uvAggravator2.0

"Heavenly Father, hold our troops in Your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in this our time of need. These things I humbly ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen."

Peter Roff has it exactly right:

Amplify’d from politics.usnews.com

If James Lee had been a member of a Tea Party group or an activist opposed to abortion rights the national media would be in the throes of ecstasy, describing his actions as the product of some sort of loosely organized effort that should have all Americans living in fear for their lives and their liberty. The Department of Homeland Security would probably announce the creation of some sort of task force to investigate his activities and root out his followers and allies. And President Barack Obama would no doubt address the issue in his weekly radio address. Read more at politics.usnews.com

  See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/9qh1

Notre Dame defeated Purdue, 23-12, Saturday, with a performance more notable for what the Irish didn't do than what they did. In the first game of the season, they didn't burst out with big plays. They moved the chains. Other than one red-zone fumble, they didn't stop themselves. Notre Dame committed two penalties for 15 yards, both in the kicking game.See More here

On Thursday, SurveyUSA released its most recent poll of the 5th District race showing state Sen. Robert Hurt increasing his lead over Rep. Tom Perriello. Yesterday, SurveyUSA followed up with a new poll of the 9th District race, which also showed the Republican candidate gaining ground on an incumbent Democrat. Since SurveyUSA’s last poll of the 9th was conducted six weeks ago, Del. Morgan Griffith has gained three percentage points, but still trails Rep. Rick Boucher by ten points. Although he does not lead the race, Griffith must be pleased that he is holding a generally popular, 28-year incumbent to just 50 percentage points, perhaps Rep. Boucher’s worst polling position since taking his seat in Congress. Del. Griffith also appears to have momentum, gaining three percentage points—all at Rep. Boucher’s expense.

The most troubling aspect of this poll (for Griffith) is that he is losing 25 percent of self-described Republicans to Boucher. Rep. Boucher is widely perceived as a moderate, especially after his vote against Obamacare, but in spite of his role in drafting Cap-and-Trade legislation that would devastate the coal industry. Rep. Boucher’s television ads remind voters that, since he is from the “Fighting 9th,” he understands the values of the district’s residents and is best positioned to represent those values in Washington. Ironically, then, despite the fact that the Obama-Biden ticket was trounced in the 9th in 2008, Rep. Boucher has voted for the Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda just over 96 percent of the time. As 9th District Republicans are reminded of Rep. Boucher’s penchant for saying one thing in Washington County and doing another in Washington, D.C., Del. Griffith could very easily see his numbers continue to rise.

Teachenor Clark can be found on Facebook

Nashville based songwriters Jamie Teachenor and "Banjo" Ben Clark team up for this exclusive release, aimed to raise-the-hair and boil-the-blood of every liberty-loving American ready to make a difference this fall...one vote at a time.

Please help the powerful voice of "We The People" ring through the halls of Congress by forwarding this to any and all who are fed up with the Elites in Washington who consistently ignore our cries.

If you're not registered to vote, PLEASE do so now, and may God bless America now and forever.

Found this at the Prince William County Republican Committee.

Hot Air provides a little background in New Tea Party theme song?

Filed under: culture, schools

Rasmussen reports today that Democratic President Barack Obama's approval ratings are tanking at 42%.

Obama's "recovery summer" has not recovered his favor with the majority of the American people. Now he faces 9.6% unemployment figures and unrest across the nation as we head into the November elections....

I'm not a lawyer. But my warning to all those who use the internet is simple -- RESPECT COPYRIGHT LAWS.

Don't copy entire articles from newspapers, without permission. There are papers going under who will sue you. One paper in particular, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, has come up with a business model which involvese suing their readers for small amounts.

They created a firm called RightHaven, whose sole purpose appears to be to file small suits against bloggers and others without enough money to defend themselves. This firm scours the internet for any references to articles from the LVRJ. If they find one, they will BUY the copyright from the LRVJ, and then sue the person who posted the article, or the host which allowed it to be posted.

Note that the newspaper is "no longer involved". So don't count on public opnion or a reasonable appeal to save you. This company is a lawyer-driven company with ONE PURPOSE IN MIND -- to get you to pay them money for violating copyright.

And to be clear -- it is unlikely that you would be able to justify a cut-and-paste of an entire article, even if you provide a link and a citation. (I wonder if the standard snark attack of quoting an article in little pieces with long responses to each part would be considered fair use?). Worse, even if you COULD win, are you ready to spend $50,000 defending yourself against a suit that apparently you can settle for $5000 or so?

The lawsuits all appear to be about the same: $75,000, plus surrender of your domain name. That appears to be a ploy, as the settlements seem much less, and the largest that has been reported publicly is $5000.

If you are a political candidate, don't think you are immune. RightHaven has gone after campaign web sites, which sometimes think they can simply cut-and-paste articles if those articles are about the candidate. They have gone after both democrats and republicans.

And for you blogger-user sites, they have gone after both left and right-wing aggregation sites like DU and FR. They've gone after indifivual bloggers. They sued a doctor for copying an article of interest to his patients. They sued a PR FIRM that does PR for the paper, for publishing an article about an event that they provided publicity for.

So, DON'T cut-and-paste articles. Purge your sites of any you have. THink hard about fair use, excerpt judiciously, include links and citations. I AM NOT A LAWYER, so don't think that I'm saying that if you do this, you will be OK. I can't say, but it is clear that you will be targeted if you just copy an article to your web site.

The days where a blogger can steal news stories, and get money from blog pimping advertisements, is over.

The Cost of the Wars

Last week our president announced the end of something in Iraq (see On the president’s speech last night by The right-wing liberal.). Inevitably that brought up a discussion about the cost of the war — was the war worth it? So another Virginia blogger (See The cost of the wars at Smash Mouth Politics.) reposted Don’t ever complain to me about the money spent on Iraq, again by Phineas. Thus, Smash Mouth Politics induced a discussion of the following chart.

It is a nice chart, and it is literally correct, but the chart itself says nothing about our own assumptions. To see the above chart as a valuable contribution to the discussion, what do we have to believe? For example, why should we allocate the entire cost of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan to the deficit? What about all that other spending?

Here (United States federal budget) at Wikipedia we have a nice long discussion of the Federal budget. In 2009, the Feds spent 3,518 billion dollars. Only a quarter of that went to the defense budget. Yet some folks would have us blame much of the deficit on two small conflicts. When these people allow themselves to get thoroughly carried away, their arguments can become farcical.  Consider this chart from the War Resisters League. 

How do they arrive at the conclusion that 54 percent of the budget is military spending (See their explanation here.).  Essentially, they redefine reality. Even though all that money goes into the same pot and is spent by the same people, they exclude all other Federal taxes except income taxes from consideration. They also discard huge Federal programs such as Social Security and other “social insurance” programs from consideration. That is, to keep the programs they like from contributing to the Federal deficit, they exclude them from consideration. How silly is that? It is like saying Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid do not exist as Federal programs.

So what does the War Resisters League‘s chart actually prove? It just proves how readily we can delude ourselves and each other. Let’s go back again to the Wikipedia article, United States federal budget. Over the years Congress has created innumerable terms and peculiar concepts. Let’s extract a few.

• Stimulus spending: Some call this sort of spending a bailout.  Suffice to say the money goes to those people with the right connections.
• Entitlement programs: An entitlement program is a welfare program. Why the stupid name? To protect the self esteem of the recipients, politicians refuse to call charity by its proper name.
• Mandatory spending: Mandatory spending includes spending on entitlement programs and the national debt. Why is spending on charity mandatory? That probably has lot to do with the voting clout of the people who receive those entitlements, and it indicates a moral problem. When charity becomes an entitlement, it begins to look an awful lot like extortion. 
• Discretionary spending: Programs actually authorized by the Constitution do not require special justification. That is, congressmen do not have to either delude themselves or confuse us in order to find an excuse spend the money. So Congress can spend the money it is suppose to spend with some discretion.
• Federal budget projection: This is the Federal government’s crystal ball, and the schemers see whatever they want to see.
• Deficit: We have a deficit when we spend more money than we have. To run a dificit requires the Federal government to either borrow money or to print “new” money (exceeds revenues). When the increase in the money supply exceeds the growth in the gross domestic product, Congress inflates our currency.

Note that I still have a comment tied up in moderation at Smash Mouth Politics.  Watch for it to appear, and then watch Gramps response.  

Filed under: taxes, VA-Blogs

Next weekend the upper Shenandoah Valley will turn back the hands of time to 1862 when America was at war with itself, brother fighting brother, with reenactments of the Battle of Front Royal and Fisher's Hill. It's an "up close and personal" history lesson for those who want to know their American history.

What: Civil War Reenactments of the Battles of Front Royal and Fisher's Hill
Where: Luray Valley Museum at Luray Caverns
When: Saturday, Sept.11 (Front Royal) and Sunday, Sept. 12 (Fisher's Hill)
Cost: $10 for adults (age 13 and Up) and $5 for children (ages 6 thru 12) each day. Includes admission fee for Luray Valley Museum

The Luray Valley Museum at Luray Caverns will host reenactments of the pivotal Civil War battles of Front Royal (which took place on May 23, 1862, during Conf. Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's legendary Valley Campaign) and the Fisher's Hill (which took place on September 22, 1864, during U.S. Gen. Philip Sheridan's Shenandoah Campaign).

Luray Caverns will donate proceeds of this event to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation for battlefield preservation.

Reenactment of the Battle of Front Royal
Saturday, September 11, 2010
9:00 – 11:30: Camps open to public
9:00 – 4:00: Medical demonstration
2:00: Battle of Front Royal
Dusk: Fireworks

Reenactment of the Battle of Fisher’s Hill
Sunday, September 12, 2010
9:00 – 11:30: Camps open to public
9:00 – 1:00: Medical demonstration
10:00: Church services
2:00: Battle of Fisher’s Hill

Who has Sarah Palin endorsed? Which of her chosen candidates have won, lost, or are currently in a campaign battle? Check out the graphics and information from this Sarah Palin endorsement tracker.

Congressman Eric Cantor, Republican Whip from Virginia, warned in Friday's USA Today of tax increases from the Democrats and President Barack Obama.

In an op-ed for the newspaper, he wrote:

Listening to the Democrats this summer, you're unlikely to hear about an impending tax increase. In an effort to sanitize their historically irresponsible decision to raise tax rates in the midst of a struggling economy, President Obama and the congressional majority say they are merely "allowing the Bush tax cuts" to expire.

Skillful messaging perhaps, but cold comfort to the millions of Americans and small businesses who aren't concerned with what their effective tax rate was in 2001. For them, on Jan. 1, one of two things will happen: Taxes will go up, or taxes will stay the same. Coming to grips with this reality will be crucial to jumpstarting the economic recovery. Decisions on whether to buy an appliance, invest in a company, or expand a business are made by taking into account after-tax returns in the future — not in the past.

Read it all here.

As if the sordid tale of Carlos Martinelly-Montano killing a nun wasn’t shocking enough, now comes a story from the Washington Post about how instead of deporting this habitual drunken driving illegal alien, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement instead provided him with an Employment Authorization Card and set him free.  As an illegal alien awaiting a deportation hearing, Martinelly-Montano had no legal right to this kind of “soft amnesty”, but despite what the the law says the Obama administration facilitated this illegal alien’s continued unlawful presence, making it far easier for him to continue to violate the law, and resulting in the death of innocent Americans.

This isn’t what I expected from “hope and change” at all.  I’d have never thought this sort of insanity possible. (more…)

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In the years when we Virginia natives lived at the Brushy Mountain foothills of northwest North Carolina, we constantly explored as much as we could in that part of the world. A short three-hour drive from our home was Dollywood in the Smokey Mountains of eastern Tennessee, a trip we were to make many times over the years.

As someone who grew up in Richmond with Kings Dominion an hour drive north on I-95, Dollywood was a more down-home amusement park, small and tucked into the mountainside on the edge of Pigeon Forge. We would stay at a favored family-owned cottage in nearby Gatlinburg and drive the short distance to Dollywood where we had season tickets.

When Dollywood opened 25 years ago, we were there to enjoy the festivities. Formerly known as Silver Dollar City, it had been bought by Dolly who was a native of the area, and she updated and changed the name, and added lots of entertainment including many members of her talented musical family. And it was fun because Dolly wanted it to be fun ... everyone was happy, everyone welcomed you, and your spirits lifted just seeing so many smiling faces.

SWAC Son was one year old and in a stroller for the grand opening. We met Dolly as she walked the park greeting folks, and got photos of her ... photos that are tucked away somewhere ... the down-to-earth hostess welcoming children of all ages to forget their cares and play for a while.

Dollywood is special all seasons of the year ... spring when there was still frost on the ground as we stood in line waiting for the gates to open ... summer when it was so hot in those humid Smokey Mountains that you just stood still and sweat popped out on your forehead ... fall with harvest decorations of pumpkins and corn stalks and a nip in the air ... and my favorite of all -- Christmas.


Christmas at Dollywood is magical, full of tiny white lights, wreaths, decorations, and the steam engine train that goes up the mountain playing, "I'll Be Home With Bells On," my favorite Dolly Christmas song. The train is outlined in white lights ... the cold winter air hits you in the face as your bury deeper into your winter coat and wrap your scarf tighter around your neck, and enjoy the merriment. Hot chocolate was a welcomed warm-up.

Dollywood. I haven't been there since returning home to Virginia 14 years ago so maybe it's time to head south to the hills of Tennessee and get drenched in down-home hospitality from Dolly's crew.

Happy anniversary, Dollywood!

Could Democrats lose it all in November? My thoughts at the Washington Examiner....

9,600 applications received for 1,500 jobs at $15-20/hour

Remember the big "megasite" battle in Augusta County about four or five year ago when it was rumored that Toyota wanted to build a car manufacturing plant in Weyers Cave, and a woman at the opposite end of the county protested to the Board of Supervisors? That began a huge battle that pitted the large land owners in the southern and southwestern areas of the county against residents who were looking for jobs.

As a result, Toyota gave up and reportedly moved to Mississippi where they were welcomed with open arms. This week, even as the plant is still under construction, they received 9,600 applications from across the nation for 1,500 jobs that will pay between $15 and $20 an hour.

The nation's unemployment rate came out today at 9.6%. Local folks are looking for jobs and need employment ... companies have laid off workers and some have gone out of business. If the Toyota plant had located in Augusta, those jobs would have been available for local residents.

From Autoblog:

According to Edmunds Auto Observer, applications came from 33 different states in the Union, with 8,000 of the applications originating from the state of Mississippi. David Copenhaver, vice president of administration at Toyota, reportedly told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger newspaper that the majority of the jobs will go to applicants who reside within 100 miles of the facility.

The megasite battle caused a split on the Augusta County Board of Supervisors as well as the community. At the time, an article in the Roanoke Times reported some of the opposition:

In Augusta County, rumors about Toyota have circulated since at least December 2004. The most mentioned site there is in Weyers Cave, a community on the north end of the county. And in the past year Augusta County commissioned a study to identify the site's infrastructure need to draw a major industrial employer.

"Weyers Cave is strategically located," said Wendell Coleman, chairman of the Augusta County Board of Supervisors. "It's located strategically off I-81. It's right by the hub of Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport. And the railroad goes right by it."

The site has water and natural gas service, Coleman said. And although the land ownership is fragmented -- the largest landowner holds about 800 acres -- it's in a predominantly agricultural area, with most of the land still undeveloped.

The agricultural character may work against the chances of Toyota locating a factory there. Kay Frye, the supervisor who represents the Middle River district, which includes Weyers Cave, said she's opposed to the idea.

"We're very fortunate here in Augusta County to have everything in balance," Frye said. "We've got a nice mix of manufacturing and jobs. ... And our population is not growing real fast but it's on the high end of the estimates. When you get that kind of development that fast, you get a lot of costs, and eventually the cost of providing those services outstrips what you get."

Frye said state economic development officials have touted the potential of 1,000-acre "megasites" for attracting large employers, but "all they're telling us is all the gravy about it."

State Del. Steve Landes, R-Augusta County, represents the area in the General Assembly. He's heard the rumors about Toyota, and has his own set of concerns.

"The other thing about the automobile industry is it's a very volatile business right now," Landes said. "We're losing the Ford plant in Norfolk. I would think from a business standpoint, localities would be a little bit skittish about the industry in general being that stable. Obviously some of the international companies have done better in the marketplace, but it's not as stable as it used to be."

One has to wonder if the Toyota plant could have been a bigger help to Augusta County than the negatives proposed by those who fought to keep it out.

The comments in the post below got all off track on the proposed Chesapeake Bay Ordinance.  I’ve copied the Ches Bay comments here – please continue this discussion in this thread.  I’ve been busy busy busy lately – little time for TC!

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Some conservatives like Mark Levin (who I love) are incerdilous in their support of Delaware conservative Christine O'Donnell in her quest to take down Rep. Mike Castle in the US Senate race.  Anyone who knows me or knows this blog knows that i generally root and endorse all-things conservative.  But you will also know that I'm not afraid to call out corruption and idiocy when I see it - I've supported Mark Kirk, questioned David Vitter's fitness for office, and blogged consistantly against JD Hayworth's fitness for office, among other things. 

It was always a long shot for O'Donnell to beat Castle, but the Joe Miller win has opened eyes.  But comparing Joe Miller - accomplished judge, lawyer, and soldier - to O'Donnell is like comparing Tom Brady to JaMarcus Russell.  But I was trying to find the words for this, then I saw Erick Erickson's post on RedState and it simply said everything I wanted too about this race.

But I’m moving on.

If Christine O’Donnell wins it’ll be inspite of the help she has gotten. What has ultimately set me off is the “Mike Castle is gay” stuff, which is nothing more than the Will Folks hour come to Delaware. The failure of the O’Donnell campaign to deal swiftly with this tells me all I need to know.

As I noted in my original post on Eric Odom, parts of his American Liberty Alliance website became a site for Christine O’Donnell advocacy.

Subsequently, a number of the affiliated individuals went and worked directly for Christine O’Donnell’s campaign. A few weeks ago they left. Around that time I began hearing rumors the O’Donnell campaign was imploding.

The gang that left resurfaced at Liberty.com. The launch day spectacular at Liberty.com was to announce that Mike Castle is having a gay affair on his wife with no proof whatsoever.

When it was pointed out that all the people behind the accusation were O’Donnell campaign staffers, the response was “not any more.”

After a year of direct and indirect advocacy for Christine O’Donnell, it is pretty doggone hard to now stand apart and say “Nope, not campaign related.”

Baloney.

Christine O’Donnell’s campaign did distance her from the video, but the damage is done. These were the people she hired for her campaign. That’s a judgment issue. Likewise, to my knowledge, neither Christine nor her campaign distanced herself until the next day when asked about it on a radio show. In doing so, the Hotline notes, “O’Donnell . . . call[ed] it an “insult” to both Castle and his wife. In the process, though, she repeats the rumor several times.” [Emphasis added]

In the meantime, we have another problem.

The tea party movement has largely been about fiscal issues and the state of the country going forward. While the press has done its best to drag the tea party movement into the culture wars, the movement has wisely stayed above the fray, focusing on a handful of issues.

Racism, homophobia, bigotry, etc. have all been leveled at the tea party movement. There’s been no evidence. It’s all been lies.

And now we have this. A website billing itself as a hub for the tea party movement using something called “Tea Party HD” to boldly make accusations that Mike Castle is gay and having an affair.

This is Will Folks all over again. I don’t care if Mike Castle is meeting up with Larry Craig at Stallknockers.com for some Union Station visitation — without proof it is meaningless and even with proof it is a distraction from the issues and not helpful to tea party activists or Christine O’Donnell.

It’s amateur hour.

And I DO want to win elections, and I understand that not every state can give us Marco Rubios or Joe Millers.  But for Christine O'Donnell's supporters to be calling a 72 year old man gay is completely out of bounds and, like Erickson pointed out, forces the Tea Party to defend itself from the accsattions of racism and homophobia. 

I can and will gladly go to battle for a conservative even in an uphill struggle.  But we need candidates with ideas, with brains, and with honor.  O'Donnell seems to have none of those, instead running a phantom smear campaign against Mike Castle - who though clealry a lib-to-moderate is an honorable man who has been serving Delaware in public office since the 1960s.  He deserves to be treated with more respect, and so does the Tea Party that O'Donnell claims to represent. 

The Democrats have nominated a good candidate in Chris Coons, a young county executive with smarts and energy.  If Delaware Republicans could find a legit conservative - Bill Lee or Patrick Ballentine   - then yes, all hands on deck lets knock Castle out.  For me this isn't an argument about who can win and who can't, though clearly Castle can win this seat and O'Donnell more than likely cannot.

A cool new photo gallery has been released of never before seen photos of Muhammed Ali has be released.  I'm not the biggest Ali fan in the world.  As a fighter he was mesmorizing, but as a person he was a habitual womanizer and created the sh*t-talking athlete who demeans and marginalizing his opponents.  I don't know who any one could call Joe Frazier an uncle tom and live with themselves.  But as it is, these photos are cool and a reminder of a bygone era in sports when boxing was king, the best fighters actually fought each other, and a big fight was a national event.  Now, its the sport of the few who can afford pay per view and a frustrating sport to be a fan of because the top fighters rarely fight each other (see Pacquiao-Mayweather).  There is a reason why the UFC will overtake boxing as the top combat sport, Dana White can put together the top fighers card after card.  

Here is my favorite picture - Ali with Sugar Ray Leonard and Sugar Ray Robinson.

In his latest Cyrstal Ball (not to be confused with the 1st District candidate with questionable finances) UVA Center for Politics Director Larry Sabato currently projects that Republicans will gain as many as 47 house seats, 9 senate seats and 9 governorships.

That gives the Republicans control of the House, and a good step up towards the next redistricting cycle, but doesn’t quite take the Senate.

Although Sabato does note that in the 6 times since World Ward II that the House of Representatives has flipped, the Senate has as well.

Sabato notes:

Overall, though, a strong bet is that 2010 will generate a substantial pendulum swing from the Democrats to the Republicans. It is not that Republicans are popular—most polls show the party even less liked than the Democrats. Many observers find it amazing that the less-liked party is on the verge of triumphing over the better-liked party. Nevertheless, in the time-honored American way, voters will be inclined to punish the party in-power by checking and balancing it with more members from the opposition party.

This year has hope and change all over it.

Glenn Nye’s campaign released their new ad today, virtually a complete 180 turn-around from their much (and justly) criticized first ad. Contrasted with Rigell’s ad, where Rigell spoke directly to the camera, Nye’s lame attempt at a first ad was all voiceover, with the requisite ‘I approved this ad’ at the conclusion. Rigell’s ad was far more personal, not to mention Nye’s ludicrous claim that he voted against the bailout, despite not being in office for the vote. Nye’s team apparently quickly realized they would lose the message battle (thankfully for them it came before Labor Day) and went with a new approach. Admittedly, far more effective then his first go around.

Here’s a project I recently completed for Historic Manassas that readers might enjoy, focused on the Civil War events and re-enactors as we prepare for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of First Manassas. One of the really special things about living in this area is how we are so connected with our local history. History isn’t an abstract and minor facet of this wonderful place, it is something that defines us. We enjoy the rare privilege of being the present-day custodians of this ground, and it is our responsibility to ensure that the legacy of our past carries towards the future, informing future generations of the nature and value of sacrifice, honor, dedication and ultimately reconciliation that makes where we are so unique and priceless.

God has certainly given us all a rare and undeserved gift by bringing us to this special place on earth.

Virginia's own Del. Barbara Comstock was on Fox News discussing the State Departments recent 29-page report on human rights in America. This report was submitted to the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, and includes a complaint about the difficulty of forming a union in the United States. The report states that this equates to a violation of human rights, which Del. Comstock believes trivializes human rights. Please watch the video below, or follow this link.

It’s always such a treat when “enlightened” leftists drop by to comment after seeing or reading something about me and have their comments immediately snapped up by the comment filters that do their best to keep BVBL somewhat family-friendly.  Every once in a while it might be worth it to share with readers these pearls of loving wisdom coming from the extreme other side of the aisle, even if they aren’t quite consistent with the editorial policies I’ve maintained here, and this is one of those times.  So soon after an eco-terrorist who spoke so eloquently about “stopping the human race from breeding any more disgusting human babies,” folks “awakened” by the 9500 Liberty monstrosity are eager to share…

Warning: vulgar language follows. (more…)

Captain George Kosco
It’s one of the most widely recorded moments in history. Search the internet and you’ll easily find black and white images from Sunday, September 2nd, 1945. That’s the day the Japanese surrendered at Tokyo Bay, formally ending World War II.
But one man on the USS Missouri that day captured something on film seen by few people until now.
“It was my father’s film. So, it was in his basement until he passed away,” says retired Army Colonel Bill Kosco. Kosco’s father is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. When retired Captain George Kosco died in 1985 he left behind mementos from his time as a meteorologist and navigator in the Navy. “This is an album my father put together, files and photographs he obtained on board the USS Missouri.”


H/T Breitbart and MyFox

Barbeque and Beans

Delegate Dickie Bell

along with Special Guest

The Honorable George Allen

Former Governor of Virginia & United State Senator (R-VA)

invite you to join them for an evening of

Bluegrass & Barbeque

Featuring the band

Hound Dog Hill

Friday, October 1, 2010, from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.

Shenandoah Harley-Davidson

213 Rolling Thunder Lane Staunton, Virginia 24401

RSVP Emily Stewart at (804) 562.5369, cell: (804) 814.9168

or by email at emily.stewart@comcast.net

*Casual Attire*

$35 person / $50 couple

Survey USA has updated its well-publicized (and somewhat questioned) poll on the 5th District Congressional race.  Back in July, the polling group had Robert Hurt up a whopping 23 points on incumbent Democrat Tom Perriello.  It was widely assumed that the gap would shrink – and probably wasn’t that large anyway.

Well, if Survey USA is an outlier, they’re doubling down: the new poll has Hurt up 26 points.

FWIW, when it comes to Virginia elections, Survey USA was the first pollster to notice Tim Kaine leading Jerry Kilgore (Kaine won by 6 points) and the first one to see a landslide sweep for the GOP ticket last year (all won by more than a dozen points).  It also has a larger sample than the AAF poll from a couple of weeks ago which had Hurt up only six.

The battle among the pollsters could be almost as interesting as the one among the candidates.

Cross-posted to BD

As if the legislature cancelling insurance coverage of their Viagra wasn’t enough to make DMV workers even more cranky than usual, now they have to work on a holiday weekend. Governor McDonnell announced this afternoon that, due to the recent computer problems, DMV offices will be open this weekend on Saturday, Sunday and yes, on Labor Day.

McDonnell said:

“It is imperative that we take every step necessary to assist Virginians inconvenienced by the recent computer issues that impacted 13% of the Commonwealth’s file servers. In order to assist Virginians who need to return to the DMV for a license I have ordered select customer service centers to open this Sunday, as well as on Labor Day. In addition, our centers will also have extended hours the following weekend. We have also acted administratively to help Virginians who have been unable to renew their licenses over the past week by extending existing licenses for an additional 20 days. State and local law enforcement agencies have been notified of this extension.”

Below are the details of the additional Labor Day weekend DMV hours.

Friday, September 3 All locations open until 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 4 All locations open 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Fourteen* locations remaining open from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, September 5 Fourteen* locations open 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Monday, September 6 Fourteen* locations open 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

For more detailed information about DMV hours, addresses and directions go to www.dmvNOW.com

*The 14 DMV locations that will have extended hours Saturday, Sunday and Monday:
Abingdon, Alexandria, Charlottesville, Chesapeake, Chesterfield, Fair Oaks (10:30 to 6:30), Hampton, Harrisonburg, Leesburg, Lynchburg, Richmond-Broad Street, Roanoke, Virginia Beach- Buckner, and Woodbridge

Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.
When the boogeyman goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris has never blinked in his entire life. Never.
Chuck Norris sleeps with a night light. Not because he is afraid of the dark. The dark is afraid of Chuck Norris.

He Doesn't Want A Free Country???


Or is it that he didn't want Beck at the Lincoln Memorial?

During the mid-20th century many American cities and towns were suffering under the injustice of discrimination. In many cases government authorities were forcing businesses to segregate their facilities and services. Many public facilities across the country were segregated. It was in the midst of all of this that Dr. Martin Luther King, stood up in the face of tyranny and demanded justice. One of his most memorable quotes was that, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Dr. King was persistent in his fight to secure justice.

In today’s time there is another violation of justice in America. This injustice is found in the form of abortion. Millions of unborn babies have been denied equal protection under the law based on their status in life. This is an injustice that has put a stain on our nation.

However, just as  Martin Luther King stood up for justice and civil rights in his time, a new generation of civil rights leaders have arisen to stand for justice in this time. One of the most vocal voices has been that of Dr. King’s niece Dr. Alveda King. Dr. King recently spoke at the rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and gave a stirring speech calling for a revival of our God given liberties. Day Gardner, President of the National Black Pro-Life Union, has written a powerful column describing Dr. King’s historic speech. The speech was a clarion call for the new justice movement. It emphasized the need for Americans to not look at themselves in terms of racial divisions, but rather she exhorted us to look at ourselves in terms of the “human race.” The speech was truly historic.

A new civil rights movement is emerging in America today. This movement is seeking to extend the blessings of liberty to all people, including the unborn. It is not an attempt to “hijack” the original civil rights movement. Rather, it is taking the principles of liberty and justice from the original movement and is applying them to all of today’s challenges.

This new and exciting movement is not limited by race. It does not see White, Black, Hispanic, or any other race , but rather envisions a “human race.” This new justice movement is a powerful force in the American political scene. At its core it understands the principle that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

(cross posted at the Freedom Federation network)

Survey USA has updated its well-publicized (and somewhat questioned) poll on the 5th District Congressional race. Back in July, the polling group had Robert Hurt up a whopping 23 points on incumbent Democrat Tom Perriello. It was widely assumed that the gap would shrink – and probably wasn’t that large anyway.

Well, if Survey USA is an outlier, they’re doubling down: the new poll has Hurt up 26 points.

FWIW, when it comes to Virginia elections, Survey USA was the first pollster to notice Tim Kaine leading Jerry Kilgore (Kaine won by 6 points) and the first one to see a landslide sweep for the GOP ticket last year (all won by more than a dozen points). It also has a larger sample than the AAF poll from a couple of weeks ago which had Hurt up only six.

The battle among the pollsters could be almost as interesting as the one among the candidates.

Cross-posted to RWL

From MSNBC: Lee said at the time that he experienced an ‘‘awakening” when he watched former Vice President Al Gore’s environmental documentary ‘‘An Inconvenient Truth.” So, what other than bomb-making, murderous intent and hostage-taking did Algore awaken in this nutcase?  From Lee’s rambling manifesto: The Discovery Channel and it’s affiliate channels MUST have daily television [...]

What a problem to have in your first few months. Media around the Commonwealth have been covering the outage of state computer servers for well over a week.

Among those state agencies affected the worst were DMV, who had trouble issuing license renewals, and the Department of Social Services, where briefly there was concern that benefits would be delayed. Also affected were the Departments of Taxation, Juvenile Justice, and Environmental Quality. The State Board of Elections and VITA (who runs the system!) were also on that list.

Now, according to today’s RTD, Senior lawmakers want an independent investigation of the problem. Governor McDonnell has also called for an “independent third party” to investigate.

Former Chesterfield Delegate Sam Nixon was appointed to be Chief Information Officer of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency just this past March. In part, Nixon was appointed because the VITA/Northrop Grumman partnership has been replete with problems from the beginning.

With the latest problems resting on his doorstep, one has to wonder if Nixon wouldn’t prefer to be back in his safely Republican house district.

Assuming, that is, that the State Board of Elections could find his records.

Jeff Clark, independent congressional candidate in the 5th District, has a problem: Debt.

Of course, Clark is like most Americans who struggle with this endemic problem.

According to creditcards.com, which tracks these sorts of statistics, Americans who have credit cards carry a balance of nearly $16,000 and the total U.S. consumer debt is $2.4 trillion. (Not to mention the over $40,000 each taxpayer now owes for our federal government’s spending spree)

So what does this have to do with Clark?

On August 28, the Daily Progress ran a story detailing Clark’s woes with personal finance showing that he declared bankruptcy in 1993 and has a history of health care-related debt in the 1980’s.

Clark, who is a Tea Party activist, however, says that his experience with debt, and its financial ramifications, gives him a greater appreciation for what 5th District voters are facing during this recession.

That’s all well and good, but it’s a subjective argument – not one which may bring him many votes. However, what should be of concern to Hurt is that the mere appearance of bullying brings Clark – a candidate with little chance of winning – empathy.

Clark, again, is an independent. While he is an active member of the tea party, his status is not the same as a Paul (R-KY), Miller (R-AK) or Angle (R-NV), who all won the backing of independent, conservative Republicans to win the GOP nomination.

By being a true independent, the only role Clark might play right now is that of spoiler in the general election between the Republican, Robert Hurt, and Democratic incumbent, Tom Perriello. And, the most likely person that Clark will damage in the race is the Republican – as evidenced by the recent tea party insurgence.

The tea party is a conservative movement, so it stands to reason that when candidates run with a tea party association, they are either dynamically changing the GOP from within or are a threat to peel votes away in the general. It’s one of the reasons 2nd District GOP nominee Scott Rigell has attempted to reconcile with the movement.

This reality, of the tea party being conservative and loosely associated with the GOP, makes it interesting that Clark was approached by Mark Lloyd of the Lynchburg Tea Party not long ago and asked to drop out of the race because of rumors that Clark’s past debt might come to light during the course of the campaign.

Why would the tea party want Clark out of the race?

According to the Daily Progress:

“If [the person who tipped off the media regarding Clark’s debt] steps forward, explains how they came into possession of these documents and says who paid for them, we will drop our candidacy,” Clark said.

In order to drop out, Clark said, certain conditions must first be met. The person or persons who tipped off the media, he said, must reveal themselves, must say how they came in possession of the documents, disclose if they were compensated, reveal any political or campaign affiliation and say on whose behalf they gathered the information.

Because the 5th District is such a close race between Perriello and Hurt, the Republican will need all the votes he can get. While both the Hurt and Perriello campaigns have declined to comment on this issue, the most likely person wanting Clark out of the race is Hurt.

The likelihood of the tipster coming out is unlikely. However, given Clark’s play, is it possbile now that this will boomerang on the Hurt campaign, regardless of whether they were involved or not? Instead of Clark being damaged by the revelations, will he be now seen as a martyr – the guy who has the same problems as millions of Americans – facing an uphill climb against that which the tea party has labeled the Murkowski’s of the world: the national GOP insiders? Will voters of the 5th District begin to sympathize with Clark?

Whether or not Hurt was involved, I would certainly not want to be on the side of “no comment.” And, rightly or wrongly, Hurt may be blamed for this as the politics of personal destruction.