"Agitate, agitate, agitate!" -Frederick Douglass
I asked the following question about the debate in the title of my live blog post: A debate for the ages or a snoozefest?
Well, we got our answer.
As Matt “threat to democracy” Drudge notes: “B O R I N G”
Michelle Malkin: “Zzzzzzzz”
I think I will just copy and paste the stuff from this live blog for the next live blog. No one will notice the difference probably.
This is the top post until after the debate. Scroll down for the newer stuff.
The cool thing about this software is that you, my precious readers (all three of you), don’t have to bother refreshing the page every minute just to read my inane ramblings.
Other live blogs:
Check out it out. A sample:
This will cause some fun in the blogosphere and at the very least a major hiccup for Warner, but it’s emblematic of a larger issue with Marky Mark. The Dem nominee is the poster-boy for the “limousine liberal” (as Bob Novak calls them), wealthy politicos who vote for the Democrats on social or foreign policy issues, but mainly driven by an elitist snobbery that has no use for ordinary Virginians or what they think.
From the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office:
On August 16, 2008, Deputy F.L. Brennan arrested James W. Conley, 19, of Rappahannock Academy for being Drunk in Public. Upon further investigation of the incident, Conley was charged with Possession of Cocaine. He was released on a $2,500 unsecured bond and a court date of October 8, 2008 was set.
On September 28, 2008, Deputy S. Mullane stopped Delores M. Baker, 54, of Ruther Glen, for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Baker was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Refusal to Submit to a Test. She was held on a $1,500 secured bond and a court date of October 8, 2008 was set.
On September 28, 2008, Deputy C.S. Wooldridge was called to assist Caroline Fire and Rescue Personnel. After investigating, Donald R. Jackson, Jr., 42, of Ruther Glen was charged with Being Drunk in Public. He was released on his own recognizance and a court date of October 8, 2008 was set.
On September 28, 2008, Deputy C.M. Polliard stopped Karen B. Warren, 38, of Fairfax, for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Warren was charged with Being Drunk in Public, Possession of PCP and Improper Stopping on a Highway. She was held on a $2,500 secured bond and a court date of October 1, 2008 was set. A passenger in the vehicle, Michael A. Coleman, 43, of Stafford, was charged with Possession of PCP and was also arrested on an outstanding warrant out of Stafford County for Possession of PCP. He was held on a $5,000 secured bond and a court date of October 1, 2008 was set.
On September 29, 2008, Deputy D.W. Mundie stopped Stephen C. Boyle, 20, of Mechanicsville, Maryland, for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Boyle was charged with Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Driving Suspended and Possession of a Radar Detector. He was held on a $5,000 secured bond and a court date of October 8, 2008 was set.
On September 30, 2008, Deputy C. M. Hall (SRO) observed a male juvenile smoking in the bathroom. Upon further investigation, the 15 year old was charged with possession of marijuana and released to his parents.
On September 8, 2008, Investigator M. M. Ellett was assigned to investigate the larceny of firearms in the Ladysmith area. On October 1, 2008, Warren V. DeLoach, Jr. was arrested on three counts of larceny. He was released on a $1500 bond and a court date of October 8, 2008 was set.
On October 1, 2008, Deputy T.P. Connolly was on patrol when he encountered Billie Jo Williams, 37, of Ruther Glen. Upon further investigation, Williams was served an outstanding warrant for Petit Larceny. She was released on her signature and a court date of October 3, 2008 was set.
On October 1, 2008, Deputy R.J. Anderson responded to a Ruther Glen address for an assault call. Upon further investigation, John R. Skinner, 34, of Milford was charged with Breaking and Entering and Assault. He was held on a $2,500 secured bond and a court date was set.
On October 1, 2008, Deputy G.J. Hamilton and Investigator M.M. Ellett responded to a Bowling Green address for a larceny call. After investigating, a male juvenile was charged with Breaking and Entering, Larceny of a Firearm and Grand Larceny. He has a pending court date in Caroline Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Additionally, Jessica N. Spurell, 22, of Ruther Glen, was charged with Obstruction of Justice. She was released on a summons and a court date of December 2, 2008 was set.
On October 2, 2008, Deputy C.M. Hall responded to the Caroline Middle School for an unknown situation. Upon investigating, Delores M. Baker, 54, of Ruther Glen, was charged with Being Drunk in Public. She was released on a summons and a court date of November 26, 2008 was set.
On October 2, 2008, Deputy P.E. Ford stopped James A. McFall, 39, of Fredericksburg for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, McFall was charged with Driving Revoked-Habitual Offender, 3rd offense. He was ordered held without bond and a court date of October 3, 2008 was set.
On October 3, 2008, Investigation M.M. Ellett responded to a Ruther Glen address for a forgery and construction fraud call. Upon investigating, Wayne T. Allen, 42, of Ruther Glen was charged with Construction Fraud, Forgery, and 2 counts of Operating without a Professional License. He was released on a 43,500 unsecured bond and a court dte of October 3, 2008 was set.
On October 3, 2008, Deputy P.E. Ford stopped Tamara L. Mariner, 48, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, for a traffic violation. Upon further investigation, Mariner was charged with Possession of Marijuana and Speeding. She was released on her own recognizance and a court date of October 8, 2008 was set.
On October 4, 2008, Deputy P.E. Ford responded to a Ruther Glen address for a trespassing call. Upon investigating, Kunte K. Foxx, 30, of Ruther Glen was charged with Assault. She was released on a $2,500 unsecured bond and a court date of October 7, 2008 was set.
On October 4, 2008, Deputy B.N. Doucet was on patrol in the Ruther Glen area when he encountered Kadeen L. Montgomery, 19, of Ruther Glen. Upon further investigation, Montgomery was charged with Possession of Marijuana. He was released on a summons and a court date of November 7, 2008 was set.
Caroline County Sheriff’s Office Wrap Up
According to Sheriff Tony Lippa, Caroline Deputies made 16 drug arrests, 1 DUI arrest, 17 domestic violence arrests, 163 other criminal arrests and 13 animal control summons or arrests during the past week. The deputies served 272 civil papers, issued 197 traffic summonses, handled 9 motor vehicle crashes, responded to 35 alarm calls, and dealt with 8 juvenile offenders. The Sheriff’s Office Communications Center dispatched 591 calls for service and handled 1,741 telephone inquiries. The CCSO also logged 36 calls assisting outside agencies and had 250 self-initiated calls.
Seasoned Experts Prove Much Better at Guiding Hysterical Sell-Off:
Heeding the advice of those who know the markets better, most individual investors kept their cool during Wall Street’s historic plunge, allowing seasoned, market-savvy professionals to do the panicking for them.
“What we didn’t need last week was for every Tom, Dick, and Harry to stampede for the exits and sell everything they own,” said Steven Kasalackis of the Fidelity Magellan fund. “That kind of behavior should be left to the experts.”
Across the country, small investors offered similar sentiments, and expressed relief that steadier hands were running the ship aground.
“I kept telling myself I didn’t sell because of patriotism, but the truth is, I don’t have access to the kinds of information the pros have, and I didn’t want to panic with my money,” said Janice Leeman of Ocala, Fla. “I felt much more secure knowing that they were panicking with my money.”
Ironically, some small investors claim the sell-off bolstered confidence in their own stock-trading abilities. “All last week I kept thinking, ‘God, I’ve got to sell!” but I didn’t,” said Stan Persik, a realtor from San Diego, Cal. “Then when I saw the big guys were selling, I thought, ‘Ha! See, I was right!'”
Actually, the whole SatireWire site is great.
Somewhat dated through. Just replace “dot-comers” with “creditors” and “banks”.
This one was years ahead of its time: Record 75 Million Americans Now Pretending They Own Their Own Homes.
In what could only be a paid advertisement masquerading as a news story, The Free Lance–Fish Wrap talks about how the State Fair will be bringing in gazillions of dollars into the county:
Screams from thrill-seekers echo over the State Fair of Virginia’s midway as one ride–the Extreme–wavers from side to side, above the crowds.
Music blasts from various games and vendor booths, while the scent seeps out of a tent housing freshly prepared turkey. Visitors to the rabbits, geese and other caged animals point excitedly and take pictures.
These are the rides, animals, sounds and food the fair will offer next year in Caroline County–but will the screams and crowds follow?
State Fair and county officials hope so.
[blah, blah, blah]
If the lazy “reporters” at The Fish Wrap had bothered to read the Richmond Times-Dispatch yesterday, they would have seen this great gem in a story about the fair (H/t: Tom James):
Henrico won’t suffer financial losses from the fair’s departure, said John Vithoulkas, the county’s finance director. Tax revenues from the fair, which draws about a quarter million visitors each year, are minimal. “It’s just a blip,” he said.
The State Fair of Virginia is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Most of its activities are exempt from income taxes because of its mission to promote agriculture and education.
Yeah, the State Fair is a nonprofit, but its president, Curry Roberts, makes more than $200,000 for working 60 hours a week.
At least that’s what he tells the IRS.
The original post can be read below in its original form:
That, or our astute tourism manager doesn’t know how much money tourism brings into the county (The Caroline Progress):
Kathy Beard, County Director of Tourism, spoke about the role tourism plays in county economics. Beard stated that more than $70 million dollars were spent on tourism related industry in Caroline in 2007, and $1.6 million came back to the county in the form of transient occupancy taxes.
$1,600,000 in transient occupancy taxes (TOT) — that’s the hotel tax for the uninitiated — in 2007?
Let’s see, according to the proposed FY07-08 budget (p. 193), in the second half of the 2007 calendar year, the county only brought in $150,719 in TOT.
Assuming that the county brought in the same amount during the first half of the ’07 calendar year (probably not, but let’s assume), that means a total of $301,438 during the whole calendar year.
So, that leaves three possibilities (I’m leaning towards option #2):
- The county “lost” $1,300,000 in tax revenue.
- Kathy Beard doesn’t know jack about how much money comes into the county, and decided to claim a figure more than five fold higher than the actual number.
- She was misquoted (always a possibilities with The Caroline [Lack of] Progress).
In other funny stuff from the Economic Development Office, you gotta love the fact that the e-mail link to Director Gary Wilson that is on the Economic Development Office’s homepage doesn’t even work.
How bad is it for an Economic Development Office to not even have a functioning e-mail link to the Director?
Here’s a copy of an e-mail that I sent to County Administrator Percy Ashcraft on September 25th:
Dear Mr. Ashcraft,
What was the total cost of adopting the ordinances that vacated Saddlehorse Farms and the other subdivision owned by the Farmers?
This request for information includes, but is not limited to: the cost for advertising the public hearing, any cost for legal services by the county attorney (not asking for the privileged work of the county attorney, just the cost), as well as the waiver of fees to the Farmers for the Planning Commission hearings that had to be conducted.
When will the county be taking action against the other six (or more) subdivisions that were identified to also be in violation of the subdivision code? Surely the Board does not intend to selectively and vindictively prosecute one person.
-Tim
Here’s the response I received from the county attorney, Benjamin Emerson, via snail mail today [emphasis mine] (PDF link):
Dear Mr. Watson:
As I believe you are aware, this firm and I represent Caroline County as its County Attorneys. Your e-mailed request for information to Mr. Ashcraft was referred to me for response as a request under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”).
Your e-mail inquires as to the cost of adopting certain ordinances vacating the Saddlehorse Farms subdivision and other subdivisions being developed by the Farmers, and includes other questions.
Among other things and with certain exceptions and limitations, FOIA requires that public records of public bodies be open and made available to citizens of the Commonwealth for inspection upon request being made for such records with reasonable specificity. It does not require the public body to compile records, to create records that do not exist, or to respond to questions in general that are not requests for specific documents or existing records.
Because your inquiry consists of questions to which you have requested answers, it is not subject to FOIA.
Sincerely,
[signed]
Benjamin W. Emerson
Well, the county just managed to get their butts sued over this issue.
And for the record, anyone think that payments made to The Caroline Progress aren’t public records?
I guess the judge in Caroline County General District Court will be deciding that.
And I hope Barney Frank wins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAuOEdttjZQ
NOTE: I am not advocating violence against any persons. If you take my comments as such, then shame on you. ‘Kay, thanks, bye.