McDonnell explains move to stall health care reform in VA but we shouldn’t buy it

After the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of President Obama’s health care reform legislation, it’s interesting that Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia would suddenly be so concerned with “a good use of taxpayer dollars.”[1] Virginia’s governor recently explained that his decision to not call a special session to discuss Virginia’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act is predicated upon the possibility of a Mitt Romney presidential victory.[2]

But the idea that McDonnell is concerned about putting an extra tax burden on Virginians flies in the face of a number of recent McDonnell administration moves.

First, McDonnell bribed the NFL’s second richest team from 2011[3] to the tune of a $4 million “grant”[4] to keep their headquarters in Loudoun County. The presumption was that the Washington Redskins would have moved out of state had the McDonnell administration not forked over millions of taxpayer dollars. Of course, there is no evidence to validate this claim that I’ve been able to find.  

Then there’s the use of Capitol Police to arrest dozens of peaceful protesters[5]. Useful way to spend taxpayer dollars? Not at all.

Lastly, there is the undemocratic Uranium Working Group[6] which has been used by Gov. McDonnell as a means of fast-tracking and subverting the democratic process in Virginia to move forward with uranium mining. If we just look at the price tag alone, we’d see that over a million dollars has been spent on this group with ties to the uranium mining industry.

Clearly, then, Gov. McDonnell isn’t really concerned about saving Virginia’s taxpayer dollars or doing what’s best for Virginians for that matter. To the extent that the interests of Virginians and the interests of McDonnell’s shabby political career coincide is the extent to which McDonnell can claim to be governing in Virginia’s interest. Outside of this sphere of intersection, McDonnell is just like any other cold-blooded politician, in the game for himself and his top campaign contributors.

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[1] http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/virginia-politics/2012/jul/11/tdmet01-mcdonnell-wants-more-answers-on-health-car-ar-2048000/

[2] http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/virginia-politics/2012/jul/11/tdmet01-mcdonnell-wants-more-answers-on-health-car-ar-2048000/

[3] http://www.therichest.org/sports/most-valuable-nfl-teams/

[4] http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/virginia-politics/2012/jun/07/mcdonnell-says-4-million-redskins-grant-legitimate-ar-1972937/

[5] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/03/virginia-protesters-arrested_n_1318706.html

[6] http://www.wpcva.com/opinion/article_ff34a652-c05c-11e1-a5cb-0019bb2963f4.html

Unofficial meeting on uranium ban in Pittsylvania breathes life into the democratic process

On Monday in Pittsylvania County[1], residents took part in an unofficial board of supervisors’ forum to gain resident input on uranium mining and the possibility of lifting Virginia’s decade’s old ban on uranium mining in Virginia.[2]

The forum was organized and presided over by Supervisors Marshall Ecker and Jessie Barksdale. At least 100 residents of Pittsylvania County collected in the courtroom to let the board of supervisors know their opinion on lifting Virginia’s ban on uranium mining[3].

According to GoDanRiver,[4] close to two-thirds of the residents who attended disapproved of lifting the uranium mining ban while a third were in favor of the lift. The results were drawn based upon the number of attendees applauding the various speakers at the forum. 

Residents opposed to uranium mining sited concerns ranging from anxieties regarding water quality, property values, businesses uprooting from the county, and an overall degradation of quality of life.

The importance of the unofficial uranium mining meeting really can’t be overstated. The forum constituted a much needed medium for the residents of Pittsylvania County to state their views on lifting the uranium mining ban in Virginia. Since these individuals will be the most directly affected by such a move, they are logically the ones who should be listened to the closest.

Up till the present however, it hasn’t seemed like the opinions of Pittsylvania County residents have been given the attention or policy weight they warrant by the McDonnell administration or the Virginia General Assembly. With hoards of pro-mining lobbyists lining the halls of Capitol Square[5], it’s little wonder that Pittsylvania County residents have had such difficulty getting their government to listen to their opinions and concerns.

Since these Virginians stand to lose the most from uranium mining in their communities, it is them who relevant Virginia public officials should truly be listening to. Even though the forum on Monday was unofficial, the fact that the forum was held was a recognition by leaders in Pittsylvania County that residents are still anxious to make their worries and views heard.

The forum on Monday was also a step in the right direction in a state founded upon democratic principles. 

The people of Pittsylvania County have the right to decide their own fate; that’s the democratic way.

Till this point in time, the McDonnell administration in particular has not lived up to these democratic principles when it comes to the issue of uranium mining.[6]

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[1] http://www.pittgov.org/

[2] http://www2.godanriver.com/news/2012/jul/09/uranium-forum-draw-crowd-pittsylvania-county-ar-2045231/

[3] http://www.southernenvironment.org/cases/uranium_mining_in_virginia/

[4] http://www2.godanriver.com/news/2012/jul/09/uranium-forum-draw-crowd-pittsylvania-county-ar-2045231/

[5] http://www.vacapitol.org/square.htm

[6] http://www.examiner.com/article/mcdonnell-s-uranium-mining-study-a-subversion-of-the-democratic-process-virgi

Governors Association yearly meeting: an undemocratic orgy that must end

If ever there were a time or an event to reignite the “99 versus 1 percent” rhetoric in the U.S., the upcoming Governors Association’s[1] yearly summer meeting in Williamsburg should be the precipitating event. 

According to the Richmond Times Dispatch, governors from across the country will be entertained with historic sites, five-star restaurants, amusement parks, high-class golf courses, and as a concluding event, “rousing” fireworks.[2]

Governors just wanna have fun, right, so what’s the big deal? Aside from public officials taking part in this 4 day escape of fun and games, those who will be paying for these amusements include each of the governor’s respective taxpayers and/or just as concerning, corporate sponsors. 

This taxpayer and corporate sponsored vacation takes an even worse turn, however. Most of the public and the press will not be allowed to view or take part in this orgy of lobbying extravagance as lobbyists use their money to buy access to our country’s governors, a price that many corporations are more than willing to pay.[3]  

And not surprisingly, the host of this undemocratic event will be none other than Gov. Bob McDonnell, Virginia’s own chief executive. According to McDonnell spokeswoman Taylor Thornley, this bacchanal will not cost Virginia taxpayers.[4] But this isn’t the only issue that Virginians and promoters of democracy across the country have with this gathering of chief executives.

As mentioned above, this meeting of governors is fundamentally undemocratic, as it shuts out the people and press and allows in a handful of big corporate lobbyists whose influence on policy agendas and decisions can only diminish that of the average Joe American.

The governors attending this event will claim, of course, that they see no discrepancy between their participation in the annual meeting and democratic values. They will probably claim that they are doing what is best for the people by granting big corporate lobbyists access to their person…

Of course, these get-togethers are not about the people and since the wise decision handed down in Citizens United,[5] representation of “the people” has appeared to become an even more abstract idea.

Virginians and Americans should no longer tolerate these “meetings” if the public and the media are not allowed to play a more active participatory role in them. Public policy is shaped in no small way by the individuals and groups who have access to our elected officials. Thus, without the kind of access that big corporate lobbyists have to our country’s elected officials, it can safely be assumed that public policy will be shaped in the interests of big corporations, not the people of America.

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[1] http://www.nga.org/cms/home.html

[2] http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/virginia-politics/2012/jul/08/governors-bash-va-mostly-closed-public-ar-2042862/

[3] http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/jborowski/big-corporations-and-big-government-go-hand-in-han

[4] http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/virginia-politics/2012/jul/08/governors-bash-va-mostly-closed-public-ar-2042862/

[5] http://www.citizensunited.org/

VA GOP attempts to match Democratic Party grassroots efforts with “Super Saturday”

The Virginia GOP finally mobilized at the grassroots level on Saturday as its so-called “Super Saturday blitz” attempted to bring out volunteers to knock on doors and canvass voters, a response to the intense Democratic Party grassroots effort in Virginia.[1]

As an example, in Fairfax 120 Republicans braved the 106 degree Fahrenheit heat to knock on the doors of voters.

The Virginia GOP has a lot of grassroots work to do however to make up for the intensive Democratic Party effort to energize their voters, hold voter registration drives, make calls, and knock on doors that has been occurring for months.

The Democratic Party has essentially committed itself to the “ground game,” believing that the Republican Party and its wealthy contributors would be too great to approach from the financial angle.[2] Thus, the Democratic Party has taken a truly democratic approach to winning electoral victories while the Republican Party has cemented its image as the party of, by, and for the super wealthy of the U.S.

It remains to be seen whether or not the Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, can continue to energize the Republican Party’s base.[3] If the conservative base does stay active in the fall campaigns, it will likely be more a consequence of their dislike of President Obama’s policies rather than enthusiasm for their own political party’s presidential candidate.

At this early stage of the presidential contest, it appears that more Democrats are energized for the presidential election than Republicans.[4] As always, though, the tide can swiftly turn in the other direction at any moment.

Nothing is more telling about what the Republican Party is really about, however, than their late start on the grassroots front. When you have a small group of super wealthy donors, after all, who needs “the people?” The Republican Party has realized that money can’t buy everything, at least not yet.

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[1] http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120707/NEWS0605/707089986

[2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/democratic-donors-2012-campaign_n_1500949.html

[3] http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/07/07/bonus_quote_of_the_day.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PoliticalWire+%28Political+Wire%29

[4] http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120707/NEWS0605/707089986

Chesapeake Bay clean up in Virginia well on track but pitfalls still remain

Gov. Bob McDonnell announced on Friday that “significant reductions” of phosphorous and nitrogen stemming from wastewater treatment plants has put Virginia in line to reach pollution reduction goals towards cleaning the Chesapeake Bay.[1]

According to Virginia’s secretary of natural resources, Doug Domenech, progress towards cleaning the Chesapeake Bay “clearly shows that a restored bay is possible.”[2] How Domenech defines a “restored” Chesapeake Bay remained unclear. Restored to what?

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, one the leading nongovernmental groups pressuring Virginia’s government to clean the bay, praised McDonnell’s “recognition of the importance of a healthy and productive Chesapeake Bay.”[3]

Despite the progress that has been made so far, though, the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science gave the bay a D+ on a yearly report card issued in 2011. Thus, the Chesapeake Bay is clearly a ways away from the level of clean that I have in mind.

It should also be remembered that the McDonnell administration seemed reluctant to commit to the Chesapeake Bay clean up goals set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), goals which McDonnell is now boasting about having met.[4]

This is all to say that while the Chesapeake Bay appears to be on the right path towards “restoration,” there are many pitfalls that could sideline the progress that has been made so far, not the least of which are political and financial snares.

With so much at stake in the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay, letting our guard down now would be unwise and potentially devastating insofar as reaching the bay’s cleanup goals are concerned.

The Chesapeake Bay is more than a body of water, it is the hope of renewal after decades of malfeasance, a hope that can be transferred over to other problems such as global warming and ecological devastation, among others.

The Chesapeake Bay and its restoration is a reflection of Virginia’s progress overall.  

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[1] http://www.nbc12.com/story/18964927/va-restored-chesapeake-bay-is-possible

[2] http://www.ydr.com/state/ci_21020335/va-restored-chesapeake-bay-is-possible

[3] http://www.ydr.com/state/ci_21020335/va-restored-chesapeake-bay-is-possible

[4] http://articles.dailypress.com/2011-03-16/news/dp-nws-chesapeake-resistance-20110316_1_epa-computer-models-epa-effort-epa-s-chesapeake-bay

Gay family gym membership revoked in VA: conservatism versus classical liberal values

Although a change in policy ensued, the damage had already been done after Roanoke Athletic Club[1] revoked a gay couple’s family membership after the club realized that the family was made up of a son and 2 fathers.[2] The couple’s family did not meet the club’s definition of a family.

On Thursday Carilion Clinic, the parent company of Roanoke Athletic Club, announced on its Facebook page that it will offer household memberships to cohabiting couples and their dependent children under 22 years of age who live with them.

While the Carilion Clinic made the right move in the aftermath of revocation, the issue highlights a remaining tension in Virginia and throughout the U.S. between classical liberal (libertarian) and conservative values.

Classical liberal values are the foundation upon which the United States was built[3] and essentially allows for all individual thoughts and behaviors that do no one else any physical, and in some cases psychological, harm. Thus, if you “wish” to be gay, that is your own business. If your gay and want to start a family and buy a gym membership, that is your own business as well.

But the Roanoke Athletic Club obviously had specific ideas about who their clientele should not be, reflecting a conservative bent that disapproves of same-sex relationships or families.

Everyone has probably heard the line, “Marriage is between a man and woman.”[4] This is of course a conservative belief because it attempts to hold old social institutions in place like marriage between a man and a woman and the traditional family.

While conservatism was the original philosophy of the American colonies[5], it was superseded by classical liberalism in no small part because conservatism is a stifling force that inhibits individuals from expressing “their true nature.” Thus, in a sense conservatism is “un-American.”

Conservatism still has its place in Virginia and the U.S. as a whole. But if America is to be true to itself, we must learn to accept the differences that each of us as individuals manifest and shake off the propensity for intolerance. That means individual freedom for everyone, not just selective groups.

Virginia still has a ways to go in the sphere of tolerance, but overall I think that Jefferson would be proud at the progress that has been made in Virginia.

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[1] http://www.carilionfitness.com/locations/RAC/index.html

[2] http://www.nbc12.com/story/18955849/va-gym-allows-then-turns-away-gay-couple-son

[3] http://www.ncpa.org/pub/what-is-classical-liberalism

[4] http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/presbyterian-panel-marriage-is-between-two-people-643224/

[5] http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/conservatism.html

Remaining power outrages leave lingering questions about how to address storms

As of Thursday morning, over 112,000 Virginians were still left without power to celebrate the 4^th of July holiday due to last weekend’s harsh storms. Of those 112,000 without power, 84,995 are Appalachian Power customers, 27,129 are Dominion Virginia Power customers, and hundreds are electric cooperative customers.[1]

Overall, the storms have been implicated in the deaths of 12 in Virginia.

The storms have also left many Virginians and their elected officials with a great many more questions than answers. One of those questions is this: how will Virginia deal with more intense storms as a result of a warming planet?[2]

Last weekend’s storms were the strongest that I can remember and if scientists are correct, this is just the beginning of an indefinite storm trend.[3]

Amazingly though, some Virginia politicians don’t want to acknowledge global warming as a phenomenon in and of itself or wish to at least deny the man-made aspect of global warming.[4]

As long as this is the case, Virginia will fail to step up and meet the challenges that have continually confronted Virginia and will continue to do so in the future.

When Virginia finally gets around to confronting reality, there are a number of directions that the commonwealth can go in to adapt to and hopefully mitigate any further warming trends.[5] While the issue of global warming is, as its name suggests, global in nature, Virginia has to do its part to protect its inhabitants and contribute to the overall goal of mitigation.

We cannot keep playing politics with a stick of dynamite. The effects of inaction are real, as demonstrated by the reported 12 deaths in the state that resulted from the storms that hit Virginia. If there is any integrity left among this group of Virginia politicians, I hope it can be harnessed for the good of our state!

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[1] http://www.nbc12.com/story/18954262/more-than-112000-in-va-without-electricity

[2] http://centerforoceansolutions.org/climate/impacts/cumulative-impacts/storm-intensity/

[3] http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/science/hurricanes-and-climate-change.html

[4] http://www.examiner.com/article/another-scorcher-another-deadly-storm-another-reminder-of-how-far-va-has-to-go

[5] http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1605&page=69