Another Good Year for Virginia   The tax hikers and the secular humanists are overreaching. They can't get away with much more without pushing a majority of Virginians into saying, "Enough is enough!"   Last year I ended my op ed, "Out With the Old, In With the Old", with this comment:   “Virginians are neither Democrat nor Republican by DNA. Virginians are bone-deep dedicated as traditional values, family, freedom and fun-in life folks. The majority thinks little of politics and focuses, appropriately, on CHRISTmas and a New Year. Then, next year, Virginians will just live life until elections force new choices.”   Ditto on the cusp between 2005 and 2006. This past year was a good year for Virginia. Jerry Kilgore’s loss to Tim Kaine for Governor didn’t ruin the year. Neither did low-tax conservative winning two state-wide races make the year. Life, separate from politics, was the main focus for most Virginians.   The economy is strong as federal tax cuts and federal spending pump more money into the Commonwealth than the Virginia tax hike takes out.   Most Virginians won’t pay attention to the General Assembly in early 2006. All the better, because it’s unlikely that anyone will be covered in glory there. Tim Kaine and the Democrats will propose something on transportation. Most likely it’ll involve a tax increase to pay for it.   Accordingly, the Daily Press recently editorialized about 18 ways to raise taxes. The first 15 or so actually had some thing to do with transportation, like tolls, and the remainders were the Socialist stand-bys to increase income and sales taxes. Raising user fees for transportation, including tolls, makes sense if current funding is insufficient, if and only if, the plan actually solves transportation problems. Most plans don’t.   The Liberals will try to mandate meddling with local property taxes and government schools for four year olds.   The Republican caucus in the House of Delegates has a weak legislative agenda that includes some gimmicks. The Republican Lords in the Senate have no public plan, but offer plenty of hubris. Both GOP majorities need to address what funding is sufficient.  Give us a number. Say how many billions it takes to run the Commonwealth well?   More likely, the Republicans will just spend every penny of the surplus that comes in.   So, how does this make 2006 a good year?   Anything dumb done by Gov. Kaine and the General Assembly can be undone. If they go too far, then they set the stage for the big election of the General Assembly in 2007. Meanwhile, 2006 will be the practice for the presidency as Senator George Allen runs for re-election. It, too, sets the stage for 2007.   There may be good news in Virginia’s Republican initiatives on Medicaid and Health Savings Accounts. Look forward to the details.   Next year’s run up to the 400th anniversary of Jamestown – and Virginia – in 2007 should be a good time to shake out principles from pandering. Some politicians will bow and scrap to the racism inherent in federal recognition and sovereignty for six Indian tribes. These are racially mixed descendants - assimilated for 300 years - who now need special privileges, rights and a new level of government in Virginia based on blood line. Other politicians will celebrate the exceptionalism of the birth of American Civilization.   There’s a growing ground swell to act against illegal  immigration. This may be the year the politicians act stronger - locally, state-wide and federally.   The real push back against the War on Christmas won’t go away after Virginians put up their Christmas decorations. That’s very good news for next year.  It’s very important to turn the tide of cultural cleansing by Liberal Human Secularists. The Liberals are caterwauling, “There is no War on Christmas”.  The louder they scream, the more you can bet on one thing: There is a War on Christmas. And the Liberals know they lose fast if the overwhelming Christian majority acts to preserve its Constitutional freedoms for the Free Exercise of Religion and no Establishment of Religion – especially the imposition of modern Paganism in public schools dressed up as Liberal Secular Humanism.   Christians don’t care that anti-Christians don’t say, decorate, or celebrate ‘Merry Christmas’. The issue that finally struck home is the Liberal Puritans demanding Christians NOT say ‘Merry Christmas’ at work, in schools or the public square. Or banning Christmas carols.   2006 could be a very good year for chipping away at the tyranny of the minority. When Virginians say, “Enough is enough,” good things will happen. The government schools are a good place to start since they belong to the taxpayers, not the Liberal educrats. Happy New Year!             -- January 3, 2006