Redstate

Posted at 8:01am on Aug. 11, 2006 Redstate 2.0 Features

By Clayton

I've got family obligations during the day today that I can't miss... But I wanted to dash off a quick note about some of the things you're asking for.

Overwhemingly, you have told us that you miss the recent comments, recommended diaries, and "my comments" portions of the site. And the good news is... they're coming! I've actually been working on those since before the launch.

I've spent most of my time this week optimizing the site for the increase in traffic, and complexity of launching the additional sites. Now that we've passed that milepost, you can look forward to your favorite features coming back soon - and more! We're talking days and weeks here, not months and years. In fact, the administrators can already see the recommended and recent comments blocks.

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Posted at 11:50pm on Feb. 14, 2006 Full Disclosure

By Clayton

Tomorrow, I'll be liveblogging the House of Representatives hearing on U.S. technology companies and their business practices in China. You can read all of the coverage of the event on the front page.

Like many bloggers I'm employed full time and 'do' Redstate in my own free time. I do not speak for my employer, Cisco Systems, on this site. The general counsel for Cisco is a panelist at tomorrow's hearings. I have no idea what he's planning to say, but you can expect fair coverage from me on the issues.

Additionally, one of my primary resposibilities for Cisco is in-depth technical and marketing analysis of certain products from a major competitor, based in China. This analysis includes understanding not only how Cisco (and others) do business in China, but how Chinese companies compete in the U.S. and abroad. I hope you'll appreciate this unique perspective that I bring to the table tomorrow.

I'm taking a day off from work tomorrow to cover this event for Redstate.

Full disclosure is as simple as that.

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Posted at 10:21pm on Jul. 18, 2005 Another Redstate Gathering

By Clayton

Some of our regular readers always ask about what we Redstater's do in our spare time. I'm pleased to report that this last Saturday, a rather large gathering of Redstate folk got together in an unidentified suburb of Metro Atlanta. (Most of you know that by some strange chance, there are a disproportionate number of Redstate contributors in Georgia).

In attendance were the Ericksons, Wagars, Cellas, and Crowns, as well as six assorted children. A new BBQ grill was assembled and broken in, much red meat was consumed, and most of the talk was not about politics.

Included here are two photos taken at the event for your entertainment.

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Posted at 4:01pm on Jun. 9, 2005 A New Experiment

By Clayton

You asked for it, you got it.

• Comment Ratings are now enabled
• There is a new 'Ratings User' group. To have the ability to rate, you must be manually placed into that group.
• If you are a 'Ratings User' - You have a special duty to rate comments. Not all of them, not all the time - but any little bit helps.
• Remember, if you rate a post as "0", and it gets 4 or more "0" ratings - Then the comment disappears from sight. Even to us SuperUsers :)
• You can be removed from the Ratings User group at any time for any reason. It's not likely to happen, but it could.
• Liberals can absolutely be given Ratings User status. Show a history of thoughtful interaction and support for the fact that his is our home.
• MOST IMPORTANT - If you are a Ratings User, and want to recommend others to the group, just let us know in the comment thread or even better at info@

Right now, this system is manual. Some are more equal than others. This is because of the troll storm problems with ratings in the past. If the experiement works, we'll look at putting an automated method in place.

Have fun, go forth, and rate!

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Posted at 5:16pm on Jun. 5, 2005 The Newest Soldier

By Clayton

On Thursday of this last week, I attended the graduation ceremonies for Bravo Company, 1st Battalion 38th Infantry Regiment, in Fort Benning, Georgia -  known to us civilians as "U.S. Army Basic Training". My cousin was one of the graduates. I'm an only child, and this cousin is essentially my brother.

The Batallion Commander, Lt. Col. Scott Power, gave a brief but moving speech to the new soldiers. Among the messages that hit home - 'Whatever brought you here - it was the right decision. Many of you don't know today whether you will be in the Army for 4 years or for 20, but make no mistake that it's something you will carry with you your entire life'.

PFC Rowe is currently getting settled at Fort Gordon, and will be in Communications AIT through the first week of October. After that, he gets an assignment somewhere in the globe with his home unit. Current rate of deployment to the middle east is such that he will be spending this Thanksgiving and Christmas in Iraq or Afghanistan.

We are incredibly proud of his accomplishments, his dedication, and his service to our country.

Rock of the Marne, Follow me! HOOAH!

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Posted at 2:30pm on May 24, 2005 Written in the stars?

By Clayton

Hey, look. I'll be honest. I'm on a 10-day vacation here in the Florida panhandle. The weather is amazing, the beach is great. This morning I went fishing with my three boys and caught a flounder - good size one, too. So, this 'deal' on judges is not going to ruin my spirit in the least.

However, here are a couple off-the-cuff reactions to the deal. I've not surfed around much to see what the reaction is, so I apologize if this has already been discussed.

• Prearrangement. The part of the deal language that jumps out at me is the part about 'advice prior to nomination'. These 'moderate' Senators are all about making deals - before the event comes. Whether it's pork, judges, or name-a-highway resolutions, we all should know by now that these guys are only in their comfort zone when the work is done behind the scenes, prior to zero-day. So the idea of having to vote and pass judgement on a nominee not of their choosing is simply horrifying to them. (And, by the way, that language has Biden's fingerprints all over it. He was absolutely indignant at the Bolton committee hearing about the fact that Bush hadn't pre-cleared his choices with the Senate.)
• Marketing. If I were a member of the VRWC, I would have a mountain of messaging ready the next time the Democrats complained of the 'no-compromise' Republicans. To my mind, the whole idea of the 'power grab' is gone, and we should capitalize on the deal in any way we can.

All in all, I think it's a bad deal. But, it's happened, and it's time to move forward. The moderates have been successful at diffusing the problem for now. Let's build up steam for the difficult confirmations predicted in the next 12 months.

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Posted at 12:39am on May 16, 2005 Recommended Diaries - Coming Soon!

By Clayton

Yes indeedy folks, recommended diaries is coming soon here to Redstate.org. In fact, the editors and directors are already making their picks, so - step up, put your thinking caps on, and get writing!

Seriously, we love the idea of recommended diaries. And since Kos wouldn't give us his code, I've been hacking away at it just for our loyal readers. We expect to unleash the feature on the masses sometime mid-week.

And hey - thanks for being a part of Redstate.org. We appreciate it!

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Posted at 11:57am on May 12, 2005 HEY REDSTATE READERS! Help us test a new feature!

By Clayton

We've been hard at work here at Redstate, and are proud to announce the 'beta' launch of a new feature for all of you. It's called "REDHOT" and it's a live-blog style page for us to post snippits, thoughts, and other on- or off- topic messages. Head on over to http://www.redstate.org/redhot and check it out!

If you have feedback for us, as always, use the info -at- redstate.org address. Thanks!

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Posted at 11:23am on May 10, 2005 ...And a good time was had by all

By Clayton

Recently, the stars aligned and several of the Redstaters were able to get together for a little social event in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. Despite the fact that the City of Atlanta chose this particular evening to make repairs on the water system, thereby closing many of the original destinations, the mood remained high and a suitable watering hole was found.

Present were (from left to right in the photo): Paul Cella, Thomas Crown, Erick Erickson, and Clayton Wagar.

Among the topics of discussion were: Baptisms gone bad, 80's hair bands, how to take (and master) the LSAT, and not suprisingly - very little politics.

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Posted at 1:19pm on Mar. 24, 2005 The FEC Could Learn A Few Things...

By Clayton

Late yesterday, we received an advance copy of the FEC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) discussing Internet communications and possible regulation under the BCRA of 2002. Through an uncomfortable litany of exceptions and qualifications, the commissioners try desperately to support free speech while creating a maze of conditions that do nothing to address the practicalities of... well, Internet communications.

Most regular blog readers instinctively know that the proposed rules are flawed. By the time you read this, countless others will have analyzed, handicapped, and otherwise beaten down the NPRM. But why is it that the rules are flawed?

In a curious dichotomy, another federal agency that uses the NPRM process provides us with an example of how rulemaking can follow technology, instead of ignoring it.

Read on to find out more.

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