Note: A year or so ago I published a diary of “Frequently Asked Questions” about RedState.  Erick’s recent “Dear RedState Reader” post reminded me that I needed to publish this.  This is a total re-write and expansion on that original.  Numerous new members have asked for an “instruction guide” on how to use RedState.  So - here’s a go at it.  If you have suggestions, please comment and I’ll try to update.

So, you want to be a part of the RedState community?

Here’s how.

Getting Started:

You have probably already been browsing the site, or “lurking”.  You’ll note that Redstate.com is a “community blogging” site, which means that community members can write their own blog entries and interact/comment on the “diaries” created by both front-page contributors and by site members.  Now you would like to participate.

Register and join RedState.com

1. Click the “Sign Up” link on the home page and you’ll be presented with a page where you can enter your new username and an email address where we can send you your site password.  Also you will be given the option to sign up for the various mailing lists that we at RedState use to pass along information about the site and about various key issues that arise periodically.  Note:  when chosing a user name, don’t use a name of a famous person - we don’t allow impersonations…
2. Once you click the “Next” link on the first page of the registration process, you’ll get a message verifying your new user name and will be sent a “verification” email that contains a web link for activating your ID.
3. Open your email, click the link, and your new RedState account will be activated.  You’ll also be given a new password.  Make a note of this password!
4. Click the “Log In” link and log in using your new username and password.
5. Once you’ve logged in, click the “My Profile” link, and then “Edit” to update your profile information.  On the Profile page, you can update your password to one that’s more to your liking (unless, of course, you like the one we assigned to you!
6. Also, under “My Profile”, you can enter information about yourself, such as your email address, personal web site, general info (”Biographical info”), and a “Signature” that will appear at the end of your comments.

You’re now a member of the community!

(Important note: You will not be able to enter any comments or diaries for 24 hours after signing up.  This is to discourage “trolling” by those who sign up merely to cause trouble.)

Participate in RedState.com

Of course you’ve already been able to read the content on the RedState site.  But how do you get involved in conversations and post your own contributions?

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One might look at the latest PPP polling data that shows Roy Blunt down by one point to Robin Carnahan and think “oooh, Roy’s not looking so good”.  But a quick peek beneath the results shows otherwise.

Back in January, when PPP first surveyed Missouri voters about a potential Blunt/Carnahan race, the numbers came out 45/44 Carnahan over Blunt.  Now?  The latest shows Carnahan up 43/42 over Blunt.  Of course this is well within the MOE of 3.6%.  But consider the environment that exists today in Missouri.  The “League of Conservation Voters” has been conducting an extensive ad campaign criticizing Rep. Blunt’s stand against  “cap-and-trade” legislation.  Blunt has made his opposition to cap-and-trade well-known, pointing out the huge utility bill increases that such a bill would foist upon Missourians and the rest of the country.  But despite this effort by the Carnahan-supporting group, Blunt’s numbers have barely budged.

It appears that the negative opinion of Barack Obama’s policies, the Democrat-controlled Congress and the general economic conditions have also impacted the polling data.  According to the PPP numbers, Blunt leads Carnahan 44-32% with independent voters.  As PPP points out, this is a very similar situation to what occurred in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections.  PPP’s numbers also show strong disapproval for Barack Obama’s performance (-9 pts) and a 21-point disapproval gap for PelosiObamaReidCare.

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Two stories in this mornings papers clearly demonstrate where the priorities of the Obama administration lie.  First, the Washington Times reports that enforcement against illegal aliens in the workplace has dropped dramatically - arrests are down 50% from last year.

Arrests of illegal immigrant workers have dropped precipitously under President Obama, according to figures released Wednesday.

Criminal arrests, administrative arrests, indictments and convictions of illegal immigrants at work sites all fell by more than 50 percent from fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2009.

The figures show that Mr. Obama has made good on his pledge to shift enforcement away from going after illegal immigrant workers themselves - but at the expense of Americans’ jobs, said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the Republican who compiled the numbers from the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).

Yet the government seems to have the time to conduct raids on guitar manufacturer Gibson over their alleged use of “endangered woods”

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Ever since Barack Obama began his crusade for health care socialization, the meme in the media has been that “Americans want health care reform.”  Do a Google search for that phrase and you’ll find story after story that trumpets that line, usually with no evidence to support it.

This past week, Gallup published a rather astonishing survey that blows holes in the theory that “because Americans want health care reform, the Government should provide it”.  The Gallup survey found that for the first time in almost ten years, Americans now say that health care is not the government’s responsibility.

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In early 2009, angered at the rapid growth of governmental interference through its “housing bailout” plan, CNBC commentator Rick Santelli stated on the air that it was time for a “Chicago Tea Party” to voice outrage against the socialization of the American capitalist system.  The subsequent nation-wide, grass-roots movement of protests has been dubbed the “Tea Party” movement, and its participants as “tea partiers”.

The Left, unable to summon an intelligent response to the tea party movement, and caught off guard by the ferocity of the reaction of conservatives to the creeping socialism of the Obama administration, followed their typical strategy - childish crudeness.  In reaction to the movement, Leftist “personalities” introduced the use of a borderline pornographic phrase to describe the participants in the movement as “teabaggers”.  So why is this a problem?  I’ll leave the details for below the fold…

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The extremists are taking over the party!

A few days ago, the left-wing activist group MoveOn.org began sending out emails seeking contributions to fund primary challenges against any Democratic senator who does not fully support “health care reform with a public option.” Now there’s an update: MoveOn executive director Justin Ruben says the group has raised $3,578,117 for the project and is thinking of new ways to punish errant Democratic lawmakers.

Haven’t we heard this somewhere before?  Oh yeah, from Obama lackey Valerie Jarrett:

White House adviser Valerie Jarrett said Scozzafava’s pullout under pressure “tells a lot about where the Republican leadership is right now.” They are “more and more extreme and more and more marginalized,” she said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Hey, Val, you might want to give George Soros a ring and let him know he’s going to be marginalized.

Much was made of the 3.5% annualized GDP growth that was reported this week. The Bush-Blamer-In-Chief stated that the figures were “an affirmation that this recession is abating and showed the steps we’ve taken have made a difference”. Really? Have they made a “difference”? Have they accomplished anything that will last beyond the massive amount of American taxpayer money that has been thrown at the problem? Let’s look at the numbers.

Of the 3.5% gain, over 2% of the gain was due to durable goods - and most of that was automobile sales, buoyed primarily by the now-ended “Cash for Clunkers” program. Without this gain, the GDP would have increased at a much lower rate of around 1.9%. What about future auto sales? In September, sales plummeted as the C4C program sucked away sales that would have occurred later.  Also, Edmunds.com reported that the overwhelming majority of these car sales would have occurred anyway, so the actual cost of the 125,000 additional vehicles that can be credited to C4C was closer to $24,000 per vehicle, rather than the $4000 average rebate. Of course the Obama administration didn’t appreciate Edmunds calling their baby ugly, so they became an official member of the White House Enemies List.

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We’re all familiar with Barack Hussein Obama (mmm mmm mmm) and his fondness for expressing his condescending, arrogant, self-inflated attitude via a nose-upturned pose. It seems that his protégé, (Where In The World Is) Robin Carnahan, has adopted the same approach.

That’s all we need in Missouri - a Barry wannabe who turns her nose up at her constituents. Just like her mentor.

(Consider this an open thread…)

Today Rasmussen Reports issued their first Election 2010 survey of Missouri’s U.S. Senate race that will most likely be between Rep. Roy Blunt (MO-7) and Sec’y of State Robin Carnahan (D-we don’t know where she is). The Rasmussen poll shows a dead heat - 46-46 between Blunt and Carnahan. Both of these candidates are well-known names in Missouri, and earlier polls by other polling firms had shown Carnahan with a statistically insignificant one or two-point lead a few months ago.

Rasmussen breaks down the numbers:

Nearly all the numbers in this early survey show an uncommonly close match between two members of well-known Missouri political families. Blunt, for example, leads by 17 points among men, but Carnahan has a 13-point lead among female voters.

Carnahan captures 84% of the state’s Democratic vote, while Blunt nets 85% of the GOP vote. Voters not affiliated with either party prefer Blunt by eight points.

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Missouri voters have a favorable view of Blunt, with 18% whose opinion of him is very favorable. Thirty-three percent (33%) view him unfavorably, including 15% with a very unfavorable view. Only 10% have no opinion of the Republican hopeful.

Carnahan has 52% favorables and 42% unfavorables. Twenty-three percent (23%) regard her very favorably and 22% very unfavorably. Just six percent (6%) aren’t sure what they think of Carnahan.

The one number that seemed to stand out, as indicated in bold, was the unaffiliated number, which showed an 8-point lead for Blunt.  This may be a “coal mine canary” indicator of the public’s dissatisfaction with the Dems.

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My colleague E Plurbus Unum sent around a link to an article from Susan Estrich today, and, to put it kindly, she was a bit bent out of shape.  Estrich apparently has her panties in a wad about the Van Jones affair.

Conservative loudmouths are crowing that they are driving Barack Obama’s popularity ratings below 50 percent. They are very proud of themselves. They shouldn’t be. Destroying what is best about our country is not something to brag to your children about. And the other shoe is dropping.

…

Getting rid of Van Jones, the co-founder of one of the groups now organizing the boycotts, is not going to slow the movement. Quite the contrary. It may strengthen the cause.

“Other shoe”?  What other shoe might that be, Susan?  The one that’s kicking your party’s butt? And “strengthen the cause?” Which one? The GOP?

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Tomorrow is the eight anniversary of the most heinous terrorist attack ever perpetrated on the United States. Thousands of our friends, family and fellow Americans were murdered in cold blood by vicious terrorists who hated America and what we stand for.

On September 19, 2001, a story ran in the Hyde Park Herald containing then-State-Senator Barack Obama’s response to the 9/11 tragedy. In this piece (quoted in this article from the New Yorker, under the heading “The Speech”), Obama expresses empathy for the murderers! Not anger, not disdain, not a word of sympathy for the victims. His concern was for the murderers

From Obama’s article:

We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, and may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics. Most often, though, it grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair.

So are we to feel sorry for these people, Mr. President?  It’s not like it was a mystery that there were terrorists out there in the world like this back in 2001.  We knew they weren’t poor & uneducated, as Obama seems to believe here.  Ponder the fact that it is just this kind of leftist “thinking” that is driving the Marxist/fascist policies emanating from the White House today.

Tomorrow, please pray for the families and friends of the victims, and pray for our country, that it not adopt the kind of thinking that Barack Obama expressed in 2001.

(h/t to Michelle Malkin for originally posting on this last September 11)

UPDATE:  Contrast Barack Obama’s response with Tony Blair’s:

So what do we do? Don’t overreact some say. We aren’t. We haven’t lashed out. No missiles on the first night just for effect. Don’t kill innocent people. We are not the ones who waged war on the innocent. We seek the guilty. Look for a diplomatic solution. There is no diplomacy with Bin Laden or the Taliban regime. State an ultimatum and get their response. We stated the ultimatum; they haven’t responded. Understand the causes of terror. Yes, we should try, but let there be no moral ambiguity about this: nothing could ever justify the events of 11 September, and it is to turn justice on its head to pretend it could. The action we take will be proportionate; targeted; we will do all we humanly can to avoid civilian casualties.

But understand what we are dealing with. Listen to the calls of those passengers on the planes. Think of the children on them, told they were going to die. Think of the cruelty beyond our comprehension as amongst the screams and the anguish of the innocent, those hijackers drove at full throttle planes laden with fuel into buildings where tens of thousands worked. They have no moral inhibition on the slaughter of the innocent. If they could have murdered not 7,000 but 70,000 does anyone doubt they would have done so and rejoiced in it? There is no compromise possible with such people, no meeting of minds, no point of understanding with such terror. Just a choice: defeat it or be defeated by it. And defeat it we must. Any action taken will be against the terrorist network of Bin Laden.

That is the response of a leader.  Obama’s response was that of a coward.

Yes, I am angry.  Again.

After tonight’s abomination of a speech, this would be such an appropriate discussion for Barry and Rahm. Alas, it’ll never happen:

(a big H/T to @streetwise_IT for posting the link via Twitter)

Missouri’s current Secretary of State, Robin Carnahan, is currently the only Democrat who has declared candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by current Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond. But since Ms. Carnahan declared her candidacy, she has been strangely silent about pretty much anything pertaining to national issues or the MO Senate race. So …. Where In The World Is Robin Carnahan?

Aapparently Carnahan has spent some time traveling across Missouri and visiting with Missourians. But she has restricted her travels to the more rural areas that (coincidentally?) don’t receive a lot of press coverage. She did appear at the Missour State Fair at the end of August and attended the traditionally political “Ham Breakfast” at the Fair, but apparently said little or nothing about any issues - she stayed in character. At the breakfast, Congressman Roy Blunt, the favorite for the GOP nomination, spoke out about “cap and trade” legislation and pointed out how it could negatively impact Missouri farmers and consumers. Carnahan’s take on cap and trade? Crickets.

Carnahan declined in an interview to say whether she would have voted for the House-passed legislation, but she added that it should probably be changed by the Senate.

Earlier in the month, Blunt invited Carnahan to join him in a joint news conference to discuss health care issues. Carnahan’s response? More crickets.

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If you were to search Google News this morning for the word “vetting”, you’d find well over 1500 hits in relation to that word and the Van Jones story.  The current meme is that Jones was not sufficiently vetted by the Obama administration - that his shortcomings and controversial positions were not exposed, primarily because he was an appointed “czar” with no Congressional approval or oversight.

Earlier today, Erick asked “Who created this special job for Van Jones and what vetting of any sort did he get?”  The implication, of course, is that Jones was not vetted.  But is that true?

Over at The Corner at NRO, Andy McCarthy has a different take - one that I believe is quite accurate.  McCarthy asserts that Jones was chosen precisely because of his controversial background.  He says:

The point, of course, is that Obama vetted Jones just fine. President Obama is not Mr. Magoo — haplessly gravitating to Truther Van and Ayers and Dohrn and Klonsky and Davis and Wright and the Chicago New Party and ACORN, etc. Jones is a kindred spirit. Obama knows exactly who he is. Jones was given a non-confirmation job precisely because that circumvented the vetting process. This isn’t one of those things that just happen. This is Barack “Transparency” Obama gaming the system.

A “kindred spirit”.  The two have the same kinds of backgrounds.  They were both community organizers of some ilk.  It only makes sense that Obama would seek someone with the same background to pursue one of his pet policies - “green jobs.”

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In Saturday night’s late-night diary about the Jones resignation, I commented in the discussion threads that before the day was out today (Sunday), cries of “racism!” would sound. And just as predictably as the sun rising in the morning, there they are.

From page 2 of the Politico story, published late Sunday:

Some progressives said they saw racial overtones in Jones’ departure – which came as critics began to step up their scrutiny of Jones’ past words of support for Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther on death row whose murder conviction in the death of a police officer is a cause célèbre for some on the left.

“It struck me, why go after this guy? He is a minor player, he has no power, no budget, why take him? It’s because he looks like Obama and he has all those same attributes of being well-educated and he’s an electrifying speaker with an elite education,” said John Anner, a good friend of Jones and former chair of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, an organization Jones founded in Oakland. “It seems to me that he is symbolic of what the Obama administration is and could be and that’s inspiring for me, but for some people on the right, it’s terrifying and threatening.”

No one should be surprised at this at all, for apparently it is impossible for conservatives and/or Republicans to oppose anyone who isn’t white without spawning accusations of racism.  As so many have written already in recent months, Obama’s so-called “post-racial” America is…not.  And folks, it isn’t the conservatives and the GOP who brought this on - it is the leftists who cry “RACISTS!” every time something doesn’t go their way.

Here’s a clue, race-baiters:  sometimes a person is just wrong, no matter what their melanin level, and that was clearly the case with Van Jones.  Furthermore, on the czar-hunting front, I personally believe the next one we need to expose is John Holdren, Obama’s “science czar.”  And guess what:  he’s white.

The U.S. Department of Labor web site acknowledges that Labor Day originated as

a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Now there’s no harm in honoring those who labor - hard-working Americans are the backbone of the greatest free-market economy in the world…and we hope it stays that way, Obama’s socialism fetish notwithstanding.

But on this Labor Day weekend, isn’t it interesting that Gallup has just published the results of a poll showing that for the first time since the mid-1930s, less than 50% of Americans approve of labor unions?

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MSNBC and FoxNews.com are reporting this tonight. Few details as yet. Story now up at Foxnews.com (h/t izoneguy)

Interesting time to be turning in one’s resignation - midnight Saturday night, on a holiday weekend. I guess this gives the MSM a chance to not report it again…

UPDATE #1
Ironically, the first info to trickle out seems to be from the Washington Post, who ignored the entire story for quite some time before finally posting a story yesterday.

“On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me. They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide,” he said.

My disgust with the Obama administration grows deeper on a daily basis. But it is more than disgust - it is anger. I have a very difficult time bringing myself to write about the daily stunts propagated by the Obamites, as it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and puts me in a horrid mood. My personality is one that must vent when in such a mood, and so I will.

I am angry.

• I am angry at the so-called “leader of the free world” who cares more about kissing up to dictators and leaders of nations that are our enemies, rather than cooperating with and supporting our friends - a “man” who truly does “pal around with terrorists”…a man who would fly the flag of a Communist country on the front lawn of the freaking White House!
• I am angry at the liar-in-chief who has proposed the systematic socialization of the nation’s healthcare system and who has lied at every turn about the ramifications of the proposals on how this will happen, including lies about single-payer, lies about “death panels,” lies about keeping our existing insurance, lies about health care rationing. The man lies like a cheap hallway floor mat.
• I am angry about how the Constitution has been trampled by the appointment of legions of “czars” - more czars than the Romanov dynasty. Czars who are conspiracy theorists and race-baiters, czars who are eugenicists, czars for tearing apart the healthcare system, czars who are charged with ensuring the breakdown of the free enterprise system….all of these so-called “czars” that have had no Congressional oversight or confirmation and who are not elected by the citizens of the United States.

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You really have to give the Air America hostess credit for the phrase “charming liar”.  This recording is just unbelievable, considering the source.

Don’t be afraid to click on it and listen - this is the sweetest thing you’ll hear all night. It’s amazing that he has come to the point of antagonizing his own party and supporters just as much as he does us.

At this rate, Obama’s approval rating will be in single digits by Christmas. In the words of Brother Crank: “How’s that hopenchange workin’ out for ya?”

It started during the campaign: “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for”.  The messianic allusions were everywhere.  The pictures of Obama with halos, white robes and other God-like adornments littered the interwebs.  We were to believe that the “O” stood for the “three O’s” - omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence.  He was even afraid to have the name of the true Messiah present at one of his propaganda events.  But after the first seven months in office, it’s obvious that the messianic thing just isn’t there.

However, Mr. Obama has apparently decided to go all-in on the God thing.  It began to emerge at his briefing with Jewish rabbis earlier this week.  Obama stated:

“We are God’s partners in matters of life and death”

Really?  Now socialized healthcare is the work of the Almighty?  So, Mr. President, I suppose you figured the death panels were best left to the real God, so he’d partner up with Him to make those decisions.  Oh, or maybe you were mistaken and thought YOU were the Almighty, Mr. Obama.  A little identity crisis, perhaps?

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