Not strictly NoVa politics, but I have some predictions on what the GOP defeat means for the Bush 43 foreign policy, particularly in Asia. Check them out here.

I thought this was well put:

For national security in general, the Democrats’ plan is so according-to-type that you cringe with embarrassment: It’s mostly about new cash benefits for veterans. Regarding Iraq specifically, the Democrats’ plan has two parts. First, they want Iraqis to take on “primary responsibility for securing and governing their country.” Then they want “responsible redeployment” (great euphemism) of American forces.

Older readers may recognize this formula. It’s Vietnamization — the Nixon-Kissinger plan for extracting us from a previous mistake. But Vietnamization was not a plan for victory. It was a plan for what was called “peace with honor” and is now known as “defeat.” [Boldface mine.]

Right on the money, I’d say. That goes for both Feder and Webb. I hope enough Northern Virginia voters will understand that too. We shall see.

Next Tuesday we exercise our traditional voting rights for members of the Congress - - - in Virginia, we will vote for one US Senator and for our particular U S Representative.

Electing senators and representatives who will vote for Republican organization of their respective chambers is simply essential to winning the war we are in, and thus to defending America successfully - - - whatever the individual imperfections of any individual Republican candidate.

Some of our brethren unfortunately have not grasped the full dimension of the Islamic radicals’ war against the US. These conservatives see our fight as a distraction from other parts of our agenda, rather than as the preeminent challenge which the nation must surmount - - - along with the critical work of getting control of our borders, right-sizing government, taking back education from bureaucrats and multi-culturalists, and advancing a low-tax, job-growth economy.

All of us who work to help those conservatives and others see how the world we once knew is ending, should read and digest Mark Steyn’s definitive (to date) primer on this war and why we must win it. Steyn titles his book America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It.

Victor Davis Hanson in his review of America Alone spells out the heart of Steyn’s message:

“Instead, day in and day out, on the op-ed pages of the British, Australian, Canadian, and American daily papers, Steyn has brought home the simple fact of this war: whatever mistakes we have made are not fatal if we keep our heads. As he puts it near the end of the book, the problem is not merely that we are only employing a fraction of our physical power: ‘This book isn’t an argument for more war, more bombing, or more killing, but for more will.’” [Underscoring added.]

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Conservative Virginia readers will want to pay close attention to the Washington Post’s endorsement of Representative Frank Wolf, the long-serving Tenth District Republican.

Here is one of the highlights of the Post’s October 14, 2006 paean to the senior member of the House appropriations panel:

“It was chiefly at his prodding that Congress established a bipartisan commission on Iraq, led by former secretary of state James A. Baker III and former representative Lee H. Hamilton, that represents the best hope at this point of forging a national consensus on how to proceed in the war.”

Last month, Insight Magazine quoted the congressman as saying:

“‘What the United States needs on Iraq is some fresh ideas from people able to speak out, and no one is more qualified to do that than Jim Baker,’ Mr. Wolf said.”

But national-security expert Michael Rubin has a different take on what he calls “The stacked Baker-Hamilton Commission.” In his Weekly Standard article Conclusion First, Debate Afterwards . . . Rubin writes - - -

“POLICYMAKERS ARE ABUZZ with the explosive recommendations for U.S. policy toward Iraq soon to be released by the Baker-Hamilton Commission: Abandon democracy, seek political compromise with the Sunni insurgents, and engage Tehran and Damascus as partners to secure stability in their neighbor.While former secretary of state James Baker and former representative Lee Hamilton said they would withhold their report until after the elections on November 7 to avoid its politicization, they have discussed their findings with the press. On October 8, for example, Baker appeared on ABC’s This Week, and the next day he discussed the group’s findings with Charlie Rose. On October 12, both Baker and Hamilton appeared on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.”

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The House-Senate conferees on the FY 2007 Department of Defense authorization bill reportedly have dropped the House of Representatives-approved safeguard allowing military chaplains freedom of conscience and speech in their public prayers. (For background, see my earlier post.)

The House safeguard had stated:

Each Chaplain shall have the prerogative to pray according to the dictates of the Chaplain’s own conscience, except as must be limited by military necessity, with any such limitation being imposed in the least restrictive manner feasible.

But Defense Department voices had objected:

This provision could marginalize chaplains who, in exercising their conscience, generate discomfort at mandatory formations. Such erosion of unit cohesion is avoided by the Military’s present insistence on inclusive prayer at interfaith gatherings–something the House legislation would operate against.

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Five years ago this morning the day dawned clear and cloud free.  Another gorgeous day in what had been another gorgeous D.C. summer; my wife and I were eagerly awaiting the birth of our first child.  In preparation, we had enrolled our wonderful black Labrador Retriever (Gen. P.T. Beauregard of McLean, or Beaux for short) at the Old Town School for Dogs in Alexandria, VA (I wasn’t happy at all with the training he received, and won’t give them a link here, but the reason why is a post for another day).

On the way back, listening to Howard Stern interview Pamela Anderson or someone else, just seconds after driving past the Pentagon, he interrupted the skit to report that something serious had transpired and it appeared that someone had flown a plane into the World Trade Center.  There was some back and forth discussion and the whack pack was generally still goofing around for a few more minutes when, as I drove up to Arlington and began to cross the Key Bridge they scowled and said a second plane hit.  Desperate to catch a real newscast, I quickly scanned the radio for someone else doing any reporting – both am and fm.  Nothing.  Only Howard Stern was on the air providing any kind of coverage – and his coverage was worthy of whatever awards the radio industry hands itself.

A few minutes later, though it seemed like an eternity, It was only a few minutes later that I had raced to my building and as I was walking in the front door of our small law office saw all my colleagues huddled around a television. Moments later, shock as we learned the Pentagon was hit.

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