On the road

Seems that while I enjoy running a blog, I don’t have the time right now to truly commit to doing it the way I envision. My idea is/was to have a blog mainly dedicated to local issues. With work commitments that have me out of town, its very difficult to stay abreast of events and issues at home or even find enough time to procure usage of a connected computer. I’m going to keep the blog up, but I expect to post only sparingly, at least until I am working from the Valley.

BB&T announces closure of Churchville Branch

This week, BB&T sent this letter to affected clients, outlining the fact that the Churchville Branch will be shuttered, with all operations moving to the main Saunton Branch in the downtown area.  The Churchville Branch served the clients in the greater part of Western Augusta County (North River, Deerfield, West Augusta, Churchville, Swoope). No specifics are given as to costs, fewer clients, etc.

One of BB&T’s strengths, in my opinion,is the fact that it has branches all over Virginia in many small communities.   Thats a result of its takeover of  First Virginia in 2003-2004.  Its often the only bank in town, giving it an edge over national and local competitors.  No word on the BB&T location in Craigsville.

PDF of letter

Hillary Clinton is an inappropriate choice for Secretary of State

Its disturbing to say the least that Obama doesn’t understand or ignores the problems with this nomination.  Conflicts of interest abound here, with Bill Clinton’s various connections to foreign governments and interests.  Bill Clinton has accepted millions in consulting and speech fees from abroad since the end of his Presidency.  Then there is the issue of the Clinton Library Donor List.  Perhaps most troubling (again, in the context of Hillary’s nomination for Secretary of State) are the significant contributions from Middle Eastern interests.

While there is nothing legally wrong there, its easy to see the conflicts that could easily arise whenever a issue comes forth involving a Foreign interest that has given money to the Clintons in some form or fashion. Is it wise and prudent for Obama to nominate Hillary Clinton for this post at this crucial time for the US Foreign Policy?

Newsleader upset over the failed auto-bailout

In today’s editorial, The Daily Newsleader takes  Senate Republicans to task for threatening to filibuster the auto-bailout.  That threat led Harry Reid to table the vote, rather then make the opposition carry out an actual filibuster.

The Newsleader comments:

…The Senate could have stayed and tried to get a compromise. They could have let the Republicans filibuster and stand there and read the phone book, their grandmother’s favorite recipes and the rules of chess. They could have let them stand there until Christmas Eve and read the four gospels, the book of Job and Revelations while Virginia’s 15,000 automaker employees and more than 30,000 dealership employees spent a restless night wondering what the New Year will hold for them…

perhaps if it ever came to a filibuster, the opposition  could kill some time by reading through this:

The Newsleader editors fail to understand the simpilist of economic and capital principles.  Nothing is to big to fail.  Companies fail and reorganize every day. Bailing out failing companies only delays (at best) or prolongs and worsens the pain.  The Big 3 got into this by conceeding to outdated and unrealistic Union demands and the Unions are as equally to blame for pushing for labor policy that puts workers and industries at a competitive disadvantage in this global economy.

Bob McDonnell, De facto Republican Nominee for Governor

Bob McDonnell is the Republican nominee by default because none of his potential opponents were able to meet the November deadline for filing. As a result, he will be able to skip the usual primary campaign season and get down to the essential work of gathering campaign cash for the general election next November. He will face one of several Democratic potentials in what may prove to be a hotly contested primary.

McDonnell this week received the endorsement of Bobby Jindal(Gov. of Louisiana), one of the Republican Party’s rising stars and a potential candidate in the next couple of presidential cycles (he already has more experience then Obama)

McDonnell recently released an updated campaign website. At the moment, its a bit thin on policy/issues.  I would like to see the campaign issue white papers at some point in the near future.

Where does Senator-Elect Warner stand on “Card-check”?

The “Card-Check” provision sure to come up before the next session of Congress will prove to be a hotly contested item.
If the provision passes, it will basically take away the right of workers to vote with a secret ballot if a Union proposes to represent them. Union reps will be allowed to ask for their votes (up or down) in person. Unions have never been unfriendly to the ideas of intimidation and coercion, so it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the tactics they will be able to use if they can watch how employees are voting. Unions have steadily been losing political power and this is an effort to take some of it back by putting employers at a decided disadvantage.

Mark Warner received support from both Unions and business in his successful bid for Virginia’s open Senate seat this year. He’s going to have to disappoint one or the other. Virginia is a right to work state(employers and employees are assumed to be in an “at will” situation unless they agree to a contract), which is one of the reasons Virginia has been recognized as a business friendly state. We deserve to know and know soon where Mark Warner stands on this issue. I recently attempted to contact him asking for a statement but have yet to hear back from him. I’m going to wait a bit longer until trying analyze his position (others have already begun to do so). If anyone knows how to reach him other then the email given at his campaign site, let me know.

Republicans hold annual Advance this weekend.

The Republican Party has gathered at the Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia for their Annual Advance, at which workshops are conducted and policies and plans for the upcoming year are discussed. It should be interesting as the Party faced a # of setbacks this election year, including the state’s Electoral Votes going to the Democratic Nominee for the first time in over 40 years (LBJ in 1964) and losing the other Senate Seat.

There was some grumbling about the location, due to a perception that the Homestead is pricey and out of the way. I don’t have a problem with it if the cost is reasonable compared to other conference centers. I would suggest though that the party think about holding the Advance in areas of the Commonwealth where its suffered setbacks recently and or has never been strong.

You can follow the Advance through the efforts of several bloggers. Here are links to a few.

Crystal Clear Conservative

SWAC Girl
Jason Kenny’s Twitter

Another Local Bank seeks Federal Bailout Funds

StellarOne (formerly Planters Bank in the valley area) made the announcement this week that it is seeking upwards of 30 million in bailout money.  This move would involve  transferring some amount of stock interest to the US Treasury.

The President of StellarOne  stressed that the bank is “well-capitalized” but the presumption must be that the bank’s Board of Directors felt their situation is in some way precarious enough that they must hand over some portion of ownership to the Federal Government.

We’ve been told that local and regional banks are safer and stronger then their much larger national brethren, but its certainly disconcerting when they are making the same decisions to become business partners with the government.
Previous post – Community Bank seeks bailout money

Local Bank applies for Federal Bailout Money

In today’s Daily Newsleader, Community Bank (headquartered in Staunton) reveals that it has applied for a piece of the federal bailout package.  The Bank phrases the move as an “investment”.  The way its described in the article sounds more like a loan to me.  The bank claims that it hasn’t decided if it will actually take the money.

This move was not unforeseeable.  It was announced in September that Community Bank’s Board of Directors was suspending the quarterly dividend, in large part because of a markdown due to the bank’s position in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  This move in turn downgraded the bank’s capitalization rating.

Other local and regional banks(First Bank & Trust, BB&T) presumably did not have such a stake in the Secondary Mortgage Market.  In fact, BB&T came out sharply against the bailout, with the Bank president, John Allison writing a letter to Congress urging restraint.  Of course, once the bailout was passed, BB&T changed its position in order to participate.  That’s the very problem with allowing companies and whole industries to lobby for rent-seeking.  Once the floodgates open, everyone else has to go along or face unfair competition due to government interference at the behest of a few.

Virginia’s Senate Race

The result of this race was not unforeseen. Jim Gilmore had to fight with relatively low funding and a conventional wisdom (unfair in my opinion) that said he left his opponent with a budget problem after finishing his term as Governor.

I did not approach this race with a bias against Mark Warner. In fact, I voted for him when he ran for Governor in 2001 and he ultimately did some good things(promoted Virginia Tech’s entrance into the ACC, willing to cut budgets of some sacred cows). Ultimately I was led to vote for Jim Gilmore for one reason. I could not support allowing the Democratic Party to control both of the Commonwealth’s Senate seats. Mark Warner will have to take his marching orders from Harry Reid, the Majority Leader in the Senate. I detest Reid with a passion and I regret that he now can count on Virginia’s two Senate votes for what may be some truly detestable bills that are sure to come down the pike.

The best I can hope for is that conservatives in Virginia engage Warner on issues where he is open (surely he can be persuaded on matters of commerce) and oppose him stoutly where he is wrong.