Yearly Archives: 2012

The following statement is from State Senator Janet Howell (D-32nd district). I'm very happy to see this, as Helen Dragas clearly needs to be removed from the UVA Board of Visitors for incompetence and for damaging the great university she claims to care about. I urge EVERY Democratic member of the General Assembly to join with Sen. Howell on this!

One of the responsibilities of the legislature is to confirm appointments by the Governor.  As the ranking member of the Privileges and Elections Committee, I have a heightened responsibility. My usual approach is to support any governor's selections unless the appointee has a conflict of interest or refuses to fill out required paperwork.

This year we face confirmation of Helen Dragas for a second term on the University of Virginia Board of Visitors. She does not have any conflict of interest and she is willing to fill out the paperwork.  Nonetheless, I will be actively opposing her reappointment  for the following reasons:

• *The University of Virginia has a culture of self governance and democratic process.  The Rector's actions were not in the spirit of that culture. The decision to remove President Sullivan was made without any transparency or full debate and, thus, was  out of line with the principles established by Mr. Jefferson when he founded this flagship university. The decision to remove President Sullivan was made without an in person meeting and vote by the full Board of Visitors. Rather, Rector Dragas solicited support in individual phone calls with Board members.  To this day,  information has not been forthcoming that would meet the standards for removal of the President.
• President Sullivan  had been hired with much acclaim only eighteen months earlier. Dissatisfaction with her leadership had never been discussed in official Board meetings or with her, with the result that the President was  blindsided when  Rector Dragas told her  she had sufficient votes of Board members for her removal.

The following statement is from State Senator Ralph Northam, a Democratic candidate for Virginia Lieutenant Governor.

Statement from the Office of Senator Ralph Northam on the Tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary and Governor McDonnell's Suggestion to Arm Teachers

"As a children's doctor, U.S. Army veteran, State Senator, and father of two, I have spent my entire professional and public life in the service of our children. In the wake of last week's senseless tragedy in Connecticut, it is painfully clear that we need to do more to protect the most vulnerable among us. If we can't keep our children safe, we are failing. We must reverse the cultural trends that desensitize our youth to violence. We must develop our mental health capabilities to identify and offer assistance to those at risk. And we absolutely must keep guns out of the hands of those who would use them for evil.

Instead of looking for common sense policies that help safeguard Virginians, Governor McDonnell has suggested an irresponsible approach that is wrong for Virginia. Guns don't belong in Virginia's schools, period. Our teachers are there to inspire, educate, and support our students, and we should be offering them more resources to do their job, not piling on the additional and grave responsibility of doubling as law enforcement.  As we struggle to understand how we as a culture are continuing to see these mass murders, putting additional guns into our schools not only increases the danger to our students but also sends the wrong message.

To make matters worse, the Governor's budget has recommended an additional $1.5 million in cuts to our already overextended mental health system. We know from the tragedies at Virginia Tech and Newtown, Connecticut, that proper mental health treatment is essential to public safety. Governor McDonnell is jeopardizing our state's ability to identify those at risk and get them the health care they need in a time when it is devastatingly clear we need to be doing more, not less.  I plan to go to Richmond this session to fight for common sense proposals that will protect our children, our schools and our Commonwealth. I can only hope the McDonnell-Cuccinelli administration will join us."

Paul Krugman nails it.

...all of a sudden it's feeling a lot like 2011 again, with the president negotiating with himself while the other side enjoys the process.

So Obama needs to draw a line right now: no further concessions. None. He's already given too much.

Yes, this probably means going over the cliff. So be it: it's less bad than the alternative.

My feelings exactly. The only thing I'd add is this: President Obama, we worked our butts off to reelect you, we had your back when you needed it, now it's time for you to have OUR backs and not back down to Republican extortion, bad-faith dealing, and hare-brained ideas, especially when you have all the leverage. Thank you.

As State Senator Mark Herring explains, the bottom line is that it doesn't appear possible that "uranium mining can be conducted in Southside Virginia in a safe and environmentally responsible way." In the absence of that safety and environmental responsibility, the clear answer on this issue is not just "no" but "hell no." Oh, and as an added bonus, all that money Virginia Uranium spent trying to persuade Virginia lawmakers to give them the green light (e.g., flying them on a boondoggle to France) does not appear to have paid off. So sad, boo hoo. :)

HERRING ANNOUNCES OPPOSITION TO LIFTING BAN ON URANIUM MINING

~ Will offer budget amendment to prohibit state funds from being used to circumvent the ban~

Leesburg - Democratic candidate for Attorney General State Senator Mark Herring (Loudoun & Fairfax) released the following statement today announcing his opposition to legislation that would lift the ban on uranium mining and milling in Virginia:

"Over the past year, I've had the opportunity to meet with interested stakeholders on both sides of the debate over whether to end the ban on uranium mining and milling in Virginia.  I have carefully considered their positions, as well as the scientific evidence, and I have concluded that ending the ban on uranium mining and milling is not the right course for our Commonwealth.

Therefore, I will oppose legislation during the upcoming 2013 General Assembly session that would lift the ban. Additionally, I plan to introduce budget language that would prohibit any state funding from being used to promulgate regulations designed to circumvent the ban.

The Governor should not be using taxpayer dollars and staff resources to create the regulatory framework for uranium mining, which is currently prohibited by state law.

The health and safety of the public, and of the environment, should be of paramount concern when considering issues such as this and I am simply not convinced that uranium mining can be conducted in Southside Virginia in a safe and environmentally responsible way. I take very seriously the concerns raised by citizens, business leaders and local officials in both Southside and Hampton Roads who have expressed to me their fears with regard to the potential for negative public health impacts, particularly water supply contamination.

I look forward to working with those same citizens, business leaders and local officials on ways we can improve and expand economic opportunity in Southside and diversify Virginia's portfolio of domestic energy resources."

Here are a few Virginia (and national) news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, December 19.

*Gun trade faces challenges to financial, political power
*After Newtown, beating the NRA at its own game (How about we all invest our values by putting our money in companies we believe in, not just financially?)
*Biden to oversee White House effort to reduce gun violence
*Boehner veers off bipartisan course with 'Plan B,' shaking up talks
*A rough 24 hours for the White House (What I don't understand is this: the White House had the Republicans in checkmate - game over. So why let them back in the game? The bottom line is that President Obama and the Democrats have all the leverage; no need to offer dumb concessions, especially ones that hurt Social Security recipients or impose austerity. Just really REALLY bad negotiating. Hello? Haven't you guys learned anything from the 1st term?!?)
*Eric Cantor plays loyal lieutenant to Boehner (If Can'tor had done that the last time Boehner was in serious budget/debt negotiations with President Obama, Republicans would have ended up with a better deal - from their bizarre harsh perspective, anyway - than they're about to get now. Brilliant Can'tor!)
*Neocons push against Chuck Hagel (Personally, I think Hagel's a good man, I just think we should have a Democrat as Defense Secretary, as there are many good ones available. Also, Hagel has a right-wing, anti-LGBT, anti-environmental voting record. Why pick him exactly?)
*McDonnell suggests a discussion of arming school officials (Brilliant, huh? Of course, the Newtown shooter's mother was armed to the teeth, and she still got murdered - by her own gun, surprise surprise.)
*McDonnell, O'Malley take opposing sides in response to Newtown shootings
*Survivors of Va. Tech tragedy share pain, send love
*Record day for Va. gun transactions after school shootings
*Editorial: Governor has teachers where he wants them ("After starving Virginia's public schools, Gov. McDonnell tosses them a few crumbs. Next, he'll seek to divert some of their funding to roads.")
*Editorial: Scrooge lives, unrepentant ("An uncharitable remark from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli gets a response from Catholic bishops.")
*Schapiro: For McDonnell, uranium issue political and personal
*A start toward saving menhaden (Long overdue...)
*Legal battle with Virginia cost airports authority $1.5 million
*Hester sweeps to victory in special Va. House election (Congratulations!)
*Some top MWAA officials got big raises in 2012 (Big raises for running a corrupt cesspool of an agency? Nice.)
*Mike Shanahan can coach football - who knew? (Yep, when the 'Skins were losing, Shanahan was an idiot. Now that they're winning, he's a genius. Gotta love sportswriters.)

The time is long past.  Dump it.  We got rid of slavery, gave women the vote and a host of other things that were fine at the end of the 1700's but in our world today are not.

Times and technology change.  We must change with them.

The Revolution was fresh in America's mind and I think the intent was to make sure if those evil Brits came again we would take less time to rearm.  Turns out now we have 2.9 million uniformed people in the military, and we could probably take the Brits easily.  

Seems to me our obscene nuclear arsenal would trump any flint locks.

You want to own a gun, any kind of gun - state your reason and register it.  Period.

In the wake of Newtown -- and now with No Jobs Bob McDonnell proposing we arm teachers and principals -- we need to deal with an NRA lie that is ripping around the 'net at the speed of light.

And that lie is that Israeli teachers are armed.  It's a lie.

Here's a link to an article by an Israeli who lays waste to this lie.  He also gives details on gun control laws in Israel, where very few people own firearms.

Read the article and be prepared for your rightwingnutjobs friends when they start the "Israeli teachers are armed" nonsense.

http://messiahsmandate.org/are...

There is a picture going around the Internet that I have seen about a dozen times today that claims that Israeli teachers are packing heat. Well, are they? The answer is "NO." There may be some exceptions in dangerous areas like the West Bank (where five percent of Israelis live), but in general, Israeli teachers are not walking around like it's the Wild Wild West, strapped with a six shooter. No, our teachers are not focused on shooting, but educating. That doesn't mean, however, that we don't protect young students.

by Paul Goldman

I think it is time for ProgressVA, Lowell, and others to be honest: There is unassailable, mathematical logic behind the governor wanting to arm school personnel to prevent another Newtown. True, he only said he thought the idea of arming school personnel should be a topic for discussion. But as a general rule, governors don't attach their names to ideas they feel have little merit.

TIME FOR PROGRESSVA, LOWELL AND OTHERS TO ADMIT IT: THE GOVERNOR'S SUGGESTION IS BASE ON INDISPUTABLE LOGIC.

Consider: If someone at Sandy Hook had been armed, he or she would have had a chance at stopping the Newtown murders that was self-evidentally not available to the unarmed school personnel, who apparently confronted the killer only to lose their lives.

SO: The Governor has his point and his detractors need to concede it.

INDEED: The Governor's logic proves also that if there were 2 people at every school armed and trained to stop a murder-minded intruder, this would DOUBLE THE CHANCE of stopping the murderous intruder. Did the Governor really have to spell that out to folks with graduate degrees?  

INDEED PLUS: Taking the Governor's logic further, having 10 people armed and trained at stopping a murder-minded intruder would provide 10 TIMES the chance of stopping any killing spree than just having one. Surely even a liberal gun control freak would concede this math.

Remember squandering $126 million in federal unemployment money from recovery funding? Yesterday McDonnell proposed stripping $1 billion from the 2012-14 budget adopted by the General Assembly; federal dollars earmarked to provide health insurance for 400,000 low-income Virginians during implementation of the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion.

"The Governor's removal of $1 billion for health care hurts not only uninsured Virginians, but also Virginia's hospitals and the overall economy." - Jill Hanken, Virginia Poverty Law Center

"The infusion of $1 billion into Virginia's economy was expected to support 30,000 jobs throughout the state," Hanken said. "Does the Governor truly support job creation?  If so, he should support the Medicaid expansion, which would bring billions of federal dollars into Virginia's economy over many years."

The Affordable Care Act raises the national income eligibility level for Medicaid to 138 percent of the federal poverty line. Many of the people covered under the expansion are working poor, with annual incomes of about $15,000 for a single person and $32,000 for a family of four. In June, the Supreme Court decided states could not be forced to expand Medicaid, making the increase in eligibility a state option. Hanken said most states will probably expand their programs, because the ACA calls for the federal government to fund 100 percent of the cost for the first three years and then phase down to no less than 90 percent of the cost in 2020.

But McDonnell's rejection of a program that would infuse $6 billion into the economy through 2017 means Virginians' federal tax dollars will not return to the commonwealth. "Virginia's Medicaid eligibility levels for adults are nearly the worst in the country," Hanken said.  "Why should our federal tax dollars go to other states when there is so much need here?"

Hanken believes the General Assembly will recognize that the Governor's rejection of billions of dollars for Virginia's citizens and the health care industry is unwise and shortsighted.

The following is from Progress Virginia. Bottom line: Bob McDonnell is completely off the deep end, yet AGAIN disproving any pretense of being a "moderate." Wow.

P.S. McDonnell reminds me of Republican Keith Fimian, who lost an election (to Gerry Connolly in 2010) after saying publicly, "I think at Virginia Tech, if one of those kids in one of those classrooms was packing heat, I think it would not have happened." Apparently, that's always the answer from Republicans: turn our schools into armed fortresses and prison camps. Great vision for a free society, huh?

P.P.S. Oh, and to make matters even worse, McDonnell also wants to slash funding for mental health services. Wow, can you come up with any WORSE a combination of proposed policies than the ones McDonnell's proposing?

Governor McDonnell calls for consideration of arming teachers and principals

In response to questions about the horrific tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary on his "Ask the Governor" segment on WTOP Radio this morning, Governor Bob McDonnell suggested Virginia arm teachers, principals, and other school staff. Yesterday, when asked about the tragedy, the Governor said it was "way to early" to being talking about new gun policies. For audio of the exchange, click here. 

"One of the reasons this tragedy has hit us so hard is because in America we hold our schools sacred as safe places for learning, opportunity, growth," said ProgressVA Executive Director Anna Scholl. "There is just no reason for there to be guns in schools. Period. Instead of forcing our teachers to carry weapons and our children to live in fear every day, we should let them focus on teaching and learning and demand that our leaders worry about keeping dangerous weapons off the streets and out of the hands of criminals."

Contrary to assertions by the National Rifle Association and their allies, the evidence shows more guns equal more deaths and more tragedy. Nearly ninety percent of NRA members -- actual gun owners -- agree that support for Second Amendment rights goes hand-in-hand with keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. 34 Americans are murdered with guns every day. 

Our leaders have watched the bloodshed for years without taking any of the common sense steps that we know will reduce gun violence -- requiring a criminal background check for every sale; banning military-style assault weapons and high-cap magazines; and making gun trafficking a federal crime. These are the kinds of steps Americans have been clamoring for leadership on, and this is what our leaders should do now. 

Federal law doesn't currently require a background check for private gun sales at places like gun shows or over the internet -- which account for forty percent of sales. Eighty percent of inmates surveyed got their guns through private transfers.  According to law enforcement, closing this loophole is the single most important thing to do start saving lives. One quarter of gun crimes and one third of police murders involve high capacity magazines.  

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ProgressVA is a multi-issue advocacy organization communicating progressive values across the Commonwealth. We engage citizens around issues of immediate state and local concern. www.ProgressVA.org