"Agitate, agitate, agitate!" -Frederick Douglass
I must say, I like Eric Cantor*. I agree with him in most situations. But this time, he’s just plain wrong:
During an election season when many Republicans had tried to distance themselves from Bush, Cantor[*] said most lawmakers were taking cues from Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and were eager to act quickly on the plan.
“We have to do something to make sure our capital markets remain viable and remain robust,” said Rep. Eric I. Cantor[*], R-7th.
Of course he is. He also manages to prove that he doesn’t know jack about economics.
I mean come on, you didn’t seriously expect him to find any budget cuts (as he promised) to pay for those $132,500,000 in earmarks that he requested, did you?
Now he’s supporting a $700,000,000,000 bailout proposal (I think that’s the right amount of zeros).
You know, I don’t know jack about economics (don’t really care to, either), but at least I know to keep my mouth shut about the situation.
On September 9, 2008, I noted the passing of School Board member Bill Anderson.
On September 10, 2008, at or around 12:49 a.m., I updated the original post with the death announcement that appeared in The Free Lance–Star.
On September 11, 2008, at or around 3:24 a.m., I updated the original post by posting the full obituary for Mr. Anderson that appeared in the paper.
Today, September 23, 2008, at 12:17 p.m., I received the following e-mail [emphasis mine]:
Brian Baer <bbaer@fredericksburg.com> Tue, Sep 23, 2008 at 12:17 PM
I’m writing to notify you that you have violated The Free Lance-Star’s copyright by posting an entire newspaper obituary for William Anderson on your blog.
Here’s a link to our permissions policy – should you see other content in the future on fredericksburg.com that you want to take: http://fredericksburg.com/News/Web/permissions
Thanks in advance for changing the post.
Have a great day.– Brian Baer
online managing editor, The Free Lance-Star
Yeah, folks, that’s real.
My first reply to Mr. Baer:
The last time I checked, the obituaries are sent to your paper by the funeral home, ipso facto, you have no copyright claim to them. Otherwise, you should pursue legal action against Storke Funeral Home for their website.
You folks aren’t the brightest, are you?
And thanks for the blog post.
“Paper complains about use of obituary”. Classy.
A follow-up reply I sent to him:
And isn’t it a violation of federal law to fraudulently claim to have the copyright authority over published works?
And sure enough, it is!:
Just so you know Mr. Baur, 17 U.S.C. § 506 (2007) reads, in part:
(c) Fraudulent Copyright Notice.— Any person who, with fraudulent intent, places on any article a notice of copyright or words of the same purport that such person knows to be false, or who, with fraudulent intent, publicly distributes or imports for public distribution any article bearing such notice or words that such person knows to be false, shall be fined not more than $2,500.
I will be forwarding this e-mail, both electronically and via snail mail, to the local United States Attorney for the Richmond Division for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Further e-mails from you or anyone else at your organization will result in me seeking judicial relief for harassment and/or stalking.
Thank you,
Timothy Watson
What a rag…
Actually, saying that is mean to rags, they serve purposes unlike this paper.
A couple months ago, a Caroline County citizen raised objections regarding the Caroline County Board of Supervisors, Caroline’s Promise, and Caroline’s Promise’s faith based initiatives. Separation of church and state and all that.
Feel free to argue amongst yourself as to whether you agree with Caroline’s Promise’s policies and programs or not, but that’s the topic of discussion for another post.
Here’s the topic of this post, however: If you heard over to the Caroline County forum on that waste-of-electrons known as FredTalk, you will see people taking about what the Attorney General said in an legal opinion that was provided to the Caroline County Board of Supervisors during a closed session meeting.
This opinion should be covered under closed session meeting standards, as well as under attorney/client privilege, and not be discussed with members of the public.
The opinion which information was leaked from was an informal/unofficial opinion that the Board requested to see if there were any problems that needed to be rectified immediately.
The Board has also requested an official, formal opinion that will be released to the public in the future, which hasn’t finished being prepared at this point.
County Administrator Percy Ashcraft has confirmed that a leak has occurred and stated that the leak didn’t come from anyone on the county staff.
He pointed out that there were only eight or nine people in the room. Three or four people were county staff: Percy Ashcraft; the county attorney; the deputy county administrator, and possibly Ashcraft’s administrative assistant (she skips the closed sessions sometimes due to the fact that no minutes have to be kept for closed sessions).
None of these persons have the position or reason to leak this information. The County Administrator’s Office would be smart enough not to discuss anyone without the proper “clearance”, and the county attorney should understand the principles of attorney/client privilege.
So, folks, who does that leave?
Well, those five lovely folks on the Board of Supervisors.
Now, which member of the Board of Supervisors has connections to that waste-of-electrons known as FredTalk?
Why, that would be Jeff Sili. His wife loves to post on that forum using the alias “oharascarlett” and is bestest buddies with the persons talking about the information contained in the legal opinion.
Not only that, but isn’t Susan Sili on the Board of Directors of Caroline’s Promise? Why, yes, I believe she is.
Sidebar: Anyone else see a conflict of interest in the Board of Supervisors appropriating money to an organization that is being ran by family members of the supervisors?
Of course, this isn’t the first time that confidential information has been leaked from the Board of Supervisors.
The last time around, it was Susan Sili posting about who would be hired for a job — nine days before there was an official announcement!
The person who was hired? A good friend of the Silis!
If I’m not mistaken, it’s against the law to leak information from a closed session. Even if it isn’t against the law, it’s a violation of the Board’s attorney/client privilege.
Has the Board of Supervisors launched an inquiry into this matter?
Are criminal charges being pursued at this point? Impeachment? Censure? Etc.
From the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office:
On September 14, 2008, Deputy G.W. Honeycutt stopped Robert W. Williams, Jr., 52, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Williams was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Reckless Driving by Speed 58/35. During this incident Lt. J.H. Crowder observed marijuana in Williams’ vehicle and subsequently charged Williams with Possession of Marijuana. He was held on a $1,500 secured bond and a court date of September 19, 2008 was set.
On September 14, 2008, Deputy P.E. Ford responded to Ruther Glen for a trespassing call. After investigating, Herbert R. Coleman, 47, of Ruther Glen was charged with trespassing. Coleman was also served with an outstanding capias out of Caroline County. He was held on a $3,000 secured bond and a court date of September 16, 2008 was set.
On September 14, 2008, Deputy F.L. Brennan responded to Rappahannock Academy for a domestic disturbance. Upon further investigation Lewis R. Nestor, 41, of Elkridge, Maryland was charged with Domestic Assault. He has a pending court date in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
On September 14, 2008, Deputy J.K. Miller responded to Ruther Glen for a disorderly subject. Upon investigating, Adam Villaronga, 35, of Ruther Glen was charged with being Drunk in Public. He was released on his own recognizance and a court date of November 17, 2008 was set.
On September 15, 2008, Deputy S. Mullane stopped Letitia D. Baylor, 30, of Bowling Green, for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Baylor was charged with Driving Suspended and Possession with the Intent to Distribute Marijuana. She was ordered held without bond and a court date of September 17, 2008 was set.
On September 15, 2008, Deputy C.M. Polliard stopped Tyrone R. Burruss, 49, of Ruther Glen. Upon further investigation, Burruss was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. He was held on a $1,000 secured bond and a court date of September 17, 2008 was set.
On September 16, 2008, Sgt. R.L. Hixson stopped Kevin B. L. Brown, 50, of Ruther Glen for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Brown was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, 2nd offense in five years, Defective Windshield and Fail to Stay to Right of Center. He was ordered held without bond and a court date of September 17, 2008 was set.
On September 17, 2008, Deputy C.A. Heywood encountered Stewart A. Ison, Sr., 45, of Ruther Glen at a Ruther Glen business. After investigating, Ison was charged with being Drunk in Public. He was released on his own recognizance and a court date of November 26, 2008 was set.
On September 17, 2008, Deputy C.A. Heywood responded to a Ruther Glen business for a report of a shoplifting. After investigating, Melinda S. Martin, 20, of Ruther Glen and Ashley D. Martin, 18, of Woodford were charged with Shoplifting. Both subjects were released on a summons and a court date of November 26, 2008 was set.
On September 17, 2008, Deputy W.D. Lipscomb stopped Charity C. O’Connell, 32, of Ruther Glen for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, O’Connell was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol- 2nd offense in five years and Driving Revoked – DUI Related. She was ordered held on a $2,000 secured bond and a court date of November 28, 2008 was set.
On September 18, 2008, Deputy T.P. Connolly stopped Sherry A. Campton, 37, of Fredericksburg for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Campton was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, Refusal to Submit to a Chemical Test and Fail to Keep to Right of Highway. She was held on a $3,500 secured bond and a court date of September 19, 2008 was set.
On September 19, 2008, Deputy G.J. Hamilton stopped Lloyd H. Keller, 43, of Fredericksburg for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Keller was charged with Driving Suspended – 2nd offense, No valid County Decal and No Insurance. He was held on a $1,500 secured bond and a court date of September 26, 2008 was set.
On September 19, 2008, Deputy W.D. Lipscomb stopped Teren B. Fields, 55, of Ruther Glen for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Fields was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. He was held on a $1,000 secured bond and a court date of November 28, 2008 was set.
On September 19, 2008, Deputy C.A. Heywood responded to Ruther Glen for a destruction of property call involving a school bus. After investigating, 1 juvenile was charged with Throwing a Missile at an Occupied Vehicle and Destruction of Property. Another juvenile was charged with Obstruction of Justice. Both juveniles have a pending court date in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
On September 20, 2008, Sgt. R.L. Hixson, stopped Anthony A. Coleman, 47, of no fixed address, for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Coleman was charged with Felony Habitual Offender, Felony Driving Under the Influence, Refusal to Submit to a Chemical Test and Felony Attempt to Elude. Coleman was also served two (2) capias’ out of Caroline County. He was ordered held without bond and a court date of September 24, 2008 was set.
On September 20, 2008, Deputy W.D. Lipscomb stopped Tyree O. Curtis, 23, of Ruther Glen for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Curtis was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. He was ordered held without bond and a court date of November 28, 2008 was set.
On September 20, 2008, Deputy M.J. O’Connor stopped Steven S. Martell, 43, of Ruther Glen for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Martell was charged with Felony Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Driving Revoked – DUI Related. He was held on a $2,500 secured bond and a court date of September 24, 2008 was set.
Caroline County Sheriff’s Office Wrap Up
According to Sheriff Tony Lippa, Caroline Deputies made 6 drug arrests, 6 DUI arrests, 9 domestic violence arrests, and 58 other criminal arrests during the past week. The deputies served 303 civil papers, issued 337 traffic summonses, handled 5 motor vehicle crashes, responded to 30 alarm calls, and dealt with 6 juvenile offenders. The Sheriff’s Office Communications Center dispatched 601 calls for service and handled 1,127 telephone inquiries. The CCSO also logged 34 calls assisting outside agencies and had 290 self-initiated calls.
What a rag. They can’t seem to get by without going to, and taking stories from, my and other’s lowly little hate-blogs.
On September 14, 2008, I published a post about how the fine folks at Germanna Community College decided to spend money to send staff to India to find IT internships for people at the college.
On September 21, 2008, The Free Lance–Star published a story talking about how great the whole trip was. The college spends $12,000 that’s supposed to go to “professional development” to send staff on a trip to India, and it’s a great thing!
You gotta love when a newspaper caters to whomever is in a position of power.
I’ve heard of this mythical place to the north called “Novaville”, it’s supposed to contain hundreds — if not thousands — of technology companies that need interns.
So instead of getting local technology companies involved in the college, they think that students have thousands of dollars to go to India for an internship during a sagging economy. According to priceline.com, a round-trip to India is going to cost you at least $1,100 in airfare alone (and that’s if you schedule it for January, five months in advance).
For that cost, you could pay for 12 credit hours at Germanna instead.
I just hope they don’t plan on setting up any internships in Delhi since “a top tourist spot” just got hit by a suicide bombing that killed 60 people and wounded 150 more (CNN). “India ranks among the countries where terrorism is most common” as well, according to the United States State Department (Ibid).
They really don’t seem to have problems like that in Novaville.
And The Free Lance–Star didn’t just happen upon that trip-to-India story on their own. There were visits to my blog from the paper at around 9:47 a.m. on September 15, 2008 going to the post I did. Then there were dozens of hits from the Virginia Community College System that started at 11:20 a.m. on the same day — going directly to that post — as if someone had e-mailed them a link.
Further, this trip to India happened two months ago, and the news story about it doesn’t even appear on Germanna’s homepage anymore.
Of course, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.
Take for example, the resignation of Caroline County Finance Director Garland Adkins: The story was originally posted on Tom James’s blog on October 11, 2007, with quotes from, at the time, a non-password protected employee page.
On October 14, 2007, The Free Lance–Star published a story announcing Adkins’s resignation citing the employee page. No mention of Tom James’s blog was in the story. Are we to believe that someone from the paper just happened to wonder onto the county’s employee page?
On June 15, 2008, I published a post pointing out that Haymount had been bought out for $21,500,000.
On June 22, 2008, The Free Lance–Star published a story about Haymount being bought out.
Those aren’t the only times it has occurred, but I’m too lazy to track the other articles involved.
Hell, if they don’t have anything better to do, people from The Free Lance–Star will kindly point out when I use the wrong tense of a verb.
Frankly, why should I allow them to take stuff that I post on my blog, and use it for commercial profit?
I’m not making money of this site. Sure, I have ads on the page but it doesn’t offset the cost of the hosting package.
That’s why, beginning at midnight tonight, access from that rag of a paper will be blocked.
We can do it, we have the technology.
Actually, it’s pretty easy, just a few lines in the .htaccess file and boom, we’re done.
No worries, no one outside the people at the paper will be affected.
I guess they will have to find another source for news in the area.
I’m sure the statistic odds of this happening are on the order of 1 in 1,000,000 but still:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty-vH42H_7k
Also:
H/t: FAIL blog.
From the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office:
On September 11, 2008, Sgt. C.A. Rozell conducted a follow-up investigation of a Bad Check. Tara M. Coghill, 32, of Fredericksburg was charged with Bad Check. She was released on her own recognizance and a court date was set.
On September 6, 2008, Deputy J.K. Miller responded to Rappahannock Academy for a domestic disturbance. Upon further investigation, Deborah K. Carter, 40, of Rappahannock Academy was charged with Domestic Assault. She was released on her own recognizance and a court date of September 8, 2008 was set.
On September 7, 2008, Deputy P.E. Ford was on patrol in the Rappahannock Academy area when he encountered Christina M. Turner, 33, of Rappahannock Academy. Upon further investigation, Turner was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. She was held on a $1,500 unsecured bond and a court date of September 19, 2008 was set.
On September 7, 2008, Deputy B.N. Doucet stopped Gordon G. Embrey, 32, of Partlow for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Embrey was charged with Driving Revoked, Failure to Dim Headlights and Possession of a Schedule I or II Narcotic. He was held on a $2,500 secured bond and a court date of September 10, 2008.
On September 7, 2008, Deputy S. Mullane stopped William R. Rudd, III, 55, for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Rudd was charged with being Drunk in Public and Obstruction of Justice. He was held on a $1,500 unsecured bond and a court date of September 17, 2008 was set.
On September 7, 2008, Sgt. S.L. Cary responded to Ruther Glen for a domestic disturbance. After investigating, David L. Hopkins, 21, of Ruther Glen was charged with being Drunk in Public. He was released on his own recognizance and a court date of September 19, 2008 was set.
On September 8, 2008, Deputy F.L. Brennan responded to Ruther Glen for a disturbance. After further investigation, John R. Skinner, 34, of Milford was charged with Disorderly Conduct and Drunk in Public. He was released on his own recognizance and a court date of September 17, 2008 was set.
On September 10, 2008, Deputy D.W. Mundie stopped Rhonda L. Denton, 44, of Ashland for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Denton was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Drinking While Driving. She was held on a $2,500 secured bond and a court date of September 12, 2008 was set.
On September 11, 2008, Deputy C.M. Polliard responded to Woodford for a domestic disturbance. After investigating, Walker C. Callahan, 66, of Woodford was charged with Domestic Assault, Drunk in Public and Obstruction of Justice. He was held on a $2,000 secured bond and a court date of September 16, 2008 was set.
On September 12, 2008, Deputy J.R. Shelton responded to a domestic situation in Woodford. After investigating, Brad L. Billingsley, 29, of Woodford and Ashley L. Billingsley, 25, of Woodford were charged with domestic assault. Both parties were released on a $1,500 unsecured bond and a court date of September 18, 2008 was set.
On September 13, 2008, Deputy B.N. Doucet responded to Ruther Glen for a disturbance call. Upon further investigation, Taylor N. Lickey, 34, of Ruther Glen was charged with Domestic Assault and Tracy M. Ferguson, 24, of Ruther Glen was charged with Assault and Battery. Lickey was held on a $3,500 secured bond and a court date of September 16, 2008 was set. Ferguson was held on a $2,500 secured bond and a court date of September 17, 2008 was set.
Caroline County Sheriff’s Office Wrap Up
According to Sheriff Tony Lippa, Caroline Deputies made 8 drug arrests, 1 DUI arrests, 11 domestic violence arrests, and 76 other criminal arrests during the past week. The deputies served 144 civil papers, issued 211 traffic summonses, handled 3 motor vehicle crashes, responded to 33 alarm calls, and dealt with 10 juvenile offenders. The Sheriff’s Office Communications Center dispatched 577 calls for service and handled 1,849 telephone inquiries. The CCSO also logged 14 calls assisting outside agencies and had 223 self-initiated calls.
Subject of e-mail sent to his supporters (no, I’m not a supporter): “Get the conversation back on track”.
Obama’s campaign, of course, blames that big, evil John McCain.
I guess McCain has been going around stealing Obama’s milk money or something.
Now, I ask you: Whose campaign is “off track”?
What campaign has their blogger buddies going around stating that the opponent’s Vice Presidential pick faked her pregnancy to cover up for her daughter?
What campaign has their buddies in the media attacking the VP pick using those oh-so-greatly-fact-checked claims by the same bloggers?
What campaign is mocking his opponent because his opponent has difficulty using a computer due to torture suffered while serving his country in the United States Navy?
Why, hot damn, that would be Barack Obama’s campaign!
Is this election over?
No, far from it.
In fact, there’s probably a dozen or so October/November surprises left, but Obama’s campaign can’t stay on message and that’s a problem for them.