Getting ready for the 4th

For the Fourth of July, I figured I'd go with a patriotic picture. Kelli Pickler kissing a Marine, that's American. So is a picture of her at American Idol.

Your legal analysis

How does the latest court decision impact Obamacare?
Volokh has the answers.
Nice to see "Roach Motel" in the decision-making process.

Better things to do

It's the last day for the Glenn Beck show on FOX.
My mom's disappointed, since she doesn't use computers. But I think GBTV will be able to keep fans in the know.
It's been two years since Sarah Palin announced she was leaving the governorship of Alaska. Has her influence gone up or down since that move?
It's up.
Unexpectedly.

We'll be important

Virginia missed out on most of the election fun in 2010.
Looks like 2012 will be better, especially if this report is true.
Obama’s strategists are raising the stakes in the two battleground upper South states, North Carolina and Virginia.

They’ve never been critical cogs in a presidential strategy. If Team Obama sees them as such in 2012, it suggests the campaign is struggling in states that were comfortably on its side in 2008, particularly those in the Rust Belt. 

What's the key for Obama in Virginia? The good job Governor Bob McDonnell is doing.

But if North Carolina looks like a challenge, Virginia looks within Obama’s grasp. Unemployment in the Old Dominion is far lower than most battleground states, and the growth of government jobs in the Washington, D.C., suburbs and a diversifying population play to the Democrats’ favor.

Virginia's low unemployment might help Obama. I still think he loses Virginia and 39 other states and any Republican - anyone at all - will be taking his place in 2013.

That's what they thought in the 1860s? Sure

Troglopundit takes on the silly leftist idea - the debt ceiling is unconstitutional.
They're looking at the 14th amendment, passed after the Civil War.
"The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law... shall not be questioned," reads the 14th Amendment.
If the 14th amendment means what they think it might mean, wouldn't somebody have thought of it before 2011?
Let's keep questioning that spending. No questioning there's a limit to how much debt we can take on.

Next Obama fundraising appeal

Roxanne has fun with the latest email appeal for Obama supporters - don't focus on the total, focus on the number of people involved.
Translation: Our numbers really suck this year, but we’re going to spin it and pretend that we still have support. Because let’s be real: the guy who lead the first-ever billion dollar campaign doesn’t measure support in anything besides gigantic piles of cold, hard cash.
Time for some more ideas for an appeal to the youth market.

Hey guys, head upstairs and look for those coins in the cushions of your mom's couch.

And head to the local fast-food restaurant and get the loose change outside the drive-thru. We could sure use the pennies and nickels.

But don't jump into the public fountains for the money. We're saving that for the September deadline push.

Get out the shovel

Dr. Milton Wolf, President Obama's cousin on his mom's side, takes a shovel to his economic policies.
Obamanomics favors top-down compulsory cooperation over voluntary. It is the anti-Reaganomics. Mr. Obama has done the following: (1) raised taxes, (2) unleashed a wild orgy of spending, including his disastrous so-called “stimulus,” (3) dramatically increased regulations and even nationalized industries and businesses, and (4) printed money out of “quantitative easing” thin air.

Government spending is like the air

The Today Show tries to find hypocrisy in Michelle Bachmann's campaign - her husband's company received Medicaid money.
Wow.
His clinic received $137,000 over a six-year period.
Hyprocrite.
Should the clinic have turned Medicaid patients away?
Just given them free service to remain pure?
Returned the "dirty" federal money?
When government is everywhere - like the air we breath - you can't avoid it.
Republicans know government is big, so big they can benefit from the current situation.
But they also know the current situation can't last.
Hypocrisy is thinking we have plenty of money when we've spent it already.

A foe for Deeds

Republicans have a candidate to take on state Senator Creigh Deeds - T.J. Aldous of Charlottesville.
Bring on the competition.

The Un-President

President Obama is the Un-President:

• Unexpected economic news
• Uncertainty about the future
• Unsure overseas.

Definitely not as cool as the un-cola man.

Halfway through the lockout?

ESPN just noted it's been 105 days of the NFL lockout.
What's 106 days from today? The first NFL Sunday.
Time to get serious, boys.

Today's Tied with Me

This blog has the same Technorati rank as the U.K. Telegraph's Finance blog.
Today, it brings note of a sad milestone - housing prices are down 30 percent from their peak in 2007.
Something the blogger said would eventually happen. Even though he thought the peak would be in 2004.
We house price bears are a hardy, arrogant bunch, though. And as prices continued to rise our general perspective was that it didn’t make sense and would all end in tears, but there’s only so many times you can go on TV and make an idiot of yourself, so from 2005 most of us simply shut up.  Then when prices started falling again, we all re-emerged, blinking, into the limelight and recommenced our cheerful intonings.

I agree with Van Jones

Van Jones, best friend of Glenn Beck, is promoting his "American Dream Movement."
I can a quote from him I believe in.
“We’re not broke,” Jones said early on in his presentation, “We’ve been robbed.”
The question is, who's doing the robbing? The rich, or the government?
It's easy to blame the rich, but facts point to the government.
Will government ever wake up? I can dream, can't I?

Bankruptcy Dodgers

The Dodgers started out as the "Trolley Dodgers," for how their fans got to the ballpark.
Now they're dodging bankruptcy. Barely.

Bringing back Blago

Thanks, Gov. Blagojevich. I get to bring back my song parody from December 2008 for today's festivities.

There's a Senate seat in the neighborhood,
Who you gonna call? - Rod Blago
He may be weird and he don't look good
Who you gonna call? - Rod Blago
I ain't afraid of Obama
I ain't afraid of Obama
If you're seeing money running through your head
Who can you call? - Rod Blago!
Candidate 2 has good street cred
Who you gonna call? - Rod Blago!
I ain't afraid of Obama
I ain't afraid of Obama
Who you gonna call? - Rod Blago!
Think you're all alone? Pick up the phone
And call - Rod Blago!
I ain't afraid of Obama
I hear he likes to cuss
I ain't afraid of Obama
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Who you gonna call? - Rod Blago!
If you want to be the guy with the most
Then you, you'd better call - Rod Blago!
Let me tell you something
Cussin' makes me feel good
I ain't afraid of Obama
I ain't afraid of Obama
Don't get caught alone, oh no
Rod Blago!
When he calls at your house
Unless you really like the louse
I think you better blame - Rod Blago!Ow!
Who you gonna blame - Rod Blago!

Delaware police, be on the lookout

Legal Insurrection's love of bumper stickers can help Delaware raise some revenue.
At least the license plate is easy to remember.

Priorities

Headed to Camden Yards Sunday for the Orioles' game, we took the route of the National Road - how the west was settled from Baltimore to the Mississippi River.
The road had signs about the National Road.
There was the crossing of the Gwynns Falls trail.
There was marked bicycle lanes on each side of the road.
And block after block with abandoned buildings among the inhabited homes. More plywood than you'll find along the coast when a hurricane approaches. Businesses still operating, but behind metal gates.
How do we revive a city like Baltimore? What they are trying doesn't seem to be working.

Bring back the food of yesteryear

I went to Baltimore to see the Orioles play today, and heading home I stopped at Front Royal.
And found a new Roy Rogers restaurant.
I worked at Roy Rogers my last year and a half of college, cooking burgers and fries a few nights a week. Most Baltimore Roy Rogers were sold to Hardee's a few years ago, so it's interesting to see the old brand back.
I started with Roy Rogers after they bought Gino's in 1982. Gino's, started by Baltimore Colts star Gino Marchetti, is also being revived in the Baltimore area.
Some fast food restraurants are big. Some have such loyal followings that they keep coming back into your life.

Uncertainty? Certainly

Instapundit shares about the biggest trouble with the economy today - uncertainty.
It's certain what type of leadership we have today.

No more no Sheeples

A sad email arrived the other day. NoSheeplesHere has taken down her blog.
She was a good help two years ago, when Sonia Sotomayor was picked to join the Supreme Court.

She always had some interesting photo illustrations for her work.
Best of luck in her future endeavors.
UPDATE: Linked in Conservative Commune roundup

Halfway through the fortnight

Six days of play are done at Wimbledon.
Sabine Lisicki won Thursday, knocking off French Open champion Na Li.

"Insufficiency of other people’s money"

Instapundit has a lengthy post to Walter Russell Mead's article on Al Gore.
Sorry guys, but global warming worries are dead. The agenda is over.
If man has caused worried that dooms the planet, there's another man-caused disaster that has our attention - the economy.
You can accuse others of using their money to protect their interest, but are global warming warnings just part of your portfolio?
But grave as that danger is, Al Gore can consume more carbon than whole villages in the developing world. He can consume more electricity than most African schools, incur more carbon debt with one trip in a private plane than most of the earth’s toiling billions will pile up in a lifetime — and he doesn’t worry. A father of four, he can lecture the world on the perils of overpopulation. Surely, skeptics reason, if the peril were as great as he says and he cares about it as much as he claims, Gore’s sense of civic duty would call him to set an example of conspicuous non-consumption. This general sleeps in a mansion, and lectures the soldiers because they want tents.

Saturday song

Get me one of those purple jackets. From 1975, Jigsaw and "Sky High."

Facebook quote of the week

People do not need to make broad and sweeping apologies to others on my behalf for bigotry that I never expressed and do not harbor. Who do you really think that you are to be able to apologize for all Christian Conservatives everywhere? Apologize to yourself for being so arrogant

As you wish

Peter Falk passed on Thursday. Princess Bride fans remember him for this.

Blogroll spotlight at 100

Jeffords does a pair of roundups each weekend - the FMJRA and blogroll spotlight.
He'll be up to 100 on the spotlights this week.
And this can get included in both.

Weekend watchdog

It's the second weekend of the College World Series - as the two brackets crown their winners.
South Carolina and Florida can advance to the best-of-three championship series with wins Friday. The Gators play Vanderbilt at 1 p.m. on ESPN, while the Gamecocks meet Virginia Friday at 7 p.m.
If either loses, there's a game Saturday to decide the bracket winner.
The Nationals get a shot of Saturday afternoon coverage this weekend, as they visit the White Sox. Other games in the time slot include Angels-Dodgers, Indians at Giants and Mets taking on the Rangers. TBS shows the Rockies' visit to Yankee Stadium Sunday afternoon, while ESPN has Indians-Giants Sunday night.
Nationals games Friday and Sunday are on MASN, while the Orioles take on Cincinnati on MASN2 (Saturday night on MASN).
Wimbledon has reached the middle of its fortnight. ESPN2 has early coverage Friday and Saturday starting at 7 a.m. NBC has highlights Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
The NHL holds its draft Friday at 7 p.m. on Versus.
On the road, NASCAR visits Sonoma Sunday at 3 p.m. on TNT. The Nationwide Series Road America race will be Saturday at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN. The Indy Car series visits Iowa Saturday at 8 p.m. on Versus.
Grab your umbrella and watch the Travelers Championship Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. on CBS.
The D.C. United host Houston Saturday at 6 p.m. on Comcast, while ESPN shows Chicago vs. New York Sunday at 2 p.m.
Germany hosts the women's World Cup, and opens play against Canada Sunday at 11 a.m. on ESPN. Nigeria plays France at 8:45 a.m. on ESPN2.
In the WNBA, the Mystics take on Tulsa Sunday at 4 p.m. on Comcast.

The blame game

Eric Cantor leaves the budget talks and the posts write themselves.
Blue Virginia blasts Cantor.
The Other McCain blasts candidate Obama, playing the blame game.
Obama’s gearing up his 2012 re-election campaign, and is therefore trying to paint Republicans into a box, to depict them as “extremist” and “irresponsible” if they don’t compromise with Democrats on a deal to increase the debt ceiling. And in this case, ”compromise” means agreeing to a tax increase, which would be a 100% betrayal of the voters who gave Republicans the majority in last year’s mid-term election.
It would be nice for Obama to act like president before running again for president.

"I'm Barack Obama and I just got here"

Rush Limbaugh is doing a great riff on Obama's speech - continuing to blame all ills on George W. Bush and Republicans.
FDR had his first 100 days.
Obama has "The first 1000 days don't count."
Maybe by October he'll be responsible for something going on.

How will they pay the lawyers?

Charlottesville is facing a lawsuit from panhandlers, saying recent restrictions impinge on their rights.
How will these panhandlers pay for the lawyers?
Will the lawyers sit next to them, asking passers-by for money?
That's something I'd like to see. Doubt we will, though.

Not like bunnies

Over at DaTech Guy, Roxanne discusses the thoughts of someone who knows little about tech, and life.
If Gore were capable of checking out population growth charts, he would understand that telling Americans to manage their fertility is the equivalent of those “coexist” bumper stickers: no matter how nice the sentiment, it’s simply not aimed at the appropriate audience. America is #122 in terms of percent population growth – beaten out by fertility maniacs like Luxembourg, the bunny-like Australia, and that perennial baby-machine, Israel.  On a plus note, the American population is expanding faster than that of the Vatican See, which is made of up a lot of old, celibate people.

Planning ahead

Think your kid has potential as a baseball player?
Omaha wants you to know the College World Series will be there for many, many years.
The Omaha website has tournament dates through 2017 posted now.
They have the contract for the next 25 years. So even if your child is still in the womb, you can dream of cheering them on in Omaha one day.

Where were the t-shirts made?

The Obama campaign sent out an email, touting a t-shirt you could get -
For a $30 donation.
Were those shirts made in China?

Olbermann's diversity

He's got Yankee fans and Red Sox fans on his staff.
Isn't that true diversity?

The wonders of Facebook

The first day of summer means start of Appalachian League baseball.
Where 20 years ago I had to beg and plead to get information on road games for our newspaper, now there's updates from the game on Facebook.
One of my high school friends had surgery today. With updates on her status posted by a family member on Facebook.
We live in interesting times. And how will things change in the next 10 years, in ways we can't imagine yet.

Excited about Netroots Nation 2012

Professor Jacobson seems excited about Netroots Nation headed to Rhode Island in 2012.
All the fun goes to his house.
Guess Netroots is too big for Augusta Expoland.

Today's Tied with Me

A big move in Technorati (don't know why) puts me tied with Borepatch.
He's had some thoughts about Fathers Day and blogger burnout.
At the most trivial level is the "OMG, I don't have enough posts queued up for tomorrow".  Usually this isn't a problem, as you all know that the problem isn't getting me to talk, it's getting me to shut up.  But sometimes life is busy, and the sense of letting the community down really is there.  After all, if you weren't a community that meant a lot to me, it wouldn't really be possible to let you down.  The more important you become, the more important it is to maintain the standards here.

From the Vermont-California axis

Little Miss Attila and Dan from POWIP are combining to introduce the Conservative Combine.
Should be an interesting place to check out. Smitty will be there.

Your blog rankings, explained

Tom White at Virginia Right began doing his version of Virginia blog rankings in January.
He's fine-tuned the system, and explained what's he's doing in thorough detail.
Sitemeter won't be signing him to an endorsement deal.
With the new system, this blog moves up to 17. So I like the new system.

Lilly Ledbetter index

What are the chances President Obama will win re-election?
I think they go down everytime the "Lilly Ledbetter Act" is mentioned.
Here's an interesting exchange from the Netroots Nation Conference, via the Daily Caller:
He pointed to the Lilly Ledbetter Act, which extended the amount of time people could sue for alleged wage discrimination.
“Frankly we’re a little sick of hearing about that one,”replied moderator Kaili Joy Gray.
Every time Obama mentions Lilly Ledbetter, his chances drop one percent. If he's got to tout a law any Democrat would have signed, he's in trouble. His list of accomplishments isn't enough to fill out a speech.
Certain laws get passed when the presidency changes hands. Lilly Ledbetter is one of them. It's not that big of a deal.
Republicans, everytime you hear the name "Lilly Ledbetter," smile. It means Obama's end is coming soon.

Weiner's first Father's Day card

Since Anthony Weiner's wife is expecting, he can call this his first Father's Day.
Ace found the perfect card.
Guess they'll need to find another one for him.

Republicans, I am your candidate

Republicans are trying to figure out who will be the best candidate to beat Obama in 2012.
It's me, of course.
As my running mate, I'll select the conservative Senator from South Carolina.
November 6, 2012
Judge/DeMint Day.

You knew it was coming

I was checking out at CVS today, and there were lots of magazines to catch my attention.
Including Self with Zooey on the cover.
And I knew, when I visited Dustbury, that were would be a post about Zooey's cover.
It's a lot nicer cover than the one with Anthony Weiner from college.

Start a blog - updated

Time to revisit and update one of my favorite song parodies - inspired by Brad Paisley's "Start a Band."

Yes I was a straight-lace, straight A student
teacher's pet who talked policy
I loved to watch them throwing a football
But let Reynolds get the law degree
So I sat and watched Obama sadly
Want to talk some sense into his thick head
And the best advice that I ever got
was from the Speedo blogger of Washington

Just get a computer and learn how to type
Cut up some pols, make up a cool name
When Congress does stuff that you don't understand
Make a few good buddies, start a blog
Start a blog, Start a blog

And all those girls that were too cool to talk to,
They’ll be waiting to make Rule 5 Sunday
You'll get an op-ed in a big time paper
Maybe buy your momma a used Hyundai

Just get a computer and learn how to type
Cut up your foes, register your name
When Obama does stuff that you don't understand
Find a few good buddies, start a blog
Start a blog,
Forget all about money, buy a fan
Learn the rules and ramble on, man
Never leave your house again

(typing solo)

Just get a computer and learn how to type
Throw out your thoughts, make up a cool name
With a little bit of luck your Sitemeter will fly
Find a few good buddies, start a blog
No need to worry, start a blog
Call up some buddies man, start a blog

Here's the video inspiration.

Brad Paisley

More CMT Music

More CMT Music Videos

Moving day

Professor Jacobson has Legal Insurrection on the move - off blogger and on his own.
SWACgirl notes GeorgeAllen.com has debuted its new, campaign-ready site.
Guess the summer is a good time for new web ventures.

Saturday song

Life's been good for Joe Walsh, no matter how fast his Maserati goes.

Facebook quote of the week

Still no voice after last night's game. Tip: Yelling "Oh! My! God!" at the top of your lungs 95 times in 30 seconds is not good on the ol' vocal chords.

The Other McCain's next quest

After three weeks of Anthony Weiner, the Other McCain has another hot story - will Sarah Palin run for President in 2012?

Vendors of campaign services who hope to work for Team Palin have been told that Palin, the 2008 GOP vice-presidential candidate, will decide soon one way or another on mounting a 2012 campaign.

Some think the decision will be based on getting in before all the volunteers and potential staffers are committed.

Nah.

If Palin goes in, enough volunteers and staffers will drop their current choices. It will happen so fast, you'd think they were Newt's senior staff.

The best political vendors are a smaller group. With specific timetables to make sure they can best serve the needs of a candidate.

Watch the vendors. And the Other McCain.
UPDATE: Among the quotes of the day at Texas4Palin.

Weekend Watchdog

It's Father's Day weekend. Plenty of good sports for dad to watch on his TV.
The U.S. Open visits Washington, D. C. this weekend. So what if Tiger Woods can't make it? ESPN has coverage Friday starting at 10 a.m., and NBC offers afternoon action between 3-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, NBC takes to the air at 2 p.m.
Virginia made the eight-team field for the College World Series. The Cavaliers play California Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN, after a pair of games Saturday - Vanderbilt-North Carolina at 2 p.m. and Texas against Florida at 7 p.m. Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2, South Carolina meets Texas A&M.
Play continues in the double-elimination tournament throughout the week - Virginia plays again Tuesday - with the two bracket winners advancing to the best-of-three final series.
It's an interleague weekend in the major leagues, and the Yankees will be visiting Wrigley Field. FOX shows the contest Saturday afternoon - along with Rangers-Braves - and ESPN has the game on its Sunday night package. The Brewers take on Boston Sunday afternoon on TBS.
The Orioles travel to Washington for the weekend on MASN and MASN2.
NASCAR heads to Michigan for the weekend. The Sprint Cup race is Sunday at 1 p.m. on TNT, while the Nationwide race is Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ABC. The Indy car racers are in Milwaukee Sunday at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.
The D. C. United are in Salt Lake Saturday at 9 p.m. on Comcast.

Cheering for the champs

Dallas has won its first NBA title.
Among the cheerleaders on the Natsuki from Tokyo.

Hope you enjoyed the playoffs. We'll see if the owners and players can make a labor deal before the new season is supposed to begin.

What can Obama do in 2013?

When President Obama loses re-election, what's next for him?
It's obvious.
He turns 50 in August. The Senior PGA awaits.
He's certainly preparing for it.

20 days and it's over

Anthony Weiner is done for now.
If only he'd said he made a I-D-Ten-T (ID10T) error.

Happy thought of the day

Does work have you down?
Too many bills?
Not enough money?
Troubles with your family?
Look on the bright side.
You're not Anthony Weiner.
Feel better?

Obama's doomed

Jay Cost at the Weekly Standard looks through the "blue smoke and mirrors" to see President Obama's real problems.
President Obama lost public confidence in the first two years of his tenure, and Americans responded by filling Congress with dozens of new Republicans, ending the (short) era of liberal governance. Obama does not have the disposition to meet Republicans halfway, and, at any rate, his political advisors seem to have convinced him that demagoguing the GOP is the better approach. So, the president is emphasizing political theater, endeavoring to create the impression that the economy is in better shape than it is (or at least that he is not to blame), that he has a realistic plan to handle the deficit, and that he is in strong shape for reelection.

It will do no good. The president can visit as many green companies as he likes. His team can put out as many strategy videos as it likes. It can organize its ground game in Virginia all day and all night. None of this is going to change the fundamentals of this upcoming election.
Pick a Republican out of a hat and they will beat Obama in 2012. A billion dollars of Democratic money will go down the drain.

Go Canada

It's Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final. Who to root for?
My brother notified me of a connection to the game. In January 1983, I did an internship with the Baltimore Skipjacks ice hockey team front office. The team had some players from the Boston Bruins, including Mike Gillis.
Gillis is now the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks.
I guess I'll just root for the O Canada singer.

No avoiding the subject

Ace tried, but Weiner news continues to erupt.

Obama 2012 theme

Troglopundit wonders "what is the vision of a second Obama term."
Isn't it "The country can't handle four more years of George W. Bush?"
All anti-Bush, all anti-Republican, all the time.

Good government and family values

Still waiting to hear the devastating revelations of the Sarah Palin emails.
And waiting, and waiting.
Althouse looks inside the media camp, with whining wounded warriors.
What we can't see is the agony the poor journalists must have endured as Weiner's wienerisms hurt the Democratic Party just when they stood ready to damage the Republican Party with Sarah's misdeeds. And then — oh, how awful! — they got nothing from Sarah. Nothing but hard work and — urrrgghhh! — good government and — damn! — family values.
h/t Instapundit

Today's Tied with Me

In today's Technorati rankings, I share the spot with Mavsmoneyball.com
They are still celebrating from Sunday.

How do you see a Palin presidency?

Could Sarah Palin become president?
Why are liberals so worried about her?
Paco offers an explanation.
It is amazing how liberals both fear and scorn Sarah Palin - entertaining surreal visions of a Palin presidency as representing something like a fascist state run by Lucy Ricardo.
Liberals. You got some 'splaining to do.

Virginia wins! Virginia wins!

Virginia advanced to the College World Series with a 3-2 win Monday.
Reminds me of another two-run single with two outs that got a team to the World Series in 1992.

Da view from across da border

DaTech Guy ventures across the state border to visit New Hampshire for tonight's debate.
I think he'll be making plenty of those trips in the next couple of months.

Obama on Weiner

NRO's Corner links President Obama's thoughts on Rep. Anthony Weiner.
Guess we'll be watching Today show in the morning.

Weiner and license plates

Poor Anthony Weiner. Now the license plates on his car are under scrutiny.
Maybe soon he'll be making license plates.
All because he missed a keystroke.

Bad keystrokes - that's all folks

Ace gets to the bottom of what doomed Anthony Weiner - a typo.
What caused all this was.... a typo.

The Typo From Hell. Possibly the worst typo in the history of politics.
Not saying he doesn't deserve it -- he does -- but consider that but for a single clumsy move by an errant left forefinger, none of this happens.
The smallest error of a fingertip, and a man is wholly undone.
In World War II, they said "Loose lips sink ships."
For Rep. Weiner, "Bad keystrokes mean 'That's all Folks.'"

From Henry Wadsworth Ingemi

DaTech Guy takes to his high horse to tell the tale of Sarah Palin riding roughshed over the Mainstream Media.

Onward to Wilson

The oldest advances to Wilson Memorial High School in August.
It will be the first of eight years for us having a child at the school.
Guess I'd better learn the Wilson fight song.

About those Palin emails

So, media and friends reading the Sarah Palin emails, where's the shocking news?
Anybody?
Hello?
Something that made the quest worth it?
Anybody?
Nice take at Protein Wisdom. Instapundit remembers Al Capone's vault as well.

Brilliance of Sarah Palin

As governor, Sarah Palin wrote just enough emails that it took Alaska years to examine them for release.
Perfectly timed for release at the same time as Anthony Weiner's twitter problem erupted
I didn't hear anything about the Palin emails on the CBS news Saturday. As it should be.
Hope those reporters enjoyed their visit to Alaska.
And hope Rep. Weiner learns something while he's away from Congress.

Saturday song

Dig the 70s hair in Player's "Baby Come Back."

Facebook quote of the week

(Son) just told me the following "Three more days of school then 2 months of crazy." Sigh, can I sign them up for summer school?

Your Saturday Steyn

Mark Steyn sums up our current reality in one great paragraph.
The American Dream, 2011: You pay four bucks a gallon to commute between your McJob and your underwater housing to prop up a spendaholic, grabafeelic, paramilitarized bureaucracy-without-end bankrupting your future at the rate of a fifth of a billion dollars every hour

Instapundit's retirement plan

Forget the stock market, 401Ks and defined-contribution plans.
How will Instapundit retire with a large bankroll?
Earnings from the link to incandescent light bulbs. Stock up and help the professor.

NHL season almost on ice

The Boston Bruins Ice Girls get one last chance to perform Monday for Game 6 as the Stanley Cup finals.
Then it's a long wait until the season begins

The secret Palin emails

Alaska released emails by Sarah Palin Friday.
Legal Insurrection has the roundup of headlines - from reporters hoping to find something exciting.
I wonder if they'll find this special email from 2008

Professor Jacobson,
You should start a blog. It would be great.

Keep digging, boys and girls.

Mr. Mis-conductor

So nice to hear Alec Baldwin's words of wisdom on Anthony Weiner.
Makes for easy blog material.
Best to remember his turn as the Conductor in the Thomas the Tank Engine movie. Now that's he's an expert on mis-conduct.

Quote of the day

DaTech Guy sums up the reality about the left.
The left fears Sarah Palin in the way that Satan fears Christ.

Weekend watchdog

We've entered the "if necessary" phase of the NBA and NHL championships.
The NBA Finals may end Sunday with Game 6 in Miami. The Mavericks won their second straight game Thursday and can finish it with a victory. Game 7, if necessary, will be Tuesday at 9 p.m.
After losing a pair of close games, Boston made Games 5 and 6 necessary with a big wins at home. NBC has the final games of the NHL season, starting Friday at 8 p.m. with Game 5 back in Vancouver. The teams return to Boston for Game 6 on Monday, and Game 7 is Wednesday, if necessary.
The NCAA baseball tournament goes to a "two games for sure, third game if necessary" stretch at the Super Regionals. Play begins Friday at noon on ESPN2 with Florida hosting Mississippi State. Stanford takes on North Carolina at 3 p.m., and ESPN features Texas-Arizona State at 7 p.m.
Saturday, you'll need ESPNU to catch Virginia's game with UC-Irvine at 1 p.m. ESPN has the second games from Florida at noon and North Carolina at 3 p.m., then Texas at 7 p.m. Vanderbilt hosts Game 2 against Oregon State at 9 p.m. on ESPN2, after the completion of the Connecticut-South Carolina game starting at 6 p.m.
Sunday is "if necessary" day at the first four Super Regionals on ESPN. The other four sites have their "if necessary" day Monday before the final eight teams advance to Omaha.
It's necessary to wait another year for a Triple Crown champion. The best 3-year-old colts face the long test at the Belmont Stakes Saturday on NBC.
TNT starts its run of NASCAR races Sunday at 1 p.m., as Pocono hosts the Pocono 500. The Indy cars head to Texas Saturday night, for the Twin 275s on Versus starting at 8 p.m.
The Reds' visit to San Francisco gets plenty of national coverage this weekend - Saturday afternoon on FOX and Sunday night on ESPN. FOX also offers the Cubs at Phillies and Rangers-Twins, while Sunday on TBS the Indians travel to New York.
The Orioles host Tampa Bay on MASN this weekend, while the Nationals are in San Diego on MASN2.
The PGA tour gets ready for the U.S. Open with a stop in Memphis for the St. Jude Classic. CBS has coverage Saturday and Sunday starting at 3 p.m.
Comcast has soccer on Saturday night, as San Jose takes on D.C. United at 7:30 p.m.
The Fast-pitch softball season opens Saturday on ESPN2, with Florida hosting Chicago at 3 p.m.

Today's computer tech news

Via Ace of Spades, today's important news about computer errors and how to deal with them.
If your laptop computer tells you to bring it someplace warm and steamy, or if it tells you to arch your back and lather more vigorously in the shower, OMG TOTALLY DON'T.

The news comes thanks to a computer tech in California.
A Southern California computer repairman suspected of installing spyware on laptops that enabled him to snap and download photographs of women showering and undressing in their homes was arrested Wednesday at his home, police said.

Police began investigating when a Fullerton resident complained about suspicious messages appearing on his daughter’s computer last year. Trevor Harwell installed software that took control of computer webcams on his clients’ Mac laptops, Fullerton police Sgt. Andrew Goodrich said. He was released later Wednesday after posting $50,000 bond, Goodrich said.
I don't have to worry about getting those kind of messages on my computer.

Seeking private Ryan photos

Photos to a private citizen have brought Rep. Anthony Weiner so much trouble.
I'm sure Democrats wonder if there's any pictures of Rep. Paul Ryan they could use again him.
Wonder if they've seen this?

Somebody call MSNBC.

Weiner wishes he could be a stud like these guys

The Shark Tank has a poll for the hunky hombres of the conservative blogosphere.
Check out your favorite studs. Val Prieto has the early lead, but DaTech Guy should have the hat vote.

Revenge served with flaming shorts

Ace has a lengthy post on Weinergate, with an interesting historical note about how to deal with this type of scandal.
MSNBC placed an ad buy on my site in late 2006, before the elections. The ad was intended to be -- from the looks of it -- a rotating headlines ad, in which they'd update the headlines every few days.

They never updated it.
For three months, I had the Mark Foley story at the top of the column. Because that's the story MSNBC wanted on conservative websites.
I think this is why I yelled and bitched when not enough people on the right were, to my line of thinking, pushing the story hard enough. I thought maybe they were sort of looking at this in Prisoner's Dilemma terms and deciding that something like mutual restraint was the best strategy for both parties here.
The trouble is, the other side will never reciprocate in that strategy. Even if the Democratic B-Team honors it (the actual Democratic Party), the more important Democratic A-Team won't (the liberal media).
Who knew Mark Foley before his scandal erupted? Plenty of people knew Anthony Weiner before his shorts erupted.

Follow the plane

Remember the plane that Capt. Sullenberger landed in the Hudson River?
It's being transported to Charlotte via truck, and stopped north of Princeton for the night after a day on the West Virginia interstates.
I thought they might try heading down I-81, since that's a more direct route between New York and Charlotte. But they went west instead.
If you're headed to Charlotte Wednesday on I-77, you might watch out for the plane going down the road.

Twitter misses me

I don't use Twitter much, so this just appeared in my inbox.
We've missed you on Twitter
So much happens on Twitter every day, whether it's breaking news, a deal at your favorite shop, a local traffic jam or a funny pick-me-up from a friend. Twitter keeps you informed with what matters most to you today and helps you discover what might matter to you most tomorrow.
Guess they aren't getting enough publicity from Rep. Weiner, after all.

I agree with Tim Kaine

The former chair of the DNC and current Senate candidate Tim Kaine weighs in on Anthony Weiner.
h/t the Other McCain.

Rep. Weiner, which group of losers do you belong to?

Is Anthony Weiner a scandal-plagued politician who:

• Stays in office or
• Leaves in disgrace.

Whatever he does, he's still a loser.

Today's Tied with Me

Lots to choose from today with the same Technorati rank as this blog.
I picked stoptheaclu, which takes on the New York Times' Nicholas Kristof in the latest post.

More tax money for this

Sometimes, it's great fun to read Blue Virginia.
Today's there's a story of a protest about the Bush tax cuts. All that money down the drain instead of going to things liberals want to spend it on.
What's on the sidebar? A nice piece about the government at work. If that's what you call it.
The sad story of a guy trying to get refunds on his state income contributions in 2010 in D.C. Government does not give up money easily.
I already sent them a copy of my Virginia state tax return, as well as my W-2. Not good enough. She said "don't worry, just get that certified copy - to prove you filed - and we should issue your refund - in 7-10 business days! You can even fax it!!! Wow - good news! What's the fax number, Mateal?
Oh you have to phone back for that. I saw red. "Ummm I spent an hour on hold just to get you on the phone the first time, are you saying I have to phone you back, wait on hold for ANOTHER HOUR so you can give me the fax number?"
"Yes, for security reasons, because I don't have a fax machine on my desk."
Rules to slow you down and stretch out the process. If we paid more taxes, we could have even bigger government.
Liberal see tax cuts as money down the drain. What about the time and sanity they flush down the drain?

Weiner vs. Palin

DaTech Guy blasts a Salon piece advising Rep. Weiner to follow the Palin example of damage control.
Won't work.
People like Palin.
Weiner? Anybody really like him?
If they do, they've been awfully quiet the last 10 days.

Weiner - what's Obama thinking?

Has the saga of Anthony Weiner reached its peak? Or has it entered a new and more interesting phase?
Who's going to ask President Obama - "What's your opinion of Rep. Anthony Weiner, one of your top defenders?"
Maybe Obama can just say he "acted stupidly."

Moral of the Weinergate story

Bad keystroke
That's all, folks.
UPDATE: Part of the Other McCain's coverage.

Listen my children, and you shall hear

The conventional wisdom about Paul Revere.
And now, from Sarah Palin, the rest of the story.
via Instapundit

Continuing to "inspire and draw fire"

Is Sarah Palin running for president in 2012?
Why diminish her role?
Jennifer Rubin finds Palin has found her magnificent role - doing what she does best.
One senses that the motorcycle tour, perceived as a desperate effort to stay in the limelight, was actually an effort to justify her non-candidacy as president. See, I can say what I want. Can’t you see they are robotic pols, and I am unbound by convention? I’m more important on a motorcycle than Mitt Romney is in an Iowa coffee klatch.

TweetCongress.org

Interesting to see how technology is used.
Via Instapundit, a look at the Weinergate includes a site that collects the Tweets of all members of Congress - tweetcongress.org.
My congressman is Bob Goodlatte. What's he up to on twitter?
He's following 111 people and groups - mostly media in the 6th district. Boring.
At least he follows SWACgirl. Shows he has good taste.

Stewart viewers will never learn

SWACgirl noted the debunking of the rating battle between Jon Stewart and FOX news.
I followed the link, and a main focus is the Stewart audience is younger than the FOX news audience.
Duh.
The thought goes, younger people will learn the glories of liberalism and maintain that view through their life.
That thought shows up in other political analysis as well. Republicans have to change their views to meet the growing Hispanic population, or else lose those votes.
Don't people change as they mature, and learn more about the world? It's cute to watch Stewart's snark, and laugh at what he laughs at.
But then, you learn more about the real world. You find yourself asleep at 11 p.m., getting ready for work the next day.
Stewart views will fade from view, like the old songs and sayings we used before we entered the working world.
If the average FOX news viewer is 65, that means they were 22 in 1968. Don't remember that being the era of the FOX news viewpoint.S

New rules for checkers

When we go to Cracker Barrel, the youngest likes to play checkers with me.
As he's gotten older, I try to make the games tougher.
But he often has tricks up his sleeve.
The last time, I jumped a bunch of his men and got him down to three. He decided it was time to swap sides, and thus he won.
Today, he had a little Lego figure from the Halo series.
Instead of a king, he had a soldier.
A soldier that blasted my checker pieces from three spots away.
The game was over pretty quick. At least he's creative in ways to beat dad at checkers.

Not at our game

My soccer league held tournament games Saturday at two locations.
Ours was the peaceful location. Not so at the other locale.

End of a sporting era

The youngest had his final soccer games of the spring season Saturday. His team won two of three games in their bracket, but only one team advances to the final Sunday.
It might have been my last day as a soccer dad.
The oldest began playing soccer in the spring of 2004, and moved to being a referee this year. He'll still be involved in soccer next year, but it's different being the parent of a ref - you don't get to hang out with the other referee parents, and cheer on the others' kids for making good calls.
The youngest has played since kindergarten, but in the fourth grade other activities caught his interest. His school team won a Lego League competition, and there's math events looming in the new year. There might not be time for other events and soccer.
I spent 11 years as a local sportswriter, chronicling the students of my areas in their sporting pursuits. Watching other parents share the pride of the accomplishments of their children.
In thsi sporting era, I've enjoyed cheering on my kids and their friends, and using my professional photography skills to capture their action.
The boys are growing up fast. If it's on to a new era for us, then it's time to remember the good things and look forward to the coming adventures.

Facebook quote of the week

Not going to church this morning--not walking in late again because kids can't tell time.

Saturday song

How about a video proudly taped "on Betamax." From the Little River Band, Reminiscing.

Bad hair day

I wonder if John Edwards took as much care Friday getting ready for his indictment?

News is what people are interested in

Tired of Anthony Weiner yet?
Does he owe you a weekend or something more?
The Other McCain looks back at the week that was - interesting to enough people to be news.
If people are interested in something, it will be written about.
Traffic seekers know what brings traffic.
Those with expertise in certain areas will share their expertise.
What else are we going to talk about this week? How to really save Medicare?
You've got to talk about something, and this week it's Weiner. As long as people are interested in the story, it will be news.

Weiner and Edwards

I caught the end of the Today show package on Rep. Anthony Weiner.
After David Gregory finished his conventional wisdom, they turned to the John Edwards indictment story.
Wonder if they caught the comparisons?
Gregory ended his discussion about Weiner with "without new revelations, Weiner will probably survive."
The same thing that was said about Edwards back in 2008, when the National Enquirer first broke the story.
In the Edwards story, it was mentioned how the government is wasting money chasing this case.
Not, "look how much government money is being spent due to your bad behavior."
Poor Weiner. He can look at Edwards today and see the type of future he's going to face.

Weekend watchdog

The NASCAR season still has months to go, but it's the end of the road in 2011 for the FOX crew.
Darrell Waltrip and crew finish their part of the season this weekend at Kansas City. TNT takes over for a few races before ESPN finishes out the season.
The Nationwide racers are in Chicago Saturday at 8 p.m. on ESPN. Then Sunday at 1 p.m. FOX takes its final tour of the track for 2011.
So "let's reach up there and pull those belts tight one more time!"
"Boog-ity, boog-ity, boog-ity, let's go racin' boys."
It's almost the end of the road for the NBA and NHL seasons. The Heat head to Dallas Sunday at 8 p.m. for Game 3. The Mavericks tied the series Thursday before heading home.
Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final from Vancouver is Saturday at 8 p.m. on NBC, and the scene shifts to Boston Monday on Versus.
Also nearing the end is NCAA softball. The softball World Series continues Friday as Thursday's winners meet at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on ESPN. The losers play in elimination games Saturday starting at noon.
The bracket finals are Sunday afternoon on ESPN, with games if necessary starting at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. The bracket winners battle in a best-of-three final starting Monday.
The National League gets the national coverage this weekend. The Cubs at Cardinals is part of the FOX Saturday coverage - along with Rockies at Giants and Dodgers-Reds - and the TBS Sunday afternoon game. ESPN shows the Braves visiting the Mets Sunday at 8 p.m.
The Nationals are out west, facing Arizona on MASN2 this weekend. The Orioles return home to play Toronto on MASN.
NBC has coverage of the finals of the French Open this weekend. The men's semifinals air Friday at 11 a.m., with the women's final Saturday at 9 a.m. and the men's final Sunday at 9 a.m.
The PGA tour visits Ohio for the Memorial this weekend. CBS has coverage Saturday starting at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Comcast has Major League Lacrosse Saturday at 7 p.m., with Chesapeake visiting Boston. Check out the wheels Sunday with the International Cycling Championships from Philadelphia Sunday at noon on Comcast.

Wisconsin has all the fun

It's been an interesting week for Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-done).
He got in trouble last Friday night.
This Friday, he's in Wisconsin for the Democratic state convention.
Troglopundit found the best hat for Weiner fans in the Dairy State.
Big protests in Madison this winter, a weird judicial election in April and lengthy recount in May. Now Weiner's in town.

Farewell to the Thrashers

The NHL appears set to move the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg, giving up on the franchise after 11 years.

Atlanta hockey fans are not happy.

The girls who cleaned the ice during the game will need to find new jobs.

UPDATE: Part of Rule 5 Sunday.

Lady of the Seacoast

Sarah Palin is supposed to visit New Hampshire tonight for a clambake along the coast.
Wonder if she'll be in Hampton Beach, home of this statue of the Lady of the Sea?

How President Obama can get some fresh air

President Obama has said he plays golf because that's the main way he can spend time outdoors. The President just can't take a walk in the park.
But look at Sarah Palin's bus tour.
Outdoors on a motorcycle
At Fort McHenry
Overlooking Gettysburg battlefield
Even in New York, she's outdoors.
The Great Outdoors. It's out there, President Obama.

Gas prices on the way down

As gas prices slowly make their way down from the peak, how best to gas up?
Fishersville is halfway between Staunton and Waynesboro, which have a 14 cent per gallon difference in best prices.
I love the cheaper prices of Waynesboro, but I'm not going to fill up when I think next week prices will be lower still. So I had to drive to Staunton Monday, and just put a few gallons to keep going - get the orange light to be quiet.
I might save a dollar on gas by going to Waynesboro, but it would cost an extra dollar to drive there for the savings.
Since I'm working at home now, I can be more patient in my gas purchases. And I'll be in Waynesboro very soon.

It's lemonade day

It's hot on the East Coast.
How hot is it?
They will be serving free lemonade in Bluefield, W.Va. today. The local chamber has been serving free lemonade the day after the temperature reaches 90 degrees in "Nature's Air-Conditioned City" since 1939.
It's the earliest they've ever served lemonade.
Somebody alert Al Gore.

Consult a physician

A good ending to today's NRO Morning Jolt, provided by Jonathan Bos.
If the #Weinergate story lasts more than 4 days, consult a physician.

Lessons for the media

Sarah Palin's bus tour is driving the media crazy - no advance itinerary as she drives up the East Coast.
And she gets to give them a history lesson.
It’s interesting when (for the 100th time) reporters shout out, “Why are you traveling to historical sites? What are you trying to accomplish?” I repeat my answer, “It’s so important for Americans to learn about our past so we can clearly see our way forward in challenging times; so, we’re bringing attention to our great nation’s foundation.” When that answer isn’t what the reporters want to hear, we’ve asked them if they’ve ever visited these sites like the National Archives, Gettysburg, etc. When they confirm that they haven’t, it’s good to say, “Well, there you go. You’ll learn a lot about America today.” (They usually don’t want to hear that either!)
Keep teaching, Sarah.