Much Abides

The Power to Destroy

jwjohns — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:21:47 +0000

…[M]en had always thought of wealth as a static quantity–to be seized, begged, inherited, shared, looted or obtained as a favor. Americans were the first to understand that wealth has to be created.” –Ayn Rand

courtesy, wikipedia.org

For those of you who live around Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, here is a great opportunity for you to express your disagreement with the tax, borrow and spend policies of the Obama Administration.

On Tuesday, April 14, 2009, there will be a Smith Mountain Lake Tea Party in Hardy, Virginia (across state route 122 from Grand Home Furnishings) between 2:30 and 4:00 p.m. Confirmed speakers include former representative Virgil Goode, State Sen. Steve Newman, Del. Kathy Byron, Del. Charles Poindexter and Bedford County’s District Two Supervisor Chuck Neudorfer.

For more details on the SML Tea Party, what to bring, updated speakers’ list, etc. please visit the SML Tea Party’s official blog or email the party’s organizers at smlteaparty@aol.com. Although I will be unable to attend this event, I will post a complete recap afterward.

Careful What You Wish For

jwjohns — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 05:56:13 +0000

The perfect is the enemy of the good.” –Voltaire, 1772

Republicans’ least favorite Republican, Sen. Arlen Specter, appears to be in trouble in his campaign for a sixth term. Former representative and Specter’s 2004 primary opponent, Pat Toomey, is poised for another primary challenge. Last month, I mused aloud my concerns over whether Toomey could hold Specter’s seat for the GOP in the general election. Yesterday, Jay Cost at Real Clear Politics analyzed the numbers and the odds are not in our favor. Who knows, maybe in Pennsylvania, Sen. Specter is the best we can hope to get.

“Failure of Imagination”

jwjohns — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 05:33:14 +0000

To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.” –George Washington, 1790

After months of careful study, the 9/11 Commission concluded that a “failure of imagination” on the part of the U.S. intelligence community led to the attacks of September 11, 2001. Unfortunately, it appears that our defense community is now experiencing a failure of imagination, however, this time, the threats are not as abstract and unimaginable as was the terrorist threat prior to 9/11.

The F-22 Raptor is the newest fighter jet in the American arsenal and it is the most advanced fighter jet in the world today. The Air Force, writing of the F-22, notes that it “cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft.” Despite the unrivaled air superiority that the F-22 has allowed us to enjoy, the Department of Defense is reorienting itself to fight assymetrical wars and that means cutting new orders for F-22s in favor of unmanned drones. So at a time when the size and strength of the Chinese military is increasing, the North Koreans are experimenting with rocket technology and Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon, we are investing in low-tech weaponry? Perhaps California senate candidate Chuck DeVore summarized it best in a tweet yesterday (paraphrase): North Korea’s firing rockets and Obama’s firing CEOs. What could possibly go wrong?

A Thought for Sunday

jwjohns — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:33:09 +0000

“And can it be that I should gain/ An interest in the Savior’s blood?/ Died He for me, who caused His pain–/ For me, who Him to death pursued?/ Amazing love! How can it be/ That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?/ Amazing love! How can it be/ That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

“He left His Father’s throne above/ So free, so infinite His grace–/ Emptied Himself of all but love,/ And bled for Adam’s helpless race:/ ‘Tis mercy all, immense and free,/ For O my God, it found out me!/ ‘Tis mercy all, immense and free,/ For O my God, it found out me!”

–Charles Wesley, “And Can It Be That I Should Gain?” 1738

In Repair

jwjohns — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 22:57:41 +0000

It’s official: as of this afternoon, Jeff Frederick is no longer chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. For more of the backstory, here’s today’s New York Times. Now that it’s official, hopefully the RPV can come together to elect Bob McDonnell, reelect Bill Bolling and elect our eventual nominee for attorney general. In the meantime, we need a solid party leader who can unite all factions of the party as well as has an appeal in NoVa and in the downstate counties. Having heard Dave Foster speak, I think he would be perfect: he’s an excellent speaker, he is a serious public servant, he has a number of solid ideas to promote conservative principles without looking like a “wingnut” (something that can be very offputting to centrist voters), he has a record of winning elections in perhaps the most liberal community in Virginia and his campaign for attorney general has demonstrated his ability to appeal to voters in all regions of the Commonwealth. If we are to unite as a party, that’s the kind of leadership the RPV needs and I believe Dave Foster is uniquely qualified to deliver it.

What Rough Beast?

jwjohns — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 02:08:17 +0000

It appears that our financial woes are compounding. Drudge‘s headline tonight is spooky; the consequence of four decades of living above our means are finally catching up with us. While the American financial system collapses around us, instead of taking the necessary steps to ease global concerns about the security of the dollar, President Obama fills out his brackets and Secretary Geithner, well….

UPDATE: Secretary Geithner and Chairman Bernanke respond to our Chinese friends.

Read My Lips

jwjohns — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:57:16 +0000

While I want “Much Abides” to be a place for serious discussion, occasionally I like to introduce my readers to the lighter side of politics; this is one of those times. Presidents have long relied on teleprompters to assist with the delivery of important speeches, but President Obama’s dependence on teleprompters is becoming something of a national joke. Random journalists observed this predisposition during the campaign, but now this observation has gone mainstream. So much so that Rush Limbaugh has nicknamed the teleprompter TOTUS (Teleprompter of the United States), suggesting that the president merely says whatever TOTUS tells him without thinking for himself. When TOTUS is not present, President Obama tends to get himself into trouble. Even when TOTUS is present, he tends to get himself into trouble. You can follow the exploits of President Obama’s teleprompter at it’s semi-official blog or on Twitter at BOTeleprompter. In the meantime, here’s a great cartoon by Investor’s Business Daily’s Michael Ramirez on TOTUS:

“Long and Winding Road”

jwjohns — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:15:17 +0000

Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” –John Adams

As a follow-up to “Cross of Gold,” here’s Michael Goodwin in today’s New York Daily News echoing my concern about allowing the populist anger of the moment to blind us to the slippery slope of specific, punitive taxation. Take away line from Jay Leno nonetheless: “‘Here’s something that kind of scared me…if the government decides they don’t like a guy, all of a sudden, hey, we’re going to tax you and then boom, and it passes.’” If a late-night comedian can see the potential danger here, why can’t a Yale alum?

A Thought for Sunday

jwjohns — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 17:34:54 +0000

“The Christian knows that lasting peace is connected with men abiding in God’s eudokia, his ‘good pleasure.’ The struggle to abide in peace with God is an indispensable part of the struggle for ‘peace on earth’; the former is the source of the criteria and the energy for the latter. When men lose sight of God, peace disintegrates and violence proliferates to a formerly unimaginable degree of cruelty. This we see only too clearly today.” –Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, 85

Things Fall Apart

jwjohns — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 02:47:46 +0000

This is the way the world ends/ Not with a bang but a whimper.” –T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men

Our runaway spending finally catches up with us. When will we–Democrats and Republicans–finally learn that we must live within our own means?