Category: Da Tech Guy

CPAC 2010: Bloggerazzi Photopalooza!

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“It’s all a blur,” Andrew Breitbart said to me in a phone conversation Monday, as we discussed events at CPAC 2010 — the biggest ever and, most attendees agreed, the best. The “blur” effect that Breitbart described is much like the experience of campaign coverage — you go, go, go day after day, with maybe four hours sleep night after night. Between the sleep deprivation and meeting so many people, you lose track of exactly who is who and what happened when.

When CPAC is over, you go through your pockets and find business cards for people you obviously must have met but whose names don’t match up with a face in your fatigue-scorched memory. And when you return to CPAC next year, you’ll be walking through the hotel and pass someone who looks vaguely familiar. You’ll say, “Hey, I know you.” And the other person will say, “Yeah, I think so, but I can’t remember where we met.”

That conversation will continue until either:

  • A. Your memories click and you recall which event you met at the previous year, or
  • B. You give up, admitting that you both were probably too drunk at the time to remember.

This is why it’s important to keep a camera in your pocket at all times during CPAC. My little pink Kodak digital — the famous “Barbie Cam” — captures those faces I might otherwise forget and those incredible scenes that no one would believe were it not for the photographic record. So brace yourself and get ready to be amazed. Continue reading CPAC 2010: Bloggerazzi Photopalooza! →

Da Tech Guy: CPAC Cannoli Smuggler

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Da Tech Guy has probably cleared security at Reagan National Airport in D.C. by now, so it can now be revealed that he’s brought two dozen cannoli with him for CPAC. Also, he’s brought spare fedoras.

Smitty is picking up Da Tech Guy at the airport. We expect to see them both later tonight in the lobby bar at the fabulous Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Neither of them is much of a drinker, but after a glass or two of lambrusco, Da Tech Guy may be persuaded to give a demonstration of his trademark Sicilian hand gestures.

Thanks to everyone who hit Da Tech Guy’s tip jar to make his trip possible.

UPDATE 6:23 p.m.: Just got off the phone with Smitty, who confirms that Da Tech Guy the cannoli have made it safely to Northern Virginia. Now, if I can just get past this laundry/packing crisis at home, I’ll be ready to meet up with them. Used to be, I could deal with laundry, packing and other such duties on my own. Then I got married and Mrs. Other McCain took charge, and I’ve been helpless ever since.

UPDATE 7:25 p.m.: Mrs. Other McCain is now home, and my departure for CPAC is eminent. Da Tech Guy updates with photos of his smuggled payload of fedoras and cannoli.

Speaking of which: Holy cannoli!

Anne Hathaway Quits Catholic Church After Pope Condemns Sideboob Display

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Wait, no — that’s not exactly the reason:

Anne grew up wanting to become a nun but shunned Catholicism when she learned her older brother, Michael, was gay.
“The whole family converted to Episcopalianism after my elder brother came out,” she tells the magazine. “Why should I support an organization that has a limited view of my beloved brother?”
But the Episcopal church plan didn’t really work out for her either. “So I’m … nothing,” she said. “I’m a work in progress.”

Anne Hathaway’s apostasy caused heartache for our Catholic friend Da Tech Guy, who had been proud to count Anne’s boobage among the flock of the faithful.

In related news, Da Tech Guy is continuing his CPAC fund-raising drive, and you should contribute, if only because he gave me a perfect excuse to post my favorite Anne Hathaway photo (and your favorite, too, I’m sure).

The Difference One Life Can Make

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Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. . . .
Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
— Jeremiah 1: 5, 7 (KJV)

My 20-year-old daughter Kennedy is a college junior, majoring in early childhood education, and she works part-time at a daycare. At Sabbath dinner, she was telling us about a 3-year-old boy in her class who is nothing but trouble. Kennedy takes special interest in him because, as she says, “Somebody’s got to love him.”

What if Kennedy wasn’t there to give him that extra attention? What if she’d never been born?

Is that merely a hypothetical question? Because of Roe v. Wade, it’s not. Her existence is most definitely not a coincidence.

Kennedy, like every other person born in America since 1973, belongs to the Chosen Generation, a survivor of a holocaust that has destroyed more than 40 million lives that were never lived. Kennedy is conscious of the unique opportunity that each life represents, including her own life. Her fiance is surely not the only one grateful for her existence.

People are not just coincidental statistics, as Tim Tebow’s mother will remind America on Super Bowl Sunday. More than 120,000 people have joined Americans United for Life’s Facebook page in support of the Tebow ad. And  Sarah Palin’s defense of  the Tebow ad inspired a post by Rachelle Friberg at Conservative Girl With a Voice:

While I have always described myself as a pro-lifer, there was a time when I didn’t really have a strong opinion either way. Many of you may be wondering, “What made her change her mind; what made her garner the strong pro-life stance she has today?” My response is simple and can be summed up in four words: Sarah and Trig Palin. Before Sarah stepped to the forefront, I never gave much thought to the whole “abortion” debate. . . . My entire perspective changed when Sarah illustrated how wonderful giving someone life could be. Little Trig Palin represents how amazing an experience choosing life can be. This little angel has changed my whole perspective on the whole pro-life/ pro-choice debate. This little boy is a reminder that ALL life IS precious. . . .

Read the whole thing. Does anyone really think, then, that Trig Palin’s birth was just a statistical fluke? Do you believe that Sarah Palin’s selection as John McCain’s running mate was entirely random? Or do you suppose that there was some significance to this, and that the inspiration felt by Rachelle represents some greater purpose?

Coincidence? Yeah, just like the Sunday sermon at Da Tech Guy’s church in Fitchburg.

UPDATE: Ed Morrissey at Hot Air:

The ad asks people to choose life, not to ban abortion. . . . Tebow represents hope in the midst of hopelessness.

Hmmm. What does that remind me of?

“When a person chooses abortion they are saying they don’t have hope for the future, not for their child or for themselves.”

Just a coincidence, I’m sure.

UPDATE II (Smitty):
Graciously linked at Carol’s Closet.

Hey, Who’s This Andrzejewski Guy Everybody Is Talking About Today?

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Having first blogged about Adam Andrzejewski’s campaign on Jan. 25,  now I know how Al Gore feels when everybody else claims credit for the Internet. Just look at all these Johnny-come-latelies reporting on Andrzejewski — 649 items as of 5:45 a.m. Election Day, including one from the Daily Caller.

Let’s face it: I’m the Rodney Dangerfield of the conservative blogosphere. No respect, y’know? Yesterday it broke my heart when I saw that Ace of Spades — my pudding-dipped blog hero — had linked a Politico story about Andrzejewski.

Like I’m chopped liver. Jailbait hookers in Georgia get more respect than me.

But it’s not about me and it’s not about Ace. It’s about Andrzejewski and it’s about the guys on his campaign team, who kept plugging away for 11 months, even when their candidate (“Adam Who?”) was a single-digit afterthought in the polls. It’s about all those Tea Party volunteers manning the phone banks for the get-out-the-vote effort.

Considering how much other people have sacrificed for the Andrzejewski campaign — including his wife and three young daughters — I guess I can swallow my pride and aggregate all this morning’s news from all the people who don’t give me any credit. Jennifer Harper, Washington Times:

Adam Andrzejewski is not a household name. Yet. He is facing stiff competition on Tuesday in the Illinois gubernatorial primary, one of six Republicans seeking the nomination. But Mr. Andrzejewski could have a sudden edge: He is buoyed by support from regional “tea party” groups, who praise his “solid, core-conservative values.” . . .
The candidate has garnered enthusiastic support from Lech Walesa, the former president of Poland, who declared, “I see in him a young Ronald Reagan.”
Fox News host Glenn Beck has also endorsed Mr. Andrzejewski, along with Rush Limbaugh – who gave him some immediate context.
“He is the Scott Brown of Illinois,” Mr. Limbaugh said Monday. . . .
“It has been amazing to gain the confidence of national – and international – leaders,” Brian McDaniel, the candidate’s spokesman, tells Inside the Beltway.

Stephen Spruiell, National Review:

Rush Limbaugh has thrown his support behind Adam Andrzejewski (pronounced “an-gee-EFF-skee”), a Republican candidate for governor of Illinois. (Audio here.) Tomorrow’s GOP primary is crowded with challengers, and Andrzejewski has trailed former state party chairman Andy McKenna in the polls. But he has been riding a surge lately, starting with an endorsement from former Polish president and Solidarity founder Lech Walesa on Friday, and continuing with Rush’s declaration that Andrzejewski might be “the Scott Brown of his contest.”

Jamie Shufflebarger, National Journal:

Meanwhile, Tea Partier/businessman Adam Andrzejewski (R) is surging late. Nobel Peace Prize Winner/ex-Polish Pres. Lech Walesa held an attention-grabbing fundraiser/rally for him on 1/29, and now Rush Limbaugh has waded into the race, calling Andrzejewski “the Scott Brown of Illinois” on his radio show this afternoon.
With about 24 hours to go until polls close, the race is a toss-up, and if turn-out is as low as expected (the IL election board thinks it will top out at 28%), anyone can pull out a victory. Andrzejewski’s camp thinks 22 percent of the field wins the race, meaning 150K to 200K votes is good enough for the nomination.

At least Shufflebarger linked my American Spectator post about the Limbaugh endorsement. Rush himself didn’t even include my “Andrzejewski’s Army” feature in his “Stack o’ Stuff.” (I blame Erik Telford.)

So I’ve spent eight days piling up Andrzejewski news here and Alyssa Milano still hasn’t re-Tweeted me, but guess who did?

My interview with the talented @rsmccain —> They can ignore our campaign, but the can’t ignore our VICTORY! http://bit.ly/9ipaRM

OK, that’s pretty cool. Not quite as cool as getting Tweeted by Alyssa Milano, maybe, but I did get linked by Da Tech Guy. He’s coming to CPAC, and he is Sicilian, you know.

They know a thing or two about respect, the Sicilians do.

Three words, Ace: Remember Moe Green.

Jill Stanek on the Battle of Fitchburg

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America’s leading pro-life blogger features the story today:

I had no direct knowledge that pro-lifers would pitch a fit, I just knew no pro-life group anywhere would ever let [Planned Parenthood] into their community without raising the roof.

As I reminded readers yesterday, this all began last week when Da Tech Guy picked up a copy of the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise and discovered that Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts — with a grant of federal stimulus money — was planning to open a new clinic on Main Street in his hometown. This was indeed “a highly visible location,” as the Worcester Telegram & Gazette called it.

All politics is local and for six days I was based at Da Tech Guy’s home in Fitchburg while covering the Scott Brown Senate campaign. During that time, I visited Da Tech Guy’s parish church:

St. Anthony of Padua Church has traditionally served an Italian blue-collar congregation and the politicial views of those in the pews at 8 a.m. mass may not be indicative of all Catholics in Massachusetts. With that disclaimer, however, Martha Coakley may be on the verge of the most brutal Catholic backlash since the Inquisition.
The Democratic attorney general’s adamant support of late-term abortion obviously puts her at odds with faithful Catholics . . .

This was the context that made the story so striking. As I explained to someone at last night’s Brown victory celebration in D.C., Coakley won the Democratic primary on terms that ultimately doomed her in the general election. Coakley had declared that the health-care bill must include federal funding for abortion, including late-term abortion. This earned her support among Democratic primary voters, but it ceded the middle ground to Scott Brown.

Maybe you’re generally pro-choice and maybe you’re generally in favor of government health-care, but mandating federal funding for abortion? That’s certainly not a majoritarian position, and Scott Brown didn’t have to take a hard-core pro-life stance to put Coakley on the defensive on that issue. Blue-collar Catholics like the parishioners at St. Anthony’s lean toward Democrats on many issues, but Coakley had staked her candidacy on an issue that would cost her badly among such voters.

So in the immediate aftermath of Brown’s victory, Planned Parenthood announced it was going to open a clinic on Main Street in Fitchburg — heckuva coincidence, eh? The fact that this is funded by a reported $397,000 in federal stimulus money makes it a story of national consequence. Pro-lifers were fired up and ready for a fight, and despite a snowstorm yesterday, turnout was strong for their first protest:

A crowd of about 70 to 80 anti-abortion protesters waved signs and prayed Thursday on both sides of 391 Main St., where the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts plans to open an office this spring. . . .
Christine Hanley, who organized the protest as the chairwoman of the Fitchburg-Leominster Chapter of Mass Citizens for life, had hoped for a minimum of 20 protesters, so she was pleased to find the crowd exceeded her expectations.
“More people are coming all the time,” Hanley said during the protest on a snowy afternoon.
Father Robert Bruso, of St. Anthony de Padua Church in Fitchburg, participated in the protest.
“It’s really nothing the city of Fitchburg stands for,” said Bruso.

Expect many of Father Bruso’s flock to attend the City Council meeting in Fitchburg next week, and certainly you can expect to hear more about this battle in the near future. Da Tech Guy is on the story.

UPDATE: Don’t forget — Send Da Tech Guy to CPAC!

The Battle of Fitchburg: More About the Pro-Life Fight in Massachusetts

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The day I left Massachusetts last week, Da Tech Guy picked up his local newspaper in Fitchburg and learned that Planned Parenthood was planning to open a clinic on Main Street — funded by federal stimulus money. 

The Battle of Fitchburg is rapidly becoming a national cause for the pro-life movement. Da Tech Guy post photos of today’s protests and the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise reports:

Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Melanie Lown said Wednesday that Planned Parenthood officials did not want to comment on today’s planned protest.
“We have made that decision, but we are looking forward to going to the City Council meeting on Feb. 2,” Lown said.
Planned Parenthood officials were invited to the Feb. 2 meeting after a contentious meeting last week during which six city councilors voted to draft a resolution urging Planned Parenthood not to come to Fitchburg.
But Marie Sturgis, executive director of Mass Citizens for Life, was unmoved by [Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts CEO Dianne] Luby’s assertion that no abortions will be performed in Fitchburg.
“They will be doing abortion referrals no doubt, because that’s a very important piece of what they do,” Sturgis said. . . .
State Rep. Stephen DiNatale, D-Fitchburg, said the protest shows that Planned Parenthood “just raises a lot of issues for the community.”
“And we don’t have any say in it,” said DiNatale, who supported the City Council resolution.

USA Today noticed today and pro-life blogger Paul Anthony Melanson wrote:

 Whatever became of President Obama’s decision to disallow a “family planning provision” from the economic stimulus package?

Indeed. Because federal taxpayer dollars are involved, the Battle of Fitchburg is everybody’s fight. Planned Parenthood’s Dianne Luby doesn’t think pro-lifers are serious:

“I think it is common that people don’t want protesters and those types of things that sometimes occur when we go into a community, but as soon as anti-choice folks realize we don’t provide abortion services there, they don’t protest.”
She used the organization’s Somerville location as an example.
“We had protesters at that location for one day and now we have no protesters,” she said.

Protesters for one day? I don’t know about Somerville, but I spent six days in Fitchburg. It’s a tough blue-collar town and I don’t expect the pro-life people there will give up without a fight. Massachusetts pro-lifer Jay G. explains the rationale of today’s protest:

One purpose is to make the prospective landlord and business people and other neighbors very uncomfortable about having such a death dealing and controversial tenant moving into downtown Fitchburg.

My money says the Battle of Fitchburg will end with Planned Parenthood in full retreat.