"Others Have Died for My Freedom"

Cpl. Jeffrey B. Starr's letter to his girlfriend in anticipation of his death: "Obviously if you are reading this then I have died in Iraq. I kind of predicted this, that is why I'm writing this in November. A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances. I don't regret going, everybody dies but few get to do it for something as important as freedom. It may seem confusing why we are in Iraq, it's not to me. I'm here helping these people, so that they can live the way we live. Not have to worry about tyrants or vicious dictators. To do what they want with their lives. To me that is why I died. Others have died for my freedom, now this is my mark."

Malkin vs. The New York Times

I simply love this story about this soldier who gave his life for his country. The letter he writes to his girlfriend in anticipation of his death brought me to tears.

I'm so glad Malkin helped to show how the Times didn't do this heroic man justice.

New Jersey Negative Ads

Corzine's attacks ads against Doug Forrester are so ridiculous they are hysterical.

Good Coverage of the Choosing of the New Nominee

Charmaine Yoest is doing an excellent job of keeping on top all the rumors concerning the President's next choice for the Supreme Court.

Apparently, Samuel Alito might be the choice, while other rumbling says that Luttig could be it.

Of course, popular opinion says it should be another woman...a qualified conserative woman of course.

Richard Viguerie's War on Bush

Richard Viguerie, one of the powerbrokers on the Right for 40 years and the founder of the direct mail empire, has been furious at Bush ever since the nomination of Miers and was instrumental in mobilizing conservative leaders to speak out against the nominee. This is another example of how the Right is clearly tired of sacrificing their principles for the Bush agenda. Read about it here. Bush can win them back though if he picks the right person for the Court. All will be forgotten.

Time for Bush to Make the Right Decision

It happened just a few minutes ago....read the Washington Post article.

Here is another and longer version of her withdrawal.

If Bush doesn't appoint a strong conservative nominee with the right qualifications, he will the lose the Right entirely for the rest of his presidency and will have no friends but his wife and his dog. I know I personally will be up in arms if he doesn't deliver this time.

Marty Kilgore In the Spotlight

I love this Washington Post article about Marty Kilgore on the campaign trail. It's a fun little piece to read about the next first lady of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Shallow: Tim Kaine's Inability to Keep His Promises

The Washington Post article has most of it and Chad Dotson has the rest. I've never heard of anything like it...polling to determine whether you should break a campaign pledge that you agreed to in writing. I guess we shouldn't be surprised....how many times did Mark Warner promise not to raise taxes before going on to push through the General Assembly and sign into the law the largest tax increase in the history of the state? These guys just don't believe in anything except themselves.

Not only does Tim Kaine refuse to stand up for what he believes when it comes to the death penalty or abortion, but he refuses to abide by the agreements that he has negotiated when entering a debate with Jerry Kilgore.

This is about as shallow as it gets. I can just see him sitting down with his advisors around his conference table debating whether or not to break his promise. Kind of disgusting honestly.

Everybody Jumping On the Bandwagon

Does anyone else feel like everyone is jumping on the Allen for President bandwagon right now? It's almost weird how many magazine covers he's appearing on right now and how many major conservative talkshow hosts (Limbaugh, Hannity) are practically coronating him as the nominee...over two years before the primaries begin.

Chad Dotson has great coverage of the rising tide for George Allen...including photos of the covers of both National Review and CQ Weekly.

Bolling and McDonnell Will Walk to Victory

The poll numbers on the downticket races simply don't surprise me at all. McDonnell is a superb candidate, who is extremely articulate and personable. Bolling is also an excellent campaigner with a strong record. I am a little surprised he is not up by more, but I think he will win by a relatively wide margin irregardless of whether Jerry Kilgore wins (and he will). The Republican downticket candidates are simply better than the Democrats' candidates.

George Allen on Hannity

I hear that Hannity hosted George Allen this afternoon to kick off the 5 p.m. hour and apparently told the world that if the election were held today, he believed Allen would be the nominee of the Republican Party.

I like the sound of that!

Graft

Norman's post over at www.onemanstrash.blogspot.com is highly indicting. So it seems that Nancy Murkowski, the wife of the current Republican governor and mother of Senator Lisa Murkowski, staunch defender of the Bridge to Nowhere, owns a parcel currently worth $225,000 (and shortly worth a lot more) on Gravina Island, and is one of the few private property holders on an island largely owned by the federal government.

Skins' Arrington Back in the Lineup

It's a relief to see that Arrington is finally getting playing time. I know he may not jive with Gibbs and Greg Williams' scheme, but the kid is amazing on the playing field and I miss watching him take over games and make big plays.

4-2! Go Skins!

Del. Rob Bell in the 58th Still Pounding the Pavement

Del. Rob Bell never rests in the 58th, running for his third term he continues to knock on all the doors in his district over and over again. Rarely has a candidate worked so hard for the trust of his constituents.

On Saturday morning, I knocked on doors with him and the UVA Law Republicans in Forest Lakes subdivision north of Charlottesville, and almost everyone had met Rob at some point and often he had done something for them to fix a problem pothole or get some other issue dealt with to their satisfaction. Take a few lessons from Rob Bell, another fine Double Hoo!

The Faith of the American Soldier

I had lunch yesterday with Stephen Mansfield, NYT bestselling author of The Faith of George W. Bush, and was very impressed with him. He is an amazing speaker and gets around on the speaking circuit. His perspective on the history of Western Civilization is fascinating. Check out his new book, The Faith of the American Soldier, which I'm sure will be hitting the bestseller lists as well.

More of Tom Coburn, Less of Ted Stevens

If you heard the speech given by Ted Stevens in defense of the Bridge to Nowhere on the Senate floor on Thursday, you were probably ashamed as I was that he is a member of our august party. A man in all sincerity claiming that he will resign if $230 million taxpayer dollars earmarked for a bridge to an island with 50 inhabitants, who already have a serviceable ferry and could each be bought a private Lear jet with that same pricetag, were directed toward fixing the bridges over Lake Ponchartrain as suggested by Senator Tom Coburn.

These establishment Republicans who are wed more to their political interests and reelection than any sort of political philosophy or belief in justice or heaven forbid trying to use the taxpayers' money in responsible ways are tiresome to me...

Thank you Tom Coburn for standing up for something.

I am also proud of George Allen for voting for the Coburn Amendment: here is the roll call at the bottom of the editorial.

Three Words

FIRE AL GROH!

Hasty? Perhaps...but I was on this before we beat FSU, and losing to UNC scoring 5 points confirms to my suspicions...I'm tired of the horrible play calling in the red zone and the overall lack of ability to close out on teams that we should beat. He can recruit, but he can't coach. He's got Pete Gillen syndrome. A few big victories does not make a coach.

We're looking at a season with a losing record, and no bowl game.

Wow, Republicans in Congress Cutting Pork?

What a rarity, and such a sublime thing to see. Of course, there is almost no chance of this actually passing. Most Republicans in Congress no longer have the will to stand up for anything. But two thumbs up for Tom Coburn!

Oh, and another exception to that broad generalization about Republicans in Congress is my own Congressman Virgil Goode, who is as principled as it gets.

Voters Turned off by the Death Penalty Ads

This is not a scientific survey whatsoever, but after speaking with dozens of college students and citizens around the Commonwealth of Virginia, everyone with whom I speak almost overwhelmingly believes that the ads released last week by the Kilgore campaign are over the top. I personally am starting to worry that perhaps the "nuclear" ads are damaging Kilgore's credibility in their attempt to dramatize what are horrible tragedies. Perhaps the recent polls with Kilgore down by 1 or 2 points, but still within the margin of error of course, are testament to the tastelessness of those ads.

Bobby Bowden on Hagans

"I've never seen a quarterback beat us with a one-man show. The last time that's happened to us was Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl -- J.C. Watts. Watts did it for about 30 minutes; this guy did it the whole game."

Pretty strong endorsement there.

Long Time Coming - 1995-2005

The title of this post refers both to the 26-21 UVA victory over Florida State and the time it took me to actually make this post. I apologize for not getting around to it until now.

I was at the game on Saturday of course. I was there in 1995 too when Adrian Burnim punched the ball out of Warrick Dunn's hands as his body broke the goal line...without the ball. I distinctly remember praying before that play and the silence of the crowd while the refs figured out if Dunn had scored. It was probably only a few tenths of a second before Poindexter and company were dancing around the endzone, but it seemed like an eternity. I'll never forget Tiki Barber's 311 all-purpose yards in that game including the 193 yards rushing...the 61 yard half back toss run he took down the left side line untouched.

Every year since, I've thought that maybe this would be the year, some more than others of course. Two years ago, my heart was broken when the ball was snapped over Schaub's head with about 3 minutes left ending the drive that would have tied or won the game. There have been many other heartbreaking moments, but finally a decade of anguish was assuaged by a victory that for some reason I felt coming (I was predicting victory all day at the tailgates...just a feeling in the air...beautiful blue sky).

UVA had nothing to lose after two straight close losses on the road, and they played with abandon. That "dadgum number 18" as Bobby Bowden referred to Marques Hagans was spectacular...simply the best player on the field with almost 300 yards passing by the end of the third quarter, although the Florida State defense shut down the UVA offense which got very conservative in the fourth quarter. On almost every single play, the UVA offensive line lost the battle for the line of scrimmage and Hagans was flushed out of the pocket, making throw after throw off his back foot or on a dead run. And Groh and his offensive coordinator continued to call pass plays in the first half, unlike last year in Tallahassee (I was present for that game too...only UVA fan in the entire FSU student section....in retrospect, perhaps not the best idea), where he refused to call anything but half back draw plays. Hagans was finally allowed to do what he does best, and he fought through a pulled hamstring in the second quarter to take UVA to the promised land.

It was awesome to rush the field at Scott Stadium once again...and the Corner was hopping afterwards. It was about time.

Homage to Birdwood

It's such a pleasure to live in Charlottesville and be a part of the University community and play the Birdwood Golf Course. I never fail to see deer running across the fairway every time I play. The views, especially as the sun starts to set, are just amazing, especially when up near the clubhouse on the plateau when you're coming in on 18. The plateau that the clubhouse sits on provides a great view of the surrounding hills that comprise the Ragged Mountains, the mountains featured in A Tale of the Ragged Mountains by Edgar Allan Poe, a short essay that he penned in 1850.

Poe writes about the Ragged Mountains:

The solitude seemed absolutely virgin. I could not help believing that the green sods and the gray rocks upon which I trod had been trodden never before by the foot of a human being.

I feel similar feelings sometimes when coming in on 18 at dusk as the sun sets over the Blue Ridge. It seems as if all the world is still and you are marvelously alone in the desolation of the twilight.

Tim Kaine's Moral Obligation and Why He Is No Mahatma Ghandi

When a person with certain moral convictions attains a position of power in which he has the ability to change laws that he believes are unjust, he has a moral obligation to do everything legally in his power to see that they are changed.

Tim Kaine's stance on the death penalty and abortion directly refute this. I'd hate to see a man elected to office who would never even do what is perfectly legal to make right the wrongs of our government. We're not asking the man to bomb abortion clinics or even participate in legitimate nonviolent resistance, a direct contravention of stated law, but morally justified when a law contravenes a greater wrong. Even if he believes something I do not, I respect a man who is willing to go to lengths to pursue justice as he sees it. Tim Kaine simply isn't that man.

For Tim Kaine to take the position that it would be wrong for him to do just that is evidence of the fact that he is willing to say anything and do anything because his lust for a position of power is greater than his willingness to act upon his beliefs. I find that pathetic. I would respect the man far more if he simply said he would work to end the death penalty because he finds it morally reprehensible. I pity Tim Kaine. He has to look himself in the mirror everyday and convince himself somehow that being true to himself is less valuable than being governor.

What Tim Kaine is essentially saying is that he believes because of the convictions given to him by his Maker that it is immoral for a state to sentence to death men and women convicted of murder, but that he believes it is somehow wrong or weird to act upon those heartfelt convictions in the position of power he aspires to and seek to change a law that he believes is simply wrong.

From whence has this idea sprung? Great political heroes and reformers throughout time have thought that the best way to change the laws was to attempt to get elected to office and advocate the elimination of those unjust laws. I find it utterly disinenguous and absurd that people should get elected but not allow their convictions to influence their decisions. What then should determine their decisions for them? Is he saying that he will always do what 50% +1 of the constitutency wants on an issue? Is he saying that the public arena is no place for conviction?

Heaven forbid that people actually act upon their beliefs. In Tim Kaine's world, everyone does only what is politically popular. No one should fight to change the law. All laws should be sustained unless somehow they express a religious position and then they should be immediately written out of the lawbooks. He acts almost as if it's impossible to change the laws through legal means. What would the point of his governship be anyway? Maintaining the status quo? How inspiring.

It's this type of cowardice that turns people off from politics. People are sick of the intellectual gyrations and lengths that politicians go to in order to say nothing and stand for nothing so that they can feel good about themselves.

Capitol Hill Trying to Steal Our Thunder

I'm sure a lot of you have read this. I meant to post it earlier, but it's a cute article by the Washington Post about politicians on the Hill getting into blogging.

This Team Is Awful

This UVA football squad is going to bring me a lot of heartache this year. Much like the Maryland game last week, we are blowing the game against BC.

Groh can't get his players to stay in the game mentally when it counts. The numbers of penalties, the pathetic defense in the crunch, the inability to win games at the end...

I'm going to ahead and predict a losing season for UVA football, 5-6, maybe 6-5 if we get lucky.

Really not worth watching this team. But of course I will drag myself out to the FSU game next weekend.

Dear Boston College Fans

For any Boston College fans out there, I'd like to apologize for the cheap shot that Brad Butler just made against Mathia Kiwanuka. I'm embarassed and disgusted with it...just thought somebody should say something. Butler deserved to get thrown out...I don't think the refs saw the hit.

UVa, 14-7 now. Great pass by Hagans.

The Religious Right Solidly Behind Miers

An Impressive Listing of Religious Right Leaders Endorsements' of Miers:

Dr. James Dobson:
"We welcome the president's nomination of Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court. He pledged emphatically during his campaign to appoint judges who will interpret the law rather than create it. He also promised to select competent judges who will 'not use the bench to write social policy. To this point, President Bush's appointments to the federal bench appear to have been remarkably consistent with that stated philosophy."

David N. O'Steen, Executive Director - National Right to Life Committee:
"President Bush has an excellent record of appointing judges who recognize the proper role of the courts, which is to interpret the law according to its actual text, and not to legislate from the bench. We believe that Harriet Miers is another nominee who will abide by the text and history of the Constitution."

Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel - American Center for Law and Justice:
"At a time when the High Court is facing some of the most critical issues of the day - including a number of cases dealing directly with abortion and life issues - the person who replaces Justice O'Connor is critical. She [Harriet Miers] is bright, thoughtful, and a consummate professional and I enthusiastically endorse her nomination. Once again, President Bush showed exceptional judgment in naming Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court to replace Justice O'Connor"

Roberta Combs, President - Christian Coalition of America:
"She [Harriet Miers] was the first woman to be elected the Texas State Bar Association President and the first woman to be hired in her law firm and to become President of the law firm. I trust that she will be an excellent addition to the High Court and all Americans will be proud of her."

Dr. Richard Land:
"I'm supporting her because I know this president. There is no issue he is more committed to than turning around the role of judges in this culture and his commitment to strict-constructionist, original- intent jurists. There is no promise he has kept more faithfully."

Potts v. UVA Center for Politics

I attended the preliminary injunction hearing at noon today before Judge Moon of the Federal District Court of the Western District of Virginia. Arguments lasted from noon until around 1:15 p.m. with Larry Sabato himself in attendance, but Russ Potts noticeably absent, presumably campaigning around the state.

Dan Carroll, Potts's lawyer, made an articulate and eloquent argument that the 15% rule was biased against third party candidates and thus not viewpoint neutral despite its application to ever debate ever hosted by the UVA Center for Politics, which took the rule from the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Mr. Broadus, the attorney for Sabato, essentially pointed to the fact that the 15% rule has never been overturned even though it is used on the presidential level and broadly used throughout the several states. He also pointed to the fact that there have been numerous instances of independent candidates polling well better than 15% of the vote and at times winning gubernatorial elections. Mr. Carroll proceeded to claim that Jesse Ventura only won because he was allowed to participate in the debates, without citing any stats as to whether Ventura had 15% before the debates, which I would guess that he did have.

Mr. Carroll consistently claimed that this was an abridgment of political speech, worsened by the fact that the Center for Politics is in part sponsored by the state of Virginia, receiving half a million dollars a year to educate and promote interest in elections. He also argued that the Forbes opinion of the Supreme Court had established an "appreciable public support test," which Potts met.

Judge Moon seemed to be skeptical at points of where then should the line be drawn to determine who is allowed into a debate, and implied that he thought the 15% test very rational, stating "the question is whether it's constitutional or not, not whether it's fair." But he also had numerous questions for the Center for Politics and expressed his lack of respect for the argument that Potts could have brought the suit sooner since the deadline wasn't until October 6 for the 15%.

The Center for Politics in addition claimed that since it was an arm of the Commonwealth of Virginia it had immunity under the 11th Amendment. Mr. Broadus referred to this request for injunctive relief as potentially "injurious to the academic process" in addition to being injurious to this University and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

All in all, pretty interesting little hearing. Judge Moon will have an opinion before nightfall and he mentioned that Potts might be appealing it to the 4th Circuit as he walked out.

Chilling Similarities to Reagan's Guarantees on O'Connor

Check out the post entitled Memories here at Eschaton. A whole series of articles from 1981 leading up to Sandra Day O'Connor's confirmation hearing in which Reagan says that he is satisfied with her pro-life credentials based on his personal conversations with her. And James Robinson, prominent televangelist, says he trust the President...reminiscent of the comments of James Dobson this week. President Reagan proceeded to make calls to Falwell among others to try to get him to believe that O'Connor was pro-life, much like Miers's conversations with leaders of the Religious Right this week. In addition, Richard Vigurie was against her nomination as he is against this one.

Best Quote Yet on Miers Nomination

Best quote so far about the Miers nomination, from the head of Texas Eagle Forum:

"President Bush is asking us to have faith in things unseen. We only have that kind of faith in God."

Supreme Court Swinging to the Right on Life?

I'm encouraged by the news that Miers has attended several pro-life banquets in the 80s with Justice Hecht and gave money on at least one occasion to the Texans for Life Coalition. Clearly, she is not a pro-choicer, although the strength of her pro-life convictions are unknown. As Colleen Parro mentions in this article, those events were quite some time ago in addition to Miers's fight to get the ABA's stance on abortion changed from pro-choice to neutral. But all these facts are indicating that if Miers were approved by the Senate, it might swing the balance of the Supreme Court from 6-3 pro-choice court to a court that is 5-4 pro-choice, two of those four being young brand new justices which bodes well indeed. Clarence is still young as well. Perhaps Miers and Roberts are going to be the justices on abortion that Bush promised.

Nevertheless, there is no conclusive evidence as to what Miers believes currently when it comes to abortion. All we have is circumstantial evidence and a substantial amount of speculation. So I'm not counting my chickens yet.

Miers Might Not Be So Bad After All

Although the nomination still has a multitude of problems, I'm starting to like the things I'm hearing about Miers personal life and beliefs. Drudge has had this NYT article posted front and center since last night.

Nathan Hecht, Texas Supreme Court Justice on Miers

Hecht, a strong pro-lifer on the Texas Supreme Court, apparently dated Miers at some point though it never got serious, but he has some very positive things to say about her.

First, she is a member of Valley View Christian Church in Dallas and has been for 25 years. This is a church known for its strong fundamentalist views on abortion. Let's hope she's an insider at the church.

Second, Hecht says her views on abortion are consistent with that of an evangelical Christian.

Three, he believes she is an originalist.

Fourth, she apparently tithes regularly at her church and is involved in mission work, Bible translation, and even is willing to bring donuts to certain functions...so perhaps she has the heart of a servant leader he suggests.

The Importance of Playing Golf in DC....Oh, And Why the Right Is Bush's Whore

Yes, I am trying to distract myself from the anguish eating at my heart. So here's a pleasant read about the bipartisanship of golf in Washington and how golf buddies help get things accomplished in an otherwise divided town. Perhaps, though, this is the problem with the Beltway crowd that turned Anthony Kennedy into a pro-choicer and makes us fear Miers' lack of judicial jurisprudence upon which to base her decisions.

Oh God, let's hope Miers is a pro-lifer, a conservative. If she is (and the fact she fought the ABA's pro-choice stance is encouraging), it's a coup of dramatic proportions and a swing in the court to the right...that would make 4 pro-lifers hopefully (let's keep our fingers crossed on Roberts, who I believe would vote to overturn Planned Parenthood v. Casey). If she isn't, it means the right-wing has played the whore to Bush and his cronies who have convinced us to go along on a thousand horrible ideas and contradict our principles for the sake of a couple pro-life Supreme Court nominees that we were promised long ago in 1999 when we decided to give the Bush family a second chance, when James Dobson was talked into endorsing Bush by Paul Pressler against Dobson's better judgment.

Three strikes against Miers:

1) suggested by Harry Reid
2) she was a Democrat at least until the late 1980s and gave money to pro-choice Democrats
3) she has absolutely no qualifications to be a Supreme Court justice other than being Bush's crony

Right now, I think I know what it's like to get turned out onto the street.....naked.

But there's always hope. In the meantime, Frum expresses my feelings exactly.

Top 200 DC Golfer/Policymakers

This is Golf Digest's ranking of the top 200 golfers in the DC political community. It's a pretty fascinating list with the President, John Roberts, and John Warner making appearances among others.

A Game Lost on Third Down

Just finished watching UVA get spanked by a weak Maryland team. Maryland converted big third down and longs one after another at a ridiculous rate...7 of 11 for third down on the day, failing to conert only ONE third down in the second half. UVA on the other hand got stopped every time they got inside the 20, at one point having to kick three field goals after three straight long drives. The defense gave up bunches of yards, and Groh REFUSED to blitz on third down and long instead playing zone defense and letting the Maryland QB sit back there forever and pick apart the defense. He sometimes had 6 of 7 seconds to throw and still no defense player was anywhere close by the time he threw. High school quarterbacks could have picked apart the weak UVA zone. I am disgusted with the UVA defense which gave up 563 yards on the day! That is absolutely pathetic. I'm afraid Virginia is probably going to lose both of its next two games with this kind of defense and this kind of play calling...this was just a frustrating game.