Ken stopped by the "Virginians for Energy Independence \ Drill Here, Drill Now" booth to talk issues with us and spent some time finding out what is important to the citizens and voters of Virginia.
I had the opportunity to see Cuccinelli once again when he flew into the Shenandoah Airport with the VA-GOP for 2009 Team alongwith Bob McDonnell and Lt. Governor Bill Bolling. Cuccinelli fits in well with McDonnell and Bolling and completes a very Strong Conservative team for Virginia in 2009...
The VA-GOP Team of 2009 in Bob McDonnell for Governor, Bill Bolling for Lt. Governor, and Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General made a stop at the Shenandoah airport in Weyers Cave today during their tour of the state as a team to meet with many supporters and kick -off the "Full-Ticket" campaign...
Impressive turnout where all three candidates took the opportunity to outline their agendas taking over an hour and then time meeting with individuals...
The "Team" was met and stood with many other strong Conservative Republicans from the Valley including: Delegate Ben Cline, Delegate Matt Lohr, Delegate Steve Landes, and Senator Obenshein...
Mike Meredith, chairman of the Rockingham County Republican Committee, says the GOP ticket is a strong combination, coupling Cuccinelli's "tremendous grass-roots efforts" with McDonnell's and Bolling's previous experience running state campaigns. Daily News Record
Caught a quick game over behind the Stuarts Draft Firehouse at the Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks field and it was good to see the green ballfield once again. The Diamondbacks are leading their division even with the 5 to 4 loss to the Montezuma tonight but the game was close and had a good attendance...
Chip Grable from the local ESPN radio station was also their calling the game for the radio show and provided an impressive amount of stats to the game...
. During the last four election days at the Stuarts Draft polling place I have had the same older gentleman challenge the placement of campaign signs outside of the polling place entrance door. The first year he was very adamant about the placement of the signs and the "Republican" volunteers outside of the "No Campaigning" zone but did not question placement of the single "Democratic" volunteer or her signs. I took the opportunity to show this older gentleman the above sign positioned by the polling workers and that none of the campaign signs or volunteers were anywhere within this restricted zone...
It happens every election day since and I still instruct the older gentleman to read the sign...
Yesterday it was reported that the Voter Intimidation case regarding the incident that happened during the 2008 Presidential election in Philadelphia showing members of the Black Panthers outside of a polling place, one brandishing a night stick and "violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act by scaring would-be voters with the weapon, racial slurs and military-style uniforms" has now been dismissed.
"Justice Department political appointees overruled career lawyers and ended a civil complaint accusing three members of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense of wielding a nightstick and intimidating voters at a Philadelphia polling place last Election Day, according to documents and interviews."
The Washington Times ask a interesting question in: What if there were KU Klux Klan members and they stood outside of polling places in military uniforms, with nightsticks, confronting voters arriving to the polling place?...
"The flip side of this scenario is occurring right now. The culprits weren't Klansmen; they belonged to the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. One of the defendants, Jerry Jackson, is an elected member of Philadelphia's 14th Ward Democratic Committee and was a credentialed poll watcher for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party when the violations occurred. Rather conveniently, the Obama administration has asked that the cases against Mr. Jackson, two other defendants and the party be dropped."
Had the opportunity to help out Delegate Ben Cline (24th District) and walk the Effinger Volunteer Fire Dept. Carnival and Parade held on Friday, May 22nd in Effinger VA.
Have to say that I had never been to Effinger VA. before and the parade route is one of the shortest I have ever seen but there was an impressive turnout with both sides of the parade route packed by people from the surrounding communities. Delegate Cline was very well received and was approached by many people along the route wishing to shake his hand and say hello...
Being a "Fireman's" parade there were many units from surrounding communities and I have always enjoyed talking with the Buena Vista Swiftwater Rescue team...
Ben worked the crowd and spent most of his time talking with those who approached him on local issues and to thank him for his efforts in Richmond. The Rockbridge Weekly also had coverage of the event....
Ben with several of the volunteers who came out to support him and the local Republican Party during this event... The float that they put together also represented Bob McDonnell who is running for Virginia Governor and Bill Bolling who is running for re-election as Lt. Governor...
I had the opportunity to speak with several people regarding the McDonnell and Bolling campaigns and there is strong interest and support for both of these guys and the positions they are seeking...
Being the first vice president who had also served as secretary of defense, naturally my duties tended toward national security. I focused on those challenges day to day, mostly free from the usual political distractions. I had the advantage of being a vice president content with the responsibilities I had, and going about my work with no higher ambition. Today, I'm an even freer man. Your kind invitation brings me here as a private citizen - a career in politics behind me, no elections to win or lose, and no favor to seek.
Our administration always faced its share of criticism, and from some quarters it was always intense. That was especially so in the later years of our term, when the dangers were as serious as ever, but the sense of general alarm after September 11th, 2001 was a fading memory. Part of our responsibility, as we saw it, was not to forget the terrible harm that had been done to America ... and not to let 9/11 become the prelude to something much bigger and far worse.
That attack itself was, of course, the most devastating strike in a series of terrorist plots carried out against Americans at home and abroad. In 1993, terrorists bombed the World Trade Center, hoping to bring down the towers with a blast from below. The attacks continued in 1995, with the bombing of U.S. facilities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; the killing of servicemen at Khobar Towers in 1996; the attack on our embassies in East Africa in 1998; the murder of American sailors on the USS Cole in 2000; and then the hijackings of 9/11, and all the grief and loss we suffered on that day.
To make certain our nation country never again faced such a day of horror, we developed a comprehensive strategy, beginning with far greater homeland security to make the United States a harder target. But since wars cannot be won on the defensive, we moved decisively against the terrorists in their hideouts and sanctuaries, and committed to using every asset to take down their networks. We decided, as well, to confront the regimes that sponsored terrorists, and to go after those who provide sanctuary, funding, and weapons to enemies of the United States. We turned special attention to regimes that had the capacity to build weapons of mass destruction, and might transfer such weapons to terrorists.
It is a fact that only detainees of the highest intelligence value were ever subjected to enhanced interrogation. You've heard endlessly about waterboarding. It happened to three terrorists. One of them was Khalid Sheikh Muhammed - the mastermind of 9/11, who has also boasted about beheading Daniel Pearl.
Even before the interrogation program began, and throughout its operation, it was closely reviewed to ensure that every method used was in full compliance with the Constitution, statutes, and treaty obligations. On numerous occasions, leading members of Congress, including the current speaker of the House, were briefed on the program and on the methods.
To put things in perspective, suppose that on the evening of 9/11, President Bush and I had promised that for as long as we held office - which was to be another 2,689 days - there would never be another terrorist attack inside this country. Talk about hubris - it would have seemed a rash and irresponsible thing to say. People would have doubted that we even understood the enormity of what had just happened. Everyone had a very bad feeling about all of this, and felt certain that the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and Shanksville were only the beginning of the violence.
For all that we've lost in this conflict, the United States has never lost its moral bearings. And when the moral reckoning turns to the men known as high-value terrorists, I can assure you they were neither innocent nor victims. As for those who asked them questions and got answers: they did the right thing, they made our country safer, and a lot of Americans are alive today because of them.
Virginia Democratic Party Governor, and Democratic Party National Chairman on the side, Tim Kaine is looking at a $225 million shortfall in the Virginia state budget as reported here...
He has called for budget cuts to close that gap but maybe if we were not in the habit of paying Donald Trump $250,000 to use his face on a VA lottery ticket, or the $860,000 for the use of "Deal or No Deal" logo, we would not be in this situation... Republican Delegate (24th district) has called for the cutback of outrageous advertising such as this several times but our "friends" in Richmond have always protected this spending in the past....
Energy Year in Review
-
Despite occasional policy obstacles, the U.S. energy revolution continues
to enhance America’s economic and national security and deliver major
benefits to...
