Michael R. Shannon

This Toll Tolls for You

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s successful effort to open the rest stops on I–95 was a very good idea. His current effort to open tollbooths on I–95 is not.

A “Safe” & “Legal” Procedure That’s Always Fatal

Here we go again, a bunch of fanatics disrupt a public hearing screaming “safe” and “legal” in an obvious effort to block sensible, long overdue regulations that protect health and are supported by a majority of the public.

The ‘Save Obama’s Job’ bill

Obama’s “jobs” speech was historic in one way: It was the first completely ‘green’ address to Congress. Every so–called idea in the speech was recycled from the extensive collection of failed Obama stimulus programs.

When Dry–Cleaning Attacks

The pre–Labor Day holiday run up was a good week for stating the obvious in the Washington Post. An area high school student, who shall remain nameless, concluded that outsourcing her science project to the parents was passé, so she decided to see if it would be possible to recruit an actual scientist to do the work.

Why some are more ‘illegal’ than others

Forty years ago he stepped across an imaginary line to make his home in Maryland. He married, worked hard, raised a family, sent his children to public school, paid taxes, saw one wife die of cancer and even played fantasy football. Placing him right smack dab in the mainstream of American life. No different from thousands, even millions of other hard–working Americans who were fortunate enough to be born in Maryland.

Note to Post: Cover Katie Perry, not Rick

Republicans won’t know for months how seriously voters in Iowa and New Hampshire will take the presidential candidacy of Gov. Rick Perry (R–TX), but right now the Washington Post takes him very seriously indeed.

A New Media Slant Detector

I formerly believed reporters don’t tell the public what to think. Instead, they tell the public what to think about — as if that made claiming “objectivity” while misusing your influence an acceptable practice. Experience disabused me of that erroneous notion. For as Martha Bayles observes, “What [the media] does is condition us, gradually and over time, to accept, or at least view as normal, attitudes and behaviors we might otherwise reject."

One man’s museum is another man’s menace

When is the last time you saw a McDonalds’ commercial ridiculing fat people? Costco checkers questioning the intelligence of bulk buyers? Or the staff at Ralph Lauren lecturing the clothes–conscious on the contents of their closet?

Dead skunk stinkin’ to high Heaven

Conservatives make a fundamental mistake regarding government employees. Frequently conservatives rail against lazy workers, using the enthusiasm–challenged as examples of all that’s wrong with government.

Hot town – summer in the city

I cheated death last Saturday. I went outside to work in the yard. No doubt, in light of the last week’s crippling heat wave smothering the East Coast, you think my decision foolhardy. Here we had Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Incompetano hovering over the DC area in her helicopter — Grope One — burning up the bullhorn batteries as she ordered people to have their ID ready and move into nearby shade.

Embracing Defeat in the Debt Ceiling Debate

You may recall during the failed fight over imposing term limits on members of Congress the Stasis Caucus argued that the country could not afford to deprive itself of the “leadership” and “experience” of veteran legislators.

Persuading Politicians to Do Your Price Fixing

Aaron Duncan probably won’t be the guest of honor at the Virginia Bail Agents Assn. Christmas party. In fact, he might not get an invitation. That’s because Duncan — a stranger to political spin — told the truth regarding a new law regulating bail bondsmen. According to Duncan’s interview in The News & Messenger, here’s how bail bonds worked before the Commonwealth took an interest, … bondsmen charged competitive rates before the July 1 regulation was adopted. This made it difficult for clients to know what to pay beforehand since each bondsman had his own rate, according to Duncan.

Aviation justice and the debt ceiling

In contrast with his recent actions in Libya, Barack Hussein Obama, stalwart class-warrior, has declared non–kinetic action on corporate jet owners and is asking for Congress’ help in promoting the conflict.

What’s legal in court is often a crime

A chill wind is wafting through the criminal defense bar. It appears the federal government has decided there should be consequences for some forms of obstruction of justice.

Richmond Fed: Letting Its Glee Flag Fly

One of the positive benefits of smaller government is the consequent reduction in taxpayer–funded prevarication. The private sector will produce plenty of liars without government help.

Illegal Immigration: Address Supply & Demand

Reversing the tide of illegal immigration is not a one-time operation. After all, Rome wasn’t invaded in a day. Elected officials can’t collar a single undocumented swimmer and expect the public to reward them for a job well done. Successfully discouraging these lawbreakers requires affecting both supply and demand over the long term. The “social justice” crowd focuses on supply when it says we can’t deport an estimated 12 million illegals already here. But why should taxpayers be on the hook for transportation costs? We certainly didn’t pay to import the problem, why should we pay to export the trespassers?

The Gang that Couldn’t Negotiate Straight

It was somewhat disconcerting last week to witness the man our MSM assures us is the essence of cool, calm and collected resorting to the Redneck Philanderer’s defense.

The Return of the Unicorn

Last week an intrepid reporter tracked down a creature long thought to be extinct along these shores. It appeared in the guise of Retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. John W. Douglass a man who claimed in an interview that he’s a “conservative Democrat.”

Standards? We don’t need no stinking standards!

If it’s spring, it must be time for another round of stories focused on executives and compensation. Sure enough, the Wall Street Journal reports the median value of “salaries, bonuses and long–term incentive awards” for the jefe’s of 350 large companies rose 11 percent last year, while the median age of their trophy wives declined 10 percent.

Cuccinelli Conducts Free Backbone Seminar

It’s really tempting to write about Osama finally getting his just desserts this week — particularly after I learned that before they tossed his body into the sea it was wrapped in Obama’s real birth certificate — but there have been too many important events on the marriage front that merit our attention.