Happy New Year, 2007!

Happy New Year, folks. More to come later on today but here’s wishing you a wonderful evening, a great year to come, and a safe close to this evening’s celebrations.

12 hours remaining

It’s noon and that means 12 hours remaining in 2006. How did the predictions hold up and what will we see in the coming year?

I’ll try to get to that tomorrow but I’ll be on the road most of the day.

Suggestions for a 21st Century Virginia

(Still catching up on the blogging, here.) I note over at Virgina Virtucon this post with several suggestions on how Virginia can update its legal structure to address life in the 21st century. Good discussion going on there about the Dillon Rule, by the way. From Wikipedia:

In Municipal Corporations (1872), Dillon explained that in contrast to the powers of states, which are unlimited but for express restrictions under the state or federal constitution, municipalities only have the powers that are expressly granted to them. This formulation of the scope of municipal power came to be known as the “Dillon Rule,” which states that municipal governments only have the powers that are expressly granted to them by the state legislature, those that are necessarily implied from that grant of power, and those that are essential and indispensable to the municipality’s existence and functioning. Any ambiguities in the legislative grant of power should be resolved against the municipality so that its powers are narrowly construed. However, when the state has not specifically directed the method by which the municipality may implement its granted power, the municipality has the discretion to choose the method so long as its choice is reasonable.

There have been many references to the Dillon Rule over the past couple of years, both good and bad. The Dillon Rule, for instance, is said to prevent situations in Virginia similar to that caused by New London, CT’s decision to exercise eminent domain powers against homeowners for the purposes of granting land to people who will (supposedly) build stuff that will generate better tax revenue. (That’s the Kelo decision.) However, it also means that local governments such as the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors lack the power to tie land use to mandated proffers and the like. (You can see this issue in play in the current Chairman York versus Virginia House Republicans row over here at Too Conservative.)

I’d like to say that a well-reasoned debate over the matter is called for – and it is – but I’ve got little faith that such a debate will actually happen outside some of the area blogs. One can always hope, I suppose.

Josh Trevino surveys the leftward landscape

In a guest post over at Hugh Hewitt’s place, Josh Tevino asks the question:

Question: is any major event not fodder for the inline left’s complaints about the Administration of George W. Bush?

The answer, unfortunately, appears to be “no” and Josh goes around the left side of the blogosphere to prove it. A few days ago I happened across a post (I can’t recall where, now, sorry…) where the author was taken to task by commenters for suggesting that the Left was in mourning for Saddam. Where, the commenter asked, did anyone see such mourning in place? I certainly hope that author and commenter make it to Josh’s post.

I’m sure we’ll see even more of this to come in the next 2 years.

“…but I’d have to bill you.”

Heh™.

WESH anchor lets the bias all hang out

CQ has this post regarding a TV news anchor who is either so categorically stupid or blatantly biased that he referred to the execution of Saddam Hussein as – get this – an assassination. The YouTube link is a vid-capture of the anchor of WESH Orlando talking about their coverage of the execution and says:

“…expected NBC special report when Hussein is assassinated…”

This is so obviously not an assassination that it just beggars the imagination how this clueless moron manages to actually spew such a line with a straight face. One would hope that the management or editors at the station would be so embarrassed by such a monumental screw-up – assuming it was a screw-up – that they’d jump right on making a well-broadcast correction. That is, unless such a position is what the station is proposing is factual? In that case, they’d better explain their reporting and show us all how they’ve not descended into pushing their political conspiracy theories as news reporting.

Saddam Hussein executed

MSNBC is reporting that Saddam Hussein has been executed.

Three years after he was hauled from a hole in the ground by pursuing U.S. forces, Saddam Hussein was hanged Saturday under a sentence imposed by an Iraqi court, al-Hurra TV, al-Arabiya and Sky News TV reported.

The deposed president was found guilty over the killing of 148 members of the Shiite population of the town of Dujail after militants tried to assassinate him there in 1982, during Iraq’s war with Shiite Iran.

Pajamas Media is among the many providing coverage.

It’s a Snap!

In blogging on the various items of the day I like to refer back to my previous writing on the subject, if any, so I can rely on past research and the like. In doing so today I was presented with a quick pop-up when I passed the mouse pointer over a link. Inside the pop-up was a small preview of the site I had linked to, courtesy of a plug-in that WordPress.com is testing called “Snap Preview Anywhere” or SPA. I thought it was pretty cool.

Apparently, I was selected as part of the Beta test group for this addition. I don’t mind at all and I hope you like it as well. I noticed there were a few links it was having trouble grabbing a preview for but perhaps it’s just a matter of bandwidth. Anyway, let me (or WordPress) know what you think!

NYT laments Saddam’s sentence, shows they still don’t get it

Ed Morrissey comments on the NYT’s editorial this morning wherein they lament on Iraq’s “rush” to execute Saddam. The Captain’s right. The Time’s problem isn’t that Saddam is guilty as sin – they admit that right up front – it’s that the Iraqis have decided to hold him accountable for his genocidal actions by putting him literally at the end of his rope.

The Captain has a problem with the death penalty as a rule. I don’t. There are crimes for which rehabilitation isn’t deserved and the mere risk of recidivism is too great to permit. Saddam’s actions qualify across multiple instances and my only real issue with the trial proceedings is that it’s taken too long for him to be publicly executed. Read up over at Captain’s Quarters for the details.

Conquering Empires displayed

I received a very nice note today from a true gentleman who knows I’m a student of history. He found this item, detailing the conquering Empires of the Middle East over about 5000 years. It’s a great animation and a wonderful “high altitude” view of the area over time.

(Requires Shockwave plug-in.)