Now I’m a Southern guy, so I can appreciate a southern accent – but does that constitute electability? If so, I may have a future in presidential politics (so long as Senator Clinton doesn’t find my Kindergarten journal and coloring book). Am I the only one who thinks the ultimate sign of desperation on the campaign trail is the necessity to resort to one’s accent? At recent town hall events, namely in New Hampshire and Iowa, Democrat Presidential candidate John Edwards is attempting to garner supporters, donations, and caucus goers because he said “The last two Democratic presidents, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, both talk like me.” It seems to me like this tactic is about as useful as a pogo-stick in quicksand. What ever happened to meaningful debates and substance

More below the fold.

Let’s review the playbook for the Democrat Presidential candidates (they’re all using the same one; I think they just give them away at MoveOn rallies) Step 1 – Blame Bush; Step 2 – Blame Bush; Step 3 – Shake things up and blame Cheney; Step 4 – “Accidentally” list endorsements who aren’t endorsing you (This one’s for you Senator Obama); Step 5 – Claim originality; Step 6 – Whip out that Southern twang (Yes, I’m talking to you too, Senator Clinton).

Oh, and John Edwards may ”sound” like Presidents Clinton and Carter, but I wonder if they get $300 haircuts too?

If Senator Edwards continues on this track I expect to see his next campaign video featuring tunes from “Gone with the Wind.”

Red Square:

What if Laura Bush starts running too? She’s got the same qualifications as Hillary, doesn’t she, and Hillary is rumored to be a shoe-in. By the same standards, Laura should also be a shoe-in, no? (hat-tip, Ross)

Red has a point. James Richardson of the RNC eCampaign addressed this issue yesterday:

Have you ever gone to an interview for a really fantastic job without your résumé?

Continue Reading »

These articles show you how
to make Web 2.0 work for you!

By Tamar Weinberg:

• Best Internet Marketing Blog Posts of 2007
  A treasure trove of useful information!
• How Do You Network on Different Social Sites?

By Lorelle on WordPress:

• Buttons, Bows, and Badges for Your Blog
• How to Know When to Stop Blogging
• Do You Care Enough To Keep Your Blog Comment Spam Free?
• A Day in the Life of a Paranoid Website Administrator
  More details about blocking comment spam
• Comments on Comments
  Valuable tips on handling comments on your blog
• How NOT to Comment on Comments
  Do’s and don’ts for commenting on other blogs
• Mean Spirited Comments and Blogging
  Be prepared to deal with haters!

About StumbleUpon:

• Newest on the Net: 65 Must Read StumbleUpon Articles

About Twitter:

• Caroline Middlebrook: The Big Juicy Twitter Guide
• Vaspers the Grate: 7 Reasons NOT to Twitter

Other Goodies:

• WWdN: In Exile: on the rise of trollblogs
  How trolls drive traffic to their own blogs for profit
• BuzzWhack: The Buzzword Compliant Dictionary
  Dedicated to de-mystifying buzzwords
• Significant Figures: Are You Running Late?
  Your PC’s clock, that is!
• Hide It Now - Proxy site bypasses “censorware”
• Copyblogger: Five Grammatical Errors That Make You Look Dumb
• Geek to Live: Lifehacker’s guide to weblog comments

(Posted on 1389 Blog - Antijihadist Tech and Fort Hard Knox)

Benazir is a former prime minister of Pakistan, who has lived much of her life since then in exhile, because of persecution by Islamic extremists, and was killed today, apparently in a suicide attack.

From Bloomberg:

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in an election-rally attack in Rawalpindi, threatening the stability of a nuclear-armed nation that is a focal point of the West’s war on terror.

At least 16 people died and more than 60 were injured in the gunfire-and-bomb attack on Bhutto’s rally, police said. The opposition leader, 54, had survived a previous attempt on her life when she returned from exile two months ago.

Continue Reading »

Blocked! The Year in Online Censorship

First, the biggie: China. The biggie of biggies, if we’re to be brutally honest about it. However you look at it, the Great Firewall is a massive hindrance…

The Rosett Report: America vs the UN Mob

The result was the adoption of a record-busting $4.17 billion core budget for 2008-2009, passed by a vote of 142 to 1. And who was that lone dissenting member state?

Gore Sues Time Magazine…Demands Recount

Pat Sajak: Lawyers for former Vice President Al Gore have filed numerous lawsuits against Time magazine, alleging a series of voting irregularities they maintain deprived Gore of Time’s “Person of the Year” Award….

Poll: Bush, Hillary Clinton Most Admired

They’re the odd couple again: George Bush and Hillary Clinton, the most admired man and woman in America.

The Sam Adams Alliance and The Sam Adams Foundation have developed a great “online resource that collects best practices and advice from citizen leaders across the country.” The toolkit includes videos on how to write an op-ed and pitch your blog. It contains tips for research and building networks, explains the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and describes an effective letter to the editor.

There are tips for blogging, recruiting help, planning a meeting, becoming an intern, and much more. You’ll need to become a member (the membership is free), to download the PDF file. Check it out, here.

SitRep Archive

Lauren is a fresh looking blond with a zest for life. Her group memberships on MySpace include Liberals are Douches, Hawkish Republicans, and GOP Republicans. Continue Reading »

(updated 12/27/07)

Al Gore’s many fans watching the premiere screening of his documentary “A Very Convenient Political Career Saver, an Enormous Money Spinner plus Completely Undeserved Credibility and Kudos”.

Oh, this is just too damn good, sports. While numbers of people having an opinion about anything are meaningless in themselves, 400 major scientists, including defectors from the IPCC, the current Club of Rome Version II, have put out a profoundly evidential Senate Report debunking the global mass hysteria, orthodoxy, phony baloney and giant taxpayer funded gravy train that is er, The Global Warming Express. It’s an absolute delight of Climate Change ‘Fisking’. And about damn time, sports. (See the cut and paste link at the end of the page.) Continue Reading »

After Jimmy Carter, the worlds first Eunuch President, Americans wanted what counts in the end, a man with balls. They voted for Ronald Reagan, All American.

Ronald Reagan is invariably called a “B Grade actor” by people with B grade minds, who are perhaps incapable of conceiving of anything analytically fresh and startling, original or worthwhile.

Reagan started off where he could get paid acting work, like virtually all young actors. And eventually he just found other things he wanted to do more, such as er, politics I believe.

Reagan was one of the featured principles in ‘Kings Row’, nominated for best picture at the 1942 Academy Awards. It starred Anne Sheridan, Robert Cummings and Claude Raines. Claude was a main character in David Lean’s ‘Lawrence of Arabia’. Reagan was a featured principle in ‘Dark Victory’ with Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart and Van Heflin. Ron was a featured lead alongside Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland in 1940’s ‘Santa Fe Trail’, a popular if naff film of the time.
Continue Reading »

Mashable’s 2008 Predictions:

Includes:

• NBC gets some sort of handle on their video strategy
• Google and their mobile plans
• Social Networking
• Women and technology
• Bloggers will be taken more seriously

(More)

For all those FHK readers who got new laptops for Christmas (or who are going to get one during the after-Christmas clearance), the question is sure to arise in the next few days, “What to do with that old PC?” Well, here’s an idea…(original source, unknown, hat-tip Stevey):

SitRep Archive

The 9-11 “Truth” Movement insists the fact that the owner of WTC 7, Larry Silverstein, took out insurance on building 7 shortly before 9-11 is proof of a conspiracy. However, if you go here, you’ll see the problem. The first problem is rather obvious- after the World Trade Center was the target of terrorism in 1993, only a complete idiot wouldn’t insure it against terrorism. Furthermore, the towers were insured against terrorism BEFORE the 1993 bombing, as the insurance company had to shell out over five million dollars after that bombing occurred. Continue Reading »