Month: August 2012

Member Post

sawatdeekaJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member
By sawatdeeka
sawatdeeka Member
Hello. My Ricochet name, sawatdeeka, is a Thai greeting that women use. Men would say, "sawatdeekap." So, sawatdeeka. Here are some bio basics: -I've been a wife for half my life, and we're parents of two teenage daughters. -I work in education, mainly from home doing mostly curriculum and instruction for a small Christian school in California (title: accreditation coordinator). -I taught humanities to junior high and some high school from about '97 to '99, before I had my daughters. … [more]
|
1 COMMENTS
 

One of the admittedly twisted joys of practical reading is happening upon bad behavioral examples. I need to be careful with this, I know, because I shrink from having my behavior ever being held up as a negative type for others to avoid. There are many cases where I could just as easily have stumbled […]

Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Get your first month free.

Member Post

Doug Kimball
By Doug Kimball
Doug Kimball Thatcher
First posted in August 2011 and I've been subjecting the Ricochetti to my conservative opinions for a long time. I also contribute as my alter ego, El Colonel, with offerings of poetry, stories and even serialized novels. Peter Robinson and I attended Dartmouth together, but I'm two years his senior, not nearly so genteel, and did not know him at the time. I abandonned my BA in English, got an MBA and pursued commerce with modest success. Ricochet has provided a kind and like minded audience and… [more]
|
5 COMMENTS
 

Paul Ryan gave us one of those rare moments in his acceptance speech last night, a moment of clarity that defines a generation. He spoke of our grown children, in their twenties, stuck in some kind of intergenerational time warp, living with parents, still sleeping in the room they called theirs in grade school. We’ve […]

Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Get your first month free.

Member Post

Bereket KelileJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member
By Bereket Kelile
Bereket Kelile Member
I am a God-and-country conservative. I'm a USAF Vet, Bibliophile, Foodie, Writer (see blog), Coffee Connoisseur, & Music Lover.
|
8 COMMENTS
 

Listening to Peter on NPR discussing Romney and his message on the economy got me thinking again about the vague dialogue about the issue. Maybe I haven’t seen it but it seems like virtually no one is talking about the economy in big picture terms. I hear about healthcare, jobs, housing, debt, the federal budget, […]

Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Get your first month free.

Contributor Post Created with Sketch. Misery Tourism in the Western Sahara: Kerry Kennedy

Elizabeth Blackney
By Elizabeth Blackney
Elizabeth Blackney Contributor
Enjoys playing with fire. Loves racing, Africa, Italia & yes, I am a Republican.
|
4 COMMENTS
 

Kerry Kennedy, of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, recently visited the Western Sahara and refugee camps in Algeria. She penned a piece about her visit for the Huffington Post, which relays a harrowing tale of secret police possibly harassing and beating a woman, something she observed while travelling with her 17-year-old daughter and RFK Center colleagues in El Aaiún, Western Sahara, a disputed territory in Morocco.

Her companions included Aminatou Haidar, an ally of the Algerian Government masquerading as a human rights activist. Her campaigns to help the indigenous Sahrawi, while well-intentioned, often seem clouded by political motivations rather than driven by facts. In the refugee camps, thousands are held hostage by the Polisario Front (a separatist group) and their Algerian patrons. Their status as hostages is often overlooked by Haidar and the RFK Center. The diplomatic relations between the Polisario and Moroccan government are in a a constant state of tension, as citizens are held in the balance. Haidar relies on the Kennedy Center for visibility and credibility. With Kennedy’s visit, she received just that.

Preview Open

Member Post

Scott RJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member
By Scott R
Scott R Member
Grad of Ohio St. Univ. (1991, history & English); self-employed contractor/landscaper since 1994; happy husband (love you M); proud father of two good kids -- a daughter, 18, and a son, 17.
|
50 COMMENTS
 

I wonder if anyone’s evolved on this like I have. Until a couple years back I considered it good parenting to be an “honest broker” when explaining political divisions with my kids: I’d present both sides as respectfully as I could, say which side I agreed with, and leave it at that. Now I consider it my duty […]

Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Get your first month free.

Member Post

GrendelJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member
By Grendel
Grendel Member
|
1 COMMENTS
 

People have said the Ryan pick shows that Mitt Romney doesn’t just want to be president, doing little to disturb the status quo, that he wants his campaign to be an opportunity for the country to debate the big matters of budgetary restraint and entitlements. H’mm. If he did want to be a status quo […]

Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Get your first month free.

Member Post

Aaron MillerJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member
By Aaron Miller
Aaron Miller Member
|
112 COMMENTS
 

An uncle and I were discussing how Romney might get under Obama’s skin and force an error during the Presidential debates. He mentioned Reagan’s famous “There you go again” line and said Romney could use a similar rejoinder. His suggestion? “It’s not all about you.” Preview Open

Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Get your first month free.

Member Post

DocJay
By DocJay
DocJay Inactive
|
25 COMMENTS
 

Most who know I hail from north of Boston would think I would be a Patriots fan and while the wife does make me dress in a Brady jersey every so often they are a distant second. The Saints are third related to my time in New Orleans and many many friends. Number one and […]

Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Get your first month free.

Member Post

Mel Foil
By Mel Foil
Mel Foil Inactive
|
0 COMMENTS
 

Roman Forum: Michael Voris interviews Damian Goddard–the Canadian sportscaster fired for defending traditional marriage on Twitter.http://www.churchmilitant.tv/share/watch.php?vidID=roma-2012-01-22(internet subscription service, temporarily free) Preview Open

Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Get your first month free.

Contributor Post Created with Sketch. A Convention No Longer?

Jonathan Horn
By Jonathan Horn
Jonathan Horn Contributor
Jonathan Horn is a former White House speechwriter and the author of a new Robert E. Lee biography, The Man Who Would Not Be Washington (Scribner, January 2015). Follow him on Twitter @JonathanDHorn.
|
10 COMMENTS
 

As surely as the balloons drop at every convention’s end, questions arise about whether these elaborately scripted four-day political shows will survive for another election cycle. Given that questioning the future of conventions has become, well, conventional, it would be easy to dismiss this year’s talk but for a couple reasons.

On the Republican side, the second hurricane-shortened convention in four years has party leaders at the highest level asking questions about whether conventions in their current form are worth the cost. “These are very expensive propositions to put on. I think that given as much news people get today and the way they get their news, I’m not sure that having a four-day convention for the future makes a lot of sense,” Speaker John Boehner said earlier this week, according to an article in Roll Call.

Preview Open

Contributor Post Created with Sketch. The Unconventional Convention

Rob Long
By Rob Long
Rob Long Founder
Rob Long, Hollywood writer and producer, started his career as a screenwriter for the TV show "Cheers." You can find his musings on National Review, Newsweek International, and the Los Angeles Times. Rob's weekly commentary "Martini Shot" is broadcast on L.A.'s KCRW and can be found on iTunes. Rob is a co-founder of Ricochet.
|
10 COMMENTS
 

This morning, a few Ricochet editors — me, Mollie Hemingway, Troy Senik, Diane Ellis, and James Lileks — and special correspondent Mickey Kaus, got on Skype to talk over last night’s speeches, Clint Eastwood’s triumph (Troy dissented), and the weird un-weirdness of Mitt Romney.

It was a very fun conversation.

Preview Open

Member Post

C. U. DouglasJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member
By C. U. Douglas
C. U. Douglas Thatcher
Born and raised in Oregon, I've lived most my life on the West Coast, save three years near Minneapolis, Minnesota. I survived four years in the hellish paradise that is Santa Rosa, another two in a land where "Keep Portland Weird" is the first commandment, and I am happily married and living in Utah. I am an electrical designer, Protestant, and a huge nerd. I am a brand new father, and I can't shut up about it. I abuse ellipses with wild abandon.
|
9 COMMENTS
 

So the topic is popping up once again, thanks to Brazil. Oh you wacky Brazilians, what will you do next? Since the subject of marriage pops up again and again, I figured I’d start a thread too, just because I find when I state: “Non-traditional marriage is mathematically illogical” I don’t have characters to put […]

Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Get your first month free.

Member Post

The (apathetic) King Prawn
By The (apathetic) King Prawn
The (apathetic) King Prawn Inactive
Just another disillusioned conservative. Also not a shrimp.
|
2 COMMENTS
 

The media is no longer biased; they now hate everyone equally. That is essentially the finding of the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism’s examination of the major campaign narratives as reported by the MSM. The report is chocked full of good data to parse and ponder. It starts with a solid proclamation […]

Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Get your first month free.

Contributor Post Created with Sketch. Member Post

EJHillJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member
By EJHill
EJHill Podcaster
Thirty years in television production. Living in a midwestern city in the productive custody of his wife and four children (Baby Girl, Marine, Future Tony Winner & Xerox). Unrelenting, unrepentant conservative. Needs a better temperament that equals his photoshop skills. Will probably die broke but believes more in freedom than the welfare state.  
|
4 COMMENTS
 

Preview Open

Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Get your first month free.

Member Post

robberberen
By robberberen
robberberen Inactive
Husband, father, Christian, felony prosecutor, soccer aficionado.  Not a libertarian.  Spent time in D.C. and Chicago, but very happy to have my family back in the heart of Texas.
|
18 COMMENTS
 

I spent a few minutes watching CNN and MSNBC after the convention, and the “narrative” was immediately obvious: Clint Eastwood just cost Mitt Romney the presidency! Sad, I know, but it leads to a legitimate question: Did Eastwood’s performance unnecessarily give the media an opportunity to create a story to distract from the meat of […]

Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Get your first month free.

Member Post

tabula rasaJoined in the first year of Ricochet Ricochet Charter Member
By tabula rasa
tabula rasa Member
Farm boy. Attorney. Lifelong Mormon. Heroes: C. S. Lewis and G. K. Chesterton. Mildly to severely deranged Denver Broncos fan.
|
7 COMMENTS
 

All in all, the Republican convention has presented Obama/Biden with big, big problem. Ryan was brilliant. Mitt was better than OK, and gave a compelling speech (it’s just that he can’t meet the Ryan standard). So what will we hear next week from Obama/Biden? My prediction: Preview Open

Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Get your first month free.

Member Post

The Mononymous J.I.M.
By The Mononymous J.I.M.
The Mononymous J.I.M. Member
I'm a software engineer working for a major retail company in NYC. My education has been in science (undergrad) and the humanities (grad). My conservatism is very small "c" -- my biggest fear isn't high taxes (not that I love taxes), but rather cultural amnesia. Politically, I'm tending more toward classical liberal these days, but I'm getting more and more pragmatic (with a very small "p") as time goes on.
|
1 COMMENTS
 

Ok, I have to admit, I’m not a Conventional guy. Being a bookish sort, I’d rather sit down and read transcripts and summaries, arguments and counter-arguments, than sit through a politico-musical extravaganza (although I love G. E. Smith — great musician) filled with stem-winders and zingers. But my family did watch this year, something I hadn’t […]

Join Ricochet!

This is a members-only post on Ricochet's Member Feed. Want to read it? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Get your first month free.