Spotsylvania County’s “Tom the Antiquer” took these for you from his first political rally ever attended! I met Tom last night when he purchased a Victory 2008 McCain T-shirt from our county committee especially to wear to the rally.

Folks like Tom are coming out of hibernation in Virginia– and across America– to vote for McCain-Palin who have otherwise sat the past few elections out. Working men like Tom the Antiquer and Joe the Plumber know that more than just an election is at stake this time… indeed, our national sovereignty and children’s future will simply be in better hands with McCain

Posted in Barack Obama, blog, democrats, election, federal, Fredericksburg Regional Republicans, Fundraiser, Jim Gilmore, Joe Biden, John McCain, politics, Press Release, Republican Party of VA, Republicans, Sarah Palin, senator, Senator Joe "doughnuts" Biden, spotsylvania, virginia      

JOHN MCCAIN COMING TO PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY THIS SATURDAY OCTOBER 18!

Posted in blog, caroline, City of Federicksburg, Culpeper, election, Eric Cantor, Fauquier, Fredericksburg Regional Republicans, Jim Gilmore, John McCain, king george, Mark Warner, policy, politics, Press Release, Republican Party of VA, Republicans, Sarah Palin, senator, spotsylvania, stafford, state, taxes, virginia      

The editors of the Free Lance-Star attempted to convince Spotsylvanians to join the Virginia Railway Express.  Their arguments sound good at first hearing, but fall apart when thoroughly examined.

Unlike most VRE skeptics, I’m also a VRE rider.  That forces me to give this a little more thought than most on either side of this issue.  In fact, my VRE experience all but jumped out at me when I saw this paragraph from their editorial:

The idea is simple and attractive: The STC hopes to draw companies that can band together to lure lucrative federal contracts to the center. Eventually there may be enough business there for Woodbridge residents to consider commuting to the area, justifying southbound commuter trains or an additional stop by existing Amtrak trains.

But for trains to stop, there must be a station. And VRE will build one, but only if Spotsylvania joins the system.

First of all, I can assure the folks at Summit Crossing (of which STC would be a part) that a VRE stop is not essential to win federal contracts.  For example, the Skyline City office complex in the Falls Church area (six buildings above the Target that used to be Skyline Mall) does not have a VRE stop, but it hasn’t prevented the Defense Department from practically monopolizing the office space in the complex (the Defense Health Program in particular).  What Skyline does have is a stop for two buses directly from VRE stops.

More to the point, given the rail demand already in existence (VRE north-morning/south-afternoon trains, Amtrak, and CSX freight), a VRE south-morning/north-afternoon trains will need a third track from Springfield to Fredericksburg, which will take more time and cost than VRE backers are willing to admit, even to themselves.  VRE would also need to double the number of trains on the F-burg line, another hidden cost.

So the benefits of VRE for Spotsylvania would be delayed, and come with costs that haven’t really been discussed.  There is, however, one cost that is well known - the 2 cent gas tax increase.  The FLS editors attempt to defend that is just as weak:

Opponents of the VRE have argued that county residents can’t afford an additional 2 percent per gallon for fuel. But guess what? Spotsy gas without the VRE add-on isn’t any cheaper. In fact, as of this writing, the “pump patrol” prices listed on our sister radio station’s Web site, wfls.com, show gas stations in Breezewood and along Route 3 west charging $3.14 per gallon, while gas in VRE partner localities (Fredericksburg and Stafford County) is $3.09. Adding the 2 percent could actually force gas stations to become more competitive.

It should be noted that at the time this was being written (Thursday, as it ran in Friday’s edition), gasoline on Tidewater Trail was going for $3.07 - not that anyone should be surprised that the FLS has continued to ignore northeastern Spotsylvania, but I digress.

The bigger issue is this - someone will have to pay that tax; if it’s not the consumers, it’s the station owners.  Perhaps the FLS editors aren’t aware of this, but the station owners are not the big bad oil companies, but local franchisees.  The editors may be OK with forcing them to eat the tax increase (that’s what “becom(-ing) more competitive” really means), but that doesn’t mean it’s better for the county and its business community.

In short, the benefits are less than advertised, while the cost is greater.  VRE may be a good deal for some individual Spotsylvanians like me, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good deal for Spotsylvania.

Cross-posted to the right-wing liberal

Posted in politics, spotsylvania, taxes, virginia      

A fortnightly rant, FL-S style:

BALLSTON, Va. - Greetings from John McCain’s brother Joe’s favorite place - The People’s Republic of Arlington - where capitalism is alive and well.  And, after the pounding that the financial markets have taken, well, thank goodness for that.

The old-style A-Frame IHOP just 2 blocks from here is packed with hungry customers.  Business there is brisk.

We just finished setting up at the outdoor Ballston Arts & Crafts Market where each month, rain or shine, area crafters sell their handmade wares.  My wife’s shop - Metro Retro - is ready to go.  The air is crisp,  my wife’s handmade beaded jewelry looks great on display, and we hope the after the worst week in Wall Street history eager customers will, to paraphrase the FL-S, descend like Yankee locusts for a comfort purchase or two.

Here in Ballston, the natural gas-powered MetroBuses queued up on Wilson Blvd. are a sign of the times.  A reminder we’re going green.  And I am thankful for that.

For the longest time, long before most people recognized AIG or Lehman Brothers or Hank Paulson, several Fred2BlueLand  business leaders and I have been thinking about what it would take to achieve a sustainable business future for the Fredericksburg Region.  Many of you who read this blog frequently (don’t you have anything else better to do?) know that I advocate for a new green economy.  To understand my motivation, read Former Gov. and future U.S. Senator Mark Warner’s DNC keynote address. Excerpt:

You know, America has never been afraid of the future, and we shouldn’t start now. If we choose the right path, every one of these challenges is also an opportunity. Look at energy: if we actually got ourselves off foreign oil, we can make our country safer. We’ll start to solve global warming, and with the right policies, within 24 months, we’ll be building 100 mile-per-gallon plug-in hybrid vehicles right here, with American technology and with American workers.

- Mark Warner

My compadres and I believe that with the cooperation of government, higher education, and the business community, we can bring thousands of green jobs to our region, such as: photovoltaic cell research, development and manufacturing to the City; agroforestry to Spotsy, green (LEED) building technology to Stafford; and sustainable farming and biofuels development (such as switchgrass farming) to the Northern Neck.

Despite the downturn in the economy, despite the pounding our 401ks and 403bs have taken this past quarter, our community needs to create a bold vision and a workable plan for going green.  To bring high-paying green jobs to the Fredericksburg area will require a tremendous amount of effort and leadership from our local electeds, academia, business leaders, and the Fredericksburg Area Chamber of Commerce.  Here are some of the things that I think need to happen:

EDUCATION

Virginia Tech, Univ. of Virginia, William & Mary, and other Virginia colleges and universities need to set up satellite campuses here in the Fredericksburg area.  There are plenty of available commercial buildings already erected that with minimal effort could be turned into regional education centers.  And high-end two-way video connections between the main and satellite campuses would make distance-learning here a snap.  Plus, there is already a growing demand for degree programs in Environmental Sciences and Sustainable Business.  Satellite campuses would allow more area undergrads to prepare for careers in the new green economy.  And Univ. of Mary Washington should include course curriculum, or better yet, degree programs in the science and business of sustainability.  Win/win.

A lynchpin to the new green economy are community colleges such as Germanna.  So-called green collar jobs require considerable technical knowledge that community colleges and career colleges are designed to offer.  And every effort should be made to expand the availability of green associate degree programs to as many area students that want them.

GOVERNMENT & LOCAL BUSINESS LEADERSHIP

Local government and business leadership need to agree on a comprehensive green vision.  And this is going to be extremely tough to accomplish, but it has to happen and soon.  We know how botched up Stafford’s Comp Plan Revision became, and both the “for” and “against” sides turned a process reliant on cooperation and negotiation into a Steel Cage Death Match.  What a mess.  

Futher, our local economic development agencies need to stop relying on the low hanging fruit that is defense contracting.  The Stafford Office of Economic Development and at least a couple of Stafford BOS members have focused all of their attention on defense, and a blind-eye to the new green economy.  That is foolish; they need to diversify their business development vision. 

There is no reason why the typically 4-3 Stafford BOS could not vote 7-0 to attract green technology and services business to the County.  Things would surely be different if you 7 board members worked on paid-commission! 

GREEN BUSINESS

According to Green Jobs: Towards desent work in a sustainabile low-carbon world, a study published in September 2008 by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), there are several business sectors and industries that provide excellent long-term green job potential.  Among them:

• Renewable energy (such as electric motor vehicle fuel-cells);
• Agroforestry and Sustainable forestry management;
• LEED green building & retrofitting technology and services, and;
• Lighting.

If companies representing all or some of those industries laid stakes here, we’d surely draw in thousands of green support businesses and service bureaus, marketing agencies, and consultancies that too can provide a wide-variety of well-paying jobs.

The nice thing about green is that it is attitudinal.  Seemingly non-green businesses, such as GEICO in Stafford County, can embark on plans to achieve sustainability.  It is a modest example, but the auto insurer promotes a paperless billing program to their insured.  And McCormick & Company, the nationally-known spices company in suburban Baltimore just announced that Constellation Energy will build a 1 megawatt solar power system for the company’s Hunt Valley, Maryland spice mill and distribution center.

Those communities that don’t rally around a bold green future - and do so soon - will lose out.  They’ll be left in the dust.  

Let’s heed the call of our next U.S. Senator Mark Warner.  Let’s get busy and lead the Commonwealth in the development of green energy, green technology, and a long-lasting and prosperous green economy.

      

Naturally, there are hundreds more- but this is a good overall sense of the event. A great time was had by all! Unless of course you were trying to blog live from the event, in which case, our Internet service was mysteriously disconnected just after the debate began…

In case the Free Lance-Star is interested in reporting our official attendance, as calculated by the official landscaper of the parking lot, we had “26,500 people in attendance including those who couldn’t get in” (because we reached our capacity of 1,450 inside the building.)  I’m quite pleased with this number, since I know every one of these folks will actually vote on Nov. 4th.  Our area will no doubt remain bright RED thanks to dedicated citizens who understand what Barack Hussein Obama’s “Change” and “Hope” really mean for our families.

Posted in Abortion, Barack Obama, Bill Howell, blog, caroline, Catholics, City of Federicksburg, College, Culpeper, delegate, democrats, election, Fauquier, federal, finance, Fredericksburg Regional Republicans, Fundraiser, Governor, Jeff Frederick, Joe Biden, John McCain, king george, land rights, laws, Military, money, Morality, obama devil, orange, policy, politics, Press Release, Religion, Republican Party of VA, Republicans, Sarah Palin, schools, senator, Senator Joe "doughnuts" Biden, spotsylvania, stafford, state, taxes, Terrorism, U.S. Constitution, virginia      

The Fredericksburg Area Republicans “An Evening at the Debate” rally event during tonight’s (Oct 2) Palin-Biden showdown will be covered live by CNN TV cameras, as well as, at least two network TV affiliates, the Washington Post, Free Lance-Star and multiple other new media, schools and Virginia’s own Jeffersoniad bloggers (the ones who bothered to RSVP that is- we’ll have room for the stragglers too!)

This is a FREE event! Location is the Expo Center in Central Park off Exit 130b of I-95 in Fredericksburg, VA. Bring your cameras- lots of politicians and a few celebrities will be there!

Seats are limited, and really are filling up fast!  So, pre-register up until 2pm online at www.FredGOP.com .  If you miss this deadline, you can still register at the door, but space is limited on a first-come-first-served basis. 

Speeches will be brief, but exciting and the debate will begin promptly at 9:00pm. Doors open at 7:00pm.  If you didn’t pre-register, you should get there before 7 to (hopefully) guarantee a seat.

Get all the info you need for this event at www.FredGOP.com . (The debate itself is live via satellite, the media is covering the event in person though.)

See you there!

Posted in Abortion, Barack Obama, Bill Howell, blog, City of Federicksburg, College, delegate, democrats, election, federal, finance, Fredericksburg Regional Republicans, Fundraiser, Governor, humor, immigration, John McCain, land rights, laws, medicaid, medical, medicare, Military, money, Morality, obama devil, orange, policy, politics, Press Release, Religion, Republican Party of VA, Republicans, Sarah Palin, schools, senator, Senator Joe "doughnuts" Biden, spotsylvania, stafford, state, taxes, Terrorism, U.S. Constitution, virginia      

My Supervisor “asked county administrators last week to investigate possible gas price gouging in Spotsylvania County” (Free Lance Black Hole).  To be fair to Mr. Skinner, he was aware of Hurricane Ike, but he seemed upset that the price rose “the day of the hurricane.”

Maybe if he looked a bit further south he’d realize how fortunate we are that the price has receded to pre-Ike levels.  He might also want to keep in mind that several refineries were shut down before Ike made landfall, due to “speculation” that the hurricane would cause tremendous damage and wipe out power for days - which is exactly what it did.

One thing Skinner didn’t mention (and neither did FLBH reporter Dan Telvock, for that matter) was his own planto raise the price of gas for every single Spotsylvanian.

Was Gary just upset that someone beat him to the punch?

Cross-posted to the right-wing liberal

Posted in politics, spotsylvania, virginia      

Obama had to run the gauntlet of McCain-Palin signs when his posse plus Joe “Bag O’ Donuts” Biden invaded this tiny southern city’s University.

The Fredericksburg, VA region will not turn blue, or even a shade of purple this November as Obamamaniacs would like us to believe. This is FIRMLY Republican ground, and I’ve never been more convinced than today when THOUSANDS of cars honked their horns vigorously in support of today’s grassroots activism display by a cooperative effort of regional McCain supporters.

This idea sprung up at a typical jam-packed nightly calling session at the regional GOP Headquarters this past Thursday night, even though we weren’t certain whether Obama would cancel the MWU event to go to Washington, D.C. and put his 143 days of experience in the U.S. Senate to good use and solve the financial crisis.

You see, that’s where Senator John McCain was today instead of glad-handing a bunch of ninnies like Barry Obama was.

I was proud to be part of a one-hundred-plus-strong army of McCain-Palin supporters from throughout the greater Fredericksburg region, who answered the action call of their committees to “welcome” his highness Obama to the campus of Mary Washington University today— and boy did we!

We lined a quarter-mile of Jefferson Davis Highway with patriots of Virginia who proudly held 4′x8′ signs supporting John McCain and Sarah Palin. We would have gone farther, but we ran out of signs!

We let Obama know that this is McCAIN COUNTRY! Not one- repeat- NOT ONE Obama sign or supporter came out AT ALL on the road we lined for more than five hours! Not one Obama supporter or sign holder came out on any side street of the city either!

Yes, some houses have his signs in their yard like any other election, and despite more than 30 huge McCain signs being slashed and stolen the night before off of private property and front yards of houses, we managed to get them all replaced and fortified with proud McCain supporters who were happy to guard their property against these cowards and vandals and beat back the “invasion” of a few hundred Obama disciples who trickled in over the rest of the afternoon.

The press is trying to report a huge lie of seemingly insignificant information, but if this is any indication of the way they do their Sunday morning polling (when conservatives are IN CHURCH) then you too may just be a “believer” that Obama is winning too.

Who wants to decry BULLS%#T first? Here’s your chance if you were there- no matter who you supported… They’re saying Obama’s visit to Fredericksburg, VA was greeted with “26,000 supporters.” Yep- that’s the official count released tonight…. in a tiny city of 21,000 total residents, on a campus of about 4,500 students that issued a permit for Obama’s historic visit for 1,500 people (that’s one thousand five-hundred) in a roped off area about the size of a baseball field’s infield and some outfield too, they fit “26,000 people” …reportedly. BEEE ESSS!

Watch the video news reports- you’ll see quick pan shots of a crowd not more than about 25 deep in a semicircle in front of the stage…

I’ve never seen this kind of false propaganda get out into the news in person before except in the opposite case when the MSM (mainstream media) covers a Washington, D.C. annual Pro-Life rally and ignores the attendance volumes and plays them off as barely attended.

At least in the case of the Free Lance-Star article not written by a bonafied liberal-lover named Chelyen Davis, Kelly Hannon had the decency to mention the Pro-Lifers from multiple organizations that dutifully reminded the Obama guests that Obama supports post-birth “born alive abortions” aka, infanticide, and proudly fundraises cash for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest taxpayer-subsidized for profit abortion chain. Not to solely pick on Obama, Hillary Clinton is close friends with Cecile Richards, the CEO of P.P., but Hillary is ollld news now, so I’ll end that tangent.

Interestingly enough, both FLS writers or their editor, left out any mention in either article about the hundred-plus McCain folks outside the gates. Fortunately for our side tens of thousands saw us with their own eyes and know that they’re not alone just because they’re part of the so-called ’silent majority’. Election day will reveal just how silent they are. Their car horns certainly weren’t silent today.

Back to the point; the press is reporting that enough people to fill HALF OF RFK STADIUM somehow squeezed into a baseball diamond. Call Guinness people- this one is for the record books!

HOGWASH! Several thousand attending— absolutely, I buy that— and why not? He’s a rock star after all. Yes, several hundred- perhaps a thousand were lined up around the permitted area too and on sidewalks in the area, but it is a university for pete’s sake- students are there in that volume on any given school night! I suppose you could STRETCH the numbers to hit 3,000 if you included all the students milling around too… but c’mon guys- 26,000??

While some of his drones were nice enough to give us only the thumbs down as we waved to them as they entered the campus of Mary Washington University, still other sheep gave us the middle finger and shouted “F*#@ every one of you BAS@#^&@!!” which happened at least a dozen times with the exact same quote…. one only wonders how they orchestrated this identical mantra so well when their Lord and savior (Barack Hussein Obama, a fine Christian man from the mid west the press will tell you) couldn’t even get to Fredericksburg on time! He was 2 hours late getting to the stage.

Was he fashionably late or making hype build up? Maybe he just couldn’t decide if he needed a tactic or a strategy to get there.

The press reported on tonight’s TV news that supporters endured SIX rain storms before he got there… wow- now they rewrite the weather too! YES it poured like a monsoon from about 5:00- 5:30, and then stopped instantly. Amazingly there was even a rainbow! I figured- Obama himself MUST be on stage now… the clouds parted and a rainbow was present for heaven’s sake. But no, he was practicing his speech in the car apparently.

If you listen to the same press, you’ll hear how he ‘won’ the debate against John McCain too (though he couldn’t remember the name of the soldier when he said “I have a bracelet too” to McCain in response to McCain bringing up how he wears a bracelet as a request from a mom of a fallen U.S. soldier to honor his memory.

Have YOU had enough Obama-mania? I sure have. As a local county GOP member, I’m doing something about it.

Want to get involved too? Call your local GOP committee or the Fredericksburg Regional GOP Headquarters at (202) 507-0841, located in South Stafford off exit 133b.

I’d like to extend a special thanks to the UMW Young Republicans who came out in volumes today and cheered enthusiastically for their candidate. You made all the difference in our success and filled in our ranks tremendously! Sorry, this is the only picture I snapped of you when you first started arriving- if you have a better one with all 30-40 of you, send it! (p.s. next time use permanent markers! Sorry the rain ruined all your hard work.)

Also- be sure to come to the Fredericksburg EXPO center this Thursday October 2, 2008 for a FREE event with “thousands” of your closest Republican friends: Sarah Palin debating Joe Biden live on Jumbo TV’s (via satellite) See http://www.fredgop.com/ for details. You must register to attend- space is limited.

All your favorite elected officials will be there including former U.S. Senator George Allen and Congressman Rob Wittman!

Posted in Abortion, Barack Obama, blog, caroline, City of Federicksburg, College, Culpeper, democrats, election, Fauquier, federal, Fredericksburg Regional Republicans, Hillary Clinton, humor, John McCain, obama devil, orange, politics, Religion, Republican Party of VA, Republicans, Sarah Palin, senator, Senator Joe "doughnuts" Biden, spotsylvania, stafford, state, virginia      

 

Downshifting again (this time to more local issues), my local Board of Supervisors had a tough day (Free Lance Star):

The Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors approved more budget cuts last night to make up for projected revenue losses.

Budget staff told supervisors that fiscal year 2009 revenue projections were already down by $9.1 million, and they projected another $2.1 million drop.

. . .

Supervisors decided to:

Order department heads to cut FY 2009 budgets by 2 percent, in addition to the 1 percent they have already cut. They also asked department heads to prepare an additional 7 percent in cuts.

Ask the school system to cut 2 percent from its fiscal year 2009 budget, a $2.4 million cut on top of the $1.2 million the school system did not spend in the last fiscal budget that supervisors kept. Historically, that money, called carryover funds, is returned to the schools.

Institute an immediate hiring freeze for all departments, including public safety positions. County Administrator Randy Wheeler can make exceptions on an individual basis. This is the first time supervisors approved a hiring freeze for public safety positions.

Like I said, a tough day for some tough decisions, yet the Board did the hard work to avoid hitting the county with another tax increase.  Give credit where its due to the Supervisors - well, all but one.

Sadly, my Supervisor (Gary Skinner) thought it was a good time to discuss another tax increase:

Supervisor Gary Skinner, the only one to vote against the recommendations, said the public surveys that the county government pays for each year regularly show education and public safety are residents’ top priorities. Skinner said his Lee Hill District constituents tell him they don’t mind paying additional taxes if the money goes to services such as education and public safety.

I don’t remember Skinner asking my opinion (to be fair to him, though, he probably would have guessed my answer).  He even went so far as to subtly declare a tax hike inevitable:

“I have some very big concerns about your recommendations,” Skinner said. “I am sure the schools are willing to share in the reduction, but as a taxpayer, you are going to tell me you are going to raise my taxes and zero is going to educate the children? I have heartburn over that.”

That statement was practically Bidenesque.  The school system has provided no assurance that they have any willingness to “share in the reduction.”  Moreover, no one else is saying “you are going to raise my taxes” (unless you count the county staff report I recently took apart).  In fact, the only elected official talking about higher taxes next year is Skinner himself.

This comes as the BOS once again is discussing a gas-tax hike to join the VRE (Dan Telvock, FLS) - at the insistence of Skinner, who proclaimed to his bewildered colleagues at the September 9 meeting that it would have been a $3 million revenue haul.

How many tax increases are enough, Mr. Skinner?

Cross-posted to the right-wing liberal

Posted in schools, spotsylvania, taxes, virginia      

Do you know how I know The Fredericksburg Area is going to go HUGE for McCain? The Spotsylvania Country Republican Committee executive board spent eight hours today installing massive signs all over the county for John McCain for president and Rob Wittman for U.S. congress. We asked and asked the Gilmore camp for signs.  They gave none, so we put up none. Sorry Jim- we did our part.

WIth no exceptions, at each location we spent about 30 minutes assembling signs, and the car horns were going crazy! I’ve never seen such an outpouring of public support.

Pictured left, we were along I-95 climbing a 20+ foot tall rickety wooden frame (with permission).  The truckers, motorcycles and cars honked about every 10th car!  Obviously none of them had any idea that the other vehicles were doing this, so it really shows the support McCain has, and the lack of support for Obama Bin Biden too!

Do the math; we have a LOT of huge signs up now on the major thoroughfares by our efforts today alone. Private property owners have been ringing our phones off the hook for McCain/Palin signs, but the national campaign has been slow to get them delivered to us- until now… you’ll really start to see how RED our region is from here to November.  We would have gotten more up, but people kept pulling up to us and interrupting to thank us for our volunteerism and requesting yard signs and bumper stickers to which we proudly responded, “here ya go!”.

You can get all the campaign materials you need at our massive regional Palin-Biden debate event Oct 2 at the EXPO center.  See www.FredGOP.com for more info and to register for FREE admittance.

If you need supplies, you need to come to the Fredericksburg Regional GOP HQ at 150 Riverside Parkway in south Stafford, off exit 133b left at first light, left at first turn, along side I-95, just past Riverside Dinner Theatre on the right atop Strayer University in the 3 story building. Contact Kevin McNulty for McCain Headquarters questions: 202-507-0841.  Tell him you got his number from Rappahannock Red!

You’ll also notice from here on how the democrats will litter the VDOT right of way wih campaign signs…. call your local VDOT office and ask that they be removed immediately when you see this.  They are, of course, allowed on private property unless your homeowners’ association has a rule against signs. Many do.

Posted in Barack Obama, democrats, election, federal, Fredericksburg Regional Republicans, John McCain, politics, Republican Party of VA, Republicans, Sarah Palin, Senator Joe "doughnuts" Biden, spotsylvania, stafford, state, virginia