1. If the executive branch (= a Chesapeake bureaucrat) makes a rule that applies to all participants of a public funded event on sign size etc. then okay by me.
But, it's none of the courts' business. Judges getting involved here indicates a bigger problem of judicial usurpation of power.
2. If the rule is based on content - Christian free speech - then we have a problem with the Executive Branch for violating the 1st Amendment and with the Judicial Branch for arrogantly trying to define the 1st Amendment by making it up as they go along.
Reagan was not a Christian in the current use of the vocabulary. Not only was he not right-wing Christian conservative, but his wife, Nancy (bless her), was often criticized for looking too much into astrology to find wisdom for her husband. It was for these reasons that Pat Robertson ran against George H.W. Bush in the 1988 GOP primary...
Yet another pleasantly surprised voter engages a Catholic politician, this time on the role of faith in the political arena:
Tom's response was interesting and unexpected. He made a distinction between religion in legislation (which he says he opposes), and religion in politics. He said that religion does have a place in politics if for no other reason than to understand the motivations of politicians. If a politician is casting a particular vote for religious reasons, that motivation should be public, not rationalized.
Not terribly far off course. One might hasten to add that religious belief forms one's character, and that character is inseparable from the individual. In short, faith informs conscience.
Jack Kennedy certainly believed this. It's a small wonder why today's modern left-leaning Catholics (Perriello included) don't share Kennedy's convictions, but rather are more than willing to allow political expediency contradict their own inner mores, character, and yes -- their faith.
This shouldn't be surprising. Republicans hate the "do-nothing Congress" almost as much as the Democrats hate their "do-nothing Congress." It used to be that a common theme with Democratic leadership (at least in the House) was the tradition of getting things done and greasing the wheels of power.
That tradition of Tip O'Neill is sadly lost, perhaps not to be recovered in a generation. At least Republicans during the 1990's had an example to follow... whether that is damning or faint praise (or both) is for the reader to decide.
RPV Chairman Jeff Frederick does the Tertium Quids Podcast, talking about HB 6055 (he opposes), the inheritance he received at RPV (says it's worse than he thought), and talks a bit about the GOP brand (need to rebuild the image, this time with substance).
You can listen to the podcast in its entirety. Well done, and one I will be adding to my iTunes list right now.
For as marginally concerned as I was (well... tasteless would have been a better word) about President Bush's interruptionmedia stunt attendance at Monticello's swearing in of new citizens on the Independence Day, the behavior of the war protestors was deplorable at best: So much for the high road.
From the air-conditioned comfort of my living room, I am watching this year's naturalization ceremony at Monticello, with featured guest speaker George W. Bush. Channel 29 (WVIR-TV) is covering the event live, with Crystal Cameron on the scene and the Charlottesville Municipal Band playing in the background.
Okay... so he's not slugging it out with the intrepid souls at Monticello Mountain. But an admirable effort nonetheless!
Suspend judgment for a moment until you watch this (and forgive the fact that it is Keith Olbermann asking the questions):Webb is saying (rightly) that politics should stay out of military service, and that military service should not be a prerequisite for public service or a political talking point.
In short, it's military service. And it's something quite different if it's used for political gain.
Take the politics out, remove the grandstanding of General Wesley "I Almost Started World War III" Clark, and forget that Webb is a Democrat.
(forwarded by Delegate Bob Marshall -- reprinted with permission)
Can Virginia fix transportation without raising taxes? Yes, but unless you contact House of Delegates members before July 9 you may be facing higher taxes and fees, not just from Democrats who want higher auto, sales, real property and gas taxes, but from Republicans too!
Tax/fee increases are in the Republican Transportation Bill, H.B. 6055 pushed by Republican Speaker Bill Howell.
The bill authorizes Northern Virginia counties and cities to increase the sales tax on home and commercial property sales (grantor's tax) of an additional $0.40 cents per $100 of the sale price. Last year the Assembly authorized No VA localities to impose an additional tax on commercial real estate of $0.25 per $100 for roads and transit.
This tax can never be rescinded by the local governments as long as there is any outstanding debt for Northern Virginia projects funded by this tax!
While HB 6055 provides that funds raised in No. VA are to be spent only for No VA transportation projects, it may be diverted to other uses and areas of Virginia “as may be required by any other law.” HB 6055 also adds $100 to the cost of a new driver's license.
Hampton Roads residents will pay $20 more for a registration fee and $20 more for inspection fees. HB 6055 authorizes a real estate tax increase on all property of $0.10 cents per $100. It diverts up to $250 million in yet to be collected taxes from business and individuals in the cargo container business to Hampton Roads transportation projects.
With Virginia families facing falling home prices, increased real property taxes, skyrocketing gas and food prices, an 18% electric rate hike for Dominion, a 6.4% monthly increase in natural gas prices, almost five decades of federal deficit spending, and a devalued dollar, the General Assembly should not raise taxes and fees.
If we say yes to a tax increase again, what happens when the next "crisis" happens a few years from now? Enough is enough. Taxpayers are not bottomless ATM machines.
Rather than raise taxes, the legislature should support changing work schedules, use toll and fare supported transportation bonds, set up bio-fuel capture centers in Virginia, make state government more efficient and spend the savings on roads and transit.
Here are some practical non-tax transportation proposals:
HJR 6007: Lock up the Transportation Trust Fund so transportation dollars are not diverted for other means. More than $1.2 Billion has been diverted has been diverted to non-transportation uses over the last 18 years. This must stop.
HB 6030: Fund major transportation projects using bonds paid by tolls or rider fares, i.e., Hampton Roads Bridge tunnel expansion, I-81 truck improvements (trucks pay tolls), Tri-County --Prince William-Fairfax-Loudoun-- Connector, expand commuter rail in No VA to Haymarket, buy more Metro Subway rail cars, etc.
HB 6049: Allow naming rights in exchange for corporations and individuals paying for building roads and other transportation projects, just as is done for stadiums and school buildings.
Implement the 2002 Wilder Commission efficiency recommendations that were projected to currently save $1.1 Billion annually without reducing services.
Allocate a greater portion of state revenue to transportation. Out of a 2-year budget of roughly $79 Billion, surely a greater percent could be allocated for transportation.
HB 6031: Require all tractor trailers (VA and out of state) to pay for a per mile road maintenance and damage charge which is now passed on to other Virginia drivers.
HB 6032: Set up a permanent state oversight Commission, similar to the federal cost cutting BRAC Commission, to evaluate whether state holdings should be sold, identify duplicate programs, and cut unnecessary overhead while maintaining the same level of services.
HJR 6011: Stop burning food! Request a waiver from the federal ethanol mandate. Ethanol results in less miles per gallon and increases food prices from diversion of food to fuel. (Speaker Bill Howell publically announced I would have all of 30 seconds—literally--to present this measure to his Rules Committee!)
HJR 6008: Assess methane resources now being wasted in Virginia which could be converted to fuel for cars/trucks.
Unfortunately, despite Rule 37 of the House of Delegates which provides that: "The Clerk shall, under the direction of the Speaker, refer all such original papers (i.e. bills) to the proper committee…" Nearly all bills introduced into the special session that would reduce expenses and use the money saved for roads and transit have been referred to the House Rules Committee, Chaired by Speaker Bill Howell, so he can kill them.
Maybe it's the Israeli knack for compartmentalization, but the entrepreneurs and venture capitalists I've been meeting on this trip take the security question more in stride than do the outsiders. They continue to wax optimistic about prospects for the country's high-tech industry, particularly in the area of clean technology. And even though most would agree with Eric Benhamou's apercu that Israel is a 60-year-old start-up, one that's often overlooked strategic aims in favor of the tactical, the "return on investment" is enviable. In 1950, Israel had average annual gross domestic product of $3,500. Last year, it was $22,500.
Never thought of Israel in those terms before, though the nation's reputation for high-tech has grown dynamically with the rise of the Internet and clean industry.
Via NPR, we see the latest version of media-induced panic. Namely, that movies such as Juno and other young and pregnant celebrities are driving up the teen pregnancy rate:
Jane Brown, a journalism professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says the Juno effect is real.
Brown runs the Teen Media Project, which recently completed a study into the images seen by girls between the ages of 12 and 14. The research showed that kids who had "heavier sexual media diets" became more than twice as likely to become sexually active by the age of 16.
Part of that stems from teens' natural curiousity about sex. Kids who are more interested in it seek information from a variety of sources, Brown says, including movies like Juno. "In the context of parents still not comfortable talking with their children about sex, with schools talking only about abstinence until marriage and with religion saying it's still a sin, the media have become very powerful sex educators," she argues.
Brown says teen pregnancy rates had been falling, but she worries that the numbers are again on the rise. She says the generation of girls raised in abstinence-only education programs may not know as much about contraception as kids used to know. Meanwhile, images of unwed mothers have gone mainstream.
So let me get this straight. Teen pregnancy rates have been falling, statistics are backing this up, and instead of attributing this to a shift away from contraception-based sexual education... we blame abstinence-only education and movies such as Juno?
To be perfectly blunt, it's not the government's responsibility to teach my kids anything about sexual mores. Still, a line of argumentation that treats the symptoms (teen pregnancies) without addressing the root causes (sexually active 13-19 year olds) then band-aiding a solution by saying 95% effective contraception solves the problem... is missing the point.
Gatorade paid for this, though I wonder whether I would have gotten the point if every blog in the universe wasn't screaming how Gatorade did indeed pay for the ad.
It has long been known that Mr Clinton is angry at the way his own reputation was tarnished during the primary battle when several of his comments were interpreted as racist.
But his lingering fury has shocked his friends. The Democrat told the Telegraph: "He's been angry for a while. But everyone thought he would get over it. He hasn't. I've spoken to a couple of people who he's been in contact with and he is mad as hell.
"He's saying he's not going to reach out, that Obama has to come to him. One person told me that Bill said Obama would have to quote kiss my ass close quote, if he wants his support.
...
The party strategist (unsourced), who was allied to one of the early rivals to Mr Obama and the former First Lady, said Mr Clinton was "very unhopeful" about the nominee's prospects in November.
"Bill Clinton knows the party will unite behind Obama, but he is telling people he doesn't believe Obama can win round voting groups, especially working-class whites, in the swing states," the strategist said.
"He just doesn't think Obama will be able to connect with the voters he needs."
That is indeed sour news for the Democrats, and the telltales of internal fracturing amongst Democratic leadership aren't unexpected. Of course, most of this is hullabaloo... the Dems will unite at the last minute, as both major parties tend to do. It's bandwagon psychology, after all.
ShaunKenney.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.
Rick Sincere 
rightwingliberal 
