The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!

Oh wait, it’s just the United States Navy: The Free Lance–Star:

Before a Norfolk-based Navy squadron heads to Iraq, it will be training for combat on the Rappahannock River.

Navy Lt. Michael Quaresimo, a training officer with Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, said a 12-person team will conduct exercises on the river Tuesday through Thursday.

Quaresimo said training would occur within 21/2 miles east and west of the Port Royal bridge on U.S. 301, as well as at Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County.

[…]

He encouraged people boating on the river not to approach the Navy gunboats, for safety reasons.

Yeah, I would recommend staying away from the *cough*SEALs*cough*.

UPDATE: For those doubting my SEAL conclusion, according to Wikipedia:

Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, a naval base in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is home to SEAL Teams 2, 4, 8 and 10.

Crime down in Caroline County!

Richmond Times-Dispatch reports:

The Times-Dispatch analyzed data for Type 1 offenses — homicide, aggravated assault, rape, robbery, burglary, larceny, auto theft and arson — for the 24 counties, cities and towns in the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area that report crime separately.

Total incidents Crime rate per 100,000
Locality 2006 2007 2006 2007
Caroline County 565 501 21.8 18.8

That’s a 11.3% decline!

Talk about hitting the nail on the head…

From a recent letter to The Free Lance–Star:

I recently discovered the FredTalk feature of this paper’s Web site, fredericksburg.com. I was excited to find that there was a place to discuss my views on letters to the editor.

However, I soon bailed out when these replies consisted, for the most part, of the worst epidemic of flaming I have seen anywhere on the Web.

For those who don’t know, “flaming” is the act of insulting and demeaning others online.

Fredericksburg.com seems to have become a breeding ground for flamers from every walk of life. There are the radical liberals and the radical conservatives. There are the most ridiculous conspiracy theorists I have seen anywhere, and I witnessed a post by at least one anarchist.

All these people had one thing in common: They refused to listen to any opposing views, and thus started “flame wars” that quickly engulfed the posts of the few calm, logical, respectful members on the site.

I abandoned my quest to voice my opinions and left these self-destructive bigots to their pointless arguing.

Still, it’s a pity that fredericksburg.com has become a haven for these sorts, who have quickly turned a respectable source of news into a battleground.

Don’t I know it.

And for another case in point, just check out the insults directed towards Danny Carter, a respected member of the Caroline County community:

“franne64”, 03/21/08 11:41 PM:

I was told that Danny Carter (Village Self Storage)and a few people he knows was opening Iverson’s. It has been in the making for 3-4 years. Not heard about any bar, but was told that it will be a high class (proper attire), pricey place that would require reservations.

“blulady”, 03/21/08 11:46 PM:

Chuckle… chuckle….

“hopeful47”, 03/21/08 11:58 PM:

Franne, you mean you know the mayor of Ladysmith way over on that side of the county

“blulady”, 03/22/08 12:00 AM:

I cant help but laugh…..

“franne64”, 03/22/08 12:05 AM:

From working in the field of construction for all these years, not many I do not know.
But he can be quite the character

“blulady”, 03/22/08 12:08 AM:

Quite the ladies man, huh girls ?

“franne64”, 03/22/08 12:09 AM:

Yeah right…….lol.

“hopeful47”, 03/22/08 12:10 AM:

danny – ladies man…thats putting it mildly….
about the restaurant, what I was told that the name Iversons is what Tom named it after his deceased father.
heard danny among others are investors in the restaurant.

“blulady”, 03/22/08 12:12 AM:

In his own mind, lol
Who is the old guy that tans all the time in hollywood & wears the gold?? Mayor Dan is Ladysmiths version.

“hopeful47”, 03/22/08 12:13 AM:

he really is a nice guy.
and if you don’t believe it – just ask him he will tell you the same thing lol

“franne64”, 03/22/08 12:16 AM:

Got the name of the tip of my tongue……Hamilton?
That is who Danny reminds me of.
He is a nice guy, but he does portray himself as a person he isn’t. But then again this forum has a few of those floating around here.

“blulady”, 03/22/08 12:19 AM:

I agree ,

“hopeful47”, 03/22/08 06:41 AM:

right, Hamilton — George Hamilton. Always tan and dripping in gold jewelry…..
yep lots of them floating around

Susan Sili aka “oharascarlett”, 03/22/08 06:46 AM:

yall are killing me on Danny, I am rolling, rolling rolling rolling.
Yall better hope he don’t read this cause he is one preeening peacock! None of us will get in Iversons.

Interesting way to talk about someone that volunteers his time to organize a event which is the largest source of income for Caroline County Little League.

Interesting way to talk about someone that volunteers his time on the Caroline County Strategic Planning Review Committee.

Interesting way to talk about someone that received a special invitation for his support of the fair by the Caroline County Agricultural Fair Board.

Interesting way to talk about someone that volunteers his time on the Sheriff’s Business Advisory Team.

You know, I may talk trash about people, but at least I have the fortitude to do it using my real name (and I don’t act like I’m buddies with the people either).

Classy [trashy] as ever folks.

And I, for one, welcome our new Ministry of Love overlords.

That would be a reference to 1984, by the way (and The Simpsons).

Consider what the People’s Republic of Maryland is doing. NBC 4:

People arrested for certain crimes would have to submit DNA samples under a bill approved by state lawmakers.

The House of Delegates passed a bill Saturday allowing the collection of DNA evidence from people who have been charged, but not convicted, of a violent crime.

So much for people not being “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” and all that jazz.

And in a couple years, they’ll be doing what the Brits are doing: Ace of Spades HQ’s coverage:

Scotland Yard Director of Forensic Sciences Gary Pugh is looking to use the UK National Criminal Intelligence DNA Database more effectively. He thinks one way is to use educators and others to screen children for pre-criminal behaviors. Those with criminal tendencies would have their DNA added to the database to await their eventual criminal act.

[…]

‘The number of unsolved crimes says we are not sampling enough of the right people,’ Pugh told The Observer. However, he said the notion of universal sampling – everyone being forced to give their genetic samples to the database – is currently prohibited by cost and logistics.

POS terrorist back in prison.

And that makes today a good day: LA Times:

California authorities rearrested Sara Jane Olson at noon Saturday, just hours after she was prevented from flying home to Minnesota from Los Angeles, and said she must serve one more year in prison because they miscalculated her release date.

The former member of the radical Symbionese Liberation Army had been paroled Monday from a California women’s prison after serving about six years for her role in a 1975 plot to kill Los Angeles police officers by blowing up their patrol cars.

Officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said at a news conference that they had made a mistake in computing the amount of time Olson should serve in a separate case in which she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for participating in a Sacramento-area bank robbery in which another SLA member killed a customer.

She should be joining Tookie Williams but I guess we have to settle for another year in prison:

But [Los Angeles Police Protective League President Tim] Sands said the organization was “far from satisfied. Parole shouldn’t even be an option for terrorists who are convicted of murdering innocent bystanders and attempting to murder police officers. Anyone who tries to kill police officers should get significant jail time and serve their full sentence.”

H/t: Patterico’s Pontifications

SNAFU at the State Board of Elections

From a recent press release from the State Board of Elections:

A Democratic primary election, to determine the party’s candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives, will be held in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 8th, 10th, and 11th Congressional Districts.

That would be a negatory, sirs.

The First Congressional District Democratic Committee is using a convention, not a primary, to decide their candidate for November.

From the First Congressional District’s Democratic Committee’s Call to Convention:

CALL TO CONVENTION 2008
FIRST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE

[…]

3. Purposes. The purposes of the District Convention shall be:

A. To nominate a candidate to the U.S. House of Representatives;

S-bag robs paraplegic, gets arrested, gets charged with four felonies.

The Free Lance–Star: Paraplegic’s prescriptions object of residential heist:

It was about 4:30 a.m. yesterday morning when Robert Newcomb’s front door was kicked in.

[…]

Newcomb, a paraplegic, soon realized what the intruder was looking for: prescription drugs.

The robber made his way through the mobile home, located in the Cedar Ridge Mobile Home Park in Woodford, near Corbin. He then came into Newcomb’s bedroom, which was lit only by the TV.

“He pointed the sawed-off 20-gauge shotgun at me and he asked for my pain medication,” Newcomb said. “Then he demanded oxycontin.”

After getting some drugs he didn’t want the moron came back looking for the “good stuff”.

And he was arrested the next day:

Sheriff Tony Lippa announced tonight the arrest of Joshua Thomas, 20, of Corbin. Thomas has been charged with breaking and enter with the intent to commit larceny; armed robbery; possession of a sawed off shotgun; and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The charges stem from a home invasion robbery that was reported to the Caroline Sheriff’s Office on March 19, 2008 at approximately 3 a.m. Case Investigator M. M. Ellett handled the investigation and placed the charges.

Thomas is being held without bond in Pamunkey Regional Jail. As this is still an ongoing investigation, no further information is being released at this time.

And considering the fact that the media loves reporting all the bad things that happens in Caroline County, NBC 4 has ran a story about the crime (but not the arrest) and the crime has also made the Associated Press’s Virginia wire — hooray.

WWBT’s story:

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7922909965727967075]

Gilmore and Marshall have company…

The WaPo: Another Conservative Enters Senate Race:

There are now three candidates running for the GOP nomination to replace retiring Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va).

Robert D. “Bob” Berry, a longtime conservative activist from Springfield, says he filed paperwork with the state party last month and has begun making the rounds to local GOP committees.

“The Republican Party is losing its way on a number of very important issues and it needs some serious guidance in terms of resting on its foundational principles,” said Berry, who will face former governor James S. Gilmore III and Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William) at the GOP state convention in May. “I decided to run because the party needs a lot of help in returning to its roots.”

Okay, maybe a couple of people at the General Assembly aren’t complete idiots…

Well, at least a couple of the Delegates and Senators that worked out the budget had some sense. The following was included in the budget that was passed on March 13, 2008, in both the House of Delegates (99-Y 0-N) and the Senate of Virginia (26-Y 14-N):

Administration FY 08-09 FY 09-10
Compensation Board $337,007 $318,907 GF
Language:
Page 53, line 19, strike “$67,102,122” and insert “$67,439,129”.
Page 53, line 19, strike “$67,102,122” and insert “$67,421,029”.
Explanation:
(This amendment provides general funds to convert four part-time Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ offices for Buckingham, Caroline, Charles City, and Middlesex counties from part-time to full-time status in accordance with § 15.2-1629, Code of Virginia.)

Interestingly, this was after the Senate of Virginia had previously decided not to convert any of the offices and the House’s budget only included money for one office — Buckingham County. And that was only because the subcommittee that approved the money had the Delegate (Abbitt) that represents Buckingham County as its chairman.

Looks like the conferees that worked it out had some sense.

I’m still going over the conference report and will post anything else interesting I find.

Weekly News Media Briefs – Week Ending March 15, 2008

From the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office: Weekly News Media Briefs – Week Ending March 15, 2008:

On March 7, 2008, Deputy T. P. Connolly stopped a vehicle for a traffic infraction. After investigating, Lawrence J. Minnick, 27, of King George was charged with driving on a suspended license – 3rd offense. He was released on a personal recognizance bond and an arraignment date of March 12, 2008 was set.

On March 7, 2008, Deputy C. A. Heywood responded to a burglary. After investigating, Ryan K. Kellum, 21, of Richmond was charged with property damage, possession of burglary tools, burglary and grand larceny. His bond and court information were not available.

On March 9, 2008, Deputy T. J. Ketchem stopped a vehicle for a traffic infraction. After investigating, Timothy L. Harris, 32, of Stafford was charged with driving under the influence and refusal to submit to a breath test. He was held under a $2500 bond and an arraignment date of March 14, 2008 was set.

On March 9, 2008, Deputy D. W. Mundie stopped a vehicle for a traffic infraction. After investigating, Arthur L. Carter, 49, of Milford was charged with driving after being declared an habitual offender, driving under the influence, and refusal to submit to a breath test. He was ordered held under a $3500 bond and a court date of March 12, 2008 was set.

On March 9, 2008, Deputy P. E. Ford stopped a vehicle for a traffic infraction. After investigating, Dwight C. Brown, Jr., was charged with driving on a suspended license. He was released on a personal recognizance bond and an arraignment date of March 14, 2008 was set.

On March 12, 2008, Deputy T. J. Ketchem responded to an incident in the courthouse. After investigating, David M. Wood, II, 18, of Fredericksburg was charged with damage to property. He was released on his own recognizance and a court date of March 19, 2008 was set.

On March 12, 2008, Deputy B. N. Doucet responded to a disorderly person at a business in Ladysmith. After investigating, Lloyd V. Ferguson, 49, of Ruther Glen was charged with being drunk in public and felony petit larceny – 3rd offense. He was ordered held without bond and a court date of March 28, 2008 was set.

On March 14, 2008, Deputy C. M. Polliard stopped a vehicle for a traffic infraction. After investigating, Jeffrey J. Stone, 46, of Ruther Glen was charged with driving under the influence and driving on a suspended driver’s license. He was released on his own recognizance and a court date of March 26, 2008 was set.

On March 14, 2008, Deputy C. M. Hall was made aware of a situation in the middle school. After investigating, a juvenile was charged with distribution of marijuana. The juvenile was ordered detained pending a court hearing.

Caroline County Sheriff’s Office Wrap Up

According to Sheriff Tony Lippa, Caroline Deputies made 3 drug arrests, 4 domestic violence arrests, and 30 other criminal arrests during the past week.  The deputies served 197 civil papers, issued 263 traffic summonses, handled 3 motor vehicle crashes, responded to 40 alarm calls, and dealt with 8 juvenile offenders.  The Sheriff’s Office Communications Center dispatched 413 calls for service and handled 1,006 telephone inquiries.  The CCSO also logged 29 calls assisting outside agencies and had 211 self initiated calls.