Candidate Obama a little touchy...

We've all seen the video of Mr. Howard of Australia voicing his opinion on the political landscape in the United States right now. In this post on CNN's Political Ticker, Mr. Howard stands by his comments.

He's right you know. Somehow it is altogether fitting and appropriate for members of the Australian Labour Party and even the Labour Party in the UK to criticize President Bush's actions and beliefs. However, when a Conservative PM or MP voices a negative opinion of the opposition, it is seen as meddling in internal politics of the United States. Would Mr. Obama's reaction have been the same had the comments came from Lady Margaret Thatcher?

Washington County Schools Budget Request

According to the Washington County News, the Washington County School Board has requested an additional $749,000 in carry-over funds for heating upgrades at county schools. I have no problem inherent with this request. However, I do have a problem with a statement made by Mr. Buckey Boone:

While Boone said increasing teacher’s salaries is a priority it’s not the only one.“If this continues to happen, and we continue to cut the budget on our end, eventually we’re going to be cutting something out that’s good for our children,” he said.

Budget cuts are a fact of life. We all have to face reality and realize that we're not going to get every funding increase approved. Mr. Boone's statement is correct on one regard. If cuts continue, something beneficial to the students will eventually be dropped. However, I want to go on record and say that I would view a teacher raise hidden within a emergency request without esteem and merit.

Finally, I would simply suggest to our county officials that I'm tired of seeing bond issues come before the voters for this project or that project. I would like to see a candidate or incumbent stand up and say "We don't have the money for this, I'm not going to finance any more projects with bond issues."

My pick is...

It is obvious who I support in the GOP 2008 field of candidates. After researching matters and stances on the issues, after reading articles and watching the video blurbs, I have come to the conclusion that I will support Mitt Romney for the GOP nomination. There are only three candidates who I would have a hard time supporting. These are John McCain, Chuck Hagel (ok, a non-candidate, candidate) and Rudy Giuliani. To those supporters of Duncan Hunter, please be assured that I considered Mr. Hunter very seriously. I have no logical, reasoned exposition as to why I am supporting Governor Romney. Call it a gut feeling.

SB 827

Two days ago, I posted about Virginia Senator Jeannemarie Devolites Davis' legislation, SB 827 that died in committee. I promised to dissect it and provide some commentary regarding why it deserved to die. Supporters of the bill would point out one thing that I will address in due time. Here is my take on Senate Bill 827.The first section of the bill relates to so-called civil immunity for sellers of firearms. I shall quote the entire section, so bear with me:

Section 8.01-226.12. Civil Immunity for sellers in firearms.
Any person who sells, transfers, or trades a firearm shall not be liable for any claim arising from , or in any way related to, the use of the firearm by the purchaser or transferee in the commission of any crime, provided that the seller has obtained a criminal history record information check as set out in Section 18.2-308.2:2 that show that the purchaser or transferee is not prohibited from possessing or transferring a firearm by state or federal law, in absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct on the part of the seller.

Supporters of this bill would have us believe that the completion of a criminal history check by a private seller is necessary to reduce gun violence. Hogwash. Need a prime example? Washington, DC is supposedly a weapons free zone. Go ask the car jacker or the murderer where he got his firearm. I would surmise that they weren't procurred from a gun show, although I'm sure a fair amount are. This promise of civil immunity is really a trade off.It is a balance of probability that I am not willing to gamble my personal safety on.

I'm no lawyer nor am I a legislator, but this section is poorly constructed in my opinion. The inclusion of the word "trades" is prohibitive because of the undue restrictions it places upon the private seller. By seller, I am referring to the private possessor (usually an individual) of a firearm who intends to sell the firearm. The process of trading a gun carries an inherent trust between two parties. I've traded two guns through the years to friends and yes, family members. In other words, to make civil immunity contingent upon the completion of a criminal history check is to needlessly hamstring the law-abiding gun owners who want to trade a gun without monetary compensation.

How would the state pay for the huge amount of red tape, overhead and head aches with the additional calls coming into the state call center? Oh, that's right we have Timmy Boy in Richmond who promises the world and then skins our wallets.I'll continue with Section 2 of the Bill later this evening. Chew on this and see what you think. I'll admit to being a hardcore 2nd Amendment man with no compromise.

Federal Funds at Work

All I can do is shake my head. It shouldn't surprise me that the Federal government would fund a study such as this. Scented soap and the law of unintended consequences for boys. This stuff is too rich. It also doesn't say much for my local newspaper that it would report such a story.

SB 827

According to Bill Bolling's email newsletter, the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice has defeated SB 827. The bill's Chief Patron is Jeannemarie Devolites Davis. The bill would have required unlicensed private sellers at gun shows to conduct an instant background check. I'll have more on this later in a detailed post. Had this bill been enacted, it would have been a most dangerous precedent. Check back later as I dissect this bill and its repercussions.

A New Wrinkle

As most of you know, I have a keen interest in the Race to the White House 2008. As a part of my continuing interest, I will be unveilling a new weekly feature. This feature will be a round-up post of news, postings and commentary regarding Election 2008. This round-up will include some commentary from yours truly. This featured post will be regular reading on Good Sense and I hope you will stop by for my take on the happenings around the Web and in the MSM.

Political Wire: Awesome

Hey guys. Check out Political Wire. The author is soliciting reviews from other bloggers online. Go visit and find out what is going on. This is an excellent idea.

Good Point

One of the hot button topics regarding the GOP field for 2008 is conservatism. Who among the declared candidates is the most conservative, etc. Friends, I'm conservative. On some issues, I'm to the right of Newt Gingrich and Jim Gilmore. This post at Evangelicals for Mitt caught my eye. I'll quote the last paragraph, and please note the last sentence.

And who would that be, pray tell? You name any -- and I mean any -- politician with the resume to be president, and I can immediately give you a position or statement they've made that would anger some significant part of our diverse and amorphous conservative movement. So let's stop looking into the clouds -- if the messiah does come between now and '08, I can promise you he won't be a GOP presidential candidate