129,864,880.

Now you know.

Lynn Mitchell has just about the best one-post resource in Virginia for filing your Notice of Intent forms for home schoolers.

Gee, ya think?!

Of course, this doesn’t remove some of the questions of McDonald’s lobbying activities in Richmond, but by and large… ’tis the law.  The time for Newport News City Council to fix this problem is during the budget cycle.

Third party (and so-called Tea Party challenger) Jeff Clark’s position on abortion is slightly to the left of Tom Perriello:

Clark, the independent candidate who said he has received flack from some Republican supporters over his decision to enter the race, has expressed his belief that women should have access to an abortion if they become pregnant due to a sexual assault or if there is medical emergency for the mother.

“I don’t think the government should fund abortions even in those cases, but there should be some leeway in a woman’s right to choose,” Clark said. “I also think it should be coupled with counseling for the entire family.”

Some leeway?  Counselling?  How’s about having the guts to say that anyone who advocates killing babies in the womb is automatically disqualified from public office?

Disgusting.  The article is worth reading if the right to life is of any deep concern to you as a voter in VA-05.

Want a quick insight as to how bad the VRS really is? Multiply this experience by however many six-figure public servants you have in Virginia — local and state — and it’s a good picture of what’s to come.

The severance includes 12 months of salary, equating a gross payment of $128,750; and full payment for accrued vacation time, equaling $12,627.60.

…

Terpenny will also receive employee sick-leave divestiture for the next 10 years, starting next month. Payments will begin in the amount of $1,050.66 per month, beginning Sept. 1 and lasting until a final payment of $1,050.86 on Aug. 1, 2020. That adds up to an additional $126,000.

Plus this guy is the new town manager in Floyd, Virginia — an additional $50,000 a year.  But, of course, this gentleman is only playing by the rules of the game.

All at taxpayer expense.

Now wouldn’t it be cool to have a group of American — or even Virginian — politicians and public figures sign something similar?

During the 10th Meeting of Colombian Governors, 30 governors, Mayor Samuel Moreno of Bogota and other top administration officials, singed a public agreement to, among other things, defend the right to life of the country’s unborn children.

The non-binding document recognizes the obligation of the family, society and the government to assist and protect children. It also reiterates the four fundamental principles of the Convention on the Rights of Children: non-discrimination, devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child.

Sure… it’s non-binding.  Sometimes you have to take those first steps before you walk.  Now isn’t a bad time to demand leadership when it comes to protecting human life.  Either stand up or sit down…

Because you know this joke had to be made:

Awesome.

Oh noes! Geithner says unemployment is going to go up in the short term?!?!  Well of course it is:

“When they see a little hope that there may be jobs out there, they start to come back in again. And that can cause the measured unemployment rate to go up — temporarily,” Geithner told “Good Morning America’s” George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview. “But what we expect to see, and I think most forecasters expect this…is an economy that’s gradually healing, gradually strengthening, businesses starting to add people back.”

Of course, this is a quick reminder that unemployment rates don’t effectively translate into those-out-of-work rates.  Unemployment only ticks up because those who are not working are attempting to find jobs again… which gives credence to the real figure of between 16-19%.

Solution?  Certainly not to end the Bush tax cuts… you’re talking about a $3 trillion drain on capital and credit should that occur, one that will stall any recovery.

Hopefully the policy wonks won’t let politics interfere with economic theory — however unsound I may believe Keynesian economics to be, this is precisely how you recover from a crisis of credit such as the one we’ve experienced thus far.

Holidays in Mongolia aren’t much different than any given holiday in Central Virginia.  We all go out, go hunting, have about a quart of arkhi to get drunk stay warm, and find some local varmint to shoot:

The first thing you’ll want to do is get fantastically drunk; Exceptionally so. There are many ways to achieve this, but for those seeking authenticity, a quart of fermented horse milk vodka, arkhi, will do the trick. After this, hunting and pursuing your prey will go much smoother (or if not smoother, perhaps more enjoyable). That’s just where those berries come in handy—acquire a decent sized handful, place them under a box held up with stick tied to a string—just like you saw in those roadrunner cartoons. Should this take too long, mount up and blast the varmint with a rifle, Yosemite Sam style.

Frankly, looking at the pictures, these guys know how to make a meal…