Honorific resolutions

An open letter to Representative Connelly.

The Honorable Gerry Connelly

424 Cannon House Office Building

United States House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Connelly:

I am a resident of Virginia's 11th Congressional District, and ask for your support for a House rule to ban, during the 112th Congress, honorific or celebratory resolutions. These symbolic acts of Congress are a frivolous waste of taxpayer resources, and distract lawmakers from more important pursuits, such as the careful analysis of staff-generated legislation.

I'm aware that many believe these small acts are important for the self esteem of constituents and special interest groups, but its unreasonable to expect taxpayers to expend scarce resources (such as your time and the time of your staff) on such matters.

Congressman Cantor's proposal to ban honorific legislation, reported by the Los Angeles Times on 25 November 2010, deserves your support as we work as a country to bring our budget under control.

Thank you for your time; I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter.

Respectfully,

Jeffery W. Wilson

The debt ceiling debate

 “New Stimulus Plan Without Congressional Approval” « The Volokh Conspiracy 

The debate over raising the debt ceiling will be interesting and intense. I hope we can have the debate in the context of the kind of crony capitalism that has characterized the economic situation in which we find ourselves.

Pay attention to the way in which the federal government (using tax dollars and funds borrowed on behalf of taxpayers) pick winners and losers in the marketplace. Don't get distracted by partisan arguments -- increasing the "size of government" (more properly, the size of its resource base) allows both parties to direct resources to their allies.

Location : Address not available
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Fall day in the Northern Neck of Virginia

What a great day for a ride, and what a great place for it!

Location: Kinsale, VA
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Aviation

I used to travel for business. A lot. I don't travel much anymore, and i don't really miss it. The hassle of the traveling public, the living out of a suitcase, driving automatic transmissions, eating restaurant food routinely...all activities that i don't miss.

I do enjoy leisure travel...there's a different feel to travel when I'm off the clock. The press of fellow travelers is a bit unnerving...you just can't tell what people will do or say when crowded into such a small place. I've always thought that people are at their worst when (a) traveling, particularly by air, and (b) driving on the outer loop or Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

For the hundreds of flights and thousands of hours I've spent in the skies above this planet, I remember some of the flights i took as a kid in the 1960's the best. The guy who, when waking, launched his meal into his lap. The guy who gave me some of the sagest wisdom a guy could give a young boy about adventures with women. The first jet flight (Boeing 707) I'd ever taken, from McChord Air Force Base to Elmendorf Air Force Base (culminating with an Air Force band welcome on arrival).

Location : 3900 University Lake Dr, Anchorage, AK 99508,

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Haze

The skies above Northern Virginia take on a whiteish haze every summer, and this year is no exception.

Location : 3900 University Lake Dr, Anchorage, AK 99508,

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Condescension…a winning strategy?

Gerard Alexander has a nice opinion piece in this morning’s Washington Post.

Every political community includes some members who insist that their side has all the answers and that their adversaries are idiots. But American liberals, to a degree far surpassing conservatives, appear committed to the proposition that their views are correct, self-evident, and based on fact and reason, while conservative positions are not just wrong but illegitimate, ideological and unworthy of serious consideration. Indeed, all the appeals to bipartisanship notwithstanding, President Obama and other leading liberal voices have joined in a chorus of intellectual condescension.

We’ve seen this before, of course…history repeats itself. The overreaching of the present legislative majority, though, and the acute tone deafness of the present administration, have exacerbated the situation. Let’s not leave the bloggers off the hook, either. While I can’t stomach more than a few minutes of the Daily Kos (which bravely carries the tag line “State of the Nation”) or the Huffington Post at a time; a browse of their comments section reveals the maturity and tenor of the discussion among the left’s cognoscenti.

I highly recommend reading the entire column….