Conservativa

America gets ready for its birthday party. This photo was taken last week on the steps of the U. S. Capitol, looking down the Mall at the Washington monument. You can see tents going up in preparation for the huge concert and fireworks festivities celebrating Independence Day.

The concert will be televised on the 4th, 8-9:30 p.m. Eastern.

Photo details: Nikon D4o, ISO 800 (dope slap - should have put it back to 200), 55mm, 1/800 at f/14, which happens when you have the ISO set up way too high…

Ceiling detail from downstairs in the U.S. Capitol. Photo details: Nikon D40, 40mm, ISO 800, 1/20 at f/5.6.

Was in D.C. Wednesday. This is a photo of a light fixture in the basement of the Capitol. The image is heavily Photoshopped - it began life as a dark bronze color. Nikon D40, ISO 800, 1/20 at f/5.6, 55mm.

NeW, or the Network of Enlightened Women, have started a blog, and it’s looking good. NeW is an organization for conservative university women. It began as a book club at UVa and now has over a dozen chapters. Friday June 27 they are having their national conference, with keynote speaker Danielle Crittenden.

Check out the NeW blog - if they keep up the quality of writing they have started with, the blog will soon be a must-read for conservatives in general and conservative women in particular.

Va Patriot at Virtucon notes that, as promised, Del. Bill Janis has introduced legislation to authorize the issuance of special license plates for veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The MySpace page for the Iraqi Freedom Veteran Plate Project is here.

Republican races from presidential to state are realizing that energy is the issue this year. President Bush speaking in the Rose Garden yesterday. John McCain speaking yesterday. Common sense from Jim Gilmore. Del. Chris Saxman will be introducing legislation in Virginia’s Special Session “that will dedicate all future revenues and royalties that are paid to the Commonwealth as a result of offshore natural gas and oil drilling to the Transportation Trust Fund.”

Congressman Eric Cantor (photo) blogs about it here.

Some excellent thoughts and questions from the incomparable Victor Davis Hanson here.

This issue can be a winner for Republicans, since it goes from the everyday (putting gas in your car) through national defense.

Photo details: Nikon D40, 150mm, ISO 400, 1/100 at f/7.0.

Citizen foils bank robbery. Arguments break out in the comments, but police probably will not charge the citizen.

More Rep. Eric Cantor for Vice-President talk, this time from the New York Post. Count me in!

In this photo, Rep. Rob Wittman (at left) has a word with Cantor. Photo details: Canon EOS5D, 200mm, ISO 3200, 1/60 at f/2.8.

Blogger Jane Novak (intro to her at this BD article) has been working on the case of Yemeni journalist Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani. Now see-dubya at MichelleMalkin.com reports that al-Khaiwani has been sentenced to six years of hard labor. His crime? Reporting the news. It could easily have been a death sentence.

Speaking of freedom of the press, anyone who writes in public should keep an eye on things… not in Yemen… in Canada. Read about this absurd and scary tribunal, after which

a group of provincial human-rights commissars will decide whether or not National Review’s incomparable Mark Steyn and the largest-circulating magazine in Canada, Maclean’s, will be fined or otherwise censured for printing an excerpt from Steyn’s book, America Alone.

National Review editorial here.

Not here - over at the Jefferson Mammoth. Go see. Remember.

A reporter from Massachusetts, former Mass. Gov. and presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, and a Romney/Bolling supporter at a Bill Bolling fundraiser last night in Glen Allen, Virginia. Romney and Bolling stood gamely out in the 90+ degree heat and humidity and talked with the almost 400 supporters, many of whom had friends taking pictures with the former (and maybe future?) presidential candidate.

Photo notes - please skip if you aren’t a photo geek… this photo borrows two ideas from Strobist. One is “strobe on a stick,” i.e. flash affixed to a monopod and triggered remotely; the other is using a CTO gel on the flash, with the camera’s white balance turned as far tungsten as it will go (2800K). The result is a glowing blue sky and over-warm skin tones. It wasn’t far from sunset outside, but this CTO use exaggerates that look. Canon EOS5D, ISO 200, 1/60 at f/14 (to shut out much of the ambient), 24mm. Canon 580EX flash, on manual, at about 1/2 power. Didn’t record the zoom setting, sorry. Guessing 105.

Bill Bolling, Mitt Romney, and Bob McDonnell share a laugh at a fundraiser on a the hottest day of the year so far in central Virginia.

Photo below: Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney has some kind words for Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling. Romney also mentioned the presidential race. Of John McCain, Romney said, “He wasn’t my first choice… I was my first choice…” which brought a laugh from the crowd. Now he fully supports McCain, while of course not agreeing on everything with him.

Former Gov. Jim Gilmore (second from right here) and family watch a biographical video of Gilmore, at the RPV convention. Gilmore today will join Mitt Romney, Bill Bolling, and Keith Fimian (running for Congress in the 11th) to campaign for Republicans in Virginia.

The Republican Party of Virginia chose former Gov. Jim Gilmore as its Senate nominee, and elected Del. Jeff Frederick as its new party chairman during its convention May 30-31, 2008. Here is a photo slideshow of the convention highlights.

Must see! Excellent work from Rick Sincere! YouTube link here, link on Rick’s blog here.