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Wednesday, November 29, 2006Welcome To The World, Baby MarieHeya, folks. Kenney The Younger here. Not to steal Shaun's thunder or anything but I know a good bunch of you all are eagerly awaiting a follow-up on Shaun's last post so I thought I'd come in here late and let the world know that Marie Grace Kenney came into the world Monday night at 6lbs 9oz and 19 inches long. Baby and momma are doing fine and the whole happy family unit should be home sometime this evening. It's good to have another young'un to brainwash into thinking I'm the Best Uncle In The World. Monday, November 27, 2006Contractions?Looks like it's D-Day... contractions are about 10-12 minutes apart, and we're getting ready to head up the road to Mary Washington. If I don't post for three days, you'll know the little one has arrived. Acton: Good News for the MoralistsNow this is interesting, from the Acton Institute PowerBlog: Here’s some good news for those who prefer to combat cultural evil through the edification and cultivation of moral sensibilities: In “Repugnance as a Constraint on Markets,” Alvin E. Roth finds that “distaste for certain kinds of transactions is a real constraint, every bit as real as the constraints imposed by technology or by the requirements of incentives and efficiency.”In short, moral indignation works. Unfortunately, the link to the paper only takes you to the abstract... so we'll have to go with Acton's word on this one. Sunday, November 26, 2006Barticles: Who Can SpeakYet another excellent post from Bart Hinkle at the RTD, this time effortlessly destroying the "chickenhawk" argument: Those who have served in the military have a valuable perspective and should be listened to. But it is nonsense to say that only they should be listened to. For one thing, the Founders went to some lengths to ensure that in the United States the final authority over the military would be civilian. For another, to suggest that only veterans can weigh in on military matters is akin to saying only policemen can weigh in on questions of law enforcement. Just as everyone in a community has a stake in the maintenance of law enforcement, everyone in a nation has a stake in the maintenance of national security.Outstanding. Go read it all. SLANTblog: Why did Webb Win?Don't know about the rest of the world, but this Democratic chest-thumping in Virginia (and subsequent doom-and-gloom amongst conservatives) has gotten old. Why did Jim Webb win? One word: MACACA. And how did it get out? Not through an incompetent Jim Webb campaign, but through blogs willing to stake their reputation and draw the story out. F.T. Rea ponders: Was Webb’s remarkable win, owing much to blogs, a fluke? Or, is Virginia’s churning blogosphere, flying by the seat of its pants, the avant-garde of American politics?Did blogs magnify the "macaca" incident? Of course they did. Was Jim Webb's victory a fluke? You bet. Consider the alternative: If George Allen had not uttered "macaca", or had it not gone on YouTube for the blogs to promote, Allen conceivably would have cruised to a double-digit victory over paleocon-turned-progressive Jim Webb. Allen would be the shoo-in for the GOP presidential nod, there would be no upheaval at RPV, nor would there be a discussion as to what kind of Virginia Republican Party we want to see for 2007-08. Instead, the Democrats managed to turn a collection of syllables into a racial epithet. I don't think we'll ever properly know what Allen meant by the word (though like it or not, macaca isn't a nice thing to say and has a meaning), but that single incident in August turned a 20+ lead into a 3- deficit from which the GOP never recovered. As for the Virginia blogosphere, it's true the Dems did a masterful job of laying out the narrative before the MSM picked up on the story. Ironically, the paid boys at Raising Kaine had little to do with it, but rather Ben Tribbet at Not Larry Sabato was the pin in the grenade. Likewise on the right, we fumbled for a response and relied on dubious opinions from the Allen campaign (mohawk, anyone?) that ultimately panned out to be false. Thus when Sidharth's video clip was YouTube-d and broadcasted to the world, the Dems had the narrative built, whilst we on the right were still wandering in the weeds of misinformation. Hence the importance of good netroots co-ordinators to political campaigns and operations. Quo vadis? Republicans need to wake up after Christmas and realize the sky is not falling down. Yes there are thing we can do to make RPV more responsive, efficient, etc. Yes, we need to start taking blogs and podcasts seriously. No, Virginia is not turning blue, "purpling", or any sort of nonsense like that. Republicans need to get back to the fusionism of old that made the Reagan Revolution great in the 1980's. Figure out the long pole of the big tent, disagree on the peripherals, but understand that in the end we can disagree so long as we continue to focus on what brings us together. I could go on my tangent about good government being no substitute for self-government, but that would make this a longer post than I intend this to be (and it's long enough). Your bottom line? Webb didn't win, Allen lost. And blogs helped. DSL!Driving along the back roads of Fluvanna, I came up on beautiful Downtown Kent's Store and saw a gentleman working on the phone box just next to the general store. There was a sign. "High Speed Internet is Available Now!" I bailed out of the minivan, walked over to the fella (ran was more like it) and asked whether he was installing DSL. Yes, he was installing DSL for the first customer. I got to be the second, referred another family begging for DSL, and today I am pitching this crappy Sprint Broadband card - which works fine in the city, but terribly out here - and settling in with my new found piece of civilization. 10 acres in the country with DSL rocks! Wednesday, November 22, 2006Anybody Here Seen My Old Friend John?22 November 1963, President Jack Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Today is the 43rd anniversary. The Free Lance-Star has a personal account of Lori Deem, who saw Kennedy's procession in Washington on 24 November: Later Deem and her mother waited in a 40-block line to pass by the casket in the rotunda.Good article. Meanwhile, timed just for the anniversary of Jack Kennedy's death is new speculation about Senator Robert Kennedy's death from the BBC. Yes yes... John Kennedy for avid readers of this site is my favorite president, and no I don't dwell on his assassination as some sort of plot. All this having been said, Profiles in Courage should be required reading of anyone wishing to enter public service. Naturally, Virginia's own Thomas Jefferson comes a very close second. Just as long as he does it OUTSIDE17-year old Thiago Olson does what very geekish kid wishes they could do with their science lab: build a fusion reactor: In the basement of his parents' Oakland Township home, tucked away in an area most aren't privy to see, Thiago is exhausting his love of physics on a project that has taken him more than two years and 1,000 hours to research and build -- a large, intricate machine that , on a small scale, creates nuclear fusion.What's cooler about this is that he is officially the 18th person in the world to have replicated nuclear fusion. Monday, November 20, 2006Merry Thanksgiving!!! OR What Are You Thankful For???Lowes in Charlottesville, where the Xmas stuff has been up for about two weeks now. I can't possibly be the only one lamenting the loss of Thanksgiving to commercialization... UPDATE: Mark Gardner has decided to take this to the next level. Post in the comments what you are thankful for this Thanksgiving season! Reason & Revelation: Yes, Prime MinisterThe Friar discusses Yes, Prime Minister and arguments for and against the draft... and press bashing, for that matter. Sunday, November 19, 2006QandO: Blogs, campaigns and the 2006 electionJon Henke, netroots co-ordinator for the George Allen campaign, has posted an excellent analysis of the importance of blogs to elections: Republicans — both institutionally and during campaigns — will either develop strategies and hire experts to engage the blogosphere quickly and bumpily as happened with the successful Democratic engagement of the blogosphere. . .or they will do so slowly and with great regret that they've effectively ceded to Democrats the most important new political battlefield since talk radio.There's an additional problem to this. Democrats (and particularly the progressive wing) created their blogosphere mostly from grassroots and activist support. Republicans seem to look behind them to political parties and ask them to counteract the left. It can't happen that way. Sure there are things that grasstops can do to help encourage blogs. But when it comes to what Jon Henke consistently called "developing a narrative" for a campaign, the blogs achieve this. Add this narrative into a fundraising schematic, and you have classic copywriting tactics. Build the narrative, get people invested, make the ask. Then there's the simple fact of who reads the blogs: reporters, activists, pundits, staff, etc. Not the widest audience, but one that soars in quality. Republicans in Virginia should take note -- Jason (Kenney the Lesser) has been consistently beating the drum for what he calls a "Redstate Virginia" effort. Jon Henke has also joined the chorus. I know there are a number of us who are plotting to create precisely that, and there are a number of groups trying to circumvent ineptitude (V*CAP's one million conservative voter effort, the Freedom and Prosperity Agenda, Tertium Quids are fine examples). We gotta break out. More to come, friends. Nesting...Woke up this morning to a flurry of cleaning activity. There was dust along the edges of the hallway... A bag was packed, other times have been meticulously cleaned, and she just ran off to the store to get more "things" to do more cleaning. Bit early though. Friday, November 17, 2006Barticles: Who's Mean Spirited?A great article from Bart Hinkle over at the Richmond Times-Dispatch on how us free-market types actually give more to charity than socialist types, and the reasons why. Hinkle speculates: If Brooks’ book is accurate, then it underscores a crucial point: One can both oppose government-mandated charity through social-assistance programs, and demonstrate compassion to an extent greater even than that shown by those who do support such programs.I love this blog. Thursday, November 16, 2006Virginia Virtucon: Lame Duck NancyFor those who scoffed at the idea that there would be an impending civil war between the liberal and progressive wings of the Democratic Party, the score is Liberals 1, Progressives 0 with the demise of Murtha for House Majority Leader: This hurts Pelosi even more since not only did she endorse Murtha, but she actively campaigned on his behalf, held meetings and made phone calls. Looks like the House Democrats' rudder will NOT be Speaker Pelosi, but the conservative Blue Dogs.Of course, this pales in comparison to the impending civil war between libertarians and conservatives... but that's an old saw. Waldo Jaquith: On the decline of Virginia political blogging.Dead on: These days most Virginia political blogs make virtually no effort to persuade anybody to change their minds. A blogger will state his opinion, make no attempt to explain it, and insult those who disagree with them. Telling me I’m stupid does nothing to endear me to your cause. It is not persuasive, so it can have no impact on the political process. It reveals nothing about the blogger — at least, nothing flattering. No attempt is made to educate, so no new facts are gathered by the reader. If anything useful results from this process, I cannot understand what it is.I worry about this as well... the blogosphere almost seemed to bring back the days of old where Democrats and Republicans could sit at the Commonwealth Club and discuss issues rather than wage war in the press. Personally, I think we're closer to that day than before. Still, there are a handful that would tabloid themselves into popularity... What Happens at State Central.... v2I've written at length about this phenomenon before. I direct this at no one, but offer it to folks as a thought. Given all the back-and-forth about who the next RPV chairman is, I've seen plenty of people reveal information that probably is best kept indoors. Tucker Watkins, Russ Moulton, Ed Gillepsie: then everyone runs and speculates, calling SCC members and haggling them for information. It's tiresome. And frankly, the Democrats don't deserve to know our dirty laundry. Now I know why some folks do it. It's popular, it's what folks want to know. For the same reason tabloids print anything on Britney Spears or the very worst expose stories, good stories or "breaking first" attracts readers. I have two objections: First, we get back to the orginial problem of every conversation being "blogged" about moments after the conversation is uttered. As I wrote back in March 2005: RPV's State Central Committee has a tradition of being an egalitarian and spirited meeting where top-level Republicans can speak their minds about the condition and direction of the Republican Party.True, this was in reaction to a "motion by Jim Rich" that never occured, that was posted on Too Conservative as if Rich was there (he was not). All of this to emphasize support for an upcoming district convention. Yet the idea SCC members cannot feel somewhat secure in divulging information - or worse, divulge information with the specific point of influencing debate - is a strike against what otherwise would be a very commonsense and civil conversation. Second, why are we airing our dirty laundry to the whole world? Who should get to know the factions within RPV? To what ends? Why do Democrats and others get a free pass into the decision making process at RPV when there are others who have worked lifetimes to sit at the table? Furthermore, what kind of service are we really providing? Are we coarsening the lines of decorum, or is "sunshine at all costs" burning us in the end? Every member of SCC that I have spoken with save two has mentioned how they don't feel comfortable talking about this stuff because of the blogs. They talk to me because I don't blog about it. Opinions from others brighter than myself. Waldo Jaquith: I'm surprised at how often I see bloggers post about private exchanges, or exchanges that occurred where there was a reasonable belief that no press was present and people felt comfortable speaking accordingly. I would never dare write about these sorts of things. It helps to brand bloggers as unpredictable radicals, rather than as reasonable people who happen to publicly reflect on the events of the day.Jay Hughes: Yes, State Central meetings are open to the public. But if I'm interpreting the spirit of Shaun's post (and far be it from me to put words in Shaun's mouth :), I believe he's arguing that bloggers should exercise a degree of restraint regarding posting everything that happens at a certain event. For instance, it isn't always necessary after a meeting or event to race to a computer to post on a blog that Kate Griffin sneezed twice during the proceedings. Also, it's beginning to appear to me that if bloggers are going to "moonlight" as journalists, they should attend in person events upon which they wish to report in order to assure accuracy of reporting.And a jaded James Young (alluding to the incident which first prompted me to write about this phenomenon): As someone who also frequently carried proxies to State Central meetings and voted, I agree with you, Shaun, to a point. JD is correct about the legalities; clearly, however, Young Vince was having an acid flashback to his days posing as someone unaffiliated but impressed with Chairman Sean.What this boils down to is decorum and propriety. When we break the boundaries, journalists either snicker or heap scorn upon blogs as a whole. And rightly so. LESSON: Not everything you hear deserves to be written about. Your reputation as a person rides on much more, and if you can't be trusted with information, you won't. Again, this isn't directed at any one person, collection of persons, or anyone at all. It's merely a thought for the future, given with all the goodwill in the world. Wednesday, November 15, 2006House Dems Scramble, Fight for Leadership PositionsThe war between the liberal and progressive wings of the Democratic Party continues. I'll be the most interested to see how this rift becomes manifest when Hillary and Obama collide in '08. Monday, November 13, 2006Kate ResignsAs any unit chairman will tell you, being chair is a gratifying yet thankless job. It doesn't pay, it is time consuming, and when something goes wrong you get blamed. To counter that, you get to help good Republicans get elected, you get to know your community even better than before, and to kick it all off you get to work for and with the best people in the world. From Kate's letter announcing her resignation: When I became Party Chairman, Lucy, our youngest child, was nine months old. She is turning four on Thanksgiving Day! Our oldest, Henry, is nine. While I have truly loved the opportunity to serve as your chairman, my family has sacrificed mightily. It is time for me to spend more time at home with them.That had to be tough. Best wishes to Kate and her family. Regardless of what others may think of Kate's tenure, it wasn't through the best of times. UPDATE: Some folks who don't have much contact with RPV or State Central are making a lot of assumptions, but most just aren't true. As with most things in life, those who are the most silent probably know the most. VCAP Conservative ConferenceI had a very good time. Moderately attended? Yes. But there were several hundred disciples that will encourage friends to return in 2007. Definitely worth it. I am just now getting a chance to settle down. The internet connection out here in Fluvanna is terrible on one of these Sprint cards being advertised on TV. For $50, you too can get a blazing fast 153Kb of speed.... and unreliably at best. So it looks like I will be purchasing satellite internet from Hughes or some other firm. At the moment, I have been spending quite a bit of time outside the home. Fixing up the general store, pruning back my grape vine (which looked even worse since we bought the place six months ago), testing out the chainsaw on a dead birch tree outside, building a burn pile out back, and clearing out my office to paint the ceiling and plaster the 1970's era yellow wood paneling. The conversation of the VCAP conference was indeed the state of affairs at RPV. No mentions for the chairman, no mentions for the executive director. No mentions even for staff changes, but plenty of recommendations for institutional changes. Given the moment, I have no thoughts other than to say Kate Griffin inherited the mess that was the Republican Party of Virginia. Lots of criticism her way, but I believe much of it is undeserved. I wish her all the best. Thursday, November 09, 2006Senator Coburn on Last TuesdayFine words: The overriding theme of this election, however, is that voters are more interested in changing the culture in Washington than changing course in Washington, D.C. This election was not a rejection of conservative principles per se, but a rejection of corrupt, complacent and incompetent government.The question remains, will liberal Democrats be the right people to do that? Time to get Republicans back to basics. (h/t to Mount Virtus) Wednesday, November 08, 2006DenverPost.com: Musgrave win bucked national trendFor those of you keenly interested, we won in Colorado. Blogging will remain light for the next few days. Glad to see the Marriage Amendment passed in Virginia. Extremely nervous to see that Allen is on the precipice, something I don't think any of us saw going into 2006. For those interested, I will be moderating a panel at the VCAP Virginia Conservative Convention this Saturday in Richmond. Look forward to seeing everyone there!
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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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