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The Cooch Who Stole Ethics

By
Elaine in Roanoke
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0

Because Ken Cuccinelli failed to report his ownership of stock in Star Scientific in a timely way and also failed to report thousands of dollars worth of gifts he received from Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams, people have raised questions  about whether he followed the  conflict of interest rules of professional conduct set forth by the Virginia State Bar, which states, “[a] lawyer shall not accept employment if the exercise of his professional judgment on behalf of his client may be affected by his own financial, business, property, or personal interests, except with the consent of his client after full and adequate disclosure under the circumstances.”

Cuccinelli is the elected lawyer representing the State of Virginia. The question becomes, “Can Cuccinelli represent his client (Virginia) while he owns stock in Star Scientific, the company being sued by his client (Virginia) for failure to pay taxes owed by Star Scientific, when he failed to disclose his ownership stake in Star Scientific in a timely fashion?”

The whole scandal is made even worse because the attorney general’s office is the vehicle that would give Virginia’s consent to his representing it. In other words, until he recused his office from the tax case because of public pressure, he was able to give himself consent to stay on the case! It’s the potential for blatant corruption like this that caused even ethically-devoid Bob McDonnell to resign as attorney general when he accepted the Republican nomination to run for governor. We don’t yet know exactly what the FBI may be investigating concerning Star Scientific, Bob McDonnell, and Ken Cuccinelli. However, this we know. No matter how his actions get white-washed or played down, Cuccinelli has shown himself to be a man without professional ethics.

 

Heck, even if someone accepts his version of the part he has played in the” Jonnie-gate” gift scandal, his incomplete memory of recent events means he doesn’t have the mental capacity required to hold public office. I certainly know that I would remember all $18,000 I got as loot from someone trying to curry favor with me. I wouldn’t “forget” over $5,000 worth. I also wouldn’t take almost a year to refer a reported gift scandal involving the governor’s mansion to a prosecutor, especially if I owned stock in the company being accused of buying gubernatorial access…not if I wanted to ever run for office again. Cuccinelli can’t separate himself from the McDonnell-Williams corruption. He’s part and parcel of it.

Virginia News Headlines: Sunday Morning

By
lowkell
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12

Here are a few Virginia (and national) news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, July 14.

*Zimmerman found not guilty (Bottom line: in Florida, you can drive around with a gun, stalk a teenager doing absolutely nothing wrong, disobey police advice that they don’t need you to be doing that, get OUT of your vehicle to confront that teenager, get into an altercation with that teenager – whoever “started” it at that point – and then shoot to death said teenager. That is totally FUBAR on all levels.)

*Most disgusting reactions to Zimmerman acquittal (“Conservatives celebrate, race-bait and taunt in the wake of news that Trayvon Martin’s killer will walk free”)

*Zimmerman not guilty, but ALEC sure as hell is (ALEC is evil in so many ways, it’s hard to know where to start.)

*Today’s top opinion: Present danger (“The shockingly poor judgment exhibited by Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, in accepting – and sometimes soliciting – lavish gifts from benefactor Jonnie Williams has elicited calls for tougher rules on political giving.”)

*Schapiro: Even McDonnell’s friends bracing for the worst (“McDonnell’s situation is made worse by Cuccinelli. He, too, is stuck in the briar patch that is Jonnie Williams Sr. and Star Scientific. Cuccinelli’s effort to distance himself from McDonnell achieves the wrong objectives. It magnifies their shared humiliation. It is a reminder Cuccinelli is better at sticking it to McDonnell than sticking with him.”)

*Warner: Furloughs Have NoVA Choosing to ‘Pay for Groceries or Childcare’

*Va.’s first lady Maureen McDonnell plays central role in gift scandal (“An investigation of gifts to the state’s first family has put her in an unflattering light.”)

*McDonnell’s defenders can’t blame gifts scandal on his wife anymore (As far as I can tell, the only ones defending McDonnell are those paid to do so.)

*Scandal leaves Gov. McDonnell’s political future in doubt (There’s no doubt at all: he has no political future, nor should he based on his record and his scandals. And nor should Cuccinelli, who’s tied to the same slimeball, Jonnie Williams, and whose office has been AWOL – or worse – while the Governor’s Mansion burned.)

*Maureen McDonnell in harsh spotlight (“Staff members have said there is a hostile work environment at the Executive Mansion, and Maureen McDonnell has been caught up in controversy surrounding her daughter’s wedding.”)

*Real estate ventures of Bob McDonnell, wife, hit by recession (“The governor’s family has been refinancing and taking loans, some from donor Jonnie Williams, whose role in the wedding of the McDonnells’ daughter has sparked controversy.”)

*Notes from the Capitol: Gift scandal again overtakes governor’s race

*AG Candidate Herring in Town to Rally Supporters

*Family, friends mourn kayaker Shannon Christy (“Experienced kayaker drowned in Great Falls rapids on Potomac River on Thursday”)

*Road fund detour ahead?

*Could the Bi-County Parkway revive Dulles?

*D.C. area forecast: Get ready to bake under our Bermuda High

*Nationals blow ninth-inning lead, fall to Marlins, 2-1, as Bryce Harper is ejected (To put it mildly…not good. Huge mistake by Harper, you just can’t do that.)

Del. Surovell Calls on Gov. McDonnell to Resign, Implies Impeachment

By
lowkell
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4

Add Del. Scott Surovell to the growing list of Virginia legislators – all Democrats, so far – calling on Bob McDonnell to resign. Del. Surovell goes a bit further, strongly implying that if McDonnell won’t resign, then impeachment proceedings (Surovell euphemistically calls them “other measures”) would be in order.

The legislative branch has a sworn independent responsibility to address corruption and malfeasance when we see them independent of criminal investigations. As Senator Chap Petersen said two weeks ago, silence implies acquiescence, and I cannot continue to stand silently. It’s time for Governor Robert McDonnell to resign so the Commonwealth can continue its focus on improving the lives of its citizens, and he can shift his focus to resolving his family’s mounting legal problems.  

It’s also time for other members of the legislature to remember their oath to the Virginians they represent and speak up as well. If he has not resigned by the end of this week, then other measures should be on the table.

So now, the question is, how long are Virginia Republicans going to allow this situation to go on? Which prominent Virginia Republican elected official will be the first to say “enough’s enough?” From what I’m hearing, they’re getting increasingly concerned that Bob McDonnell’s large and growing corruption scandal could deep-six the Republican Gov/LG/AG ticket. If that happens, of course, it’s likely that Republicans will lose seats in the House of Delegates as well. Clearly, Camp Cuccinelli would like McDonnell gone, but they haven’t had the cojones to say so directly. However, with a live-streamed debate scheduled for next Saturday, and with questions about the scandals sure to dominate, it’s hard to see how they allow this to go on much longer…

Adjust your State, Local and Federal Settings

By
mrollando
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0

That’s what my radio boss says to me every time sloppy anchoring, new intern, I or severe thunderstorms weird out station computers.  He enters studio, deftly guides the mouse, and with a correcting click, says, “It’s just a setting, Marcello.”

Life, Liberty, Happiness, Justice, Equality, indeed America too, are settings needing periodic adjusting.

In the 777 crash aftermath setting, male owners muscled in manipulation that their flying machine was magnificently missing malfunction, while media men settled for which finger to point with malice aforethought.

However, in a reality setting, National Transportation Safety Board, Chairman Deborah Hersman, led by example of balanced, calm, precise, factual reporting.  Man, just imagine if media men like Matt could immolate that “Today” or during any afternoon or evening TV glitz and radio blitz.

Setting an American Independence extension, women of all ages, colors, shapes and dress sizes journeyed the extra miles from many different states, formulating a Chicago gender union of ideas, generations and negotiations.

Their many paths to Constitutional equality intersected at Justice for All, Equal Pay for equal work and Equal Protection, because women matter and NOW with treaty power, they’re determined to adjust America’s setting to 21st century global reality.

Like Adams, Franklin and Jefferson’s Independence Hall, the Women’s National Convention was a setting with international repercussions, reputations, resolutions and reparations:  CEDAW, Council for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

The adjustment setting:  different women with differing opinions and agenda, continuing our revolution, but set this time around, to include equal rights, pay and protection for both genders.

Since ‘all men were created equal,’ equality for women, ‘left behind,’ was set on an evolutionary revolution through two centuries, to reveal and fulfill a nation’s under defined historical spaces.

NOW, we have Women Matter, Use Your Power and “The Women’s Treaty,” signed by 187 countries, but still missing signatures of Iran, Sudan, Somalia, and the “Sweet Land of Liberty.”

Congress rejects international humanitarian treaties, because being global team player is not for a standalone gun toting independent killing machine – but Game, Set, Match:  The Women’s Treaty requires all signing countries have a Constitutional setting with an equality clause.

Oops – Being the Beacon of “with Liberty and Justice for all” does snag on the snare of hypocrisy.

Not to worry, with only sixty-seven U. S. Senators voting to sign CEDAW, America could clone China who signed and still treats its female population like second class citizens.  Hey, at least we wouldn’t be caught preaching, ‘do as I say, not as I do.’

Whether “Three State Strategy” or move to remove North Carolina Senator Sam Ervin’s ratification obituary deadline, or States like Virginia whose state constitution favor ERA, but who won’t ratify a national ERA, or New York’s plan to go back to “go” without passing, and start all over again, America’s setting needs adjusting.

Game Set:  In April 2013, in ‘The Mother of American Presidents,’ twenty-something female UVa students leaving a grocery store at 10pm, with a case of bottled water were accosted by plain clothes State liquor ABC Agents.

Terrified in their vehicle, the students called 911 and when told the men were indeed agents of the state, they surrendered, water and all.

When State & 911 boys will be condescending boys, the setting for women that April night was, arrest, handcuffs, felony charges and a night in jail, over bottled water mistaken for a case of beer.  Even with charges dropped, lives were changed.

Equal Rights for all, is our most important American setting, and we’re neglecting it.  Truth is, ‘Women Matter!’  NOW, share your power with your daughters and wives — adjust our Constitutional setting.

Virginia: Be Forewarned How Quickly and Severely a State Can Go Down the Tubes

By
KathyinBlacksburg
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5

I didn’t move to North Carolina for its politics. But I must confess it was one of the things that buoyed me as I prepared to leave Virginia after 30 years to be nearer to family. Despite the recent win of the GOP in the General Assembly (GA), North Carolina was still a progressive state.  And we had a Democratic governor. A little over a year ago, it was unthinkable that NC would surrender its entire progressive list of 20th and 21st century accomplishments. But thanks to an extreme Texas-style gerrymander, which suppressed the representation of Democrats, what the majority in North Carolina want no longer matters. The Tea Party took over in 2008 and grabbed even more seats in 2012. And so the North Carolina GA began to march in lock step with states like Wisconsin and Texas.

Meanwhile, the North Carolina legislature acts daily at the behest of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) bill mill. Though ALEC-driven look-alike legislation has appeared in numerous states, NC is a new experiment on how quickly and extremely the GA can force a Koch-friendly Tea Party state. How hard can it be with Koch buddy and fellow Americans for Prosperity funder, Art Pope, sitting as the state’s budget director? Pope and the network of state and national PACs and non-profits was the biggest factor in the GOP win.  And now there he sits, pulling the budgetary strings.

There’s much more below the fold…

* It drove the first nail in the coffin of its Racial Justice Law, which afforded minorities the chance to prove racial discrimination led to their convictions/sentences in death row cases.

* It passed vote suppression rules to make it more difficult to vote including the voter ID bill vetoed by former Gov Perdue.

*But now it didn’t just add voter ID.  It went further and began eliminating early voting, a really progressive approach to voting, which assured that everyone even those working at hourly jobs, or those suddenly unable (sickness, family emergency, etc) to vote on the one day allotted for elections, could find a time to cast his or her vote. Early voting also provided some protection against employers who try to prevent workers from voting. This was a problem in 2012. This issue may seem strange to Virginians, but there is a better way to run elections. It’s just that NC, which was once a leader in election reform, is now eliminating those better ways. More on this in a separate diary.

*It created a Texas-style gerrymander that assured that when more votes are cast for Democrats than Republicans, Democrats still loose. So the GOP has locked-in the future, unless we fight back and get everyone not currently voting to register and vote for us.

*It banned gay marriage in NC.

* It then spitefully forbade even voluntary benefits by companies for gay spouses or partners.

* It upended the unemployed, cutting their benefits by 1/3 and refusing federal unemployment extensions.

* It gutted public education by enabling the mass transfer of much more education funding through vouchers to private, religious and for-profit schools.

*It laid off thousands of teachers.

*It began the revival of harsh anti-abortion measures.

*It enabled fracking to start two years hence. Here the shale formations actually protrude into the aquifer, thus almost certainly compromising drinking water, but the GA doesn’t care.

*They added a provision to a bill upending local control with regard to horizontal fracking or other desires of the state to control localities.

*It first attempted to gut and then delay the  Jordan Lake rules. It took nine years to put the rules in place and before they can have any effect, the GA wants to dilute them–all to help upstream polluters. Jordan lake is where 500,000 people (including yours truly) get their water.  But the GA wants polluters to have a free pass and pretend to “clean up” the lake after the fact using unproven “technology.”

*They also want horizontal frackers to be able to take our drinking water from the lake and use it for horizontal fracking. It takes approximately a million gallons of water per frack.

*The have set up rule writing for horizontal fracking that has no representation by citizen or environmental groups (every single appointment is tied to the industry). The circus of pretend regulation writing is astounding.

*It forbade the study of rising tides by the state’s scientists.

*It began an assault on educational curricula (inserting cursive writing rather than, say, science, back into tight school schedules).

*There was even an attempt by some fundamentalist legislators at establishing a state religion, which was fortunately shot down.

*More specifically, the GA appropriated the city of Asheville’s water system,

*The GA forced the city of Durham to not only approve a massive new subdivision in a neighboring county (making one want to follow the money), provide water and sewer, but also to force Durham to annex it.

*An attempt by the GA to hijack the decision-making power of the Wake County School Board and hand it to the County Commissioners failed.

I have probably left out something from this list. But you get the idea. Matters of state can turn into a nightmare really fast. And a Cuccinelli governorship is exactly the ticket for Virginia to be North Carolina’d.  Don’t go there.  

Virginia AG Ken Cuccinelli shuns questions related to the Bob McDonnell/Jonnie Williams affair

By
Progressive86
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2

Cross-posted from that paragon of journalism and reporting Richmond Progressive Examiner.

Some call it chutzpah. Some call it cojones. I like to call it arrogance on a massive judicial scale. I’m referring of course to Virginia’s Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli, and the manner in which he has continuously brushed aside real concerns expressed by Virginians about his ties to troubled Star Scientific CEO, Jonnie Williams.

Cuccinelli has stuck to a strategy of what I’ll call the “distracted voter conclusion” in the face of questions regarding his knowledge of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s extensive gift receipts from Jonnie Williams as well as his own gift receipts from Mr. Williams.

In one response, Cuccinelli decried, “More than anything it’s a distraction. I’m trying to run a race and we’re talking about jobs and the middle class here.” Who doesn’t agree that jobs and protecting Virginia’s middle class are among the highest policy issues in this campaign for Virginia’s governorship? But political corruption is also a big deal, as well.

The bottom-line is that Cuccinelli is making one of the biggest political mistakes any politician can make: ignoring a nuclear political issue that is mushrooming around involved politicians instead of addressing it head-on and putting it in the past. And with the election for Virginia governor scheduled in November, the sooner Cuccinelli can put the Star Scientific debacle behind him, the better it will be for his chances at victory.

With that said, I want Cuccinelli to win Virginia’s governorship about as much as I’d like to see Godzilla trample through the streets of Richmond. In fact, both events may cause equal damage to the city of Richmond and beyond!

Cuccinelli is the type of politician that lends his ear, his time, and his energy to well-established (and generous campaign donors) sector monopolists like Alpha Natural Resources who hand-craft ideas that Virginia’s attorney general can sell to the people of Virginia as his own. That is, Cuccinelli is a corporate tool, par excellence, who has fewer bright ideas than the Three Stooges.

Thus, not only is Cuccinelli insincere, arrogant, and a corporate tool, he’s not even shy about any of these personal attributes. I ask again, why would Virginia want an individual like this at the top of the executive food chain?  

Virginia News Headlines: Saturday Morning

By
lowkell
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6

Here are a few Virginia (and national) news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, July 13. Also see President Obama’s weekly address, which “discusses how a large, bipartisan majority in the Senate voted to pass comprehensive immigration reform, which would add a big boost to our economy, strengthen Social Security, and modernize our legal immigration system to make it more consistent with our value. He calls on Congress to pass this commonsense bill quickly so that we can fix our broken immigration system and keep America strong for years to come.”

*The GOP’s principled suicide (Kathleen Parker: “Republicans seem to be adopting the self-immolation tactics of principled martyrs. Of course, principled or not, you’re still dead in the end.”)

*You’re Allowed To Carry A Gun Into The Texas Senate Gallery, But Not A Tampon (Yep, it’s Republicans again. You can’t make this stuff up.)

*Zimmerman jury gets fragments pieced into a case (Bottom line: George Zimmerman followed Trayvon Martin around for no good reason, got out of his vehicle for no good reason – armed with a gun – then got in a fight and shot Trayvon to death. That has to be at LEAST manslaughter, right? Or is it open season for vigilantes/cop-wannabes in Florida?)

*Infighting by Syrian Rebels Undermines Their Efforts

*Snowden says he sees asylum in Russia as short-term fix (Ah, Russia, that bastion of freedom, liberty, and protections from abuses by their government. Not.)

*In new ad, Va. Dems attack Cuccinelli on women’s issues (And Cuccinelli has ZERO substantive response, just insults for Terry McAuliffe and faux “outrage” at how mean the Democrats are. And still, we’d all like to know, why didn’t he support the Violence Against Women Act, along with almost every other state Attorney General?!?)

*RGA may hit airwaves in Virginia governor race

*Richmond judge says Executive Mansion chef’s trial won’t be dismissed (“A Richmond judge on Friday rejected a bid by former Executive Mansion chef Todd Schneider to dismiss the felony embezzlement charges against him. Judge Margaret Spencer’s ruling clears the way for a politically explosive and potentially embarrassing October trial involving Gov. Bob McDonnell and the first family days before Virginians choose their next governor.”)

*Virginia Attorney General Nominee Obscures Long Record Of Anti-LGBT Discrimination

*Republican Ken Cuccinelli is no friend of Southwestern Virginians (“His latest tax cut proposal is regressive at best, by cutting aid to the coal-producing counties to give more tax relief to wealthy Virginians.”)

*PERSPECTIVE: Bolling in the shadows as McDonnell’s star plunges

*Virginia Ends Fiscal Year ’13 With Another Surplus (Thank you President Obama and the Democrats for saving us from Great Depression II and helping with the fiscal turnaround at the state level across the country!)

*Appeals court rejects lawsuit over health care law (“A unanimous panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday affirmed the dismissal of Liberty University’s challenge to the Affordable Care Act.”)

*Revenue surplus triggers raise for state workers

*Workers at Smithfield Foods are conflicted over Chinese buyout

*University of Virginia Board of Visitors gains three new members (“All three appointees are men who attended U-Va. for undergraduate or graduate school. At a time when the university is working to turn around its reputation as an elite, mostly white university that occasionally has a boys’ club feel, only four board members are women and only one represents a minority.”)

*Recycling arrives in downtown Norfolk

*Company proposes ambitious new development for Norfolk waterfront

*Residents squabble over barnyard birds living in urban backyards

*Stephen Strasburg pounded as Marlins keep Nationals skidding, 8-3

*Rain on the wane, heat on the rise

The Sadness Lingers

By
teacherken
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0

This post will be very different.

I am not going to quote anything from the piece to which I refer you.

I do not want to take anything out of context.

Nor do I wish to spoil the flow of what the writer has poured into it.

Charles M. Blow’s columns in the New York Times now appear twice a week, on Thursdays and on Saturdays.

Usually the evening before he puts up a link on Facebook and asks readers to “let me know what you think.”

He did so tonight, for this column, whose titled I have borrowed for this post.

I simply ask that you go read it.

Anything else you is a blessing, particularly if you help enable others to read it.

Peace.

Bob McDonnell’s Schedule, 7/13-7/19: No public events

By
lowkell
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0

One snarky friend emailed me to ask, “Smith Mountain Lake or one of the underwater vacation houses?” Hahaha. Anyway, Bob McDonnell's schedule definitely seems like an appropriate way for him to end his week from hell.

 

Commonwealth of Virginia

Office of Governor Bob McDonnell

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 12, 2013

 

Contact: Taylor Thornley Keeney

Phone: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

Public Schedule of Governor Bob McDonnell

Saturday, July 13, 2013 – Friday, July 19, 2013

 

 

The governor and family will be on vacation this week. He will have no public events.

Obenshain Tries to Rewrite His Anti-LGBT Views; Richmond Times-Dispatch Lets Him Get Away with It

By
lowkell
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0

( – promoted by lowkell)

It’s truly infuriating when the media simply acts as a stenographer for whatever politicians and candidates have to say. Isn’t one of the main “value added” aspects to having journalists their willingness to dig a little bit, to uncover and report on discrepancies, to ask tough follow-up questions, and to let their readers know when a politician is snowing them?  Sadly, as Josh Israel of ThinkProgress reports, that was NOT the case with a recent Richmond Times-Dispatch story on several statewide candidates’ positions regarding LGBT anti-discrimination policies.

In a statement, Obenshain told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that he supports Gov. Bob McDonnell’s directive against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in his administration…

…But Obenshain’s record does not match that claim.  Though a bipartisan super-majority of state Senators and Delegates in 2005 signed statements averring that they would not personally discriminate in employment decisions on the basis of sexual orientation, he declined to do so. Eight years later, he has still never taken this simple step.

In 2010, and again this year Obenshain voted against bills that would have codified this policy and officially banned discrimination against LGBT people in public employment in Virginia.

Obenshain explained his vote, claiming legal protections against LGBT discrimination would give “an avenue for filing lawsuits and grievances for perceived slights or for no perceived slight at all.” He later opined that it is employers who choose to discriminate – rather than their LGBT employees – who need to be protected.

Then, just this past January, Obenshain walked out of the State Senate, rather than vote on the nomination of openly-gay judge Tracy Thorne-Begland.

Does this sounds like a guy who, as he claims, has “been clear that discriminatory employment practices on any irrelevant basis should not be tolerated in Virginia.” Or, far more likely, is Mark Obenshain simply saying whatever he thinks will help him get elected? Remember, Virginia is now a state where a majority now support same-sex marriage, and an overwhelming majority supports protections against anti-LGBT bias on the job. But not Mark Obenshain, who continues in his far-outside-the-mainstream views on LGBT equality (and so many other issues), as part of a statewide GOP ticket with two like-minded anti-LGBT running mates. Which means that in November, there’s only one thing for us to do: make sure that NONE of these guys gets elected.

P.S. Click on the image above to view two of Mark Obenshain’s anti-LGBT votes.

P.P.S. An Equality Virginia pledge Obenshain refused to sign read, “The sexual orientation and/or gender identity or expression of an

individual is not a consideration in the hiring, promoting, or terminating of an employee in my office.” Wow, pretty radical huh? LOL

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