Mount Virtus

Public confidence in the U.S. Congress has never registered lower than it does today under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid:

The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category.

The level of cynicism is stunning across the board (only 13% support from Democrats, 8% from Republicans, 3% from unaffiliated voters). Based on what Townhall columnist Jon Sanders pointed out last year when Congress’ approval rating was 14 percent, as many Americans believe that astrology is “very scientific” as believe that Congress is doing a good job. Twice as many (19%) believe that Elvis may still be alive. Which of the three groups clings to a wackier belief?

For a more serious analysis of the Rasmussen poll and what it indicates about voter sentiments and realities vs. perceptions, check out Rossputin’s take.

Monday morning, little time to write. As I get ready to head back for another week of work, I ironically find this posting for a job that probably isn’t in my future. Given my credentials, I doubt I would even get a phone call for an interview. Oh, well.

From my friends at the Evergreen Freedom Foundation …

Wouldn’t you like to see that during the break of your favorite television program?

Do you live along Colorado’s Front Range, want to contribute to a good cause, perhaps even enjoy playing a round of golf? Then please check out the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Cup Golf Tournament, scheduled to take place on Monday, June 9, at the Rolling Hills Country Club in Golden. Proceeds go to support the Employee Assistance Fund to aid members of the Sheriff’s Office who face serious financial need because of illness or death in their family.

What a great cause - giving back to help those who sacrifice to protect and serve us in Jefferson County.

A friend who is serving as a volunteer fund-raiser for the Tournament brought this to my attention, and I’m glad to help advertise for him. I not only have another friend who serves in the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, but also have a heroic brother who is a police officer in a different Jefferson County.

If you are interested and able to participate in the Sheriff’s Club Golf Tournament, here’s a brochure you can print, fill out, and return. Or read the instructions to find out how to contribute by PayPal.

John Mark Reynolds (H/T Hugh Hewitt) has penned a clever parody of a classic ballad - here’s an excerpt (you’ll have to imagine your own guitar vocals, or if you’re ambitious enough, record an MP3 in hopes of getting on Hewitt’s program):

Does any one know where the love of Gen Y goes
When the press turns the minutes to hours?
The pundits all say they’d have made Chesapeake Bay
If they’d put Reverend Wright far behind him.
They might have split up and so not have capsized;
Instead he pressed on and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
On the Internet lists he was compiling.

As a son of Michigan, I know the original Gordon Lightfoot song well, respecting its peculiar and unforgettable blend of the cheesy and the sublime. Speaking of cheesy, I was struck by the thought of another pop culture ship-sinking metaphor for the Barack Obama campaign, in three parts:

“Audacity? Hope? Forget it, I’m king of the world!”

“Reverend Wright! Dead ahead!!”

“Wh-wh-what happened? We were unsinkable. D-does this mean the campaign won’t go on (and on… and on…)?”

Someone with more time and Photoshop skills can play with that theme. In the meantime, I’ll go and repress once more the traumatic memory of the guy next door in my college dorm who blasted that Celine Dion song full volume - leaving his room locked while he fled the dorm, leaving me to go insane. (Some of you may have found part of the explanation you’re looking for.)

From today’s Rocky Mountain News:

Gov. Bill Ritter on Wednesday signed into law the Spam Reduction Act, which provides state enforcement authority similar to federal authority against unwanted e-mails.

To Ritter’s credit, Spam Reduction is an act of bipartisan goodwill, a positive headline needed to take attention away from a serious $300,000 campaign finance violation.

Bill Ritter (invoking classic Monty Python): “I don’t like Spam!”

Cross posted at Ritter Watch

I needed a good laugh tonight, so it was good to see Frank J. at IMAO performing the service of dispelling rumors about Barack Obama (H/T Jenn Sierra). Here are the first few to whet your appetite:

RUMOR: Obama is a Muslim.
STATUS: False
Obama is not currently a Muslim. He’s a Christian of some sort in the “hate Whitey” sect.

RUMOR: Obama is an enlightened space alien sent to save humanity.
STATUS: False
All evidence points towards Obama being a below average man who his wife stopped asking to do chores around the house because he was always getting his head stuck in the mop bucket.

RUMOR: Obama tried to bomb the Pentagon.
STATUS: False
That was his friend.

Satire. I needed that.

Only three days remain until Samsphere reaches Denver. Whether you’ve been blogging for years or just want to figure out how to get started, this is the place to be. If you live in the Denver area and have a chance to make it on Saturday, register now before the last few spots fill up.

If you’re like me, you may identify closely with the famous Barack Obama phrase: “typical white person.” But I was never moved by the entrepreneurial spirit like a couple friends of mine who created the Typically White website, where you can go to order “Typically White” shirts and bags.

Who knows? You might find a great present to one of your conservative - or any typically white - friend or family member.

Tax Day. The Ides of April. The anniversaries of two epic tragedies: the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the sinking of the Titanic. Monday / Tuesday. All very compelling reasons - but none actually bear the responsibility - for the sparse blogging in the last day or so. I hope to get a substantive post or two up tonight. We’ll see.

The idea was great the first time, so it’s good to see fellow RMA blogger Jim Cannon pursuing it again:

In other news, it’s time for a new Letters from Home project. This time I will be collecting letters for the Navy. I’ll be sending them off to the USS Russell — DDG-59. So, just like last time, please send generalized supportive emails to me, and I will make sure that they get to the men and women aboard the Russell. When you send your email, please be sure and put “Letters from Home” in the subject line. We’re aiming for about 250 emails, so I’m hoping to have them collected and packed up by the end of the month. As with last time, anything you all can do to help spread the word would be greatly appreciated.

I encourage you to join me in giving up a little time to do a small part to help raise the morale of some of our brave servicemen. If you want to figure out what you can write about, Jim points us to a truly interesting blog kept by the sailors on the USS Russell - it might give you an idea or two.

Updates on Joshua Sharf’s primary challenge to Rima Barakat Sinclair in House District 6 …

Rocky Mountain News editor Vince Carroll unpacks Barakat Sinclair’s claims that she is a “centrist”:

You might wonder about our judgment, but you cannot doubt where Barakat Sinclair stands on the Israeli-Palestinian debate: with the hard-edged anti-Israel fringe. She has made too many similar claims regarding the Israelis’ alleged policies of “systematic indiscriminate murder” to brush them off as an aberration.

“Sinclair describes herself as a centrist,” her campaign Web site tells us.

Except on the one issue she cares most about, it seems.

(H/T Michael at Best Destiny, who also issued his official endorsement of Joshua)

Joshua’s story has even tripped the blogosphere big time, with a mention at Little Green Footballs.

Also, Joshua has posted more information about how you can support his principled grassroots campaign:

I cannot tell you how gratifying it is that people are inquiring as to where you may send campaign contributions, and we have finally set up a campaign committee, “Citizens For Joshua Sharf.” The address is:

Citizens For Joshua Sharf
c/o Treasurer Mark Makowitz
PO Box 24926
Denver, CO 80224

In a state house race, even a little goes a long way, so thanks to everyone who sees fit to drop a few bucks in the mail.

Let’s keep the momentum going.

Paul Chesser reports that Colorado chemical engineer Ed Rademacher, Jr., shared a fact-based report with Montana state legislators that questioned the group promoting climate change policies in Montana and many other states. For his work, Mr. Rademacher was showered with shame and insult for daring to cast doubt on the prevailing Eco-Orthodoxy.

This Montana legislator equated an engineer’s skepticism about man-made climate change to a belief that the stork delivers babies

It’s the response of one state Rep. Sue Dickenson that makes this story interesting. Here’s the key excerpt: Read the rest of this entry »

As a reminder of the opportunity to sign up for Samsphere Denver, I’ve put up a permanently-linked button on the sidebar where you can go to register for the April 19 event.

I put out the call for help to someone who could create an attractive and usable Web button for this purpose, and Jenn Sierra at Fort Hard Knox came through. Thanks, Jenn!

The details are out… Samsphere is coming to Denver on Saturday, April 19, sponsored by the Sam Adams Alliance.

Are you a new pro-freedom center-right blogger who wants to meet up and learn the tools of the trade? An experienced blogger who wants to sharpen your skills? Maybe you’ve thought about blogging, or your friends have said you should start, but weren’t quite sure how to get it going and make it work?

Whatever the case, come and check it out. I’ve met the Sam Adams Alliance crew personally: They have a passion about building a successful blogging community on our side and the skills and experience to get you connected.

Go here to check out the agenda and register. I’ll see you there.

Saturday was a bad day at the bowling alley in Altoona, Pa., for Barack Obama, who rolled an improbably bad 37:

“My economic plan is better than my bowling,” Obama told fellow bowlers Saturday.

“It has to be,” a man called out.

Obama let everyone know he hadn’t bowled since Jimmy Carter was president — and finished with a score of 37….

Somewhere in all that, I think Obama or the reporter got the facts mixed up. I think his economic plan is reminiscent of Jimmy Carter.

I’m not even sure where the bowling fits in exactly. But as one who spent two years of my life in central Pennsylvania - I even attended a minor league Altoona Curve baseball game once - I can tell you that such abject failure at the lanes is not liable to win you respect in that part of the country.

Byron York over at The Corner agrees. And fellow Samsphere attendee Fred Dooley highlights Barack Obama’s attire, which only underscores the lousy 37 to blue-collar Pennsylvanians: “Dude, take off the tie.”

Apparently, it got even worse for the former parishioner of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, as the seemingly friendly media terrain of MSNBC reports that Pennsylvanians are finding his “charm offensive.” Look, there’s no easy way to charm your way out of bowling a 37 in Altoona. I don’t care if your name is Barack Obama.

And to think, 37 used to be my lucky number.

Blogging from Chicago …

In continuing his quest to unravel the mystery of bloggers, liberal Rocky Mountain News columnist Jason Salzman writes:

Most bloggers, like most people who write on paper, aren’t journalists. So their work shouldn’t be held to the same journalistic standards that Denver’s daily newspapers should meet - standards such as basic fairness, accountability, independence and others, as articulated, for example, by the Society of Professional Journalists.

But whether bloggers think they are practicing journalism or not, their blogs should inform people about the information they’re getting.

Who’s behind the blog? What’s the purpose? Does the blogger have a political bias? Is the blogger trying to practice journalism? If so, what are his or her standards?

If the blog is anonymous or allows anonymous postings, it should explain why anonymity is allowed.

Bloggers who provide this information are doing us all a favor because it could help some people evaluate the different types of information they consume. It could help some people understand what journalism is.

I made this argument to Jason Bane, a founder of the left-leaning Colorado Pols blog, and asked why Pols doesn’t have an “About Us” section.

He emailed me that the site used to have such a thing and should probably add one. Similarly, Ben DeGrow of right-leaning Bendegrow.com told me it hadn’t occurred to him to include an explanation of who he is and what he’s doing. After our conversation, DeGrow added this information. [emphasis added]

Yes, it’s true. A couple weeks ago, I introduced the page explaining who I am and what the blog is about. And I thank Mr. Salzman for raising the idea.

But for the sake of clarity, it has long been the policy of this blog to be transparent. Heck, the domain name alone tells you who I am. A quick Google search of my name will introduce you to who I am and what I write about. I frequently allude to many of my affiliations in the course of my writing, but it had never occurred to me to create a separate page until Salzman’s conversation. To continue and enhance the transparency of this website, I decided it could not hurt to add the extra page. So I did.

Mr. Salzman’s concern about the transparency of bloggers is admirable and appropriate. But how many Old Media columnists have separate pages that publicly disclose where they are coming from in the level of detail I have added - if at all? A fair question.

Here’s a story that has been out there for months - a story that has not received the attention it deserves, a story I regret not having taken heed to earlier. It’s a travesty, really, the story of Paul Jacob and the Oklahoma 3:

One of our most cherished rights is to petition our government. If there’s a problem, we want our representatives to know so they can fix it. Imagine, however, if a top law enforcement official denied this right to citizens. Imagine he arrested them, threatening them with fines and imprisonment. Imagine it’s being driven by partisan politics. “Not in my America!”, you say? Let me introduce you to Paul Jacob and the Oklahoma 3.

Charged with a felony for exercising the right to petition the government? You’ve got it. Several months ago, the Wall Street Journal penned an editorial: Read the rest of this entry »