Hey, sportsfans. I apologize if things have been quiet around these parts.  As some of y’all may have heard, Macon got hammered by Mother Nature this past Saturday night.  My family lost power early Sunday morning, and it has yet to be restored. To make matters worse, I have an upper respiratory infection that I am recovering from. Thankfully, my in-laws have graciously allowed us to stay with them for the time being, so besides being a tad inconvenienced, all is well. I hope for normal posting to resume by mid-week.

I’ve had a few requests for the links to my appearance on Hardball that took place during my sabbatical from SA (May 30, 2007). There were two segments, and you can watch them here and here.

I’ve been using Bloglines for as long as I can remember, and I’ve been meaning to ask SA’s readers whether I should switch over to Google Reader or some other blog/feed reader.

What say y’all?

Hey, sportsfans. I’ve been meaning to remind my lawyer and law-student readers that if you would like for me to come to your chapter and preach the Gospel of Originalism, please shoot me an email. I am already on the Federalist Society’s “approved” speaker’s list, so all you have to do is get the folks in D.C. to sign off on it.

I’ve already spoken to the student feddies at UVA, Notre Dame, Washington & Lee, South Carolina, Cumberland, Mississippi College, Georgia State, Mercer, as well as to the lawyer chapters in Montgomery, Alabama and Dallas, Texas. So, if you’re interested in my coming to your chapter, please let me know.

Oh, and if you are interested in reading some reviews of my past speaking gigs, you can do so below the fold. (more…)

I am down 15 pounds since April 11th. I already feel much better physically, and my cravings for junk food have been minimal. We’ll see how things go this week.

Once again, please keep me in your prayers.

I want to thank Feddie for inviting me to join the roster of bloggers at SA.  I have been a long-time reader and look forward to contributing.  I am a lawyer in Alabama.  I recently left public service to return to private practice.  I will be posting about Alabama politics and to avoid my views being attributed to my former employer Feddie has graciously allowed me to post under the pseudonym of “Petigru’s Ghost” in honor of one of my heroes - James Louis Petigru.  Petigru was a South Carolina lawyer before the War Between the States.  He served as a legislator and Attorney General.  He was a renowned trial attorney and considered the Dean of the South Carolina Bar.  He was also a federalist who opposed secession.  However, when South Carolina did secede, he refused to leave his beloved Charleston and South Carolina.  When he died during the war, he was honored by both sides.  He was also a gentlemen and a devoted father. 

In addition to Alabama politics, I will be blogging about legal issues with an occasional reference to other critical matters such as bird dogs, shotguns, fly-rods, bourbon, BBQ, my beloved Crimson Tide and the Anglican Church.  

This past Friday, I checked my high-school-reunion website and learned that our class will hold its 20th year reunion on July 12th; which is about one month earlier than I expected.  And after checking the calendar, I realized that if I planned on dropping a few pounds before the reunion I had better get with the program ASAP.

So, after doing a bit of research, I decided to go with a hybrid plan of sorts. I am starting with the updated Atkins Diet, and then I am going to switch over to the Volumetrics Diet (which has been widely praised by just about everyone). And so far, so good. I’ve dropped 8 pounds since Friday morning, and I did that over the weekend (which for me is no small feat).

It really is amazing when you think about how many carbs are in the food we eat. Consider this. During the first two weeks of Atkins, the goal is to wean you off the bad carbs by dramatically cutting your carb intake on a daily basis to 20 carbs. And guess how many carbs are in just one 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola? 40! Anyway, it will be interesting to see how I do on this plan. In the past, I’ve gotten caught up in the amount of weight I want to lose over the long haul, and have lost sight of the need to simply master the day. I hope to not make that mistake this time.

Anyway, I am posting this to hold myself accountable. My hope is that y’all will pray for me, and ask me how I am doing on the weight-loss front if I haven’t posted about it in a while.

Oh, and before anyone asks: Yes, I am aware that I also need to exercise. On that score, I’ve actually been doing pretty well for quite some time. I’ve been working out three to four times a week for the past two years. My problem isn’t exercising. It’s my crappy eating habits. That’s what I need and hope to change.

Wish me luck! 

I realize that this will come as a shock to SA readers, but for professional and personal reasons I have decided it is time for Southern Appeal to call it quits. In doing so, I cannot even begin to express how much I appreciate the contributions of my co-bloggers and many loyal readers/commenters over the past four years. I have learned so much from each of you, and you have all enriched my life in incalculable ways. Thank you so much for everything.

When I started SA, I never dreamed it would amount to anything. It was just a means for me to vent about political matters during the two years I lived the monastic life of a federal appellate law clerk.  But with my extensive commentary/coverage on Judge William H. Pryor Jr.’s nomination to the Eleventh Circuit, SA’s traffic went up dramatically (thanks in large part to Howard Bashman and NRO), and things have never been the same since then. Indeed, SA’s popularity provided me with a special gift: a soapbox to air my views on issues I care about deeply (e.g., abortion, Darfur). I have not always been the most eloquent or able spokesman, and I have often let my passion/temper get the best of me. But our readers have been gracious in forgiving me for my many shortcomings, and I can only hope and pray that I have done more good than harm over the years.  To those who I have offended, or been less than charitable with in my posts, please forgive me.  I am a work-in-progress; and I pray daily that God with shape me into the person I need to be.

There is much more that I could and probably should say, but right now I just don’t have the words. I know this all “sounds” a little too melodramatic, but as I write this post I am coming to terms with just how much of me is wrapped up in this blog (perhaps too much methinks). In any event, it has been a great run. Thanks for the memories, folks. And God Bless.

Oh, and please have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Administrative note: SA will stay up on the web for the foreseeable future. If there is a kind soul who would be willing to offer free webhosting, so that SA’s archives can remain on the web for an extended period of time, please contact me via email. Also, I will update this post in the near future with a list of my co-bloggers’ other blogging homes, so that you can continue to enjoy their respective talents.

Update: Thank you all for the gracious comments. As promised, here is a list of my co-bloggers’ other blogging quarters and/or websites. I have also established a personal blog that will not contain any commentary, but will instead merely make note of my speaking engagements, radio/television appearances, publications, and the like. I won’t be posting at this blog on a regular basis, so it is probably best to simply subscribe to the feed if you’re interested in getting updates.

Steve Dillard: Steve Dillard

Professor Mike DeBow: Links, Point of Law, Division of Labour

Quin Hillyer: AmSpec Blog

William Watkins: South Carolina Appellate Law Blog 

Patrick Carver: Southron Views

Nathan Hallford: Confirm Them

Major Joel Leggett: Grim’s Hall

Proximo: Dallas Sidebar

Portia: De Novo

Zach Brissett: In Toon With the World

Hunter Baker: AmSpec Blog

Professor Francis Beckwith: FrancisBeckwith.com and Right Reason

Jim Dunn: Do What Now?

Update II: Muchas gracias to Joshua LeBlanc of CyberCatholics for agreeing to host SA’s archives free o’ charge. If you have any webhosting needs, please consider using CyberCatholics.

Have no fear. The fedester will be coming your way this Spring to give y’all some of that sweet Southern-fried originalism that your chapter craves so much.

Details to follow soon.

Scroll down to the “Home resident air complaints” article. 

Those of you who have been following my representation of the Housing Authority in the local appointment controversy may find this editorial of interest.

For those of you who reside in the Macon/Central Georgia area, I’ll be co-hosting with Kenny B. tomorrow on 940 WMAC from 6:00 a.m. until 7:30 a.m.

I have a firm retreat this weekend, so you probably won’t see any posts out of me until Sunday or Monday.

Have a good weekend, sportsfans.

And go Irish!

this.

Here’s the day-time version.

I’ll be on Miss Martha’s radio show tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. discussing a poll recently conducted by the Federalist Society here in Georgia. So, tune in if you get a chance.

Who appears in the new Will Ferrell movie, “Stranger than Fiction,” as “Dave.”

I could not be prouder of you, bro. 

File this under the no good deed goes unpunished file:

[Instapundit] Reader Greg Marquez emails: “The two letters on the site you linked re Bill Moyers contain what have to be to be the two most pretentious lawyer signatures of all time.”

From the SA mailbag: “My immediate reaction, having read both letters:  You have a lame signature, dude!” and “And what is up with that signature?  It is not apparent to me that it says anything.  It looks a lot like Justice Breyer’s, which, until today, was the worst I’d seen.”

[JA reader Mark]: “What’s with the Supersized signatures these attorneys are using? Is that an intimidation tactic or some way of indicating virility? It almost seems as if JA’s lawyer made a point to demonstrate that his signature was bigger and even more outlandish than Bill’s”

[JA reader Mumblix Grumph]: “What the hell is up with Dillard’s signature? Who does he think he is, Zorro?“

Ouch!

Look, I realize that my signature isn’t much to behold, and Lord knows that I have an ego, but I honestly have never put any thought whatsoever into what my signature looks like. It’s just the mark of a country lawyer who never cared much for cursive.

Daniel Nairn’s struggle with blogging responsibly is one that I share, and I am confident many other Christian bloggers do as well:

I purposely seek out viewpoints that I strongly disagree with in order to feel some sort of righteous indignation. The more extreme the better.

I flip from one sensational topic to another, without pausing for enough time to prayerfully reflect on anything and pursue any degree of depth. This habit has tainted the way I read and think in general. 

I have grown more entrenched in my own opinions and reflexively defensive when they are confronted.

I read the Bible less than I used to. 

I secretly wonder how many people are reading what I have to say, even though I’ve tried hard to convince myself that I don’t care.

I was planning on spending a serious amount of time in prayer this morning, but I have not prayed once.  

Well said, Daniel. It is all too easy to get caught up in the goings on of the blogosphere, and to forget that words written in haste have the power to harm both the author and his subject. Blogging also makes it all too easy to think more highly of oneself than one should. I have to constantly remind myself that I am the “chief among sinnners.” The heart curved inward really is an ugly thing, folks, and I am as guilty of that as anyone else.

I thought y’all would be interested in seeing these pics from the dedication of my church’s new altar.

As I’ve mentioned before, Saint Joseph Catholic Church (here in Macon) is in the final stages of a complete (and beautiful) restoration.

Update: Sweet. A link from Shawn over at one of my favorite blogs, TNLM.

S.T. Karnick is one of the journeyman writers of the conservative-libertarian (or as he would say, classical liberal) movement.  His work has appeared just about everywhere.  Some of you may remember him from his editorship and co-creation of American Outlook, which was a very good policy and culture magazine put out by the Hudson Institute for several years.  He and Wlady gave me my first opportunities in freelance writing a few years ago.  (Thanks to both for helping through a couple of lean years in Waco.)

Although Karnick has written about just about everything between his freelance work and his regular editorial pieces for the Hudson magazine, he really shines when opining about popular culture.  After years of encouraging him to focus on that area, I am happy to report that Karnick on Culture is now in business.  After only a few short days, Karnick has written posts covering Mickey Spillane, Monk, Psych, the Beach Boys, Touching Evil, Nero Wolfe, The Closer, and Superman Returns.  Spend a little time with S.T. Karnick before you make another CD, DVD, or fiction purchase.  You’ll be glad you did. 

A conversation between my middle child, Lindley Kay (who will turn 3 on July 24th), and one of my former co-clerks (which took place during our recent stay in South Bend):

Elizabeth: Your daddy is a lawyer, right?

Lindley: No, he’s a daddy.

Elizabeth: But his job is being a lawyer, right?

Lindley: No, he’s a daddy. Not a lawyer.

God Bless her sweet soul.

How, you wonder?  Well, I’ll be on vacation for the next two weeks.  I will not have a cell phone, internet, no nothing.  We’ll be flying to London on Sunday, board the QE2, and then travel to Iceland and Norway.  Here is the route we are taking.

As a young soldier, I traveled throughout central Europe, but I never made it very far north.  I’m looking forward to this and especially the recharging of batteries. C-ya.

Thanks to all of you who emailed words of encouragement and left such kind comments here at SA re: my wife’s recent illness.

The good news is that she is doing much better. Her stomach pains have subsided for the most part, but she is still extremely weak and feels dizzy at times. All in all though, she feels much, much better. I have no doubt that the many prayers from y’all and others have helped comfort Krista during this illness, and for that I am truly grateful.

God Bless. 

Hey gang, the Dillard Family is back in Macon (we have been since late Sunday evening). Unfortunately, we had to cut our trip short due to my wife becoming quite ill. In short, she has a serious stomach virus that is further exacerbated by her having Addison’s disease. She is stabilized now, but I was really worried there for a while. I’ve never seen her in that much pain; and that’s saying something given her medical history (which I will spare you the details of here). Unlike me, Krista has an extremely high tolerance for pain; so, when she says that she’s hurting, you can best believe that is indeed the case.

Anyway, if any of y’all are inclined to pray for her over the next few days, I would certainly appreciate it. 

God Bless.