2007 Weblog Awards – Folks I support

Voting for the 2007 Weblog awards is open, as I have mentioned in a previous post. I would not presume to tell anyone how to vote on those. But I have had a few requests via email asking who I support. A couple of people that I nominated have been chosen as finalists, so those are rather obvious choices.

Agam's Gecko: Agam is a finalist in the Best Asian Blog category. Agam has been doing yeoman's work in covering the situation in Burma lately and deserves support.

The Anchoress: What can I say? She is a great long-form blogger. Her essays are always worth reading,

As for other folks I am voting for: Captain's Quarters in Best Blog category. Sister Toldjah in Best Conservative Blog. The Van Der Galien Gazette for Best European (non-UK) Blog. Fausta in Best of the TLB 251-500. Betsy's Page in the TTLB 501-1000. Evil HR Lady in Best Business Blog.

I'm voting for a few others, but those are the main ones I support.

Remember, you can cast a vote once per day in each category. You don't have to vote in all categories.

Scratch A Politically Correct Government…..

….Find a deeply xenophobic one. I have long suspected that the most vociferous advocates of "diversity" and political correctness are overcompensating for what they , in fact, see in themselves. They routinely project those internal biases onto others and pretend that they are tolerant. In fact, it only takes a small push for the supposedly tolerant to show their true feelings. Don't believe it? Look how champions of tolerance in this country routinely refer to black conservatives. Some of the most vile, racist language and imagery is used. Or take a look at what is happening in Italy right now. Because of a rash of crimes committed by Romanian workers in Italy, full-fledged xenophobia has erupted.

ROME – Italy began deporting Romanians with criminal records in response to a streak of violent crime blamed on immigrants, authorities said Saturday. A knife-wielding mob attacked a group of Romanians in Rome.

Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu warned of rising xenophobia in Italy. Earlier this week, he backed the crackdown and came under criticism at home for apologizing for violence blamed on Romanian immigrants.

"We should fight against the wave of xenophobia that is manifesting itself in Italy and we must fight against the bad image that Romanians who are working in Italy have," Tariceanu said Saturday.

Up to 10 people wearing motorcycle helmets attacked a group of Romanians with knives, metal bars and sticks Friday night in the parking lot of a Rome supermarket, police said. Three Romanians were injured, one with serious head wounds. Police said they were looking for the attackers.

Authorities in Milan said that four Romanians with criminal records were put on a flight to Bucharest on Friday night, and that deportations for 12 other Romanians had been authorized.

They were the first reported expulsions since Premier Romano Prodi's center-left government approved a decree Wednesday night allowing the deportation of European Union citizens deemed dangerous.

The head of the Association of Romanians in Italy, Eugen Terteleac, said he welcomed the expulsions as long as government power "isn't abused. But he denounced the mob attack and accused the media of creating a "climate of uncertainty and alarm."

"The Romanian community is living through a nightmare," he said in a telephone interview.

Italy has long allowed foreign workers and has toed the European line on tolerance and political correctness. But they are only a few crimes away from outright xenophobia and mass thuggery against an ethnic group. That must not be allowed to happen in the United States. As Quilly Mammoth points out today, there are some pretty vile people over in Europe who are anti-immigrant.

Europe is faced with a compound problem. Not only do they have an illegal immigration problem, it is also one in the same as the spread of Radical Islam. On a continent where the communal ties that bind…religion, culture and nationhood…have been altered or abandoned in the post World War year’s Pan-Europe movement once despised neo-nazi groups are transformed and made over. Desperately people come to them as the last vestiges of what made Europe the birthplace of Western Civilization is seemingly being washed away.

As we here in America face some tough decisions about immigration reform and the growing influence of Radical Islam we have to make sure that we do so without playing into the hands of racists. They are out there hiding amongst legitimate groups where sometimes the rhetoric comes very close to intolerance.

I make a very clear distinction here at Blue Crab Boulevard on where I stand. I am very much pro-immigrant, regardless of where they are from or any physical characteristics they may possess. So long as they come here legally and want to become Americans. I am utterly opposed to illegal immigrants, regardless of where they are from or any physical characteristics they may possess. Because they should not be here taking the place of people who follow the rules. Anyone who tries to brand that as racism should examine their own soul.

A high fence, a wide gate and a hearty welcome for those who follow the rules. That simple, that powerful.

Coup, Coup, Kachoo

It  certainly looks like Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has just staged an outright coup. This has been developing all day and so far everything is pointing to a complete power grab. The chief justice of the Supreme Court as well as several other justices have been arrested, a communications blackout is in force, and a full state of emergency is in place. It also appears that Benazir Bhutto has been arrested as well.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday, suspending the constitution, replacing the chief justice before a crucial Supreme Court ruling on his future as president, and cutting communications in the capital.

His leadership threatened by an increasingly defiant court and an Islamic movement that has spread to Islamabad, Musharraf's emergency order accused some judges of "working at cross purposes with the executive" and "weakening the government's resolve" to fight terrorism.

Seven of the 17 Supreme Court judges immediately rejected the emergency, which suspended the current constitution. Police blocked entry to the Supreme Court building and later took the deposed chief justice and other judges away in a convoy, witnesses said.

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, a longtime rival of Musharraf who recently returned from eight years of exile, flew back to Pakistan from Dubai where she was visiting family. She left the airport under police escort; her house was surrounded by paramilitary troops.

The government halted all television transmissions in major cities other than state-controlled Pakistan TV. Telephone service in the capital, Islamabad, was cut.

The order drew swift complaints from the United States and Britain — Musharraf's main Western allies. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged restraint on all sides and a swift return to democracy in Pakistan.

The United States "does not support extraconstitutional measures," Rice said from Turkey, where she was participating in a conference with Iraq's neighbors.

But, in justification, the emergency order obtained by The Associated Press said "the constitution provides no solution for this situation, there is no way out except through emergent and extraordinary measures," it said.

Governments appear to be trying not to call it a coup, but it sure looks like one from here. The Telegraph has the British reaction. Times of London here.

Governments appear to be trying not to call it a coup, but it sure looks like one from here. The Telegraph has the British reaction. Times of London here.

Ship Of Fads

Call it the yuppie Hindenburg. Two artist/designers are promoting a "lifestyle zeppelin" named the "Strato Cruiser." Their design calls for a rock climbing wall, a lap pool, a bungee jumping platform, a disco, a day spa. You get the picture. Think of just about any current pop fad and it's in there.

Could this be the future of luxury air-travel?

This new airship concept, being developed by London-based art director Tino Schaedler and designer, Michael J Brown is the equivalent of a flying spa.

The Strato Cruiser, nicknamed the "lifestyle zeppelin", is a space-age style helium filled airship where guests can eat gourmet food, enjoy all the benefits of a spa and request tunes from a resident dj.

Passengers will also be able to take advantage of regular yoga classes and personal trainers.

Composed of a carbon fibre skin, the ship is intended to bring new levels of speed and safety to travel in a way that's eco-friendly. Private suites will be in the belly of the ship it cruises at double the speed of a convention blimp.

I remember reading about concepts very like this back when I was a kid reading Popular Science and Popular Mechanics. (I suspect the pop fad things on board were a bit different, though.) Magazines publish stories like this fairly routinely always promising great progress soon. Popular Mechanics are still at it, by the way.

The Secret (Mold) Garden

A family in Greenville, South Carolina was thrilled with the new house they had purchased. While exploring it, they found a secret room hidden behind a built-in bookcase. After that, they weren't so thrilled. In the room on a shelf was a letter from the previous owner. It said, "You found it!". "It" wasn't just the room in this case, it was what was growing in the room. Toxic mold to be precise. And rather a lot of it.

The secret room in the old mill home on Whitten Street in Greenville's Dunean section contained a handwritten letter from the previous owner titled, "You Found It!"

"Hello. If you're reading this, then you found the secret room. I owned this house for a short while and it was discovered to have a serious mold problem. One that actually made my children very sick to the point that we had to move out," Kerri Brown read from the letter.

According to the note, there was so much mold, it made the last family who lived there sick, and they were forced to move out.

The Browns later learned the home contained the worst types of mold including Stachybotrys, the so-called Toxic Black Mold.

The Browns, who have a young daughter, were stunned.

"It terrified me because my first thought was Megan," Kerri Brown said. "And you know, I had heard reports of what it does for children, and I was terrified."

But at this point, it was only a note, and Jason Brown was skeptical.

"Who would leave a note? Why did he do it? What's he up to? A little bit suspicious I would think. Even cynical almost," Jason Brown said.

So the Browns hired an environmental engineer to see if there was any truth to the note in the secret room.

Indeed, Steve Hendrix of Hendrix Consulting Engineers in Greenville, found elevated-levels of several types of mold, including Aspergillus, Basidiospores, Chaetomiu, Curvularia, Stachybotrys and Torula.

The Browns have filed a lawsuit against the realtor and the broker involved in the sale. Fannie Mae was originally also named in the suit, but they agreed to buy the house back and have been dropped from it as a result. The man who left the note did so because he was afraid the next family would end up in the same boat his family had. They had defaulted on the mortgage after they discovered the mold. They had not had the resources to pay for removal of the hazard. (There is a video report at the link.)

Heroic Effort Repairs Torn Solar Panel

Astronaut Scott Parazynski has completed repairs to the torn solar panel on the International Space Station. Riding on the extreme outer end of the station's robotic arm and an extension to it, Parazynski used cobbled-together tools and fasteners to cut tangled wires that had caused the damage, then fasten the torn area back together. Following the successful repairs, the solar panel was fully deployed and locked into place.

"Excellent work guys, excellent," space station commander Peggy Whitson said, after the wing was locked in place.

"Before we do the victory dance let's get Scott safely back to structure and then we can all rejoice," Discovery commander Pamela Melroy said as the robotic arm started driving Parazynski back to the station.

Perched at the tip of a 90-foot robotic arm and boom extension, Parazynski worked at the far left end of the linked shuttle-station complex, about half a football field away from the pressurized compartments where the astronauts work and live.

The ugly snag involved a guide wire, two hinge wires and two grommets. Parazynski first clipped a hinge wire near the larger tear, using a special tool that looked like a hockey stick to make sure the panel didn't spring back and hit him.

The solar panel captures sunlight to generate electricity, and is alive with more than 100 volts of electricity, possibly as much as 160 volts.

"It's a bit of a reach here," Parazynski said as he stretched to cut part of the guide wire.

"It's what those monkey arms are for," Melroy said, referring to Parazynski's 6-foot-2 height.

As soon as Parazynski cut the guide wire, the approximately 90-foot stretch of it recoiled all the way down into a reel where fellow spacewalker Douglas Wheelock was controlling and monitoring it. To everyone's relief, it retracted smoothly. "Beautiful. Nicely done," Parazynski reported.

Animations and images from yesterday's briefing show just how dangerous this repair was. That is one long way up to be working without a net. There is only one video still capture posted at the NASA shuttle page right now, but I'm sure they will have better images up soon. Great job, folks.

The Illegal Elephant In The Room

EJ Dionne brushes aside all the fun and games over Hillary Clinton's debate gaffe and all the subsequent foofraw to get to the real, underlying issue. It is one that the Democrats are trying to avoid at all costs. I suspect he's quite right about this.

More significant than Hillary Clinton's supposed gaffe at the end of Tuesday's Democratic presidential debate is the subject around which she tiptoed so delicately: immigration. Democrats fear the issue because it could leave them with a set of no-win political choices……..

………The issue is especially problematic because efforts to appease voters upset about immigration — including a share of the African American community — threaten to undercut the Democrats' large and growing advantage among Latino voters. For Republicans, the issue is both a way of changing the political subject from Iraq, the economy and the failures of the Bush presidency and a means of sowing discord in the Democratic coalition.

One poll finding this week that shook Democrats came in a survey conducted by Democracy Corps, a consortium organized by party consultants Stan Greenberg, Al Quinlan and James Carville. It asked voters to pick two from a list of seven problems that explain "why the country is going in the wrong direction."

The survey found that among independent voters, 40 percent — by far the largest group — picked this option: "Our borders have been left unprotected and illegal immigration is growing."

By contrast, a lack of action on health care was named by only 24 percent of independents as a core problem, and Iraq by 23 percent.

I have said – since before the 2006 elections – that there is no reason this country cannot have secure borders and a welcoming immigration policy. This is not, as Dionne portrays it, a desperation theme the Republicans can use. It is a common sense idea that will gain enormous traction with the voters. A high fence, a wide gate and a hearty welcome for people who play by the rules is a winning campaign slogan. The Democrats are dancing around that, the Republicans are fools not to embrace it. Look at the way the people rose up and torpedoed the "immigration reforms" from the Senate. Look at the way the people rose up and hammered the DREAM act. Look at the way the polls read in New York where a vast majority oppose Eliot Spitzer's "Licenses for Lawbreakers™" scheme.

Pay attention here, folks. This is an issue that can be solved and is a winner at the polls.

More Of What’s Under The Rock

Bryan at Hot Air managed to secure an interview with Dr. Linda Gottfredson of the University of Delaware who, along with her colleague Dr. Jan Blits, were instrumental in getting FIRE all fired up about the Orwellian indoctrination program that the university had imposed on students. (My previous posts on that abomination here and here.) Bryan has the audio of the interview and part of a transcript of it. It is pretty shocking just how bad the program really was and how the U of D administration has misrepresented it while trying to distance themselves from it. Go over and listen or read.

Stripping Off The Packaging

Blake D. Dvorak, writing at Real Clear Politics, takes a look at the first major gaffe from Hillary Clinton and her campaign machine. Others have looked at the unseemliness of Hillary's "damsel in distress" act after her misstep in the debate last week. Dvorak sees more than that in the misstep and in the reaction from the Hillary camp.

But let's not get too caught up in the hype, much of which can be explained by the simple fact that Clinton's answer has been the only somewhat consequential thing to happen in this race in a while. Nevertheless, the excitement coming from the Edwards and Obama camps following the debate is justified, if only because it's Clinton's first big mistake.

More significant, however, is what the gaffe has revealed about Clinton and her campaign. Following Russert's second attempt at an answer, Clinton appeared visibly annoyed and began by talking about "gotcha politics." And as her voice rose, rival campaign strategists' eyebrows rose in unison: If you corner her, they must have been thinking, she loses a lot of her grace.

This may sound like psycho-babble, but a very important objective of the Clinton campaign all year has been to soften Hillary's image. It's worked, too. Her high negative ratings, once the reason pundits said Democrats would never trust her with the nomination, have been going down recently. But for a brief moment Tuesday night, the veil dropped ever so slightly and threatened to unravel months of public-image building.

For candidates like Obama and Edwards, the key is not so much to show all the ways Clinton isn't a good liberal on matters of foreign-policy. The key is to show voters that behind the focus-grouped façade, there remains a Clinton — untrustworthy and ambition-oriented. It is easier to make the case that the country should move beyond Bush-Clinton if you can strip Hillary of the packaging designed to make you think she resembles "change." But since Clinton is unlikely to make the same mistake again, the campaigns will have to get creative. The weakness, however, has been revealed.

Just as significantly, Clinton's annoyance carried over into her campaign following the debate. First, the campaign started out blaming Russert, not only for the driver's license question, but also the question about Clinton's files held in the National Archives.

That is precisely what the Edwards campaign did with their devastating web ad (see previous post). They stripped off the packaging. What's underneath looks like a scheming, pandering politician willing to say anything to get elected. That is the real danger here for Clinton. A weakness has been exposed, a small opening exploited ruthlessly. That weakness is important:

The revelation? The candidate could be rattled, the campaign could be rattled, and suddenly the behemoth that is Team Hillary wasn't as sure-footed as it appeared.

That is a pretty important revelation.

Genius. Sheer Genius.

Credit where credit is due, this is one of the best web campaign ads of the season. It is from the John Edwards campaign and it uses the power of the internet age to savage her completely – by using nothing but her own words. Ouch. (H/T NRO, Jawa Report ans Riehl World View. )

In the YouTube age it is getting harder and harder to get away with the old fashioned way of politics.

Taxes Here, Taxes There, Taxes, Taxes Everywhere

The Los Angeles Times has one of the better discussions about the unabashed Democratic plans to raise taxes – in a very, very, big way – should they win in 2008. It is not just the politics but also covers some of the policy differences. While there is some difference of opinion among the Democratic candidates, all of them are flat out in favor of tax hikes.

WASHINGTON — More than two decades after presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale called for tax increases — and lost the White House in a landslide — the Democratic Party is on the verge of a major political gamble: Some of its leading members are proposing an array of tax hikes on wealthier Americans.

All of the major Democratic presidential candidates would allow President Bush's tax cuts for wealthier households to lapse. Most support raising the cap on income subject to Social Security taxes. Some want to raise taxes on capital gains and other investment income.

On Capitol Hill, a leading Democrat — House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel of New York — has proposed an additional tax on wealthy people and a levy on hedge fund managers to help pay for easing the tax burden on the middle class.

Some party strategists say calling for upper-income tax increases does not pose the political risk it once did because of wide public concern, particularly among Democratic voters, that the gap between rich and poor is growing. Income inequality has become an increasingly salient issue at a time when, amid news of astronomical corporate salaries, many people feel economically insecure about such bread-and-butter items as healthcare, pensions and college costs.

"The top 300,000 income-earners in America now make more than the bottom 150 million combined," former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards said when he unveiled his plan to raise taxes on the rich and cut them for the middle class. "Our tax code has shifted most of the burden onto the backs of working Americans."

But Republicans still see the emerging debate on taxes as a political gift. They have called Rangel's bill "the mother of all tax hikes," and their House campaign committee sent news releases and videos attacking the proposed legislation to 50 Democrats' districts.

Bush this week previewed the critique awaiting Democrats on the 2008 campaign trail. "They haven't seen a bill they could not solve without shoving a tax hike into it," he said of congressional Democrats, who included a cigarette-tax hike in a bill to expand children's health insurance. "In other words, they believe in raising taxes, and we don't."

The biggest driver: the alternative minimum tax. The Democrats unleashed that tax on Americans to soak the "rich". The definition of rich, however has been steadily defined downward by the Democrats as the years have gone by. Thus the tax has come down hard on the middle class in recent years. Washington has become quite addicted to the money, of course and now they need to fix the problem – and they plan to soak the "rich" to do so. Anyone else see the irony here? When these new tax hikes become increasingly crushing to the middle class in the future, Democrats will have no choice but to define "rich" as a lower and lower figure to keep the revenue coming in.

You can already see what is happening in Washington. Congress (and frankly, both parties have problems in this area) are trying to shove massively larded spending bills through. The bills are stuffed to the bursting point with pork and someone is going to have to pay for all that.