Q. Tell us what you have liked the most and the least about the blogging experience thus far,
and (okay ... is this a bonus? ... I know you'll answer any way) what your plans are for your blog going forward.

A. Ah, well, Daisy Cutter knows this is a loaded question. He is the main reason I have a blog. He bugged me until I did it and then linked to my new site for a week or more. Not to belittle the efforts of Jeremy at American Warmonger who actually created the blog and handed it to me on silver email.

What have I liked the most? Getting to “know” people from all over the blogosphere. I haven’t yet met someone who wasn’t interesting. I love to talk to people. I love that people groan at the puns. Really. I’m sure that it’s a sadistic side of my personality.

The least? Ack, silence in the haloscan comments.... yup, ignore me and I fret ...

Going forward I hope to refine my own voice from the Left, to be clearer about my own political agenda, to write more of my own opinions, and to encourage discussion from all political views.

Q. Okay, so a person disagrees with you profoundly about an important matter and still wishes to persuade you of his or her position. What do you say to this would-be advocate?

A. I am willing to listen to any number of petitions and reasons for certain positions. I respect everyone’s right to their own opinion. But there is an old saying, “Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.”

Q. Tell me at least one thing you admire about three different conservative politicians.

A. Cough, gack, blech, yuck… OK. Deep breath, take a deep breath.

I know where you want me to go with this, to current American politicians. But my first conservative politician is Margaret Thatcher. She was controversial, hard line, disliked, well-liked, and was the making of/destruction of the British economy in the 1980’s. I admire her for being strong in her beliefs and maintaining her own agenda throughout the time she was in power. She was witty and concise.

OK. Lets see. Sigh. I admire George H. Bush for understanding that he was a good administrator but when it came to the Presidency, he lacked “that vision thing”. We tend to belittle that, but for me, it made him human. He is twice the president his son is.

I admired Ronald Reagan because he knew how to get others to work with him. He did it with Hollywood charisma, a humble down home attitude, and respect for those around him.

Q. You have a way of maintaining dialogue where others fail. To what do you attribute your ability to dialogue with and maintain friendships with conservatives where so many liberals fail?

A. Hmmmm. Not sure you just haven't read the right ones DC!
However.... I am honestly interested in what makes the other side tick. The Right has the ability to not feel guilty about writing aggressively, rudely, and crudely as long as it gets a laugh. I often do laugh. I comment or talk to those that I can find some corner of common ground. Sometimes that corner is very tiny. Having a conversation with someone that I disagree with often gives me insight. My father said that you cannot fight against that which you neither know nor understand. It also helps me define exactly where I am coming from. As I have read and conversed, I find my viewpoint moving farther to the left than I thought I was.

The interview meme started with stealing it from Cake Eater because it looked like fun. Well, it's my turn to answer. Daisy Cutter has posed the questions.... hmmm. One of which was exceedingly difficult to answer!

Q. What are the three biggest influences in your life and give us a couple sentences or so on each to explain why. (OK, scroll down before you fall asleep)

A. (1)My dad, a terrific example of someone who always tried to do the right thing.
A soft spoken man, voted Republican, was inclusive of all kinds of people in his life. I only argued with him twice; both times about politics, the argument wasn't about that though, it was because I had spoken disrespectfully of his views.

(2) The rest of my family. I come from a large family, 13 cousins, etc. Sunday afternoon dinners around my grandparents' dining table were an education all of itself. "Children" ate in the kitchen. So at the age of 7 or 8 you were sitting with the adults and you were expected to know what was going on in the world, have an opinion, and express it. It was a very supportive environment, but terrifying to have adults listening to YOUR uneducated childish thoughts.

(3) Religion. I was born into an Episcopalian family. I converted to Judaism after close consideration of my beliefs. My family is involved in religion - several ministers in the family tree, several in each generation back a couple hundred years, so it colors my world view.

(are you asleep yet???)

"Some pharmacists across the country are refusing to fill prescriptions for birth control and morning-after pills, saying that dispensing the medications violates their personal moral or religious beliefs."

"There are even cases of pharmacists holding prescriptions hostage, where they won't even transfer it to another pharmacy when time is of the essence.”

The pharmacist is says that birth control is against their personal moral or religious beliefs.

* * *

Some accountants across the country are refusing to file tax returns for pharmacists, saying that filing the return violates their personal moral or religious beliefs.

There are even cases of accountants holding original documents hostage, where they won’t even transfer it to another accountant when time is of the essence.

The accountant says that working for some someone who would withhold medical care from a person who needs it is against their moral or religious belief.

Some years ago I “acquired” four kittens. The first one was Wendell who was 2 weeks old when I got him. The others are Ollie, Brenda, and Wanda who were almost 4 weeks old. They were deserted by their mom.

This one is Brenda. She is often within a few feet of wherever I am and has taken to sitting on the back of my computer chair while I post the daily pun.

The police answered a call from the local convent about a strange object circling overhead. When the officer arrived, he asked the Mother Superior what kind of object it was. "I can't say", she replied, "but sister Elizabeth says she knows exactly what it was, do you want to speak with her?"

"That's ok", said the policeman, "I'll just put it down as a nun-identified flying object."

Ken at Ken is a Verb takes the challenge and here are his questions:

1.  If you had to choose an animal form what would it be?  Why?

2.   What is your earliest memory?

3.  Where do you go for really good food and what do you get?

4.  You have the opportunity to interview the Pope, what question do you ask first?

5.   What book do your read over and over again and what takes you back to it?

If that did not happen, students who sued the institution would have the support of a state law. The state Education Department warns of the fiscal effects in a bill analysis, stating Florida should be prepared to shell out at least $4.2 million a year to retain an attorney and pay anticipated legal costs if the bill passes.

Opponents say such a law flies in the face of free speech."

There is no need for such a law. Students can already speak their own opinions. And do you think that students should hear from an instructor that the Holocaust didn't happen? Will they hear about parallel universes in physics? Is the earth round or is that an optical illusion?

The quotes aren't all that inflammatory, though several mirror Starbucks' hallmark tall-grande-venti pretentiousness. Take this one from film critic Roger Ebert: "A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it."

The problem, critics say, is the company's list of overwhelmingly liberal contributors, including Al Franken, Melissa Etheridge, Quincy Jones, Chuck D. Of the 31 contributors listed on Starbucks' Web site, only one, National Review editor Jonah Goldberg, offers a conservative viewpoint."

Oh for petes sake... if you don't like the sayings don't read them or don't buy Starbucks. Yeesh. Whiners.

Read the rest

1. If you could ask Ann Bonny any question what would it be and why?

2. The perfect Sunday afternoon would be spent how?

3. Who would win in a mud-wrestling match Paris Hilton or Ann Coulter? Why?

4. What books are on your coffee table? Which one are you actually reading?

5. You've won the lottery - what is the first thing that you buy? Who else would be excited by this purchase?

Q. Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?
A. Noah: he floated his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.

Q. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible?
A. Pharaoh's daughter: she went down to the bank of the Nile and picked up a little prophet. (profit)

Q. What kind of man was Boaz before he got married?
A. Ruth-less.

Q. What kind of motor vehicles are in the Bible?
A. Jehovah drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury. David's Triumph was heard throughout the land. Hondas... because the Apostles were all in one Accord.

Q. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
A. Samson: he brought the house down.

Q. Where is the first baseball game in the Bible?
A. In the big inning. (beginning) Eve stole first, Adam stole second. Cain struck out Abel.

Q. How did Adam and Eve feel when expelled from the Garden of Eden?
A. They were really put out.

Q. What is one of the first things that Adam and Eve did after they were kicked out?
A. They really raised Cain whenever they were Able.

Purim is the most festive of Jewish holidays, a time of prizes, noisemakers, costumes and treats. The Festival of Purim commemorates a major victory over oppression and is recounted in the Megillah, the scroll of the story of Esther. Purim takes place on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar, the twelfth month of the Jewish calendar. This year (2005) Purim begins at sundown on the 24th of March.

The games at the Coliseum were scheduled to begin at three o'clock sharp, and Caesar decided to attend. He called Brutus, and instructed him to have the chariot standing by.

"What time do you want to leave?", inquired Brutus.

The Emperor, knowing that the ride from the palace to the Coliseum would take exactly an hour, and not wishing to be late, replied, "At two, Brute!"

I was a Teenage Republican. Working my precinct for Barry Goldwater, I got a thorough education in what real Republicans believe. And whether I still agree with all I learned then, I will always understand and respect it. I'm just not sure the people calling themselves Republicans today do."
Read the rest.

h/t Pusillanimous Wankers

Marcy was married to Ed Smith. Unfortunately, she was also married to Ed Jones. The woman was eventually caught, charged with bigamy and brought to trial.

When the incredulous judge asked how she could have done such a thing, Marcy replied, "Well, your honor, you know they say that two Eds are better than one."

Once upon a time there was a blog-father. This blog-father encouraged a blog-child. He offered support, advice, and kind words. The child was grateful and thankful in return.

Then, as all children do, the child grew and became a blog adolescent. The adolescent began to have ideas of it’s own. Not only that, they were very different from the father’s ideas and not always very respectful.

The father became angry and admonished the child to straighten up and be respectful of him. The child responded by stating that it was now its own person with ideas and a voice of it’s own.

The father demanded the child either toe the line or move away, and if the choice was to move away, not expect any further support from him. How sad, after all he had done for the child.

And so. The child moved away.

Thank you for your kindesses, DC. I will always be grateful.

"Your Rights Online: Contrabandwidth
Censorship
Posted by timothy on Sunday March 20, @01:02PM
tcd004 writes "Kate Palmer writes in Foreign Policy Magazine that an international black market for Internet access has arisen in many authoritarian countries who keep their populations offline. Savvy black marketers in cybercafes, universities, private homes, and elsewhere are exploiting technological loopholes to circumvent government filters and charge fees for access. According to OpenNet Initiative, a nonprofit that tracks banned sites, visiting a single website in Saudi Arabia can cost anywhere from $26 to $67. And as censorship spreads, the prices are only going up." It's just a few paragraphs, but thought provoking."

I think it’s time to put the question to you directly. Who out there will make this pledge:

If the FEC makes rules that limit my First Amendment right to express my opinion on core political issues, I will not obey those rules.

I'll agree to that. I'll go one step further.

If the FEC makes rules that limit my Constitutionally guaranteed Right to Free Speech, I will not only not obey the rules, and I will continue to blog the same way, and will spam John MaCain and Russel Feingold's websites, as well as any other politician that backs those un-Constitutional rules. F#ck 'em.

Here is the list so far of those who have responded to Patterico."

(Apologies for being techno-illiterate about trackbacks... i would have used that if i could figure it out...

Little Jimmie carefully pulled back the spring on the snap trap. Gently he laid the sliver of apple pie as a lure in the trap and then he sat back on the dock to watch. Jimmie’s brother walked over and sat next to him. “ya know, you can’t catch mice with apple pie, they don’t like it”

Incredulous, Jimmie said, “mice? I don’t want mice, I want pirates!!"

He replied, "Maybe that's how God did it."

For me it is sad to see this as an either/or argument. I do not see the conflict, because "Maybe that's how God did it."

Captain Kidd and his crew were on the high seas when they were attacked by Blackbeard, their arch enemy.

The first shot by Blackbeard's gunners took off Kidd's forward mast. The second shot splintered the center mast, and the third disintegrated the rear mast.

Panic stricken, one of Kidd's men asked what they should do.

"We have no choice but to surrender", replied the pirate, "He's using weapons of mast destruction!"

Like the fisherman said to his relatives on Thanksgiving..."C'mon over just for the halibut."
Nickie Goomba | Homepage | 12.22.04 - 5:20 pm |

"Oh" said the counselor, "I see what the problem is. You can't decide whether to marry for batter or verse."

The "infinite" projection is one that the American Academy of Actuaries says is likely to mislead the public into thinking the system "is in far worse financial condition than is actually indicated," and therefore should not be used to explain the long-term outlook."

"No need to panic," said a fellow bassist. "I thought we might need some extra time, so I tied the last few pages of the conductor's score together with string. It'll take him a few minutes to get it untangled."

A few moments later they staggered back to the concert hall and took their places in the orchestra. About this time, a member of the audience noticed the conductor seemed a bit edgy and said as much to her companion.

"Well, of course," said her companion. "Don't you see? It's the bottom of the Ninth, the score is tied, and the bassists are loaded."