Subsequent to Drudge running the news, Schilling’s account of government-school deity-redaction also was featured on Glenn Beck’s The Blaze and Todd Starnes’ Fox News & Commentary, among many other major media outlets.

Web traffic from DrudgeReport.com to SchillingShow.com was so intense that it crashed the incoming server and alternate hosting arrangements were sought.

The Schilling Show extends gratitude to the Drudge Report for picking up the story and to Norm Leahy and BearingDrift.com who reposted it, accepting the incoming link from Drudge.

Andrew Breitbart, a hero of constitutional conservatism passed away March 1, 2012. Rest in peace.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf1AqKcj7Yc

ROB SCHILLING
With an all-Democrat city council that’s likely to stay that way, and a city populace that typically votes 80 percent Democratic, conservative radio show host and former City Councilor Rob Schilling may be in the minority, but his is a loud and persistent voice of opposition to the leaders of what he calls “The People’s Republic of Charlottesville.” The most recent target of his wrath: Occupy Charlottesville, and the city officials who approved the tent city that sprung up in mid-October and remained until November 30. Calling the Occupiers a “lawless group” and criticizing the condition of Lee Park after the group vacated, Schilling has also pointed out that the Tea Party hasn’t been met with the same level of favors by the city.

The Schilling Show thanks The Hook for this recognition, and congratulates POTY winner, Albemarle County Supervisor Ken Boyd, as well as the other runners up.

I like National Public Radio. I just wish they weren’t getting my tax money.

After the primaries for the 2008 election, The Joan Shorenstein Center on Press, Politics, and Public Policy of The Harvard Kennedy School released a study that showed the media had given measurably more favorable coverage for particular candidates. National Public Radio was no exception.

Nor is this year an exception. Recently on Morning Edition, Andrea Seabrook filed a report on two Republican candidates. According to Ms. Seabrook, there are some Republicans who are anti-science or at least not prone to engage in “evidence based policy making.”

Ms. Seabrook’s concern was first for Michelle Bachman and based on two statements the candidate made, one recently and one in 2009. In the first, Bachman speaks about God trying to send a message to congress given the recent earthquake and hurricane in the D.C. area. An audio clip was played during the report and to me, and apparently everyone in Bachman’s audience, she was making a joke. Seabrook, though, remained skeptical. In the second, Bachman comments on the Swine Flu panic that ensued not long after President Obama took office. The candidate declared it an “interesting coincidence” that the last time there was a Swine Flu panic was during the Carter administration. Presumably, she was hinting at the penchant for Democrats to not let a good crisis go to waste. The reporter pointed out that the first case was actually in 1976 with President Ford in the White House. So, the comment was inaccurate and maybe a little weird, but I don’t recall Ms. Seabrook having any concern during the last primaries about Senator Obama’s claim of having visited 57 states or his belief that if he were elected President, the seas would recede.

The other Republican in science trouble is Texas Governor, Rick Perry. Apparently he questions the extent of human activity on global warming. He said, “Yes, the climate is changing. It has been changing since the Earth began… Scientists are coming forward and questioning the original idea that man-made global warming is what is causing the climate to change.” Hmm? That doesn’t seem too extraordinary. But that wasn’t the governor’s only infraction! He also spoke about evolution: “It’s a theory out there that has some gaps in it.” Here, I think Ms. Seabrook was gasping for air, but I’m not sure why she seemed so offended. That he called it a theory? If so, that’s odd. It’s called The Theory of Evolution after all. Or doesn’t she like the ‘gap’ part? But Darwin himself acknowledged the difference (and problem) between micro and macro evolution. Not okay to refer to that as a gap?

Anyway, that got me thinking: Are Democrats really the party of “evidence based policy making?” If so, how do we explain all those counter-productive policy preferences put forth over the years? A few examples…

During the primary debates in 2007, then Senator Obama was asked why he would raise the capital gains tax given that it has, in the past, led to less revenue for government. Even though raising the tax would adversely affect 100 million Americans who own stock, the president responded that he would do it anyway as a matter of fairness. He cited 50 hedge fund managers who were making too much money (in an apparently unfair fashion) as a reason for this. In other words, the President would hurt 100 million citizens and reduce revenue in order to get the 50 rich guys. That doesn’t sound practical or evidence based. It sounds petty and ideological.

Al Gore claimed the seas will rise 20 feet in the next 100 years. The United Nation’s (IPCC Panel) latest report said that it might be more like, well, 18 inches. Either way, the Left proposed the Kyoto Protocol. The environmentalist, Bjorn Lomborg, of the Copenhagen Consensus, says two things. First that Al Gore is all about hype. Second, that even if all of the Kyoto Protocol was followed by every country on Earth for the next 100 years, it would postpone the effects of global warming only by 6 years. And that would come at 150 billion dollars per year. He also says that the United Nations figures you could cure every malady on Earth for half that. That’s basic health care, clean drinking water, sanitation, and education to every human being on the planet. Slow global warming by 6 years or, for half the money, provide all that much-needed care to the poorest on the globe. But the Left’s concern curiously remains with Cap and Trade.

How about DDT? Malaria was nearly eradicated from the globe by the 1960′s due to the pesticide’s use. In 1962, Rachel Carson, in her book Silent Spring, predicted that the use of DDT would cause a cancer epidemic that would hit “practically 100 percent” of the human population, and worse yet, would thin out the shells of bird eggs. After seven months and 9,000 pages of testimony, an EPA administrative judge concluded “DDT is not a carcinogenic hazard to man… DDT is not a mutagenic or teratogenic hazard to man… The use of DDT under the regulations involved here do not have a deleterious effect on freshwater fish, estuarine organisms, wild birds or other wildlife.” Still, in 1972 the pesticide was banned. Today the UN estimates that a child dies every 30 seconds from Malaria. And today, Rachel Carson is still praised by the Left. Evidence based or agenda based?

Unemployment insurance: Google “effect of increasing the length of unemployment insurance” and you will find any number of studies for cities, states, and even nations that show that the longer government provides insurance checks to the unemployed the longer it takes for those people to take a job. In spite of that, Congress has now extended benefits twice to 99 weeks. So if shortening the time frame will push people back to work why have Democrats insisted on the extensions? Evidence and policy once again at odds.

Social Security: An account opened for you and guaranteed by the government to assist you in paying your bills once you have retired. Only there isn’t really an account and the money you get back represents a horrible rate of return as compared with just about any other investment. On top of that, when you die, excess funds that you earned aren’t inherited by your family; rather, they remain with government. And since poorer people die younger than the wealthy, the system is actually regressive. With average life expectancy as it is, we end up with young black men subsidizing old white woman. So why is this considered a third rail in politics? Precisely because it is politics. There certainly isn’t evidence that this system makes any sense economically.

The Left’s list of impractical, illogical, and problem ridden policies is endless: The Square Deal, the New Freedom, the New Era, The New Deal, The Great Society… The mercury-filled light bulb, the living wage, affordable housing, CAFE standards… All flawed. All with unintended consequences. All based on theory or merely a ‘feeling’ that it’s the right thing to do.

So, Ms. Seabrook, is the Left really where you go for evidence based policy?

Shortly after Carole Thorpe, chair of the Jefferson Area Tea Party (JATP), submitted a city application for the planned JATP “demonstration” in McGuffey Park this Friday, stories regarding the as-of-yet unapproved event appeared on the evening newscasts of both NBC 29 and the Newsplex.

Thorpe has filed a complaint with Charlottesville City Manager Maurice Jones (copied in full below), who responds that he “will be looking into the questions and issues” raised and hopes “to learn more in the next day or so.” ABMF4JQWACH4

Following is Carole Thorpe’s letter in its entirety:

From: Carole Thorpe
Subject: JATP Inquiry of Charlottesville City Government
Date: October 19, 2011 07:29:41 AM EDT

To:
Mr. Brian Daly, Director of Parks and Recreation
Mr. Maurice Jones, City Manager
Mr. S. Craig Brown, City Attorney

Sirs:

Yesterday, I mailed a completed application and the required $25.00 fee to the Parks and Recreation Department to request use of McGuffey Park by the Jefferson Area Tea Party (JATP) for a demonstration this Friday, October 21.  Typically, I submit such applications weeks in advance of our events, but I hoped - like the park application approved for Occupy Charlottesville – it might receive equally fast approval.  I called Events Coordinator Michelle Christian to notify her of the date so she could note it on her calendar, pending receipt of our application.  She told me I would likely receive a phone call about the status of our application sometime Wednesday.

Because approval was pending, I purposely chose to wait to publicly announce our demonstration.  It was the responsible thing to do and I thought it was my decision to make.  So, imagine how shocked and offended I was to watch reports on last night’s CBS-19 and NBC-29 six o’clock newscasts (citing information they said was given to them by an unnamed city representative) which disclosed that the JATP submitted an application for a demonstration to be held in McGuffey Park on Friday night.

Worse yet, CBS-19 also reported that our demonstration would be a counter-rally!  This is categorically UNTRUE. I called and spoke to that reporter less than an hour following the broadcast, and I was told the source of description of “counter-rally” came from a City representative.

I am appalled and livid by what I consider to be a dubious act conducted by someone in City government.  As a result, I am writing you with several inquiries for which I request immediate answers:

1. Please clarify your official policy for handling event applications.
2. Is it standard procedure to notify the media of applications submitted by organizations, whether pending or approved?  If not, what justified a breach of policy in this instance involving the JATP?
3. Who is the person (or persons) who authorized notification of the media about our application?
4. Who is the person (or persons) who failed to contact me to clarify the nature of our demonstration prior to erroneously telling the media it will be a counter-rally?
5. What was the goal or intent of City government behind contacting the media with this information?
6. Late yesterday afternoon, Michelle Christian left a phone message to say that a decision had been made to waive our $25.00 application fee.  Why?  She gave no reason, so what’s different now?  Please explain. Strangely, she never stated that our application had been officially approved – and we still await that confirmation.

In my opinion, this ”leak” to the media was unjustified and unconscionable.  Furthermore, it recklessly placed me and the JATP in an awkward position.

Following the broadcasts, I rushed to make several phone calls to halt the spread of misinformation and prevent misunderstanding.  I called a representative with Occupy Charlottesville to ensure the group that the purpose of our demonstration is not nor was ever intended to be a counter-rally to their effort.  I am left to wonder what possible benefit City government could gain from an artificial friction between our groups?  I also placed calls to CBS-19, NBC-29, and other media outlets to implore them to correct the story.

In addition to your answers to the six questions posed above, I ask for two other reasonable actions from the City.

The first is an appropriate reprimand of the person or persons who created this mess.  And the second is for the City to issue a media release which includes a correction of its erroneous information and an apology to the JATP.

For the sake of transparency, I am copying various members of local media on this letter and ask that you copy all of these contacts when you reply to me.  I am certain they will be interested in pursuing the answers I seek if I do not hear from a City representative in a timely manner.

Respectfully,

Carole Thorpe, Chairwoman
Jefferson Area Tea Party

At the Wednesday, September 7 Albemarle County Board of Supervisors meeting, a board majority (Ken Boyd, Rodney Thomas, Duane Snow, Lindsay Dorrier) voted to drop the county’s participation in the Cool Counties initiative, with Dennis Rooker and board chair, Ann Mallek, voting to continue the unholy alliance. A visibly rattled Rooker took the outcome as an opportunity to again disparage the local tea party—and the tea party movement in general—as he lashed out against the verdict:

“But, you know, I mean, where we’re going now, is, in my view, is in a direction where we’re afraid to be perceived as environmentally committed because, you know, I guess, the tea party has told us that’s it’s a bad thing and they can put another notch on their gun and send out an e-mail to all of their people saying we got Albemarle County out of ICLEI, and we got Albemarle County out of Cool Counties.

There will be an e-mail that goes out nationally today or tomorrow on that issue because it’s a notch on the gun. And that’s what this is about. A notch on the gun.”

And what is the source and meaning of Rooker’s violent “gun” rhetoric? From Answers.com, “notch on the gun” is described as follows:

In westerns, the phrase is commonly used metaphorically with each notch on the gun representing one person the gunfighter owning it has killed.

When invited onto The Schilling Show to appear with JATP chair, Carole Thorpe in discussion of his disparaging remarks, the previously always-available supervisor suddenly busied himself for the next several weeks:

From: Dennis Rooker dsrooker@earthlink.net
Date: September 12, 2011 01:11:51 PM EDT
To: Rob Schilling, Carole Thorpe
Subject: Re: Cool Counties on The Schilling Show

Rob,

Thank you for your offer.  Unfortunately, I would not have the time in my schedule over the next couple of weeks to be on your show.

Dennis

Rooker’s assiduous schedule miraculously opened up three days later, when he appeared as a guest on WINA’s Morning News with Rick and Jane to discuss his shifting position on supervisor-appointed “committees” for the proposed 29 Western Bypass.

Cowardice, violent rhetoric, and passive aggression aside, Dennis Rooker is in desperate need of a reality check and perhaps, anger management coursework. The supervisor’s passionate embrace of the leftist-internationalist climate change agenda has upended his usual sense of decorum, resulting in multiple incidents of verbal incontinence and discommodious public lid-flipping.

Unfortunately, the left’s ongoing high profile condemnations of incivility in public discourse are a one-way street. Locally and nationally, liberal attacks on conservatives are met with stony silence from the typically hypersensitive, self-deputized “civility police” as well as from the Marxist mainstream media. Dennis Rooker’s anti-tea-party diatribe highlights not only his own lack of self-control but also America’s pandemic progressive political hypocrisy.

See Dennis Rooker delivering his attack on the tea party (video courtesy of Audrey Welborn):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zYzt1WXW3Y

Dear Charlottesville Voters~

Due to the media response following the Democratic Primary I felt the need to write to you the voters of Charlottesville to explain a few things that may be unclear about me and my “integrity”.

For 22 years I have served as a Deputy Clerk in both the General District and Circuit Courts. The term for the Charlottesville Circuit Court is up and available in the November 2011 General Election.

After first speaking with Jim Nix (co-chairman of the Democratic Party) and a couple of local attorneys regarding whether or not Paul Garret would be running again, and my interest in this position, I was given a thumbs up to go ahead and consider to run. After careful consideration and the verbal backing of some attorneys I met with Jim Nix and signed the Democratic Candidacy form and submitted my check for $250.00 to the Democratic Party. I had never ever been involved in any political race but because of the great response that I was receiving from the people that I had discussed my intentions with I felt good about becoming involved in the political scene! What an eye opener that has turned out to be!

Once I had signed the Declaration form for the Democratic Party and submitted my $250.00 check I never heard anything else from the Democratic Committee members or the few local attorneys that I had felt supported me in the beginning. I did however speak with Llzelle Dugger to let her know of my intentions when she informed me that she had decided that she was going to run as well. She told me that she would be announcing within the next month but still had some more “signatures” to get first. I hung up the phone wondering what she needed signatures for?  That is when I decided that maybe I should be gathering signatures as well; so that is when I started also to obtain signatures.

I want to first let everyone know that I am in no way a professional politician. I was only competing for a position for a job that I had been doing most of my adult career. I am a native of Charlottesville; born in the now “old” Martha Jefferson Hospital and living in the Charlottesville area my entire life; having graduated from Charlottesville High School.

Yes, I do work under my sister, Debbie Shipp, Clerk of the Albemarle Circuit Court. What the citizens are failing to be told is that I also worked along with her for 14 years as we were both Deputy Clerks.

No, I don’t have a law degree. What I do have is something far better for the position for which I intend on running for, which is EXPERIENCE.
I have worked for over 22 years in the clerk’s office in every department that there is so I do have the knowledge and the experience to know what goes on in this office and the procedures involved in the day to day functions.

After submitting my Declaration for the Democratic Party nomination form and my $250.00 check I then found out that Mr. Garrett was also going to run and my supporters that I once felt that I had were now backing another candidate that had decided a month from my announcement to run as well.

I was now basically on my own; involved in a race in which I was completely new to, but I have always been one to give everything that I do 100% and fight until the end! If the Democratic committee would have been honest with me from the beginning and would have told me that they were considering another individual to support as their choice candidate then I would have clearly stepped aside and run as an Independent and would have saved my $250.00 toward my campaign fund.

I would see this thing through with or without the supporters that I once thought that I had. If I had one thing going for me it was my experience. I do know the duties inside and out of the clerk’s office as that has been my life.

With the help of a few family members I proceeded to attempt to run a campaign. I had no idea that I would be fighting an uphill battle with a Democratic Party that was controlled by a few prominent members of the city. I guess you can say that I learned all this the hard way but in a way that I will never ever forget.

As far as forums, there was only one forum held for the Clerk of Court.
With a position that pays $112,000.00 a year don’t the citizens of Charlottesville have the right to decide which candidates truly have the knowledge of the duties and responsibilities that the Clerk of Court has? The one forum that we did have conveniently was held the Saturday after an article appeared in The Daily Progress regarding the past audits of both the Charlottesville Circuit Court and the Albemarle Circuit Court which the mediator addressed first putting Mr. Garrett and myself in a negative environment from the beginning.

I raised the least amount of donations of the 3 candidates that were running for Clerk of Court. I did not have supporters who were shelling out $2,500.00 checks to me. I would never even think of asking for this amount of money for a local Clerk of Court race. What I did have was a prominent named attorney here in town writing blogs online in the area papers and TV stations and on Face book, questioning my financial reports and their accuracy. Yes, you can check it out for yourself.
Ron Wiley, a/k/a “RangeRon” made several negative statements and blogs pertaining to my knowledge and truthfulness. Later I found out that he was also a member of the notorious Democratic Committee who helped out with the “Unassembled Caucus” and helped to count the votes that night. In my opinion a committee member should not publicly support or publicly try to discredit another Democratic candidate prior to the Unassembled Caucus.

I find this to be very unethical especially for an attorney in our local community and a member of the Democratic Committee. And they question “my” integrity?!

The Democratic “Unassembled Caucus” was held on Saturday, August 20th and I did not win the Democratic Nomination. It never surprised me at all as my deck of playing cards had been stacked against me before the first hand was ever dealt out. I felt as if the Democratic Committee members had only used me as a pawn in a chess game to gently and quietly slide Paul Garrett out of a position that he had held for over 30 years. I feel as if the Democratic Committee used me to obtain my signature on their declaration form so that they could corner the market as to who their possible opponents would be in the upcoming November election. I felt as if they already had their candidate of choice waiting in the wings to uproot Mr. Garrett.

My feeling of defeat was a huge and emotional low blow. I can only imagine the hurt and deceit that Mr. Garrett must have felt.

Now I have decided to run as an Independent Candidate for the upcoming November Election. I have read the articles concerning my credibility since I had previously signed the Democratic Declaration saying that I would support the Democratic Nominee in the next election.

Yes, I did sign the Declaration.

Yes, I know exactly what it said.

Yes, I am still running as an Independent Candidate.

Why am I still running you may ask?

I am running now because of my EXPERIENCE. The experience that I have in the Clerk’s office and the experience that I just went through with the “prominent” inner circle from the Democratic Committee members who try to control the one right that we should all have – the right to VOTE for who we want to VOTE for! I felt as if I never had the support from the Democratic Committee once I had pledged to run on their ticket. Why should I feel any disloyalty to them now that I have chosen to run as an Independent?

Over the course of my campaign trail I can honestly say that I have met many, many wonderful DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS and INDEPENDENTS and have come out with one conclusion- “We ALL bleed red”.

Hopefully I will get by to see some you during my remaining weeks of my campaign, but if not, I just wanted everyone to know my side of the story and the truth about what has made me decide to run as an Independent in the upcoming November Election

I do have the future of your Clerk’s office at my best and sincere interest. I am trustworthy and dependable and extremely knowledgeable about your Clerk’s office.

I was naive the first time around but now I am a more “seasoned” and wiser player of the game.

Thanks for taking your time to hear me out~

Pam Melampy
Independent Candidate for Charlottesville Circuit Court Clerk

Galvin for Council

For Immediate Release

August 17th, 2011

Today former Republican Charlottesville City Councilor, Tea Party activist, and right-wing radio host Rob Schilling posted a satirical “endorsement” of Kathy Galvin on his show’s website.  [To see the website, click here: http://www.schillingshow.com/2011/08/17/political-endorsement-schilling-show-supports-kathy-galvin-in-charlottesville-democrat-firehouse-primary/] Kathy Galvin and her campaign want to make it clear that they understand this “endorsement” to be tongue-in-cheek satire squarely within the American political tradition, and know that no Charlottesville voter would misunderstand this as an actual, genuine endorsement of the sort Ms. Galvin has humbly received from Kristin Szakos, Kay Slaughter, Leah Puryear, Charles Barbour, Bitsy Waters ,Virginia Daugherty, Meredith Richards, Jason Halbert, Hosea Mitchell, Ned Michie, Blake Caravati, Julian Taliferro, Dave Chapman, Alvin Edwards, Peggy Van Yahres, Jonathan Blank, and Sherry Kraft.

However, Ms. Galvin and her volunteers and supporters do take Mr. Schilling’s satire as an unintended compliment.  When Charlottesville’s most prominent right-wing talk show host, most recent GOP City Councilor, and biggest Tea Party rabble rouser is motivated to work long and hard on a 367 word attempt to influence the Democratic Primary, you know that the candidate who is being attacked is doing something right.

Ms. Galvin’s remarks in response to Mr. Schilling:

“I do indeed take Mr. Schilling’s mock endorsement as a compliment; after all, he’s made it clear that I am the candidate in the race whom he most fears! Now that’s a novelty for someone who is only 5’2”.”

Ms. Galvin continued,

“Although Mr. Schilling was writing political satire, and we had a good chuckle about it while we were working on the campaign today, I do regard it as something of a challenge to live up to the comparison with two former Democratic Mayors, David Brown and Maurice Cox (who is also an architecture professor).  I’m a proud Democrat running in the Democratic primary in a city that voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama, Tom Perriello, Creigh Deeds, and David Toscano; why wouldn’t I be proud to be the subject of an attack by that same city’s most vocal right-wing gadfly?”

–

Authorized by Galvin for Council

VOTE GALVIN – Greener • Smarter • Stronger

… by design

Dear Putnam Family,

It has taken me nearly two years to write this letter as I have spent the time contemplating and coming to grips with the fact that George passed away. As today is George’s birthday (Bastille Day as he always referenced), I thought it time to complete my thoughts and forward them to you.

Growing up in Los Angeles, I knew peripherally of George when I was a child; he was on the television news in my home during the 1960s.

In the mid 1970s I began to listen to talk radio, and by the latter part of the decade, I had “discovered” Talk Back with George Putnam on KIEV.

George was “larger than life” to me. I loved his booming voice, his laugh, his courage in calling out injustice in local government and taking on politicians by name (Zev Yaroslavsky comes to mind).

Upon graduating from high school in 1979, “listening to George” became a part of my daily routine. A number of times during the next few years, my mother, knowing my admiration for George, would take me to the Arco Towers to watch Talk Back “live.” What a thrill for me!

I occasionally would call into the program to speak with George, and one day I won a gift certificate to the Smokehouse Restaurant—one of George’s long-time sponsors. On the evening we utilized our certificate, I was amazed to see George dining with friends on the other side of the restaurant. He really did eat at the Smokehouse, just like he said every day on his program. I spent the evening looking over my shoulder just hoping to catch George’s eye.

During my college years, I would schedule classes around lunchtime so that I could listen to Talk Back. Being in a rock band, my friends were bemused by my radio habits. When traveling to midday rock-and-roll “gigs”, I would have George blaring from my car radio.

In 1981, I took a job managing a men’s “big and tall” clothing store in Sierra Madre. As the store’s sole employee, I often was there by myself, and thus took the liberty to play to Talk Back over the store’s radio system during my working hours. As you can imagine, George’s opinions and guests elicited interesting responses from the store’s customers.

By the mid 1980s, I had graduated from Cal Poly Pomona, and I realized that life was about to hit full force. It was time to get a “real” job.

In great part due to my tremendous love of Talk Back, I decided to join the ranks of the self-employed and I started my own business. I did not want to miss even an hour of George’s daily program, and I figured that if I was working for myself, I could have the radio on whenever I pleased. Over the subsequent years while running my business, I turned-down several outside job offers solely because they would have interrupted my noon-to-2:00 radio-listening schedule.

I “met” so many interesting people on George’s program, and nearly 30 years later, I still distinctly remember:

• Caller, “Anthony,” who began his calls: “Hey old class of ’14,’ this is Anthony, and I’ve got two subjects…” To which, George always replied, “The first, please…”
• Victor Christian, the 90+ year-old car salesman. After George talked with Victor, he would often reference his own desire to do a program-topic called “life begins at 90.” I looked forward to hearing that show, but I’m not sure George ever got to it.
• Rosendo Rodiguez and his seeing-eye dog, Nardo. I don’t remember how George “found” Rosendo, but I was fascinated by Rosendo and Nardo’s walk across America, and George’s chronicling of that amazing event.
• Caller, “Harold,” was dubbed the “Poet Laureate” of Talk Back. A frequent caller, Harold usually was antagonistic toward George, and sometimes they would quarrel intensely over issues. As years went by, George, in his own unique way learned how to disarm Harold. When the call would come in, George let Harold have his  “say,” and then George would say, “can you give us some poetry, please?” Harold was flattered by the opportunity, and the “tone” of his calls became much softer in nature as he and George were now “friends.”
• Then there was, “Doc,” the documentary person. His liberal rantings annoyed George, but George always let him “talk back.”
• And, “Art, from Outer Space, “ who frequently began his calls by saying, “George, dig….”
• The man who “took out the bodies,” Hal “ILLEGAL” Ezell,  Howard Jarvis and Paul Gann, Doris Day, Lucille Ball, Bob Barker and so many more will live on forever in my memory.

And who could forget the advertisers? No one read an ad like George did. I can still hear George pitching for Altadena Dairy, Salon Pas, Steve Dewey and so many more.

My wife and I moved from California to Virginia in 1998, and one of the most difficult issues for me was leaving George behind. I could barely stand the thought of life without Talk Back, and in that way, the move proved as heart wrenching as I’d feared.

The multi-media Internet as we know it today was still in its infancy then. But, I did find a web site that was posting some of George’s programs online. However, we were living in the country and the dial-up connection was spotty at best. I was not able to hear much.

Eventually, I had to move on with my new life in Virginia. I never forgot about George, though, as over the interim I’d often check the KRLA web site just to make sure George was still there.

As technology caught up with my desire to hear George again, I would tune in through the Internet occasionally, and I delighted in hearing Talk Back once more.

I listened to George’s 93^rd birthday special and then learned that he’d been ill and away from the program. In spite of his struggles, he remained optimistic and sounded characteristically upbeat during the program that day.

A year or so later, I learned from Sandy Frazier that George had passed. I cannot describe the deep sadness that I felt. George had always been there for me, and even though I’d not heard him regularly in years, I felt the void.

It so happens that life for me has taken an unexpected turn, and I now host a talk radio program of my own here in central Virginia. The Schilling Show has been on the air since 2008, and coincidentally, my air time is from noon to 2:00 PM.

George and his Talk Back program have influenced me and my show in so many ways. I reference him often on the air, and earlier this year, on Ronald Reagan’s birth date, I played portions George’s moving tribute to the Gipper on The Schilling Show, not only for the audience to hear how George eulogized his dear friend, but for them to get to know the man who played such a formative role in my life.

The Putnam family is in my prayers as we approach the 2^nd year anniversary of George’s passing. I’m grateful to have met him on a few occasions and for the tremendous education he gave me through his life’s work.

Watch the late George Putnam sing a couple of his favorite compositions, W.C. Handy’s The St. Louis Blues and The Empty Bed Blues, on the Dr. Gene Scott television show:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc-jZ0bUXig

In the wake of the Albemarle Truth in Taxation Alliance’s discovery that Barnes and other Albemarle County Athletic Directors had entered into secret, unauthorized “exclusivity agreements” with athletic apparel vendors, Albemarle County School Board members requested copies of the “contracts” from school administration. Weeks later, while board members still were waiting for the solicited information, The Schilling Show issued the following FOIA request to Maury Brown, Communications Coordinator for Albemarle County Public Schools (ACPS):

From: Rob Schilling
Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 11:06 AM
To: Maury Brown
Subject: FOIA Request: Albemarle County Schools’ AD Exclusivity Agreements

Hi Maury,

Can you please provide me with copies of Albemarle County High Schools’ Athletic Program Directors’ signed ‘exclusivity agreements’ with sporting apparel and equipment companies for the current year and the three previous years?

Thanks very much for your assistance.

Later that same day, copies of the contracts for each of Albemarle County’s three high schools were sent to The Schilling Show, provided to the School Board, and released to the media.

Of particular interest was the Monticello High School agreement, which appeared to provide far greater benefit to Athletic Director (AD) Fitzgerald Barnes than did the corresponding contracts from the other Albemarle County high schools and their counterpart ADs. Notably, the copy of the contract provided by Barnes was not signed.

Shortly thereafter, The Schilling Show submitted a FOIA follow up noting that the original request had been for “signed” copies of the agreements:

From: Rob Schilling
Sent: Wed 4/20/2011 5:01 AM
To: Maury Brown
Subject: Re: FULFILLING FOIA Request: Albemarle County Schools’ AD Exclusivity Agreements

Hi Maury,

Hope your day is off to a good start.

Just wanted to follow up with you on my April 14 FOIA. The original request was for:

“copies of Albemarle County High Schools’ Athletic Program Directors’ signed ‘exclusivity agreements’ with sporting apparel and equipment companies for the current year and the three previous years?”

I am in receipt of one year’s worth of agreements, but these are not fully executed. Are there fully or partially signed versions of the contracts you sent me?

Also, I had requested the current year plus three previous years. Are there agreements for previous years? When may I anticipate copies of those?

I appreciate your help in completing the fulfillment of my request within the legal time frame.

Brown responded that the agreements released to the public were the ones provided by the Athletic Directors in response to the FOIA request:

From: “Maury Brown”
Date: April 20, 2011 09:40:53 AM EDT
To: “Rob Schilling”
Subject: RE: FULFILLING FOIA Request: Albemarle County Schools’ AD Exclusivity Agreements

Rob:

I sent you all three high schools’ agreements. Did you only receive one? One file was a PDF, one a TIFF (scan) and one a Word document. If you do not have (or are unable to open) the others, I will be happy to resend.

The agreements are multi-year agreements and thus cover the timeframe you requested. Albemarle and Western Albemarle High did not have a previous agreement; this was the first one they entered into.

I will check into whether there are other versions of the agreement other than the ones I sent you; however I can tell you those were the versions provided by the athletic directors and then provided to the school board last Thursday. [Emphasis added.]

Two days later, Maury Brown confirmed that a second inquiry had been made of the division’s high school Athletic Directors, and that no other versions (i.e. signed copies) of the contracts were in “possession” of ACPS:

From: “Maury Brown”
Date: April 22, 2011 03:02:34 PM EDT
To: Rob Schilling
Subject: Your questions about the athletic agreements

Good afternoon, Rob:

I wanted to get back with you about your questions regarding the athletic agreements that we made available to you under your FOIA request.

The WAHS agreement is signed by Steve Heon, the athletic director at WAHS.

We have made another inquiry of our athletic directors and the contracts that we provided to you are the only ones that we have in our possession at Albemarle County Public Schools. It is my understanding that Downtown Athletic does have a copy of the WAHS agreement with both parties’ signatures, but the language of the agreement is identical to the one we submitted to you. We are aware that the agreements we have in our possession are not fully executed, and they are void as a matter of law. In any future educational partnerships with vendors we will ensure that all contracts receive the required legal and administrative review.

At this point we are not aware of any written agreement between UnderArmour and Monticello High School that existed prior to the one that we sent you beginning on March 10.  However, we are continuing to review our contract practices with our administrators and would need to confirm this information. [Emphasis added.]

A third FOIA request was sent to ACPS on April 27, 2011 requesting copies of correspondence to or from Fitzgerald Barnes regarding the “exclusivity agreements.” On May 9, 2011 the request was fulfilled:

From: “Maury Brown”
Date: May 9, 2011 08:56:14 AM EDT
To: Rob Schilling
Subject: FOIA response

Good morning, Rob:

Attached please find the documents to or from Fitz Barnes related to the provision of athletic apparel to the coaches/school under the agreement with UnderArmour for the dates you requested.

There is no charge for this request. Thank you for your patience while we coordinated gathering the documents.

Buried deep within one of several multi-page .PDF documents supplied in response to the third FOIA was a troubling document: a copy of the “exclusivity agreement” between Monticello High School and Under Armour, Inc,  signed on May 14 (or 24), 2010 by Fitzgerald Barnes! (click here for a signed copy of the contract)

This, after Albemarle County Public Schools Communications Coordinator Brown stated that no such document was provided by Mr. Barnes (or was in ACPS’ possession) after two very specific requests.

This, after Maury Brown reiterated that the contracts were “void as a matter of law” because they were not “fully executed.”

But, the contract was fully executed, by Monticello High School Athletic Director, Fitzgerald Barnes. He simply refused to provide the executed document to his ACPS superiors, including the Albemarle County School Board, who initially had requested the information, many weeks prior.

But Barnes’ troubles don’t end there. The Under Armour, Inc. contract concludes with the following request:

“Please indicate your acceptance of this agreement by having an authorized representative of Monticello High School sign below and return this letter to us.”

Barnes signed the contract, but according to ACPS statements on the incident, he was not authorized to do so. And, ACPS indicated that neither the Albemarle County School Board nor ACPS administration (including Monticello High School Principal, Catherine Worley; and division Superintendent, Pamela Moran) were aware of such contracts.

While ACPS administration and the majority of the Albemarle School Board apparently believe that the entire issue has been resolved and that no wrongdoing has been committed, many questions remain.

• Was Fitzgerald Barnes authorized to sign the Under Armour, Inc. “exclusivity agreement”?
• If not, what are the division’s policies on misrepresentation and employees’ unauthorized signatures on contracts that potentially legally bind the division?
• Why did Fitzgerald Barnes mislead his superiors in ACPS administration by telling them that he was not in possession of an executed agreement, when in fact, he was?
• What is the division’s policy on employees who violate multiple FOIA requests by refusing to provide specific information?
• Can ACPS unilaterally void a contract signed by a division employee acting as an agent for the schools?

These questions and many others have been festering, without reply, for too long. The Schilling Show and a multitude of concerned Albemarle County citizens are waiting for straightforward and complete answers.

After confirming a May 4 appearance on WINA’s The Schilling Show, Charlottesville City Council hopeful James Halfaday, at the last minute has chickened-out.

Democrat Halfaday, who personally had accepted the invitation to interview—after an ongoing, multi-week email exchange with The Schilling Show—conveyed his withdrawal via email through campaign manager (and mother hen), Russ Naranjo:

From: russndc@aol.com
Date: May 3, 2011 07:10:39 PM EDT
Subject: James Halfaday

Dear Mr. Schilling:

James Halfaday has made the decision not to go on the show Wednesday.  He wants to wait until other Democratic candidates come forward.

Thank you,

Russ Naranjo
Campaign Manager

Multiple subsequent attempts to reach the Halfaday campaign were unsuccessful.

Aligning yourself with disgraced pseudo-Democrat Julian Taliaferro and following in the frightened footsteps of defeated Democrat Mike Baird is no way to campaign in Charlottesville, Chicken Halfaday. And counting your chickens before they hatch is a recipe for electoral disaster. You may have escaped the Schilling Show interview, but in the end, the yoke’s on you! Cackle, cackle, cackle…

Recipe for Chicken Halfaday

1 Large Chicken

1 Bad Egg

2 cups Cowardice

1 cup Ineptitude

3 tbs Confusion

1 tsp Shortsightedness

1 pinch Flakiness

 

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
• Baste chicken liberally for thirty-one years.
• Bake chicken at 350 for 2 hours, then remove from oven just prior to chicken being done.
• Stick a fork in it.

So far, so good.

In the April 11, 2011 edition of the paper, the following letter was published, attributed to Miki Liszt of Charlottesville:

Fight for a budget that helps those who can’t help themselves

Recently, I joined faith leaders across the country in fasting because I believe the budget that has been debated in Washington is immoral.  This budget leaves children and pregnant women hungry, our veterans homeless, students without teachers and sick people without health care at a time when billionaires were just given massive tax cuts. A society that leeches the poor and middle class to give to the rich is neither moral nor just.

I hope Washington will hear me and fight for a budget that protects all Americans, not just the wealthiest among us.

Miki Liszt
Charlottesville

[emphasis added]

Interestingly, Ms. Liszt’s letter reads just like a line out of a March 17, 2011 MoveOn.org email:

Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2011 10:27:45 -0700
From: moveon-help@list.moveon.org
Subject: So wrong

“Cutting food aid to hungry women and children in the middle of an economic crisis is wrong. Please oppose the devastating cuts in the Republican budget.”

Dear XXX,

What kind of country cuts food aid to hungry pregnant women and children in the middle of an economic crisis—while giving a giant tax break to billionaires?

Seriously. WTF?!

The Republicans are winning the battle over the budget, hands down, even though what they’re fighting for is, put simply, immoral. A cut of at least $400 million from a crucial program that puts food on the table for pregnant women and small children. Crippling the EPA. Completely eliminating funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AmeriCorps, and high-speed rail. [emphasis added]

But Liszt’s plagiaristic tendencies worsen. She lifts concepts and phrases nearly verbatim from Justin Ruben, Executive Director of MoveOn.org, as featured on Huffington Post, April 1, 2011 (ten days prior to the Daily Progress publication of Liszt’s missive):

The heads of MoveOn.org, Service Employees International Union, Center Community Change, Green For All, Color of Change, Courage Campaign, Presente.org and CREDO announced on Friday morning that they would join a fast started earlier this week by religious activists to spotlight perceived injustices in the proposed federal budget cuts [...]

“At a time when billionaires are getting massive tax cuts and Wall Street profits are sky high, balancing the budget on the backs of those most vulnerable in America is simply immoral,” said Justin Ruben, Executive Director of MoveOn.org. “I am fasting because this budget will leave pregnant women and children hungry, sick people without healthcare, children without pre-school and students without teachers–while giving tax breaks to those who caused this crisis.” [emphasis added]

Nevermind the vapidity of Liszt’s letter or her inability to compose original thought. Forget that faith leaders should not encourage coveting (a violation of God’s 10th Commandment). Disregard that the Constitution grants no specific authority to the federal government to hire teachers, to feed people, or to unjustly confiscate private wealth through “democratic” demand. Ignore that the “immoral” budget being debated originally was put forth (but in abdication, never approved) by Democrats, when Democrats held both houses of Congress in addition the White House.

What about the Daily Progress? Has their pre-publication plagiarism-checking mechanism been dismantled? Could Liszt’s “lifting” have been difficult to ascertain?

While not the first time that the paper has been duped by a literary thief, hopefully this breach will spur internal procedure review. Consumers of the Daily Progress deserve at least an acknowledgement of the deception, and preferably, a retraction followed by complete clarification of the newspaper’s LTE processes and policies. Readers’ trust and veracity of content are primary components critical to the paper’s ongoing viability.