Like most kids in Virginia, my older son starts school this coming Tuesday. The school had sent out a list of supplies for us to buy to be ready for the school year, and my wife got up early in the morning when the “tax free shopping” weekend started to buy everything she needed at the local Wal-Mart. The stores were, of course, well-supplied with the necessary materials.
Today, the school held an introductory meeting for parents and children. The school hired a new teacher for my son’s class, but she seems OK so far according to my wife. The maddening part, though, was that the school handed out a flyer containing a list of MORE supplies. Of course, no one bothered to tell the stores this either. Plus, there was no more sales tax holiday! Naturally, even though they had our e-mail address, they had to wait until today to HAND us a flyer. Great resource conservation ethic, wouldn’t you say?
The scene at the store would have been funny if it weren’t so frustrating. The Wal-Mart quickly ran out of supplies. There were lots of angry parents holding a copy of the exact same supply list we had. Not to bust on anyone from another country, but it was crazier for those for whom English wasn’t a first language to understand what a “glue stick” was.
Well, we finally ended up going to a Michael’s store, especially since we overheard everyone else was planning to go to the neighboring Target. We did get what we needed, albeit it not at Wal-Mart prices. The store was calmer, anyway.
Your tax dollars at work. For those of you in Fairfax County, Virginia, vote for Steve Hunt, Paul Costantino, and Chris Braunlich for School Board at Large. In Springfield District, vote for Liz Bradsher. These candidates understand what ACCOUNTABILITY means, and want to control silliness in the budget (as well as make it more transparent for taxpayers).
Friday, August 31, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Virginia Senate Democrat Recycles Jew-Baiting Political Operative
Interests Now Redirected to Pedophilia
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
25 August 2007FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACTxxxx
xxxx
Live By “Macaca,” Die By “NAMBLA”
Top Virginia Democratic Strategist Linked To Pedophile Web Site
Richmond, Virginia. (August 25, 2007) – The Old Dominion Blog Alliance (“ODBA”), an organization of approximately 25 conservative Virginia bloggers founded on December 9, 2005, discovered on August 21 that someone registered the domain name of “olddominionblogalliance.com” on August 16 via GoDaddy.com’s Domains by Proxy service in order to conceal their identity. The domain was then set to forward to the web site for the North American Man-Boy Love Association ("NAMBLA"), an organization that promotes illegal activity between adults and children, including pedophilia.
Following this disclosure, the parties behind it were subsequently discovered to be Joe Stanley of Yellow Dog Strategy, a Democratic consultant who manufactured last year’s “macaca” gaffe by U.S. Sen. George Allen into an ex post facto racial slur and produced the controversial anti-Harris Miller mailing, and Ben Tribbett who runs the Northern Virginian blog “Not Larry Sabato.”
Evidence in hand and a confession by Mr. Stanley show that he was the one who purchased the domain name and then set it to forward to the NAMBLA web site. Mr. Tribbett, who is close to Mr. Stanley, proceeded to peddle the story to another blog and then feigned outrage at this action apparently in order to further raise the story’s visibility while maintaining deniability over it. Mr. Stanley undertook this action just two days after members of the ODBA began a concerted effort against state Sen. Roscoe Reynolds (D-20th Dist.), a candidate for whom Mr. Stanley has done work and who is locked in a tight reelection battle with Republican Jeff Evans. Sen. Reynolds advertises on “Not Larry Sabato.”
“Child sexual abuse is not a joke and certainly not a political tactic to be used in order to silence your political enemies,” said Kathryn Wilton of the blog CatHouse Chat, a member of the ODBA, the wife of a Navy veteran and mother. “Pedophilia is a morally repugnant behavior and how Mr. Stanley or Mr. Tribbett could think this is humorous or fair game politically is beyond my comprehension.”
“Senator Reynolds needs to go on the record whether or not he agrees with these abhorrent tactics used on his behalf,” added Greg Letiecq of Black Velvet Bruce Li, one of the most widely read blogs in Virginia. “Joe Stanley did this to benefit him. Reynolds must either expressly condone or renounce these tactics used for his gain.”
Members of the ODBA are currently considering whether to bring any civil legal claims stemming from this defamatory act perpetrated upon them. Should a case be brought and damages awarded, any proceeds will be donated to organizations that fight child abuse.
n 30 –
=======================================
Here’s what gets me: Twinkie Joe’s “confession states, in part:
Now isn’t that just peachy? So by this logic, (failed 2006 Virginia Democratic Senatorial hopeful) Harris Miller deserved the hooked nose cartoon as well as the “antichrist” characterization because he, too “pursue a predatory agenda that brings direct harm to countless innocent individuals.” Gee, matches the kind of humor we saw in 1930s Germany rather well, don’t you think? Nice to know that his cowardly, self-ashamed lackey Ben agrees. My 19th Century ancestors from Eastern Europe had a saying about where the likes of Joe got these predispositions, but it’s not getting repeated here (yet).
For those of you from outside Virginia, pay attention. Now I’ve noticed that several other conservative blogs form statewide alliances. Look at it this way: What has happened in Virginia could very well happen to you. Seven or nine years ago it was leaflets about burning churches stuck in voters’ doors, copied from Maryland to Missouri and then nationwide. Now we have this kind of Internet attack. The whole operation here was not some itinerant operative, this Stanley is a Democratic Party official in Virginia.
I would also warn some of you that Twinkie Joe and Psycho Ben are the kinds of people who make personal attacks and even threats against opponents. Apparently, even their despicable nastiness is not enough to satisfy them. You would think clowns like that worked for a labor union given the kinds of things they say to people!
Now the other blog mentioned in the press release did apologize and help expose Joe Stanley. I do accept the apology and appreciate the efforts in helping to expose this sleazebag. This, however, raises a good question about the DemocratICK operatives, especially Tribbett: After spending so much time with crude attacks on political adversaries, are you now turning to taking down your (former) friends? Your former friends are rapidly finding out how Clarence and Buckingham felt in Shakespeare’s Richard III. Summer is ending; will this be the season of someone’s discontent? I can’t wait to hear young Ben exclaim something like “A blog! A blog! My kingdom for a blog!”
Many thanks to my fellow ODBA bloggers for helping to stand up to these slimeballs. For more great reading multiple commentary, videos, cartoons, etc, check out what Kat, J’s Notes, Leslie, James, Ward, Carl, Scott, Greg, Jim, Flora, Riley, and probably many more I left out.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
25 August 2007FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACTxxxx
xxxx
Live By “Macaca,” Die By “NAMBLA”
Top Virginia Democratic Strategist Linked To Pedophile Web Site
Richmond, Virginia. (August 25, 2007) – The Old Dominion Blog Alliance (“ODBA”), an organization of approximately 25 conservative Virginia bloggers founded on December 9, 2005, discovered on August 21 that someone registered the domain name of “olddominionblogalliance.com” on August 16 via GoDaddy.com’s Domains by Proxy service in order to conceal their identity. The domain was then set to forward to the web site for the North American Man-Boy Love Association ("NAMBLA"), an organization that promotes illegal activity between adults and children, including pedophilia.
Following this disclosure, the parties behind it were subsequently discovered to be Joe Stanley of Yellow Dog Strategy, a Democratic consultant who manufactured last year’s “macaca” gaffe by U.S. Sen. George Allen into an ex post facto racial slur and produced the controversial anti-Harris Miller mailing, and Ben Tribbett who runs the Northern Virginian blog “Not Larry Sabato.”
Evidence in hand and a confession by Mr. Stanley show that he was the one who purchased the domain name and then set it to forward to the NAMBLA web site. Mr. Tribbett, who is close to Mr. Stanley, proceeded to peddle the story to another blog and then feigned outrage at this action apparently in order to further raise the story’s visibility while maintaining deniability over it. Mr. Stanley undertook this action just two days after members of the ODBA began a concerted effort against state Sen. Roscoe Reynolds (D-20th Dist.), a candidate for whom Mr. Stanley has done work and who is locked in a tight reelection battle with Republican Jeff Evans. Sen. Reynolds advertises on “Not Larry Sabato.”
“Child sexual abuse is not a joke and certainly not a political tactic to be used in order to silence your political enemies,” said Kathryn Wilton of the blog CatHouse Chat, a member of the ODBA, the wife of a Navy veteran and mother. “Pedophilia is a morally repugnant behavior and how Mr. Stanley or Mr. Tribbett could think this is humorous or fair game politically is beyond my comprehension.”
“Senator Reynolds needs to go on the record whether or not he agrees with these abhorrent tactics used on his behalf,” added Greg Letiecq of Black Velvet Bruce Li, one of the most widely read blogs in Virginia. “Joe Stanley did this to benefit him. Reynolds must either expressly condone or renounce these tactics used for his gain.”
Members of the ODBA are currently considering whether to bring any civil legal claims stemming from this defamatory act perpetrated upon them. Should a case be brought and damages awarded, any proceeds will be donated to organizations that fight child abuse.
n 30 –
=======================================
Here’s what gets me: Twinkie Joe’s “confession states, in part:
I pointed the domain to NAMBLA for specific reasons. NAMBLA is an organization that advocates a set of beliefs that turn my stomach. Through misinformation, prevarication, and a false sense of earnestness, they pursue a predatory agenda that brings direct harm to countless innocent individuals. Their primary defense is the first amendment.
It is my opinion that the ODBA conducts itself in much the same way. While the end
product is far less repugnant than pedophilia, no fewer individuals are hurt by the organization. The main distinction I can make between the two organizations is that NAMBLA believes in the first amendment, and ODBA only believes in their right to free speech.
Now isn’t that just peachy? So by this logic, (failed 2006 Virginia Democratic Senatorial hopeful) Harris Miller deserved the hooked nose cartoon as well as the “antichrist” characterization because he, too “pursue a predatory agenda that brings direct harm to countless innocent individuals.” Gee, matches the kind of humor we saw in 1930s Germany rather well, don’t you think? Nice to know that his cowardly, self-ashamed lackey Ben agrees. My 19th Century ancestors from Eastern Europe had a saying about where the likes of Joe got these predispositions, but it’s not getting repeated here (yet).
For those of you from outside Virginia, pay attention. Now I’ve noticed that several other conservative blogs form statewide alliances. Look at it this way: What has happened in Virginia could very well happen to you. Seven or nine years ago it was leaflets about burning churches stuck in voters’ doors, copied from Maryland to Missouri and then nationwide. Now we have this kind of Internet attack. The whole operation here was not some itinerant operative, this Stanley is a Democratic Party official in Virginia.
I would also warn some of you that Twinkie Joe and Psycho Ben are the kinds of people who make personal attacks and even threats against opponents. Apparently, even their despicable nastiness is not enough to satisfy them. You would think clowns like that worked for a labor union given the kinds of things they say to people!
Now the other blog mentioned in the press release did apologize and help expose Joe Stanley. I do accept the apology and appreciate the efforts in helping to expose this sleazebag. This, however, raises a good question about the DemocratICK operatives, especially Tribbett: After spending so much time with crude attacks on political adversaries, are you now turning to taking down your (former) friends? Your former friends are rapidly finding out how Clarence and Buckingham felt in Shakespeare’s Richard III. Summer is ending; will this be the season of someone’s discontent? I can’t wait to hear young Ben exclaim something like “A blog! A blog! My kingdom for a blog!”
Many thanks to my fellow ODBA bloggers for helping to stand up to these slimeballs. For more great reading multiple commentary, videos, cartoons, etc, check out what Kat, J’s Notes, Leslie, James, Ward, Carl, Scott, Greg, Jim, Flora, Riley, and probably many more I left out.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Another Democrat Supports . . . School Vouchers?
Well, Maybe
Thanks to Chris for the inspiration
Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) announced today a more limited expansion of State intrusion, er, assistance for preschool according to today’s DC Examiner. The Commonwealth already spends $50 million a year for putting 12,500 kids in preschool, and the Governor wants to spend $75 million more. Note that the current figure is $4,000 per child (more than we spent each year on our older son's preschool)!
Here’s the kicker from the article:
Okaaaay, so college students can get what are essentially vouchers to attend any kind of post-secondary institution, right? Gov. Kaine wants to allow preschoolers to be given vouchers to attend any kind of institution. So we are admitting that these private institutions “reduce startup costs?” Ummm, does that mean because there are no teacher union bureaucracies?
Well, let’s take this to its logical conclusion. Why not privatize the rest of the Commonwealth’s school system. Heck, that way you can reduce all kinds of school costs, erase Virginia’s $200 million deficit, ensure localities get their fair share of per-pupil education funding, provide higher quality education, and most importantly, there would be more than enough money for this hare-brained (or hare-Kained) scheme of funding preschool for everyone.
Or, you know, since that would cost $300 million to $500 million, you could give a tax cut of at least $150 - $250 to every family of four in Virginia. Naaaaaaaah!
Thanks, Governor, for giving political cover to every conservative Republican in the Commonwealth, if not the entire country! I’m almost hoping Hillary picks you as a running mate.
Thanks to Chris for the inspiration
Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) announced today a more limited expansion of State intrusion, er, assistance for preschool according to today’s DC Examiner. The Commonwealth already spends $50 million a year for putting 12,500 kids in preschool, and the Governor wants to spend $75 million more. Note that the current figure is $4,000 per child (more than we spent each year on our older son's preschool)!
Here’s the kicker from the article:
Lawmakers also are concerned about Kaine’s intention to provide state funding to private and parochial programs willing to accept the low-income children. Although including those operations will reduce startup costs, it also raises the issue of providing state dollars to religious institutions.
“By including private providers and faith-based facilities, we can make smarter use of our resources, focusing on quality programs rather than on bricks and mortar,” Kaine said.
Okaaaay, so college students can get what are essentially vouchers to attend any kind of post-secondary institution, right? Gov. Kaine wants to allow preschoolers to be given vouchers to attend any kind of institution. So we are admitting that these private institutions “reduce startup costs?” Ummm, does that mean because there are no teacher union bureaucracies?
Well, let’s take this to its logical conclusion. Why not privatize the rest of the Commonwealth’s school system. Heck, that way you can reduce all kinds of school costs, erase Virginia’s $200 million deficit, ensure localities get their fair share of per-pupil education funding, provide higher quality education, and most importantly, there would be more than enough money for this hare-brained (or hare-Kained) scheme of funding preschool for everyone.
Or, you know, since that would cost $300 million to $500 million, you could give a tax cut of at least $150 - $250 to every family of four in Virginia. Naaaaaaaah!
Thanks, Governor, for giving political cover to every conservative Republican in the Commonwealth, if not the entire country! I’m almost hoping Hillary picks you as a running mate.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Sarkozy to Dump Metric System!
Real Purpose of New Hampshire Vacation Revealed
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, ostensibly "relaxing" in New Hampshire, has been using the vacation as a way to dump the use of the Metric System in France. President Sarkozy noted that even though the Metric system was invented in France, it is obviously inferior to the English system used in the United States. “We know this is true because the United States has a far more productive economy than ours, and we believe the Système Internationale is the root cause of our troubles,” said M. Sarkozy. He continued: “An economy that is dividing by ten is not very innovative. It makes sense that Louis XVI was guillotined because of this. From now on, France will work with douzaines!”
In what is believed to be related to this decision, an altercation arose on a lake between President Sarkozy and some news photographers. Anonymous sources tell us that the photographers were taunting Sarkozy by yelling “35 millimeters! 35 millimeters!” Fortunately, this incident was broken up quickly.
Reaction was mixed in the United States. Many Republicans supported Sarkozy’s move, and most Democrats refused to comment due to mathematical impairment. However, one of the party organizations, the Democratic Liter-ship Council, strongly condemned the move. “This could ruin soccer for the foreseeable future!” said a representative.
The measurement issue has also entered the immigrations debate. For a few years now, economists have theorized the poor people from Central America were coming to the United States not just for economic opportunity, but also to flee the metric system still in use in the less-than-developed countries. However, certain advocacy groups, such as Metric-anos Sin Fronteras, advocate bilingual education “that teaches both sides of the ruler” rather than “English first.” Lack of education in the English system is believed one of the underreported causes of overcrowded houses and disproportionate rates of highway accidents.
In the international arena, France’s move is believed to have led to some serious study. The U.N. is forming the United Nations English System Changeover Organization (UNESCO) to study the issue further. It is hoped that widespread use of the English System to replace metric will lead to increased rates of development in Third World countries. Nicolas Sarkozy is believed to have said, “This system is so easy, even John Kerry can use it!”
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, ostensibly "relaxing" in New Hampshire, has been using the vacation as a way to dump the use of the Metric System in France. President Sarkozy noted that even though the Metric system was invented in France, it is obviously inferior to the English system used in the United States. “We know this is true because the United States has a far more productive economy than ours, and we believe the Système Internationale is the root cause of our troubles,” said M. Sarkozy. He continued: “An economy that is dividing by ten is not very innovative. It makes sense that Louis XVI was guillotined because of this. From now on, France will work with douzaines!”
In what is believed to be related to this decision, an altercation arose on a lake between President Sarkozy and some news photographers. Anonymous sources tell us that the photographers were taunting Sarkozy by yelling “35 millimeters! 35 millimeters!” Fortunately, this incident was broken up quickly.
Reaction was mixed in the United States. Many Republicans supported Sarkozy’s move, and most Democrats refused to comment due to mathematical impairment. However, one of the party organizations, the Democratic Liter-ship Council, strongly condemned the move. “This could ruin soccer for the foreseeable future!” said a representative.
The measurement issue has also entered the immigrations debate. For a few years now, economists have theorized the poor people from Central America were coming to the United States not just for economic opportunity, but also to flee the metric system still in use in the less-than-developed countries. However, certain advocacy groups, such as Metric-anos Sin Fronteras, advocate bilingual education “that teaches both sides of the ruler” rather than “English first.” Lack of education in the English system is believed one of the underreported causes of overcrowded houses and disproportionate rates of highway accidents.
In the international arena, France’s move is believed to have led to some serious study. The U.N. is forming the United Nations English System Changeover Organization (UNESCO) to study the issue further. It is hoped that widespread use of the English System to replace metric will lead to increased rates of development in Third World countries. Nicolas Sarkozy is believed to have said, “This system is so easy, even John Kerry can use it!”
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Tagged, Part II
OK, I guess I should write things down about myself instead of making my six-year-old son do it all the time . . . Apologies to Ari for taking so long.
1. I like walking backwards. When we go out for a family walk, my wife and kids go forwards, and I walk backwards in front of them. This way, we can carry on a conversation, they can be my spotters, and it helps relieve back pain as well as exercise different muscles.
2. Some of my favorite sayings: “Life is uncertain; eat dessert first.” “I think it is more exciting not to catch a large fish than not to catch a small one.” “Some of the things I say may turn out to be true.” “Whereas a stopped clock is right twice a day, a clock that runs backwards is right FOUR TIMES a day.”
3. Speaking of the above, I really do have a backwards clock in my office (well, over my cubicle).
4. I have met in real life people who are involved with, or run 11 of the blogs to which I link. I am related to one. Note that two of the blogs to which I link are run by the same person.
5. Dumbest thing I have ever done: In college chemistry lab once I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing. So I managed to hook up the Bunsen burner to the cold water tap instead of the gas. Needless to say, it didn’t light for quite a while.
6. I bought my wife’s engagement ring four years before I met her. You, too, can buy these things in Israel and bring them in duty-free. (I proposed to my wife 4 1/2 months after I met her, but that's another story.)
7. If you see me refer to a story about someone being attacked with a fish, let me assure you that it is a true story.
8. I am a “Jeopardy!” winner. I won one game and a nice trip to Seattle. The year after I was on they doubled the prize money. And now I know who Kenny G is.
Everyone whom I have wanted to tag has been tagged, I think. The rest won't participate anyway.
1. I like walking backwards. When we go out for a family walk, my wife and kids go forwards, and I walk backwards in front of them. This way, we can carry on a conversation, they can be my spotters, and it helps relieve back pain as well as exercise different muscles.
2. Some of my favorite sayings: “Life is uncertain; eat dessert first.” “I think it is more exciting not to catch a large fish than not to catch a small one.” “Some of the things I say may turn out to be true.” “Whereas a stopped clock is right twice a day, a clock that runs backwards is right FOUR TIMES a day.”
3. Speaking of the above, I really do have a backwards clock in my office (well, over my cubicle).
4. I have met in real life people who are involved with, or run 11 of the blogs to which I link. I am related to one. Note that two of the blogs to which I link are run by the same person.
5. Dumbest thing I have ever done: In college chemistry lab once I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing. So I managed to hook up the Bunsen burner to the cold water tap instead of the gas. Needless to say, it didn’t light for quite a while.
6. I bought my wife’s engagement ring four years before I met her. You, too, can buy these things in Israel and bring them in duty-free. (I proposed to my wife 4 1/2 months after I met her, but that's another story.)
7. If you see me refer to a story about someone being attacked with a fish, let me assure you that it is a true story.
8. I am a “Jeopardy!” winner. I won one game and a nice trip to Seattle. The year after I was on they doubled the prize money. And now I know who Kenny G is.
Everyone whom I have wanted to tag has been tagged, I think. The rest won't participate anyway.
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