Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain

Edit: Enough with the name calling in the comments. Say whatever you want, but keep jerk, idiot, and all other names out or your post and on the playground where they belong.

I have received several emails from readers that want to know who I am. For my own job security and safety, I cannot divulge that information. However, I will confirm the following facts about myself:

• I am a middle aged man.
• My political views typically align with the libertarians, but I lean to the left on a lot of issues.
• I am not employed in the law enforcement community.

Regardless, my identity isn't the important thing. It's the issues! I welcome anonymous posts for the simple reason that I respect everyone's right to privacy.

Keep those comments and emails coming, and recommend this blog to all your friends!

Right Wingnut Agrees With Left Wingnut

I read Tom McLaughlin's opinion piece with great interest every week. More often than not I agree with him, but I found this week's article especially interesting. He received an email in which an admittedly 'conservative' reader agreed with his previous article concerning the pending Ag Development tax cut.

I'm glad both sides of the aisle are able to see this thing as a huge mistake, not only for the reasons McLaughlin pointed out (they have no idea how much it will cost), but for the reason his emailer brought up. Anyone that thinks this isn't a ploy by our Board to cut their own taxes needs to pull their head out of the sand. Tom should poll the Board members asking them how much they stand to save on their personal tax bill if this measure passes. Those numbers would probably astound Halifaxians to the point of revolt. I will go out on a limb and say that if all the supervisors who's tax bill would be lowered by such a change were forced to forgo their vote we would only have a couple of supervisors voting. I don't know about the rest of you, but that sounds immoral and illegal to me.

The problem is that no one will ever ask the questions that need to be asked. Neither of our newspapers will step up, and if we're waiting for our supervisors to forfeit their votes on the grounds of conflicts of interest we'd all be waiting until the end of time.

We've put the foxes in charge of the hen house, my friends!

Thine Supes Taketh Away, Then Giveth Back

What the Hell?

The Board of Supervisors originally cut the IDA's budget, but this week they decided to give them $43,000 back for the office manager position. What brought on such a unanimous decision?

You can read The News & Record's report here, but don't be expecting too many details.

A Picture Worth Sharing

I ran across this picture today and couldn't suppress a hearty belly laugh (and I have plenty belly). I don't think people want to somehow attach a grasp of the English language to citizenship. How many natural born Americans could pass the English portion of the GED test?

It's the Ecomomic Stimulus Check Again, Stupid

I've been ravenously reading the blogosphere for all opinions on the recent ecomonic stimulus checks being sent to almost all citizens. This essay seems to sum up the mess our economy is in, and how and why this band aid will not fix things:

Apparently, the U.S. Treasury’s gift is supposed to send my wife and me off to the nearest big box store for a flat screen TV. Or perhaps we’ll celebrate the bonus with dinner at a restaurant littered with black-and-white photos of yesteryear. Inspired by the Lassie-era pictures, we’ll toast to new beginnings, to economic stimulation — and to stuff!

Please go read the entire essay and the comments. I think most of it is right on target.

IDA, How Will Ye Screw Us This Time?

So the IDA is finally getting around to searching for a replacement for Mike Eades, who left April 2. Remember his exit? The county was contractually obligated to provide his family with health insurance after he left? With contracts like that, we'd all be better off without an IDA.

The board, in it's first stroke of common sense, considered performing the search for a new director without hiring a consultant. Too bad they ignored the common sense idea and decided to hire a consultant. I guess none of the members wanted to actually peruse the resumes to see who was qualified.

So far, they're holding on to their second stroke of common sense and insisting that the new contract include some performance parameters. Let's hope that they don't screw that up and dumb down the parameters so that a monkey could do the job.

My question to the board is this: What is Interim Director Patsy Vaughan doing so wrong and why can't she be given the full time job? True, she hasn't produced the jobs the IDA promises session after session, but their high priced hired guns haven't excelled at producing jobs, either.

My rating for the IDA so far this year: Zero stars. That old Janet Jackson song comes to mind, "What Have You Done for Me Lately?"

Happy (Belated) Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day! I hope everyone was able to enjoy the great weather we had yesterday. I wanted to post this yesterday, but the family and I had been on a short vacation for the last few days.

Take the time to let a vet know you appreciate them!