snapped shot - Ye Olde Dominion

A Government of Excellence

nospam@example.com (Brian C. Ledbetter) — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:53:31 -0500

You remember all of those calls for strict water conservation that we've been hearing throughout the Southeast over the past year, as we've been dealing with a pretty significant drought? Who would've thunk it, but local governments have just noticed the classic economic law that less production equals more cost:

Fulton County officials praised county water users Wednesday for their success at conservation — then socked them with a 15 percent rate increase for their effort.

The conservation penalty the County Commission adopted Wednesday 6-0 matches the increase Atlanta utility officials asked to impose earlier this year but which the City Council so far has resisted. The average water/sewer bill should increase nearly $9 per month to a total of about $68 per month, water officials said.

How's that classic proverb go? Nations are governed by the governments they deserve?

God help us.

(h/t Murdoc via DrewM.)

Springtime at Mason

nospam@example.com (Brian C. Ledbetter) — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:56:11 -0500

Nothing brings a happy tear to my eye faster than seeing a bunch of students here at George Mason University, enjoying the Spring weather around an Israeli flag:

Look! It's not on fire!

Of course, to balance it out, I have a sad tear in my eye for leaving my real camera at home. Everything's better with balance, right?

Days Late, Dollars Short?

nospam@example.com (Brian C. Ledbetter) — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:38:31 -0500

Still, I'm very happy to see some commonsense coming from Gerry Connolly's Fairfax County:

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors directed county staff to take a closer look at building permit requests from neighborhoods with a high number of complaints to the county's code enforcement strike team.

Supervisor Penny Gross (D-Mason), said certain construction permits for additions reflect “excess capacity” that could be an indicator of a future illegal boarding house.

It doesn't make sense to even bother with zoning laws, if the County government is too spineless to enforce them. Given that, it's good to see them at least put forth a token effort to do so in this case.

Diversity Success Story?

nospam@example.com (Brian C. Ledbetter) — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:01 -0500

Could this be somebody's way of trying to sign me up for the diversity bandwagon?

White Zimbabweans bring change to Nigeria

Musa Mogadi says he is better off since "the whites" came. He's got a new job, learned new farming skills, and he can chat on a mobile phone while zipping around the countryside on a motorbike.

Three years ago, Mr. Mogadi got by as a subsistence farmer. But he now earns a regular wage as a supervisor on one of this town's new commercial farms.

He's applied skills he learned from some of the two dozen white Zimbabwean farmers who moved to Nigeria in 2005, after being kicked off their land by President Robert Mugabe and later attracted by large parcels of land on offer under 25-year leases and commitments of support from the Nigerian government.

(h/t Dawnsblood)

Man living in 2008 dies from civil war cannon blast

nospam@example.com (captainfish) — Sat, 03 May 2008 00:32:56 -0500

From a story in Fox News...

As an adult, he crisscrossed the Virginia countryside in search of wartime relics — weapons, battle flags, even artillery shells buried in the red clay. He sometimes put on diving gear to feel for treasures hidden in the black muck of river bottoms.

But in February, [his] hobby cost him his life: A cannonball he was restoring exploded, killing him in his driveway.

Brian?? You still with us? Brian ol' buddy, you still around?

Esteemed Liberals: Right All Along?

nospam@example.com (Brian C. Ledbetter) — Thu, 01 May 2008 13:47:00 -0500

Psst! Any liberals out there happen to be reading this feed?

If so, you might be interested to note that I've found concrete proof that there's an extremist religious movement out there that's a genuine threat to the world!

What can I say? Y'all were right all along!

(The big reveal is beyond the fold.)
Continue reading "Esteemed Liberals: Right All Along?"

Let's Play: If a Republican Said It

nospam@example.com (Brian C. Ledbetter) — Thu, 01 May 2008 09:02:00 -0500

I'm betting on ye firing squad, personally:

Pa. senator says slavery would pass in a secret ballot

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A state senator told a black pastor testifying at a committee hearing that, given the chance to cast secret ballots, his fellow legislators would vote to legalize slavery.

Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, D-Philadelphia, made the comments Tuesday during a hearing on a Republican-sponsored bill to amend the state Constitution to outlaw same-sex marriages and civil unions, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on its Web site Wednesday.

“What you are advocating here is that we take away the rights of a minority. And I don’t think that’s right,” Fumo, a staunch defender of gay rights, told the witness, Gilbert Coleman Jr., senior pastor of Freedom Christian Bible Fellowship in Philadelphia.

He added, “If we introduced a bill on slavery, it might pass. That doesn’t make it right.”

Coleman, who was testifying in favor of the measure, responded: “I doubt that sir.” “Oh, don’t bet on it in this General Assembly,” Fumo countered. “I know some people up here, especially on a secret ballot, it would be almost unanimous.”

Fumo declined to comment Wednesday, but said he would release a statement through his spokesman later in the day.

Fumo, who is white, is in his last months in office after a 30-year career as a state senator. He decided not to seek re-election because of pending federal corruption charges that accuse him of using his state staff for personal and outside work.

Your average Republican?

Yeah, his spokesman definitely has some "s'plainin" to do, though probably not as much explaining as if he came from our Party.

I do think it's interesting how the gay lobby constantly has to pander to fears of slavery and the dastardly revocation of "rights" in order to try and cram their fringe agenda through state legislatures. Real classy, ain't it? "Better stop those dastardly Republicans, or they'll take away all of your rights" might make for dramatic prose, but it's definitely not grounded in anything approaching fact.

Of course, it's also quite adorable to see that this same fellow is getting ready to be slammed with some federal corruption charges. I guess he has problems figuring out what kind of work is "appropriate" for State employees?

Or maybe he just thinks that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania owes some good old-fashioned slave labor to him?

Good that the Wire Service That Hates Me saw fit to mention that little factoid, though they did wait until the 7th paragraph.

Exit Question: What do you think the headline would have been if this were a Republican's remarks?

I'm betting on, "Republican Senator Threatens Blacks With Slavery."

Feel free to pitch your ideas down in the comments. We'll see who's got the best penchant for dramatic flair around here!

(h/t FR)