I suppose it should be flattering to find that the New York Times reads Virginia Right! and actually linked to us on their Editorial Page in an Opinion piece by Andrew Rosenthal. But it never ceases to amaze me at how they twist everything Conservatives say into some type of hate mongering. (And to be fair to a lesser lefty publication Slate, they also linked to the story and were even more over the top.)

(You can read the original story on Virginia Right! here.)

The scoop I got from a reliable source was that Republicans had cooked up some sort of a deal that would clear the way for a gay activist to be appointed to the Virginia Courts. Virginia Right! wasn’t alone on shining the light on this deal, which I am happy to report didn’t happen. And thanks in large part go to Delegate Bob Marshall.

But these left wing publications got it wrong.

Conservatives did not object to the appointment of Tracy Thorne-Begland to the bench because of his sexual orientation – he’s gay. The objection was based on his long history of activism. And the fear that such a history as a pro gay “agenda” activist would become a judicial activist, legislating from the bench.

The Times Editorial stated:

After Judge Vaughn Walker struck down Proposition 8, proponents of the same-sex marriage ban argued that the ruling should be overturned because Mr. Walker is gay.

Imagine if we applied this logic to all cases: If you’re a woman publicly in favor of equal pay, you can’t be trusted to rule on sex-discrimination cases. If you’re black and publicly opposed to racial profiling, you can’t be trusted to hear cases about police misconduct.

This is a case of judicial activism. Judges are expected to be impartial and apply the law. Not make the laws. The citizens of California overwhelmingly voted to ban gay marriage in the state. The judge that heard the case, Walker, was in a same sex relationship and had a vested interest in the outcome of the case. A judge must recuse himself in such a situation. However, Walker did not and ruled against the majority of Californians and in a way that aided his interests with his “partner”.

That is Judicial Activism.

The hypothetical case cited about a female judge being biased in an “equal pay” suit is spurious. While the fictitious female judge is the same sex as the Plaintiff in the hypothetical case, the salary of a judge is completely gender-blind. The pay is set by the Government and is the same for a man.

Therefore, no personal interest in the case, and, therefore, the expectation of a finding based in law is intact.

And Judge Walker was not an outspoken advocate for gay marriage, and most only found out he was gay after the hearing.

This is not apples to apples. A potential judge should not have a history of strong political activism on either side. Such individuals do not make for good, impartial judges. They are already biased. Now it is not a factor if someone leans left or leans right, but an outright activist for any cause should not be considered for the bench.

And I don’t think we would see the New York Times argue that a Christian Activist who has publicly advocated for a return of prayer in the classroom or who wants to require Bible Study in public schools who was turned down for the bench was somehow the victim of anti-Christian bias.

Far from it. In that case, they would clearly understand that the activism was the problem, not the religion.

And so it is in Virginia. The fact that Tracy Thorne-Begland is gay is not a reason to exclude him from any court. I have a number of gay friends that I would support completely for a court appointment. But that is because they understand the Constitution and the Law and the proper role of the Judicial Branch in our Government.

Mr. Rosenthal who wrote the Editorial is “The Times’s editorial page editor since January 2007, Mr. Rosenthal oversees the editorial board, the letters and Op-Ed departments, and Sunday Review.”

So, he is the boss at the Times Editorial page. And I am sure he is a smart and knowledgeable man.

But us backwater hicks down here in the South take exception to his accusations of gay bias and implications that this was somehow simply because the candidate was gay. That is simply an incorrect conclusion, with all due respect to Mr. Rosenthal.

Here in Virginia, we insist that our judges be impartial. There are fair and legitimate questions about the potential for this man to let his activist nature cloud his judgement. That is the issue.

We are not bigots here in Virginia and the New York Times is simply off base on this one.

One of the most unsettling bits of news out of Washington DC lately concerns House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and his support for Indiana Senator Dick Lugar.

Normally, we wouldn’t get too concerned over Cantor or any Republican supporting a fellow Republican incumbent.  It is understandable that the decision to support Lugar is not popular to the more Conservative set, but he is a Republican and if Cantor believes he is more of an asset to him, then it is a logical decision for Eric Cantor, albeit

And in the interest of full disclosure, Virginia Right! has endorsed Lugar’s opponent, Richard Mourdock. But that is not important here. (Also, while we are on the subject of full disclosure, Virginia Right! is based in Eric Cantor’s 7th Congressional District. And that is somewhat important here.)

While Cantor does have a primary challenger for the Republican nomination this year, losing his seat in the primary or the general election is considered by most to be highly unlikely.

So, personally, Cantor need not worry about losing his seat, it is safe.

But the dynamics in Virginia this year are unlike any other. The threat from the Progressives is substantial. Defeating these Democrats is the highest priority if the country is to survive.

We will need all hands on deck to defeat Barack Obama and Tim Kaine. Both of these races are dead heats according to the polls. And it is hard to argue with the fact that these are close races, or that Barack Obama will pull out all the stops to elect Tim Kaine who would be an Obama rubber stamp.

But on the ground in Virginia, a number of TEA Party groups stand ready to pitch in and make calls and knock on doors to help persuade voters to vote out Obama and prevent Tim Kaine from becoming Virginia’s Junior Senator.

And despite the mainstream media’s claim that the TEA Party has taken over the Republican Party, which is not even close to the truth, both camps realize that they have a mutual enemy in 2012 – the Progressives. And only by working together can Virginia and the country begin to recover from the loss of liberty and federal power grab by the Obama Administration.

But the TEA Party and Republicans have, in many areas of Virginia, formed a tenuous and fragile alliance for 2012. Without this alliance, Obama and Kaine will most likely win.

Whether deserved or not, Cantor’s recent actions to support candidates like Lugar, Adam Kinzinger in Illinois and Richard Hudson in North Carolina have been perceived by the TEA Party as an effort to keep the more conservative candidates out of government and a direct affront to the TEA Party.

But the thing that TEA Party groups are finding most egregious was a mailing from Cantor’s Super PAC Young Guns that encouraged Democrats to vote for Lugar in the Republican Primary.

According to Politico:

A lit piece that the YG Network dropped focuses, as they’d said it would, on energy policy – but it is targeted to non-Republicans, as it reminds voters that Indiana’s GOP primary is an open one in which Democrats and independents can vote.

“Indiana does not have party registration,” the mail piece says over a picture of a smiling child giving a thumbs-up sign. “You simply need to show up at your polling location on May 8, 2012 to vote for Senator Dick Lugar in the Republican Primary.”

In case anyone didn’t get the point, the piece adds, “You can vote in the May 8th Republican Primary election! The May 8th Election is open to all voters.”

Back home in Virginia, that is not playing well. The Republican Party of Virginia is quite fond of using a “loyalty oath” to prevent crossover votes by Democrats in primary elections. Yet we have Cantor’s PAC pushing Democrats to invade the Republican primary and support Lugar in Indiana.

That has enraged a number of TEA Party members who are now telling me that they are reconsidering knocking on doors and manning Republican phone banks to aid Mitt Romney and presumptive Senate candidate George Allen to a Virginia victory in November.

There may well be few, if any, repercussions to Cantor’s actions in his own reelection bid, but Virginia will need every vote they can muster to keep Tim Kaine and Barack Obama from power. Alienating a large group of grassroots activists who stand ready to help, even if some feel the necessity to hold their nose while doing so, is not particularly helpful, especially in the 2012 election.

And it is hard to imagine that many Virginia Republicans would be willing to accept the election of Dick Lugar if it costs Republicans the Virginia Senate seat. Or worse, the presidency.

On the surface, Cantor’s support of Dick Lugar may seem inconsequential to the elections in Virginia, but there are substantial consequences.

If Tim Kaine and Barack Obama are to be defeated in Virginia, Republicans will need all the help they can get. Independents are important, but the TEA Party and more Libertarian minded voters are the key to victory for Republicans.

The Young Guns are shooting George Allen and Mitt Romney in the foot in Virginia.

I got this email from Governor Bobby Jindal (along with thousands of others of course!) but I wondered:  Maybe the GOP nominee should consider this governor as Vice President:

Friends -

It is time to give President Obama credit for keeping a commitment.

This is, for this President, a pretty remarkable achievement.  I am not blaming him for the fact that the rise of the oceans has not slowed or that the planet has not begun to heal; only his true believers, i.e., the mainstream media, believed all that campaign rhetoric anyway.  On a more mundane level, President Obama promised to reduce the deficit in half by the end of this term; instead he has added more than $1 trillion to the nation’s debt each year he has been in office.  His Administration projected passing his $800 billion plus stimulus plan would keep unemployment below 8 percent; unemployment went above 8 percent in February of his first year and has yet to return.  The President promised repeatedly to change the tone in Washington and to unite Democrats and Republicans; he did succeed in convincing the House recently to unanimously reject his budget, but I don’t think that is what he meant.  The President campaigned against Hillary Clinton’s individual mandate and John McCain’s tax increases on certain health plans, and included both in Obamacare.  That would be the same Obamacare he promised would result in our premiums being reduced by $2,500.  He has promised every year in office to offer his own plan to reform entitlement programs, but a curious nation still waits.

Perhaps we should only give the President partial credit, since the commitment he has kept was not one he personally made.  His Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, infamously said even before the election in 2008, “Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe.”  I should mention, since the President never fails to, that Secretary Chu is a Nobel Prize winner.  Sounds like Chu is getting advice from Al Gore, yet another Nobel Prize winner.  The President, who also has his own Nobel Prize, and Secretary Chu have done a remarkable job.  National average gasoline prices doubled since he took office, and, even more impressively, in 2011, the average annual prices of a barrel of oil and a gallon of gas were higher than at any time in the last 150 years.  As President Bush might say, “heck of a job.”

Even though then-Senator Obama was quick to blame President Bush for rising gasoline prices, he now complains current prices are not his fault.  For once, I think the President is being too modest, for clearly his actions have contributed to rising prices, reduced availability of domestically produced energy, and continued dependence on foreign countries.  I truly believe in an all of the above strategy, including oil and gas, nuclear power, wind and solar power, conservation, biofuels, other renewables, and clean coal, that leads to more affordable energy, an expanding manufacturing base, and an improved standard of living, whereas the President’s strategy seems to be based on a more European worldview of less consumption, higher energy prices, and more government regulation of our lives.  Trade in your SUV’s and suburban homes, and prepare to bathe less frequently!

The President has clearly been reading the polls and has promised in an election year to focus on the economy, make the creation of jobs his top priority, and work to reduce energy prices.  What can President Obama do to show this is not mere campaign rhetoric that will be quickly forgotten after the election?

First, the President should show through his actions that he understands the law of supply and demand.  While President Obama likes to take credit for higher domestic oil production, he fails to disclose these levels are based on decisions made before he took office and that much of this activity is taking place on private lands.  To put it simply, he was against domestic production before he was for it.  Despite a recent boost in activity, the average number of deep-water drilling permits approved monthly is down nearly 30% from the historical norm before the BP spill.  In 2011, lease sales for onshore drilling on federal lands reached an all-time low, since 1984, when discounting for leases sold in previous years.  Opening new fields means increased supply which means lower prices.  Certainly, our Ivy League educated President understands the importance of opening new fields, e.g., ANWR, and increasing supply; if not, he should demand a refund from Columbia for any tuition he paid towards economics courses.

Second, the Administration should stop sending a muddled message on fracking and instead provide predictability to companies making expensive multi-year investments that are opening up shale plays across the country and transforming the marketplace for natural gas.  This industry already supports more than 600,000 jobs, has helped reduce domestic natural gas prices by more than 75%, and caused companies to start the process of building multi-billion dollar terminals to export and not just import liquefied natural gas.  Falling natural gas prices mean more than a cheaper and cleaner heating and transportation fuel; natural gas is an important feedstock, and lower prices have already helped convince companies to invest billions of dollars and to create thousands of manufacturing jobs in America.

Third, President Obama should instruct his Cabinet to cease and desist all regulatory actions undermining safe, affordable domestic energy production.  For example, clearly suspending Tier 3 gasoline standards that are expected to increase gasoline prices by as much as 25 cents a gallon.

Fourth, President Obama should end the EPA’s hostile stance on domestically abundant clean coal energy.  Then-Senator Obama described flawed cap and trade proposals that would “bankrupt” anyone wanting to open a coal plant.  China now produces more than three times as much coal as we do, and is the world’s largest importer.  Shutting down coal plants in America, while China continues to burn every pound of coal it can get its hands on, does not reduce global emissions; it simply makes our electricity more expensive.

Fifth, the President should reverse his decision on the Keystone XL pipeline, linking our Gulf Coast refineries to production facilities in Canada and the booming Bakken oil fields of Montana and North Dakota.  This decision would create 20,000 construction jobs and 100,000 indirect jobs, and reassure our friends to the north that their future lies with us and not China.  After facing intense criticism, the President did relent and approve the portion of the pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma to Texas.  He was against the pipeline, before he was for it.  This is certainly a step in the right direction, but someone needs to buy the President a map to show him how far Oklahoma is from Canada.  Perhaps he should request Columbia also refund his tuition paid towards any geography courses.

Sixth, President Obama should stop singling out one industry for tax increases in favor of crony capitalism that rewards countless Solyndras, and should instead advocate for a flatter tax code with lower rates and no loopholes.  Let the different energy companies compete in the marketplace.  He must understand higher taxes mean higher prices for American consumers.

Many Republicans criticize the President for his incompetence on rising energy prices, but I believe this to be unfair.  I think the President’s radical environmental ideology, not his Administration’s incompetence, is to blame for his failure to adopt a comprehensive energy policy that makes the rational choices that would lower energy prices.

-Bobby

Respectful columnist George Will has also made a strong case for Jindal:

Here are two excellent choices:

***

Louisiana’s Gov. Bobby Jindal, 40, was a 20-year-old congressional staffer when he authored a substantial report on reforming Medicare financing. At 24, he became head of Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals, with 12,000 employees and 40 percent of the state budget. Back in Washington at 26, he was executive director of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. In 1999, he became president of Louisiana’s state university system, which has 80,000 students. In 2001, he served as an assistant secretary of health and human services. He became governor after three years in Congress.

Even 2008 standard bearer Sen. John McCain agrees that Jindal is an excellent choice!  And he may be on the verge of a huge educational reform that in effect establishes a limited state-wide voucher system:

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s education reform agenda could be coming to a head in the Louisiana State Senate this week where the vote is expected to be close on some key bills. Jindal has proposed converting the New Orleans voucher program into a statewide option, expand the number of charter schools, and interlink tenure with student and teacher performance. The governor has encountered stiff opposition from the state’s two teachers unions—the Louisiana Association of Educators and the Louisiana Federation of Teachers. Jindal is also now the target of a recall effort initiated by individual teachers whom the unions have not yet formally embraced.

Here are some details of the Orleans Parish voucher plan passed in 2008:

Under the legislation enacted in 2008, the Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence (SSEE) program provides low-income families in Orleans Parish with the option to select a public or private school. Over 1,800 students in grades K-6 have received scholarships in the current 2011-2012 school year.

To be eligible, household income cannot exceed 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, which would be $55,875 for a family of four in 2011. Moreover, the student must have attended an “F” rated public school the previous year, or be entering kindergarten. The Louisiana Department of Education has published a list of the schools participating in the Orleans Parish program.

This article from the Alexandria Town Talk is breath-taking.

Gov. Bobby Jindal triumphed Thursday in his bid to embark on a historic overhaul of public education in Louisiana, receiving final House passage of his centerpiece proposals.

In a state where student performance lags that of the nation, the complex bills will make it harder for teachers to gain tenure while establishing a statewide voucher program for private school tuition and multiplying the ways to establish charter schools. The bills also lessen local school board authority in hiring and firing decisions, expand online schools and restructure public financing of education.

***

Vouchers will be available to at most an estimated 2,000 new students to attend private schools with public tax dollars in the fall. New charter schools will take at least a year to get through the application and approval process. And the earliest a teacher can lose tenure under the new evaluation system is spring 2014.

Of course, the usual stuff from the other side:

“I have no doubt that there’s going to be a courtroom in the future for both bills,” Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said in an interview Thursday.

***

Opponents say the governor’s initiatives will siphon dollars from public schools and leave some of the neediest students in schools with fewer dollars to educate them. They complain private and parochial schools won’t be held to the same accountability standards as public schools even though they’ll get public funding. They criticized the record speed at which the bills were pushed through a session that doesn’t end until June. And they accused Jindal of advancing the ideas to boost his conservative credentials nationally.

***

Rep. Patricia Smith, D-Baton Rouge, said the voucher proposal and “pop-up” charter schools will take enough dollars away from traditional public schools that they will bankrupt school systems.

“This is a national agenda to do away with public education,” said Rep. Rogers Pope, R-Denham Springs, a retired school superintendent from Livingston Parish.

Let me say this as kindly as I can:  We’ve tried it your way for many years.  We have declining test scores, metal detectors, and psychobabble for history.  School choice is the wave of the future.  Bobby Jindal ought to be Vice President Biden’s worst nightmare.  He might even let Hillary have the job to avoid the debate!  That debate will be like one of those one-sided boxing matches called for mercy!  Bobby Jindal should be the Vice President of whoever is nominated.

Did you notice the signs springing up around the Richmond Va area? A group known as Right Move has started a billboard campaign to try to get these signs all over the United States. Please take a look at this press release and visit the site to lend your support.

Want one in your town? You can make it happen!

You Can Fool Some of the People…

National Billboard Campaign

‘Pick 5 * Convince 1

Richmond, VA – April 1, 2012   Got Fooled? The ‘Magic’ of 2008 has all but disappeared, and as Americans watch food and gas prices climb, many old believers are ready for a real change. With Presidential approval ratings below 50%, a stagnant economy and a monstrous amount of deficit spending, any reasonable individual would have a hard time believing President Obama will be re-elected.

April Fools’ Day 2012 seemed the appropriate moment to launch our National Banner Campaign, known as “Pick 5 * Convince 1” (Pick 5 people to discuss the issues and convince 1 to vote conservative.) RightMove has christened our new web site www.rightmove.us by installing a number of large banners on major Interstates and highways around the state of Virginia. These Banners will feature our “Got Fooled?” message and will help remind everyone on this classic holiday that Barack Obama will say anything to get your vote. Our banners will be seen by tens of thousands of people starting on April 1^st, and will continue to be viewed until Election Day.

In order to combat the blatant propaganda promulgated by the mainstream media, RightMove has created a national billboard campaign supported by a true grassroots movement to help defeat Barack Obama in the 2012 elections. Billboards are a unique form of advertising that exposes the intended message to a broader range of audience. Our messages are simple but effective and will be installed on major interstates in all 50 states from August 29, 2012 (or sooner) until Election Day. With an average viewership of 75,000+ travelers per week, these messages will help remind America of the facts.

Through our online Web Portal,www.rightmove.us, individuals across the country and world can donate as little as $10 towards placing specific billboards in a variety of markets.

RightMove wants to make sure that America doesn’t get “Fooled” again!

Check out these going up in the Richmond Area!

Pctures of Banners Around he State of Virginia

Route 28-Centerville Virginia

Route 29-Opal Virginia

Robious Road-Richmond Virginia

76 Powhite Pkwy-Richmond Virginia

I

“3 miles past Airpor Drive”

The date was March 9, 2009. That was the day I officially launched Virginia Right! with my first post Obama Offers Russia Pay for Play With Missiles. Chicago style politics had officially come to Washington.

It has been an amazing journey since that first post. As of now, 815 people have read that post, but most of those reads have been well after it was written.

The most read post so far was a story posted on November 16, 2011 called Video: TEA Party + Occupy Richmond = Cowardly Mayor which has been viewed viewed by 31,934 people.

In 3 years, Virginia Right! has posted 3,641 stories.

One of the first major events I attended and covered as a Blogger was the 2009 Virginia Republican Convention where the Delegates selected Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling and Ken Cuccinelli to represent the Republican Party in the November election. These three gentlemen would go on to win Virginia and usher in the new resurgence of the Conservative movement that would sweep the nation.

It was there that I first met a group of fellow Bloggers who were also given amazing access to the event and the politicians. Lynn Mitchell, known to all as SWAC Girl was one of the first Virginia Bloggers I got to know. And Greg Latique of Black Velvet Bruce Li and JR Hoeft of Bearing Drift and far too many more to possibly mention, but one of the finest assembly of individuals who, like me, were sick and tired of the twisted news source that the “Mainstream Media” had become.

Citizen Journalists were rising from the ashes of an old media no longer practicing true journalism. And this group of people inspired, taught and encouraged me to do what I can to make a difference.

In February, 2010 I was invited to CPAC as a Credentialed Blogger (thanks to Erick Erickson of RedState). This was my first encounter with the “National” Bloggers. They are a truly amazing assembly of talented and passionate writers who shared a desire to counter the propaganda from the left and to spread truth and honesty in journalism.

I met so many good people that year, but none more memorable than the late Andrew Breitbart.

The discussions and contacts I made convinced me consider expanding Virginia Right! by adding another blogger. During the drive back to Richmond from Washington DC after CPAC 2010,  I called my friend – Elwood “Sandy” Sanders and asked him to consider joining me in keeping the media straight and helping to make a difference. Sandy has views and opinions that are different from mine, although we share a lot of the same values. But the thing that excited me was broadening the scope of the blog to expand the audience and the value to readers beyond the sometimes addled thoughts in my head.

On March 1, 2010 I posted the announcement that Sandy would be joining me as a co-blogger on Virginia Right!

And I must say that having Sandy join me in this project was one of the smartest things I have ever done! He has managed to expose Agenda 21 and ICLEI and bring them to their knees, popularize “Curling” and bring in readers from the United Kingdom with his UKIP coverage and an uncanny ability to bring attention to more things that were hiding under the radar than I ever thought possible.

And I am sad to realize that I missed the second anniversary of Sandy joining the fun, so this will also have to be a celebration of Sandy’s second anniversary, albeit belated.

Virginia Right! would not be where it is today without Sandy Sanders. Period!

And a word of appreciation to Sandy’s wife as well as mine. When our wives first met, Sandy introduced his wife to my wife as a fellow “blogging widow”.

True ‘dat!

Sometimes it is hard to wrap my mind around everything that I have seen, done and been a part of. If you told me three years ago that I would meet, talk to and shake hands with Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Gary Johnson, Marco Rubio, Allen West, Rand Paul, Steve King and many, many more, I would have said you were crazy.

And if you told me I would be on frequent conference calls with US Senators like Orrin Hatch, Tom Coburn, John Barrasso, James Inhofe, Ron Johnson, Jon Kyl, Mike Lee and John Thune I would not have believed you.

I have never met or spoken with Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, and others that I still hope to one day have the pleasure, but it is staggering to look back over the last 3 years.

I am not writing this as if it were any great accomplishment on my part. It’s not. I am no one special. I have no special training and I am not smarter than anyone else.

I am an ordinary citizen who is driven by the events and the changes that have come to America. This is no longer the America my parents left to me. This is no longer the America that the founders of this great nation envisioned.

I will be handing off a far worse America to my children than I inherited. There is no doubt of that. The damage is great and deep.

And while I know that when my time here is done the country will still be less than what it was the day I was born, I will do everything in my power to help turn it around and put the country back on a trajectory to make America what it was always destined to be. The Shining City on a Hill that Ronald Reagan spoke of.

The American Dream is a nightmare now. We have had bad Presidents in the past, but we have never had a President that hated America and was ashamed of our prosperity like we have in Barack Obama. The Progressive movement is the single most destructive event that America has ever faced. The threat and danger from following Progressives is more destructive to the American way of life than a nuclear attack could ever be.

No. I am no one special. And if you read this blog, we are exactly the same. We are true Americans who believe that this country is in decay. Yet we believe that the decay can be reversed. Because it can!

And it must be reversed.

When I was young, I was a Boy Scout. My Dad was the Scout Master. Whenever the troop would go camping, when we were done, Dad had one strict rule. We leave the area better than it was when we got there. It didn’t matter who made the mess or how long it was there. We cleaned it up.

That value lives on in me today. It is what drives me. I am determined to leave this country better off than when I found it.

I have not accomplished much in these three years, but I truly believe that I have made a difference. My mission is not one of self importance. It is not about me at all. In the grand scheme of things, any effect I have will be small. Infinitesimal.

But it is a contribution! It is a push in the right direction. And what I have done in three years with a keyboard and a camera has made a difference.

And if you have managed to read this post this far, I have a little secret to share with you. You have the ability and the skills to far surpass anything I have managed to do.

Get involved. I mean really involved. When you go to bed at night, be exhausted from fighting the good fight. Never wonder if there was something more you could have done. At the end of the day, wonder how you managed to so much!

You will sleep far better.

Be inspired by the challenge. Our opponents want you to get discouraged. They want you to give up.

They have won when that happens, and we simply don’t have the time to be discouraged.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you do, and all you will do. We have a lot of work to be done in Virginia and in the Nation. Let’s roll up our sleeves and do what we need to do.

Godspeed.

And stay tuned for an important announcement later today. We will be launching a new site to help keep you informed with as little time involved as possible!

Odd thing.

The Mainstream Media noticed that Obama’s approval ratings went up into positive numbers for the first time since June when they hit 47% approve and just 45% disapproved.

Today, Gallup posted their numbers at a less favorable margin for Obama. Seems his approval has dropped back to 41% and the disapproval is back at 50%.

So much for Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men.

Christmas is over, baby.

It’s the new year!

If you are a Virginia Right! reader, you are also most likely a Bearing Drift reader as well.

BD does a wonderful job covering Virginia Politics. What you may not know is that these guys, led by my friend J.R. Hoeft, are also doing print media as well as radio.

And all this costs money.

Those of us in the online New Media spend a lot of time and personal treasure to cover political events. But it is a passion.

And for those who ask, Virginia Right! and Bearing Drift are not competitors. I consider us all players on the same team. When a teammate hits a home run or scores a Touchdown, we all cheer. And we all win.

I am very proud of what the folks at Bearing Drift are doing. The coverage is far better than the mainstream media and I know I can trust what I read.

And Norm Leahy and Scott Lee are doing an amazing job on the radio show “The Score”. In fact, go here and vote for “The Score” and help them win an award!

But if you can, click this link and donate a few bucks. They are asking for $7 and honestly, that’s really cheap for 7 years of service. I used PayPal to donate, but you can also mail them a check if you prefer.

Thanks for taking the time to consider this.

Occupy Richmond - 2011

Part I

Preface:

Apparently, some Virginia Right! readers on the right are confused by the video and writeup of my visit to Kanawha Plaza and my characterization of what I actually found to be true. The article was intended to be true investigative journalism. As such, I reported exactly what I found and attempted to write the story based entirely on my observations, checking my bias at the door. Looking over the comments posted by those who are participating in the event, it seems that I did just that. None have written that they went down to Kanawha Plaza, looked for themselves and disagree with my assessment. And I can state as fact that should anyone wish to go down and look around, you would be welcomed as I was.

I have printed many lines dealing with the lies and unfair characterizations of TEA Party events and I am keenly aware that you cannot trust the mainstream media to accurately report on the TEA Party. And so too, it seems, with the Occupy Richmond gathering. And I am well aware of what has been reported about the OWS events in other cities. I am not speaking to the behavior, conditions or events in those cities. I have no first hand knowledge of them. My report and comments concern ONLY the Occupy Richmond group. Not all TEA Party groups are the same, and it seems that the same can be said of these occupy groups.

As I stated in the article, I traveled down there expecting to document all of my preconceived notions of filth and civil disobedience run amok. Instead, I uncovered a story of a Richmond Mayor – Dwight C. Jones – who is looking the other way. Not because he is sympathetic to protests, because he was anything but sympathetic to the Richmond TEA Party, rather, because he is ideologically aligned with the leftist, hardcore agenda of the Progressive Movement that pretends to be the 99% of America.

You know, the ones truly behind the Occupy Wall Street movement’s The 99% Declaration.

I didn’t set out to write a two part series on the Occupy Wall Street movement. But as I began putting the story together, I thought a bit of history from my personal perspective might be helpful. Not to understand me, for I really don’t care about that. More to help the reader see the correlation between this group today and the events of the past protest movements.

As I mentioned in the video, I grew up in the ’60′s and was involved in a lot of things in that era. Truth be told, it was probably my involvement with some of the protests that eventually convinced me that Conservatism was the right path for this country. I had long hair, played in several Rock bands, hung out at Monroe Park and attended Virginia Commonwealth University, which many of us dubbed Viet Cong University. I was a regular at the Generator which became the Ram’s Den. I occasionally hung out at Hubaba’s, but the bikers could get a bit territorial. I attended several anti-war demonstrations, believed that Richard Nixon was the anti-Christ and that the Establishment was to be loathed and hated and never trusted. The man was evil incarnate.

But mostly, I went to these places and events to party, meet chicks and listen to the music. And I was one of the 99% who were there for the same thing. It was the 1% who were there with a serious political agenda. Most of us neither cared nor shared these beliefs. We were just looking for something to do.

So, the Occupy movement is nothing new. My generation occupied a number of building with sit-ins. Probably the most infamous being the Kent State incident. We occupied a farm in upstate New York for a while (but I missed that one!).

We didn’t like the way things were going. The War, the “hassles” and an entire generation rebelling against the status quo.

Oh, yea. And right before I started going to VCU in the early 70′s, I was planning to go to Theology School and become a preacher or Missionary.

So I do have some qualifications and experience with liberal indoctrination (VCU) and protests. The “Occupy” movement is nothing new to me. Been there, done that.

And we have something to show for it! All our hard work and protests, sacrifices, blood, sweat and tears changed the course of the Nation. Tricky Dickie (Nixon for the uninitiated) resigned in disgrace. A lackluster Gerald Ford took his place and finished the rest of Nixon’s term and finally, we had our chance to really make a difference at the ballot box! We were going to change the world. No more of these lame-ass right wing dictators like Nixon.

It was our turn!

Our answer was the epic failure Jimmy Carter. He managed to bungle everything he touched. By 1980, Nixon was not quite the monster we thought he was. Though we blamed him for Vietnam, we began to realize that it was not a war he started. To use a more modern analogy, he inherited it. In retrospect, Nixon tried to win the war and come home. But it was us – and our anti-war protests – that forced him to stand down and refrain from bombing Hanoi. People like Jane Fonda and John Kerry managed to pull defeat from the jaws of victory.

What happened, in reality, is that our anti-establishment movement, the “original” occupy movement, was co-opted by people with a political agenda. Their efforts were directed not at true social change and reform of government, but at a way to seize power. The “make love – not war” movement became the vehicle which Progressives and Socialists would ride to victory. 99% of us were young, naive, impressionable and easy targets for those with an agenda.

Of course, our efforts gave rise to a memorable quote in the 1981 movie “Stripes” staring Bill Murray as John Winger who said “But we’re American soldiers! We’ve been kicking ass for 200 years! We’re 10 and 1!”

So, fast forward 30 years or so and we find history repeating itself. Another anti-war movement involving people like Cindy Sheehan was compromised. Again, Progressives like Nancy Pelosi saw this as an opportunity to seize power. They used Sheehan as a means to an end using the successful model of the 60′s and 70′s as their framework. They turned the truly anti-war protesters into an anti-Republican, but mostly an anti-Bush movement. Having failed to unseat George W. Bush in 2004, this new approach used people like Sheehan to propel them to victory in 2006. And they continued to fan the flames of hatred and parlayed their success into a complete and decisive takeover of all three branches of government in 2008. Much like we were cast off and discarded when those who co-opted my generation rose to power, so too were people like Cindy Sheehan. We were all simply useful idiots. Tools of the Progressive movement.

And this co-option of the movement is well documented in the music. The Hippie movement and the era of love glorified in songs like “If you are going to San Francisco” gave way to protest songs which rang out so poignantly and found willing believers among the core group advocating love and peace.

Camouflage jackets replaced Tie Dye shirts. Love beads and flower power gave way to bombs as groups like the Weather Underground and people like Bill Ayres used violence and fear to take control. “All you need is love” gave way to “Revolution” and eventually, perhaps realizing what was happening, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” stated the obvious. “Meet the new boss, same as the ole boss.”

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Barack Obama promised to end the wars. He actually has managed to get us involved in two more – Libya and Africa. And we are about to cut and run in Iraq and Afghanistan. If “Stripes” films a sequel, the writers will have to add two more wars to the “loss” total.

So, with the war protesters going home, despite the continuation of wars and the addition of new ones, the economy in the crapper, unemployment at historic lows for a historically unprecedented length of time, the prospects of Progressives retaining power is grim.

If only they had another peace and love movement full of useful idiots to use as a vehicle to maintain power.

Enter Occupy Wall Street.

Now I won’t pretend to know the exact genesis of the ‘Occupy’ movement. It is impossible to know if this was a true grassroots movement in it’s inception, or if it was conceived by Progressives desperate to hold onto the power that appears to be slipping away.

In Part II we will look at what the Occupy Richmond movement has actually agreed to and “The 99% Declaration” that is supposed to be the “demands” from the group.

This is significant. President Obama has now dropped below 39% in the latest Gallup poll.

As the Independent voters abandon him in droves, the Liberals were not far behind. And for the Progressives, the once promising career has faded into a ghost image on some long forgotten teleprompter.

As the Republicans took center stage the past few days, those who had forgotten about the Constitution and government meddling have had several days to recall what life was like before the left wing ideologue Obama  came into office. One of the biggest reasons for the drop is the sudden turn around in the Mainstream Media. As things have gone from bad to worse, they have suddenly awakened and realize that their one sided coverup coverage of this failed presidency must be stopped.

The media has not turned against him, they have just slowed down on the spin and started covering things somewhat objectively. They are still leaning far to the left, but many have moved back into the same solar system. To the left, it must look like the press has turned on Obama. But rest assured, they are still licking his boots.

They are just doing it a bit less enthusiastically.

Could you imagine if the press treated Obama like they did Bush, magnifying every thing he did that could be spun to his disadvantage?

Biden would probably be president by now, if the truth were told!

Did you see this? Our friends over at Bearing Drift have been named the best state-based political blog in Virginia.

The Fix – a Washington Post political “hangout” polled the political faithful and came out with the top political blogs in each state.

J.R. Hoeft has always done an amazing job tracking and reporting the political scene and I am personally a big fan. In my opinion, the news and information you will find at Bearing Drift exceeds that of the mainstream media in Virginia. Hoeft and Company have developed a relationship with every political figure in the state. This relationship is based on trust, fairness and accuracy.

Congratulations to Bearing Drift. This is a well deserved honor.

But to those of us that read them on a daily basis, we already knew that!

The Grace Card is coming out this weekend.  I believe this is an opportunity for the world to see the power of the evangelical dollar.  If The Grace Card does well at the box office, the mainstream media will have to talk about it.  People will have that chance to support it.  This is another way to be a good steward.  It is acceptable to boycott something bad but it is better to do something good instead.  Now’s your chance!  Also, consider asking a unsaved or unchurched friend to go with you – people like going to the movies – especially if someone else is treating!  Consider it giving a tiny grace card of your own that could have eternal results! (Here’s a place to go to for info on salvation.)

Here’s the trailer for The Grace Card.

Friday, February 25, 2011 – starts The Grace Card!

No matter the disaster we know we can count on President Obama to be AWOL on leadership. As the images of a meltdown pour in from Cairo and all over Egypt, Obama plays the Nero card and fiddles around, hoping someone else will do something.

We saw this inability to lead during the financial meltdown in 2008. Obama sat on the sidelines letting it happen. And again, when the oil began leaking in the Gulf of Mexico, nothing but silence.

But when he does act, it is always wrong, so who can blame him for being reticent?

For instance, in 2006, then Senator Obama took a stand against raising the debt ceiling saying “The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure.” And now, he is demanding the limit be raised.

Obama took a stance in the case of the black University Professor and walked away with egg on his face.

He has shown a similar failure to act with North Korea, Iran and other nations that are threats to Americans.

Yet he urges restraint when a Muslim Terrorist opens fire on a US Military base, and with other terrorist threats to the country.

But he is the first in line to criticize those who openly disagree with him, or point out his failures, something the “Mainstream” Media is loathe to do.

Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and others do not get the 30 days of silence and calls for understanding and restraint afforded even terrorists.

And it would do this Administration well to take a look at the protests in Egypt. These destructive demands for change are truly a Mob scene. Although every single TEA Party protest was without violence, this Administration and the Democrats wrongly characterized TEA Party protests as identical to those happening in Egypt and elsewhere in this world. This is a country where battles are fought at the ballot box as demonstrated last November. It is unconscionable for Obama and his minions to portray honest dissent as anything remotely resembling the scenes playing out in other parts of the world.

And the hypocrisy of this administration giving advice to Egypt to “listen to the grievances of the people” is laughable. Would that this were a sign that Obama finally “gets it”. That ignoring the will of the people is a career limiting move for politicians.

But, alas, this is simply the ploy of an ineffective leader attempting to play both sides of the fence in order to not alienate the eventual victor.

We have moved from Ronald Reagan’s “Tear down that wall” to a President cowering under a desk, afraid to lead.

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Although the ‘Mainstream’ Media has somehow been very quiet about the fact that one of the victims of Tucson shooter Jared Loughner, a Democratic ‘operative’ named James Eric Fuller.

After listening to the media blame the TEA Party and Conservatives such as Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh, Fuller managed to become fired up enough to travel to a local Town Hall and threaten the head of the local TEA Party movement in Tucson. Yea. Cops arrested him.

He subsequently apologized and instantly became the new Mainstream Media darling, with these left wing trolls fawning all over this poor man.

Not so fast!

Blogger Greg W. Howard has done some digging and the “upstanding” victim may have changed his name a while back to disassociate himself with a conviction as a sex offender a while back.

According to Howard:

A quick check of court records in Pima County, Arizona, reveals that on November 24, 1997, a man by the name of Prince Eric Fuller legally changed his name to James Eric Fuller. The order was signed by Judge Lina Rodriguez under case number c323363. (View docket here.) From that point, the trail on James Eric Fuller goes cold, but the trail on Prince Eric Fuller picks up.

A simple web search for the name Prince Eric Fuller yields a huge surprise, readily available to anyone with a search engine. Before the U.S. Supreme Court a case was heard under Fuller v. Oregon, 417 U.S. 40 (1974). The case was brought by Prince Eric Fuller and involves whether or not an indigent person may be forced to pay court and other costs associated with their crime or whether the charging of such costs would violate equal protection tenets of the law. The appeal was lost, and SCOTUS affirmed that said costs could indeed be taxed to the person convicted. On its face, this appears to be a rather mundane ruling on constitutional issues.

That is, until one examines the underlying conviction: Sodomy in the Third Degree!

Keep in mind that this research was done by Greg Howard and we are simply reporting his findings as his investigation continues.

Read his full blog post on the matter here. or here. The story also appears on The Examiner.

One thing is for sure. A serious look must be taken at this person’s mental status. The warning signs are there.

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