Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell will restore voting rights of nonviolent felons case-by-case

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell announced on Wednesday that he is restoring the voting rights of nonviolent felons on a case-by-case basis.

According to officials for the McDonnell administration, McDonnell’s decision is the furthest that Virginia law will allow him to act, removing any possibility that nonviolent felons will have their voting rights restored on a larger scale.

The change in administrative policy will take place on July 15^th, removing the application process for nonviolent felons. As the Richmond Times points out, “The change means thousands of nonviolent felons in Virginia could get their voting rights back in time to vote in the November election.” It could just be a coincidence, right?!

As of 28 May, 2013, the McDonnell administration has restored the civil rights of 4,843 felons, a record for any Virginia governor. As reported earlier, however, there are still close to 350,000 disenfranchised individuals in Virginia who have met the requirements for voting rights restoration but who still cannot vote.

Not to be too tongue-in-cheek, but you have to admire a political party that, on the whole, appears conflicted about targeting minorities such as Hispanics (at least until quite recently) for inclusion while seemingly unambiguous about targeting nonviolent felons as a viable demographic to restore some of the Republican Party’s fading luster among the country’s shifting demographics.

The political effort to bring nonviolent felons who have served out their sentences ‘back into the fold’ of society’s privileged caste is, of course, an objective that should be pursued. If anything, elected officials who accept obviously extravagant gifts from political donors who have a chip to play in the political game should have THEIR voting rights stripped and be thrown out of office, permanently.

It is exceedingly ironic, however, that the discussion to give illegal immigrants who have worked in the U.S., abided by the law, and even paid taxes voting rights is not even in the back of the vast majority of the minds of lawmakers. Then again, good sense oftentimes makes little political sense. 

Report commissioned by Virginia Attorney General suggests state agency review felon applications

A report commissioned by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (and candidate for Virginia’s governorship, and author, and…and….) concluded that more applications for felon’s restoration of voting could be processed if the task were taken out of the hands of the governor’s review and approval and assigned to a state agency instead.

According to the sacred document that is Virginia’s Constitution, the governor has the power “to remove political disabilities” for individuals who have lost their voting rights as a result of a criminal conviction(s).

Much to Governor McDonnell’s credit, he has worked to restore voting rights back to thousands of Virginians. In fact, McDonnell has worked to restore civil rights to over 4,600 Virginia citizens during his tenure. Perhaps McDonnell believes his drones will deter most of them from committing anymore crimes?

According to The Virginian-Pilot, however, 350,000 Virginians are estimated to still be disenfranchised due to felony convictions. That’s a truly staggering and scary number.

But, of course, 350,000 is more than a number, it is the sum total of 350,000 individual Virginians who are legally less than full citizens in our state.

In a perfect criminal justice system, perhaps this figure wouldn’t be so staggering. After all, society has rules and if someone egregiously breaks these rules, then some of their civil rights should be stripped away (dependent upon the offense) indefinitely as punishment.

Virginia’s criminal justice system isn’t perfect, however. That is, it is not inconceivable that a sizable minority of convicted felons were wrongfully convicted or simply handed a sentence to which a majority of Virginians would agree wasn’t deserved. And the list of scenarios could go on.

Aside from inevitable human errors that creep into every social institution, the bottom line is that everyone but the most egregious offenders of our law deserve a second chance. We all do the best with the circumstances we’re given in life and sometimes we fall on our face.

Making a bad decision should not, however, be the end of our stories as full-fledged citizens. We are all the culminations of the decisions we make throughout a life, not simply at a single point in our individual journeys.  

Oh, the irony: endorser of domestic aerial drones, Bob McDonnell, gives keynote at War Memorial

Not to be critical, but it is entirely disturbing that a political figure who supported (and still supports) the use of unmanned aerial drones in Virginia would be the keynote speaker at the annual Memorial Day Ceremony at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond. That individual is of course the governor of Virginia, Bob McDonnell.

On a day specifically set aside to remember the individuals who sacrificed life and limb for the freedoms we enjoy today as Americans, an advocate of expanding Virginia’s police state stood to speak before the gathered crowd of attendees as if he were himself the culmination and protector of these freedoms.

But anyone who believes that expanding Virginia’s police state is a bright idea has totally missed the boat, or they were never on it. Surveying, eavesdropping, threatening, and arresting more Virginians is not a viable long-term solution to the problem of crime in the state.

By expanding Virginia’s police state via unmanned aerial drones, Bob McDonnell and his cadre of lascivious lobbyists and ideological nimrods in the congress will only feed the inequities, the fear, the anger, and the mistrust sown into Virginia’s social fabric. Put another way, how will unmanned aerial drones increase rates of education throughout Virginia, pick Virginians out of dire economic situations, help relieve the anger of socially isolated Virginians?

Drones, of course, cannot do any of these things.

The even greater irony of Bob McDonnell acting as keynote speaker for the Memorial Day Ceremony was the special emphasis placed on Virginians who have been killed during the ‘global war on terror’ since the same time last year.

I argue that many of these Virginians who were killed probably weren’t fighting to see the same tools used in the ‘war on terror’ used domestically (i.e., drones). I’d imagine that many of these Virginians were and are fighting so that the instruments of war on foreign battlefields won’t have to be carried back home to potentially reduce the freedoms that Virginians enjoy.

Just as Virginia doesn’t use aerial bombing campaigns to pick off criminals, Virginia should not be using instruments of war in the state to supposedly reduce criminal activity.

But as is the case with so many kings, satisfaction is only at reach when public surveillance is at its highest. 

Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation calls on U.S. Congress to investigate alleged IRS targeting

An ‘umbrella’ organization for over three dozen tea party groups across the Commonwealth, the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation, recently called on the U.S. Congress to appoint an independent special prosecutor to investigate the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) alleged targeting of tea party groups seeking tax-exempt status.

Not satisfied with this demand, vice chairman of the federation, Rick Buchanan, also called on the U.S. Congress to “strip away the IRS assignment to monitor health insurance status on individual tax returns and cancel all enforcement of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act provisions.”

In other words, the Virginia Tea Party federation is seeking to politically capitalize on the IRS investigation to further its political goals, even if those goals are totally unrelated to the scope of the IRS investigation and its alleged misconduct. You’re shocked, I can tell.  

As Lowell Feld of Blue Virginia pointed out, if the VA Tea Party Patriots Federation want a congressional investigation into the IRS’s alleged targeting of tea party groups who filed for tax exempt status, they should also be prepared to forfeit their status as “social welfare” organizations, which many of these groups are certainly not. Or if these groups are social welfare organizations, so is the AFL-CIO and the Communication Workers of America (CWA), all the more so because they actually focus on the welfare of society, not just the individual.

But by all means, continue the congressional focus on an issue that American’s will shortly tire of hearing about and an issue which, unless additional evidence is uncovered, won’t directly touch President Obama and unravel his plans for the remainder of his presidency.

By now, the tea party has cried wolf too many times and while its popularity may ebb and flow, when many of these groups are held up to the light of scrutiny, a lot will be revealed that is not attractive to the average American. Such ideas as decreasing the size of government down to primarily military functions is beyond what even many conservative Americans can identify with.

So please continue in your bully pulpit. Tea party groups across the country may find that ‘winning’ is simply the precursor to its own demise. 

In response to Cuccinelli’s attack on public pools, David Toscano and Jim Nix answer back

In order to combat the asinine statements made by Virginia Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia Del. David Toscano and Charlottesville Democratic Chair Jim Nix visited the Onesty Family Aquatic Center on Friday to talk about the benefits of public pools.

According to Cuccinelli’s recent book, public pools are a threat to private pools. In the world of right-wing psychotics like Cuccinelli, the public sphere (i.e., ‘Big Government’) is in an unceasing battle with the private sphere, and only one sphere can ‘win’. If the former is allowed to continue to grow, the individual rights and liberties of Americans will apparently be eliminated.

Cuccinelli’s reasoning is no easier to dismantle rationally than religious beliefs because each rest equally on faith and individual beliefs, not science or logical reasoning. Cuccinelli perceives the government, of which HE IS a part, as the ultimate source of tyranny while neglecting to see the world’s true source of tyranny: human kind’s own pride, hate, fear, and ego, all of which Cuccinelli appears to know intimately.

Arguing that public pools are a threat to private pools is a continuing part of the fear narrative that the Republican Party has knowingly and unknowingly expounded upon with mixed success. For those who already viewed government and the so-called public sphere as a threat before the Tea Party bowel movement in American society, the upwelling of Tea Partiers only agitated this view through mere repetition via continuous media coverage.

That is, public pools are no more or less threatening to private pools than a shadow is to its holder. But the consequences of winning this philosophical battle, although it may seem insignificant, are immense.

If Cuccinelli and his wealthy anti-government friends can convince Virginia and the rest of America that public pools, public transit, and other such public services are a threat to the private sphere, then this mode of thinking can be used to entirely dismantle all and everything public in America.

I’m not arguing that Cuccinelli is articulating a well thought-out argument that is part of a broader plan to sink the logic that undergirds the social-welfare state. That would be giving Cuccinelli far too much credit. I am arguing that regardless of its explicit connections with other anti-government/public arguments, each ‘win’ on this rhetorical front is another trench dug closer to the heart of America’s much needed social-welfare state.  

McAuliffe becomes latest Democrat to support offshore drilling for oil and natural gas

I won’t be diplomatic about Democratic candidate for governor Terry McAuliffe’s change of face regarding offshore oil drilling. In an about face that dovetailed both U.S. Senator Tim Kaine and Mark Warner’s (Virginia) bill to overturn the federal hold on offshore drilling in coastal waters, McAuliffe expressed support for offshore drilling for oil.

Previously, McAuliffe expressed his support for exploratory drilling for natural gas, not oil. With his Democratic pals pushing to throw more oil and natural gas rigs into America’s coastal waters, McAuliffe has adjudged that the political winds are ripe for a political change of face and a stab in the back to environmentally conscious Virginians who so ardently backed his candidacy.

"Terry believes we need to support coal workers, both through increased exports throughout the world, and workforce training to ensure that displaced workers can find new careers," McAuliffe spokesman Josh Schwerin said. "The fact is, we need an all of the above energy policy that focuses on increasing renewable energy like wind and solar while supporting existing Virginia industries."

Support coal workers, WTF?! I have a bitter pill I’d like the coal industry and its employees to swallow: you’re time is up, so get over it and find jobs elsewhere.

Furthermore, the FACT is, Josh, that we need clean and renewable energy so we don’t prematurely wipe ourselves off of this rock the human species overwhelmingly calls planet earth. That’s the FACT.

I get it, the strategy behind McAuliffe’s political move (and Warner’s and Kaine’s). These public servants think they have the environmental vote locked away, if they’re even concerned about it at all. Instead of serving its base, these symbols of Democratic Party politics in Virginia have decided to appeal to middle-of-the-road Virginians (i.e., conservatives) and  turn their backs on any short term hopes for a smarter list of energy policies.

Good luck in the upcoming election, McAuliffe. Let’s hope your ‘moderate appeal’ truly was worth the about face on energy and a good portion of your base. 

Virginia Senators Kaine and Warner attempt new push to lift federal hold on oil/gas drilling

In an effort to put more holes in Virginia soil to extract materials millions of years old, Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner are renewing their attempts to lift the federal hold on oil and gas drilling in Virginia’s coastal waters.

But wait, here comes the political cover! According to The Virginian-Pilot, Warner and Kaine each “vowed” they wouldn’t continue their attempts to lift the federal moratorium on oil and gas drilling unless the Commonwealth received a sizable share of the of the oil and gas revenue that would accrue in the future. Under current law, all such profits would go into federal coffers. How this provision came into effect is also a legislative oddity.

For Virginians who are more concerned about the environment than extracting a finite resource that Virginia and the rest of the country could do without, this renewed push by Senators Warner and Kaine come as another disappointing political move by two supposedly “blue” politicians.

During a conference call with reporters, Sen. Warner had this to say, "Both Senator Kaine and I believe in an all-of-the-above approach…If we're going to do that, one key is to take advantage of all our resources and opportunity." Taking advantage of our resources, kind of like China is doing now? The world can see what tradeoffs have come out of that battle with planet earth.

All-of-the-above really means passing greater environmental degradation to future generations than those that the present have had to suffer through.

Kaine and Warner will argue that it is a practical solution to Virginia’s and the U.S.’s energy needs. But what they are really saying is that they lack political imagination and the political will to see beyond the teaming seas of fossil fuel lobbyists, sly industry arguments, and their own short-sightedness. 

University of Virginia gets hit with disparaging report regarding status as a “public ivy”

According to Art and Science Group, a “higher education consulting firm” based out of Baltimore, the University of Virginia (UVA) is allowing many of its competitors to overtake its once laudable status as a “Public Ivy”.

According to Benjamin G. Edwards of Art and Science Group, “The characterization that we heard from a number of people goes something like this: ‘U-Va. is a wonderful, important, premier place, but it doesn’t feel as driven as others.”

But for overly wealthy Virginians concerned about the waning luster of their school (I kid graduates of UVA!), there is no need to panic, President Teresa A. Sullivan has a plan, a long term plan to be exact.

As is fairly well known among individuals who stay up on trends in higher education, a number of different factors have coalesced in the U.S. to put financial pressure on universities throughout the country.

Whether it’s the sickening advent of ‘online learning’, the steep costs of obtaining a higher education degree, or the lack of motivation shown by a generation who have seen politicians waste away a better chance for a brighter future, traditional American universities have seen a drop in the number of students passing through their halls. For instance, who wants to be mounted with debt, working at a 9-5 job that may or may not be rewarding, for the next 30 or 40 years of their lives (if not more)? That doesn’t sound too appealing to many young folks these days and I don’t blame them.

It’s hardly time for UVA and its alumni to go into panic mode, however. Online learning may prove a fluke, America’s economic situation may sharply brighten, America’s politicians may finally remember their “I’m not an idiot” pill, and America’s youth may once again find the enjoyment of earning a degree in higher education at traditional institutions of higher education. President Sullivan may also prove to be the right person, in the right place, at the right time to pull UVA out of its lull. 

I’m sorry Mr. Jackson but Cuccinelli doesn’t support your views, even though his are similar

Thoughtful minds probably didn’t expect Virginia’s Attorney General and Republican candidate for Virginia governor, Ken Cuccinelli, to hang a sign next to his running mate for Lt. Gov., E.W. Jackson Sr., reading “I’m with stupid.” It is, after all, Ken Cuccinelli who we’re talking about, a political demagogue who knows what it means for stupid things to role off of his tongue.

But it is extremely comical that Cuccinelli recently endorsed his running mate (i.e., Jackson) while refusing to sate whether he agreed with Jackson’s numerous flag-raising asinine comments.

In his typical philistine-like way, Cuccinelli said this on Monday, “I don’t need to know what the subject matter that’s going to tie up 20-20 that the LG can vote on will be. I’m confident that we’re going to get the right vote every single time out of E.W. Jackson. So I’m glad he’s on this ticket, too.” Indeed, who cares what the issues might be, just elect me!

But from the other side of his mouth Cuccinelli also stated in the Virginia Pilot, “We are not defending any of our running mates’ statements now or in the future…The people of Virginia need to get comfortable with each candidate individually.” Precisely, Virginia, so get comfortable with Cuccinelli’s wacko running mate!

Essentially, then, Cuccinelli is saying that he doesn’t agree with his running mate’s political views (or is unwilling to risk the political fallout from endorsing E.W. Jackson’s views publicly) but he’s still a worthy running mate, all the same. To my mind, that’s the same as saying, “I really don’t like anything about my girlfriend (or boyfriend), but I think we should still get married.” Does that make sense?

Not so fast, however. As Think Progress has so eloquently pointed out, Cuccinelli and Jackson aren’t so different, politically, on a number of important issues for the upcoming election for governor. I know, you’re shocked.

This odd couple isn’t so odd after all. Both believe that bigotry is in season, both believe that freedom to choose only applies to choices that both candidates agree with, and neither like the idea of helping take care of thousands of Virginians medically through President Obama’s health care reform.

Let’s check their birth records, maybe these two were actually separated at birth. 

Candidate for Lt. Governor Jackson demonstrates just how far Virginia has left to shed its past

If bigotry was a popular policy position among the majority of Americans, the Republican Party would have a difficult time losing elections for public office. The Virginia GOP is no exception.

In it’s absurd attempt to broaden the Republican Party’s appeal (i.e., to individuals other than white males), the Virginia Republican Party nominated E.W. Jackson as their candidate for lieutenant governor.

Jackson is a black minister, a graduate of Harvard Law School, and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. This guy sounds like a perfect poster child of expanding Republican Party inclusion, right?

Unfortunately for Jackson’s Republican Party handlers, Jackson has compared Planned Parenthood to the Ku Klux Klan and stated that pedophilia and homosexuality are equivalents. And the list could go on. Thus, Jackson makes Republican candidate for governor, Ken Cuccinelli, look like Al Franken in comparison.

During a 2010 interview with the host of Christian radio, Jackson said, "[Gay people] believe that sexuality is how everybody ought to be defined. And that means sexual freedom, sexual license to do whatever you want to do. And I know their people say, well, 'It's unfair to associate homosexuality with pedophilia or some of these other perversions.' But I believe that there is a direct connection, because what they really want is absolute sexual freedom." Jackson’s argument is not too dissimilar from the arguments made by white segregationists in the South during the Civil Rights movement. That is, white segregationists picked one characteristic of ‘another group of people’ and vilified that characteristic as deserving of ridicule and unequal treatment.

Jackson also has a video on YouTube that calls Planned Parenthood more damaging to African Americans than the Ku Klux Klan.

The level of hatred that a considerable number of Virginian Republicans share towards individuals who support or are homosexual or support pro-choice policies is a sad reminder of just how far Virginia has to go to shed the skin of its past for a future of greater inclusivity. And the situation is all the more sad considering the words quoted above come from a black man in the state of “Massive Resistance.” 

Republican candidate for governor, Cuccinelli, says open government doesn’t apply to him

Virginia Attorney General (AG) Ken Cuccinelli is arguing that Virginia’s open government laws do not apply to him or his office, according to a statement released by the AGs office. Cuccinelli iis once again showing that he thinks he is above the laws and norms of Virginia (e.g., running for governor of Virginia while acting Attorney General)

The statement comes as Freedom of Information requests have been made for PUBLIC records regarding gifts that Cuccinelli and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell have received from Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams Sr.

According to spokesman for the AG’s office, Brian Gottstein, “The attorney general’s office is committed to transparency, which includes complying with the protocols of FOIA, even though under Virginia law, FOIA doesn’t apply to a constitutional office.”

The Roanoke Times reports that “Gottstein was explaining language in two recent responses to requests for records related to the office’s handling of a $1.7 million tax dispute with Star Scientific, whose chief executive officer, Jonnie Williams, gave $35,000 in gifts to Cuccinelli and McDonnell after their election. The company gave $79,000 to McDonnell’s political action committee after the election.”

But the executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, Megan Rhyne, disagrees. “I’m not sure how the AG can say, then, that the office is not subject to FOIA. I also cannot imagine the AG having a wholesale exclusion from FOIA where the governor and lieutenant governor both do not.”

On its face, the idea that any member or office of the government is exempt from public scrutiny and transparency is absurd and a dangerous precedent in Virginia politics. The claim is all the more ironic given Cuccinelli’s own pretensions as Virginia’s self-crowned prince of libertarian values such as government transparency.

But even if Virginia law allowed the AG’s office to turn down Freedom of Information requests, an innocent person would jump at the opportunity to clear his or her name, especially during a campaign for governor, and even more especially while running for governor as a sitting public servant!

Furthermore, releasing information which can exonerate him in the public eye would put this controversy behind him and allow Cuccinelli to focus more fully on his campaign for governor and, one would hope, his responsibilities as Virginia’s top legal representative.

Cuccinelli clearly doesn’t think that the rules apply to him. Why would anyone vote for a candidate who thinks he is above the law?

Bob McDonnell launches “Virginia Adopts: Campaign for 1,000” to increase adoption in VA

While national and local media outlets focus on political scandals, sensational stories of celebrity stupidity, and other such nonsense, thousands of children remain in Virginia’s foster care system. But on Friday, Gov. Bob McDonnell officially started the “Virginia Adopts: Campaign for 1,000,” a program that hopes to match over 1,000 children in Virginia’s foster care system with 1,000 adoptive parents.

According to Equality Virginia, there are over 4,000 children in Virginia’s foster care system.

Gov. McDonnell’s Virginia Adopts campaign is all the more ambitious because Virginia law allows private 

adoption agencies to turn away prospective adoptees due to sexual orientation. For their part, Equality Virginia and the Family Equality Council have asked McDonnell to open Virginia’s doors of adoption to all parents who meet the qualifications. More important than the sexual orientation of the parents adopting a child is the love that they give.

If anyone needs evidence that heterosexual parents don’t always produce socially acceptable children, one need look no further than Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Last I checked, Cuccinelli had a mother and a father and look how badly he turned out!

The argument that same sex adoptees will somehow disrupt the normal growth a child or rupture American society’s social fabric are ludicrous. These arguments are based on nothing more than fear, fear of difference, fear of what is not completely familiar, fear of a changing world. And because of these fears, thousands of children could be suffering because same sex couples are discriminated against in Virginia’s adoption process.

If the mainstream media wants to report a scandal, this is it. 

The Koch’s come to Virginia bearing conservative gifts and elite conservative ideas to boot

David and Charles Koch love the concept of freedom so much that they are more than willing to browbeat you at every conceivable turn with their brand of libertarian politics. And so, the recent opening of an Americans for Prosperity office at Keagy Villiage in Roanoke County is only the latest move by the Koch brothers to subtly coerce Virginians to see the world through the Ayn Randian (you know, the Russian who REALLY wanted to be an American philosopher) lenses that they prescribe to.

Americans for Prosperity is a conservative organization with national reach that primarily focuses on decreasing government regulation and cutting taxes. The irony of billionaires complaining about too many taxes and government regulations is stupendous.

The conservative group has been graciously supported by the Koch brothers and is just one of many such groups that the Koch brothers fund to support their vision of what America should look like.

According to Dave Schwartz, Americans for Prosperity’s Virginia director, the organization will seek to “step up” its brainwashing tactics in southwest Virginia, focusing specifically on energy issues like coal and, of course, taxes and government regulation. What would a good Koch brother funded group be without the inevitable focus on government evils like taxation and regulations?

The political vision of the Koch brothers is, at its root, a vision meant to benefit those already well off in society. And by well off, I mean somewhere in the millionaire economic range for wealth.

Why? Because if the Koch brothers had their way by cutting government regulations and taxes it would be the wealthy individuals and corporations of America who would be in a disproportionately advantageous position to take advantage, on the whole, of this newfound ‘freedom’. For instance, if the government were to scale back anti-competition legislation, would small businesses benefit or large businesses?

The world of Koch has already been attempted in the U.S. with dismal failures on many different fronts (social, economic, political). A U.S. with little or no government regulations in particular would haul America back to the age of Robber Barons, the Great Depression, rampant political corruption, and so on.

In other words, the world, as the Koch brothers see it, would be a new Gilded Age where private businesses are the most feared players in the social game, not the government. That is, we’d be trading one Leviathan for another.

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling announces the formation of a new PAC: Virginia Mainstream Project

Virginia’s Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling won’t be alone in his criticisms of the GOP’s “hard right” turn anymore (get it, ‘Bolling alone’?!), as a new political action committee (PAC) was announced that will allow the deputy executive to speak his mind with what he hopes will be a sound financial backing.

The new Bolling PAC is called the Virginia Mainstream Project, the latest move by the Lt. Governor to espouse the virtues of ‘mainstream GOP candidates’.

Since his withdrawal from the campaign to be Virginia’s next governor, Bolling has publicly criticized Virginia’s Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli, for leading Virginia’s Republican Party down an extreme right path that will isolate more voters in Virginia than it will enamor.

In a statement made about the Virginia Mainstream Project, Bolling said, “As I’ve said many times over the past several months, there is a growing need in the Republican Party in Virginia to recruit and elect mainstream, conservative candidates to state and local office and promote responsible policy solutions to the most important challenges facing Virginia.”

According to Bolling, the new PAC will look for mainstream candidates for the 2013 House of Delegates election and the Virginia Senate races in 2015.

Needless to say, if Cuccinelli loses this year’s election for governor, the ‘Bolling brand’ could become a much more sought after ‘commodity’.

While I’m hopeful that the Republican Party will veer back more towards the middle of the political spectrum, there is little evidence to suggest that this will occur anytime in the near future. With a lot of anger, confidence, and wealthy financial backers, the extreme right, while a relative minority of the Republican Party, will probably be a powerful player in Virginia politics for some time.

Thanks in part to Bolling, however, Virginians don’t have to dream or look through the history books to remember a kinder, gentler, and saner Republican Party of Virginia. 

VA uranium mining opposition groups partner for continuing confrontation with proponents in 2014

Moving to consolidate its strength for the continuing political confrontation with proponents of harming the earth, I mean proponents of uranium mining, the Roanoke River Basin Association (RRBA) announced that CommonHealthVA is now part of the RRBA family.

Both groups came out in opposition to uranium mining in Virginia during the last session of the General Assembly, each playing an important role in the eventual shelving of Sen. John Watkins’ legislation to lift Virginia’s moratorium on uranium mining.

But with the downfall of Sen. Watkins’ uranium mining legislation in the Virginia Senate came a continued effort by Virginia Uranium Inc. and legislative proponents to convince King Bob McDonnell to set the executive wheels in motion towards developing uranium mining regulations.

To date, Gov. McDonnell has not responded to calls for state agencies to establish uranium mining regulations for the 2014 session of the General Assembly to ceremoniously approve.

At the heart of the issue over lifting Virginia’s moratorium on uranium mining is whether it can be done safety, both in the short term and in the long term.

While Virginia Uranium Inc. and many proponents of uranium mining contend that it can be done safely in Virginia, there is no evidence to prove that uranium mining can be conducted safety in Virginia’s wet climate.

The recent news regarding the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is only the latest bit of evidence suggesting
Virginians should take a more cautious approach to anything nuclear or nuclear waste related. It was thought that double-shell tanks would be enough to safeguard the surrounding environment until a better solution could be found in the future. it was discovered that "All the double-shell tanks contain waste that continuously generates some flammable gas." 

And then there is the issue of who pays if there is an ‘accident’ surrounding uranium mining or milling? Will Virginians be left with the clean-up bill after a spill of uranium tailings makes its way into a local water supply? Who will benefit the most from uranium mining in Virginia?

Bottom line, the uncertainties of uranium mining in Virginia far outweigh the certainties and the benefits. I won’t go so far as to say uranium mining should never be allowed in Virginia, but given the lack of adequate safeguard technology, it shouldn’t be anytime soon. 

Democratic Party starts assaulting Cuccinelli early before he becomes GOP nominee for governor

While Ken Cuccinelli prepares to be crowned the Republican Party’s prince to take over at Virginia’s Executive Mansion, the Democratic Party is rolling out two early lines of attack against the Commonwealth’s attorney general.

Cuccinelli’s coronation as the Virginia Republican Party’s nominee for governor will take place on Saturday in Richmond. On Monday, though, Democratic Party operatives, strategists, and members participated in two different conference calls which were used to criticize Cuccinelli for his botched witch hunt into the research of former University of Virginia climate scientist, Michael Mann, as well as Cuccinelli’s co-sponsorship of ‘personhood legislation’ while a state senator in 2007.

While these issues and messages are poignant with the Democratic Party base in Virginia, if the goal is reach out to Virginia’s ‘undecided’ and/or independent voters, the issues of climate change and personhood don’t strike me as the most effective issues (much to my everlasting dismay!).

Instead, most Virginian’s are arguably concerned about economic growth, civil liberties more broadly, and a vision of where Virginia will be ten or twenty years down the road.   

If the goal is to fire up the Democratic Party base, Democratic candidates would go further if they put themselves more firmly in the public spotlight. For those who are even aware of who the candidates running for Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General are ,it’s doubtful that they know very much about these candidates, maybe with the exception of Sen. Mark Herring.

The Democratic Party has a solid group of political candidates for these posts, but the people of Virginia need to see and hear from them, not just dyed-in-the-wool Democrats.

This is the way I perceive the political landscape. A lot can and probably will change between now and November, including Virginia’s familiarity with the candidates who are running. And when Virginians do become more familiar with the Democratic Party candidates in particular, I hope more issues will be hammered upon other than issues of personhood and climate change, as greatly important as these issues are.

A Cuccinelli governorship, in particular, would be like allowing the uncle that no one really gets along with to take over the family’s Fortune 500 company. The results will most likely be dismal. 

Gov. McDonnell stages a ceremonial signing of transportation bill signed into law this year

In case Virginian’s forgot about Gov. Bob McDonnell’s signature achievement as Virginia’s top executive, he pulled out the red carpet on Monday for a ceremonial signing of the ‘comprehensive’ transportation package that passed through the General Assembly this year. And no, Star Scientific didn’t pay for the ceremony (at least, not that I’m aware of).

Among other consequences, the package increases Virginia’s sales tax from 5 percent to 5.3 percent and increases the titling tax (WTF!?) on car sales. Yes, the titling tax, the tax that conservative lawmakers focus on when they still want to appear to be fiscal conservatives while increasing revenues.

The transportation package also dismisses the 17.5 cents-per-gallon retail gas tax with a 3.5 percent wholesale tax on gas and a 6 percent tax on diesel fuel. In other words, the wholesale price Virginians pay for gas just got less expensive (creating an incentive to purchase more gas, drive more, and pollute more).

I can see McDonnell now, a crescent smile on his face as his “legacy” is immortalized and the past month of scandalous news involving potential ethics and/or legal violations is momentarily forgotten. McDonnell’s real legacy will come, however, when Virginian’s no longer have to stop and start in a monotonous torrent of bumper-to-bumper traffic for seemingly no other reason than there are just too many vehicles on the roads of Virginia.

McDonnell’s signature transportation seemed more focused on ‘just getting something done’, and not necessarily focusing on how to solve Virginia’s larger and long-term problems of population growth, out-of-date infrastructure, and incentivizing fewer personal vehicles on Virginia’s roadways. Sure, more lanes are being built, but will more lanes necessarily lead to less breakneck traffic on I-95 in particular?

As Virginia grows, so too will its demands on state roadways. McDonnell’s transportation bill seems like little more than a costly short-term fix that missed the forest for the political trees. Maybe Star Scientific can also pay for a few extra lanes on I-95. Oh I kid, but seriously, where’s Virginia’s kickback? 

Richmond Tea Party director Nordvig claims IRS inappropriately targeted his organization

As if the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) needed another hit to its already less-than-likable public image among Virginians, the Richmond Tea Party’s executive director, Laurence Nordvig, stated on Saturday that his organization was among those inappropriately targeted by the IRS.

According to Nordvig, members of the Richmond Tea Party “had become suspicious during protracted questioning over a two-year period in which the group was trying to qualify for nonprofit status, which it was eventually awarded.” That’s probably not what Richmond Tea Party members had in mind when they decided to attempt to qualify for nonprofit status.

Nordvig also stated, “For a period of two years, IRS officials intentionally obstructed our organization’s attempts to qualify for a simple nonprofit status, at the cost of hundreds of man hours and thousands of dollars. In addition, intrusive and improper demands were made for personal information about our volunteers, which not only invaded privacy, but encroached upon their constitutional rights to free speech and free association.”

The use of government power to intimidate, coerce, undermine, or otherwise inappropriately block the rights of American citizens, whatever their political affiliation, is an act that cannot and should not be tolerated. And to add insult to injury, the former IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman seems to have lied about his knowledge of intentionally targeting conservative groups.

Even if Osama bin Laden had a political organization LEGALLY operating in the U.S., this organization would not warrant the type of gross government abuse witnessed by the IRS against conservative groups (notice the word, legally). It simply doesn’t represent the principles embodied in our country’s foundational political theory or law.

Those senior IRS officials who knew about this discriminatory targeting should immediately step down from their posts or be forced to by the Obama administration. 

Sen. Tim Kaine announces second bill, American Battlefield Protection Program Amendments Act

Finally, an issue that Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Congress can agree on: preserving Civil War battlegrounds. No, it isn’t the sexiest or most important issue imaginable, but it could be an opportunity for both major political parties to renew old lines of communication, heal simmering wounds, and simply remember that there ARE some issues which ‘both sides’ hold in common.

The American Battlefield Protection Program Amendments Act (here comes the acronym! ABPPAA), unveiled on Friday by its sponsor Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia (Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi is the co-sponsor), will reauthorize the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program (CWBPP) “that provides competitive federal grants to match private and non-profit donations.” Thus, the ABPPAA (yes, this acronym is ridiculously long) seeks to preserve historical Civil War battlegrounds.

Kaine explained, “Historical battlegrounds serve as living reminders of our nation’s past. In Virginia, we have more Civil War battlefields than any other state, and I am committed to working with both parties and members of our delegation to ensure this hallowed ground is preserved for local citizens and tourists who visit these sites.”  

According to Markus Schmidt, writing for the Richmond Times Dispatch (whose new website design is just as absurdly difficult to navigate as their paper is difficult to read. Love you RTD!), “Since the CWBPP was first initiated in 2002, more than 17,500 acres of high-priority Civil War battle sites have been preserved to boost tourism and conserve land while preserving the nation’s heritage. The Civil War Trust estimates there are still more than 50,000 acres of unprotected battlefield land in Virginia that meet the criteria of this program.”

But preserving land for the public good is socialism, right? I kid my conservative brothers and sisters for their hysterical hypocrisy. It’s only socialism if conservatives don’t agree with what is being socialized!

As uninterested in Civil War history as I am, it should be recognized that this war has played, and in some ways still plays, an immeasurable role in our country. It is a history, a past, that Americans should not forget, the violence, the hate, the misperceptions, all of it.

We are only as good as the lessons we learn. Preserving America’s Civil War battlegrounds is a good way to ensure that this portion of our history is not soon forgotten (unless there is a natural resource somewhere near the battleground!).

Richmond Inspector General hands Dwight Jones scathing report on Richmond social services

When auditors come to the City of Richmond, look out because the results probably won’t be pleasant, at least not the in the case of Richmond’s social services. And wouldn’t you know it, a Richmond City auditor’s report released on Thursday by the Richmond Inspector General’s office concluded that the Richmond Department of Social Services is endangering the health and safety of children in order to decrease their numbers in foster care.

Although Mayor Dwight C. Jones called the report “painful to read,” there didn’t appear to be any immediate and substantive moves to correct these gross circumstances other than announcing the retirement of the Director for the Richmond Department of Social Services (Doris D. Moseley) and the resignation of a former deputy director who had been reassigned (Gayle L. Turner).

Jones commented, “When we initiated the reviews of the Department of Social Services, I said that would take immediate corrective actions as we became aware of problems…I fully expect the Department of Social Services to address each and every concern raised by this audit report and the two reports to follow.” Otherwise known in bureaucratic speak as “We’ll see what we can do, but don’t hold your breath.”

For one reason or another, the City of Richmond seems incapable of living up to its true potential. Whether it’s corruption, incompetence, negligence, abuse, and everything outside or in-between, the City of Richmond cannot walk the straight and narrow path towards a more just and socioeconomically viable city.

Of course, some folks will beg to differ, claiming that Richmond “isn’t all that bad” or that I’m being unfair, myself. And maybe I am being a tad bit critical of Richmond. But if I am, it’s only because Richmond can be another Charlotte, a Raleigh-Durham, and the like, if it focuses on the future and not short-term gain.

The audit report really isn’t surprising and it is doubtless only the tip of the iceberg in regards to the how ineffective, inefficient, and inhumane the city is run on a day-to-day basis. I hope this report will serve as a real wake-up call to city officials and its residents.

Sadly, the report was ONLY about children in foster care. And who, after all, really cares about this group of INDIVIDUALS, right?

VA Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli gives greater detail about his failure to disclose political gifts

In the world of well, reality, there are mistakes and then there are intentional lapses of memory for the sake of one’s personal agenda. On Wednesday, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli tried to explain why he initially failed to disclose gifts from Star Scientific CEO, Jonnie Williams Sr., claiming in essence that he’s not perfect. What a revelation.

Cuccinelli told NBC News, “I’m not running for office as somebody who doesn’t make mistakes. I certainly do make them and one thing voters can count on is when I do, I’ll ‘fess up to them’.” If Virginians have been taught anything about Cuccinelli, it’s that he’ll ‘fess up’ when he’s been caught red-handed acting unethically.

How often have you (or would you) forget about being given thousands of dollars?

Could it be that in the world of Virginia politics, these kinds of ‘gifts’ are the rule rather than the exception for Republican politicians?

I still remember Gov. Bob McDonnell playing golf at a club I used to work at, a club whose membership costs upwards of $200,000. McDonnell was playing as someone’s guest, with his family, and without the member who sponsored his visit to the club. Some kind of friend, huh? Do you think the member was allowing Gov. McDonnell to play a round under his sponsorship out of the kindness of his heart?

Whether they’re Republicans, Democrats, Independents, or whatever political designation floats your boat, political gifts like these must end in Virginia. Our political system cannot maintain fairness amongst the different socioeconomic classes if millionaires essentially buy the attention and policy favor of Politicians A-Z.

You don’t need to be a political scientist to figure this one out, wherever the money goes, so too will the politician unless there are incentives to do otherwise or barriers to halt their efforts. As long as Virginia chooses neither, the Commonwealth also chooses a lopsided political system that will eventually undermine itself with excessive corruption and unconcern with the lives of average Virginians. I give you a great example:  Ken Cuccinelli. 

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling criticizes the economic proposals of both candidates for governor as unrealistic

He may be out of the ‘race’, but Virginia’s Lt. Governor Bill Bolling isn’t holding back his criticism of either candidate running for the executive thrown. On Tuesday, Bolling criticized Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe and his challenger, Ken Cuccinelli, for offering up economic proposals that aren’t realistic.

Last week, McAuliffe suggested that a “handful” of local business taxes could be eliminated or reduced. His opponent, Cuccinelli, proposed a 13 percent reduction in personal income taxes and a 33 percent reduction in corporate income taxes, otherwise known as financial suicide for Virginia’s government. As Bolling pointed out, Cuccinelli and McAuliffe were both a little less than specific about how they would go about replacing the revenue lost vis-à-vis their ‘plans’.

Said Bolling, "In the past week, both Mr. McAuliffe and Mr. Cuccinelli have proposed tax cuts that would benefit Virginia's families and businesses. I think that's great. Unfortunately, neither candidate has yet identified how they would address the significant loss of revenue these tax cuts would create for state and local governments and the corresponding impact they could have on critical government services. As governor, you can't just propose tax cuts willy nilly to score some cheap political points."

Indeed! Why is it that Bolling understands the idea of economics so clearly while so many politicians seem immune? Of course, it would have been nice if Bolling had stayed in the contest for governor and proposed his own comprehensive economic plan (assuming it wouldn’t be a total conservative pipe-dream).

I have a feeling that folks in Virginia annoyed by Bolling’s “arm-chair” criticisms will quickly reject anything that Virginia’s Lt. Gov. has to say, valid or not. But Bolling could turn out to be the purest voice of reason in a political contest that may pull both candidates into a contest of personality and not policy positions.  

Bolling has his own skeletons, of course, and these shouldn’t be forgotten as the Lt. Gov. attempts to rebrand himself as the middle-way of Virginia politics. That said, if this is the ‘true Bolling’, then keep it coming. Virginia, as well as the rest of the country, could use a lot more of the vivid speech that Bolling has continuously injected into the political sphere over the past year. 

Shocker: Ken Cuccinelli supports hydraulic-fracking in the George Washington National Forest

Environmentally conscious Virginians were handed another reason to vote against Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli on Tuesday after he told a Roanoke-area group in Troutville that he was a proponent of hydraulic-fracking for natural gas in the George Washington National Forest.

While I can’t do justice to the vast number of consequences at stake in the debate over whether or not to allow hydraulic-fracking in the George Washington National Forest, water supplies and overall degradation of the forest are arguably two of the biggest issues at play.

The George Washington National Forest contributes to the drinking water of around 260,000 people and as The Atlantic reported recently, hydraulic-fracking has been seen by its critics “as an environmental menace to underground water supplies…”

While governments (Federal, state, and local) have been slow to recognize the negative impacts of hydraulic-fracturing on local water supplies, it doesn’t take a government study to conclude that 2+2=4. Hydraulic-fracking clearly has some negative effect(s) on local water supplies, whether it be from the extraction of water for fracking or less obvious consequences.

The George Washington National Forest’s management plan is scheduled for release in June, at which time a decision will have been made as to whether or not hydraulic-fracking will be allowed in the forest.

As always, the debate should be weighed in terms of short-term and long-term interests. For example, is the short-term extraction of natural gas from the forest worth the environmental damage that WILL occur in addition to the environmental damage that could occur? How much natural gas is even in the forest?

There are places in this country that should and must remain untouched by the forces of energy extraction, if only for this one fundamental reason: once you’ve tarnished this or any other relatively pristine land area, you can’t ever get back to square-one. Once the damage has been done, we can’t reverse the effects. And when it’s all said and done, will we really still think it was a good idea to tarnish one of our greatest remaining nature sites?   

Of course, for Ken Cuccinelli, that answer seems to be, “Yes.”

So far, so good: McDonnell’s popularity among Virginians high amid allegations of ethics violations

It’s said that first impressions are everything in personal relationships, and in Gov. Bob McDonnell’s case social scientists may have another case study example to prove this point. A recent Washington Post poll found that Virginia’s governor remains “firmly popular with Virginia voters.”

According to their poll, 64 percent of all registered voters in Virginia say they approve of McDonnell’s job performance. Even more shocking is that 64 percent is six percentage points higher than two Washington Post surveys in 2012. And even more shocking than that is the positive poll numbers McDonnell received from Democratic voters. Et tu, Democrats?

If the Washington Post poll is to be believed, one lesson that interested onlookers can take away is this:  engaging in unethical political relationships with wealthy CEOs is politically popular among Virginia’s registered voters…This makes about as much sense as wanting to get kicked in the teeth by a bucking bronco.

According to one registered Virginia voter, an 80 year-old retired federal contracting employee, “He [Bob McDonnell] could have done worse, I guess.”  These words summarize the mood that has overcome so many Americans who still have some about politics: I guess it could be worse (i.e., we really didn’t expect that much out of our elected officials, anyways).

It’s in the wake of stories like these that I want to throw down my moral axe and start hacking away (rhetorically speaking) at the seeming corruption of the people of Virginia (and America) themselves, their elected representatives aside.

If Virginians and Americans are unwilling to put their elected representatives to the same standards that any other American is held to, then an important incentive for politicians to play by the rules of the game has been lost. If the American people (and Virginians) are, on the whole, unwilling to express outrage over such blatant ethical violations like the ones committed by Gov. Bob McDonnell, then why would McDonnell and like-minded political back-scratchers not enrich their lives with wealthy CEO kick-backs (that is, engage in a little quid pro quo)?

This all assumes, of course, that most registered voters in Virginia view McDonnell’s actions as unethical. But the ‘clean’ image that McDonnell helped craft around his political persona has apparently been more effective than even he could have imagined. The people of Virginia, regardless of political party, appear to have taken the entire jar of kool-aid.

McDonnell’s Star Scientific saga is far from over, however, and the real test of just how engrained his ‘clean’ image is in Virginia may still be to come. By then, the kool-aid’s sugar rush may have worn off for Virginia’s registered voters.

Washington Post poll shows Cuccinelli ahead, but political polls are far from being destiny

If political polls have taught Americans anything, it’s not to put more than a grain of salt into the results when the actual election in question is months away. And so it is with a recent Washington Post poll that shows Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli ahead of Democratic Party candidate Terry McAuliffe, 46 to 41 percent.

The Post goes on to make the earth-shaking revelation that “those numbers may change before then…” Wise conclusion, indeed.

Never mind the ludicrousness of our country’s poll-crazed obsessions that make as much sense as worrying about whether or not we’ll do good at our upcoming job interview. That is, we don’t know how future events will shape out, so what’s the use in worrying?

So to with political polls, so much can happen between now and tomorrow, let alone now and 2 months from now, that political polling so far out shouldn’t make the headlines of even third-rate news outlets.

But as rational, scientifically-inclined Westerners, we tend to believe (or want to believe) that our efforts at understanding the social and physical world in the present will help us understand our social and physical world in the future. The social world in particular is, however, something that even the most repressive governments in human history could not completely control, and therefore know.

This isn’t to say that political polls don’t have their place, that political polls are not helpful at all to the political candidates or their prospective voters. It is to argue that the importance that our society (or at least the tame-stream media) has put on political polls months out from upcoming elections has oversized their importance when looked at more thoughtfully.

The sports motto “That’s why the game is played” is applicable to most things in life, including politics and political campaigns. Political polls are not destiny nor are they even always a good quasi-predictor of election results. They are a tool to get a broad sense of where each political candidate and their campaign stands.

The problem is that more than a few Americans (and Virginians) see political polls as destiny. They’re not, they are imperfect tools made by imperfect individuals to predict an imperfect contest between at least two imperfect candidates and their campaigns. That’s a lot of imperfection and a lot of space for unforeseen events to reshape a political race in the blink of an eye. 

Virginia House Speaker Bill Howell thinks “perhaps there is a need for greater disclosure”

In reaction to the “gift scandal” hovering over Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and his fallen-from-grace Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli like a political career crushing boulder, Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Bill Howell had this to say, “Because of the concern that’s been expressed over this most recent Star Scientific thing, perhaps there is a need for greater disclosure.” In political speak this means nothing is really going to happen, but I’ll act like I’m concerned.

There is no “perhaps” about the need for greater gift and donation disclosure between public officials and their donors. While neither McDonnell nor Cuccinelli have technically broken Virginia law (at least not that we know of yet), the scandal surrounding these two fallen political stars and the Star Scientific CEO (three stars fall!), Jonnie Williams Sr., highlights the absurdity of allowing the lax donation disclosure laws in Virginia to remain unchanged.

It stands to reason that if person or organization A gives political representative B a large amount of gifts relative to the gifts given by person or organization C (i.e., the people of Virginia), then the former will more than likely have a greater influence in representative B’s policy making decisions.

In the case of Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams Sr. and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (and perhaps Ken Cuccinelli as well), this gift-giving relationship was clearly intended to influence the policy decisions of the latter in favor of the former. Anyone who claims otherwise must have had a wedding thrown for their daughter on Star Scientifics dime.

The reality is that under current Virginia law, the average Joe Virginian cannot compete against the business accounts of wealthy companies like Star Scientific or Virginia Uranium Inc., over the long term. Indeed, this is precisely the point of Virginia’s current law, it was made to favor those with deep pockets while giving the impression of some degree of fairness and democratic value.

This reality leaves Virginia’s republican form of government in a realistic state of quasi-oligarchy, or control of the reins of government by the wealthy.

Unfortunately for Williams Sr., Cuccinelli, and McDonnell, their unethical relationship of gift giving and political favor dealing went too far and now the law of public opinion will partially do what Virginia law cannot (not yet, anyways): throw the bums out of office or disgrace them so deeply that political revival will prove impossible. 

Dominion Virginia Power’s clean energy judo: do absolutely nothing while appearing to do a lot!

On Thursday, Dominion Virginia Fossil Fuel, I mean Dominion Virginia Power announced that it will install its first solar energy installation at Old Dominion University (ODU), part of Dominion’s “Solar Partnership Program,” otherwise known as deflecting environmentally pointed criticism by doing the bare minimum with clean energy to help rescue the planet.

At the horrendously insignificant cost (for Dominion) of $500,000, Dominion will install over 600 photovoltaic panels on the roof of ODU’s Student Recreation Center over the summer.

The photovoltaic panels will be able to generate 132 kilowatts of electricity that will feed into the power grid at the university. Accordingly, 132 kilowatts is able to power close to 35 homes.

But here is where the liars, double speak, and hypocrisy of Dominion Virginia Power starts to become unbearably odious. According to Dominion Virginia Power’s vice president for ‘customer solutions’ Ken Barker, “This new program [i.e., solar panels at ODU] is already encouraging the growth of solar energy in Virginia, as many other customers have contacted us and shown interest.” Uh, hey Ken, Virginians have been interested in solar power for quite some time now. It’s Dominion who has been (and still is) dragging their feet on solar power and thus, adding tremendously to the problem of murdering Mother Earth.

I remember vividly that beautiful day in Richmond when a representative from Dominion Virginia Power stood up in front of a senate committee and argued against allowing solar power to be used by not-for-profit organizations like churches on their buildings and/or properties. Dominion’s representative argued that allowing not-for-profits to have solar panels would open up Virginia’s energy sector to (wait for it!) de-centralization (and a big challenge to Dominion Virginia Power’s monopoly on electricity).

Of course, the senate committee was probably already leaning towards their campaign financing pimps in the first place, but the word ‘de-centralization’ struck a chord of fear into the hearts of these committee members. And thus, solar power was once again brushed under the rug in Virginia.

But now Dominion Virginia Power is gung-ho about supplying our state with power from the sun (as long as they’re in control). Dominion’s hypocrisy is truly astounding.

Let no Virginian be deceived, Dominion is very much against fossil fuel relief!

If political hypocrisy were the key to political success, Virginia would indefinitely be a ‘red’ state

It’s too bad political hypocrisy isn’t a recipe for political success, otherwise the Virginia GOP would be flush with political representatives at every level of government across the state. And in this latest chapter of “how can we successfully attack Terry McAuliffe’s successful business record,” Virginia Republicans and GOP representatives are trying to spin GreenTech Automotive as an unsuccessful company that should have been kept in Virginia…I hope everyone sees the irony in that.

In its latest attempt to prove how bad of a successful capitalist the Democratic Party candidate for Virginia’s governorship really is, a reporter was sent to Mississippi to unearth just how many Americans McAuliffe helped employ and well, I’m not really sure why a reporter was sent to Mississippi to investigate GreenTech Automotive.

You know that Republican operatives are reaching when they have to pull out their wild card, the old Watchdog.org report that identifies GreenTech as the subsidiary of a company established in the British Virgin Islands, a territory that probably does allow GreenTech from paying U.S. taxes. If it were a Republican doing this, it would be considered a brilliant business move to avert the socialist tax policies of that terribly big-hearted president, Barack Obama.

So here’s where the Republican Party of Virginia stands: It’s okay to be a businessman as long as you do business and create jobs in Virginia (and you’re a Republican). It’s okay to run for another public office while still in public office, raking in taxpayer dollars and whoring your position out for “gifts” from wealthy CEO’s (e.g., Jonnie Williams Sr.). It’s okay to oppose an expansion of Medicaid while simultaneously attempting to restrict the kind of Virginian who is allowed to vote.

If McAuliffe is a hypocrite (and really, who besides a handful of politicians isn’t?), Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is a criminal for using his office openly, unashamedly, and unethically to promote his own political career and bank account. Oh yeah, and there’s always the simmering scandal still going on surrounding Cuccinelli’s involvement with Star Scientific CEO, Jonnie Williams Sr.

McAuliffe spokesman Josh Schwerin commented, "While Cuccinelli is dodging any and all questions about his ongoing scandal, Terry McAuliffe has been to six community colleges in the last three days talking about workforce development and answering any questions.” Yeah, what he said.

Holy cannibal Batman! Scientists uncover evidence that early colonists engaged in cannibalism

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History alongside archaeologists from Jamestown made an interesting announcement on Wednesday: archaeological evidence has been found that some of the earliest colonists at Jamestown survived a harsh environment by resorting to cannibalism. Can anyone see a Quentin Tarantino film on the subject sometime in the near future?

In one sense, the news is utterly uninteresting and unimportant. Did anyone doubt that some of the earliest American colonists were above eating one another in order to survive the ‘New World’? If so, come find me, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

The story may end up in U.S. history textbooks, if at all, as a minor fact that will be glossed over as quickly as the earliest American’s relations with the Native American population! As members of any proud nation, we like to speak of our past in positive terms, exalting the best and barely mentioning the rest. Thus, the likelihood that these ‘facts’ will show up in our country’s history texts in a substantial way is probably slim.

What the story undoubtedly does do is change some of the perceptions that Americans may have had of these early American colonists, most of whom were fanatically religious and therefore presumably above these wretched deeds. Maybe it was the devil that made them do it!

Ask yourself, does it really make a difference whether or not early American colonists engaged in cannibalism, presumably to save their own lives?  We already knew these individuals weren’t all there in the minds, anyways.

In all seriousness, though, this story does represent an absolutely fundamental facet of our society: the willingness and ability to seek the truth about our past, regardless of how painful it may be.

Of course, some individuals would rather the past remain untainted by stories like this one. After all, how will Americans look at themselves, now? Probably much the same as we do already. I can see this story actually becoming a net positive in our society, a joke (“Don’t make me go Jamestown on you!”).

At the end of the day, though, it really doesn’t matter whether or not this archaeological evidence was uncovered or not. Sorry, but most Virginians, let alone Americans, really don’t care. 

The storm clouds just keep growing: FBI questions relationship between McDonnell & Williams

If Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell thought he’d experienced the worst of the ever-growing scandal surrounding the dietary supplement manufacturer, Star Scientific, its CEO Jonnie Williams Sr., and the ‘gifts’ that Williams has lavished onto the McDonnell clan, the latter got a rude awakening on Monday.

In case you missed it, the FBI is taking its investigation into the relationship between Bob McDonnell and Jonnie Williams Sr. deeper, and among the topics being looked at closer is the $15,000 catering bill Jonnie Williams Sr. paid for the daughter of Bob McDonnell’s wedding at the Executive Mansion. 

Now that the relationship between Williams and McDonnell has been placed under the public microscope, a number of additionally disturbing findings are being unearthed from the shadows of back-door politics in Virginia.

Maureen McDonnell, Bob McDonnell’s wife, has reportedly received gifts from Williams that were previously undisclosed. As if this weren’t audacious enough, Star Scientific and its CEO have contributed to McDonnell and his political action committee (PAC) over $120,000 in PUBLICLY DISCLOSED donations and gifts. But the $120,000 does not take into account the other gifts that McDonnell and his family have received from Williams and Star Scientific such as the use of William’s vacation lake house in western Virginia. I wonder if I can use it too!

In turn, McDonnell has promoted Star Scientific in the past. Thus, the focus of the FBI interviews was reportedly to find out whether or not the substantial gifts given to McDonnell by Williams and Star Scientific represent a quid pro quo between the two.

Just as you don’t need a weather man to tell which way the wind blows, it doesn’t take a detective with 20 years of on-the-job experience to figure out if all of the money and gifts given to McDonnell resulted in any illegal uses of public office to promote one company.

While no one can yet say unequivocally that McDonnell and Star Scientific have acted illegally (which would admittedly force us to assume that Jonnie Williams Sr. and Star Scientific are rather stupid, because why else would Star Scientific spend so much money), it’s probably wise to place your bets on the side of “guilty.”

So much for the legacy of Bob McDonnell as the transportation kingpin.  Now it seems likely that McDonnell will leave behind a legacy of gross misconduct and an abandonment of the public trust (even if he’s already done both anyways!). 

Conservative PAC, Women Speak Out Virginia, gets caught in big lie by PolitiFact Virginia

Most of us (hopefully all of us) know that purposeful deceit is simply wrong on a number of different levels. But as an advocacy group, purposeful deceit is simply stupid (as well as wrong), as it leaves many individuals with a bad feeling in their mouths and an unwillingness to believe anything that the advocacy group in question has to say. Nonetheless, Women Speak Out Virginia has been caught by PolitiFact airing a big fat lie to the people of Virginia.

Women Speak Out Virginia, a Political Action Committee (PAC) aligned with the fringe-right of the political spectrum organization, the Susan B. Anthony List, aired a radio advertisement that criticizes Democratic Party candidate for governor, Terry McAuliffe, for what the ad claims are “common ground abortion center health and safety standards.”

The ads narrator says, “McAuliffe refuses to require women’s health clinics to provide the same sanitary environment we expect of dental offices and hospitals.”

To make a long story short, PolitiFact concludes, “McAuliffe did oppose new regulations that were approved for abortion clinics earlier this month. But it is ridiculous to imply that these rules elevate the sanitary standards for clinics to those of dental offices.”

This latest purposely deceitful (unless this PAC’s personnel are just lazy and incompetent; you decide which is worse) ad by Women Speak Out Virginia is yet one more example of the lengths to which right-wing political groups are willing to go to “win” the policy and political battle. The ad shows no shame as it widely expands the truth to open Terry McAuliffe for political attack.

But life is full of ironies and ads like these by Women Speak Out Virginia could well be the tipping point that totally delegitimizes this group as a serious political force that should be listened to by the people of Virginia and their elected representatives alike.

There is never so much lying on the line in the sphere of politics that would warrant any individual or group ceding their integrity for a “political win” by knowingly telling lies. For what it’s worth, it’s sad that so many individuals and groups in politics seem to have forgotten this simple principle: do good and you’ll go far.