The 100,000

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Posted by    Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 9:34pm

At 8:31 p.m. Eastern tonight we received the 100,000th comment, by Oregon Mike, who hasn’t been a frequent commenter here but has been commenting since July 2011.

100,000 isn’t a lot for many blogs, where the use of third-party software like Disqus encourages free-for-alls.  I probably could up page views significantly with such software, but I like the comment section the way it is, so that’s not in the plans.

The pace of commenting is picking up.  When we left Blogger in mid-June 2011, there were just over 32,000 comments in 2 1/2 years.  We’re now running at about 7,000 comments a month.

We now have 4857 registered users, and have had to ban only 76 usernames (representing fewer people because a handful of banned people kept registering new usernames).  Not using third-party comment software helps keep out the drive-by commenters, who usually are just on hit-and-run missions anyway.

I’m glad I upgraded the server package a month ago, because we survived the first and likely only and last Drudge link we’ll ever receive, at the peak 1,000 visits per minute.  And the blog didn’t even hiccup.  Thanks Ed for a great doomsday configuration.

What a year so far.  Was able to change the national conversation for a day or two on the Newt-Reagan relationship, the phony Contraception War, and the Stop Rush effort.  And the candidates, Mia B. Love and Richard Mourdock.  And in a category all her own, Elizabeth Warren.  And The Tweet.

Things are looking up.  I think Anne has been a great addition, and hopefully she won’t succumb to blogger burnout.

Sleep well, the walls are guarded.

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Pep talk, redux

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Posted by    Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 8:03pm

Still liking this pep talk from March 22, 2010:

Last night was bad. The law passed by the Senate and House really is that horrible.

But it’s the morning after, and your mourning should be over.

The mainstream media and the nutroots will try to demoralize you, and there will be plenty of gloat to go around.

But remember how we got to last night.

November 4, 2008, was the culmination of multiple generations of journalistic and educational malpractice and liberal guilt, malfeasance by Republicans who lost their way while in power, and a mass delusion on par with the tulipomania of 17th century Holland.

On November 5, 2008, did any one of you think that over 16 months later Obama would barely be able to pass a truncated version of his dream of single payer, and that dozens of Democrats would join Republicans in opposition?

As the mainstream media celebrated the permanent Democratic majority in the weeks after the 2008 election, did any of you think that in March 2010 we would be talking about the Democratic majority being in danger?

On January 20, 2009, when Obama took office, and then again in April when Arlen Specter jumped ship, did any one of you think we could hold off Obamacare beyond July?

In August and September, did you think we would make it to the end of the year, and then in early January 2010, did any of you (other than me) think Scott Brown could win and we could prevent a Democratic super-majority?

Your hard work has paid off, even if the end result was not what we wanted. But trust me, without you it would have been much, much worse.

For over a year Obama has not been able to push through other destructive aspects of his agenda, and the clock is running out before the mid-term elections.

The hard work must continue through the November elections because Democrats know they have just a few more months.

So shake off the gloom, get your asses in gear, get over it, and get to work continuing to fight the worst government policies “since the Great Depression.”

We have no other choice.

You know what comes next.

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Harvard Law succeeds in taking down anti-Holder Fast and Furious protest website

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Posted by    Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 5:24pm

This is an update to my post yesterday regarding the protest organized against Eric Holder’s visit to Harvard Law School tomorrow, specifically his stonewalling the Fast and Furious investigations.  The protest was organized by a website using the name Harvard Law Unbound which has been operating since early April.

Despite the fact that Harvard Law Unbound used a banner which specifically alerted readers to the fact that it was not affiliatied with “Unbound – Harvard Journal of the Legal Left,” the editors of that Journal along with the HLS administration alleged that the website misled people as to the source of the opinion.  (See link above for details on the threats and the involvement of the HLS administration)

It is interesting that this action came only after the website challenged Holder’s appearance tomorrow.

I wrote to the HLS Dean of Students, as follows:

Dear Dean Cosgrove:

As you may be aware, I have been covering the protest at the website Harvard Law Unbound regarding Eric Holder.

I am aware of your letter to students in which you say, among other things,

Whoever is responsible for the wordpress site is free to disseminate his/her/their content via any number of legitimate means or channels. But I wish to make sure that no one is confused about whose speech, and whose content, is being advanced on the wordpress site, which appears to be infringing on the use-of-name rights belonging to Unbound and to Harvard Law School.

Given that Harvard Law Unbound has a disclaimer at the top in the banner which says “no affiliation with Unbound: Harvard Journal of the Legal Left,” I am wondering on what basis HLS claims likelihood of confusion as to the source of the opinion.

Additionally, since the website has been operating since early April, is this the first time HLS became aware of the website, and if not, why did HLS wait to assert the claim?

I would appreciate your response.

William A. Jacobson, HLS ’84
Legal Insurrection Blog

Now the website has been taken down.

The RSS feed still works.  And if not, here’s a pdf. of the posts, preserving the content solely for news and historical purposes.

The views expressed therein obviously in no way  reflect the “left,” much less the  ”legal left,” much less the “Harvard legal left,” much less the “Harvard Journal of the Legal Left,” because none of those groups would dare challenge Eric Holder on the day he is honored by Harvard Law School over something like Fast and Furious, in which...

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Mia B. Love – “One of the 10 most important races in the country this year”

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Posted by    Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 5:04pm

It’s always interesting to see how the MSM covers a story we have been covering for several months, but the MSM acts amazed.

This time it’s Mia B. Love, being interviewed by Jonathan Karl of ABC News:

Mia Love is unlike any Congressional candidate ever — she is African-American, she is Mormon, and she is conservative. Republicans have deemed her race in Utah’s newly drawn 4th district one of the top ten most important races in the country, vowing to spare no expense to get her to Congress. If she wins, Love would be the first black Republican woman ever elected to the House of Representatives.

You can support Love at her website.

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Protect and support your local blogger

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Posted by    Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 1:58pm

I posted some links over the weekend to the saga of Aaron Worthing (Walker) and someone named Brett Kimberlin.  I had never heard of Kimberlin before, or if I had it only was in connection with Walker’s continuing legal difficulties.  Apparently there is a long background of conflict between Kimberlin and conservative bloggers, as the archives at Patterico indicate.

Robert Stacy McCain took up the story, and has been digging into the backround of Kimberlin and his alleged connections to a non-profit and Democratic donors.

Now the story has gone from bad to worse, as indicated in McCain’s post yesterday and again today:

Convicted terrorist Brett Kimberlin on Monday continued his effort to silence those who write about his criminal past by contacting my wife’s employer, claiming that I was “harassing” him. The resulting security concern required immediate relocation if I was to be able to continue writing about the case of Kimberlin, a violent felon, perjurer and admitted tax cheat who is employed as the director of a 501(c)3 non-profit that has collected $1.8 million in contributions since 2005.

The story is not about McCain as such.  It’s about how bloggers, who don’t have large organizations and cadres of lawyers standing behind them, can be the subjects of attempted intimidation through a perceived weakpoint, such as an employer.

I’ve been subjected to periodic complaint letters and not just in connection with the Stop Rush effort:

One of the people behind Stop Rush not only has suggested I should worry about my job, that person repeatedly has tweeted to my employer complaining about me.

If true that Kimberlin contacted McCain’s wife’s employer, that would elevate it to an entirely new level, particularly in light of the history.

Protect and support your local blogger.  Think where you’d be without us.

Update:  It’s worth noting this ending to McCain’s post:

The National Bloggers Club, Inc, a non-profit organization that organizes the annual Blog Bash event celebrating free-market bloggers, is making available a press contact for those interested in learning more about this story:

director@blogbash.org

Added Via Ace:

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Harvard Law “journal of the legal left” attempts to silence anti-Holder protest website (Update: HLS Dean of Students circulates email denouncing website

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Posted by    Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 12:30pm

I reported last night on plans to protest via posters on campus the appearance of Eric Holder tomorrow at Harvard Law School regarding the Fast and Furious controversy.  At the end of my post last night I joked:

I wonder how long they will stay up.  And how long before half of the...

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For the first time in my adult life I believe Romney might beat Obama

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Posted by    Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 9:30am

Why now?

Because Team Obama is proving itself to be too smart by half, and too incompetent by three-quarters.

There is a way to do Bain, but I’m done giving that advice.  Rehashing old news, which already has been out for months, isn’t going to do the trick.

Cory Booker stuck a fork in...

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When Elizabeth Warren has lost Ed Schultz

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Posted by    Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 8:24am

Via The Free Beacon, an Elizabeth Warren surrogate appeared on the Ed Show. What’s interesting is not just that the surrogate still insists that Warren has Native American heritage, but that Ed pushed her on it...

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You can paint it over, but you can’t hide

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Posted by    Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 7:00am

Signs are popping up all over.

From reader Angie:

This is not a bumper sticker, but traveling along the coast in southern OREGON, we came upon this rather large sign. The small town seemed to be struggling.

Maybe there’s hope.

Follow up email from Angie:

Drove by it again today, and the opposition has painted over “Obama.” Unfortunately, we leave for home tomorrow, so we’ll be unable to monitor this battle. People here have told us this sw part of Oregon tends to be conservative, while Portland and the college towns are the liberal parts of the state. (The sign is in Port Orford.)

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Protesting Eric Holder over Fast and Furious at Harvard Law

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Posted by    Monday, May 21, 2012 at 9:17pm

Eric Holder has been selected as Harvard Law School’s Class Day Speaker.  I don’t remember if there was a Class Day when I was there, but I would not have attended anyway for reasons already known to readers.

Holder will be greeted with posters protesting Holder’s stalling of the congressional investigation into...

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Director of “Hating Breitbart” film clowns Occupiers by joining protest

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Posted by    Monday, May 21, 2012 at 7:00pm

Spotted: the director of the upcoming documentary “Hating Breitbart” clowning the Occupy protesters by joining their crowd Monday afternoon:

Better yet, Rebel Pundit got out and led the crowd in chants, holding a “Breitbart Is Here” sign:

Seems just like the time Andrew Breitbart led Code Pink anti-capitalism protesters through the streets on his...

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Move to change propaganda laws opens up Cold War argument

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Posted by    Monday, May 21, 2012 at 6:13pm

An old Cold War argument has been resurrected with the news that an amendment allowing U.S. propaganda to be broadcast within our borders has been passed out of the house along with the Defense Authorization Act.

Should the State Department be authorized to allow its propaganda to be broadcast to us in...

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Stuck in Elizabethville

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Posted by    Monday, May 21, 2012 at 2:07pm

That seems to be the attitude of Massachusetts Democrats, as reported by The Boston Herald:

Bay State Democrats are standing by their woman, saying they’re confident in embattled Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren — now three weeks into a persistent scandal over her claims of Native American heritage — though critics say she’ll...

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Ted Cruz for Senate

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Posted by    Monday, May 21, 2012 at 11:48am

I have not had as much of a chance to focus on the Texas Senate primary as I would have liked.  My inclination was to back Ted Cruz early on, but I just didn’t have the time to do the research.  But I have been following the race, listening to Cruz’s interviews,...

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Someone’s in trouble

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Posted by    Monday, May 21, 2012 at 10:23am

Someone’s in trouble:

Newark N.J. Mayor Cory Booker (D) expressed reserve about the Obama campaign’s Bain strategy against Mitt Romney, telling “Meet The Press” viewers on Sunday that he was “uncomfortable” with...

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