2008 March | MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Archive for March, 2008

Cleanest, fastest, leanest blog on teh internets!

HA!

WHEEEEEE!!!

(No surprise - I think I’ve had ten Diet Cokes today.)

And the REALLY important one…

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stein hoist Little Miss Attila

Today’s Blog Tip: Compress Your Blogrolls!

Not that anyone asked, but too bad.

Dear Blogger,

When you have a whole bunch of blogrolls or reeeeally long blogrolls–no, I’m not going to rag on you about having a bunch of blogrolls, as I have that particular stupid affliction myself–PLEASE, for the love of all that is holy, PLEASE compress them so your blogrolls don’t scroll five miles past the oldest post on your page. Constructive criticism: It looks like shite. Really.

Here’s an easy fix that requires no more technical expertise than sticking that Blogrolling script in the sidebar does. You can change the width/height if you wish; this is just a basic example that works to create a scroll box:

<div style="overflow:auto; padding: 4px; width: 160px; height: 220px;">
(your blogrolling script)
</div>

That’s it.

Here it is in action, using one of my blogrolls:

Cotillion

See how the lines wrapped, too? That’s where adjusting the width will help.

<div style="font-size: 10px; overflow:auto; padding: 4px; width: 200px; height: 220px;">
(blogrolling script)
</div>

Cotillion

Alternatively, you could set the font-size to be smaller. Like this:

<div style="font-size: 10px; overflow:auto; padding: 4px; width: 160px; height: 220px;">
(blogrolling script)
</div>

Cotillion

Right, so you noticed I don’t use this on my own blog. I use this. There are other methods for drop-down menus, of course; look around here just to start.

By the way, all those buttons in your sidebar? You can “hide” those too, if you want. Just stick the code in there instead of a blogrolling script.

And yes, Google and the TTLB Ecosystem and all that will still “see” the links just as if you hadn’t done any of this at all.

ooopsy!

The media really are in full-on Obamessiah promo mode.

The gift that keeps on giving

This story would never have seen the light of day in a previous time. But now the media are in full swoon over teh Obamessiah™, and these stories are ten-a-penny.

WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign manager, Maggie Williams, earned about $200,000 on the board of a Long Island subprime lender that charged prepayment penalties - a practice that Clinton, a critic of the subprime industry, now seeks to eliminate.

Notwithstanding that the ‘practice’ being referred to is entirely legal (and for many lenders makes perfect sense; if you originate loans and sell them on for the initial fees, then prepayment penalties are simply gravy, but if you finance your own loans at sensible loan-time fees, then you don’t want somebody getting out of their loan after 6 months, because it costs you money - the making of which is the raison d’etre for business), it’s pretty funny that the MSM would air this non-story when they turned a blind eye to much worse and far more egregious examples of malfeasance during the Clinton era.

But anyhoo, I still LOVE IT.

For added piquancy the story contains references to Hillary’s arse-about-face business worldview, which merely enhances the schadenfreudic vibrations I experience when reading it! par example:

“I would eliminate the prepayment penalties that lead to such high rates of default,” Clinton said in a March 24 speech at the University of Pennsylvania. “I would require lenders to take into account the borrower’s ability to pay property taxes and insurance fees when deciding whether to make a loan in the first place.”

Wow! If only they had got someone with your incredible perspicacity before they lent the money!

The problem is not a micro problem. It’s a macro problem created by bundling piss-poor loans and flogging them to idiotic Wall Street chavs with no idea what they were buying. The fault originates with the market and will be resolved (as usual) by the market.

Character Forged By Family: First Stop, Meridian, MS

The latest Mac ad:

Transcript of John McCain’s speech in Meridian, MS - the first stop on his “Service to America” tour:

Thank you. It’s good to be back in Meridian. As you might know, I was once a flight instructor here at the air field named for my grandfather during my long past and misspent youth. And it’s always good to be in Mississippi, which you could call my ancestral home. Generations of McCains were born and raised in Carroll County, on land that had been in our family since 1848. The last McCain to live on the property, which the family called Teoc, was my grandfather’s brother, Joe McCain. I spent a couple summers here as a young boy, and enjoyed it immensely. I had never had a permanent address because my father’s naval career required us to move frequently. But here, in the care of my very likeable Uncle Joe, I could imagine, with a little envy, what it must have been like for the McCains who came before me to be so connected to one place; to be part of a community and a landscape as well as a family.

By all accounts, the McCains of Carroll County were devoted to one another and their traditions; a lively, proud and happy family on the Mississippi Delta. Yet, many McCains left here as young men to pursue careers in what has long been our family’s chosen profession - the United States Armed Forces. My great-grandfather was the sheriff and never left. But his brother, Henry Pinkney McCain, was a major general in the Army, and organized the draft in World War One. Camp McCain in Grenada, Mississippi is named for him. My great uncle, William McCain, was known as “Wild Bill” for his “dynamic” personality - he was reputed to have ridden his horse onto his future father-in-law’s porch to ask him for his daughter’s hand. He chased Pancho Villa with General Pershing, was an artillery officer in World War One, and retired a Brigadier General. Both men are buried at Arlington National Cemetery, as are my father and grandfather. We trace my family’s martial heritage back to the Revolution. A distant ancestor served on General Washington’s staff, and it seems my ancestors fought in most wars in our nation’s history. All were soldiers - both Henry and Bill McCain were West Pointers - until my grandfather broke family tradition and entered the Naval Academy in 1902. He was succeeded there by my father, then me, and then my son.

As I noted, the naval air field here is named for my grandfather, who had an illustrious career in the Navy, and who remained proud of his Mississippi roots until the end of his life. I have only very early memories of him. I was just nine when he died. But he was an unforgettable man, a lively, colorful, though infrequent, presence in our lives. To spend time in his company was as much fun as a young boy could imagine. He loved his family, and we were spellbound by him. He was a slight man and gaunt, but he filled any room with his deep voice and high spirits. He was devoted to the Navy, but in personal comportment, he was anything but regulation. He was a rumpled, informal man, who wore a crushed cap with the crown removed that the wife of one of his aviators had given him; kept his shoes off when he worked in an office; tobacco leavings were always scattered about him, as he rolled his own with one hand; possessed a mischievous sense of humor, and was unusually close to sailors and junior officers who served under him, and revered him. They called him, “Popeye;” his family called him, “Sid;” and his fellow officers, “Slew,” for reasons I never learned

After graduating from the Naval Academy, he sailed around the Philippine Islands on a gunboat captured from the Spanish, the executive officer to the great Chester Nimitz. He returned to the United States on the U.S.S. Connecticut, the flagship of Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet. He served on an armored cruiser in the First World War, escorting wartime convoys across the U-boat infested Atlantic. In 1935, after the Navy ordered that all aircraft carrier skippers must themselves have earned their wings, he trained as a pilot. He was 52 years old at the time, and a Navy Captain. By his own admission, he never learned to fly well. A subordinate recalled later, “the base prayed for his safe return each time he flew.” But he managed to earn his wings, and left Pensacola to command the naval air station in the Panama Canal Zone, where I was born.

My father, Jack McCain, was an officer at a submarine base there, one of the few occasions in his adult life when he lived in close proximity to the man he admired above all others. Though they lived far apart for decades, no father and son could have been closer. My father described his father as “a very great leader and people loved him. . . the blood of life flowed through his veins . . . a man of great moral and physical courage.” He had learned everything about leadership from his father, he said. Both were highly individualistic men with outsize personalities, but were completely dedicated to the United States Navy. Neither ever wanted any other life, and while both were guilty of more than a few regulation infractions, and shared a few vices, they adhered strictly to the code father had taught son: never lie, steal or cheat. Both took a great interest in the views and well-being of the men who served under them. They believed military leaders learned as much from the people they commanded as they taught them. They were demanding, but fair and compassionate commanders. “We are responsible for our men,” my father once said, “not the other way around. That’s what forges trust and loyalty.” They shirked no duty, braved extraordinary dangers, and were exceptional leaders. They were the first father and son to become four star admirals.

My grandfather commanded the fast carrier task force in the Pacific under Admiral Halsey, and devised many of the tactics that were employed by carriers for many years after. He was instrumental in Japan’s defeat, and was given a privileged place on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri to witness the signing of the unconditional surrender that ended the war. My father commanded a submarine in the Pacific during the war, survived several harrowing experiences, and had brought a Japanese submarine into Tokyo Harbor at the time of the surrender ceremony. Both were exhausted at war’s end, but happy to have the opportunity for a brief reunion. They met onboard a submarine tender, and spent a couple of hours together. My grandfather was worn out and obviously ill. Years later, my father recalled the last words my grandfather had ever spoken to him. “Son, there is no greater thing than to die . . . for the country and principles that you believe in.” After father and son parted that afternoon, my grandfather began the long trip home to Coronado. Not long after he arrived, at a homecoming party, he turned to my grandmother, and announced he did not feel well. He died a moment later of a heart attack. He had fought his war and died in service to the country he believed in.

My father could not return to the States in time for the funeral. My mother found him waiting for her to return to California from the funeral in Washington, weeping on the airport tarmac. In time, my father, the son of a legendary naval leader, would rise to an even greater command than his father had. During the Vietnam War, he commanded all U.S. forces in the Pacific, at the top of a chain of command that included, near the bottom, his son, a naval aviator on Yankee Station in the Tonkin Gulf, and later a prisoner of war in Hanoi. My father seldom spoke of my captivity to anyone outside the family, and never in public. He prayed on his knees every night for my safe return. He would spend holidays with the troops in Vietnam, near the DMZ. At the end of his visit, he would walk alone to the base perimeter, and look north toward the city where I was held. Yet, when duty required it, he gave the order for B-52s to bomb Hanoi, in close proximity to my prison.

I have lived a blessed life, and the first of my blessings was the family I was born into. I had not only the example of my distinguished male relations, and their long tradition of military service. I was fortunate to grow up under the influence of strong, capable, accomplished women; first among them, my mother, the formidable Roberta McCain; her identical twin, Rowena; my strict and imposing paternal grandmother, Catherine; and equally impressive maternal grandmother, Myrtle. For much of my childhood, my mother was the parent who raised me, my sister and brother. My father was often at sea, and she bore all the responsibilities of both parents. She moved us from base to base, often driving us across country on her own; managed our household; paid the bills; saw to our education and religious upbringing; and made of our itinerant childhood, an interesting, exciting time, rich with fascinating experiences. She was and is a resilient woman, extroverted, uncomplaining, forthright and determined, who greets every challenge as an opportunity to measure one’s strength of character and learn about the wider world beyond our immediate environment.

The family I was born to, and the family I am blessed with now, made me the man I am, and instilled in me a deep and abiding respect for the social institution that wields the greatest influence in the formation of our individual character and the character of our society. I may have been raised in a time when government did not dare to assume the responsibilities of parents. But I am a father in a time when parents worry that threats to their children’s well-being are proliferating and undermining the values they have worked to impart to them. That is not to say that government should dictate to parents how to raise their children or assume from parents any part of that most personal and important responsibility. No government is capable of caring for children as attentively and wisely as the mother and father who love them. But government must be attentive to the impact of its policies on families so that it does not through inattention or arrogance make it harder for parents to have the resources to succeed in the greatest work of their lives - raising their children. And where government has a role to play, in education, in combating the threats to the security and happiness of children from online predators, in helping to make health care affordable and accessible to the least fortunate among us, it must do so urgently, effectively and wisely.

Tax policy must not rob parents of the means to care for their children and provide them the opportunities their parents provided them. Government spending must not be squandered on things we do not need and can’t afford, and which don’t address a single American’s concern for their family’s security. Government can’t just throw money at public education while reinforcing the failures of many of our schools, but should, through choice and competition, by rewarding good teachers and holding bad teachers accountable, help parents prepare their children for the challenges and opportunities of the global economy. Government must be attentive to the impact on families of parents who have lost jobs in our changing economy that won’t come back. Our programs for displaced workers are antiquated, repetitive and ineffective. Many were designed for a time when unemployment was seasonal or a temporary consequence of an economic downturn, not for a time when systemic changes wrought by the growing global economy have, while promising undreamt of opportunities for ourselves and many historically poor societies, have cost too many parents the jobs they had assumed would be theirs for life.

With the loss of work and the resources it provides families, come just as injurious losses to the emotional health of families. Work provides more than an income. It is a source of self-worth, pride and sense of purpose. Children learn as much from observation as instruction. The mother or father who has lost hope along with their job can unintentionally impart that hopelessness to their children. A welfare check can’t give a parent a sense of purpose. And among the most important things children can inherit from their parents is a sense of purpose, and an aspiration to be part of something bigger than themselves.

My parents taught me that, and I will always be indebted to them. But like many young people, I didn’t understand the lesson very well until later in life when I needed it most. As a boy, my family legacy, as fascinating as it was to me, often felt like an imposition. I knew from a very early age that I was destined for Annapolis and a career in the Navy. In reaction, I often rebelled in small and petty ways to what I perceived as an encroachment on my free will.

I concede that I remember with affection the unruly passions of youth, and how they governed my immature sense of honor and self-respect. As I grew older, and the challenges to my self-respect grew more varied and serious, I was surprised to discover that while my sense of honor had matured, its defense mattered even more to me than it did when it was such a vulnerable thing that any empty challenge threatened it.

Like most people, when I reflect on the adventures and joys of youth, I feel a longing for what is lost and cannot be restored. But though the happy pursuits of the young prove ephemeral, something better can endure, and endure until our last moment of life. And that is the honor we earn and the love we give when we work and sacrifice with others for a cause greater than our self-interest. For me that cause has long been our country. I am a lucky, lucky man to have found it, and am forever grateful to those who showed me the way. What they gave me was much more valuable and lasting than the tribute I once paid to vanity.

I am the son and grandson of admirals. My grandfather was an aviator; my father a submariner. They were my first heroes, and their respect for me has been one of the most lasting ambitions of my life. They gave their lives to their country, and taught me lessons about honor, courage, duty, perseverance and leadership that I didn’t fully grasp until later in life, but remembered when I needed them most. I have been an imperfect servant of my country for many years. But I am their son, and they showed me how to love my country, and that has made all the difference for me, my friends, all the difference in the world.

Electoral College Watch

Lord Bitememan pointed out in a comment that some states are moving from the D’s to toss-ups, with the latest coming in from New Hampshire.

On Sunday, New Hampshire moved from Leans Democratic to Toss-Up in the Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power Calculator. This change comes as a result of Rasmussen Markets data showing a closer race.

Remember the “President of New Hampshire?” Things might go well for him there, along with some other unexpected places.

Rasmussen’s latest “Balance of Power Calculator”:

Balance of Power Calculator - Electoral College
Safe Republican	168
Likely Republican	21
Leans Republican	51
Toss-Up	55
Leans Democratic	53
Likely Democratic	33
Safe Democratic	157

Here’s where it counts.

Thirteen states with 159 Electoral Votes are either a pure Toss-Up or just slightly leaning to one party or the other. These are likely to be the early battleground states of Election 2008: Florida (27), Pennsylvania (21), Ohio (20), Michigan, (17), Virginia (13), Missouri (11), Minnesota (10), Wisconsin (10), Colorado (9), Iowa (7), Nevada (5), New Mexico (5), and New Hampshire (4).

As of now, these states poll as follows:

Florida - McCain Leads Obama by Four, Clinton by Seven

Pennsylvania - McCain 44% Obama 43%, McCain 46% Clinton 44%

Ohio - McCain Leads Both Clinton and Obama by Six

Michigan - McCain 43% Obama 42%; McCain 45% Clinton 42%

Virginia - McCain 52% Obama 41%; McCain 58% Clinton 36%

Missouri - McCain 53% Obama 38%; McCain 50% Clinton 41%

Minnesota - Obama 47% McCain 43%; McCain 47% Clinton 46%

Wisconsin - McCain 48 Obama 46; McCain 50 Clinton 39

Colorado - McCain and Obama tied at 46; McCain over Clinton 52-38

Iowa - Obama 44% McCain 41%; McCain 47% Clinton 37%

Nevada - Obama 45% McCain 41%; Clinton 45% McCain 44%

New Mexico - Obama and McCain Tied at 44%; McCain 50% Clinton 38%

New Hampshire - McCain 46% Obama 43%; McCain 47% Clinton 41%

Looks good, right? It’s still early, though, and the Dems have a ton of money to spend on attacking John McCain–which we all know they’ll do. All this is just to show that we CAN win in November, as long as we keep it together on our side. Right now, McCain is starting on his “biography tour,” and he’s trying to squeeze some money out of the big-time GOP donors.

YOU can, of course, help keep things going. The McCain campaign is going to need every bit of help from supporters that they can get, and you can start now.

McCain or Obama?

The choice is clear. (Even if the audio isn’t.)

links for 2008-03-31

Iraqis for McCain

If Iraqis could elect America’s next president, chances are good that the next occupant of the Oval Office would be Gen. David Petraeus. Barring that unlikely development, John McCain will do.

(tags: Iraq politics McCain war election 2008)
McCain Better Suited To Handle Iraq

“We suspect the public still prefers winning a war to losing one. If it does, John McCain is better suited for the task than either of his two opponents, no matter how often they throw out the 100-year comment.”

(tags: McCain election 2008 Iraq war politics foreign_policy)
Charles Krauthammer on The “100-Year ” Lie

As Lenin is said to have said: “A lie told often enough becomes truth.” And as this lie passes into truth, the Democrats are ready to deploy it “as the linchpin of an effort to turn McCain’s national security credentials against him,” reports Da

(tags: McCain politics election 2008 Democrats 100-year-lie war Iraq foreign_policy)
Portman for VP :: By Robert D. Novak

Portman’s background is legislative (House Republican leadership), executive (George W. Bush’s Cabinet), diplomatic (U.S. trade representative) and economic (Office of Management and Budget director). He comes from a swing state (Ohio), is young enough (5

(tags: mccain VP politics election 2008)
Teflon John? Democrat Attacks Fall Short

The Democrats have offered a few recent glimpses at their initial plan of attack against John McCain, and the clumsy, off-the-mark contents of their general election playbook should be encouraging to Republicans.

(tags: McCain election 2008 politics Democrats 100-year-lie foreign_policy)
Obama vs. McCain on the Economy

“If America is looking for a second term of the Jimmy Carter Administration of high taxes at home and weakness abroad vote Obama. I doubt they are.”

(tags: McCain Obama economy election 2008 politics)
Which of the Following Did Obama Hear and Not Hear?

Obama says he didn’t hear “some” of the comments that caused controversy. It would be helpful if Obama gave us a sense of which ones he had heard and let slide, and which ones prompted his (previously unexpressed) conclusion that if Wright didn’t retire,

(tags: Obama election 2008 TUCC politics)
Lieberman blasts Democrats as protectionist, isolationist

Lieberman has told reporters that he will speak at the Republican National Convention if McCain asks, but has ruled out sharing the 2008 GOP ticket with McCain. McCain, he said, is “a reformer, somebody who understands ask not what your country can do fo

(tags: McCain election 2008 politics Obama Clinton Democrats Lieberman foreign_policy)
Blogs For John McCain’s Victory » Bush Redux?

The only reason his Democratic critics can allege that he is Bush redux–despite all those pesky matters of public record to the contrary–is because he, like President Bush, is determined to win in Iraq and stave off the devastating effects American de

(tags: McCain election 2008 Bush Democrats politics)
Blogs For John McCain’s Victory » The Age Issue

“Age might not even turn out to be Sen. McCain’s cross to bear but that of his likely opponent, whose youth and inexperience compared to Sen. McCain’s years of impressive service to country could be politically emasculating in an election when perilou

(tags: McCain Democrats Obama politics election 2008)
The last word on Winter Soldier II

Followup on the Winter Soldier II agitprop campaign.

(tags: Iraq war foreign_policy politics)

624787

The American president Americans have been waiting for, indeed.

If you haven’t read his books (or at least seen the film adaptation of Faith of My Fathers), you really don’t know who John McCain is. I cannot imagine anyone who’s read his books not wanting to see him elected President of the United States. (Check them out in the Amazon widget in the sidebar, or just get them at the library.)

Help get John McCain elected!

links for 2008-03-30

Wordpress 2.5 released!

wordpress.org — The latest major update of the popular open source blogging platform is now available for download.

(tags: wordpress release blogs)
McCain seeks his share of the spotlight - Jonathan Martin - Politico.com

“Sen. McCain’s numbers are moving up, his approval numbers are rising, he’s drawing a lot of support from the other party, strong independent support and a unified Republican Party.”

(tags: 2008 mccain politics campaign election)
Life-story tour will show voters the real McCain - Los Angeles Times

“Each one of the places we’re going to was part of the formative experiences that shaped my views and my thinking,” he told reporters Friday after a fundraiser at the Venetian casino-hotel.

(tags: mccain politics campaign election 2008)
The Associated Press: Meghan McCain Has Offbeat Campaign Blog

Meghan, 23, offers an insider’s view, offbeat and sometimes surprisingly intimate. While the Web site is about a campaign, it is not about issues and rarely mentions other candidates. Rather, it is intended to make her parents, and politics, seem more rea

(tags: 2008 meghan mccain blogette)
Tested Over Time - New York Times

Anybody who thinks McCain is merely continuing the Bush agenda is not paying attention. (That means you, libs.)

(tags: McCain foreign_policy war election politics 2008 obama clinton Bush)
Barack Obama: I Don’t Want My Daughters “Punished” With A Baby

Liberal values: “I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.” Funny, I consider my daughter a BLESSING, not “punishment.”

(tags: Obama politics liberal wtf)

Bye Ya’ll

I’ve been hired as the head moderator at the Brad Thor Reader Forum.

Blogging does pay off in the end.

You are going to hate me for this one

So, I’m on vacation and check the good old internet for something interesting. Here is something really cool and addictive. I hope you don’t have much to do, because if you install it, you will get hooked. The coolest part is that it is FREE! Won’t cost a penny to download and install. Plus, it has no spamming toolbars or anything. It’s merely a physics demonstration program. Way cool.

Here is a YouTube it’s creators made to introduce it. After the video, other suggested videos are shown and several are other people’s creations. Meet Phun:

If you want to get it for yourself, here is the link to the download page.

It’s not easy to get started, and it takes some time, but hey, tell the kids to feed themselves and put themselves to bed. After all, it’s the internet and you have to have priorities!

LiveLeak Pusses Out

Oh, well. The Jawas have uploaded it in God knows how many places. Here’s my Google Video version:

woot is killing my blog

Sorry, I’ve been glued to woot for the last day and a half waiting for a Bag O’ Crap. I’ll be back when the woot-off is over.

In the meantime, will someone please go buy some of those $5.99 2GB SD cards so we can get to the BOC? (Buy three!)

Watch Geert Wilders’ FITNA

Jawas and Live Leak for the win!

I’m downloading the torrent right now, so if it’s taken off YouTube, Google Video, Live Leak, etc., I’ll have it here–as will everyone else. ;)

Torrent links:
Fitna (English) at Mininova, Piratebay

SEED IT!

More more more at The Jawa Report and at the Fitna website, which is back up. Also, think about making a donation to Geert Wilders for his work.

Via Hot Air: LiveLeak issues a statement.

LiveLeak.com has a strict stance on remaining unbiased and allowing freedom of speech as so far as the law and our rules allow. There was no legal reason to refuse Geert Wilders the right to post his film (Fitna) on LiveLeak.com and it is not our place to censor people based on an emotive response. We in no way endorse Geert Wilders, his views, nor the views expressed within Fitna. To many of us involved in LiveLeak.com some of the messages therein are personally offensive. That being said, our being offended is no reason to deny Mr Wilders the right to have his film seen. Pre-emptive censorship or a discriminatory policy towards freedom of speech are both things we oppose here on LiveLeak.com. A person has a simple, clear choice about whether to view this film. No one is being forced to view it and nor is it being broadcasted on every channel on their television set. If you click on media simply to be annoyed, it is pointless to blame others for your choice.

We do not intend on defending the content of Fitna, only our choice to allow it. Anyone has the full right of reply on LiveLeak.com. Any person or organizations are free to post their opinion and, dependent on said response falling within both the law and our rules, we will afford such responses equal exposure. There are undoubtedly better ways to spark a discussion but this film is now out there and we believe we should all grasp this opportunity to create an open dialogue and discussion on this subject.

LiveLeak rules.

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