Friday, July 6, 2012
Sons of Confederate Veterans flag lawsuit misses point of Lexington, VA policy
The Sons of Confederate Veterans[1]
have decided to appeal the loss of their lawsuit challenging the city of
Lexington’s decision to disallow the flying of the Confederate flag from city
light poles.[2]
The civil rights group the Rutherford Institute indicated
their appeal in U.S. District Court in Roanoke on Wednesday. The institute will
be appealing to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.
In June, U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Wilson threw out
the lawsuit filed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, concluding that
Lexington’s alleged reasons do not override the content-neutral nature of the
ordinance.[3]
The government of Lexington essentially banned all private
displays, allowing only flags that represent government to appear on light
poles.
If the Sons of Confederate Veterans were fighting to display
the Confederate flag on private possessions, the sons would clearly have a
winning case. However, the issue that the sons are filing their lawsuit over
has, as mentioned above, to do with flying the Confederate flag on public
possessions, an equally clear losing battle.
Arguing that the city of Lexington’s policy is “viewpoint
discrimination” clearly misses the point. The Confederate flag is not a
government flag and cannot therefore be flown on public possessions. It is a
policy created by Lexington to prevent “viewpoint discrimination.”
The lawsuit seems more like a publicity stunt than an actual
struggle for the right to free speech.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
McDonnell’s rise in the Republican Party: a move that will cost the GOP
With all of the controversy surrounding Gov. Bob McDonnell
over the past year alone, you’d think that the Republican Party would wish to
shelter itself from McDonnell, the individual rights transgressor. As usual
though, the Republican Party defied logic by appointing Bob McDonnell to chair
the platform committee at next month’s Republican National Convention.[1]
McDonnell admittedly has an appeal that stretches beyond the
ultra-right of the Republican Party base, making him a better than normal
candidate to front Republican brew-ha-has. But McDonnell will also be a target
for liberals and some libertarians who’ve seen his governorship in Virginia as little
more than a continual crackdown on the democratic process and the rights of
individuals, be they men or women.[2]
This political baggage obviously hasn’t stunted McDonnell’s
shining star in the eyes of the Republican National Committee chairman, Reince
Priebus. I believe this assessment of McDonnell is, however, a mistake that
will cost the Republican Party the approval of Independents, at the very least.
McDonnell has portrayed himself as the quintessential
“pragmatic” conservative politician[3]
for as long as I can remember. But is America ready for a pragmatic
conservative politician? Is America ready for a conservative politician who
wants to put police drones in the sky or limit the rights of women to their own
bodies?[4]
Just as McDonnell sought the national spotlight to elevate
his political resume, his policy positions have prompted fierce backlashes from
individuals across the political spectrum all over the country. Thus,
McDonnell’s strategy to promote his political image has largely failed among
many Americans.[5]
McDonnell can play an important role in the Republican
Party, but his visibility among the upper echelons of the GOP only reinforce
suspicions that I have about the GOP itself: the GOP
doesn’t take women’s rights seriously and establishment Republicans don’t truly
respect individual rights.
[1] http://www.wric.com/story/18938872/mcdonnell-to-head-gop-convention-platform-panel
[2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/29/bob-mcdonnell-drones-virginia_n_1554179.html
[3] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jun/29/mcdonnells-pragmatism-translates-to-popularity/
[4] http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/03/obama-campaign-targets-romney-mcdonnell-women-voters/
[5] http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/05/va-gov-mcdonnell-approval-rating-drops/
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Virginia GOP to stall on implementing Affordable Care Act in Virginia
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last week on the
Affordable Care Act, you might assume that states within the U.S., including
Virginia, would finally see the writing on the wall and begin implementation of
the act, but this would unfortunately not be the case.
Virginia Republicans say they do not intend on putting the
Affordable Care Act reforms into place until after the upcoming elections this
fall, laying down a political gauntlet that the Democratic Party of Virginia
will have to respond to.[1]
Republicans in Virginia are going to ride out the fall
elections to determine whether or not their party is in a stronger position in
the U.S. Congress and the White House. The ultimate goal of the Republican
Party as a whole is of course to overturn President Obama’s Affordable Care
Act.[2]
Virginia Senator Donald McEachin (D-Henrico) responded, “I
think that’s derelict of duty.” Indeed, but now how will the Democratic Party
push the Republican Party to implement the Affordable Care Act?
The gamble could pay off for the Republican Party if they win
enough extra members in the U.S. Congress and a presidential victory to repeal
the Affordable Care Act.
However, since federal law mandates that almost every
American purchase health insurance and that states establish insurance
exchanges that guarantee private health coverage is available to every American[3],
holding off until the last moment to set the process in motion could put Virginia
in danger of running afoul of federal law and denying Virginians the benefits
of President Obama’s health care reform.
Even though Gov. McDonnell claims that “We will do what we
think is right for the citizens of Virginia,”[4]
his previous track record on this front doesn’t inspire much confidence.[5]
The message of the GOP is clear, we’ll follow the laws of[6]
the land, but only if we agree with the laws being signed and passed. This
doesn’t sound like a recipe for a functioning republic to me.
[1] http://washingtonexaminer.com/virginia-republicans-stall-work-on-health-care-law/article/2501102
[2] http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/romney-gop-leaders-pledge-repeal-health-care-law/story?id=16671483
[3] http://www.healthcare.gov/law/index.html
[4] http://washingtonexaminer.com/virginia-republicans-stall-work-on-health-care-law/article/2501102
[5] http://www.examiner.com/article/mcdonnell-s-uranium-mining-study-a-subversion-of-the-democratic-process-virgi
[6] http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/romney-gop-leaders-pledge-repeal-health-care-law/story?id=16671483
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Virginia joins 23 other states to be granted waivers from No Child Left Behind
Labeled a big government president from Day 1, President
Obama has taken steps to unleash states from the “burdensome mandates” of No
Child Left Behind (NCLB), a George W. Bush policy that has largely been deemed
a failure countrywide.[1]
Now Virginia will join a host of other
states that “have been granted relief” from some of the principle requirements
of NCLB.[2]
24 U.S. states have now been given waivers to NCLB.
The law, among other requirements, required all students to
be skillful in reading and math in 2014.[3]
The result of NCLB turned out to be a burdensome host of federal requirements
that teachers and students alike found difficult to put into practice and
achieve.
It should have made sense to a Bush-administration that
rhetorically paid homage to the idea of local government as the best means of building and carrying out
policy that federal mandates would fall flat.
Critics of NCLB lamented the fact
that teachers were encouraged to “teach the test”, leading schools to narrow
the materials being taught.[4]
Thus, what was a laudable goal, to bring America’s schools
and our children up to world-class levels of education, in many cases had an
opposite and stifling effect.
NCLB constituted a swing from a largely state-based to a
largely-federal based standard of education that defied reasonable lessons of
history: the best policy is usually found somewhere in the middle of two
extremes.
The irony shouldn’t be lost that a supposedly “socialist”
president, that is President Obama, has moved to give states back their ability
to teach students as long as each state sets tangible methods for achieving
student academic progress.[5]
NCLB should serve as
another illustration that in order for America to move forward, it must be
willing to work with each of its diverse parts to strive for local solutions
that achieve national ends.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Another scorcher, another deadly storm, another reminder of how far VA has to go
If you hadn’t noticed, Virginia was scorching on Friday with
Richmond temperatures rising as high as 101 degrees Fahrenheit.[1]
The intense heat that many states up and down the Atlantic coast suffered
through in turn led to disastrous storms that have killed at least 6 people in
Virginia according to Gov. Bob McDonnell.[2]
For those of us who have argued for preventive measures to
stem the severe consequences of global warming and climate change, this latest
storm surge comes as a sad reminder of how far Virginia in particular has left
to go to address these paramount problems.
As ecosystems in Virginia continue to crumble and other
signs of global warming appear, there has been a notable and disturbing lack of
political will or attention given to the issues of global warming and climate
change, their effects, and how we can mitigate the effects.[3]
The most disturbing aspect of this entire debacle of
resistance to mitigation is that the “political leaders” who are supposed to
look out for the welfare of their constituents (i.e. Virginians) seem just as
ill informed, unconcerned, or even as hostile as your “Average Joe,”[4]
and in some cases the political figure portrays him or herself as an extreme version
of climate change denier.[5]
For those who would deny climate change on the basis of a
paranoid fear that the federal government will somehow consume the individual
freedom of Americans, I would like to hear a state-based plan by every state in
the U.S. that will address global warming and climate change.
I don’t wish the federal government to extend its power any
further than is necessary but it simply isn’t viable for the states to address
this global issue in such a piecemeal fashion. Thus, the idea of “state’s
rights” regarding global warming and climate change is an antiquated idea that
must be superseded by a practical set of federal policies that finally drag the
U.S. into the sphere of mitigation.
If we as Virginians do not act now, we can expect to see a
lot more 100 degree days and the consequent deadly climatic events that will
follow.[6][7]
This is scientific fact!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Cuccinelli’s “warm” response to Thursday’s ruling reveals another practical politician
Thursday must have almost seemed like an apocalyptic day in
the minds of conservatives and libertarians as the sweetheart conservative on
the U.S. Supreme Court, John Roberts, assisted in upholding President Obama’s
Affordable Care Act.[1]
What must have been just as shocking to Virginians is that on the same day
Virginia Attorney General and libertarian heart-throb Ken Cuccinelli also
passed a positive light on the recent health care reform ruling.[2]
A deeper look at Cuccinelli’s warm response tells a tale
that is different from what might appear at first blush.
While the court ruled that the Affordable Care Act was
constitutional, the U.S. Supreme Court found that Americans could be required
to purchase health care coverage under Congress’s taxing authority.
What this means, in effect, is that the individual
requirement to purchase health insurance is officially deemed a tax, a tax
along the lines of any others that Americans have to pay. Thus, no one is being
compelled to buy anything “against their will.”
But it’s arguable that a “true” libertarian would even
accept this viewpoint of the court ruling on the Affordable Care Act.[3]
After all, a tax is, on the whole, an unnecessary government overreach that
disallows individuals from freely choosing where their money will be spent.
Cuccinelli’s “warm” reception of the court ruling reveals
Cuccinelli’s true practical, political, stripes, not his supposed hardcore
libertarian streak.[4] A
tax is still a form of coercion, regardless of how one wants to word it.
Cuccinelli could see this side of the issue, but just like
the rest of Virginia’s conservatives, taxes are not the enemy but the friend of
strong conservative governance.
[1] http://nbcpolitics.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/28/12457822-supreme-court-upholds-health-care-law?lite>1=43001
[2] http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-politics/post/ken-cuccinelli-on-second-thought-likes-supreme-court-health-care-decision/2012/06/28/gJQA2kVX9V_blog.html
[3] http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,2039711,00.html
[4] http://www.lp.org/issues/taxes
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