I joined Blogs for Thompson a couple of weeks ago but just discovered The Fred 2008 Blogroll. Your choice, or both.

The Watcher’s Council is holding their weekly vote. If you want to participate, you can follow the Watcher’s instructions and submit a post for consideration.

To see what is going on, read the winning post by a council member and that by a non-council member. You can check out the list of results for the latest vote and even peruse the entire list of all the nominees that were voted on.

And you’ll see that it’s pretty good exposure.

The Carnival is up at Spank That Donkey, where I found a bumper stick I absolutely must have.

Today’s must read is from Bill Hobbs as he gets a little snarky: Newsflash: Association of Legislators Doesn’t Like Term Limits.

First, the conservative UN problem from The World According to Oatney, which is the reason he is the latest Featured Blog.

Before the serious stuff, take a look at this spoof of the “I’m a Mac/I’m a PC” commercials. Warning: drinking and watching may result in indiscriminte spraying. [HT to etc.]

The Reuters fake photo story was broken at LGF. Rusty Shackleford followed up with another fake Reuters photo as the news organization takes its place alongside Al Jazeera as a supporter and propagandist for terrorists. Update: Kim du Toit is outraged.

Fill up today — gas prices are about to jump. BP has shut down the largest US oil field, Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, because of pipeline corrosion and a leak.

For record temperatures in American heat waves, read Wizbang’s You Think It’s Hot Now? [HT non-blogging Advised by Wolves]. Along those lines, I remember one summer 20 or 30 years ago in Dallas in which we had over 100 straight days of 100+ degree heat. I don’t think we’ve seen that since.

Update: Reader Advised by Wolves informs me that my recollection was wrong:

A heat wave in Texas that broke all previous records occurred in the summer of 1980. There were 69 100-degree days, the most of any year. Additionally, the thermometer exceeded 100 at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport on 42 consecutive days, from June 23rd to August 3rd. The warmest temperatures ever recorded the Dallas-Fort Worth area — 113 degrees — occurred June 26th and 27th. July averaged the warmest ever. There were 37 maximum temperatures that tied or set records, the most for a single year. There were 60 deaths statewide, and near 1300 nationwide.

Allah has a portion of a speech delivered by LTC Randolph C. White Jr. to infatrymen graduating at Ft. Benning [HT to Wizbang!]. Warning: after viewing this segment you will want to go to Blackfive and see the whole thing. [Heh. Blackfive says, "After that speech, I'd follow LTC White into hell carrying a gasoline can."]

WILLisms has some interesting insights in Reviewing The Reagan Record In Light Of The War On Terror. Excerpting won’t do the article justice, so I won’t. Read it all.

CIO Magizine has an interesting view of the government’s data mining projects (hint: “No Scope, No Budget, No End”). [HT to Schneier on Security]

Nice roundup of the ATF’s bad year including something new over at Say Uncle.

It’s bad when your identity is stolen. It’s worse when your ten-year-old daughter’s ID is stolen. Read about it at Bear Creek Ledger.

Got a fire ant problem? Get an armadillo.

Blogger opportunity knocks! Dr. Sanity is stepping down from her place on the Watcher’s Council, so the Watcher is accepting applications.

I encourage bloggers to participate as there are many benefits (although it does consume an hour or two of your time each week).

Right Wing Nation has a few choice words for some people. Well said and spot on.

Arabs Question Why Muslims Are Now Targets
It’s the Americans that are evil, right? But they’re so far away — and they bite back!

The EMP Threat: ElectroMagnetic Pulse Warfare
Why terrorists won’t use it, but we should be prepared in case an unfriendly nation does.

Poll: Parents confident about ‘No Child’
It’s the teachers that are feeling a bit unsinecure uncertain.

New York In the Eyes Of the Nation
New Yorker is surprised to find the rest of the nation looks down on New Yorkers. [How many of us still quote the Pace Picante Sauce commercial? "New York City? Get a rope!"]

Study finds boycott of French wine hurt sales
Millions lost as a result of the boycott, and some of us are still finding fine alternatives from Australia and Chile.

Israel boycott unnoticed
Norwegian lefties just can’t generate the anger.

French look to technology boost
The government will invest things like a new internet search engine. I think they’re just made about the top hit in a Google search for “french military victories“.

America Supports You: Mom Works to Show Troops Someone Cares
Must read, heartwarming story about founder of Operation Gratitude. Read, and then click over and give a few dollars.

John Kerry’s tangled webs
Kerry’s Valerie Plame vs. Mary McCarthy hypocrisy.

More Aides Subpoenaed in McKinney Case
They “announced they would comply with subpoenas”. Who do they think they are, Bill Clinton?

Night jobs ‘lower Parkinson’s risk’
Maybe I should take an early retirement and go back to bar tending. At Platinum Plus (that’d be good for the circulation, too!).

Drinking lots of coffee doesn’t harm heart: study
No word on my personal addiction, Mountain Dew.

Study shows secret to gas-free beans
Maybe that’ll make our guys-only fishing trip a little more civilized. Or maybe not.

Militants take symbolic snowman prisoner
Those whacky Swiss leftwing militants stole a giant cotton snowman, the Böögg, leaving a chocolate Easter bunny and a hammer and sickle emblem.

All articles were found combing my favorite news site, Lucianne.com.

Between 1997 and 2002, the number of black-owned businesses in the United States rose 45 percent. [That's what I call a good start.]

Venezuela is becoming the leading transit country through which the bulk of the world’s cocaine is smuggled to the US and Europe. [Communism and corruption always go hand in hand.]

Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday it had arrested five militants linked to a failed al Qaeda attack on a major oil facility in February, and seized 1.5 tonnes of explosives. [Nice to know the Saudis are paying attention.]

Senator Lieberman says that attacking Iran to “delay and deter” the nuclear program is “probably the last choice, but it has to be there.” [I've always like Lieberman, even when he was paired up with Gore.]

A former Japanese soldier last seen by his family when he went to fight in World War II has resurfaced in Ukraine and is returning home to see his relatives after 60 years. [No word on where he's been all these years, but he's finally going home at age 83.]

Research indicates that bloggers and internet pundits are exerting a “disproportionately large influence” on society. [Duh. Of course, that probably wouldn't be happening if the MSM didn't run their articles through an ideology filter before printing. When the people stop trusting you, they turn to something else.]

Gullyborg’s Carnival of Cordite is up and he’s looking for people to help out by hosting in the near future.