I just received a statement from Gov. Kaine stating that the special elections in the 37th and 8th Senate districts will be held on Tuesday, January 12. It has been rumored for quite awhile that this would be the date, which is actually the day before the General Assembly session starts.
“The citizens of these districts deserve to have their interests represented in the upcoming session of the General Assembly,” Governor Kaine said. “Holding these special elections on January 12 will give interested candidates time to introduce themselves to the people they hope to represent, and give voters an opportunity to make an informed decision on their next Senator.”
In regards to the candidates for the 37th Senate District, Dave Marsden was the only Democrat who filed his intention to run so he'll be the Democratic nominee. As of now it looks like Steve Hunt is the front runner for the Republican nomination, but there will be a firehouse primary tomorrow evening at Centreville High School (which is where I went to high school) from 6 to 10pm to see if he actually beats out a few other candidates who are running.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thoughts and Insights on Sunday's Tragedy and Loss in Lakewood, Washington
This is a guest post by Daniel Kalbacher.
Over the holiday weekend it appears that a lot of the new media has been obsessed with the Tiger Woods traffic accident saga and to a certain extent who can blame them. He is a major celebrity and role model but also more of the rumors surrounding the incident are beginning to become more interesting people want to know more. Given the fact that it was the holiday weekend there hasn't been any real major news stories up until yesterday to divert attention away from the Tiger Saga but unfortunately there was an incident in Washington State Sunday morning that should be the top story of every news cast but for whatever reason Tiger is still the number one news story and I can't really figure it out but I'll give me perspective on tragic event that cost four police officers their lives. While I didn't intend this post to have any political involvement the more we learn from initial media reports it cannot be without it. The situation is still evolving but I wanted to provide some initial thoughts from someone who works in the field and is affected whenever a fellow officer is killed in the line of duty. Hopefully in the coming days I can follow up on this as more facts become available.
Initial news reports stated that four Lakewood, WA police officers were killed in a coffee shop while they completed paperwork prior to the starting their shit and the suspected gunman/person of interest is still evading authorities. Murders and violent crime occur every day and are a sad reality of our society. Public safety does everything they can in their efforts to keep the citizens they serve safe but they cannot be everywhere and I believe that anyone with any sense and understanding know that they cannot be everywhere and prevent every crime from occurring. Murder is without a doubt something that "shocks the conscious" of our society but I think that when a police officer or any member of our public safety community is murdered in the way these Lakewood officers were hits home to nearly everyone as these are the ones whose job it is to put their lives at risk for the safety of others; something many people would never think of doing as an occupation. Police officers are the individuals we call when we need help for just about anything and look to for protection and when those who protect us cannot even be protected is adds an extra sense of fear into the public as a whole.
On May 6th, 2009 the Fairfax County Police Department and the Sully community experienced a strikingly similar tragedy where two police officers were gun downed their own police station parking lot at the Sully District Police Station. As appears to be the case in Lakewood, Michael Kennedy went to the Sully District Station and opened fire on police in the parking lot with an AK-47 assault rifle after having previous run-ins with law enforcement in both Fairfax and Montgomery County, Maryland authorities. In both cases, police were specifically targeted noting that in Lakewood, the shooter entered and only fired on the four officers who were sitting in the coffee shop. From my understanding, this was not a robbery gone bad or anything else because the shooter walked in and ambushed the officers giving them little opportunity to mount any resistance. Initial reports indicate there was a struggle as the assailant attempted to leave and could have been shot by one of the officers but as of now we know very little in that regard. Sadly, in the Seattle area this is not a rare occurrence as police have been targeted before by violent criminals for no other reason than simply doing their jobs. Less than a month ago, a Seattle police officer was sitting in his patrol car with his trainee when John Monfort allegedly opened fire on the car, killing the officer instantly and only slightly injuring the other. Eventually, Monfort was arrested before he could do even more damage as bomb making material was found in his apartment, arranged almost to kill responding officers and firefighters. I wish we could say that instances like this are a rare occurrence and usually they are when police are specifically targeted but two instances in a little over a month's time span really begs that question of if there is a deeper problem in the area.
As more information is becoming available we may see some political ramifications from this as well and many questions are going to be raised as to whether or not the suspect, Maurice Clemmons should have even been out on the streets to murder these police officers in the first place. Clemmons was convicted and sentenced to 95 years in prison for aggravated robbery which he committed when he was seventeen and then he was granted clemency by then Gov. Huckabee noting his age at the time of the offense. The media reports I've read and seen on TV have mentioned this so it is definietly worthy of mentioning. But that is for another time and place.
Right now, four families are without their loved ones, four parents leave their children behind. They must be kept in everyone's thoughts and prayers. Once the dust settles and things become clear hopefully they'll be answers for this senseless act of violence against those who protect us everyday. Those in public safety are a very unique group of individuals. There are very few, if any jobs to where you can go into work and never come home again. In only a select few occupations in our society can the average, day-to-day functions of a job result in death, especially by targeted violence based on that occupation. All indications point to the fact that this was a targeted execution of police officers and makes those who work in the field think twice about how they do they everyday, "normal" or simple tasks of their job, to include doing paperwork over a cup of coffee. I can say this with such certainty because I will definitely be a little extra cautious the next time I walk into a shop or sit in my cruiser. I read an article once about how police and law enforcement are our society's "sheepdogs" and we protect our communities and citizens or the "sheep" from the "wolves" or violent criminals of our society. The wolves prey on those who cannot protect themselves and attempt to hurt and harm them for no real reason other than their own benefit. If it is it not for those select few, the sheepdogs who go into work everyday and put their lives on their lines everyday for the protection of our society then more violence would be a sad but regularity of our lives.
Whether or not this tragedy could have been avoided is not the real issue but rather keeping the thoughts of these officers, their families and also those who go into work everyday to protect us from violence and the criminals who inflict such violence.
Over the holiday weekend it appears that a lot of the new media has been obsessed with the Tiger Woods traffic accident saga and to a certain extent who can blame them. He is a major celebrity and role model but also more of the rumors surrounding the incident are beginning to become more interesting people want to know more. Given the fact that it was the holiday weekend there hasn't been any real major news stories up until yesterday to divert attention away from the Tiger Saga but unfortunately there was an incident in Washington State Sunday morning that should be the top story of every news cast but for whatever reason Tiger is still the number one news story and I can't really figure it out but I'll give me perspective on tragic event that cost four police officers their lives. While I didn't intend this post to have any political involvement the more we learn from initial media reports it cannot be without it. The situation is still evolving but I wanted to provide some initial thoughts from someone who works in the field and is affected whenever a fellow officer is killed in the line of duty. Hopefully in the coming days I can follow up on this as more facts become available.
Initial news reports stated that four Lakewood, WA police officers were killed in a coffee shop while they completed paperwork prior to the starting their shit and the suspected gunman/person of interest is still evading authorities. Murders and violent crime occur every day and are a sad reality of our society. Public safety does everything they can in their efforts to keep the citizens they serve safe but they cannot be everywhere and I believe that anyone with any sense and understanding know that they cannot be everywhere and prevent every crime from occurring. Murder is without a doubt something that "shocks the conscious" of our society but I think that when a police officer or any member of our public safety community is murdered in the way these Lakewood officers were hits home to nearly everyone as these are the ones whose job it is to put their lives at risk for the safety of others; something many people would never think of doing as an occupation. Police officers are the individuals we call when we need help for just about anything and look to for protection and when those who protect us cannot even be protected is adds an extra sense of fear into the public as a whole.
On May 6th, 2009 the Fairfax County Police Department and the Sully community experienced a strikingly similar tragedy where two police officers were gun downed their own police station parking lot at the Sully District Police Station. As appears to be the case in Lakewood, Michael Kennedy went to the Sully District Station and opened fire on police in the parking lot with an AK-47 assault rifle after having previous run-ins with law enforcement in both Fairfax and Montgomery County, Maryland authorities. In both cases, police were specifically targeted noting that in Lakewood, the shooter entered and only fired on the four officers who were sitting in the coffee shop. From my understanding, this was not a robbery gone bad or anything else because the shooter walked in and ambushed the officers giving them little opportunity to mount any resistance. Initial reports indicate there was a struggle as the assailant attempted to leave and could have been shot by one of the officers but as of now we know very little in that regard. Sadly, in the Seattle area this is not a rare occurrence as police have been targeted before by violent criminals for no other reason than simply doing their jobs. Less than a month ago, a Seattle police officer was sitting in his patrol car with his trainee when John Monfort allegedly opened fire on the car, killing the officer instantly and only slightly injuring the other. Eventually, Monfort was arrested before he could do even more damage as bomb making material was found in his apartment, arranged almost to kill responding officers and firefighters. I wish we could say that instances like this are a rare occurrence and usually they are when police are specifically targeted but two instances in a little over a month's time span really begs that question of if there is a deeper problem in the area.
As more information is becoming available we may see some political ramifications from this as well and many questions are going to be raised as to whether or not the suspect, Maurice Clemmons should have even been out on the streets to murder these police officers in the first place. Clemmons was convicted and sentenced to 95 years in prison for aggravated robbery which he committed when he was seventeen and then he was granted clemency by then Gov. Huckabee noting his age at the time of the offense. The media reports I've read and seen on TV have mentioned this so it is definietly worthy of mentioning. But that is for another time and place.
Right now, four families are without their loved ones, four parents leave their children behind. They must be kept in everyone's thoughts and prayers. Once the dust settles and things become clear hopefully they'll be answers for this senseless act of violence against those who protect us everyday. Those in public safety are a very unique group of individuals. There are very few, if any jobs to where you can go into work and never come home again. In only a select few occupations in our society can the average, day-to-day functions of a job result in death, especially by targeted violence based on that occupation. All indications point to the fact that this was a targeted execution of police officers and makes those who work in the field think twice about how they do they everyday, "normal" or simple tasks of their job, to include doing paperwork over a cup of coffee. I can say this with such certainty because I will definitely be a little extra cautious the next time I walk into a shop or sit in my cruiser. I read an article once about how police and law enforcement are our society's "sheepdogs" and we protect our communities and citizens or the "sheep" from the "wolves" or violent criminals of our society. The wolves prey on those who cannot protect themselves and attempt to hurt and harm them for no real reason other than their own benefit. If it is it not for those select few, the sheepdogs who go into work everyday and put their lives on their lines everyday for the protection of our society then more violence would be a sad but regularity of our lives.
Whether or not this tragedy could have been avoided is not the real issue but rather keeping the thoughts of these officers, their families and also those who go into work everyday to protect us from violence and the criminals who inflict such violence.
Are there still lessons for us today from 1859?
With the sesquicentennial (150 year anniversary) of the Civil War coming upon us (the war started in 1861), there are a lot of organizations that are looking back on this crucial period in our country’s history. This is especially true in Virginia since so much of fighting took place in our great Commonwealth – including the first major land engagement of the war (First Manassas). It therefore shouldn’t be too surprising that Virginia will play host to several of the programs looking back at the war.
Among the many events taking place in Virginia are seven annual conferences to discuss different aspects of the war. One of those conferences was held earlier this year and focused on some of the important issues in the years running up to the war. After some of the prominent historians presented to the crowd they were interviewed by students from the University of Richmond. One of the questions asked of the historians was “Are there still lessons for us today from 1859?”
I bring this up because the answer Dr. Gregg D. Kimball provided really struck me as relevant to the current state of political affairs. You can watch his answer on the Virginia Sesquicentennial Commission’s website, but I have also transcribed his answer to make it easier to see his argument.
Among the many events taking place in Virginia are seven annual conferences to discuss different aspects of the war. One of those conferences was held earlier this year and focused on some of the important issues in the years running up to the war. After some of the prominent historians presented to the crowd they were interviewed by students from the University of Richmond. One of the questions asked of the historians was “Are there still lessons for us today from 1859?”
I bring this up because the answer Dr. Gregg D. Kimball provided really struck me as relevant to the current state of political affairs. You can watch his answer on the Virginia Sesquicentennial Commission’s website, but I have also transcribed his answer to make it easier to see his argument.
I think that there are. What I find when I read the letters and diaries of people from this period is a cynicism about our time, about politics, about the possibilities of changing the society that they’re in. And I think that’s a really unhealthy thing. When you lose civil dialogue as a means of change, you’re in trouble. And I think that’s one of the things that’s happening. There’s a disbelief that politics can solve these issues and that any of the current politicians are up to that task. I think that would probably be the primary problem I see.Now there are several things I think this answer gets at that I’d encourage people to discuss in the comment section of this post. 1)Do you agree with the overall sentiment that people need to be willing to question why things are the way they are? 2)Do you think he’s correct in describing the atmosphere in America during the years running up to the Civil War? 3)Do you see the similarities between his description of politics in the 19th Century and the current political climate?
One other I’ll mention. Again, to start, I think we need to get outside of our comfort zone about what our world really looks like. We talked about how even people from the North who came into the South just looked the other way despite the fact that the affects of slavery were all around them. They didn’t do anything about it, they just assumed that’s the way the world was. Despite the fact that it personally, sometimes deeply, offended them.
I think that America is at its best when it’s up to those challenges and questioning why it is, things are the way they are. And I think that there were too few people willing to do that.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Tiger Woods Issues Statement On Accident
There has been a lot of discussion about the accident Tiger Woods had over the holiday weekend. It's actually quite interesting how the cable news programs have actually been asking why this story has been receiving so much attention (though all that has really done is prolong the coverage). In several of these reports I've been hearing about how Tiger would be issuing a statement, which would have the potential of putting the story to rest. Well, earlier today he issued the following statement on his website regarding what happened.
As you all know, I had a single-car accident earlier this week, and sustained some injuries. I have some cuts, bruising and right now I'm pretty sore.Even though we'd been hearing that his statement would answer some of the questions surrounding the late night accident, the statement doesn't add anything to the conversation that we didn't already know. I agree that Tiger should be allowed some privacy surrounding the accident, but all the vagueness of this statement doesn't help whatsoever. All it will really do is add another round of news coverage as the pundits now discuss how his statement didn't answer any of the questions about where he was going at that hour or what conditions lead to the golfing star getting into the accident.
This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again.
This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way. Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible.
The only person responsible for the accident is me. My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.
This incident has been stressful and very difficult for Elin, our family and me. I appreciate all the concern and well wishes that we have received. But, I would also ask for some understanding that my family and I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be.
Sunday Morning Talk Show Lineup
Not too surprisingly, the major themes that will be discussed on the Sunday morning talk shows today will be Afghanistan and health care. It looks like David Gregory will be doing something a little different by doing a show that focuses on giving back to the community. However, I'm a little skeptical about Rick Warren being a guest for this type of show as he has repeatedly expressed support of campaigns (like Prop 8) to promote a right wing social agenda (which costs a lot of money) at a time when charities that help the poor are desperate for more funding. Nonetheless, the Gates Foundation has done a lot of good so it'll be interesting to see what Bill and Melinda Gates have to say.
With that being said, here's the lineup for today:
Meet the Press: Rick Warren (Pastor, Saddleback Church) and Bill & Melinda Gates. The show will be focusing on giving back to the community.
This Week With George Stephanopoulos: Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) will be on to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and health care reform.
State of the Union: Sen. Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) and Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) will discuss Afghanistan; Tony Blair will discuss his efforts in the Middle East; Patrick Byrne (CEO of Overstock.com) will discuss consumer spending; and Rep. David Obey (D-Wisconsin) will discuss the health care debate.
Face the Nation: Sen. Carl Levin (D-Michigan); Dick Armey, Former House Republican Leader; Dede Scozzafava, Former Republican Congressional candidate, NY-23; Ed Gillespie, Republican strategist
Fox News Sunday: Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) and Evan Bayh (D-Indiana) will discuss Afghanistan; Howard Dean and Mike Huckabee will talk about "health care, Afghanistan and the state of both political parties."
With that being said, here's the lineup for today:
Meet the Press: Rick Warren (Pastor, Saddleback Church) and Bill & Melinda Gates. The show will be focusing on giving back to the community.
This Week With George Stephanopoulos: Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) will be on to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and health care reform.
State of the Union: Sen. Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) and Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) will discuss Afghanistan; Tony Blair will discuss his efforts in the Middle East; Patrick Byrne (CEO of Overstock.com) will discuss consumer spending; and Rep. David Obey (D-Wisconsin) will discuss the health care debate.
Face the Nation: Sen. Carl Levin (D-Michigan); Dick Armey, Former House Republican Leader; Dede Scozzafava, Former Republican Congressional candidate, NY-23; Ed Gillespie, Republican strategist
Fox News Sunday: Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) and Evan Bayh (D-Indiana) will discuss Afghanistan; Howard Dean and Mike Huckabee will talk about "health care, Afghanistan and the state of both political parties."
Friday, November 27, 2009
Kaine Predicts Virginia Tribes Will Receive Federal Recognition
Earlier this week Gov. Kaine participated in a ceremony that dates back to the 17th Century in which he accepted a tribute of wild game from Indian tribes on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was during this ceremony that Kaine predicted there would be six American Indian tribes from Virginia that would be able to receive federal recognition in the very near future. Those tribes include the Eastern Chickahominy, Chickahominy, Upper Mattaponi, Rappahannock, Monacan and Nansemond tribes.
This has been a fairly complicated process for the tribes to gain federal recognition. They were already officially recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia back in 1980's, but there have been some hindrance in the federal process due to treaties that the tribes apparently signed with colonists before the United States was even formed. It is long past the time for the federal government to provide some assistance in regards to funding for housing and education considering the troubles that our government gave tribes for generations. That is part of the reason that Gov. Kaine testified before Congress on behalf of these tribes and a bill has already cleared the House of Representatives and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
Now there is the very real possibility that Gov. Kaine's prediction won't turnout to be correct, but I think it's still noteworthy that this process has been taking place and appears to be heading in the right direction. These tribes deserve federal recognition and I'm very pleased that Gov. Kaine and Sen. Webb (who introduced the bill in the Senate) have been working on this issue.
This has been a fairly complicated process for the tribes to gain federal recognition. They were already officially recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia back in 1980's, but there have been some hindrance in the federal process due to treaties that the tribes apparently signed with colonists before the United States was even formed. It is long past the time for the federal government to provide some assistance in regards to funding for housing and education considering the troubles that our government gave tribes for generations. That is part of the reason that Gov. Kaine testified before Congress on behalf of these tribes and a bill has already cleared the House of Representatives and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
Now there is the very real possibility that Gov. Kaine's prediction won't turnout to be correct, but I think it's still noteworthy that this process has been taking place and appears to be heading in the right direction. These tribes deserve federal recognition and I'm very pleased that Gov. Kaine and Sen. Webb (who introduced the bill in the Senate) have been working on this issue.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
I hope everyone enjoys the holiday and the long weekend. Feel free to treat this as an open thread to discuss your plans for the day or any political happenings you want to cover. I'll be back with posts tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Krystal Ball on MSNBC Yesterday
There are a lot of current members of the House of Representatives that have a lot of trouble getting attention from the national media. With 435 people serving in the House, the national media simply won't be giving much airtime to individual members unless they have an important message or play a crucial role in the House leadership. Since we're 7 months out from the Democratic primary in Virginia's 1st Congressional District (and a year out from the general), I think it's safe to say that Krystal Ball falls into the category of having an important message to discuss.
During her appearance on MSNBC yesterday, Krystal talked about standing up for what is right and using that as a platform instead of simply taking a position based upon what the polls are saying. She went on to also touch on topics such as how we need to work on policy that would actually create jobs all across the country, providing students with a good education, and how there is a desire to have some ethical leaders in Washington.
During her appearance on MSNBC yesterday, Krystal talked about standing up for what is right and using that as a platform instead of simply taking a position based upon what the polls are saying. She went on to also touch on topics such as how we need to work on policy that would actually create jobs all across the country, providing students with a good education, and how there is a desire to have some ethical leaders in Washington.
New Jobless Claims Hit Lowest Point in Obama Presidency
The number of people filing for weekly unemployment assistance for the first time has fallen to below 500,000 for the first time since early January. In fact, the number also represents the lowest number of claims since last September which has resulted in some people being rather optimistic about the direction our economy is heading. As the Washington Post highlights, however, there are still a lot of economists who stress that there still needs to be a lot of improvement even though this is good news.
The number of people filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell by 35,000 to 466,000, the Labor Department said Wednesday. That was the fewest since the week of Sept. 13, 2008. And it was far better than the 500,000 economists had expected.In a sign that it might take a lot longer than some people expected to recover from the failed policies of the Bush Administration, Paul Krugman wrote a post yesterday that asks a very simple question -- why is it that some people are afraid of promoting the type of action that is desperately needed during these tough economic times.
Still, analysts say claims must drop to near 400,000 for several weeks to signal actual growth in employment. Economists expect 145,000 payroll job cuts for November, a slight improvement from the net loss of 190,000 jobs last month. But the economy must add 125,000 jobs a month just to keep the unemployment rate from rising.
Disastrously high unemployment, persisting years into the future, combined with inflation consistently below the Fed’s 2 percent target (and I’d argue both that the prediction is too high and that the target is too low).I think the answer is rather obvious at this moment -- the right wing of the Republican Party is winning the messaging battle. They've been able to cast any government spending as the gateway to socialism even though it's simply the best way to help stimulate our economy and set it on the pathway to stabilization. This is why it is so important for people who support standing up for working families to let their elected officials know that their constituents support taking the action that's needed to improve our economy. If you don't, the Tea Party activists will succeed in preventing any action from being taken.
Why is this considered OK, as opposed to desperately requiring action? Bear in mind that the predicted unemployment rate in 2012 — 2012! — is higher than the rate that let Bill Clinton run on “it’s the economy, stupid”.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Video: Dave Marsden on the Inside Scoop
Dave Marsden appeared on the Inside Scoop back in May. For those of you who might have missed his appearance back then and want to get a better sense of who Dave is as he's now running for the state Senate, I've decided to post the video of his appearance again.
Lehman Brothers and the Area Surrounding Nationals Park
As many of you know, I'm a huge Nationals fan and was frequently out at Nationals Park cheering on the Nats even though they are still in the phase of developing for the future. I always take the metro to the stadium because it drops you off so close to the stadium (a short block away). If you've ever been to a game a Nationals Park, however, you're probably aware of the fact that there are a lot of buildings that are unoccupied and space that looks like it's under construction. As Jeff points out over at Nats320, both Lehman Brothers and Corus Bank had some investments in the area and their collapse (and the poor economy in general) is part of the reason that blocks around Nationals Park hasn't been developed to its full potential.
Jeff points readers towards a Huffington Post story that was recently published that uses the area as an example of what it calls "Zombie Buildings." These are buildings that began development when the economy was doing well in hopes of having a lot of businesses lease out space. Now that times are different, however, many of these buildings are empty and sometimes the construction has even been put off. To make things worse, many of the loans on the commercial buildings are now coming due. All in all, it's simply not a pretty picture and I think it gives people a concrete visual example of how the recession has impacted the local economy.
For those of you who are interested, here is the video report that the Huffington Post produced.
PS Jeff (aka, Screech's Best Friend) is one of the most loyal fans to the Washington Nationals and is extremely knowledgeable about the team and baseball in general. It's always a pleasure when I run into him and his wife at the games as they are all around great people. If you want to know what's going on with the Washington Nationals, I definitely recommend following his blog -- Nats320.
Jeff points readers towards a Huffington Post story that was recently published that uses the area as an example of what it calls "Zombie Buildings." These are buildings that began development when the economy was doing well in hopes of having a lot of businesses lease out space. Now that times are different, however, many of these buildings are empty and sometimes the construction has even been put off. To make things worse, many of the loans on the commercial buildings are now coming due. All in all, it's simply not a pretty picture and I think it gives people a concrete visual example of how the recession has impacted the local economy.
For those of you who are interested, here is the video report that the Huffington Post produced.
PS Jeff (aka, Screech's Best Friend) is one of the most loyal fans to the Washington Nationals and is extremely knowledgeable about the team and baseball in general. It's always a pleasure when I run into him and his wife at the games as they are all around great people. If you want to know what's going on with the Washington Nationals, I definitely recommend following his blog -- Nats320.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Herb Smith Picks Up Endorsements In His Campaign For School Board
While there has been a lot of attention given to the special election to fill Ken Cuccinelli's seat in the state senate, one cannot forget that there's also going to be one to fill Del-elect Kaye Kory's seat on the Fairfax County School Board. It looks like at least one of the candidates for that position have gotten off to a good start as Herb Smith has received the endorsement from several community leaders including the following people.
It's for all those reasons and more that it's incredibly important to have leaders on the school board who not only are passionate about making a difference, but are knowledgeable about what resources are absolutely critical in preparing students for bright futures. As I have said before, I think Herb Smith has those qualities and that is why I strongly support his candidacy for school board.
- Delegate Charniele Herring (46th District)
- Delegate-Elect Mark Keam (35th District)
- Falls Church City Councilman Lawrence Webb
- Alexandria School Board Member Charles Wilson
- Greg Werkheiser, former Candidate, House of Delegates (42nd District)
- Northern Virginia Black Democrats
- Terron Sims, 8th Congressional District Democratic Committee
- Dawn Lawson, 11th Congressional District Democratic Committee; DPVA Outreach Committee
“Herb leads by example," said Delegate-Elect Keam, who worked with Herb on the Obama campaign in Fairfax County and who also ran his own successful grassroots campaign to serve in the Virginia House of Delegates. "I have seen Herb's strong passion and commitment to creating change from the ground up. As a grassroots leader, Herb worked hard to bring new voices into our civic process by registering voters and encouraging students to pay attention to policy issues. I’m confident that Herb will continue to put the interests of those who need a voice on the Fairfax County School Board.”A lot of the organizing work that I have done touched on education related issues. As a result, I've had a fair amount of interaction with the School Board and various organizations that work on education related issues. I can therefore tell you that serving on the school board is definitely not a glamorous job and can be extremely tough at times as your decisions directly impact the lives of so many young people. Of course the impact your decision has on their children also means that you have passionate parents constantly lobbying you in regards to even the smallest of decisions. On top of that, school board members are extremely underpaid and don't get the appreciation from the community that they deserve.
It's for all those reasons and more that it's incredibly important to have leaders on the school board who not only are passionate about making a difference, but are knowledgeable about what resources are absolutely critical in preparing students for bright futures. As I have said before, I think Herb Smith has those qualities and that is why I strongly support his candidacy for school board.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Sen. Jeff Merkley On Vote to Proceed to Debate on Health Care Reform
The debate in the US Senate yesterday to proceed to the debate on the health care reform bill was a very important step in the process of making sure that all Americans have access to affordable health care. At the same time, it's very important to note that yesterday's vote was simply to move forward with the debate and several Senators made it clear that they were voting for debate but did not support the bill as it currently stands. Those of us who support the concept of making sure everyone has access to affordable health care therefore have a significant amount of work left.
As Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) said in a statement yesterday, however, this is issue that is so important that it absolutely must be properly addressed now and can no longer be put off for future generations to solve.
As Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) said in a statement yesterday, however, this is issue that is so important that it absolutely must be properly addressed now and can no longer be put off for future generations to solve.
“This debate is far from over, but we have now come further than any congress in a generation in completing the difficult task of fixing health care. I look forward to continuing to fight for reforms that will make health care more accessible and affordable for all Americans. And I hope that my colleagues who opposed even having a full discussion about this issue will realize how important it is that the Senate debate health care reform.
“The health care system is no longer working for working Americans. Too many are without insurance; too many others fear they will lose coverage when they need it most. Health care costs are bankrupting families and hampering business growth. We must act now to contain costs, expand access to coverage and reform the insurance industry practices that have made even those with insurance fearful as to what will happen should they become ill or injured.”
Virginia Commuter Receives $1,000 Ticket
Anyone who has driven in Northern Virginia during rush hour (or simply paid attention to the General Assembly debates recently) knows that we have extremely bad traffic situation. To cut down on the time spent stuck in traffic, a lot of people will drive in the HOV lanes even if they don't have anyone else in the car. It's illegal, but a lot of people believe the potential to save a large chunk of time makes it worth the risk of getting caught. After hearing the news that someone received a $1,000 ticket for violating the law for the fourth time in five years, however, I imagine there will probably be some people who are now thinking twice about pulling into the HOV lane unless they have the required number of people in their car.
For those of you who are wondering, the Washington Post reports that the system of fines that resulted in the $1,000 ticket was apparently established several years ago in order to address the large number of people who were driving in the HOV lanes despite only having one person in the vehicle.
With all that being said, the fact that so many people are tempted to violate the law in order to shorten their commute even with the large fines serves as yet another example of how bad the traffic can be here in Northern Virginia. As Bob McDonnell has repeatedly promised Virginians that he'll lead in a bipartisan manner after he's sworn in, I sincerely hope he keeps that promise as our elected officials work to improve our traffic situation. Virginia's commuters are clearly suggesting this needs to be done in a timely and efficient manner
For those of you who are wondering, the Washington Post reports that the system of fines that resulted in the $1,000 ticket was apparently established several years ago in order to address the large number of people who were driving in the HOV lanes despite only having one person in the vehicle.
The steep increase in fines that brought the bite in Northern Virginia to $1,000 for a fourth offense in five years was enacted several years ago because of the severity of the problem. "The law had no teeth," said a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.Given the outrage over the abusive driver fees that Dave Albo proposed, my initial reaction was that there could be some public opposition to the step cost of these tickets. However, there are some major differences between the abusive driver fees and the tickets for HOV violations. First of all, these aren't fees that are impossed for several years which means that people won't be punished multiple times for one offense. Secondly, since these are tickets instead of fees, drivers who live outside of Virginia will have to pay the costs even they are caught. And finally, these are fines that greatly increase for multiple violations and arguably don't overly punish people for a one time occurrence like the abusive driver fees did.
Under the new regulations, a first offense is $125, a second is $250 and a third, $500.
With all that being said, the fact that so many people are tempted to violate the law in order to shorten their commute even with the large fines serves as yet another example of how bad the traffic can be here in Northern Virginia. As Bob McDonnell has repeatedly promised Virginians that he'll lead in a bipartisan manner after he's sworn in, I sincerely hope he keeps that promise as our elected officials work to improve our traffic situation. Virginia's commuters are clearly suggesting this needs to be done in a timely and efficient manner
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Gerry Connolly Received the Sally Ormsby Environmental Stewardship Award
One of the things that I’ve been hearing from a lot of grassroots activists is that we need people in Congress who are willing to stand up for what’s right. It’s my belief that this isn’t just about wanting leaders who will promote policy that activists support, but it’s also a general desire to see leaders who are willing to put their necks on the line for things they believe in instead of caving on an issue that pollsters suggest might not be the best way to get re-elected.As he has been moving forward in his first term in Congress, I’m hearing from more and more residents of Virginia’s 11th Congressional District who agree that Gerry Connolly is someone who will indeed stand up for what right. One issue that a lot of people believe Gerry’s been doing a lot of good work on is the environment and on Friday evening he was even awarded the Sally Ormsby Environmental Stewardship Award by the Fairfax County Park Authority Board during an annual awards ceremony.
Focusing on a lot of the work he did during his tenure on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, a statement from the Park Authority said that Rep. Connolly “is recognized for a multitude of accomplishments that protect our precious natural resources, allow residents of Fairfax County to enjoy open space and local trails, as well as his stature as a national leader as evidenced through endorsement of sound environmental policy, adoption of the Cool County’s program, commitment to green building policies and establishment of a robust environmental agenda.”
The statement continued by highlighting Gerry’s work on the Cross County Trail, which is “a 41-mile system of stream valleys and trail connections leading from the Potomac River to the Occoquan River,” and the fact that over 1,500 acres of parkland were added to the Park Authority’s holdings during his tenure as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors.
I’ve heard Gerry speak about the environment in many different public forums and there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s truly deserving of this award. What’s perhaps more telling for me, however, is Gerry has often brought these issues up during private conversations I’ve had with him. It was during these times that it became very clear to me that he was working on these issues because he was extremely passionate about making a difference and protecting our environment. When you combine his passion for the issue with his skill as a legislator, I think it’s safe to say that the environment has a very good friend in Gerry Connolly and the Park Authority made the right decision in awarding him the Sally Ormsby Environmental Stewardship Award.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Ben Nelson Will Vote to Proceed With Debate on Health Care Bill
Senator Ben Nelson (D-Neb) is one of the centrist Democrats who had previously been wavering on whether or not he would vote to proceed to the debate on the health care bill. Today he released the statement below saying that he would vote to proceed with the debate, but that he still had some concerns about the bill. He stressed that this wasn't a way to express support for the bill, but merely supporting moving forward with the discussion of the bill.
While Sen. Nelson and I disagree on many issues in regards to health care reform, I'm very pleased to see that he realizes this vote is about moving forward with the democratic process. The tough issues of our day need to be debated in an open forum and moving forward with debate allows members of the US Senate to do just that.
Here's the statement released by Sen. Nelson's office:
November 20, 2009 – Today, Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson announced that he will vote for the motion to proceed to debate health care reform on the Senate floor and issued this statement:
“For more than a year, Nebraskans and all Americans have debated health care reform in their homes, at work, and with friends at hundreds of town hall meetings.
“This weekend, I will vote for the motion to proceed to bring that debate onto the Senate floor. The Senate should start trying to fix a health care system that costs too much and delivers too little for Nebraskans.
“Throughout my Senate career I have consistently rejected efforts to obstruct. That's what the vote on the motion to proceed is all about.
“It is not for or against the new Senate health care bill released Wednesday.
“It is only to begin debate and an opportunity to make improvements. If you don't like a bill why block your own opportunity to amend it?
“As we have seen before, obstructionists are inviting a move toward reconciliation by opposing this first procedural vote. Let's be clear. That route shrinks debate and amendments, eliminates bipartisanship and needs only 50 votes to pass a bill.
“In the end, far more Washington-run health care policies win, but Nebraskans lose.
“In my first reading, I support parts of the bill and oppose others I will work to fix. If that's not possible, I will oppose the second cloture motion—needing 60 votes—to end debate, and oppose the final bill.
“But I won't slam the doors of the Senate in the face of Nebraskans now. They want the health care system fixed. The Senate owes them a full and open debate to try to do so.”
While Sen. Nelson and I disagree on many issues in regards to health care reform, I'm very pleased to see that he realizes this vote is about moving forward with the democratic process. The tough issues of our day need to be debated in an open forum and moving forward with debate allows members of the US Senate to do just that.
Here's the statement released by Sen. Nelson's office:
November 20, 2009 – Today, Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson announced that he will vote for the motion to proceed to debate health care reform on the Senate floor and issued this statement:
“For more than a year, Nebraskans and all Americans have debated health care reform in their homes, at work, and with friends at hundreds of town hall meetings.
“This weekend, I will vote for the motion to proceed to bring that debate onto the Senate floor. The Senate should start trying to fix a health care system that costs too much and delivers too little for Nebraskans.
“Throughout my Senate career I have consistently rejected efforts to obstruct. That's what the vote on the motion to proceed is all about.
“It is not for or against the new Senate health care bill released Wednesday.
“It is only to begin debate and an opportunity to make improvements. If you don't like a bill why block your own opportunity to amend it?
“As we have seen before, obstructionists are inviting a move toward reconciliation by opposing this first procedural vote. Let's be clear. That route shrinks debate and amendments, eliminates bipartisanship and needs only 50 votes to pass a bill.
“In the end, far more Washington-run health care policies win, but Nebraskans lose.
“In my first reading, I support parts of the bill and oppose others I will work to fix. If that's not possible, I will oppose the second cloture motion—needing 60 votes—to end debate, and oppose the final bill.
“But I won't slam the doors of the Senate in the face of Nebraskans now. They want the health care system fixed. The Senate owes them a full and open debate to try to do so.”
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Dave Marsden Announces for State Senate
I just received a press release stating that Marsden will indeed be running for senate from the 37th district. I have known Dave Marsden for years and have seen him work extremely hard on behalf on his constituents. I strongly support his candidacy because I believe we need more leaders like Dave in the Senate who will stand up for the working class and fight to keep our schools among the best in the nation.
The following is the statement that he released today:
(BURKE, VA) Today, Virginia Delegate Dave Marsden announced his campaign for the 37th Senate seat in Fairfax County. The current state Senator, Ken Cuccinelli, will be leaving the Senate to become Virginia’s Attorney General after his electoral victory on November 3rd.
“Let’s face it: government is not working like it should for regular people and our small businesses. We are in the midst of a serious economic downturn and we need to focus on creating jobs, helping regular people and small businesses, and growing our economy,” said Delegate Dave Marsden.
Marsden, a resident of Fairfax County since 1952, noted: “Fairfax County has a unique quality of life that needs to be protected. I’ve been here nearly all my life and have seen the County grow from 40,000 people to over a million. I watched Centreville, Chantilly and Westfield High Schools being built and worked with their staffs on public safety issues. We need to make sure our schools maintain their quality – the key to our homes regaining their value.”
Dave Marsden has represented the 41st House District for four years. Ten of his fourteen precincts lie within the boundaries of the 37th Senate District. Almost 30% of the residents of the 37th Senate District reside in Dave’s House District.
“People here are just fed up. They’re tired of the fact that state government can’t get its act together to provide any real traffic relief. Everyone tells us that we are the economic engine of the state, but they won’t do a thing to help us with one of our biggest problems, traffic. It’s unbelievable, disheartening and makes all of us angry. If the folks in Richmond who were responsible for funding roads and providing mass transit had our commutes, this problem would have been addressed long ago. People are tired of lip service, and so am I.”
Now Virginia must face another round of budget cuts due to a continuing decrease in state revenues because of the nation’s economic woes. Marsden said, “Look, this is a serious time and we have got to stop messing around. We are going to have to cut another $3 billion from the state budget, and I am going to do my best to make sure that Fairfax County gets its fair share of revenue from Richmond. Fairfax sends so much money to Richmond and the rest of the state, it’s time we started to look out for ourselves more.”
Dave Marsden is Director/Consultant at Development Services Group and provides consulting services to states and localities about how to successfully work with juvenile offenders and gangs. He previously worked for the juvenile court in Fairfax for 29 years and ran the juvenile detention center for 17 years. He served as Chief Deputy and Acting Director of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice under Governors Warner and Gilmore. He lives in Burke with his wife, Julia. Together they raised their three children Nathan, Stuart and Connor.
The following is the statement that he released today:
(BURKE, VA) Today, Virginia Delegate Dave Marsden announced his campaign for the 37th Senate seat in Fairfax County. The current state Senator, Ken Cuccinelli, will be leaving the Senate to become Virginia’s Attorney General after his electoral victory on November 3rd.
“Let’s face it: government is not working like it should for regular people and our small businesses. We are in the midst of a serious economic downturn and we need to focus on creating jobs, helping regular people and small businesses, and growing our economy,” said Delegate Dave Marsden.
Marsden, a resident of Fairfax County since 1952, noted: “Fairfax County has a unique quality of life that needs to be protected. I’ve been here nearly all my life and have seen the County grow from 40,000 people to over a million. I watched Centreville, Chantilly and Westfield High Schools being built and worked with their staffs on public safety issues. We need to make sure our schools maintain their quality – the key to our homes regaining their value.”
Dave Marsden has represented the 41st House District for four years. Ten of his fourteen precincts lie within the boundaries of the 37th Senate District. Almost 30% of the residents of the 37th Senate District reside in Dave’s House District.
“People here are just fed up. They’re tired of the fact that state government can’t get its act together to provide any real traffic relief. Everyone tells us that we are the economic engine of the state, but they won’t do a thing to help us with one of our biggest problems, traffic. It’s unbelievable, disheartening and makes all of us angry. If the folks in Richmond who were responsible for funding roads and providing mass transit had our commutes, this problem would have been addressed long ago. People are tired of lip service, and so am I.”
Now Virginia must face another round of budget cuts due to a continuing decrease in state revenues because of the nation’s economic woes. Marsden said, “Look, this is a serious time and we have got to stop messing around. We are going to have to cut another $3 billion from the state budget, and I am going to do my best to make sure that Fairfax County gets its fair share of revenue from Richmond. Fairfax sends so much money to Richmond and the rest of the state, it’s time we started to look out for ourselves more.”
Dave Marsden is Director/Consultant at Development Services Group and provides consulting services to states and localities about how to successfully work with juvenile offenders and gangs. He previously worked for the juvenile court in Fairfax for 29 years and ran the juvenile detention center for 17 years. He served as Chief Deputy and Acting Director of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice under Governors Warner and Gilmore. He lives in Burke with his wife, Julia. Together they raised their three children Nathan, Stuart and Connor.
Should Dickie Cranwell Resign As Chair of DPVA?
Even before Election Day there were some discussions about whether McDonnell's landslide victory would result in Dickie Cranwell resigning as Chair of DPVA. There have been rumors about various people who might be interested in taking over the position and earlier today Lowell provided some updates on who is rumored to be potential contenders. The list of names who he says have been mentioned in discussions include Brian Moran, Terry McAuliffe, Del. Jennifer McClellan, Jody Wagner, and Mike Signer.
What I think needs to be thought about in this discussion isn't just whether we should have a new chair, but what we need to learn from 2009 in order to move forward and be more competitive in future elections. What stands out to me, and what polls suggest, is that Democrats need to have a grassroots campaign that isn't afraid of standing up for Democratic values. We therefore need people in leadership positions who are willing to make sure that this is done and it certainly would be great if they also could inspire people to get involved at the grassroots level.
I know there are many dedicated Democrats who are serving on local committees and/or are volunteering for campaigns or causes whenever we get a chance. As we move forward, it's critically important that these folks have their voices heard. If we can do that with Dickie as chair and develop a strong grassroots oriented program, then I have no problem with him remaining chair. After all, this shouldn't be about the person at the top of the Party but rather the spirit of what Democrats stand for both in regards to policy matters and civic engagement.
According to the list of people whose names are being tossed around as potential replacements, I don't see a clear front runner (though I personally think Brian Moran or Mike Signer would be great for the position). This is also something to consider as whoever would take over if Dickie resigned would have to act quickly in putting together a program that could truly inspire the grassroots in time to protect some of our Congressional seats in 2010.
So with all that being said, do you think Dickie should resign and, if so, who should replace him?
What I think needs to be thought about in this discussion isn't just whether we should have a new chair, but what we need to learn from 2009 in order to move forward and be more competitive in future elections. What stands out to me, and what polls suggest, is that Democrats need to have a grassroots campaign that isn't afraid of standing up for Democratic values. We therefore need people in leadership positions who are willing to make sure that this is done and it certainly would be great if they also could inspire people to get involved at the grassroots level.
I know there are many dedicated Democrats who are serving on local committees and/or are volunteering for campaigns or causes whenever we get a chance. As we move forward, it's critically important that these folks have their voices heard. If we can do that with Dickie as chair and develop a strong grassroots oriented program, then I have no problem with him remaining chair. After all, this shouldn't be about the person at the top of the Party but rather the spirit of what Democrats stand for both in regards to policy matters and civic engagement.
According to the list of people whose names are being tossed around as potential replacements, I don't see a clear front runner (though I personally think Brian Moran or Mike Signer would be great for the position). This is also something to consider as whoever would take over if Dickie resigned would have to act quickly in putting together a program that could truly inspire the grassroots in time to protect some of our Congressional seats in 2010.
So with all that being said, do you think Dickie should resign and, if so, who should replace him?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Will Keith Fimian Force Even More Moderates Out of a Republican Primary?
Since his supporters didn't want to have a moderate Republican potentially defeat the tea party activist Keith Fimian during the Republican primary, they were able to create enough pressure on moderate Republican Paul Miller that he dropped out of the race. According to a statement released by Miller, the Republican establishment had also made it clear that they liked the fact that Fimian could spend millions of his own fortune to promote his message and turn out his fellow teabaggers.
As attention is beginning to shift towards the 2010 races, it appears as though there are some Republicans who aren't too happy with their party caving into a right-wing extremist like Keith Fimian. Amy Gardner, for instance, wrote a piece today that discusses how there are a lot of Republican activists who have been approaching Pat Herrity and Tim Hugo about the potential of running for Congress. Both Pat and Tim represent me (Tim's my Delegate and Pat's my supervisor) and I've gotten to know them over the years -- especially considering Pat lives right up the street from me. While I disagree with both of them on a lot of issues, they are still considerably more moderate than Fimian which is one of the likely reasons they've been approached to run for Congress.
While Herrity and Hugo might have some supporters in the community, the question now becomes whether or not the Republican establishment will let Fimian use his personal fortune to push out any potential moderate primary opponents. Based upon what happened with Paul Miller and what we've seen in other races such as NY-23, it looks like the Republicans are leaning towards promoting the tea party wing of their base so they'd much rather have a right-winger like Fimian as their nominee. The fact that he can spend his own fortune to promote his extremist agenda is just icing on the cake and suggests that moderate candidates won't have a spot in the Republican primary.
As attention is beginning to shift towards the 2010 races, it appears as though there are some Republicans who aren't too happy with their party caving into a right-wing extremist like Keith Fimian. Amy Gardner, for instance, wrote a piece today that discusses how there are a lot of Republican activists who have been approaching Pat Herrity and Tim Hugo about the potential of running for Congress. Both Pat and Tim represent me (Tim's my Delegate and Pat's my supervisor) and I've gotten to know them over the years -- especially considering Pat lives right up the street from me. While I disagree with both of them on a lot of issues, they are still considerably more moderate than Fimian which is one of the likely reasons they've been approached to run for Congress.
While Herrity and Hugo might have some supporters in the community, the question now becomes whether or not the Republican establishment will let Fimian use his personal fortune to push out any potential moderate primary opponents. Based upon what happened with Paul Miller and what we've seen in other races such as NY-23, it looks like the Republicans are leaning towards promoting the tea party wing of their base so they'd much rather have a right-winger like Fimian as their nominee. The fact that he can spend his own fortune to promote his extremist agenda is just icing on the cake and suggests that moderate candidates won't have a spot in the Republican primary.
Gerry Connolly Calls On Pat Robertson to Apologize
In the time since Pat Robertson made his hate-filled comments about Islam, it's become clear that Bob McDonnell won't called Robertson out for his disgusting rhetoric. Gerry Connolly, on the other hand, has made it clear that he doesn't believe that type of hatefulness should be promoted. That is why he has called upon Robertson to apologize for his remarks in a statement that was released by his office earlier today.
“In the week since Mr. Robertson’s statement that Islam is ‘not a religion’ but a ‘violent political system’ whose adherents should be treated like members of the communist or fascist party, I have heard from hundreds of outraged Northern Virginians – Muslim and non-Muslim. Here in the 11th Congressional District of Virginia and, in fact, across our Commonwealth, Muslim-Americans are a vibrant part of our communities. They serve in our nation’s military, contribute to our economic growth, and in myriad other ways, help form the diverse tapestry that is Virginia in the 21st century.I agree with Gerry here when he says that the apology is long overdue. At the same time, however, I don't think we'll be hearing an apology from Robertson because he has made it clear on several occasions that he actually believes in the hate-filled rhetoric that he's used on the 700 Club. So while it would definitely be a good first step if Robertson were to apologize, I think we should also be focusing on McDonnell and making sure that he's not able to govern in a manner that incorporates the hate-filled beliefs that one of his biggest supporters (both policy wise and financially) has been actively promoting.
“Some will dismiss Mr. Robertson’s comments as the strange ramblings of a man stuck in a bygone era. But when a prominent Virginian chooses to engage in hate-filled rhetoric that divides us and has the potential to fuel real discord in our polity, leaders cannot remain silent. That is why I am calling on Mr. Robertson to apologize to my constituents – Muslim and non-Muslim – for the hurt he has caused and the damage he has done. It is a week overdue.”
Chinese Detain CNN Reporter
There is no doubt that we need to work with China on some economic issues considering the fact that they hold so much of our debt, but the president's visit to the country has also helped to illustrate some of the basic issues of freedom that must be addressed. While there are much harsher examples of how China has violated the basic human rights of its citizens, the freedom of press has become a frequent topic of discussion. A reporter for CNN being arrested for showing a T-shirt that the government didn't want publicized provides the world with a clear illustration of how the authorities in China severely limit what information the press can report on.A CNN correspondent said Monday she was detained by Chinese security guards in Shanghai for two hours for displaying a T-shirt on camera depicting US President Barack Obama as Mao Zedong.In addition to detaining reporters who publicize things that the government doesn't approve of, there's also controversial Chinese firewall which bloggers have been talking about for years. In addition to preventing Chinese citizens from having access to a large portion of the information available on the internet, the Chinese government has even enlisted internet companies in their attempts to build criminal cases against bloggers who reveal information the government didn't want the public to know. The situation is getting so out of hand that Obama even brought the subject up during an appearance that he spoke with college students and participated in a Q & A. During the event the president reportedly told the crowd that the Internet furthers the public discussion, which result in empowering the people.
Emily Chang, a Beijing-based correspondent for the US television network, said in a blog post on CNN.com that she hunted down the shirt after hearing they had been banned amid fears they "may offend the American president."
"I think that the more freely information flows, the stronger the society becomes, because then citizens of countries around the world can hold their own governments accountable," Mr Obama told students during his first trip to China. "They can begin to think for themselves."Oddly enough, it appears as though the Chinese censored Obama's speech which essentially means that they were censoring a speech that criticized their censorship. In other words, the reaction of the Chinese government to the presidents speech was to give yet another example of how Obama's visit to China has helped to prove that the authorities in China severely limit the information that the public is able to receive.
In the end, I believe that this is one of the issues that the Obama Administration should be aggressively pursuing. While it might be a small issue compared to the other travesties going on in China, the freedom of the press would be a good first step in improving human rights. Furthermore, it would also create a situation in which the Chinese people can begin to stand up for their rights and let their voice be heard when they disagree with the government -- something that could be very health for their country and potentially the world.
I wish that there were a company to provide a surety bond to reporters. It would be great to have some insurance that what they are saying is the truth!!!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Another Defeat for Extremists; This Time in DC
Yesterday we learned about how "liberal blogs" (like Blue Virginia, FDL, Left of the Hill, and others who spoke out against hatred) ruined the plans extremists in Danville, VA who wanted to burn Nancy Pelosi and Tom Perriello in effigy. The extremists claimed they wanted to pull the stunt because Pelosi and Perriello had the courage to vote in favor of HR 3962 which would provide people with access to affordable health care. Now today we learn that a group of right-wing religious leaders were protesting the Mathew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, which made it a hate crime to attack someone simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Instead of getting arrested like the planned, however, the Washington Post tells us how the event actually turned out to be beneficial for those who support equality.
Instead of getting arrested, the ministers got something else: A couple of dozen gay activists, surrounding them with rainbow flags and signs announcing "Gaga for Gay Rights" and "I Am a Love Warrior." By the end, the gay rights activists had taken over the lectern and the sound system and were holding their own news conference denouncing the ministers.This really gets down to the point that while we do have free speech in this country, hatred isn't something that the general public supports. That is why groups like the Teabaggers in Danville had to cancel their plans and the Fazio decided to take a stand against the hate being preached in DC. In the end, the events of the last few days illustrate how momentum is on the side of those who believe in providing everyone with a chance to succeed. The fact that these events even happened, however, also show that we still have a lot of work to do.
"We're here to say, my love is legit!" announced David Valk, an organizer of the National Equality March for gay rights. Another speaker, Ian Thomas, went to the microphone and announced: "I was created a bisexual male. Just like many figures in the Christian Bible, I like boys and girls!" Cass turned angrily to the AV guy. "We're not on the clock, are we?" He turned with equal anger to Valk. "You guys gonna help us pay for the microphones?" The gay activist smiled. "God," he said, "works in mysterious ways."
In this case, God took the form of Chuck Fazio, from DC Podiums. Fazio was hired by the religious conservatives to provide the sound system for the event, but upon learning of their cause, he decided to donate his proceeds to the gay rights activists and to give them a chance at the microphone before shutting down the amplifiers. "I don't want bad karma," he explained, noting with some pride that the lectern they were using was the same one used by Borat on a recent Washington visit.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Blogs Cause Teabaggers to Cancel Rally Burning Tom Perriello in Effigy
I wrote a post last week about how the Teabaggers were planning to burn Tom Perriello and Nancy Pelosi in effigy. It now appears as though the teabaggers have decided to cancel their hateful act. According to Greg Sargent, the head of the Tea Party in Danville, Nigel Coleman, said that the owner of the land the teabaggers were going to use will no longer let them use the land. And in a sign of the power of the blogosphere, Coleman is claiming that the attention the "liberal blogs" brought to the event played a role in the land owner's decision.
“We will not be going forward with the plan,” a crestfallen Coleman told me by phone moments ago. “We had to cancel it. The property owner won’t allow us to do it. The media attention was something that he didn’t want.”What's amazing is that Coleman claims he simply didn't expect there to be so many people who were horrified by the groups willingness to use such hateful tactics. The fact that he didn't expect any type of backlash for using hateful tactics like burning people in effigy, however, simply goes to show how out of touch with the general public the teabaggers really are. Since there are some members of the mainstream media who like to portray the teabaggers as people with some commonsense, it's good to see that the blogs are powerful enough to draw attention to the fact that the tea party activists are indeed out of the mainstream and are willing to do whatever it takes to promote their extremist views.
Coleman said he was upset that people had gotten the wrong idea about his plan. “I’m disappointed that the story got out of hand and people misinterpreted something we thought would be a little historical lesson. They made people believe that we were committing an act of violence,” he said, adding that the “they” in question were the “liberal blogs.”
ADA's National Director Testifies on Behalf of Equality
The DC City Council is now considering whether or not it will legalize marriage equality. ADA's National Director, Michael J. Wilson, recently gave the following testimony before the council which I think gets to the heart of the fact that marriage equality truly is a civil right. I'm very pleased to see that Michael J. took the time to testify and that ADA as a whole is taking a strong stance in support of equality.
Call to Action in Norfolk: Stand Up For The Right of Norfolk's Resident to Have Their Voices Heard
Vivian Paige wrote a post earlier today pointing out that the Norfolk City council will have meeting tomorrow afternoon in which they will be holding a hearing on potential changes to the city charter. The reason I bring this up is because Vivian mentions that some of the changes being proposed would make it harder for citizens to have their voice heard by doubling the number of signatures needed for petition. The current charter requires 4,000 signatures to be collected, but the proposed changes would result in 8,000 signatures being required.
Vivian went on to discuss some of the largest recent signature gathering campaigns in order to highlight how making the change from 4,000 to 8,000 would place a severe limit on the residents of Norfolk to have their voice heard. To further emphasize how this process would place an undue burden on Norfolk residents I want to remind readers that statewide candidates have to collect 10,000 signatures in order to get on the ballot. Even though these candidates can collect signatures through the entire state, anyone who has worked on a statewide campaign in Virginia during the early stages of the campaign knows that collecting these signatures can be an enormously difficult task even for highly qualified candidates. That's why you almost always see bloggers covering the signature numbers as they are reported.
Considering these difficulties of statewide campaigns, to require almost as many signatures to be collected from one city for a petition is highly inappropriate and places an unfair burden on Norfolk's residents. I am therefore joining Vivian in here call for Norfolk residents to speak out against this proposed change.
Vivian went on to discuss some of the largest recent signature gathering campaigns in order to highlight how making the change from 4,000 to 8,000 would place a severe limit on the residents of Norfolk to have their voice heard. To further emphasize how this process would place an undue burden on Norfolk residents I want to remind readers that statewide candidates have to collect 10,000 signatures in order to get on the ballot. Even though these candidates can collect signatures through the entire state, anyone who has worked on a statewide campaign in Virginia during the early stages of the campaign knows that collecting these signatures can be an enormously difficult task even for highly qualified candidates. That's why you almost always see bloggers covering the signature numbers as they are reported.
Considering these difficulties of statewide campaigns, to require almost as many signatures to be collected from one city for a petition is highly inappropriate and places an unfair burden on Norfolk's residents. I am therefore joining Vivian in here call for Norfolk residents to speak out against this proposed change.
The Numbers Show Democrats Need To Engage The Base
In a post on the Public Policy Polling blog last week, Tom Jensen wrote about some of the polling results from Democracy Corps. The polling took a detailed look into the elections in Virginia and New Jersey and seemed to reiterate many of the points that have been made by progressive bloggers here in Virginia. The Democratic candidates lost because the Party’s base simply wasn’t inspired to get out and vote.
Based upon the poll results and conversations I had with voters and other activists while canvassing for local candidates, the answer to what went wrong is painfully obvious. The public wasn’t given a reason to vote, much less volunteer, for the Deeds campaign. If the Democratic base couldn’t even get excited about his campaign, how could we possibly expect Independents and newly engaged voters to support his candidacy? This, however, has already been discussed repeatedly so I won’t harp on it any longer.
What Tom’s post and the poll numbers suggest is that we need to remind voters that we still have work to be done and that they must get out and vote. In my opinion, we do that by nominating candidates who have a strong progressive message and aren’t afraid to promote it on the trail. This will remind the Democratic base what they are fighting for and potentially inspire them to volunteer for the Democratic candidate. We then need to make that the candidates have a good campaign team that will engage these volunteers and use their time wisely what contacting potential supporters.
These steps might sound like basic steps that any campaign should take, but they weren’t done in Virginia during 2009 and these poll results clearly show that the Democratic base clearly didn’t show up. Furthermore, without following these steps, Creigh lost by 18 points and we had a net loss of 6 seats in the House of Delegates. The Obama campaign, however, mastered these steps and Virginia went blue in the presidential race for the first time in 44 years while we were able to pick up 4 seats in Virginia’s Congressional delegation (3 in the House and 1 in the Senate).
In both New Jersey and Virginia people who didn't vote were much more likely to think the country is heading in the right direction than those who did. Those who think things are fine were less likely to get out and vote.Now the Obama campaign was great about reaching out to new voters and making sure that they got out to vote. Many of them were inspired enough by the campaign to make it out to a few events and volunteer for his candidacy. At the same time, however, something clearly went wrong this year as the candidates were simply not able to inspire Obama supporters to get out to the polls.
Similar story when it comes to whether people think Obama has things going the right way- 49% of those who didn't vote in Virginia think he does while only 43% of those who did vote do. In New Jersey 63% of nonvoters thought Obama had the country going in the right direction while only 51% of voters shared that sentiment.
Based upon the poll results and conversations I had with voters and other activists while canvassing for local candidates, the answer to what went wrong is painfully obvious. The public wasn’t given a reason to vote, much less volunteer, for the Deeds campaign. If the Democratic base couldn’t even get excited about his campaign, how could we possibly expect Independents and newly engaged voters to support his candidacy? This, however, has already been discussed repeatedly so I won’t harp on it any longer.
What Tom’s post and the poll numbers suggest is that we need to remind voters that we still have work to be done and that they must get out and vote. In my opinion, we do that by nominating candidates who have a strong progressive message and aren’t afraid to promote it on the trail. This will remind the Democratic base what they are fighting for and potentially inspire them to volunteer for the Democratic candidate. We then need to make that the candidates have a good campaign team that will engage these volunteers and use their time wisely what contacting potential supporters.
These steps might sound like basic steps that any campaign should take, but they weren’t done in Virginia during 2009 and these poll results clearly show that the Democratic base clearly didn’t show up. Furthermore, without following these steps, Creigh lost by 18 points and we had a net loss of 6 seats in the House of Delegates. The Obama campaign, however, mastered these steps and Virginia went blue in the presidential race for the first time in 44 years while we were able to pick up 4 seats in Virginia’s Congressional delegation (3 in the House and 1 in the Senate).
DGA Shifts Attention to 2010, Especially Wisconsin
Coming off losing two big gubernatorial campaigns earlier this month, it appears as though the Democratic Governors Association is looking ahead to 2010. In a statement that was sent out yesterday, the DGA announced that it will be targeting the gubernatorial campaign in Wisconsin. This comes after Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett officially entered the race.“Mayor Barrett is well-known as a common sense leader and dedicated public servant who is making his community a better place for families and creating good-paying jobs,” said Nathan Daschle, executive director of the DGA. “In these difficult economic times, his accomplishments leading his city will appeal to people across Wisconsin, who will embrace Mayor’s Barrett’s proven leadership and vision to bring good jobs to the state.”There's been a lot of speculation that Barrett would enter the race because he's viewed as an extremely popular mayor who has represented a city that is very progressive. In fact, when Barrett originally won the mayoral seat he took on the Democratic incumbent and his closest competitor in the general election during his re-election bid was the socialist candidate. I bring this up because it would greatly benefit a Democratic candidate in Wisconsin to have a high turnout in Milwaukee and Barrett will be able to perform extremely well in the Democratic city. As local blogger and activist Dan Cody points out, this is extremely important because one of the leading Republicans is currently the Milwaukee County Executive and has argued that he'll be able to win by performing well in the area. Barrett's entrance into the race will make that extremely difficult.
“Mayor Barrett’s candidacy positions Democrats for victory and signals the depth of our commitment to holding this seat,” Daschle said. “The DGA will play a very active role in keeping Wisconsin blue.”
Now the race in Wisconsin is just one of 36 gubernatorial campaigns that will be taking place in 2010, so the DGA's announcement indicates something of importance because it helps to indicate which races they believe will be winnable. After we saw the DGA get involved early here in Virginia and investing in a lot of advertising that focused on McDonnell's negatives (something that eventually backfired and played a role in Deeds losing by 18 points), I think it will be extremely important to see how the DGA performs in these important races.
The best thing that the DGA could do right now is help candidates like Barrett build up their ground games. This will not only allow them to remind the Democratic base of some of the reasons to vote FOR Barrett, but will also help to recruit the volunteers who will be needed to help the campaign. In the end, it will be these volunteers who'll be crucial in helping to get out the vote and remind their neighbors why it's important to elect strong Democratic candidates (something that was lacking in the approach that was taken in 2009).
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Does Bob McDonnell Think Islam is a "Violent Political System?"
McDonnell hasn’t even taken the oath of office yet and his allies on the extreme right have already put him in an interesting situation. While he was on his talk show “The 700 Club,” Pat Robertson declared we have been “covering up what Islam is.” He then went on to claim that Islam isn’t a religion but is instead a “violent political system bent on the overthrow of the governments of the world and world domination” and that we should treat Muslims “as we would members of the Communist Party or members of some fascist group.”
What Robertson appears to be blatantly ignoring in his attempt to spread hatred of a group of people is the plain and simple fact that vast majority of Muslims don’t support the actions of the shooter at Fort Hood. As with the rest of America, they find the shootings to be absolutely horrifying and were extremely disappointed in the fact that someone would even try to use their peaceful religion to justify such disgusting behavior. In other words, Muslims are peace loving people and it’s simply inappropriate to blame an entire community for the actions of one individual who acted alone.
The questions now becomes whether or not Bob McDonnell should be held responsible for the comments that Pat Robertson made. While he might not have made the hateful comments, McDonnell is so closely associated with the extreme right and Pat Robertson in particular that he should make a public statement saying that he doesn’t support Robertson’s comments. After all, the preacher has said similar hateful comments in the past on several occasions and yet McDonnell has accepted over $100,000 in campaign contributions from Robertson and has appeared on his television show.
Of course, this also brings back McDonnell’s thesis in which he argued, among other things, that working women are “detrimental” to the family. The reason this is brought up again is the plain and simple fact that McDonnell wrote the thesis while attending the school run by Robertson’s organization. His blueprint for governor was therefore laid out during the time that he was studying at a school that was supposed to promote Pat Robertson’s agenda. Since McDonnell has followed so much of the blueprint that he laid out in the thesis and Robertson has donated thousands upon thousands of dollars to his political career, it shouldn’t be too surprising that people now want McDonnell to distance himself from Robertson’s remarks. If he decides not to do so, then people should feel free to draw their own conclusions about the motivations behind his decision.
(h/t Blue Virginia)
What Robertson appears to be blatantly ignoring in his attempt to spread hatred of a group of people is the plain and simple fact that vast majority of Muslims don’t support the actions of the shooter at Fort Hood. As with the rest of America, they find the shootings to be absolutely horrifying and were extremely disappointed in the fact that someone would even try to use their peaceful religion to justify such disgusting behavior. In other words, Muslims are peace loving people and it’s simply inappropriate to blame an entire community for the actions of one individual who acted alone.
The questions now becomes whether or not Bob McDonnell should be held responsible for the comments that Pat Robertson made. While he might not have made the hateful comments, McDonnell is so closely associated with the extreme right and Pat Robertson in particular that he should make a public statement saying that he doesn’t support Robertson’s comments. After all, the preacher has said similar hateful comments in the past on several occasions and yet McDonnell has accepted over $100,000 in campaign contributions from Robertson and has appeared on his television show.
Of course, this also brings back McDonnell’s thesis in which he argued, among other things, that working women are “detrimental” to the family. The reason this is brought up again is the plain and simple fact that McDonnell wrote the thesis while attending the school run by Robertson’s organization. His blueprint for governor was therefore laid out during the time that he was studying at a school that was supposed to promote Pat Robertson’s agenda. Since McDonnell has followed so much of the blueprint that he laid out in the thesis and Robertson has donated thousands upon thousands of dollars to his political career, it shouldn’t be too surprising that people now want McDonnell to distance himself from Robertson’s remarks. If he decides not to do so, then people should feel free to draw their own conclusions about the motivations behind his decision.
(h/t Blue Virginia)
Themes and Guest Lists for the Sunday Morning Talk Shows Today
There appears to be three major themes emerging for today's Sunday morning talk shows.
1) Hillary Clinton will be making the rounds in order to discuss foreign affairs policy. While she'll be speaking a lot about the situation in Afghanistan, she also will likely touch on the trip to Asia that President Obama is currently on.
2) Rudy Guliani is making the rounds to talk about the decision to prosecute Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a federal court. He's already come out against the decision and has been using the decision as an attempt to remind voters of his national security credentials (something that backfired on him during his presidential campaign when every sentence he said seemed to simply consist of a noun, a verb, and 9/11).
3) With the health care bill expected to come to the floor of the Senate relatively soon, there will be several people making appearances to discuss the current state of health care reform.
Here's the guest list for the various shows:
Meet the Press: Scretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and Rev. Al Sharpton
This Week with George Stephanopoulos: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Mayor Rudy Guliani
State of the Union: Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod, Senator Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota) and Senator Judd Gregg (R-New Hampshire), former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Governor Brian Schweitzer (D-Montana)
Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace: Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Dr. Anthony Fauci.
1) Hillary Clinton will be making the rounds in order to discuss foreign affairs policy. While she'll be speaking a lot about the situation in Afghanistan, she also will likely touch on the trip to Asia that President Obama is currently on.
2) Rudy Guliani is making the rounds to talk about the decision to prosecute Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a federal court. He's already come out against the decision and has been using the decision as an attempt to remind voters of his national security credentials (something that backfired on him during his presidential campaign when every sentence he said seemed to simply consist of a noun, a verb, and 9/11).
3) With the health care bill expected to come to the floor of the Senate relatively soon, there will be several people making appearances to discuss the current state of health care reform.
Here's the guest list for the various shows:
Meet the Press: Scretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and Rev. Al Sharpton
This Week with George Stephanopoulos: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Mayor Rudy Guliani
State of the Union: Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod, Senator Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota) and Senator Judd Gregg (R-New Hampshire), former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Governor Brian Schweitzer (D-Montana)
Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace: Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Video: New Left Media's Documentary on No on 1 Campaign
The folks over at New Left Media have been doing a great job of putting together videos that cover current events. They put together the following documentary about the No on One campaign, which I highly recommend watching. It definitely gives you a good sense of some of the grassroots action that went into trying to defeat the measure, even though the anti-gay crowd was able to spread lies and scare tactics in order to get its hateful measure passed. What I really think is worth taking away from the documentary is that we must continue to work on making sure that equality wins. As one of the speakers points out, in the end this is about love and we must stay to course.
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Part 2:
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Friday, November 13, 2009
David Englin Elected Vice Chair of House Democratic Caucus
During the Brigades meeting last night I had several conversations with grassroots activists who spoke about the work they had done to get David Englin elected to the House of Delegates back in 2005. They brought this up as way of pointing out some of the elected officials we have in Virginia who truly have garnered a lot of grassroots support. For those of you who didn't already know this, David won a 6 way Democratic primary when he ran for the House and was able to win largely due to the large number of grassroots volunteers who put in countless hours for his campaign. In the time since he was first elected, David has stayed true to the values he promoted during the campaign which has resulted in him having a loyal grassroots base. That is why there are so many activists who extremely pleased to read a tweet from Del. Adam Ebbin announcing that David has been elected by the House Democratic caucus to serve as vice-chair.Dem House Caucus just reelected officers w/ addition of David Englin as Vice Chair. Congrats David.I find it very interesting that activists found out about David's new role through twitter. In my humble opinion, it's very fitting that a tool that so many activists use to coordinate their activities was also used to announce that David had been elected Vice-Chair as it's just a small example of how the grassroots can actually influence the political discussion. Above all else, however, I want to join Del. Ebbin in congratulating David. The Democratic caucus was very smart to elect Englin as vice chair and I strongly believe that he'll do a lot of good in his new leadership position.
Tea Party Activists To Burn Perriello and Pelosi in Effigy
While the Bush Administration was in power protesters were limited to "free speech zones" and anyone who disagreed with the president was declared unpatriotic. Now it appears as though the conservatives are going to extremes to express their disappointment with programs that are designed to make sure everyone has access to affordable health care. As Lowell pointed out in a post earlier today, the Danville Tea Party will be holding a rally in which they burn Rep. Tom Perriello and Nancy Pelosi in effigy. Their reasoning? A few of them asked Perriello not to vote for health care reform, but he decided to look out for the best interests of his constituents and voted in favor of HR 3962.
As people have been asking in response to so many tea party activists, where were all these protesters when President Bush was driving our country into enormous debt while continuing to give corporations and the wealth enormous tax breaks? Why is it only now that Barack Obama wants everyone to have access to health care that people are using hateful tactics to express their disappointment? Seems to be some ulterior motives behind the tea party's disgusting behavior.
As people have been asking in response to so many tea party activists, where were all these protesters when President Bush was driving our country into enormous debt while continuing to give corporations and the wealth enormous tax breaks? Why is it only now that Barack Obama wants everyone to have access to health care that people are using hateful tactics to express their disappointment? Seems to be some ulterior motives behind the tea party's disgusting behavior.
Video: Webb Speaking to Grassroot Activists About Health Care Reform
On Thursday evening Sen. Jim Webb spoke to a meeting of the Brigades, which is a grassroots organization that formed in 2007 largely in response to volunteers from his campaign looking for a way to continue supporting good candidates and issue campaigns. Webb spoke about a variety of issues, one of which was health care reform. He told the crowd that there were three main things that he thought the bill should accomplish: Increase access to health care, decrease costs, and get a system in place where we can have some consistency in the future.
He then added that “if you don’t have that, it’s not going to really do any good to say you passed a bill.” Webb is absolutely correct and should be taking this message to the Senate leadership if he hasn’t already. We simply cannot pass a bill for the sake of passing a bill – it actually has to do some good for the American people. A bill that has a lot of pretty language, but puts off reform for years or doesn’t give us any real reforms will not do any good. In fact, all that would do is damage the credibility of the Democratic Party’s credibility with voters.
After Webb’s speech, he took questions from people in attendance and he was asked about where situation surrounding the bill in the US Senate. It was during his answer that I think we got the real substance of the senator’s position on the bill. After reiterating that they haven’t even seen the bill that Harry Reid is going to be submitting to the floor, Webb said that he has committed to proceeding with debate. What was very noticeable, however, was the fact that he didn’t say he’d definitely be voting for cloture. While this had me a little nervous, he did add he’s open to the public option and would even prefer “as opposed to say non-profit insurance programs.” Nonetheless, he did repeatedly say that he needs to look at the entire bill which suggests that he could use a few reminders from constituents that the public option is reform that is in the best interest of the people he represents.
The following video is what Webb had to say about where he stands on the bill. There's a transcript below the video for those who are interested.
The commitment I’ve made to Senator Reid is that when his bill comes out, I will vote to proceed to the debate. Because you know in the Senate, you vote to proceed to the debate which requires 60 votes and then after the amendment process, etcetera, you vote on whether or not you’re going to have the final bill and that’s also a 60 vote process. So I have said to him I will vote to proceed to the debate but I think everyone should see the bill before we start debating it. And not to do so is foolish. It just gives ammunition to the people who are trying to say all these other things that we saw in the town hall meetings.
I was one of 8 Senators who signed a letter to Senator Reid saying we ought to post that the bill for 72 hours. Whatever bill we come up with, we ought to let people see it. And actually we should have had a bill that people could have come in and vented their emotions on during the hearings process rather than now. So, as Ben Nelson from Nebraska rather famously said, I’ll tell you about part of it when I can see all of it. I’m not trying to avoid answering you but it’s very important in terms of how all of these things fit together.
In terms of the public option my view is, and I hold it very strongly, that if you’re going to increase the clientele by tens of millions, you have to do something about competition. And there are a number of different approaches to that. But if it came down to a public option as opposed to say non-profit insurance programs, or those sorts of things, I would support a public option. But again, we have to see how all of these issues interrelate.
He then added that “if you don’t have that, it’s not going to really do any good to say you passed a bill.” Webb is absolutely correct and should be taking this message to the Senate leadership if he hasn’t already. We simply cannot pass a bill for the sake of passing a bill – it actually has to do some good for the American people. A bill that has a lot of pretty language, but puts off reform for years or doesn’t give us any real reforms will not do any good. In fact, all that would do is damage the credibility of the Democratic Party’s credibility with voters.
After Webb’s speech, he took questions from people in attendance and he was asked about where situation surrounding the bill in the US Senate. It was during his answer that I think we got the real substance of the senator’s position on the bill. After reiterating that they haven’t even seen the bill that Harry Reid is going to be submitting to the floor, Webb said that he has committed to proceeding with debate. What was very noticeable, however, was the fact that he didn’t say he’d definitely be voting for cloture. While this had me a little nervous, he did add he’s open to the public option and would even prefer “as opposed to say non-profit insurance programs.” Nonetheless, he did repeatedly say that he needs to look at the entire bill which suggests that he could use a few reminders from constituents that the public option is reform that is in the best interest of the people he represents.
The following video is what Webb had to say about where he stands on the bill. There's a transcript below the video for those who are interested.
The commitment I’ve made to Senator Reid is that when his bill comes out, I will vote to proceed to the debate. Because you know in the Senate, you vote to proceed to the debate which requires 60 votes and then after the amendment process, etcetera, you vote on whether or not you’re going to have the final bill and that’s also a 60 vote process. So I have said to him I will vote to proceed to the debate but I think everyone should see the bill before we start debating it. And not to do so is foolish. It just gives ammunition to the people who are trying to say all these other things that we saw in the town hall meetings.
I was one of 8 Senators who signed a letter to Senator Reid saying we ought to post that the bill for 72 hours. Whatever bill we come up with, we ought to let people see it. And actually we should have had a bill that people could have come in and vented their emotions on during the hearings process rather than now. So, as Ben Nelson from Nebraska rather famously said, I’ll tell you about part of it when I can see all of it. I’m not trying to avoid answering you but it’s very important in terms of how all of these things fit together.
In terms of the public option my view is, and I hold it very strongly, that if you’re going to increase the clientele by tens of millions, you have to do something about competition. And there are a number of different approaches to that. But if it came down to a public option as opposed to say non-profit insurance programs, or those sorts of things, I would support a public option. But again, we have to see how all of these issues interrelate.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
John King Will Replace Lou Dobbs
Yesterday I reported that Lou Dobbs will be leaving CNN and most people agreed that it was good for CNN that Dobbs would no longer be on the network. While pressure had been mounting for Dobbs to be fired, the departure did catch some people off guard and left people spectulating about what was next for both Dobbs and CNN. While we still don't have confirmation on what Dobbs will be doing next, the LA Times is reporting that it didn't take long for CNN to find a replacement for him. The host of CNN's Sunday morning show, John King, will be hosting the evening show every weeknight.
Of course, this still leaves some questions about CNN's lineup as there's now an opening on Sunday mornings. King will apparently be continuing to host State of the Union on Sundays until the end of the year. At this point in time, however, there's no indication of what will be happening to the show. I sincerely hope that they continue a show with a similar feel because I really liked many of the segments they did -- especially those in which King traveled to a different state every week and spoke with the residents of the local community about the issues they believe are important.
“The program will reflect what CNN is all about: straight facts from our anchors and the widest range of opinions from across the political spectrum,” CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein said in a statement. “John has enthralled CNN viewers with his vast political knowledge, and he has spent the past year reporting from beyond the Beltway on pressing policy issues and the real people they impact. Every night, he’ll share his passion and his insights about what is really going on in Washington and across America.”This decision shouldn't come as a surprise because it's been clear for quite some time now that CNN likes the work that King does and he's been gradually given more and more airtime on the network. Moving him to a time slot during the evening could do well for CNN's numbers, which had been slipping recently as people have been turning to networks such as MSNBC or Fox News for their evening news. Based upon the rhetoric used in the announcement, it looks like CNN will be marketing King's program as one that really is down the middle which will probably attract independents like the one that Lowell wrote about earlier today.
King said he planned to use his new platform “to discuss and explore the big issues of our time.”
“There is a lot of noise and conflict in our political discourse, which is fun to cover, but I’m convinced from my travels that people also thirst for more details as well as insight and context,” he said. “I’m looking forward to combining those conversations with top newsmakers, smart reporting and expert analysis.” The anchor came to CNN in 1997 from the Associated Press.
Of course, this still leaves some questions about CNN's lineup as there's now an opening on Sunday mornings. King will apparently be continuing to host State of the Union on Sundays until the end of the year. At this point in time, however, there's no indication of what will be happening to the show. I sincerely hope that they continue a show with a similar feel because I really liked many of the segments they did -- especially those in which King traveled to a different state every week and spoke with the residents of the local community about the issues they believe are important.
OFA Health Care Events Coming Up In Northern Virginia
As the debate surrounding health care reform heads to the Senate, there is still a fair amount of discussion about how to which members of the House of Representatives should be targeted as a result of their vote either for or against HR 3962. In Virginia's 11th District, for instance, there will be an event tomorrow afternoon put on by OFA that thanks Congressman Gerry Connolly for doing the right thing and voting in favor of health care reform. The event will be from 12 noon until 1pm outside of Gerry's Annandale office. With tea-party activist Keith Fimian holding rallies and trying to stir up some attention for his anti-reform agenda in recent weeks, I think the rally tomorrow represents a good opportunity to illustrate how residents of Northern Virginia value meaningful legislation more than the scare tactics and misinformation being used by the extreme right.Not too far away from there, however, there will also be an event that targets Rep. Frank Wolf who decided to put the interest of the insurance companies before the interests of his own constituents. OFA is encouraging its supporters to stop by the offices of 32 Republican members of Congress who voted against health care reform but represent districts that voted for Obama. In a statement made earlier today, OFA Director Mitch Steward said that members like Frank Wolf are being targeted because they clearly voted against what their constituents wanted.
“Just one year ago, Americans in these congressional districts voted to send President Obama to the White House and these Republican Representatives to Congress. The message was clear in these districts: Americans want change, and they expect their Representatives to work with President Obama and reach across the aisle to help deliver it,” said OFA Director Mitch Stewart.I'm glad to see that there is some action taking place by OFA here in Northern Virginia to follow up on the vote last week (though I know people like Chrisi West have been working hard for months now with OFA to make sure that the public is informed about what's going on in the debate). With the way things are looking in the Senate, it looks like the final bill won't be produced until the conference between the Senate and House of Representatives. These events are therefore extremely important because we need to make sure that we still have the support of everyone who voted in favor of HR 3962 (and hopefully pickup a few more) when it comes time to vote on the conference report.
“Last weekend’s vote on health reform offered a clear choice to these members: Stand with your constituents and support a bill which draws upon ideas from both parties to guarantee Americans secure, affordable health coverage, or stand with the insurance companies and right wing pundits to put politics above doing the right thing. Unfortunately, these Representatives made the wrong choice.”
Sean Hannity Caught Misleading Viewers
Most people realize that Fox News is essentially the PR wing for the Republican Party as there are so many times when they simply read off Republican talking points while on the air. Well, it looks like that isn't the only thing they do to help the right wing. Apparently they're even willing to completely mislead viewers by interchanging video feed without informing the public about what's going on.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Sean Hannity Uses Glenn Beck's Protest Footage | ||||
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Sen. Tom Carper Proposed A Triggered Co-op
While advocates of true health care reform have been praising the House of Representatives for passing a bill that includes a public option, everyone still knows that there’s a lot of work to be done in order to make sure that meaningful legislation also makes it through the Senate. Unfortunately, it looks like there are some Democrats who are looking for ways to pass anything but a public option. Sen. Tom Carper, for instance, proposed a plan that combined Olympia Snowe’s idea of a trigger with the co-op plan that other anti-public option folks are proposing.
In other words, Carper wants to take two ideas that would severely weaken any chance of reform that we have. Even when it would trigger a public option, the trigger plan that Sen. Snowe has been promoting would simply delay reform and give the insurance companies time to gear up another effort to prevent anything from being done that would take away their enormous profits. In the meantime, families would continue to face bankruptcy – including 1,400 every year right here in the 11th Congressional District – due to the enormous costs of health care. Now Carper wants the American people to have to watch insurance companies rake in huge profits in hopes that a co-op might be triggered in a few years. This is unacceptable because even if the co-op was triggered it wouldn’t be big enough to actually negotiate lower rates with insurance companies.
This is where Democratic members of the US Senate can learn something from the Creigh Deeds campaign. One of the main reasons he didn’t do well on Tuesday was because he distanced himself from Democratic values. In fact, one of the final nails in the coffin for many progressive activists was that he publicly said he’d strongly considering opting out of the public option if he was elected governor. In other words, even in a moderate state like Virginia a Democratic candidate greatly suffered because he didn’t support the public option. If passing the best possible piece of legislation isn’t motivation enough, then the impact of not supporting the best plan here is something that the Blue Dogs who are worried about being re-elected should pay attention to.
Above all else, the fact that a deal like this was being worked out behind closed doors (like FDL reports this one was) shows the importance of making your opinion heard. No matter how many secret meetings go on, Senators aren’t likely to ignore thousands upon thousands of phone calls made into their office or people hitting the streets in support of the public option. So make sure your voice is heard and call your Senators’ offices right now. The capitol switchboard’s number is 202-224-3121.
In other words, Carper wants to take two ideas that would severely weaken any chance of reform that we have. Even when it would trigger a public option, the trigger plan that Sen. Snowe has been promoting would simply delay reform and give the insurance companies time to gear up another effort to prevent anything from being done that would take away their enormous profits. In the meantime, families would continue to face bankruptcy – including 1,400 every year right here in the 11th Congressional District – due to the enormous costs of health care. Now Carper wants the American people to have to watch insurance companies rake in huge profits in hopes that a co-op might be triggered in a few years. This is unacceptable because even if the co-op was triggered it wouldn’t be big enough to actually negotiate lower rates with insurance companies.
This is where Democratic members of the US Senate can learn something from the Creigh Deeds campaign. One of the main reasons he didn’t do well on Tuesday was because he distanced himself from Democratic values. In fact, one of the final nails in the coffin for many progressive activists was that he publicly said he’d strongly considering opting out of the public option if he was elected governor. In other words, even in a moderate state like Virginia a Democratic candidate greatly suffered because he didn’t support the public option. If passing the best possible piece of legislation isn’t motivation enough, then the impact of not supporting the best plan here is something that the Blue Dogs who are worried about being re-elected should pay attention to.
Above all else, the fact that a deal like this was being worked out behind closed doors (like FDL reports this one was) shows the importance of making your opinion heard. No matter how many secret meetings go on, Senators aren’t likely to ignore thousands upon thousands of phone calls made into their office or people hitting the streets in support of the public option. So make sure your voice is heard and call your Senators’ offices right now. The capitol switchboard’s number is 202-224-3121.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Lou Dobbs Leaving CNN
Lou Dobbs has been emerging as one of the few right wing commentators who doesn't work for Fox News. Both during his radio show and his show on CNN, Dobbs has been frequently claiming that President Obama wasn't a US citizen and demanded that the White House produce a birth certificate. He's also been spurring up a lot of controversy as he's railed against immigrants, constantly using misinformation to support his agenda.
After pressure had been put on CNN to get rid of Dobbs for quite some time, it now appears as though Dobbs will be moving on to something else as he announced tonight that he will be leaving CNN effective immediately. At the same time, however, the language he used during his announcement seems to suggest that we'll be hearing from the anti-immigrant activist soon.
UPDATE: Here's the video of his statement:
After pressure had been put on CNN to get rid of Dobbs for quite some time, it now appears as though Dobbs will be moving on to something else as he announced tonight that he will be leaving CNN effective immediately. At the same time, however, the language he used during his announcement seems to suggest that we'll be hearing from the anti-immigrant activist soon.
“Some leaders in the media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond my role here at CNN and engage in constructive problem-solving,” Mr. Dobbs said just after 7 p.m., suggesting that he would remain involved in the civic discourse, but perhaps not on television.I know of a certain right wing blogger based in Manassas who would probably be extremely interested in working for Dobbs if he used his anti-immigrant and birth certificate demanding background to launch a campaign for elected office. After all, those are the only issues that the blogger seems to focus on (when he isn't putting up videos of tea party activist Keith Fimian). For the sake of the country, however, I certainly hope Dobbs is never elected to office.
“I’m considering a number of options and directions,” Mr. Dobbs added.
UPDATE: Here's the video of his statement:
The Netroots Aren't Responsible for Creigh Deeds Losing by 18 Points
In the week since the devastating election last Tuesday there has been a relatively public discussion about what went wrong during the campaign. When the Democratic gubernatorial candidate loses by 18 points after the Democrats have had a lot of success on the statewide level for several years, I tend to agree that activists should examine what happened to see what issues need to be addressed. I know this process started in the blogosphere even before the election was over as netroots activists were trying to figure out if there was anything we could do to help turn the race around.
Despite the fact that many bloggers were frequently talking to the Deeds campaign trying to help Creigh win, it appears as though there are many folks who are blaming the netroots for the horrific results of last week's election. One commenter over at Blue Virginia seems to typify the comments being made as he tried to blame to netroots for bringing down Creigh's candidacy.
But can anyone really claim that bloggers are responsible for Creigh losing by 18 points? The plain and simple fact is that the netroots simply isn't powerful enough to account for that much of a swing -- especially when you consider that Creigh's campaign refused to work productively with the blogosphere. The problem that the netroots had with Creigh is the same one that so many Virginians had with his campaign -- we weren't given a reason to vote FOR Creigh and, on top of that, he kept running away from the values of the Democratic base.
If Creigh had spent more time talking about his positives and had actually run as a Democrat, then the netroots could have served as a way to get more people involved with the campaign and potentially put Creigh over the top in a close race. But bloggers aren't miracle workers and we can't get people excited about a candidate if there's nothing there to get excited about. What we can do is help to strengthen a campaign by pointing out what's going wrong and making some recommendations of how to improve the campaign.
In a campaign that was consistently down in the polls by huge margins, you'd think they'd want to listen to folks who are extremely knowledgeable about the activist base and the electorate in general. Creigh's campaign definitely had plenty of netroots activists who fit that description and were willing to help out. Nonetheless, many of Creigh's staffers simply wouldn't listen and some of his more loyal supporters tried to dismiss the criticisms by claiming that bloggers just weren't being loyal Democrats. There's therefore no legitimate reason anyone can claim that the blogosphere was responsible for Creigh Deeds losing by 18 points.
The way things have been going, however, I have a feeling that we're going to see more and more people trying to blame the netroots for a loss that clearly was a result of other factors. This is a shame because we shouldn't really be examining the real reasons for the huge loss to make sure that doesn't happen again in the future.
Despite the fact that many bloggers were frequently talking to the Deeds campaign trying to help Creigh win, it appears as though there are many folks who are blaming the netroots for the horrific results of last week's election. One commenter over at Blue Virginia seems to typify the comments being made as he tried to blame to netroots for bringing down Creigh's candidacy.
By the way, I've yet to hear anyone in the blogosphere admit that you all played a part in the massive tidal wave last Tuesday. It's fine and dandy apparently for you all to take some ownership in the victories of Barack Obama, Jim Webb, and Tim Kaine... but you all spent several months inflicting harm on Creigh Deeds since the primary over his "progressive" credentials and policy views. Like it or not, the progressive grassroots in this state read you as their news source for VA politics, and if they read negative stories for months on end it will demoralize them just as much as Creigh Deeds gaffes. I remember a time when the blogosphere was a force for good in this state. Can we try going back to that?What's also very noticeable is that before he made that comment he also attack Lowell's character. Lowell's offense in this person's mind was having the audacity to actually point out that there probably should have be more money invested in some of the close House of Delegate campaigns. Considering the fact that we had a net loss of 6 seats in the House, investing more in the 4 races that we lost by 2 points or less could have lead to a salvageable election day. The fact that the commenter couldn't see that helps to show that he's likely just looking for someone to blame for Creigh's loss. Since bloggers have voiced their concerns with Creigh's campaign makes us the easy targets for people looking to blame someone.
But can anyone really claim that bloggers are responsible for Creigh losing by 18 points? The plain and simple fact is that the netroots simply isn't powerful enough to account for that much of a swing -- especially when you consider that Creigh's campaign refused to work productively with the blogosphere. The problem that the netroots had with Creigh is the same one that so many Virginians had with his campaign -- we weren't given a reason to vote FOR Creigh and, on top of that, he kept running away from the values of the Democratic base.
If Creigh had spent more time talking about his positives and had actually run as a Democrat, then the netroots could have served as a way to get more people involved with the campaign and potentially put Creigh over the top in a close race. But bloggers aren't miracle workers and we can't get people excited about a candidate if there's nothing there to get excited about. What we can do is help to strengthen a campaign by pointing out what's going wrong and making some recommendations of how to improve the campaign.
In a campaign that was consistently down in the polls by huge margins, you'd think they'd want to listen to folks who are extremely knowledgeable about the activist base and the electorate in general. Creigh's campaign definitely had plenty of netroots activists who fit that description and were willing to help out. Nonetheless, many of Creigh's staffers simply wouldn't listen and some of his more loyal supporters tried to dismiss the criticisms by claiming that bloggers just weren't being loyal Democrats. There's therefore no legitimate reason anyone can claim that the blogosphere was responsible for Creigh Deeds losing by 18 points.
The way things have been going, however, I have a feeling that we're going to see more and more people trying to blame the netroots for a loss that clearly was a result of other factors. This is a shame because we shouldn't really be examining the real reasons for the huge loss to make sure that doesn't happen again in the future.
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