very shaky limb a few years ago last Thursday when she wrote that Obama had

lost the essence of his candidacy as the first black man to run as himself. Once the race card is on the table, no matter who puts it there, it’s impossible to put it back up anyone’s sleeve. Obama may look back on the first two weeks of 2008 as the time when he lost the nomination to Clinton.

Now the idea that Obama has been "ghettoized" as the "black" candidate has become the accepted template for the campaign–even the point that a win in hotly contested South Carolina on Saturday is seen as actually hurting Obama because (in Dick Morris’ analysis)

[w]atching blacks block vote for Obama will trigger a white backlash that will help Hillary win Florida and to prevail the week after.

Here we thought we were getting the Mondale/Hart campaign of 1984–without Mondale’s pleasantness or Hart’s weirdness–and instead we get the Dukakis campaign of 1988, in which a slightly tedious, marginally likeable elite liberal established his mainstream (white) bona fides by running around the country thumping Jesse Jackson.

Worse, it’s hard to see an easy way out of it for Obama, at least before the wave of primaries and caucuses on Feb. 5. He could try to make Hillary the pet candidate of Latinos the way he’s being cast as the pet candidate of blacks–but that would require a shift to the right on immigrant legalization that he doesn’t seem willing to make. (I hope I’m wrong about that.**)

The more obvious move is to find a Sister Souljah–after Saturday–to stiff arm. The most promising candidate is not a person, but an idea: race-based affirmative action. Obama has already made noises about shifting to a class-based, race-blind system of preferences. What if he made that explicit? Wouldn’t that shock hostile white voters into taking a second look at his candidacy? He’d renew his image as trans-race leader (and healer). The howls of criticism from the conventional civil-rights establishment–they’d flood the cable shows–would provide him with an army of Souljahs to hold off. If anyone noticed Hillary in the ensuing fuss, it would be to put her on the spot–she’d be the one defending mend-it-don’t-end-it civil rights orthodoxy.

I can’t think of a better plan. Can you?

** Update: Obama’s views, if not his actions, are more sensitive to anti-legalization arguments than I’d expected.

Posted in Articles, Mickey Kaus | Comments Off

Who Can Win?

Posted on January 23, 2008 by Luke Ford

From Dennis Prager:

Wednesday January 23, 2008

H1: Fallen Star With Dennis Prager

Prager H1: Heath Ledger, Academy Award nominated actor and movie star, died yesterday. Initial reports suggest that drugs were involved. Everybody has demons… Dennis talks to Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of NYC, and candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination… Dennis asks listeners what problems they have with a Giuliani candidacy.

Length: 00:33:46

Wednesday January 23, 2008

H2: Are Parents the Determinative Influence in a Child’s Life? With Dennis Prager

Prager H2: Or are other influences just as great or greater? Genes and societal influence would be two such influences. Callers weigh in.

Length: 00:34:02

Prager H3: Dennis talks to Victor Davis Hanson, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and nationally syndicated columnist. Hanson thinks John McCain has the best chance to beat Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.… Kids in a Welsh town are committing suicide at an almost epidemic rate. The common link – they were all on the same social networking site… Barack Obama keeps claiming that the incident in Jena, Louisiana last year is an example that racism is still alive and well in the US. But the Jena incident has been completely discredited… Tom Brokaw thinks he knows what people want in this election.

Suicide epidemic in Welsh towns is linked to social networking sites. Sounds like kids think suicide isn’t real. That it’s some sort of game.

According to this NYT article, Rudy is mean. Given the people he was mean to, the piece is unintentional praise.

Posted in Articles, Dennis Prager | Comments Off

I Made Another Crazy 1 a.m. Video!

Posted on January 23, 2008 by Luke Ford

Click here to watch me whine about my life. And see my famous mouthguard in action!

Don’t be a loser!
Be a winner!
Make Luke Ford Your Moral Leader!

Get a free copy of my memoir "Rebel Without A Shul" by subscribing to my 100% private, spam-free list.

Posted in Articles, Personal | Comments Off

Religious Search

Posted on January 23, 2008 by Luke Ford

Rabbi Gil Student writes:

The question sometimes arises whether a Jew, in his honest search for truth, must examine every religion to see which one is true. Should a Jew simply pursue his own religion or must he also examine other religions? If the answer is no, should someone born into an idolatrous cult also not examine other religions?

R. Yosef Albo (Sefer Ha-Ikkarim 1:24) addresses this question. He makes the point that if everyone has to investigate other religions, then no person will ever be certain in his beliefs because there could always be another, truer religion that he has yet to investigate. However, if not, then we are saying that people should be content with their ancestral religions, implying that they are all legitimate. Therefore, a person should ensure that his religion corresponds to the logical boundaries of a true religion (that R. Albo spends a good deal of time discussing). Those religions that do not should be rejected. Furthermore, through various arguments he points out that Judaism is clearly truer than Christianity and Islam.

In today’s day, when the religions that we know about are much more numerous than just the big European three, it is harder to sustain R. Albo’s arguments. This is particularly so because he relies heavily on the other arguments throughout his treatise, which may not be able to withstand modern criticism. Which leaves us back with the original question of whether a person should examine every religious alternative before settling on one.

I would suggest, and perhaps R. Albo actually intends this, that a person should examine his own religion. If he finds it wanting then he should examine other religions. Otherwise, he should be content with his religion.

In other words, accept your ancestral religion unless it can be factually, logically or morally disproven.

Posted in Articles, Judaism | Comments Off

Was Bill Clinton Our First Black President?

Posted on January 23, 2008 by Luke Ford

In Monday night’s debate, Barak Obama answered: "I’d have to investigate more Bill’s dancing abilities…before I accurately judge whether he was a brother."

Dennis Prager tackled this 25 minutes into the show linked: "I will explain why this got the most intense applause of the evening. Why? The Left has made it impossible to talk about race with honesty. It’s one of the totalitarian things that I so fear the Left for. All totalitarianism outside of Islam and the partial exception of Nazism, has been Leftist. There is a deep strain on the Left that because they know what is good, they will enforce it.

"There has been so little ability to be honest about racial issues because you will be called a racist that people are relieved… This is a left-wing audience. Even people on the Left are relieved when there can be some honest jocularity about race. Wow, the tension was [defused]. If a white had said ‘We don’t know how well he dances,’ it would’ve been the end of his career. He would’ve been David Dukeized. Barak Obama gave permission for ten seconds for an audience to laugh about racial matters. Now the lid is back on and one can not make that joke anymore."

Prager plays a clip of Hillary saying in the debate: "You don’t hear the Republicans talking about the disgrace of a criminal justice system that incarcerates so many more African-Americans than whites."

Dennis: "What is the point Hillary Clinton is trying to make aside from ingratiating herself with the South Carolina community? Of course blacks are disproportionately incarcerated because blacks commit a disproportionate amount of violent crime."

When Prager blames low black educational achievement on the Democrats running inner-city school systems, a black liberal caller says that blacks have to be held responsible for low black educational achievement.

Posted in Articles, Dennis Prager, Race | Comments Off

I Hate To Chat Online

Posted on January 22, 2008 by Luke Ford

Email’s no distraction for me, I feel like I can answer it whenever, but chat commands my attention for some reason. A tic of mine. It bugs me. I only chat online if there’s money in it for me, or a woman, or content for my blog.

Most of my days I unplug my phone, avoid all chat, and just hunker down to learning how to make money online.

I will make one exception. For you, honey, I’ll make the time. Do you think we’re ready for email? I don’t want to rush things. Perhaps we’re ready for email? Don’t rush in blindly, sweet thing, letting your lusts get the better of you. Remember what the Torah says: Emailing can lead to IMing which can lead to MySpace and Facebook…and before you know it, you’re behind closed doors dancing in the dark.

But the sun’s been quite high while I wrote this blog, it’s for people like you who keep it turned on… Those are the sweetest eyes I’ve ever seen.

Posted in Articles, Personal | Comments Off

Sam Zell Orders All Content Filters Removed From Tribune Computers

Posted on January 22, 2008 by Luke Ford

For years, Los Angeles Times reporters have complained to me about how their computers were filtered by orders of the Tribune company.

Eric Longabardi reports:

Well, well … score one for the media boss! It takes a businessman to teach a few so-called journalists how the First Amendment works.

The Enterprise Report has obtained this email sent out to employees of Tribune’s media companies by its new owner Sam Zell today.

The email clearly mocks the notion that the so called vanguards of the "Fourth Estate" would be censoring what their own employees could view while working on Tribune company computers at places like the LA Times or TV stations like KTLA-Channel 5 here in Los Angeles.

Here in Los Angeles, ERS News has learned that in addition to the web sites You Tube and Facebook, listed in Zell’s email, other sites, like Kevin Roderick’s "LAObserved" blog was being blocked by KTLA-TV when Zell issued his order to remove all internet filters.

On journalistic principles we agree wholeheartedly with Zell’s action.

Freedom for the press, does not mean freedom from it! That would be called the height of hypocrisy.

Posted in Articles, Los Angeles Times | Comments Off

Nothing From Nothing Leaves Nothing

Posted on January 22, 2008 by Luke Ford

From Ari Goes Down:

There should exist a thing in the entire world that I give a damn about.
But there isn’t.
It is not the job. It is not the man. It is not the family. It is not the hobby nor the passion.
First of all; how can that be?
Second of all; aw… poor little me how sad that it is. Sarcasm folks.
Saturday afternoon found me in New Jersey at a – get this – 60th wedding anniversary party. 60 years. 60 years!! These people have been married nearly double my lifetime. Decades I haven’t even lived yet! Incomprehensible. In other news, my great-uncle is Canadian, I have no idea how I never knew that before and furthermore my cousin gave his two sons the stupidest names I have heard and if they weren’t so unique I would share them with you. But I can’t. Because they are so individually stupid. And unique.
But I digress. It sucks that I can’t have a 60th wedding anniversary. That I can’t share with someone all that these two have shared. This couple, my great aunt and uncle, well into their late 80’s are by far the cutest of old couples. They have three kids and six grandchildren. At the rate that I’m going I’ll be happy if my mom meets her grandchildren much less ever gets to be a great granny. Sorry mom but unless futuristic medicine intervenes I just don’t see it happening.
And it wouldn’t irritate me so fucking much if I thought there was even a shot in hell that the guy I’m looking for exists. But argh. He doesn’t and I know it. I’ve met my own random guys. I’ve met my friend’s friends. I’ve met the guys on jdate. With the rarest of exceptions, they are all the same guy. They rent sad, undecorated, little apartments in outer boroughs or, inexplicably enough, in suburbs. They are an average age of 41. Their social skills are nil. They have one highly antisocial cat. They work mid level jobs and are dull as corpses. They have a sparse interest in sports, pop culture or anything negligible making me wonder if there’s anything capturing their collective interest besides internet porn and serial dating. And here’s the worst part; they’re all 0’s waiting on 10’s. As if. I may be fat and ugly but at least I’m not boring. But these fellas. Christ, you have no idea. It’s so bad it’s actually pretty funny. They are pale, boring, broke and uninspiring. That sucks, yes, but here’s where the funny part arrives – as awful as they are – they are waiting for diamonds. These literal definitions of schlubs think they’re bidding their time with the me’s of the world until Gisele, Scarlett, Kiera, Lindsay or Jessica (pick your poison: Simpson, Biel, Alba) show up. Now, when this is the experience with one out of every ten guys then sure, fine, fair enough. But when it’s one out of ten that’s actually different and interesting? That makes you want to shave your legs and buy new bras. Well hell, it’s discouraging but I hope it also means that finding him will ultimately kick ass.
I know that I’m at the age where the pickins start to get a little knotty. I understand that for the most part I’m sifting through the bargain bin of the species and I’m going to get the damaged, slightly irregulars. But hey, I’m in the bin and I’m not that fucked up. I’ve got plenty of unfucked up friends in the bin with me too. Unfucked up – that’s right I said it. These aren’t crazy girls with monster issues and fat asses – these are slim, attractive girls with hobbies and interests and wits. So where are our male counter parts?