Virginia U.S. Senate candidate and former Governor and Tim Kaine (D) has presented an idea that he is sure will satisfy the Catholic church over new regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that require employers to provide abortion and birth control coverage in health insurance policies. Kaine proposes to close highway rest stops across the nation, and use the money saved to fund birth control pills and abortifacents for those employees of institutions that have moral objections to paying for health insurance policies that provide these products and services. “I am demonstrating how my leadership in Virginia transportation issues can benefit the nation,” said Kaine in a brief statement. “Not only will we achieve important political goals, but this compromise will cut the budget and benefit the environment as well.”
The White House was cautiously optimistic about Kaine’s proposal. “Tim Kaine knows a lot about traveling around as he did so much of that while he was Chairman of the Democratic National Committee during his term as Virginia Governor,” said a spokesman. “Since he has been such a vocal supporter of the President’s health care law, we are glad that he is always willing to help impose all its sizeable mandates.”
The campaign of former Senator George Allen (R) had not comment on Kaine’s proposal. However, it is believed that the National Republican Senatorial Committee will present ads showing how Kaine’s ideas are still quite costive.
Recently, Steve Spiker posted at NoVA Common Sense about the Washington Post’s endorsement of John Cook over Janet Oleszek for Braddock District Supervisor in Fairfax County.With all due respect to Steve and the rest of my friends there, I must register my emphatic disagreement.You may find this surprising, particularly on this blog, but when you read my reasoning, I think you will understand.
You and the Post completely miss the point here.Janet Oleszek is the only candidate who can bring ZESTY LEMON BARS to the Fairfax Board of Supervisors.Ask yourself -- how have we been able to get along so well in Fairfax without ZESTY LEMON BARS.When Oleszek was on the School Board between 2003 and 2007, she was 100% committed to bringing ZESTY LEMON BARS to the School Board to do her part to add to the conversation on important school quality issues.
In fact, Janet Oleszek makes ZESTY LEMON BARS an important part of the diet of her campaign manager, a person who is not smart enough to boil an egg, so he does not suffer from carbohydrate or cholesterol deficiencies (which are highly underreported health problems in this country).Do you see the Washington Post taking about these kinds of challenges?NO!Then again, this is the same kind of corrupt newspaper that chooses not to report about Janet Oleszek's ZESTY LEMON BARS.
So remember, if you are a Fairfax County resident who is only concerned about "constituent service, able representation, and someone attempting to represent the whole of the district and not just their friends," go ahead and vote for John Cook.But if you want to add a new "flavor" to the Board of Supervisors with ZESTY LEMON BARS, then you should vote for Janet Oleszek.
Democratic National Committee Chairman and former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine is offering President Obama advice on how to deal with the situation in Libya.“The President should take a cue from my actions in Virginia,” said Kaine.“All we need to do is close all the rest stops on the highways.Since the dictator, Moammar Qadhdhafi surrounds himself with female guards, they will be pissed (pardon the pun) that they cannot stop to freshen up along the roads.They will overthrow Qadhdhafi, and we will not have to fire a shot.This is in keeping with President Obama’s goal of wanting to use ‘non-military means’ against the dictator, as a way of providing support to the rebels there.”
Kaine said that he tried to approach retiring Senator Jim Webb with this idea, but “mysteriously” did not get a hearing.Perhaps my ideas to not mesh well with his ‘Born Fighting’ image,” said Kaine.
President Obama is said to be considering Kaine’s ideas very seriously.“Former Governor Kaine’s ideas have certain raised my eyebrows.He’s not as nasty and pushy as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.Also, I used to get a lot of foreign policy advice from Vice President Biden, but he has been nowhere to be seen recently,” said the President.“It’s like someone has locked him in a closet or something.”
The Republican Caucus in the House of Representatives not only elected John Boehner (R-OH) as the new Speaker on a unanimous vote, but also, in a spirit of bipartisanship, voted for Nancy Pelosi as Minority Leader.“We have been accused of being uncooperative and partisan,” said new Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA).“However, this is our first step to reach out to the new minority party to help keep them in that lovable situation for a very long time.”
While local Democrat Gerry Connolly (D-VA) did not reveal how he voted, his recent opponent offered words of encouragement.“I definitely support having Nancy Pelosi as Democratic Leader,” said Keith Fimian."Her presence in such a position will ensure long-term employment for any house inspection business.”
Nancy Pelosi herself was initially receptive to the Republican gesture.However, she became angered when she read the fine print and found out that Republicans were going to require her to fly coach.“So much for having to pass a bill to find out what is in it,” quipped a Republican aide.
Krystal Ball, the Democratic candidate for Congress in Virginia’s 1st District, will be the model for MSNBC’s “Lean Forward” slogan campaign. “Based on my photographic history, MSNBC thought I would be a natural for their advertising,” said Ball. “While MSNBC is a bit too conservative for my taste, I am always excited to receive more exposure. Anyway, after this campaign I could sure use the money!”
The leftist blogosphere expressed excitement at the announcement. “This is great news, though she’s not as hot as Rachel Maddow,” said a blogger who gave his initials as “NLS.”
MSNBC is not the only party interested in Krystal Ball. Stephen Colbert was heard to say that “she would be a great asset in preparing future Congressional testimony for me.” Secretary of Treasury Tim Geithner is rumored to make an offer to Ball as a tax preparation consultant given her financial experience. Several Russians are also interested in her for both her pictures and her experiences in publicizing stocks.
. . . I will be living for an extended period of time under a Republican Governor!
In case you don't get the joke, I grew up in Maryland, and moved to Virginia just in time for Mark Warner to be sworn in. Sometimes I thought that I was cursed! With any luck, the curse has been broken.
So yeah, the last Republican Governor under whom I lived (at least as a State resident, even though not one of voting age) was Spiro Agnew. Ugh!
So for the State Senate campaign alone, half of one month’s rent has been given back to Marsden’s campaign.Quid pro quo?I wonder who is writing the rent checks.
This past fall, my congregation hosted a debate between David Marsden and Kerry Bolognese for the 41st House of Delegates seat.The congregation I attend is much more liberal than conservative, politically speaking, though people of all political stripes are always given a gracious welcome.Little did Mr. Marsden know that this blogger was present.
During the debate, the candidates were asked several questions submitted by congregation members.I am not going to recount every question and answer here.However, given Delegate Marsden’s claim to being “moderate,” I think that the highlights of his responses in a recent forum should be shared with the public.
David Marsden attacked the idea of a tax cut.He said that programs such as schools and roads that compete for funding would get hurt.He wants to give better funding to community colleges when the economy recovers.Unlike Kerry Bolognese, Marsden made no commitment to monitoring how money is actually spent.
Marsden insists that as a low tax State, Virginia does not have the money to get work done.The fact that Northern Virginia gets back only 30% of its highway dollars did not seem to bother him.Rather, he said that the 17-cent per gallon gas tax does not buy what it used to (despite the fact that Northern Virginia has a lot more people paying this tax).
As far as public-private partnerships are concerned, David Marsden thinks that the “public” part is just not there.Apparently, Northern Virginia does not have a lot of “shovel-ready” projects.Apparently, extending Metro to FortBelvoir is a good idea in Marsden’s mind.(Ah, but aren’t we lacking in money?)
Marsden was most interesting when asked about waste that can be eliminated.When Kerry Bolognese recounted the Wilder Commission as well as specific items (and given the short time given for responses, no one can give a complete list), Marsden’s attitude was that it was like finding “$2.98 from couch cushions.” (his words)He thinks that we have reached a limit as far as cost savings are concerned while spending “needs” have been raised.
When asked about what pet project he would want to fund for the 41st District, Marsden responded that he had introduced three bills to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay.These bills could create jobs for watermen.Marsden did not mention how many Chesapeake Bay watermen lived in Burke and Springfield.
On card check issues, when Bolognese noted what a disaster it would be, Marsden insisted that card check was compatible with small businesses.Of course, he gave the usual union line about how we owe having weekends to unions.He claims that he would only apply card check to large employers, though he did not give a specific figure.
When asked about fighting crime and gangs, David Marsden did support prosecution.He also mentioned having gang prevention activities and outlawing pneumatic weapons.Kerry Bolognese pointed out that Marsden opposed HB 1626, which would allow homeowners to protect themselves.Also, on crime issues, Marsden supports closing “loopholes” at gun shows and supports legislation to mandate background checks.
Finally, Marsden was amusing on other energy and environmental issues.He supports environmental initiatives that are “fiscally sound’ (of course), but then he said he supported setting up windmills in an old Ford plant.Marsden came out opposing drilling off the coast of Virginia, giving the excuse that it would interfere with Navy bombing exercises.He must be glad that his opponent in the State Senate race knows a thing or two about the Navy!
In summary, while Marsden has done a lot of admirable work in the juvenile justice field, has a long record of public service, and isn’t as radically pro-abortion as some of his Democratic colleagues, he is still very much out of touch with voters of the 37th District and rather uncurious about government accountability.You would think someone with the long public service record he claims would understand where to look for cost savings, but perhaps David Marsden has grown comfortable in the fact that government runs on someone else’s money.Perhaps, in front of an audience he perceives as more liberal, he could be more candid about the kind of person he is.Voters of the 37th District will be well-served by electing Steve Hunt as the next State Senator to get quality representation in Richmond.
A few weeks ago I took some oil from my lawnmower to the recycle center just off I-66 in Fairfax.(Yes, my yard equipment has four-cycle engines, not those two-cycle oil-burning Trabi jobs.)The County authorities have put in a lot of money to repave the roadway, mark lanes, and add new signage.Here is the sign at the used oil recycling station:
Something is not quite right.Here is a closer look at the professionally-printed sign.Notice that it has a bit of an error in it (red circling added for emphasis):
As luck would have it, VA Blogger links to an opinion piece by Pat Herrity in the Connection Newspaper in which he (Herrity) rips Fairfax County for its overspending.I'm not saying that fixing up the recycling center isn't a laudable thing for the County to do. However, as we can see from the pictures, FairfaxCounty sure got some quality for the money!
What amazes me even more is that our supposedly environmentally conscious elected representatives (COUGH Gerry Connolly COUGH) have not caught this error.Maybe they don’t do the recycling that they preach to us.Poor dears wouldn’t want to get their hands dirty, would they?Something very Al Gore/Tom Friedman/Copenhagen about all this, don’t you think?
Better still, the Northern Virginia leftist bloggers have not picked up on this, either. Not walking the talk either (on environment or education), are they?
In a surprise announcement, the Fairfax County Republican Committee said that a primary was no longer needed for Virginia’s 37th Senatorial District to replace Attorney General-elect Ken Cuccinelli. “Thanks to the stimulus, we have extra Congressional districts, so two of the Republican candidates can run for those and leave the State Senate seat clear for the third candidate,” according to an announcement at the FCRC meeting. “One will be the 37th Congressional District, and the second one has yet to be given a number. It is possible that it will be three digits.”
The extra Congressional districts are believed to be the work of Democratic National Committee Chairman and part-time Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. “I am doing this only in part as a favor to Governor-elect Bob McDonnell,” said Kaine. “But before you raise your eyebrows too much, don’t just think that this is meant to benefit Republicans. Believe me, we’ll move someone into those districts to challenge the Republicans as well.”
Kaine added, “I initially pushed to create the extra districts for Creigh Deeds, Jody Wagner, and Steve Shannon. Jody has already snagged the ‘Zeroth’ district. I even wanted to designate a district for Leslie Byrne, but she just told me ‘Been there, done that.’”
In a surprise move, outgoing Governor Tim Kaine announced that he was going to run as the Democratic candidate for the State Senate seat being vacated by Attorney General-Elect Ken Cuccinelli.Kaine said, “No Democrats who live in the District seem to be up to the job, and even the others just outside the District are pretty weak.Since I have won District 37 in the past, I am the best positioned candidate to win this seat.”
Kaine pointed out other advantages of the seat for himself.“Now that I am Chairman of the Democratic Party, I have to travel a lot.DullesAirport is pretty close to District 37.I have a much better choice of flights from Dulles than from Richmond.Besides, as a State Senator, I have just the kind of part time job that suits my travel schedule.I will also be close to Washington, where I can go and take orders from the White House and from my labor union donors.I think I will have a better choice of places to go to trim my eyebrows, also.”
Local Democrats have learned to accept Kaine’s decision.“Honestly, looking for a another house is such a pain,” said Del. David Marsden (D-41).“Let Kaine deal with moving.”Former Democratic candidate Janet Oleszek said, “Initially, I was upset that I was discouraged from running.Now I am excited to see Tim Kaine in the area so I can make him waffles!”Kaine noted that outgoing Del. Chuck Caputo (D-67) was the most welcoming.“He is sharing many colorful cruise catalogs with me.I had no idea he enjoyed these things!” said Kaine.
Local Republicans reacted guardedly.“Clearly, Kaine is seen as a carpetbagger, but he is not originally from Virginia anyway,” said a spokesman for the Fairfax County Republican Committee.“But we welcome Governor Kaine to the area anyway.This way, he too can experience how well his promises on improving transportation in our area have worked.”
Let me tell you all the story of a man named Creigh, All he wants to do is raise taxes and fees, After a debate he got himself confused, And out of his mouth it sounded kinda rude
“Now you listen to me young lady!”
Ol’ Creigh wants to give all the voters quite a scare, But you look at his website and there ain’t nothin’ there, The Kaine-folk said, “You stammerin’ fool You’re gonna usher in Republican rule!”
McDonnell, Bolling, Cuccinelli sweep, more effective government, happy tea partiers
(Note: If anyone feels silly enough to sing this, record it, and post it, or suggest other altered lyrics, be my guest.)
Many of my blogger colleagues have been advertising a town hall meeting. In this case, it is not being hosted by the sitting Congressman in the district, but rather, by the announced challenger in Virginia’s 11th District for 2010, Keith Fimian. The date is Tuesday, September 1, 2009, 7:00 – 9:00 PM (with doors opening at 6:30 PM). Personally, I am not sure I can make it, but those who are interested should go to
Fairfax County Government Center; Board of Supervisors Auditorium12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA 22030
The forum will feature health care experts from various free-market think tanks.
Now, as the title to this post says, this is a GOOD START. First of all, Republicans all over the country, especially potential Congressional and Senatorial challengers, should be doing this. Second of all, this should be the basis of formulating and becoming conversant in a coherent health care policy so voters see a practical alternative to Obama’s socialized medicine plans. These events can also help expose some of the less well-known outrages of the Democrats’ proposed legislation, such as assaults on Flexible Spending Accounts. In the case of the 11th District, Fimian would be wise to add to the discussion how Obama’s plans would be bad for Federal workers as well.
The free market can help us improve our health care delivery system better than a monolithic government. I hope more Republicans across the nation host such event to communicate a superior policy.
Leslie Carbone has the details on the latest attempt to “Goon Up” a Democratic Congresscritter’s Town Hall meeting. Special guest Howard Dean gets the "throne" of honor here. Moran clearly doesn’t care about whom he “pisses” off. Now that I think about it, “Wee Wee” does go down the SEIUwer, doesn’t it?
Virginia Democratic Gubernatorial candidate R. Creigh Deeds today endorsed at least one facet of Republican Bob McDonnell’s transportation plan when he was caught driving 76 miles per hour in a 65 mph zone. “As you know," said Deeds, "my opponent favors raising the speed limit to 70 miles per hour in some places. If that were the case, I would have been going only six miles per hour over the speed limit. In fact, I could have been going 81 miles per hour and had the same violation as today!”
Deeds claimed he was driving safely, since he “recently had a front end alignment.” A spokesman for the McDonnell campaign said that “maybe Creigh’s car isn’t as shaky as his campaign. One thing is for sure, though: If we have more incidents like this, we’ll have to have a special ‘transportation lock box’ just for Senator Deeds!”
"I want to be there with all four paws and snout in the trough."
The imagery is certainly, er, amusing, to say the least. A reader pointed out to NRO that pigs, like other mammalian farm animals, have hooves, not paws. You have to wonder if the bacon Connolly is trying to bring home is somehow radioactive.
Then again, we all knew that there was something not quite kosher about the guy.
So says John Fund of the Wall Street Journal. All this taking for granted coming home to roost? Or is it wishful thinking?
(Sorry about the commercial up front.)
Traditional electoral trends have shown that Democrats generally need around 90% of the black vote (give or take) to win statewide. When Republicans increase their margins among minorities and get 20+%, Democratic victories are extremely difficult. Republican Bob McDonnell has been much more aggressive in courting this vote while Democrat Creigh Deeds seems to have been asleep at the switch. Will it make a difference? Will the same scenario play out in New Jersey?
According to an account by State Senator Ken Cuccinelli (R) (as recounted in his “Cuccinelli Compass”), Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax) displayed an astounding lack of knowledge of energy and economic issues. Here is Senator Cuccinelli’s account:
... while debating new, higher, 'voluntary' renewable energy requirements and the effect on higher prices, Chap said something to the effect of "this bill will both raise prices and help the environment." And he said it with this air of unveiling a pleasant surprise...
When I was asked earlier about the issue of coal…under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket…even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad, because I’m capping greenhouse gasses, coal power plants, natural gas…you name it…whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retro-fit their operations.
[Emphasis mine]
Now this kind of cluelessness when it comes to energy policy will certainly lead to higher prices without any benefit to the environment. After all, the earth has been on a cooling trend for the past ten or more years, and “global warming” climate modeling has been shown to be quite error prone. Forcing people to spend more on energy will not help anyone.
In addition, look at countries in which their populations cannot afford the forms of energy that we enjoy. Is the environment any better when people have to cut down trees and light fire from dung? Maybe Senator Petersen needs to step out of Fairfax and live in such paradises.
And with three kids, my guess is that Mr. Petersen owns at least one vehicle that is not tops in fuel economy. Cramming three kids in the back of a Toyota Yaris? I DOUBT IT!
It’s not hard to figure out that the holes in Chap Petersen’s logic are bigger than those in Joe (“I opposed the Alaska Pipeline”) Biden’s doughnuts. In fact, it’s a piece of “cake.”
