RichmondLiberty.org

On Cafe Hayek Don Boudreaux writes:

"On this Earth Day, I celebrate capitalism -- the institution that, far more than any other, has made human lives clean, safe, dignified, and culturally rich. Capitalism is also responsible for giving people the wealth and leisure to permit them to mis-perceive nature as loving and bountiful, and to enjoy nature in a way that few of our pre-industrial ancestors could ever have enjoyed it."

Full Story at:
http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2008/04/capitalism-day.html

Posted by Leonard Harris at April 22, 2008 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The Shad Planking is Virginia's premier political event. Sponsored by the Wakefield Ruritan Club, the event has been held annually for the last 60 years.

This year the sign war didn't really start until you got into Wakefield. In previous years it started as soon as you got off the Interstate and onto US 460.

As I've done for the last several years, I helped with the VCDL table. The table volunteers met at The Virginia Diner for breakfast. As we ate, there were a lot of Mark Warner volunteers arrive an just starting to put out signs. There was no sign of other candidates.

On the ride from the diner to the Wakefield Sportsmen's Club where the event took place, the signs sprung out of the ground like a fungus spreading across the land. Warner had about 90% of the signs. There were a few for Bob Marshall. I saw none for Gilmore.

There was also a patch of "KC4AG" signs. These signs had a website or something printed below it, but the print was so small I couldn't read it.

Finally spread very thinly and almost lost in the sea of other signs was a few "NO OLF" signs.

Really someone needs to tell KC4AG and NO OLF that people don't know what this crap means and aren't going to bother to look it up. I'm involved in politics and even I'm not going to bother to figure these signs out.

Anyway the event area had lots of tents and tables. Many handing out free beer, hot dogs, or something. There was the usual Gill Davis hot dogs. However Bill Bolling had bigger tastier ones. Several groups also did popcorn.

Deeds and Moran had large tents as well. That race will certainly be an interesting one. Moran winning the Democrat's nomination for Governor, could mean an end to the traditional "Conservative" Virginia Democrat. Of course that's all for 2009.

Also inside the event area, it looked like Gilmore decided to go with a horde of volunteers carrying signs saying "McCain/Gilmore". Made me wonder if he thought he might be running for VP instead of Senate. I think Gilmore won the "how many volunteers can you get to this event" contest. However as we've seen in past years, the winner of the sign war wins the general election.

The VCDL tent was busy all day, as was most of the other tables.

I finally stumbled across the KC4AG table. It means Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General.

I also stumbled across the NO OLF table. OLF stands for "Outlying Landing Field." Apparently the military is being pushed out of VA Beach because of development and they want a new landing field somewhere in a place where the residents don't want it.

There was a very big crowd at the "NO Real ID" table. I was personally glad to see them out here. There was also the Libertarian Party tent, which also had a steady stream of people.

The Sierra club, giving away free compact fluorescent light bulbs, attracted a large number of people as well.

There were numerous other groups operating tables. As always it was a lot of fun seeing talking to these people and seeing which issues motivate people.

The only one I couldn't understand was the AARP table with their petition "for the election" and something about "getting politicians to work together." It was so vague I don't think anyone could tell what they were advocating. Also don't forget usually when politicians work together, they're working to take away our rights.

Anyway about 1pm or so the shad was ready. I'm here to report, shad still have the most tiny little bones as they have ever had. As usual I was thankful I ate a huge breakfast.

Finally around about 2 or 3pm the speeches started. Around 4pm they got to the main folks (the ones running for US Senate).

Mark Warner spoke first. It was a nice warm and fuzzy speech. He's a radical centrist. He avoided the issue about his time as Governor and breaking his promise not to raise taxes. In fact his speech seemed to me to be completely devoid of any substance. After hearing him talk, I know nothing more about his positions than I did before hearing him.

Next came Bob Marshall. He talked more about God and Jesus than most preachers do on Sunday. He's a Catholic and wants to make sure marriage is one man and one woman (unfortunately he wants more government involvement to do this instead of getting government out of it). He closed with a statement about needing to fight gun violence. Well at least we know where he stands. I gathered from the No Real ID folks, that Marshall is championing the fight to stop that horrible intrusion on our liberty. Unfortunately he didn't mention it in his speech, so one has to wonder how important it is to him.

Finally came Jim Gilmore. He started his speech talking about how the only way to predict what a politician will do is by looking at what they have done. He then proceeded to talk about how he kept his word to eliminate the car tax. I must confess I stopped listening after that lie. My guess is that he probably went on to say something about how he increased spending by 40% during his term, which helped give Warner and the VA Senate Republicans an excuse not to eliminate the car tax and to eventually give us the largest tax increase in VA history.

After the windbags were done, people got back to eating shad and drinking free beer. Overall this is an extremely fun event and worth taking the day off to attend. Hope to see everyone next year.

Pictures will be posted as soon as I get them off the camera. Check back here in a few days.

Posted by Leonard Harris at April 17, 2008 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

What: Lobby Day at Virginia General Assembly: STOP REAL ID

When: Wednesday, April 23, 10:00 AM

Where: Click the link below to find out!

Who should come: Opponents of REAL ID.

Meeting Description: We're meeting at the bell tower at 10 AM. This is VETO day of the special session the governor called for the General Assembly. We are going to distribute the rest of the STOP REAL ID books that were printed up for G.A. members, and to show our numbers once again to our legislators. They've all been contacted about REAL ID; whether those messages got past their staffs or they forgot, they'll sure get a reminder!

Learn more here:
http://ronpaul.meetup.com/531/calendar/7728408/

Posted by Leonard Harris at April 12, 2008 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

From Fairtax.org

Dear FairTax supporters:

Wow! We are close! I mean really, REALLY close!
Sign the FairTax petition now!

We now have over 96,000 signatures, and need just 4,000 more to hit our target of 100,000 names for our "Pass the FairTax" April 15th petition. Please take a second and help us surpass that goal today.

We know you care about the FairTax, so we'll hope you'll take this last opportunity to add your name now at www.changedc.org and help us hit our 100,000-signature target. As you know, this is a critical time for the FairTax and every voice--especially yours!--counts. So please take a second, make a difference, and help us change DC this tax season.

As you know, we'll be delivering a copy of this petition and 100,000 names to Congress and the leading presidential candidates on April 15th. By signing now, you'll be there too and reminding our elected officials in Washington that demand for the FairTax is growing, and that real change is coming to Washington courtesy of engaged citizens just like you.

Again, thanks for your help during our April 15th "Pass the FairTax" petition. We, literally, could not do this without you!

Sincerely,

Ken Hoagland
Communications Director
Fairtax.org

Posted by Leonard Harris at April 8, 2008 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The last couple of weeks has seen some developments in the race for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination.

"Mike Gravel To Seek Libertarian Nomination For President"
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/stories/2008/04/04/barr_0405.html

"Bob Barr for president? Maybe"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/off-the-bus-reporter/mike-gravel-to-seek-liber_b_93463.html

Posted by Leonard Harris at April 8, 2008 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The politicians want us to burn more ethanol in our cars. Like most plans concocted by politicians, this one is a terrible idea that is having devastating consequences. Here are the facts about ethanol

http://action.downsizedc.org/wyc.php?cid=91

Posted by Leonard Harris at April 8, 2008 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

GA08-03-27.txt
The Governor and Guns
General Assembly special report, March 27, 2008

I have not yet compiled and sent out the overview of General Assembly actions this year; that will take a bit more time. This is a special report dealing with the Governor's actions on two gun-related bills.

Some of you may know that I voted for Governor Kaine, and urged others to do so, since I considered him to be the lesser evil of the electable candidates, in spite of his acknowledged antipathy toward privately-owned firearms. I said then that after having been caught using tax monies to subsidise one side of a policy-policy debate while he was mayor of Richmond (and I'm happy to say that I am the person who confronted him on this at City Council meeting), and being forced by public opinion to reimburse the taxpayers for that wrongful expenditure, that he had learned a lesson.

I may have been wrong in that assessment. His recent actions have been very disappointing, and call into question his honesty and his competency. There may well be a good explanation for this, but so far I have not heard one. Certainly what the Governor has said does not make any sense, nor does it comport with the facts.

Here are the facts; you can judge for yourselves.

Necessary background information:

Virginia law has never prohibited law-abiding adults from owning firearms, nor from openly carrying them in public, nor from drinking while they do so. It is illegal to hunt with a firearm while under the influence.

Under current law, the Code of Virginia, § 18.2-308, sets out restrictions on carrying deadly weapons "hidden from common observation". In general, this is illegal, but the section also provides for issuing Concealed Handgun Permits (CHPs) for most law-abiding citizens under certain circumstances, and for some people to be exempt from all or part of the law.

One of the restrictions is that CHP-holders are not allowed to carry a concealed weapon in public while under the influence of alcohol.

Another restriction, somewhat stranger, is that a CHP-holder is not allowed to carry the weapon, concealed, into a place that's licensed to serve alcohol (except for the owner and employees). There's no such restriction if the weapon is not concealed.

The ban on carrying a concealed weapon into a place that serves alcohol has long been a burden. Before entering a restaurant that serves wine, for example, present law requires you to rearrange either the weapon or your clothing so that the weapon is visible. This is not merely a nuisance, but it scares some people, and can provoke others.

Now then, with that background, you can understand the bills.

Two virtually identical bills were introduced this year to repeal the restaurant ban. HB1544, from Delegate Gilbert, died in House Militia, Police, and Public Safety Committee without ever being heard.

SB476, from Senator Hanger, on the other hand, was passed by committees on each side, and by the full House and Senate. Along the way, it was amended to require that a person carrying a concealed weapon into a place that serves alcohol would have to notify the management, and also to prohibit the person from drinking any alcohol at all (as opposed to merely not becoming "under the influence"). When the bill reached the Governor, he vetoed it.

He said that concealed weapons don't go with alcohol, and also said that he was responding to concerns from law enforcement agencies. This second point ignores the fact that the only testimony against the bll in committee hearings came from the ABC, whose spokesman said that he was "speaking for the administration" -- that is, the Governor told them to oppose the bill.

If this were the end of the story, however, I wouldn't be bothering with this note. People disagree on various issues, and we knew that he didn't like guns, so he vetoed it, OK, maybe next year there will be enough votes to override the veto, move on. "But wait . . . there's more!"

There was another bill, SB776, from Senator Hurt. It allows Commonwealth's Attorneys and assistant CAs to carry concealed weapons anywhere in the state, at any time, without needing a CHP. They're already among the people allowed to carry while on duty, and while going to or returning from work, but this would expand that privilege immensely.

I opposed the bill as written, since it didn't require them to prove their safety and competency with a weapon, as is required of ordinary citizens obtaining a CHP; I suggested merely waiving the normal $50 fee for them. That didn't happen, partly because of philosophical objections and partly because no Senator or Delegate wants to offend the Commonwealth's Attorneys in his or her district.

The bill was passed, and the Governor signed it, and it will become law on July first . . . but it seems that there's one little problem with it.

It allows CAs, and their assistants, to carry concealed weapons into places that serve alcohol, and to drink alcohol, so long as they don't get tipsy. In other words, it "mixes concealed weapons and alcohol", even more than the bill the Governor vetoed!

Worse yet, when this was brought up to the Governor, rather than just admitting that he had missed that aspect (as I did, and I'm generally pretty good at analysing these things), he just denied that it was true, in spite of the fact that the new law is very plain. He's repeated this denial several times, in spite of the plain language of the bill.

I suggest that you email him and ask why he's refusing to admit the truth. You'll need to do it through his website, listed at the end of this message.

You may also want to bring it up at one of his public meetings. I regret that I delayed sending this until most of them are past. The ones now scheduled are for:

Monday, March 31:
Town Hall: Loudoun. Governor Kaine will participate in a Town Hall meeting to discuss the budget and legislation passed during the 2008 General Assembly Session and take questions from the public.
When: 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Where: Farmwell Station Middle School – Auditorium
44281 Gloucester Parkway, Ashburn, Virginia

Thursday, April 3
YMCA Model General Assembly. Governor Kaine will deliver remarks and present the 2008 Service to Youth Awards at the opening of the 2008 YMCA Model General Assembly. The Model General Assembly program is designed to introduce high school students to the legislative process of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
When: 7:00 p.m.
Where: St. Paul's Church
815 East Grace Street, Richmond, Virginia

Now, the last item in this message: why should you believe my analysis of the bill rather than that of the Governor? After all, he's an elected leader, with a Harvard law degree, and I'm just a private citizen, and a troublemaker to boot! Well, I could say that it's because I'm honest, and he's a politician, but as Tricky Milhous said, "That would be wrong!" A simpler answer is to show you the bill itself, and let you read the language in it.

At the end of this message are URLs for present law, and for the bills I've mentioned here. For the bills, the link takes you to the "history" page, which has links to the various versions of the bill, and the amendments, and the votes, and the Governor's veto message. When looking at the text of the bills, whether HTML or PDF versions, plain text is existing law, italicized text is language that would be added, and struck-through text is existing language that would be deleted.

Interestingly enough, and of course there can't be any connection to the ruckus that's been raised recently about his actions, I discovered today that the Governor's veto messages for at least two gun bills, including SB476, have mysteriously disappeared from the Legislative Services websites. When I reported the error this morning, I was told that they'd find out what the problem was and get back to me. This hasn't yet happened. As I said, I'm sure that there cannot possibly be any connection.

Now then, look at § 18.2-308, it's in legalese, but that's still just plain English. The only word you may not know is "curtilage", which is very freely translated as your yard around your house.

The bill has 25 subsections, A-S (Subsections H, J, and P have multiple subsections). They break down as follows:

A. Illegal to carry concealed weapons; items included; penalties.
B. Article does not apply to people in their homes.
Except for subsection J1, does not apply to certain people under certain circumstances.
C. Does not apply to certain officials while on duty & to/from work.
D. CHPs & processes
E. Disqualifications for CHPs
F. False statements; perjury.
G. Proof of competency
H. Form of CHP
H1.Military & CHPs
I. Renewals of CHPs
J. Forfeiture for convictions.
J1.CHPs & "under the influence" of alcohol
J2.CHP suspended if felony charge pending
J3.CHP & restaurants that serve alcohol
J4.CHP suspension for incompetency
K. People who don't pay for CHPs.
L. Appeals of denials
M. Definitions
N. More definitions
O. CHPs do not override laws or property rights.
P. Reciprocity with other states
P1.Non-residents
Q. Reciprocity (Maryland)
R. Reciprocity (Law Enforcement)
S. Law on deadly force

Now, currently CAs are listed under subsection C, since they are "conservators of the peace". They can carry concealed, only while on duty or ging to or from work. SB776 lists them separately, in subsection B (and also notes this in subsection C, referring to subsection B). CAs and assistant CAs are now to included in subsection B 9.

As it says at the beginning of subsection B, "Except as provided in subsection J1, this section shall not apply to:" the people listed therein, which now will include Commonwealth's Attorneys and their assistants. Note that language well . . . except for subsection J1, NO PART of the Concealed Weapon statute applies to them.

Subsection J1 says "Any person permitted to carry a concealed handgun, who is under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs while carrying such handgun in a public place, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. . . ." That is the ONLY part of the Concealed Carry law that will apply to Commonwealth's Attorneys.

The "restaurant ban" which the Governor seems to think is sacrosanct does not apply. That's in subsection J3, which says, "No person shall carry a concealed handgun onto the premises of any restaurant or club as defined in § 4.1-100 for which a license to sell and serve alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption has been granted by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board . . ."

The Governor says that the bill will not allow CAs and their assistants to enter restaurants with concealed weapons, and he claims that the Attorney General backs him up on this. Regardless of what the Governor says, or the Attorney General says, or a choir of angels says, that is precisely what the bill will do. It's a basic legal principle that a law means what the words in it mean. The Governor is absolutely wrong, and if the Attorney General agrees with him then the Attorney General is wrong.

Contact the Governor, if you choose; contact your legislator, if you choose to do so. Whether or not you do either, do look at the websites referenced below, and see for yourself what's been done.

-- Roy

Websites for more information on any of the items above are here.
General Assembly website:
http://legis.state.va.us/
Legislative Information website:
http://leg1.state.va.us/
Current Virginia law on concealed weapons:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-308
HB1554, Restaurant ban repeal (failed):
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=081&typ=bil&val=hb1554
SB476, Restaurant ban repeal (passed):
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=081&typ=bil&val=sb476
SB776, Commonwealth's Attorneys:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=081&typ=bil&val=sb776
Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine -- WEBSITE:
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/
E-MAIL the Governor:
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/contactGovernor.cfm

Posted by Roy B. Scherer at March 27, 2008 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

From downsizedc.org:

You can watch hours and hours of news, or read columns of print in most newspapers, and come away no wiser about the causes and prospects for the current financial turmoil.

Most journalists and TV talking heads don't really understand the subject, and those that do speak and write using so much jargon that the average person must feel he or she is trying to follow a conversation in ancient Hebrew.

We're going to try to cut through the jargon, and explain the situation as best we can, in plain English.

For their explanation visit
http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/2008/mar/18/what_youre_not_being_told

Posted by Leonard Harris at March 18, 2008 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

file GA08-03-13
General Assembly, Thursday, March 13th, 2008

Five days past scheduled adjournment!

So, puny citizen, you thought that GENERAL ASSEMBLY could be banished from River City by mere pre-agreed-upon schedules . . . but you failed to take into account the POWER generated by the CONFLICT between the two branches of the DUOPOLY! The REPUBOCRATS and the DEMLICANS are locked in mortal struggle, and deadlines mean NOTHING to them!

You must ENDURE, for you are a mere taxpayer!

BWA-HAA-HAH-HAH!

(Sorry, have just been reading some back issues of ASTRO CITY, and the tone seemed appropriate.) The Assembly was back in session today, as well as Tuesday the 11th. Their main business is the budget, which they THINK they'll reach agreement on today. If so, they'll leave town again until they come back on April 23rd to consider bills that the Governor has vetoed.

House went in at 4, and four minutes later went into recess.
Senate went in at 5.
They FINALLY agreed on a budget.
House adjourned at 9:22pm, Senate at 9:25pm.

They also did some other stuff -- acted on Governor's recomendations, acted on bills in which they were in disagreement, set schedule for veto session and special session. These items aren't yet consistently available on the Web, and I'll report more on them in a day or two.

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Next significant meetings are :

April 23rd, veto session of House and Senate.

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DETAILS:
To see the summary, text, status, estimated cost, votes, or other details on any bill, go to:
http://leg1.state.va.us/. Click on:
“Bills & Resolutions – status of individual bills and related information”.
At the text-entry block, enter the bill and type just as I have it listed above. (Use “SB921”, not “S.B. 921”, for example.)

------------------------------------------------------------------

REMINDER:
http://leg1.state.va.us/ and http://legis.state.va.us/
These are the two websites where you can access nearly anything you want to know about practically anything related to the General Assembly. Use them!
__________________________________________________________________

Posted by Roy B. Scherer at March 13, 2008 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

According to CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/10/paul.campaign/
"U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is still in the presidential race ... sort of."

"Though victory in the conventional political sense is not available in the presidential race, many victories have been achieved due to your hard work and enthusiasm. We must remember, elections are short-term efforts. Revolutions are long-term projects," Paul said in the video.

Posted by Leonard Harris at March 11, 2008 | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)