Rock Spring Park Conservative

Mixed Feelings

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:59:00 +0000

Although I disagreed with him on nearly every public policy issue and think he benefited from treatment/forgiveness that would never have given to a Republican, I was a little bit sad to hear that Ted Kennedy had passed. I genuinely think he had the best interests of people at heart. Politics Daily had a well-written post by Alex Wagner about a touching experience her family had with Sen. Kennedy. Her father had worked on his presidential campaign, and a few years later her mother went through terrifying surgery for a tumor in her throat. Kennedy called the hospital several times to help ensure she was getting the best care, which was quite a decent thing to do and beyond what one would expect him to do for the spouse of a former campaign aide. It also highlights exactly what I and a lot of other people who aren't closet Nazis fear about government involvement in health care. When my mom gets sick, will she get the same care under a heavily government influenced system as the mother of someone who worked on a presidential campaign? I fear not.

A positive impact in Mexico?

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:54:00 +0000

Our nation's chief law enforcement officer, Eric Holder, on the renewal of the ban on the sale of guns with cosmetic features that scare liberals:

"As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons. I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum."

Intelligence?

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:43:00 +0000

While everyone else in the free world was rooting for the protester in the famous photo from the Tiananmen Square protests, the man Obama has chosen to lead the National Intelligence Council was rooting for the guys in the tanks.

Probation Period

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:14:00 +0000

Wow! The stock market indices have fallen to the same point they were at when I was in law school 12 years ago. Trillions of dollars of wealth have been destroyed (including about half of the money my wife and I have been saving for retirement) since late last summer when it became clear that a socialist might become president of the United States. Now that a socialist is president, the pace of destruction has accelerated.

Most jobs I've held have had a 30- or 90-day probation period. The understanding has been that if you really are a bad fit, you and your employer will amicably part ways at the end of the period. Of course, the American presidency comes with a 4-year probation period, but I think it's time for us to consider whether we ought to begin to apply political pressure for Obama to step aside. He has shown he is not a good fit to be president, and it's time for Mr. Obama and the country to amicably part ways.

Best Wishes?

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:33:00 +0000

There seems to be a split among conservative and libertarian writers as to whether they want Obama to succeed (with many of them publicly saying they do). I think it's a more nuanced issue -- I wish him success in protecting the nation's security, winning the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, ending the recession and protecting people from violent and financial crimes that cross state borders. I want him to fail on every other public policy issue.

JMK was wrong

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:28:00 +0000

This is the best explanation I've seen as to why Obama's apparent Keynesian assumptions about government spending as economic stimulus are wrong.

Moran Acting Boorishly (as usual)

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:25:00 +0000

My Congressman, Jim Moran, once again shows he is a thug.

Inaugural Address

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:55:00 +0000

I thought Obama's inaugural address was OK but not quite as good as I expected. I don't like his politics, but there is no doubt -- the man can give a good speech; so I expected something better. The media wing of the Democratic party are always fawning over JFK's inaugural address, but if you want to hear a really good one, check this out:

The Inauguration

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:45:00 +0000

I worked from home today, having long ago conceded that I would not be able to make it to my office and back home given all of the road closings for the inauguration. I stopped working long enough to watch the (botched) swearing-in ceremony and Obama's inaugural address. I don't share the politics of many of the folks who stood in the cold to see the inauguration, but I was touched by the scenes of older African-Americans who never thought they would see a black president. We really do live in a great country.

Thank you

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:33:00 +0000

George Bush and Dick Cheney have with nearly unbelievable grace accepted more harsh criticism than any one else I can recall. Although I haven't always agreed with them, I am most thankful that they managed to keep us safe for seven years straight. In fact, they did such a good job that today's inauguration ceremony -- most certainly the biggest, ripest target for a terrorist attack in modern American history went off without even a credible threat, much less a real attack. I was working in DC on September 11 and remember seeing the smoke rising from the Pentagon as I watched through a conference room window. I would not have believed that we would be protected from another attack for so long.

Party like it's 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:25:00 +0000

I'm all for having our nation's capital loosen its regulatory grip on its citizens and businesses, but extending the hours of bars in D.C. during the days surrounding Obama's annointment seems passing strange. The city is expecting up to 4 million visitors for the inauguration (more than 6x D.C.'s population). Having a bunch of drunks entering the streets just before rush hour seems pretty dumb if you ask me.

Thank Goodness!

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 02:20:00 +0000

Looks like Chambliss won.

Nukes but No Guns

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:18:00 +0000

There has been considerable buzz on the friendly parts of the Internets promoting the utility of armed civilians in thwarting an attack like the one in Mumbai. I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment, but in reading this very detailed account of the attacks in the WSJ, it's clear that India has "progressed" to the point that many of the law enforcement/security officials are as unarmed as the civilian population. I've parsed a few sentences from the lengthy WSJ article to give you some of the flavor of how poorly prepared these folks were:

Most police officers at the station -- as they are throughout India -- were unarmed or carried only bamboo sticks known as lathis. ....

The hotel had metal detectors, but none of its security personnel carried weapons because of the difficulties in obtaining gun permits from the Indian government, according to the hotel company's chairman, P.R.S. Oberoi. ….

Uptown, the two gunmen who had attacked the train station -- recorded by the station's surveillance cameras -- reached the nearby Cama Hospital for women and children, authorities said, shooting dead two unarmed guards at the entrance and racing up the stairs. ….

The three policemen armed with guns drew them. The nine others waved their bamboo sticks.

Terror Attack in India

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:25:00 +0000

The recent terror attack in India is a reminder that the industrialized world is still at war. I was hopeful that we had stifled the command structure enough to seriously limit their ability to make coordinated strikes. Apparently, I was wrong.

Clubbing Obama's Seals

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:31:00 +0000

What is with Obama and these damned seals? First, before he even received his party's nomination, he rolls out his own variation on the standard presidential seal. Then, he makes up an office and creates a seal for it. He was a U.S. Senator, the presidential nominee of a major political party, and in a few weeks he's going to be the president of the United States of America for crying out loud. Does he really need to aggrandize himself with this crap?

Citibank

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 01:06:00 +0000

I spent nearly all of the three years of law school flat broke. When I graduated, I had (no exaggeration) $44 in my bank account. Rather than travel to Europe following the bar exam like most of my classmates, I had to beg the firm that had hired me to let me start early so that I wouldn't go hungry.

I recall distinctly that about halfway through law school, Citibank cut the limit on my only credit card to an amount that was less than the modest balance on the card. At about the same time, they jacked up the interest rate on my balance and increased the monthly minimum payments. I had relied on that card to carry me from the time I'd burn through my student loan funds until the time I'd get my first paycheck from my summer job; so it was pretty devastating for me to be cut off and led me -- for hopefully the only time in my life -- to have to borrow money from my Dad. Given my financial situation at the time, though, it was pretty sensible for Citibank to take those steps. Now that the tables have turned and it's Citibank that is in a tough financial spot, I think it's time for the taxpayers to insist on the same sensible actions that Citibank would take with one of its cardholders. Let's cut these guys off.

SHTF in the WSJ

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:43:00 +0000

Usually, I come across descriptions of SHTF scenarios inadvertently when I'm researching take-down rifles or shotgun/rifle combos. I came across this one on the op-ed pages of The Wall Street Journal today. It may be time to check on your stock of .22 LR.

Another Lost Battle in the War on Drugs

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 01:21:00 +0000

If the mainstream media covered the War on Drugs the way they covered the Iraq War, they'd be citing the death of an FBI agent in the Pittsburgh area this week as another senseless death in pursuit of a failed policy. The young agent was shot and killed by the wife of an alleged drug dealer after a team of agents forcibly entered the home to execute a search warrant. The wife claims that she thought her home was being robbed while her two children were inside. I suspect she is telling the truth.

Although I consider myself to be a fairly ardent civil libertarian, my sympathies generally lie with the men and women who are tasked with the enforcement of our laws. They face off against violent criminals so that the rest of us don't have to. I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to on-the-ground operational decisions. I do not give that same benefit of the doubt to law enforcement policy makers. The policy makers have allowed (or used) the War on Drugs to drive the militarization of domestic law enforcement. The media did a nice job of portraying the agent who was killed as a good family man and a top-notch law enforcement officer. I wish they would also ask the tough questions of the agent's superiors about the need for us to continue with what seems to be a risky and mostly failed strategy toward the War on Drugs.

Medicine for Pirates

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:01:00 +0000

Drudge had a photo today of one of the anti-pirate forces off the coast of Africa with an old-school M16 rifle (carry handle and fixed stock) at the ready. (It was one of those photos that Drudge annoyingly embeds on his site without a link or any caption. From a story that he linked to separately, it looks like it might have been one of the Dutch.) This pirate problem has gotten remarkably out of hand, and I think it's going to take something more than a few varmint guns to solve it. Something like this would work:

Yeah, I know battleships with the 16-inch guns shown in the video have all been mothballed, but pirate-fighting duties would be a great excuse to pull one back into service.

Moran can't even do earmarks right

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:45:00 +0000

My (mis)representative in the House, Jim Moran (D (of course)-VA) was mentioned in an article by Radley Balko in Reason for loading up a Defense bill with millions of dollars worth of earmarks. (H/t to Glenn Reynolds.) Of course, earkmarks and pork irk me, but what irks me even more is that Moran has nothing to show for all of this other than the furtherance of his own career. I've spent most of the past 14 years in Arlington, and I can't think of a major, federally funded public works project in my district during that time.

Some of my politically formative years were spent in Southwestern Pennsylvania in the early 90s watching hacks like Joe Kolter and Austin Murphy (both D's, of course) up close. These guys were buffoons who didn't know jack about any of the major issues of the day, but they at least had something to show for their efforts at directing pork to their districts. Kolter and Murphy both played big roles in a major road construction projects, including the opening of one of the sweetest 20-mile stretches of 6-lane highway in the country. Part of the road had a small toll, and consequently hardly a soul used it. I lived near the south end of the new highway, and a young lady I was dating at the time lived near the north end, about 25 miles away. For fear that my wife may being reading this blog, I'll just say that this particular young lady had some attributes that were rather appealing to a young man in his early 20s (or a middle-aged man in his early 40s for that matter), among them a penchant for Kentucky bourbon. For the better part of a year, I made that road my own personal autobahn. I'd say a prayer of thanks for Murphy and Kolter every time I pulled into the parking lot of my girlfriend's apartment complex 20 minutes or so after I left the late shift at work.

Now, I curse that bastard Moran every time I get stuck on I-66 with our three-year-old in the backseat crying because she has a load of pooh in her pants.

Obligatory links

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:40:00 +0000

I'd be remiss if I didn't include this video account of the failure of the media in this election.

The Zogby poll that appears to support the video is amusing, although it would be more interesting if McCain voters had also been polled.

A few tidbits of election analysis

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:23:00 +0000

Two weeks have passed since the 2008 general election, and I wanted to provide a few tidbits of state and local analysis before too much time passes. The results for the Commonwealth of Virginia, Arlington County and my precinct, Rock Spring, appear in the tables below.

• Statewide: There were no particular surprises at the state level. McCain/Palin received almost exactly as many votes (1.73 million) as Bush/Cheney did in 2004 (1.72 million). Obama/Biden received about 510,000 more votes than Kerry/Edwards. I read that as meaning the Republicans have basically reached their ceiling with the traditional base in Virginia. To win against a strong Democrat (like, say, Obama in 2012), we are going to need to hold onto our base and either pull some of those Democrats/Independents back to our side or else find a new source of votes. As expected, turnout was significantly higher (16% higher) in this election than in 2004.

Virginia
2008
CANDIDATE VOTE VOTE%

Obama/Biden 1.96 million 52.60%

McCain/Palin 1.73 million 46.35%
Total 3.72 million

2004
CANDIDATE VOTE VOTE%

Kerry/Edwards 1.45 million 45.48%
Bush/Cheney 1.72 million 53.68%
Total 3.20 million

• Arlington County: Arlington is much bluer than most of the state, but the results reflected very closely the statewide results in at least one respect. The Republicans held their own -- McCain/Palin received almost the same number of votes (29,876) as Bush/Cheney did in 2004 (29,635). Obama/Biden attracted about 15,000 more votes than Kerry/Edwards. Turnout also was significantly higher (16% higher) in this election than in 2004. The one consolation is that the county Democrats were aiming for Obama to take 80% of the vote. They missed that goal by quite a bit despite a very active and organized GOTV effort. Every weekend starting in late September, I would see 6-10 20-somthings with Obama t-shirts canvassing our neighborhood with clipboards.

Arlington County
2008
CANDIDATE VOTE VOTE%

Obama/Biden 78,994 71.71%

McCain/Palin 29,876 27.12%
Total 110,153

2004
CANDIDATE VOTE VOTE%

Kerry/Edwards 63,987 67.20%
Bush/Cheney 29,635 31.12%
Total 95,219

• Rock Spring Precinct: Bizarro results. Obama/Biden did slightly worse than Kerry/Edwards; McCain/Palin did slightly better than Bush/Cheney. Turnout among both Republicans and Democrats was significantly lower in 2008 than in 2004 (a 25% drop overall!). To my knowledge, the district boundaries were not redrawn. I don't have access to any population data that would back me up on this, but I feel safe in saying that the population of my neighborhood is very stable. Although Democrats outnumber Republicans significantly, the neighborhood is very white and older than many parts of Arlington (e.g., Clarendon, Ballston). Hillary Clinton might have attracted more votes here than Obama. As to why there were fewer votes here for McCain than for Bush -- who knows? There are a least a fair number of people in the neighborhood who work or who have worked on the Hill. Maybe McCain has pissed off enough of his Republican colleagues over the years for there to be a noticeable lack of enthusiasm among insiders.

Rock Spring Precinct
CANDIDATE VOTE VOTE%

Obama/Biden 904 59.90%

McCain/Palin 594 39.36%
Total 1509

2004
CANDIDATE VOTE VOTE%

Kerry/Edwards 1227 60.74%

Bush/Cheney 768 38.02%
Total 2020

Blue Cars

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:40:00 +0000

A lot has been written about what has lead to the apparently inevitable bailout of the Big 3 auto manufacturers. Bad contracts with the UAW, unreliable cars, failure to keep up with "foreign" competitors -- all of these clearly have played a role. But I blame one other factor -- Democrats. No, I don't mean Barney Frank, Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi, although I'm sure I could find a reason to blame them too. I mean the urban and suburban coastal Democrats who have abandoned American-made cars.

In my very blue neck of Northern Virginia, imports far outnumber cars from the the Big 3. I've tried repeatedly to find statistics on this, to no avail. My informal counts of non-commercial vehicles as I'm driving on the Dulles Toll Road during rush hour almost always find imports accounting for 7 or 8 out of every 10 vehicles. If you discounted SUVs, Chrysler minivans and obvious fleet vehicles, it would be around 9 out of 10. On our side of the street in North Arlington, you'd have to go several blocks before you'd find another American car, other than the two Fords in our driveway.

For the past two presidential election cycles, I've made it a point to note American cars with stickers promoting the Democratic presidential ticket (as well as the even more rare -- a car with a "support our troops" magnet along with an Obama or Kerry sticker). I recall having seen only two American-built cars -- a Ford F-150 and a Jeep Liberty (of all blessed things) with an Obama sticker. Of course, those Hope/Change stickers seemed to come as standard equipment on all manner of foreign vehicles -- from Mazda 3's to Honda Odysseys. I've been astounded at how often a McCain/Palin sticker was attached to the rare American car I see on the road.

Don't believe my anecdotal evidence? Here's some proof -- a study that shows 71% of Democrats drive an import and 57% percent of Republicans drive an import. In my area, I think it is even more pronounced. So, maybe rather than sending billions of dollars to the Big 3, we could just have the Obama campaign machine crank out some ads appealing for his supporters to buy American.

Bobby Jindal and Health Care

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 01:04:00 +0000

This may the first of many posts about Bobby Jindal. But I have to say I am impressed with any Republican who is digging into health care issues.

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/11/gov_bobby_jindal_details_louis.html

I'm not enough of a policy wonk to know whether his ideas are good or not, but we need more people on our side who can speak articulately about health care. In fact, I think Republicans already start from a disadvantage because we've let the Left frame the issue as a question of how to provide health care to the uninsured, when the problem seems to be the broader issue of health care costs significantly outpacing other increases in the cost of living.

But as long as the MSM beat the 40-million-Americans-are-uninsured drum, this is going to be a top issue on voters' minds. The Democrats' solution sounds simple and caring -- "we are a rich nation and we should ensure that no one goes without health care." The details of how they would do that are complicated and alarming, but most folks don't get beyond the positive main message point. The Republicans' answers -- "let the free market solve the problem," "it's too expensive," "our tax policies are distorting the market," "the 40 million include a lot of illegal immigrants and young healthy people" sound callous or complicated.

Bailing on the Bailouts

noreply@blogger.com (Rock Spring Conservative) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:59:00 +0000

With calls for nationalization of credit card companies and auto manufacturers along with further nationalization of the insurance industry, I think it is time for Republicans to get out of the bailout business.

I had very mixed feelings about the initial $700 billion bailout package. As a small-government conservative, I hated the idea of committing taxpayers’ money to a bailout of private business. As someone whose livelihood depends on the identification and assessment of business risks, I think those who are overly aggressive about taking on risks should bear the consequences of those judgments. I try not to be thick-headed about my libertarianism, and it seemed that a lot of smart people who understood the situation felt that the bailout package was essential. I gave some credit to folks who put their political careers at risk to vote for it. In hindsight, though, I’m not so certain the bailout package was necessary. I thought the key element was to create a market for illiquid “toxic” assets, but Hank Paulson now says that Treasury would focus on “injecting” cash into the financial industry not on purchasing these assets.

So, we seeing considerable mission creep on the initial $700 billion and "special interests" are lining up with their hands out. It’s time for a principled stand. Although there are a few folks who have made money by investing in failing businesses, they’ve done so by ruthlessly cutting costs (i.e., laying people off) and restructuring. The federal government lacks the competence and guts to do that. I hope I’m wrong, but I will be shocked if these investments wind up being anything other than an enormous cluster-f. Mr. Hope/Change and his friends will soon control the federal government. Let them own the coming disaster.