. . . right here.

Via Hackbarth, who probably already has his on order.

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I'm snugged up in the home of a prominent Nevada blogger, who may or may not want to own up to having one of the black sheep of the b-sphere in his guest digs. (I think my husband had a full FBI-level background check done on The Gentleman Blogger before permitting me to stay here; A the H was deeply reassured that a mutual friend of all three of ours with a military intel background gave my host the thumbs up.)

So far, Gentleman Blogger has fed me bitchin' lasagne and given me the most essential information about politicking in Clark County:

a) It is not a taboo to refer to Las Vegas as "Vegas." (Not at all analogous to referring to San Francisco as "Frisco," which is a fun parlor trick for Californians who want to see their Bay Area relatives flip out. Try it some time.) Some locals say "Vegas," and some do not. Personal preference.

b) It is unacceptable to refer to the state as "NevAHda," as GB and I both did, instinctively. (That could be an "educators-in-the-family" thing, or a California native thing.) The locals taught him, and he taught me, that the first "a" should sound like the "a" in "dad."

Nice to get to talk to GB a bit tonight, since they'll keep me busy at McCain HQ all week. There are several of us volunteering from California, and even a few who travelled up from Arizona. ("An army of us from nearby states, who want to help you turn Ne-vatta red.")

This state is so important; this election is so important. If it weren't for the unions' stranglehold on Las Vegas, it would be a slam-dunk for McCain . . . but Las Vegas is, they tell me, considered an integral part of the state. One citizen I spoke with today said the whole thing would be a cinch if it weren't for the city of Vegas. "Well, yes," I replied. "And California's electoral votes would go elsewhere if we could surgically remove Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland from it. Not that that would be fiscally prudent."

"Yup. The day I moved here from SF was the happiest day of my life," he affirmed.

"Well, we may be right behind you, once my husband retires," I told him.

Of course, no one seems to be asking what a carbon-correct version of The Strip would look like. I understand that Al Gore has been fantasizing about a "sublte," "toned-down" version of Las Vegas Blvd. that offers the tourist more of a "starry evening sky" effect . . . he's been consulting with Sarah Palin about whether a "Northern Lights" vibe would be classier and ultimately more compelling than all these tacky incandescent bulbs. Good luck with that, Al.

As to the work at hand, I've discovered that:

• I'm decent on the phones, except unable to properly cut short conversations with the uber-patriotic and the elderly; I tend to burn up "too much company time" telling them that if they are disabled and cannot travel to Henderson to help, the national phone banks may have campaign work that they can do from home, or, finally (with the very elderly, and very chatty) to explain that we're all praying very hard, too, and the race is neck-and-neck, if one accounts for crazy poll methodologies. "So keep the television off, and keep praying. Talk to your friends, relatives, and neighbors whom you might be able to persuade."

Of course, since I'm a volunteer no one has said a critical word, but I feel like I should be able to get through my calling lists more quickly, and entice more people to commit to some "get out the vote" time. I'm considering the "Jewish mother" approach: "I drove out from L.A. to spend nearly a week doing this, and you can't commit to three hours of precinct-walking this Friday? For people like you, I'm pouring my heart and soul into a campaign for a guy who isn't even quite libertarian enough for my taste?"

Then I'd tell them they need to eat more, and that they are breaking my heart.

• I'm fine on the door-to-door stuff. One has to balance the fact that I tend to get lost a lot (especially since my sunglasses aren't prescription-level, due to my cheap streak) against the fact that I'm learning (ever-so-slowly) to sweet-talk my way into the "guarded communities" (even tougher to get into than the "gated communities").

If all goes well I'll take off a little time to visit Attila the Hub's cousins on Saturday afternoon. It's a delicate matter, since a few of his relatives have defected to the Other Side lately, and we don't know if they have. (I doubt it; he's retired LAPD. Also, A the H's relatives trend as conservative as mine do liberal. Even in voting . . . I know there are California propositions that A the H and I voted on differently, and that's not even counting the gay marriage thing. Shockingly, we disagree as to when public monies might legitimately go to certain types of infrastructure.)

And if I can sneak away briefly on Sunday, there's a shootin' event I'd like to attend with some of the locals. I haven't clung bitterly to a firearm in a long time; my former editor at the gun journals tells me I just have to go to the SHOT Show one of these years, preferably when it's happening here. (The availability of ranges where full-auto weaponry is available is, of course, a draw.) I actually wonder whether that might be a justifiable expenditure, since they know I'm a decent gunwriter, and a damned good editor (if I do say so myself). It probably wouldn't hurt to re-introduce myself, although until I go on one hunt (even if it's a guided one) I'll always feel like a second-class citizen within the firearms community. (Though I do know a few prominent gunwriters who are not hunters; I choose not to "out" them.)

As Gary Sitton would say: "Be safe; and shoot straight."

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Day by Day is especially good today, but it's an extended Sunday edition; you'll want to go to Muir's site to see it in all its glory, or you'll drive yourself mad scrolling around in my sidebar. *

And, well—I see why Obama feeds the media Miracle-Gro. He kind of has to. But I can't help but think that good old Purina Reporter Chow would be more cost-effective. (Some bloggers, on the other hand, prefer Purina Puppy-Blender Chow, but that's probably a specialized taste.)

* Titanic trivia questions:
• Which of the four funnels on the Titanic was merely ornamental?
• Which of the Titanic officers, in addition to being a crewmember, was also a yachtsman—a sailor?
• What tipped the passengers off on the rescue ship that something was awry, and how did they get information that they were headed into colder waters?

Posted by: Attila Girl at 03:38 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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I don't understand this. If we (Classical liberals / libertarians / conservatives / Republicans) were as racist as the lefties claim we are, couldn't we just use "black" as a code word for "black"? It would save everyone a lot of trouble: less time and effort encoding everything we say and write, and less time decoding on their end. We'd save a lot of time for arguing about . . . the electoral college or something.

Jeff:

Again and again IÂ’ve highlighted the end game for speech codes, and for the slippery slope that is inherent in the post-structuralist movement to un-tether language from intent.

Here, it is now being alleged that socialism is being used as a code word that signals a distrust of blacks. To believe this, however, we must willingly bracket from history all of the whites who have also been accused of communist or socialist / radicalist / Maoist sympathies (including, quite recently, Ayers, Dohrne, and several white members of the New Party, among whom one counts the inarguably pasty faces of Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, and Barbara Ehrlenreich).

Such attacks serve no other purpose than to put the accused on the defensive — and so in a very real way speak to a supreme irony evidently lost on “intellectuals” like Mr Diuguid: they have become the new McCarthyites, even as they pretend to be fighting against a kind of neo-McCarthyism of their own creation.

Up is down. Black is White. Josie is the Pussycats.

When I use a word, it means just what the leftist kooks around me choose it to mean—neither more nor less.

But my quarrel with Jeff is that I now have the theme song for Josie and the Pussycats going through my head—and I fear that it might stay there for a good, long time.

There's nothing for it, then: I must spread the earbug around; everyone's better off that way:

At least, that's what I've been told.

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Katie Favazza has an amazing interview up with Phil Valentine over at Right Wing News.

They cover Valentine's new book, The Conservative's Handbook: Defining the Right Position on Issues from A to Z, and myriad other subjects.

He's a bit of a Renaissance Man (and Favazza, a Renaissance Woman), so it's hard to summarize the interview, but here are a few appetizers:

Favazza: How would you describe the ways in which your book differs from other popular conservative books?

Valentine: I don't mean this in a cocky way but there's really nothing else out there like it. Don't get me wrong, there are some great conservative books out there from some great conservatives. There's just not anything out there this comprehensive as far as laying out conservative principles on a whole host of issues. Readers tell me they use it as a desktop reference book to refute liberal arguments. That's exactly why I wrote it.

Hm. Maybe that'll tell me why I'm supposed to be so angry about "amnesty," and up in arms about "illegals." (I mean, I get that we can't afford porous borders in this day and age, and I understand the argument that illegal immigration may be a net drag on the economy, but I don't really see crossing the border to get work unavailable in Latin America to be an act of "contempt for our laws," as so many of my colleagues do. I think people are just trying to get by, ya know?)

Favazza: How is your biofuel coming along? Can you briefly explain what you're trying to do for Bennie the BioBenz and your brand of "going green?"

Valentine: Yeah, my going green is all about more green in the pocket. I was just tired of getting jerked around by Big Oil and Big Terrorism. I also wanted to see if your average Joe with no mechanical inclinations could actually do it. It took me over a year to finally stop talking about it and take the plunge but once I did, man, what a liberating feeling that was. I remember the first time I poured biodiesel into Bennie that I had made and started him up and drove around town, I was on Cloud Nine. When Nashville went through the gas shortage in September I saw people lined up for blocks for gas, if they could find it. I drove right on by in Bennie the BioBenz. It was great.

Is it for everyone? Probably not, but I don't think our solution to foreign oil dependency is going to be one thing. It'll be a combination of solutions that gradually move us away from foreign oil. Some states penalize people who make their own fuel. Fortunately, Tennessee does not and it's encouraging all sorts of people to delve into different kinds of alternative fuel.

If the Mercedes people wanted more people to buy their cars, they'd start offering the conversions to biodiesel—if not vegetable oil—themselves. (Though these urea-injected Mercedes diesels are intriguing—perhaps not in an energy- or cost-saving sense, but certainly in terms of reducing particulate matter. What's needed might be more aftermarket firms that convert used vehicles on behalf of The Unhandy. There's a conversion primer here, to get you started. And you can read all about Valentine's adventures in his book.)

Posted by: Attila Girl at 06:03 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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This time, it's a new tool to avert drunk emailing.

I do not believe that Movable Type has a feature like that; I've looked.

h/t: Girl on the Write

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Or is Melissa just a bit annoyed at Peggy Noonan?

I just don't get Noonan lately. I've certainly had arguments with conservatives about Sarah Palin with conservatives (is she a brilliant retail politician, a la Ronald Reagan, or is she McCain's answer to Harriet Miers? And can you compare a management position with that which must be occupied—by definition—by a legal scholar?)

But John McCain heads up this ticket, and whatever else he is, he is neither an extreme right-winger, nor an idiot. There are, in fact, a number of ways in which his communication skills are far better than Obama's (e.g., his sense of humor is far superior to The One's).

Noonan used to be a bright writer; an interesting voice. A thinker. Now she's merely a silly classist hack. Over the past several years I've found her to be more and more unreadable: less thoughtful. Less challenging.

So there won't be much to miss, for me. Ronald Reagan, on the other hand, may be spinning in his grave.

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Two attorneys, two science teachers (high school level, college level). And my sponsee into the church, who is one of the few bright spots in my life—and with whom I should spend much more time.

"Have you seen An American Carol?" my sponsee asks, brightly.

"Oh, yes. I have. As a matter of fact, I'm sort of known as being a . . . [looking around at CalTech Girl, gesturing wildly, in an I-don't-have-the-vocabulary sort of way] an enthusiastic, pi . . . ."

"—cheerleader." CTG finishes.

"Right." I add. "I, um. I liked the movie. I thought lots of people should see it."

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It's like I just didn't let myself see it too clearly, or something:

h/t: Gregory.

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I trust that G-d will see to it that one of the following people show up, so that I don't cuss too much:

• The Stern Twin, who does not like to see her mother smoke, drink and cuss; nor her mother's associates. When we do, she gives us Stern Looks.*

• Baldilocks. Every time I cussed at the Palin rally (and the bloggers' "afterparty") the weekend before last she was able to point to a nearby child who might have overheard me. Eventually I realized that Juliette has a supernatural ability to transport children under the age of ten at will—provided someone in uses the F-word in her presence.

And it turns out that I used the F-word a lot. Who knew?

*The Stern Twin—whom I love as much as My Twin—always makes me think of this poem:

ON HEARING THAT THE STUDENTS OF
OUR NEW UNIVERSITY HAVE JOINED THE
AGITATION AGAINST IMMORAL LITERATURE

Where, where but here have Pride and Truth,
That long to give themselves for wage,
To shake their wicked sides at youth
Restraining reckless middle-age?
—W.B. Yeats

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But I cannot quite reconcile the notion that he has conservative or libertarian ideals, and still endorses Obama. Those two ideas simply don't go together.

AllahP thinks there's something not quite right about the break between Chris and National Review; like Ace, I'm fine with it. Though, perhaps, as usual, less brutal and less gleeful in my brutality. (That's why people read Ace, but do not read me. That, and his habit of "accidentally" downloading lesbian pron from time to time onto AoSHQ.)

Buckley is a great writer—and can be funny in a way that his dad never was—but isn't entitled to write a column in a magazine with a different ideology simply on the basis of his last name.

I don't want to sound mean, but no media organ is equivalent to an Ivy League school, where family connections matter more than nearly anything else.

Buckley's got talent, and he'll do fine. I don't think he was a terrific match for National Review, and I'm sure his erstwhile editors were just as sad as he was when it came time to part ways.

And, no,Ace: I don't buy that he did it just to get a property sold.

And, no, AllahP: I'm fine with having people in the tent who can't manage to pull the lever for McCain. I wish they would, for the sake of the WoT, but it isn't mandatory. Not everyone's going to have the stomach for that—particularly those who focus on immigration from a law-and-order standpoint, or on an economic basis.

My opposition to open borders is strictly a national security thing. Other than that, I'm pretty much a wetback-digger. Okay, I lied: I actually think that there is tremendous discrimination against Canadians, and those who aren't From the Americas. I'd love to see a system in place that respects freedom and capitalism, yet doesn't let a lot of people "cut in line." Unfortunately, that would require asking an American bureaucracy to do its job in an even-handed way, and with alacrity/competence.

What I would see as mandatory for a National Review writer would be not endorsing a corrupt socialist for the highest office in the land.

So it is a sad moment. But it was time.

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1 You might like Vox's take. Dude, we're not in "line world". There are other dimensions (and other candidates) besides left-right.

Posted by: Desert Cat at October 15, 2008 07:07 AM (6go9w)

2 Personally, I think it's the absolute perfect time to split with the Republican party if you hold 'conservative ideals.' Bush and Paulson's plan has got to be the least conservative thing that this non-conservative administration has ever done, hasn't it? Scratch that, the perfect time for conservatives to split with Republicans was in 2001.

Posted by: Levi at October 15, 2008 07:24 AM (UPHC3)

3 I read Buckley's article and the first thing Ithought was he's just another elitist. And he's fooling himself. He thinks you have to go to an Ivy League school to be president, just like some of my democrat friends. They believe strongly in credentialism. And Obama has jumped through the credential hoops. And Palin has not. So she can't possibly be qualified. And Buckley assumes that Obama won't do half of what he's promising, because Buckley is sure he'll do "the right thing" when he gets into office, because he's pedigreed. So basically, he's an elitist supporting someone he thinks is lying. Not really an argument I'm willing ot be swayed by.

Posted by: silvermine at October 16, 2008 10:45 AM (qsBMy)

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after being run for years by . . . the FBI.

And they have actual names and addresses at this point. Warms the cockles of my heart, it does.

h/t Ace.

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Darleen Click on the irony of a culture in which teenagers show "more class" than adults regarding those who live with Down Syndrome.

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Stacy McCain observes the death throes of the dailies and weeklies as I visit the monthly consumer magazines in their own last days. At least in the glossy four-color industry we knew we were in a business; the daily guys seemed to think they were participating in some kind of church.

Stacy:

That a newspaper is a business -- that it exists to generate profit by providing a product to consumers, in the same sense that a shoe store sells shoes -- is an alien concept to most journalists. Notions like value-added, market share and comparative advantage never enter the minds of most journalists, who conceive of themselves as pursuing a profession that has nothing whatsoever to do with commerce.

So much of what newspapers have done, they've done at the behest of consultants, or by following the conventional wisdom doled out in ASNE conferences and journalism trade publications.

Hey; it worked for a while.

RTWT.

Stacy's observations are, as usual, clear-eyed, and he combines new-media savvy with a deep working knowledge of beltway politics. For what it's worth, the man can also hold his liquor better than most; that's probably how he gets his scoops.

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Sarah at the top of the ticket, and Hilton at the bottom?

Via AllahP at Hot Air. He's right, though: we can't just walk out of Iraq with our little pet doggies in our little doggie-purses, teetering on our high heels . . .

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Racists.

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