Last week, I took my first turn at hosting the Virginia Blog Carnival.

This week, you can visit Kilo over at Spark it Up!!! for the latest version.

As of right now, next week is available for hosting.

Leading up to my hosting, I posted calls for submission here, here and here. In addition the permanent link to the Carnival home is in my sidebar, and in the sidebar of several other posters.

Kilo tells us that the VBC is under attack.

I’m thinkin’ “attack” might be a bit strong. But there’s a bit of whining going on. Apparently Tom Krehbiel has a problem with the “right wing slant”of the Carnival.

To his credit, he has updated his post and acknowledged that it’s not so much a right wing slant as it is a left wing lack of participation.

It’s simple. Anything that’s posted at my site is going to reflect my philosophy. That’s why it’s called MY site.  But it’s no conspiracy.

In fact, as of this writing there’s still an opening for a host next week. Trot on over to the Carnival home page and check it out.

F.T Rea can’t let it go at that though. He weighs in with the first comment on Kriebiels post: It seems the fringe of the rightwing blogosphere has decided to shanghai the carnival, to use it as its tool.

Oh like whatever F.T. Personally I think you jumped on the post because it gave you yet another opportunity to say something snarky about the SWAC Bloggers. You’ve been on a crusade against them ever since Waldogate. An episode, I might add, that Waldo has left behind.

The bottom line on the Carnival folks is, if you want to see more diversity, then you have to get in the game.

In a follow up post Tom Krehbiel admits:Â I can’t speak for anyone else, but I don’t submit to blog carnivals because I realize it’s a lot of work to host them and I’m too lazy to get involved in that.

I am reminded of the story of the Little Red Hen.

You didn’t plant the wheat.

You didn’t harvest the wheat.

You didn’t grind the grain.

You didn’t bake the bread.

And somehow, it’s our fault your hungry.

It’s not a perfect plan. It’s not our favorite plan. But it’s a plan and it’s a step forward. Tell Governor Gridlock to sign the bill.

The Virginia Blog Carnival is up at

Spark it Up!!!

Go on over and check it out.

Last week’s Carnival is here.

Next week is in need of a host. Is it you?

I mean, seriously.

I just don’t have anything to say tonight. So I won’t.

The Washington Post: Clinton Fights to Keep Impeachment Taboo

Heh…fat chance.

“No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session.”

~ attributed to Mark Twain and others.

Well, they’re gone.

The 2007 General Assembly has adjourned and gone home. Legislation now travels to the desk of Governor Tim Kaine for his reaction. How he’ll deal with transportation remains to be seen.

Here are some of the things being said around the blogosphere:

Three Reasons Not to Slit Our Wrists
Bacon’s Rebellion

What’s Tim Kaine’s Next Move?
Bacon’s Rebellion

Virginia General Assembly Passes Eminent Domain Reform
Below the Beltway

Now What?
Bearing Drift

Transportation Fact Check for Republicans
Deo Vindice

Gillespie on Transportation Deal
Virginia Virtucon

The Transportation Bill Passes
The Right Wing Liberal

Tim Kaine’s Problem:Â Politics vs. Legacy
The Mason Conservative

I was wrong - Senate Passes Transportation!!!!!
The Mason Conservative

Yesterday, the Republican dominated General Assembly unveiled their transportation plan.

See the Richmond Times Dispatch for details.

Greg at BVBL has Speaker Howell’s statement.

Governor Kaine, mostly silent in this whole debate, has decided that in the last 24 or so hours of the session he doesn’t like the plan. He must not like any plan, since he hasn’t submitted one.

This morning however pigs were sighted flying over the Capitol, and it had nothing to do with barbecue.

Brian at Bearing Drift tells us: Virginian-Pilot Endorses Republican Transportation Plan ~ In a move that surprises everyone from Mayor Governor Tim Kaine to Democrats hoping to bash Republicans on their way to power, the Virginian-Pilot today endorsed the compromise roads plan.

Here’s the Virginian-Pilot story: Road compromise deserves support ~ Gov. Tim Kaine has weeks to examine the bill, to alter it, even to veto it. Whatever he does, he must be wary of snuffing out what appears at first blush to be a workable blueprint for our region.

 What others are saying…

Jerry at From On High gives us: Puckett: Not Enough Of a Tax Increase ~ Our state senator here in Bland, Buchanan, Dickenson, Pulaski, Russell, Smyth, Tazewell, Wise, and Wythe Counties, Phil Puckett (D-Russell County), is now embarrassing us with his obstinacy. And his outrageous lack of loyalty. Taking a page out of Russ Potts’s tax-’em-til-they-bleed playbook, or in Puckett’s case, tax-’em-til-there-ain’t-an-employer-left-in-Southwest Virginia, Puckett is going to vote against the compromise that his committee hammered out to fix the roads up north - because tax increases in the plan aren’t egregious enough.

Jim Hoeft at Bearing Drift: Compromise on Transportation: a necessary evil? ~ The rationale by Republicans is that they have to pass the bill to protect at least four seats in the Senate to retain majority, but will passing a plan that nobody likes get them there?

The Right Wing Liberal:Â Our best hope for a train wreck lies in the State Senate (of all places)Â ~ So how is it that we are relying on them to stop this? Well, if the Senate votes down the conference report, its dead for the session (last day is today). Kaine could call a special session (and I’ve figured he would do that for some time), but that would give the legislators enough time to go home and realize this thing isn’t as vital as they think it is.

The Virginian Federalist: McDonnell Reacts: Congratulations General Assembly! ~ Sayeth the AG: Amazingly, Democratic legislative leaders proposed no plan for transportation this year, and the Governor proposed essentially the same plan that was rejected last year. They apparently prefer to try to create an election year political issue by opposing transportation legislation, rather than finding solutions.

Well, a plan is nice. But it could have been better.

A responsible plan would include NO tax increases. A responsible plan would look at the budget surplus and prioritize. But the GOP cave-in on the Mark Warner tax increase of 2004 pretty much told us we couldn’t expect anything responsible.

Somewhere in a parallel universe, there’s actually a Republican party that acts like a Republican party. Maybe some day we’ll get there.

For now, I’m just hungry for barbecue.

I have no earthly idea.

The 79th Academy Awards airs on Sunday night, and I may or may not be watching. Don’t get me wrong, I always love watching a circus.

But, I have no vested interest in the outcome. I looked over the list of nominees for this year.   The best I can figure, we’ve seen one nominated movie.

And that is? Cars, nominated for best animated feature.

Now, I have to admit, that’s a great movie. And, thanks to our seven-year-old, we’ve seen it several times.

I may watch the opening monlogue. Ellen Degeneres can be pretty funny sometimes. Although let’s be real. Nobody has really hosted the Oscars since Johnny Carson.

I don’t think I’ve had a specific interest in the winner since the years The Lord of the Rings movies were up. It’s not that we don’t like movies. We just don’t get there.

I mean, I have to be pretty committed to wanting to see a movie to pay theater prices.   If I’m going to refinance my mortage, I want it to be worthwhile.

No doubt the left-o-smear will be all abuzz about Al Gore’s nomination and presumed win for An Inconvenient Truth. Then again, science-fiction rarely wins. Maybe this and his Nobel Peace Prize will catapult Gore into the front runner’s spot for the Democrat(ick) nomination for the White House in 2008.

Hope springs eternal. And that’s just for the Republicans.

The top 9 reasons why a Democratic president can’t handle the war on terrorism
By John Hawkins

Many people assume that the Democrats’ opposition to the war on terrorism and their unwavering determination to undercut the war in Iraq are solely an outgrowth of their dislike of George Bush. While Bush Derangement Syndrome and raw political considerations certainly are part of the problem, you’ve got to understand that the modern Democratic Party is simply no longer capable of dealing with a conflict like the war on terrorism because of the weird ideological tics of liberalism.

…If a Democrat were to win in 2008, it would give terrorists worldwide a four year respite to rebuild, reload, and run wild without serious opposition from the United States. The price our nation and our allies would pay in blood and treasure for that mistake would be incalculable.

Read more.

Warner golf fundraiser set for June

Richmond Times Dispatch

WASHINGTON — Sen. John W. Warner has not announced a decision about running for a sixth Senate term, but he’s planning what he calls his “first major fundraiser” in June

Read more.

I’ve never been much of a golfer, but if Warner would promise that this was a fundraiser for his retirement, I’d be willing to drive the beer cart.

Is Joe Lieberman about to become a Republican?

Maybe. Maybe not.

He’s not exactly saying. Or is he?

After being abandoned by his party for his stance on the war, Lieberman ran as an Independent and won reelection in 2006. There was a lot of speculation at the time about his joining the GOP. But in the end, Lieberman caucused with the Democrat(ick)s.

And, that’s as it should be. Lieberman is a Democrat(ick). Other than the War on Terror, his views are pretty consistent within his former party.

Still, he’s let it be known that he’s disgusted enough with the Pelosi/Reid/Murtha betrayal of our troops that he just might make the jump. Time will tell.

Lieberman: I Might Switch Parties If The Dems Defund The War
KXMA.com
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut told the Politico on Thursday that he has no immediate plans to switch parties but suggested that Democratic opposition to funding the war in Iraq might change his mind.

Lieberman dismisses speculation of switch to GOP
Danbury News Times
HARTFORD (AP) - U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman rejected speculation Friday that he would join the Republican Party, calling the notion “much ado about nothing.”

I don’t think Joe Lieberman wants to be a Republican. And it would be hard to retract everything said about him during the 2000 “Sore/Loserman” saga.

But it sure would be fun to see the Democrat(ick)s react.

Hugh Jackman Eyed for
‘Gone With the Wind’ Broadway Role
FOXNews.com
Get ready: A musical based on Margaret Mitchell’s novel “Gone with the Wind” is being prepared for Broadway…The big desired star to play Rhett Butler: Hugh Jackman.

Jackman and Paice are on Producers’ Wish List for New “Gone With the Wind” Musical
Playbill
The planned musical take on the story — made famous by the 1939 film starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh — is purportedly using the original novel as a source moreso than the movie. “If you remember, Scarlett is really left with the slaves, and they become her family,” a production insider told the media outlet. “That will be more of the emphasis of the story, with Rhett more of a darker, more complicated character.”

Part of me wonders if this is a good idea. Frankly I think the best reinterpretation of the movie remains Carol Burnett’s “I saw it in the window and I couldn’t resist.”Â

It’s difficult enough to translate an epic novel to film, but to the Broadway stage? Still, it worked with Les Miserables.

It didn’t work however, with Shogun, The Musical. Back in 1990, we saw a pre-Broadway production of Shogun at The Kennedy Center in D.C.  Let’s just say, it was painfu. Shogun went to Broadway and closed after less than three months, just 72 performances. About 71 too many.

I wonder too about turning the Civil War into a musical. Isn’t that what eventually cause Shelley Long and Ryan O’Neal to breakup in Irreconcilable Differences? Let’s face it, is there any explantion to what happened to that pretty little girl we were introduced to in E.T.? You know, Drew Barrymore.

Speaking of people we were introduced to…Fred Crane, otherwise known as one of the Tarleton Twins in the original film version of Gone with the Wind is still going strong at almost 89. Crane is pictured at the right with Vivien Leigh and George Reeves (later to be known as television’s Superman).

Crane still lives in Georgia and is the last living adult male actor from the film.Â

As one of the Tarleton twins, Crane appears in the movie’s opening scene, flirting with Scarlett before the barbecue at Twelve Oaks.

His line: “What do we care if we were expelled from college, Scarlett? The war is gonna start any day now, so we’d have left college anyhow.”

GWTW actor cashing in on memorabilia

Miss Scarlet would be proud.

Vilsack Ends Bid for Presidency

Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack dropped out of the 2008 Presidential Sweepstakes today citing financial woes.

More in The New York Times.

Well, that’s another Democrat(ick) contender out of Hillary’s way.Â

First it was Mark Warner, citing “family reasons.” Now Vilsack is out of the race before anybody really had a chance to decide not to vote for him.

Wonder what Hillary knows?

Amazing Grace, the story of William Wilberforce premiers in theaters tonight exactly 200 years after the abolition of slavery in Great Brittain.

Ioan Gruffudd plays Wilberforce, who, as a Member of Parliament, navigated the world of 18th Century backroom politics to end the slave trade in the British Empire. Albert Finney plays John Newton, a confidante of Wilberforce who inspires him to pursue a life of service to humanity. Benedict Cumberbatch is William Pitt the Younger, England’s youngest ever Prime Minister at the age of 24, who encourages his friend Wilberforce to take up the fight to outlaw slavery and supports him in his struggles in Parliament. Read more at the official website.

Hollywood’s ‘Amazing’ Glaze: What the new movie covers up about William Wilberforce.
Opinion Journal

Asbury College partners with Amazing Grace production company - WILMORE, KY—Asbury College students and faculty have partnered with Bristol Bay Productions, sister company to Walden Media, to produce an educational multimedia experience about abolitionist William Wilberforce’s life.

Amazing Grace (How sweet the sound)
That sav’d a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev’d;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ’d!

Thro’ many dangers, toils and snare,
I have already come;
‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall profess, within the vail,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call’d me here below,
Will be for ever mine.

Words by John Newton

In his last letter, John Wesley wrote to William Wilberforce:

Dear Sir:

   Unless the divine power has raised you us to be as Athanasius contra mundum, [2] I see not howyou can go through your glorious enterprise in opposing that execrable villainy which is the scandal of religion, of England, and of human nature. Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be fore you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? O be not weary of well doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of his might, till even American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish away before it.

   Reading this morning a tract wrote by a poor African, I was particularly struck by that circumstance that a man who has a black skin, being wronged or outraged by a white man, can have no redress; it being a “law” in our colonies that the oath of a black against a white goes for nothing. What villainy is this?

   That he who has guided you from youth up may continue to strengthen you in this and all things, is the prayer of, dear sir,

Your affectionate servant, John Wesley