Typical Leftist Garbage

Now McCain can be tarred with anything and everything somebody (including an Obama provocateur) yells during a rally: McCain does nothing as supporter calls Obama a “terrorist”

We’ll hear it said that McCain can’t be held responsible for what people in his audiences say. Right. Cause it’s never happened before. Oh wait, it did. When an audience member asked, speaking of Hillary Clinton, “How do we beat the bitch?” McCain said it was “an excellent question.” McCain fosters hatred and negativity by not standing up to it. He should know better. It’s appalling and is destroying whatever is left of his reputation.

That’s big talk from someone whose blog returns over 200 hits when you search for the terms “McCain” and “racist.” (As a point of comparison, searching the Crabitat for the terms “Obama” and “terrorist” give 15 hits, one about Ayers and 14 about the war on terror.)

Being lectured by Obama supporters on matters of etiquette is like being lectured by Charles Manson on matters of personal hygiene.

A Trip To School

I saw this headline over at Memeorandum and thought that I might want to write about it. It turns out that McQ at QandO has already done a masterful job of translating the HuffnPuff rant by one Adam McKay. Oh, please do go over and read the whole thing. It is taking McKay and the left to school, big time.

For my part, I have been hitting on the left for its contemptible, malignant attacks on Sarah Palin and her children and have been predicting a massive backfire. McKay’s completely casual slurs on Palin show exactly why the left stands an admirable chance of “blowing it”, indeed. They have not a clue how they sound to average Americans.

There is a reason why there is a strict comment (and posting) standard here, folks. Too bad HuffnPuffPo isn’t smart enough to understand why there is a need for one sometimes. If you haven’t read McQ’s lesson yet, time to go to school.

Tea Leaves And Cautions

I saw this earlier, but have only had a bit of time to post today. Now the item is right up there at or near the top of the heap over at Memeorandum. Is this just a convention bounce or the first sign that Obama’s “friends“ have done serious damage to the Democrat’s nominee? Time will, of course, tell. Longtime readers know that I am not a fan of snapshot polls. But if the trend shows that Obama is fading there might be an outbreak of hysteria on the left that an elephant tranquilizer wouldn’t dent.

PRINCETON, NJ — The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update shows John McCain moving ahead of Barack Obama, 48% to 45%, when registered voters are asked for whom they would vote if the presidential election were held today.

We’ll see. I will not go all giddy here and pronounce doom for Obama’s campaign. But I think there is a strong indication that the left has - yet again - badly overplayed their hand. The depraved, vicious attacks on Sarah Palin have not gone over well with the electorate.

AllahPundit is his usual sober self about all this. His post is a warning about becoming overconfident.

Libby Spencer, bless her conspiracy-theory laden heart, thinks the left fell into a trap - a “Rovian trap”, as she puts it. I’ll send you over there if you want to read it. Was there a trap in the Palin nomination? Yes, but it is not what Libby charges. Rather, it was giving the left all the rope they needed to fashion their very own snare. Shrewd on McCain’s part - you bet. All he had to do was let the left show itself to the electorate. When the facade cracked, the venom leaked out. The trap is one they manufactured for themselves.

A Place On A Map

I found this by accident when something from Curt at Flopping Aces popped on Memeorandum. Apparently, the Crabitat is ranked in the top 297 political blogs by this site. (As is Flopping Aces and a bunch of other well known sites. Curt got it from Hot Air who got it from Protein Wisdom.)

There are a lot of sites I respect on the map. Blue Crab Boulevard may or may not belong with the rest of them. But thanks for the place on the map.

Many Thanks To Rich

My sincere thanks to Rich Horton for posting here at the Crabitat. Between long hours and some really bad luck, it has grown increasingly difficult to get a post up here. Rich is keeping Blue Crab Boulevard alive right now. Thank you, Rich.

About that luck thing. Last night I fully intended to post after fixing my modem problems, but I got home, cooked a fast dinner and the lights went out. We finally got power back a few hours later when it was almost time to go to bed. Tonight I have some plans with my wife, so cross fingers that I will get back posting here tomorrow.

Gaius

The Silence Of The Crabs

Sorry for the light to nonexistent posting of late. My schedule has me working as much as 14 hours a day (including two-hour commute) and blogging time is very short, indeed.

Political Blogging Is A Cruel Mistress

Case in point today from the Daily Kos:

With a handful of exceptions, many members of the press refuse to hold McCain to the standards against which the Democratic candidates are being measured.  Accordingly, McCain has galloped by stumbles that may have doomed any other candidate: confusing Shiite (Iran) and Sunni (al Qaeda), not knowing whether contraceptives prevent the spread of HIV ("you've stumped me"), etc.  

The usual leftosphere meme…but I first read this in my Bloglines reader which saved the original version of this story for posterity.

How's that irony working out for ya?

Adding An Adjunct

Regular readers here at Blue Crab Boulevard will remember that I asked Rich Horton from The Iconic Midwest to guest post here when I accompanied my wife on a business trip she had to make. Recently, Rich took me at my word and posted a few things (I had told him he was welcome to and meant it). Now, Rich has signed on - if that is the correct term - as a full-fledged adjunct blogger here at the Crabitat. Adjunct blogger is the term Rich suggested, by the way - I like it. He'll post when he can and about whatever he wants. I look forward to his input here. I expect that we will not always agree, but I also expect that I will find his posts interesting and thought provoking.

Rich has the run of the place except for the back room where the monkeys are working on cracking the Shakespeare Code. That's off limits to everyone except me and Uncle Guido. Sorry, Rich. (Really, it's just as well. They are mean little suckers.)

Please join me in welcoming Rich to Blue Crab Boulevard.

Pundustry, Or A Day In The Salt Mines Of Information Overload

Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post tried an experiment recently. He spent 24 hours in a room surrounded by televisions, two radios and a laptop set up to cycle through a selection of blogs and news sources. It was all in the interest of science - to see what living in total information overload was like. Welcome to the blogosphere, Gene.

THE CRUDDIEST MOMENT OF THE CRAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE ON EARTH happened as I found myself watching five televisions simultaneously, each containing a different political pundit opining on the same subject. When I looked down toward my computer screen to see what the bloggers were saying about it, I noticed that a button on my shirt had come undone.

There I was, literally contemplating my own navel. But I didn't even crack a smile because, in the relentless drone of insipid opinion, irony no longer held any meaning.

I knew then that this whole thing had been a very poor idea, one from which I would not return undamaged. Because the clock on the wall said I still had 14 hours to go.

Weingarten takes more than a few swipes at the folks who practice surfing in this sea of information that beats mercilessly these days. But there is a certain amount of truth in his dark humor about the overload of news, semi-news, punditry and analysis (both paid and freelance) that inundates us these days. Especially those of us who choose to do this on a daily basis. There is so much out there to read and absorb and talk about. It is, indeed, like drinking from a fire hose. I'll let you read the long piece and figure out where the title of this post comes from.

Just doing my bit, Gene. Even if you didn't mention the Crabitat in all your blog name dropping!

Tim Blair Recovering And Blogging Again

This is overdue. Tim Blair has started blogging again following his cancer surgery. In typical Blair style, he is cracking jokes about his experiences as he recovers.

• Overconfident, a few days ago I attempted to take a bath. Unable to haul myself out - no exit strategy - I was forced to call on the only other person in the house: my dear old mother. During an intensely awkward bath-extraction pas de deux, it was silently agreed that we must never speak of this again.

• The level of cancer with which I was diagnosed: T3. Not the worst.

• Weight before surgery: 82 kilograms (180 pounds). Present weight, after several days on solid food: 75 kilograms (165 pounds).

• I’m informally banned from driving lest sudden braking cause sudden breakage of slow-mending abdominal wounds and subsequent hilarious organ spillage. My mother - a former nurse - once saw this happen.

Hilarious organ spillage is a classic. Welcome back, Tim. Get well soon.  

Thought Control, American Style

A lecture on how not to run the New York Times comes today from Daniel Finkelstein, the op-ed editor for the Times of London. Not that the NYT will take any notice, but it a lesson on how to run an op-ed section that the NYT - and especially the NYT 'public editor' -would be smart to listen to. Finkelstein addresses his comments as an open letter to the readership of the New York Times:

Dear Friends,

I understand that your newspaper of choice has asked William Kristol, the conservative commentator, to provide an opinion column for the paper.

Since I am the op-ed editor of what you Americans call The Times of London, I have followed the controversy that the appointment has caused with great interest.

And with my mouth wide open.

Apparently many of you are outraged to hear of this new columnist. You have been writing in. And the Public Editor has written a column criticising the appointment.

Excuse me, but what on earth is going on?

A quality newspaper should have columns reflecting a wide variety of opinions, even those uncongenial to the majority of its readers. While the bulk of a paper's columnists may reflect the publication's character and view, there must always be space for an alternative opinion.

Thus, for instance, while my paper supported the decision to invade Iraq (which happened to be my view too), many of our columnists (in fact probably a majority) did not concur.

It would never occur to me when selecting an individual columnist to be concerned that some readers might not agree with some of his positions.

And considering that Kristol represents a large strand of American opinion (even if it is a smaller strand of NYT reader opinion) it is entirely unremarkable that his columns should be commissioned.

Finkelstein heaps even more scorn on public editor (or ombudsman) Clark Hoyt, especially for this charming gem of American journalism:

And as for Hoyt's statement that:

This is not a person I would have rewarded with a regular spot in front of arguably the most elite audience in the nation.

Isn't this the most pompous sentence you have ever read in your life?

Yeah, that one is pretty bad. It has it all, pompousness and smarmy sucking up to the rapidly declining readership of the NYT. The left popped numerous blood vessels when Kristol was announced by the NYT - which is amusing in the extreme. The same group that screeches that they are being suppressed on nationwide television are the first to actually try to shut down opinions they don't want to hear.

Say A Prayer

If you're a praying person, please say a prayer for Tim Blair. If you're not a praying person, please send him your positive thoughts. Tim will be undergoing cancer surgery next week.

Feeling poorly for some time. Saw a doctor a few weeks ago, who sent me to a specialist, who booked me into hospital for tests.

It’s cancer.

Major abdominal surgery next week. If all goes well, the remaining non-cancerous section of me will be home by early-mid February. No idea yet how long a full recovery might take beyond then. Medical advice is very positive, but that wouldn’t count for much in the absence of care and love from family and friends. I’ve been overwhelmed. I’m lucky.

Say a prayer for his family and friends as well. They will have to be strong for him - and this is a disease that impacts more than just the one diagnosed with it.

Best of luck, Tim. Get well soon.

Happy Birthday To Me

I should probably pay more attention to things like this - as Jim Lynch does. Today is the Crabitat's second anniversary. Yes, I know that for some of you it seems like much, much longer. But yes, Blue Crab Boulevard turned two today. Thanks to everyone who stops by to visit my little slice of the blogosphere. Thanks for all the tips and encouragement. Thanks for helping make all this worthwhile.

I thought it appropriate to set the flaming penguins out.

The Cheerful Sound Of Popping ….. Blood Vessels

In an absolutely hysterical turn of events, the left, which was dancing in the streets when Bill Kristol left Time Magazine, is now suffering from popping blood vessels over Kristol's move to The New York Times.

The New York Times’ hiring of Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol to write for its op-ed page caused a frenzy in the liberal blogosphere Friday night, with threats of canceling subscriptions and claims that the Gray Lady had been hijacked by neo-cons

But Times editorial page editor Andy Rosenthal sees things differently.

Rosenthal told Politico shortly after the official announcement Saturday that he fails to understand “this weird fear of opposing views.”

“The idea that The New York Times is giving voice to a guy who is a serious, respected conservative intellectual — and somehow that’s a bad thing,” Rosenthal added. “How intolerant is that?”

Kristol, whose strident support of President Bush and the war in Iraq remains a source of consternation among liberals, took pride in the reaction on the Huffington Post, where the news first broke.

“I was flattered watching blogosphere heads explode,” Kristol told Politico. “It was kind of amusing.”

Unlike The Times’ stable of biweekly columnists — including Maureen Dowd and fellow Standard alum David Brooks — Kristol will write only once a week, with his first column set for Jan. 7.

Frankly, I was surprised when I heard the news, but the Times' editorial page editor Andy Rosenthal deserves quite a bit of credit for making the choice then standing by it as he has. It is amazing how badly the left wants all dissent shut down, isn't it? Those who continually shriek about being suppressed - on nationwide television - have no tolerance for opposing views. That the Times is actually presenting someone to balance the heavily left-leaning group of columnists they maintain is, at the very least, a smart business move. Because Kristol will generate traffic and readers. Which, of course, may be exactly what the left is so upset about.

Carnival!

Fausta has another of her Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean roundups posted. (Thanks for the link, Fausta.) As always, there is a huge number of fascinating stories and blog posts from all over, put together in one handy package.