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Name: Magnum, J.D.
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
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Which is it, really?

Posted by Magnum, J.D. on Monday, January 28, 2008 11:25:03 AM
This column by Wynton Hall immediately piqued my interest.  As I've posted previously, I'm in a difficult position, not knowing whether I should hold my nose and vote Republican, vote third party, or stay away entirely.

Here's my question:

Some people (Hall and other) say that if we don't make the War on Terror the primary focus, we won't have an economy to worry about if we let terrorists destroy it.

Other say, if we don't return to a more limited government the economy will go to pot  and we won't have the resources to ensure national security.

So, which is it?  Should the BIG issue for conservatives be the War on Terror or returning to limited government?
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Justice Prevails: Virginia Abusive Driver Fees Repealed

Posted by Magnum, J.D. on Friday, January 25, 2008 11:37:06 AM
About time the General Assembly got their act together and repealed the "Traffic Tickets of Abomination."

Here's the full story.
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Now I've Seen It All . . .

Posted by Magnum, J.D. on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 8:15:52 AM
Back in August I posted a few blogs about Virginia's recently adopted abusive driver "fees."  See here, here, and here.  My main beef with the so-called "fees" was that, in addition to being excessive and only applying to Virginians, they are unconstitutional: under the Virginia Constitution fines generated from traffic offenses must go into the education fund, not into the transportation fund.

Now there's this.  A bicyclist was fined $1050 for reckless driving.  That's right: Kajuan Cornish, a 19-year old kid was fined over $1000 (to be paid in 3 installments) for riding his bicycle across Warwick Boulevard in Newport News during rush hour.  Huh?!?  Adding to the ridiculousness of the whole thing is that the statute clearly says that the "fees" are only applicable to operators of "motor vehicles." 

One of the reasons that the fines don not apply to non-Virginians is that Virginia would have difficulty enforcing the fines since they cannot withhold the driver's license of someone from out of state.  Guess what . . . Kajuan Cornish has no driver's license.  Good luck squeezing blood out of that rock, Newport News General District Court!

This news comes within days of Governor Kaine's announcement that he thinks the fines were a mistake and that they should be repealed.  Really?  You mean even the threat of a $3000 fine won't make people slow down?  Well golly, I'd never have guessed that one, Governor Kaine! 

Honestly, the ineffectiveness and unintended consequences make no difference to me; the bill was unconstitutional from the start.  I hope the General Assembly does at least one good thing this session and takes Governor Kaine's advice: repeal the abusive driver "fees."
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Republicans = Whigs Part II

Posted by Magnum, J.D. on Monday, January 14, 2008 8:26:44 AM
Here's a link to a blog that relates to my earlier post about the sad state of the Republican party. 

Some of this is election analysis, but a substantial part of the post deals with what will happen to the Republican party if they simply maintain the status quo.
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One Reason You Should Dread Government Health Care

Posted by Magnum, J.D. on Wednesday, January 09, 2008 1:55:01 PM

Here's a link to an article from the Telegraph, a British news source.

I happen to agree that doctors over-prescribe medicines that won't really help all that much.  Those who have a case of the sniffles should stay home, drink lots of water, and keep from infecting those around them as much as possible.


Here's the rub: What business is that of the government's?
 

The answer, of course, is it's not the government's business to tell doctors when to prescribe medicine.  Do you really want some bureaucrat in Washington deciding when you can go the doctor and what the doctor can do for you once you get there?
 

"I realize you really need that bypass, Mr. Smith, but I've already performed my government quota of those for the year.  Sorry.  Try back in a few months."

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Republicans to go the way of the Whigs?

Posted by Magnum, J.D. on Tuesday, January 08, 2008 1:29:33 PM
This post is just some preliminary thoughts on a topic which I hope to expand on later (the crush or work prevents a long post at this point).

Students of history will remember the Whig Party of the early 19th century.  They elected William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor to the nation's highest office.  Their terms totalled 17 months.  Quite a claim to fame-- the first two Presidents to die in office were Whigs.

Then in the 1850s the question of slavery split the party in two.  The Whigs did not even re-nominate its own incumbent President Millard Fillmore to run for reelection in 1852.  The voter base defected to the Republican party (which was not all that different from the Whigs) and by 1860 the Whigs were exiled to the land of historical footnotes.

I see the Republican party experiencing a similar crisis of identity.  If something doesn't change, or perhaps even if there is change, the Republican party is likely to be gone within a matter of years.  I think the 2008 election will be looked back on by Republicans just as the Whigs might have reflected on the elections of the 1850s.  Time will tell.

More on this later.
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