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To control the Canada geese, you need something the size of a coyote or wolf - or a human.

Virginia has a 'resident goose' season for just that purpose. The problem is that even the resident geese are considered migratory and therefore fall under the purview of the feds, so you need:

1) HIP registration number (free, but you have to report all kills, etc)
2) a federal migratory duck stamp ($15)
3) a Virginia Migratory Waterfowl Conservation Stamp ($10)
4) Non-toxic shot. Not a big deal, but more expensive and yet another type of ammo to buy
5) Va hunting license ($18)

So you're at least $50 out-of-pocket to legally pull the trigger on what the state should be paying a bounty on!

To control the Canada geese, you need something the size of a coyote or wolf - or a human.

Virginia has a 'resident goose' season for just that purpose. The problem is that even the resident geese are considered migratory and therefore fall under the purview of the feds, so you need:

1) HIP registration number (free, but you have to report all kills, etc)
2) a federal migratory duck stamp ($15)
3) a Virginia Migratory Waterfowl Conservation Stamp ($10)
4) Non-toxic shot. Not a big deal, but more expensive and yet another type of ammo to buy
5) Va hunting license ($18)

So you're at least $50 out-of-pocket to legally pull the trigger on what the state should be paying a bounty on!

I can't speak for every state, but here in Virginia, there is a line on our annual income tax forms for things bought out-of-state with no sales tax paid -- with a longer form that applies to anyone who buys things from sales-tax-free online retailers. It is called "use tax", and it is meant to make sure that Virginia gets its bit of the pie even in these cases.

This is one of the things that bugs me when people complain that companies like Amazon don't charge sales tax -- states can address the issue, and some (maybe most or all?) states have done that, but scofflaws don't bother paying. To compound the hypocrisy, a lot of the same people who don't pay use tax, or who assume others don't, go on to complain about how tax rates need to be higher because some people aren't paying their fair share.

It's not enforced at the federal level, but AFAIK, everyone who wishes to own a motor vehicle in the States is required by (state) law to buy auto insurance or face a fine.

In Virginia, you are specifically not required to have insurance. You may pay a $500 Uninsured Motor Vehicle Fee, get your plates or renewal, and be on your way.
Note that this provides zero protection for you or your car, and you may be personally liable in a crash.

Go see it yourself here.

On Wednesday, August 25, at approximately 3 p.m., the Commonwealth of Virginia experienced an information technology (IT) infrastructure outage that affected 27 of the Commonwealth's 89 agencies and caused 13 percent of the Commonwealth's file servers to fail. The failure was in the equipment used for data storage, commonly known as a storage area network (SAN). Specifically, the SAN that failed was an EMC DMX-3.

According to the manufacturer of the storage system, the events that led to the outage appear to be unprecedented. The manufacturer reports that the system and its underlying technology have an exemplary history of reliability, industry-leading data availability of more than 99.999 percent and no similar failure has occurred in more than one billion hours of run time. A root cause analysis of the failure is currently being conducted.

Anybody else read this like some middle age guy after "finishing a bit too quickly" and telling his , "I swear honey, this the first time this has ever happened to me..."

As a leftover from when Virginia-headquartered AOL was the king of connectivity, you see license plates here in Virginia touting us as the Internet Capital.

WTF are you talking about?

https://www.ireg.tax.virginia.gov/VTOL/Login.seam

also:

https://secure.in.gov/apps/dor/ifile/2009/

It seems to still be there: https://www.individual.tax.virginia.gov/VTOL/IndLogin.seam

I can't actually try it because it's not tax time.

I use tax software to do my federal, so going to a separate web site to do the state seems inefficient, but it might be a good idea for other people.

Virginia even sent out a notice that it saves them beaucoup money when people use online tax filing. Unfortunately, they aren't willing to pay companies like Intuit or Kiplinger's so that the cost to the filer is zero. I always print and send my tax forms so that it maximizes their cost, and minimizes mine. As long as my refund isn't large, and I file early, my lost interest on the money doesn't exceed what it would cost to eFile using the tax software.

When it comes to selecting individuals for political appointments, quite often they are done for... well... political reasons. Sometimes it's because of bipartisanship, coalition building, or because someone is really well qualified. Other times it is because they are well networked or engaged in a little quid pro quo. Sure, if it is to the level of Blagojevich they may get caught, and we should discourage the outright sale of governmental positions. On the other hand, I still think as long as he was working within the rules, a total of $2450 in donations to Mark Warner isn't quite to the level where I'd be calling the ethics committee.

It certainly didn't hurt his chances to make $2750 in donations to various Obama supporting groups either, but do I think it was a primary reason he was selected? Not really. I think he got selected because he's well connected and has prior experience in healthcare. With Obama's big push for electronic healthcare records and other cost savings measures, I do agree all the more with wanting some questions to be raised concerning the theft of pharmaceutical records in VA, but depending how the investigation goes, I believe the highest uphill it will get in the org chain is to this guy. More likely though, it'll stay a problem of the agency that oversaw the day to day operations.

God forbid someone in the VA-MD-DC area belongs to a group used for professional networking! As we all know, most non-profit professional groups have no sponsors whatsoever.

Also, who's to say he's not qualified to do the job just because of being labeled not a technologist back in 2005? Maybe what is needed for a CTO position is someone who understands how government and policy is applied (see MPP degree reference) to solve problems, and how the application of technology is a key factor?

I do agree, though, some questions about the Prescription Monitoring Program would be warranted.

But really, with the tax problems of other appointees, maybe most of this stuff is seen as small potatoes. If you don't agree, though, feel free to contact someone on the committee. The hearing starts on Tuesday.

From what I know about the technology world, you have hit the nail on the head! So why is O'Reilly wrong? What is the fallacy in his thinking?

I don't know if he is wrong, but going from that article, I just get a slight wave of nausea. When ever I see market-speak in a 'technical' document it invariably means that it's aimed at the non-technical sector with just enough buzz phrases to keep them warm and fuzzy. Just check out some of the key phrases:

"The responsibilities of the CIO are to use information technology to transform the ways in which the government does business. The CTO will develop national strategies for using advanced technologies to transform our economy and our society, such as fostering private sector innovation, reducing administrative costs and medical errors using health IT, and using technology to change the way teachers teach and students learn"

[actually, that's from a White House Doc. For me that says: we don't know what we are on about :) ]

Will any of this this ' private sector innovation ' lead to computers that can store-and-retrieve records in a secure and reliable manner and I would have thought that errors in medical records would have been a high priority from the beginning. From a link to a brief bio they refer to 'business intelligence software solution'. Yet another high-level-pseudo-technical-sounding phrase. I usually see that kind of thing in 'computer' magazines that contain no actual computer information aimed at the non-technical CTO sector. I don't actually read them but I have had my own CTO quote bits out of one to me, at least until he found out I know something.

My main point was in reference to appointing a non-techie to the post of CTO. For me, as a dyed-in-the-wool techie. regardless of how many qualifications you have, if you've never (from scratch) built an electronic device or wrote some code, then you aren't a real techie.

I've seen too many cases of people talking the correct pseudo-technical sounding babel to management, and it being accepted, as neither party know what they are on about, and willfully denying what their own people tell them. As after all, the consultant comes in trailing masses of certifications and awards. Generally it's a lot easier to write about how to do something, than actually implement it.

According to the report, cell phones and digital music players have been used to transfer plans related to criminal activity, and therefore presumably could be grounds for suspicion. Podcasting is also suspicious. If you check out the VA Governor's home page: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/ You will find: April 7 -- Building on a number of recent initiatives designed to take learning beyond the classroom, Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced the official launch of "Virginia on iTunes U,"(direct link, requires iTunes) a dedicated area within Apple's iTunes Store featuring free access to educational content. Through iTunes U for K-12 education, students, teachers, and other interested users can "learn on the go" by downloading audio and video content onto an iPod, iPod touch, or iPhone from any computer with Internet access. Encourage their use and then...bam...label them terrorists... Well played Governor Kaine, well played.

And yet they still call themselves a commonwealth. As do several other states. Go figure.

Interesting. Around here the largest commonly-hunted species (aside from white-tailed deer) are black bears. Here is a link to the hunting seasons in Virginia. As you can see, we've got seasons for nearly every critter, edible or not. Over in the fishing section, it reveals the Byzantine rules for frog-gigging, snagging, grabbing, snaring, and the use of a striking iron.

I guess we Southerners are like the Tazmanian devil; we'll eat "Aardvarks, ants, bears, boars, cats, bats, dogs, hogs, elephants, antelopes, pheasants, ferrets, giraffes, gazelles, stoats, goats, shoats, ostriches... "

The 'September Canada Goose' season used to be called the 'Resident Goose Season'. The joke was that you had to ask the goose if he's a resident before you harvest it.

In the Greek mathematical Forum
Young Euclid was present to bore'em.
He spent most of his time
Drawing circles sublime
And crossing the pons asinorum.*

wait, you said armchair mathemetrician, right?

*not my poem.

3. I'd rather see this opened to a pool of teachers, professors, scientists, etc that have been vetted for their qualifications.

The RFC (pdf) covers that: "The Secretaries are seeking Statements of Participation (SOP) from regional career and technical centers, school divisions and institutions of higher education to collaborate in the publication of open source physics instructional materials" and the SOPs must include "An overview of the capacity for the respondent to contribute in a meaningful way on the quality of the content including a short Curriculum Vitae (CV) for proposed participating personnel."

No one involved in a data center project is likely to be a large consumer of government services.

Sure they will be large consumers of government services. They will drive on the roads, they will receive protection from the police, they will sent their kids to school, they will visit the parks, they will use the state courts, they will eat the food inspected by the government. A person with a decent job will use as much of these particular services than people without jobs.

They are going to be net tax-payers. The only question is whether how much damage the government can do to them. This deal limits that damage somewhat.

The state government (in this case anyway) is the not enemy. It's providing necessary services used by everyone and begrudging them the money to do so effectively is short-sighted and destructive.

Yes, there are parasites that live off government money, but they are not where most of the money goes. Where you live might be different, but I live in Virginia. Take a look at the budget: http://dpb.virginia.gov/budget/faq.cfm or try http://dpb.virginia.gov/budget/vabud/vabud.cfm?vBiennium=2008-2010&vTable=O

I'm sure there's plenty of waste, fraud and abuse, but most of it is not. The idea that "Government has become a wealth re-distribution scheme from people who produce to people who don't" is overblown bullshit. Most of the money is reasonably well spent, and there are plenty of people watching the government and how spends its money. And they aren't sitting around making fatuous statements in anti-government rants.

No one involved in a data center project is likely to be a large consumer of government services.

Sure they will be large consumers of government services. They will drive on the roads, they will receive protection from the police, they will sent their kids to school, they will visit the parks, they will use the state courts, they will eat the food inspected by the government. A person with a decent job will use as much of these particular services than people without jobs.

They are going to be net tax-payers. The only question is whether how much damage the government can do to them. This deal limits that damage somewhat.

The state government (in this case anyway) is the not enemy. It's providing necessary services used by everyone and begrudging them the money to do so effectively is short-sighted and destructive.

Yes, there are parasites that live off government money, but they are not where most of the money goes. Where you live might be different, but I live in Virginia. Take a look at the budget: http://dpb.virginia.gov/budget/faq.cfm or try http://dpb.virginia.gov/budget/vabud/vabud.cfm?vBiennium=2008-2010&vTable=O

I'm sure there's plenty of waste, fraud and abuse, but most of it is not. The idea that "Government has become a wealth re-distribution scheme from people who produce to people who don't" is overblown bullshit. Most of the money is reasonably well spent, and there are plenty of people watching the government and how spends its money. And they aren't sitting around making fatuous statements in anti-government rants.

It's worse than you think.

From the VA Department Of Education. They even have some nifty power points. /grumble

In Virginia, it appears that the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is responsible for licensing private investigators. They provide a Private Security Services Business Directory Search form at http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/ps/directory/businessSearch.cfm. In my search, I could not find "Media Sentry" anywhere in their database.

According to the Private Investigators Association of Virginia ( http://www.piava.org/directory_info.shtml ), Consumers should always:

      1. Ask for the company's DCJS license number or request a copy of the DCJS license.
      2. Verify the validity of a DCJS license for their own protection.
      3. Be provided with a written agreement that includes scope and cost of services.
      4. Report possible unlicensed activity to DCJS. Anonymous complaints are accepted.
      5. Contact the DCJS to obtain complaint information @ http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/privatesecurity

However, I do not know if Media Sentry has operated in Virginia. If someone can show me that they have done so, I will be more than happy to issue a complaint.

In Virginia, it appears that the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is responsible for licensing private investigators. They provide a Private Security Services Business Directory Search form at http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/ps/directory/businessSearch.cfm. In my search, I could not find "Media Sentry" anywhere in their database.

According to the Private Investigators Association of Virginia ( http://www.piava.org/directory_info.shtml ), Consumers should always:

      1. Ask for the company's DCJS license number or request a copy of the DCJS license.
      2. Verify the validity of a DCJS license for their own protection.
      3. Be provided with a written agreement that includes scope and cost of services.
      4. Report possible unlicensed activity to DCJS. Anonymous complaints are accepted.
      5. Contact the DCJS to obtain complaint information @ http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/privatesecurity

However, I do not know if Media Sentry has operated in Virginia. If someone can show me that they have done so, I will be more than happy to issue a complaint.

Normal Delivery, Care in Pregnancy, Labor and Delivery
ICD Codes
650 Delivery requiring minimal or no assistance, with or without episiotomy, without fetal manipulation [eg, rotation version] or instrumentation [forceps] of spontaneous, cephalic, vaginal, full-term, single, live born infant. This code is for use as a single diagnosis code and is not to be used with any other code in the range 630-676
V22 Normal pregnancy

627 Menopausal and postmenopausal disorders
627.0 Premenopausal menorrhagia
Excessive bleeding associated with onset of menopause
Menorrhagia:
climacteric
menopausal
preclimacteric
627.1 Postmenopausal bleeding
627.2 Menopausal or female climacteric states
Symptoms, such as flushing, sleeplessness, headache, lack of concentration, associated with the menopause
627.3 Postmenopausal atrophic vaginitis
Senile (atrophic) vaginitis
627.4 States associated with artificial menopause
Postartificial menopause syndromes
Any condition classifiable to 627.1, 627.2, or 627.3 which follows induced menopause
627.8 Other specified menopausal and postmenopausal disorders
Excludes: premature menopause NOS (256.3)
627.9 Unspecified menopausal and postmenopausal ydisorder

Virginia License Plate Purchase

I had to pay for my gun too, and the state can take that. Same goes for my house, and my car. If you're going to stretch the definition to include anything that the state can take, then you don't really own anything, including your life.

Just look at their website:
http://www.virginia.gov/cmsportal/government_881/g overnment_1046/index.html
The top left says commonwealth of Virginia and the text says "state government branches".

If the governor of the state/commonwealth, Mark Warner, can say "For years, Virginia's veterans have been calling for a second care facility in the state," then I can call Virginia a state too. Obviously the citizens of Virginia don't care much whether their state is called a state or a commonwealth, especially since they are granted the same rights in the federal government whether they choose commonwealth or state as a designation.

So if somebody on slashdot wants to say "citizens of my state", and is referring to Virginia, I won't care.

Even better, starting last year, the US IRS arranged for free online filing of federal income taxes. They basically got several commercial tax preparation companies like Intuit TurboTax to provide free online-versions of their products.

See IRS free tax preparation info and the Virginia Department of Taxation"

You're correct and it's not socialistic or communistic or anything else.
Commonwealths "States" of this country are Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Virginia. VA doesn't have a Secretary of State -- they have a Secretary of Commonwealth.

Curious why some states are commonwealths? Read the FAQ -- Why is VA a Commonwealth?
Starts with: There is no such entity as the "State" of Virginia. While generally categorized as a state, Virginia has been the "Commonwealth" since independence from Great Britain. Virginia is first of four states that are Commonwealths, to include our daughter Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was formed from Virginia in 1792.
Finally, Puerto Rico is technically a commonwealth, but that's under a different situation, since it is not a State of the Union. It's just the name and form of its local government.

Each State of the Union is guaranteed sovereignty and a repulican form of government: thus they really are like 50 mini-countries.
However, they each agreed by compact upon admission or ratification of the Constitution for the original 13-states that they would have a Government of the United States of America (USG) to operate in certain areas and that this government would also be a sovereign, too.

How each state wants to operate in its sovereign form is up to the people as long as its republic in nature. If New Jersey would like to call itself the "Free and Independent Peoples Democratic Place of the Principality of New Jersey, formerly known as the State of New Jersey." That's up to itself.

However, from the point of view of the USG each state is just like any other state. That's why we just call them the fifty states. From the national point of view: All states are equal in that they have two senators, elect the president via the electoral college through whatever selection process the state would like to select, and can't be destroyed by Congress.

You're correct and it's not socialistic or communistic or anything else.
Commonwealths "States" of this country are Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Virginia. VA doesn't have a Secretary of State -- they have a Secretary of Commonwealth.

Curious why some states are commonwealths? Read the FAQ -- Why is VA a Commonwealth?
Starts with: There is no such entity as the "State" of Virginia. While generally categorized as a state, Virginia has been the "Commonwealth" since independence from Great Britain. Virginia is first of four states that are Commonwealths, to include our daughter Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was formed from Virginia in 1792.
Finally, Puerto Rico is technically a commonwealth, but that's under a different situation, since it is not a State of the Union. It's just the name and form of its local government.

Each State of the Union is guaranteed sovereignty and a repulican form of government: thus they really are like 50 mini-countries.
However, they each agreed by compact upon admission or ratification of the Constitution for the original 13-states that they would have a Government of the United States of America (USG) to operate in certain areas and that this government would also be a sovereign, too.

How each state wants to operate in its sovereign form is up to the people as long as its republic in nature. If New Jersey would like to call itself the "Free and Independent Peoples Democratic Place of the Principality of New Jersey, formerly known as the State of New Jersey." That's up to itself.

However, from the point of view of the USG each state is just like any other state. That's why we just call them the fifty states. From the national point of view: All states are equal in that they have two senators, elect the president via the electoral college through whatever selection process the state would like to select, and can't be destroyed by Congress.

US (nation) for Oct 04: 5.1%
VA (state) for Oct 04: 3.2%

If these poor souls have skills, they will find jobs here. I doubt most of them have security clearances, but those that do will be immediately re-employed.

Helevius

The Commonwealth of Virginia!