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Annotations & Elucidations

Breaking News: Next Budget Shortfall $3.5 Billion!

Breaking news this evening: Senate Finance Committee analysts told that committee’s members this afternoon that the next two-year budget will be $3.5 billion short, not to mention the current budget lacking another $209 million.

In other news, Governor Tim Kaine told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that he has concerns with some of Governor-elect Bob McDonnell’s positions. He is afraid the new governor will sign certain bills he vetoed, not continue his executive order banning “sexual orientation discrimination” in state government hiring, and fears meat ax budget cuts (apparently only Mr. Kaine knows how to cut spending correctly). He also said he’s not afraid of being unpopular. Good thing. 

Speaking of cuts, one state budget analyst told the House Appropriations and Finance Committees yesterday the commonwealth of overbuilt for prisons and that perhaps construction and maintenance costs could be pared for the time being. A harmless cut, manna for pols!

In national news, the Senate showdown on health care approaches and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius tries to put out a fire by now saying, of course the administration wants women to get mammograms by age 40. Uh-huh, right. Meanwhile, the public embraces common sense proposals, such as tort reform, but no one’s listening, and the president has hired another tax cheat at the Treasury Department.

In Commentary, Larry Kudlow, Michael Barone and Michelle Malkin take on different aspects of President Obama’s bowing and tripping Asia excursion, Walter E. Williams excoriates the horrendous moral relativism taught to our students, and Christopher Adamo explains the GOP-Palin disconnect.

News:

State facing $3.5 billion shortfall in next budget (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Virginia’s road budget slashed another $851.5M (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot)

State transit plan faces $851.5 million cut (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Analyst proposes putting corrections projects in Va. on hold (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Gov. Kaine cites concerns on Virginia’s budget, roads (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Gov. Kaine wants ethics probe of ex-delegate Hamilton to continue (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot)

Federal grand jury subpoenas Hamilton documents (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Study highlights tax burden disparity (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

The GOP: Luddites or high tech? (Washington Post Politics and Policy Blog)

National News:

Senate girds for historic debate on health bill (AP/GOPUSA.com)

Thousands cheer Palin in Mich. for book tour (AP/GOPUSA.com)

AP Poll: Support for curbs on malpractice lawsuits (AP/GOPUSA.com)

Another Obama (Treasury) nominee runs into tax problems (AP/GOPUSA.com)

Sebelius: Women should get mammograms by age 40 (AP/GOPUSA.com)

Commentary:

President Zero Sum Goes to Asia(Larry Kudlow/GOPUSA.com)

Obama Bows, but the World Refuses to Bow Back(Michael Barone/GOPUSA.com)

Excused Horrors (Walter E. Williams/GOPUSA.com)

Obama’s Doubletalk On Political Dissent(Michelle Malkin/GOPUSA.com)

Palin, Conservatism, And The Disconnected GOP (Christopher Adamo/GOPUSA.com)

In an unusual move, Delegate Chris Saxman (R-20, Staunton) today announced he would not seek re-election this November, despite being in the middle of a campaign as the GOP nominee (see Harrisonburg Daily News-Record). The fact that Saxman, 43, first elected in 2001, is considered a rising figure in Virginia GOP circles (he flirted with running for the U.S. Senate in 2006) added to the surprise. He wrote, this, in part, to his constituents today:

The responsibility of representing you requires, and you deserve, a full-time commitment. As I have recently felt pulled to pursue new opportunities to serve my community and our Commonwealth, I believe the time has come for me to step away from my current elected position. As such, I have decided that I will not seek re-election this November to the Virginia House of Delegates.

I’ve always believed in a part-time legislature and that our Founding Fathers thought it a good idea to leave the State Capitol for a while and recharge. I have had a view of state government from the inside for eight years as an elected representative, and I now have a better understanding of how our government can be improved. However, if you are only looking out, as I have been, you can’t always see clearly what needs to be done on the inside.

I continue to have a strong commitment to public service, and I plan to remain active working to advance commonsense conservative solutions and work on issues about which I am passionate. There are many ways to serve, and I am blessed that several new opportunities to continue this service have presented themselves. I know that now is the time to pursue those projects fully, and I look forward to sharing more details about each of these projects in the near future.

For the past eight years, I have been working diligently on issues that I know will help our families, our Commonwealth and our nation. One of these projects is school choice and ensuring that every child has access to the educational options that will give them the best opportunity for success. It is an issue I have fought for in the legislature, and as many of you know, a year ago I launched School Choice Virginia to further our efforts in this arena. I now look forward to taking a more active role in promoting this issue, which I believe I can better do outside of the confines of the legislature.

The last line rings of soon-t0-be-ex-Governor Sarah Palin. But we do look forward to seeing what endeavors Delegate Saxman will embark upon as he tries to advance school choice, something with which we also fully support. In fact, we partner with him in his School Choice Virginia organization. 

Of course, as it is Virginia, and campaigning is perennial, questions quickly popped about who would take his place on the ballot. The Daily News-Record reports it will be 13-year Staunton City Councilman Richard Bell.

Today’s news leads off with what will increasingly lead the news — the gubernatorial campaign. In this case, a Public Policy Poll, which tracked the Democrat primary, has all three GOP candidates ahead: Gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell and Lt. Governor Bill Bolling both are up by six points, while Attorney General candidate, Senator Ken Cuccinelli is up by seven. The Richmond Times-Dispatch and Washington Times both report. Elsewhere, somehow Sarah Palin has become an issue for McDonnell. Is Rod Blagojevich an issue for Creigh Deeds?

Today is another day where national issues and commentary are more plentiful than the state news. One report we’d like to draw your attention to has to do with the new NIH standards for embryonic stem cell research. OneNewsNow.com reports that the NIH ignored the 30,000 anti-stem cell public comments it received — out of 49,000 total — as it opened up the flood gates of embryo harvesting and sacrifice.

In Britain, meanwhile, in an attempt to reduce Europe’s highest teenage pregnancy rate, the government went about teaching students how to use condoms, spending millions of pounds. Guess what? The rate doubled.

In other news worth your read, new documents link Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor to a radical leftist agenda; a well-know black pastor says President Barack Obama has no “black experience to speak of;” and, thanks to a new ministry, military chaplains are able to get audio Gospels to our troops in the field. 

We’ve also included three Elijah Friedeman blog posts. None are long, but if you read only one, see the new television advertisemnt by Americans For Prosperity explaining the dangers of socialized medicine.

News:

Poll: McDonnell at 49% and Deeds at 43% (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Poll: McDonnell takes lead in Va. Race (Washington Times) 

Va.’s McDonnell ducks questions on Palin aid (Washington Times) 

Obama’s grass-roots network builds Va. staff to promote agenda (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Grogan will run against Loupassi (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

National News:

Public ignored; full steam ahead for embryonic sacrifice (OneNewsNow.com)

New documents connect Sotomayor to leftist agenda (AP/OneNewsNow.com)

Soldiers getting an earful of Jesus (OneNewsNow.com)

Pastor: Obama has no ‘black experience’ to speak of (OneNewsNow.com)

Commentary:

Britain Doubles Pregnancy Rates By Teaching Girls to Have Sex (American Family Association Blog)

Anti-nationalized health care ads released (Elijah Friedeman/American Family Association Blog)

The case against government run health care (Elijah Friedeman/American Family Association Blog)

Is the media starting to turn on Obama? (Elijah Friedeman/American Family Association Blog)

Even the local Mainstream Media is getting into the act. It can’t stand the success of Governor Sarah Palin (who will campaign again in Richmond Saturday) and how she has created an immense amount of enthusiasm, not just among Republicans, but among women and men Democrats and independents of all socio-economic backgrounds to the McCain-Palin ticket (see the ticket’s remaining Virginia campaign schedule here). But it’s not even the typical MSM. It’s the entertainment MSM. Who cares what they think? But they want in on the action, too, I suppose.

After Governor Palin’s last visit to Richmond, the Richmond Times-Dispatch pop music critic thought it necessary to ridicule the Hank Williams, Jr., song “McCain-Palin Tradition” that he sang as a warm up to the governor’s speech (click here to hear). According to the critic, Hank Jr.’s original hit, “Family Tradition,” on which the campaign song is based, has some lyrics not in tune with “family values” voters (see article here).She mentions some Democrat instances as well, but clearly aims for what she thinks is a double standard among conservatives. Apparently, we’re not allowed to have a good time — or at least it has to be good as defined by an elitist standard. But guess what?Even the celebration of Christmas was based on a pagan holiday. Guess we ought to stop celebrating, then. She continues with a litany of liberal recording artists who have demanded of Republicans to stop using their songs. Hard hitting stuff.

What’s funny is this critic’s view of Christians, values voters and conservatives in general — a stereotypical view of the types of people she thinks conservative politicians appeal to. It’s as if she is saying conservatives don’t have fun and live completely cloistered lives. Maybe she’s the one who needs to get out more . . . or at least to more diverse entertainment venues to learn about the folks — that there’s more out there than smokey bars and concert halls — and stop generalizing.

She also needs to learn some history. She claimed Ronald Reagan’s 1984 campaign theme song was Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The U.S.A.” Wrong. It was Lee Greenwood’s “Proud To Be An American.” Then again, he’s just a values guy. No one relates to his music, right?

Yesterday, we posed six questions we’d love to hear asked during tonight’s final presidential debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama.

However, now that we have Democrat Congressman Steve Cohen teaching the Gospel from the House floor (whatever happened to the separation of church and state?) and calling Jesus a “community organizer” and Pontius Pilate a governor (see here), more than implying Obama is the “messiah” and Governor Sarah Palin (see video, slide show here) is a murderer; and now that America’s most lovable and respected religious figure, Louis Farrakhan, has prophesied that Obama is the “messiah,” (see here) this is what we hope to hear CBS News reporter, and tonight’s moderator, Bob Schieffer, ask Senator Obama:

Is Representative Cohen right: Was Jesus a community organizer? If so, is Louis Farrakahn right — are you, in fact, the “messiah”?

After all, isn’t time we hear from the man himself on this issue? A world anxiously waits to know if it is in the presence of the Second Coming.

God help us if Obama replies, “It is you who say I am.”

PBS, the taxpayer funded television network the government sees fit to prop up in an age of 500 channels, is conducting a poll about Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin (click here to vote). The poll question is simple and its simplicity exposes the network’s inherent double standard. It asks if Governor Palin is qualified to be vice president of the United States. But there’s no question about whether the Illinois state senator of just four years ago, Barack Obama, is qualified to be president.

In an effort to even things up, the American Family Association does ask that question (vote in that poll by clicking here). We hope you vote in both.

The Angry Left and its allies in Left Wing Mainstream Media think it’s perfectly okay for an unelected liberal woman (Hillary Clinton) to fire an entire office of civil servants (the White House Travel Office) and falsely accuse some of them with crimes (for which they were acquitted) resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, but something’s wrong when a conservative woman, the elected governor of a state (Sarah Palin), fires a political appointee, under every conceivable auspice of her power as chief executive, for insubordination on a budget matter.

How pathetic.

It doesn’t seem possible, but the the Angry Left gets more hysterical and despicable each day. Not even Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt is this prolific at topping themselves. We can’t keep up. (See last Friday’s post about the vile from so-called comedienne Sandra Bernhard.) So, today, we start trying to keep pace by beginning an Angry Left Hate Speech Quote Of The Day, not to be confused with our ever popular Capitol Square Diary QOD. Not that we’re even going to make this an official category, but with the Mount Everest high amount of material available by the hour, we hold out that option.

So, without further ado, our inaugural ALHSQOD quote comes from disgraced impeached and convicted (for perjury and corruption) former federal judge, now-U.S. Representative Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.). (See Fox News article here). Yesterday, in Florida, at a panel discussion hosted by the National Jewish Democrat Council, he said:

If Sarah Palin isn’t enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention. Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through.

As reported by the blog hotair.com, the room erupted in laughter and applause. Classy. However, according to the Fox News report, a fellow member of the Congressional Black Caucus, U.S. Representative Arthur Davis (D-Ala.), rebuked Hastings in a written statement:

I didn’t like his comments when I heard them and they don’t sound any better reading them in print. …

(I)t is a great mistake for Democrats to ridicule (Palin’s) cultural roots. I don’t know how many Americans strip moose, but a lot of the ones I know tote guns and the Democratic Party had better win enough of those gun toters if we are to be successful.

Finally, some commonsense. They can start by reigning in the hate speech by an increasing number of party officials and left wing fringe groups which claim to do their bidding.

Now that the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), has picked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to run with him as the GOP’s vice presidential candidate, and there’s been a full 24 hour news cycle to digest it all, what do you think? Give us your impressions by voting in the poll below. We’d love to have your comments as well — let us know the reasons for your vote. Please post them in the blog’s thread (not at polldaddy). The poll closes Friday, September 5, at noon (to give you a chance to size her up at the Republican National Convention. You can only vote once.