Spank That Donkey

Please excuse the language...

Buckley appeared in a series of televised debates with Gore Vidal during the 1968 Democratic Party convention. In their penultimate debate on August 22 of that year, the two disagreed over the actions of the Chicago police and the protesters at the ongoing Democratic Convention in Chicago. At one point Vidal called Buckley a “proto- or crypto-Nazi”, to which Buckley replied, “Now listen, you queer, stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I will sock you in your goddamn face, and you will stay plastered.”[11]

This feud continued the following year in the pages of Esquire Magazine, which commissioned an essay from both Buckley and Vidal on the television incident. Buckley's essay "On Experiencing Gore Vidal," was published in the August 1969 issue, and led Vidal to sue for libel. Vidal's September essay in reply, "A Distasteful Encounter with William F. Buckley," was similarly litigated by Buckley. The presiding judge in Buckley's subsequent libel suit against Vidal initially concluded that "[t]he court must conclude that Vidal's comments in these paragraphs meet the minimal standard of fair comment. The inferences made by Vidal from Buckley's [earlier editorial] statements cannot be said to be completely unreasonable." However, Vidal also strongly implied that, in 1944, Buckley and unnamed siblings had vandalized a Protestant church in their Sharon, Connecticut, hometown after the pastor's wife had sold a house to a Jewish family. Buckley sued Vidal and Esquire for libel; Vidal counter-claimed for libel against Buckley, citing Buckley's characterization of Vidal's novel Myra Breckenridge as pornography. Both cases were dropped, but Buckley's legal expenses were reimbursed by Vidal, and Vidal's were not. Buckley also received an editorial apology in the pages of Esquire.[12]

 Interesting, if candidate Obama has his photo taken wearing Islamic Garb, it's all about culture, and the respect thereof:

These are the normal clothes that nomadic people wear.  The head turban is especially used by elderly people as a suggestion of respect. It is something that has no meaning whatsoever in Somalia culture.  If you see someone dressed like that in Somalia, you think it is a nomadic person - that is all.  There is no religious significance to it whatsoever. It is mainly the nomadic people who use it. Some of them are religious, some are not.

 A photo of a candidate as an extra in a movie is ridiculed, and used to the greatest extent possible.... Here's an Osama supp0rter that thought that stuff like this fun.

The really amusing part of all of this is that the Democrats are using this tactic on... supposedly their 'own people'.

 This has seriously got to hurt.  A snippet:

It has taken nine bloody and difficult months, but the deployment of 30,000 additional U.S. troops appears at last to have brought not just a lull in the sectarian fighting in Iraq, but the first tangible steps toward genuine political reconciliation.

 Senator Richard 'Big Mac' Saslaw has gotten his new five year, 5 cent increase in the gas tax passed by the Senate.  Rightside VA fleshes out some macro tax dollar numbers that's pretty eye opening about what the overall effect of corporate taxes on fuel, coupled with taxes at the pump actually add up too. Exxon and Chevron aren't just paying those taxes, they are passing them right along to us.

SWAC GIRL highlights the debate among neighboring Senators in regards to the tax, "Hanger Supports Gas Tax, Obenshain Opposes".

My personal take is this, We currently pay a two (2%) percent tax on our auto insurance premiums, that just last year Gov. Kaine got the General Assembly to dedicate 1/3rd of that tax revenue to Transportation.  It is being dedicated to pay the debt service on the $2.5 Billion dollars worth of Bonds passed last year.

Without the General Assembly passing a law that dedicates revenues to transportation, and puts it in a 'Lock Box', that the Governor, or General Assembly can not raid for other purposes, any increase in the rate of revenue will just find it's way to the big question.  Where does the other 2/3's of our auto insurance premium taxes go too, besides the general fund, to fund the whims and needs of Senate Finance and the Governor?

It's just one big shell game... 

 Wow, just as Delmarva Dealings reports on B4G, "Is 780% Too High a Rate to Pay?":

"Former Virginia Governor (and U.S. Senate candidate) Mark Warner approved the legislation allowing so-called "Pay Day Loans" in Virginia. These loans allow the charging of up to 780% APR interest. During a period where Warner's Democrat colleagues are advocating the breaking of perfectly legal mortgage contracts by calling them "predatory" I can only wonder what Warner's response is."

Gov. Warner apparently embarrasses even these ranters  so much they don't include him in their sidebar.  Gov. Mark Warner signed into law HB 940 in 2002 allowing "Pay Day" lending in VA, which has since become so predatory, it's needed to be cleaned up.

Then again, William Webster, Advance America's CEO donated $5,000 to Forward Together, which has as it's honorary Chair, none other than Gov. Mark R. Warner.