Year: 2009

Some more nice weekend reading….

Pat Austin, the owner of “And So it Goes in Shreveport” has done another one of her “Full Medal Jacket Reach-Around” postings.

One of these days, I’m gonna head down there and take her up on that reach-round offer. 😉 😛 😀 😆

Pat says:

Okay, that’s all for now. Have a great Saturday! Hope it’s cooler where you are than where I am.

I just woke up from a nap; but, earlier it came up a thunderstorm here, at about 8:00 this morning and ever since, it’s been hot. It is, as of this writing, 81 degrees. The A/C is running like mad.

So, yeah, it’s hot here too! 😀

The Obama Booty call, wasn't one after all.

Remember the Booty Call thing that I blogged about?

Well, perhaps not:

Yeah, I know, there was another photo too, but as Michelle Malkin notes; it too, was taken horribly out of context.

So, I am all for the reporting of said booty calls. But when there’s no booty call to report, there’s none to report.

Nothing to see here, move along…. 😀

Video: The Southern Avenger on "High Infidelity"

Jack tries to sell this one, but based on the comments over at facebook; it is going to be a tough sell.

—–

Synopsis:

In the wake of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford’s infidelity scandal, it is worth noting that rampant adultery amongst politicians still poses less danger than their politics.

Headline of the Day

Every now and again; I see a headline that stops me cold in my tracks. Here’s the one I saw today:

“Christian Believers Would Be Excluded From Government If The Left Liberals Had Their Way”

You will never be able to guess where I saw such a headline…… Go on, guess!

The New Republic

I know.. “What?!?!“; that’s what I thought too, when I saw it.

Money Quote:

As it happens, one doctor to whom I spoke (he is a professor at the Harvard Medical School and vice president for research at one of its teaching hospitals) compared the Collins group’s identification of the errant gene that causes cystic fibrosis to the discovery of one disabled bulb in the entire American electric web. No mean piece of work.

So what’s wrong with Collins?

He is a practicing and believing Christian. It’s odd–isn’t it?–that this fact should make a scientific designee unfit or unsuited for a job. Soon we will hear the same about judicial nominees. The establishment mounted a sustained campaign in the Senate (and outside) against President Wilson’s nomination of Louis D. Brandies to the Supreme Court on the grounds that the candidate was Jewish, although some of his critics tended to be euphemistic rather than direct about their objections. Not so those who are against Collins.

The president must have anticipated this reaction. It is reassuring that he did not crumble in advance.

Needless to say, there are some liberals that are NOT happy with the wording in this article. Well, the way I see it. Anything that makes the far left Liberals Angry is usually just well-written or is filled with absolute truth about them.

I think I have a whole new respect for The New Republic. It’s recent past notwithstanding.

D'oh!: Bush Warrentless Wiretaps program was so secretive, that it did not even work!

This sounds just about right for that Administration:

“Extraordinary and inappropriate” secrecy about a warrantless eavesdropping program undermined its effectiveness as a terrorism-fighting tool, government watchdogs have concluded in the first examination of one of the most contentious episodes of the Bush administration.

A report by inspectors general from five intelligence agencies said the administration’s tight control over who learned of the program also contributed to flawed legal arguments that nearly prompted mass resignations in the Justice Department five years ago.

The program “may have” contributed to successful counterterrorism efforts, some intelligence officials told the investigators. But too few CIA personnel knew of the highly classified program to use it for intelligence work, the report stated, while at the FBI, the program “played a limited role,” with “most . . . leads . . . determined not to have any connection to terrorism.”

The surveillance program, which intercepted domestic communications linked to people with suspected ties to al-Qaeda, was one of the Bush administration’s most secretive and, eventually, controversial intelligence efforts. After the New York Times disclosed its existence in December 2005, the program became a symbol of the administration’s expansive view of executive authority, especially regarding national security.

“The surveillance program was overly secret and its importance overblown,” concluded Gregory Nojeim, senior counsel of the privacy advocacy organization Center for Democracy and Technology, after reading the report.

The release yesterday of the inspectors general’s summary findings renewed questions about the effectiveness of congressional oversight of intelligence activities, after a week of back-and-forth between House members and the CIA over an unrelated classified program that has been squashed by the new administration. The IGs reported that lawmakers received 49 briefings on the surveillance program between October 2001 and January 2007.

via Inspectors General Report Faults Secrecy of Surveillance Program – washingtonpost.com.

Yeah, I know there is supposed to be some screwball liberal narrative here; somewhere anyhow. I think more than anything at all. This little story shows, if anything at all, the blatant incompetence, and the ineptitude of the previous administration.  In layman’s terms; if anything, our previous President was an overzealous screwball. Granted, the program did work, but the insistence on keeping it so damn secret, caused it not to work; as it was supposed to.

Time to thank the people; that make this Blog what it is.

I was looking at the backend of my blog, (The backend, is the place that the admins check in to do Admin stuff…) and I saw the posting below…..:

Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend. Many of the plugin authors I have spoken with throughout the community tell me that very rarely do they ever get a donation let alone a Thank You for releasing their work to the public. Based on the plugin authors feedback, end users demand more features, demand better support, and in the end, have this feeling of entitlement even if the plugin is available without a price tag. The reality is, that for a freely available plugin, you’re not entitled to anything. I don’t know about you, but I certainly would not like to be part of a community that is known as thankless.

Before I list a few ways of curbing this attitude, I must say that not EVERYONE in the community acts in the ways I described above. I know many of us have donated to plugin authors, have written reviews of plugins to give them exposure, have said thank you, etc. This post is not geared towards you but towards those who seemingly want to have their cake and eat it too.

Saying Thanks – I believe saying thank you is underrated these days. Saying thanks can go a long way in making a plugin author feel good about themselves for their contribution to the community.

via Is WordPress A Thankless Community? | Weblog Tools Collection.

So, seeing today is a bit a slow news day and because I’m really not much in the mood to write about silly political stories. I thought, instead of sitting and e-mailing all these people, I will write about it and then e-mail them, if I can, a link to the blog entry.

There is a great number of people to acknowledge for making this blog great.

  1. First off is the team at WordPress. WordPress is the best Blogging platform around. Matt and the team have advanced in great strides in the last few years in advancing the software. I give them top billing.
  2. Second off is my buddy Ryan Yaple, Ryan is a saint of a young man; who stepped into a rather bad situation a few years back, and basically gave me hosting for free. I am getting a check from Adsense soon here and I plan on giving him some of it. Thanks Ryan, you’re a saint man! 🙂
  3. Thirdly, Site5 hosting; The service can be described in one word — Amazing. They’ve went well and above what most hosts would even do for their customers.  Even when I have contacted them having a bitching screaming fit when my blog was down. You guys are the best, and I mean that.

Before I get into the Plug in’s. Let me tell you about the template that I use,  that makes this Blog look so good. I’ve done little modification to it. One minor one, and I changed the header photos, and do I plan to add more as I go along —- The Theme name is called Atahualpa and it is written by a man named Flynn, who lives over in Germany. Here’s the site for it — Drop over and tell Flynn how much you like his theme. You’re the best, Flynn! 🙂

While WordPress is awesome, and the hosting is no slouch either; WordPress would be nothing with the Plugin Authors. Here are  the one’s that I use and recommend highly to any Blog that wants to do this for a living — and actually make money doing it. They are:

  1. Akismet – Akismet is a Plug-in that checks my Blog comments and makes sure that they’re not spam, if they are; it tosses ’em into the spam folder. — Matt Mullenweg wrote it originally, but now, there’s a team handling it. Here’s the Company’s website.  Without this Plugin, life would not be happy for WordPress users.
  2. All in One SEO Pack –There is one word to describe this plug in; and that’s awesome. You want to be seen and read in the Blogsphere and want the google juice? Get this Plug in. If you came in via Google search; it was most likely because of this Plug in.
  3. Apture – Apture is the plug in that creates that neat little symbol next to links that I post to Wikipedia Entries and/or Youtube or google videos. There’s much more to that plug-in, half of which I do not even use. It’s quite the awesome plug in and I like it quite a bit. Check out their site!
  4. Contact Form 7 – A very simple, but very nice form to mail plug in. If you have ever contacted me via the Blog. You have used this Plug in. Check out the author’s Site.
  5. Drafts Dropdown – This is a new plug in that I just installed, but it was written by one of the WordPress team members. Check out Crowd Favorite‘s Website! – This plug allows me to access any draft posting for the blog, that I may have created, easier. I highly recommend it for all wordpress users.
  6. FeedBurner FeedSmith – A Great plug-in that basically makes it much easier for you people to get my Blog via RSS. Feedburner’s Site is here.
  7. Google XML Sitemaps – Another great plug in, that basically helps with the google juice. – Plugin’s Home page and the Author’s Homepage
  8. Podcasting – Podcasting is just that, a simple WordPress plug-in to allow people to set up a simple podcast from their Blog.  It is written and supported by Spiral Web Consulting. Visit the Plugin’s page here. — Whenever I link to any offsite audio or video, I am using this Plugin to do so. It is quite the awesome plug in, I highly recommend it.
  9. ShareThis – ShareThis is a neat little plug in, that allows me, or you, the reader to share blog postings with all of the nifty social networks out there. I highly recommend it. – Plugin Website.
  10. StatPress Reloaded – If there is one thing that we Bloggers are most anal retentive about, it is stats. (well, at least, I AM anyhow… :D) We Bloggers like to know, where, how, and how many. This Plugin Delivers that and much more. – Visit the Plug-in’s website and the Author’s website.
  11. Subscribe To Comments – This nifty little plug-in does what the title says, allows you to get an e-mail, if someone replies to your comment or if a new comment is posted. You will see a box asking you if you want to subscribe to comments. If you have checked it, this plug in handles your request.  A handsome young man, by the name of Mark Jaquith writes this Plug in.
  12. WordPress.com Stats – As I said before, we blogging types like our stats. Some of us really like our Stats. This is another one of them kinda Plug-Ins. This one was written by the fellers at WordPress. It was written by some dude named Andy Skelton. (I wonder if he’s related to Red Skelton?) Here’s the Plug in’s webpage.
  13. WordPress Beta Tester – There are actually some weirdos who actually like to Alpha and Beta test software on live Blogs. I’m one of them, this is a nice little plug in, that helps that process along. By the way, I am Alpha testing WordPress Version 2.9. Strange folk aren’t I? 😀 – Plugin’s Website.  Plug-in Author Peter Westwood‘s Site. Update: I removed this Plug in, as I stopped Beta testing. But it was a great plug in.
  14. WordPress Mobile Edition – This Plug-in allows you to view my Blog on your cellphone. So, whether you are on a BlackBarry or one of them snobby elitist iPhones —- that I cannot afford, this Plug-in is helping that along. Plug-in HomePage — Author’s Homepage
  15. WP-Ban – This is one plug-in that I did not want to install, but there are those idiots that just cannot be told, “You cannot do that!”, so, I had to install a plug-in to keep the idiots out. Here’s the Plug-in’s Website and the Author’s Site. Update #2: I removed this Plug in, was causing some issues with people being able to view the Blog. I do not think that it is 100% compatible with Wordpess 2.8.x
  16. WP-SpamFree – This plug-in here is another line of defense against spammers, Plain and simple; the plug in works damn good. In fact, there was one instance were it worked too good, and kept a legit comment from getting though. I fixed that, I tweaked the setup just a bit, and that should not happen again. (I Hope!) – The plug in is written by a fine young man named Scott Allen; of whom I have yelled at a few times, when he was first getting started, because his plug-in did not sit straight and fly right. Instead getting angry and folding his arms, he worked harder and now that plug-in almost looks professional. 😉 Seriously, if you want cut down on the spam, get the plug in, you won’t regret it. Update #3: I had to remove this one as well, as it was preventing people from being able to comment. Although, it did work well, perhaps a bit too well!
  17. WP Super Cache – This awesome Plug-in right here saves my behind every month. It keeps me from burning through bandwidth and causing my server to meltdown. It is written by Donncha O Caoimh who lives somewhere across the big pond in Ireland. Donncha is a good sport, I’ve hollered at him, when his Plug-in decided that it wanted to do things it’s way, instead of mine. He’s a good sport, he hollers back! 😀 Anyhow, If you are one of them professional blogger types, this; and all of the others I have listed are the one’s to get. It will keep you up and running during traffic spikes. — Plug-in’s Homepage

I guess the only thing left is, well, You. You guys are the one’s that have really made this blog what it is. That’s right, you; the reader. Many of you are silent, some have braved my comment rules and have stepped in and have told me that you agree, or that I was a damned idiot and didn’t know what heck I was talking about. You have also took blog postings and have left them in forums, sent them in e-mails to your friends and family, and sent me tons of traffic;  you did that. Heck, I’m just the store keeper and I just have the know-how of how to keep the store running. You people are what makes this Blog really work.

This blog, never was, nor will it ever be; about me. If it ever becomes that, I will close this blog down, sell the domain and go back to just being another unemployed truck driver.  It is about you. The American people, those of you, who are not willing to accept the lies and the deception of the Liberal Main Stream Media; but want to hear the truth or at least my take on it. Those of you who know and realize that the Democrats and yes, some Republicans; are not for the American people, but have their own self interests in mind. That is what this blog was founded for, and is what it is about today. It is about getting the truth to the people; even if it tends to hurt myself or the group of people that I align myself with.

Again, I am eternally grateful to all of you who take the time to stop in and read; even if you do not comment. You should know, that I know that you are here. I read the stats, I see who comes and goes. Thank you for your Faithfulness, Even if you do not agree; I at least know that you care.

Eternally grateful for each one of you,

-Pat

Thank You Peggy Noonan!

Finally! Someone on the right, finally understands the truth:

Sarah Palin’s resignation gives Republicans a new opportunity to see her plain—to review the bidding, see her strengths, acknowledge her limits, and let go of her drama. It is an opportunity they should take. They mean to rebuild a great party. They need to do it on solid ground.

Her history does not need to be rehearsed at any length. Ten months ago she was embraced with friendliness by her party. The left and the media immediately overplayed their hand, with attacks on her children. The party rallied round, as a party should. She went on the trail a sensation but demonstrated in the ensuing months that she was not ready to go national and in fact never would be. She was hungry, loved politics, had charm and energy, loved walking onto the stage, waving and doing the stump speech. All good. But she was not thoughtful. She was a gifted retail politician who displayed the disadvantages of being born into a point of view (in her case a form of conservatism; elsewhere and in other circumstances, it could have been a form of liberalism) and swallowing it whole: She never learned how the other sides think, or why.

In television interviews she was out of her depth in a shallow pool. She was limited in her ability to explain and defend her positions, and sometimes in knowing them. She couldn’t say what she read because she didn’t read anything. She was utterly unconcerned by all this and seemed in fact rather proud of it: It was evidence of her authenticity. She experienced criticism as both partisan and cruel because she could see no truth in any of it. She wasn’t thoughtful enough to know she wasn’t thoughtful enough. Her presentation up to the end has been scattered, illogical, manipulative and self-referential to the point of self-reverence. “I’m not wired that way,” “I’m not a quitter,” “I’m standing up for our values.” I’m, I’m, I’m.

In another age it might not have been terrible, but here and now it was actually rather horrifying.

via Peggy Noonan: A Farewell to Harms – WSJ.com.

Finally, someone has told the truth about Sarah Palin.

More:

Here’s why all this matters. The world is a dangerous place. It has never been more so, or more complicated, more straining of the reasoning powers of those with actual genius and true judgment. This is a time for conservative leaders who know how to think.

Here are a few examples of what we may face in the next 10 years: a profound and prolonged American crash, with the admission of bankruptcy and the spread of deep social unrest; one or more American cities getting hit with weapons of mass destruction from an unknown source; faint glimmers of actual secessionist movements as Americans for various reasons and in various areas decide the burdens and assumptions of the federal government are no longer attractive or legitimate.

The era we face, that is soon upon us, will require a great deal from our leaders. They had better be sturdy. They will have to be gifted. There will be many who cannot, and should not, make the cut. Now is the time to look for those who can. And so the Republican party should get serious, as serious as the age, because that is what a grown-up, responsible party—a party that deserves to lead—would do.

It’s not a time to be frivolous, or to feel the temptation of resentment, or the temptation of thinking next year will be more or less like last year, and the assumptions of our childhoods will more or less reign in our future. It won’t be that way.

We are going to need the best.

Possibly the best thing Noonan has ever written. I can imagine the Palin-Bots are going to trash Noonan for having the gall to write this. But it is the truth.

Thank You Peggy for telling the truth.

From the Dept of "How to kill your business in little or no time flat…" – NYT considering fee to access content

I can almost guarantee that this will kill the New York Times, if they go through with this:

July 9 (Bloomberg) — New York Times Co. said in a survey of print subscribers that it’s considering a $5 monthly fee for access to its namesake newspaper’s Web site.

Times Co. also asked whether subscribers would be willing to pay a discounted fee of $2.50 a month for access to the site, in the poll confirmed today by Catherine Mathis, a company spokeswoman. Nytimes.com, the most visited among newspapers’ sites, is currently free.

Times Co. is contemplating additional sources of revenue as marketers slow spending on the Internet. Ad sales at the publisher’s sites, also including about.com and boston.com, fell 8 percent and 3.5 percent in the first quarter and fourth quarter of 2008 respectively. They gained 6.5 percent last year.

“The question here for consumers is the psychological barrier of now paying when you were getting it for free before, and you’re going to lose some readers as a result,” said Ken Doctor, an analyst at Outsell Inc. in Burlingame, California. “The New York Times will also have to evaluate what this means for ad rates as they lose readers.”

Times Co., based in New York, lost 11 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $4.80 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have fallen 35 percent this year.

The New York Times had an average of 647,695 weekday home delivery subscribers as of the 26 weeks ended March 29, according to Audit Bureau of Circulations data. That doesn’t include single-copy sales or third-party sales. Its site is the most visited among news sites, according to ComScore Inc. data.

via New York Times Considers $5 Monthly Web-Access Fee (Update2) – Bloomberg.com.

Here is why I believe that this will be a business killer for the New York Times. Quite simply put; people are just not going to pay for content that they can access elsewhere. Sure, the locals will pay to access to the local related content; but all the National News stuff usually comes from the AP or Reuters; and people just are not going to pay for it, when they can get it for free elsewhere.

The reason the New York Times  is hurting for revenue is two fold. One; is the economy, people just are not spending the extra money to buy papers and Businesses are tightening their belts due to losing in the Stock Markets and because of the major recession. Secondly; it is because of the liberal slant of the paper. The average person is just not as far left as the New York Times. People want honesty and integrity; and the New York Times, along with the rest of the Liberal media went into the tank for President Obama. It worked for a little while, but people have begun to see, that they were being sold a bag of lemons and are now waking up to the fact that President Obama is more of the same in Washington D.C.

This is especially true on the far, far, left. The Iraq War still continues, and this after Obama promised to end the war. The Gay community sees President Obama as a enemy to their cause. President Obama’s poll numbers are a reflection of this. As you might already know, his poll numbers took a major dip; especially in Ohio. This could come back haunt him come 2012, if he runs again. It also could be a indication of things to come in 2010.

Either way, this idea, like the one that Rupert Murdoch proposed doing with the New York Post, will be a business killer. Hopefully, these knuckleheads wise up and don’t follow this plan of disaster.

Others: MoJo Blog Posts, DailyFinance, Mashable!, Mediaite, Silicon Alley Insider, Gawker, The New Republic and MediaMemo