RPV Advance ~2009~ and a 7-eleven with SCUBA access!!...

Had the opportunity to attend the breakfast session today of the RPV Advance being held in Williamsburg, VA. before coming back over the mountain to find five inches of SNOW in the Shenandoah Valley...

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While driving to Williamsburg this morning I had a chance to listen to "The Speech" by Ronald Reagan that he did back in 1964...

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For those of you who know this speech you know that many parts of it applies to the situation we are in once again and understand why many say this is the speech that launched Ronald Reagan's political career...

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"They knew that governments don't control things. A government can't control the economy without controlling people. And they know when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. They also knew, those Founding Fathers, that outside of its legitimate functions, government does nothing as well or as economically as the private sector of the economy."...

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Another interesting aspect of this speech is how closely it resembles the conservative beliefs of the then 2009 Republican Candidates and now elected Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and Delegates that "Sweep-ed" Richmond and the Shenandoah Valley...

The voters of Virginia were obviously seeking proven conservative beliefs and principles during this past election and that is why Virginia is RED once again...

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"The Speech is available here and is well worth listening to it again...

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After the breakfast I took a ride down to Norfolk to check out the surf and found the "Ultimate 7-Eleven" along the beach with SCUBA access just 15 feet behind the building!

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Incredibly the bulkhead is just 15 feet behind the building and easy access could be made with a "Giant Stride" or "Jersey Roll" during high tide...

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Walk out to the beach found a good 20-25kt wind out of the Northeast, less than 6 inches of Vis,
3 to 4 foot breakers on the beach, and cold water temp...

Typical Jersey diving conditions...

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Hard to see in this photo but there was much apparent damage to the fishing pier on the horizon looking South...
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Times have gotten rough...

A seagull in Point pleasant Beach, NJ has developed the habit of stealing Doritos from a neighborhood convenience store.

The seagull waits until the manager isn't looking, and then walks into the store and grabs a snack-size bag of cheese Doritos.

Once outside, the bag gets ripped open and shared by other birds.

The seagull's shoplifting started early this month when he first swooped into the store in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ, and helped himself to a bag of Doritos. Since then, he's become a regular. He always takes the same type of chips.

The manager thinks it's great because people are coming to watch the feathered thief make the daily grab and run, and that's good for business, and especially since customers have begun paying for the seagull's stolen bags of Doritos because they think it's so funny.

However, the manager did say, 'This is New Jersey , and if that seagull starts to grab a 6-pack of 'Bud' to go along with the Doritos, I may have to put a stop to it.'

End of the sign season ~2009~...

Today brought the end of the ~2009~ Sign Campaign season with the removal of the GOP campaign signs from "The Barn" just South of Harrisonburg on route 81...

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Great location and always had motorist blaring their horns when we were there adding or moving campaign signs during the season. We were once asked how many people went by that barn and here is the best estimate I could find...

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From the VDOT website it is reported that on average 44,000 vehicles travel along route 81 at this location with "The Barn" being visible from both directions of traffic. Campaign signs for McDonnell \ Bolling \ Cuccinelli went up on July 10th until November 25th for a total of 138 days...

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44,000 avg. vehicles each day, 138 days, exposure to 6,072,000 vehicles...

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David... Great location, well run campaigns, impressive Candidates,

OUTSTANDING Results !!!

Now that was fun...

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"Money for Nothing?"....

YankeePhil had an interesting take on the $300 million that Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) now has for her state after coming up with her much needed vote this week on the health care bill, but it appears this Democratic Senator is not the only one getting a nice payoff for her efforts...

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Donald Lambro has a outstanding article in the Washington Times regarding the $787 BILLION spending package that has also come out of the Obama administration and where that money is being found...

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This article shows that Senator Mary Landrieu's (D-LA) Louisiana is getting more than the $300 Million that she just got for holding out on her vote until the last moment...

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"In Louisiana, for example, the administration's Recovery.org Web site shows that nearly $5 million went to the state's 8th Congressional District, $2.8 million was spent in the 22nd District, $1.8 million in the 32nd District, and other monies spent in the 26th, 45th, 14th, 32nd and, inexplicably the 00 district. But Louisiana only has seven congressional districts."

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Next time you see that AARP commercial who now supports the President's Health care package, think of how they did not support this package in the beginning but do now...

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"Powerful Washington special interests who pocketed big checks from the stimulus bill included the AARP, which reaped $18.2 million, and then endorsed the president's health care plan. The National Council of La Raza, an immigrant rights advocacy group, got $156,620; a fund for the Service Employees International Union, one of the president's biggest union backers, got $265,136; the liberal Urban Institute received $1.443 million; and National Public Radio got $50,000."

Beach Damage ~Mantaloking Beach NJ~ 2009

Photos came in today from the Rescue Scuba Dive team up in New Jersey of the damage from the recent storm that went up the coast this weekend...

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Additional photos and Team website at Point Pleasant Rescue Dive Team...

National Review: Bob McDonnell...

Just got my copy of this month's National Review and there is a great article on Bob McDonnell and "What Won Virginia" that is well worth the read...

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Its on page 16 of the November 23 issue and if you dont have it you need to get this and read it...

If you are looking to keep up with that debt...

www.bigredcalculator.com

Homebuyer Fraud?...

The numbers are starting to come in from the recent "Government assistance" program where "eligible" first-time home buyers were able to get $8,000 credit that also could be turned into a check from the IRS...

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The problem being that there is always abuse to government programs like this and this program is no different. Kevin Hassett over at Bloomberg.com has some interesting information and data that shows how yet another government program is being abused and how this form of "Stimulus" will cost the honest taxpayer in the end...

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"At issue was a credit for first-time homebuyers enacted in 2008 and significantly expanded in this year’s plan to jumpstart the economy. It gives a refund from Uncle Sam of 10 percent of the purchase price of a home, up to $8,000. The credit is refundable, so individuals who owed no tax at all could receive a tidy $8,000 check from the Internal Revenue Service."

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One of the problems being that nobody was checking to see if the "first time buyers" were actually first time and if they were eligible for this program.

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"That’s right: Congress passed a law that made it possible to have the IRS mail you a check for $8,000 if you claimed you were a first-time homebuyer. That’s all you had to do -- assert that you deserved the credit. The IRS didn’t require you to provide proof that your claim was genuine before your check was put in the mail. Sound like a recipe for fraud?"

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How easy was it to make a claim for credit?

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"Did you forget to buy a house before claiming the credit? Not a problem. “We identified more than 19,300 electronically filed 2008 tax returns on which taxpayers claimed the First-Time Homebuyer Credit for a home which had not yet been purchased,” reported J. Russell George, the U.S. Treasury inspector general for tax administration, who testified about his department’s investigation."

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Maybe this was just a paperwork mistake? These people did not have the chance to close on the house yet but wanted to start the claim procedure right away? People would not take advantage of another government "hand-out" program and abuse the honest taxpayer would they?

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"Were you unable to purchase a home because you haven’t finished preschool and don’t know how to read the forms? Not a problem. George cited the “more than 580 taxpayers younger than 18 years of age who claimed almost $4 million in First-Time Homebuyer Credits. The youngest taxpayers receiving the credit were 4-years-old.”...

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Remember those $2,500 debit cards the government was handing out without keeping track of who was eligible or how many times they took in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina?...

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You really want these guys running your healthcare program and taxing you to make it "fair" for everybody?...

So why are we paying this guy?!?!.....

So why are we paying this Guy?

Virginia Governor and DNC Chief Tim Kaine is off in Little Rock Ark. at a $250 a plate DNC fundraiser while his home state, Virginia, is experiencing flooding in many areas.

At least he was closer to the Commonwealth of Virginia when he declared a "State of Emergency" for Tim Kaine was in Memphis Tenn when he did that...

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It seems the Democratic Governor of Virginia feels it more important to be off in Arkansas hosting the $250 plate fundraiser instead of dealing with stated emergencies in the state that he represents...

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So why are we paying this guy?...

155,000 in Virginia without power...

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Norfolk flooded with 8 inches of rain...

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Flooding closes bridges in Virginia...

"Yo, Vinny"....