Gov. Tim Kaine pitched his $1.1 billion transportation plan during a news conference on Monday, asking lawmakers for an assortment of tax increases to pay the bills. 

Some people are born to fatness. Others have to get there.
— Les Murray (poet)

I can remember gangs even in small-town Mississippi where I grew up as a teenager. 

What will it take to get Hillary Clinton to quit? 

This week, the Prince William County School Board approved the budget for next school year. The budget, as per previous agreements, was heavily influenced by the actions of the Board of County Supervisors. The Board of County Supervisors got what they wanted — a lower tax rate. 

When I was in high school, I thought Albert Camus was the coolest thing since hot buttered toast.

I want my news back.
The seemingly endless Democratic presidential nomination drags on and on, grinding its way from one state to the next with countless annoying robocalls and bucketloads of empty speechifying, even though experts tell us the only way Hillary Clinton can win is to clone her own superduper delegates in a secret lab or produce incriminating photos of Barack Obama kissing the Rev. Jeremiah Wright full on the mouth while simultaneously setting fire to an American flag. 

Tomorrow marks the end of Drinking Water Week around the country. Every year, the Prince William County Service Authority calls attention to the occasion to remind our customers and the community to consider the tremendous value and necessity of one of life’s most precious resources. 

I still remember the look on my wife’s face when I took her to her first NASCAR race five years ago. The race was in Dover, Del., which is a tame venue when compared to tracks in Talladega, Ala., or Bristol, Tenn.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a rather scathing column about the one dollar advertised County property tax rate. While I mentioned it was the maximum rate, not the final rate, I expressed doubt that any lower rate would be considered: “the final rate could theoretically be lower.  However, I wouldn’t expect it.”

You can learn a lot about the mettle of a presidential candidate by how well she (or he) panders to the masses. Pandering, of course, is a way of life in politics and everybody does it. The trick, I suppose, from a cynical point of view, is not to let on that you are pandering, even when it’s clear beyond any shadow of a doubt that you are.

The opinion piece you printed on, May 5 in which you criticized the Manassas Democratic Party for not fielding candidates in the Manassas City Council election seemed to contradict itself. You say we need choice and then you denigrate a group working to provide it.

“Let us dare to read, think, speak and write”
— John Adams (1765)

A year ago last March, the Republican National Committee sent someone in a “pander bear” suit to crash a Hillary Clinton fundraiser at a Washington hotel. 

Well, it’s finally done. The Prince William Board of County Supervisors have finally decided on a tax rate and, thus, a budget.  It’s been a long process and, in the end, I fear that we are in for a tumultuous year.

The key to a long life? Eat plenty of fatback. 

CONCANNON FIRE

While the Democrats continue to peck away at one another like a gaggle of angry geese, giving John McCain an unexpectedly wide range of travel options for unfamiliar GOP territory like New Orleans and Selma, one major factor of the campaign-that-never-ends may be rather overlooked.

I didn’t have much in common with my fellow veterans when I joined the American Legion 12 years ago. American Legion Post 117 was still dominated by the old guard-the “Dubya Dubya Two” gang as younger vets liked to call them.

As soon as he takes office in January, President Barack Obama should cancel the presidential helicopter replacement program. 

A day in the life of commuting, specifically slugging, can be hectic and it can be a delicate system that is easily upset.

Another primary and still no finality for Democrats.
Hillary Clinton claims the tide is turning toward her. The seemingly never-ending race goes on. 

Why are people becoming more violent? Why are we losing our humanity? 

Bea Jackson doesn’t look like anyone’s idea of an angel. She wouldn’t be mistaken for one of the flaxen haired creatures with iridescent wings and flowing robes that grace Christmas cards in season, but she is an angel nonetheless. 

Stephen Hawking has always been among my favorite astrophysicists. I’ve got his rookie card and planned to paint a large “K” on my bare chest so the gang and I could spell out HAWKING on the front row at his next lecture. 

CONCANNON FIRE

This column deals with a very disturbing story that you may not have heard. Many of you will find this offensive or even shocking. 

Remember when traveling used to be fun? Sort of fun anyway? It was probably never really a barrel of laughs (except maybe on those redeye flights out of Las Vegas), but hardly was it the most frustrating thing to do, either. Like it is now. 

A strange thing happened last week. I went to a fight and an Olympic torch relay broke out

There is a legal concept known as “strict liability,” sometimes also referred to as “absolute liability.” It means, in essence, that a person or a company can be held liable for damages to others even though the person was not negligent and did not commit an overt act of any kind to cause the harm.