Begun, These Sign Wars Have

Bitter and I just got back from counterattacking the Patrick Murphy Campaign.  We placed Tom Manion signs at an untouched main roadway where there was a good bit of public property.  We also counterattacked two Murphy positions at key exits.  We ran out of ammunition (signs) and were unable to continue the fight.  We will resupply, and attack the remaining positions sometime this week.  We cannot allow a sign gap!  Take that, you gun banning asshole!

People might argue that signage doesn’t matter, but it does.  A lot of people really aren’t very aware of congressional races, and you don’t want them to just see Murphy signs around.  You want your candidate’s name to stick in their heads, so when they start looking for election information, they remember.  This is epsecially important if you’re not an incumbent.

Signs are also a form of psychological warfare.  When the Murphy people drive by their signs tomorrow morning, they will know Manion people are in the area, ready to ambush their turf and match them sign for sign.  It’s incredibly demoralizing.  Manion supporters will also know that they have neighbors who support their candidate, and they aren’t freaks after all.  It’s always good to let your people know they aren’t freaks.

But most importantly, it’s a moral booster for you, the activist.  There’s fun in the attack, knowing it will anger Murphy’s Minions. As you thrust each sign into (hopefully) soft earth, you can take great satisfaction in thinking “Ha!  Here’s a nice little f*&k you from the NRA, Pat!  Stick that in your assault weapons ban and smoke it!”  If you don’t really like people, putting out signs is a great way to contribute.

Hey, It Worked For Me!

Glenn Reynolds points out, in trying to explain why there are more male political bloggers than female:

Men are genetically programmed to try to stand out through action, in the hopes of attracting women. It’s true, of course that blogging is a relatively ineffective way of doing that — but so are many other ways this urge manifests itself, like extreme Star Trek fandom. The point is the genetically programmed urge, which isn’t programmed into women in the same manner. Is this true? Beats me, but it’s amusing.

Ilya Somin suggest this wouldn’t be a very efficient way to find women:

Since political blogging reaches an overwhelmingly male audience, it probably isn’t a very efficient way to attract women. It may not be quite as irrational a dating strategy as trying to attract women through “extreme Star Trek fandom,” but it’s probably less effective than checking out to Ladies’ Night at the local bar. If you spend a lot of time blogging, you probably could have devoted that time to other activities where meeting women would be more likely.

Speak for yourself gentlemen, but it worked for me.  Bars might be an easy way to get laid, but going after female bloggers you like is a far better long term strategy.  And what better way to attract them than by starting a blog yourself?

Please Tell Me This is Fake

Someone please tell me this isn’t real.  The more I talk to other people about Obama, the more I feel like I sound like a right wing whakjob.  Because this shit is the kind of thing that paranoid right-wing fantasies are made out of.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt6JWzBqLWs[/youtube]

Only I worry this time it’s not a fantasy.  Looking at the writing on the walls that’s visible for clues, it would appear this is the 18th and Vine District in Kansas City, MO.  The tag on the video says an Urban Community Leadership Academy, and that the teacher has been suspended.

I point this out not because I think Obama’s campaign is going around training the brownshirts, but because I do not wish to elect anyone who inspires this kind of regimented and blind loyalty.  That is dangerous to our Republic.  Think what you want about McCain, but he’s a typical politician.  He’s an evil I know.  I don’t know who Barack Obama really is, but I do know the depths of hell to which this kind of loyalty leads.

UPDATE: Sadly, it’s real.  It was done before Obama was the nominee, and the school seems to be taking appropriate action.

Polling The Voters

Simon of Classical Values talks about poll numbers, and why we should be skeptical, links to this post over at Stolen thunder, which says something that’s very true:

This is not a football game or a baseball game, it’s politics. Support is built up gradually and won bits at a time. Also, some of the best gains are not obvious at first, because some significant actions take time to develop. McCain and Obama both fell back a bit the last week of September, McCain because Republican support fell off a bit, Obama lost independents’ support. This is a salient factor in where the candidates’ opportunities and weaknesses lay.

And we can exploit these weaknesses.  They key to this election will be swinging independent voters away from Obama.  That will certainly be the key to winning Pennsylvania.  Simon says:

So do the right thing and give him a click. Plus his advice is critical: keep the faith. Do not give up. Make sure you and all your friends show up on election day.

And Simon said, so if you don’t do it, you’ll lose!

NRA is Expanding Anti-Obama Ad Campaign

From the Political Victory fund, which is NRA’s Political Action Committee:

Fairfax, VA-Today the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) expanded its advertising campaign with the release of additional commercials further detailing Sen. Barack Obama’s long anti-gun record in battleground states across the country. The NRA-PVF commercials began airing Monday in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Minnesota and Michigan.

These ads, which expose the truth about Obama’s record opposing the rights of law-abiding gun owners, are currently running in Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Colorado. The media spots feature a variety of people from all walks of life, including war veterans, hunters, families and former law enforcement officers criticizing the many  anti-gun and anti-hunter votes cast by Obama as a state and as a U.S. Senator. NRA-PVF is also running Spanish-language commercials in several states.

No doubt that will keep the Obama’s campaigns lawyers busy sending out more threat letters to keep his record on gun control from getting out there.

Media Bias of the Day

I should try to make this a regular feature up until the election, since it’s become abundantly clear that the media is in the tank for Obama.  Today’s was courtesy of the local news talker.  The issue was MCain’s new ads highlighting Obama’s ties with William Ayers.  You’d think they’d want to explain to the general public exactly who Ayers is, or even, you know, mention his name at least once in the story, to give the public some background information on the accusation.  I would argue, in fact, that it’s their duty to the citizens of this country to explain such things.

But they immediately cut to Obama’s retort that this attack is merely desperation, and an attempt to district Americans from the real issues.  Sorry, but I think associating, and owing your political career to a self-admitted domestic terrorist is something that’s a bit more than a distraction.  Apparently the media doesn’t think this is news.

Even this article, which offers decent coverage, tries to dismiss the assocation.  The Washington Post Fact Check dismisses the association.  The British press is getting in on it.  CNN is also is whitewashing the connection.  ABC News actually manages fairly good coverage.

The Corner has more on this here and here.

UPDATE: David Bernstein has more to say here.

Stun Guns

The Arizona Rifleman talks about problems with stun guns.  I agree, they don’t even beat a well placed fist, knee or elbow in a lot of situations.  A friend of mine who reads, and can perhaps comment, had a similar experience where he volunteered to get zapped by one of these devices.  He felt it was only mildly painful, and would be easy for a determined attacker to fight through.  Even the taser type guns, which are far more useful, are only effective while they are actively zapping the person, and that’s only if the electrodes find their mark.