Augusta County: BOS candidates forum

All 11 candidates for Augusta County Board of Supervisors attended Thursday night candidate forum.

(Republican candidates, left to right)

Jeremy Shifflett, Michael Shull, Travis Smithdeal

Republican for Patures District Travis Smithdeal talks with Tom Sensabaugh


Travis preparing for forum....
Larry Howdyshell, North River (left) and Jeremy Shifflett, Beverley Manor (right).

Jeremy Shifflett, Beverley Manor (left) and Michael Shull, Riverheads (right).

Thursday night's Board of Supervisors candidates forum was held at the Weyers Cave Community Center and featured all eleven candidates with about 40 spectators. WHSV TV-3's Bob Corso moderated; media coverage was from WHSV TV-3, NBC-29, and the Waynesboro and Staunton newspapers.

The questions centered on conservation-type issues and were answered by each candidate. Many responses concerned the county's comp plan. They ended with a two-minute closing remark from each.

Out of the 11 candidates, six are farmers; one owns a store; five are current Board members; two are retired state employees.

Hope to post more on the forum later....

Yellow Dog roundup by ODBA members....

As the Yellow Dog scandal continues to unfold, many ODBA members (and others in the blogosphere) are commenting.

Greg at Black Velvet Bruce Li has a complete recap of the events from the past several days at Roscoe Reynolds Steps In It.

Grumpy's Gripes writes that Baby Benny makes a threat… LOL you crack me up.

The Ward View rounds up all the Democrat response to the ODBA press release and then adds Sing along with Roscoe: Oh where oh where did that Yellow Dog go?

Jim at Deo Vindice says Dems and libs should step away from the Yellow Dog.

Jason at J's Notes writes Joe Stanley, Ben Tribbett, and lowering the bar and wants to know where Joe Stanley's clients stand now?

Flora at United Conservatives of Virginia posts Joe Stanley, NAMBLA, and Democrats.

Carl at Spark It Up!!! asks Hey Roscoe! Where did the Yellow Dog go?

Leslie Carbone also has a very complete roundup ... Stupid Yellow Dog Tricks.

Isophorone has the ODBA press release and then takes the whole Yellow Dog crew to the wood shed.

ODBA Press Release

Live By “Macaca,” Die By “NAMBLA”
Top Virginia Democratic Strategist Linked To Pedophile Web Site

Richmond, Virginia. (August 25, 2007)- The Old Dominion Blog Alliance (“ODBA”), an organization of approximately 25 conservative Virginia bloggers founded on December 9, 2005, discovered on August 21 that someone registered the domain name of “olddominionblogalliance.com” on August 16 via GoDaddy.com’s Domains by Proxy service in order to conceal their identity. The domain was then set to forward to the web site for the North American Man-Boy Love Association ("NAMBLA"), an organization that promotes illegal activity between adults and children, including pedophilia.

Following this disclosure, the parties behind it were subsequently discovered to be Joe Stanley of Yellow Dog Strategy, a Democratic consultant who manufactured last year’s “macaca” gaffe by U.S. Sen. George Allen into an ex post facto racial slur and produced the controversial anti-Harris Miller mailing, and Ben Tribbett who runs the Northern Virginian blog “Not Larry Sabato.”

Evidence in hand and a confession by Mr. Stanley show that he was the one who purchased the domain name and then set it to forward to the NAMBLA web site. Mr. Tribbett, who is close to Mr. Stanley, proceeded to peddle the story to another blog and then feigned outrage at this action apparently in order to further raise the story’s visibility while maintaining deniability over it. Mr. Stanley undertook this action just two days after members of the ODBA began a concerted effort against state Sen. Roscoe Reynolds (D-20th Dist.), a candidate for whom Mr. Stanley has done work and who is locked in a tight reelection battle with Republican Jeff Evans. Sen. Reynolds advertises on “Not Larry Sabato.”

“Child sexual abuse is not a joke and certainly not a political tactic to be used in order to silence your political enemies,” said Kathryn Wilton of the blog CatHouse Chat, a member of the ODBA, the wife of a Navy veteran and mother. “Pedophilia is a morally repugnant behavior and how Mr. Stanley or Mr. Tribbett could think this is humorous or fair game politically is beyond my comprehension.”

“Senator Reynolds needs to go on the record whether or not he agrees with these abhorrent tactics used on his behalf,” added Greg Letiecq of Black Velvet Bruce Li, one of the most widely read blogs in Virginia. “Joe Stanley did this to benefit him. Reynolds must either expressly condone or renounce these tactics used for his gain.”

Members of the ODBA are currently considering whether to bring any civil legal claims stemming from this defamatory act perpetrated upon them. Should a case be brought and damages awarded, any proceeds will be donated to organizations that fight child abuse.

ODBA Member Postings of Press Release:
* Virginia Virtucon
* Spark It Up!!!
* From On High
* Cathouse Chat
* Scott's Morning Brew
* Good Sense
* Ward View
* J's Notes