Be sure to get your personal avatar when you visit www.virtualmarchforlife.com

And bloggers get the code for a banner.

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Virtual March for LifeThis is the coolest in New Media yet. Avatars, google maps, networking, protesting -- all at once. Go visit the site (even if you are pro-choice...)

March for Life...
Even If You Can't Be There

Now you have the opportunity to march online, alongside your fellow pro-lifers - even if you can't be in Washington. Americans United for Life is proud to host the first Virtual March for Life.

It will only take seconds, sign up, select your own "avatar" and then invite your pro-life friends and family to participate as well. It's the best way to "be there" even if you can't be there.

Join the Virtual March for Life. Show your support for life. Make your voice heard.

http://www.virtualmarchforlife.com/

Thank you (foot)notes:

Be sure to follow Your Business Blogger(R) and Charmaine on Twitter: @JackYoest and @CharmaineYoest

Jack and Charmaine also blog at Reasoned Audacity and at Management Training of DC, LLC.

Posted at 12:52 PM | Permalink
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The Pearl Harbor Telegram

We were at war.

We are at war.

Tom McMahon did the thinking. I'll do the linking.

See more of Tom's outstanding Pearl Harbor Day -- WW2 blogging at the jump.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Be sure to follow Your Business Blogger(R) and Charmaine on Twitter: @JackYoest and @CharmaineYoest

Jack and Charmaine also blog at Reasoned Audacity and at Management Training of DC, LLC.

Red State Rant has more on 7 December 1941.

Continue Reading »

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Jesse Brown This is a re-post of Your Business Blogger's(R) first entry on Yoest.org. Merged with CharmaineYoest.com a few months later. Business Blogging continues at www.Yoest.com.

Jesse Brown, 58, passed away some three years ago. He was my friend and business partner. This inaugural post on Labor Day 2005 is to honor his memory and his work.

He was wounded by enemy fire in Vietnam leaving his right arm and hand partially paralyzed. This never slowed him down.

I once asked him when he was at the pinnacle of his career what drove him to work so hard. Money, I thought; status, celebrity? No. "I just want to help my friends," he said.

His passion for service helped him become the Veteran's Affairs Secretary for Bill Clinton.

And yet he helped me, a nobody who worked for a Republican governor.

Jesse is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, not far from my dad. Two warriors to whom I owe so much.

See Reasoned Audacity for more on the ANC.

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Alert Readers following Your Business Blogger(R) on Twitter know that Charmaine has recently hired some world-class talent.

Where does she look for the best people?

The blogosphere.

Dawn Eden Senior Fellow, Publications and New Media Outreach

Start a blog. Follow on Twitter. You might find a job. An employer might find you.

From an AUL press release,

Author and Blogger Dawn Eden Joins Americans United for Life,

Washington, DC -- Dawn Eden has joined Americans United for Life (AUL) as Senior Fellow, Publications and New Media Outreach. Her focus will be on writing and research to promote AUL's legal expertise through both traditional media and "new media" outlets.

Dr. Charmaine Yoest, AUL President & CEO commented: "I am very pleased Dawn is joining our team. As a best-selling author and award-winning journalist, she brings a strong set of skills to the AUL team. With her dedication to the pro-life cause, Dawn will be a key part of our efforts to protect human life."

Miss Eden said: "It is my honor to join the team at AUL, America's oldest national pro-life organization. AUL is known for its unparalleled expertise across the spectrum of life issues and for its demonstrated success in motivating the grassroots. My goal as Senior Fellow is to expand the organization's publications and media presence in ways that will increase the public's recognition and support of not only AUL, but the entire pro-life movement."

Miss Eden is author of The Thrill of the Chaste (2006), a guide for young adults on being counterculturally virtuous. Now in its eighth printing, the book has been translated into Spanish, Polish, and Chinese.

A graduate of New York University, Miss Eden began her career as a music journalist in New York City. In 2004, she was awarded the Associated Press' top award for her work as a copy editor and headline writer for the New York Post.

In February 2002, she became a pro-life blogger (The Dawn Patrol), and has since contributed articles on politics and culture to the Wall Street Journal and National Review Online. In addition, she has been featured on NBC's "Today" and on EWTN, and has spoken throughout North America, England, Ireland, Poland, and Australia.

Get a job, start a blog.

Be sure to follow Jack and Charmaine on Twitter; jackyoest; charmaineyoest

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Amy Harder, writing at the National Journal, interviewed Charmaine on the on-line battle on the up-coming Supreme Court Nomination. Also see nice quote from David All.

Online SCOTUS Rumble Sets Stage For Nomination Fight
Interest Groups And Media Observers Weigh In On What Influence The Internet Will Have On Upcoming High Court Battle, by Amy Harder, Thursday, May 14, 2009,

Americans United For Life says it has already seen an overwhelming response from its online supporters in discussions anticipating a nominee. "We had to upgrade the back end of our computer operation because we've seen such an outpouring of interest being more active on these issues," said Charmaine Yoest, the anti-abortion group's president. Her organization echoes a common concern on the right that Obama will nominate a judicial activist who will trigger a "dramatic shift in public understanding of the role of the courts," Yoest said. "When you go down the path of accepting judicial activism as the norm, that dramatically increases the amount of power judges have."

Yoest said her group will be ready to go right out of the gate once a nominee is announced. She said its "robust" online advocacy program, Facebook community and new IT system will mean "better, faster and cheaper" communication with supporters. "We're ready whenever they bring it out," she said. "There won't be a huge delay."

Charmaine predicts that the next Supreme Court Justice nominee will be a woman. a pro-choice, abortion advocate. See the AUL analysis here.

See Charmaine's writing on "The Woman's Chair."

Tiny URL: http://tiny.cc/YIeWC

Follow us on Twitter: @JackYoest @CharmaineYoest

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February 2005 Charmaine began Reasoned Audacity which now has over 1.2 million page views.

Your Business Blogger(R) started a blog in August of '05 and we did a mash-up combining Business Sense, Military Discipline, Timeless Truth with Politics In Real Life. Our marriage was, indeed, complete.

Blogging for us, as for most writers is a first draft. Most of the writing is really not all that good (Alert Readers will too quickly agree...).

Ipso Facto

But the writing has made us new friends, practiced our political agendas, helped us make some very good hires (who were also fellow bloggers -- and we knew only thru their blogs) helped us find a pastor who blogs and put us on the presidential campaign trail with a candidate who cares about the importance of new media.

But most important blogging serves as an electronic scrapbook stored safely on a remote server (started in the pre-historic,pre-Facebook era).

Thank you for your support over the years. We remain in your debt.

Jack and Charmaine and the Penta-Posse.

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Charmaine was busy with media interviews while she marched in the March for Life.

(This was quite an act: no child was left behind...) Obama is beginning to fulfill his campaign promises to bail out the abortion business.

Baby Boo working the crowd at the March for Life

If you support abortion or not, you are now going to pay for abortion...the world over.

Your Business Blogger(R) does not care for the government bail out of any business. Especially not the abortion business.

Obama lifts restrictions on abortion funding, 24 Jan 2009, Source: Reuters

By Jeff Mason and Deborah Charles (Additional reporting by Ed Stoddard)

WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday lifted restrictions on U.S. government funding for groups that provide abortion services or counseling abroad, reversing a policy of his Republican predecessor George W. Bush...

"When we wake up every morning to a deepening financial crisis, it is an insult to the American people to bail out the abortion industry," said Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life.

"Planned Parenthood is a billion-dollar company and they do not need additional resources to burden the American taxpayer."...

The United States spends more than $400 million on overseas family planning assistance each year.

Jon Ward writes in The Washington Times, Obama changes policy on abortion, Saturday, January 24, 2009

"What a terrible way to begin a new administration: with an abortion business bailout that will exploit women in developing countries for political ends," said Charmaine Yoest, President of Americans United for Life Action.
...
Mr. Obama's promise to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would repeal all state and local restrictions on abortion, such as parental notification laws and measures allowing physicians to deny abortions based on their own faith convictions, came under fire Thursday from congressional Republicans.

Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, thinks the change in policy amounts to U.S. tax dollars funding abortion and sees no positive outcome.

LifeNews.com Editor, Steven Ertelt, reports
Pro-Life Advocates: Obama Has Already Betrayed Promise to Reduce Abortions January 23, 2009,

Charmaine Yoest, [Ph.D.] the president of Americans United for Life, also responded to the news.

"What a terrible way to begin a new administration: with an abortion business bailout that will exploit women in developing countries for political ends," she told LifeNews.com.


"We should not export the tragedy of abortion to other nations, and we certainly shouldn't do so via the hard-earned dollars of American taxpayers," she said.

Denise Burke, [Americans United for Life] Vice President of Legal Affairs said the move also creates foreign policy headaches because it has the U.S. funding pro-abortion groups that are actively lobbying other nations to reverse their long-standing pro-life laws.

"Pro-abortion organizations like the International Planned Parenthood Federation are actively working to impose radically pro-abortion laws on developing nations, showing no regard for the will of the people in these countries," she said. "This move is a significant step backwards in respecting the sovereignty of nations, in empowering women, and in protecting unborn."

Thank you (foot)notes,

Notae Zuinglii, Bible and Theology writes, Legitimizing Murder
Yes we can, use your money to fund abortions
"The time has come to set aside childish things." Barak H. Obama 1/20/09

See Mike's Noise, We Surrender! "Bailout" plan is now law

Visit Tradition Catholic Reflections

President Bush writes,

In 2002, I was honored to sign into law the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which extends legal protection to children who survive an abortion attempt.

Republican Leader John Boehner is blogging. Read his post at Americans United for Life Action, Mr. President: Reconsider FOCA

January 22, 2009

A Guest Post by Republican Leader John Boehner

Yesterday, on the eve of the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v Wade decision, 105 Members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama requesting that he reconsider his support for overturning pro-life laws--even laws enacted by the States. Specifically we asked the President to withdraw his pledge to sign the so-named Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), which would in one tragic act overturn virtually all pro-life laws nationwide, and to refuse to support policies that incrementally enact the FOCA agenda by rescinding or weakening existing pro-life laws....

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Your Business Blogger(R), Charmaine and the Penta-Posse joined some 300,000 of our closest friends and marched for life "celebrated" each January 22nd. Charmaine worked the event with her team from Americans United for Life.

It took over three hours for the March to pass.

Obama was invited.

He didn't show.

The Yoests and Dan McConchie supporting AUL's FightFOCA
at the March for Life 2009

But Obama did offer to make nice: He won't sign an abortion bailout executive order...until tomorrow, Friday.

Tomorrow, the 23rd, he is expected to issue by presidential fiat an order which will permit your tax dollars to pay for abortions around the world.

We all may differ on when life begins. Or if a baby is being aborted. Or if there is a link between breast cancer and abortion.

But most of the country does not want our tax dollars to pay for abortions. Especially overseas.

No one wants a bail out for the off shore affiliates of Planned Parenthood.

Join Fight FOCA

Thank you (foot)notes:
See the post from PoliPundit, LIVE From Blogs 4 Life

Visit Blogs 4 Life.

Professor Robert George of Princeton writes,

Obama is being served and abetted by a small number of Catholic and Evangelical intellectuals and activists who have been peddling the claim that Obama, despite his pro-abortion extremism, is effectively pro-life because of his allegedly enlightened economic and social policies will reduce the number of abortions. This is delusional.

The truth is that Barack Obama is the most extreme pro-abortion candidate ever to serve in the United States Senate or seek the Office of President of the United States.

The revocation of the Hyde Amendment, the Mexico City Policy, funding limitations on embryo-destructive research, informed consent laws, parental notification statutes--all of which Obama has promised to his pro-abortion base--will dramatically increase the number of abortions, and will do so for reasons that have been articulated by the abortion lobby itself.

It is the pro-abortion side that tells us that the Hyde Amendment alone has resulted in 300,000 fewer abortions each year than would otherwise be performed--and that is why they so desperately want it to be repealed. Yet the putatively pro-life Obama apologists claim that the man who pledges to repeal it is going to reduce the number of abortions. Let me say it again: this is delusional.

Why Obama Really Voted For Infanticide from National Review

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Question: Who Declared Jan 22nd as National Sanctity of Human Life Day?

Answer: Ronald Reagan.

January 22nd is commemorated each year as National Sanctity of Human Life Day; the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision of Roe vs Wade.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Sunday, January 22, 1984, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day.

I call upon the citizens of this blessed land to gather on that day in homes and places of worship to give thanks for the gift of life, and to reaffirm our commitment to the dignity of every human being and the sanctity of each human life.

No wonder liberals hate Ronald Reagan.

Join Fight FOCA Charmaine was interviewed for Moody Bible Radio on the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), Sanctity of Life Sunday and The March for Life.

Visit Paul Butler's blog for the audio link. Good stuff.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Paul Butler at Paul Butler's Production Blog points us to Ronald Reagan's proclamation of January 22nd.

Reagan issued the Proclamation on January 13, 1984,

"The values and freedoms we cherish as Americans rest on our fundamental commitment to the sanctity of human life.

The first of the "unalienable rights'' affirmed by our Declaration of Independence is the right to life itself, a right the Declaration states has been endowed by our Creator on all human beings -- whether young or old, weak or strong, healthy or handicapped."

Conservatives are now the protectors of the "little guy."

The text of Reagan's proclamation at the jump.

Continue Reading »

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Sanctity of Life Sunday is being celebrated on the 18th -- before the March for Life on Thursday, January 22nd.

In between these two dates, the most pro-abortion president in history, Barack Obama, will be sworn in on Tuesday the 20th.

What a week.

Americans United for Life has a church bulletin insert available to alert voters on the Obama abortion agenda. See the full page insert here. Read Charmaine's letter at the jump.

The Family Research Council writes,

"Blogs for Life is scheduled to take place the day of the 36th annual March for Life, during which hundreds of thousands of pro-life advocates gather in the nation's capitol to celebrate life and demand the reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

The conference will feature several prominent conservative voices including Senator Sam Brownback, Amanda Carpenter, Jill Stanek, Michael New, Ph.D., Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D., Michael Illions, Chris Gacek, J.D. and Martha Shuping, M.D. all speaking with bloggers live from Family Research Council headquarters."

Join Fight FOCA To date almost 425,000 people have signed the FightFOCA petition.

It just might get Obama's attention.

Because it is the right thing to do.

How can Your Business Blogger(R) be so sure?

Because Chuck Norris approves of FightFOCA.

Chuck Norris writes at Human Events,

"Please, before FOCA flies onto the congressional floor in the upcoming days, sign the online petition to fight FOCA (www.fightfoca.com), and then contact your representatives and senators to tell them how you expect them to vote on the bill."

Chuck Norris is always right. He's smart. As The Dude says, 'Chuck Norris can divide by zero.'

Thank you (foot)notes:

The Dude worked backstage with Chuck Norris on the Huckabee presidential campaign trail in December 2007.

Pro-Choice abortion-approver Christina doesn't care much for the Fight against FOCA. She used to work for Planned Parenthood and says there is no such procedure as a partial birth abortion. I don't think she's seen the pictures...warning: graphic dead baby unwanted human tissue.

The Secular Heretic telling the news as it really is, has the FightFOCA code in his template. A good-guy.

UPDATE: Blogs 4 Life is on the Right Wing Watch list from People for the American Way. The anti-American PfAW has more time for abortion, now that Obama will soon be surrendering in Iraq and to Iran.

Continue Reading »

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We had a film crew from South Africa at the house today interviewing Charmaine on the campaign.

The rest of the world is confused at our continuing frictional discourse on abortion. Most of the world has real restrictions on abortion on national levels. The world does not understand that we do not.

The USA is one of the few countries in the world that has abortion on demand for any reason through all nine months (and longer under the Obama Born Alive Abortion Plan). Including China where the government makes the demand -- not the mother.

Unless the baby is a girl -- then everyone wants the child dead...

Or in India where abortion also is used for sex selection to allow only male babies born. Because boys are superior to girls as all advanced nations know.

USA abortion proponents tell us that the "health of the mother" is the only exception. Scare quotes are used in print and air quotes are used in conversation as John McCain does.

The quoting is used because the "health" issue is the exception that swallows the rule as Clarke Forsythe at Americans United for Life reminds us. Because anything, anything can be interpreted as "health." As in mental health. As in a bad hair day. Any reason is sufficient reason to abort.

There are no exceptions.

The Supreme Court has so ruled. Not we the people.

This was the background for the reporting by Joan Biskupic at USA TODAY in
Election comes at key point for high court's stance on abortion,

"This is a historic election," says Charmaine Yoest, [Ph.D.] president of Americans United for Life. "With the next president having the opportunity to appoint one, two or even more justices," she adds, the election could change the law "on the life issue."

Ed Stoddard at Reuters writes, Win Or Lose, Sarah Palin To Be A Political Force,

If McCain loses the exit polls will be scoured but many pundits seem likely to blame it on centrist concerns about Palin during a financial crisis.

"It's really clear that there are some people out there who would like to make her a scapegoat if things don't go their way Tuesday," said Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life Action, which opposes abortion rights.

"But she's has very clearly connected with the base of the party and the life and family voters and I think that is going to give her a really strong base going forward whatever happens," she said.

Jessica Arons writing at the Huffington Post has the best summation of the state-by-state, incremental Pro-Life strategy in Not All Politics Is Local: Connecting the Dots on Abortion Initiatives,

California Proposition 4 is endorsed by Americans United for Life, among others.

This is an organization that has worked to slowly erode women's access to abortion care with bills that limit available abortion methods after 12 to 13 weeks of pregnancy; require waiting periods, biased counseling, and ultrasound viewings prior to an abortion; create burdensome and medically unnecessary regulations for abortion clinics; assert that fetuses feel pain during an abortion; and allow health care employees to refuse to counsel, refer, or treat patients for any service to which they object.

She intends it to be dire and evil, but it comes out good and accurate. Something Biblical in there...

Deacon Keith Fournier at Catholic On Line has SPECIAL: Interview with AUL Action's Charmaine Yoest on 'Open Letter to Barack Obama'

Your Business Blogger(R) also recommends Values Voters

CatholicWifeAndMom

Obama the Abortionist

Makeup of U.S. Supreme Court Hangs in the Balance

J. Margaret Datiles, staff counsel for Americans United for Life representing the interests of the weakest citizens of the United States and abroad has an article in The Washington Times, A price on your head. Good read. Would get us ready for money saving suicide plans under an Obama administration.

Posted at 3:31 PM | Permalink
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Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D. addresses
the 2,600 attendees at last year's Summit
Photo Credit: Peter Shinn Hold September 12 on your calendar for the Values Voter Summit in Your Nation's Capital.

Called "the most exciting meeting there is in Washington" by author and radio host Bill Bennett, FRC Action's 2007 Values Voter Summit (formerly "The Washington Briefing") attracted over 400 national and international members of the media, a waiting list of speakers, and thousands of values voters representing nearly every state in the union and many foreign countries.

On September 12-14, 2008, 60 days before an historic election, FRC Action (a 501c4) will host its third annual Values Voter Summit at the Hilton Washington in downtown D.C., and you are invited.

As a participant in one of the conservative movement's must-attend events of the year, you'll have the opportunity to hear from some of America's key leaders at a decisive moment in our nation's history, including invited speakers such as Newt Gingrich (confirmed), Chuck Colson, Lou Dobbs, Bill Bennett (confirmed), Lt. Col. Oliver North, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Star Parker (confirmed), Justice Clarence Thomas, Patricia Heaton, Roger Hedgecock (confirmed), House and Senate leaders, and all the 2008 presidential nominees.

Charmaine at the podium 2006 In addition to lively discussions on issues ranging from life, marriage, school choice, and radical Islam to judicial activism and religious liberty, attendees can take part in: celebrity book signings; breakout training sessions; Radio and Bloggers' Row; special co-sponsored meals hosted by Focus on the Family Action, American Values, and Alliance Defense Fund; a unique student track (including a Friday night reception); and the Faith, Family, and Freedom Gala Dinner on Saturday evening.

The Values Voter Summit is quickly becoming one of Washington's most anticipated weekends of the year. Packages start at just $95 for adults and $50 for students and pastors. Sign up now and enjoy a $25 early-bird discount! Registration opens online tomorrow, March 15, at www.valuesvotersummit.org. Call 1-877-372-2808 for more details.

Thank you (foot)notes:

See Values Voter Summit 2007 and more.

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Charmaine and Your Business Blogger celebrated the third birthday of our blog in February. We are honored by your visits and comments and links.

Friends used to ask us why we web-logged (before it was popular and accepted by normal people).

Our reasons were/are practical:

Charmaine, Your Business Blogger
Penta-Posse at the Grand Canyon
Easter 20051. Catastrophe. A secure remote web-based storage for our articles and pictures. Everyone should have favorite family photos stored on a server in addition to an album. Store Christmas pictures (the kids grow up so fast). So the only thing you need to take with you out of a burning house are the kids. All of them...

2. Clients. All small businesses need a blog. To communicate with customers and to cultivate a network of friends and referrals. Cheap marketing. Don't miss the next exciting management seminar!

3. Kids. What would Dad do? No, no, they don't ask that now -- this is for when we are gone. Search the blog, Penta-Posse. (Parents get smarter as children age.) Our biggest fear now-a-days is an electromagnetic pulse bomb (EMP) set off by terrorists as Frank Gaffney et al describes in War Footing that would wipe out our 2,000 posts. EMP a-coming if Oboma Obama elected.

4. Criticism. An honest critique and feedback is often helpful. The blogosphere is chock-o-block of Court Jesters and watch dogs.

5. Recruiting. Charmaine has found the best talent on the planet from Evangelical Outpost and TruePravda. And a pastor.

Charmaine observes that I learned my truncated style of writing while in the Army. Short sentences.

Short paragraphs.

As Don Suber instructs. Perfect for blogging.

Blogging has introduced us to bullies and saints.

Blogging has Charmaine getting the body count in London on 7.7, getting close to George Clooney and an occasional free movie.

Recent denial of service attacks have been a challenge to our web gurus who are distracted by (paying) clients. In-kind bartering has a down side -- comments are down. Please email us.

Thank you Alert Readers all. We are in your debt...

Thank you (foot)notes:

If you didn't bookmark this saint, do it now. Everybody wants to help Save The Earth, but nobody wants to help Mom do the dishes.

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The Penta-Posse
election nite 2004 Me too.

As the father of the five-person cohort called the Penta-Posse, Your Business Blogger is looking for angles for college admission and funding.

And not just Title IX...

Our friends at the Daniel Kovach Scholarship Foundation have an opportunity for cash. $2,000. Real money.

For political bloggers. If you are a college student, or have parents looking for help, go enter the 2nd Annual Political Blogging Scholarship.

And let us know how it works for you.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Thank you to Alert Reader Jennifer Rotman, Scholarship Coordinator, at College Scholarships.

Comments may not be enabled. Nasty DoS attack. Please email us with comments.

Update: Jill Miller Zimon, Freelance Writer, Editor and Blogger has more information and -- as the main stream media like to say -- original reporting,

Hi Jack -

I don't know if you have ever spoken with Daniel, but here's a post I wrote after interviewing him and one that links to a CNN article about him.

Thanks for posting about the blogging scholarship. An Ohio blogger I know used one (though I don't think it was the same one) to cover New Hampshire primary prep last summer.

Best,

Jill

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Mitt Romney at the podium
Photo Credit: The Dude The ball room was packed to capacity at above-the-fire-marshal limits.

But the thousands of supporters in the room didn't know what was coming.

There is no wireless on the lower floors so they did not know from Drudge that Mitt was leaving.

Romney's speech started out as a barn-burning stump speech to the cheering, yelling crowd.

But his tone changed subtly speaking of the war. He turned a corner, did a simple setup, then he drop the bomb, stunned the crowd. He was leaving and said McCain was the best leader for our country in this time of war.

(His words, his cadence , his delivery was world-class. McCain or Huckabee would do well to hire his wordsmiths...)

Thank you (foot)notes:

We arrived on time but the room was full. The room was guarded by bouncers ushers at the entrances. So Your Business Blogger and Charmaine and some of the Penta-Posse and attachments were escorted 'round back through the press entrance, just like real Main Stream Media.

CPAC was treating bloggers right.

But the room was backed and no chairs were remained. The room-monitors commanded that all had to be in seats or leave. Print media had to sit on the floor.

Charmaine was in a businesses skirt and Your Business Blogger was in a bespoke suit, so sitting on the carpet was not our first option.

But the enforcers were not demanding that the visual-camera-media sit down -- they were manning the camera equipment.

So we simply whipped out our Handy Cam and cameras and starting filming and taking pictures. Print media had to sit, but visual got to stand.

Print guys could still plow their trade by listening.

Visual media got to stand. They (we) needed visual access.

The First Amendment trumps Fire Marshal Regulation.

See Dr. Crouse at TownHall with Pushy Pundits

Update: We understand that Mitt Romney wrote the speech.

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The Dude interviewing Mitt Romney at last year's CPAC

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is meeting this week February 7 to 9.

Your Business Blogger,

The Dreamer,

The Dude and

The Diva will be a-blogging.

Reasoned Audacity is honored to get a hook-up seat on bloggers row.

CPAC 2008
Following are blogs on Bloggers Row.

The conservative event is held yearly and is heavily attended.

Mike Huckabee is schedule for 9am on Saturday morning.

The three-day event begins Thursday at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC.

*CPAC 2008 BLOGGERS ROW*

Ace O'Spades
Alarming News
Atlas Shrugs
Bluey Blog
Captain's Quarters
Conservatives with an Attitude!
Fausta's Blog
FreedomWorks
Gay Patriot
Girl on the Right
HotAir.com
Hugh Hewitt
Human Events
Little Miss Attila
Mary Katherine Ham
Matt Sanchez
Musclehead Revolution
My Man Mitt
Newsbusters
Outside the Beltway
Politico
Reasoned Audacity
Red State
Riehl World View
Right Wing News
Sam Adams Alliance
Save the GOP
The American Mind
The Autonomist
Truth Laid Bear

Thank you (foot)notes:

Reasoned Audacity
CPAC 2007 Official Blogger Kristina Grabosky at CRC Public Relations is the go-to source for all good things PR at CPAC. (Unpaid link.)

Special thank you to Robert Stacy McCain for setting up the links.

Your Business Blogger also blogs at Management Training of DC, LLC. (Unpaid link...)

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Mike Huckabee and staffers.
Charmaine in the black leather.
GOP presidential hopeful and former
Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee talks with
advisors and campaign staff on board a plane
en route to South Carolina after the
New Hampshire primary in Manchester, N.H.,
Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2008.
AP Photo Credit: Alex Brandon

Alert Readers have alerted Your Business Blogger that Reasoned Audacity was down.

I have assured our friends who support Romney that we were not forbidding access to them. But that we were under a denial of service attack. And it was not personal.

Unless the DOS was coming from the Romney campaign...

See Charmaine in the red scarf.

Republican presidential hopeful, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, poses with a supporter as his wife Janet takes a picture during a campaign rally early in the day in Grinnell, Iowa Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008.

AP Photo Credit: Paul Sancya

Charmaine and Mike Huckabee

Thank you (foot)notes:

My web guru Peter Shinn, found and fixed my problem. He is a pro. You should retain him. He does good work.

But.

He is expensive.

Contact me if you'd like to reach him.

Posted at 4:56 PM | Permalink
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The biggest complaint of the blogosphere is that the writing has no accountability, no third party oversight.

Except the carnivals. And the best business carnival in the business is The Carnival of the Capitalists.

Submissions, as the Alert Reader will know, are self-selected by the author, and edited and vetted by the carnival host. Not every article submission is accepted.

My friend Anita Campbell leads this week's carnival with about the best collection of podcasts todate. This is an essential resource for anyone considering podcasting or who might want to be a guest on radio and podcasts -- and who needs a list of the better podcasts. Anita Campbell presents 100 Small Business Audio Podcasts posted at Small Business Trends Radio | Small Business Information. Anita demonstrates here what is best about the blogosphere. (Full Disclosure: Your Business Blogger has written for Anita Campbell.)

Wayne Hurlbert tells us in Management techniques: Delegating responsibility,

As a company grows, the number of responsibilities grow right along with it. Not only do the number of departments expand, but their size and scope increases as well. Taken together, managing all departments and staff within the organization becomes too much for any one person. No one possesses the time or skills required for each and every job in the business. Delegation of responsibility is essential. It is here that problems can arise that can hurt the company's performance.

Douglas Galbi at purple motes has a thoughtful piece television serves couch potatoes

Don't rush the lawyers if you have been wronged. Read this counter-intuitive, yet practical article by Carmen Van Kerckhove at Race in the Workplace with What to Do If You're Experiencing Racial Discrimination At Work,

Think twice before reporting racial discrimination to your company's human resources department. Why? Because it's not always the most effective strategy.

Read on for a step-by-step guide on what to do if you believe your supervisor is discriminating against you because of your race...

See Jason Koeppe’s Strategic Internet Marketing Blog and A Step By Step Guide For Choosing the Right Keywords - StrategicSiteMarketing.com,

Effective keyword research is underrated. Really. And not just in its benefit and importance as it relates to SEO and online search marketing. Thoroughly understanding what keyword phrases your target audience is using to find you (your product or services) is literally invaluable. This knowledge is one of the best weapons you have in your business building arsenal and this weapon can be used both online and off. We’ll come back to that thought a bit later. For now, let’s dive right into how to effectively choose the best keywords for search marketing...

Nickel does the numbers in How to Make Money in the Stock Market (Revisited). The numbers are compelling. No charge.

Here are some youthful capitalists who are starting really early with their business plans: 5 Of The Youngest Entrepreneurs On Their Path To Success And Riches on thedigeratilife by the Silicon Valley Blogger.

Steven Silvers who can manage image better most anyone has Vick story prompts greyhound racing industry to defend itself earlier than usual. posted at Scatterbox by Steven Silvers,

The American Greyhound Track Operators Association rushes to spin some distance between the controversies surrounding its own industry and the nation’s new interest in illegal dog fighting.

David Kam presents The Importance of Logo posted at MarketingDeviant.com.

Gustav S submits 10 Reasons why only 4% of the population achieve their goals posted at success-is-in-you.com.

Ian Welsh has a Biblical reference Reaping What You Sow: Hedge Fund and Housing Bubble Edition posted at The Agonist,

What's happening to the housing and financial markets right now is the entirely foreseeable consequence of past deliberate policy decisions by the Fed and the Bush administration. The reason a bail-out is finally occurring is because the people who matter are getting hurt.

Kurt Brouwer has Subprime and Stocks? What Happened? posted at Fundmastery Blog,

Financial markets around the globe have been weak and jittery in recent weeks. The following discussion is meant to give you some background on the subprime lending mess and how it spread throughout the financial markets.

Dax Desai writes What does the potential Fed rate cut mean? posted at Dax Desai, where he explains the effect of the potential Fed interest rate cut on investments.

Pawel Brodzinski presents 15 Ways to Be a Good Boss posted at Software Project Management,

Want to be a leader who will be followed by the team? Want to have employees working willingly on your success? Want to be a good boss?

Some website owners assume that Google keyword search rankings directly affect sales. So a #1 position will be better than a #2 or #3 position. What counts is the bottom-line result and many other factors come into play in determining that.

Politicians are trying too hard to pressure the Federal Reserve. If they aren't stopped now, we'll have a much harder time stopping them in a few years when they try to use an inflation tax to balance the budget.

Peter has Decide For the Success of Your Home Based Business posted at Make Money Online.

Read the Millionaire Mommy Next Door with How to Treat Affluenza: Spend Less and Live a Happier Life posted at Millionaire Mommy Next Door,

The number of "very happy" people peaked in 1957, and has remained fairly stable or declined ever since. Even though we consume twice as much as we did in the 1950s, people were just as happy when they had less. 86% of Americans who voluntarily cut back their consumption feel happier as a result.

wilson ng presents The Challenge of Providing Choice posted at Reflections of a BizDrivenLife,

Some people want a variety of choice, while some people want quality pre-selected information. Whether you are selling products or ideas, how many alternatives do you provide? Here is a short article on how the number of offerings affect decision-making.

Chief Family Officer presents Great Debate over at AFM: To Sell or Not To Sell? posted at Chief Family Officer.

FMF submits What I'd Do with a High-Paying, Unrewarding Job posted at Free Money Finance and read how he's handled bad job situations

Alvaro Fernandez outlines The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Brains posted at Brain Fitness Blog with some tips to keep our brains sharp.

Good news for health insurance costs: Insureblog's Henry Stern reports that prices are moderating, and explains why.

Leon Gettler has original reporting with an Interview with AXS-One chairman and CEO Bill Lyons posted at Sox First,

An interview with AXS-One chairman and CEO Bill Lyons on why companies struggle with their electronic documents and how email is the new legal Chernobyl.

Nina presents Gay Affluence: fact, fiction, or somewhere in between? posted at Queercents,

Gay affluence is a myth and perhaps the most misunderstood fact about gays and lesbians. We are not wealthier. Or are we?

Rob May writes What Dasani Bottled Water Taught Me About Better Blogging posted at Businesspundit, A case study of Dasani provides insight into why blogging requires more than just quality posts.

Matthew Paulson presents Long Term Care Insurance: When It Makes Sense, When It Doesn’t. posted at FinanceIsPersonal.com.

Where are interest rates headed? James Hamilton of Econbrowser concludes that the Fed has abandoned its 5.25% target for the fed funds rate, and, when it goes back to targeting, will pick a lower value, in Whee!

Charles H. Green presents It's a Dog Eat Dog World, Isn't It? posted at Trust Matters,

In an emerging business world that throws everyone together in constantly permutating ways, that old competitive nature we prized decades ago is becoming a bit of a millstone.

Babak presents Bond Market Screaming For Rate Cut - Fed Listening? posted at Trader's Narrative.

Marlon J. Broussard presents The True value of Money in Our Age | MoneyBlog posted at MoneyBlog,

The point is not to just point out the fact that a dollar is only worth 4 cents (about the exact cost of printing, regardless of the denomination), but to shed light on some things you need to be mindful of...

How would you like to live in crushing, abject poverty? Does the idea of living and sleeping on the streets of a major American city sound appealing to you? Would you like to grow old and penniless, spending your final days on this Earth barely getting by on the meager checks sent to you by some large government bureaucracy? Well, my friend, do I have the program for you.

The customer, in fact, is not always right, but good customer service is treating her as though she is. Making the customer feel appreciated, even when they are not pleased, is the goal.

Next week's carnival will be celebrated on September 3, 2007 at the Geek Practitioners Blog.

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Worthwhile Reads:

If this is our new guide, we’re lost by Gina Dalfonzo with excellent commentary on Dr. Drew Pinsky.

Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt Learn about FUD: fear, uncertainty and doubt, at Why Sell Is Still a Four Letter Word by Charles H. Green -- brought to us at no charge by Carnival of Sales & Management Success, hosted by Brad Trnavsky

Leading by Example in a World of Copy Cats By Michelle Cramer via Carnival of Leadership Development hosted by The Engaging Brand blog with Anna Farmery, Business Coach and Speaker

And be sure to visit the Carnival of Image & Influence | Vol. 2 hosted by Steve Silvers. He graciously points to my article What is the best tactic to get a referral?

But Steve minimized the best referral in one of the better posts lately -- which would be his. See references to Steve Silvers' quotes in Forbes and from an article in the Associated Press, 2 Wal-Mart Critics Leave Group, By MARCUS KABEL,

Corporate reputation expert Steven Silvers said the move may signal that the union campaigns are reaching an end, with little new ground to cover after criticizing Wal-Mart for two years.

"At some point an activist group has to ask itself if it's preaching to the choir," said Silvers, from the Denver-based consulting company GBSM Inc.

"What they're doing is going from rhetoric to relevance," Silvers said. He said Blank and Kofinis can have more impact on Wal-Mart from the national platform of the presidential race.

Steve would be a blogger with reach.

Thank you (foot)notes:

STEVEN SILVERS is a Principal at GBSM, Inc., 600 17th Street, Suite 2020 South in Denver, CO 80202. Go visit www.gbsm.com

Continue Reading »

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Joe Carter
blogger at The Evangelical Outpost Joe Carter has just release his EO 100. Reasoned Audacity is honored to be on the list.

Joe Carter writes,

"What are the best Christian blogs?"

Over the past four years, I've been asked a variation of that question dozens of times. When people hear that I myself am a "Godblogger"--a formerly derogatory term for a blogger who writes about religion or faith--they often inquire which ones I'd recommend.

Trying to answer such a query is like trying to recommend a church -- there are too many factors involved to give a generic, one-size-fits-all response. Still, it is a worthy question and one which I've given a lot of thought. The following list--The EO 100--is my attempt at providing thorough response.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Evangelical Outpost is ranked 1,516 by Technorati. As of July 31, 2006 Technorati tracked 50 million blogs. EO is rated number 40 by The Truth Laid Bear.

The list at the jump.

Continue Reading »

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I was amused when the lefty blogosphere melted down over the Intelligent Design debate and started accusing me of believing in UFO's. (Just for the record. . . I don't.)

But I'm not so amused when they make cavalier assertions that "Charmaine Yoest said" and are so sloppy that their "proof" is a link to something that has nothing to do with me. And when they state in a morally superior tone and very dismissively that I said something that I never did. In the Internet Age, there is no excuse for not quoting someone accurately.

I work hard to make reasoned arguments about the issues I care about. So it really irritates me when those who disagree don't bother to engage with what I really said and slander me by putting up false statements.

The latest accusation? Apparently now I supposedly believe in "sex cults." Here's what some woman calling herself "Bean" says about me:

Remember when the FDA was holding up approval of EC over-the-counter? People like the Family Resesarch Council (and in fact Ms. Yoest herself) were all worked up because they were worried that EC would encourage promiscuity among teens and other women, leading to sex cults. Seriously.

(I love it when anonymous people get snarky -- I make statements under my own name.)

Seriously. Here's the challenge: someone show me where I said anything, anywhere about "EC encouraging promiscuity" or "leading to sex cults." Show me.

Well Ms. Anonymous Bean, to back up her (false) assertion provides two links. Great. I was intrigued. Perhaps I had forgotten losing my mind and making a public statement about sex cults. She had hyperlinked the word "Seriously" as if to say, "boy, do I have the goods." So I clicked over.

Sure enough, there was a quote from me:

"It's very clearly caught up in political dynamics and I would go so far as to say there is electoral politics involved here," said [FRC's Charmaine] Yoest.

Hey, I remember saying that!

But, um, where are the sex cults??

That appears to be further down in the article, quoting a woman named Dr. Janet Woodcock.

Excuse me, "Bean." My name, let us recall, is Dr. Charmaine Yoest.

Then, continuing down the article, is another quote describing the lawsuit Family Research Council filed against the FDA challenging their decision to create the historically unprecedented system of selling Plan B over-the-counter to women over 18 and by prescription to those younger:

[The conservative groups'] lawsuit charges that the FDA had no authority to approve the same drug and labeling for simultaneous prescription-only and over-the-counter distribution and that the FDA cannot treat the drug differently based on the age of the buyer because "FDA lacks the authority to enforce Plan B's age limitations."

That does pretty much sum up one element of our lawsuit against the FDA. Again, I have to note, I'm not seeing where the sex cults come in.

And then, just when I was getting ready to click away from this ridiculously sloppy website in disgust, I see the first commenter weighs in, once again putting words in my mouth -- and simultaneously misrepresenting both me and the organization I work for:

It's not just Plan B. Charmaine Yoest was the FRC's pointwoman on keeping girls from getting the HPV vaccine lest it encourage promiscuity.

Sigh. This time it's a woman named Julia who needs a little help with her fact-checking. I was not FRC's "pointwoman" on the HPV vaccine. We do have someone who speaks on that issue quite a bit; it's usually not me. And we are not opposed to the vaccine -- in fact, if Julia had done her homework she would have found that we have supported the vaccine; we just opposed making it mandatory since HPV is not spread through casual contact.

Sex cults. Oh please.

Seriously.

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Start Up Spark has the Carnival of the Entrepreneurs #22.

See the 3rd edition of the Carnival of Wealth Building

Birth of Your Home Office, Blog Carnival #4 is at Home Office Women.

Verve Coaching, Revolutionary Thinking, Cutting-Edge Training, and Expert Advice for people and organizations, has the Carnival of Powerful Living - May 21st, 2007

Get some history at the 2nd Carnival of Principled Government, Axioms of a Free Society.

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Looking for a job? Vist College Students Advisor for a tutorial: Good News About Jumpstarting Your Job Search brought to you by the Carnival of the Job Search ~ 5th edition.

Carnival of the Capitalists is hosted this week by Gyaan Sutra. Must read for business leaders is Sunk costs: Know when to pull the plug, by Wayne Hurlbert;

When faced with a sunk cost situation, learn to identify it as an ongoing drain of company resources. If there is no possible remedy, cut the plan adrift, and start over with a new idea.

Your successful and creative company must understand sunk costs, and know when to pull the plug. Admit your mistakes, and move on to a different plan entirely. Your business success depends on it.

See Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office? Although I would like to see a bit more on negotiation skills for Women. At Carnival of Careers in Middle Age #2.

And drive on over to Ask Patty (about cars). Car Carnival. Cool. Read The Seven Biggest Driving Mistakes By Kristin Bailey Murphy

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GOP Presidential Debate Smackdown? Nope. The buzz is on Blumenthal.

Max meant to be snarky. But comes off stupid silly. Or worse: An amateur.

Blumenthal on the Huffington Post hotlinked to a picture on the Family Research Council web site. Max is 'borrowing' server space. Not really a big deal...just bad form.

Joe Carter and Jared Bridges at FRC caught it and substituted this come-back:

Dead Kitty: Blumenthal Poisons Cats

The Huffington Post lefties are slow learners. Liberals always are. So Max Blumenthal re-hot-links. And screws up yet again.

But cannot get ahead of Christian Soldiers Marching as to War. Or Blumenthal's Comedy Club.

FRCBlog: Max Blumenthal's Favorite Stops on the Interweb

Thank you (foot)notes:

Joe Carter, a former Marine,
said he started blogging as a way
to become an influential voice
for Christian values even though
he doesn't have
Ivy League credentials.
(By Rich Lipski, The Washington Post) Joe Carter is the Editor at the FRCBlog and was recently highlighted in The Washington Post. He blogs at The Evangelical Outpost.

Jared Bridges is a contributor at FRCBlog and personally blogs at TruePravada.

The Carter/Bridges brilliance is noted in NewBusters Editors' Pick May 4, 4007.

Brian Kaylor at For God's Sake Shut Up! sees nothing funny. Pursuing a Ph.D. has that effect. His sense of humor should return after his dissertation defense.

Kevin Aylward at Wizbang has an update.

See ChristianityToday.

Blogroll the BlueyBlog: Max Blumenthal: Image Thief

HuffPo p0wn3d by FRCblog.com! by Laura at Pursuing Holiness. Our kind of girl.

And see what Joe Carter did with:

Michelle Malkin

Little Green Footballs

National Review Online

RedState

FreeRepublic.com

Human Events' Right Angle

Bluey Blog

Wizbang!

NewsBusters

InstaPundit

TownHall.com

Pursuing Holiness

WORLD magazine's blog

Wonkette

in A Lesson in Web Etiquette for the Huffington Post (Part II)

Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly. -- Proverbs 26:11

Wizbangblog is on the story with analysis,

That's not ignorance of how the web works, no that's willfully dishonest bandwidth theft on the part of Mr. Blumenthal.

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Evil HR Lady has answers for human resource management,

Mistakes can lead to success...
Really.

"Why am I evil? Well, I'm not, but that's the perception of all of us in HR. Need to fire someone? Come to HR. Need to explain to someone why, even after working their rear end off all year, that their annual increase is 2.7%? Come to HR. Need to come up with new mountains of paperwork? Come to HR. So, come join me on the Evil Side. Oh, and send me your HR questions."

See her edits and editorials at Carnival of Human Resources #5, and be sure to read Delegation as a Leadership Style, From Susan M. Heathfield, and her Tips for Effective Delegation. With good advice. If every manager delegated properly and treated his desk like a pyramid, Your Business Blogger would have fewer clients.

Or maybe all managers should be sociopaths.

See The Carnival of Australia and learn what ANZAC Day is. Aussies are allies.

And bookmark The Integrative Stream, who is hosting the Carnival of the Capitalists. (I will 'roll 'em, as soon as the Panzer Commander unlocks by blogroll...) William Crawford has,

been a software developer, a manager, a Chief Technology Officer and an author of books about enterprise computing. In 2006-2007, I spent a year working on Healthcare Information Technology policy issues at the United States Department of Health and Human Services, in the Office of Policy at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the largest healthcare payor in the world.

Right now I’m focused on industry liaision activities for the Harvard Medical School Center for Biomedical Informatiocs, and am an MBA candidate at the Sloan School of Management at MIT. I’m also an SM candidate in the MIT Biomedical Enterprise Program, which focuses on bringing together management and scientific professionals to create innovative biomedical businesses. You can never have too many graduate degrees.

And while at the Carnival visit Wayne Hurlbert, who reminds us in Preventing mistakes: Creativity to the rescue

"All business owners and managers make mistakes. In fact, if no mistakes are made, nothing is being done in the business at all. Literally.

Fear that one's mistakes leads to immediate dismissal simply locks down the company. No one will suggest any new ideas, and will revert to covering the backs and keeping their heads down. Entrepreneurs should welcome innovation and fresh, creative ideas. Forward thinkers and innovators should be rewarded and encouraged to seek new solutions to the organization's problems. Mistakes will be made. The key is to keep the errors small, and to learn from the experience."

Wayne gets it right, as usual. Benefit from his wisdom, which is interesting, since he makes few mistakes. Read him.

I usually recognize a mistake... the second time I make it.

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Rolling Stone
always provocative Rolling Stone has an excellent analysis on the God-fearing voter effect on presidential politics.

Evangelicals in Exile; The Christian right is reeling from its biggest electoral defeat in a quarter century - and now they're talking about abandoning the GOP byline ROBERT DREYFUSS,

"To ensure that Republicans get the message in 2008, the religious right is redoubling its efforts to mobilize its political machine -- including tens of thousands of churches, hundreds of radio stations and two national television networks."

The liberal thinking is that the Jesus-God-fearing voter votes as one. One candidate; one block.

O that we would. 30% of Evangelicals voted for Clinton. Gary Bauer at one time encouraged John McCain. Liberal democratTIC candidates still get some Catholics.

Robert Dreyfuss continues,

The Family Research Council, a leading lobby for the Christian right, is planning a huge expansion on the Internet, including videos and podcasts, to reach millions in next year's election. "We want to be sure that the lessons of the last election have been learned, and that the Republicans understand that we are not a lock for the GOP," says Charmaine Yoest, the council's vice president of communications. "When you're looking at razor-thin margins, you better pay attention to your base."

New Media is key. A percentage point or less, will win. Jim Ceaser, who sat on Charmaine's dissertation committee, made this clear in his book The Perfect Tie (list price: $69.00).

The other James, Carville, agrees,

"It's not like you have to win 'em," says James Carville, the Democratic strategist who engineered Bill Clinton's rise to power. "You just have to do better. Even if you go up five points, it's a big deal."

Dreyfuss quotes Charmaine, who gets it right (of course...)

The swing certainly got the attention of the Christian right. "Man, a couple of points difference -- that's what the political consultants get paid the big bucks to deliver," says Yoest of the Family Research Council. "In a divided electorate, that's significant."

Dreyfuss warns,


Rolling Stone

The group fired an early shot across the GOP's bow in January, when it delivered a videotaped response to President Bush's State of the Union speech. "The president failed to draw a line in the sand on behalf of life," charged Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council.

Dreyfuss quotes Perkins,

"What will become of the culture of life, of the defense of marriage?" The council displayed a chart [above] on which it noted the number of times the president mentioned the Christian right's core issues: marriage, 0; abortion, 0; stem cells, 0; cloning, 0; abstinence, 0; and values, 0.

Be sure to bookmark and track Family Research Council's New Media advances at the FRCBlog. (Unpaid link.)

Thank you (foot)notes:

See Charmaine's work at The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life: Religious Voters and the Midterm Elections

Also mentioned in the Rolling Stone article were,

Communications expert Genevieve Wood from Heritage, Dick Armey, James Dobson, David Kuo, Ted Haggard, Phill Kline, Curtis Gans, Don Wildmon.

Get (warring) religion on Rein's Religion Blog.

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The Dude will be on Gregg Jackson's show Sunday night, March 18th. Gregg and The Dude met while The Dude was blogging the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

R to L: The Dude from Panzer Commander, John Tabin from The American Spectator, Michelle Malkin, Ed Morrissey at Captain's Quarters.

On March 2nd The Dude was the youngest blogger on the scene. He secured an interview with Mitt Romney and gives us Mitt's take on bloggers vs. the mainstream media here. The Dude is pictured above proudly wearing his TownHall.com hat.

The Dude was working the exhibits at the CPAC trade show -- he knows how to work a trade show -- and introduced himself to Gregg Jackson.

CPAC 2007 Hit time Sunday is 9:40 pm Eastern. Listen in and let us know how he did.

WRKO Talk Radio
Boston

Thank you (foot)notes:

Gregg Jackson is the Co-Host of Pundit Review Radio on WRKO Boston's Talk Station www.WRKO.com He is also a contributing editor at PunditReview.com, a 2005 and 2006 Weblog Award finalist in the Best Media/Journalist Blog category.

Jackson is author of Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies: Issue By Issue Responses to the Most Common Claims of the Left from A to Z. More at the jump.

Alert Readers know that The Dude is is no stranger to show business. See his First Show Biz Break.

Continue Reading »

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Mother in the Middle gid -- who blogs at TheGidcumbs.com

Forget the Academy Awards, gid really has the talent and entertainment. And is a class act to boot.

gid won our contest and will be receiving a copy of Mother in the Middle.

Your Business Blogger and Charmaine were interested in the winner who was from Monchengladbach, Germany.

But we were going to exercise some geographic license in favor of a salon-worthy retort.

TheGidcumbs came thru.

Here is their winning response to our search for visitor number 300,000:

Okay, how about this. I live in Chattanooga, TN. One of the sister cities of Chattanooga is Hamm, Germany. Monchengladbach in only a 140Km drive from Hamm.

I think that makes the book rightfully mine. :-)

Indeed it does. An autographed copy is on the way.

Thank you for reading and commenting.

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CPAC 2007 Charmaine and Your Business Blogger will be joining 24 of some of the best bloggers on the planet for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

With Vice President Dick Cheney - Sean Hannity - Senator Mitch McConnell - Ann Coulter - Michelle Malkin - David Horowitz - Congressman Mike Pence - Newt Gingrich - Phyllis Schlafly - Wayne LaPierre

Celebrated tomorrow thru the weekend in Your Nation's Capital.

Rob Bluey graciously reminded us that the following 25 blogs received secured credentials and will get a coveted T1 line. The good-guys at Creative Response Concepts are sponsoring the Bloggers’ Row this year.

Visit these guys for the latest in conservative thought and action and analysis.

And for original content that Alerts Readers will not get in The Washington Post or The New York Times.

• Ace of Spades HQ
• Alarming News
• American Mind
• American Spectator
• Ankle Biting Pundits
• Captain’s Quarters
• Hot Air
• Human Events
• Fausta’s Blog
• Little Miss Attila
• Michelle Malkin
• Musclehead Revolution
• National Journal
• NewsBusters
• NOVA TownHall
• Outside the Beltway
• Politico
• Reasoned Audacity
• Red State
• RobertBluey.com
• SaveTheGop
• SeeJaneMom
• ShopFloor.org
• Spot On
• The Conservative Voice

Thank you (foot)notes:

These are unpaid links.

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Roxane and Jim Gilmore; Charmaine and Jack Yoest
April 2005 Governor Jim Gilmore promised to be the First Blogger-in-Chief, if sworn in as president. Gilmore addressed the weekly conservative blogger lunch today at the Heritage Foundation hoping to "talk over the heads of the standard press."

Although Gilmore promised to start blogging; he did not promise to hire a blogger full time during the campaign. (I was hoping for a bit more pandering to this crowd, but it never was quite Gilmore's style.)

Far from pandering, Gilmore continues his combative conservatism.

Which, these days, might just sell.

The former governor of the Commonwealth Virginia claims "a broad record of success" and states that "there is not a conservative in the race" besides him.

He might be right.

Except for being pro-choice thru the 13th week. So I ask him, "As governor you hired pro-lifers extensively in your staff, do you promise to do the same if elected president?"

Gilmore reminded us that no one has done better in "service to the pro-life community" and walked down his leadership list on pro-life initiatives:

1) A 24 hour waiting period for abortions,

2) Pushed stopping partial birth abortions,

3) Championed Hugh Finn.

Alert Readers will remember Hugh Finn sustained severe brain injuries from a car accident, and was comatose for 3 and a half years. After moving him to a Virginia nursing home, his wife Michele requested the removal of his feeding tube, but his parents and his six brothers filed suit to stop her.

Careful readers of this blog will recall the hyperventilating over "hyperalimentation" -- feeding food and water through a tube -- during the legal battle over Terri Schiavo's case. In 1998, the Commonwealth of Virginia -- and Governor Gilmore -- confronted nearly exactly the same situation as that posed by Terri Schiavo for Florida and Governor Jeb Bush.

The Governor supported continuing Finn's feeding tube, and the case went all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court which ruled in favor of Mrs. Finn.

Finn died eight days after the tube was removed.

Gilmore enjoys a pro-life record any pro-life candidate would envy.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Full Disclosure: Your Business Blogger is pro-life. And campaigned for Gilmore, voted for him and served as his Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Resources while the governor was in office. Watched the Governor up close on the Hugh Finn case. Gilmore got this right.

James Gilmore Is Running For President: Can A Pro-Choice Republican Win?

Read on some of Gilmore's management style at Y2K and The Management of Hurricane Katrina's Aftermath.

Gilmore may have been planning this for a while; see Americans for Freedom and Opportunity.

Also see Are Children at Risk in Red States?

Rob Bluey is the weekly host at The Heritage Foundation -- be sure to read his report Jim Gilmore: The First Blogging President? at Redstate.com

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Today is the two year anniversary of the weblog Reasoned Audacity. This blog combines Charmaine's Politics in Real Life with Your Business Blogger's Business Sense, Military Precision and Timeless Truth.

We will celebrate the beginning of the terrible two's by sending Charmaine on a plane north with The Dreamer for a lecture at Harvard. She will give a talk on conservative women and work.

Photo Credit:
Your Business Blogger
a Neanderthal, knuckle dragging
conservative husband who
insisted on The Little Woman
getting a Ph.D. Pictured is Charmaine simultaneously working on her Ph.D. in politics and caring for the baby Dreamer ca 1993. The classic Proverbs 31 woman.

From the Family Research Council,

**MEDIA ADVISORY**

FRC'S Dr. Charmaine Yoest to Address Conference at Harvard University

February 23, 2007 - Friday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 23, 2007 CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Maria Donovan, (866) FRC-NEWS

Cambridge, MA - Dr. Charmaine Yoest, Vice President of Communications for the Family Research Council will be speaking Saturday, February 24, 2007 at the Conservative Women's Conference presented by the Conservative Women's Caucus at Harvard University.

WHAT: Conservative Women's Conference

Dr. Yoest will deliver a speech entitled A Higher Ambition: Women at the Intersection of Sex, Power, and Purpose. She will discuss how the feminist political agenda harms women and the challenges that women face in the twenty-first century.

As a widely published author, political analyst, and frequent media commentator, she is working on her next book, A G.I. Bill for Moms: Mothers, the Market and the American Way. Her earlier book, Mother in the Middle (HarperCollins), was an examination of work/family and childcare policy.

As an expert on domestic and international social policy, Dr. Yoest has provided Congressional testimony before both the United States House of Representatives and the Senate.

WHO: Dr. Charmaine Yoest, Vice President of Communications for Family Research Council

WHEN: Saturday, February 24, 2007
1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. Eastern

WHERE: Harvard Hall at Harvard University
Cambridge, MA

Thank you (foot)notes:

Alert readers will be able to identify the laptop manufacturer Charmaine is using above. Comment correctly -- or cleverly -- and receive a nifty pen from Your Business Blogger.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 6:45 PM | Permalink
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And hosted by History Is Elementary, where,

Quite simply History Is Elementary is a site for history teachers and anyone who enjoys reading about history and history education. Posts include opinions, information on content, teaching strategies, and some of my day to day adventures in teaching

Grade her A+

While there, be sure to read Is Scrotum a Dirty Word?

Elementary Education is sounding and looking more and more like pornographic Higher Education.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Full Disclosure: Your Business Blogger has an undergraduate degree in Education.

Posted at 12:09 PM | Permalink
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Thank you so much for reading Reasoned Audacity!

If you think you were our 300,000th visitor -- see below, please comment. The first commenter will receive a copy of Charmaine's book Mother in the Middle: Searching for Peace in the Mommy Wars, published by HarperCollins. If your comment is not the first, but is more clever than creditable, we might send you a book anyway.

Alert Readers will remember that Reasoned Audacity will be two years old in two days. We launched on 23 February 2005 writing about Tocqueville. And the freedom of association of blog writers and readers.

Thank you for reading at least one of our 1,197 posts.

We remain in your debt, Charmaine and Jack.

Bill Maher with Mother in the Middle.

Posted at 1:27 PM | Permalink
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And is expertly hosted by Business Intelligence Lowdown. You must visit just to see how Sagar Satapathy took his site to over 19,000 hits per day in two months.

This is Business Intelligence.

While there also visit Seductive Statistics by Charles H. Green who provides a compelling review on a report from Edelman. It would be interesting to get Green's analysis of Edelman's "trust" work with Wal*Mart.

And also see Murad Ali's article at The New Business World with a primer on SWOT. We often do not need to be taught, but we often need to be reminded.

Posted at 9:40 AM | Permalink
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RightWingNews Our good friend John Hawkins is working with Duncan Hunter.

Our Representative from San Diego could have retained no better blogger than Hawkins.

Congratulations, John ...and Congressman Hunter.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Also see John Hawkins' analysis on bias in academia: "The Troops Are "Mercenary Terrorist(s)?"

Full Disclosure: Your Business Blogger has family ties to San Diego.

Posted at 10:25 AM | Permalink
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A carnival to manage debt
And is expertly hosted by Debt Consolidation Lowdown.

Carnival hosts get paid only in kind by your kind clicks. Please visit. The site is owned by BizNicheMedia.

Posted at 12:54 PM | Permalink
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The Dude and The Dreamer will be blogging live today from blogger's row at the Family Research Council. They will be covering the annual March for Life today in the snows in Your Nation's Capital.

Watch the live Webcast of the Blogs for Life Conference from FRC.

Blogs for Life is scheduled to coincide with the 34th annual March for Life, during which thousands of pro-life advocates gather in the Nation's capitol to celebrate life and demand the reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

The schedule of speakers for the event includes:

9:00- Tony Perkins, FRC President
9:15- Bobby Schindler, brother of Terri Shiavo
9:30- Jill Stanek, pro-life speaker
10:00- Peter Samuelson, President, Americans United for Life
10:30- Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS)
11:00- Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
2:30- Ramesh Ponnuru, Senior Editor, National Review
4:00- David Prentice, Senior Fellow for Life Sciences, Family Research Council

See Panzer Commander.

The Dreamer blogs at A Different Kind of Drama and Black and Red Roses.

Posted at 8:13 AM | Permalink
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Your Business Blogger and
Nehring the Edge were both honored
to be finalist in the 2006 WebLog Awards The Carnival is hosted by Nehring The Edge.

And while there be sure to read the review on Humanity and Paper Balloons at Westminster Wisdom. Brits have always been talented writers and playwrights -- re: Shakespeare.

My only disappointment is that Gracchi doesn't pretend to have all the answers. And that questionable ad for Amnesty International...

More on Gracchi at the jump.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 9:43 PM | Permalink
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Ben Yoskovitz is performing host duties at StartUpSpark. Jack has an entry up with The Dude as the back story.

Salesmen are
always needed
and
customers are the
best promotersWhile visiting, be sure to read Wayne Huber on customer referrals.

Referral business is often called word of mouth advertising. More recently, the term viral marketing has been applied to the age old concept. In the end, it’s getting a happy customer to help you sell your products or services. In fact, it’s the cheapest sales force that a business can ever cultivate, as it's almost free.

Surprisingly, referrals are one of the least used sales and marketing techniques around. Sure, you’ll hear many business owners ask their customers if any other people would be interested in the offered products and services. You might even have said the same tired old line yourself. It's time to change your tune.

In the non-profit fund-raising business, we call this friend-raising. Be sure to read Wayne's entire column.

Posted at 12:39 PM | Permalink
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Lucas McDonnell in the UK is hosting the Business, Technology and Knowledge Blog Carnival. Go visit.

And while you are there see Refer to This Rule When You Are About to Reduce Your Product Price by GAMEPRODUCER.NET, a Daily Game Development and Production Resource

Be slow, very slow to lower prices to pick up sales. If you must fiddle with your pricing, try raising the price until demand (really) drops off. Then you will at least know that there is some elasticity.

Full Disclosure: Your Business Blogger buys business cards from Hugh MacLeod who blogs at Gaping Void. And so should you. Unpaid referral.

Posted at 11:28 PM | Permalink
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WebLog Award Results
Best Business Blogs The results are in and Club for Growth runs away with the top honor.

This is due in no small measure to my every-Tuesday-lunch-buddy Andrew Roth who runs Government Affairs for the Club for Growth, here in Your Nation's Capital.

But if there was an award for Class Act, it would go to Tom Blumer at BizzyBlog.

He would be an accountant Your Business Blogger could trust.

Tom Blumer, CPA

And so should you.

Thank you (foot)notes:

See more on Andrew Roth and Tom Blumer at the jump

Continue Reading »

Posted at 8:59 PM | Permalink
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A Democrat can vote as many times as he wants, but only within 24 hours. Vote early and vote often.

Reasoned Audacity is one of the top ten finalists for Best Business Blog.

This is the last day for voting. Please visit The Weblog Awards 2006 at Best Business Blog and vote for Reasoned Audacity.

We will be in your debt.

Please also consider these other finalists:

Blue Star Chronicles

The Corner at NRO

Median Sib

Mary Katherine Ham

Nehring the Edge

Imago Dei

CDR Salamander

Media Blog on NRO

Evangelical Outpost

Ruthlace

Democrats are welcome.

Thankyou (foot)notes,

The Vote Early and Vote Often tag line is often attributed to Chicago politics. See Bandersnatch.com

Democrat Richard J. Daley, former Mayor of Chicago,

Gentlemen, get the thing straight once and for all -- the policeman isn't there to create disorder, the policeman is there to preserve disorder.

We shall reach greater and greater platitudes of achievement.

Read the 10 Chicago Rules of Political Fund-Raising at the jump.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 9:24 AM | Permalink
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The Carnival of Entrepreneurs The new carnival is expertly hosted by Canadian Ben Yoskovitz. Go visit and learn.

Remember that carnival hosts work only for visits and links -- the only currency in the blogosphere. Go visit Ben.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Also visit Ben Yoskovitz at Instigator Blog. Read more at the jump.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 9:47 PM | Permalink
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Voting is now open. Please visit The Weblog Awards 2006 at Best Business Blog and vote for Reasoned Audacity.

We will be in your debt.

Please also consider these other finalists:

Blue Star Chronicles

The Corner at NRO

Median Sib

Mary Katherine Ham

Nehring the Edge

Imago Dei

CDR Salamander

Media Blog on NRO

Evangelical Outpost

Ruthlace

Please remember to vote every 24 hours. Thank you!

Posted at 10:09 PM | Permalink
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Voting begins Thursday 7 December. Please visit The Weblog Awards 2006 and vote for Reasoned Audacity.

We will be in your debt.

Posted at 10:59 PM | Permalink
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...at eFIPO.

Posted at 4:51 PM | Permalink
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Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D. (?) What is a good way to learn if your accountant is getting all those numbers to add up right?

He spells your name right.

When Your Business Blogger was in the army way back in the days of the horse cavalry, I had a boss, Captain Akroyd, who once gave me a memorable 'corrective interview.' The West Pointer said I needed to concentrate on my Attention to Detail.

And, in lacking that quality (back then!), I am, of course, very quick to criticize the same lack in others (today).

I often see this lack in the spelling of our names: Charmaine has an unusual first name that is often misspelled, or misidentified. Yoest, a Flemish name, is often misspelled.

The cliche goes: There is no bad PR, as long as they spell your name right.

So it was memorable that my name would be misspelled and insulted in the same article. Very bad.

A two-fer.

Dennis Howlett on innovation for professional accountants who blogs at AccMan gets my name wrong and uses bad language.

Sounding like, well, a blogger:

I come up with Jack Youest, ...an A&&hole.

My new best friend, Dennis Howlett might be right half the time. But these would not be the odds one would take.

From an accountant.

New tag line:

Dennis Howlett on innovation for professional accountants -- We're Right Half the Time! We're British!

We May Have Lost the Empire, But We Won't Lose Your Money!

Thank you (foot)notes: I do hope Dennis Howlett is not disqualified for the AcountancyAge Awards 2006 coming up on 15 November. His ciphering is no doubt more accurate than his spelling. More at the jump.

Management Training Tip: Get the name right; both sight and sound, for the eye and ear, spelling and pronunciation.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 9:11 PM | Permalink
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Hugh Hewitt and Charmaine Yoest
May, 2006 GodBlogCon finished up this weekend with bloggers from coast to coast gathering for a good time and, perhaps, some learning.

Andrew McKnight from Mere Orthodoxy has this observation,

Somehow politics don’t depress Mr. Hewitt. He walks in a murky world, but to watch him you’d think he lives perpetually on a sunny hill. His advice to young would-be culture changers (like me!) was two-fold:

1) Take Montaigne’s advice, “Constant cheerfulness is a mark of a truly wise person” and

2) “Find the good, and praise it.”

Hugh Hewitt's
Painting the Map Red We just finished Hewitt's Painting the Map Red: The Fight to Create a Permanent Republican Majority

A cheerful book.

A must read.

A happy read.

And be sure to catch the Young Politics Carnival at eFIPO.com good reads for any age.

Posted at 7:59 AM | Permalink
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I've created a monster! I can't get my computer back from my boy! I'm reduced to Blackberry blogging.

Great picture of the Dude in the Blogging Scrum will follow if I can ever get my laptop back...

Read more on The Dude's blog entries about the Blogger's Convention here.

Posted at 8:33 PM | Permalink
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I'm headed to the Left Coast to talk about blogging with some of my favorite people, the godbloggers.

The Diva and the Dude are coming along because they have both become bloggers and I want them to catch the vision for blogging with a purpose.

Stay tuned -- I'm looking forward to meeting some great people and learning a lot. I'll be reporting back -- right here.

Posted at 10:13 AM | Permalink
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National Review Online So Charmaine gets bumped and dumped from Bill O'Reilly on Fox. She was to debate the Foley fallout. But a plane crashing into a building in New York City might command better ratings and revenues.

But no matter. We skip over to NRO's open bar bash at Charlie Palmer's Steakhouse in Washington, DC. They are celebrating their 10th Anniversary.

"Hey," I say to Charmaine. "Look-it who's here!" I'm moving into the swarm of 500, leaning forward.

She says, "Yes, Romney's straight ahead."

"No," as I push Laura Ingraham aside. (She looks marvelous.) She topples over Rebecca Hagelin from Heritage, spilling a drink on Kathryn Lopez. I dodge Rich Lowery. I'm almost there.

Charmaine's got my coattail telling me to stop. My target's in range. Jonah Goldberg and Kate O'Beirne start backing away. But it's not them I'm after. Elaine Donnelly is off to the side wondering why she ever retained me...

I push the other groupies away -- and fall at his feet and grovel. Paul Mirengoff, from Powerline looks down benignly. (This supplication happens quite a bit.) "Yes, my son..."

"Paul," I beg, "Please link to me."

I could see a kind look in his eye before security rudely pulls me off. Liberal union thugs.

But it was a great evening, anyway.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

The National Review Institute wishes to thank the following organizations and individuals for participating in and sponsoring this special celebration at the jump.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 10:41 PM | Permalink
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So we decided to marry our fortunes together. And begot the New* Reasoned Audacity.

Just as in-real-life we didn't get hyphenated: We got married.

Our feminist friends will smugly note that the female in this union kept her name.

Jack and Charmaine Yoest by Elgin Tyrell

Your Business Blogger will continue to write on Business Sense, Military Precision and Timeless Truth. Charmaine will continue to write on Politics in Real Life. Where these two become one.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

*The Alert Reader will note: the 'New' as adjective for Reasoned Audacity in this post. We were considering a nifty trick Lee A. Iacocca performed as he was rescuing Chrysler in the early 1980's. He officially changed the automaker's name to 'The New Chrysler Corporation.' So that every time reporters mentioned the troubled company's name the copy would read, "The New Chrysler Corporation." The only thing new was Iacocca and the name (and a lot of managers)...

...The government bailout didn't hurt either. But it gave the public the perception that new and good and wonderful things were coming out of Chrysler.

Proving again that Seth Godin is right in All Marketers are Liars.

Charmaine and I are now planning to sell The New Reason Audacity to Daimler-Benz Chrysler.

Penta-Posse

Posted at 9:41 PM | Permalink
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And gets down to business by lowercase stingfellow.

While visiting First Carnival be sure to check out Creativity: Throwing out the box by Wayne Hurlbert,

Think in terms of strange questions. I'm not only talking about the overworked tree falling in the forest here. Of course, thinking about whether or not there is indeed a sound can help trigger new ways of looking at the world. The point is to move far away from your routine framework of thought. New worlds await discovery. It may as well be you who plants the first flag. Right?

Wayne reminds Your Business Blogger of my favorite creative question:

What would you never do?

It usually makes the staff and clients uncomfortable or even angry. But it makes them get off the dime.

And out of the Box. Read Wayne now.

Posted at 7:34 AM | Permalink
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Your Business Blogger unjustly suggested that John Aravosis at AmericaBlog had deliberately, with malice aforethought, deleted a photo of Charmaine he took during the G-8 and blow up of 7.7 in London last year. I was looking for that particular shot of Charmaine, but I lost my copy. (I'm looking for a way to blame the kids.)

John, in an email exchange, becomes unhinged, as liberals are known to do and calls me a "goof." The slander! The hate! l'insulte!

And then he asks me for the photo when I find it. John smugly assumed that I had it stored in some hidden folder and that I would eventually uncover it.

So.

I found it.

John, here's your copy.

I goofed.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

John was right about the picture location; he's right that it's a great shot. But he's wrong on everything else.

Posted at 11:36 PM | Permalink
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Love. Every Tuesday and Friday I am honored to have a column published over on Small Business Trends and Small Business Trends Radio

Following are recent titles:

Job Interviews: When To Lie

Practice for Small Business Managers

3 Questions for Mentors and Advisors in Small Business

Hiring? The Best Question To Ask a Job Candidate

Mastering the Mic for Sound Management

Test Your Business Idea On A Critical Audience

How To Guarantee Your Best Show Business Introduction

Was this helpful? Do comment.
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Thank you (foot)notes:

Anita Campbell, my Editrix at Small Business Trends also hosts a live call-in radio show.

60-minute audio interviews with small business experts -- the podcast home of Small Business Trends Radio, broadcast Tuesdays at 1:00 pm Eastern time.

Host: Anita Campbell
Exec. Producer: Steve Rucinski

Please tune in for the best in business education and entertainment.

Posted at 10:30 PM | Permalink
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lil' duck duck's got it

Posted at 9:25 AM | Permalink
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And brilliantly hosted by The Owner's Manual. Go visit #144.

Posted at 12:10 PM | Permalink
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Josh Trevino, Charmaine, John Aravosis Last July '05 Charmaine traveled with a team of bloggers to the G-8 Summit in Edinburg. The Summit was soon forgotten in the 7.7 blow-up of London. In keeping with the reporting dictum: If it bleeds, it leads.

Anyway, the war on terror came to the England bloggers and made a few, a happy few, band of brothers.

John took a picture of Charmaine in a pub -- it was perhaps one of the best photographs of her ever taken by anyone (and she takes a good picture -- the camera likes her). And he posted on his site. Gorgeous. Sadly, he removed it when his readership became...animated, over his friendship with a conservative.

Charmaine and John became fast friends fast , as one would expect. Shared danger. Shared experience. Shared pursuit of the truth. John and I know each other only thru email and vector Charmaine. I genuinely like the guy.

And we disagree on most everything political. But John was always a gentleman. In debates and IRL.

One of our disagreements would be homosexuals in the military. I think they can serve their country elsewhere -- where I say, "out," John says "out of the closet."

And Lieutenant Alexander Raggio's award-winning paper at the army's West Point academy brought out our differences. And sharp words from John.

LT. Raggio's paper is a philosophic defense of allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the armed services. He would advocate dropping the ban on homosexual service.

But our debate turned a unfortunate corner when John's hair caught fire with the inflammatory "BIGOTED" cliche ricochet.

John's emotion-laden invective makes him read like a blogger yes, a blogger. But his insults missed his mark -- that would be Charmaine and me in his target-rich environment.

Winston Churchill once said that nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.

But I am not exhilarated, even with John's off-target bigot-bomb.

I am saddened not because he missed, but because he pulled the trigger. Firing into the crowd that contained his remaining conservative Jesus-Freak-friends on the right.

I expected a more reasoned debate from John. I expected more from a friend.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

Alexander H. Raggio's paper is Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Be: A Philosophical Analysis of the Gay Ban in the US Military. His paper won the prestigious Brig. Gen. Carroll E. Adams Award, and was written up by AP.

Agape Press has the interview with Elaine Donnelly that started all this.

See Charmaine's post on John Aravosis.

Full Disclosure: Your Business Blogger is honored to serve as the Vice President for the Center for Military Readiness with Elaine Donnelly.

Andrew Sullivan doesn't care for the gay ban.

Dropping Knowlege has rights and the war.

Pam's House Blend has more on anti-DADT.

Mudville Gazette has happy place.

The Debate Link has Silenced Soldiers.

Kathy has no worries.

James Joyner has both sides of the debate.

Posted at 12:02 PM | Permalink
Comments (1)

"Beats me. It's yesterday's news, it's hard copy,
and you have to pay for it."

The Chronicle of Higher Education gets it right. This time without nudity.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

The cartoon is from The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 4, 2006. Used with attribution, but without permission.

For more on chronicling The Chronicle, see the archives. Adult content.

Posted at 10:26 AM | Permalink
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Messaging and Legislating. Stephen Clouse recently said that it is not enough to have good ideas, an advocate must persuade, must sell the idea. Frist knows how to sell.

Steve Rucinski was hosting Small Business Trends Radio yesterday with Dawn Rivers Baker. She was concerned that Congress was not addressing affordable healthcare for small businesses. And that our elected officials had legislation bottled up.

She was making sense. So Your Business Blogger decided to get some answers. And I always go to the top. Anita Campbell was out of town, so I had to settle for Bill Frist, MD, Senate Majority Leader.

The appointment was for 4pm. I arrive a bit early; punctuality is the courtesy of kings and all.

But I was prepared to be kept waiting. I made a friendly wager with the staff that the Senator would surely be running late. This is DC, you see. I was guessing that he'd arrive at 4:17. I am ready to be miffed -- I am a busy man, very busy. The committee Senate staffer looks at me funny, and says, "Senator Frist late? I don't think so." She's from Long Island; she should know late.

At 4:06 Senator Frist, a very busy man, walks in. On time. This is no ordinary event.



R to L Jack Yoest, Mary Katharine Ham,
Steve O'Connor, Bill Frist, Dave Kralik,
Rob Bluey, Larry Scholer, Ivy Sellers,
John O'Hara, Brendan Steinhauser Your Business Blogger is joined in the Senator's conference room with Dave Kralik from the National Association of Manufacturers, Steve O'Connor from Human Events, Larry Scholer from Heritage Foundation, Brendan Steinhauser from FreedomWorks, Mary Katharine Ham from TownHall.com, Ron Bluey from Human Events OnLine and John O'Hara from The Spectator and Ivy Sellers.

We get to ask questions. We ask Dr. Frist about health plans for small business. Dawn Rivers Baker said that this should not be partisan politics, but a simple, common sense policy issue.

The Senate Majority leader is an active proponent of Association Health Plans.

Frist said that the GOP will continue to win because they can "show contrast" comparing philosophies with Democrats. Frist outlined the values differences including the sanctity of life (except for embryonic stem cells); where Democrats embrace the culture of Hollywood. Frist has a simple agenda,

Secure the homeland
Secure prosperity
Secure values

Frist is also pushing for the Custody Protection Act. The bill makes it illegal for anyone except a parent to transport an underage girl across a state line to get an abortion. It has a strong, bipartisan majority. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) with clever parliamentary maneuvering, stalled the bill.

The Democrats want the status quo. The GOP wants change. Republicans are the new [gasp] progressives.

The GOP wants: To Win the war on terror, Low taxes, Energy independence, Small Business Health Plans.

From Senator's Frist's website (yes, he's got a blog) we learn,

In the days ahead, we will further promote Health Savings Accounts ...a common sense way for Americans to save money tax-free to help with their healthcare expenses.

We will also continue to lead the way on promoting Association Health Plans that sweep away burdensome state regulations and make it possible for small employers to purchase health insurance on the same terms as large ones.

And we will commit to developing a 21st Century system for the delivery of health care information that is ACCURATE, INTEROPERABLE and easily ACCESSIBLE.

By doing each of these things and more, we're working to build a system that's consumer-driven, patient-centered, and provider friendly -- a system driven by knowledge, choice, and control.

So why do we, small business owners, not have Association Health Plans?

Senator Frist reports that the Democrats across the aisle are "obstructing events" to gain political points. Frist does not have 60 votes to bring bills to a vote. It is not certain if our deliberative body will deliver Association Health Plans.

But the good-guys will win. On the GOP energy bill, Frist feels, "fantastic...optimistic." He wants to build a fence on the Mexican boarder. He wants to repeal the "Death Tax." He wants all the tax cuts permanent. (The average household of four and $60K would see taxes increase by 58% if the tax cuts lapse as Democrats want.)

I ask Frist if the Democrats are holding up the Defense funding as a political ploy, or have lost the will to win. Frist said that the most important issue for his constituents back home in Tennessee is that they "want to feel secure." Do the Democrats want to 'cut and run' in this war? Frist says that Pelosi certainly wants to "Cut and jog" away from winning the war.

Messaging and legislation. I also ask Frist, "Are we [bloggers] part of the messaging?" Because Frist knows the value of all media. And knows how to persuade and how to sell his message.

At 4:55, Senator Frist must leave for a floor vote at 5.

I dally in his outer offices after he leaves and see him on C-SPAN. Selling.

Physician, Citizen Legislator, and now, Salesman.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

Rob Bluey from Human Events OnLine regularly organizes blogger meet-ups.

It is rumored that Frist sleeps but 3 hours a night. And keeps in his office an old filibuster couch that the senators would sleep on during real 'hold the floor forever' filibusters. Frist also keeps in the Senate Majority Leader's office (which is a bit larger than my first apartment) a medical bag. He was the first on the scene at the shooting of Capital Police a few years ago.

Posted at 8:26 AM | Permalink
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RedState.org RedState is one of the best sites for red-blooded Americans. They are getting better all the time -- the Red States and RedState.org,

As you know, we're only days away from launching the new Redstate backend - as well as some exciting new features for you, our readers.

Be sure to blog roll RedState and watch what happens on 7 August.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

Be sure to Update Your Email Address for Redstate 2.0,

RedState is focused on politics, and is dedicated to the construction of a Republican majority in the United States. We hope to unite serious, innovative, and accomplished voices from government, politics, activism, civil society, journalism, and, not least of all, ordinary folks, to participate in this work.

Posted at 1:30 PM | Permalink
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ShowCase CarnivalAnd hosted this week By Your Business Blogger.

Rich Karlgaard writing in Forbes says that:

...much of the better journalism and commentary has been migrating to blogs. No surprise here...the blogger has a clearer view of how the world really works...

Mind the migration. ShowCase selections this week:

Towards Better Life has a provocative post titled You Should Never Get A Job. There are parallels between his writing and my career. The writer has subject-verb agreement issues; while I had boss-subordinate agreement issues. Never get a job? Goodness, I could never keep a job. Thank heaven for the blogosphere. Or I'd be unemployed. Again.

Human Tide
And be sure to drift over and see what the HumanTide swept in. Human Tide (certainly not to be confused with Human Events) points us to a new blog carnival on community action. See Community Campaigners' Carnival. And get involved.

KT Kat has Alien Thought Process on The Scratching Post. Sometimes hard to tell what is the post, what is the blog and who is the blogger. Make a guess and visit.

abyss2hope has an interesting analysis on rape in the military concerning the trial of Owens, who was accused of rape at the Naval Academy. Blogger Marcella Chester's article was published before Owens was found not guilty of rape.

Ms. Chester missed the story: The woman "victim" as it happens in this case, invited Owens into her room after a fight with her boyfriend. She had nine drinks. But she was not so drunk as to IM Owens to her room, to her bed. She had a roommate sleeping a few feet away. The "victim" never screamed to wake the roomie, and never said "no."

The timeline suggests the woman wanted revenge on the boyfriend and an alibi for being drunk. She got both and immunity for testimony that no one believed -- judge, jury, liberal press. There was no evidence. In this case, the court said she lied.

Remember, Your Business Blogger has three daughters. My concern is for the real monsters. Owens was not the monster under the bed. Or in the bed. There are certainly other monsters. Owens isn't one of them.

Marcella is quite right, however, to publish her own name because rape is a crime of violence, not sex. I look forward to her future posts on false rape accusations . I somehow doubt she will. But I'm not Marcella either. I've never had her pain. (Debate start point: one half of rape accusations are false.) Marcella, welcome to the blogosphere.

Panzer Commander has pictures of his trip to Colorado Springs and tells the story from a few years ago of hostages taken in a radio studio and gun shots. Nobody hurt, but there are

The Dude on setpictures of the bullet hole in the wall. Show business can be dangerous. (This is one of the host's prerogatives: Panzer Commander's author, The Dude, is 11 years old.) The Dude knows bit about show business. Here he is at age 4 in a made for TV movie.

So. The host shouldn't Show Case his own kids? Vent your anger by taking on host duties. Contact Orge.

Software and web construction is to the new generation as the telephone was to ours. The kids coming-up are amazing. And blogging.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

There were technical difficulties this week -- if I missed your post, please send me an email direct and I'll update and link. Links are good.

The ShowCase Carnival is the work of Ogre. Semper Fidelis.

Your Business Blogger also serves as the Vice President for the Center for Military Readiness.

Posted at 8:48 PM | Permalink
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Marketing is persuading a customer to come to us. (Sales is directed to reaching out to the customer for the close.) We all want the prospect to call or click. To come to us. Which is the best medium to use?

We live in a sight and sound generation. The smart small business advertiser knows this. And will devote scarce advertising resources for the largest return on investment.

Reach, Frequency and Awareness drive the marketers' attention on placing ad dollars. Among the choices today she will consider:

Audio

Visual

print-web-bytes

print-paper-atoms

So where is the future?

Not in newsprint. John S. Carroll, former editor of The Los Angeles Times recently said in a speech published by Harvard that,

With the advent of the Web, our rotary presses, those massive machines that once conferred near monopolies on their owners, are looking more and more like the last steam engine.

Young readers are going online and not coming back. Circulation revenues are dwindling...Circulation itself is falling. Ad revenues are weak -- not a good sign in a growing economy -- and Web-based competitors are stealing our advertisers.

The dead-tree peddler/complainer is wrong: Web-based competitors are not stealing anything.

Readers have simply made a better decision on getting content. The reader decided. And it's not a newspaper.

Why? Why are web-based competitors winning the readership, and for small businesses, the ad placements?

Glenn Reynolds writes in An Army of Davids that ...power once concentrated in the hands of a professional few has been redistributed into those who (mostly) do it for fun.

And that the reader of the web -- blogs, like the outstanding site you are now on -- controls her time and timing in choosing content.

The reader/listener will be at one of three places to download content:

1) Not at work. 2) On the way to work. Or 3) At work.

She can do a podcast or radio or web at each of the three locations. Workplace etiquette limits content consumption.

It is still considered bad form to read a newspaper at work. Worse yet to be watching TV at work. Although my wife, Charmaine, has a bank of three sets in her massive corner office, TV viewing would not be recommended if not directly part of your job description.

But everyone should be looking at a computer monitor while at work. And reading and studying intently. (The clever employee has a spread-sheet as a screen saver.)

The consumer not at work has other limitations. Your Business Blogger was advising a client on message mediums. The CEO was considering dropping his radio programming, to devote resources in other venues with possibly higher returns in the future. I advised his team to consider keeping the audio because it is not safe to watch a video monitor while driving a car. People listen to radio or a podcast in drive time.

What's an advertiser to do? Consider a pod-cast or a blog to sponsor to get a precise targeted, motivated consumer. Because these content providers, as Glenn Reynolds says,

are ...the people who are having fun...

And having fun; having passion, sells.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

Also see Small Business Trends Web vs Newpapers: The Trend

John S. Carroll's speech was delivered on April 26, 2006 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Be sure to visit the Carnival of the Vanities.

Posted at 11:11 AM | Permalink
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World Trade Center "Redemption," wrote Cal Thomas earlier when he saw Oliver Stone's movie. Stone may have redeemed himself.

Tonight, Thursday, The Washington Insiders were invited to a private screening of World Trade Center. I got in on a waiver. I would have been easy to pick out of this cool crowd: I was the only one with a bucket of (fattening) buttered popcorn, slurping a giant Coke.

Your Business Blogger, Charmaine
Melissa and Rob Bluey

Charmaine and I joined Rob Bluey, blog editor at Human Events and his wife Melissa from The Atlantic Monthly and the smart crowd at a Cinema near Charmaine's office to see Stone's newest movie.

What it was and what it was not.

It was not a conspiracy movie.
It did not bash Bush.
It was not sappy.
It was not about stupid, church-going nuts.
It did not mock marriage.
It did not blame America.
It did not support radical Islam.
It did not mock Marines.
It did not mock Jesus.
It did not mock cops.

It did not mock family, faith or freedom.

Charmaine says, "It was a Hallmark Hall of Fame special...on steroids." Jim Pinkerton, from the New America Foundation DID NOT tear up. Me neither.

But the theater was a bit dusty. That stuff can get in your eyes. Or was it dust from the movie?

This is a movie that you will see in a few weeks and you will be glad you did. After the viewing, there was no applause, little talking. At the end, the crowd audibly exhaled, as one.

People moved out as if leaving a wake. Tony Blankley and his significant other were the last, the very last to leave. They were moved.

Laura Ingram moved out quick; she was among the first out. Dr. Land, President of the Southern Baptist Convention expected to walk out early and didn't.

We spoke to Blankley. He was surprised at Stone's movie, "Good, True, Patriotic, Religious."

Kate O'Beirne from Nation Review was a bit more skeptical about Oliver Stone, "His other movies don't sell, nobody goes to them. So he made this to appeal -- to sell. He wants to make money."

And so he will. You must see how Stone can make a movie with Jesus, yes Him, without a smirk. Mel Gibson can do Passion, sure. But Oliver Stone?

Better check the temperature in Hell. The impossible has happened. Oliver is redeemed.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

The movie will be theaters August 9, 2006

Special thanks to Mike Thompson, Senior Vice President of Creative Response Concepts, who coordinated the event for Paramount Pictures.

More on the movie at the jump.

The Raw Story has more. Read the Comments, liberals still believe "9/11 was an inside job no doubt." And my favorite, "Hey cons, Jesus says watch this film or you'll go to hell."

Mudville Gazette has Open Post.

OpFor has more.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 10:29 PM | Permalink
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ShowCase Carnival Spaces are filling fast. Enter you new blog today.

Information overload. The problem of blog reading is not that there is so much -- But that so much is actually very good.

So what's a surfer to do?

The solution: Find a friend -- to act as your editor, a trusted filter.

And the new blog ShowCase Carnival is such a filter-friend.

Be sure to visit and comment.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

The ShowCase of New Blogs reviews interesting new articles each week from infant blogs -- less than 3 months old.

This carnival is the work of Ogre. Semper Fidelis.

Your Business Blogger will be hosting the Carnival next week. Please submit an article this week and next week using the handy Carnival Submit Form or alert me to a new blogger you like!

Posted at 4:26 PM | Permalink
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ShowCase CarnivalInformation overload. The problem of blog reading is not that there is so much -- But that so much is actually very good.