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Sunday, July 31, 2005OMT: The Chichester Case Against TABORNorman over at OMT destroys in its totality the case against the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Why Bush Bashing is Failing... and the 30-year twilight of the liberal news establishment: The bombings and attempted bombings in London have brought home to the American public that we face implacable enemies unwilling to be appeased by even the most emollient diplomacy. Yet, mainstream media coverage of Iraq has been mostly negative. But mainstream media no longer have a monopoly; Americans have other sources in talk radio, Fox News, and the blogosphere. Bush's presidency is still regarded as illegitimate by perhaps 20 percent of the electorate. But among the rest, the attempt to delegitimize him seems to be collapsing.Ouch. Runaway School Board to sue Spotsylvania County taxpayersMore on the war of words between Jerry Hill and the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors: 'I'm really flabbergasted that they have nothing else to do,' Supervisor Gary Jackson said. 'I don't see how this advances educational opportunity for children in Spotsylvania County.'What I and other taxpayers want to know is why the Gibson report findings haven't been rapidly implemented? Why the dragging of feet by Jerry Hill and this school board? To make matters worse, how is more money going to fix the gross lack of efficiency in the Spotsylvania school system? The fact is that no amount of money is going to fix it, and worse still is that Jerry Hill and the School Board simply don't care - to the point of wasting more taxpayer dollars to justify the waste that's already there. Until there is some serious reform at the Spotsylvania School Board in how our tax dollars are spent, the budget shouldn't rise a single red cent until the reforms are fully implemented and the waste and inefficencies eliminated. Period. British Intelligence Targeting al-Qaeda WebsitesSomething that should have been done a long time ago: Over the past fortnight Israeli intelligence agents have noticed something distinctly odd happening on the internet. One by one, Al-Qaeda?s affiliated websites have vanished until only a handful remain, write Uzi Mahnaimi and Alex Pell.Now there are those who argue we should leave them up in order to detect the movements and rhetoric of al-Qaeda and the militants. I disagree. al-Qaeda's network demands a degree of sophisitication when it comes to information and communciations. The harder you make it for them, the more likely they will start using methods we can track - such as human intelligence. Sleeper cells are very, very difficult to root out. IDF to fire on Palestinians if threatenedThe Israeli Defence Forces have threatened to open fire on Palestinians if they are targeted during the Gaza pullout: Israel will launch a massive ground operation if Palestinian militants fire on Israeli soldiers and settlers during next month's Gaza pullout, the deputy defense minister said Sunday.Translation: the IDF will launch a massive ground operation regardless of whether or not Palestinian militants fire on Israeli soldiers. Why? Because it's their last chance to dismantle the HAMAS and Islamic Jihad infrastructure. After the pullout there won't be a pretext. The question becomes how many innocent civilians will die in the process. Many I would expect, which is what the militants want in order to draw the attention of the world. Sad. Friday, July 29, 2005Water ice in crater at Martian north poleWe found water on Mars: The crater is 35 kilometres wide and has a maximum depth of approximately 2 kilometres beneath the crater rim. The circular patch of bright material located at the centre of the crater is residual water ice.And what could be cooler than this? How's about a 10th planet? The object was spotted independently by a group led by Jose-Luis Ortiz of the Sierra Nevada Observatory in Spain. Ortiz' team announced the finding in astronomy circles recently and the finding, including the claim that it might be twice as big as Pluto, was reported by an online news site today.Neat stuff! Hill vs. Spotsy Board of SupervisorsEven after the Gibson Report was published outlining $31 million dollars in waste, and even after a proposed $41 million bond referendum being put forward by the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors, Spotsylvania Superintendent Jerry Hill has not only decided to rebuff the referendum, but to hire attorneys to enforce his will: After the meeting, Spotsylvania Superintendent Jerry Hill said he hopes to avoid legal action, but there has been no fruitful communication between the two boards.Hill is demanding $184.8 million dollars in bonds for school construction. Wisely, the Spotsy BOS is demanding reform first. School board spending has increased dramatically over the past five years, well beyond the pace of growth and showing no signs of cooling off. Curious to know why Republican Supervisors Jackson and Yakabouski weren't consulted for this article, when they most of all have asked for this kind of fiscal restraint. Thursday, July 28, 2005Vatican Raises the Ante on IsraelBeen keeping an eye on the Vatican-Israeli tit-for-tat going on over the past few days. Pope Benedict XVI issued a condemnation of terror attacks in Egypt and mentioned a list of nations affected by terrorism. He did not mention Israel, in which the Israeli embassy sent a blistering condemnation to the Vatican ambassador, as well as taking their outrage to the public. Now honestly, the omission wasn't deliberate. Could not have been. Israel already suffers a tremendous amount of terror attacks, but rarely do you hear of such a wide-ranging offensive in places such as Egypt and London. In short, the Israelis are playing the card of diplomatic hypersensitivity to use as leverage against the Vatican during negotiations -- especially concerning the status of the holy sites and the construction of the West Bank wall. So Israel threw what is tantamount to a diplomatic temper-tantrum, and the Vatican watched silently. Until now. In response to the Israeli showdown, Vatican diplomats have fired few shots across the bow, just to bring some perspective into the conversation: 'It's not always possible to immediately follow every attack against Israel with a public statement of condemnation,' a statement from the Vatican press office said Thursday night, 'and (that is) for various reasons, among them the fact that the attacks against Israel sometimes were followed by immediate Israeli reactions not always compatible with the rules of international law.'In other words, the Israelis got the point. When you build barriers through Christian holy sites, when you shoot up the car carrying Bishop Marcuzzo (even when it was flying the Vatican flag), when you bomb out Palestinian police barracks in response to HAMAS terror attacks, one should reasonably expect a rather short leash when it comes to being able to claim a grieved status on terrorism. Whether the Likud government wants a full-scale PR discussion on how Christians are treated in Israel is another story altogether. Personally, I don't think they relish the idea, and for good reason. 4-Year-Old Found Wandering Along Busy Virginia HighwayI saw this in the FLS this morning. Few things make me angrier than child abuse. I hate it with a visceral passion, and I feel nothing but utter contempt for those who engage in it. In short, this made me angry: Virginia State Police determined he was left there by his mother, 22-year-old Channoah Green, after she became upset with him. They said the Newport News, Va., woman has been charged with child neglect.The FLS article had a small quote from a motorist who wished to remain unnamed. "I said, 'Why are you out here?' And he said, "My mommy left me. She was angry and she pushed me out of the car," the driver, who asked not to be identified, told WJLA-TV.The article went further to describe that the cuts and bruises the boy received were because the child was frantically trying to get back into the car after the mother had pushed the child out - and the mother drove off. Anger. IRA vows to end armed campaignWow. I suppose the next question is when will the Protestant paramilitaries lay down their weapons? At least this explains why there have been a spat of attacks on Catholic churches and pubs recently; most likely in an effort to derail the IRA disarmament. Still, for an organization that has been well known for terrorism, this is a very positive step in the right direction (even if they are socialists). Let's hope this victory in the war on terrorism (and it is a huge victory for peace) will be followed in turn. A Bit Confused. . .I'm a bit confused with regards to the London train bombings. Does this look like it can do this? Or this? Those weren't nail bombs on those trains, guys. Sure anyone can make a nail bomb, but nail bombs aren't designed to do structural damage such as blowing off the roofs of trains and buses. Nail bombs hurt people, and they are designed to maim, not to kill (as a larger bomb might and did). This is just odd. Why would terrorists with the capability to do tremendous damage with military grade explosives waste their time with nail bombs and detonation cords? Wednesday, July 27, 2005Government Going Too Far (Again)A mother takes a picture of a father kissing his son's belly button. They take the photos to get developed. An enterprising developer notices the pictures and presents them to police authorities. Guess what happens next: When the photos were shown to the police, the couple was arrested, and Kristoff was put in protective custody, while his half-sister, Victoria, was handed over to her birth father.Six months?! When Enron abuses the public trust, there is an outcry from citizens and many, many lawsuits with large settlements. When police in Raleigh (or anywhere for that matter) do the same, what are the consequences? The article doesn't say, but the consequences in this case should be severe. Tuesday, July 26, 2005Virginia 2005 ElectionsNot Larry Sabato(s) has/have a new place to stretch out at Virginia 2005 Elections. Not too shabby lookin'. VOLTRON!You knew it would come. Voltron the Movie is in production! Now you too can have the theme song stuck in your head all day. Piracy-check mandatory for Windows add-onsYou know what this is going to do?: Meanwhile, those who fail the validation test will be presented with two options. People who send in their CDs, show proof they bought Windows and fill out a piracy report will be eligible to get a legitimate copy of Windows at no charge. Those who don't have CDs or a proof of purchase but fill out a piracy report will have to pay for a licensed copy--$99 for Windows XP Home and $149 for Windows XP Professional. Those prices are higher than the upgrade cost for Windows XP, but lower than the price one would have to pay for an entirely new copy of the OS.How many users when confronted with the option to pay $99 for an OS, will simply jump ship and use Linux? I doubt that many home users are the ones who have pirated copies. Rather, it's probably those with multiple workstations - businesses and the like. What is more cost effective to a small business? Paying $2,000 to get all the computers in the office up to snuff (and maybe more for all the MS Office installations), or simply moving to Linux and OpenOffice alternatives? Welcome to the free market. Monday, July 25, 2005Discovery to Launch on TuesdayNASA is taking some heat for making the command decision regarding the fuel gauge malfunction, but Discovery will launch regardless. Tuesday, 10:39am. Be sure to catch it on NASA TV! Goolrick: The Odd CoupleJohn Goolrick. For folks in Fredericksburg, to be mentioned in the same sentence with him is a peculiar honor. Half-historian, half-reporter, there's probably not a better person to know and talk to when it comes to Virginia politics. In short I'm a fan, and what he writes I read with great attention. So naturally, when I see a column in the latest edition of Bacon's Rebellion, I couldn't help but take a look. With great precision, he comments on what many outsiders might remark as a strange friendship between Speaker Howell and Senator Chichester, and how such civility has been lost and forgotten by many today: As anyone who follows state politics knows, there is a huge intra-party fight going on in the Virginia Republican Party involving taxes and spending. Howell and Chichester are at the very eye of the storm and have quite differing opinions on the subject. As for me, I don't feel that I am the least bit under taxed, but when stuck in some horrendous traffic jam wonder where the money is going to come from to do something about all the congested roads.Ah, to be able to genuinely disagree and debate the merits of a political issue. . . Truth be told, the Howell/Chichester friendship is something I understand without a second thought. For a long time, I've been of the opinion that it's the hallmark of an open-minded person to be able to abstract ideas from individuals. I can think of a number of local Democrats I would much rather speak with than some of my fellow Republicans. I would like to think - however naively - that politics didn't always have to be a bloodsport, but perhaps I too am reminiscing of a day and discourse that is slipping away. Look at the way we eviscerate politicians that slip up, or how we prefer headlines (and blogs?) to an in-depth story. Goolrick's lament is right. May those days speedily return! Thursday, July 21, 2005China's new destroyers feature Aegis tech copied from U.S.Great. Just great. The two Luyang II guided missile destroyers are Beijing's first Aegis-type ships. The ships are currently undergoing sea trials.Now doubt something that our friends at China-e-Lobby will bristle over. Blair Calls for Calm After London BlastsUpdates from the Washington Post: Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday he hoped that London would return to normal 'as soon as possible' after explosions struck three Underground stations and a bus at midday.This time the reports are that it was detonation devices, not actual rigged bombs. If true, it could show a number of things; that the terrorist cell is running out of ammo, that they are proving a point by using only detonation devices, that the actual bombers may have lived to tell the tale, retaliation for the capture of the ringleader, that there is a second cell. . . Developing, but something that adds an interesting element if you consider the UK claims all the 7/7 terrorists died and the ringleader is captured. UPDATE: Possibility of a chem-bio attack? Here's clipping of a conversation from OSINT -- This accounts backs your assessment of a screw-up, but in all three-four incidents??? Perhaps the builder made the small error in all devices I'd like to know what was causing people to fall down. If the bomber thought something went wrong, it may be that he wasn't expecting a chem release. Were the fall-downs due to the panic and rush to get out, or was anybody incapacitated. Low-burst charges are designed for dispersing agent.Yikes. Wednesday, July 20, 2005Nominee would make fourth Catholic justice on US courtSomething I wasn't previously aware of, but U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts is Catholic: Jane Roberts has been active in Feminists for Life, and is a member of the board of governors of the John Carroll Society, a Catholic lay organisation that sponsors the annual Washington archdiocesan Red Mass before the opening of the Supreme Court term.Now the left has been sabre-rattling already (CBS's American Prospect column starts it's interrogation beginning with "Let's begin with Roberts' women problem."). Of course, being Catholic doesn't demonstrate as much as it used to -- Justice Kennedy is Catholic and certainly doesn't uphold Catholic values from the bench. We'll see how the confirmation hearings play out, but this is certainly something in Roberts background that plays to his favor. Google Moon - Lunar Landing SitesNeat stuff! For those of you unfamiliar with the Google Maps project, take a quick peek. Be sure to zoom in to see the lunar landing sites close up. Very cool image. CW: Heath Shuler Running for CongressFrom the all-seeing eyes at Commonwealth Watch we learn that Heath Shuler is running for the 11th District in North Carolina... as a Democrat. My vote is to send Gus Frerotte down and run him as a Republican (apologies to Rep. Taylor who currently holds the seat). I can see the ads now with good ol' #5 getting sacked, picked, hurried, etc. Heh. Michelle Malkin: Why the FBI watches the LeftHeh. Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Civil liberties activists, anti-war organizers, eco-militants and animal rights operatives are in a fright over news that the nefarious FBI is watching them. Why on earth would the government be worried about harmless liberal grannies, innocent vegetarians, unassuming rainforest lovers and other "peaceful groups" simply exercising their First Amendment rights?And she does. Read on. Tuesday, July 19, 2005Roberts Likely to Face Abortion QuestionsThe Washington Post begins the speculation on the question of abortion: The biggest question mark may be his stand on abortion.Another Justice Souter? Who knows? OMT: Kaine Won, Donate Now!!!If you ever want to see the best dissections of campaign fundraising pieces (or any direct mail), go as Norman over at One Man's Trash. Great post! He can sniff out a novice from a mile away. . . though even for criticism, it's a rare combination you can laugh at and learn from. RTD Gubernatorial PollGo vote! Tancredo: Just Joking Fellas. . . Kinda. . .Following up on yesterday's comments, U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo says he was merely speaking figuratively when talking about bombing Islamic holy sites in the event of a nuclear terror attack on American cities: Colorado U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo said he was talking about deterrence when he raised the possibility of bombing Mecca if Muslim terrorists set off nuclear weapons in American cities.Speaking figuratively? Slip of the tounge? Not really, if his refusal to apologize is any indication: "It's a tough issue to deal with," Tancredo told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference. "Tough things are said. And we should not shy away from saying things that need to be said."Imprudent at best, Tom. Reckless at the very worst. What Separates Us From the TerroristsGotta read this. Reasons to be MoralReflections of the Aquinas Academy on the debate between Bertrand Russell and Frederick Coppleston: The eminent Jesuit historian of philosophy Frederick Copleston debated the existence of God with Lord Bertrand Russell on BBC Radio in 1948. "I'm sure, Lord Russell, that you would say it was absolutely wrong to behave in the way that the guards in the German concentration camps behaved to the inmates." He [Russell] said: "Of course I would wish to say that is absolutely wrong, but it doesn't fit in with my theory, so I'm rather in a dilemma." Some may object: "But Bertrand Russell was a morally decent man and many believers are not morally decent people." That is not the point. The point is that Bertrand Russell had no reason to be moral. The believer does have a reason to be moral. The sad fact of the matter is that many a believer just doesn't hear and heed his/her conscience.This debate always brings to mind the old question of whether or not you need God in order to be moral, and especially as to how this relates to lawmaking and ethics. Most would answer God is essential to morality. However, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics did precisely this - set up a moral framework - without using God or other deistic proposals or prepositions. John of Salisbury, Duns Scotus, and Thomas Aquinas all used the "natural law" as the embodiment of a moral system (even though it required a God to remain fixed and absolute). Opposed to that system is the Hobbesian social contract and variants thereof from Locke, Rousseau, and Mill. Nozick and Rawls go back and forth on justice as fairness, etc. The question becomes which system allows for fixed moral values, so that in the case of Nazi concentration camps, the Nazis could not be excused for following an opposite and somehow legitimate and equal moral system. Relativism? Well, yes... that's precisely the problem all ethical and moral frameworks have to confront. The social contract fails miserably in this regard, as does Rawls' idea of fairness. The question of the necessity of God (or a "god" to be more theistic about it) as a fixed frame of reference for morals is indeed a great question to think about and reflect upon. When viewed in this light, defenders of absolute moral values have many more friends from different faiths than we do enemies -- something to keep in mind as we careen towards this "clash of civilizations" or ideas. Monday, July 18, 2005Why Marx is man of the momentGranted, the poll was conducted in Europe and among BBC readers. But the staggering lopsidedness of Karl Marx's victory as the leading philosopher of our age is nothing short of stunning: The puzzlement is understandable. Fifteen years ago, after the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, there appeared to be a general assumption that Marx was now an ex-parrot. He had kicked the bucket, shuffled off his mortal coil and been buried forever under the rubble of the Berlin Wall. No one need think about him - still less read him - ever again.The article offers a brief glimpse as to why this might be. The result of this week's BBC poll suggests that Marx's portrayal of the forces that govern our lives - and of the instability, alienation and exploitation they produce - still resonates, and can still bring the world into focus. Far from being buried under the rubble of the Berlin Wall, he may only now be emerging in his true significance. For all the anguished, uncomprehending howls from the right-wing press, Karl Marx could yet become the most influential thinker of the 21st century.What bothers me slightly more is who came in second place: David Hume with over 12%. A distant third is Wittgenstein, followed by Neitzche, Plato, Kant, Aquinas, Socrates, Aristotle, and Karl Popper. Now it could be argued that we are talking about the most influential philosophers of our time. In one sense, the rise and fall of Marxist Socialism can be a signpost of influence. But what of the philosophies that brought the edifice down? Aquinas at 7th place?! No mention of Hobbes, Rousseau, Locke, Mill (none of the "social contract" philosophers made the cut), Kierkegaard, St. Augustine, Suarez, Descartes, Derrida, and suprisingly for a British poll, no Bertrand Russell. I wonder what an American poll would look like? I would imagine Locke would fare much better, as would Aquinas (Thomistic philosophy is all the rage in Catholic universities here in the States). Still, it's disturbing to think that Marx is enjoying a renaissance of sorts in a post-Soviet era. Tancredo: If Attacked, Bomb MeccaU.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo is doing more than just sabre-rattling these days: A Republican congressman said in a radio interview aired by a Florida station that if a multiple-city attack happened in the United States in the next 90 days, as predicted by an Israeli expert, and was found to be the work of extremist Muslims, then "we should take out their holy sites."Now does that mean Muslims will have justification to take out Rome in the event of the bombing of Iran or Syria? Nazareth? Bethlehem? Jerusalem? Here's the problem when you treat terrorists as religious believers, and the #1 problem I have with treating the symptoms of terrorism as if Islam were the root cause. It's not. Space mission to photograph Apollo landing sitesFrom the "Oh wow, that's cool!" department: US scientists are planning a 240,000-mile trip down memory lane - a tour of inspection of all the Apollo landing sites on the moon.I wonder how long it will take before we start looking back at ourselves wondering how in the heck we ever made it to the Moon with such antiquated and risky methods and equipment. For as practical as the lunar landings and STS flights afterwards may look today, just think of how Apollo 11 will be mentioned in the same vein as Magellan, Drake, and Columbus. Pretty cool stuff - and what's better is that we can observe, catalog, and pass on our explorations in ways our forefathers could not. Is There Plenty Of Oil?According to Business Week the answer is yes - to the tune of 6 billion barrels a day: First came Holstein, then Mad Dog, and soon, Thunder Horse. Atlantis will join them next year. The four giant oil fields, operated by BP PLC (BP ) and located under thousands of feet of water off the coast of Louisiana, are just beginning to pump their first barrels. At their peak rates later in the decade, they'll produce some 500,000 bbl. per day, an amount akin to floating a small Middle Eastern country such as Syria or Yemen into the Gulf of Mexico. "Add them together, and it's a massive step change," says David Eyton, BP's vice-president for deepwater in the Gulf. "The investment we're making will more than offset declines we're seeing in Alaska and the Continental Shelf."That's a lot of oil. Sunday, July 17, 2005Going to HerndonToday is Father Buckner's ordination anniversary at St. Veronica parish in Herndon. Avoiding I-95 will be the name of the game. Fr. Buckner, for those who are unfamiliar with him, was the former pastor at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Fredericksburg during the 1990's. Saturday, July 16, 2005Who Won the Kilgore-Kaine Debate?Depends on whom you ask. Conservatives are claiming an overwhelming victory, while Barnie Day makes the observation that Kaine beat Kilgore "like a baby seal." So much for Kaine's PETA vote. As is the case in most debates, the outcome changes depending on who's doing the talking. What is clear though is that Kaine did not do as well as expected, Kilgore came out on the attack. It's going to be a long time until November. . . What the Democratic Leadership Thinks of RepublicansWe've heard it from Howard Dean. Most rational folks would put that his hate-filled comments about Republicans on the backburner and consider it the opinion of one man. But when you hear it from former Clinton advisor Paul Begala, that's a problem: Begala's presence on the panel created a stir when he declared that Republicans had 'done a p***-poor job of defending' the U.S.It doesn't stop there, A panel discussion entitled 'Winning the War of Ideas' centered on topics discussed in the book 'What's the Matter with Kansas' by Thomas Frank and detailed the challenges that Democrats face in persuading voters in the American heartland and elsewhere to embrace their agenda and support their candidates.Of course, this article shows shades of what has to be the most glaring of criticisms against Democratic stewardship of our intelligence services pre-9/11. The Clinton administration's national security efforts involved the right blend of 'experience' and 'strength,' Begala said, an assertion with which the 9/11 Commission apparently disagreed.For all the criticism against President Bush post-9/11, is it too much of a stretch to say that Republcians are literally playing catch-up for the Clinton-era faliures duing the 1990's when al-Qaeda was festering under the surface? A festering that Begala permitted under his tenure? Maybe it's the idea that the smaller a group, the more fanatical its members become. I don't know. Some Republicans would like to sit back and let Dean, Frank, and Begala roll on, but they aren't going to go away. My concern is that these fanatical ideologues - and they are little else - will mainstream themselves in their own party for no other reason than they are the only ones providing vision and direction. God help the Democratic Party. They need it. Icing the KickerGuess what? It works 10% of the time. Friday, July 15, 2005Making their displeasure known...Not just one, not two, but three solid responses from letter-writers about Mary Washington Professor Thomas Johnson's opinion column with regards to how America's soldiers are trained - and how that training reflects on American values (specifically obedience, humility, and self-sacrifice) he believes to be undesireable and contrary to individualism. Most of this morning's criticism seems to center around the idea that Johnson was promoting his new book. Fair enough, though I honestly believe he was trying to make a point. My thoughts on this have already made the rounds and may just inspire a column of my own -- perhaps. TurboTap!Want your beer poured in less than three seconds? TurboTap to the rescue! Of course, that's not why your local bar will be installing these new-fangled devices: 'People get their beer here fast enough,' he says, adding that it was the increased yield per keg that persuaded him to install TurboTap, not the promise of a faster pour. Stadium vendors say they're getting six to eight additional cups out of each keg -- or $30 to $40 in added revenue -- since TurboTaps were added.It takes longer than two minutes to properly pour a Guinness. Properly. Thursday, July 14, 2005CATO: Governors Should Learn to Say NoStephen Slivinski makes the argument that spend-happy governors should learn to hold back goverment spending before the real fiscal crisis begins: It's instructive to remember how we got here, and what exactly the governors mean when they refer to the 'fiscal crisis' of the past few years. Less than five years ago, states had the largest surpluses on record. But by fiscal 2002, the weak U.S. economy had led to slower tax growth in states, and historic surpluses quickly turned into monumental deficits. Many of these deficits were the largest in state history.A good point to make, and one that bears even more weight considering the economy isn't doing as well as it should. Commentspamming NLSIf there's one measure of a person's reputation, it's the acidity of their critics. As such, the VA 2005 HOD Blog continues to get hammered by a handful of people (or more likely, one overactive person) seeking to oust NLS as Ben Tribbett. I have no idea who Tribbett is, and I have reasonable sources that know who/what NLS really is/are. Frankly, I don't care what people are speculating, the information is solid and a perfect outlet for insider information. Understandably, wannabe insiders take offense. The comment spamming on the site is ridiculous, but it's altogether the best sign that "NLS" is indeed one of the top-notch bloggers in Virginia. PlanarityYou know those games. Those tricky little logic puzzles that people send to you that you get at work. Well now is your opportunity to waste countless hours of your time as well! Neat game. Courtesy of my brother at Js Notes. Va. Hopefuls Prep With Sparring PartnersKilgore vs. Kaine in the ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN! Well, not really. But the debate is definitely on. One curiosity though: Delacey Skinner, a spokeswoman for Kaine, said the 'idea is to run through everything' in advance of Saturday's contest. The debate, sponsored by the Virginia Bar Association, will start at 10:30 a.m. at the Greenbrier in West Virginia. It will not be televised.Virginia's gubernatorial debate in West Virginia? What am I missing here? And will "Jerry the Duck" show up? Questions abound. . . but the real question is how the heck Tim Murtaugh managed to sneak this line in the Washington Post: "Tim Kaine is a trial lawyer, well known as a smooth talker," Murtaugh said. "People say he's Clintonian in his debating style. He's a master debater, so we're certainly taking it seriously."Master debater, eh? Wednesday, July 13, 2005Space Shuttle Discovery: 3:51EDTSTS-114 returns to space at 3:51pm Eastern. If you want to watch from your computer, just click here and pick your favorite viewer. UPDATE: Looks like there won't be a launch today. NASA TV is reporting a fuel line warning sensor malfunction. So the astronauts are climbing out of the shuttle and back to the crew quarters. Obedience, Humility, and Self-SacrificeWisdom from the Ivory Tower at Mary Washington, lamenting how our soldiers are treated and trained for war. At first, the article is a concern about how society trains people to accept war, but it evolves into something much different: Just suppose you are a young person seeking employment. Can you think of any type of job, outside the military, where new employees are cursed at or physically attacked, have their heads shaved, screamed at up close by a trainer whose saliva runs down their faces, required to stand in hot clothes while carrying heavy equipment in 100-degree heat for hours, called all sorts of demeaning names such as maggots or rats, required to lie to certain questions or suffer immediate punishment, or made to jump into water over their heads even if they cannot swim, etc.?I can think of many day-to-day jobs that - while they may not be so strenuous - would benefit from such training. Of course, the author conveniently forgets that no matter how "civilized" or humane we may deem ourselves, it only opens ourselves to the savagery of others. War is not pre-school; it is a place where far worse things than being cursed at, having one's head shaved, or jumping into deep water. It's training for the real world. Naturally, I find something else far more objectionable than his comments on the training methods of the (volunteer) American military: For those who truly want a better world in the future, it will be necessary for them to open their minds and seriously question the structure and philosophy (which considers obedience, humility, and self-sacrifice to be virtues) of society's main institutions--for if they remain as they are, America's fragile and ever-decreasing freedom will continue to fade and disappear, leaving behind only a faint and tragic memory.Obedience? Humility? Self-sacrifice? These are undesireable traits?! Tangentially, I can hear the Marxist retort now. . . "you're just caught up in the trappings of a society who programmed you to think this way. . ." To which an intelligent person might as how the Marxist broke out from their societal underpinnings to come to this gnostic understanding of how the world should be. Regardless, at center court here is the idea that the traits of obedience, humility, and self-sacrifice are somehow undesireable. Presumably then, are their opposites then desireable? Disobedience? Pride? Self-aggrandizement? While the author cites the Montessori method of education as an ideal (which emphasizes a strong, personal encouragement to allow the child to develop and learn independently), does he misunderstand this to be the breeding ground for a child that will grow to reject virtues that emphasize others over self? Is self-serving license to become the embodiment of liberty? To the contrary, obedience, humility, and self-sacrifice are peculiarly American traits because they are simply the best tools to preserve liberty. A disobedient, prideful, and self-aggandizing soul doesn't prize liberty for anyone but themselves. An obedient, humble, and self-sacrificing soul might be considered amongst the most free, because at root there is a recognition of something greater than themselves. We get into other matters at this point. The relativist will heartily disagree, while one who believes in objective truths will readily accept the concept. One might argue that this "greater than themselves" object could be misinterpreted into the state, big business, slave masters, etc., but that would be both disingenuous and inaccurate. Ideas aren't greater than people, and people aren't greater than people. Is it God? I'd argue so, but I wouldn't mean that in a religious sense, but perhaps a theistic consideration that what we do and how we do it ultimately matters. New Post - About Face!I feel bad for Tricord et al. But when the Army says no, elected officials tend to take a second look: Ken Perrotte, A.P. Hill's spokesman, said in an interview yesterday that the Army is building an Urban Warfare Center on the base, a mere stone's throw from the New Post site.A.P. Hill is right from a military standpoint, but New Post is the way to go when it comes to development, and I seriously doubt that A.P. Hill will close anytime soon thanks to BRAC. If New Post is willing to live with the noise, then let 'em build! Tuesday, July 12, 2005Cops Shoot Baby Used As ShieldI'm sorry, but does anyone else think the police acted inappropriately here? You don't shoot hostages. Period. Rather than 300 rounds, why didn't a sniper end this quickly and decisively early on if the threat to others was grave enough to kill an 17-month old child taken hostage in the process? Or does it matter that the child was the man's daughter? For Liberals, High Stakes at High CourtQuestion: If the liberals... ahem, progressives lose the fight over the Supreme Court nominees, what happens to liberalism as an effective political coalition? Amongst the left, it's all or nothing: If the Coalition for a Fair and Independent Judiciary the lobbyists head is unsuccessful, it will risk not only seeing the courts tilt decidedly more conservative but also seeing the liberal movement lose further credibility as an organizing and advocacy force in Washington. 'The stakes are enormous -- they could not be any higher for us,' Aron said. 'Progressive organizations throughout the country understand how much is at stake with a change on the Supreme Court.'It would certainly be the final blow of a Republican trifecta (Bush 2004, the War on Terror, SCOTUS). Would it be the end of liberalism? Not exactly. One might think that a realignment of sort would spawn a more conservative GOP, but the neo-conservatives and the moderates hold sway at the moment. Champions of smaller government, while the majority of their own party, are led by those who fight for the middle-ground. So will it be the end of liberalism as we know it? Not likely. But it will mean the beginning of an era that Russell Kirk would no doubt smile upon. Whether or not the outcome pleases social conservatives and those of the more classical liberal/libertarian mindset is another matter altogether. It's Time VirginiaTime to raise your taxes that is. Another litany of complaints begging for more funding for Virginia transportation. Nevermind that we have an additional $10 billion in revenue from the previous biennium. Nevermind the Virginia General Assembly continues to raid the Transportation Trust Fund. Nevermind state expenditures are far outpacing income growth in the Commonwealth. Nevermind the fact that Virginia taxpayers overwhelmingly rejected transportation bonds in 2003. It's time to raise taxes, they cry. Now we might not read this on this website, but we all know where this line of reasoning leads. The radio ads are up, and the cheerleading from a vocal minority with plenty of cash to raise taxes is on the march. And while this group in particular is long on complaints, they are preciously short on solutions. Why should the state be making the transportation decisions when it is localities who determine land use? Transportation initiatives should work from the bottom up, not the top down. Why throw more money at a transpotation process that needs restructuring, not billion dollar band-aids? Brace yourself folks, and be sure to ask legislators whether they too will be joining the cacaphony of special interests supporting higher taxes in '06. Explosions at Spanish power plantThis time, it's the ETA that's behind the attacks: After the warning calls to the Basque newspaper Gara and to the Basque emergency road service DYA, police rushed to the plant, in the Basque city of Amorebieta, and evacuated the workers.Much different than the al-Qaeda approach of killing as many people as possible. The ETA has long been a thorn in the side of the Spanish government, though their numbers have been on the decline. Monday, July 11, 2005Unnatural SelectionDavid Boaz comments on the impact of the Scopes trial and the relationship it has with the free market: A state monopoly on electricity generation may be economically inefficient, but it's not likely to generate political conflict over moral values. But the state education monopoly is something else again. Education deals with topics that many people feel strongly about, and a monopoly requires them to fight over whose values will prevail in the single school system.Thus the reason why school choice and the free market have so much more to offer than state-imposed monopolies. Sunday, July 10, 2005The Jaded JD: When good blogs go badJaded JD has some comments about the Virginia 2005 Elections website and it's recent fumblings (which might be too strong a word). Is NLS looking for a way to stay relevant during the dry season between now and September? Perhaps so. . . maybe focusing on the statewide races would be a good focus in the meantime? A couple of debates about the direction of RPV and the DPVA? Third party candidates? I don't really have those answers. The personal zingers don't enhance a well-earned reputation though. When NLS does reveal himself/herself over time (and privately I hope that doesn't occur), people will judge the blog on the quality and insight of its posts. Thus far, that reputation continues to hold firm. For one, I particularly enjoy the site, and even enjoy the controversy "not jim gilmore" created. Frankly, if the comments came anonymously from the "Gang of 17", it's very telling to see what they really think of Virginia's conservatives. Name one other website with the clout to pull similar information? It's a great idea, a great blog, and has spawned more than one imitator. Looking forward to a day when the site returns to it's target-rich environment. London - Round 2London's Metropolitan Police are gearing up for a second round: BRITAIN'S terrorist alert has been raised to its highest-ever level because the London rush-hour bombers are alive and planning another attack, The Times has learnt.My brother was telling me there was a specific journalist/commentator who threw back the comment that the IRA was much better at this terrorism thing. Interesting comment, considering that the IRA has been known to train the ETA, FARC, HAMAS, Hezbollah, the PLO, and possibly al-Qaeda cells inside Venezuela and Colombia. No news on American transportation systems though, but let's keep in mind that for the millions and millions (billions?) of dollars we spend fighting terrorism, a handful of people with backpacks wrought the damage on July 7th. The best defense against terrorism is the eyes and ears of the average person. Israel Cabinet Endorses Jerusalem BarrierI've only heard of some of these barriers, part of which runs through Franciscan and Orthodox monasteries. Regardless of the protests from the Palestinian Authority and the Vatican, Likud still seems driven to complete the project: The Israeli ministers acknowledged about 55,000 Palestinian residents in four neighborhoods will eventually be cut off from their city by the separation barrier, meant to stop Palestinian bombers, and promised to come up with a plan by Sept. 1 on how to alleviate some of the hardships.Understandably so. I haven't been back to see the new barrier, but it runs through Christian land the same way it runs through Palestinian land (Muslim or Christian). Sad really. Top 10 downloads of the past 10 yearsHow many do you have? Sadly, I can only claim five. UMW crew causes row at Lake of the WoodsOne more case of insurance getting in the way of a good thing. Only 15 minutes outside of Fredericksburg, we might recommend a much more accomodating venue: Historic Port Royal Saturday, July 09, 2005Another London Bombing Attempt?This one being reported by Reuters as occuring on Thursday: A New Zealander working for Reuters in London says two colleagues witnessed the unconfirmed shooting by police of two apparent suicide bombers outside the HSBC tower at Canary Wharf in London.This following reports from the London Metropolitan Police that the bombings occured within seconds of one another, and not over the course of an hour as previously claimed. Odd stuff. NASA's Deep Impact Tells a Tale of the CometMore on Tempel 1 and the Deep Impact experiement: 'The major surprise was the opacity of the plume the impactor created and the light it gave off,' said Deep Impact Principal Investigator Dr. Michael A'Hearn of the University of Maryland, College Park. 'That suggests the dust excavated from the comet's surface was extremely fine, more like talcum powder than beach sand. And the surface is definitely not what most people think of when they think of comets -- an ice cube.'Interesting stuff. What will be even more interesting is how precisely these comets go about accumulating this dust over time. Memories. . .Care to take a peek at how the Internet has evolved? Here's some of your favorite websites as they looked in 1995. 88th District - Feldbush vs. ColeMark handily beat Chuck Feldbush in 2003. While no one wants to be apathetic, the results shouldn't be any different this time around. However. . . One thing to keep an eye on is whether or not Feldbush does better than in 2003, and by how much. If it's closer (as in better than 60-40), this could be the beginning of the Democratic resurgence we're starting to see in Northern Virginia proper. While Stafford and Spotsylvania remain overwhelmingly Republican, a narrowing of the 2-1 margin we enjoy is a demographic change that all political analysts focusing on high-growth localities should keep an eye upon. Friday, July 08, 2005Embattled cardinal seeks Pope's supportSpanish Cardinal Antonio Rouco is appealling to the Pope to help with the cultural crisis in Spain: Cardinal Antonio Mar'a Rouco Varela of Madrid told Pope Benedict XVI this week that in Spain 'there is a denial not only of faith, but also of human intellect, as can be seen in the recent legislation on marriage and the family'. The Socialist Government of President Jose Luis Zapatero passed legislation on 30 June that makes same-sex unions legal in Spain, and allows homosexual couples to adopt children.An appropriate and bold answer. If not for lazy Christians, would relativism thrive as well as it does today? Hotels 'cash in' on bomb attacksBriefly, we saw this in New York and Washington after Sept. 11th. Briefly. A Trading Standards Institute spokesman said hotel profiteering after a bombing attack was reprehensible.Indeed. There's always folks out there who see disaster as an opportunity to cash in. Hopefully, Londoners will remember who decided to take advantage of them in their hour of need and repay them in kind -- by simply ceasing to patronize their businesses. She's not saying noTo being Justice Judy that is. . . All eyes are on Washington waiting for the next SCOTUS vacancy. Thursday, July 07, 2005SST: Rehnquist? and Stevens?The rumor mill is running at full tilt. O'Connor, Rehnquist, and now possibly Stevens? A conservative hat-trick to coincide with the return of hockey season?! Perhaps not, but a guy can hope, can't he? Vatican Criticizes Catholics on CommunionThe preliminary texts of a new Vatican document regarding the Eucharist are being prepared for the October synod. What's interesting is that when Pope Benedict XVI and others spoke of a smaller, more faithful Catholic Church, he probably had this in mind: In one section, for example, the document criticized the faithful who support Catholic politicians who themselves back abortion and other policies contrary to church teaching.Some don't. Others do. Let's hope the John Kerry's, Ted Kennedy's, and Tim Kaine's of the world are taking notice and discerning for themselves whether their faith matches their political beliefs, and ask the tough question "Which is more important?" Justice Sheindlin?Yes, this is a bone tossed out to see if anyone will chew on it for awhile, but I'm glad I haven't been the first to mention this possibility: I have no idea if Judy Sheindlin is a Republican or a Democrat, and her legal ideology is a mystery to me. I only know that she gets the job done and can, in the inimitable words of the Ultimate Judge Judy Web page, 'see through BS pretty fast.' That's the judge for me. I am (mostly) serious.Now I have no idea if Judge Judy is conservative, liberal, or otherwise. She doesn't put up wtih crap, she's very sober and disciplined in her interviews, and she'd write some interesting decisions. The question really is whether or not a family court judge translates well into a Supreme Court Justice. Could be a bunch of sentimental TV-inspired nonsense, but an interesting avenue to explore nonetheless. criesinthenight: The Possibility of Being RightYet another new blog joins the ODBA: criesinthenight, who has a great read on the focus of the First Things article on The New Fusionism between social conservatives and neo-conservatives: At the core of the welfare state is one message: you can't do this for yourself. Social Security is a repudiation of the belief that I can invest my money for retirement better than the government. More, taken collectively, they say that society can't take of their own without the coercive force of the government. This is the effect of social defeatism… the effect of a failure to believe in ourselves.First Things has to be my favorite journal at the moment, and I read Bottum's article with a good deal of interest. The possibility of being right, and the improbable marriage of former liberals turned neo-cons and evangelical Christians is something Bottum looks upon with a degree of hope. A fusion of the ideas of social conservatives with the action of liberals. Who could ask for less? For starters, "paleo-conservatives" - an epithet if I've ever heard one - classical liberals, and libertarians all hold objections to the idea that government needs to be the catalyst for change. Reagan's admonishment that government is the problem, not the solution seems to fall by the wayside. No matter, argues Bottum: The angry isolationist paleoconservatives are probably right—this isn’t conservatism, in several older senses of the word. But so what? Call it the new moralism, if you like. Call it a masked liberalism or a kind of radicalism that has bizarrely seized the American scene. Mutter darkly, if you want, about the shotgun marriage of ex-socialists and modern puritans, the cynical political joining of imperial adventurers with reactionary Catholics and backwoods Evangelicals. These facts still remain: The sense of national purpose regained by forceful response to the attacks of September 11 could help summon the will to halt the slaughter of a million unborn children a year. And the energy of the pro-life fight—the fundamental moral cause of our time—may revitalize belief in the great American experiment.And there you have it. An idea that many Republicans of either the economic or social stripe haven't caught on to yet. Neo-conservatives and social conservatives at their root seek government intervention to set right the wrongs of the world. The question is whether or not this is good, or even desireable? Russell Kirk, imaginably, might argue yes. Nozick certainly would not. von Mises would not. Nor would the vast majority of liberals, socialists, or progressives; though they might certainly admire the means if not the ends. In the end, the stuggle between individual action and social action continues. Objectively, the "American experiment" has always been a testimony to individualism rather than socialism. Why then would a marriage of liberal action and social conservativism be an advance? I suppose this is why I could not call myself a neo-conservative. I simply don't believe in the government as a means for change. Certainly, I am a social conservative. Abortion is a tragedy that needs to end, and it is the intervention of government through Roe v. Wade that allows it to persist. Fair wages should be the obligation of an employer to do business. Speech should in no way be restrained or inhibited - or encouraged by the state for that matter. Religious belief does and should play a role in the public square. Government should ideally be so small that it couldn't possibly infringe upon rights, yet sizeable enough to defend our rights when threatened. The defense of life, liberty, and property are what the Founders and the classical liberals would identify as the prime objectives of American governance. Liberty's propogation shouldn't be at the tip of a sword as the neo-cons would have it, nor should it be through the heavy hand of governance as this "new fusionism" proposes. Wednesday, July 06, 2005Prettiest Lady in the World
Schumer on the Supreme Court: "We are going to war"To which I say BRING IT ON: Schumer proudly declared: "We are contemplating how we are going to go to war over this."Now of course, it has been remarked elsewhere that the spectre of the end of abortion-on-demand being waved by NOW and company isn't exactly true. For starters, the make up of the court is 6-3 in favor of Roe. Secondly, even if SCOTUS kicked back Roe v. Wade, the decisions would be left to the individual states to decide (shades of Planned Parenthood v. Casey). So this isn't as tumultuous as one would think, but it is certainly an opportunity to put a strong, pro-life, strict constitutionalist on the bench. My pick is Miguel Estrada. Long shot, but my favorite anyhow. London 2012The Summer Olympics in 2012 are to be held in London, not Paris: With a Gallic shrug, a stunned Paris - long considered the favourite - tried to make a graceful recovery.One can't help but think that French President Jacques Chirac's haughty arrogance in recent weeks didn't turn heads. There's a reason why they call it "gall" (Gaul?) I guess. . . Okay, so I'm not the only one with bad jokes. But after Iraq, the EU Constitution, British beef, Finnish food, and now the Olympics, for Chirac the hits just keep on comin'. Tuesday, July 05, 2005OMT: Blogging's Impact DiscussedNorman and I have been engaging in a discussion about the impact and value of blogging on Virginia politics, inspired by this morning's article in the Washington Post. Personally, I think it has tremendous value. "Inside baseball" is the phrase I would use, and folks do pay attention. Hu, Putin Reaffirm "Strategic" Alliance At Summit TalksNow what bothers me about this isn't the article itself, or even the idea that China and Russia are engaging in this type of alliance (though it should bother those pre-occupied with a Sino-Russian resurgency). What should bother folks is the cultural gauntlet thrown down by Premier Hu: The document states that the international community should 'completely desist from confrontational and bloc mentalities, attempts to monopolize and dominate in international affairs, attempts to divide states between leaders and led.'Principles and traditions of each country. That's a very strong statement, and it strikes at the very heart of the secular West and it's notions of tolerance. Moreover, if we within Western Civilizations place such a high value on human rights, is it something we believe all cultures should adopt, thus inviting the "clash of civilizations?" Or is it something we are willing to negotiate upon, thereby alowing human rights abuses such as Rwanda, Sudan, and yes those within Russia and the PRC to continue? What do we believe? Where are we going? Two questions that Hu and the Chinese Communists are forcing us to answer in the West whether we are ready to have the discussion or not. Vincentian EncyclopediaNow this is an interesting collaboration between the Vinnies and Wikipedia. The Vincentian Encyclopedia is an online collaborative attempt to archive and include as many articles as possible. It's clear this is based off of the Wikipedia technology, although I have no idea whether or not this has the official sanction of the project's founders. Still, a very cool resource and one I hope is imitated. Russian Astrologer Sues NASA Over CometAh yes... and what are the end results of such a catastrophic impact on Tempel 1? Why, it altered my horoscope and changed the natural balance of the universe!!! Bai is seeking damages totaling 8.7 billion rubles ($300 million) - the approximate equivalent of the mission's cost - for her "moral sufferings," Izvestia said, citing her lawyer Alexander Molokhov. She earlier told the paper that the experiment would "deform her horoscope."I'd bet. Monday, July 04, 2005Happy Independence Day!We're going to Manassas for the LI Fourth of July Soiree, then back home to visit family and friends. Enjoy the Fourth! Deep ImpactSo what the heck am I doing up so late? Most folks wouldn't guess this, but long before I got involved in politics I was an avid space program nut. Like most kids during the 1980's, I wanted to be an astronaut, fly the Space Shuttle, go to Space Camp, etc. So yes, I am waiting to see what happens when Deep Impact hits Tempel 1. For real time stuff, you'll want to go here. Impact ETA is 1:52am Eastern. UPDATE: Last timing maneuver was right on. You can watch the impact (or at least NASA/JPL's reaction to the impact) on NASA TV. UPDATEx2: LiveBlogging now... a few sequence errors, but everything seems to be on target. 20 seconds away from performing the sequence that will capture the images of the flyby. UPDATEx3: Oh wow, they're showing pictures of the comet surface with detail that's accurate to within a few meters. Some problems with the mirror, but JPL seems to think that the effects of some sandblasting. UPDATEx4: IT HIT! There is an incredible image of the impact on the monitor at JPL. WOW! UPDATEx5: 250 microradians and climbing... UPDATEx6: The image that you will see of the impact happened just after 3 seconds. Thta's one heck of a hit! UPDATEx7: 1000 microradians and climbing... UPDATEx8: There are some very detailed images coming through now prior to impact. JPL is going to put the probe into "shield mode" in about 45 seconds. The impact is considerably brigher and bringing more material off of the comet than expected. UPDATEx9: Craters. Lots of them on the screen just before the impact. Interesting stuff! There's a lot of speculation as to what exactly caused what is being decribed as an "explosive event" by the NASA folks. Vaporized ice and CO2 is the guess at the moment. UPDATEx10: And now the politicians are entering the room, shaking hands and being congenial... Rorabacher and a couple of California congressmen. Get back to the science!!! UPDATEx11: In "shield mode" for the next 10 min. as the probe passes through the coma. Medium-res images of the flyby are showing what looks like an explosion at the moment of impact. Very bright images. UPDATEx12: NASA telling it's people to quit celebrating and get back to work. Heh. UPDATEx13: There's two crews working at JPL. One crew is in red, folding arms, looking relaxed, happy, etc. The other is in blue, still working diligently. The red is the impact team. The blue is the flyby team. There's some great images coming back post impact. Wow, there is a huge amount of dust (ejecta) from the impact. The picture we're seeing now is the last one before the probe entered "shield mode" -- 13 minutes after impact. The tone from some of the scientists seems to be "what did we do to the comet," almost as if they hurt a buddy or something. They're saying it will take at least 2 minutes for the crater to develop. The plume shouldn't last very long. UPDATEx14: So what did this acheive? Well, the idea here is that the probe has taken spectral data from the comet's surface before impact. In order to find what is inside the comet, the idea is that the impact will "kick up" the inside of the comet, and the resulting dust will settle. The probe will then be able to take spectral data once again and measure specific molecules such as water, carbon dioxide, etc. The image NASA is showing now is a huge explosion (for lack of a better word) at the end of the comet. It's big allright. Initial assumption is that the impact probe hit a pocket of gas inside the comet, resulting in an explosion akin to shooting a shaken can of coke with a BB pellet (not that I've ever done that before). UPDATEx15: Just to give you some idea of the size of the impact, the comet is about one kilometer by one kilometer by one kilometer. In short, the impact is massive to say the least. Good news is the pictures we are seeing now are very raw. They are going to become much, much better over the next few days. CONCLUSION: News briefing at 4:00am. The pictures are going to be posted on the NASA website, and they lived up to the fireworks they promised to be. WOW! Very good stuff. I'm signing off, but I'll be very interested to see what the flyby crew has for us. If Ax Falls on Roe, It May Also Split GOPVirginia Republicans have always been ahead of the demographic curve when it comes to the national GOP. So when an LA Times article muses on the possibility of a split between pragmatic and principled Republican, I give pause: Of particular concern is the party's fate in closely contested battlegrounds such as Ohio, Florida and Michigan, where the resurgence of the abortion issue could alienate moderate voters who have helped Republicans make gains on all levels.Yes, out those theocrats for who they are, right? Can it happen? I doubt it. Pragmatists are pragmatists, and I wouldn't see them jumping ship for much of anything. But what if it goes the other way? My concern wouldn't be moderates jumping ship, but rather conservatives jumping ship for a third party if we don't push for strong, pro-life, strict constitutionalists. Let the conversation begin, I say. Perhaps it's zeitgeist or my genuine respect for Benedict XVI, but a smaller, more centered GOP isn't a bad thing if it means we are working for change rather than propping up the status quo. Sunday, July 03, 2005Prosecutor fired for blog-related conductInteresting commentary over at Commonwealth Conservative. A prosecutor was fired for a blog entry on his weblog decrying the "cowardice" of his superiors, specifically in a case where a rapist was brought to charges twice and never brought to court because there wasn't enough evidence in the eyes of his superiors. He was fired shortly thereafter. Which IMO only proves the point of how insecure and cowardly that prosecutor really was. Sad to see this is occuring. But it is nice to know that in some fashion, blogs really are conducting the checks-and-balances that mainstream media otherwise would not (and could not, if anything for the sake of volume). It does however bring up the topic of anonymous blogging. . . but that's for another day. Students: Downloading not unethicalAs much as the RIAA would like to hear otherwise, most students don't see anything wrong with downloading files online: Two-thirds of U.S. college students see nothing unethical about downloading digital copyrighted files without paying, a survey found.I'll tell you of one positive impact of the downloading music and such: the death of the one-hit wonder. Everyone's done it. You hear a song, you like it, you go buy the CD in the store for $20, and lo and behold the album is terrible. Downloading erased that. You hear a song, you let it wear on you, and if you really like it (and a few others if they are an indie band rising to the top), then you buy the CD and maybe catch them in concert. That's the way Gen X and Gen Y feel about music. Selling out is crime #1, and the sooner business latch on (RIAA and IP junkies included) the better the industry will be. Saturday, July 02, 2005The real impact of Live 8Ever talk to anyone who went to the Tibetan Freedom Concert? Here's an news flash: This time he (Geldof) wants change through political pressure, calling for debt forgiveness, a doubling of aid to poor nations and fair trade to allow African countries to compete. Organizers say up to 2 billion people will tune in to watch the concerts.Tip to concert organizers. People aren't attending for the cause. They're attending for the concert showcase. People could care less who is organizing it, and if you delude yourself for a second into thinking people are "organizing" for an end to world poverty, guess again. Hold a rally three months for now to end world debt in Washington. See how many people show up. Does it mean we don't care? No, but to construe a concert into a protest for change is either playing concert-goers as fools, or playing policy makers for idiots. "I don't think the awareness thing is working," said Sue Kim, a 22-year-old student, in Philadelphia. "There's going to be a lot of drunk people and what are they going to remember?"Anyone want to guess how many people will be discussing world debt a week from today? Friday, July 01, 2005Why I won't be watching Live 8I can't help but agree, at least with this sentiment anyhow: I watched Live Aid. I was depressed by the mullet-headed music, that puzzling logo of a fretboard protruding from the African continent, and resented being browbeaten by multi-millionaires to empty my pockets.If you read the article, the author goes into Geldof's "cozy" relationship with state and religious leaders and why they should be "interrogated" rather than paid service. However, the question should be raised: what - if anything - will be accomplished for Africa with Live 8? What changed in 1985? And 20 years after Live Aid, what if anything has changed for the better as a result? Give this to President Bush. Love him or hate him, he has paid more attention to the African continent than his predecessors. Hopefully it will be a trend that continues, and in the direction of real change and not the artificial monetary support of faiiled regimes. O'Connor to Retire From Supreme CourtHOORAY! Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court and a key swing vote on issues such as abortion and the death penalty, said Friday she is retiring.It's do-or-die time. With a Republican Senate, if we don't have the guts to put in a strong Supreme Court justice on the order of Scalia or Thomas, then something is more than seriously wrong with the GOP. It will have lost my confidence at the national level altogether. Replacing O'Connor with a strong voice that respects the rule of law (a natural law advocate such as Scalia or Thomas) would be outstanding. Best case scenario IMO.
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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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