Via The Drudge Report and Matt “threat to democracy” Drudge: Obama says pointed abortion query ‘above his pay grade’…
He isn’t ready to be the Commander-in-Chief of this nation’s armed forces, that’s for sure.
Month: August 2008
Why I can’t watch the news.
Because there are too many stupid newscasters.
Take for example the 9:00 a.m. news on WRC (NBC, Channel 4) out of Washington, D.C.
One newscaster (a young black guy; didn’t catch the name) was discussing the countries with the highest amount of medals.
He stated “for a small country like France” they’re doing quite well (3 gold, 9 silver, 10 bronze: 22 total).
…
When did France become “a small country”?
It’s the 40th biggest country in the world by size! (Wikipedia)
The country has 64,473,140 people in it! That makes it the 20th biggest country by population. (Ibid)
I’m curious, can this newscaster even locate France on the map? Hint: It’s in Europe.
You know, WRC could hire me as an expert foreign affairs consultant; heck, I have never been out of the United States and I have only been to four states (Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina) and the District of Columbia, but hell, I can do better than the people they have now.
This whole war in Georgia thing sounds a lot like a certain video game…
Specifically Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon, which was released in 2002.
Here’s a portion of the plot summary from Wikipedia:
Ghost Recon puts the player in charge of a fictitious squad of U.S. Special Forces operators from Company D, 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (5th SFG) stationed at Fort Bragg, NC. Except for the “1st Battalion, 5th SFG” designation, this unit is entirely fictional. They are sometimes referred to as “The Ghosts”. Their role is not unlike other real world Special Operations Forces, in that their operations are kept highly classified.
[…]
Ghost Recon begins in April 16, 2008, with civil unrest in Russia. Ultra-nationalists have seized power in Moscow, with plans to rebuild the Iron Curtain. Their first step is clandestine support of rebel factions in Georgia and the Baltic States. This is where the Ghosts come in: to silence the rebellion. Armed with some of the most advanced weaponry in the world, the soldiers of the Ghost Recon force are covertly inserted into Eastern Europe and given specific missions to curtail the rebel actions and overthrow their benefactors.
The game’s storyline stems from political turmoil that came to light a few years earlier, in which the Ultra-nationalist regime came to power and placed its leader, Dmitri Arbatov, as Russia’s president. By 2007, the threat posed by the Arbatov Administration became clear. Russia forms an alliance called the Russian Democratic Union (RDU), which is made up of the previously conquered countries of Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. Together, they launch a campaign to revive the long-dissolved Soviet Union by taking back all of the former Soviet republics.
During the first few missions of the game, the Ghosts battle South Ossetian rebel forces from the north of Georgia, who are harassing the legitimate government and its allies. The Ghosts fight in the forests, on farms, and in villages while assisting their NATO allies in fighting the enemy. The Russian government complains to the United Nations that the Americans have interfered in their affairs, and eventually they send in their army to aid the rebels. The U.S. cannot hope to stop the Russian Army from invading Georgia, so the Ghosts slow down the invading forces so that their allies can evacuate. Eventually, the Ghosts are all that’s left of the U.S. forces in Georgia, and they evacuate by SH-60 Seahawk helicopter on the rooftop of the American Embassy in T’bilisi, just barely avoiding the Russian forces. The Georgian government flees to Geneva and sets up a government-in-exile. With the fall of T’bilisi, Georgia surrenders and is forcefully incorporated into the RDU.
Miss two court dates, get a year in prison.
Throw your three-year-old daughter in a pool, refuse to rescue her while she sinks to the bottom, have a beer and kick your one-year-old daughter accross the room while your other daughter goes to the hospital, get a year in prison.
Sounds proportionate to me; what about you guys?
To recap: A man who missed two court dates in Stafford County — while he was sitting in jail in Norfolk — received a jury’s recommendation to serve a year in prison (link).
And now in Spotsylvania County (The Free Lance–Star):
A mother who threw her 3-year-old daughter in a pool and let the toddler sink to the bottom will spend a year in prison.
[…]
The incident that led to her charges last Aug. 6 occurred when she was intoxicated with a .26 blood alcohol content, according to evidence presented yesterday in court.
According to a March plea agreement, Frank was playing in an outdoor pool at a friend’s home with her 3-year-old daughter last summer.
While playing, the toddler ripped Frank’s shirt, so she angrily threw the girl into the center of the pool. She sank to the bottom.
After realizing Frank was not helping her daughter, a 7-year-old girl went to the bottom of the pool to bring the toddler up for air, according to the agreement.
[…]
While the 3-year-old was en route to the hospital, Frank sat on the couch, drinking a beer, and, still angry, kicked her 1-year-old daughter across the kitchen floor, according to witness statements in the plea agreement.
The incident with her younger daughter is what led to Frank’s assault conviction.
You’re supposed to have a dog license to own a dog right?
I am hereby purposing that before you are allowed to have children you should have to obtain a breeding/children license.
If it’s good enough for dog breeders (ask Bobby Orrock), why not humans?
We can change Animal Control to Human Control too.
Ditto for the Animal Shelter, it would be a Human Shelter.
We must do it for the children!
Oh yeah, and we can hang people charged with crimes like this…
“Which office does he go to to get his reputation back?”, Part 2
A paraphrase of something Ray Donovan, a former United States Secretary of Labor, said after he was acquitted of criminal charges. The title of yesterday’s post was a slight misparaphrase.
Some good news on this front at least (The Free Lance–Star):
The child molestation charges against Spotsylvania County sheriff’s Deputy Richard Earnest Lloyd Jr. are not being prosecuted in Caroline County Circuit Court.
[…]
But yesterday, Goochland prosecutor Nancy Oglesby, who handled the case because of a conflict of interest in the Caroline commonwealth’s attorney’s office, moved to nolle pross the charges based on a lack of evidence in the case.
[…]
Spotsylvania Sheriff Howard Smith said Lloyd would be reinstated today as a deputy.
“We’re glad to have him back,” Smith said.
[…]
According to a July 11, 2006, Virginia Court of Appeals decision, allegations that Lloyd had sexually abused his children were unfounded.
Those allegations, which came as part of a custody battle, were found to have no basis, according to the appeals decision. Lloyd was permitted at the time to keep full custody of his children.
However, when Lloyd was charged in January, his custody was taken away.
Witmeyer said yesterday that he intends to file an emergency custody appeal in Hanover County, where Lloyd lives.
If you want to read the whole monstrosity of a custody case this is: click here.
Praise NAFTA!
That would be the North American Free Trade Agreement.
KHOU:
“Jose” came to this country 10 years ago, seeking a better life. Now he is headed home.
Since he does not have a valid Social Security number and recent government crackdowns, employers who in the past would have hired an undocumented worker are too scared.
[…]
Officials at the Mexican Consulate’s office in Houston said more families are headed south of the border. The number of Houston families transferring their kids’ transcripts into Mexican schools has more than doubled.
An immigration attorney blames tighter enforcement for the migration, but that is not the only factor. The economy is improving to the south as companies are expanding into new global markets.
The important news out of the Caroline County BOS meeting: Golf carts!
So sayeth The Free Lance–Star: Golf carts possible for Caroline subdivision
I guess I have to handle the unimportant news from the meeting:
The county is considering spending $4,500,000.00 for a bloody park. That’s at least another cent on the tax rate to handle the debt retirement for the project.
Meanwhile, there’s still no public safety building nor a new public works workshop.
Meanwhile, Jeff Sili was whining (and boy, can he whine) about spending $61,000 to improve security at the Circuit Court so a sheriff’s deputy or someone else doesn’t get killed by a prisoner who tries to escape. And remember, this is the Circuit Court: that’s where felons are being tried.
You know, I don’t much care for Wayne Acors, but he has his moments, especially when he essentially tells Jeff to STFU.
There was the Belmont hearing with the BOS giving the developer crap after the developer has proffered millions of dollars, including a new fire station.
There was the BOS stealing someone’s subdivisions: Apparently the BOS believes that a rezoning/subdivision applicant should know every letter of the zoning/subdivision ordinance and when the Planning Commission or the Department of Planning & Community Development messes something up, it’s okay to take someone’s private property rights away. Ever funnier was after the applicant’s lawyer got up and said, “we’re going to sue your asses [the BOS]”, Jeff Sili moved to vacant the subdivision, and no one offered a second! In fact, they all gave him a look that read, “are you stupid or just crazy?”. Eventually Maxie Rozell decided it might be important to ask the county attorney before they did anything. After a closed session, they showed the great leadership of doing nothing and letting the Planning Commission handle it.
Oh, and the board finally got around to approving the six month goals “for [the] period of July to December 2008”. Isn’t it currently August or did I miss something?
By the way, if you want to watch all this unimportant news, the county has started to put video of the meetings up online (and thankfully, now I don’t have to do it). The video of this meeting isn’t up as I’m writing this, but it should be up in a day or two:
Where does he go to get his reputation back?
The child molestation charges against Spotsylvania County sheriff’s deputy Richard Earnest Lloyd Jr. were nolle prossed today in Caroline County Circuit Court.
Lloyd was charged in January with sexual battery and taking indecent liberties with a child.
But yesterday, Goochland prosecutor Nancy Oglesby, who handled the case because of a conflict of interest in the Caroline commonwealth’s attorney’s office, moved to nolle pross the charges based on a lack of evidence in the case.
[…]
“I think this is over finally,” [Lloyd’s defense attorney Carl] Witmeyer said. “I always had the utmost confidence that [Lloyd] would be exonerated from allegations he’s been facing for almost five years.”
The main evidence in the case was testimony from the child Lloyd was accused of abusing, but Witmeyer said that child had recanted since Lloyd was charged in January.
What was the origin for all this?
A bloody custody battle (Cynthia Weaver v. Richard E. Lloyd, Record No. 0224-06-2).
These charges had previously been declared unfounded by St. Mary’s Hospital, the Medical College of Virginia, the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office, the State Police Criminal Investigations Unit, and Caroline County Child Protective Services in 2004.
Consider this from the court case:
According to Dr. Fisher [a social worker], the children do not need any further active counseling or therapy regarding mother’s unfounded allegations of sexual abuse, and he opined that continued discussion of the allegations could “pathologize” the children and cause a “false positive.” He found the children were more open and communicative than when they first began seeing him and indicated they were doing better because they have not been “as exposed” to the continued allegations of abuse by mother and maternal grandmother, which abuse Dr. Fisher ruled out “within a reasonable degree of clinical certainty.”
Talk about taking vindictiveness to a new level…
So, is the AP or the Richmond Times-Dispatch responsible for this error?
Paper: Richmond Times-Dispatch
Headline: DNA clears Va. man convicted of firearm felony. (Link)
The relevant sections of the story:
A man who was convicted of felony firearm possession has become the first person exonerated under a 2004 Virginia law allowing prisoners to present new, non-DNA evidence of their innocence.
The Virginia Court of Appeals granted Darrell Andrew Copeland’s writ of actual innocence Tuesday.
The attorney general’s office supported Copeland’s petition after lab tests showed that the weapon he had when he was arrested in Chesapeake last year was a “gas gun” that does not fit the definition of a firearm under state law.
[…]
AP-ES-08-12-08 1221EDT
(I believe that’s an AP date stamp at the bottom but it might not be.)
The petition had nothing to do with DNA — despite what the headline of the story says.
The petition was based on whether the gun was actually a firearm under state law. It wasn’t.
Weekly News Media Briefs – Week Ending August 9, 2008
From the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office:
On August 3, 2008, Deputy M.J. O’Connor responded Ruther Glen for a domestic situation. After further investigation, Darren K. Baker, 41, of Ruther Glen was charged with Domestic Assault. He was released on an unsecured bond and a court date of August 7, 2008 was set. Additionally, Marvin L. Toliver, 43, of Ruther Glen was charged with Obstruction of Justice. He was released on an unsecured bond and a court date of September 7, 2008 was set.
On August 5, 2008, Deputy P.E. Ford responded to Ruther Glen for a domestic situation. After further investigation, Maurice D. Williams, 40, of Ruther Glen was charged with Domestic Assault. He was released on a summons and a court date of August 12, 2008 was set.
On August 6, 2008, Deputy C.M. Polliard stopped Angela L. Maggi, 22, of California for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Maggi was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Drugs and Possession of Marijuana. She was held on a $1,500 secured bond and a court date of August 20, 2008 was set.
On August 7, 2008, Deputy J.O. Cecil responded to Ruther Glen for a report of trespassers. After investigating, Russell S. Griggs, 55, of Mechanicsville was charged with Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Stolen Property and Trespassing. He was held on a $5,000 secured bond and a court date of August 8, 2008 was set.
On August 8, 2008, Deputy G.J. Hamilton stopped William C. Haynie, 50, of Woodford for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Haynie was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Refusal to Submit to a Test. He was released on a $1,500 unsecured bond and a court date of August 20, 2008 was set.
On August 8, 2008, Investigator M.M. Ellett encountered Paxton D. Fobbs, 19 of Bowling Green. Fobbs was arrested on an outstanding warrant for Malicious Wounding. He was released on his own recognizance and a court date of August 20, 2008 was set.
On August 9, 2008, Deputy C.S. Wooldridge responded to Woodford for a disturbance. After further investigation, McQuinn A. Johnson, 24, of Woodford was charged with Possession of Marijuana. He was released on a summons and a court date of September 12, 2008 was set.
On August 9, 2008, Deputy C.M. Polliard responded to Woodford for a disturbance. After further investigation, a male juvenile was charged with Possession with the Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Underage Possession of Alcohol, Possession of a Scheduled IV Controlled Substance and Distribution of Marijuana. He was held without bond and has a pending court date.
On August 9, 2008, Deputy C.M. Polliard responded to Woodford for a disturbance. After further investigation Travis W. Howard, 21, of Woodford was charged with Possession of Marijuana. He was released on a summons and a court date of September 12, 2008 was set.
On August 10, 2008, Sgt. R.L. Hixson stopped Everett E. Coleman, 47, of Ruther Glen for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Coleman was charged with Driving Under the Influence, 2nd offense, Refusal to Submit to a Test, Driving Suspended and Speeding. He was held on a $1,500 secured bond and a court date of August 20, 2008 was set.
Caroline County Sheriff’s Office Wrap Up
According to Sheriff Tony Lippa, Caroline Deputies made 11 drug arrests, 2 DUI arrests, 11 domestic violence arrests, and 84 other criminal arrests during the past week. The deputies served 181 civil papers, issued 244 traffic summonses, handled 13 motor vehicle crashes, responded to 41 alarm calls, and dealt with 9 juvenile offenders. The Sheriff’s Office Communications Center dispatched 616 calls for service and handled 2,134 telephone inquiries. The CCSO also logged 46 calls assisting outside agencies and had 366 self-initiated calls.