Those of you who have tried to open Blue Kennel have just been greeted with a surprise. Yes, my newly redesigned website is now here HowardAhmansonJr.com. We chose that domain so that way people who are curious about me (and a lot of people are curious about me) are more likely to stumble on this website. Plus, the graphics, we think, are nicer and more useful. We hope you think so too. I’ll still be calling it ‘Blue Kennel,’ but the web address has changed, and so please revise your Bookmarks appropriately.
My website will continue to be the place where I ‘think aloud’ on a rather eclectic number of subjects; there’s something here for nearly everyone. Because my chief ‘affection’ [in 18th century English sense] has been the housing problem and YIMBYism, especially here in California, the highest percentage of my posts has been about that. But there is stuff from theology to travelogues to miscellaneous stuff like “The War between Beach People and Brunch People.”
Inspired by some of my best posts, I am currently working on a book that we hope to see published in about a year or two. The book will be organized around the principle of the ‘Five Kingdoms’ of authority: the family; the church and religion; the state; business and property ownership; and manners, customs, and languages [and there will be a section for stuff that doesn’t fit into that]. So, your comments and substantive questions on what I post can help clarify and strengthen my ideas and their value. Comment away, please!
And speaking of comments, we are now using Disqus as our main [and my most favorite] comment platform. You don’t have to be on Facebook, as I’m not anymore, or any other social media in order to then comment at my website. In the past you had to open an account or subscribe in order to comment at my website, and even then, for a long period, the comment section was not in working order. Now that should no longer be a problem. I’m addicted to comment threads anyhow. It is there that people let their hair down and tell us what they really think! I try not to be as nasty as a lot of them. But let’s hope that I get as addicted to the comment threads on my own blog as I am to those on the New York Times, Washington Post, and L.A. Times.
Some of my favorite posts of recent vintage are:
- Evangelical Politics, or a-Politics, in the 1970s. What it was like in the days of the Jesus Movement and the Seeker Church. Yes, most white ‘classical Protestants’ [a term I’m using instead of ‘evangelical’ now] probably voted Republican, but they didn’t make a big deal about it or make it almost the heart of their faith like they do now.
- The Theonomization of Anabaptism. Yes, we complain about ‘theocrats’ on the Right, but large portions of the Left have taken Anabaptist morality and tried to enact it as the law of the state. Real Anabaptists didn’t do that. They often didn’t vote, much less serve in a political office.
- Two Dilemmas Urbanists and Housing Advocates Have to Face. You can’t have housing [owned or not] be readily affordable to the masses and at the same time have housing be a ‘Wealth Builder’ that goes up in price continually.
- My Cartesian Moment: How I Got Repoliticized. After I became a Christian in 1973, I had things to learn that were more interesting and newer than politicos. But six years later they tried to run the Santa Ana Rescue Mission out of town. That incident has shaped my political views ever since.
- Time to Stop Using Political Terminology for Theological and Moral Views. Why we need to stop using ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative,’ ‘left’ and ‘right’ for theological and moral views. Instead, ‘orthodox’ vs ‘modernist’ or ‘heretical.’
- The Deals. Trump is not really a Christian or a Social Conservative. But he published The Art of the Deal under his name, and he made a deal with the remnant of the Religious Right to get elected.
Hundreds of posts later, this blog actually started in September of 2009, and there are many treasures early on, if you care to look! I also encourage you to sign-up for our new e-newsletter, where we will endeavor to update on some of my latest writings at the website. We also have an RSS feed of the website if you want to get updates in your Reader.
Finally, the reach of this website grows by you helping to share what I write. Maybe there are 2 or 3 recent articles that you would like to share via e-mail or social media?
Your support is greatly appreciated, and I look forward to sharing more of my ideas and observations in the many posts ahead!
Howard
