Monday, March 31, 2008

Cooch to run for AG

Today, Ken Cuccinelli announced he will run for Virginia Atty. General in 2009. He faces a bit of competition for this spot. There are some other Republicans who want the job.

also, I lied earlier about Bill Bolling's intentions. He decided to run again for Lieutenant Governor. This is a wise move on his behalf; he couldn't generate any excitement about his gubernatorial desires, and he will be the favorite heading into 2009.

Back at square one...

Crap.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Redskins vs. Giants: League Opener

The NFL announced the Washington Redskins will play the NY Giants to kick off the season on the Thursday night opener.

Yay.

Last year, the Redskins lost to the Giants at home in Week 3, 24-17 after blowing a 17-3 halftime lead. But the Skins later in the season beat the Giants at NY 22-10.

Monday, March 24, 2008

"Fireball" Bill Bolling to announce Gov. bid

He's hosting a press conference to make an announcement today at 1:30 p.m. Odds are he wants to run for Governor. I'd be surprised if this isn't what he has to say today. I've known he's interested in the Governor job for quite some time but I have not considered him a strong candidate.

While I feel favorably toward him, I don't think he would be a strong candidate. Bob McDonnell is lively, and he is that candidate.

That being said, I have had the pleasure of meeting both gentlemen and I think they both would do a fine job.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Delegate McClellan is CRAZY!

Ouch. I enjoyed Todd Gilbert's response though.


Thursday, March 13, 2008

Tim Kaine holds Town Hall Meeting

Last night I went to the town hall meeting at Warwick High School (my alma mater) featuring Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. It was an interesting experience since it was the first time I've been to something like this.

It was in the cafeteria and easily attracted a crowd of 400. There was even a signer, presumably from the Governor's office for the hearing impaired (a.k.a. deaf).

Of the people there, I recognized Tim Kaine, Delegates Phil Hamilton, Glenn Oder, Tom Gear, Newport News Mayor Joe Frank, Dr. Ashby Kilgore, fellow Warwick Alum and William & Mary student Renard "RC" Miller, and "Mike" of York County, with whom I roomed while in Caroline County helping Paul Jost.

Of all the people there, about a third were there to promote their cause(s), the most annoying of which is the payday lending issue. More than one person (more like 3) called on by Governor Kaine had a question or perspective to share on payday lending, to which they were then met with audible groans from the audience. Someone hit the gong, please.

There were also Sierra Club representatives, and representatives from Equality Virginia.

Naturally, the event started 13 minutes late, at 6:43 p.m. Joe Frank introduced Tim Kaine, or rather fawned over him extensively: "he is such a great governor" etc etc etc. Seriously Joe, I'm sure Kaine is a hard worker, but save this stuff for the Democratic fundraisers.

Tim Kaine then took the mic and began with a fair synopsis of the General Assembly session. This lasted 25minutes, then it was question time. Lots of hands in the air, not enough time to answer everyones question. I took rough minutes for most the meeting. Here are some highlights:

An articulate woman said Kaine would get rid of all his transportation problems if we got rid of the HRTA. Kaine then said that he has no control over the HRTA and that this is a local issue.

A mother whose son was a victim of homicide lauded Kaine on his vetoes of various pro-gun legislation. She dragged out the usual "guns are the problem" canard and then alleged that when the "Gun Show Loophole" bill came up, the pro-gun forces came armed, protested an anti-gun vigil, were nasty, etc. She wanted to know why the Capitol Police didn't do something about it. Funny, since I was there and I never witnessed any wrong-doing. Also, it's legal to open carry on Capitol grounds. This woman was out of her mind! Unfortunately, you can't do anything about it since you can't question her authenticity, otherwise you'll be "attacking a grieving mother!" How crass.

My friend Mike suggested that Virginia reform VDOT and privatize the ABC to pay for roads as an alternative to raising taxes.

A Hispanic woman assailed the new "anti-immigrant" laws. These new laws crack down on employers that knowingly hire illegals. So basically this woman is for illegal immigration. Kaine set her straight and explained these laws were not trying to attack immigrants.

These were but a few of the 15 or so questions asked. The event ended promptly at 8 p.m. Afterword I had a word with Mike Wade, who is the out-going chairman of the Hampton City Republican Committee. Wade is a colorful character who played a major role in shooting down the 2002 regional sales tax increase referedum.

Interestingly enough, the chairman of the Henrico County Republican Committee is also named Mike Wade. When I once spoke to Wade of Henrico, he told me "I'm the real Mike Wade."

I then had a word with my Delegate, Glenn Oder. But this is another story, which I will save for another day.

As I left, I had a friendly conversation with some Ron Paul supporters who were passing out information about REAL ID. This is the national ID card, which is the WORST idea ever!

I got out at about 8:20 p.m., ate dinner at Subway, and came home.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Tucker gets Cancelled: Ode to Tucker

Earlier today, Tucker Carlson's show on MSNBC got cancelled and Tucker has been assigned to a new position at MSNBC.

This really blows since I like Tucker a lot; he is one of those rare thinking men who says things I like. He's smart.

Carlson expressed his support for Ron Paul when Paul appeared on the show in 2007. A lot of Ron Paul supporters are bent out of shape that >Tucker has been cancelled; many feel that Tucker's support of Paul and the cancellation of his show are not coincidental.

I disagree. Money matters, and his show hadn't been doing so hot in the ratings. Besides, >Tucker has been on since 2005. I don't suspect foul play.

I actually like MSNBC a lot. They are my favorite news network. I don't get MSNBC with my basic cable package (unfortunately). They're definitely better than the Communist News Network or FAUX News.

I look forward to hearing Tucker in the future. I'll end with a few of his gems:

"I think Michael Moore is loathsome, though, not because he dislikes Bush, but because he seems to dislike America."

"I'm utterly opposed to abortion, which I think is horrible and cruel. I think affirmative action is wrong. I'd like to slow immigration pretty dramatically. I hate all nanny state regulations, such as seat belt laws and smoking bans. I'm not for big government. I think the U.S. ought to hesitate before intervening abroad. I think these are conservative impulses. So by my criteria, Bush isn't much of a conservative."

"I'm just for marriage generally. I'm for people making a lifelong commitment. Do you know what I mean? I'm not against gay marriage, actually, and I'm the most right-wing person I know […] marriage has been a great thing for me, and I think it's a really civilizing force, and I think it would be a civilizing force for gay people too."

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

So my Mom reads my blog...

Hi Mom. See you soon for Spring Break, March 10-14.

Just two more homework assignments to crank out and I'm done.

Monday, March 03, 2008

NVTA Ruled Unconstitutional

Last Friday, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority was ruled unconstitutional. It turns out they never had the authority to be an unelected, regional taxation commissar after all!

This paves the way for the HRTA to be stricken, too.

Good news for us all.

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