Shake Hands with the Governor of Virginia
Still bathing in the glory of his successful moves for state enforced vaginal penetration, all eyes are on Virginia Governor, Bob McDonnell, as he humbly waxes and buffs his notable humility. The man can't get past his bathroom mirror in the morning without primping his own pregnant expectation to soon be sitting in the Vice Presidential slot along side the survivor of the bloody Republican Primary.
Governors of Virginia, in general, are not a particularly interesting topic for a MeanMesa posting. However, in this election year, a ghostly apparition seems to be following the Republican candidates like the Spirit of Christmas Past trailed Ebenezer Scrooge.
"Apparition?"
Yes. The unmentioned wet dream which emerges in every Republican "debate" -- which means that it emerges very often -- is the prospect of a miraculous election delivery in the hands of a so far unnamed candidate. Those ghostly vapors, naturally, also include a Vice Presidential selection which might, somehow, breathe a desperately welcome aura of psychological stability into the front runner choices.
This is the "spiritual portal" through which Governor Bob McDonnell peers with such an obviously longing heart. Unhappily for Bob, the vaginal penetration idea turned out to be a bucket of cold water on the ghostly vapor. Although the wing nut, anti-women knuckle draggers in the now wholly owned Virginia State Congress were ecstatic with the Governor's latest vaginal "red meat" dog whistle, Virginians in general were somewhat less enthusiastic.
Although a reasonable observer of domestic politics might presume that the fumbled vaginal attack would spell the end of Bob's Vice Presidential ambition, Republicans apparently have no particular problem with it. This MeanMesa post will focus on Bob's Regent University graduate thesis so we can get a little more depth in our understanding of man who wishes, so very much, to be a "heart beat away" from the command of our country's nukes.
A Very Fast, Very Guided Tour of Regent University
First, a brief visit to Regent University. The place gained a fleeting moment of relevance during the Bush autocracy because it was a favorite "fishing hole" for the recruiting efforts of the heavily soiled US Attorneys General, Ashcroft and Gonzales. These Dark Ages religious crusaders hired many dozens of young wing nut fundamentalists from the Regent University "law school," insinuating them into civil service jobs all over the Justice Department.
The civil service comment is important because this means that these Federal employees have [note: not "had..."] permanent jobs, that is, not employment at the favor of the President. This means that all these creepy "law school" graduates are still there, doing what they do. Bob studied at Regent University for a MA in Public Policy and a Juris Doctor in Law. His thesis is dated 1989.
He is just as creepy as the rest of the Old Testament Biblical horde so anxiously employed by Ashcroft and Gonzales. It turns out, in fact, that the sole purpose of Regent University is the production of such "second agenda" recruits, that is, "lawyers" devoted to "Glorifying God" with the secondary agenda of practicing law only for the "Glory of God." Naturally, only Republicans would ever be interested in placing such folks in any positions of administrative responsibility within the government.
Regent University was originally named Christian Broadcasting Network University after its founder, Pat Robertson, "raised" sufficient funds through his "700 Club" preaching show. Reverend Pat had a few deals running on the side, notably blood diamond mines in Liberia, "donated" as a "faith offering" by the now, late Charles Taylor, Liberian President.
Pat flew in the blood diamond mining equipment aboard his 700 Club financed Operation Blessing aircraft and operated the mining operation with what has been described as "slave labor." (read more) Pat's penchant for the "glitter rocks" led to another of his "humanitarian" enterprises, the African Development Company, with similar opportunities for lots more blood diamonds and Biblical transgressions in Zaire.
This was the founder of CBN College, later, Regent University, where Bob McDonnell snatched up his law degree. The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree. However, we now see that Pat's spiritually inspired "crimes against humanity" didn't stop at the borders of distant Liberia and Zaire. They now visit much closer to home with proselyte McDonnell's lovely and revealing Masters Thesis about family values, perhaps an unavoidable torpedo to his Vice Presidential ambitions.
MeanMesa found the Regent University's library "pdf" file of Bob's thesis presented in a way which prohibits direct "copy and paste" retrieval of the content. Still, the prospect of introducing some examples of Bob's writing as elements of this post was simply too attractive to allow such an inconvenience to prevent their inclusion. So, MeanMesa has manually transcribed a few samples of Bob's ideas, making a special effort to carefully copy the precise syntactic and grammatical anomalies found in the original document.
Here you can read a few random excerpts quoted directly from the Washington Post's file. Visitors may find these few passages, extracted from roughly the first third of the paper, both interesting and entertaining at this point, but if Bob manages to take the Vice Presidential slot on the 2012 Republican ticket, readers will definitely want to visit the Washington Post site to read the whole, messy business as carefully as possible. It may be an inconveniently honest glimpse into the man's, uh, soul.
Excerpts from Bob McDonnell's Thesis:
He is just as creepy as the rest of the Old Testament Biblical horde so anxiously employed by Ashcroft and Gonzales. It turns out, in fact, that the sole purpose of Regent University is the production of such "second agenda" recruits, that is, "lawyers" devoted to "Glorifying God" with the secondary agenda of practicing law only for the "Glory of God." Naturally, only Republicans would ever be interested in placing such folks in any positions of administrative responsibility within the government.
Regent University was originally named Christian Broadcasting Network University after its founder, Pat Robertson, "raised" sufficient funds through his "700 Club" preaching show. Reverend Pat had a few deals running on the side, notably blood diamond mines in Liberia, "donated" as a "faith offering" by the now, late Charles Taylor, Liberian President.
Pat flew in the blood diamond mining equipment aboard his 700 Club financed Operation Blessing aircraft and operated the mining operation with what has been described as "slave labor." (read more) Pat's penchant for the "glitter rocks" led to another of his "humanitarian" enterprises, the African Development Company, with similar opportunities for lots more blood diamonds and Biblical transgressions in Zaire.
This was the founder of CBN College, later, Regent University, where Bob McDonnell snatched up his law degree. The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree. However, we now see that Pat's spiritually inspired "crimes against humanity" didn't stop at the borders of distant Liberia and Zaire. They now visit much closer to home with proselyte McDonnell's lovely and revealing Masters Thesis about family values, perhaps an unavoidable torpedo to his Vice Presidential ambitions.
Governor Bob's Thesis
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY'S VISION FOR THE FAMILY
THE COMPELLING ISSUE OF THE DECADE
by
Robert F. McDonnell
A.B.A, University of Notre Dame, 1976
M.S.B.A., Boston University, 1980
THESIS
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degrees of Master of Arts in Public Policy
and Juris Doctor in Law
College of Law and Government
CBN University
Virginia Beach, Virginia
1989
(Read the entire thesis here - courtesy of the Washington Post)
MeanMesa found the Regent University's library "pdf" file of Bob's thesis presented in a way which prohibits direct "copy and paste" retrieval of the content. Still, the prospect of introducing some examples of Bob's writing as elements of this post was simply too attractive to allow such an inconvenience to prevent their inclusion. So, MeanMesa has manually transcribed a few samples of Bob's ideas, making a special effort to carefully copy the precise syntactic and grammatical anomalies found in the original document.
Here you can read a few random excerpts quoted directly from the Washington Post's file. Visitors may find these few passages, extracted from roughly the first third of the paper, both interesting and entertaining at this point, but if Bob manages to take the Vice Presidential slot on the 2012 Republican ticket, readers will definitely want to visit the Washington Post site to read the whole, messy business as carefully as possible. It may be an inconveniently honest glimpse into the man's, uh, soul.
Excerpts from Bob McDonnell's Thesis:
p3
Regardless of the genesis of the change, the current debate in America over which values and programs are best for the family and public policy in general, goes beyond the basic arguments of conservatism versus progressivism. According to Dr. Os Guiness of the Brookings Institution, the conflict centers on the clash of traditional morality and absolutism with the modern pervasive relativism of truth, ethics and justice. Whereas faith and family had provided the roots of culture in the past, the rise of modernity and liberalism have given America a legacy of relativistic hollowness, homelessness, selfish heartlessness, and the death of God and heroes. While changes in the family may be superficially attributed to technological advances, growing international influences, financial circumstances, or evolutionary progress, it is of profound importance to be cognizant that changes in ideology and religious beliefs preceded the contemporary breakdown of the American family.
p4
The modern American experience can be seen as an ideological battle between the forces of democratic capitalism and socialism, with the latter's attempt to "substitute the power of the state for the rights, responsibilities, and authority of the family." The contemporary conflict between the presuppositions and programs of the Great Society and the programs of the Reagan Revolution can show clearly the tensions expressed by Guiness.
Many would not be concerned about this shift in institutional power and a replacement of the Judeo-Christian ethic with the relativistic values of the "me generation" of the 1980's, were they not presented with quantifiable evidence of the breakdown of the family and society at large.
p5
The rise in teen pregnancy and illegitimate births is even more shocking when understood that approximately 40% of these pregnancies have ended in abortion since 1973. Ironically, it appears that the recently-created school-based health clinics which dispense birth control information and products without parental consent, and the new values-neutral sex education programs in public schools, have contributed to increased promiscuity, rather than reduced illegitimacy.
p6
The unmistakable signs of social dysfunction linked to traditional family breakdown took on a fresh awareness in the 1980's. The scourge of rampant drug abuse by the nation's youth, and the widespread exposure of children as customers and victims of pornography were new indicia of trouble. Studies showed the great negative impact that toys, music, television and other media were having on children, as violence, sex and the occult were common themes in these vehicles of play and entertainment. Children have been further affected by reductions in child support and spousal maintenance awards in no-fault divorce decrees, and a national crisis in support enforcement. These represent yet further manifestations of a spirit of militant individualism and perversity which is gripping the culture.
The vast majority of American children have been educated in the public school system, in which textbooks and courses of instruction are increasingly oriented to humanist values and a secular philosophy. The undermining of respect for parental authority in favor of state direction or individual autonomy, and the contemporaneous purging of religious influences in the public schools has impaired the development of healthy family members. Values that had historically provided strength to the family, such as firm discipline and corporal punishment, patriotism, and academic achievement, were either attacked, or given token attention.
p11
Respect for the rule of law over private morality and custom has been central in the history of western civilization. Deriving its roots from cannon law and subsequently the common law of England, the law of marriage and family were formulated in the Christian context of covenant, not contract.
In the nineteenth century, the Supreme Court recognized the "ideal Victorian family" as a small government in its own right in the few family cases that came before it.
p12
The Declaration of Independence, the charter of American liberty, and foundation for the U.S. Constitution, declares that our concepts of rights, duties, and authority are derived from the Law of Nature and Nature's God. From this Judeo-Christian heritage of the founding fathers, it is clear that the Creator is a God of order and authority, not chaos and autonomy. Each institution in society has been instituted by God for specific, limited purposes. Therefore, a good idea does not necessarily translate into good public policy, unless it is promulgated in a proper means by an institution with jurisdiction.
p13
The family as an institution existed antecedent to civil government, and hence is not subject to being defined by it. It is in the Law of Nature of the created order that the Creator instituted marriage and family in Eden, where He ordained that "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and they will become one flesh." Family arises out of this divinely-inspired covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, the terms of which can neither be originally set nor subsequently altered by the parties or the state.
In addition to the family and the individuals who comprise them, God has ordained the institutions of civil government and the church as the foundation of order in society.
p15-16
While family authority is plenary with respect to its sovereign objects, the state government has a legitimate role to ensure that family members are educated and socialized in order to operate at a minimum level of self-sufficiency. It must be made clear that the government has no independent authority to prescribe conduct for the family, rather the authority arises out of the state's duty to protect the marital covenant and individual family members. Parents do not have the liberty to constructively abuse the child by neglect of the their fundamental duties to educated and nurture, any more than they can withhold food and shelter. However, under the umbrella of parental authority is the choice of means to accomplish their duties, through home schools, church schools, or other alternatives. It is in these areas of concurrent jurisdiction of family and state, in which the state in its limited but legitimate role of parens patriae, that the difficult policy decisions are made. In all cases, parents must be accorded the maximum opportunity to discharge their responsibilities independent of state oversight or compulsion.
p22
Rather than employing an empirical epistemology in formulating programs that treat only the symptoms of family breakdown, Republicans appear earnest in their prescription that the strong family is the preeminent hedge against social disorder. Hence, those things which can be shown to cause family collapse must be opposed, and where authorized, prohibited by legislation.
p23-24
However, Republicans are quite willing to use block grants, demonstration projects, and cost-sharing programs with the states in order to accomplish national policy objectives. What appears to be a looser reading of the Constitutional powers given to the Congress, and a different view of the federal structure than the one articulated by Madison in the Federalist Papers, provides the ideological cornerstone for Republican family policy. Republicans also do not appear reticent to use an expanded power base provided by decades of judicial legislating by activist Supreme Courts. While not conclusive, one discerns vestiges of an evolutionary or positive view of the law in some elements of the party, in the focus on social change as the primary stimulus for changes in the law. Quite naturally, too, it is easier to affirm and act upon the special needs of voting constituents, than to explain a more traditional view of federalism as a basis for federal inaction.
In a way consistent with the Republican Party's mantras of encouragement and optimism, potential graduates students may find Bob's paper a real source of reassurance. If you have these ambitions but are stymied by a lack of confidence that your writing sample might be found wanting, just apply at Regent!
While reviewing Bob's thesis, remember that this was written by a Master's candidate who had already graduated with degrees from Notre Dame and Boston University. Further, if you a potential graduate student candidate, also remember that this is a thesis for a law degree -- a juris doctor! Its remarkable similarity to something that a high school student might have submitted to a World's Religions class should be intimately comforting. Further, any student lacking confidence in the knowledge of standard text rules and practices can take heart in the dumbfounding, agonizing punctuation gaffes found in Bob's presentation.
Finally, there is the matter of the paper's length. The Republican owned commercial media has taken great pains to repeatedly describe this thesis as a "93 page" paper either to discourage anyone from actually reading it or to impress the hill billy base of that unfortunate party with the implied intellectual acumen of the Governor. Visitors here can recall the consistent laments of Republican lawmakers concerning the length of bills being presented -- with or without the "tiger tears" of the House Speaker in overly dramatic moments.
GOP Drilling in Virginia Discovers
New Vast Proven Reserves of Crazy
Governor Bob's background, considered as credentials for his political ambitions, places him in a uniquely well suited position regardless of the survivor -- that is, regardless of the candidate finally selected in the GOPCon Primary slaughter. The man just "fits in" with any of the possible running mates.
He looks stable compared to the unlikely prospect of a successful Ron Paul. He looks like a redeeming, steaming helping of Biblical "red meat" next to the Mormon. He appears as the parochial general Joshua standing beside Rick Santorum, a thoroughly modern version of Krishna's Arjuna. And, of course, we have to assume that he can reveal himself as a very nasty racist should the opportunity arise, which it undoubtedly will.
Just settle in and watch the show. Join MeanMesa in a winter dream of Joe Biden debating McDonnell after Obama and Santorum warm up the audience with a lively couple of rounds about vaginas.
For a link to information about Pat Robertson, his slave diamond miners and Regent University:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7464342
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7464342
For a link to the Washington Post's presentation of Governor Bob's entire thesis:
