Blue Virginia
The blog won't be blue until Virginia votes Democratic too.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Virginia News Roundup
Because there's always something new in the Old Dominion.
Kids are not dropping out of school (as much) in Prince William County. However, we still have a long way to go to ensure that all students receive a quality education.
Paying for that education and creating a highly trained workforce should be priority one for Virginia. At a conference yesterday, the Governor discussed the successes of his tax plan. (Here's an alternate write-up.) Education, the environment, and transportation should be the main beneficiaries of the budget surpuls, but we have to make sure that the Republicans don't waste the money on special interests.
In an attempt to focus the budget surplus on those wealthy special interests, Jerry Kilgore (R-Middle Ages) lines up his campaign team in his bid for Governor. In the words of our President, "Bring it on."
In news of the supernatural, Delegate Robert Marshall (R-13) declares his candicacy for office of god. (Scroll to the bottom.) Meanwhile, other more reasonable delegates talk about traffic, education, and mental health care at a Prince William town-hall meeting. Similiarly, at an earlier meeting, Delegate Marshall spent his time comparing being in a loving committed relationship to spending conterfeit money, while again, other more reasonable elected officials talked about education and transportation.
Delegate Marshall seems to spend his time in Richmond coming up with ways to put government officials in Doctor's offices, ripping apart the Constitution and its separation of powers , and protecting wealthy aristocrat's money. Why doesn't Delegate Marshall care about issues that are important to real Virginians? Here's his contact info. Drop him a line and find out.
Robert Marshall is bad for Virginia and America. I can't wait to send some money to the person who runs against him.
The Potomac News publishes some garbage. Short version: Red staters have values. Blue staters kill babies. Blue staters are like Europeans who are anti-Semites. Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah. Yeah, I think I've heard this one before, and it's still stupid. Why won't the liberal media censor this guy?
And, because I can't end on the lunacy of the last article, here's a very good fund for needy families in the Richmond area. If you have some extra money this Holiday Season, consider sending them a donation.
- posted by Doug R @ 8:08 AM 4 comments
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Virginia News Roundup
In pursuit of the continuing saga of Virginian news -
Gov. Warner announced his Healthy Virginians program at the University of Virginia. The nation's health care problems will not be solved until preventative care becomes the focus of our system. This is a good first step taken by the Governor. The original press release is here.
On the other hand, The Virginian-Pilot calls out the Republicans for being the irresponsible party of spending and more spending. These fat cats are not Healthy Virginians.
The Charlottesville Daily Progress believes that Virginia has a long way to go to provide proper services to mentally ill citizens. Meanwhile, Phi Delta Kappa believes that Charlottesvill area schools have a long way to go to close the achievement gap.
Here's a report of what happened when some state representatives visited a school for a day.
Continuing on a theme from yesterday, the Star-Exponent publishes a nice piece of anti-immigrant resentment.
And speaking of narrowminded resentment, Did you know that the only reason Enron was able to abuse the American Public was because the Ten Commandments were not hanging on the wall of Ken Lay's elementary school? Read it here. Also, did you know that Christians are persecuted because two small Maryland schools have decided not to pound it into students' heads that the original Thanksgiving had some religious meaning? Read it here. Sorry to say it again, but as long as this type of opinion gets published unchallenged in minor papers, Democrats will face an uphill struggle among rural, small town, and exurban voters.
Oh, and if that wasn't enough, one of Virginia's "favorite" son's will be hosting Crossfire this evening. And they tell me that the press has a liberal bias. And they tell me that somehow this story is worth print in a newspaper.
As the holiday season approaches, many soldiers/sailors and their families are in need. This article has links to places where you can help. Be a good Dem and support the troops in a meaningful way.
- posted by Doug R @ 8:36 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Virginia News Roundup
Welcome to the second day of the Virginia News Roundup.
Several members of the House of Delegates will be holding town hall meetings tonight and tomorrow . Locations are available through the link. Please go support your local Dems. Also, your reps might might like to know what you'd like to do with a $1 billion surplus before it goes to various Republican special interests. Ask the delegates to stand firm and protect Virginia's future.
In other election news, delegates at the Farm Bureau Federation Convention were told that rural voters are important swing voters in Virginia. Although as Northern Virginia grows, turnout of Democrats in Arlington, Alexandria, and Fairfax counties will become increasingly more important, the strength of rural voters in Virginia can not be denied. The story illustrates why Democrats need to be organized and active in every county in the state. It shouldn't be the case that people do not hear the Democratic messages of Freedom, Oppurtunity, and Progress just because they own a farm.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch has an interview with Jean Jensen the Secretary of the Virginia Board of Elections.
The trials for 11 day laborers arrested for loitering were postponed in Prince William county. The use of migrant labor has beomce an issue in communities all across America. This documentary from PBS highlights the struggles of one Long Island town as it adjusts to the changes brought by immigration.
Another reson why Virginia needs a Democratic Legislature - Chessapeake Bay's health is given a "D". Democrats protect the environment for our use and our children's health. Republicans protect wealthy special interests.
And for the second day, a sad ending to the news. A funeral was held for a Dale City soldier killed in Iraq. Again, our deepest sympathy goes out to this young man's family and friends.
- posted by Doug R @ 8:04 AM 0 comments
Monday, November 29, 2004
Virginia News Round-up
Welcome to the first of a daily series of Virginia news round-ups. I will be scouring the state papers to find articles of interest to post here. Typically they will deal with either Virginia issues or Virginia candidates. I will also try to include interesting editorials, so that we can examine where the newspapers are trying to lead discussion around the state.
First though, a national article, that points out how our Fearless President's "man-date" is actually very small indeed, as a poll shows a solid majority of Americans are in favor of keeping the government out of our doctors' offices.
The Bristol Herald Courier is also interested in federal health policy, as they would like to see the FDA strengthened. It's a shame that this won't happen since George W is in the back pocket of special interests.
Speaking of "man-dates", here's a wildly unfocused and unedited piece about something. When we don't run candidates and organize county parties, this is what ends up passing for political discussion.
The Virginian-Pilot carries an excellent discussion ( Part 1 & Part 2) about the estimated 20% of prison inmates with mental illnesses. What has compassionate conservatism done for you lately?
On the other hand, the Virginian-Pilot would also rather editorialize about how it's better to cut property taxes for wealthy landowners than have any real discussion about how wages have stagnated under the Bush administration.
The Lynchburg News Advance notices the monsterous Bush trade deficit and admonishes people to shop at Target as instead of Walmart. Good advice, but consumers should usually be expected to shop where they get the best bargains. A discussion of how good government can protect us from biting off our own hands might be useful too.
VA Republicans endorse an Attorney General candidate who opposes freedom and opportunity for all Virginians. Good for them. I'll be highlighting the candidates as the site and election cycle progresses.
Not related to politics, but yet interesting, Martinsville is planning to have pineapples in the streets.
And finally, a reminder of the somber reality of today's world, memorial services were held this weekend for soldiers from Martinsville and Charlottesville who were recently killed in Iraq. We send our sympathy to their families and friends.
- posted by Doug R @ 8:39 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Site Update
There has been some major reworking of the site layout. Hopefully it is appreciated. Links to many of the state elected officials and county parties have been added on the left. Links to many of the state news agencies, as well as other resources have been added to the right. These links will be continually updated and reworked as the election season progresses. If there are other resources that you might deem necessary, please comment.
Content posts should begin later today. If not, Happy Thanksgiving.
- posted by BlueVirginia @ 11:23 AM 0 comments
Thursday, November 18, 2004
A Blog For Virginia
Hi all. This is the first posting on the new Blue Virginia Blog.
At a recent meeting of Northern Virginia Kerry/Edwards volunteers, we decided that we did not want to lose the energy we tapped in the fall of '04. We wanted to continue to work hard to elect Virginia Democrats to state and federal offices. We knew that in order to be effective, we had to stay connected. This blog will be one of the ways in which we can remain informed and involved with Virginia politics.
Check back here very often. We will be updating this site several times per day, with Virginia news, candidate information, event details, meeting times and places, volunteer/fundraising opportunities, and hopefully lots else.
We all worked hard for our Democratic Values in '04. The Northern Virginia Democratic Volunteer Staff was a powerful and inspiring force. We did an amazing job reaching thousands of new voters, but unfortunately, we fell a bit short at the national level. With continued hard work, we can (and will) turn Virginia blue in '05, '06, '08, and beyond.
P.S. After this post I'll work under my own name (Doug), and Blue Virginia will return to the site management name.
- posted by BlueVirginia @ 2:46 PM 1 comments
