At Least I Have The Quilt

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

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

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

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

The Most Powerful Force In A Community

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

Welcome Back

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

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

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

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

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

Can't Imagine Why

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And they seem to be reveling in the thought.

Cobalt6 Is Sick. I Mean Really Sick

Along with contributor Kestrel9000 and commenter Cliff Garstang.

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

I'm Baaack.....

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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?

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....

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

Heh...

More Learning From The DNCC In Denver

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

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;

• The Parent Resource Center
• The Adult Education Program
• The Event Calendar

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

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

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

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.

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

"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?

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

The Problem With Experience Being The Best teacher

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?

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

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

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

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"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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.