Friday, July 29, 2011

Thought for the Day

I can't vouch for the authenticity of this purported Cherokee saying as I got it from a friend's Facebook post, but an inspiring thought nonetheless.
An old Cherokee told his grandson, "My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy and truth." The boy thought about it, and asked, "Grandfather, which wolf wins?" The old man quietly replied, "The one you feed."

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Still Conspicuous By Her Absence

See if you can figure out which candidate is missing from this list.  Extra credit if you know why.

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Photo credit and thanks to Phil Tran at NoVaCommonsense.com

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Fun With The Black Brigade

Dick Black’s higher visibility, particularly in handing out and collecting endorsements, has not translated into cash for either him or his endorsed candidates.  The most recent campaign finance reports show Black’s opponent, Prince William County Supervisor John Stirrup, outraised Mr. Black handily this year and has 30% more cash on hand.  Stirrup has $81,000 in the bank, having raised $75,000 this year.  Black, on the other hand, has about $60,000 on hand and has raised $51,000.

 Things are going even worse for those candidates whom Black has endorsed.  In the two northern Virginia House of Delegate races where he has endorsed a Republican candidate, Black’s candidate lags behind in fundraising.  Woefully behind.

*  In the 10th House of Delegate race, Black-endorsed John Whitbeck with $31,000 on hand is simply getting creamed by Randy Minchew with his $111,000 (one of the GA fundraising leaders, by the way).

*  In the 87th House of Delegates race, Jo-Ann Chase has a meager $15,000 on hand compared to David Ramadan’s $60,000.

Of course, there could be many reasons for these differences, but the fact is that the Black endorsement is not translating into money for his candidates, and could very well be bringing them down.  All in all, it’s looking like August will be black for the Black Brigade.

Cue the cacophony of radical Black supporters.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Something More We Can Learn From The Greeks

 With the Greek economy still on the verge of  collapse and even the  US's own creditworthiness now in doubt, I offer a redux of a post from last year on the Greek situation as a commentary on our current debt limit debate here.

Below the fold is the full original post.




The ancient Greeks gave us the fundamentals of philosophy, logic and government. The modern Greeks are giving us a lesson in economics.

Suffocated by the socialist policies that have crippled the nation's economy, Greece has had its bond rating cut to junk and continues to teeter on the brink of insolvency. Simply put, Greece's reckless spending on socialist welfare plans and government run enterprises has so drained its economy that it can no longer function under the tight constraints of the EU.

Take note, America. Continue growing a welfare state with state-run health care programs we cant afford and ignore the $13 trillion debt, and the US eventually will be crushed under the weight of its own debt or or be forced to so deflate its currency as to be virtually worthless. It's inevitable. Why? No politician, Republican or Democrat, has the guts to stop it. Both groups have their own spending priorities, but neither has any interest in keeping the national debt under control when. much less reducing it. There's plenty of talk, especially on the Republican side of the aisle, but when it comes to pet projects, even Frank Wolf won't refuse the money. So, really, then, it's only a matter of time until we're forced into extreme austerity measures (or wild tax increases) like those imposed upon Greece - or simply default on our obligations.

I'd like to believe we can still learn a little something from the Greeks, and reverse the trend by making some difficult decisions. My fear, though, is that in an arrogance built by years of economic excess without repercussion, we're simply ignoring the collapsing economies around us - and, more importantly, the reasons for their collapse.

The York/Stockman Result Proves My Point About Conventions

As I've said at every opportunity, conventions are a pitifully poor means of selecting a party's nominee.  There's the inherently undemocratic nature of it to begin with, then compound that with inane loyalty pledges and timing that allows the loser to run as an independent, and you have a receipt for failure.  Now, I didn't attend yesterday's convention, partly because I so strongly disagree with them in general (and so I  would have been fairly painted as hypocritical if I had) and partly because I have something of a life outside the drama of local politics.   I'm glad the candidates I supported won, but like at least a few others, I was quite surprised to see Steve Stockman give Scott York a run for his money.  In fact, if Stockman only had about another 25 votes from the Dulles district, he would have won the nomination.

The closeness of the race is due to nothing other than the method of selection.  Stockman received a total of 466 votes at the convention despite 63,000 Republican voters in Loudoun County.  Frankly, I doubt he would have had many more had the selection process been a county-wide primary: York would have demolished Stockman had the vote been put to the electorate at large.  He's better known and better liked than Stockman, and it’s that popularity that virtually ensures he will roll over Democrat Tom Bellanca in the general election, too.  Why, then, would we take the risk of putting forward the less electable candidate through a convention?   Indeed, had those few Dulles delegates shown up we'd be opening the door, if not setting out the welcome mat, for Chairman Bellanca.

The Republicans dodged a bullet.  Give credit to Stockman for getting a few rabid supporters to spend a Saturday cooped up in a high school auditorium.  But it takes a lot more than that to win a general election.  Primaries, as I’ve said many times, are the best test of potential success in a general election.  A closed convention process that risks getting something less than the most electable Republican simply defies common sense.

Something More We Can Learn from the Greeks



The ancient Greeks gave us the fundamentals of philosophy, logic and government. The modern Greeks are giving us a lesson in economics.
Suffocated by the socialist policies that have crippled the nation's economy, Greece has had its bond rating cut to junk and continues to teeter on the brink of insolvency. Simply put, Greece's reckless spending on socialist welfare plans and government run enterprises has so drained its economy that it can no longer function under the tight constraints of the EU.

Take note, America. Continue growing a welfare state with state-run health care programs we cant afford and ignore the $13 trillion debt, and the US eventually will be crushed under the weight of its own debt or or be forced to so deflate its currency as to be virtually worthless. It's inevitable. Why? No politician, Republican or Democrat, has the guts to stop it. Both groups have their own spending priorities, but neither has any interest in keeping the national debt under control when. much less reducing it. There's plenty of talk, especially on the Republican side of the aisle, but when it comes to pet projects, even Frank Wolf won't refuse the money. So, really, then, it's only a matter of time until we're forced into extreme austerity measures (or wild tax increases) like those imposed upon Greece - or simply default on our obligations.

I'd like to believe we can still learn a little something from the Greeks, and reverse the trend by making some difficult decisions. My fear, though, is that in an arrogance built by years of economic excess without repercussion, we're simply ignoring the collapsing economies around us - and, more importantly, the reasons for their collapse.

Friday, July 22, 2011

I Love Karl Rove

So I'm not gay, and, even if I were, I don't think I'd go for a fat bald guy.  But, with each appearance on Fox News, I'm more smitten by Karl Rove.  He's an extremely articulate, intelligent and straight-shooting talking head for the Republican Party.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Taco Bell of Loudoun Politics

Thinking outside the bun, Democratic candidate for Algonkian District supervisor Denise Moore Pierce had this tag line on an ad running on Facebook-

"Looking for an Alternative to Suzanne Volpe? Denise Moore Pierce Candidate for Algonkian Supervisor"

I'll give her credit for getting to the heart of the matter, but really?  Is that the best she's got?  Offering some "alternative" - like a taco to a hamburger?

Monday, July 18, 2011

Penalty Kicks Suck

What's the point of 22 players fighting it out for two hours when it comes down to a one-on-0ne duel in the end anyway?  Seems like a waste of effort and a ridiculous way to decide a world champion.  Of course, if soccer had any real scoring, you wouldn't need to worry about an interminable sudden death overtime.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Will Ken Reid REALLY Support Mike Chapman?

Leesburg town councilman and Loudoun BOS candidate Ken Reid yesterday distributed an email in which, almost as an aside, he professed support of Mike Chapman in his bid to become sheriff of Loudoun County.

Hmmm.

Just a few months ago, the same Ken Reid, thinly disguised as  "Black/Delgaudio Fan," was singing the praises of incumbent sheriff Steve Simpson.  All this, of course, prompts one to ask,  "Is his current 'support' of Chapman genuine or just some politically expedient ruse?"