Virginia Turned Red And Only The Blues Are Angry

Love Ed Driscoll's breakdown of Election Day 2009.

VA Election 2009

So I voted at the Lillian Cardin center in Quantico. At 1130, I was the eighty-first voter and I saw about five who came in after me [all took the Republican sample ballot over the Democrat]. One of the Democrats handing out sample ballots told me that there were only a little over one hundred voters for that location last year and that today, thus far, looks like a much bigger turnout. I asked the Republican rep and she said that things were looking good for that precinct. Neither group would speculate as to numbers based on who took what sample ballot.

All I know is some man came in after me and when approached by the Democrats said, "You've got the wrong man. I didn't vote last year and I'm not going to let the same mistake happen."

Insanity Statufied

This is a list of just the NEW bureaucracies formed by the newest proposed health care fiasco.

How many health care dollars will actually go to people who need them? We might as well donate the money to the hospitals in need. I will volunteer for the position. You won't have to pay me a dime and the poor can actually be treated.

Obama's Choice: Truman or Carter?

Victor Davis Hanson lays out exactly how it seems President Obama is starting down the troublesome path of Carterian foreign policy. Hope is not lost. Truman managed to come around.

Will an inexperienced Barack Obama, in the fashion of Harry Truman, learn quickly that the world is chaotic and unstable—best dealt with through strength and unabashed confidence in America's historic role galvanizing democratic allies to confront illiberal aggressors?

This Is Just All Around Funny

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's big Eff You, courtesy of Jules Crittenden.

Theo Spark: Cartoon Round Up....

Scroll to the bottom. It goes with the theme of my last post. Special thank you to Ed Driscoll for shooting these my way. :)

Theo Spark: Cartoon Round Up....

Halloween Czar

It's The Great Pumpkin--Er, Rotten Tomato. Charlie Brown

Anybody with conservative sympathies has been offended by the blatant left leaning support of the what the American Right likes to call the MSM or mainstream media. From the dawn of this "profession", journalists have espoused their so-called unbiased bona fides in a rather fetishized sort of way. They liken themselves to fact finders and truth tellers in a manner comparable to the sagest of justices, except justices are constrained by the bounds of legislation and precedent in determining the objective manner of presenting their material. Odd how the only such constraint on a journalist is a prudent copy editor and, with any luck, a conscientious reader--such is the impetus for journalistic neutrality.

However, year in and year out we Americans put up with the latest skirmish in silly interparty media wars. The latest installment, Obama v. Fox News seems almost a caricature.

What I, and many other Virginia residents witnessed tonight on WJLA ABC7 at 8:00 pm is but a footnote in the escalating media political wars.

Last week, I caught an ad for It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: quintessential Halloween Americana. I set the reminder on my cable immediately. Tonight, my husband and I sat down with my freshly bathed, pajama clad three and four year old children for a special stay-up-late night. To our surprise, the local ABC affiliate, WJLA had rescheduled the showing for this Saturday afternoon at 2:00 pm in order to run a "Special News Hour" on the upcoming VA governor's election.

"Special News Hour" indeed. This was nothing more than an unattributed ad for Democrat candidate Creigh Deeds.

I wonder what the Virginia ratings are for the first showing of "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"? Really. The show first came out in 1966, so it's been shown every fall for over forty years now. I can't imagine that the ratings are that poor. It's as much a fall tradition in the U.S. as pecan pie, Monday night football, leaf raking, sage dressing and hot spiked cider.

In the first minute following the announcement of the rescheduling, the news anchor's introduction went right into talking about Creigh Deeds and Obama's push for support for the candidate. Immediately. Not even a pause. Not until AFTER the first commercial break [incidentally, a plug for Creigh Deeds as being endorsed by the Washington Post, shock of all shocks] into the "Special" did they even MENTION Bob McDonnell's name. It could have easily been three minutes.

So, what's the over/under that the average It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown viewer has remained on the channel at this point? Really. We aren't talking about a debate. People will tune into a debate. How long does it take someone to locate the remote or gather the kids for bed with the promise that they will get to stay up tomorrow? I would guess about a minute and a half--tops.

I called the local affiliate. I have never before felt compelled to do this, but this example of partisanship was so blatant that it could only be considered offensive. I think it's because it took the viewer completely by surprise. I'm prepared when I watch an ABC news program to lean to the left side. I was not prepared for this. There were no ads the night before when I was watching DWTS. There were, however, ads for It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. No commercials by the local affiliate, though. One would think that if it were so important to reschedule a piece of American iconography that there would have at least been one prime time announcement. Unless, of course, the intent of the network was to use guaranteed ratings to "trick" people into tuning in and catching the first few minutes of the "Special".

Anyhow, this was not some sort of last minute decision. It could not have been. When I called the local affiliate, the woman who answered was PREPARED. I'm talking, canned answer prepared. "It's playing tomorrow and rescheduled for Saturday, what's the problem?" Not the problem. The problem is the calculated Creigh Deeds push in those few minutes before they lost viewership. "It's a 'Special' on the upcoming election on ALL the candidates." As she was saying this, the clock on my Verizon FIOS digital cable box read 8:13 and the first images of Bob McDonnell were showing. 8:13 pm.

ABC news should be ashamed of itself. Of course, it's not and my writing of my anger is mere support of their position that Republican opinions on the media and journalism are per se illegitimate. [Insert dripping sarcastic tone here]

And so the impartiality wars go.