Shaun Kenney

Looks like the business community isn’t just fleeing Creigh Deeds alone.  Ben Davenport, a key supporter of pro-card check Senator Mark Warner, has just come out with an op-ed that is… well… pretty darned anti-card check:

Generations ago, unions may have played a constructive role representing employees seeking a fair wage and safer working conditions. But in more recent times, as more and more employees have learned that unions no longer “earn their keep,” union membership has been falling throughout the United States. Today, unions represent only 7.6 percent of the private sector workforce nationally and only about 5 percent of the Virginia private sector workforce. So the EFCA, even in its new “compromised” form, is not about correcting imbalances in our nation’s labor laws. Instead, it is designed to stifle debate and stack the deck in favor of unions simply to enable them to make millions of dollars in dues from new members.

Worth reading it all.  Just to show you how key Mr. Davenport’s backing was for Mark Warner, you might want to refresh yourself for :60 or so:

Warner is starting to waver a bit, at least according to Greg Sargent over at The Plumb Line:

Now centrist Senator Mark Warner is confirming that he’s backing cloture. Despite being aggressively targeted by EFCA foes, here’s what he wrote in a letter to constituents:

“I believe there is a need for reform in this area, and that EFCA should be debated and voted upon by the Senate. I intend to evaluate any prevailing proposal to ensure that it allows workers and employers to be adequately informed and that it ultimately provides a fair and level playing field for both management and labor.”

The key is that Warner is confirming that he will back EFCA going to the floor and then will evaluate whether to support it. So that’s a step forward for EFCA backers.

That would be big news indeed, especially since Senator Warner still seems to be dodging town hall meetings across the Commonwealth.  Heaven forbid he have two unpopular bills to defend before Virginia taxpayers and small business owners.

There is a certain scene in HBO’s John Adams that I have always appreciated. It was not until recently that I discovered that “Hail, Columbia!” — the song sung in this scene — was the un-official national anthem of the United States until 1931, when an FDR-era Congress chose differently:

Interestingly enough are the words to “Hail, Columbia!” One can imagine such a song being sung at baseball games, soccer matches, or at say… spontanteously called protests all across America:

Hail Columbia, happy land!
Hail, ye heroes, heav’n-born band,
Who fought and bled in freedom’s cause,
Who fought and bled in freedom’s cause,
And when the storm of war was gone
Enjoy’d the peace your valor won.
Let independence be our boast,
Ever mindful what it cost;
Ever grateful for the prize,
Let its altar reach the skies.

Chorus

Firm, united let us be,
Rallying round our liberty,
As a band of brothers joined,
Peace and safety we shall find.

Immortal patriots, rise once more,
Defend your rights, defend your shore!
Let no rude foe, with impious hand,
Let no rude foe, with impious hand,
Invade the shrine where sacred lies
Of toil and blood, the well-earned prize,
While off’ring peace, sincere and just,
In Heaven’s we place a manly trust,
That truth and justice will prevail,
And every scheme of bondage fail.

Chorus

Behold the chief who now commands,
Once more to serve his country stands.
The rock on which the storm will break,
The rock on which the storm will break,
But armed in virtue, firm, and true,
His hopes are fixed on Heav’n and you.
When hope was sinking in dismay,
When glooms obscured Columbia’s day,
His steady mind, from changes free,
Resolved on death or liberty.

Chorus

Sound, sound the trump of fame,
Let Washington’s great fame
Ring through the world with loud applause,
Ring through the world with loud applause,
Let ev’ry clime to freedom dear,
Listen with a joyful ear,
With equal skill, with God-like pow’r
He governs in the fearful hour
Of horrid war, or guides with ease
The happier time of honest peace.

Chorus

“Resolved on death or liberty?”  Wow…

Now I have never heard of this song until watching this John Adams scene.  What a shame we’ve lost it; I hope we will regain it’s use.

Round fourteen… though I think I’ve finally found something that I can go with for a time.  The only catch are the blockquotes:

Not sure I like the way these are done… but I’ll get over it.

There are also some other items:

1. For instance, how does a numbered list look?
2. Worth it?
3. Or should I change it?

Then there’s this list:

• Bullet lists?
• Maybe so, maybe not?
• …but now I’m rambling a bit.

There’s nothing finer than going back and forth on a web template or design.  Different designs help the author (or blogger) get their points across in different ways.  For instance, if all you had were links of import, you’d want an entirely different design than this one.  Similarly, if you were an op-ed writer, then my previous design may have worked for a daily op-ed.

Nonetheless, I’ve tried to find a good balance and hope I’ve struck it here.

Sometimes, you just gotta vent:

Let me be clear.

We have three vehicles using E-ZPass. The transponders are in the same location they were when we entered the program.

Our account is automatically debited every time we get below a certain balance.

That your equipment can’t read ours properly or that your accounting methods are slower than you’d prefer is not my fault.

So let me assure you, we won’t tolerate your adding a dollar per transaction should this occur again.

Yes, I’ll be calling in the morning to explain that.

And to allow you to apologize.

You probably don’t have to go back, unless of course it’s for the brilliant, witty commentary of the author (and it is very good).

Fascinating article on emphasizing culture when faced with counter-cultural attacks:

Mistra was a tough nut to crack—holding out against the Ottomans seven years longer than Constantinople, finally falling in 1460. But the business of Mistra was more than just defense. Wandering through the remains, I explored gorgeous red-tiled churches decorated with exuberant, even playful frescos, what some have called the “final flowering” of Byzantine art. Resources were allocated, of course, for food and weaponry, but for pens and paintbrushes as well. Here legendary Renaissance scholars such as Gennadius Scholarius and Gemistus Pletho engaged in refined pursuits, all when faced with something we, thankfully, are not yet facing: imminent collapse. By no means do I think that conservatism is in its last throes, but it is deeply instructive that as Byzantium was faced with a terrible and ultimately triumphant threat—they patronized culture.

Read it all.  Absolutely fascinating.

(h/t First Thoughts)

The latest WaPo poll shows McDonnell with a 15 point lead among likely voters, 54 to 39.

That vote narrows among registered (but not likely) voters to a seven point lead, 47 to 40.   Economy, health care, and education round out the top three issues in the Commonwealth.

Another interesting number, on Q.29 the poll asks Virginians about a tax hike for transportation.  56% opposed, 41% favored.

You can view the details of the Washington Post poll at length.

Three interesting parts to this poll:   First, abortion as an issue is a non-starter for the Deeds campaign (though some of that can be meshed into concerns about health care and federal funding for abortions).   Second, there is no breakdown by region.   Lastly, Q.2 was withheld… wonder what the WaPo is saving that for?

Guess he got the message:

Frank Kratovil and Tom Perriello, who as freshmen congressmen would be expected to back the party leadership, both say proposals for expanding coverage to the uninsured are un acceptable in their current form and should focus more on cost savings.

Mr Kratovil, who was hanged in effigy by a healthcare protester at a town hall meeting in his state of Maryland, said he would have voted against legislation if it had come to a vote last month.

Tom Perriello, another new representative from neighbouring Virginia, also says he is not yet ready to support the current proposals in the House of Representatives, partly because he is “still getting feedback from?.?.?.?constituents”.

Neither man has ruled out voting for a revised package.

Obviously I can’t forsee Perriello’s motives on this, but the feedback at the town halls thus far is rattling more than a few Democratic representatives.

So which do we have here in the 5th?  A principled centrist who votes his conscience?  Or a politician who knows he’s a mismatch for his district, and would love to vote for the best version of the worst bill that will pass muster with a constituency who may-or-may-not lose interest over the next 15 months — but can’t?

Cap-and-trade and the Pence Amendment were two strikes against Perriello.  ObamaCare is swiftly coming around as the third.

No, I don’t get into this nonsense often. And yes, I absolutely loathe the idea of celebrities running for public office based on their popularity rather than their ability.

This, however, is truly one of the more noble efforts I’ve seen in a long time. Brad Pitt is doing in his small way a fairly significant act, and is getting encouragement to take on far larger responsibilities:

I don’t encourage you to fast forward to 3:45 (you should watch the whole interview), but the reporter reflects on a previous Pitt interview about love being “how somebody else’s interests trump your own.”

It’s evident that Pitt lives that maxim, with or without government there to help.  Wish others would.

Absolutely fascinating, and 100% right:

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books.  What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who would want to read one.

Orwell feared the truth would be concealed from us.  Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance.

These are all observations in an upcoming book by Neil Postman on how civil libertarians — while constantly on the alert to oppose tyranny — ultimately failed as their peers distracted themselves with mindless pleasure.

Rather than forcing you to believe, you are seduced to not care.  Was Huxley right?

(h/t Kottke)

Jim Hoeft probably just scored the interview of the month with UVA Professor Larry Sabato on Virginia Politics on Demand.

Sabato pulls no punches:

“I certainly know some senior Democrats who are connected to the Deeds’ campaign who are unhappy, and have been unhappy, with [Joe] Abbey’s performance. Maybe he’s being scapegoated.”

That goes without saying.  Sabato clearly touched a raw nerve, and were I a betting man — and I am — I would say that the Rebel Yelp was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back.

That’s not to say that Abbey deserves it per se, but certainly it provided all the ammo needed to re-shuffle the deck and start dealing from the top.