Heads to explode...

What's the northern Virginia equivalent of Sarah Palin- a conservative, gun toting female politician who bears a Down syndrome child, doesn't bother to read the New York Times, and by her mere existence and political success drives the Left barking dog crazy?

How about a former clerk to Clarence Thomas running for Congress against Jim Moran (D, MBNA) on a platform of fiscal conservatism/national security/ethics - who also happens to be gay?

Meet Matthew Berry. Fifty years ago, a Democrat Congressman from the South could only be defeated if he were caught in bed with a dead woman or a live man. Given CD 8's past support of Moran, neither of those would be likely to have much effect on his re-election chances.
It will be interesting to see how the tolerant, inclusive Alexandria/Arlington Democrats react to a gay, Clarence Thomas Republican.

The election is a year away, and Berry may face primary opposition, but who knows? Nobody thought Bill Clinton would be defeated when he ran for his second term as governor of Arkansas in 1980.

Back yard wildlife

A Christmas eve visitor.

The dogs went berserk.

Rove, you magnificent bastard!

Karl Rove, wearing dark glasses and an obviously fake mustache, sits down next to Norman Hsu on the Zephyr and introduces himself. Hsu , who had looked very uncomfortable, becomes even more uneasy.
"Relax," says Rove. "I just want to talk. You'd be surprised how many people want to talk to you."
Hsu giggles nervously. "Actually I wouldn't be surprised at all."
"Yep, James Carville is camped out at Denver Airport with a couple of former linebackers from the Angola prison football team. He's being trailed by three goons from the Peoples' Liberation Army." Hsu looks paler.
Rove pulls out a cell phone. "As it happens, I have their numbers on speed dial. " He smiles and waits for a minute. Hsu isn't giggling.
"Or, you can talk to me and my friends here." He motions to a sinister man with short hair and a dark suit down the aisle, and his comapanion, an even more severe looking young woman.

"FBI, " Rove whispers. "And then, it's witness protection time, baby!"

Hsu gets up, walks down the aisle and sits between Rove's agents. "Be sure you tell them everything," Rove says, tapping his cell phone. He walks the opposite direction, whistling. "My work here is done."

The train speeds into a tunnel.

GOP straw poll

Here's a GOP straw poll. FWIW, Fred is winning.
But Ron Paul is not in the poll.

Will the 2008 primaries be a long horse race?

The conventional wisdom is that with the front loaded primaries each party's race will be over by the end of February.

But it's the first Presidential race since 1952 when neither the sitting President or Vice President is running. That explains the large candidate field. It's also one of the rare years in which each party has serious choices between its head and its soul.

The Democrats' soul is wth Al Gore. He really won in 2000. (Truth be told, for many Democrats their soul is with Ned Lamont, a true believer who beat a reviled incumbent Senator in the primary. That primary victory is all that matters.) If Gore won't run, Edwards or Obama or Dodd make a good stand in.

The Democrats' head is with Hilary Clinton, the heir to Bill Clinton and the Democratic Leadership Council, a group the liberal Democrats hate even more than they hate George Bush. This is the group who managed the only two Democratic presidential victories since 1976.

The Republicans face similar head/ soul choices. Karl Rove's genius was in welding evangelical social conservatives, small -l libertarian fiscal conservatives and big business Republicans into a winning coalition in a post Cold War world. 9-11 returned us to an era when national security matters, and Americans are unsure they can trust Democrats on the issue. This year the Republican soul may belong to Mike Huckabee, a solid social conservative with a populist bent; or to Sam Brownback or Tom Tancredo. The head? Rudy and Fred, and maybe Mitt. The Republican Big Tent that Rove built may not be able to stay together.

There is no reason that the winner of the Iowa caucus or the New Hampshire primary will go on to win the next three or six or ten primaries. It's possible that the campaigns in both parties produce two or three front runners without a clear leader; and two or three strong second tier candidates. If no clear front runner emerges, the second tier candidates may suspend their campaigns as they run out of money, yet stay in the race to make a deal- or with the hope of becoming everyone's second choice. The race, in either party, could go right up to the Convention.

If the race does last beyond the first month of primaries, the danger to Senator Clinton is that she will still need to cast votes in the Senate. Her day job will take time away from the campaign, or allow her opponents to argue that she is neglecting her duties. Far worse, voting yes or no on specific issues presents too many opportunities to anger convention delegates, or November voters.

Predictions? Not Clinton nor Obama. The Democrats go with their soul; the Republicans with their head- and the potential for a serious schism.

Smoke, fires, plague DC metro two days running

WMATA is baffled by two days of unprecedented and unexplained incidents. which closed multiple stations in the system Sunday and Monday evenings. Metro staff discounts terrorism, but wonders if the cause is not just random or accidental. From WaPo:
"This is not normal," Metro General Manager John B. Catoe Jr. said. "This is highly, highly irregular."

Gee, you think so?

I suspect aliens. The bug eyed monster, we- come- to- serve- humanity- and- we- like- them- well- done kind.

Will Bill torpedo Hilary's campaign?

A couple thoughts on the Michelle Obama "If you can't run your own house" kerfluffle:
1. It's awfully naive to ask if personal attacks are "fair" in a political campaign. But if Obama doesn't know it yet, he's going to learn that payback is a bitch.
2. The shoe that everyone is waiting to drop is the next Bill scandal. If I were working for Edwards or Gore (or Giuliani or Fred Thompson), I'd be trolling a squad of young ladies for Bill Clinton, like chum in the water, with photographers (or lawyers) ready if he takes the bait.

Any good campaign knows even more about the the candidate's weaknesses than her strengths. I expect that a couple of Hilary's staffers are assigned full time to watch Bill. I envision them as ugly lesbians (so there is no chance at temptation) with really bad attitudes.
Hmm, definite possibilities for a novel here. Joe Klein may already be on it.

It’s whats for dinner…..

One of the more annoying aspects of today’s environmental movement is the unwillingness to admit any progress. Yet it is hard to find any measure of environmental quality where the United States and Europe have not made tremendous leaps in the last thirty years- in air and water quality, recycling, hazardous waste cleanup, and protection of wetlands and other wild and scenic resources. The killer London fogs of a half century ago are gone. The Hudson and the Potomac, if not pristine, are much cleaner than forty years ago. The level of environmental regulation of personal, business, and municipal activities in 2007 is stunning when compared to 1967.
Perhaps the most striking example of environmental progress is the comeback of species recently consider endangered, if not on the verge of extinction. Forty years ago, both the American alligator and the bald eagle seemed to be on their last legs. But by the early 1990’s it was not uncommon for homeowners in Florida and New Orleans to find alligators in their back yard swimming pools.
Eagles, too, are thriving, and have adapted well enough to human presence that a pair (dubbed George and Martha by construction crews) nested in the shadow of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge construction here in Alexandria.

Other wildlife are thriving too. Deer have become common in the DC suburbs and occasionally snarl traffic in downtown Washington. Bears and coyotes have been sighted in the ‘burbs too.
We have an uneasy relationship with wildlife. Bambi is cute until he nibbles all your azaleas. The alligator in your pool in Tampa may decide your cat looks tasty.
We have friends who raise papillions on a small acreage ten mile south of the Wilson Bridge. They frequently see eagles, who seem to have a healthy interest in the
dogs.

Papillion: It’s whats for dinner.

Happy Fourth!

We walked up to the Rt.1 overpass a few blocks from the house last night and joined a couple hundred of our neighbors. That venue, five miles from the Washington Monument, provides a clear view of the fireworks show on the National Mall. (And it is a lot easier to get home afterwards.) An added benefit: the smaller fireworks all around the horizon, in other parts of DC, in suburban Maryland, out in Fairfax County. It was a good show.
Happy Fourth of July. Thanks to all who keep us free.

Jim Moran and earmark reform

My Congressman, Jim Moran, was asked at a District meeting earlier this spring if he would support earmark reform in the new Congress. He replied that he was proud of the funds he brings to northern Virginia.
Apparently not that proud. Via Winds of Change comes a report that Anderson Cooper had his interns ask all the members of Congress to list their earmarks.

Moran declined.

More stifling of dissent in Bush's America.
Michelle Malkin reports that the good people over at Talking Points Memo are calling for David Broder to resign.
Did he call Rosie a nappy headed ho? Assist Mike Nifong in the Duke lacrosse prosecution? Write Rudy's alleged speech saying a Democrat President would mean another 9-11?
Naw. he just compared Harry Reid to Alberto Gonzales.
The TPM folks figure if he isn't senile, he must have been bribed or blackmailed.

By the way, I went to college with Mr. Gonzales. He was pretty quiet but one of the less geeky kids in a very geeky student body. If I were he, I'd be offended by Broder's column.

Nicholas Cage, Al Gore, and the Masonic conspiracy.
Much attention has been given to the pervasive Masonic influence on the U.S. government; and recent investigations have revealed the mysterious Masonic symbols at Denver International Airport. See, for example, this and this feeble effort to refute current investigations.

Surprisingly, there is little awareness of the Masonic artifacts around the Washington DC area, or their relationship to the ongoing power struggle between the Masons and their foes: the Wilsonian Democrats, the British royal family, and the Zionist Occupation Government. Much investigation remains to be done, and the full story is too dangerous to disseminate publicly, but a few highlights can be provided:
First there are the Forty Masonic Boundary stones, set in place when the District of Columbia was surveyed in 1791 and 1792.

On each stone, the side facing the District of Columbia displayed the
inscription "Jurisdiction of the United States and a mile number. … The third
and fourth sides displayed the year in which the stone was placed …and the
magnetic compass variance at that place.

These stones, placed in accordance with the Masonic ritual derived from ancient Druidic and Egyptian lore, generate a powerful magnetic field which focuses the earth’s energy within the District of Columbia. This focused energy field, controlled by the Masons, assured the country’s growth and power for over 200 years and enabled the Masons to maintain their control over the government.

For reasons not yet known, (perhaps the effort to "protect" the remaining stones by enclosing them in steel cages; the steel cage acts as a Faraday box, diverting the stones’ electromagnetic energy into the ground and reducing the energy field they collectively generate), by the late 19th century several of the stones were lost or deteriorating, leading to a decline in the Mason’s influence, and resulting in the election of Woodrow Wilson, who plunged America into war with Germany, the heirs of the Knights Templar tradition, on the side of the British royal family.

Attempting to re- exert control, the Masons in 1922 constructed in Alexandria Virginia the so called “George Washington Masonic Memorial”, a replica of the Great Lighthouse at Alexandria Egypt. This structure, only 200 feet outside the original boundary, enhances and focused the stones’ energy and also serves as a control tower for the Masons’ activities.

















National Treasure, the 2004 Nicolas Cage movie, was a largely factual account of Masonic influence. The sequel, now being filmed, may reveal more of the Masonic secrets. It will include scenes filmed at the “George Washington Masonic Memorial”:

the Alexandria shoot is being kept super hush-hush. …"It's very exciting," said George Seghers, director of the temple. …this is the first Hollywood movie to be filmed here. But I can't say much more than that.”

The struggle between the Masons and the ZOG/ British royal family has continued for the last 90 years. In 1961 the Woodrow Wilson Bridge was constructed almost on top of the southern boundary stone at Jones Point Park- the site of the original lighthouse at Alexandria. A replacement for the bridge, now under construction, is even closer to the lighthouse and to the remaining southern boundary stone, one of the most powerful due to its corner location, and now also threatened by rising water of the tidal Potomac due to alleged “global warming.”

Many questions remain.
What is the connection between the Carlyle House in Old Town Alexandria, a few blocks from the Masonic Memorial, and the Carlyle Group, a known front organization for the British?

Why were Gavrilo Princip, Lynette Fromme, and John Hinckley all carrying postcards from the Masonic Memorial when apprehended after the assassination attempts on Archduke Ferdinand, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan?

Is Al Gore’s campaign against global warming an effort to save the southern boundary stone- or a red herring to distract attention?

The blogosphere has focused more attention to the ongoing Masonic- British conflict and their insidious influence. Both liberal and conservative blog readers have taken notice. A recent post at Little Green Footballs noted :

“Never attempt to murder a man who is committing suicide” -- W. Wilson
I would say the same about the Goracle, but he is too friggin' busy
invoking the Global Warming Druids moonbats who while away their time seeking Masonic symbolism underneath the Denver International Airport cubby holes. This, combined with their obsessive need to link anything, and everything, to a supposed Zog uberconspiracy.

Things are different inside the Beltway.
As Congress goes through the latest iteration of debate over Congressional representation for District of Columbia residents, I could argue the merits of various plans, from full statehood to retrocession. But I’d like to propose a slightly different outlook.

I lived in Texas and Arkansas until I was past thirty. I’ve lived in Northern Virginia, inside the Beltway, for almost twenty years now. I can assure you, things are indeed different inside the Beltway.

Washington’s proximity affects its suburbs. The Northern Virginia suburbs care little about what happens south of the Rappahannock; the rest of the Old Dominion returns the sentiments. Northern Virginia, year after year, sends more money and gets fewer services back from Richmond than other parts of the state.

In Texas, if you are interested in politics, you work in local campaigns. Maybe you run for city council or the legislature. After a term or two you move up to state senate or Congress, or maybe Governor. (Unless, of course, you’ve been managing the Texas Rangers.)

If you grow up in, or attend college in, or move to Arlington Virginia, and you’re interested in politics, you get a job on Capitol Hill. If you’re a policy wonk you work your way up through EPA or Justice. If you’re a smart lawyer with good connections you lobby on K Street. The best politicians in northern Virginia don’t go into local politics.

DC residents routinely complain, with good reason, that Congress interferes in what limited self government the District is allowed. But Congress interferes in suburban Virginia and Maryland government, too; usually with the approval of the local Congressional constituencies. It’s not just the amazing amounts of funding that local lawmakers direct to the DC suburbs; (my congressman, Jim Moran, was asked at a neighborhood forum in January about earmark reform. He responded that he was proud of the projects he brings to the 8th District.) Nor is it the support that local Congressmen give to their constituents, many of whom are government employees. (A top priority: make sure the District never institutes an income tax on commuters.) Again and again, local transportation and land use issues that anywhere else would be solved at a local or state level, here are decided in Congress.

I. Imagine you are a Civil War buff. A local developer is building a mall on private land adjacent to a nearby Civil War battlefield park. The County zoning board has approved the project, despite the protests of historic preservationists. What do you do?
Well, if the project is on the outskirts of Atlanta or Nashville you are probably out of luck. If it is 1988 and the project is William Center in Manassas Virginia, you mobilize preservation and conservation groups in Washington, 30 miles east. You marshal your supporters on Capitol Hill, organize a nationwide media campaign, and in a few months Congress buys the site for $134 million. The developer walks away a richer man; the County loses $23 million in annual tax revenues; local residents have 800 acres more open space, paid for by their fellow Americans, most of whom will never set foot on it.

II. In 1992, Virginia governor Doug Wilder and Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke announced plans for a new football stadium on an abandoned railroad yard in Alexandria. The deal had been arranged quietly by the Governor, with no local input. The response by local residents was quick.
“I work in the EPA. They will never get the permits to clean the site up.”
“I’m on (Tenth District Congressman) Tom Davis’s staff. We’ll kill this on the Hill.”

It took six weeks for Cooke and Wilder to abandon their plans.

III. Dulles Airport, 25 mile west, connects to DC by the Dulles Access Road. The road’s sole use is airport access; once you get on it, just inside the Beltway, you can’t exit until you reach the airport. In the late 80’s Congress allowed Virginia to build a toll road in the right of way, parallel but without connections to the access road, to serve the burgeoning suburbs. Several years later, as growing traffic clogged the toll road, the State proposed allowing carpools to use the access road. Congress vetoed the plan: increased traffic on the access road might reduce easy access to the airport. For some reason, Congress is less concerned with easy access between downtown LA and LAX.

Yes, things are different in DC. I’ve always believed the Constitution bars Congressional representation for DC, to prevent local residents from exerting undue influence on the Federal government. It makes sense, then, that the solution to DC voting rights is to give the residents of the DC suburbs the same rights as DC residents. Make Alexandria city and Fairfax, Arlington, Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties part of the Federal enclave.