Virginia
updated
12:41 p.m.
I’ve never been a fan of Will Saleton — his abortion concern-trolling annoys the hell out of me — but I will gladly get behind this sentiment: Maybe passing the health care bill will bring on a Republican tsunami. Maybe it will create a generation of Democrats who revere Obama the way their great-grandparents revered FDR. [...] ...
The United States of Jamerica - 12:23 p.m.
As I wrote on Saturday , Krystal Ball swept 1st CD caucuses this weekend in Stafford County and Fredericksburg, demolishing Scott Robinson and making his candidacy for the Democratic nomination a longshot at best. Now, Scott Robinson is reacting with class, restraint, and poise. Whoops, wrong Scott Robinson! Ha. Actually, this is how the real 1st CD candidate Scott Robinson is reacting. Thi...
Blue Virginia - 12:14 p.m.
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, in addition to being a homophobic, knuckle-dragging mouth-breather of a reactionary, is also a Birther (via Not Larry Sabato): For those of you not in the know, “Birthers” are typically right-wingers with a conspiracial belief in the veracity — or lack thereof — of President Obama’s citizenship. In other words, they’re [...] ...
The United States of Jamerica - 11:02 a.m.
Each Monday morning during the men's college basketball regular season, SLANTblog will publish its new Virginia Top Five. For the third consecutive season this feature will attempt to rank what seems at the moment to be the best five teams from among the 14 Division I programs in the Commonwealth. Only games against Division I opponents are counted in won/loss re...
SLANTblog - 10:48 a.m.
Here in Virginia we currently have a governor who refuses to continue the tradition set by former governors of issuing an executive that bans discrimination in the state workforce based upon sexual orientation and an attorney general who wrote a letter to Virginia's colleges saying they shouldn't have rules that prevent discrimination based upon sexual orientation. This unfortunately means that Vi...
Left of the Hill - 10:26 a.m. - 2 clicks 
Bart Stupak (D-Michigan) has accepted tens, possibly hundreds, of thousands of dollars in unreported gifts and other benefits in violation House gift rules and income tax laws. He needs to pay taxes on this income and face House Ethics charges. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy ...
The Richmonder - 10:08 a.m.
I have yet to see Green Zone, Matt Damon’s Bourne-esque latest, but I’ve been enjoying the commentary surrounding it. For instance, here’s Freddie DeBoer with his take on conservative criticism of the film: What’s really behind these charges of “slander,” I suspect, is that this movie tells the bald truth about America’s involvement in Iraq: [...] ...
The United States of Jamerica - 10:08 a.m.
The possibility of raising taxes is one that politicians generally try to avoid discussing because they don't want what they say about the topic to be taken out of context and used against them in the next election. The Virginia Organizing Project (VOP), however, held a series of "bake sales for the budget" last Thursday to help prove that many Virginians would be willing to pay a little more i...
Left of the Hill - 9:27 a.m. - 2 clicks
The U.S. military is not good at nation-building or handing out military weapons. And I mean, really not good at handing out weapons. Our military is good at warfare, but not at war. Who could have predicted that a process......
Armchair Generalist - 9:27 a.m.
Once again, Ken Cuccinelli demonstrates why: a) many of us think he's batshit crazy; b) why Democratic activists worked so hard to prevent him from becoming Attorney General of Virginia; c) why he's a complete and utter embarrassment to our Commonwealth; and d) politically speaking, why he's the "gift that keeps on giving" for Democrats. This time, thanks to a great scoop by NLS , C...
Blue Virginia - 8:44 a.m.
This morning, the White House announced that it would seek to end the Bush-era Moon return project, with the long-term goal of privatizing manned launches and investing more in unmanned exploration: The Constellation programme envisaged new rockets and a new crewship called Orion to put astronauts on the lunar surface by 2020. But in his 2011 budget [...] ...
The United States of Jamerica - 8:44 a.m.
David Sanger has a thoughtful piece in the NY Times suggesting that, as much as people rant about the future threat of Iran's nukes, the same kind of concern was reflected about China's nukes in the 1960s. And somehow, we......
Armchair Generalist - 7:46 a.m.
Fred Kaplan at Slate ruminates on what the release of the Nuclear Posture Review will mean with respect to President Obama's nuclear weapons strategy. His prediction: More of the same. Whatever fuss the review kicks up, four facts are clear.......
Armchair Generalist - 7:46 a.m.
Interesting comment by former head of Britain's MI5 directorate, Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller, on her government's seemingly unawareness of the degree of the U.S. "enhanced interrogation" methods. Last month it emerged that Binyam Mohamed, a British resident formerly held at Guantanamo......
Armchair Generalist - 7:46 a.m.
Employment non-discrimination laws based upon sexual orientation continue to be all over the news in Virginia and it was heartening to see the Richmond Times Dispatch basically call The Family Foundation a liar (which is indeed the case) by name. The Family Foundation, like most of the homophobic Christianist organization, whines incessantly that gays should not have "special rights (of co...
Michael in Norfolk - 6:07 a.m. - 6 clicks
The quote of the day goes to Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw (D-Fairfax). Check this out. "We've had four snowstorms and $4 billion in budget cuts," McDonnell told a small group of legislators who had been dispatched to his ceremonial quarters on the third floor of the state Capitol to inform him that the assembly was ready to adjourn. Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw, D-Fairfax, ...
Blue Virginia - 5:43 a.m.
Eric Byler is interviewed by a Charlottesville TV station on Saturday, March 13, in Charlottesville on Coffee Party National Kick-off Day. According to the Coffee Party USA website , there were more than 350 coffee party meetings in 44 states on Saturday. In addition, there are now 159,000 fans on the Coffee Party Facebook page , compared to 111,991 fans for the largest Tea Party Fa...
Blue Virginia - 5:43 a.m. - 2 clicks
At a little before 6pm Sunday, both houses of the legislature completed this session and adjourned sine die. The extra day of session was to deal with the budget, which covers the next two years of operations for the Commonwealth. With a $4.2 billion shortfall, some hard choices had to be made. The budget is available [...] ...
Vivian J. Paige - 5:43 a.m.
After a long series of negotiations on the state budget, it appears as though a compromised has been reached. In regards to education funding, which was one of the major disagreements between the House and Senate, it appears as though the final budget will look a little closer to the Senate's version. It's still not too great though as there will be $293 million in cuts, which come at a time wh...
Left of the Hill - 5:00 a.m.
The Arlington County Board took action on sidewalk snow removal yesterday, passing a 60-day ordinance until a permanent can be considered this spring: “With today’s action, Arlington for the first time formally establishes the expectation that sidewalks are to be cleared following snowfall,” said County Board Vice Chairman Christopher Zimmerman, who presented the motion. “This is ful...
The Green Miles - 5:00 a.m.
Annabel Park visits the Rachel Maddow Show: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy ...
The Richmonder - 4:24 a.m. - 3 clicks
Thanks to Tom Whipple for the Monday "Clips." 1. MCDONNELL SHOWS SOME SUCCESSES IN FIRST LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS 2. LAWMAKERS APPROVE TWO-YEAR, $70 BILLION BUDGET 3. ASSEMBLY APPROVES TWO-YEAR, $70 BILLION VA BUDGET 4. STATE KEEPS CCCA OPEN 5. HOUSE, SENATE PASS VIRGINIA'S TWO-YEAR SPENDING PLAN 9. STATE WILL DIP INTO PENSION FUND, REPAY WITH 7.5% INTEREST 11. LEGISLATORS LEAVE TOWN, MC...
Blue Virginia - 3:45 a.m.
Well, it's been over a year since I started Blue Virginia, and I'm still blogging. Overall, I've enjoyed it, except for one thing: I'm really tired of the Blogger platform. Problems with Blogger include: people tell me it's difficult to leave comments; there's no "more" button, which means the front-page posts take up too much space; there are no community features at all; the default coding is n...
Blue Virginia - Sun 6:42 p.m. - 5 clicks
It is about time. Even though progressive sacrificed a tremendous amount in this health care reform legislation, and even though it most closely resembles the 1993 Republican alternative to "Hillarycare," on balance I still believe this represents progress for America. I also believe this will give Democrats a boost heading into November. Up until now, Democrats have gotten all the "neg...
Blue Virginia - Sun 6:42 p.m.
Check out Rich Anthony's Daily Kos live blog and please comment and recommend it if you can. Thanks. For now, here's an excerpt. ...Like many of you, I attended one of the nearly 400 Coffee Parties yesterday and I think an answer is easily available with these groups. When you look back to elections where Democrats and Progressives have been successful, they have mostly had strong grassroot ...
Blue Virginia - Sun 6:42 p.m.
Let's check the current fan counts on Facebook, shall we? Join the Coffee Party Movement: 156,163 Tea Party Patriots: 111,672 Wow. Now consider that the Tea Party movement is more than a year old, while the Coffee Party is only seven weeks old. Wow. ...
The Richmonder - Sun 6:02 p.m.
What a concept, a Democrat from the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party!" Thank you David Englin, for speaking the truth about this piece-o'-crap budget. Budgets are moral documents that express our values as a Commonwealth and determine whom we lift up and whom we leave out. While the final version of the budget is less bad than the initial House version, I still cannot justify supporting...
Blue Virginia - Sun 3:26 p.m. - 3 clicks
As I am almost every Sunday (and some Mondays as well), I will be in the studio for tonight's Inside Scoop. On tonight's show, which airs on Channel 10 in Fairfax starting at 6:30, Dr. Sam Hancock will be having a discussion with "H.E. Shankar P. Sharma, Ambassador, Embassy of Nepall: and Larry J. Silverman, Esq., an Environmental Attorney. Here's part of the show's discription that Dr. Sam sent o...
Left of the Hill - Sun 12:09 p.m. - 3 clicks
Some of Virginia's leading political pundits quoted by the Richmond Times Dispatch seem to believe that this past weeks media circus over the Virginia GOP's anti-gay jihad led by Christian Talibanista Ken Cuccinelli will have lasting damage on both Bob McDonnell and the Republican Party of Virginia. Obviously, some of us will do are best to help that prediction come true. As I have s...
Michael in Norfolk - Sun 10:49 a.m. - 2 clicks
Apparently, the Vatican has been taking notes on the spin and disinformation practices of the Christian Right in the USA. You know, the Christian majority that they allege is being constantly persecuted? Now, with the sex abuse scandal in Germany sweeping ever closer to Pappa Ratzi , the Vatican says it's all a set up to damage the Pope. I don't think so. Rather, it may be a case that shows...
Michael in Norfolk - Sun 10:49 a.m.
This past Thursday, former Assistant Secretary of Education, Diane Ravitch, laid into "charter schools" and "No Child Left Behind" on the Diane Rehm Show . This is a timely and topical subject here in Virginia, as Bob McDonnell's education agenda relies heavily on the "charter school" concept. In contrast to McDonnell and his ideological approach to education (and everything else, for that matte...
Blue Virginia - Sun 10:49 a.m. - 4 clicks
I received emails yesterday from both the House and Senate Democratic caucuses, summarizing what they believe to be their successes during the (about-to-conclude) General Assembly session. Here are the highlights, with my comments in italics. Senate "Senate negotiators are fighting for their version of the budget which protects jobs and services in K-12 education, higher education, public sa...
Blue Virginia - Sun 7:42 a.m.
Thanks to Tom Whipple for the Sunday "Clips." 1. BIAS DISPUTE KNOCKS MCDONNELL OFF STRIDE 2. HOUSE, SENATE REACH BUDGET DEAL AFTER MIDNIGHT 4. VIRGINIA LAWMAKERS REACH AGREEMENT ON BUDGET 8. GENERAL ASSEMBLY WRAP-UP: WHAT PASSED, WHAT FAILED 17. VIRGINIA HOUSE AGREES TO FORFEIT OVERTIME PAY; SENATE TO ACCEPT PAY 18. A ONE-MAN WINDOW INTO LAWMAKING 19. MCCLELLAN’S PREGNANCY BELIEVED T...
Blue Virginia - Sun 4:22 a.m. - 3 clicks
Brad DeLong’s latest reminds me of a really annoying West Wing episode I’m watching. In the second season episode “The Stackhouse Filibuster,” Minnesota Sen. Howard Stackhouse embarks on an eight-hour long filibuster of the White House-sponsored “Family Wellness Bill” over its failure to include funding for autism research. By all accounts, the West [...] ...
The United States of Jamerica - Sat 7:06 p.m.
It has become fashionable in certain circles to adorn blogs and other websites with historic flags of the past and then wave those flags at rallies at other Americans as an implicit threat of armed action. Whether it be the Gadsden flag or the Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia, right-wing activists and Tea Baggers have rushed to adopt the symbols of these historic flags to further...
The Richmonder - Sat 5:27 p.m. - 4 clicks
One thing I have sadly learned from following various Christian Right organizations and figures for roughly a decade it is that no one lies as frequently and with as little remorse as the Christianists . I sometimes feel that if their lips are moving, then they are lying. Most readers will remember how Elaine Donnelly (pictured at right) - the self-styled expert on military readiness who ha...
Michael in Norfolk - Sat 4:50 p.m. - 2 clicks
I have stated on a number of occasions that in my opinion Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is certifiably insane. He is utterly unable to disconnect his religious extremist fantasies from objective reality and hopefully will, sooner or later, do something so off the wall that he finds himself impeached and thrown out of office. In an effort to stop worldwide mockery of the Commonwea...
Michael in Norfolk - Sat 3:46 p.m. - 8 clicks
In the 1st Congressional District, Democrats are going to be selecting their nominee at a convention in May. While there is still a fair amount of time left before the convention, the caucuses to select delegates to the convention have already started and it appears as though Krystal Ball is off to a great start. According to Marc Broklawski , the former chair of the Stafford County Democratic Co...
Left of the Hill - Sat 3:46 p.m. - 5 clicks
Twenty-eight Virginians met this afternoon in Richmond, Virginia at a local coffee shop named "Savor" to discuss politics in a civil manner and look for a way forward in solving their country's problems. The mood was generally upbeat, but participants expressed concern about the negative tone politics have taken in recent years, and in particular during the health care reform debate. Par...
The Richmonder - Sat 3:20 p.m. - 4 clicks
We arrived here safely and after checking into our room have walked around visiting shops and the boardwalk, had lunch, and then cocktails at the Blue Moon - a top restaurant with a gay bar attached to it which has Friday night drag shows. At the moment, the boyfriend is taking a "disco nap" as he calls them before we rally and go out for dinner and the evening. What I enjoy about Rehoboth ...
Michael in Norfolk - Sat 3:20 p.m. - 3 clicks
Krystal Ball tweets : Now that's impressive: Every. Single. Delegate. So, with that -- Krystal picking up 1/3 of the committed delegates she needs to win, with Robinson picking up zero - is the race for the 1st CD Democratic nomination between Krystal Ball and Scott Robinson already over? After today's rout of Robinson, it certainly could be. Here's Marc Broklawski's take . While there...
Blue Virginia - Sat 3:20 p.m. - 4 clicks
Earlier today in Vienna, Rich Anthony joined one of 400 coffee parties being held across the country. For a report on the Vienna Coffee Party, see Frank Anderson's report . Also, Rich Anthony tweets , "At the Coffee Party meeting in Vienna. Great turn out for a rainy Saturday morning. A lot of positive energy in the room." Once again, congratulations to Annabel Park and Eric Byler for s...
Blue Virginia - Sat 3:20 p.m. - 2 clicks
James Webb, D-Va., a take-charge senator who in just his second year conceived and negotiated passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, made clear Wednesday he will continue to influence issues that impact on the lives of servicemembers, retirees, reservists and their families. Webb has more leverage now as the new chairman of the [...] ...
VirginiaDem - Sat 1:22 p.m. - 4 clicks
I woke up the other morning and thought, "It's too warm in here, better lower the heat." When I went to the thermostat, it turned out I'd forgotten to turn it on the night before. Even though it had been in the 40s that night, my apartment was still too warm for comfort. The Green Miles lives in an apartment building in Ballston. A great deal of the apartment's efficiency comes from...
The Green Miles - Sat 12:23 p.m. - 2 clicks
If you’re up and looking for something to read, here’s what piqued my interest this morning: On the Atlantic Politics Channel, Marc Ambinder criticizes the depressingly large number of Republican Senate hopefuls who shy away from calling “bullshit” on the Birthers. Over at the American Conservative, Daniel McCarthy pushes against the conventional wisdom that Obama’s...
The United States of Jamerica - Sat 8:47 a.m. - 2 clicks
Updated: An article from a German publication , Süddeutsche Zeitung seems to confirm Benedict XVI's involvement in the reassignement odf a predator Priest that allowed the priest to abuse additional victims. If this is indeed true, Benedict needs to abdicate. His moral authority authority is totally eliminated if he indeed did this dreadful thing. The New York Times has a dynamite ...
Michael in Norfolk - Sat 5:42 a.m. - 2 clicks
Do Bob McDonnell and Ken Cuccinelli differ in any substantive way on the issues? Or, are they actually two peas in a pod, playing a "good cop/bad cop" game, in which McDonnell pretends to be the "reasonable" one while Cooch plays himself as "the right-wing crazy?" That's certainly what Lee Hockstader of the Washington Post think, and I'm inclined to agree. What McDonnell needed during the ...
Blue Virginia - Sat 5:42 a.m. - 2 clicks
To my surprise, the Virginia Pilot has another main page editorial raising hell about Virginia's anti-gay bigotry and the failure of Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell and GOP members of the Virginia General Assembly to push for legislation that would bring Virginia into the 21st century in terms of gay rights. The result has been that Virginia remains a very an anti-gay state and now is literall...
Michael in Norfolk - Sat 5:01 a.m. - 6 clicks
Nearly a year ago the boyfriend bought a weekend package at a B&B (the Royal Rose Inn - pictured above) in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware at a silent auction at Equality Virginia's Commonwealth Dinner. Since the package is about to expire, we are driving up this morning for the weekend. The weather forecast sucks, but then it sucks here as well, so if one must endure a rainy weekend, we ...
Michael in Norfolk - Sat 4:48 a.m. - 3 clicks
Thanks to Tom Whipple for the Saturday "Clips." 1. MCDONNELL SAYS HE’S DONE ENOUGH TO PROTECT GAYS 2. REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR AS GAY RIGHTS DEFENDER: A SIGN OF THE TIMES? 3. MCDONNELL VISITS LEGISLATORS ON THEIR TURF, ENCOURAGES BUDGET DEAL 4. MCDONNELL ANNOUNCES NEW CLEMENCY POLICY 5. BOLLING: SUBCOMMITTEES CAN’T TAKE FINAL ACTION 7. CUCCINELLI NOT GIVING IN ON COLLEGES' GAY BIAS POLICIES...
Blue Virginia - Sat 4:48 a.m. - 2 clicks
As readers of this blog have likely figured out by now, I am a fan of competitive figure skating - having had a daughter in the sport I understand its rigors and demands - as well as an advocate of people being themselves and not playing a role that they deem expected of them. I did that for over three decades and the results were a disaster . Sadly, Stars on Ice has determined through Go...
Michael in Norfolk - Fri 8:50 p.m. - 2 clicks
With all of the political maneuvering by Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell in the wake of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's directive to Virginia public colleges and universities to rescind non- discrimination policies that included sexual orientation as an enumerated class - including the Governor's Executive Directive 1 (2010) issued yesterday - would think the situation could not get...
Michael in Norfolk - Fri 8:24 p.m. - 6 clicks
If anyone was wondering what it would look like if ideologues and extremists got control of a School Board (at the State level), then here's a peek. The Texas State Board of Education vote 10-5 to for preliminary approval for new standards for textbooks . This is really scary stuff. When a group of people can get together and replace actual history for a version of history that is more opinio...
Off K Street - Fri 7:27 p.m. - 2 clicks
“Pass the Mic” by the Beastie Boys I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this or not, but I’m a huge Beastie Boys fan. This cut, taken from their 1991 album Check Your Head, is one of my favorites, not the least because it samples Bad Brains and EPMD. ...
The United States of Jamerica - Fri 5:42 p.m. - 2 clicks
Not to harp on Rep. Bart Stupak too much, but I found this incredibly odd: Stupak notes that his negotiations with House Democratic leaders in recent days have been revealing. “I really believe that the Democratic leadership is simply unwilling to change its stance,” he says. “Their position says that women, especially those without means available, [...] ...
The United States of Jamerica - Fri 5:21 p.m. - 2 clicks
I may just make this a regular feature of Blue Virginia: "It's not just crazy, it's 1st CD (Republican? Tea Party?) candidate (well, maybe) Catherine Crabill Crazy!!!" Here's the latest from her Facebook page , in reaction to this article in today's Washington Post ("Boycott urged for Muslim imam's prayer in Virginia House"). Take it away - far, far away! - Catherine "Bullet Box" Crabill!...
Blue Virginia - Fri 3:09 p.m. - 5 clicks
LA Times: 'Vaccines court' rejects mercury-autism link in 3 test cases Another thimerosal case before a court, another clear and decisive win for science. These were three of the strongest cases, too. It's time to end this foolishness. (tags: autism vaccines science) Overlawyered: Toyota acceleration—Why I'm skeptical The median reported age of Toyota drivers that have died f...
Waldo Jaquith - Fri 3:09 p.m. - 2 clicks
It seems that House Democrats have given up on negotiating with Rep. Bart Stupak, who has repeatedly signaled his refusal to vote for health care reform unless his abortion language is included, resistant to the fact that reconciliation can’t be used to include said language: House Democratic leaders have had desultory talks with Mr. Stupak, but [...] ...
The United States of Jamerica - Fri 3:09 p.m. - 2 clicks
Senate Democrats are dropping hints that they’ll pursue filibuster reform at the beginning of the next congress, which really, is the proper response to flagrant Republican abuse of the maneuver. But that has got me thinking; if Senate Democrats are genuinely interested in reforming the filibuster — and if House Democrat are serious about [...] ...
The United States of Jamerica - Fri 2:13 p.m. - 2 clicks
My postseason projections for Virginia's best five college basketball teams are here at the Fan District Hub. Along with brief scouting reports, I've got three teams in the NCAA tournament and two in the NIT. ...
SLANTblog - Fri 12:35 p.m. - 3 clicks
It's a shocker, I know, but once again it looks like the U.S. Senate - aka, "the place where good legislation goes to die" - is holding up a common-sense reform that already passed the House of Representatives by a wide margin. Courtesy of Matthew Yglesias , here's the current state of play on efforts to reform student loans. SAFRA, the Democrats’ long-standing and excellent plan to stop g...
Blue Virginia - Fri 10:29 a.m. - 2 clicks
Former Gov. (and former Attorney General) Gerald Baliles refutes Ken Cuccinelli's legal reasoning on whether Virginia colleges and universities can protect gay students, professors, etc. from discrimination. The Attorney General’s opinion, in my judgment, erroneously attempts to place colleges and universities into the same category as “local governments,” and therefore, subject to the Dillo...
Blue Virginia - Fri 10:29 a.m. - 4 clicks
Cross-posted from The Green Miles Dozens of activists with the Alliance for Appalachia visited Sen. Jim Webb's office this week, asking him to join their efforts to end mountaintop removal coal mining. The Virginians pictured here were part of a much larger group from across America that was lobbying for change this week on Capitol Hill (more details in the great video at the bottom o...
Blue Virginia - Fri 10:29 a.m. - 2 clicks
Dozens of activists with the Alliance for Appalachia visited Sen. Jim Webb's office this week, asking him to join their efforts to end mountaintop removal coal mining. The Virginians pictured here were part of a much larger group from across America that was lobbying for change this week on Capitol Hill (more details in the great video at the bottom of this post). As investigative jou...
The Green Miles - Fri 9:21 a.m. - 5 clicks
Barbara Saunders, candidate for the Norfolk council seat in Ward 1, will have a campaign kickoff this coming Sunday, March 14. The event begins at 1pm and will be held at Ocean View Baptist Church. More details are available in the flier (pdf). ...
Vivian J. Paige - Fri 7:48 a.m. - 5 clicks
I have personally hated the phrase "It is what it is." To me, it expresses an attitude that we ought to just accept the processes that retard our progress, that never made sense but the herd mentality causes us to......
Armchair Generalist - Fri 7:28 a.m. - 2 clicks
Bob "Jobs Governor" McDonnell has a unique way of advertising that Virginia is open for business: make the state look like a reactionary backwater and with of the help of his, in my opinion, delusional Attorney General create a firestorm that has swept all of the campuses of Virginia's nationally prominent colleges and universities. As if that will make businesses eager to relocate to a state ...
Michael in Norfolk - Fri 5:01 a.m. - 5 clicks
NOTE: This is a cross post of my piece at The Bilerico Project yesterday. Last evening I wrote about Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's desperate attempt to douse the political firestorm that he and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (who took McDonnell's Attorney General Opinion No. 05-094 one step further and applied it to Virginia's public colleges and universities) set off by issuin...
Michael in Norfolk - Fri 5:01 a.m. - 4 clicks
It seems thatat last some are realizing that a case involving employment discrimination based on sexual orientation is actually pending in the Virginia Courts - i.e., Moore V. Virginia Myseum of Natural History . I received an e-mail from a Richmond radio station seeking an interview. Here are highlights: Dear Mr. Hamar: It's my understanding you represented a gentleman by the name of Mich...
Michael in Norfolk - Fri 5:01 a.m. - 3 clicks
Thanks to Tom Whipple for the Friday "Clips." 1. FOR MCDONNELL, RIGHTS DIRECTIVE IS 'BALANCING ACT' 2. MCDONNELL: VA. ENERGY GOAL REALISTIC 3. MCDONNELL'S NONDISCRIMINATION DIRECTIVE CARRIES FORCE OF OFFICE, NOT LAW 5. ON-TIME STATE BUDGET LOOKS LESS AND LESS LIKELY 8. DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS PRESS MCDONNELL TO PROTECT GAY RIGHTS 9. TRADITIONAL ALLIES AT ODDS OVER CHARTER SCHOOLS 10. MA...
Blue Virginia - Fri 4:07 a.m. - 2 clicks
Fun, if you're a duck perhaps. By the way, flooding and warmer-than-normal temperatures is evidence neither for nor against global warming. Just thought I'd mention that for all the "skeptics" out there. Heh. ...
Blue Virginia - Fri 3:43 a.m. - 2 clicks
Finally, Assassin's Creed 2 is out for PC. I enjoyed the first one, and even though Ubisoft is being a real pain in the ass with its DRM protection, I can't stay away from this one. I'll update you on......
Armchair Generalist - Fri 3:25 a.m. - 2 clicks
Things you will not find on this post - discussions on Tiger Wood's marriage problems, any coverage of American Idol, and anything that Karl Rove has to say about his years in the White House. What a pathetic excuse of......
Armchair Generalist - Fri 3:25 a.m. - 2 clicks
TPMMudraker has an interesting story that suggests that Daddy Dobson was forced from the leadership of Focus on the Family's board of directors. Up until now, Dobson has painted his departure as a voluntary situation. It seems that if such was not the case, the reason Dobson was jettisoned was because he was perceived as too anti-abortion and too-anti-gay - obviously things have yet ...
Michael in Norfolk - Thu 7:49 p.m. - 6 clicks
Four more contestants – two females and two males – were eliminated from Season 9 of American Idol. Slowly, we are getting to the better part of the season. The first elimination was Katelyn. As I tweeted last night, I think she chose the right song – “I Feel the Earth Move” by Carole King. But [...] ...
Vivian J. Paige - Thu 6:40 p.m. - 3 clicks
For the record, I left the Roman Catholic Church in early 2002 as the sexual abuse scandal in Boston was beginning to explode. As the father of three children I was repulsed by the callousness of the Church hierarchy that knowingly exposed children and youth to sexual abuse while covering up for predatory priests and intimidating victims into silence. Since that time, the Church has come up wi...
Michael in Norfolk - Thu 5:50 p.m. - 2 clicks
There has been a lot of discussion about how Bob McDonnell and Ken Cuccinelli have not only refused to legally prevent discrimination in the state workforce and on college campuses, but have actually made it a point not to. After the public expressed outrage over their actions, McDonnell finally felt like he had to do something that made it look like he wasn't allowing discrimination to take pl...
Left of the Hill - Thu 3:42 p.m. - 5 clicks
Slate: The Big Red Word vs. the Little Green Man Julia Turner's article about the two methods of indicating an exit is surprisingly engaging, given the topic. The rest of the world uses a pictogram of a green stick figure running through a door. We use the word "EXIT," in red. (tags: design usability signs) The Moth Podcast A [...]...
Waldo Jaquith - Thu 3:29 p.m. - 3 clicks
In reaction to Ken Cuccinelli's letter to the colleges and universities in Virginia saying that they shouldn't have rules that prevent discrimination based solely on sexual orientation, approximately 150 students participated in a rally at VCU and then marched to the state capital. From what I've been told by people who were at the event, the crowd was filled with a wide variety of students who we...
Left of the Hill - Thu 12:03 p.m. - 7 clicks
Candy Crowley at CNN has to be called out for a special mark of shame as she suggests that one "could argue one way or the other" as to whether the House of Representative's debate on the US government's need......
Armchair Generalist - Thu 8:47 a.m.
As Gov. Bob McDonnell and Ken "I'm a Loon" Cuccinelli continue to graple with their self-inflicted political firestorm over the anti-gay jihad started by McDonnell and brought to full crisis mode by Cuccinelli , someone finally had the courage in the Virginia General Assembly to point to the real behind the scenes actor that put the whole mess into motion. Senate Majority Leader Richard L...
Michael in Norfolk - Thu 7:22 a.m. - 6 clicks
Once the democratic process is corrupted, the scourge cannot be contained. You see, change isn’t always bad, and standing still can mean you’re actually falling behind. To improve the outcome, the folks who continue to do what’s always been done should be outvoted — or replaced. The two quotes above come from facing pages in last Saturday’s [...] ...
Vivian J. Paige - Thu 7:22 a.m. - 3 clicks
Former UN weapons inspector David Albright is releasing a book this month titled "Peddling Peril: How the Secret Nuclear Trade Arms America's Enemies." Sounds frightening... The Washington Post talked to the author, who noted how Saddam almost got nukes -......
Armchair Generalist - Thu 7:04 a.m. - 2 clicks
In the Washington Times, this article discusses the Army's 11th annual Mad Scientist Future Technology Seminar, where usually sane individuals decide to exercise flights of fancy to guess about what might emerge from the frightening world of science and technology......
Armchair Generalist - Thu 5:48 a.m. - 2 clicks
Throughout the 2009 campaigns I had numerous conversations with progressive activists who were worried about what would happen if Bob McDonnell and Ken Cuccinelli were elected to office. We had a lot of concerns of about their economic policies, but were even more worried about how they could send Virginia so far backwards by trying to push their extreme right wing social agenda on the Commonwealt...
Left of the Hill - Thu 4:47 a.m. - 5 clicks
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Marc Thiessen www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care ReformMarc Thiessen wants to defend waterboarding as not being torture - despite clear evidence that it is......
Armchair Generalist - Thu 3:05 a.m. - 2 clicks
It took just under a week, but today Governor Bob McDonnell found a way to save face in his executive branch. Virginia, unlike some other states I could mention (cough, South Carolina, cough), is not used to being a national laughingstock. But after news of the Cuccinelli letter broke over the weekend, McDonnell rightly [...] ...
The 28th Amendment - Wed 10:08 p.m. - 4 clicks
This post is cross posted from The Bilerico Project and also includes an update in the form of the directive that Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. The directive flies in the face of an attorney general opinion McDonnell issued as Attorney General attacking former Gov. Tim Kaine's Executive Order 1 (2006), which is the subject of a case now pending before the Virginia Supreme Court. It also c...
Michael in Norfolk - Wed 8:21 p.m. - 5 clicks
We are happy to give credit where credit is due. Governor Bob McDonnell, with the support of Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, issued Executive Directive One , re-affirming the position taken by Governors Kaine and Warner, that Virginia hires the best talent regardless of whether that employee is gay or straight. read more ...
Virginia Young Democrats Blog - Wed 4:46 p.m. - 8 clicks
I wanted to reach out and thank you for your interest in Monday’s federal job fair in Stafford. I know it was a long day for many and we apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced. Through our online pre-registration process, we had planned for as many as 5,000 jobseekers to attend the job fair [...] ...
VirginiaDem - Wed 4:46 p.m. - 3 clicks
Congressman Alan Grayson, (D-Orlando) introduced a bill (H.R. 4789) that would give all citizens of the United to buy into Medicare. Otherwise known as the "Public Option Act," this bill doesn't give people subsidies but simply allows people to buy into the Medicare system at cost. As Grayson pointed out in his speech on the floor of the House of Representatives, it wouldn't force people to use th...
Left of the Hill - Wed 4:46 p.m. - 3 clicks
Plenty of people cynically dismiss politicians of every stripe by saying they’re all alike. Why vote? they ask mockingly, it only encourages ‘em. Elections prove all politicians aren’t the same. Virginians who were too bored to bother with 2009’s statewide elections are already being taken to school by the two of the Republicans who were sworn in two months ago. Yes, for better or worse, G...
SLANTblog - Wed 1:25 p.m. - 9 clicks
I recently wrote a post about how Sen. Jeff Merkley spoke out about how Sen. Jim Bunning (R - KY) was taking advantage of an arcaine Senate rule that allowed him to block legislation that would help the working class even though he was the only one who objected. While I focused at the time on how Bunning's actions would mean unemployment benefits that wouldn't be able to get to those who so desp...
Left of the Hill - Wed 12:07 p.m. - 6 clicks
Jon Stewart might not be the next in line to host a Sunday morning talk show, but I think he has a role to play in the way America gets its news. Yesterday is a prime example of this as he did a great job of pointing out just how absurd Gov. Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli have been in promoting policies that allow discrimination. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thu...
Left of the Hill - Wed 11:02 a.m. - 3 clicks
Word from the NY Times is that Stanford University is going to allow ROTC to return to campus, after more than 35 years of exile. Currently, Stanford ROTC cadets have to commute to neighboring universities to complete their requirements. In......
Armchair Generalist - Wed 8:47 a.m.
Education is definitely receiving a lot of attention down in Richmond, as it should because there are some members of the General Assembly and the Executive Branch who want to balance the state budget on the back of students. One of the issues that was addressed on the floor of the Senate today was a proposal to take funds away from public schools in order to fund charter schools. Now I believe th...
Left of the Hill - Wed 7:48 a.m. - 7 clicks
Okay, this story has me really confused. The US Army has decided that its Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), a replacement for its Patriot system, is too expensive to acquire and it wants to cancel the program. But unfortunately,......
Armchair Generalist - Wed 6:43 a.m. - 2 clicks
Jon Stewart poked fun last night at Virginia’s Governor, Bob McDonnell and Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli. UPDATE: The Governor has issued Executive Directive #1 (pdf) on discrimination. From the accompanying email: While the separation of powers doctrine precludes the Governor from changing the Virginia Human Rights Act via Executive Order, he wants to be clear [...] ...
Vivian J. Paige - Wed 6:20 a.m. - 7 clicks
In the wake of devastating blows being delivered to Pat Herrity in the way of GOP loses right in the heart of the district he represents, it appears as though Keith Fimian is trying to gain some momentum in the Republican primary for Congress in Virginia’s 11th District. In a poll that was just done by Fimian’s pollster, the numbers are made to appear as though Fimian is actually leading Democra...
Left of the Hill - Wed 5:06 a.m. - 6 clicks
I've been seeing a number of op-eds in recent defense journals that have a slightly hysterical, paranoid perspective on the "dangers" of health care reform. The authors of these articles are terrified that mounting costs of health care are going......
Armchair Generalist - Wed 4:48 a.m. - 2 clicks
For those of you who might have missed it, here was the episode of the Inside Scoop which aired on Sunday. It was part of our Emerald Planet series and focused on issues relating to the Native American Nations. ...
Left of the Hill - Wed 12:07 a.m. - 3 clicks
Of the most current personalities of the powerful angry-throwback wing of the Republican Party, who's most likely to become the next cable news talk-show superstar? Until last week Gov. Bob McDonnell was Virginia's most obvious/likely entry in that contest. His direct connection to the rather eccentric Rev. Pat Robertson gave him a leg-up. Now, it seems, the buttoned-down McDonnell has been upsta...
SLANTblog - Tue 9:29 p.m. - 10 clicks
Richmond, Va.—Speaking from the harem of his residence to assembled members of the Virginia parliament, Ayatollah Ali Cuccinelli declared it his uncompromising order that all homosexuals be prevented from taking up residence here. The Supreme Leader made clear the divinely-inspired nature of his message. “It is in my legal opinion and the instruction of Almighty [...] ...
The 28th Amendment - Tue 2:27 p.m. - 12 clicks
In yet another example of why the priorities of the Senate's budget must make it into the final bill instead of those laid out in the budget passed by the Republican controlled House of Delegates, Sen. Janet Howell spoke on the floor of the Senate about how the different budgets would impact public safety. ...
Left of the Hill - Tue 11:42 a.m. - 8 clicks
what version are we on, again? Whatever it is, here’s another increment: Under the potentially controversial plan still taking shape in the Senate, all legal U.S. workers, including citizens and immigrants, would be issued an ID card with embedded information, such as fingerprints, to tie the card to the worker. The ID card plan is one [...]...
Blacknell.net - Tue 6:29 a.m. - 2 clicks
Come May 4, the residents of Newport News will elect a new mayor. Joe Frank, who was the city’s first elected mayor in 1996, has decided to step down. Some say the reason is that Frank could no longer count to four: the seven member council has a relatively new coalition of four and Frank [...] ...
Vivian J. Paige - Tue 5:20 a.m. - 8 clicks
According to a statement I got from Rep. Gerry Connolly’s office, Gerry will be holding another telephone town hall tonight starting at 8:40pm. If you want to make sure that you are able to participate, you can contact his office directly by following this link and filling out the form by noon today if you want to participate in the townhall. It should be noted that the conference call is only o...
Left of the Hill - Tue 5:03 a.m. - 3 clicks
I have a niece who has inherited an old Ruby iMac G3/400 (new in the Summer of 2000) with a broken handle and CD-ROM only (rather than the preferred DVD-ROM). Lowendmac and Everymac have been very helpful in guiding me through the how to cheaply max out the capabilities of this old machine. I do [...]...
Life is a State of Mind - Tue 5:03 a.m.
LAV, the two person political influence organization, one of them being slime merchant Dick (Dick) Morris, has been mobilizing a campaign to derail health care reform in the last few weeks. An email campaign and a television ad (find it yourself) targeted to certain Democratic members of the House have resulted in a situation where [...] ...
Heartland of Virginia - Tue 2:29 a.m. - 3 clicks
Any interested users of Facebook may want to wander over to the page of the Virginia Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli II, and leave their love and warmest regards for him. In the 72 hours since news of the Cuccinelli letter was revealed, here are some of the choice words that Virginians have for him: “Is Cuccinelli [...] ...
The 28th Amendment - Mon 7:49 p.m. - 7 clicks
By the time Virginia Senator Mark Warner arrived today at the University of Mary Washington’s College of Graduate and Professional Studies, University Hall was already pushing well past “standing room only” capacity … the line to enter had started forming by 6 a.m. and by 8:30 UMW’s parking lots were filled … Senator Warner saw [...] ...
VirginiaDem - Mon 7:49 p.m. - 6 clicks
I've written a few posts about the budget process and how it impacts education related funding (see here , here , and here to name a few). I've done so because I strongly believe our public schools is one of the most important areas the government can fund in the budget. That is also why I was glad to see that in a speech on the floor of the state Senate, Sen. Edd Houch spoke about how "this i...
Left of the Hill - Mon 4:46 p.m. - 2 clicks
Sacramento Bee: Sen. Roy Ashburn—'I'm gay' Gay-hating Republican senator turns out to be gay. What a cliché. (tags: republican gay) The Globe and Mail: Sarah Palin sees eye-to-eye with Albertans in Calgary speech Palin on growing up in Alaska: "We used to hustle over the border for health care we received in Canada." (tags: palin healthcare) Politico: Republicans scold L...
Waldo Jaquith - Mon 4:46 p.m.
There’s no doubt that the special elections that have been held so far in Fairfax County will be studied and used to help illustrate certain points as we head into the 2010 Congressional elections. What can’t be ignored about the results is the plain and simple fact that the Republicans lost two special elections in swing districts right in the heart of Pat Herrity’s base of support. Especially af...
Left of the Hill - Mon 3:01 p.m. - 5 clicks
… who needs enemies? The photo at left shows Norfolk Councilman Randy Wright at a McCain/Palin rally. Sitting next to him is Pam Brown, the president of the Norfolk Republican Party, and, I’m told, one of the co-chairs of his campaign. In the blog post which accompanies the photo, Pilot writer Kerry Dougherty calls him “McAuliffe’s [...] ...
Vivian J. Paige - Mon 3:01 p.m. - 5 clicks
The 62nd Annual Shad Planking will be held on Wednesday, April 21, beginning at 2pm at the Wakefield Sportsman’s Club. The formal event starts at 4pm and the speaker will be former Senator and former Governor George Allen. Tickets are $20 if purchased before April 1 and $25 thereafter. ...
Vivian J. Paige - Mon 3:01 p.m. - 4 clicks
Each Monday morning during the men's college basketball regular season, SLANTblog will publish its new Virginia Top Five. For the third consecutive season this feature will attempt to rank what seems at the moment to be the best five teams from among the 14 Division I programs in the Commonwealth. Only games against Division I opponents are counted in won/loss records...
SLANTblog - Mon 3:01 p.m. - 7 clicks
1982 Biograph Naturals Each year the NCAA’s men’s basketball tournament is a blessing during the month of March. It helps get basketball junkies, like me, through those last icy days of winter. Of course, to be a junkie in full bloom one must still play the game. Since I quit playing basketball in 1994, I’ve been a junkie in recovery. Yes, I’ll always miss the way a perfectly-released j...
SLANTblog - Mon 3:01 p.m. - 3 clicks
We have found better reporting on the war effort in Afghanistan, outside the superfluous US broadcast media outlets. Besides old reliable, the BBC, we have found the reporting at the Stars & Stripes to be more informative, and focused on details of interest for those of us who have a deep interest in the success of our US Armed Forces. Love the BBC, but they understandably tend to focus on U...
Blue Ridge Data - Mon 3:01 p.m. - 3 clicks
On Saturday afternoon the VCU Rams defeated the George Mason Patriots at the Richmond Coliseum by a score of 75-60. For more information about that game and plenty of CAA coverage click here to visit the Fan District Hub. -- Video by F.T. Rea ...
SLANTblog - Mar 7 - 10 clicks
Knowledge Reigns Supreme-Over nearly everyone (bet you weren’t expecting that): As describe at BB: Glyn sez, “The Love Police do an amazing job demonstrating how to get out of being searched under section 44 of the Terrorism Act. Stopped by police outside the Tower of London, they avoid being searched, having to give their personal details and [...]...
Blacknell.net - Mar 6 - 4 clicks
Big news for gay rights came out of the Washington, D.C. area this week. On Wednesday, homosexual couples were able to apply for marriage licenses in the District, after the 30-day congressional review period ended for the newly-enacted same-sex marriage law and after Chief Justice John Roberts denied a petition to invalidate the legislation. Also [...] ...
The 28th Amendment - Mar 6 - 2 clicks
In all honestly, I didn’t really expect that Del. Patrick Hope (the recent winner in my local delegate contest) would be my kind of Democrat. In his campaign, he struck me as too soft-spoken and willing to accomodate. Well, here’s to hoping he keeps proving me wrong: ...
Blacknell.net - Mar 6 - 7 clicks
One of the few bright spots of principle in the Obama Administration had been its insistance that the American justice system was not outclassed by terrorists. And now, it seems that Obama’s inability to stand up to even the weakest of criticism has the administration reconsidering. LG&M suggests the proper response: It’s every bit as illegitmate [...]...
Blacknell.net - Mar 6 - 3 clicks
Found a new travel site (through a tweet from Travelvice, long ago rec’d) called Notes from the Road. It’s pretty much a model of the sort of travel-centric site I’ve long dreamed of putting up myself. Absolutely beautiful photography, with perfect short texts that capture the experience of a place. Check out this [...]...
Blacknell.net - Mar 6 - 4 clicks
This is what the insulation in the walls of our new house looks like: It’s euphemistically referred to as “blown cellulose,” but it’s really just shredded newspaper. If we look closely, we can read some words on it. The amount of newspaper used to insulate our house is as much as we’d go through in twenty [...]...
Waldo Jaquith - Mar 6 - 2 clicks
I received this release from the Virginia Young Democrats late yesterday: Virginia Young Democrats Call on Governor Bob McDonnell to Repudiate Bob Marshall’s Remarks and Live Up to His Promises to Youth with Disabilities By Cancelling Devastating Budget Cuts to Proposed Safety Net Services I've known Delegate Marshall for nearly 20 years and I'm sure he regrets saying that. I think those are ...
Off K Street - Mar 6 - 6 clicks
I'm up in western Pennsylvania for the weekend (came up early on Friday) and have limited access to a computer, so my posting will be light until I get back to Virginia. I'll be back to posting regularly on Monday but, in the meantime, here are a few things worth checking out. Lowell has a post up over at Blue Virginia featuring video of Rep. Tom Perriello's speech before the Northern Virginia ...
Left of the Hill - Mar 6 - 4 clicks
