Your Taxpayer Dollars At Work
By Greg L | 22 June 2008 | Virginia Politics | 21 Comments
Ken Cuccinelli is always a dependable source for interesting commentary, particularly when it involves the expenditure of public funds on absolutely ridiculous examples of political correctness run amok. Hopefully this humorous retort will be the genesis of an inquiry on why this waste of taxpayer dollars is allowed to continue.
From: Linda Summerall [mailto:lindas@novaregion.org]
Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 10:42 AM
To: Mark Sickles; Thomas Davis Rust; Bob Marshall; Janet Howell; Al Eisenberg; Jim Scott; Ken Cuccinelli; Ken Plum; Patsy Ticer; Adam Ebbin; Bob Brink; Kristen Amundson; Timothy Hugo; Jill Holtzman Vogel; Herring Mark; Paul Nichols; Scott Lingamfelter; Toddy Puller; David Englin; Joe May; Brian Moran; Richard Stuart; Robert Griendling; Steve Shannon; Jeff Frederick; Chuck Colgan; Dave Marsden; Hon. Margi Vanderhye; Chuck Caputo; David Albo; Vivian Watts; Jackson Miller; Bob Hull; George Barker; Richard Saslaw; David Poisson; Mary Margaret Whipple; David Bulova
Cc: G. Mark Gibb
Subject: NoVa Regional Cmsn mtgThe attached agenda of the Northern Virginia Regional Commission’s monthly meeting on June 26 is being sent to you as an “FYI.”
This month’s presentation is on “Potential Impacts of Global Sea Level Rise on the Mid-Atlantic Region.” You are welcome to attend.
If you have any questions, please contact me or NVRC Executive Director Mark Gibb.
Linda Summerall
Executive Secretary
Northern Virginia Regional Commission
703-642-4622
lindas@novaregion.org
3060 Williams Drive, Suite 510
Fairfax, VA 22031
fax 703-642-5077;www.novaregion.org
And Ken’s response? It’s a classic:
Ms. Summerall,
I recognize that by sending us your email, you are simply fulfilling your communication responsibilities, but I cannot let your email pass without expressing my grievous disappointment that any taxpayer funds are being expended, even if only indirectly, pursuing such an outrageous topic. This is little different from holding a meeting on the repercussions of an asteroid strike in the mid-Atlantic region.
Sincerely,
Ken Cuccinelli
It should be interesting to see who among those included on the distribution list will attend this meeting. If Bob Marshall shows up, they better distribute helmets.
The opinions expressed here are solely the views of the author, and not representative of the position of any organization, political party, doughnut shop, knitting guild, or waste recycling facility, but may be correctly attributed to the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. If anything in the above article has offended you, please click here to receive an immediate apology.
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21 Comments
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Can I go to the seminar on UFO’s? They also need to have one on
Acceptance of Cross-Dressers In the Workplace. (I retired before
having to attend that one) Who sets the agenda here? Is it
Billary and Nancy P.?
O.K. - This is cute! I’m not sure that it’s completely fair to imply that the recipients of this idiocy are somehow implicated (after all, if she’d somehow got ME on the list, I’d be loath to claim any ownership of the subject) but it’s definitely goofy. I hope that they’re on top of the Large Hadron Collider experiment, which should be firing up soon, and may well destroy the Earth as we know it.
Before the wave of denunciations (I won’t speak for Greg or Sandy) I must state that I fully concede that both “Global Sea-Level Rise” AND horrific repercussions from the LHC experiment at CERN are legitimate concerns. I’m just not completely convinced that the Northern Virginia Regional Commission is in a position to offer an informed opinion, let alone any helpful advice or useful action.
Is it possible that they will be looking at regionalizing emergency services in the event of a potentially catastrophic incident? Just a thought.
I wholeheartedly believe that it’s their intention to do so. I’m slightly skeptical that the potential responses to global events require much more navel-gazing than should already have been (and should still being done) done for such mundane local events as, ummm…, floods & earthquakes, & stuff.
Unless, of course, the NVRC is prepared to spearhead a policy of reduced development in low-lying areas. Heck, everybody should live in Denver, right?
I’m willing to place a virtual bet that Janet Howell, Ken Plum and Brian Moran will RSVP.
Janet and Ken inlcude topics like this in each of their E-newsletters.
Well, I guess you think global warming and the reduction in the polar ice caps is a myth.
What are the impacts to NOVA is the Atalantic rises by 2 inches?
How much does the Potamac River rise by the effects?
What happens after the Atalantic rises and a hurricane comes through similar to how Isabel came through a few years ago (causing flooding in Alexandria)?
I do not think it is similar to an asteroid hit at all. If there are potential hazards that appear to be in our future, our elected officials should be preparing now.
If you like Ken Cuccinelli’s response to that invitation, you’ll love this article about Tim Kaine’s Commission on Climate Change.
http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/opinion/oped.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-06-19-0016.html
“How much does the Potamac River rise by the effects?”
The Potomac River is known to rise and fall by a couple of feet on a daily basis; high and low tide. It’s also known to rise and fall due to the amount of rainfall we have or have not gotten.
So there is quite a bit of variation just under normal circumstances.
The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
Senator Cuccinelli is able to see it for what it really is, an opportunity to begin an agency that accomplishes nothing and is sponsored by our generous tax dollars. This has to stop!
Brian Leeper,
and how much is that High tide expected to rise on a daily basis - or during a Huricane is the level of the Atlantic rises?
Does it affect our drinking water supplies?
I would rather see us spend a few hours and a few dollars to try and prepare for a future event, rather than sleep at the wheel, and then just discover a problem that has been lurking for years.
Think along the Illegal Immigrant problem - brewing for years, and largely ignored, until one day, someone wakes up and Oh my Goodness, look at what is happening - oh the shock and horror.
or, do you think a rise in the Atlantic would have no impact on NOVA?
When I read these things, I can’t help but wonder what the cave men did to cause the earth to cool and kill off the dinosaurs and other prehistoric mammals.
During my spelunking days, I didn’t see anything resembling cars drawn on the cave walls. Maybe the cave folks hadn’t achieved that level of technology - or the ancient forefathers of Henry Ford may have been swallowed up by a dinosaur during the test phase.
Or, maybe they were so busy devising various ways to use fire for profit and personal convenience they had too much fun to record the new technology … technology that destroyed the dinosaurs and other prehistoric mammals.
The world goes through cycles of change. The only thing consistent about our earth is that is continually going through change.
Personally I would like to see an end of fossil fuels - the by product smells bad, makes breathing difficult on hot humid days, and its expensive. I ride a bike and walk alot not so I might be hailed the Ghandi of the environment - I do it because I’m cheap and it keeps my doctor from chewing me out like a 3rd grader during my visits.
Is the use of fossil fuels causing the ice caps to melt? I have no idea - no more so than the cave men knew if those darn fire sticks may have caused the whether to turn cold and kill off the dinosaurs.
Hello Juan from Juan’s Tacos here, I want to talk to you about the wave of high tacos coming at you from our illegal taco palace in Adelphi. Come on out to Juan’s Tacos and hang ten with our ten tacos for ten dollars special today. Remember we keep our prices down so you can enjoy more tacos here than at a legit food business.
http://www.zillow.com/aerial/DualMapPage.htm?zpid=37520815
Groveton,
I have met Patrick Michaels and have seen him speak a couple of times. He is extremely knowledgeable and you understand why the “global warming” cultists refuse to debate him.
Speaking of these cultists, a NASA scientist (and I use that term loosely now) wants to put all skeptics in jail:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jun/23/fossilfuels.climatechange
What did the cave men do? Many became extinct, like the dinosaurs and other plants and animals before them. There have been 5 major mass extinction events according to scientific record. There have been many no so major ones. Even a tsunami could alter life as we know it.
It will be interesting to see who get the last laugh on this one.
our elected officials can put their heads back in the sand, and let it be someone else’s problem (They are good at that). Somehow, when it becomes a partisan issue - they all get their panties in a twist and show that they can do something.
The facts are that the Oceans of the world are rising. You can blame it on whatever you want - maybe it is the Gas produced by Cows.
http://www.vagazette.com/news/local/vanews2-9-26-07,0,1377110.story
Here at Juan’s Tacos we are laughing. Laughing all the way to the bank with our untaxed, untracable income!
Visite our website to see all our taco trucks loaded with tacos and cash for the account we have at BoA!
http://www.zillow.com/aerial/DualMapPage.htm?zpid=37520815
You might be surprised at Bob Marshall’s position on the issue of global warming. One of the few (and very few) times I have ever found myself in agreement with Bob Marshall is on the issue of the environment. His record as an advocate for conservation would put him in the camp of tree huggers (and, if it were the only issue you looked, you’d never really know just how conservative Del. Marshall is). I haven’t seen any direct statements about climate change from Delegate Marshall (and will graciously apologize if I have mischaracterized his position), but I’m not so sure who would need the helmets were he to attend the session.
And while Sen. Cuccinelli’s response is humorous, his understanding of statistics leaves much to be desired. There is scientific evidence of climate change, and the models for ocean levels rising have been pretty well peer-reviewed in the scientific community. There are also some pretty clear models on asteroid strikes and the like. Even if you question the whole global warming argument, the odds (based on current scientific study) of ocean levels rising are far higher than the odds of an asteroid strike. Such hyperbole on the good Senator’s part demonstrates just why he had such a tough battle against a floundering opponent the last time around. He’s out of touch (which might explain why he’s a hero around these parts). Even a relatively conservative estimate of a two-foot increase in Atlantic sea levels by 2100 would have a devastating impact on Northern Virginia (and Hampton Roads-Norfolk as well as some seemingly unlikely locales like Boutetourt, Rockingham, Craig, and Pittsylvania Counties).
One would think that a good Christian would understand the Bible’s directive for us to be good caretakers and stewards of Creation.
“and how much is that High tide expected to rise on a daily basis - or during a Huricane is the level of the Atlantic rises?”
That’s a good question. It is important to know what sort of increase is expected. If it’s a couple of inches, that isn’t much of a deviation from the normal variation of +/- ~1 foot. If it’s two feet then there is going to be a problem for sure.
“Does it affect our drinking water supplies?”
I would not expect an increased water level to affect water supplies, and the reason why is that Fairfax County wanted to get their water intake pipe into deeper water several years ago, so they could get water with less sediment in it.
“Think along the Illegal Immigrant problem - brewing for years, and largely ignored, until one day, someone wakes up and Oh my Goodness, look at what is happening - oh the shock and horror.”
There are people who benefitted (and continue to benefit) from the illegal alien problem. It was ignored for a reason. Not because it had no consequences, but because it was believed that the benefits outweighed the consequences.
Incidentally, C-Span reran the 1984 Presidential Debates last year and the subject of illegal immigration came up. I suppose that most people concerned about it at that time lived in border states. Certainly, in 1984, it wasn’t on the radar here in the Prince William County area.
I don’t think anyone stands to benefit from a rise in the level of the Atlantic.
“or, do you think a rise in the Atlantic would have no impact on NOVA?”
Any worthwhile calculation or estimate of the impact of a rise in the Atlantic would need to take into account the natural water level variation of the Potomac.