The Red Stater

A Temporary Return

2008-10-22T14:40:00.006-05:00

UPDATE #2: The site has gone live. Check out my first posting.

For the few people that may still be showing up here, I am making my return to blogging. The Republican Party of Virginia has started a blog, which will be receiving submissions from a variety of bloggers. My first post should be going up later today. Currently, my plan is to return on a temporary basis, and I only expect to post a few submissions (all my posts will be submitted to the RPV blog only, no cross-posting) before going back into retirement. But seeing as I figured that I was never going to post here again, never say never.

In the meantime, check out some of the other submissions that have come in so far. The Maistro and Operations/Media Director Tina McArthur both have posted so far. The Maistro has a long history in politics, while Tina McArthur is just starting, but I believe they both have provided a good example of what is to come from the blog. Add the RPV blog to your RSS feed here.

UPDATE: It appears the site has not gone live yet. I have no information currently about when this may happen, but I'll post an update when it does.

Response to Joe Stanley

2007-08-28T12:39:00.000-05:00

Seeing as Ben now thinks my comments register as spam (guess you're having a hard time with the criticism, eh Ben?), I am forced to post this response to Joe Stanley to my blog.

(UPDATE - Apparently, Ben was only banning comments that used the acronym NAMBLA in it, but that is no better. He is ignoring the issue.)

Don't get too excited, this is a one time thing.

Thus, Ben and Joe continue to bring down the value of Virginia's blogging community.

Joe Stanley, you suggest that you believe that the ODBA acts like NAMBLA in only believing in their first amendment rights. You could have released an editorial on this, or wrote a guest piece on a blog, but by registering a site that automatically redirects to another, there is no context to your claims. Instead of appearing that this is a political comparison, it looks like the ODBA is trying to promote something it does not. This was vile, despicable, and deceptive, and there is no reason that anyone within the ODBA should spare you any reprieve. I'm sure you are not looking for forgiveness from us, but make no mistake, this will affect many people outside of the ODBA as well, and I imagine that will include Roscoe Reynolds, who will now forever be tied to this incident; perhaps, this will teach you a little something about karma. While I certainly do not believe in karma on a spiritual level, most often, what goes around, comes around.

And Ben, by encouraging Joe's charade, you only make yourself look worse. Why don't you just go back to doing what you originally did with this blog and simply predict the outcomes of upcoming elections? This blog might actually be worth the server space it takes up then.

This isn't goodbye...

2007-06-17T18:19:00.001-05:00

Because I do not like saying goodbye.

I've been thinking about this for a while recently, but I have had to make the tough decision that I will be ending my blogging days. While I will still be around the Virginia blogosphere (sometimes, I cannot help but comment), I am finding that I cannot devote the kind of time that I would like to for The Red Stater. While not nearly as prolific as many other bloggers, I have written more than 600 posts in the last two years, and quite frankly, it starts to feel like I am repeating myself; there are plenty of bloggers who are more capable of doing this than myself.

While I won't be entirely gone, I will leave here with a few parting thoughts.

- Terror is a real threat, and one we will have to deal with for years to come. For this reason, we cannot leave Afghanistan or Iraq any time soon (unless the government of either country tells us that they believe it is that time). Talking with the enemy will not work. Leaving them alone will not work. Ultimately, this can end one of two ways. Either we win, or they do, and there is no middle ground. Many here do not see this as a religious war, but to the radical Islamists, this is a war against all Western Culture, and there is no victory on their side until everything we know and believe is destroyed.

- Global warming is exaggerated. More and more scientists are coming out against it, and even those who believe that it is a concern suggest that most people know very little about it. There have even been suggestions that for many colder regions, it might be of benefit. Until the science has been better refined, politics should stay out.

- When it comes to Hillary Clinton, just say NO! (I knew that saying would come in handy someday). Today, my candidate of choice is Fred Thompson, and I must say I am glad he is not doing the same thing all the other candidates did by starting to campaign so early. Other decent candidates include Duncan Hunter, if he can get a good following, and Mitt Romney, who is far from my favorite but appears to hold a sufficiently conservative record for me to get behind if he wins the primary. Fred Thompson may be the most conservative candidate in the race, and he can be trusted to stand up for America.

To the ODBA, I say thank you all for welcoming me in.
To those who have commented on this blog, thank you for stimulating debate.
To those who stood by me, thank you for giving me the support to go on.

As I have said before, this isn't goodbye. I do not have any plans to remove The Red Stater (nor to reveal my identity publicly, sorry folks), as I will continue to comment on other blogs. Also, I will not rule out coming back (though do not expect that to be anytime soon). But for now, The Red Stater will remain without updates.

Remain strong Virginia. Things may look down now, but life is filled with ups and downs, and I am sure that Virginia will one day again be the Red State I know it to be.

-CR UVa

SST is Back

2007-06-04T12:02:00.000-05:00

Sic Semper Tyrannis has returned after 14 months of downtime. I guess Addison and Lighthorse Harry could not stay away forever. And this time, they've brought along a few others, including SWxSE, Norm Leahy, and Mason Conservative, not to mention a new site. This is good news for the Virginia blogosphere, as SST was always a reliable source, and the contributors are of the highest caliber. Welcome back SST, this is a good day in Virginia.

Honoring those who protect us

2007-05-28T09:19:00.000-05:00

This Memorial Day, remember all that America's troops have done (and are doing) for us. They can never be thanked enough.

An Early Congratulations to UVa Grads

2007-05-19T20:45:00.000-05:00

The University of Virginia writes her highest degree on the souls of her sons. The parchment page of scholarship-the colored ribbon of a society-the jeweled emblem of a fraternity-the orange symbol of athletic prowess-all these, a year hence, will be at the best mementos of happy hours-like the withered flower a woman presses between the pages of a book for sentiment's sake.

But...

If you live a long, long time, and hold honesty of conscience above honesty of purse:

And turn aside without ostentation to aid the weak;

And treasure ideals more than raw ambition;

And track no man to his undeserved hurt;

And pursue no woman to her tears;

And love the beauty of noble music and mist-veiled mountains and blossoming valleys and great monuments-

If you live a long time and, keeping the faith in all these things hour by hour, still see that the sun gilds your path with real gold and that the moon floats in dream silver;

Then...

Remembering the purple shadows of the lawn, the majesty of the colonnades, and the dream of your youth, you may say in reverence and thankfulness:

"I have worn the honors of Honor, I graduated from Virginia"

-- The Honor Men, James Hay Jr.

Congratulations to the Class of 2007! You all worked very hard to get to this very important day, your graduation tomorrow. Do not forget where you have come from, because the University of Virginia is a very special place. Again, congratulations to the University of Virginia's Class of 2007!

I love Bodo's...

2007-05-19T20:41:00.000-05:00

And apparently, Bodo's loves my photos. Mr. Bodos himself, John Kokola, recently asked me if he could use photos that I had taken from my graduation last year on his website, and I gave him permission to do so. Now, one of the photos is on the front page there. I am certainly no professional photographer, so it is pretty cool to see one of my pictures being used by Bodo's, one of my favorite places to eat in Charlottesville. Thank you Mr. Kokola for a few of my best memories down in C'ville.

Baltimore Orioles versus Washington Nationals

2007-05-18T18:05:00.000-05:00

This three-game series starts tonight. I know a lot of people here got excited about a new team moving in, but I am staying loyal. Go O's!

Iraq is Vietnam?

2007-05-18T13:02:00.000-05:00

Not if you look at the numbers.

It is interesting to note that, more or less, U.S. deaths in Iraq have been consistent from month-to-month. Vietnam peaked at this point, and at are far higher number than Iraq has. In fact, the two bloodies months in Vietnam produced more deaths than all of Iraq. While I in no way mean to lessen the losses we have suffered, this is at least one more piece of evidence that shows that Iraq is far from a quagmire. Iraq will take time, but so did Germany and Japan, countries where we still retain troops. If we had devoted that time to Vietnam, perhaps they would be on their way out right now too.

However, my real concern with this graph is if we someday find ourselves embroiled in another war on the scale of the World Wars. The military is clearly ready to engage in their duties, but the American people are not ready to get behind them. If we find ourselves having to deal with China in a couple decades, what will happen? Clearly, it is time to stand with the troops and let them finish their job; we can only call Iraq Vietnam when the people, not the soldiers or the government, give up.

Do as I say, not as I do

2007-05-16T19:27:00.000-05:00

This seems to be the mantra of the Democratic party these days. A year ago, Democrats were in the middle of a big hissy fit when Republicans were getting in the way of filibusters. So it comes as no surprise that Democrats attempted to do the same sort of thing.

The change has since been withdrawn it appears, but Congressional Democrats should be ashamed. They first appear as hypocrites. Then, they appear weak giving up on this proposal, which they should have never offered in the first place. And most of all, their approval rating is in freefall, now reaching levels that are even lower than that of the President (this could make the 2008 elections something of a peaceful coup with many incumbents competing in danger of losing their seats).

But I guess it should be no surprise that Democrats in Congress would stoop to this. They are clearly learning from their constituents.

Happy Mother's Day All!

2007-05-13T11:39:00.000-05:00

Taking their ball and going home.

2007-05-08T16:11:00.000-05:00

Richmond Democrat, Not Larry Sabato, and Raising Kaine are all tired of not being ranked the most influential blog in Virginia by BNN, so they are whining about it. What I want to know is which is more important; being influential or having it reaffirmed for you? Seems to me that these three blogs will only serve to hinder their efforts; they will be less influential having fewer links their way.

Then again, who am I to complain? I now have a better shot of being in the top twenty!

Yum!

2007-04-27T13:36:00.000-05:00

Hmm, I wonder if PETA will pay any attention to how this online app is being used.

Let's see how long it is before they remove this.

UPDATE 4:51 PM: I would love to claim that this is my idea, but honestly I got the idea from Michelle Malkin. James Young seems to find it funny too. And he's right; KFC is some good stuff.

Idiotic

2007-04-25T13:47:00.000-05:00

I am not happy.

Just a week ago, a gunman at Virginia Tech killed 32 people. So, needless to say, it has become obvious that people should not brandish firearms in public these days (concealed weapons are still a good idea; a student or professor with a concealed firearm could have stopped Cho's rampage). And of all places for students to understand this (outside of Blacksburg), I expected the University of Virginia to be it. Wahoos are intelligent students, and with the shooting hitting so close to home, I figured they would learn a quick lesson.

I was wrong.

Christopher Smith, a student at UVa, decided that now would be a great time to shoot a film for homework that had him roaming around Wilsdorf Hall (which only opened in the past year) with a BB gun. No one was hurt, though reports say that students were hiding and heard guns cocking and threats being yelled.

This disappoints me on so many levels. Unfortunately, we have seen a lot of this recently, and even though no one appears to have been in danger, this was an unnecessary scare.

A night in jail may be just what Smith needs to learn his lesson.

Irresponsible

2007-04-19T19:44:00.000-05:00

That is the only way I can describe this AP article, headlined Va. Tech Shooter Was Picked on in School.

Newsflash: a lot of kids are picked on in school. I can remember many times when it happened to me. I can remember it happening to other kids. This story suggests that Cho was not responsible for his actions, but a victim of his cruel classmates.

Make no mistake, I think it is cruel for children to pick on each other, but that is children being children. You learn to get through it, and learn that those who tease you tend to be pretty insecure themselves.

Understanding this situation is one thing; but to talk to old classmates and look for evidence of teasing is irresponsible. Cho made a decision to isolate himself (there is always someone willing to be friends around), and he made the decision to go on his rampage.

There are thousands of real victims out there; why not focus on them for now?

Still more on VT

2007-04-19T09:20:00.000-05:00

- No video games were found in the shooter's dorm. We'll see if people stop blaming them for this tragedy.

- Leslie Carbone does not doubt that the shooting was based around leftist notions, and has no qualms in saying so.

- Others posting on the differences that have arised between Virginia Virtucon and Not Larry Sabato:
Black Velvet Bruce Li
Grumpy's Gripes
novatownhall
The Right-Wing Liberal
SWAC Girl
The Ward View
I will also note that Ben at Not Larry Sabato claimed he was going to post a list of all the blogs that link to Virginia Virtucon after removing them from his blogroll. He hasn't done so yet, though I imagine he must feel a little conflicted since everyone in the ODBA includes Virginia Virtucon by default and by rule, even as the ODBA is overwhelmingly in favor of VV at this time.

- In related news, G4, a computer and gaming cable television network, received a bomb threat yesterday and their building was evacuated. Unfortunately, the actions of Cho Seung-Hui does not just appear to have enboldened people like this, but has also left us in fear anytime a threat has been made. This is getting very worrisome. Is this how we are going to react anytime a threat is made from now on?

UPDATE 11:30 AM: Greyhawk has his thoughts. He reminds us that those at VT were not children, even if they still were very innocent, wonders why Cho was able to kill so many with little resistance, and honors one exception to that in Liviu Librescu.

Liviu, in particular, deserves attention, as he survived the Holocaust and stood against communism. Indeed, if it were not for the fact that he was shot while allowing his students to escape, this would be the saddest of deaths. Instead, Liviu will (though still sadly) be remembered as a true hero. I encourage everyone to write their representatives and nominate Liviu Librescu posthumously for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He has redefined the word "hero".

And Doug reminds us why the media is not to be trusted; they demonize Don Imus while giving Cho Seung-Hui all the attention he was hoping for.

Even more fallout

2007-04-18T18:22:00.000-05:00

- Guess who's coming to dinner? If you said the Westboro Baptist Church and Scientologists, you'd be correct. The WBC is one of the most hateful organizations in existence, completely forgoing the ideals of forgiveness and love and instead sticking with hateful rhetoric; they suggest God hates the sinners, rather than just the sin. They also protest at funerals, suggesting that people die in tragedies like this because of homosexuals. It is hard to even consider them an offshoot of Christianity because they seem to show no love.

And scientology? Well, they are going to Blacksburg simply to corrupt students there. For anyone at VT reading this, do not let them talk you into joining them. They have proven in the past that joining them is dangerous, because they will never let you leave.

I am certainly not encouraging violence against either group, and to be honest, I would suggest avoiding any interaction with either group. It is doubtful that anyone will reach these people, and in such an emotionally charged atmosphere, I doubt anyone will be in a good place to debate them either. Get through your pain with the help of loved ones or a more traditional house of faith; finding faith can be a great treatment for this pain, but scam artists do exist in religion as well.

- Rush Limbaugh reminds us that video games are not to blame, and indeed suggests that targeting violent media may not solve anything here. I would expand on his point; there are alcoholics in this world, far many more than there are extreme violent offenders, so should we engage in a new prohibition? I didn't think so. And yet, some people will completely disregard Rush simply because he is Rush, regardless of where they stand.

It is truly a shame. This event should have united us all. Yet, we continue to see more divisiveness, and more people using this event for their own gain. Cho Seung-Hui was sick, but there are far too many twisted people out there trying to get their own way after this.

The Fallout of the VT Shooting

2007-04-18T10:19:00.000-05:00

I recognized early on that the violence at Virginia Tech would make us all analyze what happened. And I figure a lot of good will come out of this; however, there will also be many mistakes.

- Chris Muir recognizes one of the biggest fallacies believed on college campuses.

Just because you say something should not be somewhere does not mean that it won't.

- Thus, Jerry Fuhrman wonders how Michael Daly comes up with such an idiotic idea. Daly complains about illegal guns, but spends more time on legally obtained weapons. Hey Daly, people who do stuff like this will find ways to obtain weapons illegally if they are unable to get them legally.

- Still, as I said, some good ideas are starting to pop up. E-mail is a good way to message people about problems like this, but the only people who will get them are those who have not left before then and checked their e-mail before doing so. Yet, like computers, a vast majority of students have cell phones, a very easy way to spread word like this. Bill Koslosky suggests that this is not only a good idea, but a very feasible one as well. He suggests that it is relatively inexpensive, so I am sure that many students and their families would not mind if they had to add a small sum to their tuition charges to cover something like this.

- Bigger problems start to arise though. Other people get ideas from Cho Seung-Hui. Threats directly referencing Seung-Hui and otherwise have closed schools in 10 states out of fear of repeated shootings. Now, many of these (if not all) would result in nothing; most people are very unaware of how many threats like these are called into schools (even at the high school level) but never acted upon. The question here is knowing what needs further action and what can be ignored; indeed, this makes for an incredibly difficult question.

- And Facebook has proven to be a very effective tool. While social networks have a bad rep for allowing child predators easy access to children and for actually making some people even less sociable, Facebook became a good place to figure out if some people were all right, when they would put up messages saying so, and as a way to put up online memorials. Having used Facebook for some time now, I have seen hundreds of groups supporting VT, and dozens of my friends have put up either ribbons or the VT symbol with their school symbol (most often, VT accompanied by the V with sabres that symbolizes UVa) as their personal picture (which is usually populated by a picture of that person, sometimes with friends). This makes for a good way to allow people to show their feelings about the shooting. Unfortunately, some people are blaming gun owners (rather than Seung-Hui), Virginia (rather than Seung-Hui), or even President Bush (what?). But most people recognize that this is about giving the students at Virginia Tech support, rather than finding someone to blame.

UPDATE 3:15 PM: A couple more things.

- Riley is getting criticized for suggesting that Seung-Hui was motivated by left-wing politics. Hard to think negatively of Riley when so many on the left are blaming this on the NRA, the right-wing machine, and President Bush (seriously people, find a new obsession; President Bush is not Satan incarnate).

- And for anyone suggesting that video games makes people violent (indeed, I have some rather ignorant friends who actually believe this) comes a report from the BBFC suggesting that violence in video games does not correlate with feelings of violence in real life.

Let us make no mistake here. Errors were made by many parties here. But ultimately, the responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of Cho Seung-Hui.

Today, we're all Hokies

2007-04-17T05:18:00.000-05:00

As a Wahoo, I always enjoy seeing UVa take on its big rival Virginia Tech in athletics and elsewhere.

But what happened yesterday goes beyond rivalries.

Today, we stand vigilant with the students at Virginia Tech. The games will return another day. The cheer of the crowd urging on the two competing teams will be a great sound to all. But today, as Doug puts so well, we are all Hokies.

Very Sad News

2007-04-16T14:56:00.000-05:00

In what is being described as the worst shooting rampage in United States history, 30 Virginia Tech students were shot and killed by a deranged gunman. What's worse, he did it on seperate ends of the campus.

Keep the students and their families of Virginia Tech in your prayers.

The Imus thing is behind us, but it may have raised some new questions

2007-04-13T19:38:00.000-05:00

Jason Whitlock is mad, and Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are his targets. Hot Air has more.

And Michelle wonders what's up with Barry?

Leno to Dems: What are you, scared?

2007-04-11T16:42:00.000-05:00

I know it is only Jay Leno's monologue, and that it is done in parody, but a good point is still made; if the Dems are scared of Fox News, how can they possibly be trusted to deal with terror?

Particularly funny as Jay Leno is hardly a card-carrying Republican.

The stupidity of Al

2007-04-09T19:22:00.000-05:00

Not Gore this time, but Sharpton. He is angry at Don Imus for his statements about the scrappy Rutgers team, so what does he do? Give Imus free advertising.

While Don Imus has been suspended, he will be back; it sounds as though he has no plan to resign (good for Don, it gets old hearing people call for a person's resignation just because they make one mistake). And now, people who have never heard of him now have. And they may be more likely to listen in when he returns. Instead of driving Don away, Al Sharpton may have given Don a larger audience.

And this is exactly why I do not go on tirades against Rosie O'Donnell (and wish other blogs, particularly those like Hot Air which have a national audience, would do the same). She needs to shut her mouth, but at least for a while (apparently, ratings are now dropping fast), The View's ratings were very high. It is ironic, but these loud voices tend to help more than harm the focus of the story.

So Al, bet you are feeling real proud of yourself now, eh?

Hope you like not having money

2007-04-04T07:57:00.000-05:00

Democrats have proposed a new budget that will increase American's annual taxes by an average of close to $3,000. Worse yet, the Democrat controlled House has passed it.

Such a tax increase will hurt the middle class, as many families are only barely able to support themselves on the income they have now. And people like myself, who are not far removed from college, have a more difficult time trying to get started in life. Is there any doubt why this Congress currently has a lower approval rating than either President Bush or the previous Republican led Congress.

I suspect that this blue shift that Democrats have been excited about may not last very long.

Political Correctness at its Worst

2007-04-04T07:35:00.000-05:00

Next up on the itinerary, getting rid of the phrases "World War II", "Civil Rights Movement", and "Cotton Gin".