MASON CONSERVATIVE

Sorry For The Light Posting

I'm in the process of moving right now and internet connection is sporadic until I get it together.  I'll do what I can . . . and oh yeah,

DEFEAT 6055!

Senator Webb, Hard At Work

Holding up public policy and the affairs of state to throw a tantrum for extra privleges.

Behind the scenes, Sen. Webb has told colleagues the holds are punishment for the Pentagon failing to provide him answers relating to Blackwater Worldwide, the security firm routinely used by the Pentagon.  However, multiple Senate sources report the real reason for the hold is far different and very personal.

Sen. Webb is expected to travel on a tax-payer funded junket to Southeast Asia.  He  wants both his wife and his 18 month old child to accompany him without having to pay reimbursement to the government.  Unfortunately, according to a March 9, 2007, letter from Senators Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), while spouses are permitted to go with the Senator, “relatives of Senators (other than spouses) will not be permitted to travel with Senate delegations.”

Come on America, John McCain Was Only "Isolated"!

The recent spat of Democrats attacking John McCain's war record is really strange, considering what the point of it is.  The point, for those who might not know, is to devalue military service when it comes to being able to execute the office of the presidency.  Its angering, for sure, but its even stranger when we re-wind back to 2004 when the bulwark of Senator John Kerry's campaign was that he had served in the military, and that military service was why he was better to be president than the "draft-dodger" George W. Bush.  Will this backfire?  Who knows, things seem to be going the Democrats way these days.

But lets look closer.  Rand Beers said that McCain's time in "isolation" cause him to missed all the social revolutions going on in the 1960s.  First of all, RAND, he wasn't in "isolation," he was shot down flying missions that nobody else wanted to fly in a war not a lot fo people wanted to fight in.  He wasn't in "isolation," asshat, he was a "PRISON OF WAR."  What makes this even more ridiculous that it wasn't but a year or so ago that Democrats constantly used John McCain as an example of what a Republican "should be."  RedState commentator Dan McLaughlin puts it best:

1. Um, McCain's father was the commander of the whole Pacific theater during the war, McCain heard anti-war speeches broadcast into his cell, he was entreated to meet with anti-war groups, and he wrote a War College thesis in 1973 focusing on the effect of that movement on POWs. It's laughable to suggest he's somehow ignorant of what went on.

2. I love this irony:

because McCain was in an unfortunate state of "isolation" during much of the Vietnam War, he missed the domestic turmoil which took place in the United States

You know who else was living in Southeast Asia far from the U.S. political scene in 1967-71? Barack Obama, Indonesian schoolboy, that's who.

3. A quotation from Thomas Jefferson about his political opponents comes to mind:

They say we lied them out of power, and openly avow they will do the same by us.

Convinced that "swift-boating" was both untruthful and effective, but not understanding why, the former Kerryites avow to do the same to McCain. Hilarity ensues.

Indeed.  As for Wesley Clark, words cannot be found.  That this warrior, who fought in Vietnam with honor, would slice a comrade in such an nasty manner, smear a fellow veteran in such a way, it just speaks to the kind of character "General" Clark has.  But I encourage the Obama campaign to continue down this line . . it only further reminds Americans what McCain has given his country and never complained while Obama has only taken from his country and always (with his bride leading the way) complained about it. 

John McCain is a lot of things, god knows us conservatives have tangled with him, but he IS a hero and that "isolation" that has so warped his mind in the warped minds of those like Rand Beers and Wesley Clark was life taken from McCain for his country.  And unlike Obama, who's spent his Ivy League life complaining about America, McCain never complained about what was done to him.  The beatings, the broken bones, the psychological attacks, the loneliness . . . McCain took it ALL and to this day has never complained about Vietnam, about war, about anything.  I think that is what is driving liberals mad . . . McCain is using Vietnam and his service in it as a positive, and idea they cannot understand nor accept.

And where is "Mr. New Politics," Senator Obama?  What happened to bringing us together, to changing the tone in Washington?  In a presidential campaign, nothing is done without a president's knowledge, and this attack must have come from the very top.  So, Senator New Politics, do you stand with Rand Beers and Wesley Clark?

Barak Obama has talked about bridging the parties,  and that means taking on your own party.  His half-page political resume shows that he has never done this, nor ever wanted too.  John McCain has done it.  He's taken on his own party tooth-and-nail, one big issues like immigration and campaign finance.  John McCain can look America in the eye with eyes that have seen war, and tell them he has taken on the big boys, his own party, and the special interests. 

So Mr. Obama, do you stand with your party as it tries to render heroism as nothing more than "missing out on history?"  To degrade military service as qualification for public service?  Or will you stand up to your party's smear-merchants and defend John McCain from the very base attacks you claim to be the man who can stop?

And you these guys have stepped way over the line when you go "hell yeah," to anything John Warner might say:

At least five Republican senators and retired military officers — four on a conference call arranged by McCain's campaign — cried foul Monday, particularly over Clark's last line.

"I was utterly shocked," Sen. John Warner, R-Va., told the conference call, "... that he would in such a disrespectful way attack one of his fellow career military officers."

"Beyond comprehension ... further erosion of our nation's political discourse," said former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., in a written statement.

"Complete silliness," retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Carl Smith said on the call.

Retired Marine Lt. Col. Orson Swindle said Clark was "denigrating the character and the experience and the integrity and the performance" of McCain.

"A very indecent thing," said retired Air Force Col. Bud Day.

Top 100 Songs Of The 90s

VH1 just completed their top 100 songs of the 1990s.  And it was spectacular!  I was born in 1981, so I am an unabashed child of the 90s - the decade of my youth, I went through it all from Vanilla Ice to Matchbox 20.  Here is the Top 10:

01. Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
02. U2 "One"
03. Backstreet Boys "I Want It That Way"
04. Whitney Houston "I Will Always Love You"
05. Madonna "Vogue"
06. Sir Mix-A-Lot "Baby Got Back"
07. Britney Spears "...Baby One More Time"
08. TLC"Waterfalls"
09. R.E.M. "Losing My Religion"
10. Sinéad O'Connor "Nothing Compares 2 U"

The rest is below

I'll Say This For John McCain . . .

  . . . unlike Bob Barr, who not a few conservatives (and bloggers) are thinking about supporting over the Arizona senator, McCain has never eaten cheese from the bosom of Borat's wife.


The quiet look of shock on Barr's face is priceless.  Buffoon.

The Rot

That is the simple yet devistating summation of Jim Bowden towards the Republican Party, or those who support the newest transportation "solution" to come out of the House leadership:

So, why do Republicans insist on creating the Regional Government in HB 6055 (the MPO now, not the HRTA) ?

It’s all about the money. $30 to 35 billion is too much to pass up.

The appointed officials on the Regional Government aren’t engineers. They aren’t executives who have managed billion dollar programs for profit-earning corporations. They bring absolutely no expertise – except how to spend other people's money on pet projects – to improve transportation.

So, the logic of HB 6055 is to give $35 billion dollars to politicians to hand out in contracts. The Un-Constitutional HRTA has already spent $200k. The first $50k went to Kaufmann and Canoles for legal services. Republican State Senator Ken Stolle is a partner with Kaufmann and Canoles. You can smell the rot even if you can’t see it yet.

Since the politicians of the MPO have no clue how to manage major engineering projects they will have to hire help. This is where you can see the pus oozing.

These politicians will have hundreds of millions of dollars from year one to hire staff, rent offices or build them, hire transportation, more legal services, pay for meals, run executive off-sites, conduct ad campaigns to re-educate the public, put in the latest IT equipment, provide security, hire lobbyists, conduct environmental studies, and, above all, pay six figure salaries to retired and failed politician friends as ‘consultants’.

Eventually, huge contracts for the actual engineering will be awarded without accountability oversight or checks and balances or adjudication for disputes.

The people who will make millions to billions in government contracts can afford to give tens of thousands of dollars to the politicians, or their friends or family or some other middle man. But, the corruption will be done the genteel Virginia way. No bags of money will change hands. Just the right folks will get the contracts. And there will be a lot of consultants – just the right folks again.

English-speaking People have built roads, ports, canals, bridges, ferries, railroads, airports, tunnels and subways in Virginia without Regional Governments for 400 years.

The People voted against Regional Governments with taxing authority in 1998.

The People rejected Regional Government, the projects and the taxes like HB 6055 in 2002 over 2:1. Polls indicate The People in Tidewater are against it about 3:1 today.

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled the Regional Government (HB 3202) Un-Constitutional in 2008.

There is no Constitutional, legal, technical, engineering, financial, moral, ethical or principled reason to have a Regional Government involved in building these big projects for HR/Tidewater. None.

Yet, Republicans are going to try it again. This pursuit of political power to control money and power is not a unique Republican condition. It is the way of the world. But, our Virginia Constitution is designed as a bulwark against such tyranny and thievery. Our Constitution distributes powers, authority and accountability appropriately - with no Regional Governments. However, it takes a vigilant public – and a press to do their duty to report news instead of shilling – to hold Virginia's politicians accountable.

D.J. McGuire is talking tax revolt, but for me its more along the lines of what Jim Bowden is talking about.  What is driving me insane is the stubbornness of the entire legislature to continue to do the same thing over and over after repeated examples of he people not supporting it.  For me, its more “the rot” as Bowden describes it more than the purse issue of “taxes.”  I supported HB 3202 because I thought it was the only available way to ensure that Northern Virginia got its money unmolested, bypassing the legislative sausage factory that would cut layer after layer off our dollars until we get hardly what was promised us.  AS distasteful as it might sound, I might be okay with a tax increase of some osrt if any single state legislator could look me in the eye, a Northern Virginia resident who sits in traffic everyday paying increasingly high gas prices, and guarentee to me that all the money would come to us.

But they can’t, and if they tried history tells me they are either lying or just don't know any better.

Instead of dynamic leadership that we once had, we now have “rot.”

NOVA's So Great, Lets Tax It Twice!

That seems to be the thinking among almost everyone in the General Assembly's special session for Transportaiton.  And its bi-partisan!

Philip Hamilton, no doubt speaking for the Speaker, offered this:

Del. Phillip A. Hamilton (R-Newport News) said his proposal, which is expected to be embraced by the House leadership after it is heard by a committee today, will include a mix of state-imposed and locally enacted taxes, a concession for GOP leaders who previously had ruled out state-imposed taxes.

In Northern Virginia, the plan calls for a 2 percent rental car tax, a $5 a night hotel tax and a 40 cent grantors tax. There would also be a $100 initial vehicle registration fee. All of the money raised would stay in Northern Virginia to build roads.

"All along, we have said we are willing to address the regional components," said Hamilton, noting all the new taxes in Hampton Roads would be state imposed.

A whole mess-o-bloggers have had something to say about this nonesense: RWL and BD have reaction.  And then the Democrats step up and out-clown the speaker's allies:

To succeed, the regional plans will likely need support from Democrats because some conservative Republicans remain opposed to state imposition of the taxes.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) and House Democrats have indicated in recent weeks they will not support regional plans if they are not accompanied by a statewide tax increase.

But by putting on the matter on the House floor, Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) will force Northern Virginia Democrats to decide whether they can pass up an opportunity to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into highway projects in Arlington, Alexandria, Loudoun, Prince William and Fairfax counties.

When will we realize that the regional taxation issue is dead.  In 2002, Northern Virginia defeated it on its own by referrendum.  In 2007, the Republican-backed HB3202 led to stinging defeats of senators up and down Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.  Then it was found unconstitutionl.  I supported, but it seems unlike many of our represntatives in Richmond, they don't get that it just won't work.  Its idiocy.

People are not being listened too, and its just so damn frustrating to watch.  No leadership by our leaders is being shown right now, and if something doesn't change quick I'll be supporting this movement soon enough.

O.A.R.'s New Single!

One of my favorite bands is back with a new record, and a new single off it.  O.A.R., one of the very few true American rock bands remaining in this age of American Idol and the rise of hip-hop.  I discovered these guys when my brother played me their 14-minute ode to poker, "That Was A Crazy Game of Poker."  I've been hooked ever since, and their lyrics really do speak to me (not to mention they're from up 270 in Rockville, MD).  Well, their new album All Sides is out in a couple of weeks and here is their excellent new single, "Shattered."

"Freedom"

When Fred Thompson does something for John McCain, it always makes McCain look better. 

New Fairfax GOP Website

Good work.

Slowly but surely, the Fairfax GOP is finally turning it around and this is important.  High voter turnover in Northern Virginia is always a reality its nice to have one single resource to go too.  I hope they stay with it, its a god site that has good information on it.