BTW, I’ve got an extra copy of The National Review lying around here somewhere if you want it.

Image counts. That’s why Vogue sells more copies than The National Review every month. Why do Virginian politicans have to be so serially dense? Is this a devious master plot to provide willful population control sans legislation?

Likewise, Virginia benefited enormously from slavery, collecting taxes on the sale of human beings and enjoying a healthy economy premised on slavery. Virginia remains Virginia these 140 years later. We cannot undo the enormous profit that the state made on the literal back of slaves. We cannot give those people their lives back. We cannot retroactively grant them their freedoms, nor can we grant prosperity to their children, their children’s children, or their children’s children’s children. It’s too late. But couldn’t we at least apologize for it?

This is, IMO, a philosophical question. But when there are no perpetrators of the crime and no victims of the crime still alive, then I say the current entity is not responsible. However, I can certainly understand your argument.

What I’m baffled by is your determination to keep a fire lit under this in the first place.

The Commonwealth of Virginia in 2007 is most certainly NOT a political entity responsible for slavery

Was the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1866 a political entity responsible for slavery? If so, at what point did it cease being a political entity responsible for slavery? If not, why?

I thought I was clear. Perhaps not. The Commonwealth of Virginia in 2007 is most certainly NOT a political entity responsible for slavery. I am fairly confident even my poor powers of reason can defend this position.

Secondly, no, I didn’t support the apology to interned Japanese Americans; however, I understood it as there were formerly interned nisei (sp?) still alive. Show me some former slaves and I’ll be the first to apologize to them.

Let’s be honest. This whole thing is great politics for the left. As others have already pointed out, the failure of unreconstructed conservatives like myself to genuflect before the God of apology and abasement likely aids the left. But I don’t really care.

Have fun with your apology. I’m sure it will rank with the Magna Carta and the Declaration of the Rights of Man as seminal moments in Western Civ.

And given your logic, do you support the US apology to interned Japanese Americans during World War II?

I’m not so sure that the Commonwealth feels that way to me.
For instance:
• The hateful passing of the Marriage Amendment (or rather – make damn sure the Gays know they are second class citizens)
• Virgil Goode’s proud display of xenophobia
• George Allen’s seemingly racist past and successful political career (up until National pressure made our great Commonwealth take notice)
• And of course the latest “just get over it”
Just a taste of hate spewed by social dominant Republicans…

However, spending legislative time debating whether this issue should be passed seems a terrible waste. “No, I am going to keep this issue open because I don’t think we should apologize for atrocities that we weren’t alive for,” seems so much more foolish to me than saying, “Yeah, whatever, can we vote on this and move on to real business.” Naturally, there are likely rules of conduct that prevent such a speedy resolution, but I have my dreams. And, as Waldo says, that might not be good politicking, hence why I have not made the leap to public servitude.

Oh, and good title, Waldo. Whatever the nature of the substance of the article, the title is catchy, and has a beat you can dance to.