A Light in Virginia, State Supreme Court Overturns Redistricting Farce

It isn't easy these days under the tyranny of Governor Abigail Spanberger to find much light in Virginia. But yesterday the Supreme Court of Virginia set off some colorful fireworks. The judges declared that the redistricting election was unconstitutional, since the Democrats violated procedural rules for amending the state constitution. The Democrats immediately made plans to appeal to the Supreme Court based on the dissenting opinion of Judge Cleo Powell. You can read the decision and dissent here. It was close, four to three, like the vote on the amendment itself which squeaked through. But the wording of the amendment was a lie and a fraud:

Will Spanberger Make Virginia the Next Minnesota?

Michael Hichborn at the Lepanto Institute, posted this picture of Spanberger as the White Witch of Narnia who made it always winter but never Christmas. It's certainly an accurate portrayal for our poor Commonwealth under this heartless woman.

Spanberger gave the state numerous poisoned apples after she was sworn in. One of the worst was making Virginia a sanctuary state for illegal aliens and reversing the state mandate to cooperate and work with ICE. Will Richmond or Norfolk or Charlottesville be the next cities to erupt in violence? I pray not, but under this evil Democrat administration I fear the worst. I will be praying for Spanberger by name every day during her tenure. May God convert her from the White Witch and Lady Macbeth to the model of holy motherhood, the blessed Mother. Our Lady of Victory, Queen of Heaven and Earth, intercede for the conversion of Abigail Spanberger and all those women who champion the murder of babies in the womb.

Of Jargon, the Jabberwocky, and New Year's Resolutions

 I was thinking about jargon today. There's a lot of it floating around in the ether, and in the cloud, and on social media, and on college campuses. In fact, jargon is everywhere. 

Now the word jargon has a couple of different meanings:

The specialized language of a trade, profession, or similar group, especially when viewed as difficult to understand by outsiders.

That definition is rather reasonable and not pejorative. A computer geek may use language about his work that is Greek to me. But then Greek is Greek to me as well, though it's perfectly comprehensible to someone raised in Greece. I don't understand Russian or Gaelic either. In fact, the only language I speak fluently is English. I have a smattering of French and Spanish, but not enough to converse, and that's about it. 

Can we hope that the government will actually re-open?

Let's hope the obstructionists don't throw more roadblocks up to open the government. Lots of people want to travel for Thanksgiving. Right now air travel is iffy at best. I talked to one of my granddaughters who talked about a recent travel trip that ended in a five hour delay getting home. Multiply that exponentially for the biggest travel days of the year around Thankdsgiving. Note that for some reason after the six minute mark, the video repeats the speaker's statement. Pray for an end to all the nonsense.

The Danger of "the Tumultuous Torrent of Fugitive Ideas"

Stop and think!

I always enjoy reading Chronicles magazine. The article I read today described divisions in the political right. It isn't just the Dems who reflect chaos these days. The author made the point that language is being used on both sides of the aisle "less as an instrument of reasoning" and more as a justification for "tribal loyalty" with premises that "remain unexamined" resulting in "impoverished discourse in which both factions retain an appetite for shock and awe but very little for restraint, calibration, or discovery."

Wow! Too true!

What author Chloe Mastour describes isn't just evident in political disagreements. It seems to be the default position today in many areas and is particularly evident on social media. Many adopt fixed and unchangeable positions. No amount of reasoned argument can touch them. And sometimes those with opposite views, are equally fixed and unchangeable. 

Advice for Election Day Tomorrow!

What a Laugh! Democrats Tell GOP to Get Back to Work While They Go on Ritzy "Retreat"

NEWS Democrats are now heading to a luxury resort in Napa Valley in the middle of the shutdown for a fundraiser, plus a wine tour. Hotel Yountville rooms go for up to $1,100 a night. Part of the itinerary also includes a wine-tour and dinner at the high-end Staglin Family… pic.twitter.com/RFRH5njzbf

— Elizabeth MacDonald (@LizMacDonaldFOX) October 12, 2025

Democrats and their Street Theater

The latest hoax being pushed by the Democrats was sparked by the removal of Senator Padilla from Christi Noem's press conference after loudly interrupting her opening statement and moving toward the podium as he shouted. He identified himself as a U.S. senator. Even if he did, how could security personnel be sure it was true? Do you recognize him as a U.S. senator? Was that a ploy to get close to the Secretary? Did he have a weapon? Padillo was acting like the proverbial bull in a china shop moving aggressively toward the podium and resisting any efforts by security to stop him.

Sunday Meditation: If you want to go to hell, here's the Rx from "Dr." Voltaire

François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire)

It's hard to believe that anyone would actually seek to become an atheist and develop a program to turn belief into disbelief offering it as a prescription for hating God and His Church. Why? 

If you don't believe, why not just shrug and walk away? Why actively pursue hatred of the God in Whom you don't believe? Wouldn't it make more sense to pursue truth, goodness justice, mercy, etc.? Aren't those the most noble pursuits? And consider Voltaire's given name. His parents obviously dedicated him to Our Lady. His mother died when he was only seven. How sad that he did not turn to the Queen of Heaven.

To me, the idea that someone would desire and pursue hatred of a God in which he disbelieves is unfathomable. But that's what Voltaire not only did himself, but he advised others to do it as well. Where is Voltaire today one wonders in alarm. The loss of any soul for Whom Christ suffered and died is a tragedy. Let us pray that Voltaire, a brilliant but stupid man, repented in the end.

Required Reading for an Informed Citizen! Eliminate the "Ugly American" Bureaucrats

I have a bookshelf in my bedroom that holds a number of books I consider required reading for informed citizens. They include (but are not limited to) George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, James Clavell's The Children's Story, and The Ugly American by William Lederer and Eugene Burdick. Today I want to shine the spotlight on The Ugly American. 

If you want to understand the foreign policy of the Biden Administration and, for that matter, the policy of many previous administrations both Democrat and Republican, The Ugly American is mandatory! It was published in 1958, but the information is as current today as it was then. The New York Times described the best-selling novel saying, "If this were not a free country this book would be banned.... Devastating!"

Do Virginia Parents Have Rights? Virginia Democrats Don't Think So!

It's time to turn Virginia red again and we have a chance to do that next year. There's only a one-seat Democrat majority in the House of Delegates. Sadly, the Democrats are a pathetic party who won't even protect a baby born alive after an attempted abortion and usurp the rights of parents over their minor children. I received an e-mail this morning from Sheriff Timothy Carter, who heads up the Shenandoah County Republican Committee:

What do you think about Trump's pardon of the J6ers?

Timothy P. Carney writing at the Washington Examiner, decried Trump's blanket pardon of the January 6ers. You can read his original article here. He followed up with another article presenting the other side of the story from Matt Braynard, an activist defending the January 6ers. I thought Braynard's arguments in favor of the blanket pardons were sensible, although Carney disagrees. But he fairly presented Braynard's position:

I reached out to Matt Braynard, who has been an activist for years on behalf of the Jan. 6 arrestees. I granted that some of these folks were overcharged, and I asked him for two things: Examples of the most overcharged individuals, in his opinion, and a broader defense of the blanket pardon, as opposed to individual clemencies for specific folks who were grossly mistreated.

Will We Be Ruled by Progressive Myths or by Common Sense?

I'm reading a very interesting book called Excuse Me, Professor: Challenging the Myths of Progressivism. It's ten years old, but myths generally go on and on for decades, so it's a very timely book. We need to bring back common sense and stifle the urge of the powerful to rule us all with their tyrannical ideologies!

Speaking of ideologies, we've just lived through a tsunami of so-called progressivism that's done nothing to advance the progress of the United States. In fact, we've regressed in more areas than I can think of. What did the Biden/Harris administration accomplish? We're less safe, we're poorer, we're weaker on the international scene, etc. Average Americans, unlike the invaders at the Southern border, got nothing from the former administration except misery. Meanwhile, Big Pharma, Big Media, some Big Business, etc. raked in multi-millions along with the Biden crime family, Anthony Fauci, and select  cronies like Zelensky and his political allies. Sad to say, our Church leaders also picked the taxpayers' pockets.

Some Good Political News for a Change!

If the "never Trumpers" were victorious in November I shudder to think about what we'd be facing now. But they weren't and there's plenty of good news on the home front every day. Trump has put some great folks in the cabinet and has signed some terrific executive orders. Lets take a look at a little of the good new:

• Sean Duffy, Catholic father of nine whose youngest has Down Syndrome will run the Department of Transportation. What a witness this family will be to the country. Many little Down Syndrome angels are likely to be saved because of this beautiful family and their faith. Who can look at precious little Valentina and not smile!

Sean Duffy with some of his family including little Valentina StellaMaris 

A Book Recommendation as We Welcome a New Administration

Into the breach against progressivism

Progressivism may not be dead, but it's been sorely wounded. (Thank God!) The previous fanatically progressive administration exits bruised, battered, and hostile. Hopefully the new administration will inflict a final sword thrust and progressivist politicians will disappear into the forgotten pages of history like the Whigs. 

That's probably a forlorn hope. Stupidity seems to be a staple of human existence and all the vices that lead people to envy, sloth, lust, etc. will continue to undermine society and the electorate no matter who the leaders are. There will be no Utopia on earth! And those who preach it, almost always are working for a utopia of greed for themselves created on the backs of those they consider deplorables. You know...the red state populations who are responsible for everything bad that happened in the last four years. (Thanks for the compliment, Joe!)

Is a Vote for Trump Formal Cooperation with Evil?

A discussion came up in the comment section yesterday on the Tulsi Gabbard post about whether a Catholic commits a mortal sin by voting for Trump. You can read the discussion here. It started with a priest preaching that you can never vote for a candidate who supports an intrinsic moral evil. The reader who commented raised the question of whether the fact that Trump has endorsed IVF and even inserted it into the GOP platform disqualifies him from the Catholic vote. Correct me if I'm wrong, Aqua. 

Hmmm...True or false?

I did not hear the sermon so I can't comment on that; I only have the reader's brief description. Did the priest explain the distinction between formal and material cooperation with evil? That's where the rubber meets the road, I think. 

Study History and Fight the Ugly Americans among Us!

"Rachel" Levine and Sam Brinton, are among the "ugly Americans" destroying our country.

Have you ever read The Ugly American? You should. It details failed U.S. foreign affairs around the world due to greedy, corrupt, ignorant, and incompetent ambassadors and foreign service members. The way elitists are assigned plum roles around the world reminds me of Cromwell and his stooge, Richard Rich, in The Man for All Seasons. Some things never change. Power continues to corrupt and many are willing to sell their souls for both power and money.

Who Won the Debate?

As someone texted me after the debate, "It was a clown show." The question is, do debates win or lose elections? Watching the Reagan movie last night, it was interesting to be reminded of the Reagan/Mondale moment during the second debate when Ronald Reagan eviscerated the question and doubts about his age. It also validated Nancy Reagan's advice to the staff, "Let Ronnie be Ronnie." 

Speak Now Or Deserve What You Get! Write to Donald Trump!

Politicians are as fickle as false lovers. They say whatever they think they need to say in order to win or stay in office. As Lord Acton said, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." And we've seen the corruption of good men over and over in politics.

I spent a number of years working for the Republican party in a somewhat lackluster way. Politics was never something I enjoyed. In the early days back in the 1970s and 80s, all the pro-life politicos told us to just shut up about abortion during campaigns because it only lost them votes.

Bob Marshall Writes "Trump: The lesser of two evils, still an obligatory choice."

Yesterday I posted a link to Edward Feser's article about the election and the dilemma it poses for social conservatives. Today, I offer Bob Marshall's thoughtful perspective. Bob was a Virginia state delegate for many years, often described as the "conscience of the Virginia General Assembly". He was ousted by a transexual who campaigned with ads putting on his dressup makeup to masquerade as a woman. Certainly doesn't say much for the intelligence of the voters in Bob's district.