Why Not Require A Blood Oath?

Unlike some states, Virginia doesn't require party registration to vote in primary elections. That means that Democrats can cross party lines and vote for Republicans, and vice versa.

Apparently alarmed by the state's steady drift towards the dark side (Virginia has had two democratic governors in a row; Democrat James Webb beat out George "Macaca for Brains" Allen for the United States Senate last year; and the state senate was taken over by godless democrats last month), Virginia Republican leaders had the bright idea to require voters to sign a "loyalty pledge" in the February Republican primary. Under it's terms, voters would have agreed to support the Republican presidential nominee in November, regardless of which complete idiot it may turn out to be.

Aside from being completely meaningless and unenforceable, it was pretty damn insulting.

After hearing the public outcry that ensued, party leaders have backtracked and dropped the loyalty pledge. The main concern, of course, was that it would only serve to piss people off and drive even more voters over to the Democrats.

A proposal for Republicans to further demonstrate party loyalty by publicly sacrificing their first born child was also dropped.

The State Of Bush's Failures

President Bush has raised some good points about Iraq, both during the State of the Union address as well as in previous interviews: The consequences of our defeat would be dire. The current sectarian violence in Baghdad and the rest of the nation would become a full scale civil war (though many would argue that it already is), instability would likely spread to surrounding countries, and terrorists would become emboldened.

What Bush neglects to mention, however, that all these consequences will be a direct result of his actions.

Virginia Senator James Webb summed it up best when he delivered the Democratic response to Bush's address: This President led us into Iraq "recklessly" and forced us to endure "a mismanaged war for nearly four years." Harsh? Rude? Not if you consider that Bush's actions have cost thousands of American lives and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives. Webb also backed up his charges (text of Webb's speech):

"He disregarded warnings from the national security adviser during the first Gulf War; the chief of staff of the Army; two former commanding generals of Central Command, whose jurisdiction includes Iraq; the director of operations on the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and many, many others with great integrity and long experience in national security affairs."

Hell, even Gerald Ford said in an interview before his death that the invasion of Iraq was a mistake.

The only thing to do now is to leave, and leave NOW. Even if you choose to blindly accept the President's reasons for the invasion of Iraq, you have to admit that the Iraqi people have been given ample opportunity to take advantage of the opportunities we handed them.

They clearly haven't, however, and there is no reason for us to continue to shed American blood in that shithole. If the Sunnis and Shiites want to kill one another because of some asinine interpretation of Islam, or who succeded Mohammad, or whatever the f*ck they're arguing about, fine, let them. Our role should merely be to try to keep the violence from spreading to neighboring countries, and the best way to do that is through diplomatic channels.

Webb concluded his response Tuesday evening with references to Presdents Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower, and a warning to Bush:

"These presidents took the right kind of action for the benefit of the American people and for the health of our relations around the world. Tonight, we are calling on this president to take similar action in both areas. If he does, we will join him. If he does not, we will be showing him the way."

Amen to that.

What's In A Name?

Congratulations are in order to outgoing Virginia Senator George Allen. He may have lost a tight race for re-election, but at least his campaign wasn't a total waste of time. The word "macaca"--famously used by Allen to describe a man of Indian descent--has been dubbed 2006's "Most Politically Incorrect Word." According to the nonprofit group Global Language Monitor, not only is the word a slang racist term, but it cost the Republicans the U.S. Senate altered the political landscape of America.

So the question now becomes: Does naming a kid "George" make him grow up to be an idiot, or are they named George because parents subconsciously already know that their kid will become an idiot later in life?

At Least There Were No Fisticuffs

Gotta hand it to Virginia's incoming Democrat senator, Jim Webb. He was recently at the White House with other newly elected officials and he refused to shake the President's hand. Afterwards Bush sought him out and the two ended up having a rather testy exchange over the war in Iraq.

Allen Throws In His Macaca Stained Towel

Virginia Senator George Allen conceded defeat earlier today, thereby sparing the state--and the nation--a time consuming recount. That means the Democrats will control 51 seats in the Senate and the Republicans 49. Had Allen not conceded, the Senate's makeup would have remained in doubt. And if there had been a 50/50 split, that means it would have been up to Vice President Cheney to break any ties.

A look at the county by county vote totals shows that Allen actually won most of Virginia. It was Webb's huge margins in populous Northern Virginia (over 70% in Alexandria, Arlington, and Falls Church; almost 60% in Fairfax county, Fairfax city, and Fredericksburg) that gave him his 7484 vote win over Allen.

Bottom line: Even if people in most of the state don't mind it, those of us in Northern Virginia decided it was embarrassing to have an ignorant racist bonehead like George Allen representing us.

For too long the northern counties of this state have been ignored by the politicians in Richmond. They are happy to take the tax revenue we supply and distribute it to the rural backwater regions of Virginia. That might not be so bad, except that those of us here in the DC suburbs have to endure some of the nation's worst traffic gridlock because we can't get roads built. But with northern Virginia finally in a position to flex its political muscle, that may change.

And Northern Virginia's changing demographics aren't confined to the candidates we vote for.

Virginia also voted on an controversial amendment defining marriage as being between a man and a woman. The proposed amendment passed with 58% of the vote. But again, in liberal Northern Virginia, the amendment was voted down. Unfortunately in this case the margins weren't enough to alter the statewide results.

Incidentally, Virginia produced many of the founding fathers of the United States. People like Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, James Madison, George Washington, and Patrick Henry were all Virginians who put their lives on the line in the pursuit of liberty. And Mason's Virginia Bill of Rights was the model for the national Bill of Rights, which comprise the first ten amendments of the United States Constitution. So you have to wonder how they would feel about their home state voting to restrict rights.

I agree that marriage is a sacred institution and should be protected. But what's the bigger threat? Two guys kissing over a slice of wedding cake, or people like Britney Spears and Kevin Federline who repeatedly make a mockery of their vows?

A Photo Finish In Virginia

In 2004 Republicans relied on the dual themes of family values and fear mongering to maintain their hold on power, and it worked.

They tried to do the same again this year, but weighed down by numerous charges of corruption and questionable sexual practices, the family values thing only made people burst out laughing. And with serious questions about the Iraq war, the fear factor failed to win over voters this time around. As a result, Democrats have comfortably retaken the House of Representatives and appear poised to capture the Senate as well.

One of the key Senate races has been the Virginia contest between incumbent Republican George Allen, who has been one of George W. Bush's most loyal allies, and challenger James Webb. Webb relied on Allen's fierce loyalty to the President, along with serious questions about the Republican's thinking on matters of race, to launch a serious challenge.

In fact, until last spring, very few people in Virginia had a clue who Webb was. Even I had never heard of him until a friend (Yes, you started me on the Webb path, Mike K.) emailed me an article about his likely run for office. And even going into the Democratic primary last June, Webb was considered something of an underdog. The point was moot, however, since Allen was an immensely popular Senator and former Virginia governor, and appeared unbeatable. Some in the national Republican party had even crowned Allen as Bush's heir apparent and were touting him as a presidential candidate in 2008.

Whether Webb has succeeded in pulling off a major upset remains to be seen. Out of over 2.25 million votes cast, the Democrat held a lead of less than 2,000 as of 12:30 A.M. this morning. Whether he is able to maintain that lead remains to be seen, since an estimated 130,000 absentee ballots remain to be counted. Even after those numbers are in, recounts are certain to follow.

Election Eve

The picture below (didn't turn out nearly as well as I had hoped) was the scene outside the Vienna, Virginia Metro station this morning. There was a super-sized mob outside the entrance sporting signs of various sizes for Jim Webb, the Democrat Senatorial candidate running against incumbent Republican George "Macaca Head" Allen.

Shortly after I took that photo, I recognized my own Congressman, Frank Wolf, emerge from the crowd and head for the parking lot. Wolf is a Republican, so I'm guessing he was there campaigning for himself rather than on behalf of Webb. As he walked by, I said something along the lines of "I'm surprised to see you in this crowd." Wolf just smiled, jotted down my license plate number, and said the IRS would be in touch with me.

Wolf was first elected in 1980, the same year as Ronald Reagan. He's been pretty popular in the state of Northern Virginia and usually gets re-elected with well over 60% of the vote. Democrats rarely succeed in running a significant opponent against him.

But in keeping with the anti-Republican tide sweeping the nation this year, recent polls show Wolf leading by only five percentage points. His challenger is Judy Feder, who is a Dean of something or another at Georgetown University. If Feder manages to pull out a victory, it would be a major upset.

Personally I've routinely voted for Wolf in the past, but not this time. He lost my vote during the Terry Schiavo circus last year. Although the congressman was out of the country and didn't vote to continue her life support, he later said that if he had been present, he would have. If only he had kept his mouth shut, Wolf would still have my vote.

The two signs on the right are for Tom Davis, also a Republican. Davis is a shoe-in to be re-elected. His district and Wolf's border on one another in the Vienna area, which explains why one often sees signs for both in the same area.

Later in the morning I was at the metro station again when a guy with Allen literature approached me. I told him I wasn't interested, and that I considered Allen to be an embarrassment for Virginia. The guy replied, "Webb is the one you should be embarrassed by. He's a pornographer." I asked if this was in reference to Webb's books, and he said yes, that the books were pornography.

All of a sudden I wished I were Darth Vader, and that I could just use The Force to make this guy's head explode like a melon.

I pointed out that the books were NOT pornography, that they merely contained a couple of sex scenes. Then I asked the guy how he "got here." He hesitated and said he drove. I said, no, that's not what I meant. Then I went in for the kill and told him that the reason he was here, on Earth, was because his parents had sex at least once. The guy then mumbled something about that being different and walked away.

Incidentally, earlier I made reference to the "state of Northern Virginia." The Washington Post recently had a good article about the differences between the state's northern counties and the rest of Virginia. Basically, it says those of us up here identify much more closely with DC than with Richmond, the state capital. It goes on to say that given the profound differences in politics, values and priorities, there are essentially two Virginias.

And as far I'm concerned, George Allen can stay down in HIS Virginia.

What? Sex? NOW They've Got My Attention!

The Virginia senate campaign continues to take some bizarre twists and turns. The latest: Democrat challenger Jim Webb has written several novels over the years, and apparently they contain sex scenes between a man and woman. Republican incumbent George Allen has raised the issue as proof that Webb isn't fit to serve in Congress.

I guess Republicans only like sex scenes involving men and little boys.

Who's The Real Virginian?

Just a few short months ago, political observers predicted Virginia's Senator George Allen would have an easy time getting re-elected. Many even predicted he would make a run at the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. And what of Allen's Democratic opponent, James Webb? He was supposed to be a sacrificial lamb with no chance of winning. And if anyone had suggested that the two would be in a statistical dead heat three weeks before election day, that person would have been branded a lunatic.

Yet here it is, the middle of October, and a new poll shows precisely that: The race between Allen and Webb is now a toss up.

Allen's slide began in August when the Senator singled out a Webb campaign worker at one of his own rallies in southwest Virginia, called him a macaca, and welcomed him to the "real Virginia."

It is worth noting at this point that while the Webb volunteer, S.R. Sidarth, was dark skinned and of Indian descent, Allen's audience was entirely white.

In his apology, Allen insisted that he had just made the word up, had never heard it before, and had absolutely no idea that it is used as a racial slur in some European countries against Africans. Sounds reasonable, right? Well, maybe, except that Allen's mother is French and was born in Tunisia, a former French colony.

Hmmm.... Suddenly it appears he may not have made up the word after all.

Since then things have only gone downhill for the Senator. For example, at a press conference he was asked if it was true his grandmother was Jewish. Allen angrily denounced the question. Then it turned out that she had only recently revealed to Allen that yes, she was indeed Jewish. Allen's initial reaction, coupled with the subsequent admission, caused many to wonder just what Allen had against Jews in the first place.

Then allegations surfaced that back when he played football at the University of Virginia, Allen repeatedly used the word "nigger" in front of several teammates. No word on whether Allen understands that some people consider that word to be racist.

In addition to hurting Allen's campaign, all these incidents have also served to embarrass the people of Virginia. Many late night comics are having a field day portraying Virginia as some sort of uneducated backwater state.

It should also be noted that another thing that is beginning to seriously hurt Allen is his unwavering support of George Bush and the war in Iraq. Even as more information about the various deceptions used to to justify the conflict continues to come out, Allen maintains his steadfast support for the President and his failed policies.

Oh, and the best part of the macaca episode? Sidarth was born and raised in Fairfax county, Virginia. George Allen was born and raised in California. He only ended up in Virginia after his father took the head coaching job for the Redskins back in the early '70s.

That means that Sidarth is more of a Virginian than George Allen.

Dream Ticket

The 2008 presidential election is still more than two years away, but political experts are already speculating on potential candidates. On the Democratic side, the current favorites appear to be Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, while for the Republicans John McCain appears to be the most frequently mentioned name.

There is one potential dark horse ticket that many pundits are overlooking, and that's Virginia Senator George Allen for President with actor Mel Gibson as his vice presidential running mate.

Think about it: If these two guys were to promise to balance the budget, withdraw our troops from Iraq in an orderly fashion, capture Osama bin Laden, fix Social Security, devise a functional universal healthcare system, and deport all the Jewish macacas, they'd be unstoppable.

Macaca, Part II

Virginia Senator George Allen has finally called S.R. Sidarth to apologize for calling him a macaca and welcoming him to "America and the real world of Virginia." Allen continues to insist he didn't know what the word meant.

Horseshit. Whether or not he knew the precise definition of "macaca" is besides the point. The fact remains that Allen singled out the one dark complexioned man in a crowd of 100 white people and directed an insulting comment at him. Even if by some stretch of the imagination we believe that he didn't intend it to be a racial barb, it's still nothing more than bullying. When the Senator did was no different than what schoolyard bullies do everyday when they call someone "four eyes" or some other such term. Hell, it's surprising Allen didn't climb down from his podium and steal Sidarth's lunch money.

But putting aside the racial aspect of what George did, I'm still profoundly insulted by the words "welcome to America and the real world of Virginia." What the f*ck was that supposed to mean!?!?! Sidarth was born and raised in Fairfax, Virginia. Does that mean that the million plus residents of Fairfax are some how not real Americans? Is Fairfax County somehow not part of Virginia?

To me, Allen's words are a further example of the divide between Northern Virginia and the rest of the state. The Northern Virginia counties/cities of Fairfax, Arlington, Falls Church and Alexandria are all within a half hour drive of the nation's capital. During the last several decades, those communities have grown, prospered, and become increasingly urbanized. Meanwhile, the state legislature in Richmond has continued to shortchange those areas when it comes to building roads and other infrastructure. Allen, a former Virginia governor, further exemplifies that divide.

A recent article in the Washington Post said that there are now over one million immigrants in the DC metropolitan are, of which Northern Virginia is a part. And four out of every ten of them has a college degree, compared with the national average of less than three in ten. Fairfax County in particular, where Siddarth grew up, has almost 1.1 million residents now, and 27% of them are from other countries. Is that somehow unacceptable to George Allen? Should Fairfax secede from the rest of Virginia because it's not really part of the state?

This raises an interesting question: Just what is George Allen's version of the "real Virginia?" A bunch of ignorant inbred hillbillies chugging bottles of moonshine while they have sex with their cousins?

I Just Hope A White Guy Wins

In what can politely be called a controversial move, CBS has announced that the teams on its next installment of Survivor will be based on race and ethnicity. Yes, you read that right. There's going to be a team of white people, of blacks, of Asians, and of Hispanics. In other words, not only will the new season be set in the Cook Islands, it will also be taking place in 1955. Who knows? Maybe one of the competitions will consist of Building a time machine out of a DeLorean.

At any rate, I think we all know which team George Allen will be rooting for.

Macaca

Every now and then a politician will say something so mind-boggling in its stupidity that it absolutely defies the imagination. Virginia Senator George Allen is the latest to do so. Mr. Allen, a Republican, is running for re-election this year against former Secretary of the Navy James Webb.

It was at a campaign rally in southwestern Virginia--heavily Republican and very VERY Caucasian that Allen noticed S.R. Sidarth, one of Webb's campaign workers, in the crowd. Siddarth is of Indian descent, so he was easy enough to spot in the sea of white faces. That's when Allen decided to make Mr. Siddarth feel welcome:

"This fellow here, over here with the yellow shirt, macaca, or whatever his name is. He's with my opponent. He's following us around everywhere. And it's just great," Allen said, as his supporters began to laugh. After saying that Webb was raising money in California with a "bunch of Hollywood movie moguls," Allen said, "Let's give a welcome to macaca, here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia."

Gee, Senator. Why not just incite your supporters to lynch the poor bastard?

Now the first question, of course, is just what the hell is a "macaca?" Well, apparently it depends on the precise spelling, but

"the word macaca could mean either a monkey that inhabits the Eastern Hemisphere or a town in South Africa. In some European cultures, macaca is also considered a racial slur against African immigrants, according to several Web sites that track ethnic slurs."

Hmmmm..... So which of those particular definitions was Allen thinking of when he singled out the only dark complexioned man at a Republican rally?

Asked what macaca means, Allen said: "I don't know what it means." He said the word sounds similar to "mohawk," a term that his campaign staff had nicknamed Sidarth because of his haircut. Sidarth said his hairstyle is a mullet -- tight on top, long in the back.
Allen said that by the comment welcoming him to America, he meant: "Just to the real world. Get outside the Beltway and get to the real world."

Oh, so my United States Senator is spouting off racist sounding remarks without even knowing what the hell they mean?!?! And here's the best part: Allen has presidential aspirations. There is even talk of him running for the office in 2008.

Can you imagine if Allen wins and actually becomes leader of the free world? He'll probably show up at some major summit meeting and refer to the President of China as a "Chinc."

And 20 minutes later the world will be incinerated in a nuclear holocaust.

Unfortunately I live in Virginia. Have all my life. And more than anything, I find Allen's remarks personally embarrassing. Any Virginian should, for it appeals to the racial insensitivities that this state practiced until the late 1960's. I still remember being in second or third grade when a single black girl began attending our school. It was a big deal, because the vast majority of this state still practiced racial segregation at the time. Is that the "real Virginia" that the Senator was referring to?

Thankfully, northern Virginia is NOT part of Allen's real Virginia. I'm sure that the rednecks voters whose support Allen is seeking consider those of us up here to be out of step with the rest of the state. And you know what? I'm damn proud of that. I'm also proud that most of northern Virginia voted solidly for John Kerry two years ago even while Bush was winning the rest of the state with 54% of the vote.

I'm guessing that 54% was the same group that finds it amusing to hold a man up for public amusement simply because his skin is darker than theirs.