Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Posting at Too Conservative
I'm now posting over at http://www.tooconservative.com/ though I'll cross-post here (below)
Monday, January 23, 2012
Return of Plastic Fetus Guy!
It sure didn't take long.
Yes, at his very first opportunity, newly minted state senator Dick Black resumed his place as the General Assembly's chief social wingnut. Once again under the insulting guise of protecting the mother's health, Black has offered legislation clearly designed to further intimated and punish women seeking abortions. His latest bill, SB 279, would force a doctor at the time the abortion procedure was scheduled to perform an ultrasound "to more accurately determine gestation age and further protect the health of the mother" and, further, force the doctor to offer the mother to view the ultrasound. Yeah, like the mother's health is bettered by showing her the ultrasound of the fetus she came to abort. What a complete ass.
And for all those Dick Black apologists who, during the campaign, argued Black's plastic fetus fetish was a thing of the past, I ask simply, "Where are you now?"
Yes, at his very first opportunity, newly minted state senator Dick Black resumed his place as the General Assembly's chief social wingnut. Once again under the insulting guise of protecting the mother's health, Black has offered legislation clearly designed to further intimated and punish women seeking abortions. His latest bill, SB 279, would force a doctor at the time the abortion procedure was scheduled to perform an ultrasound "to more accurately determine gestation age and further protect the health of the mother" and, further, force the doctor to offer the mother to view the ultrasound. Yeah, like the mother's health is bettered by showing her the ultrasound of the fetus she came to abort. What a complete ass.
And for all those Dick Black apologists who, during the campaign, argued Black's plastic fetus fetish was a thing of the past, I ask simply, "Where are you now?"
Sunday, January 22, 2012
My Advice to Mitt Romney: Stay Soft
Guest Post by Angelo Dundee*
Everyone knows that controversy sells papers and air time. And you can’t blame the media. Ultimately, it’s the public’s unquenchable blood thirst for zingers, flubs and controversial sound bites that fuels the 24/7 news cycle. So what happens when a presidential candidate refuses to play? Well, he’s chastised for being “soft.”
Romney needs to ignore that criticism and keep his eye on the prize. At the end of the day, Romney, or whoever the Republican nominee is, must sway not the extreme elements of the Republican base to win the presidency but, rather, those moderate Americans who voted for Barack Obama. Romney certainly isn’t going to appeal to that middle if he gets dragged into a gutter fight with his Republican opponents or, for that matter, going too far in establishing his conservative bona fides. Basically, he needs to show himself just conservative enough to win the nomination. And, just as importantly, he needs to show himself to be “presidential.”
For the most part, he’s done just that, avoiding the temptation of revenge by sound bite. And, so far, it has paid off despite one bad round in South Carolina. Like a boxing match, Romney needs to fight his fight. It may have all the excitement of Ali’s rope-a-dope now, but, like Ali’s, it will prove the winning strategy in the end.
*Not really
Everyone knows that controversy sells papers and air time. And you can’t blame the media. Ultimately, it’s the public’s unquenchable blood thirst for zingers, flubs and controversial sound bites that fuels the 24/7 news cycle. So what happens when a presidential candidate refuses to play? Well, he’s chastised for being “soft.”
Romney needs to ignore that criticism and keep his eye on the prize. At the end of the day, Romney, or whoever the Republican nominee is, must sway not the extreme elements of the Republican base to win the presidency but, rather, those moderate Americans who voted for Barack Obama. Romney certainly isn’t going to appeal to that middle if he gets dragged into a gutter fight with his Republican opponents or, for that matter, going too far in establishing his conservative bona fides. Basically, he needs to show himself just conservative enough to win the nomination. And, just as importantly, he needs to show himself to be “presidential.”
For the most part, he’s done just that, avoiding the temptation of revenge by sound bite. And, so far, it has paid off despite one bad round in South Carolina. Like a boxing match, Romney needs to fight his fight. It may have all the excitement of Ali’s rope-a-dope now, but, like Ali’s, it will prove the winning strategy in the end.
*Not really
Friday, January 20, 2012
Meaningful Government Reform? Color Me Skeptical
Leesburg Today has coverage of today’s first meeting of the Loudoun Government Reform Commission, charged with, among other things, “seek[ing] out means to more effectively and efficiently perform core county government functions and concentrate on core mission-oriented service.”
Good luck with that. Not to be too much of a downer, but it sounds a lot like the congressional Super Committee, and we know how well that worked out.
I hope someone can prove me wrong, but my prediction is this. The committee will come up with some great recommendations (some pie-in-the-sky and others not) the BOS will consider them, and then, for whatever reason, promptly reject them all but one – something like buying smaller sized Post-Its at an annual savings of $347.11.
Please, please bring me at least one adopted, material change that, at a minimum, offsets the thousands of dollars spent on administering this 13 member commission.
Good luck with that. Not to be too much of a downer, but it sounds a lot like the congressional Super Committee, and we know how well that worked out.
I hope someone can prove me wrong, but my prediction is this. The committee will come up with some great recommendations (some pie-in-the-sky and others not) the BOS will consider them, and then, for whatever reason, promptly reject them all but one – something like buying smaller sized Post-Its at an annual savings of $347.11.
Please, please bring me at least one adopted, material change that, at a minimum, offsets the thousands of dollars spent on administering this 13 member commission.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Scalia Rocks!
When I heard that Justice Antonin Scalia was coming to Tysons, I knew I had to be there. You see, I’ve been a big fan of his for more than 20 years and have written about him many times, but I had never seen him live. So, I got a ticket as soon as they went on sale, and got to the venue early so I’d be among the first in line. When the doors opened, I ran to the front and got a seat right next to the stage.
He didn’t disappoint.
He opened with his biggest hit, “Originalism,” and played it over and over, which was just fine for this audience. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, originalists view the Constitution as a text with fixed definition and scope. Originalists apply the Constitution to changing times by extrapolating the Founders’ original intent and applying it to current events. In other words, the Constitution is what it is, and it is what it always has been. The originalism tune Scalia played today covered everything from the death penalty to abortion to sodomy on the right, to criminal rights on the left. He also sang his familiar refrain that, if you can get enough people together, you can pass a law and create rights not otherwise recognized in the Constitution. Pretty simple way for Americans to address changing times and mores.
While he was also very, very funny, he didn’t pull any punches when discussing his liberal brethren or in chastising them for their judicial activism. Such activism, he said, does a disservice to the very point of any constitution, which is to provide stability and predictability. Indeed, construing the Constitution as a “living” document, pretty much means that the Constitution says whatever you want it to say on any particular day. His candor in rebuking his colleagues in that regard was, to me, the most surprising part of an awesome show.
The only disappointing thing about his performance was that he didn’t play Freebird.
He didn’t disappoint.
He opened with his biggest hit, “Originalism,” and played it over and over, which was just fine for this audience. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, originalists view the Constitution as a text with fixed definition and scope. Originalists apply the Constitution to changing times by extrapolating the Founders’ original intent and applying it to current events. In other words, the Constitution is what it is, and it is what it always has been. The originalism tune Scalia played today covered everything from the death penalty to abortion to sodomy on the right, to criminal rights on the left. He also sang his familiar refrain that, if you can get enough people together, you can pass a law and create rights not otherwise recognized in the Constitution. Pretty simple way for Americans to address changing times and mores.
While he was also very, very funny, he didn’t pull any punches when discussing his liberal brethren or in chastising them for their judicial activism. Such activism, he said, does a disservice to the very point of any constitution, which is to provide stability and predictability. Indeed, construing the Constitution as a “living” document, pretty much means that the Constitution says whatever you want it to say on any particular day. His candor in rebuking his colleagues in that regard was, to me, the most surprising part of an awesome show.
The only disappointing thing about his performance was that he didn’t play Freebird.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Victory is Mine!
SEE UPDATE BELOW ORIGINAL POST
For years, I”ve been screaming about the idiotic Republican loyalty oath (see here, here and here as a few examples). FINALLY the state Republican party is getting the message.
Due not to anything I wrote, but, instead, due to adverse national attention arising from the presidential primary process, the RPV voted to do away with the loyalty oath as a condition of voting in the Republican primary. Hallelujah!
Not to be too hyperbolic about it, but the implications of the vote for democracy in Virginia is akin to the effect the opening of the Hungarian borders in 1989 had on communism in eastern Europe. Recall that once the door to freedom was opened, the entire system collapsed. It’s the same thing here with the rule of the local party hacks.
Here’s why. With no loyalty oath, the paranoid among us have no option but to seek party registration in order to keep those fiendish Democrats from selecting the Republican nominee (as if that EVER happened). Sen. Mark Obenshain already has offered a bill in in that regard, and given his run for AG, my guess is that such a bill will pass this time. Party registration, then, eliminates the hyperpartisans” justification for the insular, undemocratic conventions that they’ve controlled, which, in turn, have yielded hyperpartisan candidates. And, since loyalty oaths were also required in firehouse primaries, the only remaining method of selection of the parties’ nominees is a state-run primary. So, in the end, we not only get a more democratic process but we get candidates who are more electable in a general election because they must appeal to a broader base to get the nomination in the first place.
Indeed, the shift to party registration, then inevitably to state-run primaries, will fundamentally change Virginia politics. With state-run primaries, candidates from both parties will be forced more to the middle of their respective parties in order to win the nomination. Thus, the eventual winner likely will be more moderate than in the case today where the nominees often are selected by the party extremists.
Great day for democracy in Virginia; bad day for partisan hacks.
UPDATE 8/18 1:20 pm: RPV Chairman Pat Mullins testifies before the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee in support of party registration! Yes, folks, like I said in the original post, the end of the oath has kicked off a chain of events that ultimately will spell the end of extremist control of the VA Republican party. It’s like the fall of the Berlin Wall, baby!
For years, I”ve been screaming about the idiotic Republican loyalty oath (see here, here and here as a few examples). FINALLY the state Republican party is getting the message.
Due not to anything I wrote, but, instead, due to adverse national attention arising from the presidential primary process, the RPV voted to do away with the loyalty oath as a condition of voting in the Republican primary. Hallelujah!
Not to be too hyperbolic about it, but the implications of the vote for democracy in Virginia is akin to the effect the opening of the Hungarian borders in 1989 had on communism in eastern Europe. Recall that once the door to freedom was opened, the entire system collapsed. It’s the same thing here with the rule of the local party hacks.
Here’s why. With no loyalty oath, the paranoid among us have no option but to seek party registration in order to keep those fiendish Democrats from selecting the Republican nominee (as if that EVER happened). Sen. Mark Obenshain already has offered a bill in in that regard, and given his run for AG, my guess is that such a bill will pass this time. Party registration, then, eliminates the hyperpartisans” justification for the insular, undemocratic conventions that they’ve controlled, which, in turn, have yielded hyperpartisan candidates. And, since loyalty oaths were also required in firehouse primaries, the only remaining method of selection of the parties’ nominees is a state-run primary. So, in the end, we not only get a more democratic process but we get candidates who are more electable in a general election because they must appeal to a broader base to get the nomination in the first place.
Indeed, the shift to party registration, then inevitably to state-run primaries, will fundamentally change Virginia politics. With state-run primaries, candidates from both parties will be forced more to the middle of their respective parties in order to win the nomination. Thus, the eventual winner likely will be more moderate than in the case today where the nominees often are selected by the party extremists.
Great day for democracy in Virginia; bad day for partisan hacks.
UPDATE 8/18 1:20 pm: RPV Chairman Pat Mullins testifies before the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee in support of party registration! Yes, folks, like I said in the original post, the end of the oath has kicked off a chain of events that ultimately will spell the end of extremist control of the VA Republican party. It’s like the fall of the Berlin Wall, baby!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Final Report Card on the 2007-2011 BOS
The final report card for the 2007-2011 Loudoun County Board of Supervisors came in yesterday’s mail. There’s just one grade on it: F. Make that F-.
The “report card” is my tax bill, which shows a $1.285 rate. Now, while we all know the “rate” is not the best measure of real estate tax burden, our rate has nonetheless increased 40% over the $0.917 rate in 2007. From the inherited $0.917 rate in 2007, it went to $1.14 in 2008, to $124.5 in 2009 then to $1.30 in 2010.
The actual tax on my house, moreover, has had a trajectory that would make NASA envious. It increased 35% over that same time. 35%!! That includes one year, 2008, when it increased 28%. Epic, epic failure of the BOS to control spending and/or diversify the tax base.
Thankfully, unlike elementary school, this board won’t be repeating the grade.
And let that be a “lesson” for the new board.
The “report card” is my tax bill, which shows a $1.285 rate. Now, while we all know the “rate” is not the best measure of real estate tax burden, our rate has nonetheless increased 40% over the $0.917 rate in 2007. From the inherited $0.917 rate in 2007, it went to $1.14 in 2008, to $124.5 in 2009 then to $1.30 in 2010.
The actual tax on my house, moreover, has had a trajectory that would make NASA envious. It increased 35% over that same time. 35%!! That includes one year, 2008, when it increased 28%. Epic, epic failure of the BOS to control spending and/or diversify the tax base.
Thankfully, unlike elementary school, this board won’t be repeating the grade.
And let that be a “lesson” for the new board.
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