uvAggravator2.0

The signs of the coming of fall here in Virginia have been with us for over a month. Yes, even during the blistering days of August, the acorns had already begun to fall and the leaves on the hickories, the walnuts, and other trees were already turning. It doesn't quite "feel" like autumn yet, but no doubt that is also just around the corner. Though I'm still wearing one of my cotton blazers most days, I'll soon be sporting one of my Harris Tweeds. And since so many folks in my part of Virginia are of Scots-Irish descent (including me), I thought this video would be appropriately timed: From Scotland - The History of Tweed. Great video. Hat tip to A Continuous Lean.
http://oldvirginiablog.blogspot.com/

This is so embarrassing.  And sad.

The largest, most comprehensive, and finest collection of Confederate Civil War relics and memorabilia is conserved by the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond.  And because the museum's exhibits are saddled with being on the wrong side of history - it contains rebel flags, for God's sake! - administrators there decided in 2007 that the best thing to do with it was to bust it up and send its treasures to smaller museums hither and yon.

For more on that bit of cowardice, go here.

Well, the efforts of those who intend to diminish as much as possible the history that the Confederacy played in U.S. history have begun breaking ground on their 21st century version of the Museum of The Confederacy The Southern States in the Years In Which The Citizens Thereof Lost Their Way and Ultimately Regretted the Institutions and Principles They Had Regrettably Built Their Way of Life Upon.

I'll say this for them.  At least they aren't sticking it in Zimbabwe:

Confederacy Museum to start Appomattox site
Associated Press

Richmond, Va. (AP) -- The Museum of the Confederacy plans to break ground on its new main exhibit site in Appomattox, where the South's surrender to the Union ended the Civil War.

Officials at the Richmond-based museum said in a release Wednesday that the groundbreaking for the new museum will take place Sept. 23. The 5,000-square-foot space is expected to open in the spring of 2012.

The main exhibit at the Museum of the Confederacy-Appomattox intends to focus on the events that led to the war, and the reunification of the United States. [link]

I don't know whether to laugh hysterically or cry uncontrollably.

First, I'll give them credit where it's due.  Appomattox (Court House) is the perfect site for the new museum.

But 5,000 square feet? For its "main exhibit"?  Is that a joke?

This, friends, is a 5,000 square-foot building:


The Museum of the Confederacy is going to take one of the most spectacular historical collections this side of King Tut and put it - or a tiny portion of it - in a building the size of an Advance Auto Parts?  Why bother?

Perhaps the breathtaking news can be explained by this:

"The main exhibit at the Museum of the Confederacy-Appomattox intends to focus on the events that led to the war, and the reunification of the United States."

The events that led to the war and the reunification?  What 1850 to 1860 and 1866 to 1900?

What's missing in that picture?

Few of the artifacts in the Museum, for what it's worth, deal with either the war's prelude or its fallout.  They mostly have to do WITH THE CIVIL WAR.  Not its precedent.  Not its aftermath.  THE WAR.  THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES.  NORTH vs. SOUTH.  BLUE vs. GRAY.  THE SHOOT-EM-UP THAT OCCURRED BETWEEN THE YEARS 1861 AND 1865.

It's no wonder they are going to warehouse the collection in a 5,000 square-foot building.  All the non-Civil War memorabilia that the Museum controls could probably fit in a phone booth.  It's a war museum, you morons!

What, the Museum of the Confederacy is going to transform itself into the Museum of Slavery and Emancipation?

And do it in a freaking 5,000 square-foot building?

Why not just take the 15,000 artifacts currently residing in the museum that Confederate veterans created, paid for, contributed to, and maintained for decades and burn them, and hang signs of Frederick Douglas and Martin Luther King in its pole building, and be done with it?

I have a better idea.  Fire the misguided bunch that has seized control of the Museum and preserve it as it was intended to be preserved by those who built it.  If not in the White House of the Confederacy, in a location where historians and tourists can study and marvel and relive the past.  For the curators to have as a goal the closeting of a chapter in American history is appalling.  And down-right wrong.

Here's to the Museum of the Confederacy.  May it be saved from certain destruction.

See more here

Political Cartoons by Gary Varvel

There seems to be a wave of three-way races this year and the big ones seem to consist of sore-loser moderate Republicans who got beat in primaries fair and square.  Charlie Crist is the biggest self-serving example of this, but CQ is letting us know that perhaps Lisa Murkowski is next.  It cracks me up, when establishment and moderate Republicans win primaries we are told to rally around the team.  That's it.  Now when the conservative actually wins fair and square?  Well, I guess that's  another matter because folks who think party first and principles second tend to care more about their own power than anything else.  Murkowski is more interested in being a senator than actually representing the wishes and needs of her state.

As you probably know, the government (that of the people, by the people, and for the people) has banned  incandescent light bulbs, beginning in 2012.  Whether we the people like it or not.

Thanks, W.

They are to be replaced by "compact fluorescents."  And for good reason, as the state of New York told us so ... glowingly in 2008:

Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) are energy efficient, creating benefits for both the consumer and environment. When used for general household lighting, an ENERGY STAR® CFL uses about 75 percent less energy than its incandescent counterpart. Given that the average house contains approximately 45 light bulbs, this can translate into tremendous savings. In addition, CFLs can last up to ten times longer than incandescents, saving more than $30 per bulb.

This efficiency also decreases the amount of pollution created in producing that energy. For example, when coal power plants generate electricity, they emit carbon dioxide and other pollutants that accelerate climate change, cause smog, and aggravate respiratory diseases. Since New York receives 12 percent of its power from coal, reducing our personal energy use can lessen energy production’s negative effects on the environment and human health.

Gosh, that's great.  Who wouldn't want to rush out and get some of those wonderful CFL's?

Well, Glenn Reynolds, for one:

L.E.D. LIGHTS DETHRONE COMPACT FLUORESCENTS. That shouldn’t be hard. I jumped on the CFL bandwagon early, but the CFLs have absolutely failed to live up to their promised longevity. (I haven’t noticed any visible electricity saving, either, though that may just be a function of how much electricity we use for other things).

So now we're to believe that LED lights are the way of the future.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) LED's are energy efficient, creating benefits for both the consumer and environment. When used for general household lighting ...

Can we just have our incandescent bulbs back and be done with all this nonsense?

It's so disappointing when one turns to an expert for expert advice and all one comes away with is whimsy.  Or malarky. 

Take for example the subject that is on all our minds these days - the economy.  Washington Post business columnist Steven Pearlstein is one of those guys you turn to for answers.  The man with the plan.

Or not.

I was perusing the paper this morning and came across his latest treatise - "The bleak truth about unemployment."  A few paragraphs in and I came upon this heart-stopper:

"At this point, there is only one clear path out of the unemployment box we have created for ourselves."

Excellent! Thank God for Steven Pearlstein!  The light at the end of a dark, dark tunnel!  We've all been looking for that one clear path out of this mess that the Democrats have created for us and he's going to guide us through it!

My heart was racing.  My breathing became labored.  The blood was coursing furiously through my veins. My brow dripped of sweat. My muscles tensed.  I sat to the edge of my captain's chair ...

What is it, oh Sage of Economics Universalis, that is going to save us from annihilation?

Right now, the United States is running a trade deficit that is likely to reach $450 billion this year. That's down considerably from the $750 billion at the height of the economic bubble, but still more than a wealthy advanced economy should have. Bringing it down - either by producing more of what we consume (fewer imports) or more of what other countries consume (more exports) - represents the path toward sustainable, long-term job creation.

The USA need to make more stuff.

The USA need to make more stuff?

That's it? That's the one clear path out of the unemployment box?

That's not even a path, dude. That's a goal. The path is one in which we create conditions allowing for more people - either here or abroad - to be able to - and want to - buy more of that stuff. Truth is, people aren't buying our stuff these days like they used to. What do we need to do to change that?  What path do we take to get there? 

I know.  How 'bout this?  A campaign slogan that goes something like this?

Buy Our Stuff.
Say what you will, at least it's a path and not something you'd read on the bathroom stall wall.

RICHMOND - Governor Bob McDonnell announced today that the Department of Motor Vehicles will suspend acceptance of the federally-issued Employment Authorization Document (I-766) as proof of legal presence in the United States, a condition of obtaining a driver's license or identification card in Virginia. This precautionary action is the result of concerns over the document's reliability as evidence of an individual's federal government authorization to be in the country. The card, issued by the U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Service arm of the Department of Homeland Security, is obtained by individuals temporarily authorized to work in the U. S., even if the individual is in a pending deportation status.

The concerns surfaced in August after an alleged drunk driver was charged in Prince William County with a fatal crash in which one person died and two others were critically injured. Police say 23-year-old Carlos Martinelly Montano from Bolivia had been reported to ICE after two previous drunk driving convictions in 2007 and 2008, but was released pending a deportation hearing.

Police report that Montano received an Employment Authorization Document in January 2009 while federal deportation actions were pending, and subsequently used the document to prove legal presence while applying for a Virginia ID card in accordance with current Virginia law. It is important to note that Montano did not have a Virginia driver’s license at the time of the crash.

Speaking about the decision to suspend use of I-766 documents, Governor McDonnell commented, “The integrity of the credentials issued by the Commonwealth is of the utmost importance. We must ensure that documents accepted as proof of legal presence are reliable. Virginia law is clear in the requirement that an individual be lawfully in the United States to be eligible for an identification card or to have the privilege to drive.”

DMV will seek additional guidance from the Attorney General regarding federal documents that should be accepted going forward as proof of legal presence.

Of the 21 documents DMV continues to accept as proof of an applicant's lawful status, 20 are issued by the federal government, including 12 issued by U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.

The morning coolness is blowing in the open windows as we go into another nice day with temps in the low- to mid-80s. Skies are overcast at the moment but may clear up as the day progresses.

The mountains are calling so I'm meeting a friend to picnic on the Skyline Drive and catch up on life. That's one of the many nice things about living in the Shenandoah Valley ... 10-15 minutes in just about any direction puts you in the mountains. I've got my camera packed and looking forward to a day in the quiet of the ridges.

It's late summer in the Shenandoah Valley....

Take a close look at this Twitter post sent out by Rick Klein regarding the Delaware Republican primary battle taking place between conservative Christine O'Donnell and liberal Mike Castle (click on the image to enlarge it):
The contest has gotten nasty, with the establishment GOP there doing all it can to protect the incumbent Castle.

So who is Rick Klein?

He's ABC News's Senior Washington Editor for "World News with Diane Sawyer."  Rooting for the liberal Republican to defeat the conservative Republican.

Kinda gives a whole new meaning to media bias, doesn't it?

The New York Times:

Democrats Aren’t Running From Health Care. But What Are They Running On?
From On High:

They hope to defeat George W. Bush.

It ain't much. But it's all they've got.

Long Island Man Arrested For Defending Home With AK-47
Long Island Man Arrested For Defending Home With Civilian Version of AK-47

Fear for your grandchildren's future will have the effect.

And the reason for that fear?

My God.

Graphic courtesy of Gateway Pundit.

... and fear for its future ...

... a video that speaks truth to power:




"Mr. President, you took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Great video. Decent painting.

Thanks to Michelle Malkin for bringing it to us.

If the polls are to be believed, there is a growing possibility that longtime Congressman Rick Boucher (VA-9) is going to lose his bid for reelection in November.  If he does, it will be for one reason and one reason only - his vote on Obama's cap-and-trade bill that nearly everyone agrees will kill thousands of coal jobs in his district.

One of his best buddies in Washington - Senator Jim Webb - sees the writing on the wall.  He wants to distance himself from Boucher and that albatross as much as possible.  As quickly as possible.  Here's a video of Mr. Webb at a rally in Southside on Labor Day voicing his opposition to cap-and-trade:




(Is there a trend here? Webb came out against the War on Terror after it became unpopular and now he comes out against Obama's misguided and ruinous "energy" bill after it too becomes the bane of American politics? Just asking.)

In any case, Boucher is being abandoned by his "friends." They's gittin' while the gittin's good.

As for Webb, I don't blame him for his position. It's the right one. I just wish he wouldn't hide in the bushes and crawl out after the fireworks are over.

Daley won't run for re-election

A spokesman for the magazine told The Daily Caller that the magazine wants to
ensure students are exposed to liberal thinking, citing what he said was a
tendency for classes to exclude progressive ideas and viewpoints

.......Seriously?

Read Here: Lefty magazine promotes teachers’ guides, claims schools aren’t providing a liberal viewpoint The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment

Three and a half hours after Citizen’s time started, the Manassas City Council unanimously decided to refer the issue of porn shops in Old Town to the Land Use Committee, which will engage in an exhaustive review of the secondary effects of sexually oriented businesses in North America and then with those findings draft a zoning ordinance.  Yes, government cannot be be expected to turn on a dime, but the end result will be that K&K Temptations will be allowed to open on Battle Street (with signage that hasn’t been approved by the Architectural Review Board, no less), and there’s nothing the city will try to do immediately to stop it. (more…)

Interested in local government and how they are managing the county? An Augusta County Board of Supervisors meeting will be Wednesday evening, September 8, at 7:00 p.m. at the Government Center in Verona. Follow signs to the public meeting room.

Are they hurting Mr.Gibbs?
What a moron.

The people making 250K a year are not spending as much money. The people making 40K a year are not spending as much money. The 84 million people not in the workforce are not spending as much money. The 14,860,000 unemployed are not spending as much money.

There are many reasons. Many are not spending money because my investment income went into the crapper. They don't have as much to spend. Their annual income has decreased. Many are also not spending because of the uncertainty of the economy. Sooner or later, someone is going to have to pay the piper. Our debt will come due.

Gibbs talks about those with 250K incomes. Those people are not as bad off as someone with a 40K income. That is obvious.
The point he neglects is if someone had a job that pays $250K and had investment income paying $50K in 2006, and their income kept pace with inflation. They would have a $270K income and $0 from investments. Their lifestyle changed dramatically. And a net loss of $30K a year in 2006 dollars. If they bought a house at the height of the market in 2006 for 2 1/2 times their salary, $625K and put 20% down, they had a mortgage of $500,000. Say they were in the booming Phoenix Arizona market. As of March 2009, the Phoenix home market dropped 48%. That means their house is now worth $325,000, and they are still paying $2700 a month on his mortgage. Are they hurting Mr.Gibbs? They still owes $467K on a $325K house. Are they hurting Mr. Gibbs? They are now paying more for their health care, and unsure of what Obamacare will do to the health care costs. Are They hurting Mr. Gibbs? Their kids college tuition grew at 7.1% a year.They were paying $20K in 2006, They are paying $26K now. Are they hurting Mr.Gibbs? Are they pulling back?

I'm sure a lot of you might disagree with this, but I have to say that the most ugly, un-American, anti-American activity you could possibly participate in is book burning.

Book burning has no place in America. Americans DO NOT BURN BOOKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Communists burn books. Nazis burn books. Maoists burn books. Terrorists burn books.
Chavez burns books. Fidel burns books. Kim Jong Il burns books.

AMERICANS DO NOT BURN BOOKS!!!

What does that make that dimwitted neanderthal that claims to be a preacher down in Gainesville Florida?

An idiot. Has this knucklehead lost his feeble mind?

Have I died and woke up in the film "Fahrenheit 451"?

I sent an email to my Rolling Thunder buds down in Fla. I asked them to show up with fire extingushers and not let this monumental idiocy happen. This so-called preacher is inciting violence. He is endangering the lives of our men and women fighting radical islamic terrorists. He is playing right into their hands.

Water trucks with 2" hoses should be stationed around this so-called "church" on Saturday. One match and everyone gets washed in the agua.

H/T to Chris Saxman for passing this along. Gene Simmons (of KISS fame) entertains the troops by having them join in with him and the band to honor each branch of the military. This is seriously a wonderful tribute for the troops ... by the troops. Video is about 4:30.

"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." -- Isaiah 55:12-13

It is a tribute to Dick Dudley that the chapel at Reynolds-Hamrick Funeral Home in Waynesboro was overflowing today with friends and family who were there to honor him. The chapel filled up, a side room filled, and overflow was standing at the back of the chapel and in the hallway.

Such was this gentleman ... rich in friends ... rich in family ... rich in his love of God and country.

As the pastor spoke, he recalled all that was Dick Dudley ... his passion for planning down to the nth detail, his expectation of a day's work for a day's pay, his never expecting something out of others that he himself would not do; his love of hunting and the outdoors and UVA and his wife and children. Some stories made one weep ... others made one laugh.

Those attending joined in singing "How Great Thou Art," a song that made me think of my grandmother's funeral many years ago when I was a teenager ... the awesomeness of that beautiful song.

A gentleman who was there who had worked Republican HQs with me in the past asked how I knew Mr. Dudley, and I told about how he would come into HQs or be at some event, and how he emailed jokes and political info. He was nice and he was funny, and it was a long time before I even realized he was Mrs. Betty Landes' brother and Del. Steve Landes' uncle.

Two things really stuck with me as I left after the funeral. One was the verse at the beginning of this post. The second was based on Proverbs 18:24 that speaks of the love of Christ: "... there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."

If there is such a thing, it was a beautiful day for a funeral. Mr. Dudley was buried this afternoon at Thornrose Cemetery in Staunton.

Among those who believe that Labor Day is really --- or should be --- "Organized Labor Day," I found this little gem in today's E.J. Dionne column in the WaPo:

The union movement has always been attached to a set of values -- solidarity being the most important, the sense that each should look out for the interests of all. This promoted other commitments: to mutual assistance, to a rough-and-ready sense of equality, to a disdain for elitism, to a belief that ... individual rights did not stop at the plant gate or the office reception room.

Mr. Dionne might just want to consider the treatment by labor bosses of those who don't buy into the union myth before he promotes another one: how unions have promoted "a belief that ... individual rights did not stop at the plant gate or the office reception room."

The Mayor and Council are having an emergency meeting this evening concerning the porn shop that wants to open in Old Town this evening, which will include time for citizens to offer their thoughts.  Immediately following will be Delegate Jackson Miller’s town hall meeting, if the two don’t get merged into one event.  I’d suggest  interested citizens to get to Council Chambers by 7:00 if they want to participate in Citizen’s Time and the town hall meeting.

UPDATE: The emergency council session will be a closed session, but Citizen’s time and the town hall will be open to the public.

From the better-late-then-never department comes the stunning revelation that DMV is going to suspend giving drivers licenses to illegal aliens with an Employment Authorization Card.  So far no one has identified the complete and utter idiot who thought Virginia law permitted issuing drivers licenses to illegal aliens under any circumstance. (more…)

Here’s another one of those wonderful illegal aliens, working at the jobs Americans apparently don’t want to do:

Eric Alexander Barahona-Rivas, 19, of no fixed address, is charged with forcible sodomy, robbery and abduction, said Perok.

He is being held without bond at the Prince William-Manassas regional jail.

Officers checked the immigration status of Barahona-Rivas after his arrest and discovered that he is in the U.S. illegally, said Prince William police 1st Sgt. Kim Chinn. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was notified, she said.

Investigators are still searching for the two other men thought to be involved.

(more…)

Stating that we conservatives loved everything "W" did is plan wrong and if towing the party line means saying we did than we have a problem....changing the GOP for the better means taking a look at the past...what worked and what didn't and not just relying on the opposition to fail and then instituting the Status Quo... of retread candidates and retread Ideas. We need to move America forward with real substantive conservative principles starting with the economy, spending and job creation.....From ther Telegraph:

The Young Guns book recognises "high profile ethics lapses" and "an
inability to rein in spending or even slow the growth of government" led to a
breakdown in trust in the party. ..."The fact is, we had our chance, and we blew
it," wrote co-author Eric Cantor, the party's chief whip....The Young Guns
programme run by Mr Cantor and his colleagues and co-authors Kevin McCarthy and
Paul Ryan is designed to find new, reliable conservative candidates

Read Here: http://www.addthis.com/web-button?where=website&type=bm&clickbacks=1&frm=home&bm=bn3&analytics=0

There was a tragic accident in our community involving our sister church, Cedar Crest Amish-Mennonite. All the children from Cedar Crest were on a Sunday School outing Sunday afternoon four miles from our house and four children fell out of the bucket of the tractor. One 12 year old boy (my brother Dietrich’s classmate, reading partner, and friend) was killed, two of his sisters were lifeflighted to Wichita, and one other boy was taken via ambulance. There is an excellent video by a Wichita TV station (KAKE10 ABC) with a bunch of footage from our church service (which was in part a memorial for the boy who died and prayer for those surviving) and an interview with Gary Miller, one of our pastors:

The HutchNews writes in part:

PARTRIDGE – A 12-year-old died Sunday after falling off the front-end bucket of a small tractor during a hayrack ride near northeast of Partridge.

Three other youths who also fell were taken to Via Christi on North St. Francis in Wichita. One was taken by Lifewatch air ambulance, one by EagleMed air ambulance and one by Reno County EMS, said Reno County Undersheriff Sheldon Stewart, who was on the scene of the accident.

The three injured are Hadassah Miggiani, 11, Magdalena Miggiani, 8, and Derek Sch[m]ucker, 11.

Medical crews pronounced the fourth child dead at the scene. Stewart did not identify the deceased, saying extended family needed to be notified. He said law enforcement could release the child’s name as soon as Tuesday.

My Aunt Miriam has a good blog post about the accident, writing in part:

This has been a heartbreaking day because of an accident that took the life of one child from our sister church (Cedar Crest), and left three others injured. Two of the children who were injured were the sisters of the boy who died. I also grieve for the kind young man who was the driver of the tractor that had been used for a Sunday School outing involving a hayride. He was my student in years past, and he is certainly not a careless, risk-taking person by nature. I’m so sorry this happened on his watch. He’s Shane’s age.

[...]

At this point, it appears that none of the three injured children have life-threatening injuries, but one of them has a broken pelvis, and several of them have bad bruises and scrapes–one of them on the arm near the shoulder, and the other about the face and neck.

The family with the death and two injuries has five children in one grade in school. The father is a doctor, and the family was built by birth and adoption. The child who died was born to them, as was one of the injured daughters. In the family, there were three homemade children and five who are African American or Asian.

The only other injured child was involved in another serious accident a year or two ago when he fell onto a welded wire cattle panel and was impaled on a thin rod that punctured his chest and came very close to piercing his heart. So this was his second emergency-vehicle transport to Wichita. The first time was by helicopter and this time by ambulance. He has a badly bruised upper arm/shoulder this time around. I’m thinking there’s no need to explore and experience any other options for emergency transport to Wichita. Derek has been there, done that.

Please pray for the Miggiani family that lost a son and had two daughters injured. (Derek Schmucker has been released from the hospital, praise the Lord!) Also please remember the driver of the tractor.Similar Posts:

• 16 yo girl dies in crash
• Forgiveness
• Prayer of the Children
• Elam Stoltzfoos – Beachy Youth Fellowship Meetings 2010 – Midwest District, Huntsville, AR
• Pennsylvania Christians Face 47 Years In Prison For Reading The Bible In Public

Summer comes to an end, and I am regularly amazed by the ineptitude of the Obama administration.  I am not one who thinks he is not a citizen, but I do think he moves through office with a hubris and intellectual arrogance unfounded by any real accomplishment.  I had to marvel at him on a repeat of his appearance on “The View”, where he chastised opposition to his policies as “mere politics”…apparently not thinking that appearing on most any pop talk show he can is anything less than “mere politics.”

But his recent policy initiative bothers me.  Not the initiative itself, but his timing.

The president recently announced a $50 billion infrastructure plan to shore up our aging highways and railroads while putting people to work.  It is pure FDR/New Deal, and will increase the deficit.

I am, to a point, comfortable with the late Richard Russell who said “In a Depression, I am a Liberal-in good times, I am a reactionary”.  I can handle this type of pump priming in an emergency.

 But what irks me is that this type of infrastructure initiative, with its attendant debt issues, was advanced by Candidate Obama as something he would do immediately upon election. But instead, he went in for actions that made him the head of the US Automotive industry, pushed a health care plan of questionable constitutionality, and accepting Nobel Peace Prizes he had neither earned nor deserved.

Think how much better for the country had this plan been executed two years ago? Impact on employment, fiscal impact on the supply chain, improved infrastructure now instead of sometime down the road.

It is just another misjudgment by a man who probably should have been filling in the “community activist” portion of his resume instead of running for president.

In today’s WaPo Richard Cohen blames the president’s struggles on a staff that is unequal to the job, saying that “Like a picture hung in the sun, he fades over time” because his staff has allowed others to define him.

In truth the president fades like a picture that seems vibrant while the light is on others, but fades under the light because he is unequal to the circumstances…and I have not seen anything to suggest changes in that condition.

Filed under: Politics

Not Larry Sabato has the details.

This just strikes me as odd, especially if it came in the form of an official campaign email.

Similar Posts:

• Gerry Connolly: Bush Tax Cuts Didn’t Help Economy ! Let’s Extend The Bush Tax Cuts !
• Mid-Term Madness
• Mid-Term Madness
• Gerry Connolly Embarrasses Himself
• Carnival Of Liberty 23

Man, after an armed robbery of a Subway a couple weeks ago, we now have another fast food joint and innocent apartments under attack.  What’s in the water there these days?

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They want 8 Million votes for the "Progressive" movement.
That is what illegal immigration reform is really all about.

I found this (from "Petraeus Condemns U.S. Church's Plan to Burn Qurans") to be rather startling:

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said the planned burning of Qurans on Sept. 11 by a small Florida church could put the lives of American troops in danger and damage the war effort.

Gen. David Petraeus said the Taliban would exploit the demonstration for propaganda purposes, drumming up anger toward the U.S. and making it harder for allied troops to carry out their mission of protecting Afghan civilians.

Right, David.  That might set the Muslims off.  We don't want that. That would send the war into a whole different realm.

Mission of mercy turns into slaughter as 10 aid workers shot and killed for 'spying' by Taliban
A thought: Maybe they hate us Christians because we are Christians, Dave.  Ever think of that?

- - -

Update 19:52 hours:   Cargosquid makes a good point in the comments that I should have touched on in my post.  He writes:

"... [I]ts stupid and rude. Burning a holy book does not advance our cause. Burning the terrorists would...."

He's right.  Burning the Muslims' Koran serves no purpose.  So don't be stupid.

- - -

An interesting perspective from James Taranto:

"America needs a president with the moral authority to denounce the Florida church's stupid, offensive, potentially dangerous stunt. This is a job for George W. Bush."

But wait.  Didn't Obama just say this a few weeks ago?

"Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country."

Doesn't that "everyone else" include the pastor of that church in Gainesville?  Or do Muslims have more of a right to practice their religion than (wrongheaded) Christian zealots, Barry?

I think this is what Taranto is getting at.  Obama, in wading into the Ground Zero Victory Mosque controversy, has sacrificed his moral authority on the subject.  Anything he says will be subject to interpretation based upon his past pronouncements.  Which are highly suspect.

I'm beginning to miss George W. Bush.

You could have bet money that this headline - "Obama Declares an End to Combat Mission in Iraq" - was inevitably going to give way to this:

Despite formal combat end, US joins Baghdad battle
So much for the triumphalism.

Obama got a nice photo op out of the deal anyway. Even if the accompanying photo to the first article - in the  New York Times - looked like something out of Madame Tussaud's:


Is it real?  Or is it a poor likeness made out of plastic? No cosmetician could make him look that weird.

Me?  I'm thinkin' it's a fake dummy.

James Lee is Al Gore is Prince Charles is the Unabomber

Well, not exactly.

But this is about as close as you'll come to seeing the rabidly liberal Roanoke Times editorial page admit that the equally liberal Congressman Boucher's vote for "cap-and-trade" - in truth a vote to kill thousands of jobs in Virginia's coal fields - was a big mistake:

With friends like these
editorial

A lot of money from third parties will pour into this fall's campaigns. Federal law prohibits those engaging in such independent expenditures from coordinating with the campaigns they're attempting to assist.

Which explains why a full-page ad in The Roanoke Times meant to help Rep. Rick Boucher was tantamount to friendly fire.

The ad, paid for by the Natural Resources Defense Council, criticized Boucher's opponent Morgan Griffith for his opposition to clean energy legislation, accusing the state delegate of wanting to create jobs -- "in China." Apparently, the clean energy legislation the ad refers to is a cap-and-trade bill to limit carbon dioxide emissions that Boucher voted for last year.

Had the NRDC checked with Boucher, the group would have realized that one of the last things Boucher would want them to do is remind his constituents of that bill, which has been falsely painted as a death knell for the coal industry that is so important in Virginia's 9th Congressional District. [link] [emphasis mine]

Right.  "Falsely painted."  By Nancy Pelosi's Congressional Budget Office.  We all know those sunsabitchas are not to be trusted.

But to the point:  The Times admits that Boucher's vote was a big, fat loser.

Ah, I love the smell of napalm in the morning.