As some have already noticed (both Vince Thoms and Ben Tribbett made a comment at Tom Davis' Christmas festivities), the blogging has been light of late. Between the holidays, the end of the year (I am in a "use it or lose it" vacation posture), and some rather burdensome discovery obligations in a number of cases, I just haven't had the time (or access to the T1 line) to make regular postings. This one comes from my mother's dial-up (!?!) connection in Central Pennsylvania. But I'm never far, and will offer more commentary in January, with the triumphant return of the Ellie Awards, Internet Edition.
Try to temper your enthusiasm.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
A Blue Dog of Discerning Tastes
Before I got into the blogosphere, I was only aware of that big red dog on PBS. Two young boys in the Young household are very fond of Clifford.
Well, it turns out the Virginia has its own dog, and it's a blue one. Steve Sisson over at the Blue Dog has published his list of his daily dozen, and it seems that I've made the cut at number seven.
It's interesting, since I can still recall a professor or two in the Hampden-Sydney political science department suggesting that I moderate what they perceived as overly partisan credentials. 'Course, then there's those among my "fellow" Republicans who seem to have a daily Two-Minute Hate whenever I dare to point out that some Republicans are acting more like Democrats.
I'm flattered, since I'm in some truly outstanding company, and have been at this for less than a year. However, rest assured that I'll work harder to try to make the top half next time.
Thanks, Steve.
Well, it turns out the Virginia has its own dog, and it's a blue one. Steve Sisson over at the Blue Dog has published his list of his daily dozen, and it seems that I've made the cut at number seven.
It's interesting, since I can still recall a professor or two in the Hampden-Sydney political science department suggesting that I moderate what they perceived as overly partisan credentials. 'Course, then there's those among my "fellow" Republicans who seem to have a daily Two-Minute Hate whenever I dare to point out that some Republicans are acting more like Democrats.
I'm flattered, since I'm in some truly outstanding company, and have been at this for less than a year. However, rest assured that I'll work harder to try to make the top half next time.
Thanks, Steve.
A Virginia Treasure Leaves the Blogosphere
As you might gather as a regular reader here, I don't have much use for most Democrats these days. As a rule, today, they're shrill, mean-spirited, dishonest, hypocritical, and generally unpleasant. About BO, I do not, and do not want to, know.
One exception is Barnie Day, a former General Assembly member from Stuart and columnist for the Roanoke Times and Augusta Free Press.
Well, Jim Bacon reports over at Bacon's Rebellion that Barnie is hanging it up for other projects. Whether it is voluntary or not is unclear; if not, at least his editors had the decency to allow him to say goodbye to his readers. The hacks at the Potomac News could learn a thing or two from them, but they're cowards.
Barnie is one of that ever rarer breed these days: a Democrat who could disagree without being disagreeable, without foaming at the mouth, and with a considerable degree of honesty. Only met him once (we obviously don't go to many of the same meetings) at the Blog Summit in August.
He will be missed.
One exception is Barnie Day, a former General Assembly member from Stuart and columnist for the Roanoke Times and Augusta Free Press.
Well, Jim Bacon reports over at Bacon's Rebellion that Barnie is hanging it up for other projects. Whether it is voluntary or not is unclear; if not, at least his editors had the decency to allow him to say goodbye to his readers. The hacks at the Potomac News could learn a thing or two from them, but they're cowards.
Barnie is one of that ever rarer breed these days: a Democrat who could disagree without being disagreeable, without foaming at the mouth, and with a considerable degree of honesty. Only met him once (we obviously don't go to many of the same meetings) at the Blog Summit in August.
He will be missed.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Another Triumphant Return!
Ya gotta love Dan Snyder! Any man who can become the most hated owner in an NFL in which Jerry Jones owns a team has got some talent.
Once again, a coach that Snyder hired, then fired --- Marty Schottenheimer --- came back to Washington and did something he couldn't do consistently while the coach of the Redskins: win a football game!
I vividly remember the last game I attended while Schottenheimer was coaching the Reskins. It was the first game played after the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. A friend called me up with an extra ticket, and I sat on the lower level, at about the 35-yard-line, next to a retired Sergeant Major who is about a foot taller than I am. Fans were calling it the "Toilet Bowl," since two teams without victories were meeting. As I recall, it was the Redskins who emerged with their perfect[ly awful] record intact.
Once again, a coach that Snyder hired, then fired --- Marty Schottenheimer --- came back to Washington and did something he couldn't do consistently while the coach of the Redskins: win a football game!
I vividly remember the last game I attended while Schottenheimer was coaching the Reskins. It was the first game played after the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. A friend called me up with an extra ticket, and I sat on the lower level, at about the 35-yard-line, next to a retired Sergeant Major who is about a foot taller than I am. Fans were calling it the "Toilet Bowl," since two teams without victories were meeting. As I recall, it was the Redskins who emerged with their perfect[ly awful] record intact.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Touching History
Anyone who knows me at all knows that I am a real history buff. I have waaaay too many books at home (my wife is on me to buy more bookshelves), and I was one course short of a history major in college.
Interesting day on Sunday. Having heard the advertisements, I went out to the Dulles Expo Centre for the Nation's Gun Show, and got to meet someone I've wanted to meet for years: Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk. World War II buffs will know that he was the navigator on the Enola Gay, the B-29 piloted by Paul Tibbets that delivered the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Well, it turns out that, like me, Ted is from Northumberland, Pennsylvania, a little borough at the junction of the North and West Branches of the Susquehanna River. Northumberland is a town of fewer than 3,000 people, and isn't known for much more than the fact that English chemist Joseph Priestley, discoverer of oxygen and the guy to thank for carbonated soda, emigrated and conducted many of his later experiments there. As for me, I just remember playing Little League baseball on the field between Priestley's home (now a museum) and the Susquehanna.
It's rather odd, or perhaps a sad commentary on the woeful state of history education in this country, but in that small town, I never learned in school that a local man had played an important role (at church yesterday, a retired Air Force officer commented to me, "Well, he got them there") in one of the most historically significant events of the Twentieth Century. As I told my sons, who were with me, long after we're dead and gone, people will remember what Ted and the crew of which he was a part did to end World War II.
I was also happy to introduce my sons to a truly history-making man, the only one among the Enola Gay's crew who is healthy enough to do public appearances. And equally important, to demonstrate to them what Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey said so well, that "There are no extraordinary men ... just extraordinary circumstances that ordinary men are forced to deal with." As it happens in a small town, Ted and I knew many of the same people. Indeed, while I introduced myself as a fellow Pineknotter, and mentioned that he might have known my grandparents, who ran a restaurant in Northumberland before and during the war, Ted prompted me by noting that my grandfather became the Pontiac dealer in Sunbury immediately after the war, and that he had bought his first Pontiac from him!
Life in a small town!
Well, Ted's nickname fits him, 'cause he's a Dutchman, and we spent quite a bit of time --- probably more than I should have, but there was nobody waiting behind me --- reminiscing about our home town, and the people we both knew there. Of course, they were quite a bit younger when Ted knew them.
And my oldest son, Jimmy, simply ate it up. He's old enough to remember his beloved "Gramps," and was excited to meet a man who did business with him. For a nine-year-old, he's got a great head on his shoulders, and has a keen sense of where he comes from.
So Ted signed a copy of the book on the 509th Composite Group for me ("To a fellow Pineknotter"), and I know that someday, my oldest will cherish it as a link to his past. As for me, I was just privileged to have a pleasant conversation about small things with a man who, in his early twenties, was engaged in great things, dealing with some truly extraordinary circumstances, and who now gives of his time in the twilight of his life to share his experiences with a generation all too oblivious to the deeds and sacrifices of those who have gone before them.
Interesting day on Sunday. Having heard the advertisements, I went out to the Dulles Expo Centre for the Nation's Gun Show, and got to meet someone I've wanted to meet for years: Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk. World War II buffs will know that he was the navigator on the Enola Gay, the B-29 piloted by Paul Tibbets that delivered the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Well, it turns out that, like me, Ted is from Northumberland, Pennsylvania, a little borough at the junction of the North and West Branches of the Susquehanna River. Northumberland is a town of fewer than 3,000 people, and isn't known for much more than the fact that English chemist Joseph Priestley, discoverer of oxygen and the guy to thank for carbonated soda, emigrated and conducted many of his later experiments there. As for me, I just remember playing Little League baseball on the field between Priestley's home (now a museum) and the Susquehanna.
It's rather odd, or perhaps a sad commentary on the woeful state of history education in this country, but in that small town, I never learned in school that a local man had played an important role (at church yesterday, a retired Air Force officer commented to me, "Well, he got them there") in one of the most historically significant events of the Twentieth Century. As I told my sons, who were with me, long after we're dead and gone, people will remember what Ted and the crew of which he was a part did to end World War II.
I was also happy to introduce my sons to a truly history-making man, the only one among the Enola Gay's crew who is healthy enough to do public appearances. And equally important, to demonstrate to them what Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey said so well, that "There are no extraordinary men ... just extraordinary circumstances that ordinary men are forced to deal with." As it happens in a small town, Ted and I knew many of the same people. Indeed, while I introduced myself as a fellow Pineknotter, and mentioned that he might have known my grandparents, who ran a restaurant in Northumberland before and during the war, Ted prompted me by noting that my grandfather became the Pontiac dealer in Sunbury immediately after the war, and that he had bought his first Pontiac from him!
Life in a small town!
Well, Ted's nickname fits him, 'cause he's a Dutchman, and we spent quite a bit of time --- probably more than I should have, but there was nobody waiting behind me --- reminiscing about our home town, and the people we both knew there. Of course, they were quite a bit younger when Ted knew them.
And my oldest son, Jimmy, simply ate it up. He's old enough to remember his beloved "Gramps," and was excited to meet a man who did business with him. For a nine-year-old, he's got a great head on his shoulders, and has a keen sense of where he comes from.
So Ted signed a copy of the book on the 509th Composite Group for me ("To a fellow Pineknotter"), and I know that someday, my oldest will cherish it as a link to his past. As for me, I was just privileged to have a pleasant conversation about small things with a man who, in his early twenties, was engaged in great things, dealing with some truly extraordinary circumstances, and who now gives of his time in the twilight of his life to share his experiences with a generation all too oblivious to the deeds and sacrifices of those who have gone before them.
And Now, a Short Sports Interlude...
Isn't it great that Norv Turner has finally figured out a way to win in Washington?
Friday, November 18, 2005
Additions to the Blogroll
A few additions to my blogroll, in the interests of keeping up to date, and in the hope of reciprocity.
First, there's Virginia Centrist, in a triumphant return. And no, this is not mere payback for his recent reference to a post here. VC only accepts cash.
Then there's Alice Marshall, who recently called for imposition of the death penalty for Virginia's senior Senator, Foghorn Leghorn... er, John Warner. And no, not because he voted against Robert Bork and worked against Ollie North. One read of Alice's comments, and you'll be yelling "Stop the Insanity!!!!"
I've also added (belatedly) Ben Tribbett's site, aka Not Larry Sabato, which badly needs a new name.
This is what I read fairly regularly, and maybe that explains a lot.
First, there's Virginia Centrist, in a triumphant return. And no, this is not mere payback for his recent reference to a post here. VC only accepts cash.
Then there's Alice Marshall, who recently called for imposition of the death penalty for Virginia's senior Senator, Foghorn Leghorn... er, John Warner. And no, not because he voted against Robert Bork and worked against Ollie North. One read of Alice's comments, and you'll be yelling "Stop the Insanity!!!!"
I've also added (belatedly) Ben Tribbett's site, aka Not Larry Sabato, which badly needs a new name.
This is what I read fairly regularly, and maybe that explains a lot.
Another Asinine College Professor
If you thought Ward Churchill was bad, read this little piece --- tip of the hat to Chad Dotson --- on a professor in New Jersey:
PROF. JOHN DALY: "SOLDIERS SHOULD EXECUTE SUPERIORS": A prof at Warren Community College in New Jersey woke up and took his stupid pills the other morning. That can be the only explanation for why he wrote this email to a college freshman who had innocently invited him to her campus event to hear from Iraq War hero Lt. Col. Scott Rutter.
The freshman was new student Rebecca Beach, and she was trying to drum up a bit of interest in her event which would feature the War On Terror vet. Here is the entire response she received from John Daly, English prof.:
November 13, 2005
Dear Rebecca:
I am asking my students to boycott your event. I am also going to ask others to boycott it. Your literature and signs in the entrance lobby look like fascist propaganda and is extremely offensive. Your main poster "Communism killed 100,000,000" is not only untrue, but ignores the fact that CAPITALISM has killed many more and the evidence for that can be seen in the daily news papers. The U.S. government can fly to dominate the people of Iraq in 12 hours, yet it took them five days to assist the people devastated by huricane Katrina. Racism and profits were key to their priorities. Exxon, by the way, made $9 Billion in profits this last quarter--their highest proft margin ever. Thanks to the students of WCCC and other poor and working class people who are recruited to fight and die for EXXON and other corporations who earning megaprofits from their imperialist plunders. If you want to count the number of deaths based on political systems, you can begin with the more than a million children who have died in Iraq from U.S.-imposed sanctions and war. Or the million African American people who died from lack of access to healthcare in the US over the last 10 years.
I will continue to expose your right-wing, anti-people politics until groups like your won't dare show their face on a college campus. Real freedom will come when soldiers in Iraq turn their guns on their superiors and fight for just causes and for people's needs--such freedom fighters can be counted throughout American history and they certainly will be counted again.
Prof. John Daly
Here's Prof Daly's e-mail address: jpdalyca@yahoo.com... if you'd like to tell him what you think of him.
Actually, I think "Real freedom will come when soldiers in Iraq return to the United States and turn their guns on idiotic college professors who spout this kind of nonsense to impressionable young college students."
Thursday, November 17, 2005
It's About Time
When I was growing up, I remember watching a wonderful television movie starring George Peppard, in his pre-"A-Team" days. It was about the Sam Shepard murder case from the late 50s or early 60s, about a Cleveland doctor accused, convicted, and ultimately acquitted of murdering his wife and two children. It was one of F. Lee Bailey's first high-profile cases.
The movie, which was fairly sympathetic to Shepard, had a wonderful moment where the verdict of acquittal was announced and Peppard, as Shepard, having spent years in prison for the crime, slams his hand down on the defense table --- one slam for each word --- shouting "It's about time!"
I've had much the same response in the past few days, as the Administration is finally responding to far Left and far Left congressional critics who are accusing the President of lying about pre-war intelligence regarding Iraq. For example, Vice President Cheney yesterday attacked those critics as dishonest and reprehensible opportunists.
Finally, the lunatics of the far-Left blogosphere have started to influence more lunatics in Congress. But dismal Harry Reid, Democrat Senate Leader, had perhaps the most pathetic comment in response: he said that Cheney was “playing politics like he’s in the middle of a presidential campaign,” and "urge[d] the members of the Bush administration to stop trying to resurrect their political standing by lashing out at their critics.”
As opposed to whom, Harry? Democrats "playing politics like their in the middle of a presidential campaign"? Or Democrats "trying to resurrect their political standing by" trashing the President?
The truth is always the best cure for lies. And Democrats have been pursuing the strategy of the Big Lie since the beginning regarding George W. Bush, starting with Florida in 2000, and continuing throughout, save for that short interval after the terrorist attacks of 2001.
The movie, which was fairly sympathetic to Shepard, had a wonderful moment where the verdict of acquittal was announced and Peppard, as Shepard, having spent years in prison for the crime, slams his hand down on the defense table --- one slam for each word --- shouting "It's about time!"
I've had much the same response in the past few days, as the Administration is finally responding to far Left and far Left congressional critics who are accusing the President of lying about pre-war intelligence regarding Iraq. For example, Vice President Cheney yesterday attacked those critics as dishonest and reprehensible opportunists.
Finally, the lunatics of the far-Left blogosphere have started to influence more lunatics in Congress. But dismal Harry Reid, Democrat Senate Leader, had perhaps the most pathetic comment in response: he said that Cheney was “playing politics like he’s in the middle of a presidential campaign,” and "urge[d] the members of the Bush administration to stop trying to resurrect their political standing by lashing out at their critics.”
As opposed to whom, Harry? Democrats "playing politics like their in the middle of a presidential campaign"? Or Democrats "trying to resurrect their political standing by" trashing the President?
The truth is always the best cure for lies. And Democrats have been pursuing the strategy of the Big Lie since the beginning regarding George W. Bush, starting with Florida in 2000, and continuing throughout, save for that short interval after the terrorist attacks of 2001.
An Interesting Take on the Republican [So-Called] Main Street Partnership
Recently received an e-mail linked to this site, which attacks the Republican Main Street Partnership as "primarily funded by the likes of George Soros and other radical Left-wing individuals."
Don't know if that's true, but if it is, I find it even more disturbing that Tom Davis' name is on this list, as a Board Member.
Not that there isn't something entirely too far-Left about this organization to begin with. After all, the RMSP's website lists Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andrew Stern as a "supporter." SEIU is, of course, one of the more radical unions out there. Other supporters include David Dempsey of the National Association of Social Workers, gun-grabber Michael Harrington of Americans for Gun Safety, and Mary Elizabeth Teasley of the National Education Association. The homosexual group "Log Cabin Republicans" --- a group that refused to endorse the President's reelection bid --- is linked to as a "resource."
To be sure, this is only a partial list of "supporters." But what is Tom Davis, or any Republican, doing associating with people with these far-Left agendas?
Don't know if that's true, but if it is, I find it even more disturbing that Tom Davis' name is on this list, as a Board Member.
Not that there isn't something entirely too far-Left about this organization to begin with. After all, the RMSP's website lists Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andrew Stern as a "supporter." SEIU is, of course, one of the more radical unions out there. Other supporters include David Dempsey of the National Association of Social Workers, gun-grabber Michael Harrington of Americans for Gun Safety, and Mary Elizabeth Teasley of the National Education Association. The homosexual group "Log Cabin Republicans" --- a group that refused to endorse the President's reelection bid --- is linked to as a "resource."
To be sure, this is only a partial list of "supporters." But what is Tom Davis, or any Republican, doing associating with people with these far-Left agendas?
"Too Conservative" Comes Out of the Anonymity Closet
Well, it seems that our friend "Too Conservative" has come out of the anonymity closet, identifying himself as Vincent Thoms, a seventeen-year-old former Connaughton campaign staffer and Davis intern (congrats on that, BTW; I interned for George Gekas in the Stone Age, and it was a wonderful experience). Apologies to O.P. Ditch for suspecting that he was TC, though I still wonder whether he's a pseudonymous contributor, or commenter.
Kudos to TC for being willing to take the heat.
Here it is.
Thoms' first post (7 May 2005), says that "Just heard word the Connaughton campaign is having yet ANOTHER press conference in Richmond on Monday to discuss 'placing pornographic filters on all Virginia public libraries'." Where did he hear it? Campaign HQ?
His second (same date) attempts to place the Connaughton spin on the race for the GOP nomination for LG.
I suppose I could go on, but you get the point. Most or all of his pre-GOP Primary posts were little more than hagiographies to the Connaughton Campaign, which was paying him. Some others spoke to Prince William politics, of which he is and was familiar only second-hand, and from Connaughtonites, at that. And then there's a comment that I recall that "I can't say Sean raised my taxes," as though he pays taxes in PWC. He repeated this practice with positive Chris Craddock posts (none of which I disagree, BTW), while serving as his Deputy Campaign Manager.
As one of his commenters stated, "Blogs that operate in this manner are exactly why SOME people want to consider them campaign donations." Well, maybe such irresponsibility and --- dare I say it? --- dishonesty are functions of youth.
On the other hand, he responded to a 29 September "What if..." post by noting what our ticket was, and trying to diminish such talk. Credit for that.
I'm glad TC has let us in on his little secret. It allows us to judge the credibility of his comments with knowledge of his basis (or lack thereof; his recent baseless accusations that I have called Chairman Sean a "RINO" stands out) for making them.
UPDATE: OK. That was fun/exciting/cathartic. However, I hereby declare a moratorium upon criticism of TC for keeping his identity/associations a secret. That he has displayed the courage to exit the anonymity closet has given his readers a basis upon which to judge his comments. That is an honesty which I demand/expect (remember that wonderful speech by Major Houlihan in M*A*S*H, where she concludes that she applies that standard to herself, and that, from others, she'll "expect nothing more, and accept nothing less"?), and which he has now satisfied. His revelations provide those who disagree with him points of reference, ones which allows the reader to judge how they color his comments.
Kudos to TC for being willing to take the heat.
Here it is.
Thoms' first post (7 May 2005), says that "Just heard word the Connaughton campaign is having yet ANOTHER press conference in Richmond on Monday to discuss 'placing pornographic filters on all Virginia public libraries'." Where did he hear it? Campaign HQ?
His second (same date) attempts to place the Connaughton spin on the race for the GOP nomination for LG.
I suppose I could go on, but you get the point. Most or all of his pre-GOP Primary posts were little more than hagiographies to the Connaughton Campaign, which was paying him. Some others spoke to Prince William politics, of which he is and was familiar only second-hand, and from Connaughtonites, at that. And then there's a comment that I recall that "I can't say Sean raised my taxes," as though he pays taxes in PWC. He repeated this practice with positive Chris Craddock posts (none of which I disagree, BTW), while serving as his Deputy Campaign Manager.
As one of his commenters stated, "Blogs that operate in this manner are exactly why SOME people want to consider them campaign donations." Well, maybe such irresponsibility and --- dare I say it? --- dishonesty are functions of youth.
On the other hand, he responded to a 29 September "What if..." post by noting what our ticket was, and trying to diminish such talk. Credit for that.
I'm glad TC has let us in on his little secret. It allows us to judge the credibility of his comments with knowledge of his basis (or lack thereof; his recent baseless accusations that I have called Chairman Sean a "RINO" stands out) for making them.
UPDATE: OK. That was fun/exciting/cathartic. However, I hereby declare a moratorium upon criticism of TC for keeping his identity/associations a secret. That he has displayed the courage to exit the anonymity closet has given his readers a basis upon which to judge his comments. That is an honesty which I demand/expect (remember that wonderful speech by Major Houlihan in M*A*S*H, where she concludes that she applies that standard to herself, and that, from others, she'll "expect nothing more, and accept nothing less"?), and which he has now satisfied. His revelations provide those who disagree with him points of reference, ones which allows the reader to judge how they color his comments.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Name-Calling?!?! We Don't Got No Stinkin' Name-Calling!
One of the more popular slurs among both the far Left and the Repubmocrat intermeddlers in today's GOP is the term "free lunch crowd." It's a slur perpetrated against people like the Club for Growth People, and Americans for Tax Reform. It's directed with particular enthusiasm against Grover Norquist and Phil Rodokanakis. It apparently is rooted in another slander, i.e., that opponents of tax hikes nevertheless want government to grow to the same degree as those applying the label (funny, isn't it, how people who normally decry the use of labels by conservatives never have a word to say to people who use this one?).
Of course, the underlying "logic" of the slur is nonsense. None of the advocates of low taxes are interested in perpetuating or growing the modern welfare state. To the contrary, most oppose it and would tear it out root and branch.
It's time to respond in kind to these slanders. Let's call the "tax-'em-'til-their-eyes-pop-out" crowd what they really are: the all-you-can-eat buffet lunch crowd.
It's a lot more accurate applied to them than "free lunch crowd" is as applied to us.
Ask someone in the all-you-can-eat buffet lunch crowd what limit he would put on the percentage of a persons income that should be seized by the government in taxes. Most likely, you won't get an answer. If you do get an answer, it will likely be far less than the actual percentage of the average taxpayers income --- more than 40% --- that is actually seized by various local, state, and federal government entities.
And why does the all-you-can-eat buffet lunch crowd support taxation unlimited conceptually? Because they apparently believe not only in a social safety net, but it a nice hammock, strung between trees rich with foliage, with a all-you-can-eat buffet only a short distance away.
UPDATE: Well, I beat Shaun Kenny to the punch by a few hours but great minds do think alike. His more expansive comment on the same subject appears under the title "'Free Lunch' Republicans vs. 'Kamikaze' Democrats." I commend it to your attention. Not bad for one of such relative youth. ;-)
Of course, the underlying "logic" of the slur is nonsense. None of the advocates of low taxes are interested in perpetuating or growing the modern welfare state. To the contrary, most oppose it and would tear it out root and branch.
It's time to respond in kind to these slanders. Let's call the "tax-'em-'til-their-eyes-pop-out" crowd what they really are: the all-you-can-eat buffet lunch crowd.
It's a lot more accurate applied to them than "free lunch crowd" is as applied to us.
Ask someone in the all-you-can-eat buffet lunch crowd what limit he would put on the percentage of a persons income that should be seized by the government in taxes. Most likely, you won't get an answer. If you do get an answer, it will likely be far less than the actual percentage of the average taxpayers income --- more than 40% --- that is actually seized by various local, state, and federal government entities.
And why does the all-you-can-eat buffet lunch crowd support taxation unlimited conceptually? Because they apparently believe not only in a social safety net, but it a nice hammock, strung between trees rich with foliage, with a all-you-can-eat buffet only a short distance away.
UPDATE: Well, I beat Shaun Kenny to the punch by a few hours but great minds do think alike. His more expansive comment on the same subject appears under the title "'Free Lunch' Republicans vs. 'Kamikaze' Democrats." I commend it to your attention. Not bad for one of such relative youth. ;-)
Monday, November 14, 2005
Food for Thought on Prince William Returns
This will be an on-going consideration of the vote totals in Prince William.
First, who was the biggest vote-getter in Prince William County in 2005?
According to the most recent State Board of Elections data, it was Bob McDonnell, Republican for Attorney General, with 34,339 votes.
And who came in second?
That would be Bill Bolling, Republican for Lieutenant Governor, with 33,571 votes.
Interestingly, Democrat Tim Kaine only barely made the top three, besting Jerry Kilgore by 1,189 votes.
Also interestingly, the Winchester Billy Goat, Russ "Chamber" Potts, from the Benedict Arnold wing of the GOP, received 1,220 votes in Prince William County.
What do these returns tell us about the County? Contrary to the conventional wisdom in the Left-wing media, I do not, unsurprisingly, believe that this is bad news for the GOP.
Let's first deal with the issue of the Winchester Billygoat. One could speculate that the Potts vote hurt Kilgore in Prince William, but it would take a great deal to persuade me that he took votes from Kilgore, not Kaine, and that all of those votes would have gone to Kilgore to put him over the top in Prince William. I have never thought that Potts took votes from Kilgore, since he worked very hard to sound like a tax-and-spend Democrat. Believing that Potts took votes from Kilgore accuses self-styled "moderate" Republicans of treachery. Assuming arguendo that they remain loyal Republicans, the notion that Potts hurt Kilgore cannot be sustained. I leave it to self-styled "moderates" to look within themselves to inform the reader whether such treachery among their fellows explains the Potts vote.
With that having been said, however, it seems clear to me that our squishy friends --- self-styled Republican "moderates" --- are dead wrong when they assert that the GOP was hurt by Conservatives, at least in Prince William.
The hard truth for our less-stern friends is that the unabashed Conservatives on the state-wide ticket led and won in Prince William. And they won not because of the drop-off in votes from Governor to the other two offices --- in 2001, about 1100 fewer people voted for LG in Prince William, about the same number as in 2005; in 2001, the drop-off for AG was larger than in 2005, notwithstanding a growing electorate --- but by out-polling every candidate in every other race. Was it tighter than in past years? To be sure. After all, Prince William County gave George Allen and Jim Gilmore 12,000 and 14,000 vote margins in their contests. Even Mark Early carried the County by more than 3,000 votes over Marky Mark ... er, the Boyish Governor.
So what is the problem in Prince William? Let me say that, first, I believe that there is less of a problem than the media would have you think. The simple fact in Prince William is that unabashed Conservatives carried the day. Candidates who "moderated" or more accurately, "liberalized," their message lost.
But where does the fault for Kilgore's defeat lie?
I have said elsewhere, and have not been persuaded otherwise, that it lies primarily with the candidate himself. Kilgore was clearly a drag on the ticket, throughout Northern Virginia, and perhaps even elsewhere (I haven't examined that data). And I have a sneaking suspicion --- I cannot back it up with polling data --- that it was his tax referenda plan on transportation that hurt him most among Northern Virginia voters. Could he have won here? Probably not. But we've "been there; done that" on so-called transportation tax referenda, in 2002.
Northern Virginia expects its leaders to lead, and its legislators to legislate. As I said at the time, such proposals are simply political cover for craven politicians who refuse to make the hard decisions they're elected to make. In this particular case, they constitute an excuse to do nothing about Northern Virginia's transportation woes, and the despicable failure of Richmond politicians to allocate fairly transportation dollars to Northern Virginia. To be sure, this proposal is a pet project of Northern Virginia developer and business interests, and was sufficient to garner their support in the election, but I have to wonder whether Kilgore's woeful drop-off from the down-ticket races is directly traceable to this problem.
Of course, virtually any miscue is sufficient when you're talking about the small margin in Prince William. But I believe that the argument is sustainable when you look to Kilgore's performance relative to Bolling and McDonnell throughout Northern Virginia.
And where does the fault for the relatively poor (relative to prior years) performance of the GOP in Prince William lie? Certainly, there are some macro-trends beyond the control of we mere functionaries to affect. Kilgore's drag on the GOP was beyond our control. Equally beyond our control was the perceived or actual weakness of the President and the GOP-controlled Congress. Likewise, County demographic trends and growth have cut into the GOP margin.
But what can we control? The simple fact of the matter is that the GOP flourished in Prince William County when it was a party of the grass-roots, governed from the bottom up with strong leadership in the County GOP Committee.
That is not the current state of the County GOP. With increasing electoral success, we have witnessed broader ambitions among elected officials. I've said elsewhere that one of the benefits of having a successful political operation is your ability to elect any idiot on the party's ticket; one of its pitfalls is that you frequently do. Lack of ability, however, is hardly sufficient to temper ambition, and with that ambition has come a desire on the part of some elected officials and their functionaries to dominate the County GOP. And while a healthy interaction between elected officials and County GOP activists is both necessary and desired, it is not healthy for the GOP as an institution when it becomes nothing but a vehicle for personal ambition.
Yet, sad to say, that seems to be the current state of affairs in the County GOP. The personally ambitious seem to have their loyal sycophants, including some who have, in the past, been smart enough to eschew such cults of personality. Moreover, the County GOP currently suffers under pathetically weak leadership. This is not simply a matter of lacking respect for the County Chairman, though one wonders if he ever would have held the post had he been required to run for it afresh, rather than as an incumbent succeeding to the job upon his predecessor's resignation. It is a question of performance. As an example of that lack of performance, one of the best grass-roots activities that the old County GOP did was a Labor Day picnic, one which has not been held for the last two years.
I certainly cannot venture a guess as to what steps need to be taken to revitalize the Prince William County GOP. But while things are not as bad as the media would have you believe, neither are they as good as they could be, or should be.
First, who was the biggest vote-getter in Prince William County in 2005?
According to the most recent State Board of Elections data, it was Bob McDonnell, Republican for Attorney General, with 34,339 votes.
And who came in second?
That would be Bill Bolling, Republican for Lieutenant Governor, with 33,571 votes.
Interestingly, Democrat Tim Kaine only barely made the top three, besting Jerry Kilgore by 1,189 votes.
Also interestingly, the Winchester Billy Goat, Russ "Chamber" Potts, from the Benedict Arnold wing of the GOP, received 1,220 votes in Prince William County.
What do these returns tell us about the County? Contrary to the conventional wisdom in the Left-wing media, I do not, unsurprisingly, believe that this is bad news for the GOP.
Let's first deal with the issue of the Winchester Billygoat. One could speculate that the Potts vote hurt Kilgore in Prince William, but it would take a great deal to persuade me that he took votes from Kilgore, not Kaine, and that all of those votes would have gone to Kilgore to put him over the top in Prince William. I have never thought that Potts took votes from Kilgore, since he worked very hard to sound like a tax-and-spend Democrat. Believing that Potts took votes from Kilgore accuses self-styled "moderate" Republicans of treachery. Assuming arguendo that they remain loyal Republicans, the notion that Potts hurt Kilgore cannot be sustained. I leave it to self-styled "moderates" to look within themselves to inform the reader whether such treachery among their fellows explains the Potts vote.
With that having been said, however, it seems clear to me that our squishy friends --- self-styled Republican "moderates" --- are dead wrong when they assert that the GOP was hurt by Conservatives, at least in Prince William.
The hard truth for our less-stern friends is that the unabashed Conservatives on the state-wide ticket led and won in Prince William. And they won not because of the drop-off in votes from Governor to the other two offices --- in 2001, about 1100 fewer people voted for LG in Prince William, about the same number as in 2005; in 2001, the drop-off for AG was larger than in 2005, notwithstanding a growing electorate --- but by out-polling every candidate in every other race. Was it tighter than in past years? To be sure. After all, Prince William County gave George Allen and Jim Gilmore 12,000 and 14,000 vote margins in their contests. Even Mark Early carried the County by more than 3,000 votes over Marky Mark ... er, the Boyish Governor.
So what is the problem in Prince William? Let me say that, first, I believe that there is less of a problem than the media would have you think. The simple fact in Prince William is that unabashed Conservatives carried the day. Candidates who "moderated" or more accurately, "liberalized," their message lost.
But where does the fault for Kilgore's defeat lie?
I have said elsewhere, and have not been persuaded otherwise, that it lies primarily with the candidate himself. Kilgore was clearly a drag on the ticket, throughout Northern Virginia, and perhaps even elsewhere (I haven't examined that data). And I have a sneaking suspicion --- I cannot back it up with polling data --- that it was his tax referenda plan on transportation that hurt him most among Northern Virginia voters. Could he have won here? Probably not. But we've "been there; done that" on so-called transportation tax referenda, in 2002.
Northern Virginia expects its leaders to lead, and its legislators to legislate. As I said at the time, such proposals are simply political cover for craven politicians who refuse to make the hard decisions they're elected to make. In this particular case, they constitute an excuse to do nothing about Northern Virginia's transportation woes, and the despicable failure of Richmond politicians to allocate fairly transportation dollars to Northern Virginia. To be sure, this proposal is a pet project of Northern Virginia developer and business interests, and was sufficient to garner their support in the election, but I have to wonder whether Kilgore's woeful drop-off from the down-ticket races is directly traceable to this problem.
Of course, virtually any miscue is sufficient when you're talking about the small margin in Prince William. But I believe that the argument is sustainable when you look to Kilgore's performance relative to Bolling and McDonnell throughout Northern Virginia.
And where does the fault for the relatively poor (relative to prior years) performance of the GOP in Prince William lie? Certainly, there are some macro-trends beyond the control of we mere functionaries to affect. Kilgore's drag on the GOP was beyond our control. Equally beyond our control was the perceived or actual weakness of the President and the GOP-controlled Congress. Likewise, County demographic trends and growth have cut into the GOP margin.
But what can we control? The simple fact of the matter is that the GOP flourished in Prince William County when it was a party of the grass-roots, governed from the bottom up with strong leadership in the County GOP Committee.
That is not the current state of the County GOP. With increasing electoral success, we have witnessed broader ambitions among elected officials. I've said elsewhere that one of the benefits of having a successful political operation is your ability to elect any idiot on the party's ticket; one of its pitfalls is that you frequently do. Lack of ability, however, is hardly sufficient to temper ambition, and with that ambition has come a desire on the part of some elected officials and their functionaries to dominate the County GOP. And while a healthy interaction between elected officials and County GOP activists is both necessary and desired, it is not healthy for the GOP as an institution when it becomes nothing but a vehicle for personal ambition.
Yet, sad to say, that seems to be the current state of affairs in the County GOP. The personally ambitious seem to have their loyal sycophants, including some who have, in the past, been smart enough to eschew such cults of personality. Moreover, the County GOP currently suffers under pathetically weak leadership. This is not simply a matter of lacking respect for the County Chairman, though one wonders if he ever would have held the post had he been required to run for it afresh, rather than as an incumbent succeeding to the job upon his predecessor's resignation. It is a question of performance. As an example of that lack of performance, one of the best grass-roots activities that the old County GOP did was a Labor Day picnic, one which has not been held for the last two years.
I certainly cannot venture a guess as to what steps need to be taken to revitalize the Prince William County GOP. But while things are not as bad as the media would have you believe, neither are they as good as they could be, or should be.
Hilarious Website
Not appropos of anything particularly political, but I came across one of the funniest websites I've seen in a while. But then, I'm always amused by those who deflate the egos of the pretentious.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Federalist Society Convention
Little or no blogging or response for the next few days, as I will be attending the convention for the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Lawyers' Division .... er, Federalist Society Convention at the Mayflower, in D.C. If you're there too, please say "Hello."
Thanks, Mark, but No Thanks
Perhaps the most asinine comment last night (though I am sure there are many candidates) came from the Boyish Governor himself who, justifiably flush with a personal victory (does anybody believe that Tim Kaine could have won without Mark Warner's support, even against Jerry Kilgore?) commented that Democrats should make sure that every vote for Dem AG candidate Creigh Deeds is "fairly counted."
God knows what this means, but I suspect that it's the Boyish Governor's appeal to the Kool-Aid drinking Far Left, that idiotic contingent who still believes that Al Gore really won in 2000.
No thanks, Marky. We don't need that kind of crap in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Glad to see you go in 2006.
God knows what this means, but I suspect that it's the Boyish Governor's appeal to the Kool-Aid drinking Far Left, that idiotic contingent who still believes that Al Gore really won in 2000.
No thanks, Marky. We don't need that kind of crap in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Glad to see you go in 2006.
Playing the Blame Game
Our friends over at NoVA Squishes .... er, "Too Conservative," are busily playing the blame game, and guess who gets the blame? That's right! You guessed it! It's those nasty, principled Conservatives, who apparently didn't do the job for Kilgore.
Well, below is mostly what I posted in response, with a few changes. It helps to have actually looked at the numbers before you justify the outcome with your predetermined gripes.
Gee, let's see, Bolling got more votes in PWC than Kilgore. Frederick has apparently won. Marshall won in a relative walk. McQuigg won. McDonnell and Bolling BOTH won in Prince William County. How this translates into "people [in NoVA] didn't have any reason to go out and vote" is nonsense. GOP candidates who gave people a reason to go out and vote won. Kilgore didn't. It's pretty much that simple.
'Fact is, Republicans in Northern Virginia "didn't have any reason to go out and vote" for Kilgore because, in part, Kilgore didn't give them any reason to get out and vote. This is borne out by the fact that Bolling and McDonnell BOTH did better in Fairfax, Arlington, and Alexandria than did Kilgore.
Sounds a lot like O.P. Ditch's (whom I suspect to be a contributor to this blog, if not the author of the post-in-chief) comment to me at the PWC "victory" party last night to attempt to blame Kilgore's loss on the principled wing of the GOP, rather than on Kilgore's failure to motivate the electorate, in part, and on the failure of the Connaughton Cult of Personality wing to show the same loyalty to principled candidates that they demand -- and get (see Tom Davis) -- for so-called "moderate" candidates.
The fact is that most of the people that Connaughton "brought in" to the GOP never showed up again. Witness his attempt to pack the County Committee last year. Most of those were gone after they missed three succeeding meetings, per the party plan. To be sure, a few Connaughtonites --- notably Jane Beyer --- who were preexisting activists did what they always do, and worked hard for victory. But the simple fact is that most of those "brought in" by Connaughton were "brought in" only for his purposes, and quickly disappeared when they didn't get their way.
Kilgore's bath in Northern Virginia can't be blamed on the Conservative grass roots, which was out for him. It can be more appropriately blamed upon his campaign's virtual abandonment of Northern Virginia (I think this is the main reason), a misstep on the death penalty ads, the fact that he was -- in some ways -- a flawed candidate, and his failure to take a principled stand on taxes. The fact is that the business community in Northern Virginia was behind him.
Kilgore's loss was a personal one. It can't be blamed upon those who believe that the GOP should be about principles first.
Well, below is mostly what I posted in response, with a few changes. It helps to have actually looked at the numbers before you justify the outcome with your predetermined gripes.
Gee, let's see, Bolling got more votes in PWC than Kilgore. Frederick has apparently won. Marshall won in a relative walk. McQuigg won. McDonnell and Bolling BOTH won in Prince William County. How this translates into "people [in NoVA] didn't have any reason to go out and vote" is nonsense. GOP candidates who gave people a reason to go out and vote won. Kilgore didn't. It's pretty much that simple.
'Fact is, Republicans in Northern Virginia "didn't have any reason to go out and vote" for Kilgore because, in part, Kilgore didn't give them any reason to get out and vote. This is borne out by the fact that Bolling and McDonnell BOTH did better in Fairfax, Arlington, and Alexandria than did Kilgore.
Sounds a lot like O.P. Ditch's (whom I suspect to be a contributor to this blog, if not the author of the post-in-chief) comment to me at the PWC "victory" party last night to attempt to blame Kilgore's loss on the principled wing of the GOP, rather than on Kilgore's failure to motivate the electorate, in part, and on the failure of the Connaughton Cult of Personality wing to show the same loyalty to principled candidates that they demand -- and get (see Tom Davis) -- for so-called "moderate" candidates.
The fact is that most of the people that Connaughton "brought in" to the GOP never showed up again. Witness his attempt to pack the County Committee last year. Most of those were gone after they missed three succeeding meetings, per the party plan. To be sure, a few Connaughtonites --- notably Jane Beyer --- who were preexisting activists did what they always do, and worked hard for victory. But the simple fact is that most of those "brought in" by Connaughton were "brought in" only for his purposes, and quickly disappeared when they didn't get their way.
Kilgore's bath in Northern Virginia can't be blamed on the Conservative grass roots, which was out for him. It can be more appropriately blamed upon his campaign's virtual abandonment of Northern Virginia (I think this is the main reason), a misstep on the death penalty ads, the fact that he was -- in some ways -- a flawed candidate, and his failure to take a principled stand on taxes. The fact is that the business community in Northern Virginia was behind him.
Kilgore's loss was a personal one. It can't be blamed upon those who believe that the GOP should be about principles first.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Random Thoughts on Election Day
Just a couple of random thoughts and observations on Election Day:
RE: The 52nd District Race Between Jeff Frederick and Hilda Barg
I had to laugh at the Potomac News' editorial endorsement of Democrat Hilda Barg over GOP incumbent Jeff Frederick. It's something like this where the left-wing, pro-tax agenda of that formerly moving-towards-reason rag really comes through. Assuming you're even modestly non-ideological or objective, what kind of moron advocates exchanging a 30-year-old in the majority with a 72-year-old in the minority?
RE: Democrat Concern Over GOP GOTV Efforts
Worked as a poll watcher in the Henderson Precinct of Montclair today for about four-and-a-half hours. Interesting, and somewhat grueling. At one point, a poll worker approached me and said that some voters had complained because I had been "hovering." She was rather polite, and prefaced her comment with the statement that I had done nothing wrong or illegal.
Talk about intimidation! I can imagine a poll watcher less informed of his or her rights and duties --- I spent Election Day 2004 as one of six attorneys in the GOP legal "war room" in Cleveland, after all --- doing a less effective job after such a "warning." Fortunately, secure in the knowledge that: (1) I had, indeed, done nothing wrong; (2) the latest group of voters had very few names on my favorable list; and (3) Democrats in Ohio had tried the same tactics of intimidation against GOP poll watchers in Ohio in 2004, I politely pointed those facts out to the poll worker, who bothered me no more. And never mind that the only reason I was forced to do so was the fact that the poll workers --- who are doing a thankless job for very little pay --- were not fulfilling their duty to loudly and clearly call out the names and addresses of the voters, so that I wouldn't have to "hover."
An interesting example, though, of Democrat efforts to intimidate the GOP into abandoning an effective and lonely job in getting out identified GOP voters.
RE: And One More Thing About that Potomac News Endorsement of Barg
Talked to Amy Frederick at the poll, and the issue of that endorsement came up. She reminded me that they didn't seem to like Jeff because they thought he was using his office as a stepping stone to something else.
I've heard this song before, notably as a criticism of me when I ran for School Board. First question: what's wrong with that? Second question: since when does the Pot. News object to such individuals? That journal's enthusiasm for Chairman Sean continues unabated.
One can only conclude that this "criticism" was opportunistic. Just another example of feigning application of an objective criteria while simply looking for a way to trash a candidate you don't like for ideological reasons.
RE: The 52nd District Race Between Jeff Frederick and Hilda Barg
I had to laugh at the Potomac News' editorial endorsement of Democrat Hilda Barg over GOP incumbent Jeff Frederick. It's something like this where the left-wing, pro-tax agenda of that formerly moving-towards-reason rag really comes through. Assuming you're even modestly non-ideological or objective, what kind of moron advocates exchanging a 30-year-old in the majority with a 72-year-old in the minority?
RE: Democrat Concern Over GOP GOTV Efforts
Worked as a poll watcher in the Henderson Precinct of Montclair today for about four-and-a-half hours. Interesting, and somewhat grueling. At one point, a poll worker approached me and said that some voters had complained because I had been "hovering." She was rather polite, and prefaced her comment with the statement that I had done nothing wrong or illegal.
Talk about intimidation! I can imagine a poll watcher less informed of his or her rights and duties --- I spent Election Day 2004 as one of six attorneys in the GOP legal "war room" in Cleveland, after all --- doing a less effective job after such a "warning." Fortunately, secure in the knowledge that: (1) I had, indeed, done nothing wrong; (2) the latest group of voters had very few names on my favorable list; and (3) Democrats in Ohio had tried the same tactics of intimidation against GOP poll watchers in Ohio in 2004, I politely pointed those facts out to the poll worker, who bothered me no more. And never mind that the only reason I was forced to do so was the fact that the poll workers --- who are doing a thankless job for very little pay --- were not fulfilling their duty to loudly and clearly call out the names and addresses of the voters, so that I wouldn't have to "hover."
An interesting example, though, of Democrat efforts to intimidate the GOP into abandoning an effective and lonely job in getting out identified GOP voters.
RE: And One More Thing About that Potomac News Endorsement of Barg
Talked to Amy Frederick at the poll, and the issue of that endorsement came up. She reminded me that they didn't seem to like Jeff because they thought he was using his office as a stepping stone to something else.
I've heard this song before, notably as a criticism of me when I ran for School Board. First question: what's wrong with that? Second question: since when does the Pot. News object to such individuals? That journal's enthusiasm for Chairman Sean continues unabated.
One can only conclude that this "criticism" was opportunistic. Just another example of feigning application of an objective criteria while simply looking for a way to trash a candidate you don't like for ideological reasons.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Chuckie Schumer and "Divid[ing] America"
I love the far Left. I was reading all of the commentary on the Alito nomination, and I came across the comments by Senator Chuckie Schumer (D-NY), who --- according to the Washington Times --- "bemoaned the nomination of someone 'likely to divide America.'"
Wow! Boy! It's sure good to know that Chuckie's on the job, protecting us against people who would "divide America." God knows that we need protection from the likes of those who would "divide America," like those race hustlers and class warriors who would divide us by race and divide the productive from their money.
And by the way, what is it that "divide[s] America"? Might it be judges who divine new constitutional "rights" out of "penumbras" and "emanations"? Might it be those who use judicial decisions to short-circuit the political process, preventing the emergence of political consensus that results from the democratic process? Might it be those who constantly inveigh against "the rich" and "paying their fair share," when the fact is that "the rich" not only pay their "fair share" but the "fair share" of quite a few of their neighbors?
I hear that Chuckie Schumer is perhaps the most scholarly and bright member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. But this kind of slick and nonsensical political rhetoric belies that notion. "Division" in America isn't avoided or minimized by committing to judicial decisionmaking issues properly resolved by the political process. Aside from the fact that the course advocated by Chuckie does violence to the democratic and constitutional process, and virtually guarantees continuing political controversy, it bespeaks a political cravenness that one would hope to avoid in elected public officials.
Wow! Boy! It's sure good to know that Chuckie's on the job, protecting us against people who would "divide America." God knows that we need protection from the likes of those who would "divide America," like those race hustlers and class warriors who would divide us by race and divide the productive from their money.
And by the way, what is it that "divide[s] America"? Might it be judges who divine new constitutional "rights" out of "penumbras" and "emanations"? Might it be those who use judicial decisions to short-circuit the political process, preventing the emergence of political consensus that results from the democratic process? Might it be those who constantly inveigh against "the rich" and "paying their fair share," when the fact is that "the rich" not only pay their "fair share" but the "fair share" of quite a few of their neighbors?
I hear that Chuckie Schumer is perhaps the most scholarly and bright member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. But this kind of slick and nonsensical political rhetoric belies that notion. "Division" in America isn't avoided or minimized by committing to judicial decisionmaking issues properly resolved by the political process. Aside from the fact that the course advocated by Chuckie does violence to the democratic and constitutional process, and virtually guarantees continuing political controversy, it bespeaks a political cravenness that one would hope to avoid in elected public officials.
California Bloggin'
With apologies to Hampden-Sydney alum Pappa John Phillips.
In Sacramento, on a case, and just saw a commercial against Proposition 77, which would amend the California State Constitution to take redistricting out of the hands of the legislature and give it to three judges.
Not sure how I would vote, if it were up to me. But the far Left has gone on the warpath against this and other of the Governator's proposed "reforms."
The rhetoric was hilarious. Since when does the far Left resent the notion of "unelected judges" wielding too much power? The people opposing this are the same ones who insist that Roe v. Wade is sacrosanct.
Please tell me, what is the difference?
In Sacramento, on a case, and just saw a commercial against Proposition 77, which would amend the California State Constitution to take redistricting out of the hands of the legislature and give it to three judges.
Not sure how I would vote, if it were up to me. But the far Left has gone on the warpath against this and other of the Governator's proposed "reforms."
The rhetoric was hilarious. Since when does the far Left resent the notion of "unelected judges" wielding too much power? The people opposing this are the same ones who insist that Roe v. Wade is sacrosanct.
Please tell me, what is the difference?
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Rosa Parks
I guess it's because she did what made her famous before I was ever born, but I wasn't as deeply moved as some by the recent death of Rosa Parks. A respectable woman and admirable icon, to be sure, but I can't say I was too deeply and emotionally affected by her death. That, and the fact that I have traveled across the country in four of the last five weeks (I'm leaving this afternoon, too).
But I have a question: Does anybody know the name of the rude SOB who demanded that a lady give up her seat for him?!?!?! I'd kinda like to know.
But I have a question: Does anybody know the name of the rude SOB who demanded that a lady give up her seat for him?!?!?! I'd kinda like to know.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Shameless Fatherly Pride
Finally figured out how to load photos, so here's two. The first is Hampden-Sydney's Homecoming, 2004. Patrick was only 3 1/2, and was a little afraid of the Tiger.
Two of the worlds cutest kids, Homecoming 2005
My wife gives me beautiful sons.
Hypocrisy Gut-Check
Thanks to our friends over at NoVA Squishes ... er, Too Conservative ....
You know, I might just have to change that moniker. It doesn't seem those folks are all that squishy, it's just that they seem to: (1) have bought into Sean Connaughton's cult of personality; and (2) possess an entirely immature and wholly personal resentment of yours truly. It's kind of funny, really, when you consider that the carping against me comes from people who hide behind a veil of anonymity, while Jim Riley and Scott Hirons are people whom I can respect and, not coincidentally, don't hide their identities.
Well, anyway, back to the original point (and I do have one). The boys and girl over at TC found this link, with a wonderful little parody of Delegate Jeff Frederick, soon to clean Hilda Barg's clock.
I seem to recall that our friends on the far Left were in high dudgeon over an advertisement run by Jerry Kilgore against Tim Kaine, in which the latter was rendered cartoonish, to reflect his cartoonish commitment to higher taxes and more government spending. Both Waldo and the boys and girls at Raising Kaine complained about that one.
Or was it simply a case of far Lefties opportunistically appealing to objective criteria which are abandoned when inconvenient?
Take a particular look at comment 17 on Waldo's blog. Identifying the foibles of the far Left is a burden, but someone has to do it.
You know, I might just have to change that moniker. It doesn't seem those folks are all that squishy, it's just that they seem to: (1) have bought into Sean Connaughton's cult of personality; and (2) possess an entirely immature and wholly personal resentment of yours truly. It's kind of funny, really, when you consider that the carping against me comes from people who hide behind a veil of anonymity, while Jim Riley and Scott Hirons are people whom I can respect and, not coincidentally, don't hide their identities.
Well, anyway, back to the original point (and I do have one). The boys and girl over at TC found this link, with a wonderful little parody of Delegate Jeff Frederick, soon to clean Hilda Barg's clock.
I seem to recall that our friends on the far Left were in high dudgeon over an advertisement run by Jerry Kilgore against Tim Kaine, in which the latter was rendered cartoonish, to reflect his cartoonish commitment to higher taxes and more government spending. Both Waldo and the boys and girls at Raising Kaine complained about that one.
Or was it simply a case of far Lefties opportunistically appealing to objective criteria which are abandoned when inconvenient?
Take a particular look at comment 17 on Waldo's blog. Identifying the foibles of the far Left is a burden, but someone has to do it.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Is This the Smoking Gun That Sinks Harriet Miers?
A tip of the hat to chimpstein.com. It seems that Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers aided efforts to perpetuate reactionary Liberalism by promoting IOLTA (Interest On Lawyer Trust Accounts). It's the method by which the bar lays claim to interest earned on property held by lawyers for their clients. While, in a just world, the clients would get that money, the far-Left scam has used it to fund far-Left activities which cannot get funding the old-fashioned way, by earning it.
This could be enough to sink the Miers' nomination.
This could be enough to sink the Miers' nomination.
Now, Here's a Huge Surprise
I know you were waiting, and here's the link.
It seems that the Washington [com]Post has come out with its editorial endorsements for statewide office in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
I won't make you click on the link to satisfy your curiosity, and I know it will come as a huge surprise, but it seems that the Post has decided decided to break with tradition and endorse .... [drum roll, please] .... the entire Democrat ticket!
The Post even managed to endorse Creigh Deeds, NRA endorsement to the contrary notwithstanding. This is the only real surprise among the endorsements, since the Post is among the worst offenders of those who demonize defenders of the Second Amendment. However, Deeds had little to worry about; the Post's continuing War on the Family virtually guaranteed that the paper would endorse anyone running against someone with Bob McDonnell's strong pro-family credentials.
It seems that the Washington [com]Post has come out with its editorial endorsements for statewide office in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
I won't make you click on the link to satisfy your curiosity, and I know it will come as a huge surprise, but it seems that the Post has decided decided to break with tradition and endorse .... [drum roll, please] .... the entire Democrat ticket!
The Post even managed to endorse Creigh Deeds, NRA endorsement to the contrary notwithstanding. This is the only real surprise among the endorsements, since the Post is among the worst offenders of those who demonize defenders of the Second Amendment. However, Deeds had little to worry about; the Post's continuing War on the Family virtually guaranteed that the paper would endorse anyone running against someone with Bob McDonnell's strong pro-family credentials.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
You Really Can't Make This Stuff Up!
Turns out the boys and girls at RaisingKaine are up to their old tricks of Democrat/Socialist double standards. This one's a two-fer.
First, they attack Bob McDonnell because, it turns out, his former campaign manager is a pedophile, convicted of a crime against a child five years after he managed a McDonnell campaign. Now, I'm no McDonnell fan (I supported Steve Baril for the GOP nomination), but could someone please explain how something that happened five years after his association with the pervert is supposed to hurt McDonnell?
And weren't these the same guys who defend Earnie Porta, who was himself found liable in a workplace discrimination lawsuit? In fact, didn't they misrepresent the record by claiming that Porta was "completely innocent of any wrongdoing"? Yep. It sure was.
Then there's the "Taliban Bob" smear of the post.
Again, correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't these the same guys who screamed foul over an accurate reference in a Jerry Kilgore advertisement by an average citizen who references Tim Kaine's apparent belief that even Adolf Hitler was not worthy of the death penalty? Oops! You just have to scroll down a little on the same page to find out that this is true.
Matter of fact, let's just do a little word substitution on the sanctimonious boobery that passes for commentary on the issue over at Raising Kaine:
First, they attack Bob McDonnell because, it turns out, his former campaign manager is a pedophile, convicted of a crime against a child five years after he managed a McDonnell campaign. Now, I'm no McDonnell fan (I supported Steve Baril for the GOP nomination), but could someone please explain how something that happened five years after his association with the pervert is supposed to hurt McDonnell?
And weren't these the same guys who defend Earnie Porta, who was himself found liable in a workplace discrimination lawsuit? In fact, didn't they misrepresent the record by claiming that Porta was "completely innocent of any wrongdoing"? Yep. It sure was.
Then there's the "Taliban Bob" smear of the post.
Again, correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't these the same guys who screamed foul over an accurate reference in a Jerry Kilgore advertisement by an average citizen who references Tim Kaine's apparent belief that even Adolf Hitler was not worthy of the death penalty? Oops! You just have to scroll down a little on the same page to find out that this is true.
Matter of fact, let's just do a little word substitution on the sanctimonious boobery that passes for commentary on the issue over at Raising Kaine:
Thankfully, it now looks like the [far-Left Democrat campaign to equate Conservatives with the Taliban] ad has begun to backfire, at least among [Christian and Muslim] leaders in Virginia. [In the middle of] the ... Holy [Month] of [Ramadan], Imam Mohammed Hussein of the [Al Aqsa Mosque] in Alexandria called it “demeaning and morally repugnant.” [Saddam Arafat], the Council on American-Islamic Relations'] regional director for the office that covers Virginia said that the [far-Left smear] ad is “inappropriate and insensitive, and, as part of a discussion of the [political debate] in the Commonwealth of Virginia, trivialize the horrors of the [Taliban].” [Yassir Sadat] of Richmond, the former president of [the Muslim Brotherhood], said that the [far-Left smears] went “beyond the pale” and was “strategically timed to run [during Ramadan].” Finally, [Imam Ruhollah Khomeini] of [Martyr's Congregation] in Richmond pointed out that “Bandying [[the Taliban's perversion of the Koran]] about is an affront to those who really know [the Taliban]. We know the real [Talibans] of the world.”Democrats and double standards. Puuuuuhfect together!Ouch.
So how badly, if at all, does the [Muslim] community’s outrage at the [far-Left smear] hurt [Democrats] politically? That’s a tough question. First, the [Muslim] population of Virginia is small, at just 66,000 (out of 7.1 million). On the other hand, [Muslims] generally vote in high percentages and this ad could prompt a larger-than-expected [Muslim] turnout on November 8. In a close election, which this one is shaping up to be, a few thousand votes could make all the difference. If so, the [far-Left "Taliban" smears] actually could be a factor - but not the way that [Democrats] intended it to be — 24 days from now.
Second, there are many Virginians who, although not [Muslim] themselves, have [Muslim] friends and relatives. Many of these people probably haven’t been following the Kaine-Kilgore contest much (or at all), and many probably weren’t even planning to vote on November 8. My guess is that the [far-Left "Taliban" smear] may have grabbed their attention, and that some of those people - how many, I don’t know - will now feel motivated to vote on November 8. Unfortunately for the [Democrats], I strongly doubt that many of these people will be voting for the [candidates supported by the] perpetrator[s] of the [far-Left "Taliban" smear]!
Third, millions of Virginians have learned about the [Taliban] in school, or through visits to the [Pentagon and site of the World Trade Center]. They know what [the Taliban] actually did [and supported], not just [allowing terrorists to train in their country], but also [engaging in genuine oppression of women, setting codes for men's appearances and family relations, preventing women from going to school, and destroying centuries-old religious sites]. They know that the [Taliban] is not, in any way, shape or form, relevant to the issue of [the Republican agenday for] the 21st century United States of America. There is certainly a risk that many Virginians will recoil at the utter absurdity of [the far Left and their mouthpieces at Raising Kaine], bringing the [Taliban] into a race for Governor of Virginia. If not, they certainly should. We’ll see.
Finally, there is the potential “backlash against the backlash” factor. Could there be a closet [anti-Islamic] vote in Virginia, now energized due to the [Islamic] leaders’ criticism of the [far-Left Taliban smear]? I certainly hope that’s not the case, but you never know.
By the way, I find it highly interesting that the [far-Left] has not pulled the [posts] from the[ir sites], yet [the Kaine campaign] is simultaneously attempting to distance itself from the reference to [the Taliban]. According to [Kaine] spokesman [Dewey Cheatham], “The sentiments uttered by Mr. [Feld] were his own.”
Oh. I see. So now [Raising Kaine]’s going to try and weasel out of this one too, huh? It’s all [Lowell Feld]’s fault, right? (sorry, but it was the [Raising Kaine website] that put the despicable [reference on its website and kept it there]) And by the way, isn’t [Feld] Jewish? (apparently so, but is that relevant in any way?) []
The bottom line here is that the [Raising Kaine website], with it’s reprehensible ["Taliban" smear], has gone way, WAY beyond the bounds of decency. As if all the othe reasons for opposing [Democrats] weren’t enough, this one should seal the deal. Hey, maybe someone should ask [Bob Beckel] — [Walter Mondale]’s top political strategist, now facing possible criminal charges in the [whoremongering] case — what HE thinks of the [far-Left "Taliban" smear].
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Meltdown at RaisingKaine
The boys and girls over at Raising Kaine are having a meltdown over Jerry Kilgore's very effective and accurate advertisements over Tim Kaine's intellectual chaos over the death penalty.
When their "outrage" is that contrived, you must be on to something.
Chad Dotson has a good discussion of the controversy here. The number of comments alone demonstrate the effectiveness of the Kilgore ad.
When their "outrage" is that contrived, you must be on to something.
Chad Dotson has a good discussion of the controversy here. The number of comments alone demonstrate the effectiveness of the Kilgore ad.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Lowering Standards
After following me into the blogosphere, the boys over at Too Conservative now have a contributor who is banging the drum for homo marriage.
She's started two threads on the subject.
Can someone explain to me how changing the fundamental institution of civilized society is "conservative"?
UPDATE: Pursuant to TC's comment, I have changed the references to neocon22's sex.
She's started two threads on the subject.
Can someone explain to me how changing the fundamental institution of civilized society is "conservative"?
UPDATE: Pursuant to TC's comment, I have changed the references to neocon22's sex.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
New Kilgore Advertisement
Thanks to Blue in Virginia, on the blogroll, I just saw this new Kilgore advertisement.
Heh, heh, heh.
If they're that ticked off, we must be doing something right.
Heh, heh, heh.
If they're that ticked off, we must be doing something right.
More Trouble for Former GOP Candidate
It seems that Debra Ann Wilson has been indicted on six counts of embezzlement of funds of the Woodbridge Senior High School Athletic Boosters Club. The story appeared in yesterday's Potomac News.
County GOP activists will remember that she was the GOP nominee against David Brickley in 1997. She was indicted then and convicted for election fraud, which warranted another story in today's edition. The actions taken against her seem --- to many --- to have been a model for the actions taken against Steve Chapman. Both moved (or claim to have moved) into the district to run for office.
Wilson ran against longtime County GOP activist Salvatore Perchiano for the GOP nomination to run against Brickley, and it was widely considered that her candidacy was an effort by certain GOP Powers That Be to deny Sal the nomination. Sal deserves much of the credit for the GOP surge in the County during the Nineties, when he organized and worked closely with the YRs, was Vice Chairman of the County Committee, and served as Operations Chairman.
If memory serves, Wilson came out of the Tom Davis camp. Of course, she's innocent until proven guilty, and I hope that she's not guilty. However, I would certainly have to reassess my opinion of her were she to be convicted of these charges. I have long thought that she was a victim of people who led her down the garden path, only to abandon her when the going got rough.
Maybe I was too charitable.
County GOP activists will remember that she was the GOP nominee against David Brickley in 1997. She was indicted then and convicted for election fraud, which warranted another story in today's edition. The actions taken against her seem --- to many --- to have been a model for the actions taken against Steve Chapman. Both moved (or claim to have moved) into the district to run for office.
Wilson ran against longtime County GOP activist Salvatore Perchiano for the GOP nomination to run against Brickley, and it was widely considered that her candidacy was an effort by certain GOP Powers That Be to deny Sal the nomination. Sal deserves much of the credit for the GOP surge in the County during the Nineties, when he organized and worked closely with the YRs, was Vice Chairman of the County Committee, and served as Operations Chairman.
If memory serves, Wilson came out of the Tom Davis camp. Of course, she's innocent until proven guilty, and I hope that she's not guilty. However, I would certainly have to reassess my opinion of her were she to be convicted of these charges. I have long thought that she was a victim of people who led her down the garden path, only to abandon her when the going got rough.
Maybe I was too charitable.
Update on Elian
It's almost a certainty that a six-year-old boy cost Al Gore the presidency in 2000.
I speak, of course, of Elian Gonzales, the then-six-year-old refugee whose mother gave up her life so that he could live in the United States. Almost certainly, it cost Al Gore enough votes in Florida's Cuban community to swing the state --- and the election--- to George W. Bush.
Of course, the Clintonistas --- including at least one attorney who had represented Clinton in the impeachment proceedings --- made sure that Elian was returned to the tender loving care of Fidel Castro, to become little more than an instrument of Castro's agitprop.
I turned past the story when I saw it on 60 Minutes on Sunday, but apparently, Duncan Currie had the stomach to watch the entirety of Bob Simon's report on Elian's life in Cuba since his return, and writes a brilliant article on it for The Weekly Standard.
Of the many crimes of the Clinton Administration, this was perhaps the most despicable.
I speak, of course, of Elian Gonzales, the then-six-year-old refugee whose mother gave up her life so that he could live in the United States. Almost certainly, it cost Al Gore enough votes in Florida's Cuban community to swing the state --- and the election--- to George W. Bush.
Of course, the Clintonistas --- including at least one attorney who had represented Clinton in the impeachment proceedings --- made sure that Elian was returned to the tender loving care of Fidel Castro, to become little more than an instrument of Castro's agitprop.
I turned past the story when I saw it on 60 Minutes on Sunday, but apparently, Duncan Currie had the stomach to watch the entirety of Bob Simon's report on Elian's life in Cuba since his return, and writes a brilliant article on it for The Weekly Standard.
Of the many crimes of the Clinton Administration, this was perhaps the most despicable.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
More on Earnie Porta
I should have mentioned it earlier, but the Potomac News finally got around to running a story on the Title VII lawsuit against Earnie Porta. It appeared one week after allegations were first brought to the attention of the paper by Prince William County Republican Committee Vice Chairman Michael Wooten.
Porta offered the same non-denial denials offered in the blogosphere, apparently hoping that no one would notice that he changes the subject from a claim for hostile work environment and retaliation (upon which the plaintiff prevailed) and sexual harassment (which was not even brought or pursued).
Today, another story appears today, about Republican Delegates asking Porta to drop out of the race. Unfortunately, with typical Pot. News accuracy, it makes reference to a "sexual harassment lawsuit," and includes a photo of Democrats in a "spontaneous" protest at McQuigg's office, calling for more socialism. Whether they were union thugs brought in from Maryland was not reported. And little Ricky Coplen, County Democrat Chair, apparently doesn't know the difference between "character assassination" and "character identification."
I wouldn't expect Porta to drop out. Heck, when he gets his clock cleaned in November, I expect him to announce for the Democrat nomination for President!
Porta offered the same non-denial denials offered in the blogosphere, apparently hoping that no one would notice that he changes the subject from a claim for hostile work environment and retaliation (upon which the plaintiff prevailed) and sexual harassment (which was not even brought or pursued).
Today, another story appears today, about Republican Delegates asking Porta to drop out of the race. Unfortunately, with typical Pot. News accuracy, it makes reference to a "sexual harassment lawsuit," and includes a photo of Democrats in a "spontaneous" protest at McQuigg's office, calling for more socialism. Whether they were union thugs brought in from Maryland was not reported. And little Ricky Coplen, County Democrat Chair, apparently doesn't know the difference between "character assassination" and "character identification."
I wouldn't expect Porta to drop out. Heck, when he gets his clock cleaned in November, I expect him to announce for the Democrat nomination for President!
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Fascinating Exchange with Harry's Primary Campaign Manager
I've had the most fascinating exchange with Harry Parrish's campaign manager over the last two days. Fascinating. It seems to have been provoked by my temerity in using the "Hitlary" to refer to the Lady Macbeth of Little Rock, and then dare to point out the similarities between her socialist/totalitarian agenda and the National Socialists, as well as play on the similarities between her first name and der Fuhrer's last. The point of my little bon mot is, of course, that while there are many on the far Left who freely compare Republicans to Hitler and frequently invoke his name, it is their ideology/agenda which has far more in common with der Fuhrer than anything ever proposed by any Republican of whom I am aware (excepting, of course, so-called "moderates").
Anyway, here it is, in the order in which I received and responded. It is lengthy, but anyone desiring a window into the mind of a supporter of a tax increaser who claims to be a Conservative, and an individual who claimed that "the campaign had absolutely nothing to do with the charges against Chapman other than reporting them when they came to our attention" (emphasis added), is invited to read, and be astounded.
Anke,
It is a truly entertaining experience to open my mail and find, in an e-mail seething with resentment, one full of "personal attacks and pissing matches," one which embraces them as a "stock in trade," one which dismisses my "allies" as "fanatically extreme," and one which states that I'll "come out looking like an idiot," the accusation that I am the one promoting the "politics of resentment."
If the length of your piece didn't demonstrate a rather significant expenditure of effort, I might simply dismiss it as slapstick. More's to pity that I cannot.
It's really too bad that you fail to recognize that constitutionalizing protection of marriage as it has been defined throughout history --- necessitated by the effort of a fringe element to change the meaning of a simple word --- is somehow an effort to "interpose[] the State in the most intimate of family relationship." It would be funny, if it didn't bespeak a woeful ignorance of exactly what is going on out there. Would I prefer to eschew cluttering up the Constitution with such an amendment? Certainly. Am I willing to stand idly by while life-tenured federal judges impose their values via "emanations," "penumbras," and other assorted shadowy excuses for legal reasoning? Not hardly.
What is interesting in this sense is your discussion of abortion. Your comments indicate that you and I agree that it is not a constitutional issue, though we might disagree if, upon the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Commonwealth should make it illegal. Your comments leave open whether your brand of "conservatism" means that you are satisfied to leave on the books a constitutional monstrosity which, in the words of one commentator, is "not constitutional law, and barely pretends to be."
And I am uncomfortable (and expressed that discomfort publicly) about the name "Homeland Security" and, indeed, the need for creation of yet another Cabinet post. Less so about the "PATRIOT Act," which at worst is a pale reflection of the restrictions upon civil liberties typical in war time (it doesn't compare to those in World War II, for example). Unfortunately, it seems that you have made the mistake of believing the caricature of the far Left as to its provisions and effect.
As for your discussion of marriage, "Conservative" doesn't mean quiescence in the face of assault upon values pre-dating our constitutional order, at least for me. That you seem to suggest that such efforts equate with Nazi genocide (of which I am well aware, BTW; Roehm was a notorious homosexual, not an "open" one, and the reasons for the "Night of the Long Knives" purge were political, not based upon his homosexuality) demonstrates just how radical you truly are. A commitment to "individual and states rights" an excuse for allowing perversion of the Constitution to validate perversion, and to provide additional protections for perverts. Adequate protections lie in the Fourth Amendment to allow them to practice their perversions behind closed doors; adequate provisions of contract law permit virtually all of the benefits that they seek. It is when what used to be the "love that dare not speak its name" becomes "the love that will not shut its mouth," demanding societal license and approval, that "Conservatives" must get off their lazy posteriors and act.
And the fact that your Conservative credentials pre-date mine is nothing more than a function of age. Sadly, your other comments belie the notion that with age comes wisdom.
Yes, I know what YAF is, or was, and was even a member for a time, after the last purge, if I recall correctly. And I founded a chapter of the Federalist Society, hosting and shepherding around Atlanta Clarence Thomas (don't know if I can call him "a friend," as if that has anything to do with anything), among others.
It is therefore odd that you would claim the "Conservative" mantle with regard to your support of a lawmaker who, so far as I know, has never embraced spending cuts, but is what Fred Barnes rightly calls a "Big Government conservative." But then, you seem to know so little about economics that you fail to recognize that, in the best supply-side tradition, the tax cuts pushed through by President Bush have increased Federal revenues, just as those signed by President Reagan did. Were it that they were accompanied by dismantling of the Liberal welfare state.
As for my faux pas, you may declare it as such as much as you like. But in doing so, you merely shed light on your woeful ignorance of political history and political ideologies.
Finally, as for the 50th District race, I didn't participate in it, save for a few Internet comments about the sleazy tactics of the campaign that you managed. "Lies"? Oh, Anke! You have demonstrated that the campaigns denials as to involvement in the charges against Steve Chapman were nothing but lies. To paraphrase Robert Duvall's character from "True Grit," I'd call that pretty bold talk from a demonstrated liar! You may dismiss Steve's supporters as you like, if it helps you sleep at night, but the fact that he won 45% of the vote in his first campaign demonstrates that Republican dissatisfaction with Harry runs deep. "Threats"? Please, be specific. I know of none, but, as I said, I didn't participate in the race, and I would love to know just what it is that you consider a "threat." "Threats" of criminal prosecution, perhaps? I'm sure it's just precious.
It is too bad that you confuse "articulate" and "well-informed" with "extreme." It is the type of name-calling that is most closely associated with the far Left. But it is, of course, easier than engaging in reasoned and well-informed debate, and is usually the tactic of those who lack the tools to do so.
Very truly yours,
About four hours later, I opened my mail to find this gem:
Anke,
Your arrogance is truly astounding. And here, I thought it was an occupational hazard in my profession. It's almost as astounding as your serial contradictions.
You confess that you are "seething with contempt for you and those who think like you do," making a distinction without a difference between contempt and resentment (which apparently arises from the fact that someone other than you sets the GOP agenda), and arrogantly presuming that you know how I "think."
Don't kid yourself: you've never troubled yourself to learn how I think, so please spare me your pretensions of omniscience (which sound strangely like an expression that you think you are God, but ... never mind). You profess that you "believe in the spirit of open-mindedness and occasional compromise," but them condemn me as someone who "believe[s] that any one person can be 100% right about all things at all times." Truth be told, I've never met anyone who can, and I've only ever heard of One. Neither have I ever met any one person who can be 100% wrong about all things at all times, though you seem to ascribe that characteristic to "[me] and those who think like [I] do."
The truth is the matter seems more to lie in the fact that -- while you protest belief that you "people of honor and integrity, regardless of their beliefs, can come together and formulate solutions to the worst problems of this world, if allowed" -- you refuse to "come together and formulate solutions to the worst problems of this world" with Conservatives like me. Disparaging the "honor and integrity" of myself is certainly easier than dealing with me, but those few who ever have challenged it have always found it to be a losing proposition. Indeed, too frequently in dealing with "people like you," I have found that "honor and integrity" are malleable. One example would be in the YRFV in the early Nineties, when an election was stolen by those who had to keep chartering material (which determined votes) secret to prevent the truth from coming out. Another would be Harry's campaign's protestations of non-involvement in the Chapman indictment.
If it makes you feel any better -- though I doubt your actual openmindedness, as compared to the principle to which you so desperately cling -- I "believe in tolerance," and distinguish it from "acceptance." I "do not believe that I know God's mind," and unlike those so quick to condemn devout Christians who happen to be Conservatives, don't caricature them as people who believe that "everyone else is going to go to Hell just because they don't believe like I do." And as people who have troubled themselves to know me -- the best man at my wedding, for instance, know that "I ... am ALWAYS ready to listen to another opinion," to debate an issue, and to alter my opinions when their bases become untenable. Perhaps you truly believe that you "know for sure is that no person, myself included, is always right," yet I know of no occasion when you have ever confessed error.
It's truly laughable, if not so tragic, that you seem so "scared" that people with whom you disagree are actually accomplishing Conservative goals. You apparently confuse the "heart ... of it" with the notion that one should accept anything. What that has to do with "honor" or "integrity" is a mystery, since those I know in the Conservative movement are among the most honorable, and demonstrate the most intellectual integrity, of any I have ever known. They don't make broad and uninformed accusations like "In your world, people are either with you or they're against you...there's no room for compromise, or even disagreement." Indeed, that is absurd; most frequently in politics in PWC, I have noticed that it is individuals who advocate less Conservative policy prescriptions who most frequently want to stifle debate, or avoid it entirely, probably because they lack the ability or basis for defending their ill-advised positions. You dismiss all those who don't happy to agree with you as having a "closed mind," and won't even relate the story of your retirement from politics because you imply that I lack an open mind. "[N]ot interested in doing the right thing"? Did you just happen to miss it when I was excoriated because I gave Democrat Lee Stoffregen credit for trying to keep a campaign promise, however ill-advised? Or when I defended Steve Keen for having the integrity to resign from the Republican Committee because he couldn't keep his word to support a Republican nominee in the ensuing election?
Your caricatures demonstrate a fundamental lack of knowledge of the people you excoriate. But unlike you, I won't assume or ascribe to you the motive that "you're only interested in the power to compel everyone to do everything your way." But to borrow a phrase from you (in part), "It's sad." Not "scary," but certainly pathetic.
Very truly yours,
I guess insomnia set in, because this name-dropping missive was apparently sent while most of us were sleeping, in the best Internet tradition:
Anke,
Unless your getting a sense of guilt over the fact that you're practicing exactly what you claim to be condemning (and that's about all I know about you), I really am not sure what purpose that this is serving, since you keep throwing out these unsupported and unsupportable aspersions ("What I know about you is largely from what I have heard you say in Committee meetings and what I have read of your thoughts in the blogs. You seem to shoot from the hip so it tends toward a personal attack rather than a debate. You're not always 'right on" with your facts either."), even ending on a personal attack, and an accusation.
You state that I was "the one that started attacking [you] personally in the blogs so [I] shouldn't be surprised that [you] think badly of [me] at the moment." It's no wonder you made your above-quoted comments, since you seem to believe that I attacked you personally.
What I said was that "shame -- like guilt -- is only appropriate for one's own actions. Therefore, I am not surprised that you feel ashamed." I did so in response to a post in which you: (1) stated that "the campaign had absolutely nothing to do with the charges against Chapman other than reporting them when they came to our attention" (here's a news flash, Anke: "reporting them when they came to our attention" is "[some]thing to do with the charges against Chapman"!); and (2) engaged in a blunderbuss attack upon "Chapman and his dishonorable tactics and lies," without ever identifying them. I then noted that you confirmed what Harry had denied (the campaign's prior knowledge of the charges), and your later comments demonstrate that Harry was either oblivious or lying (neither of which is a credit to him).
Of course, in none of these do I "attacki[] [you] personally in the blogs." Methinks you doth protesteth too much.
And in fact, what you "know about" me seems rather more derived from what you've heard said about me in Committee meetings by those who oppose me, and what you have read said about me in the blogs.
And I'm the one who "tends toward a personal attack"?!?!?! Please! I defy you to identify one occasion where I ever engaged in a "personal attack" (as opposed to a political attack), or got my facts wrong (one those rare occasions when I have, I have promptly corrected them). Putting a moniker like "marty's oversized melon" on a website is a "personal attack." Dismissing an opposing opinion as wrongheaded or recognizing an ulterior motive driving an action is not.
And your conclusion that my "interest[] in bringing the Republicans together .... suggests a willingness to welcome other viewpoints into the Party rather than drive them away" is mistaken. I am not interesting a political party which is merely a vehicle for personal political power. I am interested in a political party which stands for and advocates a set of principles, and draws people to it by the power of those ideas. Yep, that's right. I'm from the "ideology first" wing of the party. A willingness "to debate an issue, and to alter my opinions when their bases become untenable" is hardly a willingness to "welcome other viewpoints," especially when those viewpoints are contrary to the fundamental principles of the GOP. Your suggestion otherwise suggests that you --- contrary to protestations --- don't actually hold there such fundamental principles exist.
As for your comments about YRs, Jade and Ray (LaJeunesse, BTW) are both friends; Ray is my boss, as the Foundation's Legal Director; Megan is a long-time friend. I don't know the others to whom you refer (Annie Snyder is a familiar name, though I never met her).
I came in after the split to which you refer, when the continuing effects (believe it or not, by '93, having kicked out HS students, the aliens had to bring them in to pad their vote) resulted in the formation of VYRs. I was the only candidate elected from the Conservative slate, when the Virginia Beach/Alexandria types pulled their candidate against me for First Vice Chairman. Alas, when I wouldn't betray my friends for the bone that had been thrown to me, I was cashiered a year later, in a meeting scheduled for the same day as the 11th District GOP Convention. Apparently, the aliens didn't understand what it was to have YR leaders who were actually involved, respected, and running things at the local level (my recollection is that, in '94, I was Rules Committee Chairman).
As for Harry, I don't begrudge you or anyone else for supporting him. In fact, I personally like Harry. He contributed to one of my campaigns for School Board, and my visit to his office was like a flashback to my childhood, as my grandfather was an oil distributor. That he's "honorable" or "worthy" may (or may have been) true. There are plenty of honorable and worthy people out there (George McGovern comes to mind) who I would never vote for, though, because their positions are wrong-headed.
What I do reject and condemn is the dishonesty of the campaign's denial that it was involved in the charges (whether those charges were true or not). Harry ran that campaign, or it was run on his behalf. Promoting the bringing of criminal charges was nothing less than a move of desperation, a desperation apparently well-justified, given Harry's ability to win only 55% of the GOP primary vote.. Nothing you have said here or elsewhere is anything but confirmation that Harry was either: (1) aware of and intimately involved in the smear campaign against Steve; (2) oblivious to what his own operatives were doing; or (3) initially oblivious to it but later endorsed it, because he didn't fire Kenny Klinge. None of those three possibilities reflect well on Harry. And given the resume that you put forth, and the people whom I respect with whom you have worked, it is disturbing that you would be a party to it.
You repeat the comment that "I'll be happy to enumerate in detail the intimidation, misrepresentations, etc., to which I had previously referred."
Please do.
By all means.
I'm still waiting, and this is the second time that you have referred to, but not enumerated, them.
As I understand it, Steve's campaign was run primarily on the tax issue. It is a mystery to me as to what "intimidation" could have occurred (except, of course, the filing of criminal charges against Steve), and to my knowledge, the only "misrepresentations" which occurred was Harry's laughable or pitiable (I'm not sure which) suggestion to some that his vote had actually been for tax reductions.
Very truly yours,
However, our friend Anke just doesn't seem to get it, and then resorts to the very name-calling and attacks that she attributes to, and purports to condemn in, me. Therefore, she responded with this little love note at 5 this afternoon:
Olive branch!?!?!?!
Let me count the ways:
"You seem to shoot from the hip so it tends toward a personal attack...."
"You're not always 'right on" with your facts either..."
"nothing that you have said previously ... cause me to doubt my original opinion ..."
"You were the one that started attacking me personally in the blogs...."
"you shouldn't be surprised that I think badly of you at the moment...."
Lady (and I use the term generously), you have got one outrageously distorted view of what an "olive branch" is. Even ignoring your perpetual and serial insults, I've given you three opportunities to spill all of this supposed "dirt" that you claim to have on Steve ("I'll be happy to enumerate in detail the intimidation, misrepresentations, etc., to which I had previously referred."), yet you've offered nothing but broad and unsupported slanders.
So I ask again: What is "the intimidation, misrepresentations, etc., to which [you] had previously referred?
Your failure to answer heretofore seems to come down to the fact that Steve Chapman had the temerity to move into a district and challenge and nearly beat a politician who has been there so long that he's forgotten the values of the people who sent him there, for whom people are now voting out of mere habit, and who you happen to (for now, at least) respect and support.
It's indeed ironic that you call me a "jerk." You know from whence you speak.
Very truly yours,
So, there it is. Multiple opportunities to spill the dirt, and no facts; just slanders. I'll be sure to post anything else (that is, if anything else comes across after I post this) that Sister Anke sends, for your reading enjoyment.
Anyway, here it is, in the order in which I received and responded. It is lengthy, but anyone desiring a window into the mind of a supporter of a tax increaser who claims to be a Conservative, and an individual who claimed that "the campaign had absolutely nothing to do with the charges against Chapman other than reporting them when they came to our attention" (emphasis added), is invited to read, and be astounded.
At 01:17 AM 9/30/2005, you wrote:
I am responding to your remarks regarding "Hitlary" in the NLS blog because, unlike you, I really don't believe that the majority of the people who visit and participate in these blogs that are designed for intelligent discussion really want to be subjected to personal attacks and pissing matches, which seem to be your stock in trade. I will, however, be happy to respond publicly if you insist because, unlike you, I don't believe that I'd be the one who would come out looking like an idiot.
It amazes me how you, in your zeal to bluster your way out of a faux pas (equating Hillary to a fascist rather than a socialist), arrogantly try to rewrite history rather than admit you misspoke. I'm no fan of Hillary's...on the contrary, you'd be pretty close to the truth in describing her as a socialist...but what I found most interesting about your post was, in attempting to justify your position, you enumerate points which I found to be far more in tune with you and your fanatically extreme allies.
For instance, "Both embrace interposition of the State into the most intimate of family relationships." What, exactly, do you call a Constitutional Amendment which defines the nature of marriage??? My conservative credentials were first established, probably before you were born but most certainly before you were out of elementary school, when we fought the battle to wrest the Virginia Republican Party away from the Linwood Holton liberals and bring the conservative dems into the Republican Party (an effort led, in part, by Dick Obenshain, who was a friend, btw). I was a unit chairman of YAF (if you're too young to remember, that stands for Young Americans for Freedom) and a member of the conservative Virginia "Team." We conservatives, in those days, believed strongly in limiting government interference in the lives of the citizenry. We were also strong Constitutionalists and believed that amendments to that revered document should only be applied in the most extreme circumstances and never by imposing upon the personal and private lives of the individual (yes, we believed in individual and states' rights). We believed that government should balance its checkbook (tax cuts, yes, but only with commensurate cost cuts) and, at every opportunity, reduce the debt which we are passing on to future generations. Abortion, in those days, was an issue of states' rights and, for those of us opposed to the act itself, a condemnation of the use of our tax dollars to perform such an egregious act, but one that was, and is, of a very personal nature (God gave man...and woman...the right to choose right from wrong. Got'em kicked outta the Garden of Eden, afterall). I guess that's considered a "pro-choice" position nowadays, by right wing radicals. I'm still the same conservative that I have always been.
Today's so-called "conservative" (of which you are representative) believe that the Federal Government should impose it's will upon all people and all States in all things (marriage amendment, among other things); you believe that it is correct to take away the rights of the individual in the name of security (Patriot Acts, Homeland Security [interestingly enough, that is the English translation of the name of the NAZI secret police]); you believe in tax cuts regardless of spending cuts, on both the State and Federal level, the future be damned (I'm primarily referring to the Fed. tax cut); and our so-called conservative Republican Majority in both the Senate and House have shown themselves to be bigger porkers than the Dems ever were. Yeah, Dick Obenshain must be spinning in his grave to see what conservatism has become.
Now, you say "Both embrace the politics of resentment." Well, what do you think you and your fellows do constantly. I've seen this "if you're not 100% with me, you're against me" attitude displayed by you and the rest time after time over the past few years...never so blatantly as I did in the Primary Election in the 50th District. Your people (most of whom were from outside of our district) in the 50th utilized intimidation tactics including, but not limited to, threats, merely because somebody who happened to be a conservative had the nerve to support Harry Parrish. Not isolated incidents either. Lies, misrepresentations, intimidation...a daily occurrence throughout the campaign. I know that your motto is "the end justifies the means" but that's not very Christian, now is it?...and sounds a bit fascist to me.
In terms of rewriting history, you should perhaps go back to it and check out what happened to homosexuals under fascism. They, as were the mentally ill, socialists, and political opponents in general, were persecuted just the same way as were the Jewish people. THAT is the fact. You don't really think that Roehm was openly homosexual, do you? Besides...Hitler had him and his entire staff massacred in 1934 while they were in a staff meeting. Maybe he found out (sarcasm alert). Actually, the reasons were more complex than that, but perhaps you should look it up for yourself.
If there is anybody out there hatemongering in the political arena today, it's you and those of your ken. It is YOU, and others of your ilk, who want to impose your values (rather, lack of them) and beliefs upon all others, here and abroad. Who made you God?
Anke Cheney
Since I was traveling on Friday, and out of town all weekend, it took me until Monday at about 10 a.m., to respond:
Anke,
Very truly yours,
About four hours later, I opened my mail to find this gem:
At 02:07 PM 10/3/2005, you wrote:Well, an occupational hazard is an almost manic inability to require the last word, so I responded about 100 minutes later:
I hardly think that my email was "seething with resentment," as you say. Actually, you might say it is more seething with contempt for you and those who think like you do. I happen to believe that people of honor and integrity, regardless of their beliefs, can come together and formulate solutions to the worst problems of this world, if allowed. I happen to believe in the spirit of open-mindedness and occasional compromise because, unlike you, I have NEVER believed that any one person can be 100% right about all things at all times. I, unlike you, believe in tolerance because, unlike you, I do not believe that I know God's mind and everyone else is going to go to Hell just because they don't believe like I do. I, unlike you, am ALWAYS ready to listen to another opinion and put myself in another's shoes because the one thing that I know for sure is that no person, myself included, is always right.
This is what scares me about what you and others have done to the conservative movement. You've taken the heart out of it...there's no room for those wonderful values such as honor, integrity, open-mindedness, and tolerance. In your world, people are either with you or they're against you...there's no room for compromise, or even disagreement. You toe the line or you are with "them." I saw this starting in the early '80's in Prince William County and kept it out of the conservative campaigns here until I "retired" from politics (a long story that I would happy to relate, if I were relating it to an open mind). You're really not interested in doing the right thing...you're only interested in the power to compel everyone to do everything your way. It's sad...and scary...
Anke Cheney
Anke,
Very truly yours,
I guess insomnia set in, because this name-dropping missive was apparently sent while most of us were sleeping, in the best Internet tradition:
At 02:17 AM 10/4/2005, you wrote:One of my bad --- or maybe good --- habits is to decline to suffer the insults of those pretending like, or perhaps really so arrogant as to really believe that, they really care about me because they want to disabuse me of my erroneous ways. So I couldn't help but reply with this at about 2:10 this afternoon:
Jim, your last reply gave me pause for thought. You are certainly right about one thing...I guess I really don't know you. What I know about you is largely from what I have heard you say in Committee meetings and what I have read of your thoughts in the blogs. You seem to shoot from the hip so it tends toward a personal attack rather than a debate. You're not always "right on" with your facts either. That aside, you also don't know me. Maybe we should try to sit down and talk...we might both find it valuable. Actually, it was your references to the YR split in several of your blog posts that I read tonight which makes me most interested in listening to your perspective of things. Also, that you say you are interested in bringing the Republicans together. That suggests a willingness to welcome other viewpoints into the Party rather than drive them away.
Perhaps I should tell you a little bit about myself. I did, in fact, found the Prince William County Young Republicans in 1975. I also founded and sponsored numerous Teenage Republican Clubs around the County in those years. We had, countywide, more than 500 YRs and TARs and could, with very little notice, field a MINIMUM of 50 workers at any given time. It was one of the top 10 stories of the Journal Messenger in their New Years edition of 1977. We were a strong State Federation in those days...and strongly Conservative. Our core group included the likes of Jade West, Ray Legeunes, Jim Gilmore and Kathy (Coe) Royce (Coombs), among others. Morton Blackwell was peripherally involved (he sometimes hosted our "retreats" and we worked with him). I was originally assigned, and succeeded, in taking over the 8th Congressional District for the Team in Virginia, wresting it away from a liberal, and ineffective, Alexandria YR Club. It was my YRs and TARs (18 before next election, of course) who provided the swing vote which took the Republican County Committee away from the likes of Annie Snyder and Gill LeKander, who were happy to keep the group only large enough to meet in a phone booth because they could then just take turns running things...and never get anyone elected. This was the beginning of the growth of the Republican Party in Prince William County. [I turned the YRs in PWC over to Megan Lott in '82 or '83...can't remember exactly when]
I was a member of the VA "Team" in those days. Super secret then...doesn't exist now. It died out about the time of that YR State Convention which created the split. You can thank Jay Timmons and his bunch for that, as well as the split. I heard about what they were planning too late to do anything about it, except go to the convention in the hopes that I could talk some sense into those boys (I had long been out of the YRs). Until then, the YRs had been a very powerful element of the RPV. No decisions were made without YR involvement and YRs were highly respected among Republicans statewide. That ended virtually overnight. I'll be happy to fill in the gaps if we should ever sit down and talk.
This is only a portion of my political resume. I "retired" from politics in 1985 (I actually started in CRs in 1969) and came out occasionally when something extreme was about to happen (I would get the "call" that someone was trying to pull the Party apart with slating, instruction, or some other divisive nonsense) and I would step in, do my thing and retire gracefully again. I became somewhat active again during the School Board elections in 1993 because my children were in school at the time and I was concerned about the school system. My solution was to elect myself a School Board. I helped recruit and I designed the campaign plans for 6 of the 8 candidates for School Board that year. Everything I did was behind the scenes, as was with some subsequent operations in the County in which I played a role. The only exception was Harry's campaign.
Harry Parrish is one of the few politicians who could ever have gotten me fully involved in a campaign at this stage of my life. I've lived in Prince William County almost my entire life and have known Harry Parrish for most of my adult life. I never met a more honorable or worthy man (with the exception of Dick Obenshain) in my entire life. I didn't (and don't) always agree with him, but nobody should always expect to agree with someone 100% of the time (my opinion, of course), so that doesn't make me think less of him. Steve Chapman, on the other hand, is quite a different story. The truth will out and a lot of those people who think he has been wronged will be sitting down to a banquet of crow. My original post on Bacon's Rebellion was a reaction to the quote from Steve of "trumped up charges"...this was a last straw for me. I'm going to make sure that the truth gets out. This is another issue that I would be happy to discuss with you at any time and at any length that you wish. I get the feeling that you really only know what you have read in the media about it or, perhaps, heard from the people who put him up to it in the first place. I'll be happy to enumerate in detail the intimidation, misrepresentations, etc., to which I had previously referred.
If I have been wrong about you Jim, I'd be the first to admit it...but nothing that you have said previously (other than my not knowing you well personally) cause me to doubt my original opinion. That doesn't mean that I believe that I'm wrong. I hope that I am, actually. You were the one that started attacking me personally in the blogs so you shouldn't be surprised that I think badly of you at the moment.
Anke (maiden name Wiechmann) Cheney
Anke,
Very truly yours,
However, our friend Anke just doesn't seem to get it, and then resorts to the very name-calling and attacks that she attributes to, and purports to condemn in, me. Therefore, she responded with this little love note at 5 this afternoon:
Naturally, I couldn't allow Sister Anke to labor under the misconception that her serial insults constituted an "olive branch," so I responded with this:OK...'nuff said...you are indeed the jerk I thought you to be originally. So ends this string and the olive branch is withdrawn.A. W. Cheney
Olive branch!?!?!?!
Let me count the ways:
"You seem to shoot from the hip so it tends toward a personal attack...."
"You're not always 'right on" with your facts either..."
"nothing that you have said previously ... cause me to doubt my original opinion ..."
"You were the one that started attacking me personally in the blogs...."
"you shouldn't be surprised that I think badly of you at the moment...."
It's indeed ironic that you call me a "jerk." You know from whence you speak.
Very truly yours,
So, there it is. Multiple opportunities to spill the dirt, and no facts; just slanders. I'll be sure to post anything else (that is, if anything else comes across after I post this) that Sister Anke sends, for your reading enjoyment.
Hilarious Post on RaisingKaine
It's nice to know that there are things that you can depend upon. The far Lefties over at Raising Kaine are all agog over Rahm Emmanuel's appearance on Sunday's Meet the Press. In it, he laid out a five-point agenda to address the "Republican Culture of Corruption," the latest buzzword to come out of the DNC's talking points memo.
I guess "sleaze factor" was just passe, and might have been confused with the Clinton Interregnum.
Wow! That's impressive! Democrats see (unproven) corruption in Republicans (proven corruption in a Democrat President is ignored) and offer .... more Socialism!
Boy, there's a fresh agenda.
I guess "sleaze factor" was just passe, and might have been confused with the Clinton Interregnum.
Wow! That's impressive! Democrats see (unproven) corruption in Republicans (proven corruption in a Democrat President is ignored) and offer .... more Socialism!
Boy, there's a fresh agenda.
More Evidence That TaxLovers are Democrats
It seems that retiring Delegate Jim Dillard (RINO-Fairfax) has endorsed Democrat Dave Marsden over Republican Michael Golden, over the tax issue.
Despicable.
Despicable.
UVA Junior Ignores Medical Realities
As I tell my son when they're sick, my degree is in law, not medicine.
But having observed twenty-five years of AIDS politics (I even remember its other acronym, GRID, for "Gay Related Immune Deficiency"), and having vivid memories of the effort to suggest that it would soon be a disease rampant among non-IV-drug-using heterosexuals, it's nevertheless amazing that there are still efforts to deny that, at least in the United States, it remains a disease primarily spread by people putting into their bodies (or parts of their bodies) things that don't belong there. It is more difficult for women in the United States, generally more healthy than their African counterparts, to get it, and it is almost impossible for a man without other "social diseases" to get it through heterosexual conduct.
Usually, medical professionals deal with facts. As a result, there is and remains a long-standing policy against accepting blood donations from men who have, since 1977, engaged in "sexual contact" with other men or another man. Other restrictions are imposed against those who: (1) have used needles to take drugs, steroids, or anything not prescribed by a doctor; (2) have taken money, drugs, or other payment for sex since 1977; (3) have had sexual contact within the past 12 months with anyone who has done so; (4) had syphilis or gonorrhea in the past 12 months; or (5) have, in the last 12 months, been in juvenile detention, lockup, jail or prison for more than 72 hours.
Nevertheless, some genius and advocate for the radical homosexual agenda at the University of Virginia advocated last week removing this restriction, claiming that it is based upon "discriminatory concepts and outdated statistics."
Well, yeah. It is based upon the "discriminatory concept" which discriminates based upon behavior. 'Fact is, most of us "discriminate" every day. I don't choose to associate with alcoholics, racists, criminals, child abusers, those who are "hygiene-challenged," many Democrats, and other undesirable types. Some don't associate with smokers. Strangely, the author does not take up for the other categories of discriminatees listed above.
Of course, most of the piece is nonsense. Homosexual activity remains among the most frequent and effective means of transmitting the AIDS virus. But for the supporters of the radical homosexual agenda, concern over the "feelings" of those who "desire ... to someday be included in this affirming activity" is more important than insuring the safety of the blood supply.
As for me, I'm also old enough to remember Ryan White, who died of AIDS contracted from a transfusion with tainted blood.
An article like this really motivates one to want to go out and look for a candidate that would defund "The University."
But having observed twenty-five years of AIDS politics (I even remember its other acronym, GRID, for "Gay Related Immune Deficiency"), and having vivid memories of the effort to suggest that it would soon be a disease rampant among non-IV-drug-using heterosexuals, it's nevertheless amazing that there are still efforts to deny that, at least in the United States, it remains a disease primarily spread by people putting into their bodies (or parts of their bodies) things that don't belong there. It is more difficult for women in the United States, generally more healthy than their African counterparts, to get it, and it is almost impossible for a man without other "social diseases" to get it through heterosexual conduct.
Usually, medical professionals deal with facts. As a result, there is and remains a long-standing policy against accepting blood donations from men who have, since 1977, engaged in "sexual contact" with other men or another man. Other restrictions are imposed against those who: (1) have used needles to take drugs, steroids, or anything not prescribed by a doctor; (2) have taken money, drugs, or other payment for sex since 1977; (3) have had sexual contact within the past 12 months with anyone who has done so; (4) had syphilis or gonorrhea in the past 12 months; or (5) have, in the last 12 months, been in juvenile detention, lockup, jail or prison for more than 72 hours.
Nevertheless, some genius and advocate for the radical homosexual agenda at the University of Virginia advocated last week removing this restriction, claiming that it is based upon "discriminatory concepts and outdated statistics."
Well, yeah. It is based upon the "discriminatory concept" which discriminates based upon behavior. 'Fact is, most of us "discriminate" every day. I don't choose to associate with alcoholics, racists, criminals, child abusers, those who are "hygiene-challenged," many Democrats, and other undesirable types. Some don't associate with smokers. Strangely, the author does not take up for the other categories of discriminatees listed above.
Of course, most of the piece is nonsense. Homosexual activity remains among the most frequent and effective means of transmitting the AIDS virus. But for the supporters of the radical homosexual agenda, concern over the "feelings" of those who "desire ... to someday be included in this affirming activity" is more important than insuring the safety of the blood supply.
As for me, I'm also old enough to remember Ryan White, who died of AIDS contracted from a transfusion with tainted blood.
An article like this really motivates one to want to go out and look for a candidate that would defund "The University."
The Conservative Firestorm Over Harriet Miers
Given the nature of the real job, I am reticent to comment upon Supreme Court nominees. While I doubt that anything I ever say here will have any kind of impact in any case that I might get to the Court (and I've filed more than a few cert. petitions; even had one granted), the possibility exists, and where the profession is concerned, discretion is truly the better part of valor.
That does not preclude me from commenting upon Conservative criticism of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. As noted by Norm at One Man's Trash, "Over at Sic Semper, both Old Zach and Lighthorse Harry are unleashing their fury at the President and the seeming inability of conservatives to stand up for principle these days." Neither does Chad or a number of commenters hold their fire at Commonwealth Conservative.
Let me first say that I have no inside knowledge of Miers. Never met her. Never heard her speak or saw her at a Federalist Society Convention (something which is or maybe should be de rigeuer for any Bush nominee). Never even saw her name, 'cept in news reports. Even Chief Justice John Roberts once appeared on the right side of briefing in a case that I litigated (that's a public record). So I really have no way of assessing her record. And there is some legitimate concern about whether the President inherited the Bush gene that causes squishing.
With that having been said, I wonder whether Conservative criticism --- not mere concern --- is justified. Perhaps Fred Barnes said it best last night, when he noted that, to believe the concerns on the right have merit, you have to believe that the President either picked a moderate, or truly doesn't know whether she is dependably Conservative, for the Supreme Court: (1) after filling the appellate court benches with rock-ribbed Conservatives; (2) after having fought for them and in some cases, renominated them; (3) after publicly noting that his model Supreme Court Justices are Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas; and (4) after having worked with this woman on a daily basis for more than a decade.
If a Justice Miers disappoints, then Conservative criticism should be withering, for all the good it will do when she has life tenure. But we simply don't know enough to know whether that will be the case, and --- on this issue at least --- this President has earned the trust of Conservatives.
Sorry, but I just don't think that this concern is well grounded. The President has heretofore demonstrated absolute commitment to reigning in the federal judiciary with Conservative appointees. While watchfulness and skepticism is always the rule where politicians are concerned, and Justice David Souter is precedent for suspicion of any nominee without a paper trail, this President's record on this issue demonstrates that he is worthy of some faith that his nominee will fulfill Conservative expectations.
Perhaps something will come out to cause me to change my mind on this. But thus far, I haven't seen it.
That does not preclude me from commenting upon Conservative criticism of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. As noted by Norm at One Man's Trash, "Over at Sic Semper, both Old Zach and Lighthorse Harry are unleashing their fury at the President and the seeming inability of conservatives to stand up for principle these days." Neither does Chad or a number of commenters hold their fire at Commonwealth Conservative.
Let me first say that I have no inside knowledge of Miers. Never met her. Never heard her speak or saw her at a Federalist Society Convention (something which is or maybe should be de rigeuer for any Bush nominee). Never even saw her name, 'cept in news reports. Even Chief Justice John Roberts once appeared on the right side of briefing in a case that I litigated (that's a public record). So I really have no way of assessing her record. And there is some legitimate concern about whether the President inherited the Bush gene that causes squishing.
With that having been said, I wonder whether Conservative criticism --- not mere concern --- is justified. Perhaps Fred Barnes said it best last night, when he noted that, to believe the concerns on the right have merit, you have to believe that the President either picked a moderate, or truly doesn't know whether she is dependably Conservative, for the Supreme Court: (1) after filling the appellate court benches with rock-ribbed Conservatives; (2) after having fought for them and in some cases, renominated them; (3) after publicly noting that his model Supreme Court Justices are Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas; and (4) after having worked with this woman on a daily basis for more than a decade.
If a Justice Miers disappoints, then Conservative criticism should be withering, for all the good it will do when she has life tenure. But we simply don't know enough to know whether that will be the case, and --- on this issue at least --- this President has earned the trust of Conservatives.
Sorry, but I just don't think that this concern is well grounded. The President has heretofore demonstrated absolute commitment to reigning in the federal judiciary with Conservative appointees. While watchfulness and skepticism is always the rule where politicians are concerned, and Justice David Souter is precedent for suspicion of any nominee without a paper trail, this President's record on this issue demonstrates that he is worthy of some faith that his nominee will fulfill Conservative expectations.
Perhaps something will come out to cause me to change my mind on this. But thus far, I haven't seen it.
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