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Video: Rep. Moran Calls on Congress to Address Climate Change

By
lowkell
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0

Excellent speech by Rep. Jim Moran (transcript on the “flip”), on what is – in my humble opinion – the most important issue facing humanity today. What is so frustrating is that one of two major political parties in this country, the Republican Party, is filled with people who not only refuse to take action to prevent planet-wide environmental catastrophe, but who actually DENY the science of anthropogenic climate change. Remember, this science has been around for over a century now, and has only gotten stronger and more alarming in recent years.

In short, there is absolutely no serious, scientific doubt what’s going on here, but many Republicans can’t accept it because they are bought and paid for by the fossil fuel industries. In turn, those industries are hell bent on extracting every last penny of profit from our planet, even if it means the destruction of said planet. I don’t know about you, but the word that comes to mind when I think about what these people are doing is “evil.” Anyway, it’s looooong past time for action, but to get that action we’re either going to need Republicans to move, or we’re going to need to defeat them at the polls. End of story.

Mr. Speaker, I want to draw the House’s attention to the compelling issue of Climate Change that the House majority continues to refuse to address.

I am joined by a number of my colleagues who are committed to keep this issue before the U.S. Congress by speaking every day on the House floor on the need for Congress to take action on climate change.

We are making this commitment because this chamber is filled with probably the largest collection of climate deniers.

It is here in Congress where a long-term strategy to address this issue will have to be crafted if we are to avoid the worst case scenario and the catastrophic consequences of climate change.

Today, there is almost complete consensus on the science of climate change:

·         that the higher concentrations of greenhouse gases over the past 50 years are due to human activity;

·         that the rapid increase in global temperature could not have been caused by natural factors alone; and

·         that the severe temperatures and extreme weather events we have experienced in recent years, including the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy, all fit the predictive pattern of global climate change.

Failure to take action dooms future generations to more powerful and destructive weather events, alters our coastlines, subjects our nation to more droughts and food scarcity.

Mr. Speaker, an overwhelming majority of the public accepts these scientific findings and understands a status quo energy policy heavily dependent on the burning of fossil fuels must change.

It is not only unsustainable but injurious to our nation’s future.

In the coming weeks I will be returning to floor to highlight the consequences of continued inaction and ways we can move forward with solutions.

Thank you.”

Lyin’ Ryan Releases Horrible, No Good, Godawful, Really Bad Budget

By
lowkell
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1

Earlier today, Paul “Lyin'” Ryan released the latest version of his all-cuts, all-harm-to-the-middle-and-working-classes, voucherize-Medicare, screw-seniors, give-a-big-sloppy-wet-kiss-to-the-top-1% budget. Not surprisingly, it sucks. Big time.

First, see ThinkProgress for “The 5 Worst Things About The House GOP’s New Budget” (highlights: cuts food stamps and health care coverage, “gives huge tax cuts to the rich and corporations”). Blech.

Next, see the White House statement (on the “flip”), which explains that Ryan’s “math just doesn’t add up,” that his budget “asks nothing from the wealthiest Americans has serious consequences for the middle class,” etc. I mean, if this heartless, corporate tool is what passes for a “thought leader” in the Republican Party these days, it’s truly a frightening time for our country.

Statement by the Press Secretary on the House Republican Budget

The President believes that there is an opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to come together around a balanced plan to grow the economy and shrink the deficit by investing to create jobs, cutting wasteful spending, and strengthening programs like Medicare and Medicaid.  This approach will require both parties to compromise and make tough choices.

While the House Republican budget aims to reduce the deficit, the math just doesn’t add up.  Deficit reduction that asks nothing from the wealthiest Americans has serious consequences for the middle class.  By choosing to give the wealthiest Americans a new tax cut, this budget as written will either fail to achieve any meaningful deficit reduction, raise taxes on middle class families by more than $2,000 – or both.  By choosing not to ask for a single dime of deficit reduction from closing tax loopholes for the wealthy and well-connected, this budget identifies deep cuts to investments like education and research – investments critical to creating jobs and growing the middle class.  And to save money, this budget would turn Medicare into a voucher program–undercutting the guaranteed benefits that seniors have earned and forcing them to pay thousands more out of their own pockets.  We’ve tried this top-down approach before.  The President still believes it is the wrong course for America.

That’s why the President has put forward a balanced approach to deficit reduction with no sacred cows.  It includes more Medicare savings over the next decade than the House Republican budget, but it does so by cracking down on waste and fraud, not by asking middle class seniors to bear the burden.  It closes tax loopholes for the wealthiest and biggest corporations so we can still afford to create jobs by investing in education, manufacturing, infrastructure, and small businesses.  The President’s plan puts our nation on a fiscally sustainable path and grows our economy from the middle class out.

While the President disagrees with the House Republican approach, we all agree we need to leave a better future for our children.  The President will continue to work with Republicans and Democrats in Congress to grow the economy and cut the deficit in a balanced way. This is the approach the American people overwhelmingly support, and that is what the President will continue to fight for each day.

Sen. Herring Submits Testimony on Women’s Health Care Clinic Regulations

By
lowkell
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0

From the Mark Herring for AG campaign: 

Leesburg – Democratic candidate for Attorney General State Senator Mark Herring (Loudoun & Fairfax) submitted the following testimony today to the state Board of Health regarding Targeting Regulations on Abortion Providers (TRAP):

“In 2011, Republicans in Richmond pushed through legislation to effectively shut down women's health care providers across the Commonwealth. The legislation makes health care for women more expensive and less accessible through targeted, overly burdensome regulations that provide unnecessary obstacles to any woman seeking access to health care services. These health care centers provide vital services – in many cases they are the only source of critical care for women – offering affordable annual checkups, cancer screenings, and birth control.

“Nearly one in three women struggle to afford reproductive health care. Many are uninsured or underinsured and count on low-cost women’s healthcare centers for their primary health care needs.  If any one of the women’s health centers closes, thousands of Virginia women will lose access to critical health care.

“When Republicans pushed through this legislation two years ago, there was no evidence justifying these new regulations on health grounds, but the legislature forced them on Virginia women anyway. Today, there still isn’t any evidence. The new regulations are wrong and must be fixed to ensure that thousands of Virginia women do not lose access to essential medical care.” 

No Virginia, Demography Is Not Destiny

By
TheRealCrystalBall
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5

Cross-posted at Virginia’s newest political blog, The Real Crystal Ball

Today I am launching my new political blog, The Real Crystal Ball. A big reason for this blog is to clear the air following the reelection of President Barack Obama and his second victory in the Old Dominion. Gleeful Virginia Democrats looking ahead to Terry McAuliffe’s ascension to the title of “His Excellency” are in danger of having the Governor’s Mansion pulled away from them at the last second, like Charlie Brown trusting Lucy just one more time to hold the ball. In this case the role of Lucy is being played by the Commonwealth’s ever-changing electorate, which has jerked back and forth between Democrats and Republicans so many times in the last eight years political pundits are developing whiplash. Today’s lesson is to clear up the belief that demography is destiny in the Old Dominion.

Virginia, Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Ohio are special states; they are the only five states that voted twice for President George W. Bush and then voted twice for President Barack Obama. That may be the only thing the states have in common. The growth in Hispanic voters in both Florida and Nevada is setting off alarms in central Republican HQ, where the big questions are how soon can Marco Rubio run for President and how many Rubio clones can be produced before then. But Virginia, for all of its diversity from Annandale to Petersburg, is not a state the Republicans need to worry about slipping away to the blue side because of strong minority growth.

The liberal Center for American Progress has conducted an analysis of changes in the electorate across several states, including Virginia. They only focus on the growth from more eligible Latino voters in 2016, trying to drive the narrative that a quick immigration reform bill is the best road back to the White House for Republicans. But when Micah Cohen at the New York Times ran the numbers it turns out that it doesn’t do much for increasing Obama’s margin in Virginia compared to other states with fast growing Latino populations like Florida and Nevada.

In a close state squeezing out 1% more can be a big deal, but in a close state there’s always more than one way to skin a cat. Virginia, Colorado, and Iowa are all states where Mitt Romney, despite a historic level of support from white voters, failed to match President George W. Bush’s 2004 performance among white voters. Romney ran 6% behind Bush in Colorado, 3% behind Bush in Iowa, and a whopping 8% behind Bush in Virginia … among white voters.

Virginia Democrats are going to get no help in the electoral battles ahead from demographic changes. It’s even possible that as the nation becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, more white voters could start leaning Republican. Imagine that, white voters in the Commonwealth returning to the Grand Old Party to turn the state red again. Old Virginny is dead? Long live Old Virginny. Virginia Republicans are better off figuring out the motives of the white Bush voters who backed Obama in 2008 and 2012 than worrying about minority growth in Virginia. Besides, a number of Republicans in Richmond have already shown they know how to work with Virginia’s minority communities.  

“North American Energy Independence”: Imaginary, Awful, Socialist

By
TheGreenMiles
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0

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is once again touting the Republican fantasy called “North American energy independence.” Here’s a quick reminder of why that concept is phony, horrifying & anti-capitalist:

  • Coal companies want to build coal export terminals in the Pacific Northwest to send America’s coal to Asia. Oil companies want to build the Keystone XL tar sands export pipeline to the Gulf Coast to send North America’s oil to Asia – and the Republican plan would force its completion! Unless Republicans plan to nationalize the fossil fuel supplies of both the U.S. and Canada and ban exports rendering Keystone pointless, the GOP plan is imaginary. 
  • If we have any chance of keeping global warming to a livable limit, we need to be on a path to using much less of carbon intensive-fuels right now and keeping a great deal of our known fossil fuel supplies buried in the ground forever. The Republican plan would essentially do the opposite – dig them up and burn them much faster than we’re currently doing, cooking the planet even faster than we’re currently doing. We’re talking a 10 degree rise in temperature and 3+ foot rise in sea level in the lifetime of a child born today. Just imagine superstorm Sandy with an extra 10 degrees of fuel and an extra 3 feet of storm surge. The GOP plan is awful.
  • The Republican plan would continue massive government help and direct subsidies for the worst polluting fuels with no limit on carbon pollution. The GOP plan is socialism for big polluters.

As Steve Benen details, the Ryan budget is also imaginary in that it pretends the 2012 election never happened.

Cuccinelli Sits Silent as Ohio Tries Campaign Donor who Defrauded Virginians

By
lowkell
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0

From the Democratic Party of Virginia:

 

 Cuccinelli Sits Silent as Ohio Tries Campaign Donor who Defrauded Virginians


Bobby Thompson Gave Cuccinelli $55,00, Ripped off Virginians, Faces No Consequences in the Commonwealth

 

Richmond, VA – On Monday the trial of top Ken Cuccinelli donor and accused fraud Bobby Thompson, aka John Donald Cody, was scheduled to begin in Cuyahoga County, Ohio as the defendant faced multiple counts of theft, money laundering, corruption, and identity fraud. Thompson was the subject of a nationwide manhunt after it was revealed that his charity, “U.S. Navy Veterans Association,” had defrauded donors in Virginia, Ohio and other states who believed they were helping men and women who served our nation.

 

The prosecution of Thompson in Ohio by two consecutive Attorneys General stands in stark contrast to Virginia where Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli sat out of his office's investigation of the fraudulent charity after a separate consumer protection agency in Virginia found the organization defrauded Virginians out of at least $2 million with Thompson's fake charity scheme.

 

“As Ohio's Attorney General brings Bobby Thompson to trial for his crimes in Ohio, Virginians are right to wonder why Ken Cuccinelli has sat on his hands for three years despite the crimes he committed here in the Commonwealth,” said DPVA Spokesman Brian Coy. “A past affiliation with Thompson didn't stop Ohio's Attorney General from pursuing this criminal aggressively, why did ours pass the buck after Virginians were defrauded?”

 

Thompson's arrest and trial in Ohio was the product of an aggressive investigation by two consecutive Ohio attorneys general. Democrat Richard Cordray began pursuing Thompson for his crimes against Ohioans, and then handed the investigation off to his successor, former Republican U.S. Senator Mike DeWine. Dewine continued to seek Thompson despite having been one of many recipients of political donations that Thompson made to politicians around the country.

 

The Ohioans that Thompson ripped off may be getting justice at the hands of their Republican Attorney General, but Virginians may not. Like DeWine, Ken Cuccinelli also benefited from Thompson's political contributions, to the tune of $55,000 to his 2009 campaign, but unlike DeWine, Virginia's Attorney General sat out of his own office's investigation. The status of any criminal prosecution against Bobby Thompson or US Navy Veterans Association in Virginia is unknown.

 

 

Background:

 

Bobby Thompson was Second Largest Individual Contributor to Cuccinelli's Campaign

In May 2010, the Roanoke Times reported, “The donations include $55,500 to Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli's campaign, the second-largest by an individual to Cuccinelli.” [Roanoke Times, 5/16/10]

 

Cuccinelli Refused to Return $55,000 in Campaign Contributions after Other States Launched Investigation of Bobby Thompson and US Navy Veterans Association  

In June 2010, the Roanoke Times editorialized, “He doesn't plan to part with a dime of it unless Thompson is convicted of misappropriating charitable funds. Presumption of innocence, and all that. Which would be a passable argument for a mayor, dog catcher or even a governor — but not for an attorney general. Consider that in several other states, the investigations of Thompson and U.S. Navy Vets are being led by attorneys general.” [Roanoke Times Editorial, 6/17/10]

 

Independent of Cuccinelli, a Virginia Consumer Services Probe found US Navy Vets Fraudulently Collected $2 Million from Virginia Residents

In February 2011, the Roanoke Times reported, “The now defunct U.S. Navy Veterans Association raised the money over a five-year period that ended last year, when Virginia and other states launched investigations of the suspect organization, according to information gathered during a probe by the state's Office of Consumer Affairs.” [Roanoke Times, 2/22/11] 

 

Investigation then Turned over to Office of the Attorney General

In February 2011, the Roanoke Times reported, “The case was turned over Monday to the office of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who last year forfeited more than $55,000 in campaign contributions that he received in 2009 from the self-described director of U.S. Navy Vets.” [Roanoke Times, 2/22/11]

 

Cuccinelli “Walled Off” from Thompson Investigation

In August 2011, the Roanoke Times reported, “Cuccinelli said he chose to be 'walled off' from a probe of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association because he received $55,500 in campaign contributions in 2009 from a man who acted as the charity's director and is now a fugitive facing criminal charges. The mysterious figure used the stolen identity of Bobby Thompson.” [Roanoke Times, 8/04/11]

 

Cuccinelli: Case “Not Even Discussed with Me”

He said, “It is not even discussed with me. I know that it's not laying dormant; but, also, nobody's found Bobby Thompson.” [Roanoke Times, 8/04/11]

 

Ohio AG Investigation Led to Conviction of US Navy Vets Treasurer Blanca Contreras  

In June 2011, the Roanoke Times reported, “Blanca Contreras — one of the few real people to emerge from the stealthlike U.S. Navy Veterans Association — pleaded guilty to corruption, theft, money laundering and record tampering.  It was the first conviction to come from multiple investigations launched last year after questions emerged about the whereabouts of the U.S. Navy Vet's directors, its offices and the money it collected.” [Roanoke Times, 6/23/11]

 

Democratic and Republican Attorneys General in Ohio Prosecuted US Navy Vets Treasurer

In August 2011, WCPO reported, “Ohio's attorney general's office says some of that money ended up as donations to mostly conservative Republican candidates including then-U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine. Now he's Ohio's Attorney General. His office continued the work begun under his predecessor Richard Cordray and prosecuted Contreras on charges of theft, money laundering, tampering with records and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. She pleaded guilty June 22.” [WCPO, 8/10/11]

 

Bobby Thompson Identified as John Donald Cody

In October 2012, NBC News reported, “On Monday, federal authorities revealed that Thompson is really John Donald Cody, 65, a 1972 Harvard Law School graduate and Army veteran the FBI had long sought on numerous fraud charges related to a 1987 espionage probe.” [NBC News, 10/1/12]

 

Thompson Now Jailed in Ohio Charged with 22 Counts of Theft, Money Laundering, Tampering with Records, Corruption

In October 2012, NBC News reported, “Thompson is now jailed in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, charged with 22 counts of theft, money laundering, tampering with records, engaging in corrupt activity and other charges. He ran the national charity out of Tampa, Fla., with fake officers and state chapters and opened up numerous bank accounts and rented mailboxes to pull of the scheme, according to Ohio authorities.” [NBC News, 10/1/12]

 

US Marshal Identified Thompson as Cody after Ohio Authorities Arrested Him

In October 2012, NBC News reported, “U.S. Marshal Peter Elliott, head of the task force that found Thompson, said on Monday that he was doing Google searches for fugitives recently when landed on an old FBI wanted poster for Cody. Elliot noticed the man's resemblance to the suspect marshals had nabbed in the Ohio fraud case.” [NBC News, 10/1/12]

 

Bobby Thompson Trial Scheduled to Begin March 11, 2013

 

According to the Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts, the trial of The State of Ohio vs. Bobby Thompson was scheduled to begin on March 11, 2013 at 9:30am at the Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth Appellate District. He faces multiple charges of identity fraud, money laundering, and tampering with records. [Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts, accessed 3/11/13] 

  

If Sabato Is Right, Bolling Hurts McAuliffe

By
Goldmanusa
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12

(UPDATE: Bill Bolling has announced he will NOT be running! See his statement in the comments section of this blog post. – promoted by lowkell)

by Paul Goldman

UVA Professor Larry Sabato has made it official: if Lt. Governor Bill Bolling tries to make a credible run for governor as a Republican-turned-Independent, he will hurt Democratic Terry McAuliffe.

This is big news. It defies the conventional wisdom. It refutes the push by the state’s “enlightened” right thinking people to get Bolling to run. They have seduced him into believing he is the new magically “moderate” Republican, against the evil conservative Republican. Having spent his political life as the little guy waiting in the wings, they have seduced him with visions of his being the new Lincoln, saving his party for the Whiggery of Cuccinelli. For a little guy (having now lost 40 pounds), finally Bill Bolling finds himself not Bolling Alone.

These folks Bolling to run because they want to use Bolling to kill off Cuccinelli. The AG has no one but himself to blame for the situation as a political matter. He dared Bolling to do it by changing the nomination rules. It was hardball politics. But there was a risk.

However, Sabato says the conventional wisdom and all its worshippers are wrong, that Bolling may not be the anti-Cuccinelli terminator at all. But you ask: Why wasn’t this prediction from the state’s leading political guru reported? My response: It was reported. But Larry said in a respectful, polite manner. He didn’t want to offend anyone, so he did a masterful job of telling the hard truth by concealing it so his friends in the media and the editorial boards wouldn’t get angry with him.  

However, we do 200-proof politics here: We appreciate Larry’s skill, but we prefer to be straight up direct. Fact: The good Dr. has given his diagnosis. He said the following in a recent interview with the Richmond Times Dispatch. If Bolling runs, said the good Professor, the LG “could be a contender….a real contender” as an independent third party candidate.

This was music to the anti-Cuccinelli crowd, they are desperate for Bolling to run. They played this part of the interview up front, in the lead. They are desperate for Bolling to run, so this was the seal of approval from the guru, saying to Bolling: “I think you can win bro.”

But Larry knows the truth: Bolling can’t win.  He never said he could.

So Larry went on to say that ” even if [Bolling doesn’t win], depending on the positions he takes, he could end up hurting Cuccinelli more, or he could end up hurting McAuliffe more.”

On the surface, this seems a little inane for such a brilliant guy: it is like DUH?

However, there is method to the good professor’s madness here.

What he was saying, without saying it, is the following: If Bolling actually were to run a credible race, then LG would not be a net-wash as some polls are predicting. The pollsters are not sure who Bolling would hurt.

But Dr. Sabato already knows. If your read the quote carefully, he said Bolling would hurt:

Terry McAuliffe.

The operative tipoff in Larry’s statement is the phrase “depending on the positions” Bolling takes.

Personally, I think this is far too idealistic view of how politics works. Perception, not platform, is more important. But to the extent Larry is right – positions affect image  – Bolling will hurt McAuliffe.

As we say, do the 200-proof political math.

If Bolling runs a credible campaign, then his positions will by definition be geared to paint him as the “moderate”, pushing Terry to the left and Cuccinelli to the right.

There are two basic sets of issues: non-social and social.

In the non-social category, the GOP base has long been most concerned with the tax issue. It has proven the best for Republicans for decades. Bolling and McAuliffe back the new transportation tax, Cuccinelli does not. Thus K-Man will run as the anti-tax guy against the other two, saying they are the errand boys of the high tax lobby, socking it to the middle class, yada, yada, yada. But you say: McDonnell, a Republican and a whole lot of Republicans in the General Assembly backed the taxes.

My response: So what? The plan that passed isn’t McDonnell’s plan, this would be a different story. He admits it is a compromise. So he and the others back it, Cuccinelli says it is too taxing on the middle class, a discriminatory double-taxing of NOVA, yada, yada, yada. Bollings campaign advisors have made a living for years running the anti-tax game. They know it will capture the GOP anti-tax base.

In my view, some of the tax plan is unconstitutional, which will only fuel the anti-tax fire more in coming months. Net-Net: On the anti-tax right, Bolling is Bowling alone. He gets NOTHING. Moreover, being seen as pro-tax hurts Bowling with connected parts of the GOP base, the limited government voter, the “don’t tread on me voter”, he loses the pro-middle class image. True, he will try to come back on jobs and growth and fixing transportation, yada, yada, yada. BUT THIS IS ALSO TERRY’S TURF as Sabato is saying without saying it.

On the social issues, the base GOP vote considers itself pro-life. This constituency is solidly in Cuccinelli’s corner, and Bolling knows it. This is their key issue. Bolling can’t change is position here or his campaign will become a joke. Thus, what choice does he have but to try to move left of his current position on issues like gay rights, marriage rights, immigration, women’s rights, minority issues, go down the list. Sabato figures Bolling has to try and become the moderate tolerant guy, painting Cuccinelli as intolerant and McAuliffe as too permissive.

Bottom Sabato line: Bolling, be it on social or non-social issues, has to be moving left to run a credible campaign aimed at getting 35% of the vote.

It is strictly a matter of 200-proof political math.

Thus, the Sabato judgment: If Bolling were to actually try to become a real contender, he would have to spend most of his effort pouching on McAuliffe’s turf, not Cuccinelli turf.

Sabato exposes the myth: Bolling right now is an oxymoron, too pro-tax for his former Republicans, too anti-women for his new Democratic friends, and too much the opportunist for thoughtful independents.

Bolling will need to go left consistently to have any chance of winning. This means he will need to take a lot more votes from McAuliffe than Cuccinelli.

Sabato is too nice a guy to tell Bolling the truth straight up: We, on the other hand, don’t have such social graces. Bolling is a myth in his own mind, being manipulated by those who don’t care about him in the least, but view the LG as easy to use and then discard.

Bolling is still a young man. If he is right about Cuccinelli, then the AG will lose big: and if Bolling just stays quiet, he would become the leading 2017 candidate for the GOP GUV nomination.

Professor Sabato is too polite to tell Bolling the truth: do you really have such a “jones” for Cuccinelli that you would destroy your own career to stop a candidate YOU DON’T BELIEVE CAN WIN ANYWAY?

It is such a bizarre notion that I think Dr. Sabato can’t really belief Bolling is going to take the bait.  

Virginia News Headlines: Tuesday Morning

By
lowkell
-
17

Here are a few Virginia (and national) news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, March 12. Also, the photo is of Democratic AG candidate, Senator Mark Herring, addressing the Henrico County Democratic Committee yesterday.

*Hurt by scandals, papacy’s mystical era may be over (As well it should be…)

*In President’s Outreach to G.O.P., Past Failures Loom (Yeah, good luck with this one!)

*Cantor offers softer GOP message (Still nasty and reactionary, just a bit less so in terms of style? Exciting! LOL)

*Sequester spares a broken program (“The F-35, America’s newest warplane, is the costliest weapons system in history.”)

*A Universal Right to Vote (“New legal protections are needed to expand the guarantee of ballot access in every state.”)

*Goodlatte: Bin Laden son-in-law should have been sent to Guantanamo (Here we go again with the idiocy…)

*Paul Ryan in fantasyland (“Balancing the budget is not his real ambition.” No, this is.)

*Rand Paul masks his true worldview (Agreed, Rand Paul is a paranoid isolationist like his father.)

*Virginia’s Catholic politicians weigh in on papal conclave (Here’s an idea: send Ken Kookinelli to the Vatican, leave Virginia alone!)

*Gubernatorial Candidate McAuliffe to Visit Leesburg

*Cuccinelli must get his act together (According to rabid right wingnut Jennifer Rubin, “there is widespread concern, quite apart from his strident social conservatism that may turnoff suburban moderates, that he still hasn’t put together a compelling message or agenda.” Like what, science denial, banning contraception, returning Virginia to the 1600s?)

*Hurt credits sequestration for stock market, employment reports (Yep, Hurt’s as stupid as we all thought he was.)

*LG race: Dems Chopra, Northam file petitions

*Child care gets a cold shoulder in Va. (“Why does the nurture of the Old Dominion’s tiniest people get less oversight than strip mall nail salons?”)

*School ‘resegregation’ is cited in study (“Analysis shows that nearly 80 percent of Latino students in Northern Virginia were in mostly minority schools in 2010.”)

*Extend Metro to Woodbridge, Fort Belvoir, Centreville? Idea is on table (Fine with me, but ONLY if they pour billions into the existing system, and ONLY if this one’s not a no-bid boondoggle.)

*Lipton to invest $96.2 million in Suffolk tea plant (Now that’s refreshing!)

*Virginia to hold statewide tornado drill March 12

*D.C. area forecast: Showers end around midday; cooler weather comes back Wednesday

Tom Farrell’s Nuclear Fantasy

By
ivymain
-
1

( – promoted by lowkell)

Tom Farrell doesn’t get it. Dominion Power, the utility of which he is CEO, has been all about building natural gas plants for the past couple of years, as it rushes to take advantage of cheap fracked gas. Out with the aging coal plants that had been its first love, in with the next cheap thing, and never mind the pollution! Then suddenly two weeks ago, faced with a question about climate change, Farrell told reporters the answer is more nuclear plants.

Mother Earth to Tom Farrell: The correct answer is “renewable energy.”

Most of the rest of the country gets this. Wind supplied more new electric generation than natural gas did in 2012. More people work in solar energy than in coal mining. Renewable energy has overtaken nuclear worldwide. Almost no one is building nuclear plants, partly because-here’s an inconvenient truth for you, Tom-they cost too much. Almost three years ago a Duke University study found that power from new nuclear plants is more expensive than solar energy, and the cost of solar has only gone down since then.

But Farrell is convinced wind and solar can’t provide reliable electricity to power the whole grid. You’d think he’d been reading propaganda from the Koch Brothers and had come to believe that if there are solar panels somewhere and a cloud crosses the sun, the whole grid crashes.

Can I just point out here that Dominion’s own North Anna nuclear reactors shut down suddenly in 2011 following an earthquake in Virginia, and the grid did not crash? Even though nuclear is one-third of Dominion’s Virginia portfolio, and North Anna represents more than half of that? And even though, while weather forecasters are pretty good at predicting regional cloud cover, no one can yet predict an earthquake?

The reason the grid didn’t crash is that grid operators make sure there is enough surplus generation available to keep supplying power even at times of catastrophic failure. And note that the nuclear plants didn’t come back online when the clouds cleared off, either. They were down for four months.

If nuclear power is more expensive than renewables, and it has to be backed up 100% with other forms of energy, for much longer time periods, where is the place for new nuclear?  

As the CEO of a utility, Tom Farrell should know better. He should also know about the new study demonstrating that renewable energy alone-onshore wind, offshore wind, and solar energy-can power the entire grid 99.9% of the time. The study authors show that doing this would actually cost less than conventional sources of electricity, assuming you include in the price the “external” cost society pays for the use of fossil fuels. That is, if you factor in the cost of climate change, it’s cheaper to build renewable energy than new fossil fuel plants.

Climate aside, there’s other evidence for the superior value of renewable energy in providing price stability for customers and a whole range of benefits for the grid. And of course, for meeting demand at the cheapest possible cost, you can’t beat energy efficiency.

It’s time to face reality, Tom Farrell. If all you care about is making money for Dominion today, your natural gas strategy probably makes sense. But if you care about tomorrow-or even about the big picture today-it doesn’t. Either way, there’s no room in the picture for expensive new nuclear plants.

And if you’re sincerely concerned about climate change, now would be a good time for Dominion to invest in energy efficiency, wind and solar.

Note to readers: Willett Kempton, one of the authors of the study cited above on powering the grid with renewable energy, will be speaking at a townhall meeting sponsored by Sierra Club and Environment America this Wednesday, March 13, at the MetroStage Theatre, 1201 North Royal St., Alexandria, VA. The meeting is open to the public (Tom Farrell is especially invited). To RSVP, contact Phillip Ellis at phillip.ellis@sierraclub.org or 571-970-0275.

Chopra submits 20,600 signatures for ballot access

By
ChopraForVirginia
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This afternoon, Aneesh Chopra's campaign for Virginia Lieutenant Governor submitted 20,630 petition signatures to qualify for ballot access in the June Democratic Primary. The minimum number of signatures required to appear on the ballot is 10,000. Chopra's campaign also surpassed the requirement of at least 400 signatures from each of the Commonwealth's 11 congressional districts.

“This is a credit to the grassroots network that drives this campaign,” Chopra said upon delivering his petition signatures. “This is just one step along the road to victory, but I am incredibly proud of our efforts across the Commonwealth.”

“Today wouldn't be possible without our dedicated and hardworking supporters and volunteers. I decided to run for Lieutenant Governor because I firmly believe that our state government can be smarter, faster, better, and fairer for all Virginians. This is a message that is resonating across the Commonwealth, and I look forward to engaging with more Virginians on it in the coming months.”

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