Riehl World View

On not making Matt Lewis's "Top 25 Conservatives on Twitter"

Bloggerissimus Dan Collins of POWIP, who twitters under the name of vermontaigne, somehow got our number and enlisted us in his "Island of Misfit Bloggers." As we twittered at the news, "No one ever called me a misfit blogger before. Shall we just have a cigarette on it?" 

By Sissy Willis of sisu

"Ooh, I can't stand it. Ooh, it's my stomach. I haven't felt this awful since we saw that Ronald Reagan film." You know the feeling. You didn't make the cut even as some of your best buddies are sitting pretty. We don't want to talk about it, but since you asked, here lie four former friends amongst Matt Lewis's "Top 25 Conservatives on Twitter," each well deserved even as we eat our "importance of being noticed" heart out:

@MelissaTweets -- While many conservative writers, politicians and activists have wisely leveraged Twitter to advance their ongoing efforts, the medium seems to have propelled Melissa Clouthier to our attention. To be sure, Clouthier is also a good blogger and podcaster, but this mom (who also runs a part-time chiropractic practice) has Tweeted her way into conservative opinion leader status.

@Cubachi -- We don't know Jennifer's last name, but we do know her Twitter handle, "Cubachi," relates to her Cuban/Chinese heritage. Jennifer exercises an outsized influence on Twitter, due to her ongoing conversations with other prominent conservatives. Jennifer is prolific on Twitter, and this includes her coverage of events like American Idol and the World Cup. Non-conservatives who think conservatives are boring old white men who only talk about policy would find following Cubachi to be an enlightening experience.

@rsmccain -- Robert Stacy McCain has aptly been described as "the conservative Hunter S. Thompson." Now imagine if Hunter Thompson was on Twitter!

@danriehl -- Most notable for his willingness to call-out powerful conservatives, Dan Riehl blogs at Riehl World View. In Riehl's world, no one -- from RedState's Erick Erickson to National Review -- is above questioning.

With apologies to Dylan Thomas:

"Tweet, tweet against the dying of the light."

Crossposted at sisu and Liberty Pundits.

I do declare: Tweeting the Declaration of Independence for fun and profit

By Sissy Willis of sisu

"The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do," Slate quotes Thomas Jefferson — a man after our own less-is-more writer's heart — in "All Men Are Tweeted Equal," an invitation to fellow freedom lovers to "condense the Declaration of Independence to one tweet":

It took Thomas Jefferson only 17 days to write the Declaration of Independence. Pretty impressive work for what one historian famously described as "American Scripture" and what the National Archives calls "the nation's most cherished symbol of liberty." Then again, it's only 1,300 words or so, approximately 8,000 characters. In other words, three-and-a-half tweets a day …

So here is our challenge to Slate readers: Condense the Declaration of Independence to one tweet. For example: "All men should be equal, happy and free. Suck it, King George. We quit. Love, the U.S. of A." Or maybe: "All men are free. Also: No more quartering of troops." Reduce the document to what you see as its essence. The most recent tweets, and the most popular, will be collected below. After three days, we'll collect the best and publish them the weekend of July Fourth.

As usual with this Internet stuff, there are some crucial details. The most important is that each tweet contain the hashtag #TinyDeclaration. That will allow us to collect all the entries, but it also means that you really have only 124 characters left to summarize Mr. Jefferson. (Sorry.) Feel free to tweet as often as you like — there's no limit on the number of times you can enter — but remember that we won't count any tweets made after Wednesday at midnight. If you like a tweet, retweet it — that will help us see which ones are most popular.

We invite our readers to jump in. Like Bill Whittle's exercise of writing out the Declaration long hand, it's a great way to reinhabit one of our precious founding documents. Here's a fave we just retweeted from @davidkomatar:

Dear king, perhaps it would be better if we were "just friends" #TinyDeclaration

And our own tiny masterpiece:

@kinggeorge3: We're tired of your abuse of our God-given rights. After careful consideration we declare our independence #TinyDeclaration

And while we're in a patriotic mood on this Fourth-of-July Eve, a sampling of Declaration-inspired blogposts from the archives:

King George III 2.0, meet Declaration of Independence 2.0

A Declaration of Independence: Art for freedom's sake

Too Late to Apologize: Music video as history lesson

God's "almost chosen people"

Oh, say, can you see?

Crossposted at sisu and Liberty Pundits.

Why Olbermann Hired Dave Weigel

I'll leave you with a partial quote below, which I supplied to AIM this morning, as they may, or may not use this bit. Then I'll hand it off to Iowahawk for the rest.

"I suspect joining Olbermann was a smart move. One needn't be a serious journalist to perform in that sideshow. I wonder if Olbermann didn't hire him as, given Weigel's skin issues, it was the closest Olbermann could get to routinely having an adolescent boy in his office without raising eyebrows, or causing controversy."

Penetrated By Goat In Park, Weiner (D-NY) Runs Caption Contest

Apparently the caption contest with the goats was planned before the spearing.

May the best caption win. NPR is leading the headline contest: A Democrat, A Republican And Two Goats Walk Into A Park ...

h/t DailyNews on the contest:

By the way (and thanks to a reader for pointing this out) I'm guessing it was prior to the bloodletting that Weiner decided to use his joint appearance with Lancelot and Arthur as a Facebook caption contest.

Exposed: What really goes on beneath the burka

By Sissy Willis of sisu

"Now THIS is how you hit back at the oppression of women in the Muslim world," twittered Newsbusters blogger Lachlan Markay this afternoon, linking a brilliantly provocative Liaison Dangereuse lingerie ad that turns Salome's Dance of the Seven Veils on its head and puts Victoria's Secret to shame. Set against the smoky, sultry strains of a ney — the flute of classical Arabic music — and tambourine, the camera's eye caresses a smoky, sultry woman getting ready to go out on the town. Depending upon your perspective, you'll either love or hate the surprise ending.

Update from our imail correspondent, a woman of the world:

The post is fabulous. In reminds me of the Secret Lives of Plants.

Crossposted at sisu, Cloven Not Crested and Liberty Pundits.

TNOYF Helen Thomas-Hitler Photoshop Heh!

In email from former TNOYF blogger R.H.Potfry. Heh!

Blogger Will Folks Admits To Affair With Helen Thomas

When I contacted SC State Senator Jake Knotts in regard to Will Folks' allegations of an affair with Nikki Haley, he said he had no idea if there was any truth to the rumor. However, he did forward a photograph he took while AP reporter Helen Thomas was visiting apparent paramour Will Folks in South Carolina last summer.

"Everybody down here knows he's been screwing that f---ing raghead for years," said Knotts. "It's bad enough ya got people like Shakira who might can get invited to the White House, we don't need no f---ing ragheads like Helen Thomas in South Carolina."

When contacted, Will Folks said he had no comment before consulting with his wife; however, he did say if I would wait until after the weekend to break the story, he would produce some text messages for his blog confirming the affair, as long as I promised to link them.

Fired consultant for Andre Bauer, Larry Marchant, said while he had no knowledge of a Folks-Thomas affair, he didn't see the problem, "I'd hit it," said Marchant. However, it was unclear if he was referring to Helen Thomas, or Will Folks. What's life without a little mystery, I guess?

When confronted with the evidence, Helen Thomas promptly issued an apology, claiming the image didn't reflect her "heartfelt" affection for blogger Folks, or consultant Larry Marchant either, assuming he really wanted to have a go. She declined to state if the offer of a piece extended to Jake Knotts, saying she hadn't yet seen a picture. "I'll have to check him out on Facebook and get back to you," said Thomas.

Meanwhile, consultant Wesley Donehue asked to keep any correspondence off the record. The Folks-Haley timeline does seem to indicate Donehue was the person originally pushing that rumor.

And that's the latest in SC politics, until Noon, anyway!

"Dan's not here so I can say anything. Muwahaha …"

By Sissy Willis

"When I guest blog, I try to emulate the voice of the webmaster," writes co-Riehl-World-View guest blogger Melissa Clouthier:

So, expect foul language, polemic rhetoric and fire breathing. P.S. Dan's not here so I can say anything. Muwahaha …

And here we were going to be so good, too, knowing of our host's ailurophobia. When the dog's away, the cats will play? Uh, oh. The cats are invading the Holy See:

Time for some gratuitous cuteness. It's bad karma to keep Rachel Maddow at the top of your blog too long, even if it DOES elicit a Michelle Malkin "Buzzworthy" link. Above, Earl Grey hurries off on his rounds after a quick nip on the front porch. He had stood in the open doorway as if to enter the house. After focussed high-level talks, he agreed to stay outside in exchange for a spot of the weed.

While Earl snorted and chawed, Sweet Tiny Pea sat mysteriously nearby amidst the lower branchlings of the privet and lilacs — a heraldic lioness in a William-Morris-inspired tapestry — her studied indifference acting on her lover like another dose of catnip. Drawn irresistibly to her side, he paused to drink in her fragrance and mark her bower with his scent.

Note large fur clump along Earl's lower midsection halfway between the two white paws. At first we'd thought it was just a grooming issue, what with his luxuriantly fluffy coat, but no. Looking more closely, we realized he had sustained a battle wound, the fur having been apparently ripped right off his hide. Seems to be healing okay. Not much we can do, given that he's unapproachable beyond an occasional nose meep to our outstretched hand. Like Dan Riehl, Chelsea Cats are tough.

Crossposted at sisu: "Far from the Maddow crowd: Karmic relief."

Too Big To Succeed?

So much for wanting policemen who walk softly in Indonesia. Is that part of the obstacle course, or are you just happy to see me?

The ban was applied since the unnatural size causes "hindrance during training," said police spokesman Zainuri Lubis in Jakarta, quoted by news portal Detik.com.

(Reuters) - Forget about getting a job as a police officer in Indonesia's Papua if you have had your penis enlarged. You won't get it, according to local media reports citing the Papua police chief.

An applicant "will be asked whether or not his vital organ has been enlarged," said Papua police chief Bekto Suprapto, quoted on local website Kompas.com.

"If he has, he will be considered unfit to join the police or the military."

Image: Charles Johnson Scores, Again

I do believe Chuckie has discovered Tennazi! Click the image to work!