Waay Behind: Council for April 14th and 21st

Ugly surprise: The Watcher notified me that I hadn’t posted April 14th’s winners. Goldarn it. That means The Long List: everyone who got at least one and two-thirds votes gets a mention. So no long excerpts this time; I don’t want your eyes to glaze over.

In the Council, Dr. Sanity took first place with No Relation to Reality, Indeed.

“I don’t pretend to be an expert on Islam, but it appears to me that much of Muslim culture (particularly in the Middle East) has evolved into a structure for the sole purpose of containing female sexuality.”

The Glittering Eye was second with The Death of 1,000 Cuts. I strongly recommend that you click on this post and read the last paragraph. Print it out, even, and post it where you can remind yourself of what you should be doing.

Gates of Vienna was next for Can Religions Build Their Own Enclaves?. This subject will be coming around again as we become more balkanized.

After me came Righwing Nuthouse. Hmmm...I’m usually after him but this is one of those exceptions.

The Iranians Respond: “You’re Bluffing...We Think”.

“As long as we can keep the Iranians guessing about our response, the more cautious and off balance they will be.”

On the non-council side, an ususual post: a very short story by Dan Simmons with a suspenseful ending. See if you can guess the puzzle: April 2006 Message from Dan.

Captain’s Quarters confirms that Saddam Hussein had “every intention” of attacking the United States. Can anyone get the Dems to stop flogging this dead and pitiful horse? Saddam Targeted American Assets For Terrorism: Case Closed (Bumped).

In Iberian Notes, the widow of Carl Sagan flaunts her own self-sickened version of Hate America First. This fool thinks that she numbers among those who will be exempt. Self-hating Americans.

The Watcher has the rest here.

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And Now, April 21st.

The Council winner was Arrogant District Refuses To Protect White Students by Rhymes With Right. This is a case of being white while right. Hint: it won’t help you, and justice will not necessarily prevail.

The non-council winner asks the question, Do We Need Religion? Wolfgang Bruno proposes an online infidel library:

Publishing rational criticism of Islam, reaching hundreds of thousands of people and potentially hundreds of millions of people across the world, has never been done before until a few years ago. This is also part of the inspiration for my own suggestion of creating an Online Infidel Library, with dozens of books critical of Islam being made available online.

The Watcher has the other posts.