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Thursday, April 29, 2004D.J. MCGuire: Dubya's El Salvador Excellent article by D.J. McGuire: The only difference between El Salvador of the 1980s and the Iraq of today is the American military presence, but this makes taking action more imperative, not less. Unlike El Salvador, the anti-democratic thugs in Iraq are killing Americans. Every day we delay in acting against Damascus and Tehran, we are further putting the lives of our men and women in uniform in danger. This cannot be tolerated and must not continue.D.J McGuire is also the founder of the China e-Lobby and author of Dragon in the Dark: How and Why Communist China Helps Our Enemies in the War on Terror. A local Spotsylvanian as well as a fine conservative, but who's keeping track of that, right? Monday, April 26, 2004MIT: Home of Open Course Ware! Now this has to be the best thing I have come across in academia. MIT has opened up all of its course syllabi, all of its lecture notes, and all of the course outlines online. What a terrific resource this is! Talk about not having to reinvent the wheel. Want to learn about linguistics? Why - just read the lecture notes and course material for the Introduction to Linguistics right here! It's almost like auditing the course for free (only you miss out on the professors. . . which is a bad thing, but it shows the confidence MIT has in its teaching staff). Outstanding resource. Go learn something courtesy of MIT!!! The McGurk Effect I don't know why this is interesting, it just is: Play the clip several times, alternating between looking at the talking head while listening, and listening with your eyes shut. Most adults (98%) think they are hearing "DA" - a so called "fused respons" - where the "D" is a result of an audio-visual illusion. In reality you are hearing the sound "BA", while you are seing the lip movements "GA". 500,000 That's right - half a million people protested for abortion today. Half a million. Thursday, April 22, 2004Appeasement and the War on Terrorism Ron Smith is an international relations professor at Waikato University in New Zealand. His article concerning Iraq is nothing short of excellent: From at least the time of the Prussian theorist Clausewitz, some 200 years ago, it has been recognised that the use of violent means for political ends (war) is an uncertain business, replete with misapprehension and mistake, as well as tragic loss. Abortion Rights March Could Bring Thousands Every year, the Right to Life March brings thousands upon thousands of people, usually in excess of 250,000 people. Rarely do the cameras pan the crowd - rather they focus on the six or seven NARAL and NOW folks from the Washington office who are standing in opposition. Six o'clock news stuff. This year, pro-abortion activists will be marching in Washington for abortion rights. To be sure, the media is giving them full billing: Armies of demonstrators headed for Washington on Wednesday for a weekend march in favor of abortion rights and global reproductive freedom that organizers hope will counterbalance sharp anti-abortion rhetoric from the White House. ARMIES?! MARCHING FOR RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS?! From 1,400 organizations (of dubious strength) and 53 countries! To counter that sharp rhetoric from those anti-abortion people who oppose such rights and freedoms! Don't worry, the Reuters article is far worse than I have made it out to be. . . The Church as Culture Might be a repost, but if so this is most certainly a good read. Talking to the young woman in Erfurt and listening in on the debate about the EU constitution I found myself musing on the future of Christian culture. In my lifetime we have witnessed the collapse of Christian civilization. At first the process of disintegration was slow, a gradual and persistent attrition, but today it has moved into overdrive, and what is more troubling, it has become deliberate and intentional, not only promoted by the cultured despisers of Christianity but often aided and abetted by Christians themselves.Dr. Wilken is an excellent professor at the University of Virginia - someone I hope to study under in the fall. He makes a salient point in the defense of Christian culture, namely that we are losing quickly our identity through culture and need to regain it. Monday, April 19, 2004Grandmother My maternal grandmother is doing very poorly at the moment. Please keep her in your prayers. Saturday, April 17, 2004Scientist Predicts Earthquake by Sept. 5 If you've heard me rave about these guys in the past, you know what I am talking about. This team successfully predicted earthquakes in the past with some degree of regularity. I'd be interested to see if this hits the mark: The new prediction gives quake scientists a bully pulpit to remind people of the very real seismic risk in the region, Ellsworth added.The fact they are willing to admit that their process isn't quite scientifically valid tells me that they aren't just selling snake oil. Friday, April 16, 2004Last Words Of A Hero: 'I'll Show You How An Italian Dies'  Now that's hardcore, and definitely a hero in my book. Reminds me of Proximo in the movie Gladiator:
"In the end, we're all dead men. Sadly, we cannot choose how, or when. But what we can choose is how we decide to meet that end, so we are remembered forever as men." Franco Frattini described on state television how Fabrizio Quattrocchi, 36, gave up hope of survival, tore at his blindfold and shouted at his tormentors that he was not afraid to die. Thursday, April 15, 2004Netscape Registration?! I just had to register Netscape 7.1. Odd. Beltway Bezerkers? I know that many people on staff at the Free Lance-Star get the chance to write the editorials that appear daily, but today's was a bit over the top. In a new report, which ranks state and local tax burdens as a percentage of income in the 50 states, the foundation puts Virginia at No. 37--down a notch since 1999. "Over the past 14 years," adds the foundation's Web site, "Virginia's tax burden has consistently been among the lowest in the nation." State and local taxes, the low-tax advocacy group figures, take 9.3 percent of Virginians' income, versus a national average of 10 percent.Yes it does. The false premise of the argument here is that the writer assumes that the 50th percentile should be the goal for taxation levels in the Commonwealth. Not so. We shouldn't be arguing for mediocrity or a moderately-taxed tax base. Rather, Virginians have come to expect nothing short of economic excellence from our state and local government, and a low level of taxation is key. Rather than bemoan the fact that Virginia ranks 37th in its tax burden on working families, we should not only be celebrating the fact - we should be pushing lower and asking why other states refuse to get with the program. Average shouldn't be the goal. Excellence should be, and taxpayers in Virginia have consistently demanded low tax rates, not "better services" or the a tax ranking of 24th. Society Won't Let Us Skin Our Knees This analogy is of course imperfect, as I certainly do not advocate that the only measure of success is perfection. (I still take a few ungraceful spills myself.) The problem is that our society is disinclined to let people fall down and skin their knees. A person denied the right to fall down occasionally is also denied the opportunity to learn to succeed.Most people wouldn't think of Seattle as a hotbed of classical liberalist thought. Nonetheless, this article was mildly surprising and most certainly a good read. Wednesday, April 14, 2004The kind of leadership we need from Catholic Bishops in America. . . found in Poland The debate over the EU Constitution notwithstanding, Catholic Polish bishops are weighing in on the European Parliamentary elections in June, asking voters to endorse fellow Catholics and Christians for public office: The Polish Roman Catholic church heirarchy called on compatriots on Wednesday to vote for "Christians and Catholics" when the country takes part in European Parliament elections for the first time in June.Now the question must be asked. How hard is it to issue a statement as strong and powerful as this? And why does the USCCB (United States Council of Catholic Bishops) refuse to do the same? Ezekiel 25:17  One of the greatest lines in movie history:"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides with the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. " Tuesday, April 13, 2004Virginia General Assembly Convenes, Recesses, Caucuses, Reconvenes, Recesses. . . I love the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The Virginia House of Delegates convened, recessed and reconvened, and caucused some more as it wrestled today with a bill whose passage could signal the beginning of the end of Virginia's three-month budget crisis.Here's hoping that Warner and Chichester were unable to bleed off 13 Republicans. Of course, if the message hasn't gotten through yet, those who vote for the tax hikes will be sure to feel the wrath of voters, to be sure. . . UPDATE: HB 5018SA passes 52-46. No word yet on the turncoats, but we'll have a list shortly. The Impending Housing Bubble? I keep hearing about this, and I really don't know what to make of it. Yes, I know that housing prices have gone through the roof in recent years (and especially here in the Fredericksburg area), but there is such a lack of affordable housing, and no dearth of buyers in this area. The market values are setting themselves at this point, but there are economists who disagree: If you still need proof that a bubble is building in the housing market take a look at the findings of my economist colleague Dean Baker at the Center for Economic Policy & Research in Washington, D.C. He has tracked national housing prices going back to 1951. Prices pretty much track the rate of inflation up until 1995. But since then, average prices on new and existing homes have soared more than 35 percentage points beyond the overall rate of inflation. Is that unusual? You bet it is.Do I buy it? Not necessarily. But home construction and the housing industry is the backbone of the American economy. Housing starts are a sign of health, declines are a sign of weakness, for no other reason than all of the other sectors of the economy that new homes affect. I just don't see a bubble. All I see is a radical demand for affordable housing. Turin Shroud Back Side Shows Face Now this is interesting indeed. The Shroud of Turin, believed to be the burial cloth of Jesus, has revealed itself to have a copy of a face on it's back side. Why is this significant? The presence of a face on both sides of the shroud would seem an obvious feature in case of a fake: when making a print onto a cloth, paint soaks the cloth's fibers reaching also the back side. Monday, April 12, 2004From the Mind of Jonathan Street Don't know what is more concerning. . . that he thought of the sig line himself, or that he gave one of these duckies to my 13 month old son.
Spotsylvania trying to avoid hike Ah yes, the voice of sanity. "We have to live within our means," Supervisor Hap Connors said recently.I'll be there. This is good news indeed for Spotsylvania taxpayers. Sunday, April 11, 2004Kerry Rejects Catholic Bishops Request, Receives Communion Instead of getting angry at Sen. John Kerry's intransigence, we should calmly write our Catholic bishops as to whether this practice is acceptable in their diocese. Then follow up with the Vatican. Rejecting the admonitions of several national Roman Catholic leaders, Senator John Kerry received communion at Easter services today at the Paulist Center here, a kind of New Age church that describes itself as "a worship community of Christians in the Roman Catholic tradition" and that attracts people drawn to its dedication to "family religious education and social justice."What bothers me is that there are some Catholic prelates who still seem to be making up their minds on the issue. Archbishop Theodore McCarrick seems to be one of these bishops: WALLACE: But this year, John Kerry faces a different challenge; not to show he's a good American, but a good Catholic. Kerry favors stem cell research and the right to abortion, both contrary to church teachings.Here's the problem. There should be no problem on the part of His Excellency in denying Kerry the Eucharist, because Kerry clearly has no problem denying basic Catholic teaching on abortion, stem cell research, and in recent comments the nature of dissent. Furthermore, Pope John Paul II has made if explicitly clear that Catholic politicians are to either practice their faith and live Christian lives or cease calling themselves Catholic. Kerry is specifically rejecting this, claiming that he can have his cake and eat it too. Faithful Catholics should write their bishops directly and ask them whether Pope John Paul II is an authority on such issues concerning the faithfulness of the Catholic flock and furthermore, whether or not John Kerry's defiance demonstrates "communion" with the Catholic Faith. CHRIST IS RISEN! HAPPY EASTER!
Saturday, April 10, 2004Victory in Spotsylvania Kenney 179, Heidig 119. Thanks to everyone who turned out to make this possible. And without further ado, and with a much greater appreciation to those who have run campaigns and won/lost, I am going to wash up and get some rest. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the hard work and dedication you have shown over the past three months. I am certainly not worthy of any of it, but the cause was indeed just. Friday, April 09, 2004Spotsy GOP Race Heats Up  Well, we knew it had to take a negative turn at some point.
In a Chichester-esque move to the left, my opponent has decided to advertise the race for Spotsylvania GOP Chairman as an election "open to all registered voters." The word has gone out, and let me tell ya - this is the best ad my campaign has used in the past three months! My reponse is as follows: In the June 2003 primary, John Chichester circulated the same wording to tax-and-spend liberals in the 28th District. What conservatives and working families received in kind was a $4 billion dollar tax hike, a moderate wing of the party that refuses to take a stand on life, and a continuation of everything detestable about politics. Thursday, April 08, 2004Russia warns of 'cold peace' over NATO expansion Break out your crying towels: Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov warned yesterday that relations between Russia and the West could return to a "cold peace" unless his country's concerns about the recent expansion were addressed.Maybe if Russia altered their interest to those of the nations the Soviet Union oppressed, maybe there would be partnership with the Russian Federation. Instead, Russian policy to date has been to sign alliance treaties with China, selling weapons platforms to Iran, technology to Saddam, support of France, etc. What kills me even more is that they call the Americans the cowboys. And so do the anti-Bush peacemongers at home. What Vocations Crisis? Concerned that the Catholic Church is whithering away? Since 1979, the number of vocations to the Catholic priesthood has almost doubled, and the trend is continuing to rise. In 1978, when John Paul II was elected, there were 63,882 major seminarians in the world. In 2001 there were 112,982.Outstanding! Tax bill clears House panel Now let's be very honest about this one. This could have died in committee again, and it did not. A House committee reversed itself today and approved a bill backed by moderate Republicans to raise almost $1 billion in taxes.A BILLION DOLLARS FOLKS! This should have died a painful, excrutiating death in committee. Now it's off to the floor of the House, where we get to do a gut check on who's with the working families and who is not. Thankfully, both Del. Orrock and Del. Cole are voting against this tax plan, but feel free to contact your delegates and remind them to vote NO on the tax hikes! Tuesday, April 06, 2004Kerry's Theology on Catholic Dissent Now here's a new one: Mr. Kerry became combative when told that some conservatives were criticizing him for being a Roman Catholic who supported policies, like abortion rights and same-sex unions, that are at odds with Catholic teaching.Nevermind that this same Paul VI wrote Humanae Vitae, which demands the protection of human life at all stages. . . That stands in pretty sharp contrast, not only to recent directives from the Vatican to uphold the sanctity of marriage and defend abortion rights, but in terms of whether one holds a "private oath" between God and yourself as defined by the Second Vatican Council. Moreover, this individualist aspect to Kerry's religious faith smacks of the religous errors outlined by Leo XIII in Testem Benevolentiae: But, beloved son, in this present matter of which we are speaking, there is even a greater danger and a more manifest opposition to Catholic doctrine and discipline in that opinion of the lovers of novelty, according to which they hold such liberty should be allowed in the Church, that her supervision and watchfulness being in some sense lessened, allowance be granted the faithful, each one to follow out more freely the leading of his own mind and the trend of his own proper activity. They are of opinion that such liberty has its counterpart in the newly given civil freedom which is now the right and the foundation of almost every secular state.In short, because the Vatican has defined such issues as abortion and traditional marriage as positions that should be defended and proclaimed, and not debated, then Kerry does have an obligation to promote his faith. If his beliefs are at odds with his faith, then Kerry has a vital decision to make of his own. Either reconcile with this Catholicism, or stop calling himself Catholic for political gain. Monday, April 05, 2004KENNEY FOR SPOTSY GOP CHAIRMAN  Care to wonder what has been eating up my time lately? Here it is. This is the final week of the Spotsy GOP Chairman race. Click here to take a peek at the campaign page and see what we have been up to, print off a few flyers, and share with your friends!If you believe as I do that our Republican Party must remain unapologetically pro-life, against tax increases, and stand by the working families of Spotsylvania, then I need your help on Saturday, and I need your vote for conservative values by electing me as Chairman: UN's inaction almost led Tutsisto capture Dallaire's weapons Now this is an interesting article: "I used to ask [Gen. Dallaire] what he as a general and his forces were doing to stop the genocide," said Mr. Kagame, who in 1994 was the head of the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front.Now being the type of guy that likes moral dillemmas such as these, the question is what would you have done if you were General Dallaire? Would you have intervened despite the "lack of mandate," even if it meant that you and your soldiers could be overwhelmed and killed? What if the chances for success were zero, would you still intervene? What if it meant gross international confusion? Interesting. . . Of course, from a people who have experienced genocide first hand, I found this final comment to be extremely interesting, especially when offered the perspective of American intervention in Iraq: Mr. Kagame also urged the international community to establish "effective instruments" to respond to the systemic human-rights abuses that always, he said, precede genocide. Mrs. Hunter passed away at 103 Most native Fredericksburgers know who Mrs. Hunter is. Mrs. Hunter lives right across Hanover Street from where my grandmother lives. My sons used to play with her wheelchair, and Jonathan loved to play with the break and Mrs. Hunter never once seemed to mind. I have a lot of good Mrs. Hunter stories. When Jonathan was first born, Mrs. Hunter and the nurses across the street were keen on seeing the new baby, so we took a trip next door to visit. Mrs. Hunter held Jon as best she could, then the nurses scooped him up and started playing with him. I talked to Mrs. Hunter awhile on the porch, and she talked about her health at the time and such. Then she made a comment that stuck with me. She said, "Shaun, you're a good man. Most people don't realize that when you get old it's your body that lets you down, but your brain is still good." She looked at me with a smile and grinned. I knew what she was trying to say too - and I think she was appreciative of the company. It was only afterwards that she bragged about her sons owning the Free Lance-Star. My grandmother had a story during the first few years of when she had first moved into the house on Weedon Street. It was about Christmastime, and Mr. and Mrs. Hunter realized that there was no Christmas tree in the main room as there had been in previous years. So Mrs. Hunter waited and waited for the Christmas tree to go up - and no tree. 22nd, 23rd, 24th. . . finally Mrs. Hunter told her husband to go get a tree so that my mother and uncles would have a Christmas tree that year. When Mr. Hunter arrived at the door with a tree, my grandfather invited him in. . . and showed him the tree on the other room of the house where the Hunters could not see. A good laugh had by all, but it shows the generosity Mrs. Hunter had towards others, including my family. Mrs. Hunter was a good lady. I knew her as a small child, and she had a great habit later on of waving at the trolleys that most people ignore. She had plenty of stories. She remembered the horse and buggy era. She remembered when the old kitchen to the Rowe House used to stand where my grandmother's house stands today (and you can still see the foundation stone). Mrs. Hunter was a good lady. Her reminder of the days past in Fredericksburg will be sorely missed. Sunday, April 04, 2004HARDBALL! No no, not the Chris Matthews type of hardball, but the Phillip Zelikow type of hardball: Last Monday morning 9/11 commission executive director Philip Zelikow faxed a photograph to the White House counsel's office with a note saying that if the White House didn't allow national-security adviser Condoleezza Rice to testify in public before the commission, the photograph would"...be all over Washington in 24 hours," Newsweek has learned. The photo, from a Nov. 22, 1945, New York Times story, showed presidential chief of staff Adm. William D. Leahy, appearing before a special congressional panel investigating the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The point was clear: The White House could no longer get away with the claim that Rice's appearance would be a profound breach of precedent.Now most folks may say "cool" and let this slip, but this is one of the rare moments of powercraft that few ever really witness. If Matthews ever does re-print his book, this has to go into the new preface. Saturday, April 03, 2004Israelis walling off the Holy Land  You can tell people it is happening, you can show them pictures and let them meet others who have been there. But at some point, when you go to the Holy Land, you realize that there are indeed Palestinian Christians, and that the conflict between Muslim and Jew is literally destroying the Holy Sites:"The wall cuts through sacred sites," said Rooney, administrator at St. Mary Catholic Church in Fredericksburg. "The character of the Holy Land is being changed by the wall."Sobering to think that I was one of the last people to walk the same road Christ walked on Palm Sunday. Thursday, April 01, 2004Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'. . . You know something, it's just one of those days where I have three or four things on the burner, and feel extremely busy. And it's raining. Which I enjoy for some reason, but it just adds to the mood. What a great day!
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JEFFERSONIAD POLL: Whom do you support for Virginia Attorney General?1) John Brownlee2) Ken Cuccinelli AboutShaunKenney.com is one of Virginia's oldest political blogs, focusing on the role of religion and politics in public life. Shaun Kenney, 30, lives in Fluvanna County, Virginia.ContactThe Jeffersoniad
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