Pious Agnostic

"Typical White Person"

Friday October 31, 2003

Today's Bleat is particularly amusing, especially the part at the bottom where he's discussing 70's song lyrics.

And his stuff about dogs is, as usual, terrific. I've never had a dog, but he makes me want one.

posted at 10:45 AM Oct 31, 2003 by Rob Ritchie
Category : Lileks is a god

Thursday October 30, 2003

Real American Hero

I thought some of you would find this entertaining...
When we introduce a new GI Joe character, we give the vital background information on the website- collectors love this stuff. Anyway, sometimes we model our characters after our co-workers. I have now been forever immortalized as "Red Spot", the newest Joe character. I had no input on the name, but you can imagine how much fun my friends are having with it.
The link below gives all of Red Spot's main information. Please keep in mind that we outsource the copy for these characters with very little control.
In particular, I love it that part of my biography states "Although he seems to be a classic geek, RED SPOT is better socialized than most... he actually goes out with REAL girls".
Here's the background info: (link)
Here is the product shot of Red Spot- it is too small an image to see whether it looks like me or not. (link)

Michael, you have the coolest job in the world!

Update: Hey, I just noticed that they use Cold Fusion to run the Hasbro G I Joe site. That's the same web-design software that I use.

posted at 7:24 PM Oct 30, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

Wednesday October 29, 2003

Alternate History

How Parisian taxicabs wrecked the world

A thoughtful look at a world that might have been...

posted at 5:23 PM Oct 29, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

Say, we've been talking about this for a while.

Bush - Rice '04
Ensuring America's Future
(BushRice04.org)

via Andrew Sullivan

posted at 4:32 PM Oct 29, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

Who's this about?

Utterly incapable of winning popular support, they thrash about violently consuming themselves and others around them. It is no way to win a popularity contest

Actually, it's not the Democrats.

It's from an interesting post by Michael J. Totten, wherin he quotes an Iraqi dentist blogging from Baghdad.

A Snake that Eats its Own Tail

posted at 2:11 PM Oct 29, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

Mixed messages

Hee hee hee!

posted at 11:44 AM Oct 29, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

Tuesday October 28, 2003

"On the first day of Ramadan, my true love gave to me..."

Kashmir explodes with violence on first day of Ramadan

posted at 7:15 PM Oct 28, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

Monday October 27, 2003

Because you asked for it, here is a picture of our costumes from our recent party.

We're supposed to be Annie Oakley, and the Town Drunk.

posted at 7:09 PM Oct 27, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

Friday October 24, 2003

ZIONISM AS A RELUCTANT NATIONALISM

I am not familiar with the article that the current one is designed to dispute, but it's a wonderful description of the forces at work in the creation of the State of Isreal. So, it becomes the

Must Read of the Day!

posted at 11:16 AM Oct 24, 2003 by Rob Ritchie
Category : Must Read of the Day

Thursday October 23, 2003

Blond MOAB Strikes Again

Here's what the stunning and brilliant Ann Coulter has to say about the General Boykin Affair:

Bush official caught in church dragnet

Is she over the top? Definitely. But I admire her writing the way I would admire a skilled boxer: I wouldn't want to do it and I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end: but it sure is fun to watch!

posted at 2:34 PM Oct 23, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

On several sites, I've found links to this story, a personal story of American Muslim anti-Semitism and crazyness:

By then, all thirty patrons of the club were looking at us. And I wasn't getting very warm smiles at this point. I thought about my chances of making it out of there if I really said what I was thinking.
I believe Masood knew what I was pondering because he didn't let me think too long: "Maybe you should go, Matt."

posted at 11:43 AM Oct 23, 2003 by Rob Ritchie
Category : Muslims at play

Wednesday October 22, 2003

Steven den Beste has an essay about the political ramifications of rape with which I agree 100%, both in his arguments and his conjectures.

Give it a read, if, you know, you're interested.

posted at 5:22 PM Oct 22, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

Ghouls indeed

Disgusting fly-blown Hamas dirtbags are holding on to the severed leg of an Israeli soldier.

This inbred family of murderers is named "al-Ghoul."

According to Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry: ghoul
Pronunciation: 'gül

Etymology: Arabic ghul
Date: 1786
1 : a legendary evil being that robs graves and feeds on corpses
2 : one suggestive of a ghoul

posted at 4:34 PM Oct 22, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

I know it seems that I'm bashing Democrats a lot lately, but at least I have the comfort of knowing I'm not alone.

Andrew Sullivan calls our attention to a story which reports some very disturbing polling data coming out of Iowa:

Don’t the Democrats care even a little about terrorism?

The survey — sponsored by Democracy Corps, the group founded by Greenberg, James Carville and Robert Shrum — focused on Democrats who take part in the nominating process in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
What Democracy Corps found was that Democrats, at least those who are most active in politics, simply don’t care about terrorism.
Just don’t care.
In one question, pollsters read a list of a dozen topics — education, taxes, big government, the environment, Social Security and Medicare, crime and illegal drugs, moral values, healthcare, the economy and jobs, fighting terrorism, homeland security, and the situation in Iraq — and asked, “Which concern worries you the most?”
In Iowa, 1 percent of those polled — 1 percent! — said they worried about fighting terrorism. It was dead last on the list.
<snip>
Combined with other results, that suggests Democrats want a leader who has the ability to fight terrorism but will not actually do it.

If this polling data is correct (that is, it actually reflects how the roughly 50% of the nation that call themselves 'Democrats' actually feel, as opposed to the 'Clinton Kool-Aid" folks), what does it mean?

Seriously, what does it mean?

posted at 11:07 AM Oct 22, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

Tuesday October 21, 2003

Blonde Bombshell

What liberals mean by "goose-stepping" or "ethnic cleansing" is generally something along the lines of "eliminating taxpayer funding for the National Endowment for the Arts." But they can't say that, or people would realize they're crazy. So instead they accuse Republicans of speaking in "code words."

This, and 9 other great Ann Coulter Quotes (plus a doll!) can be found here. Be sure to follow the doll link and listen to Ann in her own voice.

posted at 6:45 PM Oct 21, 2003 by Rob Ritchie
Category : Girls, girls, girls!

Illuminati?

Via Allah I found this shit!

Is it actually possible that anyone really still believes in The Illuminati?

posted at 6:34 PM Oct 21, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

Here's a lovely post from "Reflections in d minor", a non-political blog I like, concerning Big Media, the Internet, blogs and mom-and-pop ISPs.

Trust

posted at 1:50 PM Oct 21, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

And now for something completely different...

a Purple Frog.

posted at 1:42 PM Oct 21, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

...for partisan reasons?

In case you aren't familiar with the case of Terri Schiavo, here's the situation in a nutshell:

Terri Schiavo is brain damaged, though exactly how severely is debatable. She's been on a feeding tube for about ten years, and her husband, in accordance with what he claims are her wishes, expressed before her accident, has gotten a court order to have it removed so she will die (and, incidentally, so he can marry his girlfriend and gain custody of his kids).

Opposing this are her parents, who claim that she is not brain-dead, but instead very conscious of her surroundings; they also make accusations of abuse against their son-in-law. The courts, however, have upheld the “right to die” legislation of Florida, and on Monday, the feeding tube was removed. As you might expect, much sturm and drang about a horrible situation all around; it appears to be a situation where the law, which is fairly clear, is condemning an innocent woman to death.

The parents appealed to Governor Bush who, upon consultation with his legal team, said that under current law he could not intervene. This was interpreted as a clear signal to the Florida Legislature to draft and pass legislation giving the governor the power to have Terri’s feeding tube re-inserted. As time was running out for the poor woman, immediate attention was required, and the special session, already in progress, was interrupted to present and debate the bill.

Florida House Passes Tube-Feeding Law

(This headline isn't entirely accurate, since technically, the Florida House can't pass the law: the bill needs to also be passed by the Senate and then signed by the Governor before it becomes a law. But, baby steps...)

Florida House authorizes Bush to intervene in coma case

Today, it goes to the Senate, where there may be difficulties. Senate President Jim King was the chief sponsor of Florida’s (apparently flawed) “Right to Die” Law, so he is expected to be a severe critic of anything that would tend to meddle with his legacy. However, it’s also expected that the bill will pass the Senate today or tomorrow.

Here’s what got me writing today: Last night, the Florida House voted 68-23 in favor of the bill. Those who opposed it? Mostly Democrats. Here’s how it broke out:

7 Democrats voted in favor of the bill.
20 Democrats voted against the bill.
61 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.
3 Republicans voted against the bill.
12 Democrats abstained.
15 Republicans abstained.

Two Democrats who voted against the bill raised questions about the Bill’s constitutionality (a valid concern, one that hasn’t yet been tested).

The rest? They didn’t want to hand Governor Bush a “political victory” on this issue.

Also, you have to look to the philosophy of the Democrat Party. For the last 40 years, they have welcomed the Judiciary "Legislation from the Bench" on every conceivable difficult social issue in America. For them to oppose the Court in this would be, for them, going against one of the founding principles (or should I say, "principles") of the party.

So, they’d rather the poor brain-damaged girl just die so they can return to scheming to get back the Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee. It's not like she’s eligible to vote anyway.

posted at 11:37 AM Oct 21, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

Monday October 20, 2003

THE LONGEST STRUGGLE

Go and read this article by Ralph Peters in the New York Post

posted at 12:54 PM Oct 20, 2003 by Rob Ritchie
Category : Must Read of the Day

Saturday October 18, 2003

Honestly, I think this guy should get a medal.

We've all suspected that many of the new security procedures supposedly protecting air travel were somewhat of a joke. (Here, here, and here.)

Now someone has shown us exactly how easy it is to smuggle bad stuff on board planes.

Better it be someone who wants to improve the system, than someone who wants to exploit it.

Update: Oh. My. God. FIVE WEEKS!!!!!!!

posted at 5:08 PM Oct 18, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

This seems like an appropriate story for the Halloween season:

Dead Man "Speaks"

posted at 5:05 PM Oct 18, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

The calm before the storm

Tonight is our costume party, and just about everything is ready.

House clean and tidy? check

Decorations in place? check

Costumes ready? check

Chicken wings orderd? oops, gotta go do that!

Beer chilled? Wine uncorked? Liquor stocked?check, check & check

We're going with a Western theme this year, so our decorations are appropriate. It's a big secret, so I can't tell you what our costumes are. (hint, hint)

posted at 4:17 PM Oct 18, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

Via Instapundit, I find this story:

Democrats rethink gun-control stance

Apparently, the Democratic Leadership Council, which is exacly what it sounds like, has found that the message they've been peddling for years ("Guns are much too dangerous to be in the hands of average citizens") makes them seem too "elitist".

So, they want to change that message, in order to make inroads into the political center of this country, the part that actually reveres the 2nd Amendment.

My question it, why are they doing this?

Have they, across the board, had a sudden awakening, slapped their collective foreheads and shouted "How wrong we were!"

Or do they just want back into power, regardless of the methods used? Will they say anything in order to get votes? And, after they get them, will they continue to support gun rights?

Has the leopard changed its spots?

"The formula for Democrats is to say that they support the Second Amendment, but that they want tough laws that close loopholes" in current gun laws, [Democratic pollster Mark Penn] said, adding that polls show the term "gun safety" is received better than the more commonly used term "gun control."

(Emphasis added by me.)

Whatever you might actually want to do, be sure you say the thing that's received better. That way, you'll get the votes.

Update: I'm not alone in this opinion

posted at 4:06 PM Oct 18, 2003 by Rob Ritchie

Friday October 17, 2003

Poll: 75% of Palestinians support Haifa restaurant attack

It's all very well and good to say that most Palistinians are terrific people that just want to raise their families in peace. But the truth is that 3 out of 4 think that murdering 28 people out having dinner in a nice restaurant is a fine thing to do.

Do they really love their children? If so, why do they do things like this?

posted at 7:15 PM Oct 17, 2003 by Rob Ritchie
Category : Muslims at play