Turn the tables …

Imagine, just for a second, this quote came from US Attorney General Eric Holder, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, or Democrat Steve Shannon:  “I will not defend what I, in my judgment, deem to be an unconstitutional law.”  (K. Cuccinelli, 4/4/09) [emphasis mine]

The fearmongers would be having a heyday.  Fox News would go national (probably giving it even a more tabloid spin).  Anti-liberals would be apoplectic, sputtering all over themselves about people who would ignore duly passed laws.  They’d be arguing that it’s not the government’s role to make those determinations, but the people’s.

So I cannot in any way comprehend why these same people are endorsing that attitude for the Virginia Attorney General seat.

What are they thinking????  Don’t tell me “conservatism” (in Cuccinelli’s case, conservatism manifests itself as anti-gay, anti- non-traditional family, anti-choice, holier-than-though power plays to control what choices you make for yourself), or logic.    Call it what it is … hatred of “liberals” – another undefined term.

ALMOST Anybody BUT Cuccinelli (or: I Made a HUGE Mistake)

I’ve been mistakenly supporting Steve Shannon for Attorney General in Virginia.

All this time, I thought he had voted to override SB1035, commonly referred to as the “restaurant ban”.  Virginia has a law that says you may not carry a concealed weapon in a restaurant that serves alcohol for consumption on the premises.  Thes, it’s open carry only.

Unless you’re a Commonwealth Attorney (whether or not you have a concealed handgun permit).

Or a Deputy Commonwealth Attorney (whether or not you have a concealed handgun permit).

Or other categories of privilege.

Shannon has in the past few days proven himself to be susceptible to the Brady Bunch’s attitudes, and appears to have taken his campaign ads from their website and from Omar Samaha.  (Yes, he’s the guy who took $5000 from ABC to “prove” he could buy a gun without ID.   Got news for ya, guy.  So can any criminal on the DC streets.)

Since I cannot in good conscience support Ken Cuccinelli, I need to find an AG candidate within the next 11 days.

What are the limits of the VA Attorney General’s authority?

One more piece of crap Cuccinelli is promising to do as Attorney General.  Apparently he has been unsuccessful as a State Senator at accomplishing any of them.  Does he have any CLUE what the AG job is?

Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, a Republican from Fairfax County who’s running  
for Virginia attorney general, has championed an open state budget  
process. He says – if elected – he’ll get the state budget online in a  
way that can actually be deciphered by "the citizens of the  
Commonwealth who own this government.”  

I”m really tired of his attitude, so I don’t want to watch it, but if you do, see here.

Let’s Be Offended

Can  you imagine anything quite as inane?  Well, okay, I read the news; I guess I can.

To be offended by an obvious play on words?

When a society loses its ability to see humor, it is well on the way to oblivion.

This from the “news” media.  The ones who shouldn’t be covering idiots’ “sensibilities” or frivolous suits.

Now *this* is dangerous!

Six-year-old Zachary Christie has a reason to grow up hating school, and bureaucrats.

Imagine.   A six-year-old child, proud of his gadget.  He’s now learned that adults don’t have the common sense the gods gave slugs.  He knows now that bureaucrats can’t tell the difference between tools and weapons.  He’s learned that knives are banned.   (I wonder if they’re TRULY banned, or what happens when a teacher brings a table knife to school to spread mayonnaise on a sandwich).  He’s learned adults are asinine.

FORTY FIVE DAYS in reform school?

Surely you jest.

The new American way.

Transportation should not be a key issue in the VA gubernatorial race

Transportation should not be a key issue in the VA gubernatorial race.

Many news outlets, bloggers, and political campaigns treat “transportation” or “roads” as the number one issue in Northern Virginia.

I don’t believe that’s true, for the majority of citizens.

While transportation, gridlock, traffic, and roads are very high on the list of detractors to quality of life in Northern Virginia, I don’t think most of us believe government will solve it.

Deeds said he’ll “sign a bipartisan bill“.  Of course, he hasn’t seen one and can’t know what one would look like.  He doesn’t even know IF he could get it,  so how can he promise to sign it?

McDonnell will turn interstates into toll roads.  IF he gets federal approval.  What do you suppose that would take?  Frankly, I like his idea of privatizing the liquor stores (get the nanny state out of it).  He can use the sales prices to replace the funding they currently provide, and the tax stream to do whatever it is government does with our money.

In short, I don’t know of anyone who believes in any “transportation plan” so far proposed.  No one wants the construction, or the eminent domain, of new roads.  No one wants to prioritize new roads, as they’ll be subject to special interests.  No one wants public transportation forced down their throats, nor the inconvenience of Metro to the vast majority of residents.  And no one outside of Northern Virginia media outlets seems to care.

“Change” means “We’re no worse than the last guy”, I guess.

Granted, it’s the headline writer who writes “ Obama Team Says Its Politicking Falls Short of Bush’s” but surely this administration understands there’s nothing “changed” about partisan politics.

Surely this administration knows that blatant interference, particularly as in Massachusetts, where the legislature is already playing politics to the detriment of codified law, is seen as blatant partisanship.

Surely this administration understands that asking a sitting governor not to run for reelection is blatant party politics.

An administration that insists its focus “is the big challenges facing the country at home and abroad” must understand that issues, not party politics, must be the critical factor.

This administration is losing more credibility every day with me.  At least Bush did what he said he’d do.

So I guess “change” means “well, we’re no worse than the last guy.”

Carmax blows a *CASH SALE*

Friend of mine had Carmax tell him “No thanks, keep your money.”

(Because I’m such a stickler for punctuation, etc., I’ve cleaned up his rant to meet my publication standards.   His story, though.)  Italics are my comments.  I’ve also left out the model name (though there was some interesting geek humor involved) to protect his privacy.

I went to Carmax because they had the lowest listed price on replacing the (vehicle).

Arrived there with cash – “genyouwine ‘murican greenbacks” – in hand, ready to conclude the deal right then and there.  Everybody was salivating, including some folks not connected to me or Carmax, but that’s a  story for another day.  (I want to hear that story, too!)

Got all the paperwork signed and put together, including the stuff to transfer title from them to me and have my license plates  transferred from the Isotope to the new Element.  I went and sat down with the free coffee while I waited for them to peel the advertising off the back end and screw my plates on.  (YES!  Another person who thinks as I do — I don’t pay to advertise for someone else!)

Cutest little thing comes in, looking all sorts of sad and confused, and says i have to re-do 2/3rds of the paperwork because their system will not accept a line drawn through all the blank spots where a co-purchaser’s  name would go if there were one.  Now i’m a bit put off by that, but am willing to accept that their scanner sees any squiggle as a signature and gets kerfuffled when  told there was only one buyer but sees 2 ‘signatures’.  We re-did the paperwork and I hauled out the red ink pen to insert ‘and no other’ on the blank spaces. The drone who does the paperwork-filling-out — or is it filling-in — takes the new set back into the bowels of ‘authorized personnel only’-land.

Three minutes later, cutest little thing comes out and says ‘and no other’ is also being recognized by their system as a signature and kerfuffling the bejabbers out of the system.

I attempt to have a conversation with cutest little thing about my aversion to  signing any legal document with a blank space on it.  She says she is understanding, but wants to assure me that nobody would ever insert anything on  those lines.  Yeah — I think but manage not to say out loud “and how much are you asking for that bridge as an aftermarket accessory”?

I suggested she go call someone with some sense and authority to see how we can resolve my determination not to sign a contract with blank spaces. She goes off, and I drink more coffee.  I wander around looking at overpriced add-on radios, CD  players, DVD systems, and GPS combined with either, or, or all three.

After about 20 minutes I get  told that she called all the  way up to the top of the Carmax ladder and the answer is, and forever will be, and I quote here — ‘ our system will not accept that.’

I thank her for her patience and assistance, even though she isn’t looking quite so cute now  that she senses the deal about to die right there in front of her.  I ask  that my plates be taken off the vehicle and that I be allowed to witness each and every piece of paper I signed or initialed be shredded

I get told  that some of the forms are those that go to Department of Motor Vehicles and they cannot destroy them.  After suggesting I will call the State Police and a DMV investigator, suddenly everybody is agreeing that not only can all the  paperwork be shredded but that I can even do it myself, as long as they get to hand me each page. (What would have to go to DMV if no vehicle gets sold or registered?)

Because ‘our system will not accept that’  the deal is dead right there.  Several customers have overheard my discussion of why I would not sign a document with blank spaces, and I’m out the door and on my way to Dealer Number 2, who has another (vehicle) on the lot for only a few hundred  more than Carmax was asking.

Carmax lost.  Dealer Number 2 was willing to take a deposit, order/install accessories, and hold until Monday, And understood and agreed that I should not accept a contract with blank spaces.  Apparently their system has no problems accepting ‘and no other’  where names are supposed to go and line-throughs everywhere else there was a  blank.

Thanks for listening.  I just could not  believe Carmax would blow a cash sale over lining through blank lines on a sales contract.

The news is telling me retailers are hurting and needed their sales.   Apparently, not if they have to offer logic and customer service as well.

More logic (?).

There is such a lack of logic in this “response” that it’s hard to know where to begin.

Brady Campaign Responds to NRA

Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, has issued a statement responding to the National Rifle Association’s endorsement of Bob McDonnell for governor. According to Helmke, the “one critical issue” that separates Virginia’s candidates for governor on gun rights is the tightening of rules for buying weapons at gun shows–the so-called gun show loophole.

“Creigh Deeds agrees with the families of the victims of Virginia Tech that the most dangerous people, prohibited by law from purchasing guns from federally licensed gun dealers, shouldn’t be able to get around those laws by buying them from non-licensed gun sellers at weapons bazaars,” Helmke said in his statement. “Bob McDonnell, who now refuses to acknowledge that this gaping loophole in Virginia gun laws even exists, appears eager to do whatever the gun lobby wants him to. That’s playing politics with public safety, and the voters should judge the candidates accordingly.”

– The gun show “loophole” (which is not a loophole) is that an individual citizen can sell his or her privately owned firearm without following rules that were enacted for federally licensed firearms dealers.   In other words, you’re not subject to laws that don’t apply to you.  Current Virginia law says you can sell a privately owned handgun to a buyer as long as you know he’s a Virginia resident and you have no reason to believe he would not be prohibited from owning it.  This law doesn’t change by geography; it remains consistent whether you’re in your living room or at a gun show.   (Now, if you wanted to sell something, doesn’t it make sense to be where there’s a congregation of people who want to buy that thing?  Think of growing produce; if you want to sell produce, a farmers’ market is a logical place to be because that’s where buyers will be.)

– The families of the Virginia Tech victims would be in no different straits today if the law were changed; the VT shooter did not buy his guns at a show, and in fact did pass the federal background check.  The loophole is that his mental health records were never entered into the databases checked by the NICS.  That loophole was closed almost immediately by Gov Kaine.

– Creigh Deeds has admitted that he changed his mind on this issue due to emotional pleas from families of some of the VT victims.   He wants to legislate to “respond to grief“.  This is absolutely the wrong reason to pass any legislation, and is more reprehensible coming from someone who knows that the legislation would change nothing.

Deeds, who owns several firearms and has hunted since he was a child, said he understands the importance of the Second Amendment and has no interest in working for broader gun controls except for the gun show loophole.

“For me, everything changed on April 16, 2007,” Deeds said in an interview Sunday. “As a father, I felt just a need deep down in my soul to respond to their grief somehow.”

Note, the Brady campaign is not endorsing Deeds.  Instead, it’s relying on its old “evil NRA” mantra.  Instead of doing something positive, they’ll badmouth the NRA at every turn.  It says to me the Brady Bunch can’t think very deeply (well, I already believe that).  The NRA happened to make this endorsement, so it gave the BB something to rail about.  There are more grass-roots gun-owners groups in Virginia, each of whom will make or not make endorsements in its own time, and many of which include significant numbers of gun owners who dislike the NRA for various reasons.  In many ways, the BB blaming the NRA for all evils of the world are like the protesters who blame Obama for the nation’s ills.  Point at the leader, and let him/it take the blame.

http://tinyurl.com/nvb8cq

Joe Wilson — somebody’s hero????

I received this via e-mail today.

http://www.opencongress.org/articles/view/1219-Joe-Wilson-Voted-to-Provide-Taxpayer-Money-for-Illegal-Immigrants-Healthcare

On Wednesday night, Rep. Joe Wilson [R, SC-2], shouted “You lie!” at President Obama when he said that the healthcare bill would not cover illegal immigrants. “The supporters of the government takeover of healthcare and liberals who want to give healthcare to illegals are  using my opposition as an excuse to distract from the critical uestions being raised about this poorly conceived plan,” Wilson said the next day in a campaign fundraising video.

However, in 2003, Wilson voted to provide federal funds for illegal immigrants’ healthcare. The vote came on the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, which contained Sec. 1011a authorizing $250,000 annually between 2003 and 2008 for government reimbursements to hospitals who provide treatment for uninsured illegal immigrants. The program has been extended through 2009 and there is currently a bipartisan bill in Congress to make it permanent.

Hospitals have a legal obligation to treat everyone who comes in seeking care, regardless of citizenship status, insurance or other characteristics.

So what is his problem with a bill that supports illegal immigrants?  I know what my problem is; it appears Congressman Wilson is not as sure.