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Some Call It A Bonfire/Carnival Of Classiness...

We call it "Classiness, All Around Us."

The 'F' Word In School.-

Red State Rant explains the utter silliness coming out of a school in its once-proud English education system, which is now allowing a certain number of F-bombs per student directed at teachers:

I do know that in the interest of "connecting with students", allowing or even condoning these words will make these young people sound like idiots who do not have the capacity nor inclination to expand their vocabularies.

Quite sad really.

WTF?

I mean, really. Come on. If I am a 15-year-old rascal and am allowed a certain number of F-bombs directed at my teacher, I am going to take full advantage, going just under the limit (5 times PER LESSON), if only to force the teacher take the time to mark them down next to my name on the chalk board.

Seriously, WTF?

2.

Sheehan Mania-

Citizen Smash (a.k.a. "The Indepundit") offers a pro-Bush infiltrator's take on Camp Sheehan in Crawford:

But just a few minutes later, she emerged from the trailer, smiling, and performing for the cameras. Like the chicken at the local carnival that plays tic tac toe, she eagerly performs for any microphone. She is relentless, and professional, well financed and on message.

And the message is “All things bad are America’s fault”.

Once again, the left shoots and misses. Cindy Sheehan's warped anti-Americanism is so thoroughly objectionable that whatever sympathy she might have inspired has become moot. Supporters of finishing the job in Iraq dodged a bullet with Mrs. Sheehan. Had her mind not been so polluted with anti-semitic and anti-American conspiracy mumbo-jumbo, and had she not been so closely allied with disreputable groups, her story may have resonated better with average Americans.

3.

The Summer Of Rove, The Summer Of Sheehan-

Blogs For Bush spots an interesting pattern in the news this summer:

As you can see, the popularity of the Cindy Sheehan story in the blogosphere is panning out in very much the same way as the Karl Rove story. Both have peaked with the same percentage of bloggers discussing them and then saw a drop in popularity. Karl Rove is naturally going to be a continued topic of conservation, primarily because, with or without a fake scandal, he is one President Bush's top advisors... and it seems his popularity in the blogosphere has returned to normal. Cindy Sheehan's rise from total obscurity is likely to end back into near obscurity.

And Matt (of Blogs For Bush) followed up with a few more posts on the subject [Part I, Part III, Part IV]. An interesting pattern, to be sure. And after this week, Sheehan's 15 minutes will almost certainly be up... about 16 minutes too late.

4.

Iraq-

Right Wing News blog offers some answers to some questions people may be having on Iraq and its Constitution:

...not only does the Iraqi Constitution not create a theocracy, it has numerous clauses that guarantee the religious rights & freedoms of all Iraqis.

....

The Constitution also condemns terrorism, guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and property rights. It may not be a perfect document, but in many ways it's better than many people may have expected.

Iraq's Constitutional hang-ups have not really centered around whether Sharia law should govern Iraq or not. The overwhelming majority of Iraqis don't want that. The disagreements have centered around how to divide the natural resources and how decentralized or centralized the government ought to be.

5.

No Dice For Aussie Sharia-

Speaking of Sharia law, Gates of Vienna blog notes that Australia is just saying no to special, separate, carved-out legal jurisdictions for fundamentalist Muslims:

It doesn’t look like there will be any Ottawa-style Sharia courts in Sydney real soon. And don’t hold your breath for the Law schools to start hiring Sharia professors.

Sounds like Australia has made a firm commitment to reality. How refreshing.

Canada could indeed learn something from this. When I investigated the Iranian elections here in Houston and spoke with a regime agent at length a couple months back now, he assured me that Islam would conquer the entire globe. He boasted particularly proudly about how Canada is moving toward a dual-judiciary, with special Sharia law jurisdiction for Muslims.

Wake up, people. That's not tolerance, it is submission.

6.

The Bizarro Constitution-

Amendment I

Congress The Courts shall make allow no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech but only if it agrees with the progressive point of view, otherwise it is hate speech...

A truly horrific vision for America. But one that is shared by the far left.

7.

Dr. Rangel, Medicine Man-

Angry in the Great White North blog (via Michelle Malkin) notes Charlie Rangel's weird comments on Vice-president Dick Cheney:

I wonder if Charles Rangel will introduce some kind of legislation requiring administration officials to submit to a physical in the case of excessive grunting.

Charlie Rangel is a perfect example of majority insurance for the GOP. If the Democrats were to somehow take the House, Congressman Rangel would become one of the top 5 or so important individuals in shaping American economic policy.

[Shudder]

8.

Fox News Dominates Cable News-

The GOP Vixen blog notes that Fox News is destroying its competitors:

CNN's final gasp that they remain relevant has been the spike in ratings they've enjoyed during major news events. In other words they found shelter in the idea that, "when it matters people turn to CNN." Yeah, well, final gasp no more. For Big Events people are now turning to FOX by nearly 2 to 1. MSNBC's numbers are just laughable.

In launching Fox News nearly a decade ago, Rupert Murdoch and company understood that there was a vast and untapped market in the United States for presenting the news in a unique way. After all, far more Americans call themselves conservative than liberal, and far more Americans vote for Republicans than Democrats.

That worked for a while in terms of grabbing market share, but lately Fox News has grown a little too tabloidy for my taste. Sure, that gets the ratings, but as long as Fox News has a reputation for being "right wing," it would be nice if it worked a little harder to advance the conservative agenda.

Because Fox News spends so much time on missing persons and such, it allows the rest of the mainstream media to drive the agenda, and it's a liberal agenda they are driving (Rove, Sheehan, etc.).

9.

2008-

Patrick Ruffini's straw poll concluded with a mild amount of controversy for being unscientific, but the results are still moderately useful:

As of 7 a.m. EDT on August 26, with a whopping 16,437 votes cast, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani wins the Big One with 30.0%. Virginia Senator George Allen places second with 20.1%, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is a strong third at 14.3%, and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney finishes fourth with 9.1%. On the fantasy ballot, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice laps the field with 37.7%, with Vice President Dick Cheney at 14.0%, Florida Governor Jeb Bush at 9.2%, and former Senator Fred Thompson at 8.1%.

I would have liked to see a poll with South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, just to name a couple who were not included. While the poll is entirely unscientific, it is interesting that conservative blog readers are far less likely to support John McCain than respondents to establishment media polls. Right-of-center blog readers also seem more willing than one might imagine to accept someone who is not a proven conservative on cultural/social issues, such as Rudy or Condi.

In terms of predicting the 2008 race, I tend to lean toward a relative unknown, and an outsider, emerging with a lot of fresh excitement and enthusiasm. Someone who has some legislative experience in Washington and/or executive experience in the real world, but is not necessarily on every short list today.

As we get closer to 2008, I will try to spotlight a few individuals who might fit those criteria.

10.

Condi For President-

Speaking of 2008, Rudy Rummel has given his endorsement to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice:

She has the knowledge, experience, will, organizational ability, values, and the spine to be president. And she is an avid supporter of the democratic peace and freedom.

I could easily get behind the Condi '08 phenomenon, but I don't see the "Draft Rice" grassroots surge happening with so many other attractive candidates crowding the field.

11.

Oozing Uzbekistan-

Gateway Pundit notes that the U.S. military leaving Uzbekistan was something entirely expected and planned for in advance:

Rumsfeld secured approval from Kyrgyzstan to continue using the Manas airbase there, and from Tajikistan to maintain overflight and refueling rights for U.S. aircraft.

Last week, U.S. Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid another regional country, Turkmenistan, for talks with senior political and military figures.

This is actually a win for the "democratic revolution crowd." When we "depended" on the Uzbeki regime's good favor, we were-- out of necessity-- relatively muted when the regime massacred roughly 500 pro-democracy demonstrators and silenced the media. We objected anyway, with the full knowledge that it would lead to the U.S. being expelled from the country, militarily.

It's another example of putting our money where our mouth is, backing up our values over short-term stability, and it could allow us to promote democracy in Uzbekistan without tempering our words.

12.

Chinese Democracy-

In The Bullpen blog notes that China is worried that people might start getting crazy ideas in their heads from voting on a reality TV show:

I still predict China to have a revolution within the next three decades and a move towards a democratic state. Who knows. Maybe reality television will help lead the way.

It is difficult to imagine a thriving Chinese middle class participating in the global economy and observing the rights the citizens of other nations have, not demanding gradually higher level of democracy and freedom at the very least. China's concerns with reality television voting ought to indicate a sense of insecurity the regime has over its long-term survival prospects.

13.

Ultrakeloized-

Kip Esquire notes a complementing decision to the Kelo ruling:

Of course, restricting private development is nothing new -- property rights infringements such as zoning and historic preservation have a long and sordid history. But now such laws are almost extraneous. Local governments can simply invoke Kelo, or more correctly, "reverse-Kelo."

Because at the end of the day that's Kelo's true holding, which might actually be dubbed "Kelo-plus" -- "public use" now means anything and everything that the local hack politicians want it to mean.

If you are a Republican planning on seeking the 2008 nomination, get on this. Now. Especially if you are a Governor. The GOP base will reward you for your proactive efforts on protecting property rights.

14.

Black. Gay. Father. Vegetarian. Buddhist. Liberal.-

Sunny Sidhu, of Students for Saving Social Security, notes the weirdness that is Rock the Vote:

One has to wonder why an organization that claims to be so "non-partisan" is going ridiculously out of their way to show that they're as partisan as it gets. The youth of America deserve true representation, not disingenuous representation from political hacks who blindly tout one particular side's views while smearing, distorting, and misrepresenting the other side's views.

On the bright side, at least we now get to laugh at hilarious arguments from RTV bloggers like Terrence. You can't argue with a little bit of entertainment!

I had not even visited Rock the Vote's website in months now, but their new guy is seriously hilarious. And if you notice the comments on the RTV blog, they are still as pro-reform (and anti-Rock the Vote) as ever.

Liberals don't quite get that when they become caricatures of themselves, the vast majority of regular and fair-minded people will revolt in revulsion. Rock the Vote is an old and creaky organization, an aging, senile former rock star with ever-diminishing relevance to the youth vote. It is only a matter of time before Rock the Vote gets the kind of critical scrutiny and negative attention it deserves, in a larger forum.

15.

Move On, Already-

Andrew Roth, over at the Club for Growth blog, notes the eerie similarities between the rhetoric from the left 150 years ago and today:

MoveOn.org and Karl Marx — two peas in a pod

Marxism is indeed the driving intellectual force behind the modern Democratic Party. And MoveOn.org is the organizational force behind the intellectual force.

Also, don't forget to check out all the old Trivia Tidbits Of the Day, the Reform Thursday series, the Quotational Therapy sessions, and the Wednesday Caption Contest (entries are due each Tuesday at 11:59 PM Central Standard Time).

Last Week's Classiness Certification from WILLisms.com:

*Aug. 23, 2005.

WILLisms.com offers a weekly classiness roundup as a weekly feature, every Tuesday, with 15 blog posts deemed classy. The criteria for submissions: incisive original analysis, quirky topics nobody else is covering, fantastic graphics, or other posts that took a lot of work. We love to spread the word on upcoming blogs, being that WILLisms.com also fits that description. If you would like to nominate a post on your blog or another blog for inclusion, email us at WILLisms@gmail.com. Write "Classy Nomination" in the subject. You can also utilize this page to make your submissions. The deadline is each Monday at 11:59 PM Central Time.

Classy.

Posted by Will Franklin · 30 August 2005 06:52 PM

Comments

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at August 30, 2005 08:42 PM

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at August 30, 2005 08:55 PM

Posted by: Sauga at August 31, 2005 12:53 AM