Seed to Soul

Beautiful!

Technorati Tags: Cigars

With Jeff Frederick as Chair - Where goes Charlie Judd?

To greener pastures we hope. Charlie Judd has to go. Virginia Politics reports - The Fallout from Frederick's Win.

Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick's election today as the new chairman of Virginia Republican Party will likely lead to some big changes at GOP headquarters, including possibly a new executive director, according to party officials.

Under former lieutenant governor John H. Hager, who Frederick unseated today in the chairman's race, Charles E. Judd served as executive director.

"You will probably be hearing some news about that next week," Frederick said. "I ran to make changes, so we will be making some changes." He declined further comment.

Charlie Judd MUST go. Period. Party moves forward. Drop the hammer Chairman Frederick!

Technorati Tags: Virginia, Virginia Politics, Virginia GOP, Jeff Frederick, Charlie Judd

Cat N Rabbit - 1,2,3

Is that a Rabbit?

Yes Indeed! Heads First!

After the meal.

This cat is a rabbit eating machine. She spent close to two hours eating all but the hind legs and cotton ball tail. It's like watching a anaconda or something.

Technorati Tags: Cat Blogging, Cat, Rabbits, Wise County Virginia

Mason Jars and Cigars

Scored a couple CAO Odyssey Cigars.
These special cigars are made from a wonderful combination of six different types of Cuban seed fillers. Habano seed binder and sixth priming Ecuadorian Rosado wrapper that imparts a flavor that is second to none. This complex cigar has been aged since September 1, 1995.....Indeed!


Technorati Tags: Cigars, Jim Beam, CAO Cigars

Hey Emmett Hanger and Crew! - State Central: "Kurt Michael is Augusta Chairman"

SWAC GIRL writes -

In a unanimous vote Friday the Republican Party of Virginia's State Central Committee voted to uphold the decision of the 6th District in the case of the contested Augusta County Republican Committee mass meeting on April 10. Kurt Michael was declared the legal chairman just as he was at the 6th District level.

The SWAC bashers can all eat crow now. The whackjobs, Clems, and others tried to hang the hardest working GOP crew in the state. Now that the case is settled, done, closed, you wont see them reporting how wrong they were. Cheers to my my friends in SWAC Land!

Technorati Tags: Virginia, Virginia Politics, Virginia GOP, Emmett Hanger

Jeff Frederick is the New RPV Chairman

I am as happy about this as I am about Jim Gilmore defeating Bob Marshall.

Today was a unique day. The results say a lot about where the GOP is as a party. A Pro life candidate and a more pro life candidate......Hager and all those years of experience....replaced by a 32 year old delegate....Changes.

Technorati Tags: Jeff Frederick, John Hager, Virginia, Virginia Politics, Virginia GOP

Jim Gilmore Wins

Congratulations to Jim Gilmore and his supporters. Bearing Drift has numbers for the 9th: 551.78 - 335.22 for Gilmore (confirmed).

Badrose is blogging. You gotta love her!!

"Sorry folks, I just can’t get a woody for any of these guys. While I prefer Gilmore over the other two choices (much more over Marshall) this race interests me about as much as grits with no cheese."

Big smiles here from all the Bloggers4Gilmore!

Technorati Tags: Jim Gilmore, Bob Marshall, Mark Warner, Virginia, Virginia Politics

Starting Monday - The 95th annual Va/Ky District Fair

Music — Bucky Covington on Tuesday, Jason Michael Carroll on Wednesday and Confederate Railroad with Adam D. Tucker on Thursday. The complete schedule is here.

My grandfather went to jail for shooting his pistol into the air from atop the Ferris Wheel. I am sure alcohol was involved. What can I say....

Technorati Tags: Wise Virginia, Wise County Virginia

JJ Kelly Indian Baseball....

JJ Kelly 13, John Battle 5

HONAKER — There have been a lot of changes in Region D this year, but a couple of traditional powerhouses will be advancing to the state baseball quarterfinals.

Defending Region C champion J.J. Kelly defeated John Battle 13-5 in the semifinal opener.

Kelly, the defending regional champs, will play Honaker in today’s regional tournament title game.

“We just kind of run into a buzz saw,” John Battle coach Larry Cannon said.

Honaker 15, Gate City 7

Gate City took an early 4-1 lead in the second semifinal, but Honaker used a six-run fourth inning to take control.

The big blow was a three-run homer by David Keene.

Clay Smith was 3-for-4 with a homer and 3 RBIs in the win, which helped the Tigers and veteran coach Tom Harding earn a spot in the state quarterfinals.

Logan Ball pitched the first six innings to get the win for the Tigers. Cory Brown kept Gate City scoreless in the seventh

Go Indians!

Technorati Tags: Wise Virginia, Wise County Virginia, Virginia, Baseball

The Old Dominion Blog Alliance Hospitality Suite

There will not be a ODBA hosted suite. Some members were approached by a couple of delegates interested in sponsoring a suite. After some thought, we declined.

The ODBA did not want to give the impression that we endorse, or as a group support a candidate. We feel that would be the wrong thing to do.

The interested delegates were told to use the money for campaigns. Hopefully they will.

Technorati Tags: Old Dominion Blog Alliance, Virginia GOP, Virginia

LTE - Fair Tax

Imagine what a boost the American economy would experience if taxpayers were handed a virtual $400-billion-per-year tax cut! This amount of extra money in our pockets would work to grow the economy. Further imagine that even with this virtual tax cut, the government would continue to be funded at its current level. The treasury would merely have to collect federal taxes through a simpler, more transparent and fairer system than our current tax code. The Fair Tax bills before Congress would replace the Internal Revenue Service with just such a system.
The report of President Bush’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, published in late 2005, states that the money spent by Americans filling out their tax forms would fund “the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, NASA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, the United States Congress, our federal courts, and all of the federal government’s foreign aid.”
This same advisory panel noted that widespread noncompliance costs each honest taxpayer an extra $2,000 in taxes yearly. It further notes that due to the arbitrariness of the code increasing your income by 50 percent can increase your tax burden by 140 percent.
It shows that marginal income tax rates can now rise to more than 30 percent for a family earning just $30,000 per year. That’s does not include the 15 percent payroll tax. A 45 percent marginal rate on a $30,000 yearly income is happening today! This comes straight from the advisory panel experts. Who in his right mind can prefer the current system to the 23 percent Fair Tax?

John Hanson
Bristol, Va.

Use the Fair Tax calculator and find out how much the Fair Tax can save you.

Technorati Tags: Fair Tax, Taxes

Wise vs Wise Logo

You can tell from my sidebar the one I would vote for. I like them both.

Technorati Tags: Wise Virginia, Wise County Virginina, Virginia

Subway is Sorry

Subway excluding home schooled kids from their contest made Badrose post. Today SWAC Girl posted Subways apology. She concludes

"Home educated students just want to be offered the same opportunities as their peers. Subway, who provided sandwiches at one of the home school conventions held in Charlottesville a few years ago, probably was not even aware of how it would look to the home school community to exclude them from a creative writing contest. Subway rectified a wrong, and we thank them."

I agree. One has to wonder if this happens often in these contests?

Technorati Tags: Subway, Home School

Jim Gilmore -Bob Marshall Poll

The Shad Plank is running one.

H/T Yankee Phil

Technorati Tags: Jim Gilmore, Bob Marshall, Mark Warner, Virginia, Virginia Politics

Jim Gilmore gets it on energy - Bob Marshall???

Spank That Donkey is all over Bob Marshall with his posts - Warner - Marshall: Is It All About the Sierra Club? and Will Bob Marshall Help Kaine Move To Kill Virginia Coal Plant?

Spanky brings up some concerns I wrote about here and how Jim Gilmore gets it!

“Just like that: Gas prices. ‘What’s bothering me is gas prices,’” Gilmore recalled the clerk said. He said the clerk said she worked two jobs to make ends meet and was spending $250 a month on gas, based on prices about three weeks ago.

“I’m more concerned about that desk clerk over at that Hampton Inn than caribou (in Alaska),”

“Coal is a strategic national asset for the United States and must be part of our energy solution,” Gilmore said. “We have more coal than Saudi Arabia has oil.”

“We need to recognize the use of coal has tripled since 1970 and yet our air is much cleaner,” Gilmore said. “If we use sensible types of approaches, we can harmonize these things and use this great asset that we have in the United States.”
“It may take a few years to do this, but if we say that we are going to be more decisive and use all the elements of our national power to create energy independence for this country, that includes oil, you’re going to see a reaction,”

“We’ll have to find the economic levers if our power is to break the [oil] cartel ... the first and most fundamental thing is that we’re going to use the sinews of America’s economic power ... and that is oil and coal.”

Jim Gilmore is the man for SWVA.

Technorati Tags: Jim Gilmore, Bob Marshall, Mark Warner, Virginia, Virginia Politics

NASCAR @ Charlotte

Just another reason I love racing. Fireworks this weekend for sure. NASCAR fined Tony Eury Sr., crew chief for the No. 88 Chevrolet driven by Brad Keselowski, has been fined and placed on probation as have two JR Motorsports team members who were involved in a post-race altercation in the pit road impound area following the Nationwide Series race on May 24 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

• Eury Sr. was fined $1,000 and placed on probation until June 25 for violating Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 9-4A (the crew chief assumes responsibility for the actions of his or her driver, car owner and team members) of the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rule Book.

• JR Motorsports crew member Michael Sandlin will serve a one-race suspension from the Nationwide Series and is suspended from NASCAR until June 4. He has been placed on probation until Oct. 15 and also has been fined $1,500 for violating Section 12-4-A. Sandlin failed to follow a directive from a NASCAR official and had inappropriate contact with a NASCAR official during the post-race altercation.

• Jordan Allen, another JR Motorsports crew member, also has been placed on probation until Oct. 15 and fined $1,500 for being in violation of Section 12-4-A. Allen also failed to follow a directive from a NASCAR official and had inappropriate contact with a NASCAR official during the post-race altercation.(LINK)

Good ole Jeff Burton finished 6th and is standing 2nd in the series points.

Technorati Tags: NASCAR, Racing, Jeff Burton

AG Bob McDonnell on the Execution of Kevin Green

“Kevin Green was executed tonight by the Commonwealth of Virginia for the 1998 murder of Patricia Vaughan. Ms. Vaughan was shot and killed by Green in his armed robbery of the small convenience store she owned with her husband, Lawrence, in the Brunswick County community of Dolphin. During that robbery Green also shot Mr. Vaughan two times. He survived the shooting, but Mr. Vaughan will always live with the tragic memory of watching his wife die. The finding of guilt and sentence of death in this case have been reviewed and upheld by the Supreme Court of Virginia, a United States District Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Tonight, justice has been served. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Mr. Vaughan, their daughters, and all the family and friends of Patricia Vaughan.” ~ Bob McDonnell

Justice was served. The retardation defense failed. This guy could have a job, drive a car (and all that entails), plan a robbery and getaway, shoot two innocent people killing the one he shot four times, escape on a bus to NOVA with $9000, blow it all but $170 on prostitutes, dope, and clothes.....Yes, justice was served.

Technorati Tags: Capital Punishment, Virginia, Bob McDonnell, Kevin Green

TooCon - "Marshall Hearts Warner..?"

Too Conservative has some interesting news.

"Word on the street is that Bob Marshall’s general consultant met today with the big man himself…Mark Warner.

Some behind the scenes collusion?"

I'm just sayin ....

Mark Warner laying a little ear lovin on a grinning Bob Marshall.

Technorati Tags: Bob Marshall, Mark Warner, Virginia, Virginia Politics, Humor

Bob Marshall's Love Canal Resurfaces

I was just saying earlier today how Marshall had ignored my part of the state. He did make it to Roanoke. He did receive press time. See the TV spot here. From reading this article it sounds like Bob made one heck of an impression. He gets testy with the reporter. Why? Because Jay Warren grilled him on his past statements and "legislating sex." So it begins:

“A woman’s arm is constructed at a certain angle so that she can cradle a baby. This is the way we’re created.”~Bob Marshall

And barefoot in the kitchen also?

WARREN: “What does that mean, a man should not cradle a baby?”

MARSHALL: “No, but have you ever seen any female quarterbacks? To get down to biology a woman’s arm is constructed at a different angle than a man’s.”

Are you kidding me? The article continues painfully:

For instance, in that same Washington Post article on Nov. 4, 2006, Marshall is quoted proudly saying he is Virginia’s “chief homophobe.”.............

And then there’s Marshall’s rant on the House floor about the Morning After Pill. It’s posted on YouTube.

Marshall said, “We have no business passing this garbage out and making these co-eds chemical Love Canals for these frat house playboys in Virginia.”

When asked about it, Marshall interjects “is this another sex topic?”

WARREN: “Well, if it is unfair for us to ask sex questions.”

MARSHALL: “It’s not unfair.”

WARREN: “Why are you legislating sex?”

Love Canal resurfaces. Oh my. Health care issues you ask?

When asked if there are any real solutions to fix our health care system, Marshall said, “Part of it is the behaviors that Americans are engaging in that are resulting in more necessary trips to the doctor.”

What are those behaviors? His campaign website lists only AIDS and STD’s. We’re back to sex.

WARREN: “Why point out std’s and not also point out smoking, bad eating, that a lot of people would say are causing a lot more expense to our health care system than are STD’s?”

MARSHALL “Whether they are or are not, I don’t know.”

Nice job. I have listened to the left say Jim Gilmore cant win. I've read the bloggers for Marshall say Jim cant win. That is B/S. Gilmore the tax cutter against Warner the tax raiser. Bob Marshall - “chief homophobe.”.....And they think Marshall can win statewide? Heh.

Technorati Tags: Jim Gilmore, Mark Warner, Virginia, Virginia Politics, Bob Marshall

Jim Gilmore Calls Mark Warner Out on Why He Really Raised Taxes on Virginians

Gilmore comes out swinging! Not jabs, but throwing haymakers.

STRAIGHT TALK: THE FACTS ABOUT MARK WARNER'S MATH MYTH
Jim Gilmore Calls Mark Warner Out on Why He Really Raised Taxes on Virginians

Alexandria - Today, the Jim for Gilmore for Senate Campaign sent a letter to all Virginia newspaper editors responding to Mark Warner's false claim that he raised taxes $1.4 billion on working Virginians because he inherited a $6 billion budget deficit. The text of the letter follows:

Letter to the Editor
Responding to the myth Mark Warner created to increase taxes $1.4 billion
During his recent campaign kick-off former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner again claimed that upon being elected in 2001 his administration inherited a $6 billion budget deficit. This is a myth Mark Warner created to gain passage of the largest tax increase in Virginia history - and one he has been promulgating for over six years. It is time to set the record straight!
What Mark Warner really inherited from Gov. Jim Gilmore was a sound budget that was balanced every year, as required by Virginia law and a fully funded $1 billion Rainy Day Fund, the largest cash reserve in Virginia's history. Mark Warner knows that Virginia's Constitution prohibits budget deficits, yet he continues to say he inherited one when asked why he broke his word about raising taxes.
Virginians need to be reminded that every incoming governor has the option of making his own revenue projections, as did Mark Warner, once he took office. As audited financial statements make plain, the deficit he attributes to Gov. Gilmore is actually a product of Mark Warner's own faulty projections for the years 2001-2003, i.e. our state's biennial budget. What these projections really show is how much more Mark Warner wanted to spend compared with what we could afford. In fact, spending during his term increased a whopping $23.6 billion.
Additionally, audited financial statements also show Mark Warner underestimated revenues for the 2004-2006 bienniums by over $3 billion. This is of major significance because it further proves there was no deficit and that there was a huge surplus Mark Warner ignored as he worked to justify his whopping tax increase. Rather than returning the surplus to Virginia's hard working families and acknowledging his accounting mistakes, he went on a spending spree.
For anyone who is willing to take the time to examine the evidence available, it is clear Mark Warner's math myth does not add up. First, declare a $6 billion deficit that doesn't exist. Second, promote and pass a $1.4 billion record tax increase. Third, two months later disclose you've already collected over $320 million in excess taxes. Fourth, "discover" a $1.1 billion surplus. And lastly, spend the surplus, and raid the rainy day fund (twice).
The fact is tax collections were coming in well above forecasts during a period in which Mark Warner was declaring that the Commonwealth was facing a financial crisis. Virginia's audited financial statements demonstrate this. It is time Mark Warner be held accountable for his financial shenanigans designed to mislead the hard working taxpayers of Virginia. There was no deficit, unless one defines it as the difference between state revenues and what Mark Warner wanted to spend.

Resources for General Fund Forecasts:
August 19, 2002 Year End Presentations - includes June and July 2002 Revenue Reports
General Fund Collections and Financial Results for FY 2002, Revised Economic Outlook and Revenue Forecasts for FY 2003 and FY 2004
Presentation to Joint Money Committees by John M. Bennett, Secretary of Finance
http://www.finance.virginia.gov/KeyDocuments/JMCmaterials/JMC-Aug2002.pdf
August 23, 2004 Year End Presentations - includes June and July 2004 Revenue Reports
Actual General Fund Revenues for FY 2004 and the State of the Virginia Economy
Presentation to Joint Money Committees by John M. Bennett, Secretary of Finance
http://www.finance.virginia.gov/KeyDocuments/JMCmaterials/JMC-Aug2004.pdf
December 17, 2003 - Governor Warner's Proposed 2004-2006 Budget
Economic Outlook Revenue Forecast, and Proposed Tax Reform Plan
Presentation to Joint Money Committees by John M. Bennett, Secretary of Finance
http://www.finance.virginia.gov/KeyDocuments/JMCmaterials/JMC-Dec2003.pdf

Technorati Tags: Jim Gilmore, Mark Warner, Virginia, Virginia Politics

Jim Gilmore sets Bob Marshall Straight

Spank that Donkey has the money post - Gilmore Responds to Marshall Hit Piece.

The Bob Marshall campaign and its bloggers have tried everything in the book to discredit Jim Gilmore. Most of it was foolish rhetoric like trying to convince people Gilmore was not pro life:

Claim: Jim Gilmore is not pro-life

Truth: Jim Gilmore was Virginia’s most Pro-Life Governor, and is the ONLY Republican candidate in this race that has not voted to send taxpayers’ dollars to fund Planned Parenthood.

Or this nonsense

Claim: Jim Gilmore did not oppose the Regional Transportation Authorities established by HB 3202.

Truth: Jim Gilmore opposed HB3202. In fact, Jim Gilmore vetoed a bill in 2000 that would have established similar Regional Taxing Authorities. A bill Bob Marshall voted for.

Go on over to STD and read the rest of the Marshall rhetoric being destroyed by Gilmore's solid record. The Marshall crew set the tone of this campaign early and it will end this weekend at the convention as Gilmore will win the nomination.

The bloggers for Marshall tried and failed to excite voters. They spread misinformation while Gilmore focused on Mark Warner. They raised a pitiful amount of cash, they ignored my part of the state, and basically accomplished nothing but wasting time and effort on a candidate that has nothing to offer but a history of grandstanding. I credit Jim Gilmore and his supporters for taking the high road during these attacks. There is a reason the press and the pollsters never noticed Marshall....Nothing of substance was his platform and come vote time that will be their return...Nothing of substance.

Technorati Tags: Jim Gilmore, Bob Marshall, Virginia GOP, Virginia, Virginia Politics

RedStorm PAC Updated - John Brownlee and Ken Cuccinelli

RedStorm PAC has updated with new widgets.

Bob McDonnell
Governor for Virginia
$

Bill Bolling
Lieutenant Governor for Virginia
$

John Brownlee
Attorney General for Virginia
$

Ken Cuccinelli
Attorney General for Virginia
$

Use them on your blog to raise money for your candidates.

Technorati Tags: Redstorm PAC, Virginia, Virginia Politics

Honor and Remember - Fly The Flag!

Via Scott, we learn about this great cause.

NATIONAL FLAG FOR FALLEN WARRIORS UNVEILED

New Emblem Will Serve to Honor and Remember the Sacrifice of Military Service Men and Women Who Died in Service

CHESAPEAKE, Virginia — A flag that commemorates military men and women who died in service to their country is the subject of a petition to the Department of Defense and United States Congress for national recognition. Honor and Remember Inc., a Chesapeake-based non-profit organization, is circulating a petition to have the “Honor and Remember Flag” officially sanctioned as a national flag. The new emblem would fill a void in the officially recognized assemblage of American symbols.

“In the more than 200 years since our nation’s founding, 1.6 million men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice in wars and conflicts as members of the United States military,” said George Lutz, president of Honor and Remember Inc. “Yet there is no tangible national symbol by which we honor these heroes, nothing to remind us daily that they should not be forgotten, nothing to say thank you.”

An unveiling ceremony for the Honor and Remember Flag will be held on Monday, May 26, 2008, at 3:00 p.m. at the MacArthur Memorial Museum in downtown Norfolk. Congresswoman Thelma Drake will be the special speaker at the event, which will include remarks from George Lutz, the flag’s originator. The ceremony will also feature the singing of the national anthem, the ODU color guard and the raising of the Honor and Remember Flag.

The Honor and Remember Flag combines stars used by the military to designate service, an eternal flame and a folded American flag in its design, which is intended to evoke reverence and appreciation for the lives cut short in service to America. The goal of the petition effort is to have the flag flown continuously at all official governmental venues and by every household that wishes to honor those who gave their lives in service to their country.

“Our goal is to collect one million signatures on a petition that will be delivered to the Department of Defense and then to Congress, requesting that the Honor and Remember Flag be officially designated as a national flag,” said Lutz.

“The idea for the Honor and Remember Flag was the result of losing my own son in the Iraq War,” said Lutz. “Tony was killed by a sniper in December 2005, while he was on patrol outside Fallujah. Our family went through all of the stages that follow such a tragedy: shock, grief , numbness and acceptance. But as I visited other families who lost young people in the war and as I attended the funerals of other fallen service men and women, it occurred to me that there was no lasting, tangible symbol that these families could use to honor their lost loved one. There are two things that parents long for when they lose a child this way. First, they want their child’s death not to have been in vain and secondly, they want their child’s sacrifice to be remembered.”

After Memorial day The Honor and Remember Flag will be displayed online. An electronic petition is available at www.honorandremember.org. So far, Lutz has received enthusiastic support and encouragement from various military and veteran representatives and organizations. Nevertheless, he intends to gain grassroots support for the Honor and Remember Flag through this petition.

One important goal of Honor and Remember Inc. is to place an Honor and Remember Flag in the hands of every living parent who has lost a child in service to America.

Honor and Remember - Fly The Flag!

Technorati Tags: Honor and Remember, POW, MIA, Veterans

Virginia set to execute killer tonight

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Barring intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court or Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a man will be executed Tuesday for killing a convenience store owner in 1998.

Kevin Green, 31, would be the first person executed in Virginia since 2006 and the third inmate to die since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of lethal injection in April. Georgia became the first to execute an inmate May 6, ending a seven-month refrain on capital punishment nationwide.(LINK)

Of course they are fighting it, saying Green is retarded. I say the facts are clear:

On Aug. 21, 1998, Green shot Patricia and Lawrence Vaughan when he and his nephew robbed their store in rural Dolphin, more than 50 miles south of Richmond. Patricia Vaughan, 53, was shot four times and died at the scene. Lawrence Vaughan was shot in the neck and elbow but survived.

Days after the shooting, police arrested Green and David Green. Kevin Green confessed, telling police they took a bus to northern Virginia after the shootings and blew all but $170 on prostitutes, marijuana and clothes.

Tonight Mr Green will pay for his crimes and hopefully the victims family will find peace.

Technorati Tags: Execution, Kevin Green, Virginia, Virginia Politics

What the Flock?

I wrote a while back about trying out a couple browsers, Safari and Flock. My fist thoughts were I don't need what Flock offers, you know, it is "the social web browser" First impressions were wrong. Flock is a great browser for blogging, RSS, and it works similar to FireFox. If you blog, surf, rss, youtube, facebook, thing, then I invite you to join my Flock. Open Source Goodness!

Technorati Tags: Flock, Software

CAO Gold

My friends and readers know I love cigars. You know I love CAO Cigars. I usally like a medium to robust flavor in a cigar, but I must be mellowing in my age. I picked up a couple of these CAO Gold's and it is a primo smoke for the money. Spicy vanilla smoothie!

Technorati Tags: Cigars, Blogging, CAO Cigars

Hager - Frederick Debate!

Fellow ODBA blogger Mason Conservative has the video!

"The republican party of Virginia has for to long been going out to the grass roots saying here is what we need from you. But I think we need a party that instead comes to the grassroots and says what do you need from us." ~ Jeff Frederick

I smell what he is cooking. Frederick for Chairman!

Technorati Tags: John Hager, Jeff Frederick, Virginia GOP, Virginia Politics, Virginia

Remember the Homeless Vets

I am a big Blue Highway fan. The new CD "Through the Windows of a Train" is one of their best yet. Recorded in Big Stone Gap at Maaggards, the following song discusses a homeless vet...homeless in many ways. Click here to listen along.

Homeless Man
(Wayne Taylor/Forty WAT Music, BMI)

They called him Skeet, his name was Bill
Corporal William Howard Campbell,
they never knew and never will
He did his time with the 101
They took a simple country boy
and taught him how to use a gun
After four long years in service,
two tours in Vietnam
The country that he served so well
doesn't seem to give a damn
That he's a homeless man

He has a son, lives in L.A.
He hasn't spoke to him in twenty years,
he just don't know what to say
He had a loving wife, she was his right hand
Till the nightmares and the memories
became more that she could stand
Now he has everything he owns
in a worn-out shopping cart
He's never begged for anything,
he just doesn't have the heart
He's just a homeless man

Now in this land of plenty
where so many have it all,
He sleeps in an alley half a block from city hall

They found him there one cold November night
Though he'd won so many battles,
this time he'd lost the fight
No one seemed to care that he was gone
They laid him in a pauper's grave
with a tiny little stone
As a young man and his mother
sat alone and cried,
Holding the Silver Star medallion
someone found there by his side
He was a homeless man

He was just a homeless man

This is the best overall new bluegrass release so far this year. They hit hard with the above song and a classic called Two Soldiers

"We're the two soldiers no one wants to see
In a plain black sedan
rolling slowly down the street
Past the toys and the bikes
beneath the maple trees
Where fading yellow ribbons
wave gently in the breeze
A loved one's in a better place
They won't be back no more
Now there's two soldiers at the door"

Check this CD out.

Technorati Tags: Veterans, Bluegrass, Blue Highway, Homeless

She is not a female player, she is a "PLAYER"

Yankee Phil has a good post about girls playing on men's sports teams - Girl kicked off boys team for being too good?

This is a tough call. I know I definitely not like playing against a woman.

"Well, nobody complained about it until last month, when several parents let Hoop management know they weren't happy about Jaime's presence on the team.

They say their sons don't play as well against her because they are nice boys who have been taught not to get rough with girls.

They also believe that having a girl on the floor is distracting and preventing their boys from focusing on the game.

I know it would affect my play, aggressiveness, hard fouls, etc. I love girls basketball, but I don't know if I want to see them on the boys team.

Technorati Tags: Basketball, Sports, Sex

Subway - Even Badrose is P*****!

SWAC Girl and others have brought to light this writing contest sponsored by Subway that excludes Home Schooled children.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Contest is open only to legal residents of the Untied (sic) States who are currently over the age of 18 and have children who attend elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted.

Even the lovely Badrose has jumped in. She writes

"SUBWAY has launched a writing contest that specifically EXCLUDES home schooled children. Ironically, it has misspelled words (most conspicuous is basket) on the contest Web Site!"

I guess the powers that be at Subway are that ignorant to alienate home schooled kids. With the demographic growing, Subway made a bad business decision. I don't eat there anyway.

Technorati Tags: Subway, Home School

Memorial Day ... 3:00 pm

H/T SWAC GIrl

Memorial Day ... Monday 3:00 pm

A minute of silence to honor America's fallen heroes.

Technorati Tags: Memorial Day

What is a Vet?

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eyes. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel -- or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's alloy forged in the refinery of adversity. Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.

You can't tell a vet just by looking. What is a vet?

The Vet is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.

The Vet may be the bar room loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near
the 38th parallel in Korea.

The Vet is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night in Da Nang.

The Vet is the former POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL.

The Vet is the Quantico drill instructor who maybe never experienced combat -- but saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines by teaching them to watch and protect each other's backs.

The Vet is the wheel chair-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.

The Vet is the career quartermaster who watched the ribbons and medals pass him by but made certain every needed bullet found it way to the front line.

The Vet is one of the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose
uncommon valor lies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.

The Vet is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket -- palsied now and aggravatingly slow --who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife was still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.

The Vet is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being -- a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.

by Marine Corp chaplain, Father Denis Edward O'Brian

Technorati Tags: Memorial Day, Veterans

Blooms at Spark It Up HQ

SWAC Girl has some good shots up also.

Technorati Tags: Flowers, Gardening

"Once each May" ~ Ronald Reagan

(Town of Wise Cemetery...Steep huh)

“Once each May, amid the quiet hills and rolling lanes and breeze-brushed trees of Arlington National Cemetery, far above the majestic Potomac and the monuments and memorials of our Nation’s Capital just beyond, the graves of America’s military dead are decorated with the beautiful flag that in life these brave souls followed and loved. This scene is repeated across our land and around the world, wherever our defenders rest. Let us hold it our sacred duty and our inestimable privilege on this day to decorate these graves ourselves—with a fervent prayer and a pledge of true allegiance to the cause of liberty, peace, and country for which America’s own have ever served and sacrificed... Our pledge and our prayer this day are those of free men and free women who know that all we hold dear must constantly be built up, fostered, revered and guarded vigilantly from those in every age who seek its destruction. We know, as have our Nation’s defenders down through the years, that there can never be peace without its essential elements of liberty, justice and independence. Those true and only building blocks of peace were the lone and lasting cause and hope and prayer that lighted the way of those whom we honor and remember this Memorial Day. To keep faith with our hallowed dead, let us be sure, and very sure, today and every day of our lives, that we keep their cause, their hope, their prayer, forever our country’s own.” —Ronald Reagan

Indeed.

Technorati Tags: Ronald Reagan, Memorial Day

John Brownlee's Announcement Speech Video

Good speech from Brownlee. He covers his record and lays out a platform with goals that I can support.

Technorati Tags: John Brownlee, Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia GOP, Virginia Politics

Local Flavor - Road Kill

Road Kill BBQ Sauce that is. From Lee County, Virginia of all places. The recipe belongs to Jim Appleby and the claim is:

"Jims own secret recipe makes racoon taste almost as good as possum!"

All jokes aside, the sauce is award winning. Better getcha some here.

Technorati Tags: Road Kill, Lee County Virginia, Food, BBQ

Coalfield Pictures

Made within a couple miles of each other on the back roads around Wise. The old and the new. Click those pics to embiggen.

Technorati Tags: Pictures, Wise County Virginia

Red Foreman - Veteran

Salute!

Technorati Tags: Red Foreman, Veterans, Humor

Warner $4.4 million - Gilmore $208,000 -Marshall $19,000

Gilmore reported $208,000 while Marshall has about $19,000. Warner, who released his financial data last week, has nearly $4.4 million in the bank as he heads toward the November election .....Gilmore raised about $396,000 in the same period, said Dick Leggitt, his campaign manager. Marshall raised $51,770, according to a campaign press release.(LINK)

Gilmore spent a lot campaigning against Mark. He has spent around a million dollars. Warner at one time had 8 million, now he has 4.4 million on hand...That is spending! Bob Marshall apparently cant raise coffee money. Facts are facts.

Spank that Donkey has more - Jim Gilmore Raises over $1.1 Million, etc

Technorati Tags: Jim Gilmore, Mark Warner, Bob Marshall, Virginia Politics

Democrats,Race,Assassination, Oh My! Ask Jim Webb

He is outraged!

Indeed. Clinton is sorry.

"I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation and in particular the Kennedy family was in any way offensive. I certainly had no intention of that whatsoever."

Not a good day for team Clinton. The outrage shown towards Mike Huckabee over a joke should be amplified against Clinton for her remark. It is not even in the same league as Huck's humor.

Combine that with a video NLS (Sorry, no link) posted yesterday. Here is the direct link to the video from Al-Jazzeera Kentucky. Ben asks if this is going on in SWVA...Why don't you ask Jim Webb? We would love to hear his thoughts.

Technorati Tags: Hillary Clinton, Jim Webb, Democrats, Racism

Remember the Heroes - Medal of Honor

While reading Jerry's post - Into The Pantheon Of American Heroes, lets also remember these brave men. The Patriot Post reminds us -

On this Memorial Day, four young men who served in Iraq and Afghanistan will not be at the malls, nor will they be at the family barbecue.

These young men are not much different from others who have served in the past or those serving today in our nation’s Armed Forces but for the fact that they responded to extraordinary circumstances with extraordinary courage.

They are Corporal Jason L. Dunham, USMC; Master-at-Arms Second Class Michael A. Monsoor, USN; Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith, USA; and Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, USN.

Their Medal of Honor citations read:

DUNHAM, JASON L. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Rifle Squad Leader, 4th Platoon, Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines (Reinforced), Regimental Combat Team 7, First Marine Division (Reinforced), on 14 April 2004. Corporal Dunham’s squad was conducting a reconnaissance mission in the town of Karabilah, Iraq, when they heard rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire erupt approximately two kilometers to the west. Corporal Dunham led his Combined Anti-Armor Team towards the engagement to provide fire support to their Battalion Commander’s convoy, which had been ambushed as it was traveling to Camp Husaybah. As Corporal Dunham and his Marines advanced, they quickly began to receive enemy fire. Corporal Dunham ordered his squad to dismount their vehicles and led one of his fire teams on foot several blocks south of the ambushed convoy. Discovering seven Iraqi vehicles in a column attempting to depart, Corporal Dunham and his team stopped the vehicles to search them for weapons. As they approached the vehicles, an insurgent leaped out and attacked Corporal Dunham. Corporal Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground and in the ensuing struggle saw the insurgent release a grenade. Corporal Dunham immediately alerted his fellow Marines to the threat. Aware of the imminent danger and without hesitation, Corporal Dunham covered the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of the explosion and shielding his Marines from the blast. In an ultimate and selfless act of bravery in which he was mortally wounded, he saved the lives of at least two fellow Marines. By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty, Corporal Dunham gallantly gave his life for his country, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

MONSOOR, MICHAEL, A. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as automatic weapons gunner for Naval Special Warfare Task Group Arabian Peninsula, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM on 29 September 2006. As a member of a combined SEAL and Iraqi Army Sniper Overwatch Element, tasked with providing early warning and stand-off protection from a rooftop in an insurgent held sector of Ar Ramadi, Iraq, Petty Officer Monsoor distinguished himself by his exceptional bravery in the face of grave danger. In the early morning, insurgents prepared to execute a coordinated attack by reconnoitering the area around the element’s position. Element snipers thwarted the enemy’s initial attempt by eliminating two insurgents. The enemy continued to assault the element, engaging them with a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire. As enemy activity increased, Petty Officer Monsoor took position with his machine gun between two teammates on an outcropping of the roof. While the SEALs vigilantly watched for enemy activity, an insurgent threw a hand grenade from an unseen location, which bounced off Petty Officer Monsoor’s chest and landed in front of him. Although only he could have escaped the blast, Petty Officer Monsoor chose instead to protect his teammates. Instantly and without regard for his own safety, he threw himself onto the grenade to absorb the force of the explosion with his body, saving the lives of his two teammates. By his undaunted courage, fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of certain death, Petty Officer Monsoor gallantly gave his life for his country, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

SMITH, PAUL R. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq on 4 April 2003. On that day, Sergeant First Class Smith was engaged in the construction of a prisoner of war holding area when his Task Force was violently attacked by a company-sized enemy force. Realizing the vulnerability of over 100 fellow soldiers, Sergeant First Class Smith quickly organized a hasty defense consisting of two platoons of soldiers, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers. As the fight developed, Sergeant First Class Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60mm mortar round. Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Sergeant First Class Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a.50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded. His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers. Sergeant First Class Smith’s extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Third Infantry Division “Rock of the Marne,” and the United States Army.

MURPHY, MICHAEL P. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as the leader of a special reconnaissance element with Naval Special Warfare Task Unit Afghanistan on 27 and 28 June 2005. While leading a mission to locate a high-level anti-coalition militia leader, Lieutenant Murphy demonstrated extraordinary heroism in the face of grave danger in the vicinity of Asadabad, Konar Province, Afghanistan. On 28 June 2005, operating in an extremely rugged enemy-controlled area, Lieutenant Murphy’s team was discovered by anti-coalition militia sympathizers, who revealed their position to Taliban fighters. As a result, between 30 and 40 enemy fighters besieged his four-member team. Demonstrating exceptional resolve, Lieutenant Murphy valiantly led his men in engaging the large enemy force. The ensuing fierce firefight resulted in numerous enemy casualties, as well as the wounding of all four members of the team. Ignoring his own wounds and demonstrating exceptional composure, Lieutenant Murphy continued to lead and encourage his men. When the primary communicator fell mortally wounded, Lieutenant Murphy repeatedly attempted to call for assistance for his beleaguered teammates. Realizing the impossibility of communicating in the extreme terrain, and in the face of almost certain death, he fought his way into open terrain to gain a better position to transmit a call. This deliberate, heroic act deprived him of cover, exposing him to direct enemy fire. Finally achieving contact with his Headquarters, Lieutenant Murphy maintained his exposed position while he provided his location and requested immediate support for his team. In his final act of bravery, he continued to engage the enemy until he was mortally wounded, gallantly giving his life for his country and for the cause of freedom. By his selfless leadership, courageous actions, and extraordinary devotion to duty, Lieutenant Murphy reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

In my lifetime, I have been honored to know five men who have been awarded our nation’s Medal of Honor. To a man, they are among the most humble Patriots I have ever met. To a man, they have told me that they did nothing more than the men next to them would have done, but for fate, it was their turn to act.

All five of those men are now in the company of their Creator. Each of them could claim 2 Timothy 4:7: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Monday, 26 May, is Memorial Day. Please set it aside in reverence for all those who have served with honor and are now departed. And please join me for a moment of silence at 1500 hours your local time, for remembrance and prayer. (link)

American Soldiers....Honor Them!

Technorati Tags: Military, Memorial Day