The RoanokeSlant

Roanoke Times, 7/28/05, Pg 1: Tech slips in research spending ranking. Including a graphic showing-spending going from 160 million in 1999 to 270 million in 2004.
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Spending increases of 100 million in 5 years and VT is "slipping". Apparently an INCREASE in $20 MILLION per year on a base of $200 MILLION, or 10% per year, is a problem!
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Nowhere in the article is there mention of output, or performance, or yield, or productivity, or value-add or patents files, or anything they might lead one to consider why the budget isn't being cut 10% a year!
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Why aren't the results of this investment in research the criteria for comparrison?
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If Ms. Z at the RT was increasing spending at 10% per year for 5 years and presented no visible results one might wonder how the owners might respond!
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Prior items:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/03/vt-costs-skyrocketing.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/27/05, Pg Va 8: A number of studies show that capping damage awards on malpractice lawsuits will do little or nothing to lower insurance premiums.
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The Editor using lots of ink to support Sen. Edwards and the trial lawyers lobby.
It's probably easy to find studies supporting these ambulance chasers who are making multi-millions as Sen. Edwards has done.
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However, anyone who has been associated with medical practice as an employee, a patient or a close observer has seen overwhelming evidence and examples of tests and procedures that are clearly used to avoid the "hindsight" of a medical malpractice law suite.
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Malpractice insurance costs have driven many doctors out of many fields in may areas, including delivery of babies.
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If The Editor and his friends are so sure that medical malpractice insurance is such a good deal, and that multimillion awards are not a problem, why don't they start an insurance business and underwrite these policies. Perhaps they can get Sen. Edwards to be the first CFO.
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/06/fda-and-quality-of-life.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/27/05, Pg A 9: Jewish extremists call for death of Prime Minister Sharon. They want to disrupt the Gaza pullout. Extremists did assassinate Prime Minister Rabin in 1995.
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The Jewish religious extremists in Israel have proved themselves to be very dangerous. The connection to groups in the USA is not clear.
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Within the USA, Meir Kahane's JDL has been in the news as an activist organization and had significant visibility for their paramilitary training camp in the Catskill mountains.
Ref: The Times Herald-Record, June, 28, 1998, Sullivan Co., Middletown, NY
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http://www.adl.org/extremism/jdl_chron.asp#top
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Roanoke Times, 7/27/05, Pg A 12: Senate votes 98 to 0 to allow Boy Scouts to utilize government property, the same as other youth organizations.
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Roanoke Times, 7/27/05, Pg Va 5: Senate lets Scouts use military bases.
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The Senate has finally stood-up to the ACLU and the homosexual activists. These groups have discriminated against the Boy Scouts because they have resisted having "openly activist" gays as scout leaders and their oath includes God as a key entity.
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Prior items:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/06/diocese-to-pay-victims.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/23/05, Pg Va 7: A budget surplus that really isn't.
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The Editor using lots of ink to explain that the massive state surplus caused by the old tax rate plus the new tax rate is not a surplus. "All of the supposed $544 million surplus is already spoken for".
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Of course it's already spoken for -- did you ever see a state bureaucracy that couldn't come up with a half-Billion dollars of absolutely needed government funding? That's what they do! They spend taxpayers money!
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"Rainy-day fund drained by poor fiscal management of previous governors."
No, that's not it! Would you like to guess again?
The previous governors formed and funded the rainy-day fund so that it was there when we needed it for the Clinton recession followed by 911.
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By the way, how could the media have gone through the 2000 election bragging about the Clinton economy when the economy was dropping through the floor? Talk about a major media cover-up. Click on the link to see "the" data the media wouldn't share:
www.roanokeslant.org/ClintonRecession.jpg
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/06/tax-hikes-for-surplus.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/23/05, Pg A 2: The UN says it will cost $1.2 BILLION to overhaul the 39-story building in NYC.
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Three thoughts come to mind.
One: this would be a good time to cut our UN dues in-half.
Two: this would be an excellent time for the UN to move to anyplace else.
Three: Trump should buy the building and make it into a useful facility.
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/06/cut-un-money-in-half.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/23/05, Pg 1: Extensive article with forest pictures showing an area before logging and another showing an area after logging.
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Preserve or plunder! Apparently The Editor is having a problem with environmental bi-polar disorder. In the old days this use to be called "yellow journalism".
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There need not be plunder in the management of forests. Perhaps some folks should take some courses on the subject at Virginia Tech or one of the other good land-grant colleges.
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Certainly a logged area doesn't look very nice for a few years. A cornfield doesn't look too nice after the corn is picked either. Harvesting lumber is no different than harvesting other materials except for the recovery time.
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There is no reality in the concept of "saving" growing things. Living things are either busy growing or they are busy dying. Before the dying process makes things unusable they should be harvested. It's long past time that we put Joyce Kilmer to bed and utilize instead good forest management practices.
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Access roads give lots of folk's access to public property. No access roads limits the woodland experience to less than one-tenth of one-percent of the public who paid for, owns and supports the public lands. Access roads also provide fire-breaks and fire fighting access. It's time for the elitist snobs to stop manipulating public property for their own ideological agenda.
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Roanoke Times, 7/22/05, Pg Va 6: Hillary in a swivet after video game players uncovered sex-oriented stuff in a video game.
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Swivet -- interesting word. Microsoft Word doesn't know what it means.
Rumor has it that the sex-oriented stuff in the video game involves someone named Bill that looks and acts a lot like her family member.
In that case swivet probably means "not happy again".
Isn't it interesting that Hillary wasn't keyed-off by the violence, car theft, and killing of police.
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Roanoke Times, 7/22/05, Pg A3: Large picture of Ted Kennedy posing with Judge Roberts as part of initial senate confirmation process.
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What a pathetic sight. Ted Kennedy, a person of questionable ethics and morality will have a significant say in Judge Roberts confirmation.
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Shouldn't he just now be getting out of jail for the abandonment and death of Mary Jo Kopechne? What a sad sack!
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Makes one wonder about the state of the union and who should be judging whom?
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Roanoke Times, 7/20/05, Pg Va 8: A lengthy editorial titled: Patriotism is not blind and docile.
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This appears to be an interesting justification by The Editor for his AlJazeera view of our war on terrorism and his DNC view of politics and his left-wing view of economic and social issues.
He even jumps to the defense of George Soros, the guy who blatantly disregarded the intent of election finance reform and gave 25 million dollars to defeat Bush (as if Soros needs The Editors support).
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I have no doubt that The Editor is Patriotic and loves this country. He just has an incredibility strange way of expressing it in the Roanoke Times. Perhaps some balance and some fairness would be appropriate for one who professes to be in the "news" business.
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Looking over the many items in this blog that relate to the slant of The Editor and his associates one might wonder if he and his editorial staff are actually unable to achieve a balanced view. Perhaps it has something to do with the environment at the RT or the recruiting process or something else. But whatever it is, it is not in the best interests of the patrons of the paper who truly deserve more than they're getting.
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Prior items:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/06/ax-grind-online.html
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http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/07/military-tribunals-to-proceed.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/21/05, Pg A9: Iraq constitutional proposals threaten women's rights.
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What rights did they have under Sadam to threaten? This article with a big graphic of a group of hysterical Iraqui women is such a farce.
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The new constitution will certainly give women significant improvement in their rights relative to their history. There is a cultural and religious debate relative to the extent of women's rights in the initial document and why is that a surprise?
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Apparently we (the US) had early debates about women's rights also. It seems women could not vote in this country until 1920 and then only after a long and bitter conflict that lasted from 1776 until 1920 (see reference below).
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Wouldn't it be nice if just once in a while The Editor and his associates could focus on the positive developments in Iraq instead of hawking this type of tripe.
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They're going to have more rights than they ever have had!
They have more rights than they ever have had (NOW)!
They're going to school (NOW)!
There are women in the government (NOW)!
Women can wear modern clothing (NOW)!
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Work on this list --- you're The Editor! Ask Ms. Z to help you!
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http://www.classbrain.com/artteenst/publish/article_66.shtml
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The amendment was first introduced in Congress in 1878 to give women the vote. When New York adopted woman suffrage in 1917 and when President Woodrow Wilson changed his position to support an amendment in 1918, the political balance began to shift in favor of the vote for women. On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and 2 weeks later, the Senate followed. When Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, the amendment passed its final hurdle of obtaining the agreement of three-fourths of the states. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on August 26, 1920, and the face of the American electorate changed forever.
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Roanoke Times, 7/21/05, Pg A7: Italy seeks warrants for 19 covert CIA anti-terrorism agents for participating in the "kidnapping" of radical Islamic cleric Abu Omar in Italy and shipping him back to Egypt.
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Where are the yells and outrage from The Editor and all the Plame-Wilson supporters who are so worried about "outing" a pseudo-CIA operative. These 19 agents are for real. They're not high society swingers and CIA-bureaucrats doing the nightclub scene with high profile Ambassadors in DC.
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Prior Item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/07/rove-and-reporters.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/20/05, Pg A5: Pres. Clinton in Africa lamenting the melting of polar ice and it's impacts on sea levels.
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As the article described Clinton's comments on thawing ice, for a minute there, I thought he was talking about Hillary's reaction to Monica.
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The author (editor) includes a nice jab about Bush and global warming.
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Refresh my memory, what did Clinton do during his eight years in office to stop the polar ice from melting? Oh yes, he brought back the Kyoto treaty, which was rejected by the Senate, 99 to 0.
What a major accomplishment that was!
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If only Clinton had done the right things we all could just keep doing that and everything would be grand. Talk is so cheap and Bill can really talk.
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/07/unrequited-loyalty.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/19/05, Pg 1 and Va 1: Road may have led to crash. Residents reflect on dangers of road. Four teenagers killed on Diamond Hill Road near SML. Residents question speed limit and curves.
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The Roanoke Times spent over a year lamenting that I-81 was the most dangerous road in Virginia, and perhaps in the US. Then VDOT data showed that Virginia roads, not the interstates, were a far greater problem and risk.
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My observations and data from local papers indicate that cars drifting off the pavement and onto the "shoulders" is a major issue in local driving.
It appears that, once off the pavement, the clay-based soils cause the drivers to over-steer and loose control.
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Because of significant side-hill erosion, most local rural roads wind along the tops of ridges. In the valleys they tend to wind along streams and they also have limited line of sight due to many small hills and valleys.
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Perhaps we all need to reflect on the fact that speed limits are just that. They are "limits" and each of us needs to do our part to keep driving safe.
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Roanoke Times, 7/19/05, Pg 1: Governor's grim on national ID cards.
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Almost all the comments in the article focus on the complexity, the cost and the bureaucracy of implementing this program. They're all missing the real negative point. National ID cards are the biggest risk to personal privacy since we started to use social security numbers for identification.
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My first social security card, which I still have, has clearly printed on it: "not to be used for identification". When I asked about that I was told that the restriction was federal law and was based on the abuses by Hitler's S/S in Germany.
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Of course Hitler is long gone so we clearly don't have to worry about some bad folks using a national ID card system to track down each and every one of their adversaries.
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At any rate, stuff like that couldn't happen here! Of course within his first month in office, Clinton had illegally obtained over 100 FBI files on his adversaries in Washington. But that was just a misunderstanding. He asked for them because he was going to offer some of them jobs!
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Roanoke Times, 7/18/05, Pg Va 6: The unwinnable calculus of war on terror. Insisting on a military solution to terrorism is a fundamental flaw in Bush's approach.
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The Editor once again feels compelled to tell us all the errors Bush has and is making in the war on terror. After all, how could one do anything right when fighting something that is "unwinnable
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The Editor says he knows the way to do this and has found a kindred spirit in one Robert Worley who recommends four objectives:
Reduce the probability of attacks
Reduce the potential severity of attacks
Prevent the conflict from spilling over into a wider war with Islam
Minimize and negative impact of the first two objectives on the third
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The radical terrorist Muslims have done the following to us over the last 25 years (dating back to Jimmy Malaise Carter):
o Iran Embassy Hostages, 1979;
o Beirut, Lebanon Embassy 1983;
o Beirut, Lebanon Marine Barracks 1983;
o Lockerbie, Scotland Pan-Am flight to New York 1988;
o First New York World Trade Center attack 1993;
o Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Khobar Towers Military complex 1996;
o Nairobi, Kenya US Embassy 1998;
o Dares Salaam, Tanzania US Embassy 1998;
o Aden, Yemen USS Cole 2000;
o New York World Trade Center 2001;
o Pentagon 2001.
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Note there are reports that during the period from 1981 to 2001 there were 7,581 terrorist attacks worldwide.
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Perhaps The Editor is onto something we should do -- Like:
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To reduce the probability of attack:
Establish a Dept of homeland security, pass something like a Patriot Act, coordinate and work with our allies and shut off sources of funds for the terrorists and kill as many of them as we can find before they kill us.
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To reduce the severity of attacks:
Track down weapons, especially WMD's, and those who traffic in them.
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To prevent the conflict from spilling over into a wider war with Islam:
Minimize to the extent possible the governments (like the Taliban and Sadam) that support the training and arming of radical terrorist Muslims and do business with them. (During Clinton's watch tens of thousands of terrorists were trained by the Taliban - in hindshight this was not a good thing).
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The Editor and his friends are so helpful and wise beyond their years.
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/07/we-shall-prevail.html
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This land is your land?
Roanoke Times, 7/18/05, Pg 1: Eminent Domain expanded by Supreme Court to include government seizure of private land for nonessential development purposes.
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Woody Guthrie, the 1930's left-wing singer songwriter has achieved the objectives of his song "this land is your land, this land is my land"! Karl Marx couldn't have said it better. And once again the Supreme Court has decided to legislate sweeping changes to our system. Why have the legislatures legislate? That's so slow and cumbersome and it might not be adopted. Let's just pack the Supreme Court with like-minded left-wing fellow-travelers and we can achieve our goals in no time.
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Pete Seeger, Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and other like minded folks are elated because through government agencies they can now achieve private property confiscation to achieve their goals.
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The Supreme Court has now declared that there is no such thing as "private property".
You only own it pending the government not wanting it - yet.
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What do storms in the Gulf of Mexico have to do with oil prices?
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This is just another scam --- right?
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Just look how well this BP platform in the Gulf was doing after Hurricane Dennis came through!
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Click: (use 'Back' to get back)
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http://www.roanokeslant.org/Oil%20Rig.jpg
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Roanoke Times, 7/16/05, Pg A 4: Appeals court ruling OKs military tribunal trials.
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After all the left-wing support of the AlJazeera position on this subject, the judicial system has confirmed and supported what all reasonable folks have known all along: THE TERRORISTS ARE NOT SOLDIERS AND THEREFORE ARE NOT ENTITLED TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE GENEVA CONVENTION.
The left-wing media have helped the enemy for many months by elevating the terrorist's position, supporting their claims, heaping scorn upon our military relative to the handling of these 'people' and thereby placing our folks at increased risk.
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It's as if these media jerks think this is just a political game -- it's a WAR stupid!
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Just as a reality check and as a wakeup call as to who the enemy is: why doesn't each of the left-wing "news" folk's start each day watching the video of journalist Daniel Pearl getting his head cut-off!
http://twistedzone.net/videos/acc/_54801_daniel_pearl.swf
Then, write me a note and tell me all about the bad treatment at GITMO.
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The attached blog items relate to FDR's handling of a similar situation 60 years ago and it's still just as valid today.
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/06/aljazeera-has-us-senator_09.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/16/05, Pg A 4: Rove says reporter told him name.
Rove testified to a grand jury (LAST YEAR) (WITHOUT CLAIMING EXECUTIVE PRIVILEDGE) that newsmen told him that Wilson's wife was with CIA.
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Once again The Editor, his media partners and the Democrat leadership are looking very dull. Perhaps one should get some facts before jumping on a "moving wagon". And Wilson continues to shoot himself in the foot yet again with his false accusations (at some point he's going to run out of toes!).
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This AP story supports my prior blog item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/07/rove-and-plame-wilson_14.html
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Perhaps the media might pause, take a deep breath, and then respond when real new "news" develops, instead of using Rathergate journalism. Once again the left-wing folks are so "rabid" about nailing a Bush team member that they just cannot contain themselves. What journalism school teaches this stuff? Or have they all become infected with Deaniactics?
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Prior Item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/07/rove-and-plame-wilson_14.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/14/05, Pg Va 9: Terrorism begets more terrorism by S. Parsons (op-ed). Ms Parsons makes the case that fighting back against terrorists will only result in more violence and terrorism. She calls this state-sponsored terrorism.
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The author is apparently a true pacifist. No matter what our enemies do to us, we should not respond because if we do, we then become the bad guys.
Apparently folks like the author believe that there should not be any adverse consequences for bad behavior.
This is an interesting concept and applies to the raising of children, spouse abuse, personal crimes, and national crimes and apparently even to genocide.
This concept fits well into the AlJazeera propaganda program.
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I believe Patrick Henry, first governor of Virginia, had a proper view:
"Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."
Fortunately for the world, and us, this has been our national policy for over 200 years.
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Let us not forget that history well demonstrates that: those who beat their swords into plows, will plow for those who didn't!
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Roanoke Times, 7/13/05, Pg A10: A single study is not the final word, and that is an important message.
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Kudos to The Editor for this article that emphasizes that the cause-and-effect relationship can be very difficult to determine and then prove.
We have lots of folks who are writing thesis for their graduate work and lots of others who are trying to get grant money. Very often these "studies" are simply data and not fact.
Does this mean the RT will now be changing the way they present this type of material in the future?
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/04/amplifying-bad-data.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/12/05, Pg A 8: Bush's adviser gets heat for leak.
Roanoke Times, 7/1/305, Pg 1: Bush confidant in Rove
Roanoke Times, 7/13/,05, Pg A 11: Opinions are mixed on Rove
Roanoke Times, 7/13/05, Pg Va 8: Kove should go
Roanoke Times, 7/13/05, Pg Va 9: Leakers should 'fess up
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Is there any reader of the RT that doesn't get The Editors views on Karl Rove?
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Let's review some of the key data (the formal facts have not been revealed because the grand jury investigation is ongoing) -- but let's not let "us" be limited by details like that!
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Bush said during his state of the union speech that "British intelligence" had reported that Sadam had tried to get nuclear material from someplace in Africa.
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Wilson, a member of the Clinton team, wrote an op-ed in NY Times claiming that he had gone to Africa, sent there by the White House, investigated the claim, and did not find any evidence of that claim, and that Bush had lied to the American people.
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Novak of CNN reported that Wilson's wife (a CIA operative) was involved in Wislon's trip to Africa and not the White House.
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Democrats went postal and demanded an investigation based on the premise that "outing" a "covert" CIA officer is a crime, and that it was done by the White House as retribution toward Wilson.
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Bush required all White House staff members to sign, for the special prosecutor, a waiver of their rights (and his rights) to executive privilege in this case. This would also relieve any reporters of the burden of any confidentiality that they might have discussed with a White House source. This was done almost two years ago!
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Current events: two reporters facing jail because they would not cooperate with the grand jury in the investigation. Again the "waiver of rights by all White House personnel" was highlighted. One reporter and his publication decided to cooperate and therefore he didn't go to jail.
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The other reported refused to cooperate and is in jail.
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The data that was publicly released, so far, by the reporter included emails and statements that the reporter had:
* Called Karl Rove for an interview
* Talked to Rove about the story he was writing that VP Chaney had sent Wilson to Africa and then rejected Wilson's findings and then had "outed" Wilsons wife as retribution.
* Rove told the reporter: No!, Chaney did not send Wilson to Africa, that he understood that Wilson's wife, who worked at the CIA, had sent Wilson to Africa.
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Very interesting! And this data and sequence of events are well muddled and concealed and slanted in The Editors articles.
Given this data and sequence of events it's clear that the White House was not involved in Wilson's trip, and it was the media that contacted the White House to develop this story, and that someone other than Rove determined Plame-Wilsons name and position.
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Now the real questions are:
1. Why was Wilson chosen by his wife to be the investigator to be sent to Africa?
2. What kind of nepotism is involved in this assignment?
3. What are Wilson's motives in all of this and why is he telling these stories?
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This is going to go on for a looooooooong time! Would be nice if the editor starts focusing on the available facts.
Also would be interesting for him to compare the Bush response to this problem to the way Clinton used executive privilege at every opportunity, dozens of times for each of the problems he had. He even invoked executive privilege to keep his secret service agents from testifying and he had Janet Reno stonewall appointing special prosecutors at every opportunity (REMEMBER!).
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Roanoke Times, 7/12/05, Pg A 8: Bush's adviser gets heat for leak.
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This will be THE big story for a loooooooooong time. The media originally worked very hard to make this incident a big deal by indicating that the White House was being vindictive toward Wilson. Then when reporters were being faced with jail for not cooperating with the investigation, the media concluded that it wasn't a big deal and certainly was not criminal and besides "everyone" knew who Plame-Wilson was anyway, so leave the reporters alone. Now that there's a reporter's email containing Rove's name as someone they talked to, it's a very big deal again!
The spin and the slant will be awesome, it's already started.
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Roanoke Times, 7/12/05, Pg 1: Some Parkinson's patients say drug caused compulsive gambling. Lawyers file lawsuit.
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Parkinson's is a devastating affliction. It's a miracle that Mayo Clinic and US drug companies have developed new drugs to help mitigate this serious health issue. Apparently, as with any new drug, widespread use exposes some issues not found in early limited testing.
But don't despair, the ambulance-chasing litigation lawyers are on the job.
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Perhaps an approach might be to pull all these drugs off the market and let the litigation lawyers help these Parkinson's patients. Or, better yet, only let the Canadians sell these drugs, good luck suing them.
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Roanoke Times, 7/10/05, Pg A 3: North Korea is prepared to return to the nuclear 6-party talks (after boycotting the talks for over a year). US officials at fault for North Korea behavior.
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Once again an article on North Korea nuclear weapons, insinuating that it's of Bush's making, without any reference to the real history and the Clinton legacy of this serious problem.
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Click on Prior items for some facts:
June
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/06/north-korean-nukes.html
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Feburary
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/02/north-korea-nucs.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/10/05, Pg 1: She died, just like anyone else. Large color picture of extremely emaciated Elmer Crigger whose wife was found dead and partially eaten by dogs in her home. Father and sons were determined to be incompetent to stand trial. One-half of Sunday front page devoted to this "story".
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Congratulations Roanoke Times, you just hit a new low in bottom-feeding. How are the whale droppings down there?
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I thought the "little lady" on display at the Fair was bad yesterday, but you have really outdone yourselves. This gross stuff usually shows up at the checkout counter at select stores with eye-catching headlines about aliens.
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Where is the news, where is the dignity, where is the professionalism?
And your readers just got exposed to this stuff with their Sunday morning coffee, what a joy that was!
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At what point is the ownership of this paper going to get a real professional editor? His unemployment is not an issue, AlJazeera is hiring and he'll fit right in.
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Roanoke Times, 7/9/05, Pg Va 1: She's happy the way she is, by Cuppa Joe.
A picture at Salem Fair side-show of very small woman. Sign says you can take her picture for $1. She will standup for $1.
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And I thought Cuppa Joe was supposed to be a "sensitive modern man" and that this type of exploitation of non-average people was long gone, apparently I was wrong. Not only is this stuff going on but the Roanoke Times choose to "pile-on" and join in this gross exploitation. Shame on you.
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Roanoke Times, 7/9/05, Pg Va 1: Officials scramble to decipher lake plan. Tri-county commission reviewing latest shoreline management document from FERC. This is a well written and comprehensive article.
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It is interesting that so many folks are still in denial about the potential of loosing local control of the SML shoreline management.
It's not that someone is taking control because they want it more than local governments do. It's because local governments have made decisions that have not been good stewardship of the lake and FERC has decided that continuing down the current path will result in significant adverse long-term results.
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Attitude results in behavior. Good attitude -- good behavior. Bad attitude -- bad behavior. If local governments hold the lake and its development and its residents in low esteem (attitude), what can we expect from their management (behavior)?
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One common view is that SML is just a cash-cow to be milked for all it's worth for short term gains. However, on farms where some cows can milk their weight each month, farmer's hold them in high esteem and ensure they receive the kind of nurturing (stewardship) that will ensure their long-term welfare.
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The link below is a PC video of a local person who is an economic, political and social leader in Franklin County. His cavalier comments about "we do whatever we want to, we don't worry about it" leaves one to wonder about the community attitude and commitment to the stewardship of our streams and lakes.
Point of interest: Furnace creek flows into the Pigg River which flows into Leesville lake where the water is pumped back into SML.
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To view the PC wmv video with Windows Media Player, turn-up the sound
It's a 1.5 MB video file, may take considerable time to load.
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http://www.roanokeslant.org/WaterQuality.WMV
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Roanoke Times, 7/8/05, Pg Va 7: Wind-energy commentaries off-balance.
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Author Tammy Belinsky discounts several prior authors on this subject as "having an axe to grind" and then devotes a large article to bats being killed by wind turbines. The Highland wind farm should be held-up pending some unknown resolution. Her data is that 58,000 bats per year will be killed.
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The data I found indicates that 2 to 50 bats per year per turbine are killed at existing sites around the country and that very few endangered species are involved. There are many articles on this subject and most indicate the major issue involves migration.
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At 50 bats per year per turbine (the high-end data) one would need over 1,160 turbines to yield 58,000 bats.
The bat articles did not give data for perspective. What are the bat mortality rates: natural death-rate, diseases (like rabies), predators, collisions with automobiles, and etc..
For contrast, a good house cats can easily get several hundred song birds per year.
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I can find no case where this problem has been or is deemed to be so significant that turbines are denied build permits or have been shut-down. There are folks studying this issue and hopefully a technique will be developed to dissuade the bats away from the turbines. Perhaps Tammy could help work on that project.
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Is it possible that projecting 58,000 bat kills is "off-balance" or slightly slanted?
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http://www.currykerlinger.com/bats.htm
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http://news.nationalgeographic.com/kids/2005/05/bats.html
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/07/energy-blowing-in-wind.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/8/05, Pg Va 6: Fulfillment of Tony Blair's brave words after the London attack requires a concerted, collective fight against terrorism by the nations of the world. "That unity of purpose has since (9/11) withered, the victim of divergent interests"
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Is The Editor, his media associates and Democrat leaders really going to join a concerted effort? They have been primary contributors to the "withering" of the unity of purpose! They have put partisan politics and the 2008 election far above the "concerted effort."
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This piece by The Editor is reminiscent of the "Mark Anthony" eulogy and sounds just about as sincere too.
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Next editon this will all be Bush's fault!
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/07/soldiers-puzzled.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/8/05, Pg A13: Budget deficit expected to shrink. Last years budget deficit $412 Billion was a record in dollars (not adjusted for inflation) but was significantly smaller than the deficits of 4 to 6 percent of GNP back in the 1980's and 1990's.
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Interesting this is in small print back in political notebook on pg A13. The Editor and his media partners have been using the front page, big print, for a year telling us how big and serious these deficits are, and of course they're all Bush's fault!
Just more Roanoke Slant!
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Prior items:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/06/revenues-up-deficit-down.html
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http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/04/greenspan-out-of-closet-again.html
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Calculator to see what current value of money is based on inflation:
http://woodrow.mpls.frb.fed.us/research/data/us/calc/
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Roanoke Times, 7/8/05, Pg A11: Group fired rocket into cab of tanker truck on the highway, the truck crashed and overturned, the group then swarmed the truck, dragged out the driver, beat him senseless, stole everything of value and then vanished.
Baghdad Iraq?
No!
Atlanta Georgia
Rumsfield just has to get more troops down there, and soon!
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/07/terrorists-home-and-abroad.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/8/05, Pg A 9: Long hours ahead for British investigators following Thursday's explosion in London.
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The Editor, his associates, and the ACLU better get over there immediately and ensure that the police don't violate anybody's rights. Hope they don't check the library records to see who was studying the maps and schedules and data on the subway system. Hope they don't use surveillance camera tapes to check on who was where and when. Hope they're not using computer logs to determine what emails were involved in this. Hope they're not using wire-tap data and intercepted cell-phone data to determine who was talking to whom.
All this stuff, that's part of the Patriot Act, is really bad and is not required and shouldn't be used!
But most of all we hope they're not checking on Muslim extremists. That would be profiling and profiling is bad!
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At times like this The Editor, his media associates and his left-wing friends in Washington really look stupid!
But fear not, within days they'll all make the case that this is all Bush's fault!
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/06/patriot-act.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/7/05, Pg Va 9: Contraception crackdowns continue in Va., the effects of this anti-birth control movement would be felt most heavily by Virgiia's poor, rural and less-educated families.
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The authors case for full access to birth control for all is valid and reasonable and prudent. Everyone should be concerned about limiting STD's, HIV, abortions and unwanted children.
Distribution should be through commercial and organization outlets and not in schools, libraries and similar settings.
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Kudo's to Planned Parenthood for their role in helping this effort.
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Roanoke Times, 7/7/05, Pg 1: Eyes Wide Open: the human cost of war, a very moving display of combat boots representing the troops killed in the Iraq war.
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As one who served four years as a cadet, four years Regular Army and two years Reserve (10 years or 1/3 of my life before I was 30) I view this display not as anti-war but as a solemn recognition of sacrifice.
The display of boots is of particular significance to all those who have earned the Airborne wings.
I have viewed: many cemeteries in France, Arlington, The Wall in DC, the battlefield at Antietam, the D-Day memorial. They all reflect the dedication and determination of those who gave their last measure so that our great experiment in freedom, democracy and liberty can endure here and be extended to those who cannot help themselves.
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Of all the sites, The Antietam site is particularily solemn because we Americans lost 2,000 solders per hour for twelve hours (24,000 casualties) in just one day.
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/07/soldiers-puzzled.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/6/05, Pg Va 8: As the G-8 summit opens, Bush gives little on global warming or Africa to boost his most stalwart ally in the Iraq war.
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Though Bush helped broker a deal to forgive BILLIONS in African debt, his pledge of $674 Million in immediate aid was "short".
Click for a view of Africa aide:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/07/singing-for-africa.html
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Bush intransigence on the greenhouse (Kyoto) limits:
Click for a view of Kyoto:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/02/kyoto-treaty.html
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The Editor waxing on yet again about the Kyoto treaty, blaming Bush for being a really bad guy, and still not presenting the facts that when his idol Clinton brought the Kyoto treaty back to the Senate for ratification it was defeated 99 to 0. It appears that Bush is not the only one not supporting that treaty!
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A little truth in advertising would go a long way on many of The Editors views.
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Roanoke Times, 7/6/05, Pg A 8: Officials: Bush has ignored meth threat. The officials argued Washington's focus on terrorism had diverted money and attention from the methamphetamine problem.
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I am so disappointed! This is serious. Bush focusing on the terrorist threat and letting the states and local governments focus on folks who are cooking up cold medications into drugs in their backyards.
Next thing you know we'll find out that Bush is letting folks grow pot in their gardens and some are even running a little "still" and making some "shine".
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That's why Clinton was so superior to Bush and why Hillary will be such an improvement. They were right on those local folks cooking meth while tens of thousands of killers went through the AlQaida terrorist camps getting trained to kill us when ever they get the opportunity.
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I really miss Bill and look forward to Hillary's return in 2008. Hopefully she'll bring the White House silver back too.
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/06/dick-cheney-and-reality.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/6/05, Pg 1: Will it be Paris for the 2012 Olympics site?
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New York sent what it thought was its best shot --- Hillary -- and she turned out to be a DUD!
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Is this a preview of her 2008 election run?
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Roanoke Times, 7/5/05, Pg A 4: Al-Jazeera prepares for its American debut, will beam English-language to much of the world.
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Why would they bother when they have the Democrat leadership, NY Times, Washington Post, and Roanoke Times already covering their point of view every day? Apparently they need to take these media sources and broadcast them to places they don't get much coverage today.
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/07/soldiers-puzzled.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/5/05, Pg 1: Whap! Spacecraft bashes comet. Spacecraft intercepts and impacts with comet.
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Interestingly enough the media totally ignored the Ronald Reagan "STAR WARS" implication of this major feat.
Instead of a comet this well could have been a nuclear warhead launched into space by folks who mean us harm.
The media wouldn't want us to reflect on that concept!
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/05/bushs-star-wars.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/3/05, Pg H 2: Energy future blowing in the wind. Article by O. Quesenberry, retired executive with local furniture company.
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This article summarizes in a very professional manner many of the key items associated with our energy challenges and how wind energy can be a significant component of the answer.
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Perhaps Bobby Dylan's verse: "The answer my friend is blowing in the wind" may be more relevant now than when he sang it back at his Woodstock farm in the Catskills about 20 miles from my old home.
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Click for Bobby: http://roanokeslant.org/Wind.swf --- Click BACK to return
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Prior wind energy items:
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http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/07/wind-energy.html
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http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/06/wind-power.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/3/05, Pg 1: Opening on court puts heat on Bush.
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Where does The Editor come up with these headlines?
What's this heat thing?
The President declared when he ran for office in 2000 and again in 2004 and has said many times since, that he intends to appoint a highly qualified "strict constructionist" to the court.
Perhaps the heat is what The Editor and his associates are feeling as they formulate their character assassination strategy instead of making their anti-case based on applicable facts.
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/07/sparks-nomination-fight.html
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• Roanoke Times, 7/2/05, Pg Va 10: Pest poised to wipe out Va. Hemlock trees.
  The article describes the effort and cost and risk to clear some of the dead hemlocks from the Jefferson National Forest killed by the woolly adelgid.
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  During my memory, mother nature has literally wiped out: Chestnut and Dutch Elms. In some areas the Gypsy Moth Caterpillar killed almost half the hardwood trees. We currently have major problems with dogwood and pine.
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  These problems should cause one to reflect on some concepts:
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  * Humans are not the sole cause of many negative things occurring in nature.
  * Harvesting and utilizing lumber as a renewable natural resource is not in itself a bad thing.
  * Over-emphasis on endangered species is not necessarily good management of natural resources.

When was the last time a public school teacher discussed these concepts with their class? Certainly not since the Sierra Club became in charge of the science curriculum.

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Roanoke Times, 7/2/05, Pg A 3: Soldiers puzzle over eroding public opinion. Soldiers react with raw emotion that the US should pull out of Iraq quickly.
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There is no puzzle. It's politics stupid! Just listen to what the Democrat leaders Read, Polozi, Kennedy, Durbin, Dean, et al are saying to the world. Aljazeera doesn't need to have any writers, they can get all the stuff they want by listening to them and reading the NY Times, Washington Post and associated papers like the Roanoke Times.
These folks know that if they feed the public massive doses of anti-Iraq propaganda all day, every day, they will influence public opinion. They know because they've done it before, it's what they do!
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As for the general public, we are all very fickle. After all, it was the same folks that laid the palm branches down on the muddy trail one day, who several days later were yelling: "give us Barabus"!
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Prior item on our soldier's attitude:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/07/attitude-in-field.html
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Roanoke Times, 7/2/05, Pg 1 -- Big Headlines: O'Connor retires, sparks nomination fight.
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Isn't it interesting that The Editor has announced that the nomination fight has started already!
For some reason I thought that first the President of the US selects a candidate and then sends that nomination for "advise and consent" to the senate before a fight would break out.
Apparently The Editor and his associates are just like jerks who bar-hop.
They start the night just knowing that there will be a fight because it's their intent to start one! They just need to get going!
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The fault of the fight will of course be Bush's fault.
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Would be a good thing if The Editor, his media partners and key Democrat leaders visited the troops in the field in Iraq.
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Click for some attitude in the field:
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No wonder the re-up reenlistment rate of our combat troops is so high!
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http://www.roanokeslant.org/Work.jpg
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Roanoke Times, 6/28/05, Pg 1: The rulings mean many Ten Commandments displays will be validated if the primary purpose is to honor legal traditions.
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The article would have us believe that the Supreme Court has saved us from being inundated with religious symbols that are bad for our society. History has shown that having a Godless environment destroys a nurturing environment and is not conducive to a sense of well being and peace and social harmony. That's why Stalin and Lenin and folks like them have been so intent on that anti-God approach.
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Click on this link to view what some of our forefather's views were. Interesting that many of them were Virginians. Not to worry, that was a couple of hundred years ago. How could that be relevant to today's world?
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http://www.wtv-zone.com/Mary/forsakenroots.html
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Roanoke Times, 6/30/05, Pg 1: Canada may end bulk export of drugs. "Canada can't continue to be a cheap drug store for the US".
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Now let me get this straight. We're not talking about drugs that Canada has invented, certified and manufactures. No, we're talking about US drugs that we send to Canada for their citizens to use. (Not clear why they need our drugs because Hillary says their medical system is great and something we should strive to achieve.)
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So, our drug companies sell them drugs for their use and they turn-around and sell them back to our people for less than we can buy them for at our CVS!
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What's wrong with this picture?
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Here's a plan: Let's stop selling drugs to Canada CHEAP! Let's put an export tax of 500% on those little pills and then use that markup money to subsidize OUR medicare and medicaid drug benefit for our people. That way we won't be such a burden to the poor Canadian Health Minister and he won't have to worry about how to cope with this problem anymore.
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/04/import-cheap-drugs.html
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Roanoke Times, 6/28/05, Pg Va 1: Roanoke agencies participate in HIV testing drive.
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Kudo's to David Harrison for covering this story that is having a major devastating impact on millions of people including tens of thousands here in Virginia.
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To bring this plague under control a major effort is required that our government has not yet been willing to confront. Click-on this link for an introduction to how far we are from where we need to go:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/02/hivaids.html
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Prior items:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/06/wisdom-to-fight-aids.html
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Roanoke Times, 6/29/05, Pg B 6: Va. Job growth shrinking, report says. Military jobs and the housing market may adversely affect the economy.
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Talk about adversely affecting the Va. Economy!
What does The Editor think sucking $1.4 Billion dollars in state taxes out of the taxpayers pockets will do to the economy?
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Instead of falling off his bicycle, Warner needs to fall off the tax wagon!
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/06/tax-hikes-for-surplus.html
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Roanoke Times, 6/29/05, Pg Va 7: Wind power can play a significant role in balancing our statewide and regional power generation portfolio, thus protecting consumers, power generators, our economy and our environment all at the same time. Article by Jonahan Miles, Prof. Dept Integrated Science and Technology at JMU.
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An excellent summary of the role wind energy can play, as a renewable energy component, in our total energy system.
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/06/wind-power.html
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Roanoke Times, 6/29/05, Pg Va 8: A teenager being taken from court shot and killed a Dinwiddie County sheriff's deputy.
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Yet another "misguided child with a troubled past" who will escape being held accountable for his actions.
However, the deputy and his family did not escape the adverse consequences of this killer's actions.
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/03/escaped-from-death-row.html
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Many years ago there was a poem that related to this warped attitude:
"Little Willie"
Little Willie hung his sister
She was dead before we missed her
Willie's always up to tricks
Ain't he cute? He's only six!
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Roanoke Times, 6/29/05, Pg A6: Muslim cleric, in Moscow, who was held at Guantanamo, says guards regularly desecrated the Quran in a toilet. ALTHOUGH HE ADDED HE NEVER WITNESSED IT HIMSELF!
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Other than to participate as a member in good standing with the Aljazeera news team -- why is this heifer-dust being published?
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Of all the thousands of stories on the wire service today -- how did The Editor choose this one?
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No wonder folks don't believe in and approve of what the news media is publishing.
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Prior item:
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http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/07/perception-of-media.html
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Roanoke Times, 6/29/05, Pg A 10: In an impressive display of bipartisan unity, senators voted 85 to 12 in favor of the bill.
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This is, according to The Editor, Roanoke Times, 4/20/05, Pg Va 8: The worst of all possible energy bills! So much for his opinions about energy!
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In the middle of all the nasty partisanship, how could the Senate vote 85 to 12 in favor of anything?
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In spite of all The Editors articles about Bush being a lame duck --
Perhaps this lame duck can still kick some butt!
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Prior item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/04/energy-bill-zips.html
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Roanoke Times, 6/29/05, Pg A 8: While the public views much of the news media favorably, they are less inclined to consider those sources of news believable. Almost 3/4 said they think the news media tend to favor one side in their coverage.
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News is nice but not believable. What a report-card that is!
Reminds one of the 1930's song: "How could you have believed me when I told you that I loved you, when you know I've been a liar all of my life?"
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3/4's think the news is slanted ----- can you say RoanokeSlant?
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Prior Item:
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/04/bias-in-journalists.html
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Roanoke Times, 6/28/05, Pg A5: NYPD murder rate.
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In 1990 alone, 2,245 people (men, women and children) were violently killed in New York City where there are over 50,000 peace-keepers deployed.
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We have lost 1,800 troops killed in Iraq.
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Perhaps we and the media should keep some things in perspective.
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Roanoke Times, 6/28/05, Pg A 4: Supreme Court says no to reporters' case. The reporters, who have refused to cooperate in the criminal case involving the naming of CIA person, are subject to jail time for contempt.
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The Supreme Court has reaffirmed again, that relative to criminal cases, no one with first hand knowledge should be immune from cooperating with the criminal justice system. This should be the rules in all state laws too. Why should The Editor and his associates have special rights in concealing criminal activity?
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Prior items:
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http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/04/press-protections.html
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http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2005/02/free-press.html
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