Time for a Reprint

Here's my column from 13 September 2001, with a few added thoughts that the Potomac News wouldn't have published:

Suggested Title: Terror’s Day of Infamy

When the telephone rang at about 9:15 a.m., I was busy putting the finishing touches on this week’s column (something about Virginia’s state-wide races; stay tuned). It was my wife’s number identified on the caller ID. Having dropped me off so she could take the land yacht for an emissions inspection, I thought she was just called to let me know that she had arrived safely at work.

“Turn on the radio. The World Trade Center has been attacked again.” She was in tears. Later, she told me she’d always wanted to see it. My last two times in New York, I’d stayed at a hotel across the street. I’d had other choices for decent hotels near the Federal Courthouse, but the Millennium Hilton offered a magnificent view of the World Trade Center, the Financial District, Staten Island, and the Statue of Liberty. When in New York....

“Could’ve been an accident,” I responded. I told her that I remembered reading a story as a child about a B-25 hitting the Empire State Building. ‘Course, that was a prop plane. In fog.

“Two planes have hit. One on each tower.”

OK. So it wasn’t an accident. My assumption was, at the time, that it couldn’t have been anything much larger than a Cessna. In passing, I knew that one plane alone might have been a hijacked airliner. But two? No way.

Since there are public policy operations going on in our offices, a few people have cable feeds, with C-SPAN and CNN available. I went to the office of our VP for Legal Information, a fancy name for the Foundation’s PR guy. The pictures were, of course, incredible. By this time, footage of the second airliner hitting the South Tower were running. Some already there were in tears. More struggled to keep control. I was on deadline so, as difficult as it was, I returned to my labors.

It wasn’t the end, either.

Just before sitting down, I looked west from my office window, and heard a boom and felt a thud. Not entirely unusual, but it was already hardly a usual day. At that point, I half expected to be backlit by a flash of brilliant light, but resisted the urge to “duck and cover,” particularly since I was six stories up. Fat lot of good that would have done if it were anything reasonably powerful.

“What the hell was that?!?!” I hollered. Nobody else seemed to hear or feel it. Occasionally, things get dropped, like large boxes of union financial records. Was I just being paranoid? Could one “just be paranoid” on a day like today?

Returned to the television. “Anything new?” I asked. “There’s now a fire reported at the Pentagon.” “Open the shades. I just heard a bang and felt a thud.” Sure enough, in an otherwise cloudless sky on an otherwise magnificent morning, a plume of smoke arose. To the north-northeast. Looked to be about ten miles away. My God.

A number started running through my head: 2,403. It wasn’t until later that I remembered its significance — the number of American dead at Pearl Harbor. By nightfall, I found myself hoping against hope that we got off that “lucky.” And answering phone calls from nervous relatives, in-laws, and friends knowing of my frequent travels. And making a few myself.

****

The operation has to be admired for its elegance, execution, and effectiveness.

Four virtually simultaneous hijackings. At least four trained pilots to take over the controls, since any pilot I’ve ever known would take a bullet before willingly and purposefully drive his aircraft into a building, no matter how many passengers were executed before his eyes. Three hitting marquee targets; a fourth on the ground with only the deaths of those on the plane through probably nothing more than God’s grace. And absolute security precluding any kind of forewarning. Damn them.

One piece of precious good news: they didn’t have or use nukes. With the dismemberment of the Soviet Union, and little rogue states with nascent nuclear capability, this is a real threat. And wouldn’t it have been ironic to destroy with his subsequent handiwork (he was the military leader of the project to design and build the first atomic bomb) General Leslie R. Groves’ earlier and fame-building handiwork, the Pentagon? Maybe such historical ironies are lost on the types of barbarians who perpetrated Tuesday’s attack. But one has to believe, or devoutly hope, that the fact that they didn’t use one means they don’t have one.

But what’s next? After now 26 hours (as this is written) of non-stop coverage — MTV and VH-1 were running a CBS News feed; ESPN had ABC News; Speedvision ran Fox News Channel — what do Americans do?

President George W. Bush might have hit about the right tone, though one yearns for the eloquence of FDR on such an occasion. We find the dead. We mourn and bury them. We find those responsible. We denounce their crimes against civilization, America, Americans, and the Islamic faith they corrupt in pursuit of their own power.

And put more bluntly than a President can, we blow they and all who harbor them to the Hell they so richly deserve.

A staff attorney with the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc., Young lives with his wife and their two sons in Montclair. He is a long-standing member of the Prince William County Republican Committee, and is past Chairman of the Prince William County Young Republicans.

We got home early that day, and found ourselves wondering about the two daughters (one now at West Point) of one of our neighbors. Both worked at the Pentagon. Thankfully, neither was killed or injured.

But the full measure of our personal loss wouldn't be known until nearly a month later. A classmate at Hampden-Sydney lost his wife at the Pentagon, which we learned shortly before attending my 15th class reunion. Our class reunion was a month after September 11th, and Brenda sat next to him at dinner, spending most of the dinner holding his hand, having lost her mother at age ten. He worked across the street, and their two young children were in the Pentagon day care center. He described finding them as simultaneously the happiest moment of his life, and the worst, as he realized that his wife had been killed, because she wasn't there, too. I cannot imagine the strength he mustered to come to our reunion, but then again, perhaps it was the consolation of old friends.

And then, there's the call from my (now late) grandfather, then 86 years old. Like everyone else in our family, he hadn't called me directly at the office to make sure I wasn't traveling; they all merely called our receptionist, who assured all that I was in the office that day, and safe. His first words? "I thought I'd only have to live through this shit once." The reference, of course, was to Pearl Harbor, which occurred when he was 27 years old. I'd only ever known my grandfather to use more than "prime-time" cuss words one other time: when my grandmother had been harassed by thugs in New York City, and he was across the street. It wasn't typical for him, and indicated the measure of his outrage.

Gramps got it just about right.

A Goodbye "F*** You " From Chairman Sean?

Ohhhhh. There's Young, being crude again.

Well, none of my qualities or faults has ever cost the taxpayers of Prince William County a dime. Were it that the same could be said of Chairman Sean Connaughton.

As detailed by Charles Reichley over at TwoConservatives, and a few others, a letter has gone out from the Prince William County Republican Committee noting that the, well, God-like Maximum Leader has failed to resign in time for the special election to replace him to be held contemporaneously with the General Election on 7 November. The letter provides as follows:

Prince William BOCS Chairman Special Election

The Prince William County Board of Elections informed us today that the special election for the position of the Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors would not occur on November 7, 2006. Therefore, another date will have to be determined for the Prince William County residents to vote for a new Chairman.

Today, September 8, 2006 was the deadline set by the Prince William County Board of Elections to place the name of the Candidates for the Special Election on the ballot. The Prince William County Government has not received the resignation from the current holder of this office, Sean Connaughton.

When a vacancy occurs or even a letter stating a future resignation date (per Virginia Code 24.2-228.1A) is submitted, a Judge has up to fifteen days to issue the Writ of Election, which sets the date of the Special Election. The Election must be held between forty-five to sixty days after the Writ (per Virginia Code 15.2-502C).

According to the following website: http://www.marad.dot.gov/, Sean Connaughton was sworn in to his new position on Wednesday, September 6, 2006. Several attempts had been made to contact Mr. Connaughton to ask when he would be sworn into this new position and when his resignation letter would be received. As of this time, Mr. Connaughton has not responded.

We will keep you informed of any new information regarding this special election.

I asked whether Chairman Sean would do this to us on Thursday. If these reports are accurate, the possible has become the actual, and Chairman Sean has stuck Prince William County taxpayers with [another] huge unnecessary bill, all without even the courtesy of explanation. The arrogance of that act is incredible, even for a lawyer and a politician. Even Chairman Sean's most ardent supporters cannot justify this behavior, though I suppose some will try. They would earn just a little credibility if they didn't bother, and in fact, condemned him.

Those of us who have long recognized his shortcomings, and have in response been savaged for noting them, are --- of course --- not surprised.

Like Charles, I still hold out the hope that the County judge who draws this case can and will work promptly to insure that the special election is held contemporaneously with the general election. However, one has to wonder why the County Electoral Board would set a deadline which was not enforceable or reasonable.

It's really too bad that there are quite a few Internet pissboys (see "History of the World, Part I") out there who will nevertheless excuse this inexcusable conduct, the last, great, political "bird" that Chairman Sean has flipped to the taxpayers of Prince William County, and to a GOP which honored him with its nomination.

Chairman Sean now holds a political job. There should be political consequences for his effort to hurt his own Party. There will certainly be many among the Republican Party of Virginia who will remember Chairman Sean's perfidy when he returns and wants to restart his career in elective politics. 'Course, one wonders whether it will even be in the GOP.

As for now, one would hope that, under the circumstances, the President would respond in kind, and fire this arrogant SOB, relegating to the political oblivion he so richly deserves.

Who Is "Eric B. Bailey"?

Yesterday, I wrote of the reported dismissal of ethics charges filed against Steve Chapman's attorneys, Faisal M. Gill and Jad Sarsour. Shortly after posting my discussion, I received a telephone call from a young man (or so he sounded) representing himself to be "Eric B. Bailey," whose signature appeared on the letter sent to the Virginia Bar, which was provided to Steve's attorneys as part of the investigation.

I had a very interesting conversation with young Mr. Bailey. I was particularly interested in what provoked him --- a stranger to the dispute --- to file his charges. He didn't challenge anything that I said in the post, but merely asked that I remove a number of links that indicated his address, which I was pleased to do, and he was kind enough to acknowledge in a comment he made. It is worth reprinting here in full, as he answers a number of questions raised in my post:

To recap our phone conversation I am not a lawyer and I am not Jaded JD. I don't know Greg Letiecq or Black Velvet Bruce Lee or Steve Chapman or Faisal Gill. I've never had any communication with any of them about this or anything else.

I filed the complaint because it looked like Gill wasn't even a lawyer and it looked like Chapman was trying to use a friend to intimidate Greg Letiecq. I don't know if Greg slandered Steve Chapman or not. If he did then that's his responsibility.

No one asked me to file the complaint and I didn't do it as anyone's agent. I did send a copy to JD after I put it together to see what he thought. I didn't send it to Greg Letiecq or anyone else. Any information they got about the complaint came from JD or someone JD sent it to.

Thanks for taking my address out of the links.

In our conversation, he represented himself as someone who is a member of his local party committee --- I don't recall if he said Republican --- and that he as been involved in a number of campaigns. I think he said he was not a lawyer, which he confirms in his comment.

"Eric's" comment to the contrary notwithstanding, one still has to wonder why a non-attorney blog-reader from Richmond would bother to file ethics charges with the Virginia Bar regarding people whom he does not know. One also has to wonder why he would provide a copy of that charge --- ethics charges are supposed to be confidential, until adjudicated --- to a pseudonymous blogger, even one who discussed possible ethical implications of the issue.

So much of what we do is based upon who we are. So the question remains, who is "Eric B. Bailey"?

As I detailed in the original post, an Internet search was quite unsatisfying. Few if any links to "Eric B. Bailey" have anything to do with Richmond. A search of "Eric Bailey" returns more, including many to"Australia's Number One motivational speaker," and others to someone who appears to be a reporter for a California newspaper.

So, I then went to the website for the Virginia Public Access Project. But I broadened my search to just "Bailey," under donors, and suddenly, there was a possibility. Except this was for "E. Brandon Bailey." Right initials, anyway. Same guy? Who knows? It lists a Glen Allen address, which is at least in the right area code. Maybe I was on to something. After all, there is that great Southern tradition of going by one's middle name (while a Yankee, my first initial is "W.")

So I went back to Google, and searched "E. Brandon Bailey." My results are here.

Was this the same guy? I responded to "Eric's" comment with one of my own. Here it is:

Thanks for the comment.

I am a little curious, though, "Eric." Is it "Eric B. Bailey," or "E. Brandon Bailey," or simply "Brandon Bailey," when you're not trying to make mischief for Conservatives? Because if it is, that, too, would explain a lot.

That was just before 4:00 p.m., yesterday. And as of yet, no response.

But back to the results of my Google search. It returned two hits. One was apparently part of a legal brief published in Summer 2004, by "a rising second-year law student at the University of Richmond T.C. Williams School of Law, Richmond, Virginia; B.A. International Studies, University of Richmond 1998." While conceding that homosexual "marriage" can be unlawful, the brief argues that "the explicit denial of those [marital ] benefits to [homosexual couples] constitutes a violation of the Equal Protection Clause." Interesting.

Then there's the second link, apparently related to the same person. "E. Brandon Bailey" is identified in as the Chairman of the By-Laws Committee for the Equality Alliance, under the general address "http://law.richmond.edu/glsa." What is the "Equality Alliance"? Following the links back, one finds that it is a group whose purposes are:

The purpose of the Alliance is to—

(a) provide academic and social support for members of sexual minorities and their allies enrolled in the law school.

(b) heighten awareness of legal issues facing sexual minorities by educating the law school and community.

(c) advocate social equality and universal civil rights.

Also interesting.

So what do we now know? We know, according to Bailey, that he sent a copy of his ethics charge to "Jaded JD," who identified himself as an attorney and a homosexual in his blog. We have someone with the same initials, in the same area, who is apparently involved with a homosexual advocacy group at the law school and who has written in support of homosexual "rights," but who has not responded to an inquiry as to whether he is "E. Brandon Bailey." We have "E. Brandon Bailey" who, if I read the bio on the brief correctly, was scheduled to graduate from U of R's law school in 2006, and probably sat for the Bar in July 2006. And we have the ethics charge itself, which one can surmise was written by one schooled in the law.

So what can we surmise? Assuming that Bailey was truthful in his statements to me, we can surmise that it was "Jaded JD" who sent the ethic charge to Greg Letiecq. We know that only Bailey, the Bar, and "Jaded JD" had a copy of it. And we can surmise that "Eric B. Bailey" is "E. Brandon Bailey," as they are in the same area, and the former appears schooled in the law, while the latter is (or was) a law student.

What is not clear is why he would attempt to distance himself from since-dismissed Bar charges by using a variation of his name. Given that he apparently reads this blog, one hopes that he would provide some insight and/or some corrections to these surmises.

If it is the case that "Eric B. Bailey" is the aforementioned "E. Brandon Bailey," one certainly could legitimately question his ethics in involving himself in the controversy surrounding the "ethics" of lawyers with whom he has no relationship.

The term "officious intermeddler" comes to mind.

UPDATE: Greg offers his spin on the motives of Mr. Bailey here. He does not identify the source of his information on the ethics charge.

Webb's First Television Ad...

apparently features Ronald Reagan singing his praises. Not as a Senator or a Democrat, mind you, but as Navy Secretary in his Republican Administration.

Other than smearing George Allen, this seems to be the Webb campaign's first step, and it's a misstep.

Can one imagine something that would be more likely to engage Nancy Reagan than a Democrat's use of her husband's image for his own purposes?

Today's Special: Crow

As promised, though somewhat tardily (apology below), here is the bit of news that I promised late Wednesday night. For what it's worth, anticipation sent my hits over 500 yesterday for the first time ever.

It seems that the ethic charges filed against Faisal M. Gill and Jad N. Sarsour have been dismissed, as reported to me by Faisal Gill.

Notwithstanding my professional credentials, I'm actually not a fan of litigation to resolve disputes, particularly when it involves people I know and, in fact, like (well, two out of three, anyway). Hence, the entire Chapman v. Black Velvet Bruce Lee and Greg Letieqc saga bothers me. I would have much preferred it if the now-Defendants had behaved with more dignity, and frequently warned them that their behavior might be actionable. Steve might have wisely spent some time persuading Greg (at least) that he is not the buffoon that he was portrayed to be (AWCheney and/or BVBL are too far gone to bother).

However, litigation is a last resort, and usually preferable to the alternatives. In this case, like the alternative of allowing Internet smears to go unanswered.

I've not said much here, mostly offering my comments elsewhere. 'Fact is, as I've repeatedly said, the Internet is a singularly lousy place to debate legal issues and/or resolve legal disputes, and I will do my best to avoid the temptation to be drawn in to such discussions. Particularly where, as here, I am not an expert on the law of libel and/or slander and/or defamation. However, here I report an outcome.

You will also note that a link to the website in question (or more accurately, Greg's revamped version) does not appear to the right. No one has asked why, but here it is: I long ago made the decision to not dignify it with a link. There are certainly other contemptible websites linked in my blogroll, but BVBL in its prior incarnation was a special breed of slime. And even though Greg has done yeoman's work of late there regarding the Miller/Rishell and Wolf/Feder races, he persists in maintaining the name, or a variation on it. So long as he does so, one cannot get there from here, except under special circumstances (such as these).

With that in mind, much sound and fury over the lawsuit appears in the blogosphere. Greg comments upon it --- to my mind, unwisely, as a defendant --- frequently. It also seems to me that he goes off half-cocked, and offers singularly uninformed comments and conclusions. He has even set up a legal defense fund, and yes, I suppose that you can find out about contributing by clicking on the link. I will not be joining you in doing so.

Others have commented as well, as follows: Commonwealth Conservative said Steve Chapman is embarrasing himself; Virginia Virtucon gave not fewer than three offerings: Blog-a-thon, BVBL faces Legal Eagles over Chapman allegations, and Black Velvet if you Please; Ben Tribbett commented with Outrage and Chapman Lawsuit Continues; New Dominion said So Sue Me; Brian Patton said Bloggers Beware; F--- U., ... er, F.T. Rea gave his SLANT with Black Velvet Bruce Lee Sue-icide; Norm at One Man’s Trash had a few comments on The JD Investigates; Virginia Centrist commented somewhat inaccurately with Blogger threatened by public official; and the boys at Free Republic had this headline: Candidate misses filing deadline; Claims blogger distracted him; Files $200K lawsuit.

Greg has, himself, offered numerous commentaries, variously defiant and plaintive (as opposed to "plaintiff"). Most importantly, for my purposes here, he touted the fact that an ethics complaint was filed against Chapman's attorneys on 31 May, alleging twelve --- count 'em, twelve! --- separate counts of professional misconduct. Now, Greg doesn't identify the individual filing this complaint, and has yet to post anything on the outcome. He commented upon it further here, as well.

Well, I've now received a copy of that ethics charge, filed by one Eric B. Bailey, listing a Richmond address. Oddly, in an ethics charge which raises, inter alia, issues relating to Chapman's attorney's letterhead, Bailey's letter does not have one. Nor is he listed in Martindale-Hubbell's on-line listing of attorneys, as either a Richmond attorney, or more generally, as a Virginia attorney. Indeed, the only "Eric B. Bailey" listed anywhere in the United States has a basic listing noting only that there is an "Eric B. Bailey" is in Morristown, New Jersey. The same one? Who knows? A Google search of the address turns up utterly nothing. A Yahoo search returns a map which looks curiously like a residential section of town (Mommy's house, perhaps?). Likewise, a business.com search. There is not even a "Bailey" listed at that address within the Zip Code in the White or Yellow Pages, though I suppose that "Eric B. Bailey" might have an unlisted number.

Curious. One doesn't have to be an attorney to file an ethics complaint --- far from it --- but one would expect to find a charge which has all of the hallmarks of a legal document to have been filed by an attorney, particularly when it is filed by a stranger to the dispute.

Now, no one was more thoroughgoing and virulent in his condemnation of Steve's decision to bring his suit than the late --- and here, unlamented --- "Jaded JD." Before he shut down his blog, "JD" offered a whole series of posts --- four --- about Chapman and his lawyers. His analysis also had all of the hallmarks of a legal document; indeed, he holds himself out as an attorney.

One cannot help but wonder, is the late, unlamented "Jaded JD" actually "Eric B. Bailey"? After all, "Jaded JD" wrote of leaving the Commonwealth over our ever-so-passe views on homosexual perversion, leaving to teach at a northeastern law school. Seton Hall Law School is in Morristown (though no "Eric B. Bailey" is currently listed among its faculty). Hmmmm.

Or was "Eric B. Bailey" acting as an agent for someone else, perhaps "Jaded JD"? It could be quite serious if he was acting as an agent for BVBL and/or Greg, who "received word that an ethics complaint has been filed," presumably from the filer. Rule 3.4(i) of the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct states that "A lawyer shall not ... Present or threaten to present ... disciplinary charges solely to obtain an advantage in a civil matter." Under certain circumstances, the filing itself could constitute a violation of disciplinary rules.

Greg has touted the fact that the charge "alleges 12 separate counts of professional misconduct regarding the initial threat letter that was sent to BVBL." Wellllll, that's not quite true. It makes a few claims of violation, and states twelve points in support of that claim, but spinning that into "12 separate counts of professional misconduct" probably overstates the case.

You see, Faisal Gill, the first name on the firm's door of Chapman's counsel, provided those documents to me today. He is one of the targets of the charge.

Now, I wish I could treat you to gems from "Jaded JD's" pronouncements, since my recollection is that he was quite forceful and self-assured in his analysis of what he alleged to be Chapman's attorneys' unethical conduct.

But "Jaded JD's" blog has disappeared into the ether. It seems that you can find an occasional cached page, but I am unable to find the posts themselves.

One cannot help but wonder whether his decision to shut down that blog has something to do with the outcome of those ethics proceedings. You see, Faisal Gill has informed me that the VSB has orally informed him that the ethics charge filed against him and his associate has been dismissed. I wonder if Greg will tout that fact?

The arrogance of those who dismiss Chapman, his lawsuit, and even his lawyers offends me. Not because I supported Steve for the 2006 GOP nomination --- I probably would have ended up lending my rhetorical support to Jackson Miller for the GOP nomination, for what it is worth, as the objectively stronger and philosophically acceptable candidate --- but because the savagery and nastiness of their attacks was both uncalled for, and rooted in hidden agendas. To my mind, it constituted the Internet equivalent of terrorism, with mostly masked cowards attacking Chapman and his supporters over the fact that they dared to challenge Harry Parrish on matters of principle, principles to which most of them pay little more than lip service.

It also offends me professionally when people try to use the attorneys' ethics process in service of another agenda. In this case, it seems to be a political one, and/or, possibly, one related to the lawsuit.

I don't know if Chapman can prevail in his lawsuit. But if he can, one has to wonder whether these ethics charges, filed by an utterly obscure individual, were tacitly or knowingly a part of the campaign against him.

So it is only appropriate to publicize it when their elaborate claims and arguments fail, as has the charge against Chapman's attorneys. I have no illusions as to how many people will read this (though Ben's reference helps!). Much has been and probably will be written about Chapman's pending lawsuit. It would be a refreshing change if more of it were written honestly, with biases and loyalties fully disclosed, absent the bile that characterizes too many of those who have set themselves against him, and absent uninformed pronouncements about law and ethics. I don't know a great deal about Chapman's attorneys on a professional level (Gill is a personal friend and a political ally), but they certainly do not deserve the stain with which Chapman's foes have attempted to smear them.

The bile that characterizes Chapman's opponents needlessly turned a political dispute into a legal dispute, one which someone --- an officious intermeddler, at best --- has attempted to turn (unsuccessfully) into an ethical dispute. Let it be resolved by the legal process.


As for those who attacked Chapman's lawyers for daring to represent him, well, belly up to the bar. Today's Special is crow.

UPDATE: Well, no post I've ever written has ever provoked TWO phone calls, but this one did. One was from Eric B. Bailey, who among other comments asked me to remove the hyperlinks to his address, which is his home. Not wanting to facilitate any inappropriate response, I am pleased to do so. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Post Promising Breaking News Up

However, since I drafted some of it yesterday, it looks as though it was posted yesterday. It appears here.

Inquiring Minds Want To Know

Is Sean Connaughton trying to screw Prince William County taxpayers and/or the GOP one last time?

One could make the case. According to Riley, Chairman Sean is now Administrator Sean. This means that he can no longer legally hold the office of Chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. He has offered nothing more than vague, platitudinous BS as to why he has not resigned and assumed his Federal duties. And "a stellar evening in Tysons in which the Northern Virginia business community and the Troutman Sanders law firm had a relaxed and jovial send-off for Sean Connaughton at the Tower Club," as related by one blog, doesn't count as any kind of justification for delay.

Nevertheless, there is not yet any verification that I have been able to find that he has actually resigned his elective office. A lot of surmise, to be sure, but no verification. And who know? The surmise might actually be true. While I expect a black-bordered banner headline from Chairman Sean's apologists at the Potomac News, nothing has been reported there, either.

This is a serious matter. Aside from the fact that he may be in violation of Federal law, there is apparently a quite formalized procedure for calling a special election to replace him, one which has been anticipated by Prince William's major parties in nominating candidates to replace him in conventions held on 19 August. And at least some interpretations of that law suggest that the window for holding that election contemporaneously with November's general election is quickly closing, and may close tomorrow, on 8 September. Even if it doesn't, I have been told that 8 September is the deadline for printing and ordering absentee ballots.

So what happens if Chairman Sean doesn't resign in time to hold the special election contemporaneously with November's general election? Well, since Commonwealth law requires that the election be held within a certain period, a special election in December or January will have to be called.

The County bears the costs of elections. According to figures that I have heard, a special election costs County taxpayers about $40,000 to $45,000 or more. And it is almost a certainty that turnout in such an election will be far lower than in a general, primarily Federal, election.

Moreover, some of the Internet punditry class has suggested that a special election held at a time other than the general election will favor the Democrat candidate, Sharon Pandak.

With all that in mind, Chairman Sean's inexplicable delay seems to be nothing more than an effort to stick Prince William taxpayers with another unnecessary bill, and/or to stick it to the GOP, and a nominee, Corey Stewart, that he --- by all accounts --- loathes.

If this is the case, there are plenty of Prince William Republicans who will not long forget this latest example of Chairman Sean's perfidy, and contempt for the GOP, which he has long treated merely as a vehicle for his personal ambitions. It was amazing to observe and listen to those who have long strapped themselves to his mast --- at the PW GOP's Labor Day picnic --- who suddenly were no longer unquestioning apologists for Chairman Sean.

I hope I'm wrong. Long, close scrutiny of Chairman Sean makes me doubtful that I am.

UPDATE: In a comment, Jim Riley says that he has it on solid authority that Sean has resigned. If so, that makes the Potomac News look bad, for not reporting it, and/or the County government, for not publicizing it. If correct, it is the Potomac News, not Chairman Sean, which looks bad.

Apologies

Well, a mention on Ben's site seems to be worth about 300 extra hits, at least as of this hour. Even more than a mention on Chad's site.

However, documents I was expecting to receive have not yet arrived, and if they are faxed to my office, I won't see them 'til tomorrow. While my post is written, I would still like to tweak it based upon actual content, and I don't want to rely solely upon my recollection of the comments made to me by the involved party.

Soooooo, honesty and an appropriate humility demands that I apologize for those of you expecting to see the news I promised late last night. I will post it just as soon as I have had a chance to review the relevant documentation. Thank you for checking. It's nice to know you're interested.

Broder Column Excoriates Media

Well, to the extent that David Broder "excoriates" anyone.

With the revelation that the source of the story that third-rank Ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, was a CIA operative --- I'm still not persuaded that she was --- was not anyone in the White House, but rather notorious dove Richard Armitage at the State Department --- is anyone surprised that the State Department is undermining a Conservative's foreign policy? --- a healthy dose of crow is being served in Broder's Washington Post column today.

One of the things that makes Broder a "must read," notwithstanding his Liberal credentials, is that he is that increasingly all-too-rare breed: an honest Liberal. While few would dispute that he is a Liberal, he is not an unthinking Kool-Aid drinker. The same can now be said of Nation columnist David Corn who, while still an unregenerate foe of anything American, exhibits a commitment to the truth in co-authoring the revelation. Broder's column today on the sordid Plame-gate affair gives no quarter to those among his colleagues who served as little more than mouthpieces for conspiracy-theory Democrat talking points. The likes of first-order hack Sidney Blumenthal comes in for a special spanking:

Blumenthal, a former aide to President Bill Clinton and now a columnist for several publications, has just published a book titled, "How Bush Rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime." It is a collection of his columns for Salon, including one originally published on July 14, 2005, titled "Rove's War."

It was occasioned by the disclosure of a memo from Time magazine's Matt Cooper, saying that Rove had confirmed to him the identity of Valerie Plame. To Blumenthal, that was proof that this "was political payback against Wilson by a White House that wanted to shift the public focus from the Iraq War to Wilson's motives."

Then Blumenthal went off on a rant: "While the White House stonewalls, Rove has license to run his own damage control operation. His surrogates argue that if Rove did anything, it wasn't a crime. . . . Rove is fighting his war as though it will be settled in a court of Washington pundits. Brandishing his formidable political weapons, he seeks to demonstrate his prowess once again. His corps of agents raises a din in which their voices drown out individual dissidents. His frantic massing of forces dominates the capital by winning the communications battle. Indeed, Rove may succeed momentarily in quelling the storm. But the stillness may be illusory. Before the prosecutor, Rove's arsenal is useless."

In fact, the prosecutor concluded that there was no crime; hence, no indictment.

Also mentioned are WaPo sister publication Newsweek (or, as well called it in high school forensics, Viewsweek), and Clintonista apologist Joe Conason:

Newsweek, in a July 25, 2005, cover story on Rove, after dutifully noting that Rove's lawyer said the prosecutor had told him that Rove was not a target of the investigation, added: "But this isn't just about the Facts, it's about what Rove's foes regard as a higher Truth: That he is a one-man epicenter of a narrative of Evil."

And in the American Prospect's cover story for August 2005, Joe Conason wrote that Rove "is a powerful bully. Fear of retribution has stifled those who might have revealed his secrets. He has enjoyed the impunity of a malefactor who could always claim, however implausibly, deniability -- until now."

I suspect that the rather tepid dose of moral equivalence that he lends to his analysis --- "No one behaved well in the whole mess -- not Wilson, not [indicted former Chief of Staff to Vice President Cheney Lewis "Scooter"] Libby, not special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald and not the reporters involved" --- is to be anticipated, even though it is laughable in its flagrance.

Broder concludes in his rather understated way, noting that "These and other publications owe Karl Rove an apology. And all of journalism needs to relearn the lesson: Can the conspiracy theories and stick to the facts."

Yeah. But don't hold your breath. And certainly don't expect it to be given the air-time/ink that the conspiracy theorists received.

Randie Mac Update

Just came across this website, dedicated to preserve Randolph-Macon Women's College as a single-sex institution. Discovered it when she linked to this post regarding the proposal to turn RMWC into just another small Liberal Arts college in Virginia.

I did learn something new, however. Apparently, the girls at Randie Mac refer to us Hampden-Sydney boys as the guys from "Hump 'N Screwme."

She worried that I might take offense at her bon mot. Quite the contrary.

Big News Tomorrow

Not sure where it would fall on Ben Tribbett's scale (perhaps a two hair-piece alert), but I anticipate receiving tomorrow documents which will allow me to debunk quite a few blogosphere analyses.

Crow tartare will be served.

Equal Justice

Another "Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction" story from Alaska.

It seems that Anchorage strippers are suing under Alaska's wage and hour laws.

Read the story (with a picture!) here.

'Course, if these are standard practices, it may explain why some San Francisco "adult entertainers" voted to unionize a few years back.

Beware Chicken Littles

Delegate Scott Lingamfelter has a great article in today's Potomac News, which he was kind enough to send to me. I reprint it in full here:

Beware of "Crisis" Rhetoric

Have you noticed how every problem we face in government is a "crisis?" And often the single solution proposed by big-government advocates is - you guessed it -higher taxes.

Already the Governor and his "in-tax-icated" allies in the Senate of Virginia are demanding more of our income as we approach the Special Session on Transportation the last week of September, while ignoring overwhelming public opinion opposing tax-hikes.

People in northern Virginia know instinctively that they are sending more than their fair share of money to Richmond and want this changed.

They understand - even when politicians don't - that they don't pay their local taxes out of one wallet, their state taxes out of another, their federal taxes out of yet one more. People understand they are spending huge amounts on government and are fed up with being asked to shell out more.

In Virginia alone, the state budget has risen from $38 billion in 1996 when then Governor George Allen left office to $74 billion today, that's almost a 100 percent jump in just 10 years.

Think about it. It took 230 years for Virginia's budget to rise to $38 billion, and just 10 years to double. At this rate of budgetary growth, our children will be strapped with incomparable financial burdens that will outstrip their ability to make ends meet.

And yet, both the Governor and the Senate think the solution to our problems is making hard working Moms and Dads pay more. This will be their mantra in the coming Special Session on transportation just as it was when the Senate held the budget process hostage to higher taxes earlier this year.

Unfortunately, their motive to raise taxes is not really to "fix transportation." We had a huge surplus in Richmond this year that approached $2 billion, yet the Senate refused the House plan that would have put $1.2 billion of that money in transportation projects to reduce congestion.

Why? It comes down to this: In the House, we see all the money that goes to Richmond as belonging to the people. As such, it should be available, on a priority basis, to be spent where it will have the best impact for the people. But the Senate likes to segment the General Fund, where most of the surplus resides, for everything except transportation.

They argue - wrongly - that if we don't put the General Fund off limits to transportation, there won't be any money left over for core obligations, like education. This is nonsense.

In the last 10 years, government spending on public education has grown by 46 percent while school enrollment has averaged a mere 10 percent. Yet the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), in its 12th annual Report Card on American Education, found no correlation between spending and learning.

Despite these facts, the Governor and the Senate insist on putting a huge amount of the surplus in education to enhance their argument that the only way to fix transportation was to raise taxes.

Interesting, the recent revelation that former Governor Mark Warner's Secretary of Finance deliberately ignored a major miscalculation (that actually put more in the education budget that is permitted in law) serves to illustrate the point.

In January of this year, the Administration failed to inform the General Assembly that there was an error of $137 million per year in over payments to local schools buried deep in the budget.

Only last month were we informed of this major miscalculation, after the budget was signed. And what is the proposed solution by both the Governor and the Senate? If you guessed they want to reallocate this amount to the "crisis-racked" transportation system-well-you would be wrong. Instead, they are proposing that we sustain the over-payment.

That means $274 million in this biennium will be spent in contravention to parameters in the law. And when you add in the $29 million additional surplus the Governor "found" just before we agreed to the budget in June (and the House set aside for transportation), there could be over $300 million on the table right now for transportation.

A pittance, some would argue. But consider this. The widening of I-95 lanes from the Occoquan Bridge to the Fairfax County Parkway that is currently in the budget and set to begin next year will cost only $74 million, while bringing choke-point relief to over 100,000 commuters every day at a third of the amount of available surplus right now.

Likewise, the Tri-County Parkway under consideration for Prince William, Fairfax, and Loudoun Counties is estimated at $201 million, again something that could be financed with current surplus.

So when you are treated to "crisis" high-tax rhetoric this September, remember that we have serious transportation problems that require real reform and re-prioritization of what is currently going to Richmond, not higher taxes.

Delegate L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-31) represents Prince William and Fauquier Counties in the House of Delegates. He serves on the House Finance Committee.

My Father Retires After 43 Years In Business

Been meaning to post on this, but was waiting to hear the final word: my father is officially retired from the business he started ten months before my birth. His local paper, the Logansport (Ind.) Pharos-Tribune did a front-page, above-the-fold Sunday story on his retirement on Sunday, 27 August, reprinted here in full:

Forty-three years Young

Station owner selling out Monday.

By DAVE KITCHELL

Pharos-Triibune staff writer

Gas at an east end Sunoco station is marked down 15 cents lower than it would normally be this weekend, and it is not because of a gas war.

It is because a gas station warrior is retiring.

Joe Young, 73, who has operated a service station at 26th and East Market for 43 1/2 years, has sold the station. Monday will be his final day servicing cars, pumping gas and smiling with a grin as white as his hands are often greasy from working on cars.

After suffering a stroke a year ago and losing 50 percent of his vision, Young says, “It’s time to pick up my marbles.”

Young has sold the station to the owner of four convenience stores. Young’s Sunoco will continue to sell gas, but the full-service pumps will be no longer.

That in itself marks the end of an era. Young’s Sunoco has been continuously operated as a full-service station by one operator longer than any other station in the county.

Since he opened the doors Nov. 16, 1962, Joe says he has no idea how many cars have been serviced or gallons have been pumped, but he has had some notable customers.

Former Sen. Birch Bayh stopped at the station one time to ask for directions. After Joe recognized him and gave him directions, he shook his hand. An Indianapolis 500 race car driver had Joe on his real-life pit crew once when he was in the city for an appearance. Joe fixed his water pump. And he still recalls the doctor who couldn’t diagnose the problem with his engine. Joe did diagnose it. It was out of gas.

For a man who graduated from Logansport High School and received a marketing degree from Indiana University, the station became a passion after he worked for Buick in marketing.

“I was passed over for a promotion that I much deserved,” he said.

“I had the best marketing record for Buick in those days. I took a sales district from 69th to 39th in 19 months. I used to work Saturdays when we were only supposed to work five days a week. They caught up with me when I began reporting expenses on Saturday. Then they said, ‘No, you’re not.’”

Joe was asked to stay and offered a raise, but opted for his own business instead after managing sales in the Philadelphia area.

He brought his work ethic back to Logansport with him.

“We were open seven days a week, most holidays excluding Thanksgiving and Christmas, from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m.”

At one point, Joe purchased a former DX station on North Third Street, and he and his brother, Jack, operated a Shell Station at 22nd and Market where the Corner Cupboard now stands.

But the place where Joe’s face is most familiar is at the corner four blocks east where he has often spent 80 to 90 hours a week. Sometimes he has had up to three employees.

The job was not always a fun one to have, particularly during the winters of 1963 and 1964.

“I once had a battery blow up in my face over on High Street,” he recalls.

The car owner allowed him inside to wash the battery acid from his eyes and then suggested that Joe was responsible for the battery exploding. The customer ultimately paid for a new battery.

His advice for preventing engine problems during Indiana winters?

“Before cold weather, have the battery load-tested,” he says.

“Make sure the charging system is charging at the specified or factory specs. Most cars of recent origin are fuel-injected. Don’t pump the accelerator each time you start the car. Each time you do that, you will flood the sparkplugs real quick. If you flood them, you’re not going to get them started until their dried, off, removed or replaced. If you park a car outside, don’t park a car heading west or northwest because that’s where the prevailing winds come from.”

His current personal car is a champagne Lincoln Continental, but a bit of him is still a Buick man at heart. He has driven half a dozen Buicks since leaving the company.

Becky Crain, a customer who has frequented his station for years, says there are three words that sum him up: “Dependable, trustworthy, honest.”

“It was a great place to go get gas where you could just walk up and know who you were talking, to. We would take him something for Christmas every year.”

Joe says admitting you are wrong about a car is not a fault.

“I tried to be good at what I did, and believe me, it was not easy,” he said Saturday. “For the most part, I think my batting average was pretty. If I was wrong, I would admit it. I’ve never been too proud to say, ‘Hey, I can’t fix it, but I’d recommend so-and-so.”

Dave Kitchell may be contacted at 722-5000, Ext. 5150, or via e-mail at david.kitchell@pharostribune.com

I would wish him a "Happy Retirement, Dad" here, but I'll just have to settle for looking forward to more frequent visits with his grandsons.

My father still doesn't own a computer. And I'm pretty sure he's never sent nor received an e-mail.

"Too Conservative" Endorses Internet Libel and/or Slander

Or, at least one contributor over there does. Boy! Vince may be young, but he was never this foolish. It seems that the pseudonymous poster "Loudoun Insider" (yeah, I'll bet) has said that he's contributing to Greg Letieqc's legal defense fund against a lawsuit brought by Steve Chapman in response to some of the more outrageous allegations on Greg's website in its prior incarnation.

As I've frequently said, I don't know about the merits or the law of the lawsuit, since I am not Chapman's attorney, nor do I specialize in that area of the law.

What I do know is this: Greg, and his former partner, the pseudonymous BVBL, engaged in a campaign of hate and ridicule against Steve Chapman. Some of their allegations may have been false; if they were, they may be actionable. Of course, most of those allegations have been removed from the Internet, when BVBL him/herself disappeared into the ether. The only reason that Greg is still in the suit is because: (a) he lay down with the dog and has picked up a few fleas in the form of potentially joint and several liability; and (b) unlike BVBL, Greg at least possesses the courage to put his name to his allegations, even if he lacks the judgment/circumspection that one should exercise when doing so.

Greg reports that the suit is going to trial, which tells me --- as a litigator --- that there is a colorable legal claim there, and that all of the Internet sound and fury over "free speech" pretty much signifies nothing. If BVBL's factual statements about Chapman were not provably false, the matter would not go to trial, and would be dismissed on a motion for summary judgment, or its Virginia equivalent. Thus, that the case is going to trial demonstrates that BVBL's statements about Chapman were almost certainly false.

That it is says to me that Greg may well be in a whole heap 'o trouble. It also says that anyone contributing to Greg's legal defense fund is, at this point, endorsing the kind of falsehoods that almost certainly form the basis for the decision that the case will go to trial.

And it may well be that some people may be in for a hearty serving of crow, as follows:

Commonwealth Conservative: Steve Chapman is embarrasing himself
Virginia Virtucon: Blog-a-thon
Not Larry Sabato: Outrage
New Dominion: So Sue Me
Too Conservative: CHAPMAN CAMPAIGN BLAMES BVBL FOR MISSING FILING DEADLINE
Jaded JD: “And they shall know that I am THE LORD, when I lay my vengeance upon them.”
Brian Patton: Bloggers Beware
SLANTblog: Black Velvet Bruce Lee Sue-icide
Virginia Virtucon: BVBL faces Legal Eagles over Chapman allegations
One Man’s Trash: The JD Investigates
Virginia Centrist: Blogger threatened by public official
Craig’s Musings: The lamest candidate excuse ever
Not Larry Sabato: Chapman Lawsuit Continues
Free Republic: Candidate misses filing deadline; Claims blogger distracted him; Files $200K lawsuit
Virginia Virtucon: Black Velvet if you Please

Like I said: I don't know the law or the merits. But what little I do know tells me that bravado is not the appropriate attitude for Greg at this point. As for the rest, we shall see.

Anchorage Girl Proves Government Is Ripping You Off

From the "Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction" file, an Anchorage girl has proven that government rips you off.

Readers should note that this eleven-year-old young lady performed her project for an elementary school class. Obviously, more exposure to government schools is needed to disabuse her of her accurate perceptions of the value of government and the "services" it performs.

Connaughton Resignation Imminent

After much questioning over when he would go (and here, and here), it now appears (per Jim Riley at Virginia Virtucon) that Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Sean Connaughton will be assuming his duties as U.S. Maritime Administrator on Wednesday, 6 September.

I wish him success in his new position.

Present at the Creation... Sort of

Any list of Virginia's premier musical artists would have to include, at or near the top, Williamsburg's Grammy Award-winning Bruce Hornsby. Finally picked up his new retrospective album, Intersections 1985-2005, on Friday, and today's horrendous traffic gave me the opportunity to listen to the first CD in the four CD/one DVD set.

What a great collection! I'm no music critic, but as a long-time fan, this was a very satisfying effort. Almost half of the music is never-released versions of Hornsby favorites.

I've got to confess a special affection for his Disk 1 version of "The Valley Road." A quick read of the accompanying booklet/liner notes reveals that this version was "created at a solo concert in Helsinki, Finland in September 2004 and turned into a band version at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia a few weeks later." The latter show was Homecoming 2004, at which I was present, with the family. What a fantastic show!

For What Is He Waiting?

He, of course, is Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Sean Connaughton. Though confirmed weeks ago by the Senate to his new post as United States Maritime Administrator, Chairman Sean has still, nevertheless, failed to resign his post and start the clock running for a special election to choose his successor. Both parties held nominating conventions on 19 August in anticipation of his resignation. The GOP chose Occoquan District Supervisor Corey Stewart as its standard-bearer. Democrats chose (rather surprisingly) former County Attorney Sharon Pandak.

Well, there have already been two posts on this subject. "Independent" Craig Vitter rightly notes the most important issue: " The concern with the timing of the resignation is an issue because it is one part of a complex equation that determines when a special election will be held to replace Connaughton." He goes on to say something with which I absolutely agree: "Here's what it comes down to: Sean Connaughton, if he plans to take this job, needs to make a move and tell the people that he is stepping aside so that the election can go foward on November 7th. The right thing to do would be to announce the resignation at tomorrow's board meeting."

One question which Vitter seems raise is the possibility that Chairman Sean might not plan to take the job. Such a move would be incredibly stupid. Aside from alienating County Republicans AND Democrats who have acted on the presumption that he would not have accepted the appointment and gone through the confirmation processs had he not intended to "take this job" --- though he would accomplish something that his most ardent supporters have always claimed, and bring them together --- one presumes that he would make powerful Republican enemies nationwide for having done so and then backing out of the position. The suggestion that he might do so --- which I'm not sure Craig intended to make --- is simply silly. Were Chairman Sean to do so, I would have to conclude that he is not as politically savvy as many think him to be.

Democrat Ben Tribbett --- as usual, at his best when he brings an objective analysis to an issue --- has an excellent post which addresses all of the major issues:

If he doesn't resign in the next week- it will be too late to call a special election for his seat on general election day- forcing the special election to be called on its own. There are multiple problems with this.

First, a special election in December will draw significantly less people to the polls compared to the general election in November. No one benefits from limiting participation.

Second, there are costs involved in a special election. Besides the money to program voting machines, pay poll workers and all the normal election costs, there are also the costs of taking up rooms in the many polling places around Prince William County. Since many of the precincts are at schools- if the election is held in the gym, the students won't get P.E. that day, if the election is held in the music room, students won't have music class- etc.

Third, special interests can have a much bigger impact in special elections by spending money to turnout voters. In a general election their money has to be spent on persuasion, which has questionable impact from interest groups, while a special election plays to their strength of mobilizing voters.

Personally, I think some of the attacks on Sean Connaughton's fiscal responsibility in Prince William have been misplaced, but if he doesn't resign this week and allow a special election in November then he will have given his critics another chance to cite unnecessary spending, and that would be a shame.

Ben's last point is one with which I take issue, as any regular reader (both of you) would know. Chairman Sean either needs to resign at tomorrow's Board meeting, or give a damn good explanation for his failure to do so. For if he doesn't, he will end up sticking the taxpayers of Prince William County with another unnecessary bill. And there are many --- yours truly included --- who will unnecessarily be given the opportunity to indulge their wildest speculation as to his motives for doing so, absent a compelling explanation.

Another One Bites the Dust?

The Washington Post had a great article in today's "Close to Home" page of the Outlook section, addressing the possibility that Virginia's Randolph-Macon Women's College will go co-ed. Not to be confused with the experiment in co-education in Ashland, R-MWC is in Lynchburg. It is my sister's alma mater. It has quite a few more distinguished alumnae, including CNN's Candy Crowley ('70), Arkansas Senator Blanche Lambert Lincoln ('84), and Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck. I attended and graduated from Hampden-Sydney College, an all-male college just an hour from R-MWC (or, as we affecionately referred to it, "Randie Mac"). Sadly, it appears to be a done deal.

Today's article is by Richard Kurin, father of a current R-MWC student, and notes the dismay among students, alumnae, and faculty students. They suggest that the new iteration of the College --- obviously, the name will have to be changed --- should be "Benedict Arnold College." He notes that "many alums say they will not financially support the college if it enrolls men," which rings true. I have it on good authority that, on that dark day in 1985 when Washington & Lee University (or, as we thereafter called it, "Washington & Leigh University"), three major donors to W & L called and switched their support to H-SC.

I sincerely hope that Randie Mac deviates from this ill-considered course. Single-sex education (both male and female) have an important place in the education firmament. That firmament will be diminished if R-MWC becomes just another small Liberal Arts college in Virginia.

Finish the Job!

Politicians and the blogosphere have been all abuzz over the $137 million error made by Governor Timmy's! budget-writers in Richmond. OK, so Governor Timmy! doesn't deserve all of the credit for the cover-up; apparently the error was discovered by Governor Marky Mark's Funky Bunch before Governor Timmy! took office. It seems that $137 million less is available for distribution to local school districts than budget-writers initially thought.

The most shocking element of this story is reported in the Potomac News:

When it meets Monday, the General Assembly is expected to begin considering legislation that would guarantee that school systems receive what the state promised them in additional aid this year. No budget cuts to other programs would be required.

Doubtless, "budget cuts in other programs" will not "be required" because of the continuing good, ... er dubious news about increasing tax revenues. While the Repubmocrats of the General Assembly have spent ever-increasing tax revenues to buy votes ... er, satisfy "unmet needs," or wants, or whatever, few seem willing to discuss the single most important priority:

Satisfying the promise to end Virginia's ridiculous car tax.

Priceless

Apparently, candidate for the Democrat nomination for U.S. Senate in Maryland (replacing Senator Paul Sarbanes), American University Professor Allan Lichtman, was not allowed to participate in last night's debate, which was between Congressman Ben Cardin and Kweisi Mfume. According to the Baltimore Sun:

Three other Democratic candidates -- American University history professor Allan Lichtman, Montgomery County businessman Josh Rales and former Baltimore County Executive Dennis Rasmussen appeared outside MPT's Owings Mills studio Thursday night to protest their exclusion. With television cameras rolling, Lichtman was arrested by Baltimore County police when he refused to leave a vestibule inside the front doors of the studio. Lichtman's wife, Karyn Strickler, and Gail Dobson, a campaign volunteer, were also arrested, said Bill Toohey, a county police spokesman.

Unfortunately, the Sun failed to mention the best part of the story, which was played this morning on WMAL: Lichtman's wife, in the background, encouraging her husband to "go limp."

I'll resist the urge. Discuss?

Major Preliminary Victory in Fight for Closed Primaries

Ben Tribbett reports favorably on the Fourth Circuit's decision yesterday (.pdf file) to reverse Eastern District of Virginia Judge Henry Hudson's dismissal of a challenge to Virginia's open primary law. The Jaded JD predicted this (four out of six right), and has apparently delayed his impending retirement from the blogosphere to post his comments here, and an analysis of the possible consequences of a favorable decision below here. The reporting by Ben and JD is good; they avoid the pitfall of declaring total victory, as the decision only reverses Judge Hudson's determination that the plaintiffs lacked standing and the dispute was not ripe for decision. The case will now be remanded to Judge Hudson for a decision on the merits.

This is a significant advance for those (like yours truly and the aforementioned young Mr. Tribbett, with whom I am in accord on this issue) who believe that parties should nominate their own candidates without interference from individuals affiliated with other parties. The only surprise to me (and to JD, who predicted otherwise), is that the Fourth Circuit did not proceed to issue a decision on the merits, which appears to be a pure question of law. C'est la vie. Probably just a function of that court's natural conservatism.

A favorable decision on the merits may well provide the impetus for Virginia legislators finally to permit registration by party. At the same time, it may well remove any vestigial authority (more in theory than in practice) for local party organs to discipline their own members, since individuals who stray from the Party path will always be able to point to their "registered [Party]" status, if party registration is enacted. One can hope that the result will be better, more defined choices among candidates, in lieu of the "Repubmocrat" campaigns run by all too many candidates for public office.

Congratulations to State Senator Ken Cuccinelli, who argued the case on behalf of Chairman Larry Miller and his 11th Senatorial District Republican Committee, and former Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Pat McSweeney, who was on the brief.

Convention/Nomination Thoughts

Owing to a long-planned vacation out of the country (childishness to the contrary notwithstanding, "NoVA Scout" was not with us; I am more particular about the company that I keep), and the dispatch with which the event was planned and occurred, the Youngs missed their first Prince William County Republican Convention in more than a decade. Congratulations to Corey Stewart on a resounding endorsement from his fellow Republicans. I am thankful that our two votes were not necessary to make the difference.

Charles has a brief analysis of the event here. Craig Vitter has a number of analyses of the race over at his eponymous website. Ben Tribbett's comments are now "below the fold," and apparently went there before I got back in the country, so I neither know what he said, nor its quality, though I suspect that his analysis was sound, as usual (excepting the fact that he is in the bag for R2D2), even for a Democrat. Even Vince was magnanimous, though his more peurile and less courageous contributors have been uncharacteristically quiet, save for "NoVA Scout," who offers a discussion which, as one would expect, lends credence to the theory that he is Chairman Sean in its fawning and wailing and gnashing of teeth over his pending departure.

I haven't seen this elsewhere, so it's worth noting here:

The biggest news out of the competing nominating contests is in the fact that nearly twice as many people participated in the GOP nominating contest (411 or 413, depending upon whom you believe) as participated in the Democrat nominating process (211). This dismal showing among County Democrats cannot be attributed solely to the timing of its Convention in the summer vacation season, as Republicans labored under the same handicap. That is, unless the Democrats --- as the party of surrender and appeasement --- can be equated with the cheese-eating surrender monkeys of France, who are notorious for vacationing in August.

The most interesting aspect of the relative reporting is that one finds the Washington Post to have reported this news with less bias than our own local Potomac News. Not unexpected, mind you --- the recent direction of the Pot. News increasingly demonstrates the left-wing biases of its management --- but interesting, nonetheless.

While casting Stewart's resounding victory --- 69% of the Convention vote --- as "a rebuff of the pro-growth policies championed by Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Sean T. Connaughton," the Washington Post reports the fact of the relative numbers relatively closely, mentioning the dismal Democrat numbers before noting the number of GOP delegates attending the Convention. Of course, the same day as the Convention, the Post offered an expectedly fawning editorial (actually on the editorial page!) about Chairman Sean and his imminent departure, virtually ignoring the rate of tax-bill growth and noting his eleventh hour effort to "cap" tax-bill growth at "only" 5.9%. Never mind that, while County population has grown by only 30% during his tenure, County spending has grown by 114%. I guess utter surrender to the desires of a bureaucracy to engage in a spending spree is what the Post means when it dismisses those urging a more measured course as "the zealots in his own Republican Party who couldn't abide his determination to govern pragmatically." No, WaPo, what we couldn't abide was his failure to lead and to take control of County spending.

Of course, the Pot. News took a different tack, burying the relatively dismal showing among County Democrats far within its story. There, one cannot help but notice that, while Keith Walker mentions the 413 (I have no explanation for the difference in the numbers) delegates at the GOP Convention in the same brief paragraph discussing Stewart's speech, one has to read twelve paragraphs farther into the story to learn that only 211 Democrats were delegates to that Convention. And one has to do the math one's self to learn that the GOP is relatively more unified (Stewart received 69% or 70% of the delegate votes) than the Democrats (Pandak received 134 of 211 votes, or 63%) in their choice.

Sadly, given my experience with the Pot. News and the honesty (or lack thereof) of its management, it's probable that Republicans can expect more of the same in the months to come.

Wow

Sometime during my absence, one of those hit-counters (below) --- and obviously the one to which I prefer to pay attention --- went over 50,000 hits.

I'm shocked/humbled. Particularly since it happened during a period when the new content here can best be described by the truism "Move along. There's nothing to see here." Not bad for a one-man operation.

I'm sure there are those who are dismayed. Heh.

More Silliness from the Far Left

Seems like it's been a slow week, but no sooner do I get back from the Great White North than I learn that proponents of the radical homosexual agenda have now concocted one of the sillier arguments that I've heard against the Marshall-Newman Marriage Amendment.

It seems redundant to note that these people --- who advocate equating homosexual promiscuity and sodomy with true marriage --- are shameless.

On Vacation

Well, the Youngs are off to Canada for a weeklong vacation. Light, if any, blogging, since I simply don't know about Internet access. Nevertheless, I will most assuredly check in to learn the results of the first County GOP Convention that I will have missed since about 1992.

Vote Republican! Vote Corey Stewart!

Anchorage Institution Ending

From Alaska, news of the end of an Anchorage institution, closing after 26 years.

Sadly, though it was just down the street from my hotel, it's one Anchorage attraction that I never managed to see, notwithstanding numerous business trips over the years. Mr. Whitekeys' book was hilarious, nevertheless.

I gotta get a new case in Alaska!

BREAKING NEWS: Webb Raises Son As Racist

Well, well, well.

The Shad Plank and Wonkette provide an interesting insight into Jim Webb's son, with reference to his MySpace weblog.

Since the Webb campaign will doubtless promptly pull down the offending references, and to insure maximum exposure, I reproduce the post here in its entirety:

Foolishness: An equal opportunity offender

Mere days after Sen. George Allen's MacacaGate gaffe comes a bit of nearly-as-embarassing news from the other side: James Webb Jr. -- son of the Democratic Senate candidate -- has a public MySpace Page, and it's not exactly a page from the typical scrub-and-polish smiles we see at campaign stops.

Junior, a member of the 2nd Marine Division, writes: "As the official purchaser of porn in the ‘support this friggin Marine program’. You are not only the provider of pornagraphic paraphenalia, to this individual friggin Marine, but a whole Platoon of friggin Marines, waiting to be supported by someone like you, the General Public. But please, no midget or goat porn."

And, just to keep the week's theme constant, Webb provides some dubiously racist language: "Right above the reel it read “made in china.” ‘Confucious say, cheaply made rod make expensive catch.’ Zebco is made in china now?! Holy crap! This wholesome everyday American product, is now relegated to manufacture by a bunch of people in China, who will probably NEVER even SEE a lake. Let alone fish one."

We'll give the Webb campaign about a half-hour to pull this, so check it out now.

Wonder how Webb's paid nutroots will spin this?

UPDATE: Well, some of my commenters, and a post or two around Web (one "b") have taken me to task for raising this issue. 'Fact is, I don't believe Webb is a racist, or that his son is, either. However, I have begun to wonder about the real purpose of this contrived story on George Allen. I have concluded that it must be because Webb fears stories coming out late in the campaign about his use of common disparaging terms about Southeast Asians during his service in Viet Nam. Anybody who's seen "Platoon" or "Apocalypse Now" could repeat them; I won't here.

Who said Webb doesn't believe in "pre-emption"?

Remember, You Heard It Here First

Rush Limbaugh likes to note that it's difficult to parody the far Left, because every time you think you've illustrated the foolishness of Democrats with the absurd, they go and do what you thought was absurdly beyond the pale.

Remember, you read it here, on Tuesday, first, before 10:00 a.m.:

Perhaps the funniest and most contrived post of all comes from the paid hack at Raising Kaine, who isn't satisfied with George's apology. Of course, nothing short of a complete surrender and withdrawal from the race would satisfy Webb's nutroots contingent.

Don't bother, George. You've made your apology. Unless they're right, and you are a racist and meant it as a racial slur, don't bother to say another word. You'd be wasting your time with people upon whom further efforts would be wasted, and I'm willing to bet that most of the voters in Virginia --- people who are going to or even might vote for you --- recognize that.

Well, from today's Raising Kaine, sure 'nuff: a call for Allen to withdraw from the race.

Not really surprising, though. The only way R2D2 can win is if he doesn't have an opponent. And even then, he should be thankful that "None of the Above" is not an option.

ACLU Succeeds in Weakening National Security

For now, at least.

It seems that a Federal judge in Detroit has been persuaded to enjoin the NSA's wiretapping program targetting terrorists.

At least now the Federal appellate courts will have the chance to demonstrate just how empty the criticisms of the President for this program are.

UPDATE: Steve Minor agrees.

Arrest in JonBenet Murder Case

Well, it seems that an arrest has finally been made in the nearly ten-year-old murder of six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey.

Is anyone else not surprised that the suspect was arrested in Thailand? Does anyone else suspect that he was there on one of those perverse "sex-with-minors tours" that is fodder for Law and Order: Special Victims Unit?

Man Bites Dog Story

And from the old sod, a story about a firehouse .... destroyed by fire!

Maybe Here's the Larger Issue

While there is certainly the issue of why James Webb would want to join a caucus that includes a former leader of the KKK, perhaps there's a better question:

Why is James Webb paying people to smear someone as a racist?

Pandak In For the Dems?

Craig Vitter is reporting that Sharon Pandak will file for the Democrat nomination for the Special Election to be held to replace PWC BOCS Chairman Sean Connaughton, when he takes his post in the Bush Administration. Democrats have a later filing deadline for their Saturday convention, apparently, 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 16 August.

This is a notation, not a comment. I make it a policy to not comment upon the merits/demerits of Democrat nominating processes. I figure they're entitled to pick their own maniacs, and we're entitled to pick ours. That rule, of course, does not apply to comparing the Democrat nominee to the GOP nominee.

'Course, a Democrat contest might just suppress John Gray's turnout at the PWC GOP Convention.

Great Reads

Searching around the blogosphere, I came across a series of movie reviews.

They are by my former --- nearly said "old" --- French professor, Alan Ford Farrell, now a Brigadier and Professor of Modern Languages at VMI. He is a true Renaissance man --- reputed to have learned ancient Greek so he could read Homer in the original --- who is "fierce" in virtually every endeavor. He is legendary among those who had the pleasure of studying with him. In French 201, we read Le Pont de la Riviere Kwai, or, as he put it, Moby Dick Goes to Thailand. Gave one of the most memorable lectures I ever heard, on teaching. "I teach," said Farrell. "But that is a verb which requires an object. I teach men." A nationally syndicated columnist gave a lecture at the same time on campus. It was Farrell's which was filled to overflowing.

I'll read virtually anything he writes, and enthusiastically commend it to your attention, as well.

Spinning the PWC Chairman's Race

Well, it's utterly fascinating to note the nonsense that less-than-sterling Republicans are spinning in an effort to elevate Democrat John Gray to serious candidate for the GOP nomination for PWC BOCS Chairman.

Witness "Mitch Cumstein's" ever evolving assertions. On a post attributed to him at Sean Connaughton's Cult of Personality ... er, "Too Conservative," "Mitch" says that:

Based on the numbers I’m hearing, this is going to be a very close race. Despite getting into the game very late, Gray has earned a tremendous amount of support. It will all depend on who shows up on Saturday but, of the approximately 950 delegates, my guess is that John has close to 450 (compared to 500 for Stewart). I don’t know the district-by-district makeup at this point. But I’d say it’s anyone’s ball game.

But in a comment on independent Craig Vitter's website, he says this:

My source (who saw these forms last night) indicated that, based on the names, the split is probably closer to 80-20 in favor of Gray. With wieghted voting, Saturday is going to be very interesting.

Hmmmm. Well, which is it, "Mitch"? Can't get your story straight? Or did you just get your talking points mixed up?

I won't pretend to have seen the filings. Didn't even file myself, as the Youngs will be in Canada on Saturday, on a long-planned family vacation. But a source close to the Stewart Campaign has indicated to me that "Mitch's" first numbers are a lot closer to the truth, though inflating Gray's by a factor of about 30%, and that the only way that Gray can win is if his people show up, and Corey's don't.

Clearly, this is a proxy battle. The Connaughtonites out there fear and loathe Corey Stewart. And it appears that they are attempting to turn out the same people who came to a GOP meeting in May 2004, after Chairman Sean was embarrassed by a loss in a straw poll on the Lieutenant Governor's race conducted by the YRs at an ill-attended County GOP Convention. Then, he attempted to hijack by proxy the County GOP Committee --- something he could have done easily if he'd just bothered to encourage his people to attend the Convention --- by turning out people to vote for inferior officers who would jump on his bandwagon. Among them was at least one --- John Gray --- who just a few months earlier had sought the Democrat nomination for Occoquan District Supervisor. Many paid their $30 membership fee with crisp, fresh new $10 and $20 bills, which many believe to have come from the same fresh bank stack from Chairman Sean's campaign. And most who were elected to Membership --- after the voting --- never bothered to show up again.

Hopefully, that fear is well-grounded. After all, if Corey wins and leads the County conservatively (e.g., by requiring County bureaucrats to write a budget within revenue, rather than allowing them to write budgets with ever-increasing taxes) it would give lie to claims that Chairman Sean is/was a conservative. And that disaster would follow from any other course.

What they fear most --- as "Mitch's" post makes clear --- is a Republican nominee who will actually and successfully pursue fiscally Conservative GOP policies, rather than Chairman Sean's developer-friendly, developer-financed tax-and-spend policies. A BOCS Chairman who puts those policies on the defensive --- as Chairman Sean has consistently refused to do --- would give likely give lie to the notion that County taxpayers are unremittingly supportive of a budget that has increased, under Chairman Sean's tutelage, by 114%, while the County's population has increased by only 30%.

What they fear is a choice, not an echo. That would certainly take the bloom off of Chairman Sean's rose.

UPDATE: Jim has a preliminary Credentials Committee Report up over at Virginia VirtuCon. It seems that old "Mitch" has been telling tales at Craig's site.

Far-Left Silliness

Well, the long knives are out with the race hustlers on the far Left of Virginia's blogosphere (here, here, and here), and even among some relatively sensible people. Of course, the Washington Post has followed the far-Left blogosphere on this one, with predictably contrived outrage. And while Jerry gives an appropriately contemptuous view of the whole contretemps, there are those who regularly give aid and comfort to the enemy doing so yet again. The paid political hack at Raising Kaine has even declared that Senator George Allen said something that "just happens to refer to a monkey and to be a recognized racial slur."

Recognized? By whom? Race hustlers? Tunisians? Once again, Lowell has been dippin' into the Kool-Aid just a wee bit too much if he really believes this. 'Course, who knows what he believes, beyond the paycheck?

Well, I'm convinced. George Allen, who won't even discriminate against people for their perverse sexual behavior --- he has been described by one homosexual publication as having the most fag-friendly [paraphrasing here] office on the Senate side --- is truly a goober and a racist, making judgments about people's skin color. Nevertheless, he's sophisticated enough to use a racial epithet that would only be recognized in obscure corners of the world.

And I also believe in: the Tooth Fairy; that Bill Clinton really didn't have sex with "that woman"; the Easter Bunny; that HillBilly have a real marriage; Santa Claus; that Governor Marky Mark's tax hike was necessary to avert a deficit; that John Gray is a Republican; and that someday I'll collect Social Security.

What I don't understand is how he was supposed to incite a crowd which probably didn't include people from those obscure corners of the world. Or whether the young, mohawk-headed man in question even understood it as a racial epithet.

Perhaps the funniest and most contrived post of all comes from the paid hack at Raising Kaine, who isn't satisfied with George's apology. Of course, nothing short of a complete surrender and withdrawal from the race would satisfy Webb's nutroots contingent.

Don't bother, George. You've made your apology. Unless they're right, and you are a racist and meant it as a racial slur, don't bother to say another word. You'd be wasting your time with people upon whom further efforts would be wasted, and I'm willing to bet that most of the voters in Virginia --- people who are going to or even might vote for you --- recognize that.

UPDATE: Sillier and sillier. Now Ben is claiming that "inside the Beltway" is a racist codeword. One commenter has it right: Ben has officially jumped the shark.