Monthly Archives: March 2005

Regulation and support of Virginia’s assisted living facilities will be upgraded with Governor Warner’s signature on recently passed legislation, according to the Washington Post. The Post had previously reported on poor conditions and lax oversight.

This is definitely a step in the right direction, but one thing is missing. Many small assisted living facilities have business problems as much as they have care issues. Virginia offers more business support to companies that want to sell toilet paper to the state than to facilities serving indigent citizens.

Tomorrow–I think–the Washington Post will carry an in-depth story on the life and death of Jonathan Bowling, one of Patrick County’s best and brightest. I knew him. All of us in this small community admired his courage. All of us mourn his passing.

200: Lowest estimated number in billions of U.S. taxpayers dollars that have been spent on the war in Iraq

152,000: Estimated number of troops currently deployed in Iraq

1,511: U.S. troops killed in Iraq since the invasion

11,285: Americans wounded since the invasion was launched two years ago

21,100-39,300: Estimated number of Iraqi civilians killed since the invasion by violence from war and crime

176: Non-U.S. coalition troops killed in Iraq since the invasion

339: Coalition troops killed by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)

70: Daily average number of insurgent attacks on coalition forces in February 2005

14: Daily average number of insurgent attacks on coalition forces in February 2004

18,000: Estimated number of insurgents in Iraq today

5,000: Estimated number of insurgents in Iraq in June 2003
27 vs. 14: Countries remaining in the “coalition of the willing” versus number of coalition troops that have withdrawn all their forces or announced their intention to do so

25,000: Non-U.S. coalition troops still in Iraq

4,500: Troops that Italy and the Netherlands have pledged to withdraw before the end of the year

271,000: Number of Iraqi security forces – including police, border, and national guard forces – that the U.S. says it wants to train by July 2006

142,472: Iraqi security troops the Pentagon says it has trained and equipped

40,000: Iraqi troops that General Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said are adequately trained and equipped to handle most threats

40: Percent of U.S. troops in Iraq that belong to the National Guard and Reserve

0: Number of active Army combat units deployed to Iraq that have received the required year-long break from active duty required by Pentagon rules

30: Percent by which the U.S. National Guard missed its recruitment targets in November and December 2004

27: Percent by which the U.S. Army missed its recruitment goals in the past month

15: Percent of military personnel, according to GAO, who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, who could develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

2: Estimated output of Iraqi oil industry in millions of barrels per day

2.8: Estimated output of Iraqi oil industry in millions of barrels per day before the U.S. invasion

8: Average number of hours that Iraqis have electricity per day

28-40: Estimated Iraqi unemployment rate

4.3: Millions of children enrolled in primary school today

3.6: Millions of children enrolled in primary school in 2000

108: Millions of dollars in Halliburton overcharges hidden from international auditors by the Pentagon

9: Billions of dollars the Coalition Provisional Authority cannot account for of all funds dispensed for Iraq reconstruction

* Inspired by the Harper’s Index, with thanks to the editors.

The Washington Post has a story today on corporate blogging. Apparently, CEOs and other high company officials have a ways to go before their blogs realize the potential of the form:

Web logs — or blogs — started as a way to talk about new technologies, vent about life and interact in a no-holds-barred forum. Since blogs became the next big thing, an increasing number of companies have come to see them as the next great public relations vehicle — a way for executives to demonstrate their casual, interactive side.

But, of course, the executives do nothing of the sort. Their attempts at hip, guerrilla-style blogging are often pained — and painful.

I wrote about the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries below. I know they’re not a corporation, but it’s certainly an organization–many employees, spread around the state–where a blog would be a great communications vehicle. What if Daniel Hoffler, the resigning Chairman, had had a blog?

Would Hoffler have written about the planned trip to Zimbabwe in his blog? If he had, would employee comments have supported such a trip? Might the comments have tipped him off that this trip was a terrible idea?

Hard to say, but I think my hypothetical example explains why blogs may never be an effective corporate communications vehicle. Few leaders are willing to “interact in a no-holds barred forum.” They are used to doing what they want and being supported by their closest staffers. Going to Zimbabwe to learn about game management techniques made perfect sense to Hoffler; why would he have to convince some poor Virginia game warden in Shenandoah County that this “learning” experience in an exotic locale would benefit, him, too?

Maybe if Hoffler had spent a day with the Shenandoah County game warden and blogged about it, he might have come up with as many ideas as he got in Zimbabwe and been able to share them. He would have demonstrated to the entire organization that he really was in touch with the agency’s mission.

I’ve been flogging the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries controversy on these pages, so I feel compelled to continue as events unfold.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported this morning that Daniel A. Hoffler has resigned as Chairman of the Game and Inland Fisheries Board. Hoffler had been in the center of a storm of criticism over a “safari” he and others took to Zimbabwe.

I had previously wondered why Gov. Warner had not been asked to comment on the dust-up. The RT-D reported that Ellen Qualls, the Governor’s press secretary, “said the governor will not comment on the controversy over the credit-card use and other allegations against the department’s leadership until after the state’s internal auditor completes an investigation into a complaint last fall that led to revelations about the safari.” These investigations take time, I guess. I hope the investigators don’t have to travel to Africa to verify the expenses.

The Zimbabwe trip may be the tip of the iceberg:

From January 2003 to February 2004, department leaders traveled to six national conventions, including trips to Las Vegas and Reno, Nev. In most cases, the same four officials made the trips: Hoffler, Woodfin, Bradbery and Caison.

Six national conventions in 13 months? What great new ideas came from all this travel? How is it that agency morale apparently plummeted during this period of lavish conventioneering?

Someday, someone working for a Virginia Governor will recognize the money-pit scam that is convention and seminar travel by state employees, especially top brass. It’s definitely not just a Game and Inland Fisheries thing. High-flying state government muck-a-mucks could learn more by doing Google searches or just walking around their agencies, but they’d rather gush about all the great “networking” that went on at the Reno conference.

Update: Addison over at Sic Semper Tyrannis has more.

Today, The Washington Post expanded on the Kaine taxpayer relief proposals. There was no reference to rising assessments “running up tax bills” that was featured in the Chris Jenkin L. Jenkins story that ran yesterday. In today’s coverage by Peter Whoriskey there is a four part tax relief program and reference to two others related to transportation:

1. No assessment on additions and rehabilitations of residential units for 15 years
2. Homestead exemption by municipal governments
3. Fully fund the state’s share of school costs
4. No unfunded mandates
5. No raiding of the transport trust fund
6. Fair allocation of the transport funds

We did a mini-poll and most said: “If he can do that he has my vote.”
These mini-ideas may address the “tax payer revolt” but it does not address the need for Fundamental Changes to address future reality.

The first and second ideas are good ones if a fair way can be found to keep them from becoming another subsidy for those at the top of the economic food chain which is what has happened to the federal mortgage interest writeoff.

The next four are proposals that should have been implemented years ago. In fact it is hard to justify reelecting anyone now in office at the state level since they failed to help secure passage of these simple, good government initiatives 20, 10 or 2 years ago.

The future is a bigger concern. Functional government costs money. Dysfunctional government costs more money. These ideas suggest how some who are complaining about taxes might pay less. They do not address who pays more to cover the cost of current dysfunctions or for the future expansion of state, regional and community needs if current trends continue. They do not address how to lower the demand for services. The other parts of a tax relief program may come later but one is just political rhetoric without the others.

There is another question: Where have all the bloggers gone? No one responded to either Bacons challenge on the Kilgore review of Kaine or EMR’s request to spread the word on Barnie’s “solution” for “relief” from rising assessments.

Is everyone so concerned about defending some party or some candidate that they are unwilling to admit that the whole system is without clothes?

As Steve Canyon’s buddy was want to say: What Occurs?

EMR

Barnie, I went to that Michael Shear article in the Washington Post that you referenced below. I was hoping to get the names of “Potts’ campaign advisors” who “privately” are “pleased as punch” at their man’s good publicity.

I found no names. These guys are commenting on deep background!

Surely, Barnie, you can name some of these shadowy figures. The next Joe Trippi might be among them. They wouldn’t be preserving their political viability by remaining anonymous, would they? You’re our “go-to” guy on Potts. Please shine some light on these happy warriors.

Bloggers: Here is another mission concerning the Kaine vs Kilgore political rhetoric. In today’s front page Metro Section coverage of the Kaine “launch” there is reference to the fact that Kaine is going to help homeowners upset by higher real estate assessments. “Some increases would drive up tax bills by more than 20 percent.”

Please refer to the post below “INFORMATION PLEASE, BARNIE” for what seems to be an existing cure, if the public were aware of it. In reading the end of the Post story it is clear Kaine, Kilgores’s staff, the Post writer, his editors and professor Holsworth of VCU are all at sea.

The sooner we clear away this sort of political underbrush and let the candidates articulate how they plan to balance land use generated travel demand with transportation system capacity and other fact based issues, the better we will all be.

For a good review of the failure to address transortation reality including the fact that building more roads (regardless of where the money comes from) without fundamental change in human settlement pattern see Jim Bacon’s Pavlov’s Pols in the current Bacons Rebellion.

EMR

Bloggers, The greatest power of the blogging community is to subject the claims of politicians and the press to close scrutiny. We now have an excellent example before us.

The Kilgore campaign has attacked Tim Kaine for his record on tax increases while mayor of Richmond. According to the Kilgore crew, Kaine claimed in Roanoke today that he cut taxes for the city of Richmond — but, in fact, he raised them. In a report released today, the Kilgore campaign argues that while city council may have cut property tax rates, rising assessments meant that tax bills actually rose. It’s a legitimate point if true… in context… and doesn’t leave out pertinent exculpatory material.

The blogging community needs to analyze and either verify or reject charges like these. If the Kilgore campaign has a legitimate point, we can help validate it. If campaign researchers are playing fast and loose with the facts, we should hurl the charges back at them. I have read the the document, “Tim Kaine – Day of Deception” and found it — once you cut through the high-pitched rhetoric — to be a reasonable recitation of facts. But will it withstand the examination of the bloggers?

Rep. Bobby Scott! An interesting item from The Hill newspaper covering Congress notes that 40 members of Congress carry at least $10,000 worth of credit card debt — at a time the House is considering a measure that would give banks and credit card companies expanded powers to seek repayment from debtors who file bankruptcy.

Reports The Hill: “The lawmaker reporting the highest credit-card debt was Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), who noted that in 2003 he had between $80,000 and $175,000 spread across seven credit cards.”

Barnie:

Some time ago you responded to a point made on this blog that I thought indicated that municipalities could not ride up property assesments to raise taxes. Fauquier’s budget is up 21% with no tax rate increase because of new assesments. I must have misunderstood your point. Could you re run it please.

(All this partisan political snipping and sniping has two impacts: Do not bother to vote and it takes up space that could be devoted to facts.)

Thank you

EMR

In Friday’s edition of the Washington Times, “Democrats: GOP rift spells gains in the House” talks of Virginia Democrats who are aiming to capitalize on the Republican Party’s recent split over tax increases; as a result they are putting up more candidates this year for the House races.

In response, the Speaker of the House of Delegates, Bill Howell, is quoted saying:

“We are a team. We are united…” “[The tax fight] is behind us.”

Hello? Earth to Speaker Howell: Please stop listening to the Kilgore campaign propaganda and start talking to the conservative wing of your Party.

A few days ago I wondered why certain controversies in state government were reported without seeking or printing any comment from the Governor’s office. The example I used came from Washington Post and Richmond Times-Dispatch articles on the current flap over management in the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Now the RT-D is at it again.

Today their front page is again about Game and Inland Fisheries, but this time with a Freedom of Information Act focus. A couple waged a long battle with the agency for information and along the way picked up indications of questionable expenditures and activities, including the now infamous safari to Zimbabwe.

Once again, no comment from the Governor’s office and no indication that the Governor’s office was even aware of the long-running battle, including lawsuits, involving citizens and an executive agency.

Am I crazy to think that the Governor’s views on this might be relevant? Why doesn’t anyone ask?

One person I hope to hear from on the FOIA angle is our own Becky Dale.

I’m afraid I must take exception with our friend Barnie Day regarding a recent column of his in the Agusta Free Press. He says:

Members of the flat-earth wing of the party – those on the far right, those who insist that you can build roads without money, who profess disdain for big government but grow it every chance they get, those who want government off our backs but want the government peeping into our bedroom windows and looking over our shoulders whenever we’re in our libraries, those who don’t mind mixing government and religion, so long as it is the right religion, those who prefer borrow and spend to tax and spend –

Hold on, Barnie–that’s an awfully broad brush you’re using to paint your analogy. I never thought of myself as a member of the flat-earth wing of the party, but that surely beats being a bleeding-heart liberal…

There is a major disconnect in what Barnie says, so let me set the record straight:

1. I don’t want to build roads without money. Rather I want them to stop raiding the transportation fund and allocate the existing money where the roads are needed. Remember the Coalfield Expressway Barnie? And while we’re at it, stealing a bit less from NOVA would be nice too–instead of only returning less than half-a-dollar we send to Richmond, how about giving us back let’s say 75 cents? That could build an awful lot of roads up here.
   
2. I truly disdain big government and I’ve repeatedly chastised members of the VRP who advocate big government. Unfortunately, there are a bunch of RINOs in the General Assembly, a number of which are former Democrats who switched parties just to stay in office.
3. I don’t want government peeping into my bedroom and those who do are RINOs (see point No. 2 above).
4. I don’t want government looking over my shoulder in the library, either. (Tell me Barnie do you still have use for public libraries? I haven’t set foot in one since the 1970s, although I admit that I use their free online services offerings.)
   
5. I don’t want to mix government and religion, but I also know that our country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and I’m not about to start dismantling every display of the 10 Commandments or erase the “In God We Trust” tag on every dollar bill.

Barnie, you really need to stop believing the liberal propaganda you keep on reading. It’s your wing of the political spectrum that keeps on telling us that we should be more understanding and more tolerant of other people. So how about having a cool one and become a bit more tolerant and understanding of conservatives?

SurveyUSA conducted a statewide poll for WSLS-TV in Roanoke. Based on the responses of 493 voters, with a margin of error of 4.5 percent, the survey found:

Kilgore…..46 percent
Kaine…….36 percent
Potts……. 6 percent

Delving into the details, there were a number of interesting findings. The gender gap lives… Kilgore led Kaine among men by 19 percent, but only 3 percent among women. But Republicans are making inroads among minorities… Kilgore performed respectably among blacks, logging 23 percent, and extraordinarily well among Hispanics, racking up 52 percent, the same as whites. (Given the small number of Hispanics in the survey, however, there may be a fairly large margin of error in that particular number.)

The more educated the voter, the more likely he or she was to prefer Kaine, who actually topped Kilgore among voters with graduate degrees. Likewise, voters from the “Northeast” part of the state (I presume that includes Northern Virginia) preferred Kaine by a 8 percent margin, while Kilgore trounced Kaine in his own backyard (Central Virginia) by a 25 percent margin.

Potts, at this point, does not seem to be a major factor, draining 5 percent of the Republican vote, 4 percent of the Democratic vote and 11 percent of the independent vote. By ideology, Potts pulls mainly from self-described “moderates” (7 percent) and “liberals” (7 percent) but few “conservatives” (3 percent).

For those tarot card readers who thought Governor Mark Warner might not be all that enthralled by Tim Kaine’s campaign to succeed him, the Governor’s office has announced that he will join Kaine at kick-off events in Herndon, Norfolk, and Richmond on March 16th.

Someone will probably try to read something into the fact that they won’t be together in Southwest Virginia.

Update: That didn’t take long. Commonwealth Conservative is reading it exactly as predicted. He’s also got news of a poll showing Kilgore leading Kaine by 10 points even as Russ Potts grabs 6%. That’s more than I thought Potts would ever get, so I tip my hat to Barnie Day, driver of the “Briar Patch,” the Potts bandwagon.