Virginia
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5:09 a.m.
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The 2012 presidential election is still more than 5 months away, yet here in Virginia the ads for Obama and Romney are running and transparent ads anti-Obama funded by groups like the American Petroleum Institute (that make me want to yell at the TV for their dishonesty) are piggy backing along as well. Based on an Los Angeles Times story, it is going to be a long 5 moths from now un...
Michael in Norfolk - 4:49 a.m. - 2 clicks 
Here are a few Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, May 21. Also, check out the new video, "Romney Economics: Job Loss and Bankruptcy at Ampad." Mitt Romney is a coward RNC Chairman Says Republican Proposal For $10 Million Of Race-Baiting Anti-Obama Attack Ads Is Obama (Yes, these people have "Obama Derangement Syndrome") Sen. Warner: Little support in Wa...
Blue Virginia - 3:47 a.m. - 3 clicks
Maybe it was an unguarded moment but a Mercer tweet last night revealed a lot. The decks are cleared for a McAuliffe gubernatorial run. But nothing portends smooth sailing. Creigh Deeds picked up no wind from Obama. Tim Kaine is barely drafting. There's little reason to believe Terry will benefit...unless. "This is our opportunity to get some payback and to show them that this isn't a movement...
Blue Virginia - Sun 10:15 a.m. - 10 clicks
To more clearly elucidate their mutual views on energy, government regulations, and President Obama's healthcare reform, George Allen and 12 local business leaders met for a morning roundtable discussion Friday in Springfield . Without stepping too far out of bounds of his limited political lexicon, George Allen stated that "My thoughts on energy are that it should be affordable, relia...
Blue Virginia - Sun 7:11 a.m. - 10 clicks
In a move that will cause spittle to be flying by the bucketful in the thinly veiled white supremacist "family values" organizations like Family Research Council ("FRC") and The Family Foundation ("TFF") here in Virginia, the NAACP has officially endorsed marriage equality. One can just imaging the shrieking that must be going on in the halls of FRC, TFF and similar anti-gay hate organ...
Michael in Norfolk - Sun 7:11 a.m. - 7 clicks
Here are a few Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, May 20. Also, check out the graphic which shows how our country has added far, far more private sector jobs under the Democrats than under the supposedly "business friendly" (but actually not, based on these numbers, or on stock market returns ) Republicans. Democrats pick Douglass, Flaccavento to challenge in 5th...
Blue Virginia - Sun 5:12 a.m. - 9 clicks
On May 19, 2012, Virginia State Senator Donald McEachin addressed the 2012 Virginia 7th District Democratic Convention at Henrico High School in Henrico County, Virginia. Senator McEachin discussed the current political situation in Virginia. ...
The Richmonder - Sat 9:04 p.m. - 11 clicks
On May 19, 2012, Ben Tribbett addressed the 2012 Virginia 7th District Democratic Convention at Henrico High School in Henrico County, Virginia regarding his candidacy for the Democratic National Committee. ...
The Richmonder - Sat 7:27 p.m. - 19 clicks
The 6th District Democratic Convention held today was a resounding success. Over 155 delegates, as well as many alternates, attended and heard Andy Schmookler , candidate for Congress, and State Sen. Creigh Deeds call for strong grassroots action to counter the GOP smear machine that is backed by corporate funding, thanks to Citizen's United. Perhaps the best line of the whole day came from D...
Blue Virginia - Sat 5:46 p.m. - 13 clicks
The following press release (see the "flip" of this diary) is from the Adam Cook for Congress campaign in Virginia's 1st CD. Note that Cook, second from the right in the photo (click to "embiggen"), " served as the Officer in Charge of Investigations and Chief Legal Advisor at the Detention Facility in Parwan, the central detention facility for insurgent fighters captured in Afghanistan ." In...
Blue Virginia - Sat 8:23 a.m. - 13 clicks
Here are a few Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, May 19. Also, check out President Obama's weekly address, as he "discusses the reforms to Wall Street that he put in place to protect consumers and make Wall Street play by the same set of rules -- and calls on lawmakers to finish implementing these reforms so that we can prevent excessive risk-taking and help...
Blue Virginia - Sat 6:50 a.m. - 13 clicks
Click image to enlarge If this weeks actions by the GOP controlled Virginia House of Delegates wasn't enough to demonstrate that gay Republicans are akin to blacks joining the KKK or those of Jewish descent seeking Nazi Party membership, the remarks of a GOP state lawmaker in Mississippi ought to tip the balance. As Towleroad is reporting Mississippi state Representative An...
Michael in Norfolk - Sat 6:50 a.m. - 15 clicks
To me - and many others - Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, is an embarrassment to to the state. While Lynchburg is roughly an hour's drive from Charlottesville and the University of Virginia, it might as well be a thousand miles away in terms of the mindsets. Charlottesville and UVA are modern and progressive, while Liberty University seems to year for a time period pri...
Michael in Norfolk - Sat 6:31 a.m. - 16 clicks
The You Tube video "It Could Happen to You" set out above has gone viral with well over two million views. The video shows exactly what can happen when same sex couples fail to take proper steps to ensure that family bigotry and/or hostile cultural settings do not lead to horrific and cold hearted results. Here in Virginia - a decidedly anti-gay state - there are some things same-s...
Michael in Norfolk - Sat 6:06 a.m. - 11 clicks
As has been noted in many media articles the true moving force against Tracy Thorne-Begland's judicial nomination was The Family Foundation ("TFF") - the Virginia affiliate of Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council, although the latter group's name has quietly disappeared from the TFF web page since FRC was named a registered anti-gay hate group. TFF likes to pretend that ...
Michael in Norfolk - Sat 5:24 a.m. - 16 clicks
I've been kicking around an idea this week and wanted to run it by this esteemed community before continuing. I want to know if there is a need for my idea to help our growing population of women veterans. Do you think there is sufficient need to justify the expense and effort? In my hometown of Roanoke, Virginia , population of 305,000, there is a charming 1927 structure that until very recent...
DailyKos (Virginia) - Fri 3:49 p.m. - 11 clicks
Yet again, as on so many other issues, Bob McDonnell has demonstrated cowardice, not courage. This time, it's in an area that is absolutely fundamental to being an American: our right to vote. Sadly, as Sen. McEachin explains in his statement (see below), McDonnell apparently believes that "Virginians' constitutional rights are optional," or at least that they're trumped by ...
Blue Virginia - Fri 2:33 p.m. - 14 clicks
Next to Frank Leone's substantial conflict of interest between his "day job" and his alleged Democratic Party values during the evenings and weekends, Brian Moran looks like St. Francis of Assisi. Given Frank Leone's reelection bid for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) on June 2, this point is all the more significant. Do Virginians want to elect an individual to the Democ...
Blue Virginia - Fri 10:28 a.m. - 17 clicks
Tonight's the night that a major art show known as Artomatic opens to the general public starting at 6 p.m. It's located near the Pentagon in Crystal City, Virginia and is a block away from the Crystal City Metro stop. Here's the official promo video for Artomatic. With over 1,000 artists and with Artomatic being just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC, there are bound to be some...
DailyKos (Virginia) - Fri 8:13 a.m. - 15 clicks
The in my view mentally disturbed Del. Bob Marshall seems Hell bent to continue to destroy Virginia's image on a world wide basis through his raging homophobia and evident belief that his beliefs trump the United States Constitution and U.S. Supreme Court decisions. The man is in my opinion a psychopath when it comes to his never ending hatred towards gay Virginians. As if Virgin...
Michael in Norfolk - Fri 4:51 a.m. - 15 clicks
Last night, at a fundraiser for his reelection in Arlington, Del. Patrick Hope (D-47) gave a strong speech about the recent Virginia General Assembly session. According to Hope: Instead, we were talking about really divisive issues . We were talking about abortion. We were talking about eliminating a significantly important piece of legislation, the one-gun-a-month law, that has sav...
Blue Virginia - Fri 4:01 a.m. - 10 clicks
After two intense days of setting up, I finally finished with setting up my exhibition space at Artomatic in Crystal City, Virginia (located just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC). Here are a few previews of what to expect if you visit my space in person. My exhibit will be located on the 10th floor in a room that’s around the corner from the elevators. For this year’s Artomatic ...
DailyKos (Virginia) - Thu 9:26 p.m. - 16 clicks
May 2012 Update | Bill Signing Ceremony Below are remarks I made on Tuesday, May 8 at Northern Virginia Community college at a bill signing ceremony with Governor McDonnell. Virginia families are now safer with these new domestic and family violence protections. Thank you, Governor, for inviting me here today. For two decades, you [...]...
The Farm Team - Thu 7:27 p.m. - 15 clicks
Apparently rejecting gay nominees is now in fashion in red-state legislatures. First, the Virginia legislature, in the middle of the night, killed the judicial nomination of highly-qualified Tracy Thorne-Begland. The reason? I'll let Delegate Bob Marshall (R-Manassas) sum it up: I don’t even think it’s proper to put his name forward because of his behavior. Now, we're seeing a somewhat sim...
DailyKos (Virginia) - Thu 6:06 p.m. - 21 clicks
Breaking news in Richmond this morning; Media General has sold almost all of its newspapers to Warren Buffett's Bershire Hathaway Inc! Media General Inc. today announced that it is selling 63 newspapers, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. for $142 million. A Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, BH Media Group, will purchase all of the newspapers ...
The Richmonder - Thu 10:26 a.m. - 17 clicks
Late Monday night, as you may remember, Republican homophobes in Virginia officially killed the judicial nomination of Trace Thorne-Begland to the Richmond District General Courts. Thorne-Begland, a former Navy pilot and current prosecutor, is extremely qualified for the job. There is no reason any sane person would vote against his nomination. But he is also gay. He was even discharged from t...
DailyKos (Virginia) - Thu 10:26 a.m. - 18 clicks
A friend of mine from the Richmond City Democratic Committee is up for consideration as the Presidential Elector for Virginia's 7th District at the 7th District Democratic Committee's convention this weekend. Ben Ragsdale is a passionate lifelong Democrat with more than 50 years of service to the party. In 2008, he worked tirelessly to elect Barack Obama to his first term and he's going to d...
The Richmonder - Thu 9:04 a.m. - 14 clicks
Crossposted at Equality Loudoun My initial reaction to hearing about Bob Marshall's highly unusual actions to cause the rejection of Tracy Thorne-Begland's nomination to the General District Court was "petulant temper tantrum." The latest admission from Marshall shows just how accurate that first impression was: "He holds himself out as being married," said Del. Robert [...]...
Loudoun Progress - Thu 7:42 a.m. - 30 clicks
As you’ve certainly heard by now, Bigot Extraordinare Rep. Bob Marshall and the clown show that is the Virginia GOP continued Virginia’s grand tradition of hatefulness when: [T]he judicial nomination of Mr. Thorne-Begland, a former Navy fighter pilot who is gay, was sabotaged by an ugly campaign of homophobic bigotry led by Virginia Republicans. In [...]...
Blacknell.net - Thu 7:11 a.m. - 13 clicks
Have to admit that I’m not too happy with the title of my latest op-ed, which appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Wednesday. Not because it isn’t true, but because it is. All of it. Bob Marshall calls himself “Virginia’s chief homophobe.” And he and his merry band over at the “Family” Foundation managed to derail the … Continue reading » ...
Vivian J. Paige - Thu 5:31 a.m. - 17 clicks
I can now say for sure which delegates were actually present at yesterday morning’s vote on Tracy Thorne-Begland’s nomination, and just pretending that they weren’t there. Anna Scholl was kind enough to send me the House of Delegates’ vote tallies for judicial nominations on Monday night / Tuesday morning, towards the goal of identifying who [...]...
Waldo Jaquith - Wed 9:23 p.m. - 15 clicks
Bigotry has prevailed in the state of Virginia: By a slim margin, the House voted to kill the judicial nomination of an openly gay Richmond prosecutor who had bipartisan support going into the vote. A last-minute lobbying effort by the very same social conservatives who pushed unsuccessfully to mandate “medically unnecessary trans-vaginal ultrasounds” this past spring, successfully killed Tra...
DailyKos (Virginia) - Wed 10:05 a.m. - 14 clicks
Further to the 26 delegates who didn’t vote and the 10 delegates who abstained from voting for Tracy Thorne-Begland’s judicial nomination, I want to highlight Del. Jennifer McClellan’s comments explaining the distinction: For the record, 4 delegates were not present at all on Monday due to “pressing personal business” (which is how excused absences are [...]...
Waldo Jaquith - Wed 9:22 a.m. - 21 clicks
Monday night, my wife and I stayed up late to watch live video of the House debate the nomination of Tracy Thorne-Begland to a judgeship. My wife and Tracy went through the Sorensen Political Leaders Program together. We know Tracy, and we know him to be a stellar human being. Watching his nomination fall in [...]...
Waldo Jaquith - Wed 5:45 a.m. - 25 clicks
This photo, taken by Del. Mark Keam, was all we had last night to know how the House of Delegates voted on Tracy Thorne-Begland. We now have the roster, via RTD. The 33 delegates who voted in favor of this highly qualified candidate were: David B. Albo, R-Fairfax Kenneth C. Alexander, D-Norfolk Mamye E. BaCote, … Continue reading » ...
Vivian J. Paige - Tue 2:45 p.m. - 29 clicks
Crossposted at Equality Loudoun You might have seen a video that went viral over the weekend - five minutes of some of the most bizarre claptrap about gay people you are ever likely to hear, delivered by a speaker at a city council public meeting. I say "some of" because much of it could easily [...]...
Loudoun Progress - Tue 5:30 a.m. - 28 clicks
The Norfolk Public Schools are holding a series of community conversations this month, with an eye towards an action plan for the next school year. The first of the conversations was held Monday evening. The remaining sessions are: Tues., May 15, 5:30 p.m. Granby Elementary School 7101 Newport Ave. Thurs., May 17, 6 p.m. Norview … Continue reading » ...
Vivian J. Paige - Tue 5:30 a.m. - 15 clicks
Congressional Republicans, led by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), have been blocking extension of several key clean energy tax credits, investments that represent a tiny fraction of the subsidies received by the oil, gas & nuclear industries over time. And here in Virginia, officials have dragged their feet on encouraging offshore wind and been accused of letting Dominion Virgi...
The Green Miles - Tue 5:30 a.m. - 19 clicks
I guess this is how bigots and cowards like to do their dirty work - in the dark of night, with many abstaining out of cowardice. The vote over Tracy Thorne-Begland’s nomination as judge to the Richmond General District Courts ran late into Tuesday morning. At 1:13 a.m. , Del. Jennifer McClellan (D – Richmond) announced lawmakers voted down Begland’s nomination 33-31 with 10 abstentions. He...
DailyKos (Virginia) - Tue 4:49 a.m. - 23 clicks
i’ve been asked to pass this along … it’s important to reach out to our veteran, men and women in uniform, and their families to discuss the impact the outcome this year’s presidential race will have on their lives: The National Launch of Veterans and Military Families for Obama will be on May 17th at [...] ...
VirginiaDem - Mon 5:45 p.m. - 15 clicks
Crossposted at Equality Loudoun Before somebody starts yelling at me, let me just say that I'm not diminishing the significance of President Obama's historic endorsement. It matters. A lot. Go read Andrew Sullivan's cover essay in this week's Newsweek for a good summary. "To have the president of the United States affirm my humanity —and [...]...
Loudoun Progress - Mon 11:07 a.m. - 37 clicks
There’s an old saying, “You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” Sometimes, folks lose sight of this when making a pitch. Case in point: Virginia FREE. I spent Thursday and Friday last week at the Virginia Society of CPAs Leaders’ Summit. We had a number of speakers over the course of the two … Continue reading » ...
Vivian J. Paige - Mon 6:45 a.m. - 19 clicks
Polls show DC area residents support train, bus, biking and pedestrian projects much more than they support building new or wider highways. However, the Washington Post editorial board strongly supports new highways and spun a poll this week to mean that our fellow Virginians don't support the Silver Line. As Slate's Matt Yglesias points out, the numbers don't necessarily back up that spin :...
The Green Miles - May 12 - 10 clicks
If you live in Maryland, D.C., or Virginia, you need to come to Artomatic . My sister lured me to my first Artomatic in 2004. That year, the nomadic art show took place in the former Capitol Children's Museum in Northeast DC. At that time, about 1,000 artists exhibited their works. The number grew for subsequent Artomatics. Artomatic has been roughly scheduled every other year, but it's been ...
DailyKos (Virginia) - May 11 - 2 clicks
I can still wear a red carnation. Sunday is Mother’s Day. Naturally, my thoughts this week turned to my mother, and prompted my latest op-ed, title above, which appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Thursday. The picture I keep in my mind is the one shown here, which accompanied the column in the print edition. I still … Continue reading » ...
Vivian J. Paige - May 11 - 7 clicks
WRIC 8 did a follow up on the story first broken here at the Richmonder , which WRIC 8 has picked up and run with. WRIC 8 reporter Kerri O'Brien did a fantastic job following up and developing this story and has been kind enough to credit me for the photos I took of the State Police SWAT team on February 27, 2012. Delegate David Toscano is investigating the decision to use excessive force, ...
The Richmonder - May 11 - 4 clicks
Virginia New Majority – Northern Virginia Organizer Virginia New Majority is building power for progressive change in Virginia. We are Virginia’s leading civic engagement organization mobilizing and organizing thousands of voters. Our year-round approach to organizing involves mass scale voter outreach, linked to intensive leadership development and chapter –building. We are currently organizin...
Virginia Rising - May 10 - 6 clicks
Virginia Attorney General – and 2013 gubernatorial candidate – Ken Cuccinelli appeared on Bill O’Reilly’s show last night. This came on the heels of O’Reilly having called out the AG a couple of nights before, as he has “reported” on the story of the beating of two Virginian-Pilot reporters. The exchange got testy at times, … Continue reading »...
Vivian J. Paige - May 10 - 2 clicks
Local Republicans in Greene County, Virginia are in full damage control mode after it emerged that the editor of their monthly newsletter called for Obama to be overthrown in a coup if he wins reelection in November ( diaried here ). ' According to People for the American Way, McPhee initially got defensive, writing a statement on the party's Website saying that "armed revolution" was just ...
DailyKos (Virginia) - May 10
On the same day a new poll shows supermajorities of small business owners support clean energy & limits on industrial carbon pollution , a new television ad is asking Virginians to stand up for clean air : The ad focuses attention on a recent Department of Labor study showing that transitioning away from dirty sources of energy to clean technology development and innovation ...
The Green Miles - May 10 - 3 clicks
About 50 enthusiastic people showed up Wednesday to hear a Democratic delegate from Richmond describe her fight against socially conservative legislation, including a bill requiring ultrasounds for abortions that created a furor in the General Assembly this year. Del. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, spoke as a member of a women’s group called The Farm Team, which [...]...
The Farm Team - May 10 - 2 clicks
Senator Donald McEachin (left) and Senator Adam Ebbin From Virginia State Senator Donald McEachin: Senator McEachin Commends President Obama on his Stance in Favor of Marriage Equality Henrico – Senator A. Donald McEachin (D-Henrico) today commended President Obama on his stance in favor of marriage equality. Senator McEachin said, “I very much appreciate the president rec...
The Richmonder - May 9 - 2 clicks
I ran across this handy tool a while back, and I refer to it often. The Commonwealth of Virginia has available a report with plenty of information in it. Everything from current statistics to future employment trends and occupation viability. Anyone can request information by locality, county, congressional districts, Workforce Investment Areas, MSA (Metropolitan Statistical … Continue read...
Vivian J. Paige - May 9 - 3 clicks
Guest post by John Fredericks At the expense of being classified by Bill O’Reilly as “pin-head,” the normally astute Fox News talk show icon really got this one wrong. And now he won’t own up to his own editorial malfeasance. O’Reilly’s attempt to spin a yarn about how Virginian-Pilot Editor-in-Chief Denis Finley is part of … Continue reading » ...
Vivian J. Paige - May 9 - 2 clicks
The Republican Party of Greene County, Virginia--north of Charlottesville--went off the deep end in its March newsletter . It contains a column by editor Ponch McPhee which calls for getting Obama out of office as soon as possible if he's reelected in November. Nope, not by finding a reason to impeach him. McPhee wants Obama overthrown by a coup d'etat. In the coming days a...
DailyKos (Virginia) - May 8 - 2 clicks
You are cordially invited by Dorothy McAuliffe, Jane Barker, Burma Bochner, Gretchen Bulova, Chairman Sharon Bulova, Barbara Caputo, Teresa Champion, Smitty Connolly, Jan Hedetniemi, Delegate Charniele Herring, Senator Janet Howell, Mary Ann Hovis, Delegate Kaye Kory, Suzann Matthews, Julia Marsden, Susan Diliddo Michels, Honorable Emilie Miller, Lynn Miller, Janet Muldoon, Susan Platt, Nancy Rice...
The Farm Team - May 8 - 3 clicks
Shannon Taylor, Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney I was at yesterday's event in the yellow ticket section to the right and behind the President's podium. Seated around me were many local Democrats. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's 16,000 words' worth. Charlie Diradour, Member of RCDC and candidate for Richmond City Council (2nd Dist...
The Richmonder - May 6
Lou Engle is planning a major TheCall rally in Northern Virginia later this month. Specifically, for Fredericksburg on May 26 at the Fredericksburg Expo Center. Here's the official trailer : Notice that Engle left out one pretty major "shift" that took place in Virginia. It was the second of the original 13 states (after Rhode Island) to guarantee full religious freedom....
DailyKos (Virginia) - May 5
