Real efficient and effective use of state resources, guys…

From The Free Lance–Star:

Culpeper town police thought they knew who was responsible for an outbreak of automobile vandalism last summer, but they just didn’t have quite enough evidence to take the case to court.

Now, thanks to DNA evidence, they have charged a 17-year-old boy with destruction of property in the incidents.

Now, the last I checked, it cost quite a bit to do a DNA test.

Not only that, but how many cases of a more serious nature (e.g., murder, rape) had to wait in line while the forensic lab was doing DNA testing for a vandalism case? In 2004, for example, the Commonwealth had a six-month backlog for DNA testing. In 2007, it was estimated by the Director of the state crime lab that “the state has a backlog of 1,100 to 1,200 DNA cases.”

Despite what you see on those stupid television shows such as CSI: [Whatever] or Law & Order: [Whatever] it can take weeks for a DNA test to be completed.

And given the fact that it appears that at least three tests had to be done (the story notes “blood and other DNA evidence [was] found at the scenes” and you also have the reference sample from the suspect), how many hours were consumed for this case and what was the total cost?

Well, actually, someone did speak up…

You just chose to ignore them.

Right now, VCU is facing the embarrassment of awarding the former city of Richmond Police Chief, Rodney Moore, a degree when he failed to meet certain requirements (specifically, the requirement that the student complete his final 30 credit hours at VCU and that the student take at least six credits of “writing intensive” classes).

The university has since decided to set up an anonymous tipline for people to notify the college of “ethics violations” (Richmond Times-Dispatch):

Virginia Commonwealth University will set up a confidential help line to make it easier for a whistle-blower to stop an ethics violation such as the one that led to the improper awarding of a bachelor’s degree to a former Richmond police chief.

[…]

VCU President Eugene P. Trani said the controversy over the degree awarded to Rodney Monroe, now police chief in Charlotte/Mecklenburg County, N.C., should never have happened.

“It has done a significant amount of damage to the university’s reputation” and could have been avoided had a single person spoken up, Trani said.

Well, folks, someone did speak up. From another Richmond Times-Dispatch story from back in October:

The coordinator of the program through which former Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe received his bachelor’s degree says she argued from the start that he should have received his degree from the University of Phoenix, not Virginia Commonwealth University.

Linda L. Spinelli, who retired in May as the degree investigation began, said yesterday that she objected from the moment she received Monroe’s transcripts from her supervisor, Jon Steingass, who was then dean of University College. That’s because Monroe didn’t have enough credits from VCU to receive his degree.

“Immediately I recognized that although Mr. Monroe had plenty of acceptable transfer credits, he would need to earn 30 from VCU,” said Spinelli, who was coordinator of the bachelor of interdisciplinary studies program, which is part of University College.

She said she informed Steingass of the problem that same day.

The administration at VCU ignored her…

Sheriff Tony Lippa endorses John Brownlee for Attorney General.

I’m still leaning towards Cuccinelli right now, but hey:

Greetings:

A short e-mail to let you all know: I have met two of the three candidates for Attorney General and I am supporting John Brownlee. Mr. John Brownlee will be coming to Bowling Green , Saturday, January 17th, 10:30-11:30 AM at the Main Street Cafe ( 117 Main Street ). Although I will not be in town that day, if you are available and want to meet him, I am sure that John will be able to answer your questions, address your concerns, or discuss his views and his plans for the Office of Attorney General.

Furthermore; John is an Army veteran and that he is the only prosecutor and the only veteran seeking the Republican nomination for Attorney General. Presently over 75 Sheriffs and Commonwealth’s Attorneys around the state have already endorsed him.

You all know that I am an independent, with that being said, and if you have the time to meet him, you will see why I have endorsed him.

You may learn more about John by visiting his website www.johnbrownlee2009.com

Requesting one ‘Rob Wittman translator’ please.

These are Representative Rob Wittman’s comments — as quoted by the Richmond Times-Dispatch — regarding Israel’s response to Hamas’s rocket attacks:

Rep. Robert J. Wittman, R-1st, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said the attacks give Obama a new opportunity to talk directly with Israel.

“We need to be in a position to have candid conversations about strategic actions in the Middle East,” said Wittman, who recently returned from an eight-day trip to Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain and Afghanistan.

Wittman called for the world community to “bring more political and diplomatic solutions” to the region.

Seriously, someone tell me what the heck he just said.

At least Eric Cantor (who’s a Jew, as the RT-D so diligently pointed out) had the guts to say that Israel had the right to defend itself; Wittman couldn’t even be bothered to say that.

What “strategic actions in the Middle East” does Wittman want to have “candid conversations” about?

Withdrawing from Iraq or Afghanistan?

Screwing over Israel?

Or is just empty platitudes that sound like something a ninth grader would write for an English paper?

And if Wittman is relying on the world community to “‘bring more political and diplomatic solutions’ to the region”, then Israel is really screwed. When you have the majority of the coward Europeans condemning Israel for defending its citizens, there’s something seriously wrong in this world.

Amazing, both the Palestinian Authority (via Mahmoud Abbas) and the Egyptian government condemned Hamas. But that has more to do with realpolitik, than with any support for the state of Israel: the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt — which Hamas is an offshoot of — is constantly fighting with the Egyptian government and Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party is the rival of Hamas for the control of the Palestinian territories.

Mildred Loving also appears on TIME’s “Fond Farewells” of 2008.

Link:

She never saw herself as a trailblazer. Yet the 1967 Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia, which struck down interracial marriage bans, was Loving’s doing. Years after she and her white husband were thrown out of Virginia for having the gall to wed, Loving wrote Robert F. Kennedy, who was moved to action. Sometimes a single voice is all it takes.

Assorted idiots from “Friends of Tidewater Trail” v. Caroline County et al.: A copy of the idiots’ filing.

Here’s a copy of their filing in PDF (1.43 MB).

Once I have a chance to give it a thorough read through I’ll write-up a post with my thoughts.

Mildred Loving makes Newsweek’s “Remembering Those Who Passed in 2008” list.

Nice to see they were paying attention:

Mildred Loving, 68 In 1958, Virginia police arrested the Lovings in their bedroom for violating state miscegenation laws. Inspired by Martin Luther King and encouraged by Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, Loving took her case to the Supreme Court, which in 1967 struck down the last segregation law. She always claimed her act was personal, not political, but on the 40th anniversary of the court decision, she spoke out for the rights of gays to marry, eloquently passing the baton to the next generation.

Assorted idiots from “Friends of Tidewater Trail” suing Caroline County, et al. for granting a special exception permit to Clark’s Cut II.

Plaintiffs include Carl Helfin, Kathy Bullock, Gilbert and Judy Shelton, Joe and Patricia Parker, and John and Lois Garrett. There are 12 plaintiffs in total. Not all are listed on the online Circuit Court records so I can’t tell you all the people involved.

Defendants are the Caroline County Board of Supervisors, the County of Caroline, Clark’s Cut II LLC, and Emmet Snead.

Not sure what the plaintiffs are alleging. I’ll drop by the Circuit Court tomorrow and see what has been filed in the case (which will also give me a list of all 12 plaintiffs).

Bailouts for All: Developers want a piece.

From the Wall Street Journal:

With a record amount of commercial real-estate debt coming due, some of the country’s biggest property developers have become the latest to go hat-in-hand to the government for assistance.

They’re warning policymakers that thousands of office complexes, hotels, shopping centers and other commercial buildings are headed into defaults, foreclosures and bankruptcies. The reason: according to research firm Foresight Analytics LCC, $530 billion of commercial mortgages will be coming due for refinancing in the next three years — with about $160 billion maturing in the next year. Credit, meanwhile, is practically nonexistent and cash flows from commercial property are siphoning off.

And Hot Air’s take (they also get a hat tip):

Had Paulson and the White House stuck with the original TARP plan — the one authorized by Congress — they would have bought back the mortgage-backed securities that the government mandated from the bad loans purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The credit markets would have eventually stabilized and the credit would have been forthcoming. Instead, Paulson and Bush decided to convert TARP into a political support system, picking winners and losers among ailing entities for no better purpose than to shore up voter support.

Read their whole take!

Pay raises aren’t just for the Caroline BOS: Congress gives them a pay raise.

Love the headline: With economy in shambles, Congress gets a raise:

A crumbling economy, more than 2 million constituents who have lost their jobs this year, and congressional demands of CEOs to work for free did not convince lawmakers to freeze their own pay.

Instead, they will get a $4,700 pay increase, amounting to an additional $2.5 million that taxpayers will spend on congressional salaries, and watchdog groups are not happy about it.

“As lawmakers make a big show of forcing auto executives to accept just $1 a year in salary, they are quietly raiding the vault for their own personal gain,” said Daniel O’Connell, chairman of The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a non-partisan group. “This money would be much better spent helping the millions of seniors who are living below the poverty line and struggling to keep their heat on this winter.”

H/t: Little Green Footballs