POWIP Piece of Work In Progress – Former Abode of Dan Collins

How to Become a High-Profile Conservative Pundit

As most people who've read anything I've written (God bless all five of you) know, I am an auto racing aficionado. Later on this evening, the NASCAR Nationwide Series will be visiting Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. The race is drawing a tad more attention than the usual event in this series, which is something of a minor league companion to NASCAR's top series the Sprint Cup. Why? Well, this driver will be in it:

Why, yes, that is Danica Patrick.

If you think religion and/or politics are points of contention, mention Danica's name among auto racing fans and you will be immediately embroiled in a debate making anything taking place on Capitol Hill look like a tea social. Her fans and defenders will fight to the death on behalf of the argument that she is a talented driver who uses her looks to get attention as opposed to the foundation of her career, while her detractors insist she is at best overrated and far more likely a talentless hack who gets by solely on her own curves as opposed to any she takes on any given race track. I happen to be in the former group, believing that while she may not be a great driver, she's a very good one and a far sight better than for which she is often given credit.

Nevertheless, the debate remains. Is Danica where she is because of the body of work that is her racing career, or her body period? As even her most ardent supporters (including yours truly) note, the latter certainly hasn't hurt.

Taking this into the realm of politics, one Tina Korbe has been added to the full-time front page roster at HotAir. I'm sure it's solely due to her skill with the written word:

Tina Korbe

Having read some of her articles at the Heritage Foundation, it's safe to observe that Ms. Korbe's noting how she worked on the school paper while attending the University of Arkansas is a tad redundant, as she has yet to shed being hidebound by the rulebook to which collegiate journalists adhere. Her writing is technically impeccable while possessing all the color and passion of dry shaving cream. So why does she now write for HotAir? Possibilities abound:

1. Salem Communications wants an actual female on staff as opposed to Allahpundit alone, who pretty much but not exactly fills the role;
2. Commenters will be less likely to shred anything she writes because she's a hot girl;
3. Eye candy.

One cannot fault Ms. Korbe for her looks; she is as she was made. However, an injection of truth is required. If she was Ugly Betty, would she have the job she now holds? Or her previous one at the Heritage Foundation?

Basically, if you want to be a high-profile conservative pundit these days, you'd better be a looker. Cases in point:

Dana Loesch

Mary Katherine Ham

Hannah Giles

S.E. Cupp

There are others, but you get the idea.

It's not that any of the above are talentless. They're not. This duly noted, again the question must be raised: if they were average or below average looking, would any of them get the time of day let alone air time on television and online?

Also, for a group of people famous for their ability to assemble in a circular firing squad whenever someone looks at someone else cross-eyed, conservatives online are loath to so much as breathe a word of complaint or criticism against attractive conservative women's commentary. Whether this is due to chivalry or hoping to score a date is a matter of conjecture. One suspects it is the latter, although here once again an illustration from NASCAR applies:

They're not going out with you either.

It'd be nice if the powers that be in conservative media, all of whom happen to be men, would admit the painfully obvious truth. Given the opportunity, over anyone and everyone else they will pick the sweet young thing. Every. Single. Time. Just like guys the world over should they be given the chance.

Easy on the eyes, to be sure. However, is it genuinely serving the best interests of the cause to put curves ahead of lines, as in lines of type containing invaluable information? Are we picking the best people, or the best profile?

I enjoy looking at pretty women as much as any guy, although doing so when Mrs. Dude is in the vicinity is not advisable. But when it's time to set daydreams aside and get to work, looks are dead last on the priority list. And we have a lot of work to do getting this country back on course. With this in mind, guys, we need to use the head atop our necks as opposed to the one we'd like to put... you know.

Jerry Wilson

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When In Doubt, Beg For The Handout

From my employer's blog:

There Are No Words

Other than, perhaps, unbelievable:

Many of the states hammered by what’s already the deadliest year for tornadoes in more than half a century have among the nation’s highest rates of homes without hazard insurance despite being among the most twister-prone, data analyzed by The Associated Press shows.

That means the regions that most need the insurance are often the exact places that don’t have much of it. It also means many tornado victims may have a hard time getting compensated for their losses, putting more pressure on the federal government to help even though its assistance is limited by law.

Lovely.

And guess who'll wind up picking up the tab?

Jerry Wilson

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Don’t Forget Marizela Perez

Marizela Perez, cousin of political writer Michelle Malkin, has been missing since March fifth. She was last seen in Seattle, where she was attending school. There's more information about the case and her at FindMarizela.com.

A video whiz I am not, but I put together the clip below as my contribution to keeping the case out there. Please share it with people you know. Thanks. (The song is "Missing Persons" by the Kinks.)

(Video at Goldfish and Clowns)

Jerry Wilson

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Sarah Palin 5; Jennifer Rubin 0

It's been said by more than a few that we who are of the Palin posse are inclined to knee-jerk reactionism whenever so much as a whiff of criticism is pointed at her, especially by those belonging to the breed known as Washingtonius insiderus, an animal readily identified by its cocktail-induced myopia. It's been reported the Rhinoceros Appreciation Society is preparing to file a libel suit against them for besmirching the good name of the family Rhinocerotidae. But I digress.

While it is true we of the Palin posse are prone to defend her, the notion that such stems more from reflex than reflection upon points of consideration is inaccurate. No doubt great surprise will be found by the aforementioned nattering nabobs of Nerdprom in that most of us have actually taken the time to study Palin's record and policies in something more than a drive-by fashion.

Which decidedly puts us one up on them.

A recent example of same comes from Jennifer Rubin, as we are oft told conservative blogger for the Washington Post. In a post earlier today generating such frenetic worldwide interest it presently has zero comments, although this is no doubt assigned by Washingtonius insiderus to the belief that Palin supporters can't read, Rubin assails Palin for adopting an isolationist world view akin to that held by Ron 'the Rampage' Paul.

Uh-huh.

Let's break this down based on what Palin said last night in a speech. In comparison to Ms. Rubin's take on it drawn from an article by that legendary purveyor of journalistic integrity and fair play Politico, what she actually said, word for word:

I believe our criteria before we send our young men and women—America’s finest—into harm’s way should be spelled out clearly when it comes to the use of our military force. I can tell you what I believe that criteria should be in five points.

First, we should only commit our forces when clear and vital American interests are at stake. Period.

Second, if we have to fight, we fight to win. To do that, we use overwhelming force. We only send our troops into war with the objective to defeat the enemy as quickly as possible. We do not stretch out our military with open-ended and ill-defined missions. Nation building is a nice idea in theory, but it is not the main purpose of our armed forces. We use our military to win wars.

And third, we must have clearly defined goals and objectives before sending troops into harm’s way. If you can’t explain the mission to the American people clearly and concisely, then our sons and daughters should not be sent into battle. Period.

Fourth, American soldiers must never be put under foreign command. We will fight side by side with our allies, but American soldiers must remain under the care and the command of American officers.

Fifth, sending in our armed forces should be the last resort. We don’t go looking for dragons to slay. However, we will encourage the forces of freedom around the world who are sincerely fighting for the empowerment of the individual. When it makes sense, when it’s appropriate, we will provide them with material support to help them win their own freedom.

We are not indifferent to the cause of human rights or the desire for freedom. We are always on the side of both. But we can’t fight every war. We can’t undo every injustice around the world. But with strength and clarity in those five points, we’ll make for a safer, more prosperous, more peaceful world because as the U.S. leads by example, as we support freedom across the globe, we’re going to prove that free and healthy countries don’t wage war on other free and healthy countries. The stronger we are, the stronger and more peaceful the world will be under our example.

Wow, what an isolationist Sarah Palin has become! I mean, really! Have an objective? Have a plan? Use our armed forces for our interests? Crazy talk if ever there was such. Just because this has been the foundation of every successful military philosophy in history... come on. Next I suppose Palin will throw some hair-brained goof out there like, oh, not overextending yourself militarily. Some people, I tell you.

And we, the Palin supporters, are supposed to be the naive ones.

None of this should come as the slightest surprise. We can, and do, read for ourselves that Rubin makes no bones about her negative view of Palin. Nevertheless, we are a generous people, unwilling to engage in the circular firing squad suicide or automatically throw people under the bus but rather extending a hand to join us. There is always room for healthy debate; such is welcomed. As soon as someone engages in such we'll be there. Junk like what Rubin wrote, not so much.

We do not all march in lockstep with Sarah Palin on every issue (endorsing Rand Paul? Really?) . We are neither drones nor zombies. Which, considering the omnipresent drumbeat of Palin as dum-dum emanating from the Jennifer Rubins of this world -- rather, their world -- when in fact she is anything but, is a status happily left to her critics.

(Cross-posted at Goldfish and Clowns)

Jerry Wilson

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Donald Trump and the Californication of American Politics

Thomas Sowell's commentary in National Review today about the dangers to Republicans in a serious Donald Trump bid for the presidency, while excellent, missed a couple of important points about the other current candidates, declared or no, along with the phenomenon that is the rapid ascent of Trump's popularity among the rank and file.

While Sowell correctly identifies the reason for Trump's rise, namely his fiery denouncements of all things Obama, it's difficult to wholly accept his statement about the rest of the 2012 field being milquetoast when it comes to this area:

But how many Republican catch phrases can you remember? Republican rhetoric tends to range from low key to no key.

Seems to me that Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann aren't exactly lobbing Hostess Sno Balls out there. Not that the MSM is broadcasting anything they say unless they see it as a gotcha moment. It's so refreshing to know in a world of $4.23 a gallon gas -- that's the price I saw today in my little corner of the San Francisco Bay Area -- kinetic military action minus agenda purpose or plan in Libya, an economy that's stuck in neutral and is being driven like a manual transmission car negotiating the hills of the City by the Bay, a crushing and growing national debt, a disintegrating dollar, and budget deficits destroying state after state, the digital ink-stained wretches of the media are on the case diligently seeking out squirrels wherever they may be imagined to be found. But I digress; back to Sowell's column.

While the notion of Trump as a serious candidate gives little cause for glee, the enthusiasm with which he is being received says much about both the genuine hunger for someone, anyone, to come out shooting against the socialistic policies and practices of the Obama administration and what is referred to in the title: the Californication of American politics.

An explanation. As a California native and almost lifelong resident of the state, I have had more than ample opportunity to observe firsthand how things are done, or not, in the increasingly tarnished Golden State. Out here, politics is as much a matter of style as substance. It's not who has the best plan laid out who garners the most votes. It's the candidate who communicates them the best. The one who plays well to the spotlight. The one whose demeanor most says they are a star. It's all about the personality. Sometimes we've been fortunate and found someone who had personality plus principles along with sound political beliefs and policies to match (see Reagan, Ronald). Other times, not so much.

In Trump we are seeing not a small amount of, to simultaneously quote and paraphrase Anthony Kiedis, hardcore soft porn done politics style. Trump brings a fair amount of star power to the genre. A whole lot of folk gravitate to such. If that's what it takes to get them to pay attention, so be it. Hopefully they'll slide away from that shallow reason and become engaged over matters of substance. However, chances are they won't, especially if they rely on the same media which Trump has mastered for their information.

This is the greatest danger of a Trump candidacy. Not that he'll win the Republican nomination, although theoretically it is possible. It's that even as Trump introduces hard issues, which in all fairness he does do particularly in our economic woes, these things and more serious candidates will be ignored in favor of that which most satiates the seemingly endless thirst of pop culture consumers for the trivial.

Jerry Wilson

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Sarah Palin vs. Rainy Days and Mondays

It's well nigh impossible to add anything to Peter Ingemi's (DaTechGuy) precise take on how Sarah Palin has consistently been proven right on matters of national importance, such as Obamacare and how the Fed's quantitative easing program would provide zero genuine relief for the economy. So I won't. Instead, I'll take a different tack.

A topic guaranteed to turn me into an instant rant machine is how people, desperately seeking attention and acclaim, will often treat others who are in no position to further their ambitions like so much snail trail. This stands in stark contrast to many who have achieved genuine success, not the illusion of same via celebrated status in the phonebooth kingdom that is the online community. For these individuals, a minute with another individual spent focusing solely on them is a natural part of their being. Bear in mind these are people with insane demands on their time. Yet they find the time to serve God by serving others not via words or even deeds from on high, this while often holding places of genuine power, but rather through genuine, personal action.

A story I didn't tell in the afterword to my book about the artists who created Christian alternative rock, telling in their own words the story of their lives then and now, took place in 1994. It was the last night of the Gospel Music Association convention in Nashville, meaning it was Dove Awards night (the Christian music industry's version of the Grammys).

Following the event, people scattered to different after parties. For whatever reason, I wound up in front of the restaurant where Word Records, at that time the Big Kahuna of labels, was having their self-congratulatory bash. I believe I had an invitation, being at the time kind of a big deal music journalist. However, going in was something I didn't see happening. The editor of the magazine I did the majority of my writing for had been fired the day earlier, and because of that, plus other reasons I did include in the book, I knew my tenure covering the music I so deeply loved was coming to an end. In short, I was one unhappy camper.

A group of assorted powers that be from the label walked by into the restaurant. Among them was Mark Lowry, a comedian who was at the time on the label. He looked over in my direction, told the rest of the group to go on ahead, and walked over to where I was standing.

We had never met before that moment. He told me one look at my face awakened the Spirit within him, letting him know something was wrong. I told him the entire story. He pulled out a notepad, wrote down my name, and said he would keep me in his prayers. Only then did he go rejoin his party, which had remained just outside the restaurant entrance.

That meant a great deal to me.

On this rainy Monday morning, with me facing the uncertain future mention in my previous post here, reading Peter's post reminded me of a far more recent moment. The circumstances were quite different from the one above, although it did involve the book. However, it was a moment of person-to-person contact. No, I'm not going into details.

Yes, it was with Sarah Palin.

Something most all Palin detractors, and not a few people who are ambivalent about her, rail against is what they perceive as a cultish adoration of her by her devotees, one where not even a whiff of criticism is tolerated. I can't and won't deny this element exists. However, it does not define all who hold her in high esteem. In fact, it is a very small portion of her supporters. The vast majority of us support Palin because, as Peter's post states, she is right on the major issues confronting our nation.

That said, there is a fortunate group among us who have an additional reason for belonging to the Palin posse.

We've learned firsthand she is a wonderful person.

As long as there's hope she will in the very near future be our President, there is hope indeed.

I'm not going to let this rainy day Monday get me down.

Jerry Wilson

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