HoodaThunk?

Rep. John Murtha is dead; he was 77.

Congressman John Murtha of PA has died at the age of 77:

Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. John Murtha, the first veteran of the Vietnam war to enter Congress and one of the House’s most powerful lawmakers, died Monday afternoon at Virginia Hospital Center after complications from gallbladder surgery. Murtha was 77.

“Congressman John P. Murtha (PA-12) passed away peacefully this afternoon at 1:18 p.m. at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va. At his bedside was his family,” read a statement from his office.

No one who has read this blog for the last couple of years will be surprised that I didn’t particularly like Rep. Murtha. His actions over the last several years have been divisive, unhelpful (to America, at any rate), and needlessly abrasive. I have no compunction in saying that I believe America is far better without him in our legislature. None of which makes me happy he’s gone. I especially don’t like to hear of someone passing while in the midst of a difficult career. If I had a wish for the Congressman, it would have been that life could have allowed him to take some time to be with his family full-time; that he could have simply enjoyed their presence and had them enjoy his. I’d wish that his most important meeting be watching his grandkids at some sporting event or school function or whatever.

No, Mr. Murtha and I agreed on precious little and it would be hard for me to stomach having to listen to him in the same room. But that’s all past now. Now, I have just one thing to say about him…

Grant unto him eternal life, O Lord, and let your face shine upon him. Welcome him into your presence and grant his family the strength to endure without him.

Amen.

February 8th, 2010 Posted by ricjames | Human Interest, Politics | no comments

When do dollars in your district become a national security matter?

I’m not entirely sure how I got on the mailing list for a candidate for VA’s 2nd Congressional District in Virginia Beach but I apparently did. GOP Candidate Kenny Goldman announces that he’s delivered a draft resolution to the General Assembly on the matter of a proposed move by the US Navy to relocate one (or possibly more) of its nuclear aircraft carriers from Norfolk to Mayport, FL. Goldman’s resolution was crafted and delivered because, “Congressman Nye and Senators Warner and Webb have failed to make a cohesive argument against the Navy’s proposed move of at least one carrier to Florida,” says Goldman in the e-mail I received. He continues, “The resolution I delivered to Delegate Robert Tata of Virginia Beach lays out the logical case against the relocation of any aircraft carrier to Florida, and why such a move would be a disaster for national security, fleet preparedness, and fiscal sensibility.”

Fair enough. But it’s resolutions like this one that, frankly, make me cringe when I see a Republican offer them and suggest they’re doing so as a matter of national security. Honestly, folks, I understand full well what they’re trying to do and, as a fellow Virginian, I want to support them. But when you start mixing in hotbutton items of local concern in with the rest of it, you actually wind up diluting the argument. Here’s the resolution, annotated with my thoughts as I read it:

Whereas the recent release of the Quadrennial Defense Review calls for the relocation of a Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier from Hampton Roads to Naval Station Mayport, Florida;

Whereas such a move portends the loss of more than one carrier from Hampton Roads;

And? How does Hampton Roads losing a carrier to take care of cause a national security issue for Ohio, or Iowa, or Wyoming?

Whereas the loss of a single aircraft carrier would have a significant negative impact upon the economy of the Commonwealth, to include the loss of a minimum of 10,000 jobs and over one percent of Hampton Roads’ gross regional product;

That’s certainly bad news for Hampton Roads. But, considering that it’d be good for Mayport, FL, how is this supportive of a national security argument?

Whereas the cost to American taxpayers to convert Naval Station Mayport into a port capable of handling a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is estimated to be as high as $1 billion;

Now, there’s an argument. There had better be a compelling reason for the Navy to be doing this, and it better be a helluva lot better than that some Floridian congresscritter managed to squeeze something into a bill during the commitee write-up.

Whereas there has been a troubled history of maintaining conventional aircraft carriers at Naval Station Mayport;

Oh? I’d certainly like to hear more about this. If there’s been issues in competence at Mayport then that’s a real good reason to keep the carriers away from that port. Does the Navy not know about these issues, or do they already know about them and found they’re not as severe as Mr. Goldman thinks they are?

Whereas the move of an aircraft carrier from its industrial base in Hampton Roads would involve increased maintenance costs for the Navy and, thus, an increased burden upon the American taxpayer;

Again, that’s a good argument.

Whereas the proximity of Naval Station Mayport to the mouth of St. John’s River makes it more vulnerable to potential terrorist attack;

More vulnerable than Norfolk?

Whereas no aircraft carrier or any other naval vessel has been damaged by a terrorist attack or manmade disaster in Hampton Roads;

The previous item made it sound as if Mayport hasn’t suffered a terrorist attack, either. For that matter, I’ve not heard of any at San Diego, San Francisco, or any other domestic military port. If none of them have, why is it significant that Norfolk hasn’t?

Whereas no aircraft carrier, conventional or nuclear, has ever been damaged by a hurricane or any natural disaster in Hampton Roads;

That’s an excellent point. Has any such damage occurred at Mayport? Does Mayport have a greater history of getting hit by such events than Norfolk?

Whereas the Hampton Roads area is known as the “birthplace” of nuclear aircraft carriers;

Uhhhh… so? Kitty Hawk, NC is the “birthplace” of aviation. Does that mean the Air Force should only keep our strategic bombers there?

Whereas the Hampton Roads area has the largest navy base in the world, and is renowned for its industrial support capacity and professional workforce;

That’s a good point. Based on the news item I linked, above, it appears that several hundred million will need to be spent at Mayport just to bring it up to the same capability Norfolk has today. That’s definitely something to keep in mind.

Be it therefore resolved that We, the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia, unanimously call upon the Governor and the Commonwealth’s congressional delegation to take immediate and necessary action to ensure the Navy’s East Coast aircraft carriers remain in Hampton Roads.

I’m curious as to why Golden thinks Gov. McDonnell, the General Assembly, and our Congressional delegation isn’t doing this already? I mean, it’s one thing to note that the Navy hasn’t issued a retraction of their plans to relocate a carrier but another thing entirely to suggest that proves our Congressmen, Senators, and Governor aren’t trying to do anything about. By all means, feel free to ask someone in the GA to submit a bill like this but understand this: it’s not really calling for any specific action to be performed. Which, frankly, makes it sound less like a real resolution and more like someone standing up in a room and yelling, “Do something!” rather than actually doing something.

We Republicans were very successful in the last elections because we appealed to the Virginia voters’ sense that we were interested in getting real solutions enacted to real problems Virginia is facing. We need to stay on that track. I’m not saying this resolution is terrible or that we shouldn’t be fighting to keep carriers based here (I think we should) but we need to be careful about looking like we’re only concerned with bringing the dollars home to our districts while making the argument that it’s all about national security.

February 8th, 2010 Posted by ricjames | Economy, GWOT, Military, Politics, Virginia Politics | no comments

Snowmaggedon 2010 reportedly area’s 4th largest single storm

In the official readings, this storm is coming in 4th in the list of all-time worst but according to the story on WTOP we in northern Virginia got hit a lot worse than DC. Here’s the totals reported:

Maryland

• Adams Town – 27 inches
• Annapolis – 17.6 inches
• Baltimore – 20 inches
• BWI Airport – 28 inches
• Colesville – 40 inches
• Frostburg – 36 inches
• Gaithersburg – 25 inches
• Kensington – 21 inches
• Olney – 28 inches

D.C.

• D.C. – 20 inches
• Reagan National Airport – 17.8 inches

Virginia

• Burke – 26 inches
• Dulles – 32 inches
• Kingstown – 25 inches
• Leesburg – 35 inches
• Warrenton – 25 inches

West Virginia

• Keyser – 25.5 inches
• Mount Storm – 18 inches

Leesburg and Dulles are closest to me and those figures sound about right. Measurements taken in the neighborhood after the snow stopped seemed to average around 30-31″. Given the depth of the snow I waded through in the back yard while I was checking on the 2 trees I lost, I’d have to say we fell in line with that average pretty nicely.

Now we get to turn our attention to Tuesday when the next one’s supposed to be coming in. This one’s not a repeat of this weekend, I’m hearing, but it’s no light dusting, either. More to come on that as they give us more.

February 7th, 2010 Posted by ricjames | Environment, Human Interest | no comments

Postal Sevice suspends Saturday delivery in NoVA due to Snowmaggedon 2010

That’s OK. I wasn’t planning on clearing the path to my mailbox today, anyway.

February 6th, 2010 Posted by ricjames | Environment, Human Interest | 2 comments

Just in time delivery

Just got a delivery from Fedex 15 minutes ago with my brand new snow boots!

Definitely a just-in-time delivery.

February 5th, 2010 Posted by ricjames | Human Interest | one comment

Snowfall records could fall this weekend.

One of my out-of-town relatives asked me recently whether our snowfall this winter was setting any records. Well, WTOP News has a story up telling us that we could very well break the record for the last 100 years this weekend. And we’re certainly on track to break the all-time record for this season.

We’ve already broken 1 record with our December 19 storm – that’s the most snowfall DC’s seen in December, ever. (We usually don’t get big snows until after the new year.) According to the story, we’re sitting at 27.3″ of snow this year so far. We’re 18.7″ away from the 100 year record, so that one could fall easily by tomorrow evening. And between now and the end of the snowy season, we only need another 27.1″ to bust the all-time record. If we manage to get the 18.7″ (officially) this weekend, that means we only need another 8″, roughly, for the rest of the winter to top the record.

Considering how things are tracking this year, I’m thinking that might not be too difficult.

So, what’s the leaderboard looking like for snowfall totals? According to the graphic from News Channel 7 that accompanies the WTOP story, it looks like this:

The only one of these years that I saw, personally, was 1995-96 and it was a doozy. I guess we’ll see what nature’s got in store for us this weekend very soon.

February 5th, 2010 Posted by ricjames | Environment, Human Interest | one comment

VA House committee to hear several gun-related bills today

Courtesy of our friends at the NRA-ILA, there are several bills being heard by the VA House Militia, Police, and Public Safety Subcommittee #1 today. From their legislative alert:

The following bills will be heard before the House Militia Sub-Committee #1 tomorrow Thursday, February 4, at 5pm in the 4^th Floor West Conference Room in the General Assembly Building.

Please contact the Sub-Committee members listed below and respectfully encourage them to SUPPORT the following bills:

House Bill 109, sponsored by Delegate Mark Cole (R-88), would repeal the statute which allows the governing body of any county to require the sellers of pistols and revolvers to furnish the Clerk of the Circuit Court with the name, address of the purchaser, date of purchase and the serial number, make and caliber of the weapon.

House Bill 171, sponsored by Delegate Brenda Pogge (R-96), would prohibit property owners, employers, or a business entity from establishing or enforcing any policy or rule restricting a person who may lawfully possess a firearm from storing a firearm locked in a motor vehicle in a parking lot or parking space. 

House Bill 490, sponsored by Delegate Scott Lingamfelter (R-31), would direct the Department of State Police, in cooperation with the Secretary of Public Safety, to develop a plan to allow the State Police to issue lifetime concealed handgun permits to Virginia residents. The Department and the Secretary shall submit the plan, and any recommended legislative changes to implement the plan, to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Militia, Police, and Public Safety and the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice by October 15, 2010.

House Bill 871, sponsored by Delegate Ben Cline (R-24), would clarify that a person who is applying for a concealed handgun permit for the first time, has the same right to an ore tenus (verbal or oral statements) hearing if the permit is denied as a person who has previously held a concealed handgun permit.

House Bill 995, sponsored by Delegate David Nutter (R-7), would add a valid concealed handgun permit and a current or retired military identification card as documentation needed to establish citizenship or permanent residence in order to purchase an “assault” firearm in Virginia.

House Bill 1070, sponsored by Delegate Clay Athey (R-18), would provide that a person who has a valid concealed handgun permit may not be barred from carrying a concealed handgun in any place or facility designated or used by the Governor, any political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or any other governmental entity as an emergency shelter or for the purpose of sheltering persons.

House Bill 1191, authored by Delegate H. Morgan Griffith (R-8), would allow a circuit court judge to authorize the Clerk of Court to issue concealed handgun permits in instances where the application is complete, the background check does not indicate that the applicant is disqualified, and after consulting with the local sheriff or police department, there are no other questions or issues surrounding the application.

House Bill 1217, sponsored by Delegate Lynwood Lewis (D-100), would allow local school boards to offer firearm safety education programs in the elementary grades. To assist local school boards opting to provide such instruction, the Board of Education must establish a standardized
program of firearm safety education for students in the elementary school grades to promote the protection and safety of children. The bill requires that the program objectives incorporate, among other principles of firearm safety, accident prevention and the rules of the National Rifle Association’s Eddie Eagle Gunsafe Program. Local school boards offering the program must comply with Board curriculum guidelines and integrate the instruction in appropriate subject areas, if feasible, to ensure that every elementary school student receives instruction in firearm safety education.

Please contact the Sub-Committee and respectfully urge them to OPPOSE the following measures:

House Bill 520, sponsored by Delegate Joseph Morrissey (D-74), would require anyone who exhibits, sells or offers to sell three or more firearms per year at a gun show to register as a Virginia dealer. The intent of this bill is to ban the private transfer  and sales of firearms at Virginia gun shows and ultimately to ban any private transfer or sale within the Commonwealth. 

House Bill 1209, sponsored by Delegate Jeion Ward (D-92), would require owners of machine guns to notify the State Police of a change in the address of the owner.

House Bill 1379, sponsored by Delegate Mark Sickles (D-43), would provide that certain Northern Virginia localities may adopt local ordinances regulating the possession and storage of firearms, ammunition or components or combination thereof at child-care facilities, so long as such regulation is not more extensive in scope than  comparable state regulations applicable to family day-care homes.

Virginia State House Militia Sub-Committee #1:

Delegate Thomas Wright (R-61) – Chairman
DelTWright@house.virginia.gov  

Delegate H. Morgan Griffith (R-8)

DelMGriffith@house.virginia.gov  

Delegate David Nutter (R-7)

DelDNutter@house.virginia.gov  

Delegate L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-31)

DelSLingamfelter@house.virginia.gov  

Delegate Mark Keam (D-35)

DelMKeam@house.virginia.gov  

For your convenience, you can access the e-mails of all members of the subcommittee here. Bear in mind the alert was written yesterday, the subcommittee meets today.

(Edited after posting to correct cosmetic issues that appeared after copying the NRA-ILA’s text.)

February 4th, 2010 Posted by ricjames | 2nd Amendment, Politics, Virginia Politics | no comments

Team Obama once again sticks foot in their mouth, surprised to find people listen to what they say

Atta boy, US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. A casual, thoughtless remark regarding Toyota managed to send the company’s shares diving about $3.00 per share in a matter of minutes.

Toyota Motor Corp. shares sank rapidly Wednesday after U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood advised in congressional testimony that people stop driving any cars involved in the Toyota recall, though the declines eased somewhat after the secretary clarified his statement.

Testifying before the House Appropriations committee, LaHood was asked what advice he would give to owners of Toyotas subject to the recall. LaHood was scheduled to speak to the committee, which controls the government’s spending, about the fiscal 2011 budget proposals.

“My advice is, if anybody owns one of these vehicles, stop driving it, take it to the Toyota dealer because they believe they have the fix for it,” LaHood said.

Afterwards he told reporters that wasn’t what he meant to say.

Yeah, I’d imagine not. It’s been a year in office and the current administration is still making amateur mistakes. Shareholders are already nervous and when senior members of the administration go making blanket statements that people should immediately stop using a given company’s products they understand very well that the American public will likely give that some serious consideration. Understandably not wanting to lose money on their investment, they head for the door and the stock price takes a hit. That directly impacts a company’s bottom line which, of course, affects their ability to respond to the problem to begin with.

LaHood backpedaled furiously the moment he got out of the House Committee he was addressing and that helped stabilize things a bit but it was still something he shouldn’t have said. How long before these guys learn?

February 3rd, 2010 Posted by ricjames | Economy, Politics | no comments

And speaking of skewed polling…

Ann Althouse addresses a Kos posting that leads off thusly:

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m putting the finishing touches on my new book, American Taliban, which catalogues the ways in which modern-day conservatives share the same agenda as radical Jihadists in the Islamic  world.

Seems the author of said book – after deciding on the book’s premise and title – then thought he should run a poll to see just what “self-identified Republicans” believe. Shockingly, the Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll confirmed his assertions. Althouse thinks this is disingenuous and I conur. She says:

Wonderful anti-Republican PR results. They justify the fears people who are not Republicans have about the Republican Party. I don’t like thinking people are this extreme, and I wish I could see how the questions were worded. The full survey (and the questions) were not out at the time TPM put up this post, and releasing the results in this form reinforces my suspicion that the motivation of the poll is to generate anti-Republican PR.

Well of course it is. And her observation that this it all to justify fears held by people who 1) aren’t Republican and 2) likely don’t know anything solid about the Republican Party is quite astute. I do have to say, however, that her concern that these results would lead someone to think that “people are this extreme” made me want to take a closer look at them. So here we go, one at a time:

39% of Republicans want President Obama to be impeached.

For what? Most Republicans I know (and I know quite a few) are well aware that impeachment is about the commission of actual crimes, not about pressing forward with a bone-headed agenda that most Americans don’t agree with. If the actual question was “Should Obama be impeached?” then I’d say that question was impossibly vague and the results prove nothing.

63% think Obama is a socialist.

Let’s see… Obama has put the majority of domestic auto producers under direct government control, he’s pressing for a nationalized health care system that would be under government control, he is using regulatory power to strongarm banks into accepting government control of their internal corporate practices, he’s attempting to assert even more government control over the financial sector to the point of dictating pay scales and compensation practices, and he is either actively pursing or has publicly advocated all manner of government involvement in the daily lives of the citizenry right down to trying to dictate how college football championships are played. And only 63% think he’s socialist? Given his actual voting patterns, the solutions he advocates, and where he’s put his time and money I think it’s an absolute certainty that he’s a socialist. That survey result (assuming we believe the survey at all) is not an indicator that Republicans are somehow bad people. It shows they’re paying attention to reality.

Only 42% believe Obama was born in the United States.

While I personally don’t put much stock in that theory, I don’t have much sympathy for people who find this attitude a problem. Considering how absurdly simple it would be to prove the other 58% wrong and considering the assurance of a sympathetic media to blare out that proof from every mountaintop, whose fault is it that this attitude persists? Wanna do something about it, Kos kids? You know what to do.

21% think ACORN stole the 2008 election — that is, that Obama didn’t actually win it, and isn’t legitimately the president, with 55% saying they are “not sure.”

I’m willing to put $5 down on the wager that more than 21% of self-identified Democrats still believe the GOP “stole” the 2000 elections even after multiple investigations showed that no such thing happened. (Hey, some of them believe the same thing of the 2004 elections, in spite of the fact that it wasn’t close.)  And since that point in time there have been actual indictments and convictions of ACORN personnel violating federal elections laws in attempts to skew the election toward their favored candidates, Obama being one of those candidates. Considering that evidence, the suspicion that ACORN was, indeed, responsible for some of Obama’s margin isn’t some baseless fantasy. Still, notice that when you add up the percentages what remains – 24% – is likely the category of people who do not believe ACORN stole the election. So, more Republicans think it didn’t happen than think it did. I wonder why that was left out of the assessment? Hmmm.

53% think Sarah Palin is more qualified than Obama to be president.

Again, only 53%? Let’s stack up the objective qualifications, shall we? Executive experience? Palin yes, Obama no. Actual experience leading any kind of military structure? Palin yes (AK National Guard), Obama no. Experience managing multiple governmental agencies as part of a cohesive government structure? Palin yes, Obama no. Now, gee, why would anyone think that maybe Sarah Palin’s actual experience in governance versus Obama’s complete lack thereof would make her more qualified for the job? Easy: because it does. And Obama’s performance over the past year proves Hillary Clinton’s assessment of him during the 2008 campaign: Obama wasn’t ready to be President.

23% want to secede from the United States.

I call bullsh*t on that one. No Republican I’ve ever known has ever even suggested such a thing. In fact, none of them ever so much as threatened to leave the country if Obama got elected, unlike the scores of leftists who made that promise during the 2004 election cycle and then, when President Bush was solidly re-elected, failed to follow through. I suspect the question was worded specifically to get a result and that it’s now being reported somewhat differently.

73% think gay people should not be allowed to teach in public schools.

I again suspect this question isn’t being reported accurately. If the question was whether public schools should be teaching a gay agenda, then I can understand the 73% figure. But that merely being gay should disqualify them from teaching at all? I don’t buy it.

31% want contraception to be outlawed.

Here we go again – I think we’re not being given the whole story. If this were really the attitude – that 1 in 3 Republicans out there thought that any and all contraception should be made illegal for any citizen – I’d have run into it by now. I haven’t. Now, if the actual question was whether the selling or giving of contraception to a minor should be illegal then I’d believe this result. And I wouldn’t consider it to be some out-of-the-mainstream freak position, either, unlike what Kos clearly wants you to believe.

Althouse’s main point should be the real takeaway, here, however. The author of the work had his mind made up and he’s absolutely going to convey his sense to his audience that conservatives and Republicans are American versions of the Taliban. His going to a polling firm to get some numbers to make his book appear to be solidly based is just icing on the cake. Had the numbers come out differently, it would have changed nothing about his book.

February 3rd, 2010 Posted by ricjames | Politics | no comments

Obama wants ideas for health care. Here’s a few

February 2nd, 2010 Posted by ricjames | Medicine, Politics | no comments