UPDATE . . .

Thompson to announce his bid for the presidency today at 4 PM.

CRFV Executive Committee with Congressman Tom Davis at the University Kick-Off last week

My money says that Senator John Warner will announce he will not run for re-election in September and Rep. Davis and Gov. Gilmore will clash for the Republican nomination

We at the CRFV are proudly linking to a national College Republican blog, CR Nation. This blog quite recently got off its feet and has been on a conservative rampage since.

To the point, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and wonder boy of the Democratic takeover in 2006, wrote an editorial in the NY Times stating:

“Democrats never promised to eliminate earmarks. We promised to reform them”.

CR Nation comments Democrats deceived the public about their zeal for earmark reform. I can only assume that CR Nation believes the Democratic sponsored 2007 ethics legislation is a far cry from the campaign promises of Democrats in ’06. This is probably true, but the legislation Congress just passed appears to be a breakthrough for anti-pork advocates.

The bill Congress passed by overwhelming margins would allow the public to view the sponsors of congressional earmarks on the Internet. Bloggers will be going crazy over this stuff!

Eliminating earmarks wholesale seems a bit utopian to me. Rep. Emanuel’s focus appears to be on reforming the system by forcing more transparency. This good government measure should increase responsibility, especially for those who use pork as a way to increase their electoral fortunes.

There are of course many more steps that must be taken to reform the earmark system, but this is a move in the right direction. For now, GOP Senators Coburn and DeMint are taking the lead in stopping pork.

College Republicans across Virginia are attending the Americans for Prosperity Defending the American Dream Summit on Friday, October 5th.

Speakers include presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. More of the presidential hopefuls will probably follow after Romney and Paul have confirmed.

Other speakers include Dinesh D’Souza who spoke to CRs and others at James Madison University last spring.

The list of confirmed speakers is on the AFP website. The event should prove to be a success, especially for economic conservatives whose current focus is on reigning in earmarks.

I hope to hear speeches and debates about free market solutions to the “health care crisis” in America.

Smart grids are a fascinating new way to increase energy efficiency while also retaining some semblance of free choice.

Part of the energy bill passed by the U.S. House included $2.25 billion in grants that promotes the use of smart grids. Obviously, the states where this is taking root are on the West Coast where blackouts and a lack of energy remain problems.

What this would do is increase the rates of electricity in peak hours. In most cases, that would make electricity much more expensive for the average American if they did not alter their usage patterns. For some people, this would cause them to scale back on their electric usage altogether. For others, they could wash clothes at night while they’re sleeping or do the dishes early in the morning. A study done with the technology in 2003 found that customers with this technology typically cut their electric usage as well as altering the time they used it.

While this technology is tested out, it’s estimated that it would take between $14 and $26 billion to install it nationwide. So even though I’m positive we won’t be seeing Virginia Power rolling this out anytime soon, it is yet another fascinating idea towards increased energy efficiency.

Last night, the Herndon town council voted to keep their controversial Day-Labor Center open, but will find a new manager who will check the immigration statuses of workers. To read more about the vote, follow this link to an article from The Washington Post. Herndon to Keep Day-Labor Center.

The voters have spoken this time. After the town council opened the Day-Labor Center, the voters elected a new mayor as well as two new council members who opposed the center. This issue has ended up being a centerpiece in the debate over immigration policy, with evidence being the feature segment it received on the O’Reilly Factor last night. I believe that the decision of the council is the best possible solution to this issue.

Instead of closing down the center altogether, the council compromised to find a new manager. The center is not a failed idea in itself. The idea of connecting workers to prospective employers is a fantastic idea. Not only does the center connect workers to employers, but it plays a role in the culture of immigration. English classes are offered as well as updates about current events and labor law information. It also solved the problem of day-laborers clogging intersections in Herndon while they were looking for work.

The single problem is the fact that illegal immigrants are getting jobs. There are no statistics on the Herndon Day-Labor Center, but a survey of day-laborers across Fairfax found that about 85 percent of workers lack proper immigration papers. In my opinion, and in the opinion of the council, the rule of law trumps workers’ needs.

Now, why do I believe that the decision is the best possible solution? Legal immigrants struggle with finding work, learning the English language, integrating into our society, and many other issues. The Herndon Day-Labor Center is a great asset for legal immigrants who are looking to get a start living in America. Day-Labor Centers such as the one in Herndon, with new mandates to check papers, is one necessary aspect of Immigration Reform. Centers like this, when operated under the rule of law, can assist hard-working, legal immigrants to better assimilate into the American culture.

What do you think about the council’s decision? How about the effectiveness of Day-Labor Centers?

If I were to say that our government was broken, I do not think that many people would disagree with that statement. In Washington, we have rampant pork barrel spending, corruption on both sides of the aisle, excessively partisan politics, and increasing inefficiencies in every government program. It is time that Americans unite to discuss the issue. This is not a Republican issue and this is not a Democrat issue, and we shouldn’t treat it as such.

Of all the problems I listed above, let me focus on partisan politics. I firmly believe that the excessively partisan politics is what causes the rest of these major problems. Pork barrel spending is an attempt by legislators to gain political ground in their district. Corruption happens when legislators try to use the system to their advantage. Inefficiencies occur because the House and Senate cannot work together with the Executive Branch to propose bipartisan solutions to many of the problems of our day.

After saying that, I am not about to propose that Democrats and Republicans unite in the legislature. Partisan politics has its place, but excessively partisan politics does not. What do I mean? The purpose of the legislature is to be a law-making body. It is the place where ideas are formed. Raw, rough-around-the-edges ideas come out of the legislature. The Executive Branch, or as I would rather call it, the Managing Branch, should help the legislature mold their ideas and proposals into cohesive bills worthy of passage.

What I am saying is that partisan politics should be restrained to the House and Senate. What we need in a President is not an idealistic conservative prototype. That’s what we need in the Legislative Branch. We need a President who knows how to manage. We need a President who can crunch numbers, fix problems effectively, bring people together, tell idealistic legislators “No!”, and turn the excessive inefficiency we have today into a diverse governmental machine.

Don’t get me wrong; I want a conservative President who upholds the principles of Republicanism. However, while the Republicans and Democrats in Congress beat each other up on ideology and policy, the President should be the glue that keeps both sides from causing a shutdown of our government. If our President is somebody who knows how to manage, America will be in much better shape.