July 31, 2008Your degree is from where?
The Spokesman-Review, the newspaper for Spokane, Wash., and surrounding areas, has been reporting on the fate of a diploma mill out that way whose operators face jail time for selling phony college degrees. I find the whole concept of buying a fake diploma disgusting. A college degree isn't about the piece of paper; it's about the education you receive earning that piece of paper. If you just buy the diploma, you've missed the point. Yet some people do buy these degrees, and they put them on their resumes, deceiving potential employers. Sure, an employer should check that St. Regis University and Concordia College actually exist, but the fundamental fault is the deceivers'. The Spokesman Review acquired a list of nearly 10,000 people who spent $7.3 million buying fake degrees and diplomas and placed the entire list online. Among the most foolish were people who used their work e-mail addresses to place their orders. These included 135 with military ties, 39 with educational institution ties and 17 employed by government agencies. Because only half of the records or so had e-mail addresses, the actual numbers are almost certainly higher. (The Washington Post picked up on the story today.) And guess what? One of the 17 government employees lives in Roanoke. Dale L. Louderback sought a fake degree with a .gov e-mail address. He received a BBA (bachelor of business administration). A spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Social Services confirmed that a Dale L. Louderback works for the department's Division of Child Support Enforcement in the Roanoke office. He has worked there since Dec. 1, 1992. The spokeswoman would not reveal details about his resume but did point out that a college degree is not a requirement for his job finding deadbeat parents. Nevertheless, barring some miracle coincidence that two Dale L. Louderbacks live in Roanoke and work for government agencies, the DCSE might want to check to see if they hired Mr. Louderback or ever gave him a raise based on a fake diploma. Steppin' Out, just not rockin' outThe NRV Current today had a preview of this weekend's Steppin' Out festival in Blacksburg. This from the story: Organizers try to bring in all kinds of music to fit everyone's tastes, (DLP Concerts' Dylan) Locke said, including blues, jazz, bluegrass, Middle Eastern and old-time. I'm reminded of a line from "The Blues Brothers" Elwood: Er.. what kind of music do you usually have here? I'll attend Steppin' Out this weekend, but it won't be for the music. Teaching English to immigrantsFor Sunday: Roanoke schools face a unique challenge teaching an increasing number of refugee children from countries with no written language. A summer school crash course in English is but a start. Pulaski gets it right
Meanwhile, new Councilman Morgan Welker (pictured) will stop attending meetings of Citizens for the Betterment of Pulaski. It's one thing to be involved in a local activist group while running for office. Once in office, though, an official has a responsibility to the entire community, not just to carry the water for one group. Both of these examples offer lessons to local politicians everywhere. Chrisiansburg's free parking is a little too attractiveFor Sunday's Current: A little more than a year after Christiansburg pulled the parking meters from downtown as a public draw, merchants have complained that some visitors overstay the welcome. Town council voted in July for a two-hour limit on street parking, but the change won't take effect until Sept. 1. Till then, council is open to making revisions, which is reasonable. But it shouldn't lose sight of the worthy aim of getting parking spaces to turn over. Discuss Thursday's editorialsGetting real on graduationVirginia now can track students well enough to calculate real graduation rates and is looking to incorporate them into accreditation standards. Virginia is considering adding a high school's graduation rate to the state's accreditation standards, a logical next step in public school accountability. It's a step Virginia can take because it now can measure graduation rates with an unheard-of degree of accuracy -- a significant technological advance. There's a lesson in the tax holidayLawmakers can sell any bad idea if they say it is for families. This year, more than most, the commonwealth's shoppers might appreciate the back-to-school sales-tax holiday that takes place this weekend. That does not make it any less a pathetic pander from lawmakers. Discuss Thursday's letters and columnsWise plant adds to life cyclePete Sarjeant Sarjeant is retired from Westvaco and moved recently to Bedford. The Southern Environmental Law Center (whomever this may be) is appealing and trying to obstruct the state board's permits for the Dominion VA Power plant in Wise County by citing a failure to meet Clean Air Act requirements, namely providing for means to capture the carbon dioxide pollution. With banks, it's a matter of trustPeter Morici Morici is a professor at the University of Maryland School of Business and former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission. Once again, we have good news and bad from Wall Street. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has announced Citigroup and three other banks will begin issuing covered bonds in an effort to rejuvenate commercial bank mortgage lending and the housing market. Making do on lessLinda Whitlock Whitlock, a Roanoke Times columnist, is an adjunct English professor who lives in Salem. When one of my uncles developed emphysema after smoking for most of his life, he didn't sue the cigarette manufacturers. He didn't blame them either. Whatever the tobacco companies had or hadn't done, my uncle knew he was the one responsible for his smoking and for the disease that would ultimately kill him. Read today's letters here. Thursday open thread"When I’m watchin’ my TV and a man comes on to tell me how white my shirts could be, but he can’t be a man ’cause he does not smoke the same cigarettes as me." Are you satisfied today? July 30, 2008Is that Virgil? HummmmCheck out Virgil Goode's unwitting guest spot -- Rappers or Republicans -- on "The Daily Show." It's a hoot. An apology for slavery and Jim CrowAn unscheduled editorial: The U.S. House has apologized for the nation's "fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow." The apology is long overdue. The trial of Mount Woody
They'll all be in Montgomery County Circuit Court tomorrow at 9:30 in Christiansburg for a hearing on filings in the case. Alas, not on trial are the town's weak ordinances that allow the dirt pile and its even weaker development standards. (Full disclosure: The Roanoke Times is named in Woody's filings but is not party to the suit in any form.) Do you ever visit downtown Blacksburg?Blacksburg wants to know. It also wants to know why you visit and what might convince you to stop by more often. This weekend is Steppin' Out, probably the town's biggest festival. What other types of events do people want? Fill out this form and let the town know. School graduation rates and Virginia accreditationThursday, we'll take a look at a state Department of Education proposal to incorporate schools' graduation and completion rates into state accreditation standards. Since 2004, Virginia has been able to track the academic lives of individual students, which will enable high schools to calculate real graduation rates rather than estimates. With accurate data, it seems logical to set a benchmark that schools would have to meet to receive state accreditation, with the aim of improving their graduation rates. School sales tax holidayAn editorial on Thursday will point out the silliness of Virginia's back-to-school sales tax holiday. It takes place this weekend. Read all about the holiday, and check out the lists of exempt school supplies and clothing. Discuss Wednesday's editorialsPolitics taint the Justice DepartmentWanted: Prosecutors and immigration judges who love the president and hate gays and abortion. Democrats need not apply. The Bush administration illegally turned the Justice Department into a farm system for conservative Christian attorneys. For the last eight years, political hacks ruined the reputation of the one executive department that absolutely must stand above partisanship. Widespread voter fraud? HardlyThe new head of Virginia's Republican Party is letting desperation lead him. Coordinated and widespread voter fraud throughout Virginia! Yikes! Virginians would expect Attorney General Bob McDonnell to crawl all over the case -- especially since the person alleging such felonies is none other than Del. Jeff Frederick, chairman of the state Republican Party. But Republican McDonnell isn't investigating for good reason: It's not true. Discuss Wednesday's letters and local guest columnsFlights will continue in RoanokeJames M. Turner Jr. Turner is the chairman of the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission. I write on behalf of the Roanoke Airport Commission to address the state of the commercial aviation industry in general and how it affects the Roanoke and New River valleys in particular. As anyone can see, the current cost of fuel is creating waves throughout the economy. While gas, food and construction costs are rising, the airline industry is dealing with fuel costs that have increased 53 percent in the last 12 months and 251 percent in the last eight years. At present, 85 percent or more of the cost of an airline ticket goes toward fuel. Read today's letters here. Wednesday open thread"That's ludicrous - The great state of Vermont will not apologize for its cheese! " What shouldn't Virginia apologize for today? July 29, 2008You mean town council members have to answer the public's questions?The town of Pulaski is holding its public interviews of applicants to fill a vacancy on the council this evening. Over at The Roanoke Times' New River Notebook blog, we find out two applicants have dropped out. The one that interests me is former councilman E.G. Black. His hand-written letter announcing that he was withdrawing contains these gems:
and
Heavens forbid someone actually has to interview and answer questions from the public before serving on the town council. Maybe council used to ignore the public when you served on it, Mr. Black, but it appears that the new council is striking out on a better path. Perhaps that sort of attitude is what convinced voters not to reelect you in 2004. Thanks for saving Pulaski the "hassel" of interviewing you. The EPA hunkers down
Oh well, in the meantime, don't miss the EPA's Web videos. Propaganda at its finest. It's even a podcast. Because there's nothing the kids want to watch more than administration talking heads. At least they're trying. Tax evading businessesAccording to the Government Accountability Office, 1.6 million businesses owed more than $58 billion in unpaid federal payroll taxes as of Sept. 30, 2007. The GAO also found that the IRS is lackadaisical in attempting to get the money. Read the executive summary or the full report. Businesses, like people, vary in their integrity. Just because it is private industry doesn't mean it is good. Are you driving on deadly roads?I haven't had a chance since Virginia Coalition for Open Government sent out its roundup this morning of notable news stories to play with this but thought I'd pass it along. The University of Minnesota is hosting a data base that allows people to plug in a street address, road or state and see where fatalities have occurred. It uses public records held by the Federal Highway Administration. Organized voter fraud? HardlyFor Wednesday: Three young canvassers hired to sign up new voters made up fictitious names in order to pad their paychecks. The company they worked for caught on and turned them in. Hardly the widespread voter fraud that the chairman of the state's Republican party is alleging. With good cause both Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, and Attorney General Bob McDonnell, a Republican, have declined to launch an investigation. Political hacks in the Justice DepartmentIn a Wednesday editorial, we will condemn the systematic attempt to place conservative Christians in the Justice Department. An Inspector General's report (big pdf) found concluded officials illegally politicized the hiring process. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who says he wants to make sure this never happens again, should start by finding the illegally hired attorneys and reopening those positions. Discuss Tuesday's editorialsIll Americans shouldn't have to rely on charityIn the United States, medical care exists -- for those who can afford it. Those who can't rely on benevolence. The extent of this country's health care crisis was well illustrated in a Saturday edition photo that depicts a crowd -- estimated at more than 1,000 people -- gathered in the predawn at Wise County fairgrounds in the hope of finally seeing a doctor, dentist or optometrist.
Virginia's token immigration fightReporting foreign-born prisoners to the feds won't lead to many more deportations. Virginia's lawmakers made sure no one could accuse them of standing idly by while illegal immigrants run rampant in the commonwealth. This spring, they passed a law that requires local jail officials to notify federal immigration authorities about immigrants in their custody. It offers campaign cover if little substance. Real reform still awaits federal action. Discuss Tuesday's letters and guest columnsRestore voting rightsBrandon Patterson Patterson is the director of Resource Development at Virginia CARES Inc. in Roanoke. This fall, more than 3 million Virginians will vote in the November general elections. Empowered by the democratic process, these voters will chart the future of our communities, our state and our nation with their choices. At the same time, 300,000 of their friends, neighbors and family members who have had their right to vote taken from them will be unable to participate. Only a few will have the chance to take back their rights, and only if they act quickly.
Caving to big laborTrevor Roe Roe, of Ferrum, is a retired corporate human resources director for Trinity Packaging Corp. in Rocky Mount. Alabama, Tennessee and Michigan were under recent consideration as prospective locations for a new manufacturing facility to be built by VW ("Volkswagen mulls Southern plant," Business section, July 8). Since that article ran, Tennessee was announced as the site of the new plant, and Alabama would have been the second choice, because both are "right-to-work" states and Michigan isn't. Southern workers are much less likely to unionize than are workers in Michigan, a state with the highest unemployment rate.
Read today's letters here. Tuesday open thread"The lunch crowd set goes soft, when Georgette plays a goth." What are you playing today? July 28, 2008An oh-so-polite request to MYOBThe editorial board had the temerity to express an opinion about Salem's tax incentive plan for a retail development, the apparent inspiration for this from our e-mailbag today: Subject: MYOB Just a note to let you know the citizens of Salem have elected our council members to make the necessary decisions regarding our City. Sherrill Smith
Tax cuts don't pay for themselvesThe Center on Budget and Policy Priorities recently debunked the popular myth that tax cuts pay for themselves. I'll let the conclusion of the press release speak for itself:
Reporting immigration status of prisoners won't accomplish muchTurns out the General Assembly did something about illegal immigration after all. A bill (HB820) quietly became law that requires sheriffs to report the names of any non-citizen, foreign-born prisoners to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The immigration status report becomes part of the criminal record. That's nice. At least ICE will know someone was in jail in Virginia for a little while. It's not like the agency has enough money to deal with most of them. This sort of tinkering around the edges might play well for legislators, but real immigration reform must come from Congress and must take a comprehensive approach. So we'll argue in an editorial on Tuesday. The only chance to see a doctorFor Tuesday we will write about the annual Remote Area Medial Health Expedition held at the Wise County Fairgrounds. We should be appalled by the increasing number of people who can afford no other way to see a doctor or dentist. Discuss Monday's editorialsSalem should support retail development Salem City Council tonight will consider whether to give a developer $3 million to build a big-box store at West Salem Plaza. Governments must tread carefully when subsidizing private profits, but in this case, the investment of tax dollars appears worth it. Zeroing out the math gap Mom, dad and the schoolteachers might not be getting the math, but luckily the girls are. New research finds that girls and boys show equal math skills on common tests. The study, the largest of its kind, essentially confirms research from 20 years ago. Except that girls have taken some steps forward. Monday open thread"Five oclock in the mornin', I'm up before the sun. When my work day is over, Im too tired for havin' fun." What are you working on today? July 27, 2008Discuss Sunday's editorialsDon't let Bush restrict access to birth control Some folks are entitled to a welcome mat New River Forum editorial Discuss Radmacher's column about the impact of energy prices on railEnergy's high cost may force shift to rail Discuss Trejbal's column on encrypting e-mailKeeping e-mail private Discuss Sunday's commentary and lettersRemember, too, the racist Helms Read Sunday's letters here. New River Forum Commentary Read New River Forum letters here. July 26, 2008Weekend open thread"You must become more than just a man in the mind of your opponent. " What do you hope to become this weekend? Discuss Saturday's local commentaryStand up to those who bully the disabled Where is our conscience? It continues to be socially OK to discriminate and bully a particular protected class: people with disabilities. In Roanoke, we have an Architectural Review Board that has approved a chain-link fence for a possible dog park. I'm not against the park, just the board's hypocrisy that led to an Old Southwest resident being criminally convicted and fined because she dared to make her doorway and porch accessible to her seriously ill mother. We seem to care more about our pets than our citizens. Read today's letters here. Discuss Saturday's editorialsShort takes Plenty of colleges plan next semester to try a four-day class schedule to help commuting students save on gas costs. Modeling the traditional Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule on the Tuesday-Thursday one isn't all that radical. But Sargeant Reynolds Community College's one-day plan is. ...
Public officials can find it difficult to admit they might have made a mistake. So it's refreshing when they step back and try to right a possible wrong. Such is the case with Botetourt County supervisors and Walgreens. ...
Everyone knows dead people can't vote, despite notorious election fraud efforts to register folks enjoying their eternal rests. But what if someone casts an absentee ballot and then succumbs prior to Election Day? ... July 25, 2008Again, girls are equal to boys at mathMonday, we'll celebrate the latest research to show that girls and boys show equal math skills on common tests, defying a common perception that girls just don't measure up. The largest study of its kind finds "no gender difference" in math scores among children from grades 2 through 11, but variations in subsets of students that suggest cultural and social factors at play. |
We're working on an editorial for Friday about the town of Pulaski. The town council there saw some serious turnover in the last election and is working on filling a vacancy with an appointment. The council got the appointment right first by holding public interviews with applicants. Equally important, it will 
We 