( – promoted by lowkell)

by Paul Goldman

“April is the cruelest month” begins “The Waste Land,” a famed poem by T.S. Elliot. So it got me to ask this morning: Aren’t you a bit curious as to why, once the Washington Post, the Virginian Pilot, and the Roanoke Times editorial boards got their tax increases, had pushed and praised Bob McDonnell to break his tax pledge to conservatives, suddenly “Stargate” explodes across the front pages?

So let me get this straight: The Post didn’t know anything about it UNTIL A FEW DAYS after the governor signed the transportation tax plan the paper had been pushing for 27 years? Just an amazing coincidence you are telling me? They just happened to find out about what is their biggest “scandal” story in years at the Virginia gubernatorial level basically the moment AFTER they don’t need Bobby Boy anymore. So: You are telling me they didn’t hold the story for fear it might upset the tax package. It just happened to come down that way?  

Thus, I write this morning. This being national poetry month, there seems only one fitting poem for this situation at least as regards His Excellency Bob McDonnell: The Waste Land. Let me confess: I don’t claim to have any real understanding of the work, even though I pretended otherwise in English class. Yeah, I actually read most of it, although not every line, I kinda speed read actually, kinda skipped a page or two…maybe more. Okay, let’s say I tried to read most of it…I read the first line for sure!

Hey, Come On: It is hundreds of lines. This is a poem for gosh sakes, not War and Peace. Give me Robert Frost any day, now there is a dude you can do poetry with. I memorized his stuff no problem, like “Fire and Ice;” that one says it all in what, a dozen or so lines? That’s enough. The Road Not Taken, now that is what Eliot should have done, take the road leading to a short poem, it would have made all the difference. Or better yet: Frank Sinatra had T.S. Eliot’s stuff down in one tune. That’s right, ol’ Blue Eyes. You can spend hours and hours trying wade through The Waste Land, or simply pop in a CD and get the same thing with a better vibe by listening to Frankie boy’s opening verse in That’s Life:

That’s life (that’s life), that’s what all the people say

You’re riding high in April, shot down in May

But I know I’m gonna change that tune

When I’m back on top, back on top in June

See, the same basic stuff: April is the cruelest month, it has all the possibilities of a new season, winter is over, summer is the on the way, it is all starting to look good…and then BOOM. The new Poster Boy for The Waste Land here in Virginia: His Excellency, our Governor, Robert McDonnell.  The Star of the Star Scientific mess. He started the month on Cloud 9: no, make that Cloud 99. I mean Bobby Boy was flying high: he had chased that White Whale of a Transportation Legacy and WON! No Captain Ahab he; Governor McDonnell had his legacy maker, shake that money maker moment, the boy was on fire!

Instead of becoming road kill like Warner and Kaine on transportation, MCD had gotten the taxes for transportation – and then some – both Democrats tried but failed to get. The editorial boards like the Virginian Pilot loved him, the same with the Washington Post, I mean Bobby Boy had done the impossible, got the liberals to love a Pat Robertson conservative!

McAuliffe loved him, meaning Bill Clinton and Hillary were ready to praise, every Democratic Senator was trying to take credit for Bobby Boy’s transportation legacy. The Richmond Times Dispatch said their conservative hero was right to break his pledge not to raise taxes, Bobby Boy made the rounds of the liberal shows on TV basking in their praise.

McDonnell had made it: the right kind of Republican they said, able to deal, to wheel, to steal the spotlight, to do something that had not happened in 27 years in Virginia! They were saying: Senator McDonnell, Vice President McDonnell, hell President McDonnell. Here was conservative who could walk and chew gum at the same time. When McDonnell’s amendments to the transportation bill passed, even opponent Ken Cuccinelli tried to take legal credit for making it happen.

RIDING HIGH IN APRIL.

But T. S. Eliot was right: April is the cruelest month. At least Sinatra was willing to let Bobby Boy enjoy April, all 30 days, before the inevitable. Let His Excellency enjoy the victory lap in China, come back with some contracts, maybe a side trip to North Korea to solve that crisis too.  But T. S. Eliot knew better.

That’s life alright: Here we are, not even two weeks since His Excellency went to sleep with visions of a mighty Transportation legacy dancing in his head, a jealous Jerry Baliles stewing up at UVA, no longer the darling of the road boys, the liberal high taxers, those who praised him for being the right kind of governor. McD had made Gerry yesterday’s news with a bigger and badder road building plan. McD’s aides were gloating: Their guy had done it where the DEMS had not.

THAT WAS JUST YESTERDAY IT SEEMS.

But before the ink was even dry on the governor’s signature to his legacy, a different and competing legacy was growing. The kind of legacy people remember. By the time he had put down the telephone after that laudatory phone call from the Washington Post, someone out of the blue happened to tip off the newspaper’s news jockeys about Bobby and Mrs. Bobby and Star Scientific. So the paper claims.

Sorry: I ain’t buying it. Let’s tell the truth here: The Washington Post sat on the story, afraid it would kill the transportation deal if they put it on the front page before the tax package had been inked. It is cruel out there, April or December, all 12 months in politics. By the end of the month, if His Excellency can not figure out a way to make some lemonade out of lemons, his legacy will not be transportation but the fastest rise and fall in one month in state history for any governor: Riding High in April, Shot down in May.

We repeat what we said right from the start, when others were still trying to figure out what to do: McDonnell either gets ahead of this story, or the story will have his head. He has already waited way too long, but there is still time. Calling a Special Session of the General Assembly to fix Virginia’s campaign disclosure law is the smart play for both Dems and McD, so the only question is who will seize the flag.

Dems don’t have to do anything it is true: McD is the one who needs to change the MO of the game. But keeping the initiative is usually the smart move in any battle, the side pressing the fight tends to win.

Earth to McD’s aides: your boss was set up politically. The Post and others milked him for the taxes, then dumped him. So either you fight back, or you get a role in summer stock doing a reading of The Waste Land, Virginia style.  

Here are a few Virginia (and national) news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, April 15. The photo is from the Virginia Sierra Club’s “electric slide” event for clean energy yesterday in front of Dominion’s Richmond headquarters.

*Kerry Focuses on Iran, North Korea Leaders

*Key gun-rights group breaks from the powerful NRA

*Rubio Pushes For Gun Loophole That Would Weaken Background Checks (Any weaker, and this bill will be utterly worthless.)

*Marco Rubio Is Determined To Make US Citizenship Extremely Difficult To Obtain (Rubio’s also working hard to ruin the immigration bill. Seems like anything this teahadist touches turns to…well, not gold, that’s for sure!)

*Debunking Almost Every Republican Lie Against President Obama

*For McDonnell, big money causes big problems (“This time – as with last time and before that – McDonnell is tripping up over money. Again, it’s someone else’s. Again, it’s a large amount. Again, it’s perceived as having strings attached. Again, it’s explained away as much ado about nothing.”)

*In Va. election year, accountability is lacking

*With Cuccinelli, Door to Door (“Running for governor in a purple state, he mixes in warmth and charm with his conservative message.”)

*Carolina does Virginia a favor (“For anyone who ever questioned the value of divided government, the best argument in its favor this year can be found in North Carolina’s Capitol”)

*The business case for Medicaid expansion (“A legislative commission threatens gridlock on health care reform, but business leaders are speaking out.”)

*The GOP race for Va. lieutenant governor is ‘impossible to quantify’

*Utah and Virginia governors visiting San Francisco look to boost state economies, not steal business (Want to do business in Virginia? Just bribe Bob McDonnell, that seems to work great! Heh.)

*Big Rocket Test Launching from Virginia Island Wednesday

*Northern Virginia officials look elsewhere for streetcar funding(“Northern Virginia lawmakers may try to tap into the state’s new pot of transportation money to build a streetcar line along Columbia Pike after learning Friday that the federal government wouldn’t fund the controversial plan.”)

*Have a Va. tax refund coming? You can get it on a debit card – with fees.

*The Tide is just getting started (“For The Tide to become anything like an actual transit system, that line will have to be extended. Spurs will have to be built. The train will have to go places it doesn’t go now.”)

*Braves sweep Nats with 9-0 victory

( – promoted by lowkell)

International women’s rights organization, UniteWomen.org, recently launched a rape awareness campaign, Unite Against Rape.  An eclectic mix of notable names and average Joes and Janes are lending their voices to this campaign by submitting statements describing why they stand united against the growing societal epidemic of rape.  The two most recent high-profile submissions were from Virginia’s U.S. Senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner.  

Both Senators were cosponsors of the Violence Against Women Act.  The Senate version of VAWA passed the House of Representatives on February 28 and was signed by President Obama on March 7, thereby reauthorizing this important legislation.  

Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner join the ranks of a potpourri of other participants.  Among those who submitted statements for the Unite Against Rape campaign are the following:

Comedians: Roseanne Barr, Margaret Cho, Annabelle Gurwitch and Lois Bromfield

Political Activists: Social Justice Advocate, Sandra Fluke

Athletes: Olympic Sprinter, Drew Reyes and Philadelphia Eagles Defensive Tackle, Ronnie Cameron

Musicians: Courtney Love

Social and Political Commentators: Meghan McCain, Alexandria Goddard (Steubenville Blogger), Leslie Salzillo, Kimberley A. Johnson and Tanya Tatum

Members of the XOJane Team: Jane Pratt, Mandy Stadtmiller, Alison Freer, Marci Robin and Julia Allison

Actors: Yuri Lowenthal, Pia Glenn and Sharon Gardner

Artists: Tormented Sugar

Writers and Producers: Herman Williams, III, Pat Bertram and Michele Rolle

Military Members: Executive Director of the Military Rape Crisis Center, Panayiota Bertzikis

Celebrity Relationship Experts: Dr. Gilda Carle and Dr. Sheri Meyers  

Indeed, this is a motley crew of individuals with at least one thing in common: the desire to help raise awareness of the epidemic of rape in our culture.  In addition to these public personalities, a slew of everyday women and men from around the world are stepping up to stand in solidarity.

The purpose of the campaign is to amplify to the public dialogue surrounding sexual assault, specifically to diminish the societal stigma that often accompanies having been raped and eradicate the shaming and blaming of rape victims.  The issue was already in the public eye because of the rape trial in Steubenville and the horrific gang rapes being covered by the media in India and other places in the world – including right here in the U.S.  

UniteWomen.org made a post on their Facebook page inviting rape survivors to submit their photos and quotes to stand in public support of Jane Doe of Steubenville. Hundreds of submissions poured in, both from rape survivors and those who support them.   The organization has created Internet memes of each of these submissions and is in the process of producing additional educational graphics, YouTube videos and PSAs.  The memes are being released a few at a time on the organization’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/UniteWomen) and their website (www.UniteWomen.org).  

UniteWomen.org has special ties to Virginia because the founding of the organization was principally inspired by the media coverage of the arrests of the peaceful protesters at the Virginia State Capitol during a 2012 protest of the trans-vaginal ultrasound legislation.  The resurgence of the women’s rights movement nationwide largely began with the women’s rights protests in Richmond, and it seems very fitting that the first two legislators to participate in UniteWomen.org’s Unite Against Rape campaign are Virginia’s two senators.  

“I stand united against rape because freedom from sexual violence and coercion is a human right. Too many individuals in Virginia, in America and around the world have experienced or been impacted by sexual violence. That’s why I cosponsored the reauthorization of The Violence Against Women Act, which could provide crucial resources and protections for victims. However, it’s clear there is still more to be done.”

United States Senator Mark Warner

“I stand united against rape because no victim of sexual violence should feel alone or hopeless. As Governor, I worked to eliminate outdated laws that discriminated against victims of sexual violence. We also increased services for women and men who have experienced such crimes and supported community organizations that do important work to curb these offenses. I was proud to vote for and cosponsor the Violence Against Women Act in the Senate this year and pledge to continue the fight against sexual violence in Virginia and across the country.”

United States Senator Tim Kaine

Shannon E. Fisher

Richmond, VA

Here are a few Virginia (and national) news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, April 14. Also, check out the video of SNL’s “cold open” last night, mocking the Senate biapartisan gun bill as absurdly weak.

*Obama tailors options to push domestic agenda (“With the core of his second-term agenda resting in the hands of a divided Congress, he’s using different approaches on high-profile issues of guns, immigration and the budget.”)

*Washington confronts still-divided America (“Bipartisanship and cross-party alliances are suddenly in vogue in the Senate this spring. The question is whether the Senate is a leading indicator of a change in politics or largely an aberration in a nation divided along red and blue lines.”)

*Budget Revives Benefits as Divisive Issue for Democrats

*Star Scientific and the governor (“In the absence of another way to begin an investigation, federal or local authorities appear to be the best hopes for getting to the bottom of the matter. A special grand jury should be empaneled to sort out the truth.”)

*Schapiro: Va.’s political trifecta of personal controversy (“If you’re one of the yuppies in McDonnell’s inner circle, it’s intimidating telling the ambitious politician on whom your career depends something he doesn’t want to hear: That taking big money from a big shot and plumping for his troubled company, then insisting one has nothing to do with the other, is not a narrative easily believed.”)

*Down-ballot candidates in Virginia score points by attacking Ken Cuccinelli, Terry McAuliffe

*Ethics Rules in Virginia Need a Bit of Tweaking

*Three reasons McDonnell’s wedding gift controversy should spark outrage

*McDonnell and Cuccinelli should have known better (“Political power and prestige can blind those who achieve it. Surely, Gov. Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, in less frantic days, knew better than to get so chummy with Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams.”)

*Next lieutenant governor will play key role in Senate (Right, which is why we’d all better make sure it isn’t one of the far-right-wing Republicans running.)

*Star Scientific’s next controversy? Dietary aids

*The costs of coal just keep rising

*Virginia takes a step backward in mental health treatment

*Don’t cure abuses by harming mentally ill (“Restricting eligibility for support services that keep people out of institutions is the wrong response.”)

*Alexandria advances development despite affordable housing concerns

*Capitals vs. Lightning: Washington survives in overtime for seventh straight win

Per Meteor Blades at Daily Kos, the anti-democratic (small “d”) thugs at ExxonMobil really REALLY don’t like being criticized for destroying our planet while raking in record profits in the history of said planet. In this case, they actually sent a cease and desist letter and threatened legal action if the ad ran on ABC, NBC and Fox affiliates in Little Rock, Arkansas. Of course, the cowardly corporate media caved. Shocker, huh? Sadly, it’s not at all shocking. Anyway, here’s the response from the ExxonHatesYour Children coalition that put the ad together, which pretty much nails it.

“Exxon is and will always be a bully,” said David Turnbull, campaigns director of Oil Change International. “Instead of engaging their critics appropriately, Exxon uses its billions to hire high-priced lawyers to make scary-sounding but unsupported legal claims to suppress criticism. It’s a window into how they have preserved billions in taxpayer handouts for their industry for so many years.”

Oh, and they also spend millions of dollars on climate science denial and in buying up our (Republican mostly) politicians. Yeah, ExxonMobil hates your children, but they LOVE them some Republican tools!

P.S. I suggest you all send this ad far and wide, giving it MUCH wider reach than it ever would have had if ExxonMobil hadn’t resorted to its thuggish tactics. Thanks.

Here are a few Virginia (and national) news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, April 13. Also check out this week’s White House address, “delivered by Francine Wheeler, whose six year old son, Ben, was murdered alongside nineteen other children and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut, four months ago. Now, Francine — joined by her husband David — is asking the American people to help prevent this type of tragedy from happening to more families like hers.”

*Changes to gun bill could weaken current laws (Oh great: “As Senate prepares to debate the bill, gun-control advocates face possibility that the chamber might add amendments that undercut current law in many respects.”)

*If gay marriage and pot are now OK, why isn’t abortion? (“…both liberals and conservatives agree that popular culture has embraced the concept of gay rights in the past few years, while abortion has largely receded from public view.”)

*Republicans Unanimously Approve Anti-Marriage Equality Resolution Without Debate

*Senator Blasts Fox News For Using ‘Scare Tactics’, ‘Lying’ About Background Checks (Wait, Fox “News” lied? I’m shocked, shocked, I say!)

*Bob McDonnell should come clean on lavish gifts (“If he wants to get in front of what is rapidly becoming a scandal that threatens to engulf his last year in office, Mr. McDonnell should come clean with more answers than he has provided so far.”)

*Company founded by Terry McAuliffe files $85 million suit over articles (Couldn’t have happened to a worse bunch; Watchdog.org is funded by the evil Koch brothers, and is in the business of lying and slander. No sympathy for them, that’s for sure!)

*McAuliffe raised $5 million in last three months

*Top McAuliffe donor lists Virginia address despite limited Virginia connection (“McAuliffe’s campaign says that Edward Haddock indeed runs the company that provided the campaign with the $100,000 donation. Haddock is a man with deep connections to Virginia and the Richmond area in particular.”)

*Virginia abortion clinic regulations get final approval (Thanks Bob McDonnell and, of course, Ken Kookinelli for this latest assault on women’s health and reproductive freedom.)

*Ken Cuccinelli Struggling with Makeover in Virginia Governor’s Race (“The Republican nominee is now focusing more on job growth and education reform than railing against abortion and gay marriage.”)

*Warner: ‘Broken’ Immigration Bad For Economy (“Startup 3.0 legislation will enable brightest minds to stay and do business in U.S.”)

*Chief medical examiner for Virginia resigns from post

*Dance, Morrissey trade charges of Senate ambitions (“As two Democrats in the House of Delegates bicker over political and personal loyalty, both claim the motivation behind the feud might be the other’s ambition for a state Senate run.”)

*Student charged in shooting of 2 at NRV mall

*$250 million Columbia Pike streetcar project will not get federal funding (That’s very unfortunate to put it mildly. This project is exactly the type of thing we should be doing all over the country in cities and high-density locales, including “inner suburbs” like Arlington and Alexandria.)

*Bullpen, defense foil Nationals (“In a 10-inning loss to Atlanta, the Nats’ bullpen unraveled and their defense let them down.”)

( – promoted by lowkell)

On Sunday, April 14, hundreds of Virginians will call on the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to put efficiency and clean energy first rather than allow continued investments in fossil fuels by Dominion Virginia Power. Participants will dance the popular 1980s dance known as the Electric Slide in front of Dominion’s Richmond headquarters [Editor’s note: please click on the image to “embiggen”].

Dominion has proposed another major investment in fossil fuels, this time a $1.1 billion dollar natural gas plant in Brunswick County. On April 24th, Dominion will seek the required Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) permit to construct and operate the Brunswick plant from the SCC at a hearing in Richmond.

The $1.1 billion plant is more about securing a market for Dominion’s own products than serving Virginia’s families. Dominion has consistently overestimated how much energy we really need because it is significantly invested in the natural gas industry. Company executives use this bad math to justify building new plants, when the Commonwealth’s energy demands could be met with affordable and reliable efficiency and clean energy. Recent expert testimony to the SCC demonstrated that energy efficiency would be a cheaper, safer option for meeting the state’s power needs. While multiple organizations in preparation for this hearing have argued that Dominion has failed to prove the plant is even necessary.

Dominion is pushing forward a risky proposal for an unnecessary investment that could cost families and businesses big money over the next several decades. If approved, this plant could stick customer with volatile electricity bills, rising fuel costs and ownership of a plant they don’t need despite viable options. Dominion persists because it believes building new power plants is an easier way to make more money for its shareholders.  

The SCC is a safeguard whose mission is to balance the interests of citizens, businesses, and customers in regulating Virginia’s business. Our SCC can protect our families and businesses by rejecting the Brunswick gas plant permit, and instead requiring Dominion to invest in efficiency and clean energy.

Join hundreds of Virginians this Sunday as we say not to dirty fossil fuels and electric slide toward clean energy!

For more information visit VaSierraClub.org/electricslide