Virginia's Budget Surplus

At the risk of thoroughly hacking off a friend of mine in Richmond for whom mere mention of the name "Bob McDonnell" causes spasms, I learned today from an article in the Washington Examiner that Virginia's Governor McDonnell expects the Old Dominion to end the fiscal year with a budget surplus for the first time since FY 2008.  Corporate net income tax receipts are up 20% on a year-over-year basis, a sure sign of an economy on the mend.  But most significantly, Governor McDonnell and the Virginia General Assembly were able to close the budget gap through spending cuts and without raising existing taxes or creating new ones.  Our federal government in Washington could learn a thing or two from Virginia.

The Idiocy of Che Idolizers

If you spend any time talking to me, you will eventually hit my "Che" nerve; the one that causes me to convulse at the irrational idolization of Ernesto "Che" Guevara.  Che, the man whose image appears on thousands of t-shirts and posters the world over; Che, the man who led revolutions through butchery and murder; Che, the man who, with Castro, founded one of the most oppresive regimes in the history of the world.  During the last presidential campaign, one of the most popular images of Barack Obama on campaign materials was the one that showed Obama as Che, in the same iconic pose.  I have always wondered whether those who engage in this cult of personality have any idea of the real man behind the icon.  Today, by way of answer to my query, I ran across the following graphic:

Finally, I have my explanation.

[Giving credit where it is due:  I found the graphic above at National Review, which is often my source of conservative sanity in an insane world.]

Rep. Etheridge and the "Gotcha" Video

In a video posted today on YouTube, Congressman Bob Etheridge (D-NC) demonstrates how NOT to react to a kid with a video camera who confronts you on the street.



I have been keeping an eye out for the news of who is behind this escapade, but the fact that the "students" never reveal their names or the name of their school tells me that this encounter was a setup.  However, regardless of the intent of the "students," could Rep. Etheridge possibly have reacted in a worse way?  A simple "contact my office if you wish to conduct an interview" would have been fine.  Coming as it does so soon on the heals of the Helen Thomas incident, you would think that the Congressman would have had a better response than to slap the camera to the ground and physically assualt the guy who asked the question.  I expect that this incident will be widely reported by conservative bloggers and completely ignored by the mainstream media.

Follow up:  Rep. Etheridge has posted an apology for the incident on his website.