5 posts tagged “virginia”
And thank goodness, because Huckabee could have won Virginia. I voted McCain despite my reservations...which have returned in force after my brush with His Maverickness left me a bit star-struck.
Tell me if this has happened to you: I find that the last two viable candidates are the ones who were last and next to last on my initial list. I am voting against Huckabee rather than for McCain.
There is nothing like hitting the primary at 6:15 a.m. and being rewarded with hot coffee.
John McCain made a stop in Norfolk, VA today to discuss foreign policy issues and receive some glowing praise from a number of his colleagues. Always keen to learn more about international relations and, well, see famous people, I managed to weasel my way in and was treated to a sensible, realistic acknowledgment of the threat of radical Islam. This is from some of the most knowledgeable authorities on national security in Congress.
Chief among these in my eyes was John Warner. A Southern gentleman in the truest sense, Senator Warner has been a strong advocate for the military and if he believes that John McCain will do well as the President then I am prepared to believe him.
The major point today was that we absolutely must confront radical, militant Islam. I agree with that sentiment 100%. Senator Sam Brownback made some very excellent statements, bringing the focus onto Africa where a significant amount of Muslim extremism is fomented. Brownback is also extremely prominent in the pro-life community. His endorsement of McCain puts any doubts about McCain's pro-life credits to rest.
In addition to these two men, the endorsement of former Secretaries of the Navy William Ball and John Lehman spoke volumes about their beliefs in McCain's strong military stance. Rebuilding the military is key, as the Clinton years saw too much military reduction. Rumsfeld made an error before Iraq and Afghanistan by not focusing more effort on building up force levels to avoid long, repeated deployments. But another point made today was that we must maintain the All Volunteer Force by increasing recruitment and increasing opportunities for soldiers. As McCain said, there is a market out there and young people have to know their needs will be met should they choose military service.
It is well within the interests of my region of Virginia to elect a man like John McCain.
McCain is strong on the social issues. Period. McCain is obviously strong on foreign policy (his strong language regarding Iran was particularly impressive), though conservatives still need more assurance about the illegal immigration issue. When I informed my good friend W that I was in attendance, he cut to the heart of the matter quite succinctly: "...if they serve lunch order the enchiladas. I hear they taste really good with a side of amnesty." No lunch, but it is important to keep from getting star-struck. Thanks W!
On a side note, I just saw myself on TV. Some guy blocked my handshake with McCain and the annoyance on my face is pretty obvious. I wish I had a picture. It's ok, because I did get to shake Sam Brownback's hand and let him know I appreciate his pro-life stance. He said we've got to push harder on that issue. Agreed.
I got a picture of McCain answering questions from the press, which I have provided. Forgive the quality. I didn't think I'd actually be allowed inside and neglected to bring a camera! If I can locate a bit of that video with my handshake fiasco, I'll post that too. UPDATE: Here's that video...Note the disappointed looking young man at 56 seconds in. That old guy in front of me was such a fanboy, he jostled me out of the way just to tell McCain something the man wouldn't remember in 10 seconds anyway.
Today in Norfolk, VA it is 76 degrees Fahrenheit. It is also December 10th, so you would think that there is something going on here. Perhaps a sign of increasing global temperatures? Or something.
But you'd be wrong. In my memory, the Tidewater region of Virginia has always had fairly schizophrenic Decembers. It goes back and forth between cold and warm all month. While today's temp might be a record (since records started being kept), it's hardly unusual to have weather in the high 60s at this time of year. It doesn't start to become steadily cold until February, when we might actually get some snow.
Virginia itself doesn't have much in the way of weather extremes either way. It does sometimes become oppressively hot, but nothing compared to Mississippi. And it does sometimes become bitter cold, but not quite in the same league as your New England states.
I basically live in an awesome climate.
Jim Webb (D), junior senator from Virginia, made news today.
It would appear that one of the members of his staff (a trusted
ex-Marine and "long-term employee" of the senator) was picked up by
Capitol Police for carrying a loaded pistol through a metal detector.
Whoops.
What makes it funny, though, is that the weapon belongs to Webb and the
aide was carrying it for him. It was left in a bag when the
assistant dropped the senator off at the airport.
I was tickled.
I love my home state.
Virginia Apologizes for Role in Slavery
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Feb 25, 6:38 AM (ET)
By LARRY O'DELL
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Meeting on the grounds of the former Confederate Capitol, the Virginia General Assembly voted unanimously Saturday to express "profound regret" for the state's role in slavery.
Sponsors of the resolution say they know of no other state that has apologized for slavery, although Missouri lawmakers are considering such a measure. The resolution does not carry the weight of law but sends an important symbolic message, supporters said.
"This session will be remembered for a lot of things, but 20 years hence I suspect one of those things will be the fact that we came together and passed this resolution," said Delegate A. Donald McEachin, a Democrat who sponsored it in the House of Delegates.
The resolution passed the House 96-0 and cleared the 40-member Senate on a unanimous voice vote. It does not require Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's approval.
The measure also expressed regret for "the exploitation of Native Americans."
The resolution was introduced as Virginia begins its celebration of the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, where the first Africans arrived in 1619. Richmond, home to a popular boulevard lined with statues of Confederate heroes, later became another point of arrival for Africans and a slave-trade hub.
The resolution says government-sanctioned slavery "ranks as the most horrendous of all depredations of human rights and violations of our founding ideals in our nation's history, and the abolition of slavery was followed by systematic discrimination, enforced segregation, and other insidious institutions and practices toward Americans of African descent that were rooted in racism, racial bias, and racial misunderstanding."
In Virginia, black voter turnout was suppressed with a poll tax and literacy tests before those practices were struck down by federal courts, and state leaders responded to federally ordered school desegregation with a "Massive Resistance" movement in the 1950s and early '60s. Some communities created exclusive whites-only schools.
The apology is the latest in a series of strides Virginia has made in overcoming its segregationist past. Virginia was the first state to elect a black governor - L. Douglas Wilder in 1989 - and the Legislature took a step toward atoning for Massive Resistance in 2004 by creating a scholarship fund for blacks whose schools were shut down between 1954 and 1964.
Among those voting for the measure was Delegate Frank D. Hargrove, an 80-year-old Republican who infuriated black leaders last month by saying "black citizens should get over" slavery.
After enduring a barrage of criticism, Hargrove successfully
co-sponsored a resolution calling on Virginia to celebrate
"Juneteenth," a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United
States.
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Let me preface this blog by saying that I hold no prejudice against
people with different pigmentation than myself. None. In
fact, the only prejudice I have is against stupid people...and my home
state seems to be full of them.
Leaving aside the randomly strange concept of "Juneteenth" as a way to
commemorate the end of slavery by reducing it to a handy contraction of
June and whatever day they think slavery ended, what really gets my
goat is the apology.
The only people who need to apologize for slavery have been dead for
hundreds of years. The only people who need to apologize for
"Massive Resistance" are octagenarians such as Del. Hargrove, who were there.
Likewise, not a single black person in this country has been enslaved
at any point in their life. Some living today have grandparents
or even parents who were slaves, but these people have usually
celebrated their first century of living.
Now, I understand the merits of apologizing for past institutional
wrongs. Pope John Paul II did the same with everything from
Galileo to Judaism. But I also understand that today, now, we
have to adopt the same attitude as aforesaid Del. Hargrove, and "get
over it."
This goes for blacks and whites both. How difficult is it for me,
a white male, to frankly address this issue without overstepping my
"bounds" and offending some black person or an overly sensitive
Caucasian? I'll tell you, I just deleted an paragraph of text and
replaced it with this.
But let's face it...the sooner we stop focusing on past wrongs and
start looking at the present and towards the future, we'll be able to
move towards that day when people don't even identify themselves by
race anymore.
So white people, stop feeling guilty for something you didn't do.
Black people, start asking why you vote Democrat and can't seem to get
out of the ghetto when the gov't takes such good care of you.
Start asking why 60% of your young men end up in prison or dead.
Start demanding that instead of having baby-daddies, you have married
fathers who look after their children. Start demanding that we no
longer even consider race for any position, scholarship, or admittance
to an institution. Start demanding that your public schools
become safe, that your children receive a competitive education.
Stop demanding a useless, politically motivated apology and start demanding some realistic action. Stop blaming the past for political apathy today. I'm with the Cos on this one.
