Enterpriser

My results, at the Pew Center Typology Test. Pay attention to the "defining values" section, third down. I'd say that pretty describes my orientations:

Enterpriser

Based on your answers to the questionnaire, you most closely resemble survey respondents within the Enterpriser typology group. This does not mean that you necessarily fit every group characteristic or agree with the group on all issues.

Enterprisers represent 9 percent of the American public, and 10 percent of registered voters.

Basic Description

As in previous studies conducted in 1987, 1994 and 1999, this extremely partisan Republican group’s politics are driven by a belief in the free enterprise system and social values that reflect a conservative agenda. Enterprisers are also the strongest backers of an assertive foreign policy, which includes nearly unanimous support for the war in Iraq and strong support for such anti-terrorism efforts as the Patriot Act.

Defining Values

Assertive on foreign policy and patriotic; anti-regulation and pro-business; very little support for government help to the poor; strong belief that individuals are responsible for their own well being. Conservative on social issues such as gay marriage, but not much more religious than the nation as a whole. Very satisfied with personal financial situation.

Who They Are

Predominantly white (91%), male (76%) and financially well-off (62% have household incomes of at least $50,000, compared with 40% nationwide). Nearly half (46%) have a college degree, and 77% are married. Nearly a quarter (23%) are themselves military veterans. Only 10% are under age 30.

Lifestyle Notes

59% report having a gun in their homes; 53% trade stocks and bonds in the stock market, and 30% are small business owners – all of which are the highest percentages among typology groups. 48% attend church weekly; 36% attend bible study or prayer group meetings.

2004 Election

Bush 92%, Kerry 1%. Bush’s most reliable supporters (just 4% of Enterprisers did not vote)

Party ID

81% Republican, 18% Independent/No Preference, 1% Democrat (98% Rep/LeanRep)

Media Use

Enterprisers follow news about government and politics more closely than any other group, and exhibit the most knowledge about world affairs. The Fox News Channel is their primary source of news (46% cite it as a main source) followed by newspapers (42%) radio (31%) and the internet (26%).

I took the "Political Compass" test yesterday (here).

The graph shows my results. I'm over to the right and down, closer to the libertarian position. (If you check the website, folks like G.W. Bush are way up in the upper right quadrant, so who knows?)

Surprise! Republicans 'Racist' for No Vote on Unemployment Extension

I almost spoke too soon. Just after mentioning that I hadn't found too many anti-American blogs dissing 4th of July, here we have Zandar the Stupid smearing traditional Americans as racist for opposing the left's move to create an unemployment benefit entitlement. Paul Krugman slams folks like this as "heartless" and "clueless." But Sir Stupid takes it to the natural conclusion:

It's the same folks who say America is a the greatest country on Earth, that its people are exceptional and destined, who talk about how special we are as a people, invariably they are the first to turn on their neighbors and say "I don't care if there's not any jobs out there, go paint fences and collect aluminum cans. I'm not helping you. Get a job you lazy bastard."

The deficit numbers are just an excuse to heap more misery upon the unemployed. That's because a lot of people in Krugman's first two categories believe everyone who is unemployed still must be lazy, or trying to scam the system, or trying to fleece them personally. It's a depressingly cynical worldview, and in reality that's just covering up for fears of something far more nasty: that everyone who's still unemployed by this point is shall we say of a certain ethnic background.

Extending unemployment insurance is unsound economic policy. It reduces incentives for workers to find employment or shift to new industrial sectors. Even Krugman recognizes this, but says Republicans are mean anyway. Zandar the Stupid just uses this as one more chance to scream RAAAAACIST!!!

Added: William Jacobson links, "Is Paul Krugman Heartless, Clueless or Confused (Pick Only One)?"

Less Than 1 in 5 Leftists 'Extremely' Patriotic in Gallup Poll

I didn't really look around this year. Usually I find a few radical bloggers dissing 4th of July. I did have the run-in with the fringe college students at Saturday's tea party, so it's pretty much all around, in any case. In terms of raw data, Gallup shows a decline among both Democrats and "liberals" on the score of "extremely' patriotic." (See CNS News as well). Some folks may have noticed, but I don't use the term "liberal" to describe these dolts. They're leftists and socialists, frankly. The American usage of "liberal" may have had some relevance back in the Truman era, and possibly Kennedy/Johnson, but those on the left today favor socialism and they're the same types who reject patriotic love of country. This is not an insignificant number either. President Obama leads the America-bashing chorus whenever he feels it necessary to apologize for the United States. Most traditional flag-waving Americans have had enough of that. After decades of being told they're "racist" and after more than 45 years of consolidating a post-Jim Crow racial entitlement regime under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, right-standing Americans know that we have nothing to be ashamed of on the diversity front. And were it not for an American foreign policy of freedom, there'd be less liberty in the world today than there is now. So while no country is perfect, we have lots to be thankful for and plenty of reasons to be extremely proud of who we are and what we stand for.

Via Memeorandum.

See also, Scared Monkeys, "Poll Shocker: Conservatives Are More Than Twice as Likely as Liberals to Be Strongly Patriotic," and Linkmaster Smith, "Does Not Caring About The Country Correlate With Thuggery?"

Americans Celebrate Fourth of July

Got back a little while ago from the fireworks show in Irvine. Always a thrill.

At CNN, "Fourth of July celebrations abound across country‎":

From sea to shining sea, as the song goes, Americans celebrated Independence Day in a variety of ways Sunday, from the traditional barbecue to a decades-old hot dog eating contest at New York's Coney Island.

At the White House, President Barack Obama marked the holiday with a barbecue for 1,200 members of the armed forces and their families, an out-of-uniform event for the the troops.

"The backyard's a little bigger here, but it's the same spirit," Obama said.

Sunday marked the 234th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the 13 British colonies that later formed the United States. Obama said the "timeless" principles of that document "are just as bold and revolutionary as when they were first pronounced."

"On this day that is uniquely American, we're reminded that our declaration, our example made us a beacon around the world," Obama said from a balcony draped with red-white-and-blue bunting.

In addition to the barbecue and an opportunity to watch the fireworks over the National Mall, Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hosted a USO concert on the South Lawn. Outside the presidential mansion, tens of thousands gathered on the Mall to watch Sunday night's fireworks and hear a concert that featured performances by David Archuleta, Lang Lang, Gladys Knight, Darius Rucker and Reba McEntire.

"It's a huge honor for me to be here in Washington, D.C., to be performing on the Capitol lawn on the Fourth of July," McEntire told CNN.

RELATED: "Celebrating the Fourth of July with Our Troops in Iraq." And, "Bomb Blasts Overshadow Biden Speech In Iraq."

Heading to bed ... tune back in tomorrow for all the news and analysis ...

Fourth of July Fireworks in Irvine

I'm heading out for the fireworks show:

The skies above Irvine High School Football Stadium will once again light up in celebration of Independence Day on Sunday with the return of the Irvine Police Associations 26th annual firework festival ....

The official Independence Day presentation will begin at 9 p.m., when the Irvine Police Department Color Guard formally presents the colors, followed by the "sky concert and firework extravaganza."

If I'm not too tired later I'll post a couple of pics. Either that, or check back in the morning.

Happy Independence Day everyone!

Breitbart Launches 'Big Peace'

Can't be more cool than this.

From Andrew, "Big Peace: The July 4th Happy Birthday to America Launch!":

A little less than a year after announcing it, in front of Vice President Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and many other American foreign policy elites at Frank Gaffney’s “Keeper of the Flame” Award Dinner in October 2009, we are finally launching Big Peace.

RTWT.

Editor Frank Gaffney is neoconservative, so I'm looking forward to seeing how "Big Peace" develops. Should be good.

Naturally, the Soros-back Media Matters is completely freaked.

Well She Was an American Girl...

I'd say we're due for a little music on this 4th of July, so enjoy Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, "American Girl" (lyrics).

RELATED: I want to offer a huge shout out to Linkmaster Smith at The Other McCain. Wise, prudent, and restrained, he's a very good fellow for a blogger to get to know.

Happy 4th of July!

Blazing Cat Fur offers a lovely homage to American freedom, "Happy 4th of July!"

Click and enlarge for full image.

Plus, don't miss the great FMJRA holiday edition at Pat in Shreveport's.

Hat Tip: Nation of Cowards and Linkmaster Smith's Rule 5 Roundup.

From the House GOP Conference...

...a Happy 4th of July:

More videos at the House GOP home.

Elena Kagan and Natural Rights

Every American should really get a chance to (really) watch the farce that is the modern day Supreme Court nomination hearing. It's especially interesting with Elena Kagan, since she argued back in the 1990s that the Robert Bork hearings were illuminating and indicative of how the process worked in the ideal. The irony of course is that because of the Democrats' "borking" of Robert Bork, no nominee to the Court will candidly discuss their political jurisprudence --- they'll be mercilessly caricatured by an array of (radical) interest groups and they'll be pilloried on the cross of public opinion. Also interesting, in the clips below, is how the short videos can't really capture the full context of the testimony. We see at top Tom Coburn's questions to Kagan on natural rights theory. She refuses to state her own position, repeating the standard line of all nominees that "it wouldn't be appropriate" to discuss anything larger that how she'd rule on the basis of text (of the Constitution). It's a game of dodgeball, frankly. And at bottom is the completely detextualized clip of Charles Grassley, which idiot leftists used to portrary him as confused over the founding documents. He's not, but there's little political gain to be had for leftists arguing from a position of truth and honesty:

VIDEO HAT TIP: Thunder Tales.

Best Politically Incorrect Tweep Evah!

And she's wishing you a great 4th of July!

.

Patriotic Opposition

From John Podorhetz, at NY Post (via Memeorandum):

How are those of us who stand in opposition to the domestic agenda and for eign-policy views of President Obama and his administration to think about this country in 2010 as we approach the nation's birthday on Sunday?

Or, to put it another way: How should a self-described patriot think, act and talk about the United States if that self-described patriot believes the elected leadership of the United States has led the country into a ditch that threatens to expand into a bottomless chasm?

Does the fault lie with the president and his party, or does it reside in the electorate that installed them? If it resides in the electorate, what does that say about the condition of the United States? ....

In the case of Barack Obama, the root questions are: Who is he and why is he doing this?

Opponents answer the question in many ways, from the clear-cut (he's a Chicago Democrat) to the more suggestive (he's a 1970s-era campus leftist) to the silly (he wasn't born in America) to the sinister (he's a secret Muslim or Communist).

Conveniently, this kind of focus on Obama personally exempts the rest of the country from any blame, except for being so foolish as to fall for Obama's patter: The fault lies not in ourselves but in our leaders.

But for those who are unsatisfied with this, the blame attaches not to Obama himself -- after all, he really did tell us what he intended to do, by telling Joe the Plumber he wanted to redistribute wealth.

Rather, the blame attaches to the electorate for its foolishness in believing the hype, or for falling for the siren song of the European social democracy that Obama is eager to impose. So the root question here is: Have the American people changed?

More at the link.

And now check out Mind Numbed Robot's awesome essay, "Robo Love":

Within the links on this one post should be, would be enough grievances to motivate the American people from just one generation ago to dethrone this radical jack-ass president and his minions. More offenses than necessary to unseat most members of congress for treason and yet, I have to wonder, where are those Americans now? Are they too complacent? Do they fear their government so much as to not defy it? Or are they still mostly asleep or in a trance?

Where is the tumultuous roar of an outraged population beset by the very government entrusted to protect them? What will it take for a the real revolutionaries to mount their battle steeds and sail headlong into the clash? Are we just shouting in an echo chamber? Do we dare wait until the errant children, the liberals and democrats and RINO’s wake to the world they have created and cry in disgust “My God, What have I done?”

Where are the law suits challenging not only ObamaCare but every piece of unconstitutional garbage the Obamachine spews forth? Where are the statesmen and commanders of industry, economy and agriculture willing to stand and fight?

Too few. Too few.

I see now why the regime would like to silence the bloggers and the pamphleteers. We are the last hope for this country. I believe that with the very fiber of my soul and yet I am afraid it will not be enough.

My blogging friends, I know how hard you work. I applaud every one of you. But we must find a way to recruit more to the fight if we are going to win.

I’m speaking of the every day people who go about their lives trying to ignore the depravity around them. There are times I wish I had the ability but I cannot and we must wake them up to the peril in the throne room.

Interestingly, but I heard almost the exact version of Mind Numbed Robot's exhortation at yesterday's tea party. It was O.C.'s 4th District Supervisor Shawn Nelson. In the spirit of revolution, he implored us to take our country back at the polls this year. But the most important thing he said is that we have to get more people involved. We have to expand the scope of conflict. Get more great patriots of sound mind and morals, and begin taking back America one district at a time, all the way up to Congress and the White House.

It's off the sidelines, dear readers. Get out, get active, and get busy fulfilling the dreams of the founders. We'll shut down the corrupt union-fueled Democratic-socialist machine. The hopey-changey era will be winding down soon, be assured.

Independence Day 2010

From Hall of Record:

This is the fourth year I have posted this.

Caution: This document contains politically incorrect material and may be subject to neglect and condemnation by members of the ruling elite.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

The Declaration of Independence! A truly amazing thing.

RTWT.

RELATED: From Brian Calle, at O.C. Register, "We Must Preserve Our Gift of Freedom."

San Juan Capistrano Tea Party, July 3, 2010

As mentioned earlier, I attended an "Independence Day" tea party today in San Juan Capistrano. There's in fact another event tomorrow, so today was more in the Spirit of '76. The colonists had the Declaration of Independence prepared on July 2nd, of course, so I'm in the ballpark either way.

There were fewer patriots with protest signs today than I've seen previously. Below are a few that captured the feeling among the activists assembled:

*****

Okay, here's the chronological set of photos. It was great roster of speakers, although I socialized and took pictures more than listened to the speeches. I was happy to see my very good friend Opus 6 from MAinfo, and she's got some great posts with pictures and summaries: "Great Speakers at San Juan Capistrano Tea Party," and "Rep Ken Calvert Speaks in San Juan Capistrano." (GOP congressional candidate Star Parker, who is endorsed by Sarah Palin, spoke before I arrived --- so be sure to check Opus' links.)

Here's the entry to the event, at Historic Town Center Park:

That's Opus 6 sitting up front at center (holding a BlackBerry, which she used for instant blogging from the event). She recognized me right away and waved. There were well over 200 people by Noon. Most folks brought lounge chairs to kick back:

The setup at the stage. Activist Eldon Alexander speaks:

Long-time readers might remember this sign from my previous O.C. tea party coverage:

Immigration policy was completely off the radar thoughout 2009's tea party mobilizations, but it's big nowadays. San Juan Capistrano's long been under a gang injunction from the state:

Here's the setup, with a Spanish colonial feel:

At the stage, each of these panels featured one of great colonial revolutionaries and founders. Thomas Paine was in the colonies just two years when he broke out with Common Sense:

James Madison might not seem the model for the tea parties, but as the "Father of the Constitution," tea partiers are hoping to restore Madison's venerable tradition of thwarting corrupt and unjust majorities:

This is Brian Watt, the Barking Dog of the Radical Right. He was recently featured in the libertarian Orange County Register, so I sat down and listened to his speech. Knowledgable and very well spoken. He hammered President Obama on all the Marxist scholars who're drafting policies for the administration, including Robert McChesney and the FTC's Reinventing Journalism campaign:

Below is Representative Ken Calvert of California's 44th Congressional District (Norco/Riverside). I listened for just a few minutes before cruising around to take more pictures. Calvert said he spoke at the big congressional tea parties on Capitol Hill, and constituents from the district flew out to be in attendance. Speaking of the current crisis, Calvert noted, "We only need to look at Greece and the EU to see what happens with unrestrained spending. My father used to say you can't spend yourself out of debt, son."

Another friendly tea partier:

This was really cool --- kinda like flag row over on the south end of the lawn:

A friendly patriot:

Below, at one of the booths, a map of the gang injunction area. Big Hispanic population in San Juan Capistrano, with no doubt a large illegal enclave. While I don't think the entire event was about immigration, the Orange County Register's report suggests otherwise, "Hundreds Rally Against Illegal Immigrants." The piece quotes Representative Calvert's comments on the possibilities for immigration reform this year:

As he finished, I went over to thank Representative Calvert. He graciously posed for a photo:

I was distracted from some of the speakers by a group of radicals that was hanging out by the street. Members were engaged in discussion with a very attentive and patient conservative woman. I roamed nearby for a few minutes. Soon I heard one of the young men discussing Israel. He was arguing that Palestinans in Gaza lived in squalor, etc. I listened further. When he began arguing that Israel had no "Biblical right to occupy Palestianian lands." I couldn't remain silent. I told him that's not true. I said first Israel wasn't "occupying" the land, and secondly, the Jewish people have a biblical claim on Israel going back to before Exodus in the Old Testament. The fellow got agitated and walked toward me, calling me a "fool" for speaking out. I said to him: "Why are you calling me names? I'm simply rejecting your claim that Israel is 'occupying' the land ..." He seemed to mellow after that, and I imagine we could have conversed reasonably for a while. He said, for example, that he wanted "a two state solution" in the Middle East. So I asked him if he supported Hamas? He said, "No, I'm against violence, a peace activist." I told him that's exactly what the folks on the Gaza flotilla said. He told me he rejected the violence, and I said, "then we're in agreement." Basically, call these folks out on propaganda and if they're amicable, you might be able to get through a bit.

That said, the Register article notes that there was some additional conflict going on, which I missed:

While the event was mostly peaceful, a small group of anti-TEA party protestors gathered at the back of the park to engage in political discussion with the TEA party activists.

Alex Galindo, 23, from San Juan Capistrano, said the reception from the TEA party supporters was not friendly.

"It's gone exactly as I expected," the Saddleback College sophomore said. "I was arguing about the North America Free Trade Agreement and how it asks migrant workers to obey two unjust laws. Those would be the current immigration policy and the North America Free Trade Agreement. Only one person agreed with me.

Galindo said the rally's speakers had nothing important to say.

Adrian Castillo, 22, who met Galindo at the TEA party event, said h
e has felt discrimination since he was a child in elementary school.

"I want people in South County to know there is an opposition and that it's not just old, white, rich people," he said.

Galindo later got into an argument with members of the American third Position, a group based out of Westminster that wants to halt all immigration and expel illegal immigrants, after they started taking pictures of Galindo and his friends.

The story does not mention this woman below, who was much more outwardly militant than the young man I debated (who is not pictured). She was attacking the legitimacy of the United States, arguing against the U.S. government's "genocide" of Native Americans. When I said that in fact Native Americans were among the most brutal and oppressive populations in North America --- that they were not victims --- she got angry (she yelled at me, saying "I hate you"). She didn't want her picture taken, either, and perhaps refused to be interviewed for the Register's story. They're college students apparently, and somewhere they've been instructed by some extremely radical professors. It was almost a Ward Churchill seminar out on the lawn:

At left, partially obscured and wearing a cap, is the conservative woman who was trying to help the young militant woman see reason:

The event was winding down by now. I cruised back over to the front to say goodbye to Opus 6. I think I'll buy her a patriotic cap for next time to keep the sun out of her eyes!

Jeb Bush and Robert Putnam on Immigration Assimilation Today

The basic argument is fine (yes, we've had centuries of deep immigration divisions, etc.). See Bush and Putnam's, "A Better Welcome for Our Nation's Immigrants." (Via Memeorandum.) It's what's omitted that's problematic.

Jeb Bush has long been known for backing leftist policies on affirmative action, immigration, and law and order. He became the first GOP big-wig to attack Arizona's SB 1070 earlier this year. (And Bush's wife, Columba, is originally from Mexico, born to a migrant worker family in León, Guanajuato.) And Robert Putnam is an eminent Harvard political scientist and author of one of the more widely-hailed books of the 1990s, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Basically, the book single-handedly revived the "civic culture" paradigm of earlier decades in political science. It provided all kinds of activists and officials with a modern manifesto for increasing "community solidarity" in American politics. The fact that Americans weren't exactly "bowling alone" during the height of the book's popularity did little to dampen enthusiasm for it among the chattering classes (see, "Bowling Alley Tour Refutes Theory of Social Decline.") Not only that, it's odd for Putnam to be arguing the assimilation line. Much of his research was later found flat wrong --- especially on the left's Holy Grail of ethnic diversity --- and it was Putnam himself who demonstrated it, perhaps painfully. See, "The Downside of Diversity."

Anyway, readers would do well to read Michelle Malkin's essay from yesterday, "Assimilation and the Founding Fathers." Michelle provides an enormously more accurate portrait of the trends in immigrant assimilation (paying special attention to Democratic-left's La Raza-reconquista constituency). It's not pretty, but tons more accurate than what you'll get from open borders types like Bush and Putnam. (Radley Balko's eating it up, in any case, which is one of the threads of libertarianism that I can't dig.)

RELATED: Putnam's late Harvard colleague Samuel Huntington would probably serve folks better as well. See, "The Hispanic Challenge."

'A Very Scary Light Show'

At The Rhetorican, "VIDEO: Some Serious Fireworks."

Plus, at Geeko System, "A Nuke Exploding in Space; Take That, July 4th Fireworks!"

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2010 Zoe Duchesne Diary

I promised the guys at Theo's another swimsuit entry today. So please enjoy beautiful Zoe Duchesne's Swimsuit 2010 photoshoot:

And I expect Linkmaster Smith to have a special 4th of July "Rule 5" edition tomorrow, so check back for that.

'Find Your Love' (at a Tea Party?)

Train wreck blogging ...

My son gave me the heads up on this clip before he took off to see "Eclipse." Drake's Wiki entry is here (and he's so-so for me, at least at this point). In any case, I'm heading out to a July 3rd tea party in San Juan Capistrano. Hopefully there'll be a good turnout with lots of patriotic signs. I'll have report up later today, and regularly scheduled blogging will be back before that. See you then. (And see Gallup as well, "Tea Party Supporters Overlap Republican Base," and Instapundit, "WHAT IS THE TEA PARTY? “A growing state of mind.” Emphasis on the “growing”.")

Michael Steele Caught on Tape: 'War of Obama's Choosing'

Well, since the weekend's leaderboard extravaganza, we might as well go right to the source. Turn up the volume a bit (and transcript's included for good measure).

“The [General] McChrystal incident, to me, was very comical. I think it’s a reflection of the frustration that a lot of our military leaders has with this Administration and their prosecution of the war in Afghanistan. Keep in mind again, federal candidates, this was a war of Obama’s choosing. This was not something that the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in. It was one of those areas of the total board of foreign policy [that was at least?] that we would be in the background sort of shaping the changes that were necessary in Afghanistan as opposed to directly engaging troops. But it was the President who was trying to be cute by half by building a script demonizing Iraq, while saying the battle really should in Afghanistan. Well, if he is such a student of history, has he not understood that you know that’s the one thing you don’t do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan? Alright, because everyone who has tried over a thousand years of history has failed, and there are reasons for that. There are other ways to engage in Afghanistan…”

Baader Meinhof

Following up from last night, "Canadian Recruiting Office Bombed by Left-Wing Terrorist Faction."

And "Baader Meinhof Complex" is out on DVD. A great film, and timely.