Bitter – Page 159 – Shall Not Be Questioned

NRA on Holder

It’s worth noting that while NRA hasn’t let loose all of the grassroots force through an alert calling for specific action on Holder, they haven’t been silent.

Since he was nominated, I have received at least three stories from them via daily emails with warnings for members about Holder’s positions. They are at least educating, even if they aren’t calling for action. Elections have consequences. You can’t realistically expect the incoming President with the most anti-gun record in history to appoint pro-gun people.

“Hello, Sweetness”

Stephen Colbert interviews Congressman Jason Chaffetz, a freshman from Utah, and proposes a new standard for NRA ratings in the process.

The Colbert ReportMon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Better Know a District – Utah’s 3rd – Jason Chaffetz

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O’Reilly Interview

Even if no gun votes come up in the next two years, I want to see NRA give Chaffetz that A+ just for being man enough to say “Hello Sweetness” to a gun.

So, Um, You Know, How’s that, You Know, Listening Tour Working Out for You, You Know?

You know, it seems like once anti-gun Caroline Kennedy, you know, started talking to the people of, you know, New York, they stopped like liking her, you know.

PPP says Kennedy’s popularity “has taken a major hit as the result of her public campaign” to get the appointment of New York Gov. David Paterson. Although Kennedy is still regarded by a small plurality, 44 percent of voters say their opinion is less favorable than since she first stated publicly her desire for the seat, while 23 percent say they view her more favorably. Her favorable to unfavorable ratio is 44 percent to 40 percent, while that of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is 57 percent to 20 percent.

Other articles I’ve seen indicate that her biggest support is coming from Baby Boomer women who believe she deserves it because she’s a Kennedy and just has the DNA to do the job – despite having never held elected office before or having any useful experience.

Remembering Chuck

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0297_ha8zXE[/youtube]

Time has posted fond farewells for 2008, and number 17 is Charlton Heston.Â However, the writer seems confused:

Offscreen, Heston was a figure of epic contradictions. In the ’60s he marched with Martin Luther King; in the ’90s he headed the National Rifle Association.

There’s nothing contradictory about civil rights work.

Changing Laws, Changing Fashions

I found this interesting that hunters in England are changing their dress to avoid being noticed.

The huntsmanâ€™s red coat â€“ a totemic image of hunting for more than 200 years â€“ is one of the main casualties of the sport since the hunting ban came into force four years ago.

Many hunts have decided to abandon their scarlet (known as pink) jackets in favour of tweed or dark coats in an attempt to be less conspicuous and avoid scrutiny. …

Fear of harassment and malicious prosecution from activists have made hunts significantly more covert. Many no longer publicise the dates, times and venues for meets on websites or even post notices in a village pub or community centre.

Apparently, many clubs will go back to using red coats if the hunting ban is ever repealed.

Will it be repealed?Â That’s hard to say.Â Obviously, I’m not on the ground to be able to judge the political climate on the issue, but the hunt clubs seem to have some hope.Â However, the anti-hunting forces claim public opinion is on their side.Â Given that they cite a poll they funded, it’s hard to say how accurate it may be.

Merry Christmas Eve

I hope you’ll keep the important things in mind today and tomorrow. I know I’m looking forward to the small things about Christmas.

For those of you who received a little extra something from either work or gifts, I leave you with this excerpt from an article on the state of charitable giving.Â Read it all the way to the end, as the last number may surprise you.

Charitable organizations are feeling the effects of the economic downturn, too. A recent news story entitled “Giving season struggles to earn its name” lamented that this year’s charitable giving total is unlikely to top last year’s total of $306 billion. It will be only the second time in 40 years that charitable giving failed to grow from one year to the next.Certainly, that’s bad news for organizations that depend on private contributions, particularly given that the poor economy will increase demand for many charitable services. Yet there is a very “glass half-full” way of looking at the statistics: Americans’ ongoing willingness to give, even as their household wealth shrinks by trillions of dollars, is testimony to the true generosity of our citizens.

Americans stand out in the world for their commitment to private charity. Americans don’t lead the pack just in terms of total dollars donated but also when giving is measured as a percentage of gross domestic product. In 2005, private giving in the United States was 1.67 percent of GDP, more than twice the next most charitable country, the United Kingdom, which gave away just 0.73 percent of its GDP.

A recent report released by the Philanthropic Collaborative shows that Americans’ commitment to charitable giving is more than a sign of compassion. It’s also an important investment in the country’s well-being. The report measures the impact of private and community foundation giving, and it suggests that the grants made by these organizations produce very large economic returns. The authors estimate that each dollar of grants provided by the foundations generates $8.58 of economic benefit.

Attention NRA: Let’s Understand Something

New Media â‰ Old Radio

Let’s consider the Wikipedia definition:

New media is a term meant to encompass the emergence of digital, computerized, or networked information and communication technologies in the later part of the 20th century.Most technologies described as “new media” are digital, often having characteristics of being manipulable, networkable, dense, compressible, and impartial.

Although, from the sounds of it, since you don’t know what new media is, you probably don’t know what a crowdsourcing project like Wikipedia is.

Let’s establish that “Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck, among others” are not new media. That’s old media. In the case of some of them, pretty damn old media.

Seriously, NRA, what the hell are you thinking referring to Rush as “new media” multiple times?!? Just because an old media broadcaster favors your position doesn’t make them part of the new media movement. (NRA’s definition apparently includes any conservative voice, especially if it’s on old radio waves.)

I clicked on this article because tonight’s email alert featured a description about how new media would be under constant threat in the Obama Administration. That definitely got my interest because that would lead educated, tech savvy folks to assume that NRA sees serious value in new media and is going to help look out for our interests when they cross paths with the organization’s core mission. Exciting, right?

This appears to be a piece sent out through Publications, not ILA, the division most bloggers (*ahem* new media producers) work with in the organization. It’s such a disappointment because since I’m meeting with NRA staff in January to discuss the second annual new media outreach event, I would have assumed that most of their divisions “got it” or were “hip to the lingo” by now. Apparently, we still have a long way to go if Rush is considered a new media leader for having an old media radio show. Now I just have to hope that none of the new bloggers, podcasters, and other new media producers I have on my outreach list actually bother reading the column from Wayne. If they do, then I’ll try to embarrassingly cover for them and just say it’s apparently one clueless division that doesn’t get it yet. I mean, come on, the guy has had the same talk show since 1988. There’s nothing new about it.

UPDATE: Oh, the sheer irony of it! Guess what they link to in the same email alert? A blog. Specifically, The Volokh Conspiracy. In case you can’t imagine it, I’ll describe my reaction as something like rolled eyes. And a loud sigh.

UPDATE II: There was a misunderstanding that some thought I believed the email to come from Publications, I did not.Â I believed the column itself was written by Pubs and then sent out in the usual Grassroots email.Â However, I have since had it clarified that Publications had no part in writing the column.Â I apologize for the misunderstanding.Â Based on what I did know and also the standard practices I’m aware of in the corporate world, this would be the case.Â It’s not at NRA.

The premise that some office at NRA has someone who thinks a 102-year-old technology is somehow “new media” is still a very big problem.Â It’s something that still needs to be addressed.Â I am just happy to report that it turns out we know it’s not Publications.

Gun Rights Inserted into RNC Leadership Debate

Ken Blackwell is campaigning to be chair of the RNC, and many posts and stories have mentioned in passing his election to the NRA Board this last year.Â However, he recently announced that he earned the endorsement of Sandy Froman, and the featured letter highlights his support for the Second Amendment as a key reason for the endorsement.

Ken has been a strong supporter of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and respects every individualâ€™s fundamental right of self-defense.Â I strongly support his candidacy and urge my friends on the Republican National Committee to join me in supporting Ken Blackwell.

I actually came across the announcement after reading about the most recently released step in a GOP resurgence.Â I like it, at least based on what details Hotline provides.Â I think it gets back to grassroots, something that we as gun owners are generally pretty good at.Â If we make ourselves a key coalition in that grassroots effort, then we’ll see more outspoken pro-gun lawmakers.

Watch this Cow get hit by a Plane

Cows and planes don’t normally mix.Â Until Youtube brings us evidence that the rule is now officially out the window.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGYCnowBC2g[/youtube]

It’s extreme cow-tipping!Â And to think, I only thought that was a sport where I’m from in rural Oklahoma.

The Pros and Cons of Being Everything to Everyone

There have been minor grumblings by some of the left about Obama’s cabinet picks and moderation on some issues post-election. But it’s rather quite shocking to see some of fury unleashed when he announced the man who will lead the Inauguration prayer. But it was Jim Geraghty’s comment that made me smile when thinking about Obama’s rhetoric and approach during the election versus the reality now.

Maybe this is a reflection of a disappointing second term for President Bush, but I’m more or less used to politicians disappointing me. The Right pushed hard to reelect the guy in 2004 because they didn’t want an economic liberal, and four years later we’re hearing, “I have abandoned free-market principles in order to save the free-market system.” Henry Paulson was supposed to be the most savvy treasury secretary in ages; now he seems to be making up the plan as he goes along. Two disastrous cycles for the GOP in Congress, and they keep the same leadership in both chambers. John McCain took only a few weeks to start complaining about unfair tactics from the RNC again. Every politician fails to live up to expectations in one form or another â€” even Reagan gave conservatives only one-and-a-half good Supreme Court justices out of three opportunities.

Yes, I do think that Bush has been responsible for quite a few conservatives being disappointed, disillusioned, or otherwise bitter about politicians.Â However, I also realize that Obama’s broad messages – not the few attempts at talking policy – were designed to allow voters to make of him what they wanted.Â They recoiled at our suggestion to look more closely at his background and actual votes because his message about hope and change was vague enough so that they could interpret it to match their views.Â It would be like telling them to question their own personal histories.Â In all honesty, even though he initially pledged not to run because he was too inexperienced, I really wonder if he didn’t have to run now in order to keep his record as short as possible so he could use such lofty ideals without being so easily called out on it.

But back to people being disappointed.Â They feel mislead.Â I would say it’s really their own fault, but I also view Obama’s message as similar to a very successful ad campaign.Â Since his base really hates that kind of stuff, they may just now be opening their eyes to see that while they weren’t actively lied to, they did buy into a message that left all the icky stuff out.Â And rather than hating themselves for not looking into it more closely, they’ll hate him for it.Â But I think most of them will get over it.Â I think we’ll see the farther left members of Congress do just enough to make them happy and they will forget about this affair.Â However, if Obama doesn’t come out as a strong advocate for their causes at some point (he was a community organizer, you know), then they may redirect their energy to the Congressional and state candidates who don’t leave them with less buyers remorse wondering, “Where’s the hopechange?”