Right Of The Star: May 13, 2008

Purpose and Updated Stats -- May 12, 2008

The content of the RRStar (online Rockford Register Star) blogs have an overwhelmingly liberal slant in both content, links, and quantity.

I established this blog in an attempt to provide Rockford with political balance and to demonstrate the type and quality of content the RRStar could offer to its readers.

Checking the stats of their political blogs it is clear that they need more of a balanced portfolio of political blogs.

Again, here are the political blogs available at the RRStar:

Applesauce is a prolific far left blog that addresses national issues. The content is mainly composed of links to the left wing of the blogosphere along with a short quips, photo, and video content. Occasionally there are longer posts that include opinions on the items linked. Comments are quickly answered, often with another quip.
In Chambers is a blog that covers Illinois state politics. It appears to be right of center but that could be the result of its adversarial nature to the current state administration. There is no real interaction in the comments.
Sweeny Report is a blog written by the Political Editor of the Register Star. Postings are sporadic, concentrating on local, state and national issues and are mainly short thoughts on events with few links.
Why We Vote is a group blog consisting of the thoughts of the members of the Register Star's voters opinion panel. The posts are mostly left of center (including those from the independents to date). The conservative member who was posting, sadly, passed away recently.

Guns and God -- Hillary Big Win In West Virginia

With ~~83%~~ 94% in Hillary is ahead of Obama 67% to 26%.

The sad thing is the eggheads on the coasts and some closer to home have already justified this as those poor uneducated masses, they don't vote in their best interest. Unfortunately that is the mindset that in communist and totalitarian countries leads to taking away that vote -- for their own good.
DKK
ABC -- Primary Results

Update:

Not only did Hillary win by 40%, she won every single county, delivering a skunk to the front-running Obama late in the game:

An excellent point noted at Hot Air
DKK

Aussie straps in beer, not child

They said the 30-can pack of beer was strapped down between two adults in the back, with the five-year-old child unrestrained on the floor.

Seriously, what do you think the thought process behind this was? Don't want that heavy case of beer flying around if we wreck -- it might hit Junior and kill him!

Or more likely, don't want that beer spillin, mate!
DKK
BBC -- Aussie straps in beer, not child

UPDATE:

Oh dear, looks like this guy had the right idea, here are the results of unrestrained beer being transported! Luckily the beer survived.

“It would appear the rig hit that curve and tipped, ripping the side and top of the trailer piece — can-opened it right open. All the beer went flying out, down the embankment between that off-ramp and I-70 down below.”

The driver of the truck was not seriously injured but was transported to a local hospital.

The “uninjured” beer, as Stigall called it, was being transferred by hand to another truck.”

Patterico's Pontifications -- Fun With Beer

How Can This Be -- Military Meets Numbers

The military met its recruiting and retention goals for every branch of the service and reserves for the month of April 2008.

Strange, if you had listened to the media you would think this just couldn't happen, but it does, month after month despite the Democrats and the media.

DKK
Defense Link -- DOD Announces Recruiting and Retention Numbers

Framing Versus The Truth

Today we're only beginning to learn about what went on behind the scenes on Iraq. One important new source is the recently published War and Decision by Douglas Feith, the No. 3 civilian at the Pentagon from 2001 to 2005.
(...)
One such narrative is "Bush lied, people died." The claim is that "neocons," including Feith, politicized intelligence to show that Saddam Hussein's regime had weapons of mass destruction. Not so, as the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Silberman-Robb Commission have already concluded. Every intelligence agency believed Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, and the post-invasion Duelfer report concluded that he maintained the capability to produce them on short notice. There was abundant evidence of contacts between Saddam's regime and al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Given Saddam's hostility to the United States and his stonewalling of the United Nations, American leaders had every reason to believe he posed a grave threat. Removing him removed that threat.

DKK
Michael Barone -- Rethinking the Iraq Critics

Regular Democrats Buck The Party -- 64% Clinton Should Stay In

Pushing back against political punditry, more than six in 10 Democrats say there's no rush for Hillary Clinton to leave the presidential race even as Barack Obama consolidates his support for the nomination and scores solidly in general-election tests.

Despite Obama's advantage in delegates and popular vote, 64 percent of Democrats in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say Clinton should remain in the race. Even among Obama's supporters, 42 percent say so.

DKK
ABC News -- No Rush for Clinton to Go

Chavez Power Grap Continues

President Hugo Chavez has signed a decree to nationalise Venezuela's biggest steelmaker, Ternium-Sidor.
Argentina's Techint, which owns 60% of it, has been given until the end of June to hand it over.
In the past two years the Venezuelan state has taken over foreign-controlled companies including cement, telecoms, oil, gas and electricity firms.

DKK

BBC -- Venezuela takes over steel firm

Horrific 7.9 Quake Rocks China

A massive search and rescue operation is under way in south-western China after one of the most powerful earthquakes in decades.
Troops have arrived in Wenchuan county at the epicentre, which was largely cut off by the quake - but heavy rain is hampering rescue operations.
Elsewhere in Sichuan province, frantic efforts are being made to reach thousands of people under the rubble.
The death toll is now nearly 12,000, an official said, and looks set to rise.

DKK
BBC

Right Of The Star

Tuesday, May 13, 2008