Tom Joad's Place

SWAC Girl is Right!!!

2009-06-23T07:25:00.003-05:00

Some would say that this post by SWAC Girl (Lynn Mitchell) about Zicam being pulled off the shelf from a secret order to the FDA by President Obama because they advertise on the Rush Limbaugh's show is crazy talk.

I disagree.

In fact, I saw an example this year of President Obama overstepping his bounds but I was too afraid to step up and say anything because I didn't want to be branded as a conspiracy theory whackjob. I will keep silent no more. Thank you SWAC Girl.

First, Jon Voight was an outspoken critic of Barack Obama during the 2008 campaign for President. Voight campaigned across the country for Republican candidate John McCain.

Second, Hollywood is a liberal elite institution.

Bear with me as I work through this.

We've all heard of the television show "24" where Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) takes on bad guys and tries to save the country. It's one of the most popular shows on television. Jon Voight played Jonas Hodges, the head of "Starkwood". Hodges was arrested after it was found out that he was behind the conspiracy to destroy the country.

Well it just so happens that Jonas Hodges was supposed to be placed in protective custody. But he was killed in a car explosion.

Don't you see? Voight was a critic of Obama. Obama must have placed a call to some executives in Hollywood. Voight's character was killed off on "24". Is this the nanny state government at work again? Does Obama control everything from cold remedies to television characters?

Glad that I will be able to purchase Season 7 of "24" and watch Voight over and over again. Meanwhile, this country will have to go without another conservative in a major television role. The question remains in my mind...did this happen because Jon Voight spoke against Obama?

Peace out, RK!

2008-11-23T09:25:00.003-05:00

RK is shutting the doors in a couple of weeks. Ever since its inception, it has been the premier place for information and opinion for the center-left. With 2009 quickly approaching, progressives need to figure out quickly how to get information to a broad audience. The Richmond Democrat has a proposal.

Just because Democrats have won the past few years doesn't mean we can pack up shop and call it a day. The Chairperson race in Fairfax County cannot be taken for granted. This will be a low turnout election and motivating our base to defeat Pat Herrity is essential to maintaing momentum throughout the state. If the Republicans win one on what is essentially blue turf, they will start to believe that they have a good shot at winning the Governor's race. Replacing RK and their message machine will be a tall task but it is essential to winning back the House of Delegates and maintaining our hold on the Governor's mansion.

The conservatives are already celebrating RK's departure here and here (btw, tagging it with "beastiality" and "animal sex" is a little weird Carl...can someone say projection?). Maybe they've been tired of getting their butts handed to them for the last 4 years by losing both Senate seats, the state senate, the governorship, three Congressional seats and nearly the state house. I guess those Republicans need to find solace in something because it isn't winning elections. But as they gloat, they're also starting to feel stronger. We have to push them back down and make sure that they don't get up.

Does McCain lust over Lieberman this much...

2008-09-01T08:44:00.002-05:00

Al Pacino weighs in with his assessment of John McCain's leer:

Palin admits to being used for gender...

2008-08-30T22:27:00.002-05:00

The key to getting honest responses from people is to ask them a question when they think no one will notice. When you run for a national office though, everything gets noticed...even minor things.

Take this quote for example from Sarah Palin as reported by Juneau Empire:

"I recognize that any of the buzz surrounds the fact that I happen to fit a demographic that is appealing to the ticket right now," Palin said. "That's the reality. Again, I happen to fit a demographic at a time that the Republican Party needs to get with it and change and progress and allow others to be a part of public service. It's gender, it's age, it's kind of the maverick being from the outside. It's a combination of things."

So she's not being asked to be Vice President because she will have anything to bring to the table except for looks? She's only being used for identity purposes? This is supposed to be helpful to the plight of women seeking higher office? Ok. Women have grown accustomed to being used over the course of history. I guess this is no different.

This is a money quote from a McCain campaign advisor:

“She’s going to learn national security at the foot of the master for the next four years, and most doctors think that he’ll be around at least that long,” said Charlie Black."

So a woman will "learn" her role from "the foot of the master". When did this get all Sith-like?

I love John McCain's pick...

2008-08-30T11:15:00.003-05:00

of Sarah Palin for Vice President of the United States. He can now use his former POW status to help defend the pick of Palin if it doesn't work for him. You can't pick on the man for his houses, health care choice, or now his VP pick because he was a POW.

So let's see how did McCain come to this decision of Palin. He couldn't pick Joe Lieberman because it would've pissed off his base and Lieberman is not a part of the Republican party...although he acts like one sometimes.

He didn't pick Mitt Romney or Tim Pawlenty which is strange because they have experience running a state for more than two years.

He didn't pick former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge because he was pro-choice and that would've pissed off conservatives.

Why oh, why did he pick Palin? She shores up the Republican base. But couldn't he do that with Romney or Pawlenty? No...they were missing that one thing that separates all of them from Palin...they knew what being Vice President meant.

"But as for that VP talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day," said Sarah Palin.

Maybe it's because she supposed to remind hurt Hillary supporters that they can vote for McCain because he picked a woman to be his VP. But then there's that thing of her being anti-choice, a creationist, a novice at foreign policy (although don't discount that Alaska IS within the proximity of Russia) that would make some Hillary supporters shudder.

It's a tough choice for those PUMA "progressive". Hold on to our ideals vs. person with no penis on a ticket and sell out. I'd hate to be in their shoes.

Maybe it's because she likes to laugh at other women when men call them a "bitch".

Hilarious...those supporters of Hillary will love her candor. Just like John McCain...

Now that's a UNITY ticket if I've ever seen one!

10,000th Visitor...

2008-08-15T17:08:00.002-05:00

It only took over 3 years!!! You five regular readers must visit a lot. See you in late 2011 visitor number #20,000...

Oh the 10,000 visitor came in from a google search "mccain nations don't invade other nations" and was from Long Island, NY.

Time to celebrate with one of the coolest party bands ever:

Bonus Video: One of my favorites from the 80's

Finally, you won't dare click this link. You know you want to do it...click it.

Private school enrollment slowing...

2008-08-15T08:49:00.002-05:00

Hard economic situations have led families to abandon a private school education according to the Washington Post. Parents are becoming less likely to spend the five figure sums a year to educate their children. What it doesn't mention in the article is the fact that these children NEED an education. Where will they go? To private schools with cheaper tuition? To public schools? If they come to the public schools, the school systems in this area are going to need to raise more money for education to make up the gaps in student to teacher ratio, building space, and transportation to name a couple of problems.

Not Howling Latina's Act Blue Page

2008-08-14T17:35:00.004-05:00

The old expression of life handing you lemons and making lemonade is what this is all about.

From the Not Howling Latina Act Blue page:

"Howling Latina is a blog that is trying to bring Barack Obama down with negative posts that would make Republicans proud. I propose that for every post she writes about Barack Obama in a negative fashion I will contribute 1 dollar at the end of every month. For every positive post about Barack Obama, I will contribute 2 dollars to Hillary’s campaign to pay down her debt.
Anyone and everyone who supports Barack Obama should consider supporting this fundraising effort. He will need every dollar he can get to battle the negative posts from disgruntled “progressives”. I’m starting with the beginning of August but you are free to start where you want."

Anyways, I'm showing my support for Barack through Howling Latina's contempt. If people support it...fine...if not, I understand.

Use this handy Howling Latina link to keep track of her fundraising posts. Thank you Howling Latina for giving me a chance to do some good.

Do as I say...not as I do McCain style

2008-08-14T10:17:00.002-05:00

From the Wall Street Journal:

"For anyone who thought that stark international aggression was a thing of the past, the last week must have come as a startling wake-up call."

Who is it? Why it's John McCain! If you guessed correctly, you have read your "Republican Hypocrisy Handbook" or you read his name in the headline of my post.

But wait, he's not finished...

"As Russian tanks and troops moved through the Roki Tunnel and across the internationally recognized border into Georgia, the Russian government stated that it was acting only to protect Ossetians. Yet regime change in Georgia appears to be the true Russian objective."

Regime change? What's regime change? The United States of America would never participate in regime change.

Read the rest for your edification on "do as I say...not as I do."

McCain: Nations don't invade other nations...

2008-08-13T22:48:00.003-05:00

This would be funny if it weren't for the fact that McCain is running for the President of the United States! This is the type of mind numbing response that will actually come from a McCain administration on a myriad of issues. Reality is not required.

What about 2001 with United States v. Afghanistan? What about 2003 with United States v. Iraq? Was it too long ago for McCain to remember? Oh, I get it, those don't count because the United States invaded those countries because of "security concerns". Things are so much simpler when you remove any semblance of logic.

Now with Afghanistan, the world was behind us because of 9/11. Hell, I was down with it. Iraq...not so much. The world was not as enthused of our unilateral invasion of Iraq. We did have a Coalition of the Willing in which Georgia was a proud member. Now they have to withdraw their forces to defend their homeland as I'm sure anyone could understand. How do we back up a nation that was willing to do the same for us?

Did Russia invade Georgia because of security concerns? Do the Russians realize that "security concerns" is only an excuse for the United States? What can the U.S. do now besides issue a strongly worded statement?

Putin has shown that he is willing to use his military to put Georgia in a vice. We have shown that we will back up Georgia as they were willing to back us up in Iraq with a statement that was the equivalent of "Bad Russia!". Heckuva job...Bush and for that matter McCain! You two are the reason why change and Barack Obama are necessary for this country.

Does God really care that much about the election?

2008-08-12T10:31:00.003-05:00

Does God really care about the election for President of the United States? Apparently, this guy thinks so:

The guy says he doesn't want people to be flooded out but then says he wants "rains of biblical proportions". So rains of "biblical proportions" are what he wants?

Genesis 7:4

"Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made."

So people who he disagrees with should be wiped out because he doesn't like gay marriage? This reminds me of people who pray that their favorite sportsteam to win. Like God has time for that. Even for the election of the POTUS, do you think God is really pulling for anyone in particular?

Behind the scenes with Clinton's campaign...

2008-08-11T09:28:00.004-05:00

This article from Politico states what everyone knew this campaign season...Hillary Clinton's campaign wanted to use Obama not "being as American" (i.e. white) as a strategy after the disasterous opening primaries. Mark Penn, her top campaign consultant, wanted to use Obama's lack of "connection to American values and culture" as a weapon.

Favorite quote:

"Every speech should contain the line you were born in the middle of America American to the middle class in the middle of the last century."

Clinton, to her credit, didn't follow through for the most part on Penn's plan. It seems she couldn't make any decisions at all.

"“The anger and toxic obsessions overwhelmed even the most reserved Beltway wise men,” Green writes. “[H]er advisers couldn’t execute strategy; they routinely attacked and undermined each other, and Clinton never forced a resolution. ... [S]he never behaved like a chief executive, and her own staff proved to be her Achilles’ heel."

Never forcing resolutions? Never behaved like a chief executive? That doesn't sound like someone ready to lead at 3 a.m.

Not that I have anything against Hillary Clinton. She's an awesome person and someone that I would have supported whole heartedly had she won the nomination. But some on the Virginia left (by some I mean one) still believe Clinton is going to storm Denver, take over the nomination and win an easy electoral victory. Doesn't look like it.

Blog Spotlight: The HL Express

2008-08-01T11:13:00.007-05:00

I'm putting Howling Latina up in this post because everyone else is de-listing Mimi...Booooooooooo to those blogs (your censorship is not appreciated) and how dare you Lefty Blogs for wanting the Democratic nominee as President.

But let's not censor her work...I'm here to celebrate!

Here are some of Mimi's latest, greatest hits:

1. Payback Time for Obambi: Get it. She uses Obama's last name and changes it to "Obambi" like the Disney cartoon. He's also young like Bambi and you have to infer that means no experience. I get a "howl" out of that every time.

2. Precious One: Another funny post that uses a cartoon of Barack...I mean "Barky" Obama...hehe...masturbating while looking at himself...OMG so funny...she then uses the word "throne" to make a double entendre about him being a king and on the toilet...hilarious.

3. Kool Aiders Still Drinking the Kool Aid: She uses "Kool-aid" to reference the ever funny Jonestown cult suicide and associate it to Obama supporters.

She then says, "Please don't try to rewrite history and insult the very people Obama is going to need if he has a snowball's chance in hell of winning in November; it just might really piss them off even more than they already are." Well if those people (i.e. you) are writing these types of posts, shouldn't we already assume that you are not going to vote for Obama? It doesn't matter what anyone does...right?

4. Obama's Path to Presidency is Far from Clear Let's party like it's 2004 and use the map from that election to make a basis for our analysis! No need to worry about actual maps from 2008...when Deleware is in play, there's no need to. Talk about a Debby Downer this "Democrat" says, "Come November when Dems lose, again, don't say you weren't warned by the army of racist she-devil PUMAs who were really secret Republicans." I wonder why no one wants to unite with Mimi...strange.

That's all I've got for right now...there's more but due to time contraints I can't post anymore...I'm just happy that she posts and I will continue to catalog them for everyone's edification!

Not good Colonial Beach...

2008-07-11T13:49:00.003-05:00

The school system where I went to high school is under investigation.

"Audit figures for the past five years show that the board spent $469,000 more than it received in revenues."

First of all, it doesn't mean anything that they spent more than they received in revenues...after all it's the American way. But that $469,000 could have gone to so many needs in the town. CB could have paid for higher grade sand on the beach. They could have saved the money for when the next tropical storm comes and knocks out the pier. They could have built a golf cart store (if you've been to CB, you know what I mean).

The new school board should go clean house and make me proud as an alumnus! I might go back for another reunion...

On fat ladies singing...

2008-06-27T14:33:00.003-05:00

Just in case the message didn't come in loud and clear earlier this month for some people, Senator Hillary Clinton gave her full blessing to Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama today. I know some people are waiting for Denver so that by some last second miracle a Hail Mary can be heaved and there will be a new nominee. It isn't happening. Continue to feel free to denegrate the only candidate left that will stand up for the progressive prinicples you say you believe in. Just know that it's out of spite and self loathing.

Hillary and Bill even donated to Obama's campaign. This after Barack and Michelle Obama gave to her campaign to retire the debt. Hillary and Bill are awesome.

Picture from Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Fuel Economy

2008-06-20T09:31:00.002-05:00

I know this probably isn't news...Waldo and The Green Miles have probably blogged about this.

Are you worried about gas prices? Could you possibly be driving another car that would get you better gas mileage? Find out by using this website.

My gas mileage for my car is 21 city, 29 highway. I want to do better so I'm saving up for another car in two years.

All in Hillary's name?

2008-06-19T16:37:00.004-05:00

There's an excellent post at MyDD about Hillary supporters who are now siding with McCain to get back at the Democratic Party and Barack Obama.

After Hillary came out after the primary season, she made a stirring speech to unite the Democratic Party for a sole purpose of winning the presidency in 2008. I thought it was one of the most gracious and eloquent speeches she has ever made and I would have loved to have had her as the first woman president in the history of the United States.

But that's not happening. Barack Obama will be the nominee. Yet, we still have people who are fighting as if there are primaries left to decide. People who are fighting this process are no longer grieving. They are angry and they intend to try and take down the Democratic Party.

These people have to recognize, as I'm confident they do, that they are no longer supporting Hillary by working against Obama. They are in essence working for John McCain. They are diametrically opposed to anything that Hillary stands for by supporting McCain. They want the Supreme Court to nominate conservative judges so they can alter this country for the next 20-30 years. They want to stay in Iraq for however long John McCain wants. They want to invade Iran. They want to continue the same economic policies that will continue the disparity between the have and have-nots.

The people who consider themselves PUMAs talk about party unity by pointing out flaws with Barack Obama's campaign. Some are legit. Some are just flights of fancy. These same people use insulting terms such as "Obamatron" or "Obamabot" to imply that we were duped by Obama's charm instead of his actual policies.

Why not just kick me in the balls, ask me if I'm ok, and then say "Do you want a beer?" as if nothing happened? I'm all willing to give respect and I'd me more than willing to do it sight unseen. But to insult me and other Obama supporters and then wonder why there is no unity is borderline idiotic.

Are people that consider themselves Democrats who insist on attacking Obama doing this because of Hillary? Hillary isn't asking them to do it. So the only conclusion I can come to is that they want Obama to lose so they can say, "I told you so." Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Advice: Don't bring a knife to gun fight

2008-06-19T08:03:00.002-05:00

John McCain thinks he can use George Bush's talking points about Iraq and still dupe the American public into believing that Republicans are better than Democrats at national security. Barack Obama puts McCain in his place. Why didn't we finish in Afghanistan? If things are going so well, why can't we put steps in place to slowly withdraw our troops and focus fully on Afghanistan? Why haven't we captured the mastermind behind 9/11? It has been almost seven years for those who are counting. Watch the video...McCain don't bring a knife to a gunfight.

Virginia Superdelegate says 'yes' to Obama...

2008-06-02T07:24:00.008-05:00

Jerome Wiley Segovia goes on record to support Obama. Segovia is a member of the Democratic National Committee.

We're down to 45 delegates without Montana and South Dakota.

Update: Another superdelegate has come out for Obama. Nancy DiNardo has come out to support Obama. She is the chair of the Connecticuit Democratic Party. No word on any Clinton super delegates coming out today. Obama is down to 44.

Update 2: Louisiana Democratic State Chair Chris Whittington comes out for the Clinton campaign. Clinton needs 201 delegates to secure the nomination.

Young Hillary Clinton...

2008-05-28T21:38:00.003-05:00

Yup. This pretty much sums it up.

Edit: Old link died...new link good.

Gilmore's $50,000 loan to himself...

2008-05-22T08:39:00.002-05:00

In another sign of a desparate campaign trying to stay afloat, former governor and former Republican candidate for president Jim Gilmore gave his bid for the U.S. Senate $50,000.

Gilmore is trying to iceskate uphill against former governor Mark Warner. Warner is not only extremely popular but has about 4.4 million dollars in the bank.

The race is often touted as the easiest pickup in the Senate for the Democratic Party this year. It's a race so toxic that the RNC won't touch it with a ten foot pole. Gilmore expects funding to pick up once he's the official nominee but why would anyone give to him or any Republican this year? Why chase good money after bad? John Sidney McCain isn't able to raise money at the clip that Republican presidential candidates have in the past. If he's not getting money, why would Gilmore get it?

Democrats in Virginia this year are poised to pick up 2-3 congressionnal seats, another senate seat, and contribute to winning the Electoral College for President. It's looking like a BEAUTIFUL year!

McCain...Cuba...Position Change...Again...

2008-05-21T07:27:00.003-05:00

In 2000...

In 2008...

McCain has done too many interviews for his own good. He contradicts himself in debates, interviews, and town hall meetings. Sometimes he does it in the same setting a few minutes later, such as his gay marriage position.

Seriously, we are going to trust this man with the highest office in our country even though he can't remember if he ate his applesauce a few minutes ago? The Democratic Party needs to come together behind whatever candidate comes out of the process (safe money on Obama). McCain is too dangerous.

McCain blunders...again...

2008-05-20T17:37:00.002-05:00

What Commander in Chief threshold did he pass? It's never good when a presidential candidate who proclaims to be an expert in foreign policy, doesn't know who the actual leader is in Iran. This is the country that McCain is using as a bogeyman against Barack Obama. It would be prudent for McCain to know who pulls the strings.

McCain is a dangerous individual for this country. He obviously doesn't know what he is talking about on Iran. He doesn't know what is happening in Iraq in terms of security. He doesn't know who we are fighting in Iraq and confuses Sunnis and Shi'as. He likes to joke and makes a parody song about bombing Iran.

No matter who you are for in this Democratic Primary, don't forget who the real enemy is. Democrats must protect this country from McCain's lunacy. This man is the embodiment of four more years in a Bush Administration.

Hat tip from MissVa on MyDD.

OMG!!! Clinton wins Kentucky...

2008-05-20T17:21:00.003-05:00

Oh, you already knew that...sorry...I thought I had some breaking news.

Does it change anything? No. Will it stop some Hillary supporters from proclaiming this a mandate like West Virginia? No. But like a basketball team that outscores their opponent by 10 points in the 4th quarter while still losing the game by 25, it will not matter in the slightest.

Congratulations on the hard fought win. What will Oregon bring?

McCain will lie to your face...

2008-05-19T17:01:00.002-05:00

Do we really want this man to represent us as the President of the United States? So what does McCain really stand for? What happened to the "Straight Talk Express"?

Comedy in the Metro Section of the Post

2008-04-06T11:39:00.004-05:00

From today's Washington Post:

"Fairfax County taxpayers should brace for a 3-cent rise in the property tax rate to cover funding shortfalls for public schools and human services this year, several supervisors said."

Ok, sounds like doom and gloom. But a couple of paragraphs later...

"Because of an average decline in property values of 3 percent this year, most tax bills would remain the same or decline slightly with a 3-cent rate increase, to 92 cents for each $100 of assessed value. Such an increase would produce a tax bill of $4,600 for a property worth $500,000."

No tax increase should be taken lightly. But saying that residents of Fairfax should "brace" for this three cent increase while the amount paid is actually the same or less than last year is hilarious. It's 150 dollars for every $500,000 of assessed value. Sound the sirens!

How can you sound like an alarmist in the first paragraph and then have a perfectly good explanation of how it will actually affect people a couple paragraphs later? I know the value of a good opening paragraph to grab readers attention but this is incredibly deceiving.

Just because we are in an economic decline, doesn't mean that the investments we have made in education, the fire department, rescue squad, and other improvements just stop. Belts do need to be tightened. The School Board has already cut 35 million with another 20 million or so still to be shaved off. Building improvements and infrastructure will be pushed back. Summer school has already been revamped with less than desirable results. Teachers COLA could be cut which will lead to more teachers defecting to neighboring counties.

So we're talking about 30 dollars for every 100k of assessed value right? Shouldn't we maintain services that makes Fairfax one of the best counties to live in?

Natural Bridge

2008-03-31T17:21:00.008-05:00

I went to the Natural Bridge for the night a couple of weeks ago during Spring Break and snapped off these photos.

Anyways, the stay at the hotel was decent...3 stars. Good breakfast...loved the potatoes.

Daytime at Natural Bridge...majestic, stunning, tranquil. Nighttime at Natural Bridge...expect a sermon and a light show that I could put on.

Went to the caves...thought I was going to have a heart attack on the climb back up. Went to some lake...no water was in it...off season means they drain the lake.

Pink Cadallac...good food, better prices, excellent service, lumpy booths.

Interstate 81...white knuckle driving and muscle fatigue.

Best post about housing this year

2008-03-31T16:56:00.005-05:00

This is the best post on housing that I have seen in 2008.

There is a Board of Supervisors budget hearing tomorrow at the Fairfax Government Center where property values, taxes, and public services will be discussed. This article, while in Loudoun, touches everyone in the area right now. Fairfax County has to realize that they have a responsibility to their constiuents to maintain public services at least at 2007 funding levels during this downturn. Hopefully, Chairman Connolly and the Board will recognize that an increase in the property tax rate of four to five cents is necessary.

ZOMG!!! Riley and Kos agree?

2008-03-29T14:13:00.002-05:00

Hillary Clinton mentioning the spectre of Alan Greenspan has allowed these two disparate spirits to collide...

On the Daily Kos...

On Virginia Virtucon...

Also on Riley...

Update: Shocking McCain Development!

2008-03-29T10:56:00.003-05:00

A horrible story is developing that might sink John McCain's presidential dreams...more to come!

Update: We all know John McCain has been given a free pass by conventional media. He's known as a "maverick", a "reformer", and from what I can gather he can lift the front end of a '57 Buick...with one arm. From the "Straight-talk Express" to giving the commencement speech at Liberty University (even though he called Jerry Falwell an "agent of intolerance"), McCain has managed to finesse the TV and newspaper pundits and journalists with his Grampa Simpson impersonation.

Everyone laughs it off...Iran/Iraq/al Qaeda? What's the difference? When the man could seriously get us into some deep trouble internationally with his bumbling, stumbling presence, you would like him to know what he is talking about.

BUT THAT'S NOT THE WORST OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!1!!!!!!

Did you know that John McCain's middle name is...get this "Sidney"? I'll let that sink in for a minute...has it hit home yet? Sidney...Sidney...Sidney...sounds like some bad one hit wonder, '80s pop star.

That's right John Sidney McCain! Or JSM, as I like to call him. Do you know the horrible implications of having a name like Sidney?

Over the next few weeks, I will let you in on the origins of "Sidney" and how insidiously it has snuck in our culture with out even knowing it. So get used to it. On this site, the Republican candidate for President will be known as John Sidney McCain, JSM, or just Sid.

Much ado about nothing...

2008-03-05T09:29:00.002-05:00

That sums up Hillary's "victories" last night. I put victories in quotes because last night was just symbolic. Obama will still come out of last night with more delegates in total and possibly received more delegates than Hillary last night even though he lost three races. Remember, Hillary's own campaign communications director Howard Wolfson said,"This is a race for delegates…It is not a battle for individual states.

Obama will push his lead further this upcoming week with victories in Wyoming and Mississippi. Both campaigns will work on securing Pennsylvania with the latest polling showing Clinton only up by four there.

Congrats...Hillary has now extended the primary for another couple of months. Woo hoo! We can burn some more money and bridges while the Republicans solidify. Democrats could be looking at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory!

Sudan and the VRS...

2008-02-25T11:24:00.003-05:00

Call your delegates today to help end the genocide in Darfur and possibly damage the Virginia Retirement System!

Republicans and Democrats go hand in hand today chipping away at the VRS. Nobody has looked at the economics of our retirement system to know the ramifications of pulling out of companies that invest or have some connection to the atrocities in Darfur. Do we pull out of mutual funds? Bonds? Securities? Just plain old stocks? It looks like there are exemptions to certain funds. But the financial implications have not been looked into in depth.

What happens when other legislators decide that they have a cause that can be rectified by divesting the VRS? What about an explosive issue like abortion? The VRS should not be a political football.

I want an end to the genocide in Darfur too. We have to make sure that the investments you get out of are replace with one that will match or exceed those other investments. My reading of the law as it stands to be passed, does not seem to have any recourse to replace the investments.

John McCain wins GOP nomination...

2008-02-14T18:21:00.004-05:00

The collective screams you hear are eminating from the Shenadoah Valley...

With Mitt Romney's endorsement of presidential hopeful John McCain today, Romney has unofficially given McCain the keys to the Republican nomination.

Mike Huckabee's best hopes were for a Romney endorsement to further fracture the base and give him momentum into Washington and Wisconsin next week. Unfortunately for Huckabee, the states that are left will not give him enough delegates to compete past March 4th when Texas and Ohio will put the nails in his coffin.

McCain will now busy himself with stabbing party loyalists in the back by going back to his "moderate" persona for the general campaign. After all the gnashing of teeth over the past year, will those who are Republican party purists go back and begrudgingly pull the lever (or tap the screen) for McCain? Probably not. I expect a few posts soon about how loyal Republicans need to line up behind their nominee "for the country's sake".

Have fun swallowing your pride!

VD and what you can do about it...

2008-02-14T09:30:00.003-05:00

I dug up this old post from two years ago and I still agree with it.

So what can we do about VD? Well for starters, don't buy into the hype. That's all this "holiday" is...hype. That means no cards, flowers, or tokens of your affection. If you must, take him/her out to dinner but if you have to make it Denny's.

Secondly, make sure to love your significant other throughout the year. Why kowtow to the norm? Make your affection known every day of the week.

Lastly, wear something other than red. Wear black or some other dark color to show others that you will not be a slave to corporate America.

Remember you can prevent VD from spreading. God speed!

Vote Obama!!

2008-02-12T09:23:00.000-05:00

Today, Virginia will help select the next President of the United States. That person will be Barack Obama!

There are 9 1/2 hours left to vote. With turnout expected to be heavy, make sure you leave enough time in between your errands. Every vote cast for Obama could mean the difference in delegates that could swing the election. Remember that you can vote as long as you're in line by 7 p.m.

What side of the Connolly Coin do I want?

2008-02-07T19:11:00.000-05:00

Heads- Gerry Connolly as Fairfax Chairman

Tails- Gerry Connolly as Congressman

It's agonizing. On one hand, he's let me down as Chairman a couple of times. Once, with the property tax decrease while times were good. Thus leaving us with the current Fairfax County budget crisis. The other time was with the rail to Tysons and not sticking up for the underground option. Would Connolly leaving his post as Chair be better for the county? Who would replace him? Why put us in this situation when the whole time Congress was on the mind?

As a Congressman, would he truly represent my values in Washington? Would he give in to the corporate greed and lobbyists that run amok? Could I count on him to be a voice of change instead of the status quo?

I truly do not know. But I don't like the idea of leaving a job that you haven't finished. To me, it's cutting and running from a situation that has left us hamstrung budget wise, our public schools in limbo, and transportation that leaves us sitting in our cars asking these questions.

So what is it? Connolly at the local level? Or national?

Down goes Romney...

2008-02-07T12:20:00.000-05:00

Romney is pulling out...

Wonder if the rally in Lexington is still happening?

It's John McCain or bust for the GOP in 2008!

Good News for Virginia Schools...and some bad

2008-01-10T14:35:00.000-05:00

Virginia's higher institutions of learning have something to be proud of...

"The University of Virginia and the College of William and Mary offer some of the best values in the nation among public colleges.

That's according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, which ranked 100 schools.

The magazine named Virginia and William and Mary third and fourth for best in-state tuition value for 2008. The University of Mary Washington ranked Number 14, Virginia Tech was Number 17 and James Madison University was Number 22 on the list."

Also:

Virginia public schools are ranked fifth in the nation according The Quality Counts report by Editorial Projects in Education.

Here is a detailed breakdown of Virginia's scores.

I'm happy that our state did so well according to this study. It's happened not because of great leadership from the bureaucrats but from the hard work and dedication from students, parents, and teachers.

According to this study, Virginia ranks 38th in state spending on education. Look at Wealth Neutrality Score. Virginia ranks 49th. We don't spread the wealth around enough to poorer districts.

Congratulations Scott Surovell!

2008-01-08T21:58:00.000-05:00

Scott was elected to be Chairman of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee. According to my source, 374 votes were cast. These were the results:

217 Scott Surovell
152 Steve Bunn

It's exciting to be a Fairfax Democrat in 2008. Scott will have the privelege of making sure we pick up a couple of Congressional seats, a Senate seat, and to help maintain the Governor's mansion! Thanks to Steve Bunn for a good, clean race. Good luck Scott!

Hey it's only 523 days to the Democratic Primary...

2008-01-03T19:16:00.000-05:00

in 2009. Even though we have more pressing concerns in 2008 like a chance to have two Democratic Senators, two-three more Democratic Representatives, and a Democratic President, I think it's a great idea to have a pissing contest over a primary that's still a year and a half away. It's good to take a page from the playbook of destructive politics by attacking your opponent when they have yet to declare and create a non-controversy controversy. Want to make yourself feel better about your candidate? Create what looks like a swarm of support from 15 people in Virginia in 2007 for a race in 2009.

Thanks to the past couple of weeks of over the top non-sense, I have been able to make my decision for 2009 so I can concentrate on 2008.

I would also like to take this occasion to announce my candidacy for the 2033 Gubinatorial Race. I figure this way I can start fundraising early and get my Facebook support down...Well I better get going it's only 9,289 days away until primary day!!!

Sean Taylor R.I.P

2007-11-27T16:38:00.000-05:00

Hey Sean,

I'm going to miss you. You were not only the man on the football field but it seems like you were growing up into a fine man off the field. I'll remember you for your excellent football skills, the way you were feared throughout the league as an enforcer in the secondary. I also thought you had the best Eastern Autos commercial of all:

I hope that it stays up so I can watch it and remember you. Take care Sean you will be missed by all Skins fans.

Cuccinelli supporters put politics before safety...

2007-11-06T17:12:00.001-05:00

I guess gaining a few more votes is worth not having room to park emergency vehicles if something were to occur. This truck was in front of Oakview Elem. for an hour or two before the police showed up to ticket the truck unless it was moved. Safety first!!!

Fourth of July Fireworks in Vienna...

2007-07-04T21:42:00.000-05:00

Well I just came back from the fireworks show in Vienna. Everything was normal until the finale. From what I could see, there was a problem with one of the last boxes in the show. It started spewing fireworks in every direction making the workers scurry for cover. Fireworks were exploding on the ground...one...two...three...four quick explosions...a loud boom. Then one shot into the crowd...then another with a loud boom that fired. A display that was just like any other year was turned into a horror show in 20 seconds. Intermixed with the chaos came cheers from an unknowing, appreciative crowd that was happy another Fourth of July came to a close. I sensed that something was wrong which was later confirmed by the three ambulances that came around five minutes later. Hopefully, I don't see any casualties or injured on the news...but I'm pessimistic.

Update: Seven injured...two serious.

Offshore drilling bill defeated...

2007-06-15T08:17:00.000-05:00

A bill that would have allowed offshore drilling was defeated yesterday in the U.S. Senate. The bill was offered as an amendment to the energy bill by Sen. John Warner. It was also supported by Sen. Jim Webb.

Warner stated that "our supply is not meeting our demand". This is true. The answer, though, is to find alternative sources that do involve fossil fuels. We have to pump as much money as possible to finding energy sources that are renewable and non-toxic to the environment. Sources that could be viable have not been fully explored. We're stuck in the mindset that we will magically find the solution to our energy needs before we run out of fossil fuels. That ain't going to happen.

Unfortunately, we're in a pickle. We need energy now but have yet to find acceptable alternative solutions because the upfront costs are too high. The shortsightedness of our elected officials dooms future generations to figure out solutions that we as a society do not have the gumption to solve. We can't even reap the benefits of drilling NOW.

"'We wish it had passed," said Patrice Harris, spokeswoman for Virginia Natural Gas, the primary gas supplier in Hampton Roads. "Eventually it would mean stabilized prices for our customers.'"

"Eventually" equals about 5-10 years from now if we're lucky. Not to mention the fact that we could be possibly screwing up our coastlines as a result.

I'm disappointed in Senators Warner and Webb for wanting to chase a solution that is not going to be a permanent fixture in our society a 100 years from now. I wish that they would explore other options such as wind, water, and solar and pump funding into them. It can happen but it's going to take lobbying from people across the country to do so. Unfortunately, I believe that they care about celebrities and scandals more than the sustainability of our energy resources.

Have blogs replaced the sports car?

2007-06-13T09:34:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's a penis joke.

The dust has barely settled on the primary elections here in Virginia and yet we have some blogs crowing about how their endorsements panned out. That's right folks. Some in the VA blogosphere think that they are so watched and revered that they not only say how well they did but they also throw sand in the eye of people they have ideological differences with. They even have parrots who will pat them on the back and give them a nice neck massage.

Have blogs replace the sports car? Are some people trying to compensate for something else going on in their life? Hit counters, blog rankings, and now predictions are added to the list of things that nobody in the real world really give two craps about. With bloggers like this the only question is, who has a tape measure?

24th District: Kicking them when they're down...

2007-06-13T08:49:00.000-05:00

The 24th Senate District Primary between Emmett Hanger and Scott Sayre was interesting from an outside perspective. There was an incumbent who voted for higher taxes, an energetic challenge from the right, and a cadre of bloggers and Republican committee members who fervently backed Sayre. In the end, Hanger hangs on to his seat for now and Sayre supporters are left scratching their heads. What happens next?

Well we could do this and kick the SWAC coalition when they're down. Some say that with their nutty antics and "get under your skin" mentality that this is their comeuppance. Fine so be it.

But I know from personal experience what it feels to stick your mind, body and soul into a campaign to only have it evaporate in one night. Granted, I've never done it while pissing off the establishment but I know what it feels to leave everything on the table and lose. Myron put it best on his blog. Our patriots in the Revolution had to put their heads on the chopping block for this nation. The SWAC coalition did the same thing...only less in the degree of magnitude.

I don't know what will happen with the SWAC bloggers and committee members now that they've backed themselves into a corner. Frankly, it doesn't concern me. I know that kicking them while they are down is not cool...I won't do it.

WTF Washington Post?

2007-06-11T13:26:00.000-05:00

The editors over at the Washington Post are idiots. Dumb, stupid idiots. How else can you explain this editorial yesterday on the rail going to Tysons?

"We have supported the tunnel option. A subway would help transform Tysons from a pedestrian's nightmare into an urban space capable of supporting high-density development, smartly positioned astride a transit line. However, the priority must be to build the rail line, elevated or sunken."

So, what...continue to make Tysons "a pedestrian's nightmare". Do people realize that this subway will be with us for the next 100 years and that it would be prudent to make a system that will grow with us instead of box us in?

"Mr. Connolly, who would prefer a tunnel, nevertheless insists that disagreement among local authorities on the plans under review at the Federal Transit Administration, which call for an elevated track, could doom the project."

First of all, I doubt the first assertion. From everything that I've read, Connolly is doing everything in his power to make it an elevated track no matter what. Secondly, my parents always said "If you're going to do something worthwhile, make sure you take the time and care to DO IT RIGHT!" Building above ground rail is not right. It goes against everything that can make for sustainable living and traffic in Northern Fairfax County.

I'm sick and tired of myopic politicians (Gerry Connolly and anyone else on the board who supports this train wreck) who do not think about what this will mean for our children and grandchildren in 50 years. It's the NOVA mentality of build now and worry about the consequences later. Take for instance the "mixing bowl". We're still playing catch up from 15 years ago and our traffic situation then. By the time we get improvements built for that area of 95, it's already outdated and overwhelmed. The same is going to happen in Tysons and it's despicable.

Once you start building, you cannot stop. The WORST thing that can happen out of all of this is to delay our funding. If that means getting the rail done right, then the board should grow a backbone and do it.

Done with the move!

2007-06-06T11:35:00.000-05:00

Moved to a new apartment this past weekend! Hurt my knee a bit trying to move a couch up three flights of stairs but it's better now. I have Sen. Davis and Del. Shannon as my representatives in Richmond!!! Can't vote in the upcoming primary but I'll make up for that later.

A Letter from a Soldier in Iraq

2007-05-29T13:03:00.000-05:00

He thinks the U.S. should leave.

"My name is Donald Hudson Jr. I have been serving our country’s military actively for the last three years. I am currently deployed to Baghdad on Forward Operating Base Loyalty, where I have been for the last four and a half months.

I came here as part of the first wave of this so called "troop surge", but so far it has effectively done nothing to quell insurgent violence. I have seen the rise in violence between the Sunni and Shiite. This country is in the middle of a civil war that has been on going since the seventh century. "

Click the link to read the rest.

Bush administration's funniest commencement videos...

2007-05-27T09:24:00.000-05:00

Funny as hell. Things don't go as well when you don't have a controlled audience right Andy?

A Creature of the Right?

2007-05-22T19:10:00.000-05:00

Since Riley thought that the Cho Seung-Hui was influenced by the left, how do we explain this bombing plot that was planned by Mark David Uhl, a Liberty University student.

This person was fortunately stopped because a family member called police before any mayhem could occur. But it begs the question, is this 19-year old a creature of the right? He was obviously prepared to kill people in the memory of Rev. Jerry Falwell. Can we all just agree that sociopaths occur across the political spectrum?

Update 1: Bored Young Professionals, The Colette, and The Richmond Democrat have more.

The dollar is buying less around the world...

2007-05-22T14:47:00.000-05:00

Time to start investing in those Euros.

I know that one man is not solely responsible for this but President Bush's economic policies over the last 6 1/2 years have produced short term gains that will eventually lead to long term financial insecurity for our children and grandchildren.

Our place in the global economy is strong but weakening. We have been a hegemonic power for about 15 years militarily and economically and this has made us forget that eventually other countries and organizations will try and counteract our influence to balance out the world. They will string us along for as much time it takes to marginalize our power on both fronts. China, India, OPEC and the European Union have been chipping away economically for the last 10 years. When the time is right, those countries with the means to do so will pounce.

Our war of choice in Iraq has fractured our military resources. Thumbing our nose at the United Nations has shown our willingness to work with other countries. We have effectively isolated ourselves by pushing our agenda around the world with our military might as a stick while holding our economic strength as a carrot for other countries to eat. What happens when our stick is no longer effective and you can find carrots elsewhere?

The U.S. could be left behind like the British in the mid-twentieth century. The larger problem is that we might still feel that we can act globally without impunity. That could be our downfall.

It doesn't have to happen this way. We still have time to change our course. We need new leadership in 2008. The Democrats just have to be bold enough to grasp it.

Happy Birthday Judge!

2007-05-21T11:53:00.000-05:00

Mary Washington College alumnus Judge Reinhold turns 50 today!!!

Good actor, funny guy. This is one of my favorite quotes by any celebrity. On speaking about one scene in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", "My first sex scene - and it was with myself."

President Bush supports our troops...

2007-05-18T08:44:00.000-05:00

A 3.5 percent increase in pay, though, is too much for this administration. It would be an extra half percent but that costs too much for our "budget". Funny how President Bush wants to extend our soldier's time in the field away from their friends and families but cannot find a way to give some extra pay.

This administration has clearly shown that they use our military as expensive props like standing on a U.S. carrier or backdrops to give speeches. They also use our troops as a political shield for their failed policies. Is it 2009 yet?

Iraq: Beatles style...

2007-05-18T07:44:00.000-05:00

This is a section of "Getting Better" by the Beatles. I've taken the liberty to add a couple of links for your perusal.

"I've got to admit it's getting better
A little better all the time (It can't get more worse)
I have to admit it's getting better
It's getting better since you've been mine
Getting so much better all the time
It's getting better all the time
Better, better, better
It's getting better all the time
Better, better, better"

Of course, remember that no one suffers more than the President and First Lady do.

Falwell Dead!!!! Updated

2007-05-15T12:54:00.000-05:00

Rev. Jerry Falwell is dead...He made an impact with the Moral Majority that changed politics for the last 20 years...More conservatives are involved in politics from him...I didn't really like the man but that doesn't make me heartless...RIP.

Update:

You know what...I forgot some quotes. I wanted to be nice but when CNN compares this to Virginia Tech because of the upcoming graduation, I've got to put my foot down. Look, the man said these things below. There's no justification for them in my mind. Sorry.

Jerry's Greatest Hits:

"The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way—all of them who have tried to secularize America—I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'" (September 14th, 2001)

He later said he was sorry for the quote. But I just heard in an interview on CNN that took place a week ago with Falwell saying he meant what he said. Sorry...that's underhanded and slimy to recant something that obviously hurt other Americans.

"AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals. To oppose it would be like an Israelite jumping in the Red Sea to save one of Pharaoh's charioteers . . . AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals." (circa 1991)

"Jimmy Carter's "message of peace and reconciliation under almost all circumstances is simply incompatible with Christian teachings as I interpret them. This 'turn the other cheek' business is all well and good but it's not what Jesus fought and died for. What we need to do is take the battle to the Muslim heathens and do unto them before they do unto us."

In a radio interview on March 4, 2002, Falwell said of former President Jimmy Carter
From Wikiquote

Giuliani: DOA

2007-05-14T14:02:00.000-05:00

This one post can pretty much sum up Fmr. New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's calculated decision to come out unabashedly pro-choice. Now he's come out with a more nuanced view on Supreme Court judges and abortion (Roe v. Wade). Giuliani wants "strict constructionist judges" that may or may not want to overturn the 35-year-old precedent.

I believe that this position will make Giuliani weak with conservatives because he's for allowing abortion and weak to Democrats because he wants to punt away the responsibility of dealing with Roe v. Wade. This is not a good way to win the Presidency.

Charles Krauthammer believes the exact opposite. He thinks that this is a strong, calculated move that could be the nail in the coffin for the other presidential contenders.

Maybe. But the American public is not interested in nuance. They want soundbites. They love soundbites. If soundbites and the American public could somehow get together and make babies, they would make a Mormon family or Whackette proud. Although there are millions of people who think like Giuliani, this will be spun by both sides to cater to their bases. Therefore, his explanation looks muddled and will be tossed to the side. I can hear the flatline right now...

Towel Day...May 25, 2007

2007-05-14T13:29:00.000-05:00

On Friday, May 25, 2007, I will be participating in a celebration of Douglas Adams and his literary genius by carrying a towel with me at all times. I found this exercise entertaining last year because I had to work and go to grad school at the same time giving me ample opportunity to spread the word about Mr. Adams and his book "The Hitchhiker's Gude to the Galaxy".

I did receive some quizical looks and had a few questions to answer from people not used to seeing a person walking around with a towel for no apparent reason. So this year, I will have a prepared quote from "Hitchhikers" to read to people if they ask what I am doing with a towel.

"A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical value - you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with."

Here is a link for you to follow if you wish to know more about this glorious day!!! (Yes...I'm a dork...)

And the beat goes on...

2007-05-14T13:27:00.000-05:00

Absolutely incredible! I wonder if the patient got a discount since the heart had more than one owner?

Update: Junior leaving DEI

2007-05-10T14:09:00.000-05:00

Wow!

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is leaving the racing team that his father founded to race on his own. He will take Martin Truex Jr. with him. Apparently, Dale Jr. has cut a deal with Hendrick Motorsports to use their engines. If that's true, any driver not in a Chevy is in a world of hurt. Dale Jr. will still win a championship or two but he wasn't going to do it at DEI. This will breathe new life into his career.

This will absolutely devastate DEI. It might not be to function as a raceteam unless they can get someone better than Paul Menard. It will go from a middle tier race team to the bottom in a hurry. Someone at DEI fumbled the ball big time.

Could this be the new way to circumvent NASCAR's new policy on multi-car raceteams? Use someone else's technology? Maybe.

Update:

Article on Dale Jr.'s press conference.

Commentary on Dale Jr.'s decision and Teresa Earnhardt's fumble.

VEA-PAC releases endorsements

2007-05-09T17:38:00.000-05:00

The VEA-PAC (Virginia Education Association) recently released it's endorsements for the 2007 election season:

Senate:

1- Marty Williams (R)
2- Ken Stolle (R)
9- Donald McEachin (D)
22- Brandon Bell (R)
24- Emmett Hanger (R)
32- Janet Howell (D)
33- Mark Herring (D)
34- Jeannemarie Devolites-Davis (R)
35- Dick Saslaw (D)

House of Delegates:

3- Daniel Bowling (D)
13- Bruce Roemmelt (D)
32- David Poisson (D)
35- Steve Shannon (D)
36- Ken Plum (D)
37- David Bulova (D)
39- Vivian Watts (D)
40- Tim Hugo (R)
41- Dave Marsden (D)
43- Mark Sickles (D)
44- Kris Amundson (D)
45- David Englin (D)
53- Jim Scott (D)
67- Chuck Caputo (D)
68- Katherine Waddell (I)
95- Mamye Bacote (D)

Each of these candidates are defenders of public education. With a good mix of Democrats and Republicans, it's easy to see that VEA-PAC is "issue driven and party blind". These candidates have made important decisions to stop attacks on public education such as vouchers and undermining our retirement benefits. They have helped secure millions in school funding to keep our school systems viable.

Some people might be surprised at some of the names on this list such as Sen. Devolites-Davis and Del. Hugo. Sen. Davis has a near flawless record on issues that VEA feels are important to its interests. Del. Hugo was instrumental in defeating legislation that was going to allow vouchers to creep into our education system. He even went as far as going to a committee to stop vouchers when he was fighting off the flu.

I'm glad to see Del. Shannon, my delegate, on the list. I wish I could say the same for Sen. Ken Cuccinelli. I guess VEA-PAC will have to remind him in November that his constituents want a solid public education system!

Norfolk student allowed to go back to class...

2007-05-07T13:47:00.000-05:00

No tolerance is awful. Especially if you have a headache and just want to take some aspirin to get rid of the pain.

The school was going to suspend the student originally but thought better of it. They instead want to send her to drug and alcohol counseling. Yeah, that's the ticket. "Don't abuse aspirin!" What morons...Give her detention and then tell the parents to leave a bottle of aspirin with the nurse next time.

Maybe Riley is right...

2007-04-18T18:26:00.000-05:00

Righteous Riley might have a point on his post "A Creature of the Left?".

"So, all you liberal elitists and sanctimonious Europeans so ready to criticize Virginia and the U.S., take a long hard look at the drivel you’re spewing out into these young minds and see what it ultimately results in."

Well I don't know if I'm a "liberal elitist" but I'm sure that I've been taught by and listened to the positions of some of them. I'm sure I've viewed a speech or two by a "sanctimonious European". I encourage everyone who might have been privy to such education, speeches, or knowledge to immediately turn yourself in to the police. See we can't be trusted with our liberal philosophy in this society. We all just might be murderers inside because we "preach class envy and distrust of religion". Thank you for the public service you have done Mr. Riley. You are a true American!

Ok...Imus is fired...Does it mean anything?

2007-04-12T16:21:00.000-05:00

No. Not really.

Imus said something stupid. He has said stupid things in the past. He didn't get fired then. The only reason he was fired now is because NBC and CBS were losing money on their advertising. That's the bottom line.

So where do we go from here? Is this going to make a difference in race relations in this country? No. This will be forgotten by next week. So lets have the discussion. Why is it ok for Chapelle to say the "N-word" over and over again? Why is it ok on South Park? What about these lyrics? Do we stop joking because we might offend someone? What happened to freedom of speech?

Because Kurt Vonnegut passed away today, I thought it would be appropriate to use one of his quotes on humor.

"Well, the telling of jokes is an art of its own, and it always rises from some emotional threat. The best jokes are dangerous, and dangerous because they are in some way truthful."
Kurt Vonnegut, Interview, Mcsweeneys.net
US novelist (1922 - )

Now Imus' joke wasn't good or funny. In fact, I didn't find Imus funny at all. But Vonnegut is right. The danger of good jokes now is that we're going to stifle ourselves out of political correctness. That is something that I do not want to see.

Thompson has cancer...

2007-04-11T11:02:00.000-05:00

According to CNN, Fred Thompson has lymphoma. The former Tennessee Senator plays a district attorney on "Law and Order" and helped Chief Justice John Roberts with his candidacy. A source released this bit of information to show how serious Thompson was about running for President in 2008 on the Republican ballot. The source to CNN says that the cancer is treatable.

Well...that sucks. Thompson was starting to create a stir on the Republican side that was shaking up the other campaigns. I hope that this source is telling the truth behind the motives on this release of information. If this is from another campaign, which it doesn't look like, then shame on them. I wish Thompson the best...

Update: Thompson speaks.

Maryland is for fascism...

2007-04-10T12:36:00.000-05:00

Apparently to some, because Hitler supported a smoking ban, it is automatically fascist to want a ban of cigarettes in restaurants. It also makes those of you who support that ban a fascist.

Well Maryland passed a ban on smoking indoors.

"Under the measure, which O'Malley has pledged to sign, Maryland would join 18 states and the District in restricting smoking to protect bar patrons and workers from secondhand smoke."

Damn those Marylanders!!! All they want to do is take away our rights! Next thing you know they will tell us what drugs we can or cannot take...

Well the fascism is spreading like a plague across this great country of ours. Here's a list of the other fascist states and localities.

Four truths and a lie...answers

2007-04-03T21:31:00.000-05:00

1. True. Pauley Shore wasn't really my inspiration but I took the survey the yearbook committee put out as a joke. Everyone else didn't and put God, family, and friends. In retrospect, it looks pretty idiotic.

My high school sweetheart and I were voted "Most likely to get married". Although she is an exceptional person, it didn't work out.

2. True. I have done stand-up comedy. It was at an all-black comedy club in Laurel, MD called "Jokes on Us". I was the only white person to perform that night which was quite daunting. I was extremely nervous and didn't know what the reaction would be. It went over pretty well. Got a few laughs and a nice ovation at the end of my five minute set.

At my job at Blockbuster a few weeks later, I was recognized by a couple that went to the show. They said they enjoyed my set and asked if I had any new material. I told them that I probably would be fired if I told the type of jokes they saw at the show.

3. True. Call it my nature but I couldn't decide what to do with my Bachelors. I chose on the three courses listed below and let fate decide. I figured whatever way I went, I would get a job. I know it's cavalier but that's how I was at 20.

4. False. Although I am a huge fan of the Beatles, Nirvana, and Radiohead, I don't have the money to collect any of that cool memorabilia. I do, however, own a scary sketch of Kurt Cobain that I am trying to convince my girlfriend to let me hang up.

5. True. I was a new writer and I really wanted to impress the editors. I didn't know that would lead to me taping someone peeing. After the game, the other team needed to get going. Since I was taught to get both sides of the story with quotes, I felt it was necessary to get the quote no matter how far I needed to go. It made for an interesting discussion back at the office and it led to me becoming Sports editor for a semester in my Senior year.

Thanks to those who guessed or at least read the article...

"Outa my way...I'm Hitler!"

2007-04-03T12:06:00.000-05:00

Yes, the title of my post is one of my favorite "Simpsons" lines. It's also a way to reveal my true feelings on this smoking ban in question because I want to move the Commonwealth of Virginia to a state of fascism. First they came for the smokers? (Hint: This is sarcasm.)

Having read arguments over the past few days against non-smoking venues, I've decided to go point by point.

1. "Businesses will go under." There of course is no evidence of this in the states and localities that have enacted the non-smoking ban. But that won't stop people from using it as "evidence".

There is evidence that supports that business will go on as usual. Also here, here, here, and here.

2. "Businesses have spent money on ventilation systems." Good for them...why not give them a tax credit for their troubles.

3. "Second hand smoke doesn't bother anyone." Here are a couple of examples on the effects of second hand smoke:

"Secondhand smoke causes approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 22,700-69,600 heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers in the United States each year.

A study found that nonsmokers exposed to environmental smoke were 25 percent more likely to have coronary heart diseases compared to nonsmokers not exposed to smoke.

The current Surgeon General's Report concluded that scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to second hand smoke. Short exposures to second hand smoke can cause blood platelets to become stickier, damage the lining of blood vessels, decrease coronary flow velocity reserves, and reduce heart rate variability, potentially increasing the risk of heart attack."

I could go on with the quotes from the federal government but it would be overkill.

We regulate behavior all the time in this society. We tell businesses to make sure that they have proper sanitation. We tell car manufacturers to have certain emission standards. Other local governments are working to get restaurants to stop using trans fats in their cooking oil. Why can't we have a place where people can do what is necessary such as breathe?

Four truths and a lie...

2007-04-01T10:48:00.000-05:00

So with all of this April foolery going around, I decided to do something a little different. I will list four truths and one lie about myself. If you want to play along, take a guess in the comment section on which one is the lie.

1. In the "my inspiration" portion of my senior yearbook, I stated that Pauley Shore was mine. I was also voted first person to become married.

2. I have done stand-up comedy before. My first stand-up appearance was in front of an all black audience and I had the crowd rolling with my Jennifer Lopez impersonation.

3. I came into politics on accident. I was undecided at Mary Washington which major I wanted. It came down to History, Political Science, and English. I "eenie, meenie, minnie, moed" my selection and picked Political Science. I have been in love with politics ever since.

4. I own an extensive collection of Beatles, Nirvana, and Radiohead collectibles. My two favorite items are an original copy of the White album and a pick used by Kurt Cobain.

5. When I was a sports writer for the Mary Washington College Bullet, I interviewed an opposing coach while he peed at a urinal. He told me that if I wanted a quote, that's where the interview was taking place. It did and I got all of it on tape.

Can you guess which one is not me?

Clinton grabs Vilsack endorsement...gives him money

2007-03-28T18:19:00.000-05:00

Hillary Clinton received an early endorsement from former presidential candidate Tom Vilsack. The former governor from Iowa announced yesterday with his wife Christie that they would back Clinton in an effort to win the Iowa caucus. In return, Clinton has decided to help Vilsack retire his debt of $400,000 from his run at the office.

"There was no quid pro quo," Daley said. "They have a long history, and if she could be helpful she wants to be helpful."

Nah...there's NO possible connection between this endorsement of Vilsack and Clinton's giving him money...none at all. I'm fine with this arrangement because that's his and her prerogative. But just come out and say it. His wife and Clinton are good friends...so be it. I also have a sneaking suspicion that Vilsack is also angling for a VP slot in '08. But thank God it's only '07 so this type of speculation can wait until later!

Best comeback in basketball this year...

2007-03-26T11:12:00.000-05:00

No, it's not the Hoyas of Georgetown...it's Barton College.

If Anthony Atkinson doesn't play another game again, he will always have that game to remember.

Informal political survey of poker players

2007-03-24T08:16:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, while I was playing in the Capitol Poker League, a person I was playing against brought up politics. We started talking about the Bush administration, evolving into state politics, transportation issues, until finally we started talking about the '08 Presidential nomination.

We started naming off candidates. (At this point, we have been eliminated from the tournament and are playing in a side game.) To make a long story longer, I end up naming a few more candidates on each side. I tell him that I'm a freak of nature on American politics and that "80% of America wouldn't know four candidates for President". I tell him that "because of the bastardization of society that cares more about sports scores and celebrity gossip than they do about politics", people don't have time for real world issues. He said that was "impossible" and put the number down to 40%.

At that point, we decide to make an informal survey of the members of the league on their knowledge of the '08 candidates (probably an explanation on why my poker skills have degraded). We would ask the tables the question to name four candidates regardless of party affiliation. If someone knew the answer, they would have to whisper who they knew to us so it wouldn't taint the other participants. We had our local stats professor tally the results. A beer would go to the winner. With our rules in hand, we proceeded with the survey.

We came across 43 people in our league that wanted to participate. Of those, 16 knew four Presidential candidates (37 percent). The most common answers were John McCain, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama. One guy started his answer with Joe Biden and I told him to stop right there. If he knew Biden, I'm giving him the other three. Most people knew one or two, Hillary and Obama were the names that often came up, but we did not survey for name recognition.

I was surprised at the results but maybe I shouldn't be considering we are living basically in a college town near DC. I would have loved to have asked age and education but I didn't have the dexterity that night to do it. (Maybe the couple of beers I had that night had something to do with it.) Both of us were left unsatisfied with the results in so much that neither of us won and neither received the beer that would come with winning. It was, though, an interesting look into the average American playing poker at a bar.

Gonzales Lies: Americans Yawn

2007-03-24T08:04:00.000-05:00

So it turns out that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales did know about the firings of eight prosecutors. Is anyone surprised or shocked? Here's my favorite part of the story:

"The five-step plan approved by Gonzales involved notifying Republican home-state senators of the impending dismissals, preparing for potential political upheaval, naming replacements and submitting them to the Senate for confirmation."

But wait a second, a few days ago Gonzales said this:

"'I knew my chief of staff was involved in the process of determining who were the weak performers — where were the districts around the country where we could do better for the people in that district, and that’s what I knew,' Gonzales said last week. 'But that is in essence what I knew about the process; was not involved in seeing any memos, was not involved in any discussions about what was going on. That’s basically what I knew as the attorney general.'"

He's so gone. But then again people in the Bush administration have lied before and nothing happened to them...ahem Condi...So I don't expect Bush to fire Gonzales or have him resign. All right, you may continue watching Maury Povich and Divorce Court repeats.

On getting the shaft: Housing edition

2007-03-20T16:04:00.000-05:00

I live in a 750 sq. ft., one bedroom apartment in Fairfax County. The amenities haven't become any better over my three year stay. In fact, you can argue that they have progressively become worse. The maintenance is spotty at best. "Oh we'll get to that leak in a couple of days."

The management has had more turnover than a pastry shop. It's as if this is a single A baseball team that corporate uses to farm associates for the better apartment complexes they own.

They had a huge issue with trash this year that would about gag a maggot. It was to the point where I called the Vice President of the company in Houston, TX.

It's six miles away from Metro and in the center of one of the biggest screw ups in traffic history: I-66.

YET THEY FEEL THE NEED TO JACK UP MY RENT 13 F'ING PERCENT!!!! This was after last year's increase of 15% until I told them that they needed to reduce it. They came down to eight percent. Screw this...there's no way in hell I'm paying close to $1,400 dollars for a one bedroom apartment. Is there anything that Fairfax County can do to stop the gouging that is occurring on an ever increasing basis?

BTW...it's nice of Fairfax County Public Schools to give teachers and other employees a COLA of 2%. That really helps us out when we're getting jacked for another 10-15% on housing. And FCPS wonders why it loses their 1-5 years experienced teachers to Loudoun and Montgomery County...

Congresswoman Drake...useless

2007-03-20T14:56:00.000-05:00

According to congress.org, Congresswoman Thelma Drake is just space filler for the Second District in VA. She ranks 409th out of 439 House of Representative Members and 170th out of 202 in her own party. Why was she re-elected again?

The Senate isn't rosy for either party. Senator John Warner is 57th out of 100 Senators while Senator Jim Webb is 76th. The total state rank is 35th out of 50. Not good.

I want to take my keyboard and smash it...

2007-03-18T20:03:00.000-05:00

like an eight-year-old child!

Has anyone taken a step back to read the stupid shit that people have been writing from all sides over the last month? The amount of vapid, inconsequential screeds that have been written has increased by ten fold! Enough to make Britney shave her head and enter into rehab.

News flash...this just in: Just because you have a blog does not make you a good writer or an important person!* Be honest with yourself. This is more about being able to vent and fry the other side so you can feel better about yourself. Am I right? Please tell me I'm right. Because if I'm not, then a lot of you are just wasting your time that would be better spent eating packets of ketchup while watching "Small Wonder" repeats.

We've got bitching here and whining there. We've got pissing contests streaming out of control in all corners of the state. One person feels dissed here. Another feels that blogrolls are as sanctified as the Bible and should not be touched in any way, shape, or form. Others carry out personal vendettas, call people names or don't place the "ic" at the end of Democrat when using the name as an adjective. While others feel they are high and mighty enough that they should referee the situation.

I've been reading these blogs for a good portion of two years. I have no clue about the older bloggers and their ways of carrying on with each other before then. I'm sure, though, that there couldn't have been this much venom flowing through the VA blog arteries. It seems like they were a little more congenial to each other and didn't attack each other with the same ferocity.

Where ever life leads me, I know it's not down the route of blogging. I will continue to post but sporadically. There are still some blogs that I read and I will still post responses (generally they stay above the fray).

Have fun smacking the crap out of each other**.

*The five people reading this post...thank you.

**I wrote this post about two weeks ago and held off posting because I wanted to see if it would still ring true. It does. So I posted it.

Another day off...and assorted links

2007-02-16T09:19:00.000-05:00

Well thank you Mother Nature for the six day weekend. Time to watch some Daytona 500 Practice.

Here are some interesting links:

Seriously, can someone step up and challenge this legislative lightweight?

I don't know him but apparently John Alex Golden is running for the Virginia Young Democrats' presidency. Good luck with that Mr. Golden. Does anyone know what other competition is out there? What about the other office spots?

Tom Davis reportedly is not supporting a troop escalation in Iraq. Way to show your backbone now...four years too late. Maybe all Davis needs to be convinced to support the additional troops is a bumper sticker. Here are Davis' addresses in which you can send him one.

Annandale District Office
4115 Annandale Road, Suite 103
Annandale, VA 22003

Prince William District Office
13546 Minnieville Road
Woodbridge, VA 22192

This link brought to you by Snackie Smores!

Delegates Kilgore, Byron, Ware, R.L., Dudley, Griffith, Nixon, Suit, Hugo, Abbitt hate people that make the minimum wage.

Tim Hardaway Apparently Not a Fan of Gays

2007-02-15T09:13:00.000-05:00

Former NBA star Tim Hardaway makes it known that he "hates gays".

"You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known," Hardaway said. "I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States."

...

"And second of all, if he was on my team, I would, you know, really distance myself from him because, uh, I don't think that's right. And you know I don't think he should be in the locker room while we're in the locker room. I wouldn't even be a part of that," he said.

This is in response to former NBA player John Amechi revelation that he's gay. At least we know where he stands. This will probably lead to Hardaway not being hired for a coaching position that he was seeking next year.

Presidential person I'm most like

2007-01-30T13:43:00.000-05:00

Not surprising considering I voted for him in my 8th grade election...

You Are Most Like George H. W. Bush

You're considered boring by people that don't know you well. But like Bush senior, you do crazy things.
Maybe you'll end up banning broccoli in your house, or puking on the Prime Minster of Japan!

What Modern US President Are You Most Like?

Sen. Cuccinelli hearts cockfighting!

2007-01-30T08:25:00.000-05:00

Waldo has an interesting tidbit from the Richmond Sunlight website. In his post, he details the apparently underestimated cockfighting lobby that has been unleashed on Richmond Sunlight's computer servers.

We even get to see that Sen. Ken Cuccinelli has voted FOR cockfighting in Virginia! I'm sure the cockfighting lobby will host a great fundraiser when he runs against Janet Oleszek.

Riley...this one's for you!

2007-01-02T13:59:00.000-05:00

Saddam's dead...now what?

2006-12-29T23:37:00.000-05:00

So Saddam Hussein is dead. Great. Now what? This is not the magic balm that will heal tensions that exsist between the Sunnis and Shi'a Muslims currently ripping apart Iraq no matter how much we want it to be. I don't think the Ba'athists will stop fighting just because he's dead...but that's just me.

The Joadies...are back!!

2006-12-29T11:24:00.000-05:00

Roll out the red carpet! "The Joadies" are back!

Now last year "The Joadies" only had one category because the owner of this blog had grad school. But it's back this year with a vengance with new categories such as "Best Eccentric VA Blog", "Best Overall Blog-Left", "Best Overall Blog-Right", "Best Anonymous Blog That Later Was Outed or Outed Themselves", "Best Midyear Blog Name Change", "Best New Blog of the Year-Right", "Best New Blog of the Year-Left", and a couple of others including a special and touching "In Memory" ceremony.

"The Joadies" will be hosted by the Ghosts of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Not Samuel L. Jackson!

Stay tuned for more!

Bye Bayh! Obama is the man!

2006-12-16T11:40:00.000-05:00

Evan Bayh decides not to run in 2008.

"The main reason for Bayh's decision was a belief that his chances of winning the Democratic nomination in a field likely to include such political heavyweights as Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) were not high enough to justify the commitment of time and manpower over the next two years.

"The odds were always going to be very long for a relatively unknown candidate like myself, a little bit like David and Goliath," Bayh said in his statement. "This path -- and these long odds -- would have required me to be essentially absent from the Senate for the next year instead of working to help the people of my state and the nation." Bayh's decision to bow out of the race was first reported by The Indianapolis Star."

About a year ago, it was all about Clinton. She had the money stockpile, name recognition, and the possibility of being the first woman president. Nobody was talking about Obama. But Obama has to know he's getting some legitimacy now when Republican pundits and reporters trying to stop the snowball from turning into an avalanche by making fun of his name.

Obama has only four years in the Senate which is a bonus considering the attack ads that would come from twisting his votes. He can save the Democratic Party a lot of stress by eliminating some of the weaker riff raff (I'm looking at you Tom Vilsack. Dennis Kucinich you can stay for sticking it out in 2004) and saving us some money in the primary to fight in the general election. I whole heartedly support Barack Obama!

Confessions of a Grown-up Drama Queen

2006-12-16T11:00:00.000-05:00

So we've had three days since this "scandal" broke and I believe nobody has offered any hard evidence besides idle speculation. Here's what I wrote on Wednesday and I didn't post because I thought better of it. But since there has been no evidence given, I don't feel bad now.

Image link.

"Jim Riley's post on this Webb "scandal" is borderline libelous. Oh sure he puts on the obligatory "if" here and "allegedly" there, but it's asinine to think that he doesn't have a strong opinion. Take this gem of a quote for instance:

"***IF*** the Webb campaign actually did opposition research on private citizens as is being alleged by Shaun Kenney (possibly including obtaining individuals’ credit reports) and now at least partially confirmed by NLS (we shall await what further proof is put forward before passing judgment), then this is a despicably Nixonian act, an abuse of power and a violation of the public trust."

Great Riley put his "if" in there but I love this line "...we shall await what further proof is put forward before passing judgment...". What does the drama queen do next? He says this "...then this is a despicably Nixonian act, an abuse of power and a violation of the public trust." So what was that about passing judgment? How can you trust a guy that says he will refrain from judgment in one breath and in the next accuses Webb of a "Nixonian act"? Just because he throws an "if" in there? I don't think so.

Riley then goes into a rant about obtaining "credit information" and how it was illegal. Okay, no one mentioned this but Riley. Not even Shaun in his original post mentioned this. In the comments, Riley mentions that "And just because you haven’t seen anything with regard to the possible obtaining of credit reports doesn’t mean that I haven’t been made privvy to such allegations." Did Shaun and Riley talk about "credit checking"? Are the former A-Teamers still on the job? Or does Riley have other sources that know more about this story? I would just for once like to see some evidence here instead of idle speculation while hiding behind the words "if" and "allegedly"."

It's been three days. Evidence? Anybody have any evidence?

So what happened to that "War on Christmas"?

2006-12-10T18:03:00.000-05:00

Bill O'Reilly is a blubbering moron. But I think the height of his idiocy was last year was the "War on Christmas". Well it seems that this year he forgot his own rhetoric.

This makes me wonder where the secular progressive are this year? Are they lying in wait? Are they looking to pop out at the right moment to take the bell from the Salvation Army Santa? Or is it the fact that there's no book being released this year by fellow Faux News host John Gibson? Hmm...looks like those two took some Republicans for a ride last year at a cost of $24.95.

On gayness...or lack of

2006-12-10T16:59:00.000-05:00

I'm really confused. By now most of you have read Greg Leticeq's post about Jeff Dion being gay with children. Not that it's any of Greg's damn business but he did stick his bigoted nose into this.

Republicans have a weird dynamic going with people who are not heterosexual. Most of the time, Repubicans want gays to remain in the closet when it suits their interests so they don't have to confront their fears or they think that it is really yucky. This applies to gays and lesbians who are subtle about it to gays who are loud and proud. See example below of loud and proud(Warning: Not James Young Friendly):

But now it looks like some Republicans (ahem...James Young) want you to be open about it if you're running for political office. I didn't know that someone's sexual preference was integral being an elected official. But I do know that being a moralist can make you look like a jackass.

Oh by the way, just in case I ever run for anything, I'm straight (although I do support gays and lesbians in their quest for equal rights). So now you moralists can rest easier in knowing there is one less gay person in this world.

You can donate to a fine, upstanding citizen in Jeff Dion here.

Chantilly wins again!!!!!!!!

2006-12-06T12:22:00.000-05:00

Chantilly is going to the Virginia AAA Division 6 State Championship game! The Chargers defeated Varina 17-7 on the strength of a fumble recovery and interception both returned for touchdowns. Nate Worek will be returning to start at quarterback this week against Osbourn after suffering a concussion two weeks ago against Westfield.

The game, thank God, was moved up to Woodbridge from Hampton and it's 3 1/2 hour drive. Chantilly will be looking for it's first title since 1996.

ESPN weighs in on racial slurs

2006-12-06T11:46:00.000-05:00

Usually ESPN.com is full of just sports scores and inane commentary but they shocked the hell out of me with a surprisingly insightful article on atheletes and the "n-word". The article has this quote which makes a lot of sense to me:

"But while [Jesse] Jackson is on his current crusade for equality, may I suggest he make a couple of stops into the locker room? Rappers and actors come and go. But athletes? They are forever. They visit our schools, do community service in our neighborhoods, live in our hearts. If they can get people to shave their heads, buy a pair of shoes, or consider wearing a pair of tights, they can change people's attitudes toward the n-word."

I have to agree with the author that athletes do have more of a responsibility whether they like it or not of being vocal about racism in this country. It's difficult for the "n-word" to go away when it is celebrated by some in music, film, and comedy. In the interest of lessening the tension of race in our society, black athletes and entertainers have the onus of striking down the "n-word". That might not amount to more endorsements or "street cred" but what it will do is allow the scab of the "n-word" to finally heal.

I wish I could have 262 days off...

2006-12-06T11:18:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it takes a statement so ridicuously stupid to make you thank God that you actually have some brains. Check out this dumbass quote:

"'Keeping us up here eats away at families," said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who typically flies home on Thursdays and returns to Washington on Tuesdays. "Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families -- that's what this says.'"

No, it says you're a shiftless, lazy Congressman (and I use that term loosely)that doesn't want to work for his constiuents. Five days a week??!?!?! Imagine that! You actually have to work FIVE days a week! Oh, the horror...

That's why the Republicans wanted to keep control of Congress. It wasn't to pass a budget or any meaningful legislation but to suck on the federal teat and stroke a nice paycheck. God forbid you actually have to do something for that money like the rest of us.

So do us a favor Congressman Kingston, resign your office immediately. Since you are so worried about your family and marriage, you should go and leave the governing to someone more capable of juggling their schedules.

Go Chantilly!

2006-11-29T21:14:00.000-05:00

The Chantilly Chargers will be making their first state semi-final football appearence in 10 years on Saturday, Dec. 2 when they take on Varina. The game will be at 4 p.m. at Chantilly.

The Chargers made a late fourth quarter comeback last week against the #3 Washington Post ranked Westfield Bulldogs 26-21. Chantilly's starting quarterback, Nate Worek, will not be playing this week because of a concussion he received during the Westfield game. The good news is that he will make a full recovery. The Chargers have capable back-up Austin Decker to lead the squad. After taking over in the first quarter against a stout Westfield defense, I have no worries that Austin will continue his fine play.

Chantilly's rise is a true comeback story. The team was 0-10 in the 2004 season and improved to 4-6 in 2005. Coach Mike Lalli, a former Notre Dame player, is truly getting the most out of his squad this year. Good luck Chantilly...and if you're in the NOVA area, come on out and watch!

Waive the flag harder!

2006-11-27T17:20:00.000-05:00

Seriously, anyone who says there isn't a civil war is living in a mystical land filled with unicorns and lollipop trees.

Blogger Beta Sucks

2006-11-27T10:23:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to say that. Apparently, I'm not on any of the blog feeds because of this. The features aren't that much better considering what I gave up in the switch. So I will continue what I was doing before, toil in blogger hell while trying to get my blogs onto some feeds. Not that anybody is reading this anyways...I think I'm doing it for my own edification.

Yup...this is my alma mater

2006-11-26T12:38:00.000-05:00

Good job guys and gals! Click on the white box to watch.

When I went to school at MWC, there were a couple of guys who ran naked between the dorms and would slide on the grass naked when it rained. That was always good for a chuckle. This underwear event seems humorous and should be an annual affair. James Martin...where you there?

Testing something out...

2006-11-15T20:14:00.000-05:00

This is a test from Tom Joad's Place...this is only a test....

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr......

This is a test from Tom Joad's Place...the tester on this blog with no affiliations to any government agency has conducted this test to see if he was still being picked up by leftyblogs and the Virginia blog aggregator...if this were an actual post, well it would have something to actually say instead of this blather. This concludes the test from Tom Joad's Place.

Chap Petersen "Take it Back"

2006-11-14T22:16:00.000-05:00

Chap is asking for our help this Wednesday.

"Next Wednesday November 15th from 7-9 p.m., I am honored to join the PAC in hosting a "Take It Back" happy hour at the Firehouse Grill, 3988 University Drive in downtown Fairfax City. We are raising money and signing up volunteers for 2007. You are invited to attend and bring a friend. Sponsorships are $100-$2,500. All funds raised will be used for targeted "take it back" races in 2007. You can RSVP to bdmpac@cox.net."

With all 140 seats up for grabs in 2007, us Democrats have to get rolling early. We should leave no seat uncontested. No Republican should be given the opportunity to let their record of taxing the poor and middle class, underfunding education, and using our cherished Virginia State Bill of Rights as a hammer of discrimination go unchallenged. From SWVA, to the Tidewater, to Richmond, to the Northern Neck, to NOVA...Democrats have to stand up and fight! Take back the Senate! Take back the House!

Mentoring in Fredericksburg

2006-11-14T09:18:00.000-05:00

I saw an article in my old hometown newspaper The Free-Lance Star yesterday.

This article by Jeff Branscome talks about a new mentoring program called STAR (Students Taking Action and Responsibility) that is happening at James Monroe High School. Teachers volunteer at least one hour a week with a kid that is having a rough go of it in the community. Not only do the kids get an extra person to talk and bounce issues off of, the program has a scholarship incentive that can help them start a college education. It is funded by philanthropist Doris Buffett who gives through her foundation a $1,000 scholarship as long as the student does not get in trouble for the year and maintains a 2.5 GPA. Students can earn up to $4,000 if they continue with the program through high school.

Forty students are currently in STAR; so this can cost up to $160,000 over four years. But the benefits of having young adults out of trouble and safe far outweigh the monetary costs. Fairfax County...are you taking note? Is there anyone in the community that would be willing to make this happen for a school here or in your community?

Probably not the best way to get back with your wife...

2006-11-12T17:41:00.000-05:00

This is a miracle. I would have given her flowers but that's just me.

Back to blogging

2006-11-12T09:25:00.000-05:00

I coming back to blog for awhile. I think I'm going to focus on education issues and the General Assembly's attention to those issues. I'm going to give you the lowdown on politicians in Richmond who are unfriendly to education. I will also look at poverty and tax issues that affect the average citizen. Hopefully, I can have more than my "original five" readers this time around.

Voting...some tips

2006-11-07T06:58:00.000-05:00

One, in VA it is not required that you have ID to vote. You can have it and it will speed up the process but it is not necessary. If you do not have an ID, just sign an affirmation document saying "you are who you say you are" and go vote. The election officials cannot take you out of line or detain you in any way.

Two, if you are in the wrong precinct, ask the election official where you need to go and if possible make them give you directions.

Three, watch the touch screens. I'm not a conspiracy theorist but it pays to make sure that you are casting the right ballot. There have also been concerns of people not completing their vote by not pressing the "VOTE" button. The election officials and workers have been instructed not to pursue you to tell you of your mistake. This means your vote will be invalidated and not count.

Have fun everyone!