Click here to buy this sticker.

Voting has begun.

You can vote once per day until December 15th.

For the second year in a row, TexasRainmaker is a finalist for the Weblog Awards. Thank you to all of you who read this blog.

Last year, it was the “Best of the Top 501 - 1000 Blogs” category and this year, we’ve moved up in the rankings and are now a finalist in the “Best of the Top 251 - 500 Blogs”. The category is full of great blogs. The other finalists in this category include:

Betsy’s Page
Confederate Yankee
Flopping Aces
Jarhead’s Firing Range
Point Five
Regime Change Iran
Sister Toldjah
The Daily Brief
Star Sailor

Blog readers can begin voting for 450 finalists in 45 categories tomorrow at the 2006 Weblog Awards. Be sure to vote for your favorites, and may the best blogs win!

For those who may be unaware, TexasRainmaker.com was hacked by some amateur jihadi-wannabes in Egypt Saudi Arabia. Of course, because we are superior in every way, the site was back up and running in just a few short hours, so you may have even missed the outage. A great big thank you to the folks at E.Webscapes who brought the site back online very quickly.

So my message to you hackers… Up yours.

UPDATE:
With some sleuthing help from Rusty, we have more information on the hackers… including an email address if you’d like to send him a holiday message:

The flag is that of Saudi Arabia, and KSA in “K.S.A. Hacker” stands for Key Scheduling Algorithm, which is part of the encryption process. KSA Hacker’s tracks are all over the place discussing with other online jihadis how to hack websites. And he has a homepage which he claims is under construction but he uses it to hide files showing other hackers how to do their work.

Heh, e-mail an online jihadi: ssss447@hotmail.com

Dumbass.

UPDATE 2:
Reader Lester says “KSA” is also the most common way locals in Saudi Arabia refer to the “Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”.

…are finally here.

Nominations begin today. Nominations close November 24, 2006. Voting will begin the first week of December.

Here are the categories this year:

Nomination Categories
Best Blog
Best New Blog
Best Individual Blog
Best Group Blog
Best Humor Blog
Best Comic Strip
Best Online Community
Best Liberal Blog
Best Conservative Blog
Best Centrist Blog
Best Campaign Blog

Topic Areas
Best Media Blog
Best Technology Blog
Best Sports Blog
Best Military Blog
Best Law Blog
Best Business Blog
Best LGBT Blog
Best Parenting Blog
Best Educational Blog
Best Science Blog
Best Medical/Health Issues Blog

The Arts
Best Photo Blog
Best Culture Blog
Best Diarist
Best Gossip Blog
Best Music Blog
Best Podcast
Best Video Blog
Video Of The Year

International
Best Canadian Blog
Best UK Blog
Best European Blog (Non UK)
Best Asian Blog
Best Middle East or Africa Blog
Best Australia or New Zealand Blog
Best Latino, Caribbean, or South American Blog

Ecosystem Based
Best of the Top 250 Blogs
Best of the Top 251 - 500 Blogs*
Best of the Top 501 - 1000 Blogs
Best of the Top 1001 - 1750 Blogs
Best of the Top 1751 - 2500 Blogs
Best of the Top 2501 - 3500 Blogs
Best of the Top 3501 - 5000 Blogs
Best of the Top 5001 - 6750 Blogs
Best of the Top 6751 - 8750 Blogs
Best of the Rest of the Blogs (8751+)

TexasRainmaker, which was formerly known as Generation Why? was a Top 5 finalist last year in the “Best of the Top 501 - 1000 Blogs” category. Thanks to all of you who visit this site, TexasRainmaker is now ranked #479 in the ecosystem. So the good news is we’ve moved up in rankings… the bad news is we’re now among some biggies in the new category. Sites like MichaelMoore.com, Oliver Willis, Firedoglake and Moveon.org on the Left and RiehlWorldView, Redstate, SayAnything, TammyBruce, HotAir, Confederate Yankee, Sister Toldjah, Austin Bay on the Right. I’m humbled that you guys have propelled this blog into such company. And I encourage you, if you don’t nominate TexasRainmaker to this category, please consider nominating one of these other fine conservative blogs.

Trying out the registration function to cut down on all the porn spam that’s been inundating the site over the last few weeks. From now on, you’ll have to register to comment. Didn’t want to do it, but I having a hard time moderating all the spam. I hope you’ll understand.

It used to be a sign of success when you received an “Instalanche” or found your the victim of misquoting in the MSM.

But now it appears the real coming of age, is a mention in an al-Qaida jihad video.

Congratulations, Robert and Daniel!

Robert explains why he thinks the dorky al-Traita kid mentioned him in the new threat video:

Maybe Adam Gadahn is angry with me for describing him a couple of years ago as he appears in an old photo: as a “pudgy, long-haired American kid who appears to be locked in a desperate, losing struggle to grow a beard.” Adam, I see from more recent photos that you have won that struggle, for which I congratulate you. In your larger struggles, however, you will not prevail.

Daniel also responds:

I note your offer for me to change sides in the current war. But I am faithful to my own religion, to my own country, and to my civilization. I will do my part to defeat radical, totalitarian Islam and to usher in the emergence of a modern, moderate, and good-neighborly Islam in its place.

Looks like just someone got his Azzam handed to him.

The fine folks at Feedburner have asked me to start and manage a Conservative blog advertising network and I gladly accepted. I’m also humbled they mentioned me in their blog post, unveiling the networks, alongside powerhouses like Instapundit and Redstate.

I was even granted artistic license to design the logo myself. Would love to hear feedback.

If you have a conservative blog and want to join, email me.

Advertise in The Conservative Blog Network

Subscribe to this network

Happy Independence Day.
To the heroes that make our country the land of the free, home of the brave… Thank you.

Heading out for a weeklong vacation. I’ve set a few articles to post in my absence. Enjoy.