Not Guy Incognito

Richmonders should understand what I'm talking about. Everybody else, take it as a serious warning because it's probably already started where you live.

A few posts below, I commented on how the state is destroying its heritage by mowing over its family farms in favor of expanded commerce. Now I've realized this unimpeded growth is hurting us economically as well.

Ok, I get it: America likes big. From our football players, 18 screen cineplexes, to the local Super Wal-Mart. Can you imagine anywhere else in the world the "Big Gulp" or gut-busting, 2400 calorie hamburgers would be so successful? (And at the same time waifish women are held at the pillar of society. The contradictions and hypocrisies are astounding.)

Today, it has come to my attention that the two remaining pieces of open land in Short Pump are soon to be plowed and paved, and yet another mall will stand where flowing grass once did. What used to be pristine countryside is now faux stucco.

We live very much in what we consider to be a disposable society. I accept that. I don't think the beginnings of a seismic shift in societal patterns can be achieved until the next major economic downturn. But our leaders, state and especially local, have to start thinking about this urgent issue.

What I'm trying to say is basically this: suburban sprawl is slowly killing our state and our country.

Now, I'm all for free enterprise and free commerce. However, if we don't get a handle on our growth, Virginia is not going to come out better. Aesthetics do count for something, folks.

How is this hurting us economically? Well, it just happens to be the biggest problem Virginia is facing: transportation.

As we are a mobile country, more of the development like we see in Short Pump is actually bad for us. As we expand outward from our cities, rural areas need massive new roads to get people moving. Our cities are relatively able to handle the traffic. They're based on high volume, but that's not where we're growing.

We're talking about MILES of expansion and bad growth that has come on us like a cancer. It's like the old yarn about the frog in the frying pan. If you throw a frog in boiling water, he'll thrash around and die a horrible death. If you put him in cool water and turn the heat on, he never notices that he's dying until it's too late.

If you really want to see how mobile we are as a population, just look at the opposing lanes the next time you're driving. Drive around for a day and guess at the percentage of people you see driving alone in their cars. The results will astound you.

Instead of recycling plastic bottles, we should really be making recycling our state our first priority.

So, what's the answer? More regional cooperation, and growth that actually has some sort of planning involved. I want to see more assistance and incentives for companies and stores to take existing property and redevelop it to their purposes. Let's use the land we've already developed instead of raiding the countryside. All of our transportation conversations as a state has been about funding. Let's talk about how we can limit spending through intelligent growth.

I'll do my part. No shopping at the mega-mallfor some gadget I don't need. No more trips to WalMart for cheap plastic crap. More online shopping. The technology is here, let's use it.

I'll do my part. Will you do yours?

If a hundred monkeys sat a a hundred computers, wouldn't one of them figure out how to use the spellchecker?

Look at the above photo. Look at it again. Look to the right of the corn dog (yeah, real subtle use of the corn dog guys). That's right, the sign says "transporation". Forgot that dang "t".

Yup, this mailing is going out to tens of thousands of prospective voters, and they couldn't even get the spelling of "transportation" right.

So what does this say about the Kilgore folks actually looking at the fine print of their actual transportation plan?

Mistakes happen, but not when you're spending tens of thousands of dollars to produce and mail a piece like this.

To truly understand this post, I urge you to check out the link below.

It's worth 4:36 of your life to see a politician get completely embarrassed like few ever do in their careers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content//video/2005/09/13/VI2005091301465.html

Think what you will of Tim Russert's politics. I personally think he enjoys putting politicos in their place more than he does destroying conservative platforms. Yes, he's frequently demonized as the personification of the "liberal" media (don't get me started on that), but he's darn good with a zinger from time to time.

This is a very real disaster in the Kilgore camp. If this clip isn't in a Kaine commercial within the next week, I'll know that his handlers are entirely too disorganized to win the election (unless Kilgore wouldn't agree to the debate unless none of it was allowed in commercials).

I'll admit, I wasn't at the debate, and I've only seen what's available online. But there's no question that Kilgore's poor performance is already being felt. If you look at some right-focused blog, they're already questioning whether this doofus can win, even with a 7 point lead.

People will spin that Kaine is such a master debater that it's no surprise that he won the debate. Whatever.

How can you possibly fall into a trap that was laid with so little camoflage, and react so badly?

Jerry just got flustered, which is probably the second biggest no-no in politics (the first being the live boy or dead girl thing...) How someone could be so unprepared for such an obvious follow up question is beyond me.

It's already a momentum changer, if only it discourages the Republican base (which there is some evidence it has).

It could cost Kilgore the election if it is played right by Kaine. Even if there was a "no-commercial" agreement, I'd air it anyway. This race has already been dirty enough, and filled with enough lies, distortion, and vitriol to make that fair game.

Oh, lord, I can't wait for October 9th.

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is certainly a national tragedy and one that will impact all of our lives for years to come. There's plenty of blame to go around, from local, state, and federal agencies.

However, this is the one and only time I'll mention it here.

Other blogs have been bogged down in assigning blame for the discraceful relief efforts. That will not happen here.

Because I want to remain true to my roots. This is a Virginia blog, focused on the upcoming races in November. If I wanted to write about Katrina or the Bush administration, I'd start another blog. Lord knows, there's plenty of material there. Those blogs are out there. Find them if you want to voice your opinion.

WHEN a major hurricane hits Virginia (and in this current 20-30 year cycle of more and more powerful hurricanes I'd lay money down that it will happen), then it will be relevant to the ideals of this blog.

There are serious issues along the Gulf Coast (it is more that just New Orleans, you know). There are also serious issues that are more immediate to us as residents of Virginia. Fixing transportation, improving the quality of our schools, maintaining the fiscal stability of Virginia, ensuring the personal security of our residents, and protecting what makes the Old Dominion great.

Let's focus on the state of our own affairs first.

So today, Rep. Delegate Ben Cline stood alongside Sen. Steve Newman at a gas station trying to urge Virginia to purge its gas tax because of the high cost of fuel.

Cline says it would cost Virginia about 20% of the surplus (minus the rainy day donation) to enact this, and this is what needs to happen to keep families in Virginia moving.

Ben may be a nice, if naive guy, but he's WAY out of his league here.

Basically, Ben is a relative lightweight in the GA. A sure vote for the GOP without question or conscience. A former chief advisor to Goodlatte, he's basically fallen into his current position.

If not guarded by a district specifically designed to protect Vance Wilkins, he would have been put out on his ass by Mimi Elrod in the special election. Democrat David Cox (a fine and decent man as well as a minister) has matched him virtually dollar for dollar in fundraising in the 2oo5 race. David, with virtually no political experience, is a far better choice for that area.

When Ben Cline speaks, it's almost verbatim of the Republican party platform that would make Rush Limbaugh blush. I get the feeling he doesn't really understand how his "ideas" would translate to actual fiscal policy. The "pain in the gas" is just another example.

Why would repealing the gas tax be a bad idea? Well, first of all, it's a progressive usage tax. It's one of those that only affects those who use more fuel than the rest of us, primarily SUV-drivers (who tend to be predominantly better off).

Secondly, gas prices really aren't high enough to destroy family budgets. A 13 dollar difference for a 15 gallon fill-up from a year ago is not bankrupting the citizens of Virginia. An inconvenience? Absolutely. A bankbuster? No. (although wait until home heating bills come calling this winter)

It's a simple matter of supply and demand. When Virginians demand less gas, the supply will go up, and prices will drop. The government does NOT need to fiddle with this free enterprise.

It's time the voters of Rockbridge, Augusta, and Amherst Counties put this political poseur where he belongs: living on his parents' farm.

For far too long, I've dealt with Kilgore's ridiculous proposals. Now it's time to deconstruct one of Kaine's. And it's one of his biggies: education.

Kilgore stood on Church Hill recently, overlooking the City of Richmond, attacking Kaine's record on education while Tim was Mayor of Richmond. Jerry said basically that Richmond City's school system was the worst in the state, yadda yadda yadda... Today Kaine held a widely ignored (for good reason) press conference touting his record of achievement on education as Mayor of this fine city. He basically said dropout rates fell, test scores improved, and on and on and on.

Both are right, and both are SO wrong.

While leading Richmond, Kaine was part of a "weak mayor" system. Basically, he was an elected councilman, voted by his fellow councilmembers to lead them. (I was at that vote in Richmond City Chambers, and it was a small surprise when it happened.) Compare this with the mayor at large (or the "strong mayor" system) in which Doug Wilder now rules.

As mayor, Tim Kaine had as much to do with education in Richmond as Tucker Carlson has to do with fair and unbiased reporting.

The real story of education in Virginia is about funding and feuds between City Councils (and Boards of Sups.) and the elected School Boards. The school board sets a budget, requests the money from the locality, and hopes they get what they want.

Add on to that the Standards of Quality restrictions that we have in Virginia, the absurd No Child Left Behind act, the Standards of Learning, and the plethora of other requirements like the ADA. Basically if anything has a catchy name and sounds like it's going to produce better schools, it sails through the legislature. Really, those acts are putting more restrictions on the people that matter most in education: the teachers.

With the amount of oversight and bureaucracy that we have it's no wonder that we're getting so little in results per dollar spent in education. And in many cases the results that we are getting are from playing fast and loose with statistics. Recently education leaders had the gall to say "We are not reducing the standards in Virginia" when Virginia was LOWERING THE STANDARD FOR WHAT WAS CONSIDERED A PASSING SCHOOL IN VIRGINIA.

Children who are at risk of lowering the mean are being held back a year, or are magically skipped the all important testing year after repeating the same grade. This is done solely to make the grade.

I am not making this up, folks. And it's happening all over the country.

So, what's Kaine's record on education? He voted to increase a local school budget a couple of times, and that's pretty much it.

Boiled down, both Kilgore and Kaine are wrong in their assertions about what the other has done about education. Unfortunately, these issues are far too complex to hold the voters' attention.

Throwing more money at the problem is not the answer. Increasing so-called "accountability" is not the answer either.

I still think that teacher pay is the best answer to our problems. Smaller class sizes, better qualified teachers, less oversight, and fewer tests to me seems to be the answer to our educational woes.

I'll put it this way. A friend of mine is a young teacher. She has two years of experience and can get a job literally anywhere in Virginia. She's had offers, but refused.

Her mother is also a teacher, and would like to move. In fact, she prefers teaching in the "worst" of schools. She can't get a job anywhere else because it would cost a school system more to hire her than find someone fresh out of college. This is not the winning equation. Young teachers are in such a demand because school systems would rather replace their established and experienced teachers with cheaper help. Is there any other boss that would rather have inexpensive over experience?

Think back to the teacher that made a difference in your life.

Was it the one who went by the book, and taught to the standardized test as so many are forced to do? Or was it the one who went on her own to inspire you to think critically?

I think I know the answer.

Nothing gets copied in politics like a good idea.

So now we have "Sportsmen for Kaine", and "Sportsmen for Kilgore". Hmmm... Sounds a lot like "Sportsmen for Warner" circa 2001.

Besides obvious pandering to the "Bubba Vote" (as Mudcat Saunders likes to call them), this is a flat out attempt to ignite or defuse the classic argument over 2nd amendment rights. Pretty thinly veiled attempts, too. I don't think they're talking about stocking rates, shad restoration, or bag limits here. Kilgore wants to show he's manly. Kaine wants to show that he's not a gun-grabber.

Really, when do you think was the last time that Kaine or Kilgore woke up at 2:30 to climb into a tree stand all alone? Kaine probably couldn't find a deer rub if he was hugging it. Kilgore would probably be afraid he'd break a nail and mess up his overly-moussed hair in those icky woods.

These moves are really not even worth the effort. The Warner bluegrass song excited the voting public more than "Sportsmen for Warner" in 2001. But back then it was obviously excellent planning because that group was fresh on the heels of the "right to hunt and fish amendment." Now it just looks like unimaginative pandering. They could have at least picked original names and slogans.

So now it's boiled down to "He hates guns." "No I don't, watch me shoot skeet."

The pro-gun argument has been flawed for so many years. You really do not need to stockpile firearms in case the Commies come calling. That's what the military is for. Is a revolt against the government anywhere close to happening? Maybe in New Orleans, but not here. Is someone going to break into your house while your family is sleeping? It happens, but the chances are far too remote to live in fear.

Where do you draw the line? Do bazookas really need to be legal for everyone? If you think that's the case, there's some nice groups in Montana, Michigan, and Waco that you should talk to. They are extremists with too little to do, and too much to hate. And real hunters and fishermen should be ashamed that they're generally supporting the same ideas.

Relax, guys. Nobody's going to take your precious Lugers, Brownings, Glocks, or Winchesters away. It's just not going to happen in Virginia, no matter who is in the Governor's mansion.

I say all of this as a proud sportsman and gun owner (x2) myself. A Browning pump shotgun and a .308 Winchester. Nice guns, used for target practice and Bambi blasting. Nothing more.

Frankly, the NRA scares me. The should protect my rifle, and not the nut in the woods who has to have his full auto AK-47 with the 400 round drum attachment, or the thug packing heat so somebody won't try to steal his income from streetcorner commerce. "From my cold dead hand" has become all too common, except it is police collecting evidence and not attempts at registration.

So will this argument really carry traction in this campaign? I hope not, because no matter who wins, nothing drastic is going to happen to gun rights. There are much more important issues in Virginia, like the 350 gun related murders and manslaughters in Virginia in 2004. THAT'S the issue on which our focus should lie.