Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Loudoun Referendums, 2023

Posted September 25, 2023, 12:00 p.m.

Article VII, Section 10, of the Constitution of Virginia requires local governments to obtain voter approval to issue bonds. Voters in Loudoun County, Virginia, will be asked to consider three bond referendums on this year’s ballot.

Bonds are debt. When they are sold, the issuing government receives an influx of cash from the purchasers. Like a bank loan, that money must be repaid by the taxpayers over time with interest.

Bonds should be used only when necessary. Most projects should be funded directly from the general fund (i.e., from the “money in the bank”). We should only incur public debt when a specific project is very important, but too large to fund directly.

Read more . . .

Posted August 26, 2023, 10:03 p.m.

Melissa and I went to the island of Oahu, Hawaii, last year . . . and I just now got around to sorting and processing the photos I took. We spent about a week driving around, seeing the sights, and having a great time.

The first set of photos is a bunch of animals and scenery we saw throughout the week. Those are followed by photos from some of the specific places we went. And finally, at the end, some random stuff. Enjoy.

Read more . . .

Trump, Cohen, Daniels, and Bragg

Posted August 18, 2023, 12:15 p.m.

The first of former President Donald Trump’s (R) many indictments were issued by a New York grand jury on March 30, 2023. Trump appeared at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse on April 4 and entered a “not guilty” plea. The thirty-four-count indictment and an associated “Statement of Facts” were released to the public later that day.

The indictment alleges that Trump violated New York state law by falsifying business records. The case is related to “hush money” payments made through “Lawyer A” to “Woman 2” that were intended to prevent public disclosure of a sexual affair the woman allegedly had with Trump in 2006.

“Lawyer A” is believed to be Michael Cohen, who then worked for the Trump Organization as Special Council to Trump. I will refer to him by name in this article. “Woman 2” is believed to be adult film actress and director Stephanie Gregory Clifford, who is known professionally as Stormy Daniels. I will refer to her by her professional name in this review.

This article is based on the information that is publicly available at the time of its writing. It may need to be revised if new information becomes available. Any substantial changes will be described in the “Updates” section near the end of this post.

Indictment (PDF)
Statement of Facts (PDF)

Read more . . .

Trump and Indictments

Posted August 13, 2023, 2:27 p.m.
Updated August 31, 2023, 12:24 p.m.

On March 30, 2023, a New York grand jury indicted former President Donald Trump (R) on thirty-four felony counts of falsifying business records. This made Trump the first former U.S. president to be charged with a crime. He pleaded “not guilty.”

On June 8, 2023, a federal grand jury indicted Trump on thirty-seven felony charges relating to national defense information, withholding or destroying records, and conspiracy. Three more counts were added in a superseding indictment on July 27. On August 1, another federal grand jury indicted Trump on four new felony charges of conspiracy and obstructing an official proceeding relating to the 2020 election. Trump pleaded “not guilty” to all charges in both cases.

On August 14, 2023, a Georgia grand jury indicted Trump on thirteen felony charges including RICO violations, conspiracy, and false statements, each also related to the 2020 election. Trump also pleaded “not guilty” to these charges.

Read more . . .

Posted August 9, 2023, 12:21 a.m.

Imagine, if you will, a national park that has no distinguishing features. It’s a generic mountain. Its description is ephemeral, and its location is undefined. Here’s its website. Enjoy.

Scott Bradford has been putting his opinions on his website since 1995—before most people knew what a website was. He has been a professional web developer in the public- and private-sector for over twenty years. He is an independent constitutional conservative who believes in human rights and limited government, and a Catholic Christian whose beliefs are summarized in the Nicene Creed. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from George Mason University. He loves Pink Floyd and can play the bass guitar . . . sort-of. He’s a husband, pet lover, amateur radio operator, and classic AMC/Jeep enthusiast.

Quotes

The first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum.

People who talk incessantly about ‘change’ are often dogmatically set in their ways. They want to change other people.

The Bible is not a scientific textbook and should never be read as such; rather it reveals what God wants us to know for the sake of our salvation.

All government, in its essence, is a conspiracy against the superior man: its one permanent object is to oppress him and cripple him.

It is loserthink to attack an opponent by acting as dumb as they act. It might feel good, but it isn’t a winning strategy.

If a bigot says in public often enough that racism is evil, the bigot is self-influencing himself to be less racist. We are better off encouraging insincere but positive opinions, because they are self-fulfilling to a degree. Reward what works.

Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.

In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

I tell you, on the day of judgment men will render account for every careless word they utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

If you buy the story that everything terrible just happened on its own, with no personal responsibility on the part of the victim, you deny that person all agency. . . . In this manner, you strip him or her of all power.

Normally the man of great productive capacity who becomes rich by guiding the labor of many other men does so by enabling them to produce more than they could produce without his guidance; and both he and they share in the benefit, which comes also to the public at large.

No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has emerged from the kingdom of night.

Any Christian who blindly accepts the opinions of the majority and in fear and timidity follows a path of expediency and social approval is a mental and spiritual slave.

For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: If any one will not work, let him not eat.

It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save by effort.

If men were angels, no government would be necessary.

Faith is not the childish belief in magic. That is ignorance or even willful blindness. It is instead the realization that the tragic irrationalities of life must be counterbalanced by an equally irrational commitment to the essential goodness of Being.

Life’s most painful condition: to be almost a celebrity.

In short, the scientific discourse, like any dominant discourse, has become the privileged instrument of opportunism, lies, deception, manipulation, and power.

The greatest evil perpetrated is the evil committed by nobodies, that is, by human beings who refuse to be persons.

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