Disclosure Statement

No post on this blog has ever been ghost written by John Moss.

The VBTA Calls For A Referendum On Sanity

April 1 saw the extremist Virginia Beach Taxpayers Alliance (VBTA) call for a referendum on sanity, wanting it excluded from public policy.

"To espouse sanity is to attack Beach families", said VBTA Maximum Leader Robert Dean. He went on, "Only I know what's in the best interest of Virginia Beach, and everyone knows I've gone off the deep end."

"Every Statement and position of the VBTA is utterly insane", stated VBTA Chairman John Moss. "We believe you can make massive cuts in the City Budget with no negative consequences, the city can simply stop growing, 100% of surface transportation could and should be by automobile, the state should spend $3 billion on roads without building a single new road, etc."

"Sanity is a conspiracy by the Chamber of Commerce, for Virginia Beach Vision, with the consent of Light Rail Now", claimed VBTA Vice Chairman/Chairman of No Transportation Reid Greenmun. Wiping his running hair dye away, he continued, "The taxpayers want insanity! Sanity is corruption imposed on us by a few influential business lobbies."

The VBTA hopes for a November, 2011 referendum to eradicate sanity.

"Put It To A Referendum": The Song

There are two fundamental things Virginia Beach's reactionaries are lacking. First, a clue. I can only help so much there; maybe if they regularly read this blog.... Second, an anthem - until now. I wrote them the following, which is sung to the tune of Jackie DeShannon's "Put A Little Love In Your Heart":

Keep things always the same,
any change is a shame.
Put it to a referendum
So Princess Anne County
things shall forever be.
Put it to a referendum

We hate the 21st Century;
We hate the 21st Century.
The Beach should be
for just White gentry.

Social progress threatens
our archaic lives.
Put it to a referendum
Our city's master plan shall
make proud the Ku Klux Klan.
Put it to a referendum

We hate the (we hate the) 21st Century;
We hate the (we hate the) 21st Century.
The Beach (The Beach)
should be (should be)
for just (for just)
White gentry, just White gentry.

The end game of our shtick:
a hermit republic.
Put it to a referendum
The Beach for alone us,
others under the bus.
Put it to a referendum

We hate the (we hate the) 21st Century;
We hate the (we hate the) 21st Century.
The Beach (The Beach)
should be (should be)
for just (for just)
White gentry.

People, now put it to a referendum.
If it means a change,
Put it to a referendum.
There's no other way,
Put it to a referendum.
The only way,
Put it to a referendum
It must be

[Fade}

Put it to a referendum

There's A Reason That Call It Ash Wednesday

This week's bulletin at St. Gregory's Catholic Church includes the Mass times for Ash Wednesday. It will be March 9 this year.

Before 6 P.M. Mass this evening, an elderly couple were looking at the bulletin. The woman told her husband that they should go at Noon on Wednesday. He replied, "It's on a Wednesday?" She calmly said, "It's always on a Wednesday."

Airborne Brownie

Occasionally I bring you humorous things I see. (It's my blog, so I can post what I want.) This morning I was sitting in the bus shelter, waiting on the bus to come. I heard a noise, and then there was a brown splat on the concrete pad of the shelter. I couldn't make out what it was, and certainly didn't want to touch it.

A couple minutes later I heard rattling on the shelter roof. I looked up just in time to see a bird push a brownie off the roof onto the pad. It was a smashed brownie in a clear wrapper. Apparently someone had dropped it, and the bird had found a great feast.

Obviously the bird didn't eat it with me standing there. I considered throwing it into the adjacent parking lot for the bird. I decided to leave it be. If the bird was that hungry, he knew exactly where to find it once I got on the bus.

If You Haven't Seen This Yet

This video already has over 1.5 million views on YouTube. A middle aged woman in a Pennsylvania Mall falls into a fountain while texting. The video has Mall Security watching the security camera footage and commenting on it.

Only in America: the woman has already filed a lawsuit over the incident. She attacks Mall Security for laughing at the incident rather than helping her. However, note from the audio that Security is watching this well after the fact. In the video, you'll see the housekeeper who was there approach her to try to help.

Transit Notes November 25, 2010

My paycheck direct deposited this morning, so it was off to Walmart for groceries and a new watch. Thanksgiving is one of three holidays (along with Christmas Day and New Year's Day) that Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) goes to a Sunday schedule for. That took me through the Military Circle Transfer Center at the 9:45 A.M. and 10:45 A.M. lineups.

1. 3 of the 4 buses I was on had smaller loads than normal. However, my Inbound 20 to Military Circle was about 85% full.

After boarding the Outbound 15 at Military Circle, I became concerned that a Flat Earther would photograph one of today's buses and cite it as "proof" of the urban legend "empty buses."

2. The Inbound 23 was MIA at the 9:45 A.M. lineup. That's what had me on the Outbound 15 for Walmart.

3. Ran into Wally Erb, as we were both entering Walmart at the same time. He said he'd be back on to comment about my local Gas Tax for transit idea.

Okay, Wally. However, how would you pay for those buses you've been talking about?

4. The 10:45 A.M. lineup could only happen on a major holiday: my Inbound 15 was four minutes early into Military Circle, two buses (the Inbound 20 and Outbound 15) were already there, while the Outbound 20 came in a short distance behind us.

5. With a greenhorn Operator on that Outbound 20 and Customer Service closed for Thanksgiving, I had to play customer service agent myself at the 10:45 lineup:

a. Centerville Turnpike and Indian River Road - that would be Route 12, which doesn't run on the Sunday schedule.

b. Lynnhaven Parkway and Princess Anne Road - Routes 12 (Lynnhaven Parkway) and 25 (Princess Anne Road) cross there, but neither runs on the Sunday schedule.

c. Robert Hall - that's the wacky Sunday 15 schedule into Chesapeake.

6. On my Inbound 15 entering Military Circle, a young woman was loudly complaining to someone on her cell phone about everything be closed today. She wanted something to eat. Seeing the adjacent Hardee's, she told her caller she was going over there for chicken.

On Thanksgiving? I don't think so.

I Can Read Their Minds

First I blogged on how the extremist Virginia Beach Taxpayers Alliance (VBTA) believes light rail is "Marxist" and the Tide Guides wearing red shirts is bound to have them angry. ("We Told You It Was A Marxist Conspiracy!", 9/25/10). Now we learn that The Tide will enter revenue service on May Day (Wood Street And The Tide Launch, 11/17/10).

I can imagine what's going through the sick and paranoid minds of the VBTA now....

SNL's Christine O'Donnell Ad

Christine O'Donnell is the Republican nominee for United States Senate in Delaware. Backed by the TEA Party, she defeated the party establishment's candidate in the GOP primary.

She now admits to having "dabbled" in witchcraft. That's the gist of this Saturday Night Live campaign ad for her.

H/T to Kevin Martingayle, who had a link to this posted on Facebook.

"We Told You It Was A Marxist Conspiracy!"

To aid movement of people using Norfolk's light rail system during the opening week, Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) will have a volunteer force to be known as the Tide Guides. They will be goodwill ambassadors, answering questions and giving directions.

I can't wait until the extremist Virginia Beach Taxpayers Alliance (VBTA) learns that the Tide Guides are slated to be wearing red shirts.

Ballot Petition Fiasco Aftermath

Events continue to unfold in the aftermath of the failed attempt to petition a light rail referendum question onto the November ballot.

"We obviously didn't get our message out. Virginia Beach can and should continue to live by 1950s transportation and land planning models forever and ever," said Robert Dean, Maximum Leader of the Virginia Beach Taxpayers Alliance (VBTA). "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some shopping to do. It's going to take plenty of Kool-Aid to keep the sycophants in line after this debacle."

Wally Erb was asked about the impact on his City Council candidacy. He stated, "It's not like any fewer people are going to vote for me than already were."

"We've spent so much time telling the taxpayers to say 'No' to everything that they even said 'No' to our petition drive," claimed VBTA Chairman John Moss. When questioned about whether the nutcases who comprise the bulk of the VBTA membership were a liability for his City Council campaign, Moss stated, "They may be kooks, but I need the title of VBTA Chairman to feel important."

Reid Greenmun went into hiding at an Ocean View cracktel, registering under the name "I.M. Barbaramessner". A prostitute who works the area was asked about him and replied, "Not only is he impotent, but all he does is keep blathering on about how his friend Harvey couldn't possible have been wrong about light rail."

In order to try to create a diversion from the massive embarrassment, Dean ordered hatchet sycophant Beth Allen to write a report "proving" that sunlight is a net fiscal drain on Virginia Beach taxpayers. When it was pointed out that 24 hours of darkness each day would be catastrophic to our Tourism and Agriculture industries, Beth stated, "The VBTA is on record wanting to devastate every local industry. Besides, everyone knows the VBTA prefers to stay in the dark."

Kerry Dougherty pledged to continue to push for a light rail referendum in both her columns and on her blog. She said, "I can write anything as ridiculous as I want, as no one at the newspaper has enough common sense to fire me."

Virginia Beach's Comprehensive Mental Health Services (CMHS) began preparing for defections of disillusioned VBTAers by setting up a temporary deprogramming center. Victims will be identifiable by the Kool-Aid stains plus being in a state of shock.

Quite Insightful

There were two big votes at Tuesday night's meeting of the Virginia Beach City Council.

First, a proposed parking swap with Bruce Thompson was authorized on a 6-5 vote. There were only two speakers in opposition: Virginia Beach Taxpayers Alliance (VBTA) Chairman John Moss and VBTA Vice Chairman Reid Greenmun.

Second, a ban of LED signs was approved on a 6-5 vote. Spearheading the ban were Virginia Beach's garden clubs.

That led one Councilman to quip afterwards, "The garden clubs have more clout than the VBTA."

Doesn't Quite Add Up

I spotted a car early this evening. On the one hand, it had a Fair Tax bumper sticker. On the other hand, it had an University of California at Berkley license plate frame. Figure that one out.

Slow On The Draw

Yesterday at Pembroke Mall the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants was distributing their 2010 "Financial Fitness" calendars.

That begs an obvious question: would you want people tracking your money who don't distribute their 2010 calendars until April 24, 2010?

The VBTA Merges With al-Qaida

Meeting in the tribal areas of northwestern Pakistan, the leaders of the Virginia Beach Taxpayers Alliance (VBTA) agreed to merge their tiny breakfast cult into al-Qaida. The pact is the fruit of secret negotiations based on contacts gained by Ben Krause during his service in Iraq.

"Both groups have been all about a tiny fringe minority trying to impose their extremist agenda on society by intimidation tactics," explained VBTA Maximum Leader Robert Dean. "The merger was a perfect natural."

"I no longer have to masquerade as a Christian, a faith that everyone knows I never really believed in any of the tenets of," went on VBTA Vice Chairman/Transportation Chairman Reid Greenmun. "I can now begin planning terrorist attacks against Norfolk light rail."

Finally, Bob O'Connor commented, "We'll launch a jihad against the Resort Area. The dress, bars...it's all in violation of sharia (Islamic law)."

My First Senior Citizen Discount

Coming home from yesterday's TDCHR meeting, I stopped at the Farm Fresh at Victory Crossing to pick up a couple items. The cashier rang them up, and I went to get the money out of my wallet. When I looked back up, the price was reduced.

The cashier had given me the Senior Citizen discount of 5%. At age 45. Maybe it's the lined bifocals....

You Gotta Love Government Form Letters

In response to the stormy December 10 public meeting on the Laskin Gateway Project, the City Manager's Office has sent out an information mailing to those who attended. The cover letter begins "Dear Oceanfront Resident".

Having gone, I received one. I live in Bayside District.

HRT Regulars, Get A Laugh Out Of This!

I had just boarded the Cutback Outbound 20 at Military Circle at 4:30 this afternoon. A young woman came to the door and asked the Operator if she was going to Cedar Grove. The Operator told her that she needed the other 20 in the lineup. The woman then asked (get this!) if she could take our bus to Pembroke East, then catch the Route 1 to Cedar Grove. I was incredulous, while the Operator calmly and politely redirected her to the other 20. Here's the problem:

1. Sane routing - take the Cutback Inbound 20 in our lineup, slated to arrive at Cedar Grove at 4:59.

A simple, straight 29 minute trip.

2. What the woman wanted - take the Cutback Outbound 20 to the Pembroke East Transfer Center. There catch the Inbound 1 not scheduled to arrive at Cedar Grove until (gulp!) 6:50.

That's a 2:20 trip via Pembroke, the Little Creek Amphibious Base, Ocean View, and Wards Corner, before going to the periphery of downtown.

Why would any rational human being pass up the Cutback Inbound 20 for that bizarre routing?!? I've never even heard of anyone taking such a routing while bus joy riding. I've seen passengers do some stupid things on Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) buses, but that had to take the cake!

"The Miss Of The Century"

It's only 2009, but this blown play by English soccer player Rocky Baptiste has already been dubbed "The Miss Of The Century". Baptiste takes a pass, gets past the goalie...only to have the ball squirm loose on him and hit the outer side of the goal.

I played a couple years of soccer myself in high school: Midfielder later converted to Center Forward. As a Center Forward, you dreamed of having scoring opportunities like this. That Baptiste blew this one is inexcusable!

Phone Fun

One of my Facebook Friends posted this one, and it's quite amusing.

Dial the Nestle Crunch Hotline at (800) 295-0051. When it asks you to choose English or Spanish, doing nothing...and hear what happens after about 10 seconds. Press "4" from there and enjoy.