Pop quiz: How are Caroline County and the federal government alike?

Both of them built visitors center that went over-budget and took forever to complete (Citizens Against Government Waste Press Release):

The nation’s premier taxpayer watchdog group, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today expressed dismay over the exorbitant final price tag for the Capitol Visitors Center (CVC).

Initially conceived in the early 1990s and projected to cost $71 million, the CVC has become an example of out-of-control government contracting and mismanagement. After costs ballooned and construction schedules spiraled out of control, the three-level, underground monument to congressional excess finally came in at a whopping $621 million and three years behind schedule.

“The mismanagement and bloat associated with the construction of the Capitol Visitors Center is emblematic of the rampant waste in the nation’s capitol,” said CAGW President Tom Schatz. “This boondoggle should give pause to anyone contemplating the expenditure of hundreds of billions more taxpayer dollars for any federal infrastructure projects as part of any new stimulus package. Like the federal budget itself, Congress used the CVC as a warehouse for tens of millions of dollars in extravagant bells and whistles for itself. Even more reprehensible, members of Congress seeking to add special features for themselves used security concerns surrounding the September 11 attacks to justify their extravagant add-ons and constant change orders.”

H/t: Matt “threat to Democracy” Drudge

Yes, I dare say it: The Shield series finale sucked.

NOTE: This blog post contains spoilers of the series finale of The Shield which premiered on Tuesday, November 25. If you are waiting to catch an encore airing, or plan on watching the episode on the internet or DVD, skip this post.

The series finale was 90 minutes of television that went nowhere.

Hell, the entire seventh season was 13 episodes of disjointed plot lines that went nowhere. Consider some of these plot lines that they started at the beginning of the year:

Vic wanting to be involved in raising his lovechild with Danny? That storyline culminated in Danny leaving the Barn in the 7th episode and only returning in the 12th episode after Vic had quit. And after the 7th episode, there was no mention of his desire to be involved in this kid’s life anymore in the whole season.

The conclusion of Dutch’s investigation of a budding serial killer, responsible for murdering a classmate and his own mother? Forced and full of clichés.

And consider where the characters were left at the end of the series:

Lem, the only character on the Strike Team that had a conscience? Killed by Shane at the end of the fifth season.

Ronnie, the person least responsible for the Strike Team actions (following Lem’s death)? With Vic selling him out and cutting a deal for himself, Ronnie is looking at a life-long prison sentence.

Shane? He murdered his pregnant wife and their son, and then committed suicide.

David Aceveda, who alternated from investigating Vic when it benefited him politically (investigating corrupt cops looks good), to allowing Vic to run wild when it benefited him politically (low crime rates look good)? On his way to becoming mayor.

Claudette Wyms, one of the few characters on the show to have a moral compass (remember she went so far as to ruined her chance at becoming Captain several years ago to do something she felt was morally right)? Terminally ill with Lupus.

And Vic? Complete immunity as part of a deal with ICE (they had no idea what they were getting). His only punishment? Sentenced to three years of desk duty to fulfill the conditions of his deal. For all the crap that he was responsible for, he gets three years in purgatory. Sure, ICE put his family in witness protection and he gets no contact with them, but for all the stuff he did, that’s it?

In the end, he won.

More lies from the Caroline County government and The Free Lance–Star…

From that rag (get your own link):

The visitors center was nine years in the planning and building, as the county sought private sponsorships and slowly amassed the money to pay for the 7,000-square-foot building, which also houses the county’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism.

No tax money went into the project; it was funded entirely by grants, gifts and donations.

Oh, really? Then why did the county borrow $600,000 or so just to finish building the visitors center?

The debt service on that loan will be paid out of the transient occupancy fund (that money comes from the transient occupancy tax) and the general fund (real estate and personal property taxes).

Not only that, but the county decided a whole next position was needed just to run the visitors center: the “tourism manager”, Kathy Beard.

The county is also in the process of hiring three or more “travel counselors” to staff the visitors center!

Why you shouldn’t vote for Republicans anymore: House Republicans strip earmark moratorium from caucus rules.

CQ Politics:

Minority Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio and Eric Cantor of Virginia had unveiled late Wednesday a moratorium on GOP earmark requests through Feb. 16 while a new panel of Republicans comes up with proposals for permanent restrictions and disclosure requirements for earmarks.

But Todd Tiahrt of Kansas, an appropriator, offered an amendment to strip the requirement for an earmark moratorium. And Tiahrt’s moratorium-killing proposal was approved by the full caucus, said several GOP aides. The amended rules package was then adopted.

H/t: Hot Air

Pirates of the Gulf of Aden: Indian navy does what the U.S. and the Brits can’t — or won’t — do.

It’s bad when the Indians with their second-rate navy (their ship in this case was an updated version of the Russians’ Krivak III class frigate) can do what the United States Navy and the Royal Navy can’t do (Times Online):

An Indian navy warship has sunk a Somali pirate “mother ship” in the Gulf of Aden, the world’s most treacherous waterway, after the renegades threatened to attack the frigate.

[…]

INS Tabar, an Indian frigate dispatched last month to the area to protect the country’s merchant fleet, sighted the pirate vessel late on Tuesday. Indian officers said they spotted pirates moving on the deck with rocket propelled grenade launchers and automatic weapons.

“On repeated calls, the vessel’s threatening response was that she would blow up the naval warship,” the Indian Navy said in a statement.

“INS Tabar retaliated in self defence and opened fire on the mother vessel.

“As a result of the firing by INS Tabar, fire broke out on the vessel and explosions were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored on the vessel.”

“From what we see in photographs the pirate vessel is completely destroyed,” a senior officer said. Two speedboats were seen fleeing the sinking ship.

Weekly News Media Briefs – Week Ending November 15, 2008

From the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office:

On November 8, 2008, Deputy F.L. Brennan responded to a Ruther Glen business for a petit larceny call. After investigating, Bradford W. Coleman, 28, of Ruther Glen was charged with Petit Larceny and two (2) counts of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor. He was released on his own recognizance and a court date of November 18, 2008 was set.

On November 9, 2008, Deputy D.W. Mundie responded to a Port Royal residence for a disturbance call. After investigating, Jose Gutierrez, 40, of Port Royal was arrested on an outstanding Capias out of Caroline County. He was ordered held without bond and a court date of November 13, 2008 was set.

On November 9, 2008, Deputy R.J. Anderson responded to a Woodford address for a report of an assault. After investigating, Bryan K. Spurley, 42, of Woodford was charged with Assault and Battery. He was released on his own recognizance and a court date of November 21, 2008 was set.

November 10, 2008, Deputy T.J. Ketchem responded to a Ruther Glen address for an assault. Upon further investigation, Valerie L. Graham, 44, of Winchester was charged with two (2) counts of Assault. She was ordered held without bond and a court date of November 12, 2008 was set.

On November 10, 2008, Deputy C.M. Polliard responded to a Ruther Glen address for a civil dispute. Upon further investigation, Krystal C. Davis, 27, of Richmond was charged with Identity Theft – To Avoid a Summons. She was also served with an outstanding Felony Capias out of Fredericksburg. Davis was ordered held without bond and a court date of November 13, 2008 was set.

On November 11, 2008, Deputy C.M. Hall investigated a trespassing incident and the Caroline High School. After investigating, a male juvenile was charged with Trespassing and two (2) counts of Assault. He was ordered held without bond and he has a pending court date in Caroline Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

On November 12, 2008, Deputy M.J. O’Connor responded to Route 301 to assist the AP Hill Police. Upon further investigation, James M. Summers, 38, of Richmond was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. He was held on a $1,500 secured bond and a court date of November 12, 2008 was set.

On November 15, 2008, Deputy C.A. Heywood responded to a disturbance in the Woodford area. Upon further investigation, Anthony D. Turner, 44, of Woodford was charged with being Drunk in Public and Obstruction of Justice. He was held on a $1,000 secured bond and a court date of November 26, 2008 was set.

Caroline County Sheriff’s Office Wrap Up

According to Sheriff Tony Lippa, Caroline Deputies made 0 drug arrests, 1 DUI arrest, 10 domestic violence arrests, 71 other criminal arrests and 3 animal control summons or arrests during the past week. The deputies served 191 civil papers, issued 60 traffic summonses, handled 11 motor vehicle crashes, responded to 33 alarm calls, and dealt with 9 juvenile offenders. The Sheriff’s Office Communications Center dispatched calls for service and handled 1,662 telephone inquiries. The CCSO also logged 444 calls assisting outside agencies and had 157 self-initiated calls.

What a miserable failure: Jim Gilmore wants you to pay off a loan from himself!

Seriously [emphasis in original]:

While I wish the election results in Virginia had been better, I am not discouraged and remain resolute to the mission of doing my part to rebuilding our party. The people of Virginia clearly are seeking a new direction, but I believe this election will not deliver to them the change that they are seeking. We must renew our party and use our principles to solve the problems that our state and nation face. We must be the party and the leaders who take the state and the nation into the future.

As I close the campaign, there is an outstanding debt of $50,000 from the final campaign activities. I want to continue to play a role in restoring our party and adding to the public debate of the future. It will be difficult to play this role with this unresolved debt. If you can help me one last time with a contribution of $100, $75, or even $35, I would be most grateful.

The easiest way to do this is click on the box below to make a credit card contribution. If you want to send a check, you may make it payable to: Gilmore for Senate and mail it to 25 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

The $50,000 debt is from a loan from the candidate himself (FEC).

Since the idiot [Gilmore] decided to put his money into his failed campaign, now he wants you folks to pay it off!

Out of curiosity, if we agree to pay this debt off, can we make it conditional? Maybe require that Gilmore never run for another elected position again?

Caroline County gets a mention on The WaPo‘s Virginia Politics blog.

From Tim Craig:

In July, Virginia Notebook published a list of 10 Virginia locations that were likely to be up for grabs in the presidential race between Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

At the time, many pundits thought it would be an uphill climb for Obama to become the first Democratic nominee in 44 years to carry Virginia. For Obama to win, he needed to carry many of the 10 locations that we wrote about in the summer.

Now that the election is over, it’s time to review the results in those counties and cities. Obama carried seven of them, helping him rack up a statewide lead of nearly seven percentage points.

Below are the earlier explanations of the 10 swing locations as well as the results, based on unofficial returns as of Tuesday.

[…]

CAROLINE COUNTY: Caroline, with about 27,000 people, is just south of Fredericksburg. It often sways between the two parties. Former vice president Al Gore (D) carried it by 441 votes during his presidential bid in 2000, but Bush won it by 121 votes in 2004. A year later, Kaine carried it with 54.percent of the vote; in 2006, Webb won it by 191 votes. Turnout among African Americans, who make up 29.percent of the county’s population, is key to Democratic prospects.

Result: Obama won Caroline County by 1,546 votes. Obama received 55.percent vs. McCain’s 43.percent.