Comment from the Knoxville News Sentinel:

So lets cut through the noise here. The victim’s family and the Sheriff agree that the victim was beaten and robbed by four men in a drug deal gone bad. The Sheriff says he has gotten confessions from several of the assailants. So the only disagreement is whether or not the assailants beat him with a weapon while robbing him or if they just beat, kicked and stomped him while robbing him? So even giving the Sheriff the benefit of the doubt that no stick or weapon was used in this four on one beating/robbery, why are these four dangerous men not being charged with aggravated assault and robbery and locked up? An assault during a robbery is aggravated assault. Robbery is robbery. The thugs have admitted they did it. What am I missing? The Sheriff has their names and addresses and confessions. Why are they not being picked up?

Read entire post on Katie Granju’s blog

ROANOKE, VA (Monday, August 16, 2010) – In a campaign that features no Democratic opposition, Jeff Vanke (VA-6, Independent) is currently polling in double digits in his head-to-head U.S. Congressional race in Virginia’s 6th District. Vanke is a member of the Modern Whig Party, a national movement that was initially founded by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and designed to bring moderate common sense, rational solutions ahead of partisan bickering and stark ideology.

“Due to the makeup and dynamics of the race, this is a once-in-an-election scenario where a viable, mainstream independent has a legitimate shot at winning,” said Andrew Evans, national chairman of the DC-based Modern Whig movement. “Moderates and independents have been clamoring for years for a viable candidate to emerge in a situation where he or she has a realistic chance against a vulnerable incumbent. The wait is over and we are encouraging all moderates & independents to consider pooling our resources to assist.”

Vanke is a moderate, non-fringe, independent candidate and who has practical real world experience that makes him ready to serve Virginia in the U.S. Congress. Vanke has a Ph.D and is a former history professor, author, budget consultant, and small business manager.  Vanke is an Eagle Scout and a community volunteer with the PTA and Cub Scouts.

Several years ago, Vanke ran as a write-in candidate for mayor in Carrboro, NC and received 41 percent of the vote. Vanke was also the founder of the former Center Party of the United States. Vanke states that, “I am running for Congress because I balanced the federal budget and no one there has done it.” Vanke encourages all citizens to visit www.jeffvanke.com  in order to use his budget spreadsheet to draft their own balanced budgets. Vanke also supports reforming the tax system to make it more effective and reducing the amount of U.S. debt held by foreign nations. Vanke furthermore seeks to end the multi-billion-dollar agribusiness subsidies that his opponent Bob Goodlatte implemented.

Jeff Vanke believes that Americans want a common sense approach in Congress.  Vanke is focusing on results, not ideology, in his campaign, as he reaches out to all voters in the Virginia 6th district. Vanke not only talks about what he believes in but acts upon it. To do his part to get our debt out of foreign creditors’ hands he has pledged to keep at least 50 percent of his net worth in U.S. bonds (currently 65%).  Vanke has challenged incumbent Bob Goodlatte to join this pledge (no response so far).

Vanke is proud to be a member of the Modern Whig Party (www.modernwhig.org) in his challenge to bring public service back to the people of Virginia’s 6th District. Vanke stated, “The Modern Whigs are inspiring to me in purpose, earnestness, and steadfastness.” In summing up his campaign, Mr.Vanke stated, “Virginians are tired of the political games. They want service. They want leadership. They want common sense solutions in government similar to the common sense solutions that have to be used in the real world.

Henry Louis Granju
October 7, 1991-May 31, 2010
Beloved Boy

Remember when you see or hear or read about a “drug addict” or a “junkie,” some other parent sees his or her child.

Henry was a child. Henry was addicted to drugs, and his addiction killed him before he reached adulthood.

This is what a drug addict looks like:

See Katie’s entire post on mamapundit.com…

The average person in a developing nation struggles to find 5.

Perspective.

How much do you consume?

“Taking walks. There is a value to anonymity in terms of just being able to wander around, sit on a park bench, take your kids to get ice cream without having Secret Service and helicopters over you. That part of this life I’ll never get used to. In fact, I remember when I first visited Jerusalem, I could wander through the Old City and haggle for some gifts to bring back to Michelle, or stand at the Wailing Wall, and people didn’t know who I was. And that is a profound pleasure that is very hard to experience now.”

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Rachel Maddow via Political Wire

The circle of life is highly sensitive… and very real and very serious. BP and every individual who has let every ball drop in this situation is personally responsible for how life from this point on will be changed.

It’s too far gone now to just be a matter of ‘clean up’. We passed that point weeks ago. And maybe I’m an overly sensitive, emotional fool… but it’s breaking my heart every day to watch. So quit watching, you say? No. I refuse to be one of those closing their eyes in ignorance.

It never had to be this way. I listened for years as righteous consumerists raised hell that we should open drilling off the coast as well as multiple protected areas. They screamed it was the only way to break our dependency on foreign oil.

But now what?

The answer has NEVER been in breaking our dependency on the ‘foreign’ aspect. The answer is in breaking our constant, never ending consumerist dependency on the mass amounts of oil this country consumes every day, week, year.

I know I have said this before. I will continue to say it. I will scream it over and over and over if need be.

Please tell me WHEN people are finally going to take this seriously? What is it going to take? Is this how the past two generations of mankind hoped to be memorialized in the history books? Because I can promise you now… all the advances and technology that could have been our legacy will be nothing to the wasteland we are leaving behind for future generations. If there ARE future generations even around to read the history once my generation is through with its Shermanistic way of living.

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Oil-coated baby dolphin carried to shore by tourist dies; “Dolphin was crying” as “people scraped oil off”.

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Direct quote from Mike Huckabee to the  New Yorker, joking about having an affair with Nancy Pelosi.

William Atwood Sr., 45, was charged Wednesday with multiple felonies in connection with the case.

23 year old Moore told authorities he sent a photo of his genitals to several friends, including Atwood’s daughter, as a joke.

The district attorney’s office on Wednesday charged Atwood with making criminal threats, false imprisonment, assault with a stun gun, assault with a deadly weapon.

Prosecutors declined to charge Moore in connection with the photo for lack of evidence, said district attorney’s spokesman John Hall.

Soooo… Moore ADMITS to authorities that he sent the picture of his own genitals to the 17 year old girl…

Yet the father is facing felony charges while Moore goes free due to lack of evidence? Since when is an admission of guilt translated as lack of evidence?

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Dad Accused of Using Stun Gun on Daughter’s Friend Over Naked Photo