Augusta County Republican Mass Meeting 2011...

The Augusta County Republican mass meeting went on last night without the "Disruptive Catalyst" that has haunted it in the past and the 202 registered voters chose Richard Homes as the Republican candidate for Augusta County Treasurer....

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Augusta County Treasurer Richard Homes was nominated by the eligible voters at the mass meeting as the Augusta County Republican candidate for the upcoming election.

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Jason Bibeau challenged Richard Homes for the Augusta County Treasurer Republican nomination and brought many people to the Augusta mass meeting along with several ideas to improve the position. Even after not winning the nomination, Bibeau called for and received party unity and support for the Republican candidate. I have known Jason for years while volunteering for local political events and even with being on "different sides of the fence" on some issues, Jason and I have always been able to have constructive and beneficial discussions. I applaud him for stepping up and bringing new ideas to the election process... Good job...

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Jamie Radtke was also in attendance and spoke to the 225 people at the mass meeting during the election process. She did a great job and spoke with many Republicans concerning what is going on in D.C. at this time....

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Virginia State Senator Emmett Hanger....

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Virginia Delegate Dickie Bell....

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Augusta County Sheriff Randy Fisher....

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Jobs to be had but no workers because of the e-verify program?....

It turns out that there have been several States with plenty of jobs and work to be had only to be prevented from hiring eager workers due to the faulty e-verify program required by law. Georgia farmers have already found themselves short of workers to harvest their crops once ready and many of their crops rotting in the fields....

In Georgia, crops are rotting in the fields because migrant workers aren't there to pick them.

"We don't have a workforce," said Bryan Tolar, the president of the Georgia Agribusiness Council, a group that represents about 700 farmers and agricultural businesses in that state. "Where are we supposed to get it?"

It turns out there have been numerous problems with the e-verify program resulting in many migrant workers moving on to other States that are not required to use the program for identification to obtain the job....

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Here in Virginia we are also quickly approaching harvest time in many agriculture zones and will there be manual\seasonal labor to do the work? The obvious problem will be if we do not have this seasonal labor to do the work due to the faulty e-verify program, crops and the farming community will suffer as well as the consumer in higher produce prices....

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Fishing the Wall..... Florida Keys

Had the opportunity to fish with Captain Jim Sharpe aboard the SeaBoots which is the sportfishing boat that I worked on while spending my time in the Florida Keys back in the 90's...

Jim was running a "family" trip offshore with friends from the area which also included 3 of the better Captains in the Keys so there was plenty of local knowledge and experience on the boat.

30 miles south of Summerland Key is an area called "Woods Wall" where the water depth goes from 800 feet to almost 1,900 in less than a half mile. Very large drop off and favorite place to find LARGE fish such as Marlin and Swordfish. While catching Dolphin mahi-mahi we had two 300-400 Blue Marlin come in chasing the Dolphin...

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If we really wanted to lower the unemployment rate and put Americans to work.....

Written by IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates and IHS Global Insight, the study shows that increasing the pace of permitting in the Gulf would boost employment opportunities in almost every state, enhance tax and royalty revenues, and help stabilize America’s energy security.



Specifically, the study shows that aligning the permitting process with the industry’s production capacity could result in:

230,000 American jobs;
More than $44 billion in US gross domestic product;
Nearly $12 billion in tax and royalty revenues for state and federal treasuries; and
$15 million reduction in the amount the US sends to foreign governments.


And that’s by the end of 2012.

Florida Keys & Key West ~2011~

Outside of the Customs House

In Key West is a very large statue of the "Dance at Bougival" from the painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir that attracts much attention due it's size and location in old town Key West....

Ronald Reagan once quoted: "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

Had the opportunity to go out on a half day trip aboard the SeaBoots Sportfishing charterboat out of Summerland Key which I fortunately worked on during my years spent in the Florida Keys. Captain\owner Jim Sharpe was taking some local friends out to look for some Dolphin mahi-mahi and graciously offered a chance to fish the waters of the Keys once again...

Spent my five days in the Keys with an old friend who is the Captain\Owner of the Compass Rose Light Tackle Sportfishing fleet and with that got to play with many of the features of the two boats he now operates.... It is common practice to take my vacation during the "Slow season" in the Keys but Capt. Mike Weinhofer was booked the whole week I was there while many other boats sat idle. This I know is the result of the 21 years that Capt. Mike has been fishing in the Florida Keys and making connections with sportfishermen who continue to return to the Keys and Compass Rose year after year.

God Bless America... Kate Smith

Fort Hancock ~Sandy Hook~ NJ....

Trip up to New Jersey last week with a stop out on Sandy Hook to visit Fort Hancock...http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/37hancock/37hancock.htm

Where is John Galt?....

CNN Reporter asks Racist Question....