tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:11:10 +0000Random and semi-random musings by me for any poor fool who might happen to stumble across them...http://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)Blogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-5819165781221157243Sun, 22 Feb 2009 03:50:00 +00002009-02-21T21:40:40.348-07:00EconomyOn the rare occasion when we have nothing better to do, Mrs. Pundit and I sit down and watch one of those shows where some expert in cleanliness and/or organization comes in and helps some poor soul with a messy house. You know the kind of show I'm talking about...in the first segment, we are shown from room to room where there is stuff piled high enough to lose a toddler in, leaving only a thinhttp://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2009/02/clean-economy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-9009916933327193139Wed, 17 Dec 2008 04:45:00 +00002008-12-16T21:59:27.298-07:00FaithEconomyI wonder why I haven't seen more pieces like this. The perennial question at such times is, Where is God in the disaster, whetherour losses be small or large? Well, one of the oldest economic pamphlets stillin existence — the Book of Amos — has been arguing for 2,800 years that God isin the middle of disaster.It's worth reading in its entirety.Maybe I am strange (OK, I know I'm a bit odd, but http://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2008/12/ancient-wisdom.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-3460372340181878271Wed, 03 Dec 2008 03:17:00 +00002008-12-02T20:31:01.597-07:00Kids of IraqIraqI'd like to take a moment to post about an organization that I was involved with while I was deployed to Iraq last winter. Kids of Iraq started as an outreach to the community from a military facility in central Iraq to the local residents "outside the wire". Some of the company grade officers had the idea that they could collect clothes and school supplies from the US and distribute them to http://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2008/12/kids-of-iraq.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-2150834040072935146Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:25:00 +00002008-11-24T21:14:26.902-07:00IraqDemocracyMiddle EastThe American election season is (finally!) over, or maybe it is just beginning all over again. These days, who can tell? In the aftermath, I have been very interested in some of the comments from overseas, not just the news organizations, but also from some of the blogs I read on a regular basis. One of my favorites for inside information on Iraq is Iraq the Model, written by a couple of Iraqi http://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2008/11/perspective-on-elections.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-2387723597412921488Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:14:00 +00002008-11-19T19:35:27.266-07:00stem cellsMedicineethicsA Colombian mother of two living in Spain has received a trachea transplant, receiving a windpipe made partially from her own stem cells. While the headline reads "Breakthrough Windpipe Transplant Uses Stem Cells," it is obvious from the first line of the story that the stem cells were not embryonic, but came from her own bone marrow. This is yet another example of a number of stem cell http://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2008/11/stem-cell-miracle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-5597526970131515818Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:53:00 +00002008-11-11T18:05:27.164-07:00IslamThanks to the Jawa Report for this piece that almost certainly wasn't supposed to be fodder for the general pubic. But it was Choudary who rose to put her in her place. "Islam is not a religion of peace," he said. "It is a religion of submission. We need to submit to the will of Allah."From my understanding, this is theologically correct, as a Muslim is "one who submits". Of course, that is ahttp://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2008/11/religion-of-peace-indeed.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-963148389149726703Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:07:00 +00002008-11-04T22:27:25.923-07:00IslamDemocracyTwo posts from Jihad Watch highlight the unpleasant fact that many Muslims do in fact want to change our political system. This would not be significant, except for the fact that most of the US is trying desperately to ignore the radicalized portion of Islam and pretend that we can get along peaceably with them. The first article describes an essay posted by the treasurer of the Muslim Student http://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2008/11/islamists-and-democracy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-5180545117072749789Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:54:00 +00002008-11-04T21:57:02.852-07:00MediaI saw this yesterday and almost laughed out loud: “Groundbreaking research suggests that pregnancy rates are much higheramong teens who watch a lot of TV with sexual dialogue and behavior than amongthose who have tamer viewing tastes.”Read moreI really think this is so obvious that it needs little additional comment. However, I will say one thing: If those who claim that viewing media images ofhttp://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2008/11/newsflash-television-can-influence.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-6039672675133733539Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:51:00 +00002008-11-02T13:29:45.798-07:00EducationIn what is becoming a depressingly regular pattern, California is the home of yet another attempt to indoctrinate children with a leftist worldview: During a celebration of National Ally Week, Tara Miller, a teacher at the FaithRinggold School of Arts and Science in Hayward, Calif., passed out cardsproduced by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network to her class ofkindergartners.The cardshttp://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2008/11/in-what-is-becoming-depressingly.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-1636085357714257940Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:23:00 +00002008-10-25T09:48:30.680-06:00At first, I wasn't surprised when I read this. NAZRAN, Russia (Reuters) - Armed men drove into Russia'sIngushetia region and abducted up to 15 people including policemen from acheckpoint and a slot machine parlour, police and witnesses said onFriday...Islamist groups fighting an insurgency in Ingushetia againstMoscow's rule frequently target gambling halls and shops selling alcohol, sayingthey http://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2008/10/at-first-i-wasnt-surprised-when-i-read.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-4753806513715308015Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:24:00 +00002008-10-22T21:38:36.504-06:00OK, so I know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month (how could anyone NOT know...you can't get away from it), but it seems like you can't turn on the TV or radio or look at a magazine or newspaper without being reminded of it. Now I'm not going to say that it is a bad thing to raise money to fight a deadly disease, or that we shouldn't be raising awareness of treatments and preventative http://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2008/10/ok-so-i-know-that-october-is-breast.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-6586080857094354323Wed, 22 Oct 2008 02:39:00 +00002008-10-21T20:49:14.971-06:00OK, so if you are a faithful reader...well, if you claim to be a faithful reader, you are lying. I think I have been so dreadfully inconsistent here that even my mother doesn't remember that I ever posted here. So, for those of you who are somehow stumbling onto this blog for the first time (you know who you are), please know that I will in fact get better at posting here. It actually is not http://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2008/10/ok-so-if-you-are-faithful-reader.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-113980730028569230Mon, 13 Feb 2006 05:06:00 +00002006-02-12T22:08:20.296-07:00This is a test post.http://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2006/02/this-is-test-post.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-88493144Mon, 03 Feb 2003 21:54:00 +00002003-02-03T15:14:40.000-07:00This is the result of another conversation at my day job. The ideal of politics is rather bizzare, but none the less noble for that. It is that the people-all of the people, not just the powerful-should have a say in the way government is run. Since we live in a republic, not a true democracy, we the people do not vote on each and every piece of legislation, nor would we desire to do so. Thishttp://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2003/02/this-is-result-of-another-conversation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-87992368Sat, 25 Jan 2003 04:20:00 +00002003-01-24T21:20:27.246-07:00There are two important things going on in the world right now, the pending war with Iraq, and the potential civil war in Venezuela. Unfortunately, only one of these is getting much coverage in the press. This is odd, because we import a sizable percent of our oil from Venezuela (about 30%, if I remember correctly). A distubance in that flow of oil would almost certainly have an effect on our http://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2003/01/there-are-two-important-things-going.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-87611169Fri, 17 Jan 2003 22:21:00 +00002003-01-17T15:21:59.180-07:00It seems like I can't listen to the radio or read any news today without hearing about all of the "anti-war protests" scheduled for this weekend (see here, and here for a small sample). Most of the stories mention that major Hollywood celebrities are supporting these protests. Given the record of those on the "Left Coast", I am inclined to believe that anything they support is something that I http://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2003/01/it-seems-like-i-cant-listen-to-radio.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-87605801Fri, 17 Jan 2003 20:17:00 +00002003-01-17T13:17:47.070-07:00Wow, it has been a long time since I have posted anything. To my loyal readers, I must apologize (Mom & Dad, I'm sorry). I will try to do better in the future. One of the things I do at my day job in order to make my life a bit more exciting is to locate news items that are a bit provocative and send them to a few coworkers for comment. Since we often disagree, this is usually good for a few http://pseudopundit.blogspot.com/2003/01/wow-it-has-been-long-time-since-i-have.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-80286316Thu, 15 Aug 2002 18:53:00 +00002002-08-15T12:53:56.420-06:00Over the past few days, several of my coworkers and I have been engaged in a debate over gun control. As a product of a family where hunting came almost as naturally as breathing, I had always rejected the arguments almost without hearing them. As the discussion progressed, it was as if I was hearing the arguments for the first time. We spent a great deal of time tossing surveys and studies atnoreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-77071992Tue, 28 May 2002 18:39:00 +00002002-05-28T12:39:45.583-06:00I subscribe to US News & World Report each week. Most weeks, I can't decide whether to laugh or cry. Some samples from this week: Page 16 - John Walters, the nation's newest drug czar, demonstrated that there actually are a few people in Washington with actual spines. He went on record as saying that the government's ubiquitous ad campaign designed to keep kids off drugs is not working. In noreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-76933087Fri, 24 May 2002 18:48:00 +00002002-05-24T12:48:34.490-06:00This one is interesting, but incomplete. Apparently, some Catholics are upset with certain Hollywood types for their habit of wearing crosses as jewelry. The official news service of the Vatican, Fides, has posted an opinion by Andrea Piersanti, who is apparently someone deemed worthy of speaking for Rome. She finds this habit "incomprehensible" and questions whether it is "consistent with noreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-76805317Tue, 21 May 2002 17:37:00 +00002002-05-21T11:37:42.993-06:00On today's Fox News website are two stories. Each by itself would be merely interesting, perhaps, but the juxtaposition is fascinating. First, a stripper is disgusted that the private Christian school where she wants to send her daughter will not allow the girl to attend classes. She has quit her job for now, but may go back. She is not going to try to send the kindergartner to the school noreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-76584148Wed, 15 May 2002 18:26:00 +00002002-05-15T12:26:09.400-06:00An open letter to the President of the United States: Mr. President - I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the willingness of the White House and the U.S delegation to the World Summit on Children for standing strong and holding fast to what most Americans do, in fact, believe. Strong families are vital not only to the stability of the American culture, but also to the noreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-76510829Mon, 13 May 2002 21:58:00 +00002002-05-13T15:58:27.236-06:00HIPOCRICY ALERT!!! Once again, the nefarious forces on the Left prove that their only real motive is to undermine the traditional religious and family institutions. Fox News reports on a Supreme Court case involving the Child Online Protection Act. Pay special attention to this quote “In writing the [Child Online Protection Act], Congress said ‘contemporary community standards’ should guide noreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-76497569Mon, 13 May 2002 15:19:00 +00002002-05-13T09:19:22.500-06:00Ahhh, freedom of choice. The liberty to decide one's own fate is a cornerstone of the American way of life (and indeed of much Christian theology, unless you happen to be a Calvinist - but that's a discussion for another time). It seems, though, that when many people speak of "freedom of choice", what they really mean is "MY freedom of choice, regardless of the consequences for anyone else". noreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3465659.post-76318735Wed, 08 May 2002 22:02:00 +00002002-05-08T16:02:44.910-06:00This is really interesting. Advocates of embryonic stem-cell research would have us to believe that there is no promise in adult stem cells. Their mantra is that only stem cells from destroyed human embryos have any therapeutic value. Here is a study that shows that adult stem cells, which do not require the death of an embryo, can be an effective treatment for final-stage heart disease. noreply@blogger.com (The Pundit)0