Alton Foley

I'm Back

2011-07-27T17:10:00.000-04:00

My friends who have been following me on Facebook know a bit about why I've been gone so long. The rest of you will learn more as time goes on, but for now let's just say I'm back and I welcome you back as well.

Closing This Blog, But The Door Stays Open

2009-06-04T11:53:00.005-04:00

It's been almost 4 years now, since the day I began this blog. It's been great and I've really enjoyed spending time with you guys, my readers, for all these years.

Although I'm closing up shop here I'll still be around. This blog and its archives will not be removed. I have some grander plans and a move to a new site is the first step on that road.

The new blog has a working title of "Eschew Obfuscation", though that is subject to change.

Come on over and check out my new place. I hope you'll be just as comfortable as you have been here, well, some of you, anyway. The rest I intend to make as uncomfortable as possible.

Convention's Over. Thoughts, Part Two. Or An Open Letter To Ken!

2009-06-03T20:03:00.009-04:00

Cross posted at Eschew Obsfuscation

From the moment I walked into the Colosseum on Saturday morning, I knew it was Ken Cuccinelli's convention. To most of the delegates, selecting Governor and Lt. Governor candidates and a party chairman was secondary. For them, nominating Ken was job one.

I was impressed with the organization Ken has put together. And I'm sure it will only strengthen in the months to come. Congratulations Ken, from a John Brownlee supporter, on a job well done.

Now the tough part begins. It's easy to get the support of those who reside on the right side of the conservative spectrum. Those who are involved enough to pay real money to travel across the state to attend a political convention. It's a bit tougher to get the more moderate. And tougher still to get those guys that have voted a straight Democratic line forever just because Granddad did.

A wise man once told me that any candidate comes into a race with 20% locked down. It's there. You don't really even have to work for it. That's true for his opponent as well. That means you have to convince the voters in the middle. You're both fighting for them.

So, you have to go out there and convince just 31% of the voters that you're their guy. Sounds simple. Only 31%. Until you realize that that most can't name you or your opponent. Sure, they know the finalists on American Idol, but ask them who represents them in Congress or the General Assembly and you get a blank stare. Or you get the name of the last guy they saw interviewed on CNN. They don't know him, they don't know you, and they don't really care.

Now, I'm here to offer a bit of advice. It's worth every penny I'm charging you for it, Ken.

The 9th district will be crucial to your success. I'm sure you already know that, but it has to be said anyway.

The Fightin' Ninth is full of folks just like I have described.

"Granddad was a Democrat, Dad was a Democrat, so I guess that makes me a Democrat. Sure, in a Presidential election I usually vote for the most conservative guy. I'm a conservative guy myself. But, by cracky, I'm a Democrat and I want my local guys to be Democrats just like Dad was."

Or so it goes.

You have to get more than 25% of these leftovers excited enough about you to tell their friends.

The next part may seem mean. I don't intend it that way. The way to their hearts will not be easy. Especially for a guy whose last name ends with a vowel. Face it, Cuccinelli is not a name heard around here very often. I suggest making "Ken!" a catch-phrase down this way. Perhaps they'll even begin to think Shannon is a sissy name. Stress the "Ken", lose the "Cuccinelli". Or shorten it to Cooch. At least down this way. Nothing personal, just the way folks in the coalfields think.

Oh, by the way, there ain't a lot of Catholics down this way either. We're mostly Baptists and Pentecostals. Regardless of political affiliation, probably as conservative as you, if not more so. Most are a bit leery of Catholics, though.

I'm afraid Brownlee was right when he stressed his prosecutor past. Shannon and his cheerleaders are already using it. And you've painted yourself into a corner on the triggerman thing. You can't switch gears now, so stress public safety any other way you can.

Spend time down this way. It worked for Warner. It worked for Kaine. It can work for you. Get to Martinsville. Not the speedway, though that won't hurt. (There is a great 4th of July event there each year. Attend it.) Get to downtown Martinsville. I suggest a Friday evening attending a T.G.I.F concert. Get in touch with Councilman Danny Turner or City Attorney Eric Monday, they can arrange it and they'll be good guides.

Get to the outlying areas of the ninth. Call Jerry Lester out in Grundy. Work with the Kilgores down U.S.23 from there, you know them, I'm sure. Get by here in Stanleytown, we'll work out an event for you here.

Abingdon, Bristol, Roanoke, and even Martinsville are important, but ignore Stuart, Hurley, Norton, and Bassett at your peril.

The Peach Festival in Stuart. If at all possible, be there.

Floydfest in Floyd. If at all possible, be there.

Poor Boy's Dinner in Galax. If at all possible, be there.

The Fall races at Martinsville and Bristol. If at all possible, be there.

You get the idea. It all comes down to six little words. When it comes to the ninth district, if at all possible, be there.

And finally, I'm here to help, use me any way you can.

Convention's Over. Thoughts, Part One

2009-06-01T10:03:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, Sunday, was a busy day here. First I had to see Kilo off safely back to Wise, then off to Church. The afternoon was filled with the first graduation ceremony for our school, V.I.C.A. I got back home just as the race at Dover was winding down, (will Johnson get another championship this year?), then began preparing for other overnight guests on Sunday evening.

Already pretty wiped out from the convention, Sunday evening was spent in my favorite chair, kicked back and relaxing, with "The Fugitive" with Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones.

Now, late in the morning on Monday, the first Monday of my Summer break, I have seen last night's guests off, I have the tractor started and am preparing to spend the next several hours mowing.

But first I want to recap the RPV convention of 2009.

RPV did a stellar job organizing this convention. The facility was great, the only complaints I have, and heard often from others, was that the registration area was very difficult to find, and many units had to climb to the stars in order to find their seats.

Registration was very easy, even though it took me two whole laps around the circular Colosseum before I finally found someone who could give clear directions. (Thanks John Brownlee.)

RPV's organization was once again evident on Saturday morning when Kilo and I found our way to blogger's row. We had the best seats in the house, even though I seldom sat. Kilo did a bit of live blogging, I preferred to visit and look for stories. Besides, what's the point live blogging an event where most of the people interested in the outcome are sitting right in front of you? Those who could not attend for one reason or another, (missed you Norm), could easily keep up with the RPV's own live feed as well as the hundreds of Tweets.

Lynn has a comprehensive list of Virginia bloggers who found their way on and off blogger's row here.

It takes me about 18 hours to mow this place, and I'm at least two weeks behind. I'll add part two later.

RPV Convention 2009 Is Over

2009-05-30T22:05:00.003-04:00

I just got back into Henry County. Let Bailey, my dog, go out into the yard and pee on stuff. He really seems to enjoy doing that. I'm about ready to kick off the boots and let the events of the day filter out.

I spent most of the day on "blogger's row". RPV really set up a great facility for us, with the expected glitches, of course. Nothing serious, just a tripped breaker here and there, but all soon sorted out. Thanks to all those who worked that area.

Even though I spent time on blogger's row, I didn't actually write anything while I was there. I did find a few stories to tell, but that will come later. Tomorrow I'll write up an analysis of the day and tell a few of the stories I came away with.

See you tomorrow, good night all.

Answers Please, Brian Gentry

2009-05-28T20:23:00.003-04:00

A lot of to do going on about the infamous robo call. Yeah, I got it. Yeah, I immediately associated it in my mind with the Cuccinelli campaign. Right or wrong, I'm sorry, That's the way I called it.

Did Ken himself approve it beforehand? Not likely. Did Ken himself approve it immediately after it first aired? Possibly.

Is it a major blunder for the Cuccinelli campaign? Most definitely.

The man(?) behind it seems to be one Brian Gentry. A paid stooge for Bob Marshall in a previous campaign. At least Brian proudly claims responsibility for the weakly supported evidence on the website noted on the call in question.

A couple more questions before I get to my astute analysis.

Brian has called Bob McDonnell a "liberal". Brian claims that John Brownlee is anti-2nd amendment. Brian is an idiot.

Wait. Those are not questions, are they?

No. Those are facts. The few facts that can be discerned from reading Brian's website. There are few facts about John Brownlee on a site that purports to expose Brownlee facts. Many innuendos and suppositions, but few facts.

Back to those questions now.

Question one. Brian is on record as a paid performer for Bob Marshall. Does Brian have an equally long record as a Republican?

Question two. Is Brian a member of any Republican committee?

Question three. And perhaps the most important of all. Is Brian affiliated in any way with either the Cuccinelli or Foster campaigns?

Answers please, Brian. Or Ken. Or Dave.

RPV Convention

2009-05-27T08:00:00.005-04:00

It's the last week of school. Friday will be the last day of school, but I won't be there. Not for long anyway. I'll be leaving fairly early on Friday, heading to Richmond where I'll be a delegate to the Republican party's state convention.

Bob McDonnell will be our candidate for Governor. That has been long ago settled.

As delegates, we will have several items to decide. We gotta pick a Lt. Governor candidate. Easy. I'll get to that later.

We need to come together on a choice for Attorney General. This one is a bit tougher, but I'll get to it a bit later too.

And we have to choose a new chairman for the group, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia.

The recent L'affaire Frederick being still fresh in everyone's mind, this may be the toughest choice as well as the most important of the weekend. In many ways this one election will set the stage for the future of our party in Virginia. Not only will this be a referendum on which of the two candidates, Pat Mullins or Bill Stanley, will lead our party, this is in many ways a referendum on the vision and leadership of our state central committee.

After dumping Jeff Frederick, in a manner that was widely criticized, the state central committee installed Pat Mullins as chairman. Pat may be a great guy. I don't know. The Virginia political expert I rely on to advise me on such matters does not know him either. He's a local unit chairman in the same congressional district as my expert adviser, but still unknown.

Bill Stanley, on the other hand is also a local unit chairman in my expert's district. I've met Bill Stanley. I don't really know Mr. Stanley. But I've met him, he's very likeable, he's a good conversationalist, and he seems trustworthy.

I've received many emails from Mr. Stanley, I suppose you have too. I've received one mailer from Mr. Mullins. I've also received one mailer from Stanley.

In his emails and mailer Mr. Stanley has outlined many innovative ideas and plans. Mr. Mullins has touted his endorsements. Endorsements are good. I'm essentially putting forth some endorsements here today. I like endorsements.

I like ideas and plans better, though.

Right now I'm leaning hard toward Bill Stanley. Before I can fully endorse him though, I feel it is only right that I actually meet Mr. Mullins. That won't happen until Friday afternoon at the earliest, so I'm tentatively endorsing Bill Stanley for Chairman. If that changes you'll be notified early Saturday before the voting begins. No update will mean that Bill Stanley remains my choice.

Now let's move to the easy choice. Bill Bolling is and will be our next Lt. Governor. I see no point in even mentioning his opponent's name. A solid conservative to the core, Bill, with roots in SWVA and a conservative record in Richmond that is unequalled, will leave the convention with 70 plus percent of the delegate vote. Bill Bolling has a proven record to stand on.

A 100% pro-family voting record from The Family Foundation
A 100% pro-life voting record from the Virginia Society for Human Life
Endorsed by the Virginia Society for Human Life (2005)
Supported parental notification and consent legislation, a ban on partial birth abortions and higher patient safety standards for abortion clinics
Cast the tie-breaking vote to deny state funding to Planned Parenthood
Fought to restore abstinence education funding that Governor Kaine stripped from the budget
Led the fight to pass the Marriage Amendment
Has opposed every tax increase proposed by Governors Warner and Kaine

Bill Bolling is my choice for Lt. Governor.

Now the tough one.

No question about it, Ken Cuccinelli is my hero in the Virginia Senate. When Ken first announced his intention to run for attorney general, I wholeheartedly supported that move. Remember though, that was when he was a lone candidate in a field that has since grown by two. Two other excellent candidates have since joined Ken in his quest to be our next attorney general.

Dave Foster is a candidate I could, (and will), support in the future. Dave will someday make a great Lt. Governor candidate, a great AG candidate, or even a great candidate for Governor. But not yet. Not quite. It's not that Dave is not ready. Instead, we as a party are not ready for him.

What I mean by that is the reason that John Brownlee has my enthusiastic support for AG.

My history with John Brownlee goes back to sometime in 2002 when he prosecuted my BOS member. You can read about that here.

There is more to my support for Mr. Brownlee than that though. As early as last Summer John assured me that he would not oppose Bolling for the Governor spot next. He promised to hold out if Bill Bolling decides to run for the governorship after McDonnell.

Our party has a line-up that is pretty much unbeatable for the next 12 years if, and only if, our candidates agree to work together.

On Friday I'll be asking both Dave Foster and Ken Cuccinelli their plans for the future should they win the AG nomination. Their answers will be posted here on Saturday morning.

Until then I don't see anyone persuading me to change from my wholehearted endorsement of John Brownlee.

So there you have it. For what it's worth, I'll be voting Saturday for the following;

RPV Chairman; Bill Stanley
Lt. Governor; Bill Bolling
AG; John Brownlee

See you in Richmond on Friday and Saturday.

School's Out For Summer

2009-05-26T21:58:00.003-04:00

School's Out For Ever!

Alice Cooper said it in song years ago.

School's not really out forever, but for the next couple of months school's out for me. I'll be working with a couple of students on their summer school courses, and I'll be working on getting our newest campus in Ridgeway Virginia ready for next year. But I'll have much more time for frivolities like blogging in the next few months.

I'll also be launching a new Virginia political magazine this summer. I'm really excited about this new project. Similar in content to Jim Bacon's excellent "Bacon's Rebellion", but going a few steps further, I have high hopes for this new project. I'll keep you updated on the progress here. I have a couple of well known Virginians signed on as regular writers, but I need more. Please contact me if you would like to apply for a liberally unpaid position as a regular columnist.

Part One. Partisan Blogging; Leftist Edition

2009-04-24T20:51:00.010-04:00

I've been pretty much inactive lately. Especially when compared to my early years in this blogging thing. I do still read many blogs. I do still get my dander up when folks on either side spread political BS like it was so much fertilizer.

The latest fertilizer spreaders I've noticed are Lowell Feld and that perpetual spreader, Waldo Jaquith.

Blogging.

On the surface, blogging is easy. Real journalism, now that's a bit tougher. I don't claim to do either, let alone one or the other particularly well. Both these characters claim, publicly or privately, to be experts at one or the other. Or both.

Let's examine a couple of recent "posts", as bloggers call an article, and see where they really come from.

Let's start off with Waldo. I'm sure you know Waldo, the cute kid from Charlottesville with a great smile and good hair. He's also got a really good looking wife and a pretty smart brother. I never really learned how to smile for a photograph, and I ain't got good hair. Oh, I got hair, just not much of it anymore, and what's there has gone really, really blonde.

Waldo recently "posted" what he would call an "article" about the "Global Warming Crisis". Yes, apparently Waldo is an Al Gore disciple.

Waldo has discovered an old report from the Global Climate Coalition, an enregy industry-financed group, that he says, decided years ago, that “the scientific basis for the Greenhouse Effect and the potential impact of human emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2 on climate is well established and cannot be denied,”

Waldo does not include a link to the report he quotes. Oh, he does include a link to the New York Times report on the report, but once there you have to have really sharp eyes to find the link to the actual report.

Here you need to remember the quote from Waldo; "...the scientific basis for the Greenhouse Effect and the potential impact of human emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2 on climate is well established and cannot be denied..."

There's more.(PDF link) Read the report yourself. NOTE: Unlike Waldo, this is a link to the actual report. Read it yourself.

Waldo could have included this link, but chose not to.

Read the entire report and you find that not only can man's contribution to climate change cannot be denied, you also cannot determine whether man's contribution will add more to global warming, or global cooling.

Read that again. The report does say that man's contribution to global warming cannot be denied. It also says that it cannot be determined whether or not man can contribute to warming or cooling. The report is also very careful to note that, although the hypothetical contribution by mankind to climate change cannot be denied, it cannot be determined how much or how little mankind may be able to contribute.

Sure. We may be able to affect the global temperature, but to what degree, and in which direction, no one can say.

Next, Lowell Feld and the recent Unemployment fiasco in Virginia.

Warner On The Democratic Process, Failing Grade

2009-04-06T21:38:00.005-04:00

I've not written much on the Employee Free Choice Act before. I have, however, written about my thoughts on unions in general;

Any union, whether it be my old brotherhood the Teamsters, or my Grandfather's UMWA, or your local teacher's union, the VEA, is based on a single flawed premise. All unions are based on the concept that all workers are equal. Anyone who has spent a day on the factory floor, or a night in a mine, or a few miles on the road in a Freightliner knows that just ain't true. Even Dan, my beloved uncle, if he were to be honest about it would tell you that, given a choice, he would rather go down the road with Gary Martin than Roger Potter, two drivers I had the privilege to work with at that time. Yet in the eyes of the union they were equal. Horse hockey!

As a former union member, and an engineer working in two heavily unionized industries, I know a thing or two about unions and their organizing methods.

All's fair that ain't ruled unfair. And even then it's iffy.

There is no way to put a pretty face on this blatant power grab by unions and their bought Democratic stooges. If enough workers in a plant, store, jobsite, mine, or whatever can be arm-twisted into signing a card, the union is in.

No democratic election. No secret ballot. No anonymity allowed. You've been arm-twisted, your "vote" has been recorded.

Then the nightmare begins.

The workers and their employer will be forced into a binding arbitration if the employer does not immediately capitulate to the union's demands. Even if this arbitration is so detrimental to the company's business that it results in the demise of the company.

Virginians need to know that Senator Mark Warner has decided that the democratic (small "d") process need not apply to you and your workplace.

L'affaire Frederick

2009-04-06T21:33:00.002-04:00

I spent quite a bit of time today on the phone with an RPV executive committee member in whom I have quite a bit of trust.

I will report in more detail on my thoughts concerning the L'affaire Frederick soon, it's being written, revised, re-written now.

H/T to JAB for the title.

HB1388 And The Meaning Of Words

2009-03-31T17:51:00.007-04:00

Hello Lloyd. Nice to see you drop in. Guess there's nothing much new to plagiarize lately?

Let me back up a moment.

My previous little clip was a critique of a bill recently passed out of the House of Representatives. A bill co-sponsored by Virginia's boy wonder Tom "Terrific" Perriello, HB1388.

A couple of commenters got their panties in a bunch because they have fallen for the talking points and not read the bill for themselves.

Lloyd Snook, an attorney from Charlottesville, even begins his comment with the snide remark, "Didn't read the bill before blogging about it, I guess..."

Yes, James and Lloyd, I did read the bill. Now perhaps you two should go and do likewise. Stop listening to defences of the bill and actually take the time to see what it really says.

Neither Lloyd nor James offer arguments of any substance, just platitudes and talking points.

They both claim that I'm wrong when I say that the bill bans participants from regularly attending church, or teaching in a church youth group, but the bill is quite clear on this point. I would also like to be clear on one point. I am not a lawyer. Don't even claim to be, like Lloyd does.

Here is the actual text from HB1388 (now S277) as passed by the House;

Emphasis added;
PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.Section 125 (42 U.S.C. 12575) is amended to read as follows: `SEC. 125. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.

`(a) Prohibited Activities- A participant in an approved national service position under this subtitle may not engage in the following activities:

`(1) Attempting to influence legislation. (No letters to your Congressman, or I suppose, letters to the editor of your local paper.)

`(2) Organizing or engaging in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes....

And so it goes until it gets to paragraph 7;

`(7) Engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of religious proselytization.

Both James and Lloyd claim the above applies to the organization receiving funds, not the participant.

OK.

Besides the fact that the word participant is plainly used in the above quoted section, the bill itself has a section titled "definitions". In that section there is no official definition for "participant", however the word "participant" is used extensively throughout the bill to describe a citizen volunteer "participating" in this endeavor. Organizations receiving funds are typically referred to in this bill as "Organizations" or "Grant Recipients".

So, I suppose if you're tasked with the rather onerous job of defending this mess you must disregard common English language and its generally accepted use in favor of made up stuff which you've been told to say.

A participant is a participant unless he's an organization, then he's a grant recipient. Give me a break, Lloyd. I may not be a lawyer, but I can read the English language.

Tom Perriello's Idea Of Moderate-ism

2009-03-28T21:01:00.005-04:00

Jonas Clark, one of the Virginia patriots at UCV, tells us of the requirements for Obama's much vaunted "Volunteer Corp". You remember, he spoke of it so many times during his campaign.

Tom spoke of it often as well, but neither had the courage then, or now, to tell the whole truth of the matter.

Jonas does have the courage to speak of it, but not in the glowing terms you've heard before; He quotes the actual text, as it passed in the House, (with Tom Perriello as Virginia's only Represenative co-sponsoring).

(Italics Jonas')
SEC. 1304. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.
Section 125 (42 U.S.C. 12575) is amended to read as follows:

SEC. 125. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.
(a) Prohibited Activities-A participant in an approved national service position under this subtitle may not engage in the following activities:

(1) Attempting to influence legislation. (No calling your congressman to tell him/her to vote yes or no)

(2) Organizing or engaging in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes. (No grassroots organizing, no parades, no protests, no Grassfire.)

(7) Engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of religious proselytization.
[LINK]

Jonas doesn't tell us this final bit of news, but if you scroll on down the text of the bill, to section 6104, you find that this "Volunteer" group will eventually become required service. Sort of like the draft. Except in the Army you can at least attend the Church of your choice.

Way to go Tom! That's really standing up for true Virginia values. NOT!

SCC and Me. Schedule Conflict

2009-03-28T12:56:00.003-04:00

I know. I know. I promised to provide my opinion of the "smoking gun" that was offered yesterday. Sometimes things just don't work out.

This morning I put on a pot of coffee, and nothing happened. Well, not nothing. Something happened, of course. Just what was supposed to happen didn't. The water never got hot and forced its way up that little tube into the nozzle that sprays out over the freshly ground bean fragments, converting them into a damp, dark brown, muddy looking mass while producing a hot pot of morning. Instead, the cold water just sat there. Slowly leaking out onto the counter, an obvious omen that the day would not go according to plan.

I searched through the garage for my old Mr. Coffee backup, as reliable as it is ugly, and tried again. Of course, it worked.

While performing the monthly de-batcherlorization of my kitchen, I spoke again with my SCC friend. He was going to try to fit me in between two other meetings today, one early this morning, the second at 3:00pm at a location almost 3 hours from here.

It couldn't happen. If he made the one hour detour by my house, he would be almost 2 hours late for his second meeting. Can't have that.

We'll try again in the coming days, and once again, I promise. You'll be the first to know.

Frederick Kerfuffle Part Deux

2009-03-27T20:48:00.006-04:00

Just got off the phone, about an hour or so ago, with a member of the SCC.

It was an interesting conversation, as conversations with this individual usually are. This SCC member is understandably concerned with my position, as stated below, on the Jeff Frederick kerfuffle. (Yes, I'm going to continue to call it a kerfuffle. For now.)

I told my friendly neighborhood SCC member that I too was disappointed. This whole episode has been badly handled from the beginning. Not by that particular SCC member, who is known for handling things well, but by just about everyone else involved.

See, the problem is, most everyone who paid real dollars to travel to Richmond last year, and real dollars to stay at that really nice hotel across the street from the convention, and even more real dollars for food and drink while they were there in support of Jeff Frederick came back from that convention well pleased that their guy had won.

Almost immediately they began to hear rumbles and non-specific gripes from their party elders who had supported Lt. Governor Hager. Some had even been pressured by those same party elders to change their mind at the last minute to vote for Hager.

By the time of the Advance, in December, those rumbles had grown to a dull roar. Yet still there were no specific charges against Chairman Frederick. Just complaints from those whose guy had lost many months before.

Now we come to the point, a few weeks ago, where news reports began leaking that the SCC had decided it was time for Jeff to go. He had been asked to resign, had been told that if he didn't he would be removed in April. But still no specific charges were put forth to the people who had elected him. It still looked to those good people as if the party elders, who had been griping incessantly, were about to exercise their muscle. Strongarm style.

Finally someone had the good sense to release the specific charges to the press. Now the people could at least decide if their party elders were exercising muscle or brain. With Chairman Frederick's release of his response to the charges, one by one, it seemed to most that there was much more muscle than brain at work on the SCC.

Still, as I explained to my SCC member, I knew the SCC had more information than I did. They knew more about the actual situation than the grassroots members knew. But they were not forthcoming with it. For fear of "bad press" I was told, on more than one occasion. By more than one "insider".

My God, how much worse could the press get?

Speaking of bad press, the reply, from some un-named SCC member, to John Gizzi that no thought whatsoever had been given to a possible replacement, was enough for me.

But not yet. Not quite. I've maintained an open mind on this episode this far, I'll keep it open a few more hours. My SCC contact will be visiting me in the morning for coffee. He has what he calls the smoking gun. He has permission to show it, let people read it, let them absorb it, but they cannot copy it.

Fair enough. I'll look at it. I'll absorb it. I'll treat my friend to a cup of great Honduras Coffee and we'll talk about it.

You'll be the first to know.

Jeff Frederick Kerfuffle*

2009-03-27T19:01:00.000-04:00

I've stayed out of this until now, but the following quote seals it for me;

"No one yet. We haven’t thought it through that far. Right now, getting Frederick out is the main idea."

Sorry, but if that's the "plan" of the SCC, I just ain't gonna go along with it.

I've read the charges. I've read the responses to those charges by Chairman Frederick. I'm reminded of two modern quotes;

"there's no 'there' there." Gertrude Stein

And

"We have met the enemy and he is us." Walt Kelly, via Pogo

*Kerfuffle; (Noun)1.- a noisy and disorderly incident

Newspapers: Shall We Play The Requiem Now?

2009-03-24T22:40:00.002-04:00

By Barnie Day; Another Guest Shot From Meadows of Dan

Not just yet. Let’s at least have a national debate before we bury this one.

The cataclysmic demise is well documented. Going forward, the question is: Is there a model that (1) acknowledges and accommodates the current reality and (2) preserves the critical role of a free and independent press?

There might be—a national newspaper trust that could purchase these faltering papers. (If there is an upside to an 83% devaluation in newspaper stocks in 2008, it is the creation of an incredible buyers' market.)

Sure to God, if such a structure can save swamps, farmland, old buildings, artifacts of importance, odd plant life, long-eared rodents, queer little birds, and a host of other good and worthy considerations, such a thing could be established to preserve an entity that is so very crucial to policy, to government, to Democracy, to our collective well-being, as independent newspapers are.

There is no evidence whatsoever that the industry can save itself. Newspapers are cannibalizing themselves by giving their content to the Internet, and if that’s not bad enough, they’re slashing the only real competitive advantage they have—their reporters, writers and editors. Seems an odd survival strategy, if you ask me.

If newspapers are to survive, then retro, or old school, journalism relieved of profit pressure by trust ownership and subsidy may be the model.

How to fund such a trust? Three ways:

1) A national newspaper lottery would generate significant proceeds. Although 42 states and one or two territories conduct lotteries of some sort, there is no national lottery in the U. S. Lotteries are a form of taxation, but as Jefferson pointed out, the fairest form of taxation in that the burden is laid “only upon the backs of the willing.” This burden would be a worthy one.

2) A voluntary one-dollar check-off contribution on federal income tax returns would raise significant money, too—and give taxpayers a direct voice in how at least some of their money is spent. It wouldn’t be complicated. They could say “yes” or “no” simply by checking or not checking the box. It’s a pity we don’t have more such direct opportunities to say “yes” or “no” with a lot of other spending.

I know the "government" argument. It makes some folks queasy. It does me sometimes, but the granting of tax-exempt status and playing the role of mere pass-through collection/disbursement agent for a lottery and for income tax check-off falls short of "government sponsorship of newspapers."

A national trust would, in fact, come closer to vesting ownership with that teeming miasma otherwise known as "the people"—a good thing, in my opinion—than any other arrangement I presently know of, far closer than family and/or corporate ownership (think Rupert Murdoch) does now.

3) The largest consumer, and beneficiary, of newspapers in the world has to be Google, which means Google, and other search engines, have the most to lose if (when) the newspaper industry collapses. It is an interesting paradox: the primary instrument of newspaper destruction has the most to lose. The implication is that they must dance together.

Google doesn't pay for newspapers' proprietary content, although it does pay the Associated Press under a contract negotiated in 2006.

Let's consider the numbers.

Google performs approximately 235 million searches per day. If ten percent of these searches referenced newspaper print, and if Google agreed to contribute one penny ( 1 cent) for each of these to a national trust, the annual contribution would exceed $85 million. Can Google afford this? Yes. They earned $1.21 BILLION just during the last 90 days of 2008 alone. (I won’t even point out that Google could write such a contribution off as a tax deduction.)

Why propose this? What does it matter? That's the easy one. It is in our national interest that newspapers survive.

Barnie Day is a banker in Stuart, Virginia

How To Outspend History In One Short Lesson

2009-03-12T20:53:00.001-04:00

Somewhere today I read that Senator McConnell (R-Ky.) has come up with a novel way to explain just how much President Obama and the Democratic Congress has spent in the first 50 days of this administration. His math was pretty straight-forward, coming to roughly 1 billion, (with a "b"), dollars per day.

1,000,000,000.00 Dollars. Every day. For 50 days. Less than two Months.

But that number is still out of reach for most of us to understand.

Let me see if I can bring it into a more readily digested form. Let's suppose, for a moment, that you were there in Bethlehem a little over 2000 years ago when Christ was born.

Now let's suppose that your way to celebrate this great occasion was to begin handing out 20 dollar bills. There were no cigars to hand out at that time, so a paper portrait of Andy Jackson will have to do. (Never mind that there were no 20 dollar bills 2000 years ago either. We're supposin', remember?)

When you're standing on a corner handing out 20 dollar bills, word gets out pretty quick. A line forms. Soon you are handing out 20 dollar bills at a rapid clip --about one per second-- $1200 bucks per hour. I know some lawyers, a few bankers, a preacher or two, and some doctors, but I don't know anyone who makes $1200 bucks an hour.

Anyway. You stand there. Handing out your 20 dollar bills as fast as you can. People file past and collect their 20 bucks and shuffle on their way. You continue to do this until you've spent your own 1.2 trillion dollars. (I know, you don't have 1.2 trillion dollars. Obama and Congress don't either, but that didn't stop them. Did it?)

You finally exhaust your pile of Jacksons about the time that Obama is elected.

Over two thousand years. At 20 bucks per second. Twelve hundred bucks an hour. I know some lawyers, a few bankers, a preacher or two, and some doctors, but I still don't know anyone who makes $1200 bucks an hour. But I know of some folks who can spend it way faster than that.

NOTE:
This exercise, by necessity, is an estimate only. For the first 1500 years or so you will run out of people in the world before you run out of seconds in the year.

Guest Author Barnie Day; Spring Post

2009-03-11T15:59:00.003-04:00

Boss Bird Is Back In Town

By Barnie Day

HEADWATERS OF THE DAN—The kingfisher kept his word and came back yesterday. He left out in mid-October—probably to South America. I don’t know for sure. He keeps his secrets, too.

I was on our back patio, watching the sun come streaking and flaring over the mountains, and he announced his return from his favorite perch, a maple limb that hangs out over our pond. He is an exuberant, raucous male in his flashy prime.

This is his sixth trip back. I don’t know that he’s the same bird, but he says he is. He doesn’t strike me as a liar.

He is always first, always early. There are still slips of snow in fence corners and along the line of trees that flank our driveway. The willow tree is barely budding. The frogs still sleep.

Other water birds come and show proprietary interest—ducks, herons, cranes, plovers, pipers, egrets. Big geese glide in, flaps down, honking loud enough to
wake the dead, and slalom the water as if wearing skis.

In mid-summer, an osprey, heavy enough to sway the pine boughs back and forth, will come to fish—and bicker back and forth with the shrieking crows, and other water dwellers—beavers and muskrats, lizards and water snakes, booming, bellowing bullfrogs—will show themselves—but the kingfisher gets dibs on this pond. He always does.

The Dan is birthed from a clear, cold fissure spring in a swampy place half a mile distant, ponding on my neighbor’s place, then on ours. From here, it meanders back and forth across the Virginia-North Carolina border for maybe a hundred and fifty miles until it joins the Roanoke River and disappears into
Kerr Lake Reservoir, a 50,000-acre Corps of Engineers flood control and hydroelectric impoundment built in the 1950s—a place better known as Bugg’s Island.

This bird is mouthy. He screeches and clacks. He fluffs himself. He buffs his beak against the maple limb. Boss bird is back in town.

I know his exuberance—to splash your face in a spring that is a river’s origin gives rise to such—but I know, too, that he doesn’t preen and brag for me.

A mate is somewhere near. I haven’t seen her yet, but I know that she is here. No doubt, he is promising her the moon. She will settle for something less—a
tunnel dug into the bank across the pond from where I stand, a six-to-eight foot tunnel, and at the end of it, a cubbyhole nesting room.

No, they won’t peck it out—they will dig—more a dance—it with their feet. They bring tiny shovels. The middle toes on each of their feet grow together and
make small scoops just for this. They will raise a small brood of chicks on insects, small fish, and other aquatic life.

In all, there are maybe ninety species of kingfishers spread across three families—Alcedinidae (river), Halcyonidae (tree), and Cerylidae (water) and scattered in woodland and water habitats throughout the world.

This is a Belted Kingfisher, the most common in North America—and here in Meadows of Dan—if you can call such an exquisite creature “common.”

(Photo Credit / Wikipedia)

First Patrick, Now It's Augusta County...

2009-03-10T14:09:00.004-04:00

Back in January there was quite a dust-up in neighboring Patrick County regarding the new property tax assessments. Everyone thought the new values were unfair, but most importantly, everyone was terribly upset over the impact this had on their tax bill. It's long past time for Virginians to learn just what the relationship really is between their property assessment and their tax bill. I am re-publishing my January article, with Augusta County now standing in the role of aggrieved county.

H/T to SWAC Girl and Yankee Phillip

Augusta ~~Patrick~~ County citizens are up in arms over their latest property assessments. Well, to be a bit more accurate, they are upset over their latest property tax bill. This time of year that is a fairly common complaint all across Virginia. This year it's Augusta ~~Patrick~~ County, next year it may be Henrico. Or perhaps Suffolk. Or any of Virginia's other counties. What the good people of Augusta ~~Patrick~~ County do not know, and I'll wager most Virginians do not know either, is that their new re-assessment did not cause their property tax bill to shoot through the roof.

Yes, I meant what I wrote. Your increased assessment did not cause your property tax to increase. Your Board of Supervisors caused that increase.

The Code of Virginia, (that great big book with all of Virginia's many laws listed in an orderly manner), makes it clear. Any new assessment that causes a tax bill increase of more than 1% requires, yes, requires, a reduction in the tax rate. A rate reduction that will bring all tax bills back into that 1% range.

What the Code of Virginia does not require is that the new tax remain at the reduced rate. Read that again. The new tax does not have to remain at it's legally required lower rate.

My neighbors in Augusta ~~Patrick~~ County; Your tax rate went up, not because of your new assessment, but because your Board of Supervisors cannot control their spending.

I'm sure if you go back and look at the minutes of your Board of Supervisors meetings you will find the quick, quiet, probably unanimous vote to roll back your tax rate. A roll back that brought your tax bill within the legal 1% increase range.

Further searches through those minutes will reveal a vote, equally quick and quiet, unanimous or not, that immediately raised that rate to where it is now.

These two votes could have even occurred during the same meeting. They may have even been concurrent votes. Or even a vote on a single motion to both lower and raise the rate. All the law requires is that the rate be lowered.

Oh, to be sure, there is a requirement that all this be explained on your tax bill. And I'll bet it is. But is it explained in a manner that you can follow and understand? Not likely. Otherwise you guys would not be so upset about your assessment. Or nearly so mad at your idiot assessor.

As a former Delegate, Barnie Day, recently stated in an Op-Ed in the Martinsville Bulletin;

Most of the rage, consternation and anguish brought about by the recent real property reassessments is misdirected.

The state does not establish the value of our real estate. The county does not — nor does the town council, the farm bureau, the Boy Scouts, etc.

Simply put, the marketplace sets this value — the marketplace and nothing else. It is a hypothetical expression of what a willing buyer would likely give a willing seller, as determined by the best evidence available — comparable sales, best estimates and so on.

The guy who assessed your property most likely got it right. Or at least very close. He or she has no reason to do otherwise, and many reasons not to get it wrong. As licensed, regulated professionals their work is based upon the marketplace, experience, research, and again, the marketplace.

I suggest you ask your Supervisor about this. Ask him why the board can't restrain its spending. Ask him why the explanation is not more clearly explained on your bill.

Just don't go on blaming the wrong guy. Your assessor didn't do it.

John Brownlee, My Choice For Virginia's Next Attorney General

2009-03-04T11:22:00.003-05:00

In 2001-2002 John Brownlee, at the time U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, prosecuted my Board of Supervisors member from Buchanan County. Yes, my BOS member. The one I voted for. The one I worked to get elected.

But that's OK. He deserved it. He had violated not only the law, but the trust of the people of north-western Buchanan County. He was convicted and, I think, is still serving his time.

In 2005 I moved back to my original home County of Henry. John Brownlee, then still U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, prosecuted my Sheriff. No, I didn't have an opportunity to vote for, or work for, that Sheriff. But I would have if I had lived here during his campaign.

But that's OK. He deserved it. He had violated not only the law, but the trust of the people of Henry County. He was convicted and has since served his time.

Even after that history, or more accurately, perhaps, because of it, I am proud to be a 9th District delegate to the Republican Convention for John Brownlee for Attorney General.

John Brownlee has proven his commitment to the Rule of Law. His entire life has been committed to the preservation of our American way of life, our freedom, and our honor.

In my classroom I teach my students to stand for truth and do what is right, I expect my government to do the same. I know from experience that John Brownlee will take that same commitment to the Attorney General's office.

Our country needs the direction and forethought of experienced and caring public servants who have been tested and proven. Our Commonwealth needs the trust and experience of a dedicated, and yes, tested and proven, prosecuting attorney to protect the heritage and the future of that Commonwealth. As Republicans, we are truly blessed to have three very good candidates working to gain the nomination for Attorney General. One stands out in that group. As Virginians, we will be equally blessed to have as Attorney General former U.S. Attorney John Brownlee.

A former Army Ranger, John Brownlee has long been dedicated to supporting and defending our country. As U.S. Attorney, John worked tirelessly to defend and protect Virginian values. As the only Veteran, as well as the only prosecuting attorney running for Attorney General, Virginia cannot afford to make any other choice. John Brownlee has my enthusiastic support and I encourage all delegates to the Virginia Republican Convention to cast their vote for John Brownlee.

Is Timmy! A Liar? Is Jody A Liar? Someone's Pants On Fire!

2009-03-04T07:42:00.006-05:00

Back on November 12, right here in SWVA, WDBJ 7 reported that Governor Tim Kaine simply would not take a cabinet appointment from then President-elect Barack Obama. He was adamant that Virginia's Republican Lt. Governor was not even a part of the decision. Kaine was quoted;

It’s not turning the keys over to Bill Bolling that worries me. It’s that I took an oath to be here for my whole term, and that’s what I’ve done, and I’ve actually communicated that to the President-elect already. We had talked about it a number of weeks back, but we’ve communicated since the election and I’ve made that plain.[LINK]

Now we have Democrat Lt. Governor candidate Jody Wagner claiming that Timmy! just didn't mean that. She knows his heart, apparently. Ms. Wagner says;

If we had a Lt. Governor today that was a Democrat, Governor Kaine would have taken a position in the Obama administration...

Thanks to my friend Jim Riley for bringing this to our attention. Jim has a few questions for Ms. Wagner and Gov. Timmy! at Virginia Virtucon. He also has this video, after watching it I suppose many of us will have questions for both Wagner and Kaine;

It's Endorsement Time In Old Virginia

2009-02-20T18:34:00.004-05:00

I have two serious addictions. Coffee. And a smoke.

After a day of wrangling 11th and 12th grade students, and answering 25 dozen - at least - questions, some inane, a precious few thoughtful and on subject, that is all I long for.

Most afternoons, around 3:15, I can be found caressing a cup of hot coffee and fingering a smoldering cigarette at the cafe closest to my school.

Yesterday was such a day. In the midst of my reverie, my cell phone rang. A quick glance at the screen showed an 804 area code and an unfamiliar number. I answered.

"Hello."

"Alton? This is Matt Wells, with the Bill Bolling for Lt. Governor campaign."

"Hi Matt, how you doing?"

"Oh, I can't complain."

"Come on, Matt. Remember, I know you. I've heard you complain. You do it quite well."

"OK, you got me. But what I really want to know is, can I add your name to a list of 9th District supporters of Bill for Lt. Governor?" (Side note: I've recently moved two miles away, into the 9th Congressional District, and the 16th Legislative District. So long Perriello. So long Ward.)

"Of course Matt. Enthusiastically. Emphatically. Any other superlatives you want to use are fine with me. I love alliteration, please pick one or two that start with 'E'."

"Sure. How about Energetically?"

"You don't really know me, do you Matt?"

Or at least that's a rough paraphrasing of the conversation I had with Matthew on Thursday afternoon.

I do enthusiastically, emphatically, and yes, even energetically endorse Bill Bolling in his quest for the Republican nomination to be our Lt. Governor candidate. My regular readers know my affinity for coal and coalfield people. Coalfield Bill has my complete support.

Previously I've officially endorsed Don Merricks, coming soon will be my endorsements of what I hope to be the final Republican slate in my area; Bob McDonnell for Governor, John Brownlee for Attorney General, Danny Marshall in the 14th House District, Charles Poindexter in the 9th House District, a currently un-named candidate from Carroll County who will hopefully become our standard bearer in the 10th House District, and Bill Carrico in the neighboring House District to our West.

Thought For The Day

2009-01-30T07:36:00.000-05:00

Politicians don't make economic decisions, they make political decisions that have economic consequences.

Ward Armstrong WILL DEFINITELY be opposed....

2009-01-21T22:02:00.004-05:00

The only question remaining is which opponent will it be...

Earlier I mentioned a possible candidate who is garnering quite a bit of support here in Henry County from the business community. That candidate is not quite ready to announce officially yet.

Now I hear of another fine candidate from Patrick County who is also developing a following. This candidate, too, is reluctant to officially announce.

I don't know yet when the 10th Legislative District Committee will meet and decide on a method of nomination - Mass Meeting, Convention, or Primary, - though the information I have points toward a likely Mass Meeting. Neither candidate is aware of a specific date or method either. That information is being closely guarded by the few GOP insiders who make such decisions.

I suppose both are waiting for some certainty in the nomination method before making an official announcement.

An Inconsequential Story

2009-01-15T22:05:00.008-05:00

The ownership of a blog is not as simple as some would think.

Sure, most bloggers simply regurgitate various news items, as though their readership would never find them through the real media. That's pretty simple. Other bloggers dig deep into some real investigative journalism, but they are rare indeed.

Still others, such as this one, simply provide what is hoped to be thoughtful commentary on a wide array of subjects. Sounds simple, but just which subjects should one cover?

In my case, a subject must mean something to me. Personally. I really don't write this stuff for my readers, though I do appreciate each and every one of you, I write it only for myself.

Through some tools available to all bloggers I know who my readers are. Most of you anyway. I know that many in the Virginia General Assembly, and members of their staff, are regular readers. I have several readers inside the beltway, presumably involved with the Federal Government in some way. I only hope that in some small way I can enlighten and entertain you.

At any given time I have a half-dozen or so article ideas floating around, and typically just as many pieces in draft form. Most never make it to the publish stage. You see, that's the really hard part of maintaining/writing/publishing a blog. Just what does get past the gate and onto the web page?

Right now, for example, I have a couple of stories that I could tell. Stories that may or may not mean anything to you, my reader. It all depends upon who you know, how you know them, and even where you are. A local story could mean nothing to a local reader, yet mean a lot to someone in Richmond, or Washington, if a character in the story is recognized.

Yes, there is a lot to think about before publishing what most readers would see as an inconsequential story. Such as this one.

Rube Goldberg, Phone Home

2009-01-14T07:18:00.004-05:00

By Barnie Day;

Want to experience the audio equivalent of deer-in-the-headlights? Call your senator, your congressman, your governor, your delegate, your state senator, your commissioner, your member of city or town council, or your mayor and ask how the $1 trillion "stimulus" package coming out of Washington sometime around mid-February is going to work, what form it will take, who gets the money, how the dough will be disbursed.

This is not chicken feed we’re talking about. Or is it?

Remember the $600 "stimulus" ($1200 for couples) the government put on your credit card and gave to you in 2007? That was chicken feed.

How ’bout the "stimulus" package of 2008, the one that insisted that things would be alright if banks that got into trouble making bad loans simply made more of them? Remember? That was chicken feed.

How ’bout the Detroit bailouts? You know–that one– where we pay the car makers to re-tool so they can build more cars that people don’t want to buy. Chicken feed.

Virginia’s $3 billion deficit? Pfft! Shoo! Go Away! We’ve got a trillion dollar issue to sort out!

Don’t bother asking if any of this makes sense. We’re way beyond that. We’re in the netherworld, that mind-place that says you can borrow yourself out of debt, that dark warm place some people jam their heads into and shout in a thousand muffled voices, "A trillion dollar deficit is horrible so let’s double it!" (Assuming China will loan us another trillion.)

And don’t bother dragging the economists into it. They’ve all succumbed to lemming-think. Let them sleep.

So what to do? How shall we sort it out? How shall we understand what’s coming?

Herewith, three approaches:

1. Do the math. If it’s a trillion dollars, and 40 per cent goes to tax cuts, that leaves $600 billion in direct government spending-healthcare, bridges, whatever. It won’t be distributed fairly (in politics, the fair leaves in October), but let’s imagine, for the moment, that it will be– say on a per capita basis. That works out to about $1714.29 for each of us, or here in Patrick County $32.5 million–about enough to build another two miles of U.S. 58 up Lover’s Leap Mountain.

2. Go for the audio equivalent of the deer-in-the-headlights, mentioned above.

3. Ask your cat. At least mine had the decency to offer a throaty "meow." (I cheated, though. I was holding a carton of milk when I asked him.)

Henry County Is Becoming A Blogging Hotbed

2009-01-02T20:29:00.007-05:00

For its population, Henry County is now, suddenly, probably more blogful than any other Virginia county.

For way too long I was here all by myself. Then badrose came on board. Next came Billy Jack, (come on back Billy), and then we got a Lowell Feld imitator in James White.

We now have two new Democratic blogs here in Henry County. Both of these new Democratic blogs are respectful, thoughtful, idealistic, progressive blogs. I enthusiastically ask my readers to go over and check out 220South and Dem-Bones.

I encourage both 220 South and Dem bones to continue and welcome them to the Virginia blog community.

Five bloggers in one low population county? Who can top that?

Your Assessor Didn't Do It. Your BOS Did.

2009-01-02T08:23:00.008-05:00

Patrick County citizens are up in arms over their latest property assessments. Well, to be a bit more accurate, they are upset over their latest property tax bill. This time of year that is a fairly common complaint all across Virginia. This year it's Patrick County, next year it may be Henrico. Or perhaps Suffolk. Or any of Virginia's other counties. What the good people of Patrick County do not know, and I'll wager most Virginians do not know either, is that their new re-assessment did not cause their property tax bill to shoot through the roof.

Yes, I meant what I wrote. Your increased assessment did not cause your property tax to increase. Your Board of Supervisors caused that increase.

The Code of Virginia, (that great big book with all of Virginia's many laws listed in an orderly manner), makes it clear. Any new assessment that causes a tax bill increase of more than 1% requires, yes, requires, a reduction in the tax rate. A rate reduction that will bring all tax bills back into that 1% range.

What the Code of Virginia does not require is that the new tax remain at the reduced rate. Read that again. The new tax does not have to remain at it's legally required lower rate.

My neighbors in Patrick County; Your tax rate went up, not because of your new assessment, but because your Board of Supervisors cannot control their spending.

I'm sure if you go back and look at the minutes of your Board of Supervisors meetings you will find the quick, quiet, probably unanimous vote to roll back your tax rate. A roll back that brought your tax bill within the legal 1% increase range.

Further searches through those minutes will reveal a vote, equally quick and quiet, unanimous or not, that immediately raised that rate to where it is now.

These two votes could have even occurred during the same meeting. They may have even been concurrent votes. Or even a vote on a single motion to both lower and raise the rate. All the law requires is that the rate be lowered.

Oh, to be sure, there is a requirement that all this be explained on your tax bill. And I'll bet it is. But is it explained in a manner that you can follow and understand? Not likely. Otherwise you guys would not be so upset about your assessment. Or nearly so mad at your idiot assessor.

As your former Delegate, Barnie Day recently stated in an Op-Ed in the Martinsville Bulletin;

Most of the rage, consternation and anguish brought about by the recent real property reassessment in Patrick County is misdirected.

The state does not establish the value of our real estate. The county does not — nor does the town council, the farm bureau, the Boy Scouts, etc.

Simply put, the marketplace sets this value — the marketplace and nothing else. It is a hypothetical expression of what a willing buyer would likely give a willing seller, as determined by the best evidence available — comparable sales, best estimates and so on.

What You Are About To See Is Unrehearsed And Uncensored.

2009-01-01T09:01:00.005-05:00

Fascinating link I ran across this morning. In the late 1950s Mike Wallace hosted a show, sponsored by Phillip Morris, called "The Mike Wallace Interview". No, I'm not old enough to actually remember it. I was only two years old, besides, I don't think we even owned a TV in 1957.

"Whether you agree or disagree with what you will hear, we feel that none will deny the right of these views to be broadcast."

Given complete freedom by both the network and his sponsor, Mr. Wallace interviewed America's most influential, infuriating, introspective, and even incompetent newsmakers of the time.

From Gloria Swanson to Commando Kelly. From Steve Allen to Orval Faubus. From Eddie Arcaro to Margaret Sanger. It's an impressive list. And some amazing, uncensored interviews.

Mike Wallace donated those interviews, and the films, to the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin where the old kinescopes, (16mm films taken of video monitors), were digitized and transcripted. Of Course Mr. Wallace maintained his copyright, or I would love to drop the interview of Dr. Henry Wriston into this page. On August 17, 1958 Dr. Wriston spoke on a variety of subjects, including the Middle East Crisis. Yes, Virginia, there has been a "Middle East Crisis" more or less continuously my entire lifetime. And for many years before that.

WALLACE: Well, we'll get to the foreign service, if we may, a little bit later in the program, but right now I'd like to stay in the Middle East, if I may. Talking about the Middle East, and I think you'll agree that it's a troubled spot .. now as well as back in the days of the Saracens..

WRISTON: And will be, for another fifty years.

There are many other interviews. Some light and fun, some very heavy and thoughtful. Many that will enlighten my younger readers and bring remembrances to those of my generation. I encourage you to go browse through the offerings at The Mike Wallace Interview Collection.

Ward Armtrong Challenger About To Step Up?

2008-12-31T16:33:00.000-05:00

I mentioned in an earlier piece that there are at least three potential candidates interested in taking on Ward Armstrong in 2009. I've personally spoken with two of them, and neither one is ready to commit at this point. Actually, neither one has come to any final decision on whether they even want to run yet.

Now I get an email that may persuade one of the three to come to a final decision. There is a group of local leaders, led by... Never mind, the leader of the group has asked that I not reveal his name, not yet.

According to this email, and a follow-up phone call, there is a planned breakfast meeting scheduled in the coming weeks. During that breakfast meeting, (which I have learned will be at Ryan's Steak House in Martinsville), one of the three candidates will be asked to campaign against Ward.

I've also called the potential candidate named in the email. His response was one of surprise. "I'm pleased that guys like [redacted] would think enough of me to want me to run, but I have no plans right now to do so," he said. "Like you Alton, I've heard the rumors too. I know my name has been mentioned at times in rumors and innuendo about this, but that's all it is right now, rumor."

When I asked him if he would consider their request, if offered, he replied, "It's too early for me to say, I haven't even been invited to the breakfast you mentioned. But if that situation arises, I'll seriously consider their request."

More to come...

In The 16th HOD, Don Merricks

2008-12-31T14:14:00.004-05:00

In the 16th House of Delegates District, so far it appears Don Merricks will be unopposed in 2009. The House leadership fumbled badly in 2007 when they put up a locally despised failed soap opera actor to run against Don Merricks. Don was something of an unknown at the time, but he came with impeccable credentials.

A business leader in Pittsylvania County, Don was persuaded to run by Senator Robert Hurt and former Senator Charles Hawkins. With support like that what else could Don do but win? He did. In an overwhelming manner.

Don himself could hardly be described as overwhelming. A true southern gentleman and unashamed Christian, Don is one of the finest people I know.

His first year in the General Assembly however, could be described as overwhelming. During a freshman year, a year in which most new Delegates simply learn their way from the best local parking spots to the GA building and where best to find coffee, Don was a factor from the beginning. He had a phenomenal freshman year, and I expect the upcoming session will showcase Don's easy personality and honest hard work just as well as his first.

Even if the Democrats do find someone to oppose Don, he still will have my wholehearted endorsement.

Next...
House of Delegates District 14.

It's Mine, Dammit! I've Had It For Years, And I Ain't Gonna Give It Up!

2008-12-31T10:40:00.007-05:00

No, that headline does not reflect an actual quote. Not by me nor anyone else I know.

Instead, it reflects a general feeling that seems to be affecting way too many GOP Unit leaders in Virginia, (and perhaps nationwide).

Recently my friend Shaun Kenney laid forth an open letter to the RPV (Republican Party of Virginia), and he hit on many a problem (or potential problem). I endorse most of the thoughts he expressed in that letter. (Letter available here in PDF form alternately, it is also available here, and here as a Word document.)

In this document, Kenney suggests that change should begin at the bottom, and work up to the statewide group, RPV. I agree.

Experimentally, unit committees should consider reorganizing along the following lines and principles:

All unit committees must radically commit themselves to new media. That means a community blog focusing on issues pertinent to the locality in which they live, open to all the members of the committee (Democrats tend to use SoapBlox as their platform of choice; Drupal, Joomla, or even WordPress is suitable).
Chairman is elected as the lead community organizer. As a first among equals, the chairman co-ordinates as a garden-variety chairman would.
All districts and precincts are given a chairman. These individuals form the Executive Committee of any given unit committee, and targets the specific race (supervisor, city council, school board) under their jurisdiction.
The idea of "district and precinct chairman" should be expanded to advocacy groups as well. This means anything from minority outreach1 to youth advocacy, from Republican Womens’ units to Young Republicans, all the way down to Republican Liberty Caucus organizations or Taxpayer Alliances within a locality. Every group with a "tribe" should have a seat at the table.
The Executive Committee subsumes the role of Finance, Communications, and all grassroots activity. No vice chairs for finance, communications, membership, or any of the nominal. The Napoleonic dictum "Every soldier carries a marshal's baton in his pack" is the rule.
A strong focus on driving a narrative both within the online community and in the traditional media should be imperative. Perception is reality; MSM outlets are typically hesitant to challenge a strong new media culture. Moreover, strong alternative outlets for information attached to the unit committee are essential.
Surrender the message control. This is probably the most difficult thing for unit committees to learn, but increasing participation means a decrease in message control. Jefferson’s advice still rings true. "We are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it" is wonderfully appropriate advice. After all, are we the party of free minds, free markets, and a free society – or are we not? It is far better to be bold (fortuna audaces juvat?) than it is to remain safe… and losing.

What is being advocated at the local level is a bold, spirited return to the principles of direct action and the entrepreneurial spirit of the Republican Party, and a direction away from the top heavy role imposed by an outmoded system of unit organization.

What exactly is Shaun saying here? My best interpretation is given in the headline above. Too many Units are "led" by people who have held their position for way too long. Long enough that they have developed a feeling of ownership of their Unit. Held so long they just "know" that no one else could possibly be more concerned for the good of the Party than they are.

Unfortunately, far too often, that leads to situations such as experienced last year by Tazewell County. And Augusta County, and Fluvanna County. And who knows how many that were never challenged or publicized.

Such tactics lead others in the community, others who could be strong workers for the GOP and conservative causes, to avoid the local Unit as though it were infected with a virus. When such attitudes begin to show, it could be said that Unit really has become infected with a virus. We are what people perceive us to be, I suppose. We need to work together, as individuals, as small groups, and as what Shaun describes as "tribes" in order to grow our Units.

Far too often the growth of the Unit is feared instead of encouraged. Too many people participating in a Mass Meeting means harder work getting re-elected Chairman, that cannot be tolerated.

Horse hockey! It must be tolerated. It must be encouraged. It must be worked for.

Thankfully, there will not be any change in the Henry County local Unit's Chairmanship during this critical election cycle. Perhaps that will allow Units such as ours to function as designed without any "looking over my shoulder" antics by our leaders.

In the meantime, I suggest Shaun's letter be required reading for all Unit Chairmen and other local leaders.

Auld Lang Syne. 2009 Endorsements

2008-12-31T09:21:00.004-05:00

It's time to put 2008 to bed and begin thinking about 2009. Thinking politically. Thinking Virginia. Virginia is unique in that there is an election of one sort or another every year. There's always someone running for something here in Virginia.

Here in Henry County we will have a full slate of statewide races this year. In the House of Delegates, districts 10, 14, and 16 are all on the line. Nearby we have House of Delegates district 9 in Franklin County. A little further away, but still close to our HOD districts, we have districts 5, 8, and 6.

Needless to say, all but the 10th HOD district incumbents have earned my endorsement. Danny Marshall and Don Merricks here in Henry County have my enthusiastic support. I also fully support our neighbors Charles Poindexter, Bill Carrico, Annie B. Crockett-Stark, and Morgan Griffith.

Ward Armstrong, in the 10th District, warrants a closer look. Ward and I went to school together, though I doubt he remembers it. He was the same spoilt brat then that he seems to be now in the HOD.

That sense of entitlement that you perceive when speaking to Ward? That feeling of superiority that you feel he harbors? They have been there for years. Sure, Ward really is an intelligent guy. He's probably more intelligent than you. You instinctively know it. He knows it. And he doesn't mind knowing that you know it. And he doesn't mind that he knows that you know it. In fact, he thrives on knowing that you know it. The only thing that could ever possibly bother him is thinking that you don't know it.

Ward openly considers himself the reincarnation of his political mentor, A.L. Philpott. Ward's greatest ambition is to be Speaker of the House. He cares little about Henry, Patrick, or Carroll County. In fact, he's been heard to openly disparage the good folks out in Carroll.

What Ward depends upon is his constituents short memory and certain habitual voters diminished mental capacity to remember that A.L. was a really conservative Democrat. I mean REALLY conservative. More conservative than the most reviled "right wing extremist" is now perceived to be. Albert L. supported the closing of entire school districts in order to maintain segregation. Albert L. supported most, if not all of the DixieCrat platform that denied the legitimacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King. Albert L. even loved himself a good cockfight, Roscoe.

Come on, Henry, Patrick, Floyd and Carroll County. This is perhaps Virginia's most conservative area. But we are not the conservatives once represented by A.L. Philpott and his ilk. Philpott did have his endearing qualities. He was important in a Virginia History kind of way. He was important for Henry County and Martinsville in many ways. He was a faithful supporter of our local industries and lifestyle. But he was no more a present day Democrat than I am. Why do we continue to vote for those that claim him as their legacy, yet are so far removed from his record and ideology? Why do we continue to vote for our homegrown pair of losers? Ward and Roscoe must go! We vote for his legacies simply because we do not know better. It's time we learned better.

Ward is dependent upon these "habitual voters". Those who go into the voting booth and see that familiar name, "Ward Armstrong", and habitually hit the lever. Or "enter" key, or whatever new technology they come up with next.

Enough for now about Ward. I'll be introducing his opponent, (there are three currently rumored to be considering), whenever one announces.

In the following days I'll be announcing my endorsements for the 2009 election cycle.

Of course I support our incumbents in the 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 14th, and 16th HOD districts.

Bill, Annie B., Morgan, Charles, Danny, and Don will represent our conservative principles with vigor in each and every legislative session.

I'll be going into more detail on each in the following days, along with individual articles on each of our statewide races.

Christmas Eve Reading

2008-12-24T11:44:00.005-05:00

Many families have a tradition of reading aloud a Christmas themed story or selection from the Bible on Christmas Eve. In an earlier piece below I've included the Christmas Story as told by Luke in the New Testament. Before you read that story to your family this evening let me suggest you set the mood with this classic O. Henry short story.

THE GIFT OF THE MAGI
by O. Henry
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty- seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.

There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.

While the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding from the first stage to the second, take a look at the home. A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.

In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button from which no mortal finger could coax a ring. Also appertaining thereunto was a card bearing the name "Mr. James Dillingham Young."

The "Dillingham" had been flung to the breeze during a former period of prosperity when its possessor was being paid $30 per week. Now, when the income was shrunk to $20, though, they were thinking seriously of contracting to a modest and unassuming D. But whenever Mr. James Dillingham Young came home and reached his flat above he was called "Jim" and greatly hugged by Mrs. James Dillingham Young, already introduced to you as Della. Which is all very good.

Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn't go far. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling--something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim.

There was a pier-glass between the windows of the room. Perhaps you have seen a pier-glass in an $8 flat. A very thin and very agile person may, by observing his reflection in a rapid sequence of longitudinal strips, obtain a fairly accurate conception of his looks. Della, being slender, had mastered the art.

Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood before the glass. her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her face had lost its color within twenty seconds. Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length.

Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair. Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy.

So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. And then she did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.

On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she fluttered out the door and down the stairs to the street.

Where she stopped the sign read: "Mne. Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds." One flight up Della ran, and collected herself, panting. Madame, large, too white, chilly, hardly looked the "Sofronie."

"Will you buy my hair?" asked Della.

"I buy hair," said Madame. "Take yer hat off and let's have a sight at the looks of it."

Down rippled the brown cascade.

"Twenty dollars," said Madame, lifting the mass with a practised hand.

"Give it to me quick," said Della.

Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings. Forget the hashed metaphor. She was ransacking the stores for Jim's present.

She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else. There was no other like it in any of the stores, and she had turned all of them inside out. It was a platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation--as all good things should do. It was even worthy of The Watch. As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim's. It was like him. Quietness and value--the description applied to both. Twenty-one dollars they took from her for it, and she hurried home with the 87 cents. With that chain on his watch Jim might be properly anxious about the time in any company. Grand as the watch was, he sometimes looked at it on the sly on account of the old leather strap that he used in place of a chain.

When Della reached home her intoxication gave way a little to prudence and reason. She got out her curling irons and lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravages made by generosity added to love. Which is always a tremendous task, dear friends--a mammoth task.

Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny, close-lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy. She looked at her reflection in the mirror long, carefully, and critically.

"If Jim doesn't kill me," she said to herself, "before he takes a second look at me, he'll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl. But what could I do--oh! what could I do with a dollar and eighty- seven cents?"

At 7 o'clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan was on the back of the stove hot and ready to cook the chops.

Jim was never late. Della doubled the fob chain in her hand and sat on the corner of the table near the door that he always entered. Then she heard his step on the stair away down on the first flight, and she turned white for just a moment. She had a habit for saying little silent prayer about the simplest everyday things, and now she whispered: "Please God, make him think I am still pretty."

The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. He looked thin and very serious. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two--and to be burdened with a family! He needed a new overcoat and he was without gloves.

Jim stopped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at the scent of quail. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments that she had been prepared for. He simply stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression on his face.

Della wriggled off the table and went for him.

"Jim, darling," she cried, "don't look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. It'll grow out again--you won't mind, will you? I just had to do it. My hair grows awfully fast. Say `Merry Christmas!' Jim, and let's be happy. You don't know what a nice-- what a beautiful, nice gift I've got for you."

"You've cut off your hair?" asked Jim, laboriously, as if he had not arrived at that patent fact yet even after the hardest mental labor.

"Cut it off and sold it," said Della. "Don't you like me just as well, anyhow? I'm me without my hair, ain't I?"

Jim looked about the room curiously.

"You say your hair is gone?" he said, with an air almost of idiocy.

"You needn't look for it," said Della. "It's sold, I tell you--sold and gone, too. It's Christmas Eve, boy. Be good to me, for it went for you. Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered," she went on with sudden serious sweetness, "but nobody could ever count my love for you. Shall I put the chops on, Jim?"

Out of his trance Jim seemed quickly to wake. He enfolded his Della. For ten seconds let us regard with discreet scrutiny some inconsequential object in the other direction. Eight dollars a week or a million a year--what is the difference? A mathematician or a wit would give you the wrong answer. The magi brought valuable gifts, but that was not among them. This dark assertion will be illuminated later on.

Jim drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it upon the table.

"Don't make any mistake, Dell," he said, "about me. I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less. But if you'll unwrap that package you may see why you had me going a while at first."

White fingers and nimble tore at the string and paper. And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating the immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord of the flat.

For there lay The Combs--the set of combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped long in a Broadway window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jewelled rims--just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair. They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession. And now, they were hers, but the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone.

But she hugged them to her bosom, and at length she was able to look up with dim eyes and a smile and say: "My hair grows so fast, Jim!"

And then Della leaped up like a little singed cat and cried, "Oh, oh!"

Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present. She held it out to him eagerly upon her open palm. The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit.

"Isn't it a dandy, Jim? I hunted all over town to find it. You'll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it."

Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled.

"Dell," said he, "let's put our Christmas presents away and keep 'em a while. They're too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on."

The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

The Christmas Carnival Comes Again

2008-12-24T09:43:00.002-05:00

Each year bloggers get together in the spirit of the season and submit a number of entries to a round-up of links called a carnival.

It's really tough work sorting through the entries, deciding which goes where, which belong together, and which should be highlighted, then writing a short introduction for each link. Who does it better than Kat? No one.

Mash your mouse here to get a Christmas Eve's worth of Christmas Spirit.

Thanks Kat, for all you do.

Help Wanted

2008-12-20T20:46:00.002-05:00

Are you a gifted writer with no outlet for your efforts? Are you conservative? Are you looking for a place to express your conservative thoughts?

If you answered "yes" to each of the above questions I have the offer you have been looking for.

Submit a sample of your best conservative writing to either of the email links on my right sidebar and you may become a valued contributor to this website.

Back Online

2008-12-19T20:55:00.002-05:00

I'm back online after a few weeks suffering from a serious virus infection.

This one was devious. It prevented any connection with any of my anti-virus software websites for updates, it prevented most anti-virus software from even running, it kept popping up Internet Explorer (which I never use) windows. It pretty much had me dead in the water.

I've managed to remove most of this infection manually, but vestiges of the virus remain. Anyway, I'm back online now and working more or less normally.

Better'n Facebook? Depends On How You Decide To Use It

2008-12-19T20:48:00.004-05:00

There is a new "social network" available to conservative, Republican folk. Let me be the first to proclaim it better'n Facebook in that it is comprised of only your conservative Republican friends.

Ironically, it was a Facebook connection that steered me toward the RPV Network. I'm glad I followed that link down the rabbit hole. Go by the RPV Network and join up if you are a Republican and proud of it.

Then request a friend to join as well.

Merry Christmas Merry Christmas While I Think I Will Miss This One This Year

2008-12-19T20:05:00.004-05:00

Once again I'm being flooded with searches for something like "merry christmas merry christmas while i think i will miss this one this year". I now know just what it is you guys are looking for, so here it is...

"Bah, humbug!" No, that's too strong
'Cause it is my favorite holiday
But all this year's been a busy blur
Don't think I have the energy

To add to my already mad rush
Just 'cause it 'tis the season.
The perfect gift for me would be
Completions and connections left from

Last year, ski shop,
Encounter, most interesting.
Had his number but never the time
Most of '81 passed along those lines.

So deck those halls, trim those trees
Raise up cups of Christmas cheer,
I just need to catch my breath,
Christmas by myself this year.

Calendar picture, frozen landscape,
Chilled this room for twenty-four days,
Evergreens, sparkling snow
Get this winter over with!

Flashback to springtime, saw him again,
Would've been good to go for lunch,
Couldn't agree when we were both free,
We tried, we said we'd keep in touch.

Didn't, of course, 'til summertime,
Out to the beach to his boat could I join him?
No, this time it was me,
Sunburn in the third degree.

Now the calendar's just one page
And, of course, I am excited
Tonight's the night, but I've set my mind
Not to do too much about it.

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.

Hardly dashing through the snow
Cause I bundled up too tight
Last minute have-to-do's
A few cards a few calls
'Cause it's r-s-v-p
No thanks, no party lights
It's Christmas Eve, gonna relax
Turned down all of my invites.

Last fall I had a night to myself,
Same guy called, halloween party,
Waited all night for him to show,
This time his car wouldn't go,

Forget it, it's cold, it's getting late,
Trudge on home to celebrate
In a quiet way, unwind
Doing Christmas right this time.

A&P has provided me
With the world's smallest turkey
Already in the oven, nice and hot
Oh damn! Guess what I forgot?

So on with the boots, back out in the snow
To the only all-night grocery,
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
In the line is that guy I've been chasing all year!

"I'm spending this one alone," he said.
"Need a break; this year's been crazy."
I said, "Me too, but why are you?
You mean you forgot cranberries too?"

Then suddenly we laughed and laughed
Caught on to what was happening
That Christmas magic's brought this tale
To a very happy ending!

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
Couldn't miss this one this year!
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
Couldn't miss this one this year!

UPDATE:
The video I had here originally was pulled by YouTube, this one, while not quite as good, is the best I could find.

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Me, But Were Afraid To Ask

2008-12-07T19:39:00.005-05:00

I am working on my thoughts about the 25th Annual Republican Advance. Tomorrow perhaps.

A little housekeeping first.

I've been lax. Very lax. But only where this page is concerned. Otherwise I've been quite busy lately.

Those of you who do not speak with me often by phone do not know that I have recently begun teaching at a small private school here in Henry County. Imagine that. Me, actually teaching young heads full of mush.

In my somewhat colorful life I've thoroughly enjoyed three quite different careers. I began my working life, after the typical youthful endeavors at Dairy Queen and a couple of retail jobs, as a long-distance trucker. The open road, a Jack Kerouac type of lifestyle, and small towns and large cities all over America was a highly educational experience for me. And a devastating influence on a young marriage. I came home one weekend to discover that my sole possessions were a rocking chair and a telephone. (Centel owned the phones at that time, so I suppose all I really owned was that rocking chair.) She even took my clothes.

Soon enough I met the one who was to become my second wife, a beautiful petite lady with an incredible trained singing voice with whom I fell deeply in love. Karen was from Nelson County, Piney River to be precise, and a graduate of James Madison University where she majored in voice and was the recently divorced choral director at a local high school when she moved into the apartment across the hall from me in Collinsville. I remember thinking on that first day, while I helped some guy move her piano from a truck to her new living space, that she looked great in a pair of tight jeans. Yes, I remember them well. Some sort of short-pile velvet or velour that was in fashion in 1980, not plain old denim. And a deep purple. Not the ordinary blue. There was nothing ordinary about her.

A year or so later we were married and moved to Florida. Bradenton is, (or was then), a small town south of Tampa on the west coast of Florida, just north of Sarasota. We called it home. I soon began my second career as a pool contractor. I designed and built swimming pools for the rich, famous, and regular-old citizens of southwest Florida. (Side note: among my customers was Greg Allman, Dik Browne, John D. McDonald, and Lucille Ball. Two of those you may have to Google. If you do you might notice that I may have soaked up some influence from one or two of them during our frequent beer or whiskey-fueled pool-side chats. No, I never had a "pool-side chat" with Ms. Ball. She was famous, but not very friendly.)

It was in Florida, during the Reagan campaign, that I first became politically active. I had always been a political thinker, but there I began actually working on political campaigns and working on civic projects.

I had a very lucrative contract with the City of Bradenton to install all of their playground equipment at parks and such which gave me access to the entire City Council, the Mayor, and at times, Governor Bob Graham. Mr. Graham was one of a very short list of Democratic politicians I have truly liked and enjoyed the company of. I became active in the local Republican Party, and was even asked to run for elected office. A request I constantly declined.

I have a tendency to screw up my life when it’s going particularly well, and my time in Bradenton and my second marriage presented just such an opportunity.

A not remarkably pretty, but very sexy, customer invited me to violate my marriage vows. I accepted the invitation. Repeatedly. She loved the music of Jimmy Buffett. I loved sex. I got caught. End of marriage. I hardly ever listen to Jimmy Buffett anymore. I broke Karen’s heart. I still kick myself. I miss Karen.

Life goes on.

Things eventually began to shake out, I found myself entering my third career. I became a field engineer for a tiny little division of Eaton Corp, Eaton-Kenway. Based in Salt Lake City, Kenway was the manufacturer of industrial automated material handling systems. A fancy way of saying industrial robots. My experience designing and building my own electrical controls for my highly automated custom pools was the doorway that I was able to use to gain access to this new career.

As a "field engineer" at Kenway I was one of a group of guys who took the ideas and designs of the "real engineers" in that big glass building in Salt Lake City and made them work in the real world. Electrical one day, mechanical the next, there were always bugs that had to be worked out once the ideas were actually implemented. I loved the challenge, and I was always able to eventually make the big yellow machines do whatever task they were designed to do.

I spent the next fifteen years as an itinerant bachelor engineer, specializing in electrical engineering, first at Kenway, then in the coalfields of southwestern Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and southern West Virginia.

In 2001 I met the third Mrs. Alton B. Foley. The former Shelia R. Tester was another recent divorcee. Do I notice a pattern here? She had recently moved back to Hurley, VA from Daytona after a rather difficult second marriage.

Shelia and I were married in early 2001, and I became an immediate father to a couple of great step-children, Dana, an 8 year old girl and Jake, a 12 year old boy. (Way back at the beginning of this story my own daughter was born, now 33 year-old Tonya.)

This was an entirely new experience for me. Never before had I showered each morning with a redhead, a brunette, and two blondes. Along with an 8 year-old step daughter come Barbies and Barbie buddies everywhere, even in the tub.

I never had a chance to screw this one up. One day in 2005, during our ritual after work coffee-cigarette-and-more-coffee on the carport, Shelia informed me that she no longer wanted to be married. At least not to me.

Life goes on.

I moved to Richlands,VA, switched over to mechanical engineering, still in the coal industry, and tried to enjoy life. I couldn’t.

Later that year I moved back to Henry County and found employment as an electrical engineer, (ahh, familiarity), and plant engineer in Stuart, VA.

That job ended about a year ago. Here in economically depressed Henry County, with my skill set and lack of an honest degree, I may as well be a deep sea diver for all the employment opportunities that are present.

I was recently asked to teach in this small private school. I fit the position and it fits me. I’m as happy as I’ve ever been, and this job is a real blast. Welcome career number four.

I am now living at the former home of Virginia's governor from 1954 to 1958, Thomas B. Stanley. Now owned by an attorney in New Jersey, I am the caretaker of the estate. I am writing this from a room on the second floor that was probably some sort of sitting room when Gov. Stanley lived here, it's now my office. Future articles here will describe the estate and provide pictures.

I’m still a bachelor, though. I do miss being married. And no, this is not a veiled plea for a wife in any manner, shape, or form. Mrs. Foley number four, if she exists, will present herself in due time.

25th Annual Don Huffman Advance, Part I

2008-12-07T01:07:00.000-05:00

It's now 1:07 am. I have been home from the annual Republican Advance for about an hour. I will be ending my self-imposed blog silence later today, look for mid-afternoon, with my report on this year's event. I will at the same time explain the primary reasons for my self-imposed silence and where I am and how I got here as well.

Ever Wonder What An ObamaNation Would Look Like?

2008-11-02T16:41:00.006-05:00

Simple. Vote for Perriello for Congress, Warner for Senate, and Obama for president and you could very well end up with this... (PS, Ward Armstrong and Roscoe Reynolds have wholeheartedly endorsed all three and their radical leftist agenda.)

AEP, SCC, The Virginia General Assembly, And Economics 101

2008-10-29T05:14:00.002-04:00

Today, Wednesday October 29, 2008 the SCC will hold the final hearing for a requested 24% rate increase for AEP (American Electric Power). Among the many scheduled speakers testifying before the SCC will be Jeff Evans. His remarks are presented below:

Thank you for the opportunity to speak before this commission this morning. I am Jeff Evans, formerly a member of the Carroll County Board of Supervisors and now a resident of Henry County and a lifelong customer of AEP.

I’m sure we’ve all heard the old saying; "Poor planning on your part does not necessarily constitute a crisis on my part". Might I suggest that is exactly what we are facing in this hearing?

I have a friend in Henry County, Denton Boardwine. Denton operates a small restaurant in our economically distressed county. If my friend were to place a sign on his front door stating his intention of raising prices by 10% because he plans to build a new restaurant in the coming year he would be laughed out of business. As he should be. Bear in mind that Mr. Boardwine’s hypothetical price increase is less than half of what AEP is now asking.

AEP is justifiably proud of its record of many, many consecutive years of dividend payments to its stockholders. Few private companies can boast of such a record. The reason is simple. Other companies must plan and budget for future capital improvements using funds from their profits or loans against future profits. I know of no other business that can simply raise prices in order to fund future capital improvements regardless of the current economic situation.

No. All other businesses fund future expansion of facilities by saving or loans against future profits. This sometimes means there will be no dividends for stockholders in a given year. Or at best, smaller dividend payments.

No, I do not believe in a free lunch. Of course, in all cases the customer does indeed pay for capital improvements, for there is truly no other source for such funds. These payments come from the customer through any profits that may be accrued by the company. This request from AEP runs completely counter to normal business practice. Here, the customer is essentially being asked to pay twice. We have already provided AEP with a handsome operating profit, as AEP itself boasts when they repeat that they have continuously paid their owners dividends, yet AEP now expects us to provide further funds for capital improvements. Improvements that other businesses must, in one way or another, use a portion of their profits for.

It is this fact that should give us pause today. Poor economic planning by AEP, the enabling of such redistribution of wealth by past SCC rulings and regulations passed by the Virginia General Assembly, should not be used now as an excuse to create a financial crisis for the economically distressed Southwestern Virginians who are its customers. The owners, otherwise known as stockholders, of any other business would be required by economic reality to plan for such expansion through savings, loans, good budget practices, or all three. I am asking you, the State Corporation Commission, to refuse to reward poor economic planning by forcing Southwestern Virginians to bend or break their own budgets in order to mend the budget of American Electric Power.

I also challenge the upcoming General Assembly to put an end to this practice.

Here's One For You, Norm!

2008-09-20T08:16:00.010-04:00

Today in History...

In 1881, Chester A. Arthur was sworn in as the 21st president of the United States, succeeding James A. Garfield, who had been assassinated.
In 1961, shortly after his election as president, John F. Kennedy announced that he was determined to win the "space race" with the Soviets.
In 1973, Singer-songwriter Jim Croce, 30, died in a plane crash in Louisiana.
In 1975, David Bowie scores his first No. 1 hit with "Fame," from his album Young Americans.
In 1998, After playing in a record 2,632 consecutive games over 16 seasons, Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles sat out a game against the New York Yankees.

And born on this day...

In 1878, Upton Sinclair, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and reformer.
In 1934, Actress Sophia Loren.
And long, long ago, somewhere far, far away. Virginia blogger Norman Leahy was born.

Go tell Norman happy birthday!

At Least I Have The Quilt

2008-09-18T06:51:00.017-04:00

I'm quite a bit late with this news. So late that it hardly qualifies as news anymore.

Jim Bacon is gone. No, he's not dead, (well, I haven't actually checked today, but I don't think so anyway), he's just leaving the e-zine that he began over six years ago. He leaves us with the idea that Bacon's Rebellion will continue. I for one certainly hope so. [LINK]

You see, Bacon's Rebellion had a rather large role to play in my life over the past few years. Not a starring role, mind you. Rather more like a very good character actor. The one whose name you can never quite remember, but whose on screen presence you can never forget.

I'm Not Emeril is now three years old. Quite ancient for a blog. Most tend to whither away within a year or so. This is not Virginia's oldest blog, but with Jim's departure, I may well be Virginia's oldest blogger. At 52 I'm not a geezer, but I'm not as young as most bloggers either.

I began this adventure in September of 2005, after being an avid reader of both Commonwealth Conservative, (Chad Dotson's site, since closed), and Bacon's Rebellion. The common thread between the two was Will Vehrs. I came to "know" Will through his writing on both blogs.

Like most people in Virginia I thought Will was treated way too harshly for his comments on Commonwealth Conservative's weekly caption contest. (If you are unaware of this episode in Virginia's blogging history, I'm sorry. Most of the archival accounts of the story are now gone. A very one-sided account can be found in the Martinsville Bulletin's archive files. Just search for his name.) Suffice it to say Will's excellent sense of humor and irony ruffled some self-important hackles and, being a state employee, he was severely punished for exercising his 1st Amendment rights*. It didn't help that some of the hackles ruffled belonged to two of Martinsville's most self-absorbed roosters, Ward Armstrong and Roscoe Reynolds. Each of whom had the Governor's ear.

At that time I was still very much a baby blogger. I'm Not Emeril was about 8 months old, and I had only been reading Virginia blogs for about a year. I knew no Virginia bloggers personally, certainly not Will, but like most others in the Virginia blog community I thought he was treated shabbily by the Commonwealth.

It was truly a blog community at that time. Sure, Virginia bloggers were partisan, very much so, but they were civil. I had discovered friends, on both sides of the political spectrum, via the gateway that was Bacon's Rebellion and Commonwealth Conservative. Some of those friends suggested that an upcoming blog conference at UVA be re-directed to address the issues raised by Will's experience. Many suggested that the conference even be moved from Charlottesville to Martinsville as a means of underscoring the issue. I agreed. I offered to do whatever I could to help facilitate that move.

When the organizer(s) of the UVA conference decided it was not worth the effort, someone, (Ben Tribbett, I think), suggested that Virginia's blogs should unite in Martinsville anyway, at a separate conference if need be. I think he even suggested that I chair it.

I did. Blogs United was held here in Martinsville during a beautiful August weekend in 2006.

It was not easy. Sure, parts of the planning and arrangements were simple. Made even more so by the wonderful support team that fell into place. Barnie Day, (another Bacon's Rebellion contributor), graciously agreed to host the affair. His bank even kicked in the lion's share of sponsorship funds. Anne Boothe and Mary Rives Brown were put into contact with me by Will Vehrs. These two beautiful ladies proved to be the rocks upon which I stood to keep my head barely above water. (How's that for a metaphor mix?) They remain dear friends to this day.

Back to the story now. As I was saying, Virginia's bloggers were somehow different back then. Democrats and Republicans alike joined together to make Blogs United a very grand affair. We enjoyed each others company. We held spirited debates, fueled largely by spirits. We kidded and joked with each other. We were friends. Just friends. Politics came second.

Sure, there were a couple of moments. One table refused to stand for the Lt. Governor. One progressive blogger refused to attend, saying, "It's our job to defeat them, not to make conversation with them", or something very much like that. On the whole, however, it was great.

I still have that kind of friendship with a couple of Democrat bloggers. Vivian Paige. Brian Patton. If they had continued to blog I think I would still maintain connection to Paul Anderson and a few others. Reasonable people all. I once even enjoyed a fine cigar and the company of Josh Chernila.

No. Now it's all too personal. It's too easy to call names from behind the false anonymity provided by a keyboard and computer monitor.

It's not only on their side, but my side as well. We have come to place politics above civility. Winning above ethics. It's our job to defeat them, not to make conversation with them. Or something like that.

Sadly, I now believe Vivian was correct when she predicted during the 2007 Blogs United that it would be our last. Our last united as bloggers, regardless of party affiliation, that is.

Now we see cruel and demeaning references to a Down's Syndrome child, (a child I know once described a Down's Syndrome child as being "just too nice to be normal"). We see John McCain being described as senile. We see our president compared to a chimp. We see nasty remarks about Nancy Pelosi's face-lifts. We see Hillary's ankles. Or her temper. And Obama's wife. We see anti-Semitic fliers distributed during a primary campaign. We see normal, everyday Virginians falsely linked to a despicable pedophilia group. By bloggers.

We see these things every day. Things which exceed Will Vehrs' simple, funny caption remarks by unknown bounds. Yet no one says anything.

I guess I just did.

Goodnight Chad. Goodnight Will. Goodnight Jim Bacon.

UPDATE:
Jim tells us, via comment below, that he's not gone completely. He's simply giving up the extraordinary grind involved in producing a bi-weekly electronic magazine. He's still very much alive on the blog side of Bacon's Rebellion.

*The good news is, Will was eventually completely exonerated. He is once again a happy, productive state employee. A happy, productive state employee who no longer blogs. Or comments on caption contests.

Miracle Commission Proposed

2008-09-18T06:51:00.006-04:00

Another gem from Barnie Day*;

The Answer To Our Prayers

MEMO

TO: House and Senate Leadership, Governor Tim Kaine

FROM: A humble servant

RE: Miracle Commission / Mustard Seed Task Force

Gentlemen, as we slouch with heavy dread toward another appointment with that destiny that is surely ours—the 2009 session of the Virginia General Assembly—it has been laid on my heart to suggest to you a move that could lighten, even dissipate, the heavy burden of problems that vex us. Virginia’s always been in the lead on most things—no reason we can’t be first with this: appoint a Miracle Commission.

I know you’re thinking; “Now why didn’t I think of that?”

I don't know why you didn’t—you’ve appointed them for everything else under the sun—but fret not, that’s what humble servants are for.

What could it hurt?

Why shouldn’t transportation be a faith-based initiative? Nothing else seems to work.

Jesus said, “Take up thy bed and walk.” At the rate you’re going, that’s going to be our only option if something doesn’t change.

If multitudes can be fed with a few loaves and fishes, surely we might pass out a few chunks of asphalt and see what happens.

Lay down your burdens—appoint a Miracle Commission.

Faltering state economy? No sweat. Can’t agree on judges (or anything else, it seems)? Piece of cake. The uninsured? Easy. Chronic school funding shortages? Not a problem. Our vast mental health needs? Peach pie.

You could dump all of these aggravations into the Miracle Commission, and have room to spare!

And Governor, bless your heart, don’t think for a minute that I’m forgetting you. Nossir. I know you were bummed out by the way that VP gig panned out—we all were. But there is still time to come up with a legacy.

This is where the Mustard Seed Task Force comes in. It’ll be an executive committee, sort of a parallel tracking thing that will allow you to guide and mentor the Miracle Commission by
“laying on hands”—if you know what I mean.

And there is a corollary benefit to this one: The Mustard Seed Task Force will give your senior advisors something to do. I know they must get in the way on slow days. Hey, look at it from their perspective. Make-work gets tiresome. It’s hard to look busy day in and day out. You can
only read the “Help Wanteds” so many times without gagging.

Lame-ducking ain’t fun—for nobody. But it could be—with the Miracle Commission and the Mustard Seed Task Force. You could go out in a blaze of glory!

I hear the budget is coming up a little short. Miracle and Mustard Seed could help on that.
Once they solve transportation and all that other stuff, they could regulate and license faith healers.

I looked around. They’re making big dough on everything from “distance” healing, using 1-900
phone numbers, to evened-up leg lengths, to folks made to see through glass eyes, to gout, corns, heart attacks, unsightly birthmarks, smelly feet, various and sundry “fevers,” and “demons on the heart.”

(Brings to mind an old-timer in Carroll County who told me once about his brother, who drank so much that “roaches on the liver” finally killed him. But that’s another story.)

Some of these jokers have pretty good businesses on the side selling relics. The Miracle Commission could decide whether we ought to tax stuff like that.

I didn’t know you could buy the actual nails that held Jesus to the cross on eBay. Did you? (I don’t know what they’ll bring. I didn’t bid.)

Gentlemen, I believe in miracles. I think most of us do. It’s high time we unshackled this power and turned it loose on state government.

Appoint a Miracle Commission. And don’t forget the Mustard Seed Task Force.

Thanks Barnie. You always seem to know when my well has run dry.

*Barnie Day was a Democratic delegate from Patrick County from 1997 through the 2001 session. A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke and now a Virginia banker, he currently lives in the wilds of Meadows of Dan where he enjoys an occasional cigar, The New Yorker, low-stakes cards, Jack Daniels, and Andy Griffith re-runs. You can find a couple of archives of his writing here and here.

Thor, This One's For You

2008-09-08T19:07:00.003-04:00

Here in Martinsville there is a bulletin board or forum where folks can politely discuss a wide range of issues. One of the more active, (and least polite), members on there uses the pen name "Thor".

Bob Lawson, (Thor), this one's for you.

Principled

2008-09-08T16:47:00.001-04:00

Released this weekend throughout Virginia, here is Jim Gilmore's latest TV ad.

The Most Powerful Force In A Community

2008-09-08T14:13:00.003-04:00

If I could choose any power available to mortal men these days I know exactly which power I would choose. I'm not speaking of x-ray vision, or the ability to spin spider stuff out my wrists, I mean the normal powers other folks may have.

Think about it for a moment. If you had the power to control anything you desired, what would it be? What would you choose to control if you wanted to exercise maximum influence over your community or your state?

Pause while the theme music from "Jeopardy" plays softly in the background...

Did you choose the power to control how money is spent in your community or state? Hah! Pitifully small thinking on your part, for the power I would choose could trump that easily.

Or perhaps you chose the power to determine who wins which election. Again, you're thinking way too small.

Martinsville is like many small towns, and it's surrounded by Henry County, a not very heavily populated county. Many here think that everything is controlled by some cabal of "local leaders" who conspire to hold growth in check. That thought has been prevalent here from the days of A.L.Philpott, who did work to preserve the low cost of employees for the local businesses. Bassett, Stanley, Hooker, and American Furniture all depended upon that low cost of labor, as did the several textile companies that began as small locally owned concerns. That low labor cost would surely have risen sharply should a larger national manufacturing company locate here.

The local politicians did their duty, they protected the home-grown industry and we were all happy. More or less.

A.L. and Dan Daniel are gone now, yet there is still a force here in Martinsville that wields all (or most) of the power.

Have you guessed what power I'm speaking of yet? It's pretty simple, really. It's a power that most of us complain about on a fairly regular basis, whether we be conservative or liberal.

The power to control information is the most powerful control anyone can have over a community. Here in Martinsville and Henry County that power is held in the hands of two or three people. The private owners of the only area newspaper. If those few people decide that a subject will not be given coverage in the Martinsville Bulletin, then it does not appear there. If they decide that coverage of an event or story should go one way or the other, that is the way it will slant. Period.

Sure, we have the Roanoke Times, but it is not widely read by the average local resident, the Richmond Times Dispatch even less so. We also have a handful of local radio stations, but I dare say they receive even less attention than the Roanoke Times. Then there are the TV stations. (Full disclosure, I have been known to host or co-host a show on occasion at one of these stations.) Two of the local TV stations have extremely small audiences, the third has a much wider audience, but is only now beginning to overcome a reputation earned years ago in the days of some really bad journalism.

In the final analysis, it's the Martinsville Bulletin that most people here turn to for their daily information. Information that is meted out in a manner decided upon by only a few.

No Comment

2008-09-07T20:32:00.002-04:00

Welcome Back

2008-09-07T08:32:00.007-04:00

While watching Sarah Palin the other night I got a distinct feeling of deja vu. A sense that I'd been here before, heard and felt something very similar to this experience.

Immediately after the speech I called badrose, and her opening statement was somewhat similar to what she wrote on the badrose blog. I too noticed a real similarity to Margret Thatcher, but there was more. Something else I could not quite put my finger on. Ronald Reagan's son finally led me to the realization. I now know what I was feeling after Mrs. Palin's groundbreaking speech. (I don't often quote complete articles here, but this one by Michael Reagan cannot be broken into a simple blockquote.)

I've been trying to convince my fellow conservatives that they have been wasting their time in a fruitless quest for a new Ronald Reagan to emerge and lead our party and our nation. I insisted that we'd never see his like again because he was one of a kind.

I was wrong!

Wednesday night I watched the Republican National Convention on television and there, before my very eyes, I saw my Dad reborn; only this time he's a she.

And what a she!

In one blockbuster of a speech, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin resurrected my Dad's indomitable spirit and sent it soaring above the convention center, shooting shock waves through the cynical media's assigned spaces and electrifying the huge audience with the kind of inspiring rhetoric we haven't heard since my Dad left the scene.

This was Ronald Reagan at his best -- the same Ronald Reagan who made the address known now solely as "The Speech," which during the Goldwater campaign set the tone and the agenda for the rebirth of the traditional conservative movement that later sent him to the White House for eight years and revived the moribund GOP.

Last night was an extraordinary event. Widely seen beforehand as a make-or-break effort -- either an opportunity for Sarah Palin to show that she was the happy warrior that John McCain assured us she was, or a disaster that would dash McCain's presidential hopes and send her back to Alaska, sadder but wiser.

Obviously un-intimidated by either the savage onslaught to which the left-leaning media had subjected her, or the incredible challenge she faced -- and oozing with confidence -- she strode defiantly to the podium and proved she was everything and even more than John McCain told us.

Much has been made of the fact that she is a woman. What we saw last night, however, was something much more than a just a woman accomplishing something no Republican woman has ever achieved. What we saw was a red-blooded American with that rare, God-given ability to rally her dispirited fellow Republicans and take up the daunting task of leading them -- and all her fellow Americans -- on a pilgrimage to that shining city on the hill my father envisioned as our nation's real destination.

In a few words she managed to rip the mask from the faces of her Democratic rivals and reveal them for what they are -- a pair of old-fashioned liberals making promises that cannot be kept without bankrupting the nation and reducing most Americans to the status of mendicants begging for their daily bread at the feet of an all-powerful government.

Most important, by comparing her own stunning record of achievement with his, she showed Barack Obama for the sham that he is, a man without any solid accomplishments beyond conspicuous self-aggrandizement.

Like Ronald Reagan, Sarah Palin is one of us. She knows how most of us live because that's the way she lives. She shares our homespun values and our beliefs, and she glories in her status as a small-town woman who put her shoulder to the wheel and made life better for her neighbors.

Her astonishing rise up from the grass-roots, her total lack of self-importance, and her ordinary American values and modest lifestyle reveal her to be the kind of hard-working, optimistic, ordinary American who made this country the greatest, most powerful nation on the face of the earth.

As hard as you might try, you won't find that kind of plain-spoken, down-to-earth, self-reliant American in the upper ranks of the liberal-infested, elitist Democratic Party, or in the Obama campaign.

Sarah Palin didn't go to Harvard, or fiddle around in urban neighborhood leftist activism while engaging in opportunism within the ranks of one of the nation's most corrupt political machines, never challenging it and going along to get along, like Barack Obama.

Instead she took on the corrupt establishment in Alaska and beat it, rising to the governorship while bringing reforms to every level of government she served in on her way up the ladder.

Welcome back, Dad, even if you're wearing a dress and bearing children this time around.

Yes, indeed. Welcome back Ronnie!

H/T Kilo

From Virginia To Oklahoma, We Cover The Earth

2008-09-06T20:32:00.006-04:00

I got an email yesterday. I get emails everyday, but this one was different. Fried Green Onions, a blogger in Oklahoma, (currently ranked #2 #1 on BNN in OK), has stumbled across my little piece of philosophy located on the right sidebar. The one that states,

If I write anything here that offends you, please use the comment feature to let me know. I may want to offend you again, so your help in that regard will most certainly be appreciated.

Anyway, FGO asked if he could use that line on his blog. After loooking over the BNN feed for Oklahoma, I decided FGO needed to use that line.

Fried Green Onions, this one's for you. And to those here and elsewhere who want to know a bit more about you, I leave them with your comparable sidebar quote;

mispelings and poorly written ad hominem attacks are a signature technique here on this here blog cause even tho we be real smart we are undergovernmenteducated left handed hicks from back in the Arbuckles

Ain't blogging fun?

Oh, and by the way FGO, look for a new link on my blogroll for Fried Green Onions, coming soon.

Former Cville Plagiarist Now Cites Self As Reliable Source

2008-09-06T19:40:00.005-04:00

A few days ago I pointed out a goofy liberal blogger (Lloyd Snooks, AKA cvllelaw) here in Virginia who is so intellectually challenged he is often reduced to plagiarizing Wikipedia. The truly sad part of this is that he is actually a member of the Virginia bar. (No Virginia, that does not necessarily mean he's a drunkard, even though there's nothing in his writing to suggest otherwise. The Virginia bar is the official association of attorneys licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia.)

It seems that, since I exposed him here on these pages, Lloyd has been much more diligent about citing his sources. That is a good thing. I'm proud of you Lloyd, you were on your way to being a legitimate Virginia blogger.

What? I said "were on your way..."? Yes, that was not a typo.

Lloyd, it seems is completely infatuated with Wikipedia. Let's set aside for the moment that Wikipedia is hopelessly biased toward the left. Even Stephen Colbert and The Onion have mocked its obvious leftist bias, and the facts are well known that the site's top administrators have conspired to limit input. No, we'll let those accusations ride for now.

What Lloyd has done now is even sillier than plagiarizing Wikipedia. In his post that purports to prove that the term "anchor babies" is racially derogatory, he cites a Wikipedia entry to support his argument. What he does not tell you is that the Wikipedia entry, even in the extreme liberal world of Wikipedia, carries a header telling its readers that "The neutrality of this article is disputed" and "The factual accuracy of this article is disputed."

But wait! There's an even better angle here. The portion of that disputed article that Lloyd links to is authored by.... cvillelaw.

Now tell me, how can anyone, anywhere, ever again trust anything Lloyd writes?

Sarah Palin's Coming Out Party

2008-09-04T06:33:00.003-04:00

I'll have more later, but now I'm heading up to Salem for a meeting. For now, just relive the moment....

John Fund, in the WSJ;

Twenty years after Ronald Reagan left office, Republicans who have long missed him may have found a future Margaret Thatcher. If John McCain wins, conservatives may find one of the most enduring accomplishments of his term will have been what he did before it started: helping to fill the Republican Party's future talent bench with such a fresh and compelling figure. [LINK]

The Angry Left Ain't Gonna Like Rudy In The Morning

2008-09-03T22:23:00.005-04:00

If George W. Bush upset them last night, Rudy has royally ticked them off tonight.

Can't Imagine Why

2008-09-03T17:04:00.002-04:00

But President Bush's mention of "the Angry Left" during last evening's speech via sattelite to the Republican National Convention, has somehow made the Angry Left angry. [LINK]

360° Coverage

2008-09-03T14:20:00.004-04:00

We believe that all fair-minded journalists were as shocked by some of the coverage as we were, and in that vein, we encourage you to republish and redistribute the cartoon. There are no royalties or restrictions involved.

Clearly, the attacks against Mrs. Palin and her family have gone far beyond the pale, and have no place in a mature discussion about the direction America is going in this year.

Sincerely,

Robert Romano
Editor
ALG News Bureau

More On Why Obama Ain't Selling

2008-09-03T12:21:00.004-04:00

We recently had the pleasure(?) of an Obama "Town Hall" meeting here in Martinsville. It was widely billed as an event whereby those "most affected by the failed Bush policies" could express their needs to the one presidential candidate willing to listen to their plight. Never mind that most of those attending were the local Democratic party elite, let's stick with the subject for now. (Besides, I'll soon publish video of the local NAACP president's take on the event. He's angry that it was reserved for the Democratic elite.)

Let's start with the way the event was billed. A quote from the Martinsville Bulletin sums it up nicely.

Obama will meet with local workers and families “who have been impacted by the failed trade policies of the Bush administration,” a release from his campaign Saturday stated.

“Look at communities across Virginia and it is hard to see another one that has been as dramatically impacted” by economic problems, said Kevin Griffis, a spokesperson for Obama’s campaign in the state.

Obama will hold a town hall-type meeting with displaced workers and their families. The meeting’s location will not be released publicly because attendance will be by invitation only, Griffis said.

He said community leaders and local Obama campaign officials will identify people who will be invited to the meeting.

Most, if not all, of the job losses in Martinsville and Henry County stem from NAFTA, a Bill Clinton legacy, not a Bush policy. As I said in my previous piece, Obama's tax policies will only exacerbate the problem, not help alleviate it.

Probably the single most salient point to consider is that NAFTA made it more economical for business to flee the high corporate tax rates currently imposed on America's job engine, business.

What will a President Obama do to stop the flow of jobs offshore? He has told us. He will increase corporate tax rates. He'll punish those greedy suckers for making money here in America and redistribute that money to those less fortunate. He fails to remind you though that America's corporate tax rate of 35% is already second highest of all industrialized countries. Increase it another notch and just watch the jobs flee offshore.

Who pays corporate taxes? We all do. Corporate taxes are a cost of doing business, just like the light and phone bill and the cost of labor. Those costs are incorporated into the cost of every product. So unless you buy groceries, or clothes, or cars, or furniture, or are an employee, you do not contribute to the payment of those corporate taxes.

John McCain has a plan though that will increase employment. A plan that may bring some of those jobs back to our shores. A plan that makes sense, rather than makes "feel good".

First, let's look at McCain's plan to create jobs, or bring old ones back. He'll reduce that onerous corporate tax rate -- the one we all pay, remember? -- to a rate that is more competitive in the world marketplace. A rate that will encourage businesses to stay here, or others to come back. He will also work against higher tax rates on small business income. Income that is currently taxed at an individual rate. The result will be an expansion of small businesses, America's real jobs engine.

For those jobs that stay here, or new jobs created, he also has a plan that will increase real wages. McCain's plan calls for incentives designed to increase productivity. Higher productivity equals higher wages. He will make it easier and more advantageous to develop and apply new technology by expanding the existing tax credit for research and development, and make it permanent.

Finally, in direct opposition to Obama, McCain will stimulate saving by keeping tax rates low on earnings from saving in the form of dividends and capital gains. More savings also equals more investment in business and an increase in productivity. McCain has also promised to enhance the incentive to save by reducing the maximum estate tax rate.

Obama has "feel good", "tax them and give the money to us" plans. John McCain has a plan that makes sense. A plan that will keep America strong. A plan that will raise all boats, as long as those in the boat are willing to bail the stagnant water that is now in the bilge.

Why Obama Isn't Resonating

2008-09-03T11:50:00.002-04:00

We've all seen the flat polls. The apparent lack of any "bounce" from the Democratic National Convention. The fact is, and it's apparent to many, that Barack Obama has pretty much flat-lined at the point in his campaign where he should be riding a cresting wave. Why is that?

Well, as uninformed as many voter are, (and I'm constantly decrying that fact), the voters who are paying attention are not quite so naive as Senator Obama would wish them to be. The voters who are responding to polls may be less informed than most of you blog readers, but they are not clueless. Obama's problem is not that too few voters know him, not at this point in the campaign anyway. The problem is that his message has been heard. It's been heard, and it's not selling.

Consider. We all know that if you restrict supply and tax production, what happens to prices? Right! Prices must go up under those conditions. Conditions that the entire Democratic Party has just spent a week in Denver promising us.

We all know that if you send checks to people who do not pay taxes, those who do pay taxes must pay more. Or we increase the deficit. Neither one is good for an economy that is not growing as fast as we would like it to.

Likewise, if we add punitive taxes onto business, the only people who are affected are the employees, stockholders, and customers of that business. In other words, us.

Barack has promised all these things. All the while promising "change". These policies do indeed represent change. A change back to the Lyndon Johnson/Jimmy Carter failed policies that we've learned the hard way simply do not work.

Temp Blogger Continues To Check In

2008-09-02T13:55:00.002-04:00

Lt. Governor Bill Bolling's stalker has checked in at the site of the Republican National Convention.

Randy Marcus continues to file updates; [LINK]

I think it's great that we have the Lt. Governor's Chief of Staff live blogging the convention. Keep us updated, Randy!

The End Of The Discussion

2008-09-02T07:21:00.003-04:00

Much has been made of the rather ordinary occurrence of a pregnant 17 year-old daughter. Unfortunately, this young woman has been used mostly as an example to illustrate some supposed hypocrisy on the part of Christian conservatives. I'm sorry, it won't wash.

In the past 48 hours I've spoken with a couple or three Christian pastors and several lay Christians about this matter. Every single one has separately expressed the same sentiment. While it's unfortunate that this young woman was unmarried at the time of conception, it changes nothing really. The child is still wanted. The child is still loved. The young mother and father are still to be respected and cherished.

This is true, whether the young woman is the daughter of Governor Sarah Palin, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, or Ms. Nancy Harrington (a fictitious, made-up name). Her parents' politics and religion do not matter. (Unless she happened to be Muslim, then she could be stoned to death, I suppose.)

The point I'm trying to make here is that the Palins, besides suddenly becoming a high profile political family, are, in the final analysis, just another American family. They deserve to be left alone in this matter.

On that note, I leave you with a couple of links. Sentiments expressed by women who are thoughtful, loving mothers in their own right. Women who can express this sort of stuff much better than I.

badrose [LINK]
One Wise Girl [LINK]
SWAC Girl [LINK]

A Hard Look At The Issue Of Abortion

2008-09-01T22:55:00.007-04:00

Despite the hopes, dream, and I suppose you could call them prayers, of Don Fowler and Michael Moore Gustav did little damage and so far no reported loss of life in N'awlins. Thank God.

The Republican National Convention got underway today, on schedule, but with a slightly altered opening day. Again, thank God.

I now turn to a more weighty issue. Weighty not because of the story that brings the subject up, instead it's a weighty subject simply because it has sat around for years and gotten fat. No one bothers to pick it up and exercise it. Either that or it's too scary to pick up.

I've had three different Mothers-in-law, nothing scares me anymore.

The story that starts this story has been repeated untold thousands of times in the History of the world. I would hazard a guess that your family has a similar story, if not numerous versions of it. It's the story of a young woman, in love or in lust, who finds herself pregnant and unmarried. A woman less than the legal age of majority. In this case the young woman's child will find itself to be only 9 months or so younger than her youngest uncle. One of the things unusual about this story would be if your family does not happen to share a version of it. Oh, and this unborn child's grandmother has only days ago been announced as a candidate for the Vice Presidency.

Other than that last little fact, the story itself is completely unremarkable. But that last little fact IS a fact. And that's why I'm beginning this story with that story.

AnonymousIsAWoman (somebody sell her a space bar, please), Karen Duncan, has written about this story today as well. And like me, the only remarkable thing about the story that moved her to write about it is that last little fact.

Karen presumes to tell us that the young Ms. Palin would be better off not having that baby. Perhaps. I'll agree, as I'm sure her parents do, that it would have been better not to get pregnant at 17. But Karen also sees and accepts the possibility of altering that fact even now, rather than before the conception. Karen also preaches to us that her parents should have taught her more than abstinence. Now Karen, we don't know just what her parents taught her, do we?

Worse than that, Karen then uses this rather common occurrence to somehow accuse the future Vice President of forcing repeats of this story on the rest of us. Or the rest of you women, actually. She never mentions the fathers.

I'm finally getting to the weighty part of this story. The part no one else will share with you, but like I said, I ain't scared.

Karen, pray tell me what, exactly will happen next Tuesday if Roe v Wade is overturned tomorrow? If not next Tuesday, next month? Or next year?

The unfortunate answer to that question is, for the most part, and for most of us, absolutely nothing will happen. Abortions will continue to be performed. Abortions will continue to be legal. And abortions will continue to be performed as an Ex Post Facto method of birth control. The regulation of the procedure will fall back to where it has belonged all along, the state.

Sure, some states will move to a much more restrictive abortion law than currently exists. Some states (California? Massachusetts?) may move to make abortion legal until some time after birth. But on the whole, should you find yourself pregnant Karen, rest assured you will still be able to kill that little bundle of inconvenience.

Rather than blame your president, or vice president, or congressman, or U.S. senator, you need to look to your state's legislators, for that is where this battle, if you wish to call it that, will occur when Roe v Wade is inevitably overturned. Yes, like in the Dred Scott, Plessy, and several other decisions, the Supreme Court does eventually get it right. Roe v Wade is widely believed by legal scholars to be a badly flawed decision. It will eventually be overturned.

More accurately, the battle will not be fought in your state legislature, but among your neighbors. Currently, and this has been true for some time, the majority opinion in America is that abortion in the first trimester should be legal, at least in most cases. Even in Louisiana, considered the most abortion unfriendly state in the Union, 52% of respondents in an October, 2004 poll stated that abortion should be 'sometimes legal', 31% 'never legal', and 13% 'always legal'. So no one state can be considered a "slam dunk" for anti-abortion law proponents.

While I'm sure there will be loud raucous arguments in statehouses all over the land, politics will prevail. At least until the hearts and minds of the American people change.

In case you're wondering by now, I am avidly pro-life. I do realize that an abortion is sometimes considered to be a necessary medical procedure, but even then it is still the taking of an innocent life. At that time it a choice between the life of the mother and that of the child, a tough decision certainly, but one that sometimes must be made. I also believe the father, whenever possible, should be a partner in making that decision.

Whatever other factors figure into the decision, it should never just be an after-the-fact form of birth control. Regardless of how inconvenient that birth may be.

More Gustav Silliness. Dems Think God Will Kill For Them

2008-08-31T22:22:00.010-04:00

And they seem to be reveling in the thought.

Cobalt6 Is Sick. I Mean Really Sick

2008-08-31T13:18:00.002-04:00

Along with contributor Kestrel9000 and commenter Cliff Garstang.

No comment necessary. I hesitate to link, but here it is. [LINK]

I'm Baaack.....

2008-08-31T09:13:00.003-04:00

After a long period of sporadic (at best) writing, I've renewed my commitment to these pages. This morning I awake to find I'm back inside the BNN top 20 influential Virginia blogs.

Now I'll pour myself a cup of Chock Full O' Nuts, that heavenly coffee, and bask. Yep, just bask.

A New, Temporary, Part-Time, Virginia Blogger

2008-08-30T22:08:00.005-04:00

This guy, who has been seen almost daily for the past couple years stalking Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, will become a blogger next week.

Randy Marcus, the Lt. Governor's Chief of Staff, will be blogging live from the Republican National Convention for CBS6, WTVR.com in Richmond.

Welcome to the blog world Randy, perhaps you can even manage to continue after your return from St. Paul. I know most of Virginia's bloggers would welcome it.

Oh, and tell Tucker Martin to contact me. If he would like, he's welcome to blog here while he's in St. Paul. No sense in you having all the fun, now is there?

Sarah Palin, I Know How It Feels

2008-08-30T21:23:00.006-04:00

A few years ago, here in Virginia we had a marriage amendment proposal on the ballot. For reasons having nothing to do with the issue of anyone's gayness, I opposed it. (Whether I was right or wrong was immaterial, it passed. And my life goes on, exactly as before.) I suddenly found myself to be the conservative poster child for every whacko leftist group in Virginia.

It seems that Governor Palin has also opposed a similar idea in Alaska. There, the proposal was to block the state from giving public employee benefits such as health insurance to same-sex couples. Her veto came at the advice of her Attorney General, who said the bill as written was contrary to Alaska's constitution.

Now that all that has been said, let's look at a website that has recently popped up. The name and URL of the site is http://www.sarahpalingayrights.com/, a name and URL that seems designed to inflame the Republican base. Never mind that I believe the Republican base to be beyond such simple minded platitudes, and not at all "anti-gay". Hey, I'm part of that base. I know too many people in that base. The Republican base does not hate gays.

The Republican base does not approve of that lifestyle. The Republican base does not want that lifestyle taught to their children as "normal", typical, or even "desirable". But they do not hate those who live that lifestyle, whether by choice or otherwise.

Back to the website. It's a nicely designed, clean interface, with the McCain star logo at the top. Must be the work of one of those extreme right-wing, anti-gay, agenda-driven hate groups, right?

Nope. let's look deeper and we begin to see the Joey Stanley style of repugnant campaign tactics.

The website in question, sarahpalingayrights.com, is hosted on a server at the IP address of 74.208.74.232 which itself resolves to; host 74.208.74.232
232.74.208.74.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer obamadefense.com

obamadefense.com? Yep, that's the domain name under which the sub-domain sarahpalingayrights.com is hosted.

Enter obamadefense.com into your browser and where does it take you? Click here to find out, obamadefense.com

So Joey Stanley is not atypical of Democrat(ick) dirty tricksters, is he?

H/T LGF

UPDATE:

Less than an hour ago, obamadefense.com redirected to http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/fightthesmearshome It now (10:02pm) redirects to this forum. Joey Stanley, please call home.

Whooo Hooo. As Funny As A Hurricane In New Orleans!

2008-08-30T18:57:00.004-04:00

Democrats sure seem to have a displaced sense of humor. Or at least former Democratic National Chairmen do.

Don Fowler thinks a hurricane bearing down on New Orleans is a hoot.

H/T RedState

Quote Of The Day

2008-08-30T13:48:00.002-04:00

From the comments at Spark It Up!

James Atticus Bowden;

This couldn't be any better. Hooah.

It's McCain-Palin-Gilmore and Barack Hussein Obama - Biden - Mark "I won't raise taxes then" and "now am afraid to debate Gilmore" Warner.

Win-Win-Win for Republican Conservatives.

My Final Lessons From Denver

2008-08-29T18:00:00.004-04:00

After a week of hearing how a former "community organizer" with zero foreign policy experience should be considered ready to occupy the Commander in Chief's chair, I was almost ready to believe it.

Until.

Until today, when Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, "Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency." A heartbeat away is much better than no heartbeats away, huh? Remember what I said about experience the teacher?

I have learned in the past week that if I vote against Obama, I'm a racist. No question about it.

I learned all Summer from Hillary's campaign that if you can't vote for a woman, you're a sexist.

So, now I have to choose.

Do I prefer to be called a racist or a sexist? Tough choice, but I've been called a racist bigot before, and I know it's not true. Besides, if I have to choose which side to make angry with me, it sure as heck ain't gonna be the women.

A Few Things About mcCain's Choice Of Sarah Palin For VP

2008-08-29T12:10:00.007-04:00

Governor Sarah Palin is a tough executive who has demonstrated during her time in office that she is ready to be president. She has brought Republicans and Democrats together within her Administration and has seen approval ratings of over 80 percent.

She has challenged the influence of the big oil companies while fighting for the development of new energy resources.

She leads a state that matters to every one of us -- Alaska has significant energy resources and she has been a leader in the fight to make America energy independent.

She has actually used her veto and cut budgetary spending. And she put a stop to the bridge to nowhere that would have cost taxpayers $400 million dollars.

In Alaska, she challenged a corrupt system and passed a landmark ethics reform bill.

As the head of Alaska's National Guard and as the mother of a soldier herself, Governor Palin understands what it takes to lead our nation and she understands the importance of supporting our troops.

Her experience in shaking up the status quo is exactly what is needed in Washington.

In choosing Governor Sarah Palin, John McCain put Washington on notice that he is serious about shaking up the status quo.

What we're seeing is a maverick who has shaken up Washington picking as his teammate a maverick governor who has shaken up her own state.

What it's going to take to change Washington is a team of Mavericks who have a record of accomplishment in shaking up the status quo.

H/T Mike Reynold (via email)

Badrose has this.. [LINK]
SWAC Girl this.. [LINK]
STD has this.. [LINK]
Leslie Carbone has noticed.. [LINK]

Can It Really Be Palin?

2008-08-29T10:55:00.002-04:00

Oh, man, I hope so. Early news reports say it's Sarah Palin.

A great conservative, corruption busting, NRA member Governor. The first truly qualified female VP candidate ever. (Sorry Geraldine, but you never did quite cut it.)

More to come...

Things That Make Me Say, Hmmm....

2008-08-29T10:31:00.005-04:00

Could this be because Pam went with Ward to Denver? (Actually, due to some silly, politically correct "quota system", Ward went with Pam.)

A Real Candidate For Change

2008-08-29T09:06:00.001-04:00

Heh...

More Learning From The DNCC In Denver

2008-08-27T09:26:00.003-04:00

I learned from Mark Warner that America during the Reagan administration was a time of great hope for those wishing to make a mark in the business world.

Mark Warner also taught me that the failed policies of Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter are not the model of America's future, even though the purpose of his speech was to promote Obama's visions of just such policies.

I learned that the Democratic National Convention, which so often turns out a future superstar for their party, will not do so this year. At least it will not be the former Governor of Virginia.

Hillary followed her game plan for 2012 perfectly. She is the consummate politician, having learned from last century's master. Did she really mean all that? I doubt it, but it was called for and she knew it.

If James Carville considered the opening evening to be a wasted opportunity, he must surely think even less of the second evening.

My education continues...

Warning To Virginia Bloggers

2008-08-26T17:39:00.005-04:00

Do not, under any circumstances, link to the website of the Spotsylvania County Public Schools.

According to the official policy of the Spotsylvania County Public Schools, links to their websites are prohibited. The official policy, found in this pdf file, http://www.spotsylvania.k12.va.us/info/codeconduct/Code%20of%20Conduct%2007-08.pdf, clearly states;

Linking any Web page to the division website without the permission of the Office of Public Information is strictly prohibited. Linking any Web page to school websites without the permission of the school principal is strictly prohibited.(page 33) [LINK]

I'm sure that same policy would apply to the following sub-sites as well;

While the code of conduct, http://www.spotsylvania.k12.va.us/info/codeconduct/Code%20of%20Conduct%2007-08.pdf, does not specify what recourse, if any, the Spotsylvania County Public Schools will take against an offender, I'm sure you, as a responsible Virginia Blogger, will take this directive seriously.

H/T James Taranto

Yes Virginia, We Have A Plagiarist, cvillelaw

2008-08-26T11:54:00.009-04:00

A few days ago, with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek, I tweaked badrose a bit about a subject we each hold dear. Plagiarism is never to be tolerated. Ever.

Today, while looking through BNN, I read some words that seemed very familiar. Sure enough, those words were familiar. I'll simply present a table below, with content from Website "DC" on the left (appropriately), and Website "W" on the right.

Website "DC"	Website "W"
PRWORA instituted Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which became effective July 1, 1997. Replacing Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), which had been in effect since 1935, and supplanting the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) program of 1988, TANF was heralded as a "reassertion of America's work ethic" by the US Chamber of Commerce, largely in response to the bill's workfare component. Some criticize the bill as a reinstitution of workhouses and believe the new system is ineffective in getting people out of poverty. Although PRWORA has expired, Congress has continued to fund the program until a new bill is enacted.	PRWORA instituted Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) which became effective July 1, 1997. Replacing Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), which had been in effect since 1935, and supplanting the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) program of 1988, TANF was heralded as a "reassertion of America's work ethic" by the US Chamber of Commerce, largely in response to the bill's workfare component. Some criticize the bill as a reinstitution of workhouses and believe the new system is ineffective in getting people out of poverty. Although PRWORA has expired, Congress has continued to fund the program until a new bill is enacted.
Social welfare to poor mothers had historically been funded by AFDC following its inclusion in the Social Security Act of 1935. As restrictions on the availability of cash support to poor families (especially single-parent, female-headed households) were reduced, AFDC caseloads increased dramatically from the 1930s to the late-1960s. Between 1936 and 1969, the number of families receiving welfare increased from 162,000 to 1,875,000.	Social welfare to poor mothers had historically been funded by AFDC following its inclusion in the Social Security Act of 1935. As restrictions on the availability of cash support to poor families (especially single-parent, female-headed households) were reduced, AFDC caseloads increased dramatically from the 1930s to the late-1960s. Between 1936 and 1969, the number of families receiving welfare increased from 162,000 to 1,875,000.^[2]
With many more people applying for welfare, and a larger percentage of those applying being accepted, AFDC caseloads swelled between the 1950s and 1960s. Primarily in response to concerns about the expansion of the welfare apparatus from (primarily) Republican politicians, federal funding for AFDC began to lag behind inflation. Between 1970 and 1994, a typical state's AFDC benefits for a family of three fell 47% in inflation-adjusted dollars	With many more people applying for welfare, and a larger percentage of those applying being accepted, AFDC caseloads swelled between the 1950s and 1960s.^[3]New Right politicians, federal funding for AFDC began to lag behind inflation. Between 1970 and 1994, a typical state's AFDC benefits for a family of three fell 47% after adjusting for inflation.

There is much, much more. I figure three random paragraphs should make the case.

Come clean cvllelaw. With a username such as you've chosen, one would think you would post a credit for using someone else's work.

Website "W" even provides links to indicate the source(s) of its statements. Cvillelaw goes so far as to omit those. If Cvillelaw is a law student, this is inexcusable. If Cvillelaw is a practicing attorney, it's even worse.

Water Heaters, Economics, And Headaches

2008-08-26T09:26:00.006-04:00

On the phone yesterday. I had been looking at the website of one of those "big box" home improvement stores, the orange one if you must know, for a solution to a hot water problem. The guy at the Danville store told me he had a 2.5 gallon "point of use" water heater for 199 bucks, and a 6 gallon unit from the same maker for 193 bucks.

I was curious, so I asked, "Why is the smaller unit priced higher than the larger one?" "Oh", he answered, "since there is a much smaller demand for the 2.5 gallon unit, and we sell so few of them, we have to charge more".

I'll wait a moment while that sinks in.

I tried to explain that his logic flew in the face of all known economics, supply and demand and all that, yet he still insisted he was right. OK. I'll accept it. It's still wrong. But as long as he wants to believe that, who am I to try to convince him otherwise.

I've always been one to continue to pound my head against the wall in order to stop the headaches, so I ventured down another path with him. "Why", I asked, "does this same unit cost 30 dollars less on the website?"

"That's the price before shipping charges", he replied.

"OK, but you do stock this item in your store, correct?"

"Yes sir, we do".

"Then can you explain the 30 dollar difference between the store price and my price if I ordered it from the website?"

"I did, sir, that's the price before shipping charges". (Gotta give him credit, he was very polite. Stupid. But very polite about it.)

OK. This tiny little water heater, delivered to the big box store as part of a full truckload of other stuff, warrants a 30 dollar shipping charge added to the customer who drives to the store to pick it up. The same 30 dollars I would pay if I had a big ol' truck bring one single unit to my front door.

Damn. My head hurts.

There's a meaning here. I don't know what it is, but there's certainly a lesson here somewhere.

What I Learned Watching The DNCC Opening Night

2008-08-25T21:25:00.008-04:00

I've learned a lot!

Did you know that Amtrak will export machinist jobs out of the country if Obama is not elected? I didn't, until some "real person" from Indiana told us tonight.

I've learned that one of the most distinguished, honorable, truthful, and yes, even the most ardent supporter of family values in the Senate is Ted Kennedy.

I've learned that if you're a politician, and you lie about an extramarital affair, the DNC will distance itself from you. You obviously do not hold strong to their values.

Unless your name is Clinton.

Or Kennedy.

Or maybe it's just if your name is Edwards.

Or perhaps if your indiscretion came to light just a few weeks before the convention.

I've learned that even a state house minority leader can get bumped as a delegate, if the proper "boy, girl, boy, girl" ratio is somehow not met. What would have happened if Ward was married to a black guy? Would he have not even been allowed as a guest?

That Barry will close the book on old time politics as usual. Does Joe know about this?

I learned that John Kennedy did not say, "The moon is too far away, why even try?" I learned that his baby brother does say, "Drilling for oil will take too long, why even try?"

In less than an hour I've learned all these things. I should be a freakin' genius by the time they leave Denver.

It's Called Analysis, Not News.

2008-08-25T10:36:00.002-04:00

Heh.

Analysis. It means; "The separation of an intellectual or material whole into its constituent parts for individual study". To analyze is to take facts as presented and come to some logical conclusion, based upon a study of those facts. [LINK]

News Reporting, on the other hand, is simply the regurgitation of those facts. No conclusions to be drawn by the reporter, just a report based upon a timeline of events.

The MoveOn crowd surely knows the difference. Surely.

In their recent rant against an AP employee though, they either do not know, or they know their rather dense followers do not know. [LINK]

Joe Biden On DC Schools

2008-08-24T09:12:00.000-04:00

"There's less than 1 percent of the population in Iowa that is African American," Mr. Biden said. "There is probably less than 4 or 5 percent that are minorities. What is in Washington? So look, it goes back to what you start off with, what you're dealing with."

I'm just sayin'...

Are You Really A Plagiarist If You Plagiarise a Plagiarist?

2008-08-23T21:34:00.002-04:00

I'll need to ask badrose, (my favorite broad, by the way), about that....
[LINK]

The Problem With Experience Being The Best teacher

2008-08-23T20:22:00.011-04:00

Peggy Noonan is one hell of a broad. Great writer and extremely intelligent insight wrapped in blonde good looks.

(An interesting term, broad. originally reserved for Hollywood up-and-comers who were deemed beautiful enough for a wide head and shoulders publicity photo, such a photo itself called a "broad". I still prefer to think of the word in those terms, unfortunately most women do not know the word's history and are therefore offended by it. They shouldn't be. But I digress.)

Ms. Noonan's latest column in the Wall Street Journal succinctly sums up the current attitude of the American voter as she explains McCain's narrowing of the polling gap;

Why is it a real race now, with John McCain rising in the polls and Barack Obama falling? There are many answers, but here I think is an essential one: The American people have begun paying attention.

It's hard for our political class to remember that Mr. Obama has been famous in America only since the winter of '08. America met him barely six months ago! The political class first interviewed him, or read the interview, in 2003 or '04, when he was a rising star. They know him. Everyone else is still absorbing.

This is what they see:

An attractive, intelligent man, interesting, but—he's hard to categorize. Is he Gen. Obama? No, no military background. Brilliant Businessman Obama? No, he never worked in business. Famous Name Obama? No, it's a new name, an unusual one. Longtime Southern Governor Obama? No. He's a community organizer (what's that?), then a lawyer (boo), then a state legislator (so what, so's my cousin), then U.S. senator (less than four years!).

There is no pre-existing category for him.

Add to that the wear and tear of Jeremiah Wright, secret Muslim rumors, media darling and, this week, abortion.

It took a toll, which led to a readjustment. His uniqueness, once his great power, is now his great problem.

And over there is Mr. McCain, and—well, we know him. He's POW/senator/prickly, irritating John McCain.

Yes. We know McCain. Not just us political junkies, but the old lady who lives down the street knows him. The guy who works at the liquor store has at least heard of him, and liked most of what he's heard. He's been the media darling that Obama now finds is such a sweet place to be.

Ms. Noonan nailed the biggest problem most folks have with Obama's performance at Rick Warren's debate. Obama chose a feel good, yet totally dishonest answer to the most informative question of the evening. A question to which, as she says, anyone who's ever purchased a package of condoms knows the answer.

As to the question when human life begins, the answer to which is above Mr. Obama's pay grade, oh, let's go on a little tear. You know why they call it birth control? Because it's meant to stop a birth from happening nine months later. We know when life begins. Everyone who ever bought a pack of condoms knows when life begins.

Is a caterpillar any less alive than a butterfly?

She continues;

If you want to argue whether legal abortion is morally defensible, have at it and go to it, but Mr. Obama's answers here seemed to me strange and disturbing.

She wraps it all up, and makes my rather confusing headline relevant after all with this;

I still think a one-term pledge could win it for [McCain], because it would allow America to punt. It would make the 2008 choice seem less fateful. People don't mind the chance to defer a choice when they're not at all sure about the product. It would give bitter Democrats a chance to regroup, and it would give those who like Obama but consider him a little half-baked to vote against him guiltlessly while he becomes fully baked. (Imagine the Q&A when Sen. Obama announces his second presidential run in 2011: "Well, Brian, I think, looking back, there is something to be said for the idea that I will be a better president now than frankly I would have been four years ago. Experience, if you allow it, is still the best of all teachers.") [LINK] emphasis added

But as I said in the headline, there is one major drawback to that old adage. The final sentence is always left out.

Learning from experience gives you the test first and the lesson afterward. America cannot afford that kind of schooling for our Presidents.

Where Did We Put Them?

2008-08-21T07:42:00.005-04:00

The mystery has been solved! I now know why the laid off workers in Henry County could not attend the Obama Town Hall. As I said earlier, there were few, if any, workers directly affected by NAFTA in attendance, instead being replaced by the local Democratic elite, many elected officials, and various faculty members (but I repeat myself).

Now I know why. They lost them! Just put them down someplace and can't seem to remember just where...

The Rapture Of Obama Has Begun

2008-08-20T15:30:00.001-04:00

A short while ago the invitation only town hall meeting here in Martinsville got underway. Billed since it was announced as an event whereby folks here in Henry County who have been dis-proportionally affected by the "failed policies of the Bush Administration", only those who were unemployed, or otherwise adversely affected by local job losses were to be invited. Never mind that NAFTA, one of the area's greatest problems, was not a Bush policy.

I've said before that there have been many reports of a required pledge to BO in exchange for tickets. The questioners seem to be verifying that. Not only are the questions very softball, there has been at least one, if not two, teachers who have asked questions. Public school teachers are not the first group one thinks of when inviting folks who have been adversely affected by plant closings due to NAFTA.

(Audio here soon)

UPDATE:
It appears most of the attendees were not the local downtrodden at all, instead the audience was comprised largely of the local Democratic party elite, teachers, and PHCC faculty. How many tickets were sent to PHCC, ostensibly to be handed out to students in the job re-training programs, yet were held and used by PHCC faculty?

Obama Didn't Invite Martinsville's Media To His Party

2008-08-20T09:52:00.012-04:00

No, I'm sorry, that's a misleading headline. I should have said that Obama didn't invite the one media outlet here that THINKS it's "Martinsville's media" to the party.

The Martinsville Bulletin will be there, as will Charles Roarke's TV Station 18. I assume cable outlet 21 will be there, I know Fox News Radio, 900AM will be there as will B99FM radio. In short, all of Martinsville's media, (without the scare quotes).

Why is Bill Wyatt's media empire excluded? Well, it could be because his on air "talent" on Monday evening disclosed the "secret location" on air, in violation of the embargo. Or it could be that Bill's almost daily rant at his own listeners who dare not to acknowledge his obviously superior intellect and objectivity has completely destroyed any credibility still left unsquandered by Bob Lawson, the aforementioned "talent".

Or it could simply be that Bill's ego got in the way. This morning on Bill's "Coffee Break" show he spent most of the first half-hour complaining that he was not invited. "I'm the media here in Martinsville", he said, "why would they not come to me and ask for coverage?"

Well Bill, I happen to know why Roarke and Fox News will be there and you will not. Rather than sitting in the studio waiting to be asked, they each went to the Obama Headquarters and applied for press credentials.

Even pretty girls are sometimes not asked to go to the prom, until they make it known that they actually want to go. Sometimes they find that sitting at home with their hair in curlers, pride intact but their ego shattered, is not such a fun way to spend the evening.

UPDATE:
It seems Bill finally shucked the fuzzy slippers and bathrobe, dressed himself up for the prom, and went stag. He is broadcasting audio only, no video.

Obama's Martinsville "Town Hall" Meeting

2008-08-20T06:08:00.004-04:00

I thought it odd enough when local news announced that Obama's Town Hall Meeting here was by invitation only. I mean Martinsville's a little place, but we can handle some pretty large crowds. Or we have been known to twice a year.

But now I've heard, from three different people who are not strongly acquainted with one another, that a signed pledge of support for Obama is being required for attendance. Perhaps that's why the Obama campaign office continued to sign people up for a "waiting list" long after all the tickets were gone, in anticipation of those who refused to sign.

I'm still looking into this "pledge of support" thing and hope to be able to provide a copy of one soon.

Mark Warner And The MZM "Tab"

2008-08-19T19:29:00.007-04:00

A few days ago I explained Congressman Goode's limited role in the MZM deal here in Martinsville. DJ McGuire has since raised the interesting question, "Should Virginia's taxpayer's 'tab' be picked up by Mark Warner?" [LINK]

That's a great question, DJ. According to a Nov.3, 2003 press release from Governor Warner's office, "Governor Warner approved a $250,000 loan from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to assist the City of Martinsville with the project." [LINK]

The city's mayor at that time was Gene Teague. Teague is quoted in the press release praising all those who put the economic deal together, "The city’s multi-year investment in the Clearview Business Park, the shell building and our broadband MINET fiber optic network has paid off."

Mayor Teague says further, "The city thanks everyone on the economic development team that put this deal together. The Governor’s Opportunity Funds, Tobacco Region Opportunity Funds, as well as a $127,000 grant from the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber’s Partnership for Economic Growth have enabled the city to make this property available."

Aw, c'mon Mr. Mayor. You left out Virgil.

Or perhaps all Virgil did was what he was asked to do, all a small government advocate should do, introduce the two parties and let them make the deal.

Patrick Henry Young Republicans Organize

2008-08-16T11:36:00.003-04:00

Friday evening, at the Horsepature Ruritan Club, a group of young Republicans got together for their first organizational meeting. PHYR, (would that be pronounced,"fire"?), is now a provisional Young Republican Club representing the Henry and Patrick County areas. Henry County is in both the 5th and 9th Congressional Districts, while Patrick lies wholly within the 9th.

Alex Stanley and Aaron Evans have worked together over the past couple of weeks putting this group together, and as I understand it, they have seven or eight committed members already. The requirements for becoming a recognized unit under the Young Republican Federation is a minimum of ten Charter Members, plus a recommendation by either the local Republican Party Unit Chairman or the District Chairman. Aaron and Alex already have a commitment from both Unit Chairs, as well as a recommendation from Tucker Watkins, 5th District Chair. It looks like we will have an active Young Republican Club here very soon.

Thanks Alex and Aaron, for your enthusiasm and hard work. Us old guys are behind you all the way.

The Young Republican Federation of Virgina, the parent organization for each local club, is a group dedicated to the promotion of the Republican principles of personal liberty and responsibility, fiscal integrity, and a strong national defense.

In order to accomplish this objective, the YRFV establishes throughout the Commonwealth, a system of Young Republican Clubs. The YRFV then assists each club in attracting young men and women who share our commitment to these principles; educating them, encouraging their participation in the nominating and other internal processes of the Republican Party of Virginia, and organizing them into an effective force to secure the election of Republican candidates to all levels of public office.

Membership requirements for PHYR are simple. Prospective members must be a legal and qualified voter under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia who is at least eighteen (18) and not yet forty-one (41) and who is not an active member of the College Republican Federation of Virginia. Oh, and you gotta be able to shake loose ten bucks for annual dues.

If you are interested in becoming a Young Republican, use my comment section below and let me know. Your email address will remain hidden, yet I'll be able to send your contact information on to Aaron and Alex. (And in case you didn't know, Alex is a female. A very pretty young female, at that. So come on guys, join up. And young ladies, don't let Alex have all these guys for herself.)

Virgil Goode, MZM, And The Left's Big Lie, Revisited

2008-08-15T09:28:00.018-04:00

Welcome to the digital age, James. As a relatively new blogger you must learn a few things. It's very easy to take five minutes and put up a "quick hit" such as you did yesterday on Virgil Goode. I'm sure you put in at least five minutes writing about Virgil's latest "lie". I can imagine you sitting back afterward while smiling smugly, thinking to yourself, "let's see how that goes over".

Responsible bloggers do not live for that quick, smug feeling of "gotcha" though. Most know that "gotcha" will all too often come back atcha. Responsible bloggers research their subjects and do not fall for the big lie. Not very often, anyway. I myself have done so, you and I both will again. But I resolved long ago not to resort to the smug name calling you've just enjoyed doing.

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." Often attributed to both Joseph Goebbels and many leftist fanatics who seem to relish using it to describe the Republican Party. In the real world, though, it's more often the Democratic Party that actually makes use of this despicable tactic.

That's probably because it works. It's been proven right here in Virginia, that it works. Mark Warner has proven it, using it to discredit the administration of Gov. Gilmore. The left wing grassroots has proven it, using the same tactic to claim that somehow Virgil Goode owes the city of Martinsville big bucks for trapping the City Council into a deal with MZM.

Fellow Henry County blogger and left wing grassroots organizer, James White, seems to have fallen completely for the "big lie". It seems James believes the lie so deeply, that he considers Virgil's truthful answer to be the lie instead.

James' video questioner asks Virgil Goode;

"... Have you ever considered picking up Martinsville's tab for the failed MZM deal?" To which Rep. Goode answers, "Martinsville actually ended up making money off that deal. They were A LOT better off"

James then responds with;

Ask Virgil Goode a question he doesn't want to answer and what does he do? He lies, then cuts and runs as fast as he can go. Welcome to the digital age Virgil.
(emphasis added) [LINK]

Yes, welcome to the digital age, indeed, James.

I've never been a Union Official, James. I've never been a grassroots left-wing kind of guy either, though. But now I see why both groups find it so easy to advocate taking money from one citizen in order to give it to another. After all, $100,000 just isn't a "lot" of money. Apparently not to you guys, anyway.

I went over all this, in great detail, in February of 2007, when Waldo Jaquith made the same claim.

I'll save you the trouble of looking that article up, and place the relevant portions here instead. Then, Waldo claimed, as James now implies, that Virgil Goode somehow manipulated the MZM/Martinsville deal that brought the defense contractor to the Clearview Business Park, and therefore he owes Martinsville some big bucks. It just ain't true. Neither statement. (Changes to original in red);

Let me tell you the truth of the matter. A truth that is easily discovered if one only looks for it, rather than merely wishing for future Al Weed (and now Perriello) campaign slogans, lies, and half-truths.

In late October of 2003 rumors began circulating throughout Henry County about a possible new employer, some said it would be a defense contractor. On October 30th Ginny Wray of the Martinsville Bulletin wrote a story confirming the rumors and naming MZM as the new employer, citing Virgil Goode as her source.

At this time MZM already had a presence in the 5th District so Virgil was familiar with the firm. He also was familiar with a shell building that Martinsville had to offer in the Clearview Business Park. According to Ms. Wray, Virgil urged MZM to take a look at Martinsville and their facility.

The following day a story by Mickey Powell of the Bulletin adds a few more details, with some quotes from Mitchell Wade, President and CEO of MZM at the time. Powell found it difficult to get much more information, such as the selling price of the shell building from either Wade or Tom Harned, Martinsville's Economic Development Director.

All we knew at that time was that the City had sold its $945,000 shell building to MZM for an undisclosed sum, and that Virgil Goode had introduced the two parties.

The following Tuesday, at an announcement ceremony attended by then Governor Mark Warner, it was disclosed that the City of Martinsville had received $1.027 million for the facility. $400,000 from MZM, $500,000 split equally between The Governor's Opportunity Fund and the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission, and $127,000 in private funds from the Chamber's Partnership for Economic Growth, a partnership affiliated with the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce. (Deduct the $940,000 cost of the building's construction and the city was left with $82,000 profit.)

According to Mickey Powell of the Martinsville Bulletin;
Information from the Center for Responsive Politics shows that MZM is Goode's top financial contributor, donating more than $37,000 to him during the current election cycle. That money was given either through a political action committee, people associated with the firm or their family members, a Web site indicates.

Goode admitted those contributions. He said, though, that he would have given information about the shell building to any firm, regardless of whether it financially backed him.

He received MZM's money "before I knew they were interested" in the building, he said.
This clearly refutes Waldo's insinuation of any "quid pro quo".

Now, let's look at what we know of the background negotiation that went on before this deal was announced.
Martinsville had a shell building that had been on the market for 3 years with no takers.
Martinsville owed $940,000 on this shell building and desperately needed both a buyer and the employment that a buyer would bring to the area.
A firm with a presence in Virgil's 5th District was searching for a facility in order to expand part of its business.
Virgil introduced the two parties and negotiation began for the purchase of the building. MZM offered $400,000 for the building, knowing that it would require another several million dollars in renovations to make the building suitable for its purposes.
Tom Harned, Martinsville's Economic Development Director at that time asked Virgil to request a better offer from MZM.
That request for a better offer was turned down by MZM.
Tom Harned then asked Wade to apply for state incentives to make up the difference.
Virgil Goode was not a party to these negotiations, though he was copied on most, if not all, of the correspondence between Harned and Wade.
At a stalemate point in the negotiations, Virgil suggested that Martinsville apply for two $250,000 grants from The Governor’s Opportunity Fund and the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission to help retire the debt on the building.
At that point MZM refused to cooperate, insisting that it wanted a simple cash real estate deal, leaving Martinsville with the option of dropping negotiations or signing the performance agreement obligating it to repay the forgivable loans if the company did not meet its projections.
At the time, John Sternlicht, general counsel to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the state agency that drafted the performance agreement, expressed concern about the unusual nature of the City's request.
Earl Reynolds, City Manager at the time responded to Sternlicht, “The city understands that this is outside the normal procedures,” indicating the City's eagerness to complete the deal.
Sternlicht's reply, from a Dec. 11, 2005 story by Lawrence Hammock in the Roanoke Times, “The company is usually on the hook. But in this instance, based on [Martinsville’s] urgent request, this is what we did," further indicates that the deal was pushed through to completion by Martinsville officials.
The final disposition is yet to be determined, but City Finance Director Wade Bartlett said in today's Martinsville Bulletin that any funds repaid will come from the City's fund balance, currently at $9.5million. The Bulletin article quotes Bartlett; "No matter how much of the $500,000 the city ends up paying, it will not impact our ability to provide services in the future to residents or bankrupt the city."
In summary, one can blame Earl Reynolds, Tom Harned, Gene Teague (then Mayor), Terry Roop (then Vice Mayor), and the rest of City Council for making the final decision to request the grants and taking the highly unusual step of signing the performance agreement. All Virgil Goode did was bring the two parties together.

Let's do a little accounting exercise, shall we?
Cost of shell building to Martinsville $945,000
From MZM $400,000
From Governor's Opportunity Fund $250,000
From Tobacco Commission $250,000
From C-PEG (Local Chamber Econ. Dev. group) $127,000
Total Sales Price $1,027,000
Profit (sales price, less actual cost of building) $82,000
Balance of tax and other revenues gained from MZM/Athena $161,430
Profit Sub-total $243,430
Refund of grants due to MZM non-performance (est) (Actual refund, 05/24/07 Bulletin Article, $143,000) ~~($145,000)~~ ($143,000)
Martinsville Final Balance ~~$98,430~~
$100,430

The above balance sheet does not include revenues from utilities such as water, electric, and sewer. Also not included are local income and sales tax revenues from MZM/Athena employees. Obviously a $100,000 return on a $1 million dollar investment is not what one would hope for, especially since it ended after only a 4 year term, but it's not the catastrophic loss that Waldo (and now James) would have you believe it is..

Once again, the big lie has come to be thought of as the truth. Virgil Goode did not create the deal. The deal that "lost money" for the city of Martinsville. Congressman Goode did just what any small government advocate would want, he simply brought the two parties together to negotiate their own deal. A deal that DID NOT result in the spilling of any red ink over there on Church Street.

Goode Way In Front According To SurveyUSA

2008-08-13T16:27:00.005-04:00

I've heard rumors today that Virgil Goode is well beyond the 60% mark in the latest SurveyUSA Congressional Poll. I've been unable to confirm the story that I've heard from some who are very close to,(but not inside) the Goode Campaign. I do have calls in to some sources within the campaign, but nothing firm has yet been confirmed.

Those same sources tell me that the DCCC is very close to pulling Perriello from its Most Favored Candidates list. Makes sense to me. It takes much more than a fresh face and youthfulness to beat a popular incumbent, especially when the incumbent holds a District-wide average approval rating that reaches north of 70%.

Will Perriello just be a younger Al Weed? Time alone will tell, but it's certainly beginning to look that way.

UPDATE:
Yesterday's rumors have been substantiated.

Cross Tabs Here.

The AG Visits I'm Not Emeril HQ, Part One

2008-08-11T18:35:00.005-04:00

On Friday morning Attorney General Bob McDonnell dropped by my office here and visited a while. While he was here I invited my friend, the news director for the local Fox News Radio, 900am, to join us. Aaron and I spent almost an hour talking to the AG about many Virginia issues.

Over the next few days I'll have Bob McDonnell's answers to our questions here. Let's begin with his answer to our question, "What do you see as your primary objectives, should you be elected Governor?"

Who Would Have Thought

2008-08-08T20:05:00.002-04:00

That the solution to our energy problems would be as simple as mere Hope and a tire gauge?

I'm encountering some difficulties working out the podcast of the first ever Fox News Radio and I'm Not Emeril joint interview with AG Bob McDonnell. It will be posted here soon. Perhaps even tonight!

Bob McDonnell Will Join Us Here Tomorrow

2008-08-07T08:53:00.007-04:00

Coming up tomorrow will be our first joint effort with Fox News Radio. Our local Fox News affiliate, AM900, will join us as we interview Attorney General Bob McDonnell.

Watch for it here.

A Virginia Blogging Oddity...

2008-08-06T17:36:00.000-04:00

Among my Google Alerts I have one set for "Martinsville"+Virginia. This morning I awoke to find one of those in my email inbox, not an unusual occurrence at all.

What was unusual was that it took me to Waldo's Virginia Political Aggregator, a site I had just about forgotten about. There I found a post ostensibly from "Patriot Missile" a blogger and blog I had never heard of, writing about an Obama event here in Martinsville last evening.

My initial thought was that we now have another Henry County blogger, which I see as a good thing, so I clicked on through to check it out. Nope. Not a Henry County blogger, but instead some guy in Richmond named Ray.

While at Waldo's I checked out some of the other posts from "Patriot Missile". One took me to a leftist labor union leader here in Martinsville, another "signed" by Patriot Missile took me to a Democrat in Roanoke, and a third took me back to good ol' Ray in Richmond. None of these blogs have an author using the name "Patriot Missile". None of the "Patriot Missile" links took me to a blog with that title. Waldo does not have a link on his sidebar to "Patriot Missile".

He's got links to almost all of Virginia's blogs, but "Patriot Missile" ain't one of them.

Just wondering, is all.

My August Resolution

2008-08-04T22:31:00.004-04:00

It's just like an exercise regimen, I suppose. I've never had an exercise regimen, but I have known some guys (and ladies) who have, and I can see the similarities.

Once you get into the bench presses, the push-ups, the ab crunches, and all the other sweaty stuff those guys put themselves through, they all tell me how much they enjoy it. They actually get into a "zone", they say, where the rest of the world is somehow off to the side, not really real, but not completely gone either. Problems at work today? They fade into insignificance after the first few drops of sweat begin to form on your brow. Your focus is solely upon the burn beginning to creep throughout your muscles. Stretching and contracting muscle cells convert glucose into lactic acid, creating that burn, then the lactic acid is absorbed and converted to a fuel by mitochondria in muscle cells. Our exercising friend then begins to experience an odd sort of feeling of "rightness" that settles in for the rest of the workout.

Or so I'm told.

Personally, I've never been one to get high on lactic acid. A couple of decades ago, and a different acid, sure. But not now, and not lactic acid. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy hard work. Even sweaty, stinging-in-your-eyes hard work. I just don't get off on jumping jacks.

I'd rather write. Of course, if you look back at the past editions of this on-going piece of work you might argue that point. I learned very quickly after I opened this website that I can't do the little one or two paragraph daily quick-hits that so many Virginia bloggers excel at. It's true. Go way back into my archives and find some truly bad stuff when I was trying to do just that.

Jim Hoeft is pretty dang good with a short piece, concise and to the point. Kilo, SWAC Girl, Scott White and many others do very well with that format, and most of them manage to post daily. Or almost daily. Jerry Fuhrman, you truly excel at it, my friend.

Jerry will have 6 short, witty, and very well composed pieces published most mornings before you've had your first cup of coffee.

Those who know me know that I seldom talk as much as my readers would assume I do. I am truly a man of few words. Spoken words.

All that proves my point. I've taken you, (and myself), off onto a journey that began with sweaty socks and ends up here. Where am I heading, you're sure to be wondering by now.

Like I said, it's just like an exercise regimen. Discipline yourself, get yourself motivated, set aside a certain time to do it, and just do it. You will enjoy it once you get past the apprehension. I have decided to do just that.

No, you won't be finding me down at the YMCA every other day. (I could enjoy hanging out around the entrance to Curves, but some would call that creepy).

Instead I've decided to give myself a deadline. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5:00 I will publish something. Some days will better than others, but each week will have at least three honestly toiled over pieces from me on these pages.

Alright. I know. Day one of my regimen and you say I'm four and a half hours behind deadline. Look, it's either this or you'll be forced to watch me do ab crunches. Bite me.

Interview With Gov. Gilmore, Film At Eleven

2008-07-29T22:34:00.002-04:00

Not really. Film at eleven I mean. I did just finish an interview with Governor Gilmore. I'll have the video up here when the processing is finished. Tomorrow, perhaps. Thursday at the latest.

It was a good and cordial meeting with the former Governor of Virginia, a man I have met on several occasions now and I've come away from each meeting with an even greater admiration for the guy. Jim Gilmore has a great message for the citizen of Virginia, but he also has an uphill battle in his efforts to dislodge the myths surrounding Gov. Warner.

His honesty and trustworthiness is refreshing, coming from a political animal. I firmly believe that if Jim Gilmore says he's going to do something, then that something will get done. One way or another.

Watch this space for the interview.

Cost of shell building to Martinsville	$945,000
From MZM	$400,000
From Governor's Opportunity Fund	$250,000
From Tobacco Commission	$250,000
From C-PEG (Local Chamber Econ. Dev. group)	$127,000
Total Sales Price	$1,027,000
Profit (sales price, less actual cost of building)	$82,000
Balance of tax and other revenues gained from MZM/Athena	$161,430
Profit Sub-total	$243,430
Refund of grants due to MZM non-performance (est) (Actual refund, 05/24/07 Bulletin Article, $143,000)	~~($145,000)~~ ($143,000)
Martinsville Final Balance	~~$98,430~~ $100,430