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144 entries. 42,672 words.
2005-09
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This Week In The News.
2005-09-01.
If you’ve turned on a television lately, you’ve probably seen that the Superdome in New Orleans has turned into Thunderdome. But you may have missed these other important news items from this week:
- Blog
2006-01
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Professor Wars.
2006-01-25.
Yesterday, the Crowhill Weblog referenced UCLA controversy might herald new front in culture wars, an article by Gwendolyn Driscoll. Perhaps you can guess GK’s viewpoint on the matter. Ten points if you picked, “college professors should only be robots programmed to recite conservative-government-regulated teaching curriculums.” (It’s remotely possible that I’m not stating his viewpoint fairly.)
- Commentary
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A Skirmish In The War On Culture.
2006-01-29.
Fighting in the Culture War is pretty draining. I’ve been having a “debate,” if you can call it that, with a person on the Blog of Daniel comment boards. I’ll call her Baptist X, since her viewpoints seem to be fairly representative of the typical conservative Southern Baptist Christian.
- Commentary
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Latest News From The Front.
2006-01-30.
Here’s my wisdom for today: People are really touchy about their religion, especially on the Internet. Provocative comments or questions about someone’s religious tenants are almost always viewed as a direct assault on the individual.
- Commentary
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The Republican Womb Patrol.
2006-01-31.
I saw a post today, Say good bye to your wombs, gals, you no longer control them. The Republican party does, on the liberal blog The Daou Report, referring of course to the imminent confirmation of Judge Alito and the suspected future overturning of Roe v. Wade.
- Blog
2006-02
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Grrls Rock!.
2006-02-03.
[Originally drafted January 9, 2006.]
- Commentary
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Thoughts On The War On Culture.
2006-02-08.
I’ve been thinking about this War on Culture. It seems to exist on many different parallel hierarchies. (In software, it could be represented with a TreeView control.)
- Commentary
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Republican Womb Patrol Warming Up.
2006-02-12.
Just before Samuel Alito was confirmed, I quipped elsewhere.
- Commentary
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Abuse Photos.
2006-02-16.
Another tough day to find anything to comment on. Muslim protesters continued to protest, and “journalists” kept trying to uncover a Cheney scandal.
- Commentary
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Banning Kale.
2006-02-20.
One of the more popular (secular) arguments I hear against same-sex marriage appeared recently on the Crowhill Weblog (Why same-sex marriage isn’t just about somebody’s “rights”). It goes something like this: By allowing same-sex marriage, the same-sex philosophy is forced onto people who don’t agree with it because they have to “accommodate” it. This argument usually comes in response to a “live and let live”-type statement.
- Commentary
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Tuesday Smorgasbord.
2006-02-21.
A smorgasbord of topics today as I sit here in agonizing pain from a strained neck muscle.
- Commentary
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Actually Profiling Sounds Kinda Good.
2006-02-22.
Today, conservative bloggers are berating Democrats for their obvious hypocrisy in objecting to the Dubai Port Sale when they previously objected to any sort of profiling against Muslims. I hate to admit this but, um, they’re right. About two things: 1) Democrats are being blatantly hypocritical (but then, they’re politicians), and 2) My objection to the Dubai Port Sale is indeed based solely on the fact that we’re talking about the UAE, so I guess I’m engaging in profiling like everyone else.
- Commentary
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Awesome Sarcasm.
2006-02-23.
I wish I’d written this: Bob Cesca: South Dakota: Where Rapists Live Forever!
- Commentary
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Friday Smorgasbord.
2006-02-24.
No one story has jumped out at me today, so here’s a link-fest of random cultural interests.
- Commentary
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Okay Steyn, Now What?.
2006-02-27.
By Thomas Krehbiel *
- Commentary
2006-03
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A Most Unusual Abortion.
2006-03-05.
Here’s an odd item from recent Virginia news: Woman shot self to induce abortion.
- Commentary
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Belated Oscar Bashing.
2006-03-06.
It’s Oscars time again, and we all know what that means: Time for conservative pundits everywhere to phone in and bash Hollywood! (Just pretend I finished this before the Oscars.)
- Commentary
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Evidence Of Gallagher\’s Beliefs.
2006-03-07.
By Thomas Krehbiel
- Commentary
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Torturous Civil Rights Activists.
2006-03-09.
By Thomas Krehbiel
- Commentary
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Malkin\’s Media Experiment.
2006-03-15.
By Thomas Krehbiel *
- Commentary
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‘Ware That Tricksey Media.
2006-03-21.
I always enjoy deciphering how stories get distorted by the people that report them.
- Commentary
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On Al-Haramain and Government Wiretapping.
2006-03-24.
(Today’s been very dull, if you hadn’t noticed.)
- Commentary
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On Immigration.
2006-03-31.
I suppose I should comment on immigration, since it’s the hot topic of the week.
- Commentary
2006-04
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Still Immigration Protests?.
2006-04-10.
Okay, the immigration bill was scrapped last week, so why are people still marching in protest today?
- Commentary
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Something For Everyone.
2006-04-11.
No matter which side of the political fence you’re on, you’ll find something to like in this post!
- Commentary
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On Price Gouging.
2006-04-24.
RedState uses the classic “if you don’t like the gas prices, don’t buy any” argument in discussing whether or not price gouging is good or bad: The Twilight Zone Comes To The Debate Over Gas Prices.
- Commentary
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Malkin\’s Hasty Generalization.
2006-04-26.
Mrs. Krehbiel has noted that I tend to rag on liberals more than conservatives, so this one’s for her: Michelle Malkin: The victims of illegal immigration. I tend to like Malkin’s blog because it’s mostly news and links that you never see in the media, but I find that when she writes opinions, they end up sounding a little shrewish.
- Commentary
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Introducing: The Party Afraid Of Death.
2006-04-28.
I was reading this yesterday: A Q&A with Ramesh Ponnuru on The Party of Death. While perusing the author’s pro-life remarks, a complementary Republican party nickname occurred to me: The Party Afraid Of Death. It seems fitting.
- Commentary
2006-05
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May Day Survived.
2006-05-02.
If you’re rabidly opposed to any form of immigration, and are looking for ways to hastily generalize the actions of a few individuals to encompass all 12 million illegal immigrants, you will undoubtedly want to visit Michelle Malkin’s blog to gather ammunition for your logically fallacious argument: The Day To Hate Republicans and Borders? What Borders? and The Pictures You Won’t See.
- Commentary
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Malkin Screeches More Propaganda.
2006-05-03.
More Malkin immigration hysteria: Reconquista is real. I might even go so far as to call it “screeching,” a word she would no doubt find incredibly offensive. In this particular rant, she applies her trademark “hasty generalizations” along with a dash of “appealing to fear” in order to drive home her point that we are under attack from Mexico.
- Commentary
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Hot Air Worthy Of Name.
2006-05-04.
Yet another example of either spin, propaganda, or ignorance from a blogger (this one happens to be conservative) at the new, aptly named, “Hot Air:” Pare Amnistia Ahora! The Cero Peso Campaign.
- Commentary
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Levin Pummels Straw Kennedy.
2006-05-09.
I find it illuminating to note when political commentators use the techniques of propaganda. Mark Levin, writing in his National Review blog, recently beat the crap out of an imaginary straw man: Patrick Kennedy & Double Standards. (I found the article via.
- Commentary
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Minutemen Being Watched.
2006-05-10.
By Thomas Krehbiel
- Commentary
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Blogging Back: Death And Delegation.
2006-05-10.
I’m not popular enough to get many comments (sniff), but even if I were I wouldn’t spend much time responding to them, because I figure blog comments should be the territory of the readers. If I find noteworthy comments, though, I’m going to start blogging about them (or maybe that should be blogging back at them), so in that spirit here are some responses to Vince:
- Commentary
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Slow News Week.
2006-05-12.
There is shockingly little to write about. Something big and controversial happened on American Idol the other night, but unfortunately, it was not a large explosion killing everyone involved, so I won’t be exploring that here.
- Commentary
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Data Mining: Government vs. Private Sector.
2006-05-15.
Here’s something I don’t understand about the whole NSA wiretapping thing. Everyone is pretty outraged about the government collecting data.
- Commentary
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Malkin On O\’Reilly.
2006-05-17.
Another one I didn’t get around to posting yesterday.
- Commentary
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Malkin Goes To 7-11.
2006-05-18.
More ignorant anti-immigrant propaganda from Malkin: Michelle Malkin: 9/11, the Pentagon, and our borders. She thoughtfully discusses (ie. rants about) how some of the 9/11 hijackers got fake credentials at an illegal alien “day-labor” hangout in a 7-11 parking lot.
- Commentary
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My IT Background.
2006-05-26.
A commenter wondered how I could possibly be ignorant of H1Bs and the ITAA.
- Commentary
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H-1Bs And The Virginia Senate Race.
2006-05-28.
I saw some comments about me on another blog that made me laugh. Just for the record, I’m not in any way affiliated with Harris Miller, Jim Webb, or George Allen. I’m certainly not an “apologist” for any of them.
- Commentary
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Memorial Day Observance.
2006-05-30.
I observed over the weekend that there is apparently an unspoken rule that anyone with a blog is required to make a Memorial Day post. So here’s mine, a day late: I don’t know anyone that died in a war. My grandfather was wounded in WWI, but did not die, for which I’m quite thankful.
- Commentary
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Infosys Single-Handedly Destroying America.
2006-05-31.
Following up on More H-1b abuses from American Techno-Politics, wherein it was stated that 2,392 H-1B Programmer/Analyst jobs were approved by the DOL in 2005 for under $30k salary (or $15/hour).
- Commentary
2006-06
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An Analysis Of WW\’s Propaganda Machine.
2006-06-02.
Sorry, this is really long.
- Commentary
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Win-Win In San Diego.
2006-06-07.
There were primaries in many states yesterday, but by far the result generating the most spin today is the infamous Bilbray-Busby race to succeed Duke “Jailbird” Cunningham.
- Commentary
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Constitutional Amendments.
2006-06-08.
Crowhill is back in my reader after some down time, and via. The phony baloney moral rules of liberalism I saw this post: On the gay marriage amendment.
- Commentary
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A Story About Fearsome Activist Judges.
2006-06-09.
I haven’t said much about the so-called Marriage Protection Amendment, but I’d like to say a few words about it now.
- Commentary
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The Best Offense Is A Good Suicide.
2006-06-12.
TomPaine.com gets a wag of my finger for spreading this blatant propaganda from the lawyer of some Gitmo detainees: A tunnel without end. I agree that when those 3 detainees hanged themselves, it was a sign of desperation – but it was desperate defiance, not depression – you know, the kind of thing an enemy combatant might do. Seeing as how suicide vests are such integral parts of terrorist combat tactics, it seems like a no-brainer that we should take an Islamist suicide as an act of aggression.
- Commentary
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The Dixie Chicks Witch Hunt.
2006-06-19.
I’ll admit I’m not a Dixie Chicks fan (though their latest album is pretty good). Most of the Chicks’ material is about girlie stuff – you know, how men are lyin’ cheatin’ bastards and so forth – that doesn’t particularly resonate with me. And – I hesitate to mention this because it might brand me a terrorist-sympathizer – I’m not fond of bluegrassy country music in general.
- Commentary
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How To Spin A Non-Indictment.
2006-06-19.
Compare and contrast.
- Commentary
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Well-Intentioned Authoritarian Lunkheads.
2006-06-22.
I got an email recently exhorting me to wear red on Fridays to show my support for our troops. I am sure it was intended to be a friendly gesture of patriotism. But that being said, I was outraged!
- Commentary
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Malkin Coordinates Lockstep Attack On NY Times.
2006-06-23.
It seems sort of ironic that right after wingnut bloggers got done accusing liberal bloggers of “going into lockstep” and “coordinating attacks” and blindly following Markos’s marching orders and whatnot, we find Michelle Malkin, icon of the rightwing blogosphere, encouraging her readers to write the NY Times to express her outrage: NYTimes Blabbermouths Strike Again. GOP Bloggers follows orders: Fight Back Against Media Traitors! Who else will fall into lockstep and repeat Malkin’s call to write to the NY Times?
- Commentary
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Pagan Flag Worship Still An Elusive Dream.
2006-06-28.
Just for the record, I think the flag protection amendment idea is just as silly as the marriage protection amendment idea, if not more so. Why on earth does a flag need so much protection? And why the flag and not anything else?
- Commentary
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The Dullest Of Blog Entries.
2006-06-30.
They say the difference between a “real writer” and a “struggling writer” is in their ability to write when they don’t feel like writing. So in that spirit, I am now writing a blog entry even though I don’t particularly feel like it and there is nothing particularly interesting to write about.
- Commentary
2006-07
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The Lynchmobosphere Stalks The NY Times.
2006-07-03.
I’m pretty baffled about the outrage over the NY Times “revealing” the government’s SWIFT-monitoring program. And as if the SWIFT thing weren’t enough, Michelle Malkin and the puppet minions of the “wingnutosphere” were even further enraged when the NY Times published photos and locations of Donald Rumsfeld and other’s vacation spots. It turns out the NYT did so with Rumsfeld’s permission, but Malkin et al were not deterred in staging a full-scale assault: They’re protesting at the NYT building and publishing the home phone numbers and addresses of NYT editors in retaliation.
- Commentary
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Smackdown Tonight.
2006-07-06.
There’s an all-out smackdown happening tonight on MSNBC: The debate between People-Powered Hero Ned Lamont and the Evil, Traitorous Joe Lieberman. They are facing off soon in the Connecticut Democratic primary.
- Commentary
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Friday’s Random Links That Don’t Suck.
2006-07-07.
Yeah, I know, I’m being lazy today.
- Commentary
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Thoughts On Slavery Reparations.
2006-07-11.
Yesterday I linked to a story about reparations over slavery. It was also mentioned on the bastion of multicultural sensitivity, Michelle Malkin’s Hot Air blog.
- Commentary
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Disgusting But Predictable Hypocrisy From RedState.
2006-07-12.
This is pretty funny. It’s hard to quantify the amount of hypocrisy in this RedState post: Disgusting: DCCC Uses Dead Soldiers to Raise Money. Republicans have been using the deaths of Americans on 9/11 for political gain about, oh, every day since 9/11.
- Commentary
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Wednesday’s Informative Links.
2006-07-12.
I actually collected these yesterday and forgot to post them.
- Commentary
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Thursday’s Informative Links.
2006-07-13.
Oh, lovely: Israel: Hezbollah plans to move abducted IDF soldiers to Iran. And: Hezbollah escalates the war in Lebanon, launches rocket attacks in Haifa. Now Bush is giving up secret wiretapping? Specter touts deal on eavesdropping review. Have aliens replaced the president? As Israel and Lebanon meltdown, there’s progress in Iraq: Transfer of Security Responsibility in Muthanna Province. A general’s review of Gitmo: McCaffery on Guantanamo, which summarizes McCaffery’s full memo. The preceding links have been deemed “not to completely suck” by Thomas Krehbiel’s patent-pending content rating system. The system rates the relative merit of Internet content in terms of originality, non-partisanship, grammar, and educational or research value.
- Commentary
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Happy Thoughts On Capital Punishment.
2006-07-20.
On the radio this morning, they were discussing the impending execution of Brandon Wayne Hedrick, who chose to die by the electric chair instead of by lethal injection. It’s been a big story here in Virginia for the last few days. The guest commentary on the radio show came from the leader of some group opposed to capital punishment.
- Commentary
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The Moral Authority Of The Bible.
2006-07-22.
A Virginia “Weekend Without Echoes” post by Thomas Krehbiel
- Commentary
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Somalia The New Afghanistan?.
2006-07-28.
Now here’s something interesting that nobody’s talking about: Somali minister assassinated. By “interesting,” I really mean “scary,” but at least it’s not the same old “more ways that the UN and the mainstream media hate Israel and love terrorists” news from the Middle East.
- Commentary
2006-08
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Conspiracy Theories On The Rise.
2006-08-08.
On the way home yesterday, I heard Mac Watson (voted Richmond’s most annoying talk show host) talking to callers about conspiracy theories surrounding 9/11. I was compelled, because Mac Watson normally only talks about incredibly superficial topics during the time I drive home (yesterday I left later than usual). I was further intrigued, because I had also read a CNN story yesterday about how conspiracy theorists were supposedly gaining more credibility because a couple of people with college teaching credentials are on board with the theory.
- Commentary
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Zen Terrorism.
2006-08-10.
This terrorist plot to blow up planes over the Atlantic doesn’t make much sense to me, when you consider that media coverage is a terrorist’s greatest ally.
- Commentary
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Shut-Out Eleven Straight Years.
2006-08-11.
Reading about terrorist tactics on the Counterterrorism Blog is amusing sometimes. According to an article by Evan Kohlmann, terrorists have to travel to distant camps to “train” for mixing and sneaking liquid explosives onto airplanes, and they’ve been working on this plan since 1995. I mean, come on.
- Commentary
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Missing Egyptians Caught… In Richmond??.
2006-08-14.
Nice. They caught all of the 11 missing Egyptian students: All Missing Egyptian Students in Custody. I’m glad they caught up with the last two, but, erm, what were they doing in Richmond?
- Commentary
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Just Get It Over With.
2006-08-22.
The big story here in Richmond is whether Ricky Gray will receive life in prison or the death penalty for the Harvey family murders. The jury is currently in its second day of deliberating punishment (it took them all of 30 minutes to decide he was guilty).
- Commentary
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High School Bible Study?.
2006-08-28.
Here’s something different from the usual body counts and scare-mongering hurricane watches: While skimming over Ahh, the Tolerance of Mudcat Sanders on LeanLeft, I saw that one of the platforms of the Democratic Party in Alabama is to teach Bible literacy in public schools. I can’t verify whether that’s actually true or not, since nobody gave me a convenient link to follow and the Alabama Democratic Party web page is hopelessly complicated, but let’s assume it’s true.
- Commentary
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Sharia Creeps Into Zanzibar.
2006-08-31.
I’m sure my throngs of adoring fans have wondered what’s up: It’s been a combination of a slow news week and a busy work week. Anyway, today I noticed this curious example of impending Sharia law on CNN: Zanizibar Muslim leader: Ban Freddie Mercury party. I, for one, was personally offended by this news because Queen is one of the most musically-talented and technologically-superior bands in history, and any move to ban a celebration of their members or their work is tantamount to crushing the human creative spirit under the iron bootheel of fascism.
- Commentary
2006-09
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Rush On The War.
2006-09-08.
Rush Limbaugh sounded off on Katie’s “free speech” segment last night, because if there’s one thing Rush Limbaugh needs, it’s a public forum to express his opinions. Overall I thought his spiel was okay, but he snuck in a couple of head-scratchers.
- Commentary
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My 9/11 Tribute.
2006-09-11.
As you know, today is the anniversary of William Wallace’s defeat of the English at Stirling Bridge. Let’s all take a moment to remember where we were on that fateful day.
- Commentary
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Friday Wrap-up.
2006-09-22.
Let’s see, what’s been happening this week? I haven’t been paying much attention actually. Looks like a plan will be going forward to try the Gitmo detainees without having to re-write GC Article III.
- Commentary
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A Glance At Military Commissions.
2006-09-28.
Another busy work week with it being the end of the fiscal year and all. Not much time to decipher the news of the day. After just a glance, I think I’m okay with the new bill to allow military commissions for terrorists.
- Commentary
2006-10
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Foley Thoughts In Context.
2006-10-04.
Somehow, a Congressman’s instant messages are getting just as much attention as a madman shooting five Amish schoolgirls in the head, execution-style.
- Commentary
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Welcome To Web 2.0.
2006-10-05.
I saw on Crowhill that one of Michelle Malkin’s videos (something about Islamic violence) got pulled from YouTube. This struck me as funny. :) And not just because Malkin, a la the best war profiteers, is personally profiting from the culture wars.
- Commentary
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Welcome To Web 2.0, Part 2.
2006-10-05.
A short addendum to my post on Malkin’s video getting pulled from YouTube: 1) Now that I’m home, I can verify that there is a “Flag as Inappropriate” link right below each video, though admittedly you have to login to use that feature. (Not a problem for bots.) 2) I don’t dispute that dhimmitude was the motivation for wanting to yank Malkin’s videos, I just don’t think YouTube submitted to dhimmitude so much as they submitted to a flaw in the peer-review system.
- Commentary
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Unusual Abortion Followup.
2006-10-20.
Here’s a followup to an incident I commented on several months ago about a woman who shot herself in the stomach to induce an abortion. Apparently the felony case against her, which could have resulted in up to 10 years in prison, was dropped because of some legal technicalities.
- Commentary
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On New Jersey.
2006-10-27.
On the recent New Jersey decision: My marriage doesn’t feel the slightest bit different. It’s very difficult for me to wrap my mind around how people can honestly believe the Republican line that marriage is “under attack,” especially from something as infrequent as gay marriage (as opposed to, say, rampant divorce). It seems like people with such beliefs would have trouble with basic motor coordination, let alone any kind of higher cognitive thoughts.
- Commentary
2006-11
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Random Post-Election Thoughts.
2006-11-13.
Thank God it’s over.
- Commentary
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Tuesday Links.
2006-11-28.
I’m weary of opining, so I’m going to fall back on throwing out some links to stories that I found informative.
- Commentary
2006-12
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Today’s Laughing Stock.
2006-12-13.
I first saw this mentioned by Vivian Paige. This is not a sarcastic bit from the Daily Show. This World Net Daily article is real: Soy is making kids ‘gay’.
- Commentary
2007-01
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On I’m Not Emeril’s Religion Of Peace.
2007-01-03.
Old Dominion Blog Alliance member I’m Not Emeril recently wrote a defense of Virgil Goode’s suspicions about the religion of Islam. Fellow ODBA member SWAC Girl wrote that it was a “well-researched article on the subject that needs to be read.”
- Commentary
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The Goode Position.
2007-01-06.
Virgil Goode and his supporters apparently want to keep the immigration debate on the front burner. So let’s take a peek at it.
- Commentary
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Iraq versus Highways.
2007-01-08.
I keep telling people that serving in Iraq is probably safer than driving to work on Interstate 95 every day, but nobody seems to believe me.
- Commentary
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Of Canadian Sharia And Tolerance.
2007-01-08.
Elle at In-Politically Correct, one of the Virginia SWAC Bloggers, wrote this surprisingly good post: Sharia Law in Canada?
- Commentary
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Virginia Bills Under Consideration.
2007-01-09.
In my effort to learn more about local and state politics, I’ve been perusing some of the new bills that the Virginia General Assembly will be discussing, and I came across this interesting gem: From our good friend and Catholic police state advocate Bob Marshall, of the recent Marshall/Newman Amendment fame, comes a new bill proposing to automatically make abortion illegal in Virginia if Roe v. Wade is overturned federally. Does he know something we don’t or is he just being optimistic?
- Commentary
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A Post-Mortem On Discussion.
2007-01-10.
There comes a time when “discussion” is no longer fruitful. I tried to challenge some of the beliefs of the SWAC Bloggers on In-Politically Correct today, but I guess I’m wasting my time. I tried to be polite on their blog but I don’t need to do that so much here.
- Commentary
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On Indonesia And The 10% That Support Suicide Bombings.
2007-01-10.
I mentioned in my last post that I didn’t know much about the state of terrorism in Indonesia, so I did a little web research.
- Commentary
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Twelve A Day?.
2007-01-12.
Sheesh. I can’t hardly get through one misleading SWAC Blogger post before another misleading SWAC Blogger post shows up in my reader: Political Correctness Will Kill Us … Part 8. I can’t keep up!
- Commentary
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I’m Not Emeril’s Religion Of Peace, Part 2.
2007-01-18.
For those that missed it, Alton Foley (“I’m Not Emeril”) left a comment responding to I’m Not Emeril’s Religion Of Peace on my creaky old home page last night. My response follows his comment.
- Commentary
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Modern Secession.
2007-01-23.
I sometimes wonder what kind of political situation would be so divisive that states might try to secede from the Union again. This came to mind again recently when Virginia legislators proposed that the Commonwealth acknowledge the wrongs of slavery, and a flood of pro-Confederacy people bubbled up to the surface here in the Virginia blogosphere. I have to admit I was a little shocked and awed at the vehement, almost violent reactions of some of these Virginians.
- Commentary
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Civilian Reserve Corps?.
2007-01-25.
One other part of the State of the Union address that jumped out at me was the president’s call for a Civilian Reserve Corps.
- Commentary
2007-02
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Confederacy Museum Name Change.
2007-02-20.
This should get the Virginia neo-Confederates riled up: I heard on the radio this morning that the Museum of the Confederacy here in Richmond is thinking about removing the word “Confederacy” from its name after it moves. Apparently they’ve found there is some sort of negative connotation in continuing to glorify the Confederacy 140 years after the rest of us noticed the war was over. Who could have guessed?
- Commentary
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Let’s Trade.
2007-02-22.
Not surprisingly, Virginia Republican bloggers (eg. Virginia Virtucon and Bearing Drift) don’t like Jim Webb (D-VA) very much. I personally don’t like or dislike him: As long as he doesn’t screw anything up before the next election cycle, he’s doing a good-enough job for me.
- Commentary
2007-03
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On General Pace’s Comments.
2007-03-14.
Quick Observation: I completely disagree with General Pace’s recent remarks, but I respect him for standing behind his morals and not caving in to the apology witch hunt. One should never have to apologize for one’s beliefs (even if they’re misguided :). Pace did acknowledge that he shouldn’t have brought his personal feelings into a policy discussion, which I thought was an appropriate response.
- Commentary
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Another Embarassment For The U.S. Patent Office.
2007-03-19.
I just saw this on Slashdot: Linked List Patented in 2006. It prompted me to write this knee-jerk reaction: Oh my god! It’s widely known that the U.S. patent office is completely retarded when it comes to giving out software patents, but this is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen.
- Technology
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Counter-Protesters Gone Wild.
2007-03-23.
I had set a personal goal not to dissect SWAC propaganda anymore, but I stumbled on this post while pruning down my news reader last night: Anti-war protester complains about D.C. march. I can understand the desire to counter-protest and show support for troops, and I can even understand distaste for the more violent, corporate pacifists out there.
- Commentary
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Bush Scandals Need Help.
2007-03-26.
I’ve been meaning to write about this for ages. As dramatic political scandals go, I have to say that the Bush administration is falling far short of the entertainment goals established by the Clinton administration.
- Commentary
2007-04
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After Virginia Tech: Self-Defense.
2007-04-24.
There are a lot of jumbled thoughts in my head after the Virginia Tech shooting last Monday. One of them is about personal self-defense.
- Commentary
2007-05
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Partisan Bickering Stinks.
2007-05-02.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m weary of all the partisan games over the Iraq “war” funding bill. Both Republican and Democratic legislators alike are acting thoroughly childish, imho.
- Commentary
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America’s Funniest Home Jihadists.
2007-05-10.
Is it really necessary to be scared of home-grown terrorist cells when part of their strategy is making copies of their jihadist videos at the local video store? I choose to point and laugh at them instead: Look at the silly amateur jihadists! Is that the best you can do?
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Redefining Amnesty Again.
2007-05-18.
Words are funny, especially in politics. They rarely mean what Webster intended them to mean. For example, to Republicans, a “timetable” is an un-American, troop-hating, defeatist surrender plan.
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Is Taxation a Purchase or Extortion?.
2007-05-22.
Today’s random zen government thought involves taxes. I’ve observed – on blogs and in real life – that a lot of people seem to think that paying taxes also implies receiving some kind of preferential treatment or getting a say in how the government does business. They equate paying taxes with, for example, buying shares of stock in a company.
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2007-06
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Immigration Reform Not Quite Dead Yet.
2007-06-15.
Some time ago, I theorized that immigration might be a spark that causes another group of states to try to secede from the Union. Now, with all the continuing uproar over the latest attempt at immigration reform, I’m starting to wonder if I might have been onto something. Republicans here in Virginia are seriously ticked off at politicians in Washington for even hinting at thinking about talking about “comprehensive” immigration reform again.
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Are illegal immigrants safe from civil remedial fees?.
2007-06-26.
(This was inspired by a bit of information in a blog post or perhaps a comment I saw somewhere in the Virginia blogosphere recently, but unfortunately I can’t find it anymore to give that person credit. Sorry.)
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Immigration Frenzy.
2007-06-28.
I’m late on this, but I guess the big national story is the dreaded immigration bill living to fight yet another day. Here in Virginia, where the conservative blogosphere has been pleading on a daily basis for people to call their senators and oppose the bill, the initial response seems to be stunned disbelief. (Both Virginia senators voted for cloture the other day.)
- Commentary
2007-07
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Media Accidentally Reports Fiction In Iraq.
2007-07-03.
QandO has an important observation about terrorist propaganda and the news media. A few days back there was a story about 20 beheaded men found near Baghdad. QandO reports that the MNF-I (Multi-National Forces in Iraq – that’s the good guys) investigated and found the story was completely false, yet several news outlets reported it anyway (including CNN, as you can see from the link).
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Glasgow Terrorists Worth A Good Laugh.
2007-07-05.
I’m of the opinion that the vast majority of terrorists are cowards and imbeciles, and we need not fear them. I know it doesn’t fit the administration’s talking points, but I happen to think that when I go about my daily business, I’m much more likely to die in a car crash than from a terrorist bomb. So I hope the government will forgive me for being more vigilant about watching my fellow drivers on 95 than watching for terrorist activity.
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Bolling’s Op-Ed On Immigration.
2007-07-09.
Much of Virginia Lt. Governor Bill Bolling’s recent op-ed on immigration makes sense. There’s a couple of things I disagree with, though.
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2007-08
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Karl Rove Resigned.
2007-08-15.
I took a couple days off from work so I missed Karl Rove’s resignation. (He’s one of the reasons why I think presidents are mainly just figureheads.) It’s hard to get really excited about his resignation because even a casual examination of the political landscape at any level shows that there is an army of Karl Rove disciples from both parties waiting and hoping to replace him.
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Free Speech Is Such A Pain.
2007-08-23.
Saw an interesting post on Just a Bump in the Beltway about how Bush choreographs all of his appearances so there are no dissenters in the crowd. That’s not really news, but it’s good to be reminded of how unreliable television is. Obviously I disagree with elected leaders constructing their own cult of personality, but allow me to play devil’s advocate for a moment.
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An Alternate Viewpoint On Miss S.C..
2007-08-30.
Okay here’s an intellectual challenge for you. Everyone in the blogosphere, television, and radio jumped – no, leaped – no, sprinted full speed and dived headlong – onto the bandwagon of calling that South Carolina teen pageant contestant all kinds of stupid for her awkward answer to what should have been a straightforward question.
- Commentary
2007-09
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Turning Them Loose In Herndon.
2007-09-07.
Am I the only one that wonders about the wisdom of shutting down that Herndon Day Labor Center where (supposedly) illegal immigrants hang out? I mean, I would think it’d be better to keep the lawless Mexicans out in the open where you could see them, as opposed to wandering around the neighborhood with no money and no job looking for houses burglarize. (‘Cause Mexicans are criminals, ya know.) Not to mention losing the ability to keep tabs on all the people that hire the lawless Mexicans.
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On That MoveOn.org Ad.
2007-09-11.
Just for the record, I don’t like MoveOn.org. But seriously, how is their attack ad against General Petraeus any different from any number of other attack ads from any number of other lobbying organizations? Isn’t this the free political speech we wanted in the U.S.?
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Against The Grain.
2007-09-11.
As I did last year, I’ve got to go against the grain today. Along with all the somber “we won’t forget” posts, and the partisan “we’re still at war” posts, consider this: We should take time, especially on this media-sensationalized day, to remember the victims of all terrorist attacks around the world, both foreign and domestic. And while you’re “always remembering,” don’t forget that lots of Americans have died in terrorist attacks that didn’t occur on 9/11, and those families deserve every bit as much sensationalized attention as the 9/11 families, and you and I are largely ignoring their unintended and almost certainly undesired sacrifices.
- Commentary
2007-12
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Sub-prime Buyout.
2007-12-08.
A lot of talk radio people are complaining about the government helping people out of their subprime mortgage woes, saying it’s not fair to people who took out responsible loans. Well, that’s true. But I look at it more in terms of a government trying to keep the country’s overall economy running smoothly, which seems like a more important concern for the whole population.
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2008-01
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Gun Show Loophole.
2008-01-23.
I’m generally in favor of gun rights, but I’m not obsessive about it. I think I’m in the minority on that in Virginia. The only other opinions here seem to be the extreme right-wing we-need-to-stockpile-guns-to-prepare-for-the-zombie-apocolpyse opinion and the extreme left-wing ban-access-to-all-items-that-might-conceivably-cause-injury opinion.
- Commentary
2008-06
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Project Implicit.
2008-06-01.
I saw this nifty research site mentioned on Republitarian and thought it was interesting enough to repeat: Project Implicit. I took the race demo test and the results were rather surprising to me.
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Offshore Drilling.
2008-06-02.
Recently I’ve been hearing a lot of people complaining about China drilling off our coast, as if we’re the only country entitled to drill for oil in the world. For example, see this rant on United Conservatives of Virginia: ChiComs Drilling Off the Coast of Fla. (This is clearly not a person who embraces change – we haven’t used the abbreviation “Fla” since, what, the 60s?)
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Death Penalty, Left vs. Right.
2008-06-15.
Vivian Paige usually stays above the fray and doesn’t speak much about the rest of the blogosphere (she is one of those incredibly rare blogging talents that actually creates material on a consistent basis), so this really stood out to me: Kaine commutes sentence - what say those on the left?
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Offshore Drilling For Transportation.
2008-06-19.
I just saw this come through the ol’ aggregator and it almost knocked me right out of my chair: Chris Saxman to introduce off-shore drilling bill. They want to use offshore drilling revenues to fund the Virginia transportation budget. BWAHAHA.
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Silliness from McCain.
2008-06-24.
Here’s something I don’t get about John Sidney McCain’s offshore drilling policy. He’s fine with tearing up the oceans looking for oil in the continental shelves, but he’s against drilling for the oil we know is there in ANWR. Kids, can you say, “pandering for votes?” Or, “have your cake and eat it too?” Or maybe just plain, “WTF?”
- Commentary
2008-08
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omgwtfbbq #dontgo.
2008-08-07.
Virginia blogger Scott White has been spamming the Virginia blogosphere with breathless posts about the Twitter thread #dontgo for the last several days. It’s being called a “movement,” a “turning point,” a “revolution,” an “online orgy of oil drilling bliss” (okay, I made that one up).
- Commentary
2008-09
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That Bailout Thingy.
2008-09-26.
I know nothing about the mysteriously ambiguous world of economics so I can’t speculate as to whether this bailout thing is good, bad, or indifferent. Well, actually I can – I can speculate that bailing out big companies sounds bad. Not so much for the dreaded socialism aspect but more for the fact that the upper echelons of all these failed companies won’t experience any consequences from their persistent record of gross incompetence.
- Commentary
2008-10
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Death of a Bailout.
2008-10-01.
I’m kind of glad the bailout bill failed. The “credit crisis” hasn’t affected me in the slightest, and I have yet to see any specific explanation of how it might affect me in the future. So now I won’t be able to get a loan for more money than I can ever pay back… that’s a crisis?
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Who’s Going to Bail Out the Bailout?.
2008-10-06.
So let me get this straight.
- Commentary
2008-11
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Less Mergers, Less Bailouts.
2008-11-17.
I’ve been thinking about this bailout thing. I’m no economist, but it seems to me that instead of the government bailing out large companies that fail, the government should instead work to prevent companies from getting so large that their failure would impact the nation’s economy. So I would suggest that whichever government agency is responsible for regulating corporations start cracking down and don’t allow big corporations to gobble up smaller corporations anymore.
- Commentary
2008-12
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Congress vs. The Automakers.
2008-12-08.
I have to confess that I don’t understand why Congress has been grilling the auto industry over the measly $35 billion they’re asking for, when they previously felt absolutely no restraint or shame over giving away trillions to the banking industry. I guess nobody in Congress owns auto stock…
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2009-02
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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
2009-02-10.
I’m ambivalent and skeptical about this latest stimulus bill. On the one hand, the idea of more government spending is kind of repulsive, but on the other hand, if they’re determined to throw money away, I can see where a mix of tax cuts and infrastructure projects is the best way to go right now. At least it’s better than buying “toxic mortgages.”
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2009-04
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Mish Mash of Economic Topics.
2009-04-05.
This is a collection of thoughts about the economic crisis, from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about economic theory and has no intention of learning anything about such a fundamentally unscientific, faith-based system.
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The Best Tea Party Wrapup.
2009-04-19.
Normally I would write something about those silly partisan social gatherings aka. “tea parties,” but in this case, all I have to do is write: See The Daily Show, April 16.
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2009-05
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Tea Parties, Two Weeks Later.
2009-05-03.
Speaking of tea parties, it’s been roughly two and half weeks since the big FOX News Tea Party thing. As expected, all of those people that “weren’t going to take it anymore” meekly went back to their homes having accomplished absolutely nothing. Presumably they’re now sitting comfortably in their homes, watching YouTube and American Idol.
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Police GPS Trackers and Clean Water.
2009-05-11.
I probably mentioned this before, but I’ve been listening to the No Agenda podcast a lot during my commute lately. The show is not very polished and it goes off the rails quite a lot, but it’s still very refreshing to hear a perspective on current events that isn’t rooted entirely in Democratic or Republican talking points. And hey, it’s free.
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Just Say No To Patented Genes.
2009-05-14.
The ACLU is often criticized (rightly, in some cases) for going overboard with their lawsuits, but this is one case where I fully support them: ACLU: Human Gene Patents Infringe Speech.
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2009-06
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Two Hands.
2009-06-03.
This is a comparison of the personal convictions of two people. On the one hand, we have Dr. George Tiller. He was a doctor who worked for what he believed was the good of his patients in a quiet and unassuming way.
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Huckabee’s Divisive Argument Against Abortion.
2009-06-24.
Mike Huckabee appeared on The Daily Show last week to discuss the touchy subject of abortion, and Stewart brought out what I find most annoying about the pro-life argument.
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2009-07
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Things Unrelated To Michael Jackson.
2009-07-14.
Here are some things I’ve learned recently from the No Agenda podcast, which I have not seen mentioned anywhere else in mainstream media. (The podcast is a terrible production but at least they have interesting topics - usually.) Investigations on any of these subjects would make it much more interesting to watch the news.
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2009-08
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Jim Moran’s Town Hall Meeting.
2009-08-27.
I recorded about half of Jim Moran’s town hall meeting from C-SPAN Tuesday night and just finished watching it. Am I missing something, or are these things a total waste of time? Have they always been this animated or is this a recent development?
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2010-04
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The Fight Against Monsanto.
2010-04-19.
The other day my wife casually mentioned that she was going to use a Monsanto product. Nooooo! I said.
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2010-08
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A Disturbing Civil War Parallel.
2010-08-03.
We were watching Ken Burns’ Civil War documentary the other day, and I commented that I used to think it was impossible to imagine a civil war in America, but lately it seems more and more plausible.
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2010-10
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Happy Knights of Columbus Day.
2010-10-11.
In today’s political climate of trying to repeal the 14th Amendment – a clearly anti-immigrant sentiment – the irony of a federal holiday brought about to celebrate immigration is impossible to ignore.
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2010-12
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WikiLeaks Not To Blame For Government Ineptitude.
2010-12-07.
Julian Assange seems like a dork, but I support the concept of the WikiLeaks web site. “Whistle blowers” can be an important check of government power, and certainly the people (in democracies, at least) have a right to know what their government is doing on their behalf. (How else can we make informed voting decisions?) In any case, WikiLeaks isn’t the problem: Inept handling of secret government documents is.
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2011-12
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NTSB Doesn’t Go Far Enough.
2011-12-17.
The NTSB wants to ban cell phones and texting while driving. If they really want to save lives, they need to ban driving. Seriously, have you guys seen how many people are killed driving every year?
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