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Heritage Foundation Anti-Immigration Study Coauthor: Some Races More Intelligent Than Others

By
lowkell
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0

Why is this not surprising?

A co-author of the Heritage Foundation’s new immigration report, which right-wing media have hyped despite even conservative criticism about its methodology, has long promoted inflammatory theories about the relationship between race and IQ in Hispanic immigrants, an unsurprising fact given his ties to extremist anti-immigrant organizations.

Dylan Matthews of The Washington Post‘s Wonkblog reported that Jason Richwine, a co-author of the Heritage report, asserts in his 2009 doctoral dissertation titled “IQ and Immigration Policy” that “there are deep-set differentials in intelligence between races.”

That’s right: according to Mr. Richwine, “No one knows whether Hispanics will ever reach IQ parity with whites, but the prediction that new Hispanic immigrants will have low-IQ children and grandchildren is difficult to argue against.” For good measure, Richwine adds, “the totality of the evidence suggests a genetic component to group differences in IQ.” Of course, this is overwhelmingly a bunch of pseudo-scientific drivel (hard to say if the guy’s a racist, but it sure doesn’t give me a warm and fuzzy feeling…).

Other than that, of course, the Heritage Foundation report has been blasted for being “so flawed that one cannot take their report’s conclusions seriously,” also “depressingly static, leading to a massive underestimation of the economic benefits of immigration and diminishing estimated tax revenue.” Now, add to that, “depressingly co-authored by someone who believes that some races are inherently smarter than others.” Again, it’s not surprising coming from a “think tank” headed by right-wing nutjob Jim DeMint, and funded by the usual assortment of far-far-right-wing billionaires (including the Koch brothers, the Scaife Foundation, etc.). Still, it’s horrifying to see something like this in 2013 America…decades past when this king of crap was considered in any way acceptable.

P.S. By the way, guess who’s a HUGE hero of the Heritage Foundation? That’s right: our own Ken Cuccinelli, who addressed this fine organization in December 2010 and also in November 2012. I wonder what Cuccinelli thinks of the Heritage Foundation’s immigration study, and specifically the views of its coauthor on Hispanics.

Marist/NBC Poll Contradicts Washington Post Poll: McAuliffe 43%-Cuccinelli 41%

By
lowkell
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5

Polls, polls, polls. Honestly, at this point, they’re all meaningless to a large extent. But for what it’s worth, here’s a brand new one by Marist/NBC News that completely contradicts the outlier Washington Post poll from the other day, and is in line with most every other poll that’s been taken of the Virginia governor’s race this year.

Six months out, the Virginia Governor’s race remains razor tight, according to a new NBC News/Marist poll released Wednesday morning exclusively on The Daily Rundown.

Among all registered voters, Democrat Terry McAuliffe has a slim lead within the margin of error over Republican Ken Cuccinelli, 43% to 41%, in the most competitive race of 2013.

The poll has both good and bad omens for each candidate. When looking at just likely voters, Cuccinelli takes the lead, 45% to 42%.

By the way, at this point in the race, I think it’s a bit early to be going to likely voter screens. Also, from what we saw in 2012, pollsters simply aren’t very good at determining who a likely voter might be (e.g., Gallup’s likely voter screen was an unmitigated debacle), certainly not this far out from election day. That’s why I’d focus much more on registered voters at this point. And on that basis, it looks like this poll confirms what most others have shown to date: a neck-and-neck race between Terry and Cuckoo, with very few voters really having tuned in as of yet…

Virginia News Headlines: Wednesday Morning

By
lowkell
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4

Here are a few Virginia (and national) news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, May 8.

*After surge in sexual assaults in military, blunt words from Obama (Time for action!)

*Rubio sharply critical of Heritage study, offers parents as evidence of contribution of immigrants

*Once disgraced, Sanford victorious in SC special election (Another example of Republican hypocrisy, not to mention people voting against their own self interest. #FAIL)

*As red ink fades, so does pressure for budget deal (That’s right, the budget deficit is shrinking fast under President Obama.)

*Buoyed by Optimism, Dow Closes Above 15,000 (And yes, the stock market is going through the roof under a Democratic president, yet again.)

*Bill Bolling rips into Ken Cuccinelli and Terry McAuliffe tax plans (“As governor, you can’t just propose tax cuts willy nilly to score some cheap political points.”)

*Group plans July 4 march on Washington with loaded rifles (“D.C. police chief vows her force will meet protesters at city line and arrest anyone illegally carrying arms.”)

*A watchdog  to police the pols (“Voters should demand ethics reforms, including a cap on gifts and a commission to enforce the laws.”)

*Stewart picks up Blackwell endorsement

*Cuccinelli takes page from Romney playbook with new tax plan (And no, that is NOT a good thing!)

*Cut corporate and personal income taxes, Cuccinelli says (So much for “best managed state” and our AAA bond rating if Kookinelli’s elected governor…)

*McAuliffe makes first official campaign stop in Roanoke

*Botetourt County Supervisor Terry Austin wins 19th District GOP firehouse primary

*Amid attack ad accusations, LG candidate Stewart stung by robocall

*Goodlatte concerned about online sales tax bill (“Online sales tax collection a linchpin of Va. roads plan”)

*McDonnell misses Va. Beach candidate rally, fundraiser rescheduled

*Air Force Lt. Colonel Accused of Sex Assault in Court Thursday

*Railroad’s plans to expand ethanol shipments raise alarm in Alexandria

Moran Takes Charge on Guantanamo

By
Pat Davis
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0

Representative Jim Moran is sponsoring a congressional briefing this Friday, May 10, to inform colleagues about current conditions in Guantanamo, where more than a hundred men are on hunger strike, and to explore prospects for closing the prison. Eighty-six of the 166 men remaining at Guantanamo have been cleared for transfer by US authorities.  The hunger strike–a response to their indefinite detention–has snowballed into a humanitarian crisis that requires urgent resolution. But the larger questions of Guantanamo–the policy of indefinite detention and the damage the prison’s continued existence does to America’s reputation and security–also need to be addressed.

Last week, President Obama vowed to renew efforts to close the prison, stating he would re-engage Congress. The briefing will bring together expert voices to further inform Congress about the situation at Guantanamo and discuss the President’s current options for transferring men out of Guantanamo, as well as the long-term feasibility of closing the detention facility.

Panelists will include David R. Irvine, Brigadier General, USA (Retired)and former intelligence officer on prisoner interrogation with Sixth Army Intelligence School; and Lawrence B. Wilkerson, Colonel, United States Army (Retired)and former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell.  These panelists will be joined by prominent theologian George Hunsinger, as well as by an attorney representing detainees who visits Guantanamo regularly.

The briefing is co-sponsored by The National Religious Campaign Against Torture, New America Foundation, and The Constitution Project (author of a recent, bi-partisan report on US detention policy and practice).

Eating the Seed Corn

By
Elaine in Roanoke
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0

“Eating the seed corn – any desperate action which creates a disastrous situation in the long-term, done in order to provide temporary relief.”

Virginia did some very dangerous things for the future of the Commonwealth in order to balance the budget during the Great Recession. Now that recovery is underway, the state’s citizens should be seeing its leaders trying to undo the worst of those actions, but instead Republican Ken Cuccinelli wants to push the state even further into a “disastrous situation.” Cuccinelli, in pursuit of the Governor’s Mansion and perhaps in order to emulate former Gov. Jim Gilmore’s “no car tax” election strategy that ended in a fiscal sinkhole for the state, has proposed cutting state taxes by $1.5 billion without saying how he plans to deal with the shortfall. Let’s look at just one area of the state budget Cooch proposes to rob – education.

People who understand the 21st-century economy we live in know that one vital component of competing in that economy is an educated workforce. In that respect, Virginia has been absent for the last four years under Republican rule. Want proof? O.K., here goes:

Virginia has shrunk direct aid for public K-12 education to pre-2009 levels, shifting the burden of maintaining educational standards to local government. It also shifted part of the cost of employee benefits to localities and forced additional costs on localities and teachers for the Virginia Retirement System. Virginia’s budget devoted to public education as a percentage of the general fund in fiscal year 2009 was 34.63%. In 2012 it was 29.88%. That is unconscionable and guarantees a future where that Virginia faces possible economic mediocrity.

In higher education, if possible, the picture for the future is even worse. Between 1992 and 2010, general fund appropriations to public higher education in Virginia fell from 14% to 11% of total state appropriations. The Commonwealth (10th in wealth in the U.S.) ranked 40th for state and local appropriations for higher education. For comparison, Maryland ranked 14th and North Carolina ranked 7th. While the national average for educational appropriations was $7,059 in 2008, Virginia’s appropriation per student was $1,254 lower at $5,805.

If Ken Cuccinelli sells the voters on his “rape state taxes” plan, we can look forward to a state that “has eaten its seed corn” and is destined to become just another failed experiment in Republican anti-tax propaganda and failed governance. When we shortchange education, we shortchange the future of us all. It’s past time to end the illusion that we all can get something for nothing. There are no free lunches. If we want a quality educational system, we must pay for it. Cucinelli is a charlatan selling snake oil to the voters. He must be stopped.

First Democratic Mailer of the 2013 Campaign Season Comes From…Aneesh Chopra!

By
lowkell
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0

With just 5 weeks until primary day here in Virginia, I’ve been wondering when the Democratic candidates’ mailing would start. Well, now they have, at least at my house, with Lt. Governor candidate Aneesh Chopra’s four-page color/glossy (see my photos, taken on our sisal carpet – lol). In addition to being an effective, positive piece, I’m glad to see the mailer was printed by a union shop, using recycled material, soy ink, and 100% wind power. Nice job by the Chopra campaign to kick off my mailbox’s spring inundation on a positive note! 🙂







Ken Cuccinelli Unveils Tax Plan, and Not Surprisingly It Would Be a Disaster for Virginia

By
lowkell
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4

Emerging like a cicada from whatever hole he’s been hiding in, Ken Cuccinelli this morning announced what he calls his “jobs plan for Virginia”. Instead, based on the Washington Post’s summary, it looks like Cuccinelli’s plan would simply do what Republicans love doing the most: rewarding wealthy individuals and corporations with huge tax cuts, while blowing a massive hole in the budget and saddling the rest of us with the bill. Specifically, Cuccinelli “calls for cutting the corporate income tax rate from 6 percent to 4 percent over four years, and reducing the individual income tax rate from 5.75 percent to 5 percent over that period.” The result: “those cuts would cost state government about $1.4 billion a year.”

How would Cuccinelli recoup that $1.4 billion a year it? He claims he’ll do it by eliminating “tax exemptions and loopholes,” but far more likely is that he’ll have to do one or more of the following: 1) slash education spending; 2) slash spending on health care; 3) raise taxes on the working and middle classes; 4) screw Virginia’s localities; and/or 5) destroy Virginia’s AAA bond rating. Unless, of course, you believe that there really are $1.4 billion a year in “tax exemptions and loopholes” that realistically could be cut. And if you believe that one…

Also, see the following statement from the McAuliffe for Governor campaign, which sums it up nicely:

While Ken Cuccinelli has focused his career on divisive social issues like restricting women’s health, his new foray into economic issues shows that he puts ideology ahead of sound fiscal management in Virginia. Cuccinelli’s proposal would lead to a budget crisis that could undermine education, force localities to dramatically raise property taxes, and threaten the Commonwealth’s bond rating. Under Governors Warner, Kaine and McDonnell, Virginia has maintained its reputation as a well-managed state but Cuccinelli’s unrealistic and ideological plan would undermine that tradition. Virginians know there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Equally unrealistic is Cuccinelli’s bizarre attempt to claim that he supported the recent work of Governor McDonnell. Cuccinelli’s attempts to claim credit for McDonnell’s signature transportation compromise have been mocked in the past since it is well-documented Cuccinelli was one of the extremists who tried to derail the bipartisan plan.

Terry McAuliffe has proposed realistic, mainstream solutions to make Virginia the best for business including responsible local tax reform, strengthening workforce training, streamlining economic development and diversifying Virginia’s economy. While Cuccinelli tried to stop Governor McDonnell’s transportation plan at each and every step, Terry was proud to encourage passage of the bipartisan compromise that will reduce gridlock and improve competitiveness.

Video: Bill McKibben’s Sermon at The Riverside Church – “God’s Taunt”

By
lowkell
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0

This is absolutely brilliant, I strongly recommend that everyone watch 350.org founder Bill McKibben’s sermon delivered on April 28 at the Riverside Church in NY City, on the topic of climate change. I particularly would hope that climate science deniers and “skeptics” like Ken Cuccinelli would listen to people like Bill McKibben, as they are a gazillion times smart, more knowledgeable, and wiser than those fools – and tools of the fossil fuel industry – are. Here are some excerpts from McKibben’s brilliant, inspiring sermon:

…Rather, Job has to answer as all mortals did up until our time, because all of a sudden we’ve gotten rather large. Our first sense of that sudden change in stature came with the detonation of the first atom bomb at Alamagordo in the New Mexico desert. J. Robert Oppenheimer, watching the mushrooming cloud, quoted from the [Bhagvad Gita], from the Hindu scripture – “We are become as gods, destroyers of worlds.”

But the images of those blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki were enough to persuade us, so far at least, to go no further down that path, thank god. We could imagine the horror of those titanic explosions. We, so far, have NOT been able to adequately imagine the effect of the explosion of billions of pistons in billions of cylinders every minute of every hour of every day, but those explosions are wrecking the earth just as surely and almost as fast as nuclear war.

Consider that, so far, human beings have burned enough coal and gas and oil to raise the temperature of the planet 1 degree Celsius…the energetic equivalent of exploding 400,000 Hiroshima-sized bombs every day…enough energy so far to melt the Arctic…We’ve taken one of the largest physical features on earth and we’ve broken it, and with the others not far behind. The oceans are now 30% more acidic…The atmosphere itself, because warm air holds more water vapor than cold, is now 5% wetter than it was 40 years ago, which loads the dice for drought and for flood…

…This is the largest social justice issue that we have ever faced...When I started this work, one of the things I’d always heard was that environmentalism was something for rich white people who had taken care of their other problems, and if you worried where your next meal was coming from you wouldn’t be an environmentalist.

What we found as we worked around the world is exactly the opposite. Rich people tend to feel themselves immune from these changes. Most of the people that we work with around the world are poor and black and brown and Asian and young because that is what most of the world consists of. And what do you know, those people care as much about the future as anybody else, maybe more, so because if you are poor in this world right now, the future bears down harder on you than it does on anybody else…  

…As I’ve said, so far we’ve raised the temperature one degree but the same scientists who told us that would happen have shown quite clearly that that one degree would be 4 or 5 by century’s end unless we act very swiftly to get off coal and gas and oil.

And the larger question is why aren’t we doing that? Why aren’t we trying to make ourselves somewhat smaller? Why aren’t we following, say, the lead of Germany, the only major country that’s really pursued renewable power at an appropriate pace? There are now more solar panels in Bavaria than there are in the United States. There were days last summer when Germany generated more than half the power it used from solar panels within its borders and this is Germany. Munich is north of Montreal. Think what a country could do if it had, oh, I don’t know, Florida or Nevada, Texas or California or Arizona to work with!

But we don’t act; and for a particular reason– one that will be clear to those who are used to reading the Gospels. Our richest people don’t want to act because it would reduce their wealth somewhat. The fossil fuel industry is the one percent of the one percent, the richest enterprise in human history. Exxon made more money last year than any company in the history of money. There are far more eminent theologians than me in this room; I’m not a theologian at all. But it is my firm belief that these companies have more money than God.

And so far, they have been able to deploy those funds in political ways to make sure that nothing ever changes. They have bought, in our nation’s capital and many others, a 25-year bipartisan effort to accomplish nothing…

…It’s not that Americans are addicted to fossil fuel; most of us would be just as happy if our power came from the sun and the wind, if our cars ran on electricity. The addicts…are the folks who run the fossil fuel empire, addicted to profits so great that they turn away sorrowful from the knowledge that they’re wrecking the future…

…The man who runs…[Exxon] finally admitted for the first time last summer that global warming was real and caused by carbon emissions. But, he said, it was an engineering problem with engineering solutions. Asked what he meant, he explained, “If we need to move our crop production areas, we will”…Crop production areas are what most of us call farms, and we already have them…The Exxon CEO made plain the reason for his unwillingness to change in a second interview a few weeks ago with Charlie Rose who asked him his philosophy…He just looked at the camera and said, “My philosophy is to make money.”

…[The fossil fuel divestment movement] is designed less to bankrupt the industry – we can’t do that – but more to take away their social license, to keep them from being able forever to overpower science with money and with political favor. If it’s wrong to wreck the climate then it’s wrong to profit from that wreckage. And to say that out loud is an important first step in dealing with the problem we find ourselves in…

…The arc of the physical universe is short and it’s bending toward heat, and doing it very rapidly. If we don’t win this fairly quickly, than we will not win this at all. We’ve waited a long time to get started; the momentum of physics is very large. Having lost the Arctic, we have no room for complacency…

For more on Bill McKibben’s heroic – and growing – divestment movement, please click here. And make sure your college, town, city, county, state, etc. get on board right away. The planet to save might very well be your own!

h/t: Down with Tyranny

Virginia News Headlines: Tuesday Morning

By
lowkell
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3

Here are a few Virginia (and national) news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, May 7. Also, check out Stratfor’s analysis of Israel’s recent strikes on advanced weapons (destined for their archenemy, Lebanese Shi’ite terrorist group Hezbollah) in Syria.

*Inflaming  a culture war (“The NRA rejects reason  and stokes fear at  its annual convention.”)

*Immigration distortion (“Conservative think-tank report fails to weigh the benefits of legalization.”)

*McAuliffe, in Richmond, urges Democrats to turn out in 2013 (“Asks Democrats for a turnout like a national election”)

*Abortion clinic regulations signed by McDonnell

*Demographics And The 2013 Election (“Voters between 65 and 85 are the strongest Governor year voters, with over 80% that vote in Presidential elections returning to the polls and over 90% of the midterm electorate coming back in Governor year elections.”)

*Why Conservative Crusader Ken Cuccinelli Can Win Virginia

*In Virginia, Terry McAuliffe’s Memoir Comes Back to Haunt Him

*Virginia governor popular with voters, Post poll finds

*McAuliffe, Cuccinelli begin unveiling policy proposals in Va. governor’s race

*Gov. McDonnell, under watch by the FBI, invites it to relocate to Springfield

*Poll doesn’t dissuade McAuliffe

*Cuccinelli says Virginia legislature has never failed to pass a budget (Cuccinelli gets a “FALSE” from PolitiFact)

*Cuccinelli backs fracking in national forest (Cuccinelli, ever the anti-environmental zealot and fossil fuel tool…)

*Air Force Officer Accused of Sexual Battery (“The Chief of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response branch of the U.S. Air Force was arrested and charged with sexual battery in Arlington over the weekend.”)

*In Leesburg, Kaine highlights movement on economic policies

*Kaine and Local Officials Discuss Business Concerns

*Dance and Thompson square off for final time

*Capitals don’t bring enough vs. desperate Rangers in Game 3 of NHL playoff series

*Rain continues to reign over forecast

Tim Kaine on Senate Passage of Marketplace Fairness Act

By
lowkell
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0

So now, if the Teahadist-controlled House of Representatives passes this bill – and that’s still a BIG “if” – perhaps Virginia could actually (miraculously?) end up with the $260 million a year (or whatever it turns out to be) that state lawmakers – and Bob McDonnell – were hoping for when they voted for the transportation package a few weeks ago? Stay tuned…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement after the Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act by a vote of 69 to 27. Last week, Kaine discussed the Marketplace Fairness Act across Virginia including in Roanoke, Harrisonburg, Waynesboro, Falls Church and Leesburg:

“Merchants across our Commonwealth play by the rules and collect sales tax but big internet retailers have been shielded from that same responsibility. I am pleased we took a bipartisan step today to end that unfair advantage by passing the Marketplace Fairness Act and I urge the House to adopt this measure to level the playing field for Virginia’s small retail businesses.

“This bill is particularly important for Virginia’s infrastructure. The bipartisan transportation bill passed by Governor McDonnell and the General Assembly this year encouraged Congress to pass the Marketplace Fairness Act so that internet sales tax dollars collected in Virginia could be used to improve roads, rail and public transit. These resources will allow Virginia to repair infrastructure and help undertake new projects to keep the state moving at the speed of a 21st century economy.”

P.S. Here’s the Roll Call vote, Sen. Mark Warner also voted “yea.”  

P.P.S. My opinion on this bill is that it’s a no brainer for two reasons. First, it levels the playing field between online and “brick-and-mortar” businesses. Right now, the latter are getting killed, as people shop there but buy online to avoid paying sales tax. Not cool. Second, it ends what’s essentially massive tax evasion, as people are ALREADY supposed to be paying taxes for online purchases, but basically nobody does. This bill fixes both those problems, ergo it’s a no brainer (except for rabid, anti-government fanatics like Grover Norquist).

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