E!! The True Conservative Story™

This blog and its archives have moved to the following URL:  http://www.elizabethcrum.com

If you have E!! bookmarked or on your blogroll, please change the URL.

It was bad form not to announce my absence, I know.  Humble apologies to all who visited E!! and found me absent.

I decided to buy a MacBook and iPhone the morning before the night before my 3-day trip to L.A. for the Heritage Resource Bank Conference, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) New Media Workshop, and Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) Blogger Reception & Meet-up. (Great and fun and very worthwhile, all. More about them in another post, along with my after thoughts.)

Right after I made the purchase decision, I decided to unplug my home PC/tower and take it to the Apple store so the nice Apple people could magically transfer all my data to my new MacBook while I was out of town.  Which meant I had access to Gmail and the Internet on my iPhone but was otherwise offline from Thursday morning until now, when I got my MacBook plugged in and configured and my iPhone synched up.  (If I had been thinking ahead, I would have set up an iTunes account when I was still plugged in so I could have downloaded WordPress in advance of my iPhone purchase…but I wasn’t.)

Now that I have all this fabulous mobile/wireless technology, I will never again be separated from my blog, Twitter, Facebook, and other accounts.

Joy!!

This is a test of the E!!mergency blogcast system. This is only a test. If this were an actual blog emergency, you would receive instructions…

Write-ups of and photos from The Sammies will prob’ly start to surface today; I’ll post links here as I find them.

Here’s a nice piece and a couple of photos from Illinois Review (that’s me on the far left, next to Mary Katherine Ham).

And here’s Warner Todd Huston’s write-up.  (How on earth did I miss talking to WTH?!  Darn it!!)

Here’s Bob Weeks’ blurbs at Kansas Meadowlark.  Including mention that Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher presented me with my award.

Major catch-up to do and neglecting you, dear readers!  Will post tomorrow…

In the meantime, check out my sidebar and blogroll links; there’s plenty of good reading.

A few stories and blurbs about “what happened” at Culture11 – at which I blogged for the short while it lasted – have shown up this week:  at The Corner and Washington Monthly (that piece is quite long) and The American Conservative and Right Wing News.

In the days after its official shut-down, in what became a Long Good-bye on The Confabulum blog, managing editor Joe Carter wrote a detailed personal accounting and lovely farewell titled ”A Beautiful Mess.”  The piece was aptly named.  What made it messy (and interesting) was a delightful diversity of belief, thought, and style among the editors and writers.

I was fond of the site, and was sad to see it run out of money.  There is talk that it may be resurrected.  We’ll see.

A blogger (or is blogging?) acquaintance, Patrick O’Hannigan of the Paragraph Farmer, has a good piece on the male vs. female wages myth and Obama’s new “White House Council on Women and Girls”  in The American Spectator.  Includes cameo appearances by Shakespeare, Foghorn Leghorn, J.R.R. Tolkien, Cinderella, and George Orwell.

Patrick also gets brownie points for pointing us to P.J. O’Rourke’s latest brilliance in the WS (and he, in turn, gives thanks to The Anchoress, from whence he got it).  P.J. – who is still hilarious even while battling cancer – shreds Obama on stem cells; you simply must read it.

Take a gander at the photo in this piece by – and read some of the comments to – Andrew Malcom at the L.A. Times.

Andrew wrote about Michelle Obama’s recent PR stunt volunteerism in a D.C. soup kitchen and dared ask how a homeless person in need of a meal owns a cell phone (with which he took the First Lady’s picture).

From the close of Andrew’s piece:

If this unidentified meal recipient is too poor to buy his own food, how does he afford a cellphone?

And if he is homeless, where do they send the cell phone bills?

I chuckled and then scrolled down to read the comments, most of which are dripping with outrage at poor Andrew’s cruel-mindedness.  How DARE him?!

Said they:  The cell phone could be pre-paid; he needs it so he can receive calls from potential employers; maybe a friend or family member is paying for it; etc.

Could be.  But Andrew’s questions were still funny, and the photo of Michelle Obama hamming it up for the guy’s camera is great.

After the article made its way around the office, a co-worker asked:  “nevermind how he got it and who pays for it; where does he charge the battery?”

A gold star goes to the best smart-alec answer (leave in Comments).

this painting by Andy Thomas.  And it’s new caption.

Thanks to the Paragraph Farmer for posting.

Here’s an amusing anecdote from my friend E.M.:

So I’ve been visiting friends in Louisiana for the last few days; partly to catch up because I haven’t seen them in forever, and partly because I love Mardi Gras – and thanks to a special surprise, I was actually able to go this year and enjoy it.

I love everything about the South: the food, the pace of life, the fact that my skin doesn’t get dry and that people walk around with funny hats on for no reason and don’t get self-conscious. But most of all, I love it because of interactions like this:

We were sitting around the kitchen table after Bacchus, when a two year old child came running in brandishing a toy shotgun (with real cocking and smoking action!), aiming and firing at nothing, shortly followed by his mother.

Mother: “Give me that gun!”

Child: “No!”

Mother: “Give ME THAT GUN!”

Child: “No!”

Mother takes the gun.

Child cries.

Father (from Kitchen Table): “Give him back that gun, Nancy Pelosi!”

Another child (also from Kitchen Table) bursts into tears: “Don’t call mama that, Daddy!!!”

Here’s a little two minute ditty I think you’ll all enjoy.  My complements to singer and song writer Kathleen Stewart and lyricist Steve Jones.

From the Tennessee GOP:

Hat Tip:  Jonah Goldberg

A reader has brought this interesting Alaskan annual creative event to my attention.

The current contest is still underway, so here are some photos from last year.  (Click on the numbers at the top of the page to view each one.)  This one is my favorite.

Human creativity and ingenuity is one of our best qualities, don’t you think? 

I believe it points to what it means to be created “in God’s image,” the Almighty being the First, greatest creative force in the universe.

I wouldn’t normally congratulate myself, but “40″ is a milestone and invites comment.  Or so I rationalize…

In the tradition of self-indulgent celebration, a few of my favorite quotes by some of my favorite thinkers:

“The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.”

— Samuel Adams

“I will not cede more power to the state.  I will not willingly cede more power to anyone, not to the state, not to General Motors, not to the CIO. I will hoard my power like a miser, resisting every effort to drain it away from me. I will then use my power, as I see fit. I mean to live my life an obedient man, but obedient to God, subservient to the wisdom of my ancestors; never to the authority of political truths arrived at yesterday at the voting booth.”

— William F. Buckley, Up from Liberalism (1959)

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”

— C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock (Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, 2002), p. 292

“Oppressors can tyrannize only when they achieve a standing army, an enslaved press, and a disarmed populace.”

— James Madison

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms…disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”

 — Thomas Jefferson

“Gentlemen may cry, “Peace, Peace” — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

— Patrick Henry

“I wish that I may never think the smiles of the great and powerful a sufficient inducement to turn aside from the straight path of honesty and the convictions of my own mind.”

— David Ricardo, The Works and Correspondence of David Ricardo, Vol. VII, p. 372

“Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.”

— Samuel Johnson

“Courage is the first of human qualities, because it is the quality that guarantees all the rest.”

— Winston Churchill

“You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children (America), the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.”

— Ronald Reagan

Blessings to all…

E!!

Check out this short video promo on the biggest prizes (and the most cash!!) for doing good stuff in the political activist blogsophere.

Nominate someone (or yourself) today!!

**Nic:  That was the most awesome Sam Adams impression EVER!!

A reader sent the following true account from his small rural town.  Names have been changed and some details have been edited out to protect privacy.  Here’s the story:

Several years ago, Marvin and Veronica moved here from a nearby state and told everyone they met that they were “so excited” to live in “such a beautiful place” full of “such wonderful, friendly, caring people.”  Marvin soon got a job with the County and began “working to improve things” using government monies and volunteer help and contributions.

So today he tells me, “I can’t wait to get out of this place.”

Why?  Because the town is now full of obstinate, backward, stupid people who don’t know anything about government and who obstruct his agenda at every turn.

A liberal?  You betcha.

I always laugh to read his articles in the paper, extolling this project or the other.  A perfect example is a new “tree barrier” along a roadside adjacent to one of our municipal facilities.  The trees were intended to block the unsightly row of cars and trucks parked between the road and the buildings.  To read about it in the articles he has put into the local newspaper extolling “community efforts,” you’d expect to find a verdant forest.   When you drive by, however, you find a row of very small, withered trees, spaced too far apart, which, if anything, make the site look even more run down and neglected.  In 25 years, should they survive, they might partially filter the view.  A fence would have made more sense.  Why didn’t they do a privacy fence?  Because it would “block the distant view.”  Of course, the large facility buildings already do that.

Currently he is involved in a fight with the City over a maintenance issue that damaged one of his properties.  The City says it isn’t responsible because there is no ordinance covering such maintenance, and for that reason, the government agency that insures the City denied his claim.

What would a conservative (i.e., native) do?

Pay for the damage, do the due diligence on the maintenance himself, and write a letter to the Editor letting others know of this issue so that those who wished to do so could pressure the City to update its ordinances.  And attend City Council meetings, keeping the issue alive until resolved.

A liberal?

He moves away in disgust.

Because, ultimately, it was always “all about him” and had nothing to do with us.

You may have heard that the phones are off the hook in many Congressional offices in D.C.? Apparently some of your representatives and their staffers are tired of hearing how much you don’t like the Porkulus bill.

So now Erick Erickson @ RedState is offering this little gift to concerned citizens:

RedState is launching CapWiz today in partnership with Human Events.

If you go here: http://www.redstate.com/erick/2009/02/12/call-congress-redstate-human-events-make-it-easy/

you can follow the link, plug in your zip code, and it will take you to your member of Congress’s local office phone number. (Bypass the busy signal in Washington.)

CapWiz makes it very easy to send emails, faxes, letters, and make phone calls to members of Congress from the web.

It is offered at no charge to right of center activists.

Jonah is especially funny today.  What can I say, I’m a sucker for Star Trek references:

Moreover, many actually believed Obama’s own hype. This was the moment for this, that and the other thing. This was the time when we, as Americans, were going to have our cake and eat it too. Future generations were going to look back and remember how Republicans and Democrats, cats and dogs, Klingons and Romulans came together and marched to the sunny uplands of history, where shopping carts have no wobbly wheels; airplane food is free, delicious, and filling; and we get all of our energy from 100 percent renewable Loch Ness Monster poop.

Erick Erickson @ RedState wrote an inspiring piece the other day.  If you follow politics and you’re a little (or a lot) discouraged, take a few minutes to read it and cheer yourself up.

Guess not.

On a happier note, baseball season starts in just 8 and 1/2 weeks.

And Varitek IS staying with the Red Sox!

They are up by 3 with two minutes to go.  I am very excited right now.  (I’m a Patriots fan, but I always root against the Steelers.  And the Cowboys.)

I was rooting for Steele.

Here’s a good 2005 piece on Steele’s journey (and courage) by NR’s Jay Nordlinger.  If you don’t know much about Steele, you should read it.

Every House Republican plus eleven Democrats voted no.

The $953.3. billion (plus interest) bill passed 244 – 188.

And it’s not gonna stimulate squat because it’s pork-full of handouts to Democratic political-interest groups. And massive social spending.

(Obama supporters and voters: Here is your Thank You, tied up in big red trillion dollar bow.)

Notably, the infrastructure bailout part of the plan – the big “job creation” portion – is vastly smaller than was advertised. There’s just $30 billion in highway-related projects, plus another $40 billion for (future) broadband and electric-grid projects.

My apologies to all those who dropped by over the last few days and found Nothingness.

“FYI” I am trying out this new template/theme while my other/original theme is improved. (Or maybe I’ll like this one and will stay with it.)(What do you think?)

I’ll have some new posts up at lunch.

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A loyal reader sent this interesting little story tidbit along.  She searched it out because her “eagle eye” husband spotted Beau Biden in some camera shots of THE Obama-Biden Express (train ride) the other day.

No two ways about it, this is pretty special treatment.

The aforementioned reader writes:

“The only person I know who’s gotten to come home early from a deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan is a friend from church:  his wife (also Air Force) was diagnosed with breast cancer a month or so before he was due to come back and they brought him home early.

Soldiers are missing the birth of their kids and Beau Biden gets to come home for a “special assignment” at the Pentagon?”

I agree with every word of this post called “Why I Hate Inaugurations” by the always thoughtful Joe Carter. Here’s most of it:

I cannot bear to watch the religious fervor, the tears and chants and beaming visages, for the promotion of a man or woman to a secular office. We do not live in a monarchy; we do not crown queens and kings in American.

Lest we forget, the President of the United States is the servant of the American people. (Despite what actors like Ashton Kutcher think, we do not serve him.) There is something unseemly, and dare I say, almost un-American, about making such a spectacle about a public servant taking office.

Transition ceremonies should be dignified, graceful, and modest – the exact opposite of all that Inauguration ceremonies have become. For this one, President Bush even declared a state of emergency for the entire city of DC so that taxpayer money could be diverted from the FEMA budget for this spectacle. This disgraceful action by our outgoing President barely raised a shrug from the populace. We no longer question our kings.

Many of our fellow citizens have lost all sense of decorum and perspective about this event. The transition of Presidential power from one man to another does not mark a significant transition in the culture of America. Our worries, fears, and concerns do not abate because there is a different man in the White House. Our dreams, hopes, and happiness do not increase because of who occupies the Oval Office. This change in government does not portend a change in human nature or the hearts of our fellow citizens. America — all that is good and bad about us — remains the same.

Fortunately, the unseemly pageantry of the Inauguration will be over by tomorrow, allowing us to move on to what truly matters in our country. Perhaps then all of us, even those of us in DC, can move beyond the deification of the political to focus once again on what truly matters.

Garden State Patriot helps us remember Reagan’s first inaugural address.

Take away quote: “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.”

So says the Toronto Star.

“I don’t know why I was turned back,” Ayers said.  “I got off the plane like everyone else and I was asked to come over to the other side. The border guards reviewed some stuff and said I wasn’t going to be allowed into Canada. To me it seems quite bureaucratic and not at all interesting … If it were me I would have let me in. I couldn’t possibly be a threat to Canada.”

Agree:  because Canada is already a socialist nation so Ayers-like covert bombing ops are not really necessary.

Ricardo Montalban passed away yesterday at the age of 88.

I remember him most fondly as the delightfully maniacal Khan in my favorite Star Trek movie: Star Trek II ~ The Wrath of Kahn. In particular I always loved his intense and quasi-Shakespearean delivery of these famous lines from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (uttered to Kirk, of course):

“No, no, you can’t get away…

To the last, I will grapple with thee!

From Hell’s heart, I stab at thee!

For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee!”

I love little quizzes and tests. And I love logic and critical thinking exercises.

I got 15 out of 15 on this logic quiz.

Report in when done!

O. M. G.

My eyes began to glaze over and my brain began to atrophy a short time into this, so I did some skimming in order to keep my synapses firing.

At each break and dot divider I thought, “whew, it’s over” – but then I scrolled down and, to my horror, there was more.

Bono’s penning is bad.  REALLY bad.  Like a bad writer trying to be all writery and write like (what he thinks makes) a great writer.  Or something like that.  It sure makes me feel better about all the crap I wrote in high school third grade.

And/but Bono is a grown man and ought to know better. 

And why didn’t the editors, well, edit…?  Or just nix it?  (I guess if you’re the NYT you don’t say “no” to Bono.)

Hat Tip:  John Schwenkler who called it “Absurdity, in Three Parts”

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A few readers have commented, some publicly and some privately, that they (1) found this post pretty funny, and (2) were a little shocked to learn that I am not always completely proper.  Or nice.  Some, like Local So-and-So, say they are a little annoyed to find they’ve needlessly been minding their manners around me.

I usually don’t use profanity because in general I’d rather emphasize points with clever phrasing and well-placed modifiers (adverbs and adjectives, for all you non-grammarians).  Once in a blue cheese moon, though, some sarcasm, irreverence and a curse word or three can come in quite handy.  A nice little Rant gets the blood flowing and lets off steam, and I think that’s fine – as long as Ranting does not become a habit.  (Then it just becomes tiresome.)

Occasionally something really rubs me the wrong way – like my daytime employer repeatedly pressuring me, and all its employees, to contact Congress and support their industry-related agenda, which as a conservative is not MY agenda.  I think it’s highly presumptuous and improper and possibly even in violation of some sort of employment law and have thus refused to comply.  And yesterday I had a little fun with my outrage.

In general, in terms of manners and rules here on E!!, I don’t mind a little “color” but don’t want any deliberate, personalized nasty-ness.  I do realize color is in the eye of the beholder, of course.

For an idea of what I find brilliant and loveable in terms of sarcasm, satire and the like, see Iowahawk.  He is one of our great modern-day scribes:  smart, scathing, derisive, outrageous, and funny like few can be.  His recent Senora Kennedy post had me laughing so hard and so long that my stomach ached and I had to pee.  (There is no higher praise when it comes to funny.)

I don’t claim to be living in the same comic galaxy as Iowahawk, and wouldn’t be silly enough to try to get there in my cute little cardboard rocketship.  Comic geniuses are like albinos:  very rare, and born (not made).  I admire Iowahawk from afar and despite the line he walks and often crosses, I am never offended.  In my book, funny covers a multitude of sins.

Anyway, for those who were shocked or disappointed by my letter, be assured that things like that are rare here on E!! – and know that your kind pardon, if granted, is appreciated.

Jonah takes it to the Daily Mail.

“What he said”

Hat Tip: Paragraph Farmer

Have an amazing blog, but haven’t been noticed? Looking for a way to give another blogger some extra recognition? Then submit a nomination to the first annual Ladyblog Awards, designed to honor the most creative, consistent, quality bloggerettes on the ‘net. Awards will be given in five different areas:

Politics

Religion

Parenting

Healthy Living / Leisure

Pop Culture / Entertainment

LadyBlog is looking for diamonds in the rough — ladies who might not drive as much traffic as the big names, but who are every bit as informative, forward thinking, thoughtful and entertaining. Conservatism will be a qualifying factor for the political blogger but will not necessarily make or break the selection process for the other categories. And, yes — you must be female to qualify.

If you know of an outstanding female blogger who fits the above criteria, please follow the links below to nominate their blog. After they receive your initial nominations, Culture11’s Ladybloggers will pick the top 10 in each category, and readers will get to vote on the top pick.

To nominate a blog or get more information, click here.

My friend over at Blue Collar Muse has made the Finalists list for the 2008 Weblog Awards in the category of Best Conservative Blog. It is well deserved, and I am just delighted for him.

When added to the joy of being married to the dazzling and intelligent Much Younger Trophy Wife, BCM’s cup surely overfloweth.

Geoff Lawrence at the Nevada Policy Research Institute forwarded me this 64-question quiz that evaluates your Libertarianism. 

Answers are “Yes” or “No” and the questions are very simple.

I scored an 82 which apparently makes me a “medium-core” libertarian.  (Exactly what I would have expected.)

Geoff scored 144 and challenges anyone (who is being honest) to score higher.

Take the test and report back in the comments; I’d love to hear how some of you do on this (you know who you are)!

This test is pretty interesting.  (Thanks goes out to Dr. Michael Clifford for pointing me to it.)

I’ve taken the Pew Research Center political spectrum test and others in the past, but this one is a little different.  This not only shows you where you are on the Left/Right axis but also charts you on the spectrum between Authoritarian/Libertarian.  (You’ll see what I mean after you take the test and have your “dot” plotted.)

You can also see where other famous and notorious persons fall on the chart, which is interesting in and of itself.  (For example, I would have thought I was sort of a Maggie Thatcher type, but it turns out I am way more libertarian than she.  I am at exactly the midpoint between the two extremes; she was more to the authoritarian side.)

I’d love to hear where everyone ends up (especially those of you I know either personally or via the blogosphere).  Takes 5 to 10 minutes to answer the questions and the results are instant.

UPDATE:  Getting lots of feedback that people are dissatisfied with the quality and/or clarity of the questions in the test.  The Venerable Mr. Crum says he came out a “centrist” on both the “x” and “y” axis – but rightly points out that on the issues he is often more to the right than me (who came out 6 squares right of center).

If you are a word-smither, political junkie, media critic (professonal or homegrown) or even an avid reader, don’t miss this great satirical piece by Iowahawk on Joe the Plumber’s foray into the publishing world.

My sister was reported missing 30 days ago today.  The investigation continues.  My family is very grateful to all who have inquired and sent their well wishes as well as those at Michigan State who organized the recent candle light vigil for her.

You can continue to email me or Google “Krista Lueth” for the latest news from Michigan, but – sad as I am – I both need and want to get back to E!! 

Krista’s gifting and passion was plants, gardens and horticulture.  Mine is reading, researching and writing.  Many years ago as we talked about Life and Meaning, she quoted an approximated adage: “If we make our play and our passions our work, we’ll never grow tired.”  

At the time we thought we had many years of “playing” and exchanging stories ahead, but I guess growing old together was not meant to be.  I’ll so miss hearing about her victories and joys and/but I know that she would want me to move forward and try to have mine.

She was that kind of sister.

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You know, if you don’t have a blog and have been thinking about starting one, or if you are blogging somewhere else and getting few (or no) hits, I highly recommend joining Blogivists.  It’s easy to sign up, fun to choose your design template, and a breeze to start posting.

Blogivists offers four things you won’t find on a lot of other blog sites:

Instant Audience – If a blog post falls in the forest but nobody hears it, does it make a difference?  Blogging can be a lonely pursuit when you first begin, but with Blogivists your blog will be added to the group directory on Day One.  Also, the most recent Blogivists posts are jumped to the front page for all to see.  Right from the start, my E!! blog got hits and comments galore – thanks to the support of the Blogivists community.

Instant Search Rankings – Because Blogivists is already ranked in Google and other search engines as well as on Technorati and other blog ranking sites, your blog will catch the attention of the web spiders and other bloggers.  This means you’ll be elevated up the rankings much faster than if you’re operating alone.  Every time your latest post pops up on the Blogivists front page or another Blogivist links to your blog, you earn rank and authority points. 

For example, when I started my E!! blog in June 2008 I was ranked #5 million or so among active blogs on Technorati, yet today I am ranked at 220,559 which is top 5%.  Also, if you Google “Elizabeth Crum” or “Nevada conservative blogs” my blog now comes up #1 on page one.  Pretty amazing for someone who’s been blogging for less than 5 months!

Support – The Blogivists IT team is nice and very helpful.  It’s easy to fill out an online support ticket, and you’ll get personal attention whenever you have questions or issues.  Also there are Help pages and webinars to guide you along as you learn the blogropes.

Awards – Besides the $250 Blogivist of the Month award, there are the Sammies and other prizes available for bloggers who want to shoot for something big.  It’s motivation to stay passionate and keep at it, which is really what it’s all about.

A reader reminds me:  “Don’t forget about the email alerts, too.  I wouldn’t have known about your blog had I of not been a subscriber to Blogivists.”