Tea at Trianon: Don’t Maryland MY VIRGINA

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Don’t Maryland MY VIRGINA

From Direct Line News:

This November, Virginians face a choice that will define the future of our Commonwealth for years to come. On the ballot are two very different candidates for governor: Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears, a proven conservative leader who has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Governor Glenn Youngkin in protecting parents, taxpayers, and common sense—or radical leftist Abigail Spambergler, a politician who claims moderation on the campaign trail but, like too many Virginia Democrats before her, would veer sharply to the left the moment she took office.
We’ve seen this movie before. In 2017, Ralph Northam ran as a moderate Democrat. Many voters assumed he would govern as a centrist, but in office, he became one of Virginia’s most progressive governors. We see the same playbook in neighboring Maryland, where Governor Wes Moore campaigned as a fresh-faced moderate, only to yank the state hard left once he took power. Taxes went up, spending ballooned, and Marylanders were treated to a $2.3 million taxpayer-funded renovation of the Governor’s Mansion—while ordinary families struggled to make ends meet. Virginians should not want that same fate.
The Firewall Against Radicalism
Right now, Governor Youngkin serves as the critical firewall between the radical Virginia legislature and the people of the Commonwealth. Time and again, he and Winsome Sears have stood against the worst excesses of the Democratic agenda:
Parental Rights: Youngkin and Sears have been unflinching in defending parents’ say in their children’s education. They believe parents—not bureaucrats, not activist school boards—know what is best for their kids. Spambergler, on the other hand, sides with the unions and the woke crowd that think parents should sit down, shut up, and write the check.
Protecting Girls’ Sports and Privacy: Youngkin and Sears have pushed back against policies that would allow biological males into girls’ locker rooms and onto girls’ sports teams. Spambergler embraces these radical gender policies, regardless of the impact on Virginia’s daughters.
Fiscal Responsibility: Governor Youngkin inherited a fiscal mess from Democrats and has worked to keep Virginia’s financial house in order. Taxes have been cut, businesses have confidence to invest, and families have kept more of their hard-earned dollars. Spambergler promises more spending, more taxes, and more bureaucracy—just like Wes Moore in Maryland.
(Read more.)