VB Dems

Andrew Jackson announces his candidacy for Virginia Beach City Council (at large) on Sunday, July 18, 2010 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Grand Affairs, 2036 Pleasure House Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23455.

Andrew writes on his website: “This is no ordinary time, and this is no ordinary election. This is a movement to bring city government back to the people. It is a movement to bring the voices of the people to the City Council Chamber. It is what my campaign theme… ‘Our Voices as One, THE PEOPLE’S CANDIDATE’ is all about.”

Go Andrew!

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The Obama administration is proposing a new rule to tighten restrictions on pollution from coal-burning power plants in the eastern half of the country.  The EPA predicted the rule would prevent about 14,000–36,000 premature deaths a year.

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What was the greatest threat to the United States?
A) The Civil War.
B) The Great Depression.
C) The Nazis and World War II.
D) The Soviet Union, the Cold War, and the possibility of nuclear annihilation.
E) Al Qaida and the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
F) The election of President Obama.

(Answer below)

(more…)

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According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, proposed energy and climate change legislation would reduce the federal budget deficit by $19 billion over the first 10 years and would not increase the deficit over the next 40 years.

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Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli finds it “mind-boggling” that the federal government should have a central role in international borders and immigration, and finds another way to get his name in the newspaper.

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In case anyone hasn’t noticed, I haven’t posted here in awhile.

First of all, happy 14th birthday Sasha! I can’t believe it was 10 years ago she and I were volunteering 3 days a week with the Loudoun County Democratic Committee working to get Al Gore and Chuck Robb elected/re-elected. Even as a 4-year-old she was so helpful and cheerful – has always been such a good buddy!

Blame my lack of posting on work and kids. Workwise, we had an extremely successful Hands Across the Sand in Hampton Roads. On 5 beaches we had a total of 1700 people join hands in protest to drilling, including over 1,000 lined up along the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Last week Sasha, Leo, Celia (Leo’s girlfriend) and I were in D.C. for a few days. We helped plant over 10,000 American flags to form the letters “Freedom From Oil” on the lawn under the Washington Monument. Yesterday I presented an update on offshore drilling to the Virginia Commission on Energy and the Environment. To complicate my life even more, two weeks ago my laptop crashed. But yesterday Sierra Club got me a new one!

Celia is staying with us this summer so now there are 4 teenagers (18, 17, 16, and 14) in my itty-bitty mucky house. None of them drive yet but all of them eat and stay up till 2am running every electrical appliance possible. Leo finally got a job washing dishes at the Lucky Oyster. Sophie’s social life is only getting started. I’ve got to get her soccer video put together ASAP. I’m trying to fit in working as many Amphitheater events as possible to help widdle down her Rush soccer fees this fall. Both girls have summer reading lists that they’ve yet to get from their schools. Sasha has an art project that she has to present to the class on the third day of Governor’s School. She hasn’t even started. She is however getting in some art exhibits. We hit some galleries in DC last week and we’re heading to NYC next week for some more gallery hopping.

I guess this is a roundabout way to make a plea to anyone interested in joining David Campbell and myself on VB Dems. Things will really start to heat up soon both with the 2nd congressional race and the local VB City Council and School Board races. Shoot me an email if you’d like to join us… eileen@vbdems.org. Thanks.

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The Virginia Retirement System is the pension fund for state and local government and public school employees.

The General Assembly has already shortchanged VRS 10 of the previous 18 years.

Now Governor McDonnell is deferring $620 million in state payments to VRS over the next 2 years, replacing them with IOUs to repay it with interest over the next 10 years (after he is long gone from office).

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In March, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli proclaimed:

“It is my advice that the law and public policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibit a college or university from including ’sexual orientation,’ ‘gender identity,’ ‘gender expression,’ or like classification as a protected class within its non-discrimination policy absent specific authorization from the General Assembly…[Colleges should] take appropriate actions to bring their policies in conformance with the law and public policy of Virginia.”

On Friday, a bright high school student at Boys State asked:

“How is that not a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment?”

Cuccinelli responded:

“Your question is, why is that not a violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. Frankly, the category of sexual orientation would never have been contemplated by the people who wrote and voted for and passed the 14th Amendment. There are judges who think these things ‘evolve,’ is the word they like to use.”

Judges like the U.S. Supreme Court, for example.  Isn’t the Virginia Attorney General bound by Supreme Court precedent?  Apparently not, according to Cuccinelli.

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Senate Republicans have blocked a bill that would have extended Unemployment Compensation Insurance to millions of desperate Americans. It will begin to phase out for more than 200,000 people a week. It would also have provided $16 billion to the states to preserve thousands of state and local government jobs.

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Despite the denial of global warming skeptics, Arctic sea ice is now at the lowest level than at any time in recorded history:

“The current reduction in Arctic ice cover started in the late 19th century, consistent with the rapidly warming climate, and became very pronounced over the last three decades. This ice loss appears to be unmatched over at least the last few thousand years and unexplainable by any of the known natural variabilities.” – “History of sea ice in the Arctic” Quarternary Science Reviews 2010

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Sen. Mark Warner has offered an amendment to eliminate 17 federal programs and cut $806 million in federal spending.  Deficit hawks complain anyway.

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Every few years I get totally immersed in a big project. It occupies my every waking moment. This time it’s Hands Across The Sand on June 26 – eleven crazy days from now.

Hands Across The Sand will be the third feather in my career cap.

In 1999, I was the Marketing Chairperson for a barn raising event to build the Franklin Park Performing Arts Center. Over 12,000 people attended the event. It was a lot of fun but wow, what a lot of work.

In 2005, it was founding and directing Black Out 2005, a Virginia PAC that helped oust rightwing whack job Dick Black.

Okay, got a blog post up. Back to working on Hands!

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We have learned a few things from the Republican primary, but it raises even more questions:

Rigell, the Republican establishment candidate and presumptive nominee endorsed by Gov. McDonnell only had the full support of 40% of the Republican voters. Will the majority of Republicans who voted against him in the primary vote for him in the general election?

Loyola, the candidate officially endorsed by the board of the Hampton Roads Tea Party and the president of the Virginia Beach Taxpayers Alliance lost badly.  A low turnout primary election like this is supposed to favor highly-motivated activists like the Tea Party is supposed to be.  Only 9% of registered voters showed up at the polls, and only 27% of those voted for Loyola, a minority within a minority.

The Hampton Roads Tea Party reportedly has 825 individuals on facebook and 975 registered on their website, but their leader Hurd claims a total of  2,000 people on their mailing list.  There are about 1.7 million people in Hampton Roads and 498,434 registered voters in the 2nd district.  Even if all 2,000 of the people on their mailing list live in the 2nd district, they would represent only 0.4% of registered voters.  They make a lot of noise and get a lot of press attention, but they don’t seem to have nearly as much “clout” as they think they do.

Hurd said “We feel the Republican political machine in Hampton Roads needs to be defeated” (a quote I’m not going to let them forget).  What will they do now? Suck it up, reverse themselves and embrace Rigell, or vote for independent candidate Golden, or just stay home in November?

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There’s not much we can do about the fact that Councilman Bill DeSteph is a racist idiot except boot his ass out of office this November. In the meantime, we should insist that he be censured for use of City letterhead.

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This letter to the editor in today’s Virginian-Pilot (not available online yet) has state senator Frank Wagner pegged. Never have I seen an elected have more disdain for environmental regulation or environmentalists.

Republican turnabout

Republicans have said that “Big Government” environmental regulations burden business. We heard “drill, baby, drill” as their rallying cry and that offshore drilling was safe and the industry had safety measures and contingency plans.

After decades of bashing regulation of business, Republicans are suddenly demanding that Big Government step in and take control.

They are crying crocodile tears for the cameras about our environmental losses. Sorry, it doesn’t sound like concern but like hypocrisy. Why has this environmental disaster happened, and why can’t we stop it? Republicans need only look at their reflection in the shimmer of the oil floating atop the waters in the Gulf.

Christopher Prendergast, Williamsburg

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