A Severe Spanking

I've linked to The Anchoress before, and have read her posts for longer than I have been blogging myself. She is a great writer with an excellent way with words.

And she has just spanked the living heck out of the right.

I think a few folks really do have to step back a bit. I have posted on that exact thing before. I am not at all comfortable with a lot of things this administration has done, but I am not about to throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak.

Consider for a moment. If you rail against the far left going off half-cocked on a story about Rove being indicted over the weekend, is it any different if you go off half cocked over a single report in an obscure newspaper?

Right now some on the left are positively gloating that some on the right are speculating about impeachment. Is that really where you want to go? Is that really how you want the government to be run?

If you want change, hell yeah you should agitate for it. But do you really want to cut off your nose to spite your face? Your sunglasses won't fit anymore.

Just asking. I suppose I have to turn in my VRWC membership card now. But since they never did send me one (and after all the boxtops I sent in, too) I guess the point is moot.

UPDATE: Further advice from Glenn Reynolds. "Step away from the blog".

On The Speech

Here's a link to the entire speech, courtesy of Instapundit. Here's the text.

And here's the problem, President Bush. While the speech was actually quite a lot better than I feared, it will not placate the hardliners on this issue. The left is, of course, going to oppose it no matter what. So you've lost both of the more more extreme wings on this outright already. The middle may find it fairly acceptable for now.

And on Wednesday, when the promised demonstrations begin again, you will lose the center.

I've been solidly in favor of the fence at the border all along, and the words were encouraging about the "high-tech barrier". That's a plus. Stronger Border Patrol, a weak plus only because realistically, 6,000 is a drop in the bucket. Same with the troops who will not actually be enforcing the border. Weak plus if they can at least help get some of the improvements done. Overall, relatively decent. If the speech had ended here, I think it would have won more backing than the totality will.

Temporary workers. This one makes some sense on a theoretical level, but is predicated on security. I'm not sure enough people will back it. They may, but it was a heck of a risk bringing it up. People are going to see this as a potential back door around policy.

Third - ID cards. Possibly this will be seen as an overall winner. But, it should have been stressed more that there will be a draconian crackdown on willful violators. That would have been a huge success for winning back hardliners.

The fourth point is a real problem. The hardliners will see this as amnesty, no matter what you dress it up with. The open borders crowd will automatically decry it. This one should have been left for future discussion - and it should have been stated that way, I think. As in, "Once we have the border secured we will have some hard choices to make on how to deal with the people who are here illegally".

Fifth point, melting pot requirement is at least going to make people feel a bit better since that is a real problem. Probably an overall weak plus on this point.

I think in trying to appear statesmanlike on this, a real opportunity was missed. An immediate and firm border crackdown - deferring all else until that was finished (or well under way) would have defused almost all criticism.

But when the demonstrations start, it will fall apart. That I will be willing to bet on.

So, that's my quick take on the speech. Feel free to comment, do not make it personal, however, or I simply will get tired of comments in general.

UPDATE: Some reaction from here and there: Flopping Aces, Confederate Yankee, Debbie Schlussel, Gateway Pundit, Captain's Quarters and Betsy's Page.

UPDATE: The White House release including a fact sheet.

Did Somebody Order Dinner To Go?

Visitors to the Beekse Bergen Safari Park in the Netherlands got a true picture of mother nature on Monday. Several Sloth bears ate a hardy meal of Barbary macaque after chasing it down and killing it. Welcome to the great outdoors, folks!

The park confirmed the killing in a statement, saying: "In an area where Sloth bears, great apes and Barbary macaques have coexisted peacefully for a long time, the harmony was temporarily disturbed during opening hours on Sunday."

"Of course the habitats here in the safari park are arranged in such a way that one animal almost never kills another, but they are and remain wild animals," it said.

I'll say the harmony was disturbed.

And in a related story, some people are up in arms because state conservation allowed 63 elk to starve to death over the winter near Mount Saint Helens. There were about 630 elk wintering in the immediate area out of a total herd of around 13,000. Mother nature can be hard at times. Too many elk and too little food makes this inevitable.

I find it a bit difficult to get worked up over either story. In both cases, this is nature at work. It's not all pretty and orderly, sorry to disappoint you.

The Netherlands Fall

One of the Dutch government ministers (I don't have his exact portfolio) has decreed that Ayaan Hirsi Ali does not have a Dutch passport since she received it on false grounds.

Now, this is based on a television show where they interviewed her family. The family denied Hirsi Ali's description of her life with them.

What? They were supposed to say, "Why sure we abused the hell out of her!"

Pretty shaky. Looks like a political hit job. And sounds the death knell for the Netherlands, I think.

H/T Liberty and Justice for the link.

Bird Flu Update

Oh my God, It's hit in South Florida.

(Yeah, I know others have had it posted, it's still funny).

April Showers

Bring May flowers:

Kind of pretty, but you really, really wouldn't want one in your house. First of all, they can be up to nine feet tall. They also smell like death. Known by the scientific name Arum Titan, it's more commonly called the corpse flower. The blooms are quite rare since the plant lives 40 years or so but only blooms a few times in it's long life. A botanical garden in Bonn, Germany has a very unusual triple bloom (well, one had to be cut already) but the last one is still unopened.

101st Blog Of The Day

As I continue on my project to visit one member of the 101st Fighting Keyboardists each day, I decided today to visit AbbaGav, an Israeli blogger. Now I have finally found someone who subscribes to my theories on solo childrearing. Maybe the authorities will let us share a cell!

Quick! He’s Making A Break For It!

Horace, the family pet has finally been captured. After a daring breakout from the garden he was being kept in, the crafty animal managed to stay at large for eight months. The family had long since given up on ever seeing Horace again. With his blazing speed, there was no way of telling how far he'd gone.

In eight, long months he traveled 1.8 miles, or as much as 39 feet per day. Horace is a Herman's tortoise.

According to the BBC, Horace the Herman's tortoise was spotted in the middle of a road on the outskirts of Cardiff by animal welfare inspector Nic de Calis, who then scanned his microchip and duly returned him to his thrilled owners.

"They were so surprised to receive my call and are delighted that they will be reunited with their long-lost pet," Calis said.

The family said Horace had been put out into the garden and disappeared when they turned their backs for five minutes.

We're not real sure who's slower here. But we're very happy for Horace. It's a darned good thing he avoided meeting up with this fierce creature.

Alaa Update

Rantings of a Sandmonkey has some updates on the plight of Alaa and the others imprisoned. Scroll down for more. He was interviewed on CNN as well.

Clean Up On Aisle Five

Someone please put a bit more chlorine into the gene pool. Please?

Link is to Alarming News. Karol has a most excellent title, too.

Immigration - It’s A Whole New Game

Gateway Pundit has a brand new way to enjoy the President's speech tonight. With a drinking game!

It is not for the weak of liver, trust me.

Experts Just Aren’t What They Used To Be

The BBC has had to apologize to viewers after airing an interview discussing the recent Apple Computer vs Apple Corps lawsuit. Why? Because the "internet expert" they interviewed was not an internet expert at all. He was a cab driver.

"We interviewed the wrong person," a British Broadcasting Corp. spokeswoman said Monday while speaking on condition of anonymity in line with company policy. "We apologize to viewers for any confusion."

The case of mistaken identity occurred May 8 — the day Britain's High Court awarded Apple Computer a victory in a lawsuit against Apple Corps, the Beatles' commercial arm.

In a reaction story to the verdict that is now circulating widely on the Internet, consumer affairs correspondent Karen Bowerman welcomed who the BBC thought was computer expert Guy Kewney.

As Bowerman introduced him, there's a moment when the still unidentified driver realized the mistake. He scrunched his face into a grimace, and in panic tried to open his mouth as if to explain.

What's really funny here is that the cab driver went ahead gamely and gave an interview. The reporter conducting the interview only realized something was wrong toward the end.

Remember this story the next time you watch an interview! The expert may or may not be!

UPDATE: Daily Mail story. This quote is interesting:

The man, who had been waiting for his fare in the reception of Television Centre, found himself being ushered into a studio and fitted with a microphone after raising his hand when a producer called out the name Guy Kewney.

Naked Ambition

A large bookmaking company from Ireland, Paddy Power is in the process of setting up the world's largest strip poker tournament. They are in contact with the Guinness Book of World's Records who is currently deciding if this is a worthy new category. Paddy Power say it already has about 100 people ready to enter.

The idea was originally floated as an April Fool's joke but generated so much interest that Dublin-based Paddy Power has decided to look seriously at organising a contest it hopes will find a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

"We got almost 100 requests to take part," the company's spokesman, also called Paddy Power, said. "We're trying to investigate whether it's possible or whether we'll get put in prison for it."

It is probably a good idea to check that.

We here at Blue Crab Boulevard have no intention of entering the tournament, whether it is legal or not. We do hope they have some sort of entry standard, though. There are some people we don't even want to think of without their clothes on, much less see them that way.

UPDATE: We appear to have stumbled upon the reason Paddy Power has so many volunteers. According to Google, Irish internet users search the word 'lonely' more frequently than any other group. They're lonely! What a great way to meet people!

Still A Dumb Idea

We have maintained all along that the strategy of illegal immigration supporters to demonstrate was a phenomenally bad idea. If anything, those demonstrations, with people proudly waving Mexican flags, hardened the majority of Americans against the illegal immigrants. We've been predicting backlash, and firmly believe that the speech by President Bush tonight is a direct reaction to that building backlash. So what are the illegal immigration supporters going to do now?

Demonstrate again!

Bush's plan to dispatch National Guard troops to the Mexican border was not greeted well by the immigrant coalition, which plans a day of civil action Wednesday, with demonstrations at the White House and on Capitol Hill, and the launch of a nationwide voter registration campaign at churches and nonprofit organizations that hopes to sign up a million new voters among legal residents.

"We expect a large turnout of people from all over the country," Juan Carlos Ruiz, general coordinator for the National Capital Immigration Coalition, said over the weekend. He presaged the message of the Spanish-radio address, saying, "Militarizing the border is not a solution to the problem. We believe that militarizing the border is a propaganda tool. We need comprehensive immigration reform."

Who the heck is advising these groups on strategy? Bozo the clown?

Bush orders a showy border crackdown and they are planning to protest? Incredibly stupid idea. The fact that the umbrella group that is pushing this agenda, the We Are America Alliance, welcomes groups like La Raza into their ranks shows a lack of good judgment. You won't hear the La Raza is part of the group from the WaPo, though:

Despite Diaz's reservations, the We Are America Alliance is a formidable ensemble of immigrants rights groups. The coalition took shape around nationwide conference calls that started in February and continue today. Salas said national organizations such as the New American Opportunity Campaign and the Center for Community Change in Washington would call, sometimes at 6 a.m., and she would brainstorm with other activists.

Sorry, folks. This is appallingly bad judgment when 2/3 of America is already ticked off about this issue.

Very Sad If True

If the report from Liberty and Justice is true, Ayaan Hirsi Ali may be coming to live in the United States. What a horribly sad day for the Netherlands. Losing a voice for freedom is a terrible thing.

UPDATE: The San Diego Union Tribune is reporting the story as fact.

UPDATE: Thanks to Isaac Schrödinger for linking. Thanks also to Liberty and Justice for linking back.