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The Dog Ate It!

Redstate regular Dan McLaughlin takes the Obama campaign to task for failing to do its homework on the new Latin motto: Vero Possimus. Mr. McLaughlin quickly has to take it all back because he didn't...well, you can guess the rest, can't you?

Yes, that's a petard allright.

Redstate's resident misanthrope, Moe Lane, takes Barack Obama to task for fumbling a detail as he claims the Democratic nomination:

56. The fifty states, plus American Samoa, Democrats Abroad, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. Unless you particularly felt like insulting Montana and South Dakota this evening? Or just didn't care? - well, at any rate it's precisely this keen attention to detail, regard for the feelings of others, and rigorous fact-checking that is going to make campaigning against you and yours such a joy for us, Senator.

In his speech, Mr. Obama referred to "fifty-four hard fought contests."

However, the error seems to belong to Mr. Lane. The primary campaign consisted of 54 "hard fought" contests and two that were uncontested by Mr. Obama. It would be an error to call the primaries in Florida and Michigan "hard fought," wouldn't it?

Mr. Lane, may I introduce you to your own petard?

You Don't Have to Get All Snippy About It...

RedState Erick surveys the carnage of the Nevada and South Carolina primaries, and his reaction is not pretty. In fact, his fit of pique is such that even the RedState faithful take him to task for his pessimism. He explains:

This is why I'm so damned frustrated with Thompson and Romney. *Neither* of the conservative candidates in the race has been able to close the deal. Romney has spent millions of his own money and Thompson had conservative support handed to him on a silver platter. Look at both of them -- 3rd and 4th in *the* state where conservatives should be controlling the board. Deal with it.

Apparently, with Mr. Thompson standing by to snatch his hat back out of the ring so he can return to napping, Erick has finally come to grips with the awful truth, as explained to him by one of his own commenters:

Romney is set up to be Anyone but McCain candidate. Thompson will drop out at some point this week, Huckabee just lost a state where the Evangelical vote was in the 55-59% range so he has no viability left. If you hate McCain why would you vote for Rudy. That leaves Romney. Also I imagine Romney will get a high profile buisness job if he does not get the nomination and I do think all of his sons are Ivy League grads so they are not banking on their Father's money.

Perhaps it's time to reconsider Mr. Keyes' prospects.

Say It Ain't So!

Tears of disbelief flow as the Directors learn that Frank Luntz' focus groups may not be on the square.

Will RedState head honcho Erick soon be reduced to pleading,"Say it ain't so, Frank!"

Waiting.

RedState's night shift manager, Pejman Yousefzadeh, attempts a takedown of Paul Krugman's reminiscences of Ronald Reagan's embrace of the southern strategy.

First of all, Krugman repeatedly brings up the issue of Reagan's 1980 speech in Mississippi to prove that the 40th President was a racist. As long as two years ago, Jon Henke called Krugman on this issue and corrected his many errors. The issue also got covered here. Google is a powerful tool and one would think that someone like Krugman would use it to see whether his arguments have stood up under the scrutiny of others. Evidently, on this issue, Krugman hasn't taken the past corrections of his charges into account. Indeed, he doesn't even acknowledge them except in the most oblique terms, thus ensuring that people won't know much about Krugman's critics and what their criticisms entail.

Oddly, Mr. Krugman isn't alone in failing to acknowledge the criticisms. Mr. Yousefzadeh forgets to tell us about the error that Mr. Krugman is running away from. What to do except click the link? Apparently, Jon Henke at the Q and O Blog wrote a couple of years ago:

Here's the thing: Reagan launched his 1980 campaign at the Neshoba County Fair. The Neshoba County Fair is not in Philadelphia, Mississippi. It's near it, certainly, but about 10-20 miles outside of Philadelphia. If you look at a map of the Neshoba County Fairgrounds, you'll see a highway running by it with the annotation: "Highway 21 TO Philadelphia".

Wow. Mr. Krugman must be really, really embarrassed to make such an error. The speech wasn't in Philadelphia, it was outside the city limits!!

I, along with Mr. Yousefzadeh, I'm sure, await Mr. Krugman's contrite retraction of the charge that Mr. Reagan actively sought the votes of white racists by kicking off his campaign in Mississippi with a speech endorsing "state's rights."

What? No Beacon?

RedState's regular contributor, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) alerts readers to an Outrage that Cannot Stand! or OTCS, for short. (However, the lighthouse keepers at RedState apparently haven't shown Rep. Cantor how to switch on the flashing red Outrage Beacon^TM that usually accompanies other OTCSs. It's missing without explanation from his post.)

What is it that prompts Rep. Cantor's outrage? Why, it's a certificate made out by the Architect of the Capitol for an Eagle Scout's grandfather...wait, don't go! It is an outrage, really it is! Here, let Rep. Cantor explain:

On September 11 2007, Andrew Larochelle requested a flag be flown over the United States Capitol – the flag was intended as a gift to his grandfather, to mark the occasion of Andrew's induction into the Eagle Scouts. They requested that the certificate read, "this flag flown in honor of Marcel Larochelle, my grandfather, for his dedication and love of God, country and family."

The bureaucrats at the Architect of the Capitol's office, which is controlled by Speaker Pelosi, removed the word God from the certificate. They have apparently, without the proper legislative authority, created new rules to prevent the word God from appearing on their certificates.

This, Rep. Cantor goes on to warn, is just the first step leading to the eventual eradication of the Diety from all government buildings, documents, and currency.

Really. I know it's hard to believe, but if you don't believe me, click the link and see for yourself.

Of course, Rep. Cantor is quick to lay the blame at Ms. Pelosi's Ferragamos. However, he fails to provide any links to news stories, Congressional web sites, or even any information about the office of Architect of the Capitol. (Who knew we still needed one? Not us. We have heard that contractors are sometimes lackadasical about deadlines, but this seems beyond tolerable.) So, we outcasts here at BFRedstate became curious about the mechanics of Ms. Pelosi's latest attack on God and country.

As it turns out, we don't actually have a real Architect of the Capitol right now. The most recent officeholder, Alan M. Hantman, resigned back in February. For the time being, an acting AotC--Stephen T. Ayers--is making sure the restrooms are clean, the light bill is paid, and the agenda of Godless secularism is advanced.

So who is this Ayers fellow? A beneficiary of Ms. Pelosi's patronage? A Soros mole? A holdover from the Clinton administration cleaning things up before Hillary's arrival?

No. This is Steven T. Ayers:

After attending Officers Training School at Lackland Air Base in San Antonio, Texas, Mr. Ayers was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and assigned to Edwards Air Force Base in Edwards, California. While stationed at Edwards, he served as a Staff Architect with the 6510th Civil Engineering Squadron managing numerous design and construction projects. He was promoted to Design Team Chief and progressed to the rank of Captain. Mr. Ayers was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his military service and after five years of active duty, resigned his commission to pursue a civilian career.

After working in the architectural and engineering community in the Washington, D.C., area, Mr. Ayers joined the Voice of America in Washington, D.C., as a General Engineer in 1991. In 1992 he transferred to Rhodes, Greece, to lead construction efforts at several Voice of America sites in Greece and Germany. Mr. Ayers returned to the United States in 1997 and joined the Architect of the Capitol as an Assistant Superintendent for the Senate Office Buildings. In 1999, he was promoted to Deputy Superintendent. He was then promoted to Superintendent of the Library Buildings and Grounds in 2002.

In October 2005, Mr. Ayers was appointed as the Acting Deputy Architect/Chief Operating Officer (COO). In March 2006, following a rigorous interview process before a selection panel comprised of the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, the Comptroller General, Senate Sergeant at Arms, and senior AOC officials, Mr. Ayers was selected as the Deputy Architect/COO. In this role, he oversees approximately 2,200 employees and manages the day-to-day operations of the Agency.

Former Air Force captain. Former Voice of America employee. Appointed to his current position by a Republican Congress. He's the one striking the name of the Almighty from boy-scout-gift-to-grandad certificates until George Bush appoints a replacement for the position that has been open for the last eight months.

On the other hand, Mr. Ayers is only a temp, after all. Is he really to blame for all this?

No, he's not.

A memo issued by Mr. Hantman prior to his departure lays out the rules for all members of Congress who request flags and certificates on behalf of their constituents. It was apparently Mr. Hantman who banished Jehovah with a commandment of his own, rule number 8:

Personalized dedications are permitted, but limited to three hundred (300) characters. Please keep in mind, political and/or religious expressions are not permitted on the flag certificate.

A-ha! So Hantman is the no-good, athiestic, snake appointed by...appointed by...um...Bill Clinton??

Quick! Fire up the Beacon!!