The Poet Omar on Jul 12 2007 | Filed under: Religion and theology, The Poet Omar's Page
Boy oh boy! Were the headlines in the media and blogosphere ever more hyperbolic and littered with ignorance than they were today? Actually, they probably have been, but today’s gaggle of garbage certainly has to rank up in the top ten media explosions (or should I say implosions since, as usual, they’ve gotten [...]
The Poet Omar on Jul 12 2007 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Economics, Environment, The Poet Omar's Page
Since the entire concept of carbon credits emerged a few years ago, I’ve constantly found myself questioning not only the actual effectiveness, but also the underlying motivation behind them. Donating or purchasing carbon credits basically seemed, to me at least, to be the designer way for rich (or wealthier than average) people to buy [...]
The Poet Omar on Jul 12 2007 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, The Poet Omar's Page
Once again, Louisiana leads the nation in the “bad” categories. In this case, it’s per capita number of national level elected officials involved in scandals. While Representative William Jefferson winds his way toward what I can only hope will be jail, Senator David Vitter has recently been exposed as a “not so family [...]
The Poet Omar on Jun 09 2007 | Filed under: Culture, Domestic Politics, Election 2008, Libertarianism, The Poet Omar's Page
As yet another sign of the coming Apocalypse, politicians and political hacks are now channeling their energy (albeit a very small amount of it) into creating video games about politics. Have a look at this article detailing two of the newest games in this field. While the actual interfacing of politics and the [...]
The Poet Omar on Jun 01 2007 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Notes on the war, The Poet Omar's Page
This announcement was made a few days ago, but I felt that it was important enough to comment on. While it cannot be denied that Cindy Sheehan has damaged the efforts of the troops in the field and the progress of the war on the domestic front, I believe that the underlying psychology behind [...]
The Poet Omar on Jun 01 2007 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, The Poet Omar's Page
Apparently, Congressman Murtha was absent when Democrats were campaigning on the earmark reform platform during last year’s elections. Oops, wait a minute… maybe he wasn’t. Have a look at this lovely CNN piece on Murtha’s actions on earmark reform versus his words on earmark reform.
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The Poet Omar on May 26 2007 | Filed under: Culture, The Poet Omar's Page
Since it is a long weekend, I’ll happily provide some extra geeky goodness for your enjoyment. First, take a look at what really happened after the first Death Star was blown up. Then, see Vader having a real heart to heart with Luke. Future plans to mess with Star Wars. How [...]
The Poet Omar on May 26 2007 | Filed under: Culture, The Poet Omar's Page
Recently, BBC America has announced its plan to air the entire first season (first series to you Euro-types) of Torchwood during its summer restructuring. Despite a fair degree of success in attraction US viewership, the execs at BBCA felt that a radical restructuring of the network’s programming selections and scheduling would boost its moderate [...]
The Poet Omar on May 19 2007 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Sports, The Poet Omar's Page
Apparently Democrat Congressman from California, Tom Lantos, has decided that Congress’ recent attacks on Major League Baseball and its various teams and athletes just weren’t enough. Now, it seems, the NFL is in for it. Citing the recent investigation into Atlanta Falcons’ Quarterback Michael Vick’s former home in Virginia, the distinguished gentleman from [...]
The Poet Omar on May 16 2007 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, The Poet Omar's Page
I didn’t have the opportunity to watch the entire Republican Presidential candidate debate, but I felt that the highlights mentioned at Fox News were informative enough about the frontrunners positions to be worthy of comment. My own breakdown follows the comments:
WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidates were basking in their own glory on Wednesday after [...]
The Poet Omar on Apr 26 2007 | Filed under: Environment, Technology, The Poet Omar's Page
Professor Richard Horden of University of Munich recently unveiled a new permanent or semi-permanent housing unit design: the m-ch. While not exactly a title that set marketing execs hearts aflutter, the idea is actually pretty amusing. The original concept was to provide short-stay facilities for business people, researchers, etc. who would need to [...]
The Poet Omar on Apr 20 2007 | Filed under: Foreign affairs, Military Matters, Notes on the war, The Poet Omar's Page
This is a great piece from former SpecWar officer, Vietnam War veteran and father of SEAL Team Six, Commander Richard Marcinko. For those unfamiliar with Commander Marcinko’s rise and fall, his autobiography makes for excellent, though highly graphic reading. I’ve had the honor of chatting with Commander Marcinko a few times in the [...]
The Poet Omar on Apr 13 2007 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Law, The Poet Omar's Page
This story absolutely left me speechless (a difficult thing to accomplish). I really thought that I had seen just about everything. Even Hollywood couldn’t come up with a story like this.
Update: The accused has been found guilty. Google the story and you’ll already find people claiming that she has [...]
The Poet Omar on Apr 07 2007 | Filed under: Culture, Religion and theology, The Poet Omar's Page, social science
I think that this story and the conclusions it references can be filed under the category of, “see, I told you so.” Or perhaps, “tell me something else that I already knew.”
Let’s look at what took the APA such a great amount of time and resources to “objectively determine,”: the media and advertisers [...]
The Poet Omar on Mar 27 2007 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Military Matters, The Poet Omar's Page
This article gives a few quick details on the “60 Minutes” interview given by Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich regarding his actions in Haditha, Iraq on November 19, 2005. Examine the key final paragraph which is Wuterich’s explanation and evaluation of the events on that fateful day nearly a year and a half ago. [...]
The Poet Omar on Mar 27 2007 | Filed under: Foreign affairs, The Poet Omar's Page
Update and correction: Keith has provied me with the correct link to the article in question, so I have deleted the full version of it from this post and substituted the link, instead. Much thanks!
This article by Iranian scholar and journalist Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich was passed on to me by a friend. Here is [...]
The Poet Omar on Mar 20 2007 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Military Matters, The Poet Omar's Page
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs recently “clarified” a statement that he made to the Chicago Tribune regarding the immorality of homosexual behavior. General Peter Pace suggested that he should have focused his comments more on the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell policy,” rather than on his personal beliefs about morality. While I [...]
The Poet Omar on Feb 25 2007 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Religion and theology, The Poet Omar's Page
Although I haven’t yet had the opportunity to study this site in detail, I was quite interested in its basic premise : Islam and Libertarianism are not only quite compatible, but actually darn near separated at birth. That’s actually quite close to my thinking on these philosophies and I am thrilled that someone has [...]
The Poet Omar on Feb 16 2007 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Religion and theology, The Poet Omar's Page
Many people in the US have become aware, some more recently than others, of the antics of alleged separation of church and state group, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. They have formally existed since 1947 and claim to be non-partisan, non-sectarian advocates of the absolute separation of religion from politics. [...]
The Poet Omar on Feb 15 2007 | Filed under: Books, Environment, Religion and theology, The Poet Omar's Page
We’ve recently sparked some interesting discussions on climate change and global warming here at ASHC. I’d like to add a little fuel (biodegradable, earth-friendly fuel, of course) to the fire by recommending this article on Dr. David Orrell’s new book, Apollo’s Arrow. Although I have not yet had the opportunity to read Dr. [...]
The Poet Omar on Feb 12 2007 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Religion and theology, The Poet Omar's Page
This is an interesting look at the dark side of Scientology. For years, we’ve been bombarded with the idea that Scientology is merely a new religion facing massive prejudice by an unenlightened population led by old-guard church leaders who refuse to allow any encroachment on their turf. Well, turns out Scientology is just [...]
The Poet Omar on Feb 05 2007 | Filed under: Sports, The Poet Omar's Page
Although not a huge fan of either of the teams playing in this year’s Superbowl, I admit to being both impressed and happy that Indy won. The first quarter made me doubt Indy’s chances, but they struggled back to to take the lead heading into halftime. Peyton Manning can now put the ghost [...]
The Poet Omar on Jan 20 2007 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, The Poet Omar's Page
This is a nice example of why I take paleocons even less seriously than I take diehard, doctrinaire Libertarians. As some QandO commenters are fond of saying (in full snark mode), “It’s all dem Joos’ fault!”
Here’s a post from Da Man himself, Patrick J. Buchanan. Notice that Buchanan implies his agreement with those [...]
The Poet Omar on Jan 15 2007 | Filed under: Foreign affairs, The Poet Omar's Page
I daresay that those who have read my recent posts on President Bush’s new strategy for Iraq and my comments here, at QandO, and elsewhere believe that I am fairly gloomy in my outlook on the situation in Iraq. I believe that is very likely an accurate assessment and I continue to be highly [...]
The Poet Omar on Jan 11 2007 | Filed under: Economics, Foreign affairs, The Poet Omar's Page
As I have been accused of being rather “dour” in my outlook on world affairs today, I thought that this story would “brighten” things a bit. This is very exciting news, not because I am necessarily a huge fan of the WTO (I’m not), but because it represents a massive step forward for Vietnam. [...]
The Poet Omar on Jan 11 2007 | Filed under: Foreign affairs, The Poet Omar's Page
Much discussion of the President’s speech has gone on of late throughout the wonderful world of blogging. Although I have at least skimmed some of the major left/right/center blogs, I have really only dedicated significant time to following this discussion on QandO blog. The relevant links are here, here, and here. In [...]
The Poet Omar on Jan 11 2007 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Economics, Investing, The Poet Omar's Page
This is an interesting take on the new Dem Congress from Real Estate Broker and “The Apprentice 3″ winner, Kendra Todd. I’m hardly an expert on matters of real estate speculation, but I’d like to examine this brief articles contentions in a bit more detail.
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The Poet Omar on Jan 05 2007 | Filed under: Foreign affairs, History, The Poet Omar's Page
One of the most frequently heard talking points amongst US foreign policy “Realists” is that not every culture in the world is a suitable breeding ground for democracy. General Brent Scowcroft is one of the most recognized prophets of this philosophy, but I cannot begin to count the numbers of those on both the [...]
The Poet Omar on Jan 05 2007 | Filed under: Religion and theology, The Poet Omar's Page
I was reading several recent posts from Muslims around the world dealing with their experience of the Hajj and its impact on them personally and on life in general. As one who has completed it, I can certainly say that it is a spiritually uplifting experience and that, although difficult and exhausting physically, it [...]
The Poet Omar on Jan 01 2007 | Filed under: Culture, The Poet Omar's Page
This is the great finale that we’ve been promised for nearly twenty years. It’s about time that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg live up to the hype that’s been building. Here’s hoping that there are no further delays and that we can finally get our fill of Indy. I’ll be counting down [...]
The Poet Omar on Dec 31 2006 | Filed under: Foreign affairs, The Poet Omar's Page
Ding dong the witch is dead. Saddam is finally gone. Whether that actually changes anything or not in Iraq remains to be seen, but the thirty year chapter of war, corruption, rape, murder, and genocide that was Saddam’s regime closed for good December 30, 2006. The next chapter of Iraq’s history is [...]
The Poet Omar on Dec 12 2006 | Filed under: Culture, The Poet Omar's Page
I have quite firmly announced my status as an MMORPG’er on this very site in the recent past. I am still quite proud of it. Having said that, I acknowledge that participation in MMORPG’s, like participation in most hobbies, doesn’t actually contribute to the overrall betterment of mankind (I daresay MMORPG producers would [...]
The Poet Omar on Dec 02 2006 | Filed under: Religion and theology, The Poet Omar's Page
Islam Q and A. I know, gentle readers, you’ve missed it. You’ve beaten your chests and gnashed your teeth. You’ve stared holes into your monitor screens. And now, your wailings and gnashings of teeth can end. Friday Islam Q and A is back.
Honestly, I discontinued this regular post for awhile, [...]
The Poet Omar on Nov 27 2006 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Libertarianism, The Poet Omar's Page
Although the world is certainly a darker place without the presence of champion of Libertarian ideals, Milton Friedman, I always felt that my libertarian leanings were more a product of the late Robert Nozick than more traditional authors like Friedman or F.A. Hayek. For an example of one of Nozick’s pieces for CATO, see [...]
The Poet Omar on Nov 27 2006 | Filed under: Culture, Religion and theology, The Poet Omar's Page
Keith sent this very interesting link to Michael awhile back and he forwarded it to me. This is a great example of a moderate Muslim voice trying to offer a little fragment of the positive relationship that Jews and Muslims have enjoyed in the past. Mansur also offers advice for the future and [...]
Lance on Nov 16 2006 | Filed under: Books, Developmental economics, Domestic Politics, Economics, History, Keith's Page, Lance's Page, Law, Libertarianism, MichaelW's Page, Milton Friedman Memorial Page, The Poet Omar's Page
Last Updated at 10:23PM Central Time
For all of our coverage of the passing of Milton Friedman, and all the links you could ever want, go to our Milton Friedman Memorial page.
From Pejman,”That’s right. A lecture concerning a mundane topic like the creation of a pencil was made dazzling and fascinating by Milton Friedman. Imagine what [...]
The Poet Omar on Nov 14 2006 | Filed under: Culture, Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, The Poet Omar's Page
All of the talk lately around the blogsphere tends to drift toward the Iraq War and how it will be handled in the very near future. Some bloggers have also discussed the plans that the incoming Democrat leadership will be putting in place (or trying to) come next session. Given the extremely serious [...]
The Poet Omar on Nov 14 2006 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, The Poet Omar's Page
Of all the comments I’ve seen on the results of last week’s election, I think Pat Sajak really does sum it up best. Yes, that Pat Sajak.
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The Poet Omar on Nov 09 2006 | Filed under: Culture, The Poet Omar's Page
After negotiations with SF mayor Gavin Newsom, yes that Gavin Newsom, broke down, the team announced it’s decision to pack up and move. Theoretically, this could be as soon as 2008 when their lease runs up, although they could always renew it for another few years if need be. So, now the great [...]
The Poet Omar on Nov 09 2006 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, Media, The Poet Omar's Page
This little charmer from the AP appeared on Fox News’ website today. Although I haven’t done a lot of “fisking” in the past, I’m going to attempt to do so now as this article is pure garbage and deserves to be treated as such and placed in the appropriate receptacle.
MADRID, Spain — [...]
The Poet Omar on Nov 08 2006 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, The Poet Omar's Page
That’s what brought the Dems control of the United States Congress (they have the House clearly and will probably get the Senate). Of course, given the ineptness of the Republican leadership, it was the Dems’ race to lose. Let me be on record here as congratulating the Dem leadership for running a great [...]
The Poet Omar on Nov 07 2006 | Filed under: Books, The Poet Omar's Page
I’ve been reading quite a bit lately (big surprise, I know). In addition to re-reading TME mentioned below, I’ve also been reading a much more pop history type book (although a pretty darn good one), Team of Rivals : The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Although a bit light [...]
The Poet Omar on Nov 07 2006 | Filed under: Books, The Poet Omar's Page
I’m not really one to do book reviews. Frankly, I’m considered by colleagues to be overly critical. Almost every biography I’ve been asked to review I’ve rejected as shameless hagiography; every theology or comparative religious work incorrectly formatted for the target market (do not discuss the differences between the existentialist theories of Paul [...]
The Poet Omar on Nov 04 2006 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Foreign affairs, The Poet Omar's Page
Over at QandO, McQ has posted an interesting take on the old US is a paper tiger debate. While he makes some excellent points, I consider that the “paper tiger” issue misses the more important point about the American people as a whole. See my comments there (near the bottom) for more on [...]
The Poet Omar on Oct 25 2006 | Filed under: Economics, Religion and theology, The Poet Omar's Page
***Update*** A point I neglected to mention is that distributism, like Marxism, seems overly concerned with labor and production of concrete goods. It does not adequately address what could broadly be considered the “service sector,” which could be said to include anyone who does not directly produce a concrete product (bankers, financial professionals, [...]
The Poet Omar on Oct 23 2006 | Filed under: Domestic Politics, The Poet Omar's Page
It seems like Queen Hilary I may be in for more of a nomination fight than may have initially been thought. Recent Democratic party golden boy Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. has just indicated that he is seriously considering throwing his hat into the ring. While I’m thrilled to see a minority candidate for [...]
The Poet Omar on Oct 22 2006 | Filed under: Environment, The Poet Omar's Page
I know, I know. This is one of the signs of the Apocalypse. Actually, believe it or not, I find that this happens more often than you’d think. The specific issue that I’m referring to here is the idea that corporate welfare needs to end. This is a great piece on how the American Smelting [...]
The Poet Omar on Oct 20 2006 | Filed under: Culture, The Poet Omar's Page
Like many other people who find themselves slightly to the right of the Hollywood crowd (both politically and geographically speaking), I find myself constantly baffled by the fact that despite the legions of potential conservative or libertarian movie fans out there, very few conservative or libertarian films every appear at our local twelve screener. In the past, [...]
The Poet Omar on Oct 18 2006 | Filed under: Culture, Foreign affairs, The Poet Omar's Page
I recently had a chance to read this very interesting post dealing with Stephen Browne’s Observations on Arabs. Woody M. at GM’s Corner blog has dissected Browne’s analysis and offered up a few observations and questions. It’s actually quite a good post and I recommend having a look at it. The original post from Stephen [...]
The Poet Omar on Oct 17 2006 | Filed under: Foreign affairs, The Poet Omar's Page
Early this morning, North Korea issued a statement indicating that the UN Security Council resolution calling for sanctions and an end to it’s nuclear weapons program was tantamount to a declaration of war. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1161079746602&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home also covered here http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/17/world/main2096678.shtml (with slightly more amusing graphic of Kim Jong-Il).
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Risk and Return Multinational Force-Iraq