Now, if you look at the sponsors of this event, you might recognize some of the names:

• Amerigas
• Jarrell Properties, Inc.
• Utility Services, Inc.
• Diversified Ambulance Billing
• Clark’s Cut II
• World View Solutions
• E.M. Gray & Son, Inc.
• Dominion Resources, Inc.
• Massey Enterprises
• Purvis Ford
• Rosner Toyota
• Virginia Sports Complex
• Computer-Telephone Technologies
• Linda Perry Taxes

Jarrell Properties, Inc., whose commercial rezoning application was approved by the Board of Supervisors on January 26th of this year.

Diversified Ambulance Billing? Those are the folks responsible for billing county citizens for the EMS fee program. It also turns out that they’ve fleeced county residents out of $39,000 over the last two years.

In addition, while I can’t find any connection between “Massey Enterprises” and the county, their offices are one suite over from where Diversified Ambulance Billing is located in Virginia Beach.

Clark’s Cut II is the controversial sand/gravel extraction site off of Route 17 whose approval by the Board of Supervisors has prompted legal action against the company as well as the Board (full disclosure: I supported that special exemption permit application and still do).

World View Solutions? They’re a geographic information system (GIS) provider…who just happens to be doing the county’s GIS project.

Virginia Sports Complex, who in 2009 was granted a special exemption permit to serve alcohol at their facility.

So, when does the “goodwill” from these companies become a conflict of interest (or create the appearance of a conflict of interest), especially when the group receiving the money is ran by the County Administrator and his wife?

And as a side note, is the County Administrator’s Office so pressed for work they are selling tickets to an event for a third-party, non-governmental organization? I smell some room for budget cuts there, maybe we can rededicate that money to something important, like education.

Cross-posted at Virginia Virtucon.

How crazy does someone have to be to put his or her signature to paper in support of this woman?

I was sitting in my car on the way down to Richmond on Thursday a little before noon listening to WINC 92.5 FM out of Winchester. While listening to the radio, I heard an advertisement for their “retro” hour of music and it had a distinctive quote that I recognized, “Time is meaningless and yet it is all that exists.”

I sat there thinking for a second, knowing for a fact that I recognized not only the distinctive voice but also the quote. Then it came to me, it was from an episode of Farscape, specifically the episode “Unrealized Reality” (season four, episode eleven). Here’s video of the scene:

You can read a transcript of the scene below the fold.

Act opens with close on John [Crichton], on his back, eyes closed, in a field of white. Eyes opening almost immediately, he lifts his head slightly, peering through the clear face shield to take in his surroundings. His voice expresses low certainty, and then mild disgust.

JOHN: Kansas… in the winter.

Cut to long and angle down as he levers himself to hands and knees and then to feet. He looks around what appears to be a large ice floe at the center of a black, featureless sea. Pillars of white ice surround a fractured central valley.

JOHN: (comming) D’Argo… Pilot…. (to self) Ah, hell, I’m gettin’ that “goin’ to the Island of Misfit Toys” thing.

He moves to the edge of the ice floe and peers into the blackness, then looks around the ice.

JOHN: (continues muttering to self) Or just waitin’ on the Titanic. Well, as long as this whole deal doesn’t end up with me as an old man. (shouting) Hello! Nanook?! Beelzebub?!

His hail is interrupted by a swirling noise as the water around the ice floe churns with several black whirling vortexes which surround the ice.

JOHN: Yeah, let’s get it on. Get it over with.

In the relative silence John turns abruptly, correct in sensing someone behind him. On the other end of the ice floe a man wearing a black suit and tie stands, hands folded at his waist, his eyes black and fathomless. They watch each other silently for a long beat broken by John’s caustic good humor, replacing that compassionate understanding thing.

JOHN: Nice threads. Helps to humanize you. Makes it easier for me to sympathize with your problems.

MAN: Time.

John tilts his head slightly, makes no response.

MAN: Time.

JOHN: Zzup?

MAN: Time.

JOHN: Flies.

MAN: Time.

JOHN: Bandits.

MAN: Time.

The man begins moving closer, John’s response taking on a harder edge.

JOHN: Wounds all heels.

MAN: Time.

JOHN: (singing) Rosemary and Thyme…

MAN: Time.

John pulls a small pulse weapon from the flight harness over the EVA suit and fires.

JOHN: Zzup.

The energy of the pulse bolt freezes about a foot from the well dressed man’s face. The man looks… vaguely disappointed, turning he moves back toward the far side of the ice floe, muttering one more time…

MAN: Time.

John eyes the small pistol wryly.

JOHN: (to self) Either stop pointin’ guns at people or get a bigger gun.

John takes a few steps closer, almost following the well dressed man who appears to be examining the frozen pulse bolt, which is, itself, continuing in it’s flight… at a much subdued rate.

MAN: Time is…

Long pause while John takes another, disinterested look around.

JOHN: Infinite.

Clearly thinking of a better answer, giving it with greater interest.

JOHN: Relative.

The energy of the pulse bolt winks out as the well dressed man turns back toward John.

MAN: You are quite a simple organism to possess the knowledge you do.

JOHN: You’re only sayin’ that ’cause you don’t know me.

MAN: Time is meaningless and yet it is all that exists.

JOHN: Very Morrissey. My name is Jo—

MAN: Yes.

JOHN: And yours is…

MAN: Unimportant to our encounter.

JOHN: (mirthless chuckle) Exactly. I love how you lay it out there, Einstien. So let me ask you, without… getting existential on me— why am I, why are we… here?

EINSTEIN: You are present to perish, I am present to effect that outcome.

And that’s the first thing I have heard from Barney Frank that I have admired.

H/t: Hot Air

Cross-posted at On The Right and Virginia Virtucon.

4.92% of this candidate’s money from individuals, a misery $15,150, has come from within the district.

If you don’t count the money that’s she gotten from her husband, only 3.36% of her money, $10,350, is from within the district.

Meanwhile, an imbecile like Lowell Feld at Blue Virginia talks about how Krystal Ball is a ‘true progressive that can win!1!’.

Cross-posted at On The Right and Virginia Virtucon.

Unfortunately, both “Birthers” and “Truthers” have infiltrated the Republican Party, and while there are some “Truthers” on the left side of the aisle, there are more than a few on the right. RedState, one of the major national blogs, implemented a policy where people expressing Pro-”Birther” or Pro-”Truther” sentiments would be banned.

This is definitely a good first step, but it needs to be more than just RedState doing it. Republicans need to remain vigilant and exorcise these people when they become known to them. As a side note, if the tea party movement (which I have been critical over for exactly this reason) wishes to maintain legitimate, they need to do the same thing.

I was talking to someone about the Medina incident, and they decided to send me a screenshot of someone’s Facebook page showing her as a fan of “Michael Rivero’s What Really Happened”. If you look at this guy’s website (get your own link), you’ll see a 8,631 word opus of 9/11 conspiracy theories, and “exclusives” such as “WHAT OUR CHILDREN ARE DYING FOR IN AFGHANISTAN”, featuring a picture of an opium poppy seed, which is used to make the drug heroin, and a comment about the “The US Narco-corporation of CIA-MAFIA”. There’s also “exclusives” titled “Osama bin Laden: A dead nemesis perpetuated by the US government” and “Fake Al Qaeda”.

All around, a colossal jewel of insanity.

Care to guess what certain local “Republican” is a fan of this guy’s website? Catherine Crabill (there’s a screen shot of her Facebook page below the fold, with some redactions, as evidence). As if her “OKC Truther” nonsense wasn’t bad and disgusting enough, this is a whole new playing field frankly.

Hopefully, the next time this person tries to involve herself with the Republican Party, they tell her to take a hike.

Cross-posted at On The Right and Virginia Virtucon.

Virginia Beach, VA – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, stated on Tuesday his support of allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military.

2nd District Congressional Candidate Kenny Golden, who served with Admiral Mullen and knows him well, vehemently disagrees.

“While Admiral Mullen is a trusted and admired friend, he and I differ completely on this matter. The issue at hand is not civil rights, but discipline and unit cohesion. Any sexual conduct, homosexual or heterosexual, is strictly prohibited. We are not denying anyone their civil rights just because they cannot announce they are homosexual.”

Well, hot damn, did you guys know that sexual conduct by heterosexual members of the military was prohibited? News to me. So all those military folk you see getting married, I guess they never consummate their marriages?

And I do enjoy people that use straw men, in this particular case, comparing otherwise legal sexual activity with fraternization.

Cross-posted at On The Right and Virginia Virtucon.

I’m assuming he’s getting the chair, he chose the chair the last time he was scheduled for execution. If, for some reason, he changes his mind, he’ll get the liquid styrofoam instead.

The Supreme Court of the United States has declined to hear Paul Warner Powell’s case, so his execution should be scheduled (again) shortly.

Special thanks to commenter “Fred” for keeping me up-to-date on his case’s status at the Supreme Court in the comments section of the Paul Warner Powell page of this blog.

In this vain, I’m hereby announcing my intention to run against State Senator Edd Houck (D-17th). I don’t live in the district currently and I more than likely won’t be in the district by the time of they do redistricting in 2011, but I guarantee you that I will be properly renting someone’s basement or guest room before I file for my run.

And I guarantee you, my future constituents, that I will move to the district following my win.

Maybe, if I feel like it.

It really depends on what the housing prices are by that time.

And if I can get a loan.

But I guarantee you!

Cross-posted at Virginia Virtucon.