More Matt Drudge..

The international man of mystery.

NY Magazine has a interesting detailed piece on Matt, although they didn't get to interview him because he is obsessive about his privacy. I find him fascinating because he opened up this whole new world of blogging and blending the news with everyday man's opinion. But you don't have to read the long article. I did that for you. Here are the good parts:

"The Drudge Report is an institution, the seventh-most-visited news Website, ahead of the New York Times, Fox News, and the Washington Post. Getting linked on Drudge can unleash a tsunami of public mentions and e-mails, and journalists cater to Drudge to gain those links, alerting him when their stories have nasty anecdotes."

And of course the big green eyed monster raises it's ugly head:

“He is the center of personality-obsessed, attack-based politics. That is the content Drudge looks for,” Glenn Greenwald says. “He’s a right-wing hack.” Greenwald is a leader among the phalanx of left-wing Internet groups and voices, from Salon to Media Matters to Talking Points Memo"

But Drudge seems to believe that Hillary will be our next President:

“That House is going pink,” says Drudge."

What is Drudge like personally? Ohh... the mystery. But usually if your enemy has something nice to say about you, that is, at least, a bit of who you are:

"Donna Brazile describes her first meeting with the Webmaster: “What I remember is the graciousness of a Southern gentleman in him."

The author of the article paints a picture of a sad troubled childhood filled with parental rejection. I'm not talking just a nasty divorce. There was mental illness of a creative powerful woman, a father who was more interested in his new family than a strange son, and then being sent away. Then the turning point:

"After high school, the boy tried New York and Europe, then drifted to his father’s hometown, Los Angeles, where he worked for years in the gift shop at CBS studios. Worried about his son’s aimlessness, Bob Drudge insisted on buying him a Packard-Bell computer in 1994. The Drudge Report began as an e-mail sent out to a few friends."

Then came the moment of fame:

"Drudge filed a breathless report claiming that Newsweek had, that week, held a story reporting that Bill Clinton had had a sexual affair with a 23-year-old White House intern."

Could Drudge have seen how the Clintons would change his life? Even today it seems the Clintons will continue bankroll Drudge's life:

"Drudge said, “I need Hillary Clinton. You don’t get it. I need to be part of her world. That’s my bank. Like Leo DiCaprio has the environment and Al Gore has the environment and Jimmy Carter has anti-Americanism … I have Hillary.”

But what good NY Magazine article on anyone with even the whiff of rightwing about them, be without an outing?:

"Sheff’s metaphor touches on the left’s assertion that Drudge is gay and closeted. In high school, Drudge was already in a gay scene, dating men, Jeannette Walls reported in Dish. And in his memoir, Blinded by the Right, conservative-turned-liberal David Brock, who is gay, described Drudge coming on to him sexually in 1997, including e-mailing Brock the suggestion that they be “f*ck buddies.” Michaelangelo Signorile, a journalist who has broken down many a closet door, calls Drudge “a nasty faggot.”

Isn't that sweet? You have to love the loyalty and decency of "friends" like Brock, don't you? My question is, why does it matter? Why is Drudge's sexuality even an issue or even interesting? He isn't a politican. And no matter what they say, he links negative rightwing stuff as often as he does leftwing. He isn't registered with any party and he doesn't even vote.

What Drudge does is take what is interesting and show it to us. The stuff that the media wouldn't even look at. The $400 haircut of Edwards, the swift boat veterans attack on Kerry, and of course what was obviously boring and should have been of no concern to us, Newsweek's blocked story of a young woman named Monica and the President of the United States.

His magic is knowing what we want to know.

h/t BigDog

Mitt hits it out of the park

Regarding Sen. Larry Craig and his lewd conduct:

"Once again, we've found people in Washington have not lived up to the level of respect and dignity that we would expect for somebody that gets elected to a position of high influence. Very disappointing. He's no longer associated with my campaign, as you can imagine... I'm sorry to see that he has fallen short."

And Romney also included this jab at Bill Clinton as he continued to talk about Craig: "I think it reminds us of Mark Foley and Bill Clinton. I think it reminds us of the fact that people who are elected to public office continue to disappoint, and they somehow think that if they vote the right way on issues of significance or they can speak a good game, that we'll just forgive and forget. And the truth of the matter is, the most important thing we expect from elected--an elected official is a level of dignity and character that we can point to for our kids and our grandkids, and say, `Hey, someday I hope you grow up and you're someone like that person.' And we've seen disappointment in the White House, we've seen it in the Senate, we've seen it in Congress. And frankly, it's disgusting."

Something I did not know about Fred Thompson.

From the NY Times:

"Mr. Thompson rose to national prominence in the mid-1970s. As chief counsel to the Republicans on the Senate Watergate committee, he famously asked the question that revealed the existence of the White House taping system that ultimately led to President Richard M. Nixon’s resignation."

It's a small political world.

Changes.

I've changed back to haloscan comments. It's just easier to manage. Sorry about the comments disappearing again!

John Edwards

I caught this through the media blog at NRO. They seem to think that this video montage by the NY Times makes Edwards seem weak, but I disagree. I think it makes him seem like a parent.

We make fun of Edwards for his prettiness, but I think he would have this nomination if it weren't for the Hillary Machine. I think Edwards could take on Obama pretty easily but he's so busy trying to figure out how to take down Hillary without seeming mean, that he can't do it.

I disagree with everything he stands for, but like Obama, there is something very likable about him. I think the video gives us a glimpse of how hard it is to be a Presidential candidate. Especially when you are trying to keep your kids with you. It's very hard.

Don't live a lie.

You have probably heard by now about Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) being arrested for lewd conduct in a men's public restroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

I will never understand this kind of depraved behavior. Having sex with strangers in a public bathroom is simply depraved. And you cannot blame it on his having to hide his homosexuality. I mean, look at George Michael the singer. He did this sort of thing and he is in an industry that could not care less if one is gay or not. Both of these men could have "relationships" easily without having to resort to this disgusting behavior.

But no, there is something that drives them more than sex. It's some kind of sick thrill I suppose. But that is not my point anyway.

Perhaps Craig and others like him, do not want to admit to their desires because they think it is wrong. But it is much more wrong to lie to all those who love you. It is much more wrong to portray yourself as something you are not. Craig betrayed his family, his friends, and his party. Democrats may not care or look the other way with this kind of thing, but clearly the Republicans do not.

Craig will have to come to terms with who he is and how he wants to live his life. I wish him the best, but just not in the Republican party.

Meeting Fred

John at Powerline got to meet with Fred Thompson last night:

"My own impression of Thompson was similar to the image I already had of him. He's good; he has a nice, folksy manner, some good lines, a sincere, fatherly demeanor, and comes across as a solid conservative of the border-state variety.
Yet I still think there is something missing. Thompson gives long answers to questions, and a point often comes where his folksiness gives way to ennui. He rarely shows much--any--intensity."

That has been my concern with Fred too, I wonder if he has the "fire in the belly" to run for President. Plus I worry about the rumors about his health. But I am rooting for him.

There are things I like about all the top tier candidates (except Rudy) so I"m hoping for the best for all of them.

Michael Vick has found God.

That's nice. I hope it's true. I know all the skeptics out there are rolling their eyes on that one. But sometimes these "jailhouse conversions" are real. The problem is that if Vick's conversion is real, you won't be hearing much about it from the MSM. They only have scorn and derision for born again athletes.

Just recently Michael Irvin was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He had recently "found Jesus" as well. His speech was one of the most moving speeches I have ever heard come from an athlete. Here is final bit:

"You know the Bible speaks of a healing place. It’s called a threshing floor. The threshing floor is where you take your greatest fear and you pray for help from your great God. I want to share something with you today. I have two sons. Michael, he’s 10, and Elijah, he’s 8. Michael and Elijah, could you guys stand up for me. That’s my heart right there. That’s my heart. When I am on that threshing floor, I pray. I say, God, I have my struggles and I made some bad decisions, but whatever you do, whatever you do, don’t let me mess this up.

I say, Please, help me raise them for some young lady so that they can be a better husband than I. Help me raise them for their kids so that they could be a better father than I. And I tell you guys to always do the right thing so you can be a better role model than dad. I sat right here where you are last year and I watched the Class of 2006: Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Harry Carson, Rayfield Wright, John Madden, and the late great Reggie White represented by his wife Sara White. And I said, Wow, that’s what a Hall of Famer is.

Certainly I am not that. I doubted I would ever have the chance to stand before you today. So when I returned home, I spoke with Michael and Elijah . I said, That’s how you do it, son. You do it like they did it. Michael asked, he said, Dad, do you ever think we will be there? And I didn’t know how to answer that. And it returned me to that threshing floor. This time I was voiceless, but my heart cried out. God, why must I go through so many peaks and valleys?
I wanted to stand in front of my boys and say, Do it like your dad, like any proud dad would want to. Why must I go through so much?

At that moment a voice came over me and said, Look up, get up, and don’t ever give up. You tell everyone or anyone that has ever doubted, thought they did not measure up or wanted to quit, you tell them to look up, get up and don’t ever give up.

Thank you and may God bless you."

There was no doubt in my mind that he was sincere. It was quite beautiful. When I was living in Dallas in the 90's and the Cowboys were superbowl superstars, I never liked Irvin. He was a pompous self absorbed criminal in my mind. When I happened upon his speech on ESPN, I didn't even know he had become a Christian. The media loved reporting his criminal exploits, but they didn't give quite the same coverage to his redemption.

Irvin did some terrible things. Just as Vick has. Is Vick sincere as Irvin seems to be? Time will tell. Time will tell.

I'm always ready to forgive. Because, you know, that is how we are forgiven. And who among us is perfect?

Michael Yon has a new post up.

Fascinating as always.

"People at home want to know what our Soldiers and Marines are doing in Iraq, and the only way to tell their story is to follow them. So deep inside the culvert, crawling on all fours, using my camera as a walking chalk (it’s pretty tough), I crawled behind SSG Lee who was using his rifle as a walking chalk. The day was hot. The body armor made it hotter.
I said, “I only met you for the first time like 20 minutes ago. What’s your name Staff Sergeant?”“Staff Sergeant Lee, Sir,” he answered while crawling forward.“United States Marine Corps,” I said.“Semper Fi,” he answered, and kept clearing the tunnel."

God bless our troops.

*Click on the "Support The Next Dispatch" at Michael's site. He can always use the donations.

Alberto Gonzales. Classy to the end.

His speech was completely non political. It was about public service and his family. Unlike my buddies on the right (there is a list of links at HotAir) I think that Gonzales is an upstanding intelligent loyal public servant. Out of the thousands and thousands of documents the Democrats have requested and countless witnesses, (see witch hunt) there has not been one shred of evidence that proves any wrongdoing.

So why has the right abandoned him? First and foremost, imo, is illegal immigration. If Gonzales had been a champion of eliminating illegal immigration, then you would be seeing very different headlines on the blogs from the right.

I understand the emotions here. I don't disagree with my friends on the right on illegal immigration. But I am not going to let Democrats smear an honest man because I disagree with him.

Shame on the right for doing so.

Will Matt Drudge help elect the next President?

So says TIME Magazine’s editor-at-large and senior political analyst Mark Halperin. This is from an interview David Brody recently filmed with Halperin. (emphasis mine)

"Take what happen the other day as a perfect example. Michelle Obama said, "Our view is that if you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House".(some say it was a swipe at Hillary Clinton) Well, the story didn't get much play until Drudge featured it on his website. Watch Halperin's take above:

"Once Matt Drudge decided, for whatever reason, he wanted to highlight those remarks, they dominated cable news, they dominated talk radio. They produced a whole new round of interest. That's the power Matt Drudge had four years ago, clearly the power he will have in 2008. The campaign that figures out how to deal with Matt Drudge from both an offensive and a defensive point of view will probably elect the next President of the United States."

Vietnam. Let's remember history correctly.

William Kristol has an excellent article on the real history lesson of Vietnam. The lesson Bush was referring to in his speech before the VFW. All this braying of the left on how Iraq is like Vietnam, just not in the way Bush meant it, is hogwash.

"Like a pig in muck, the left loves to wallow in Vietnam. But only in their "Vietnam." Not in the real Vietnam war.

Not in the Vietnam war of 1963-68, the disastrous years where policy was shaped by the best and brightest of American liberalism. Not in the Vietnam war of 1969-73, when Richard Nixon and General Creighton Abrams managed to adjust our strategy, defeat the enemy, and draw down American troops all at once--an achievement affirmed and rewarded by the American electorate in November 1972. Not in the Vietnam of early 1975, when the Democratic Congress insisted on cutting off assistance to our allies in South Vietnam and Cambodia, thereby inviting the armies of the North and the Khmer Rouge to attack."

But what really brings home our biggest mistake to me in Vietnam is this letter that Kristol reprints from Phnom Penh former Cambodian prime minister Sirik Matak that he wrote to John Gunther Dean, the American ambassador, turning down his offer of evacuation: (emphasis mine)

"Dear Excellency and Friend:

I thank you very sincerely for your letter and for your offer to transport me towards freedom. I cannot, alas, leave in such a cowardly fashion. As for you, and in particular for your great country, I never believed for a moment that you would have this sentiment of abandoning a people which has chosen liberty. You have refused us your protection, and we can do nothing about it. You leave, and my wish is that you and your country will find happiness under this sky. But, mark it well, that if I shall die here on the spot and in my country that I love, it is no matter, because we all are born and must die. I have only committed this mistake of believing in you [the Americans].

Please accept, Excellency and dear friend, my faithful and friendly sentiments.

S/Sirik Matak"

As Kristol writes, Matak was executed by Khmer Rouge soon after, shot in the stomach and left to die. It took three days for him to do so. He was one of between 1 and 2 million Cambodians slaughtered and one of thousands of Vietnamese. His final words to us break my heart.

The old saying that if we do not learn from the mistakes of our history, then we are bound to repeat them, certainly rings true here.

Many could make the legitimate argument that our mistake of ever going into Vietnam in the first place is the mistake that we are repeating. But the time for that argument is past. We are in Iraq. And now we can choose to abandon them as we did Vietnam.

I promise you, the result will not be any prettier.

Related and must read from TimesOnline: "Why Democrats dread hearing the V-word
Vietnam: a lesson in fouling up the endgame

h/t BigDog

You have got to love...

...how Michelle and Obama handled this little "If you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House" bit. Of course they denied that she meant Hillary. So the story keeps being "Michelle Obama denies that she meant Hillary couldn't take care of her own man, how can she can take of our country?"

It's the insult that keeps on giving, even when Michelle says she didn't give it.

Maybe it's my complete and utter fear of another Clinton Presidency, but I am liking the Obama campaign. I really am rooting for him for the Democratic nomination.

via The Kevin and Patrick Blog

Goth Day At Disney?

Now I've heard everything.

The LA Weekly says "When the Happiest Place on Earth plays host to the saddest people on Earth ­ and the line for the Haunted Mansion is longer than ever." (photo via LA Weekly too)

via Boing Boing.

Is your neighbor anti-gay?

Well, if you live in Oregon, you are about to find out. Know Thy Neighbor is an activist gay group that "plans to add Oregon to the list of states in which it's taking action. The group says it will publish names of those signing petitions to overturn gay rights bills passed in the state earlier this year, according to the Statesman Journal:

"A coalition of conservative Christians is circulating petitions to put the two measures before voters in the November 2008 election. That would enable Oregon voters to decide whether to grant marriage-style rights to same-sex couples via domestic partnerships, and whether to ban discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people. Know Thy Neighbor pledged to launch a new Web site that will list the petition signers' names and addresses."

via Towleroad

Gay activists do love outing people, don't they? I don't really see the harm here. I mean, if I sign a petition for something that I believe in, then I don't care who knows about it. But I wonder how the activists would feel if say....someone posted the names and addresses of people in their organization that are...I don't know... members of NAMBLA, or the names of the gay porn sites they frequent?

I'm just saying that if you don't respect one's privacy, then don't expect your privacy to be respected either.

She's Gone.

I didn't cry. I was ready to let her go. I've already got one at college. I didn't cry when I dropped him off 2 yrs ago either. It was time.

A girl is different though. You worry more. But she had matured so much in the last year that she put my mind at ease a bit. She is a lot like me. She is strong headed. Opinionated. She has a deep faith. She can take care of herself.

On the drive home I started remembering some of the stupid things I did at college. Compared to today's youth, it probably seems mild, but still stupid. I was 17 my freshman year in college because I graduated a year early. I made road trips constantly. To Memphis, to Nashville, to Houston, to Orlando, to Austin, to even Key West. Crazy trips, where we drove all night, putting ice on our face to stay awake. I use to drag race with my baby blue Cougar XR7 down fraternity row. One time, I was bored driving home and picked up two hitchhikers, a man and a woman of a hippie variety. WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING???

I know that despite these things, I have to let go. I just don't have a choice.

When I got home today I went into her room and laid down on her bed. I closed my eyes and remembered what an absolute joy she had been as a little girl. She was a sweet baby who never fussed and went to sleep with no problem. As a toddler she was adorable. I dressed her like a doll and had such fun decorating her room. As she grew I would just marvel that she was mine. She was so beautiful, smart and athletic. (still is!) Once, when she was 8 yrs old, I was delivering meals on wheels with her and her two brothers. I was pregnant at the time and was trying to hurry through it. One of the elderly women had hurt her hand and it was wrapped in a bandage and she had spent quite a bit of time telling us about it. I was trying to get on to the next stop and was hurrying the kids through the door. My daughter said "Wait a second Mom," and ran back in. I stepped back in the apartment to tell her we had to go, when I saw her lift the old lady's hand and kiss the bandage. Oh, how the lady smiled. My daughter ran back to me and said "I needed to make it feel better." That's when I knew she would be a better person than I.

The teenage years brought stress to both of us. This cultural allows too much too soon and I wasn't backing down on being a mom, not a friend. We went through some rough years, but it was brief and the sun did shine again. And wouldn't you know it? Just when the sun was shining again and we liked each other again, She leaves.

I'm still busy with two sons at home (not to mention the 2 dogs) but I am going to miss my girl.

I'm off!

To move my daughter to college. The 2nd one to leave the nest....;-(

I'll be checking in later to publish comments though. Have a great weekend!

It figures.

From The Corner:

From FoxNews.com:

Aware of the trouble Iraqi progress could mean for Democrats at home — House Whip James Clyburn recently said if the surge were successful, it would be "a real problem for us" — a revised set of talking points is being worked up by Democrats that declares the escalation of troops in Iraq has not been successful despite White House claims otherwise.

A Commenter Gem..

Every once in a while while surfing through comments on other blogs I find a comment that is so perfect, I have to post it. I found this one while reading a blog(Beltway Confidential) at the Houston Chronicle regarding the President's speech yesterday about the war:


Would you like a soldiers Mother's point of view?

Give the Commander in Chief the authority -then criticize when he uses it.

When interrogation methods are successful - find isolated examples of bad behavior and try to shut down the operation.

When wiretapping policies show success - criticize and try to shut the policies down.

Give General Patraeus unanimous consent - then criticize his plan and personally attack him.

Write legislation that demands the White House give a report on the surge progress - then imply the White House shouldn't give the report.

Write legislation that demands the White House give the report in September - then imply it's political timing.

When the military surge shows progress - switch criticisms to the political goals.With the focus on the political goals - begin to personally attack the elected Iraqi Government.

I'm the proud Mother of Marine 2nd Lt. James T. Collins of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division II, Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Lejeune North Carolina who is currently in Iraq, and I think our service men and women are doing a damn good job considering half of our Government has been fighting against them from the beginning.

Posted by: Barbara Collins at August 23, 2007 11:02 AM

Greater love hath no man...

than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – An Iraqi man saved the lives of four U.S. Soldiers and eight civilians when he intercepted a suicide bomber during a Concerned Citizens meeting in the town of al-Arafia Aug. 18.

The incident occurred while Soldiers from 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, were talking with members of the al-Arafia Concerned Citizens, a volunteer community group, at a member’s house.

“I was about 12 feet away when the bomber came around the corner,” said Staff Sgt. Sean Kane, of Los Altos, Calif., acting platoon sergeant of Troop B, 3-1 Cav. “I was about to engage when he jumped in front of us and intercepted the bomber as he ran toward us. As he pushed him away, the bomb went off.”

The citizen’s actions saved the lives of four U.S. Soldiers and eight civilians.