SOTU Blogathon (3 of 3): Bridging the Political Divide

With images of Cong. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, and Cong. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), we go into our final tweets from tonight's SOTU from President Barack Obama:

1) The White House:  Obama:"I can promise that a year from now, when I no longer hold this office, I'll be right there with you as a citizen."

2) Nancy Pelosi: "Make me feel hopeful for continued progress. Thanks for Obama for all you've done for hard-working American families."

3) Virginia Democrats: Obama:"We have to end the practice of drawing our congressional districts so that politicians can pick their votes...."

4) Cong. Virginia Foxx (R-NC): "It's clear he doesn't understand the solutions that will get our nation back on track begin w/ American people, not Washington bureaucrats."

5) Cong. Bobby Scott (D-Va): Tonight the POTUS focused on the future and challenged Congress and the next president to go even further."

6) David Corn (Mother Jones): Obama aimed to inspire American confidence. But, he did not call out those who prevent the political system from working."

7) Glenn Kenny (film critic): Disappointed with lack of Bowie mentions/citations (Iconic pop singer David Bowie died on Sunday, we hope to post a tribute to him).

8) Hadas Gold (Politico): Top social moment according to Facebook: President Obama criticizes anti-Muslim sentiments."

9) Zeke Miller (Time): Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC)  during GOP response: "In this age of terrorism, we must not let in refugees whose intentions cannot be determined."

10) Gene Weingarten (Washington Post humorist): Nikki Haley is a vampire.

11) Ben Casselman (538 politics): Nikki Haley seems to be taking on Trump as much as Obama.

http://www.fivethrityeight.com

http://www.nationaljournal.com

http://www.c-span.org

The DC List (3 of 3)..........Last Group of Republican Congressman.............and when they turn 103

Welcome to our beloved blog readers in Croatia, Costa Rica and Brazil!

For those of you who live outside America, the Republican Party is a far right wing coalition of Jump-4-Jesus evangelicals, Yosemite Sam gun nuts, fringe anti-government anarchists, rich greedy multimillionaires and war mongering radicals who like to see us invade the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

Of course, in spite of this, we respect their members who serve in public office and the long hours they put in up in Washington, DC, and on the golf courses they play on for fundraisers.

Here are ten more Republican House members and the years in which they will turn 103, when their seats might become competitive again:

1. Cong. Rob Wittman (R-Va., pict. top) 2062

2. Cong. Richard Hudson (R-NC, pict. center) 2074

3. Cong. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC, pict. bottom) 2070

4. Cong. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) 2069

5. Cong. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) 2073

6. Cong. John Culberson (R-Tex.) 2059

7. Cong. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) 2063

8. Cong. Chris Smith (R-NJ) 2056

9. Cong. John Duncan (R-TN) 2050

10. Cong. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc., failed 2012 veep nominee) 2073

http://www.newsmax.com/ (Right wing journal we disagree with)

http://www.motherjones.com/ (Left wing journal we are more inclined to agree with)

http://www.politico.com

http://www.thehill.com

http://www.theonion.com/section/politics/

http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com  (for more GOP reps and they will turn 103)

Presidential Quotes (11 of 16): Rutherford B. Hayes, a Forgotten Man

If one takes the Mental Floss "Name All 43 Presidents Quiz," we have a feeling Rutherford B. Hayes, a one-term Republican president from Delaware, Ohio, might be one of the half-dozen a person would forget.

Hayes (1822-93; president from 1877-1881), did have a better fate than his successor, President James Garfield, who was the second of four American presidents to be assasinated.

Here is a quote from Hayes, which those of us who are capital punishment opponents can identify with:

"One of the tests of the civilization of people is the treatment of its criminals."

http://www.miller.org/president/hayes

http://www.vadp.org (Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty)*

Both the Miller Center and the VADP are based in Charlottesville, Va.

http://www.mentalfloss.com

Presidential Quotes (4 of 12): Zachary Taylor

Greetings to those of you in Poland, Mexico and Japan.

Our quote today is from Zachary Taylor (1784-1850), the 12th president of the United States who was one of four American presidents from the Whig Party and one of four American presidents to have the dubious distinction of dying in office from natural causes.

Taylor was born near Charlottesville, Va., and he apparently had little formal education. He was replaced by his veep Millard Fillmore.

Here is Taylor's quote:

"It would be judicious to act with magnanimity towards a prostrate foe."

Yeah, one does not hear the word magnanimity much today!

http://www.millercenter.org/president/taylor

Presidential Quotes (1 of 16): William Henry Harrison

Greetings to our blog-readers in Moldova (?!), Slovenia and Portugal.

Yes, we have many unique and interesting ideas which are perhaps more exciting than quoting American presidents from waaaay back in the day, but if we quoted the late, great English playwright Harold Pinter, people might well still ignore us.

We are kicking off this series today because it is the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas, Tex., presumably by Lee Harvey Oswald (though Oliver Stone begs to differ) he was the last of eight American presidents to die in office. Four died of assassinations, including William McKinley, whom we will quote on our sister blog http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com and four died of natural causes.

We begin with William Henry Harrison, the ninth president, who was the first one to die in office and it was from natural causes. In fact, Harrison was only in office for one month before his death. 

Previously, we have quoted the first eight and last American presidents, so now we are filling in the gaps.

Here is the quote from Harrison, who hailed from Charles City, Virginia:

"I contend  that the strongest of all governments is that which is most free."

PS- Though we have discontinued the practice of using quotes from our favorite Sunday comic strips, this line from "Judge Parker" that we saw in "The Washington Post" got our attention: "Call your man in Niger and tell him we're going to pay the ransom."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/williamhenryharrison

Election Day by the #s- Ok, Maybe This Was a Bad Idea

First of all, we salute our veterans today on Veteran's Day. I am particularly remembering my late stepfather Donald Sullivan (1918-2003) who served in the European theater in World War II. He sure is missed.

When we started this project of tallying Election Day results, we had no idea how involved we would get in the process, and our efforts have seemingly not paid off, as we have received very few hits. But, perhaps there is someone in Singapore who wants to know how swing states, like Nevada, Colorado and Florida voted. And, hopefully, for that particular person, this information is beneficial.

Here are the numbers:

50.9- Percentage Mitt Romney got in Jefferson County (Martinsburg), West Virginia

46.9- Percentage for President Barack Obama in Jefferson County, W.Va, the jurisdiction he came closest to winning in the Mountaineer State.

106- The number of votes that Obama won by in the City of Winchester, Va.

51.2- Percentage of the vote that Obama got in the City of Staunton, Va.

61.3- Percentage that Romney got in rural Floyd County, Va.

68.3- Percentage Obama got in Santa Cruz County, Ariz., his highest in a state that went red.

76.6- Percentage Romney got in rural Yuma County, Colo., a state that went blue

55.4- Percentage Obama got in Pueblo County, Colo.

64.6- Percentage Cong. Jim Moran (D-Va.) got in his re-election bid

61- Percentage that Cong. Gerry Connelly (D-Va) got in his re-election bid; Cong. Bobby Scott (D-Va) is other Democratic congressional representative from Virginia, which has eight Republican members of the house.

94.4-Percentage that Cong. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), the house minority leader got in his re-election bid; he is the only Democrat from South Carolina on the Hill.

90.4- Percentage that Romney got in Cimmaron County, Oklahoma, one of three states where he won every county.

58.2- Percentage Romney got in Salt Lake County, Utah, the most progressive part of the Beehive State

49.8- Percentage Obama got in Sandusky County, Ohio, a vital swing district

47.9- Percentage Romney got in Sandusky County, Ohio

75.2- Percentage Romney got in Elko County, Nevada- a state that went blue.

54.7- Percentage Obama got in Teton County, Wyoming, the lone county he won in that state.

59.5- Percentage Romney got in York County (Rock Hill), SC, which is a Charlotte, NC-suburb

63- Number of votes Obama won by in Clark County, Iowa

50- Percentage for Obama in Bucks County, Penn., a county Romney campaigned in two days before the election.

49.8-Percentage Romney got in Bucks County, Penn.

344- Number of votes Romney won by in rural Dinwiddie County, Va. (near Petersburg)

148- Number of votes Romney won by in Van Buren County, Mich.

83- Percentage of Puerto Rican vote that went to Obama in Florida.

48-Percentage of Cuban vote in Florida for Obama, an all-time high for a Democratic candidate

Election Day by the #s (3 of 4)_ How Obama Won in Virginia

The image above is of Natural Bridge, which is located near Lexington, Va. Though his opponent Mitt Romney fared better in the Shenandoah Valley, with the exception of college towns like Harrisonburg, Obama dominated in the Washington, DC-suburbs, and Richmond. Obama also won in the cities of Roanoke, Danville and Norfolk.


Here is a look at the numbers for my home state:

22,179_ Votes that Obama got in the City of Roanoke, my hometown

14,116- Votes for Romney in Roanoke

19,753- Votes for Romney in Lynchburg, Va., home of Liberty University

15,905- Votes for Obama in Lynchburg, a jurisdiction he won in 2008

60.6-Percentage for Obama in Danville

38.6-Percentage for Romney in Danville

52.2- Percentage for Romney in Halifax County (South Boston)

46.6- Percentage for Obama in Halifax County

260,835- Votes Obama got in Fairfax County

173, 286- Votes Romney got in Fairfax County

81.2-Percentage Cong. Bobby Scott (D-Va) got in his reelection bid

58. 8-Percentage Cong. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) got in his reelection bid

907- Number of votes Romney got in Rich County, Utah

83- Number of votes Obama got in Rich County, Utah

It's Election Day in America

As a resident of North Carolina who is from neighboring Virginia, today's election, in spite of the constant tv ads, radio spots, mailings and robo calls, is of great interest: North Carolina carries 15 electoral college votes whereas Virginia has 13. But, Ohio with 18 electoral college votes is considered the most important battleground swing state.

In the Sunday edition of "The Washington Post," Chris Cillizza who is an excellent non-partisan political analyst with his 'Post" blog 'The Fix,' predicts that President Barack Obama will get 277 electoral college votes while his challenger Mitt Romney will have 261; Reid Wilson of the non-partisan "National Journal" forecasts that Obama will get slightly more votes 294 for Obama and 244 for Romney.

Hopefully, everyone will get a chance to vote. I am fortunate to live in a swing state and I realized that people in Fort Mill, South Carolina, which neighbors the Tarheel State, and Bluefield, West Virginia, which neighbors Virginia, have to be agonized over the fact that their state is not in play.

Similarly, people in far away places like Baku, Azerbaijan, and Nairobi, Kenya, are watching this election very closely, perhaps in some cases just as much as Americans.

Lastly, in order to be 'remotely' objective, we should point out that the top image is of a Greek donkey (it may actually be from Macedonia); I am a Turkish-American:)

http://www.nationaljournal.com

http://www.thehill.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix

http://www.theonion.com (a satirical publication)

This is NOT an Endorsement-3 Third Party Candidates

Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode, a former Congressman from Rocky Mount, Va., is trying to become Virginia's ninth president. Good luck!

Here is a look at Goode and two other individuals running for president as third party candidates, and yes_ one of them is actress/comedian Roseanne Barr, who also turns 60 today.

Virgil Goode: In an interview with "Huffington Post Politics," Goode, who served in Congress from 1997-2009, said that President Barack Obama had done a bad job in the White House, and if elected Mitt Romney would be just as ineffective.

Ironically, Goode, who went from Democrat to Republican to the Constitution Party, a third party with a far right agenda, could help Obama win a second term since he man from Franklin County has a loyal following in south central and southwest Virginia. He is expected to take votes away from Romney, and "Politico" shows Virginia, our home state, as a virtual dead heat which is very slightly leaning towards the Republican Party candidate.

Goode also helped Doug Wilder become Virginia's first black governor, but this was when Goode was a Democrat. No one seems to be sure if Goode actually underwent an ideological change as he has been known for being fiercely independent. Even when he was a Democrat, Goode had a more conservative voting record than the likes of Cong. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va).

The Rocky Mount native has also been a strong supporter of guns and the tobacco industry, which went through his congressional district in areas, such as Danville and South Boston.

Goode was defeated by Democrat Tom Perriello in 2008; though Perriello was respected on the Hill for being a hard-working freshman, he was voted out by the conservative constituents in his district who favored Robert Hunt, who is now running against John Douglass to keep his house seat.

Jim Clymer is Goode's running mate.

Gary Johnson: The former Republican who served as governor of New Mexico from 1995-2003 is known for supporting radically low taxes. But, he is most known for calling for the legalization of marijuana. During his time in Santa Fe, Johnson worked to decriminalize pot. Johnson also opposes the war in Afghanistan and he has called for immediate troop withdrawal. Interestingly,  Johnson has received support from ardent liberals who see Barack Obama as being 'conservative.' And, as one might expect, Johnson is popular with the Ron Paul crowd, and he has been supported by the libertarian magazine "Reason." Johnson's running mate is Jim Gary, a California judge, who supports legalization of marijuana.

Roseanne Barr: Surprisingly, there are two presidential candidates who were born in Utah. Neither of them is Mitt Romney, who was born in Michigan, and both Barr and Rocky Anderson, who are both running to the left of Obama, are not Mormons.

Barr won an Emmy for her title role in the sitcom "Roseanne" (1998-1997), and she was a standup comedian before that. After losing the Green Party bid to Jill Stein, Barr joined the Peace and Freedom Party, which has actually been in existence since it dawned as a protest group opposed to the Vietnam war in 1968.

Cindy Sheehan, who became well-known as an anti-war activist after her son who was serving in the military was killed in Iraq, is Barr's running mate; neither of them has held political office. 


http://www.goodeforpresident2012.com

http://www.garyjohnson2012.com

http://www.reason.com

http://www.roseanneforpresident2012.org/

For a look at three other third party candidates, go to our other blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time:" http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

PSA- October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month

October seems to be the month for a lot of things, and as it turns out the presidential race between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, is that the only debate as some animal groups are jokingly asking Americans which do you prefer: cats or dogs?

Ironically, we are cat people here at "The Daily Vampire," but as it turns out, this is National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month across America.

By the way, thanks for those of you in Bahrain, Norway, Panama and Malaysia for checking out our blog today.

Here are some useful links to help you find a good dog that suits your needs, as well as a list (with links) of animal shelters in my home state of Virginia including Arlington, Salem, Richmond and Lynchburg. Virginia  also happens to be a swing state with a competitive U.S. Senate race between two former governors: Tim Kaine (D) and George Allen (R).

In case you are wondering, the dog in this image is a shih tzu; don't leave out the 'h!.

Here are the links:

http://www.americanshihtzuclub.org

http://www.americanhumanesociety.org

http://www.awla.org

 http://www.salempets.org

http://www.richmondspca.org

http://www..lynchburghumanesociety.org

10 People Who Will Decide the Election (7 of 10) Donna Scott of Portland, Maine

Yikes! "Politico," on the last objective sources for news in the United States, along with "The Washington Post," has stated Mitt Romney has made tremendous gains on President Barack Obama following last week's debate in Denver, Colo., in which Romney interrupted moderator Jim Lehrer at least 17 times (more or less). NPR, which the likes of Bill O'Reilly seem to proclaim as being as radical left-wing as Radio Havana, Cuba, said that the race is now a 'virtual dead heat.'

But, 'Politco' also shows Obama winning the race 303-235 though the president is only winning Colorado 47.4 to 47.2 percent. Conversely, the numbers are also close in a very politically divided Virginia, my home state, in which one congressional district represents the rural hamlet Boones Mill, where one can see signs for far-right third party candidate Virgil Goode (from nearby Rocky Mount) and the collegetown of Charlottesville, by a margin of 47.8-47.5 percent.

Today, we are turning our attention to Maine, which seemed like a possible swing state when we planned this project over the summer, where Obama is winning 53.3-38.0 percent.

And, we are choosing a fictitious person named Donna Scott, whom we will say works at an independent bookstore in Portland (Maine). We will say she is 37, white, pro-choice and would likely vote for Obama.

Lastly, welcome to our Armenian-American blog readers. This afternoon, I posted a comment on the web site for "USA Armenian Life," (I am a Turkish-American, there are some differences between the two groups- to put it mildly) where I endorsed Cong. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) over his arch rival Cong. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) or was it the other way around?

For those of who reside in Provo, Utah, or Tashkent, Uzbekistan, who might be oblivious to American national politics, Berman and Sherman, who both represent the suburban area around Los Angeles, which has a large Armenian-American population, are entangled in a congressional race with each other due to gerrymandering, even though both are Democrats.

http://www.politico.com

http://www.armenianlife.com

http://www.ataa.org (ATAA is the leading Turkish-American group in the United States and Canada)

Portland, Maine, independent bookstores, hopefully, none of their employees has the name of Donna Scott:

http://www.nonesuchbooks.com

http://www.longfellowbooks.com

Things We Learned on Twitter Today: Michele Bachmann Headline-Maker

I've been a fan of Suzy Khimm, a great liberal reporter, since she wrote an excellent profile of Virginia's crazed right-wing maniac attorney Ken Cuccinelli, who looks like a grown-up Pinocchio doll, in the December 2010 issue of "Mother Jones."

This afternoon, Khimm tweeted the following:

"Daily Beast's most popular articles today: 1) Is Michele Bachmann submissive? 2)Queen of the Cougars."

We didn't want to put a photo of Bachmann up, since she does look like a professional female wrestler. And, ironically, her state of Minnesota elected a pro wrestler, Jesse Ventura, for governor.

(These headlines are in reference to Bachmann's 'performance' during the Republican debate in Ames, Iowa, last night. I didn't watch, but I gather her heated exchanges with Tim Pawlenty were very amusing. Pawlenty took over after Ventrua's term expired as governor of Minnesota.)

So, instead, we went with this image of a gorgreous Wyoming chainsaw cougar. We tried to find a cougar from Colorado, but I guess we will have to find one somewhere on the net some other time.

And, we thought that since Bachmann apparently wants to turn back the clock on social progress, we'd include an image of a Tupperware party. Perhaps, if elected president (of course, that will mean many of us on the center-left will get one-way plane tickets from Expedia to Costa Rica), she will also segregate schools again.

SIDEBAR: I saw a bumper sticker in Roanoke, Va., which I'm surprised even an ardent Republican would put on his or her vehicle: it is an image of George W. Bush with the line- "Do You Miss Me Yet?," well let me just give you the short answer, NO!

Government Shutdown Update_ We Aren't Sure...

If anyone thinks showing a toilet is in bad taste, then they should know that our original intention was to have a Paul Gaugin painting for this entry. But, since many of those paintings feature necade native women from and Tahiti and they might offend the delicate sensibilities of Virginia's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, we thought this might be more 'appropriate.' Incidentally, Cuccinelli was named our "Worst Person of the Year" for 2010. Actually, we did not spell his name right one, but since he is a Republican we refuse to apologize for that!

But, ironically, Cuccinelli, a far-right winger, himself is not responsible for the possibility of a federal government shutdown in Washington, DC. His 'brothers in arms,' like House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) are.

According to the "Huffington Post," Boehner told reporters that his side was close to a resolution, but as noon eastern time that appeared not to be the case, according to what we gathered from articles in "The Hill" and "The Washington Post."

But, if there is no government shutdown, and we are not exactly sure how it will affect the National Gallery in Washington, DC, one can freely go to the current Paul Gaugin (1848-1903) exhibit which runs through June 5.

According to the NGA's web site, 120 of Gaugin's works will be on display and they will presumably cover all the periods of the artist's relatively short life. Gaugin, at one time or another, lived in Peru, France, Martinique and Tahiti. We could not conclude one way or another if he ever made it to Istanbul, Turkey.

However, if there is a federal govenment shutdown, it will not affect the status of the Topkapi Palace, The Blue Mosque and Saint Sophia, all of which are major tourist attractions in Istanbul, my late father's hometown.

For more info on the National Gallery, one can go to www.nga.gov or call their main info line at 202-737-4215.

And, if you are heading to Turkey, three web sites I recommend are turkey.org, tourismturkey.com and goturkey.com; we would comment on the fact that Miss Turkey is promoting the new 'turkey burger' at Hardee's (an American fast food chain that originated in Rocky Mount, NC), but truthfully we aren't sure what to make of the promotion!

Sunday Leftovers

Yes, it is a lazy Sunday afternoon here in Stuart, Va., in rural Patrick County where one has nothing to do except stare at the bambis and thumpers in the backwoods and shot them (ok, not really where I'm at, and I don't hunt!).

But, we have made some mistakes with this blog, and our sister 'Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" in recent weeks and we wanted to set the record straight even though no one is whining to us personally.

For starters, I am not a fan of arch right-wing Republican nuts, teenage heartthrob singers or radical North African dictators. But, we have at times incorrectly spelled the names of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, our Worst Person of the Year for 2010, singing sensation Justin Bieber and trickiest of all Libyan el presidente Muammar Gaddafi.

In addition, I noticed that a label for Cong. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va) was posted as Bon Goodlatte, so even though I would gives millions of dollars to his Democratic opponent if I were as rich as George Soros, I do regret that error as well.

Cuccinelli was the subject of a great article in the Dec. 2010 issue of "Mother Jones" where Suzy Khimm 'rightfully' illustrated him as a lunatic who cares more about satisfying political wonks, affluent conservative lobbyists (ie. the NRA) and media wackos like Glenn Beck than the folks back in Patrick County (as well as the rest of Virginia).

James Parker of "The Atlantic" (March 2011) wrote an excellent piece about how Justin Bieber, 16, used the Internet and social media to woo his (we presume mostly female) fans in ways that "The Partridge Family" could have never dreamed of.

And, lastly Dirk Vandewelle, an expert on Libya, wrote a disturbing article in the March 7, 2011, issue of "Newsweek" about how the country will have a hard with or without Gaddafi for reasons that are way too complicated to explain here.

That same issue of "Newsweek" also features a great cover story by Sharon Begley on how the Twitter-age is essentially making us all idiots or zombies incapable of making good decisions (idiots and zombies are my words, not Ms. Begley's-- we can't afford to be sued by "Newsweek!").

All of this reminds me of how I was going to try to spend my Spring Break, which is this very week, going to either Honduras or Costa Rica, but instead I am doing this.

Well, it does beat shooting poor, defenseless animals with an uzi!

Our Worst Person of the Year for 2010 Is....

.........Ken Cuccinelli, the arch conservative far-right Republican attorney general of Virginia.

Perhaps, Suzy Khimm in a December 2010 article from "Mother Jones" (a magazine that is more to the left than I am) summed it up best when she said:

"Cuccinelli has relished his role as a political lightning rod who has used elected office for ideological warfare.

Jeff Goodell, an environmental writer for "Rolling Stone" said in the magazine's current issue that Cuccinelli has been using his office to deliberately rattle state institutions, such as The University of Virginia, from performing scientific research projects he personally and politically opposes.

Cuccinelli handily defeated a moderate, well-qualified candidate in Steve Shannon (both men are ironically from Fairfax County) by a shocking 58-42 margin in the state election that gave him the attorney general's office.

In a mere two years, Cuccinelli, who is only 42, has used his elected office in Richmond to cater to a variety of right wing and even extreme conservative causes: the death penalty, guns, pro-life, anti-gay, immigration, taxes, spending and property rights.

He was supported by the NRA and far right figures like Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson and Ron Paul during his run against Shannon.

Many gunsGodncountry folks in places like Boones Mill, Tazewell, New Market and Farmville saw Cuccinelli as their kind of anti-government extremist. But, not everyone was fooled by his traveling medicine man show, which was also how Gov. Bob McDonnell won his race that same year over state Creigh Deeds.

"The Washington Post" in an editorial for Shannon said that Cuccinelli would be 'an embarrassment to Virginia.' Alas, they were right.

Cuccinelli's main cause celebre has been using his far right 'fishing buddies' in federal courts like Judge Henry Hudson to block President Barack Obama's federal health care iniatives and he defends himself by saying that 'this is his Constitutional duty.'

As Goodell indicated in his article on global warming's main political culprits, Cuccinelli did indeed waste considerable state funds fighting former UVA professor Michael Mann's efforts to research global climate change (Mann is now at Penn State).

Cuccinelli also supported the dubious exectuion of Teresa Lewis, a rural woman who resided near Danville, who was found to be barely mentally eligible for capital punishment. The execution, which took place last September, drew protests from across America and around the world.

In short, Cuccinelli is everything that the far right (and the Tea Party of course loves this guy) represents: genuine hypocricy. Alas, Cuccinelli is up for reelection at the end of his term. But, perhaps his selfish ego will convince him to run for a more prestigious office like the Governor's mansion where he might run against a qualified Democrat who give him a good ole fashion quarterback sack. There are very few people who deserve it more.

PS- Apparently, when I mentioned him in an earlier entry, I didn't spell Ken Cuccinelli's name correctly. But, if we've learned one thing from the GOP it is to never apologize if you have erred!

The Post-Election Day Hangover

Perhaps the problems I had with the mushroom cloud entry (see previous entry) signaled that it would be a very bleak day for those of us who have the distinction of being liberal Democrats who reside in very staunch conservative Bible Belt jurisdictions_ in the South no less!

As Fred Barnes of the conservative "The Weekly Standard" gloated today: "The GOP practically drove Dems out of The South."

Though Barnes did not mention that Democrats actually retained a 7-6 majority in the U.S. Congress in North Carolina, the state I reside in. Only one incumbent, Republican or Democrat, was ousted in the Tarheel State as Cong. Bob Etheridge (D-NC) fell to Renee Elmers. But, WRAL-TV in Raleigh reported that the Etheridge camp is asking a recount as the incumbent lost by a mere 1,600 votes.

Liberals nationwide are very concerned about the race as "The Nation" (which is generally to the left of my views, and folks in places like Murphy, NC, might think I'm a socialist, but they are pretty extreme themselves!) said the Republican takeover could spell political doom in the areas of health care and abortion.

Lindsay Beyerstein of "The Nation" said that Rand Paul, the Senate-elect from Kentucky, even opposes abortions when a woman's life is in danger. Beyerstein added that Pat Toomey and Marco Rubio, who won U.S. Senate races in Pennsylvania and Florida respectively are also radical pro-life politicians.

Meanwhile, "The Seattle Times" has said as of 6:06 p.m. eastern time that the Senate race in Washington state between incumbent Sen. Patty Murray and GOP challenger Dino Rossi was too close to call with Murray holding an extremely slim lead.

I will devote commentary on the two of the key races in my home state of Virginia, in which Republican Morgan Griffith of Salem (who is ironically a friend!), the house leader for the GOP in the state general assembly in Richmond upset long-time incumbent Cong. Rick Boucher.

Boucher was first elected to Congress in 1982, and he was upset by Griffith even though the Roanoke Valley Republican lives outside the ninth district, which stretches to the state's far-western borders. Boucher was considered a centrist Democrat who was even endorsed by the National Rifle Association.

The other key race of personal importance was first-term incumbent Cong. Tom Perriello's (whom I also personally know) well-fought battle against conservative Republican Robert Hurt, a state senator from Chatham (some 50 miles north of Danville), who was well-funded by both state and national GOP operatives. Though Perriello closed considerable ground in the late stages of the race, Hurt prevailed.

Regardless of which way you swing politically, it looks like it will be an interesting two years in the American political spectrum.

Things We Learned on Twitter Today- Female Justices Opposed Likely Execution

According to a tweet from NPRNews, both Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Sonia Sotomayor were two of the three justices who were opposed to the highly likely execution of Danville, Va., resident Teresa Lewis, who would be the first Virginia woman to be executed since 1912. The execution is scheduled for tomorrow night.

I have made no secret of my vehement opposition to capital punishment which I firmly view as a human rights abuse that is unbecoming of American justice.

Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) rejected clemency for Lewis on Friday, an earlier time frame that past governors, such as Tim Kaine (D) who opposed capital punishment morally but still allowed several to go through during his four years in office.

Lewis' attorney told NPR that: "A good and descent person is about to lose her life because of a system that is broken."

The controversial case has made international news as it was one of the BBC's top stories last night. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmandinejad has ever used Lewis' impending execution to justify his anti-Americanism and his own dubious political stance in support of an execution (which was originally intended to be from stoning) of Iranian woman Sajjad Mohammad Ashtiani who was found guilty of adultery.

Ironically, Turkey, my late father's country which is also predominantly Muslim, does not allow the death penalty any more as capital punishment became a political mechanism there as late as the early 1980s.

Author John Grisham also wrote a letter to the editor to "The Roanoke Times" expressing his opposition to Lewis' execution.

The murder incident is a complicated one in nature as Lewis, now 41, hired Matthew Shallenberger (the trigger man) and Rodney Fuller to kill her husband Julian Lewis and her stepson C.J. Lewis.

Rocap also told NPR that one of the gunmen manipulated Lewis, who is borderline retarded (according to the BBC, she was just barely eligible for the death penalty by a 72 score--inmates with a 70 IQ can only get life imprisonment.).

Additionally, there is the fact that the co-conspirators/fellow culprits got lesser sentences in Pittsylvania County. Shallenberger committed suicide in jail. Fuller is serving life.

The incident happened on Oct. 30, 2002.

Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (vadp.org) is sponsoring state-wide vigils in Charlottesville, Fairfax, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Richmond and Norfolk among many other places, including one in the gas station town of Jarratt, Va., on I-95, due north of the North Carolina border, where the execution would take place, at 8:00 p.m.

I have done my part by calling, emailing and snail mailing McDonnell's office as well as contacting Pittsylvania County Commonwealth's Attorney David Grimes, in regards to my moral opposition of this impending execution.

You can call Gov. McDonnell's office at 804-786-2211. Even though, he has made up his mind, it is very important that he is challenged on this matter both politically and morally.

Silly Picture to Fill Space- Model T-Ford (1908)

The town of Rocky Mount, Va., in Franklin County located between Martinsville and Roanoke, will be hosting an old car show this weekend. So, we thought we'd feature a photo of a 1908 Model-T Ford even though we have no idea if this particular car will be among those at the show. The area is most known around the state, and perhaps around the world for its many moonshine still though most are no longer in existence.

I must profess that as I drove through the area this weekend that I was wondering if the Franklin County Democratic Party was now outlawed as signs for far-right Tea Party Republicans were everywhere in view as were militant pro-life billboards. Similarly, many churches in the area (also in neighboring Henry County, Va.) had very overt, anti-Obama messages--so much for the separation of church and state along Route 220!

Apparently, the Franklin County Democratic Party in Rocky Mount does in fact still exist, but when we did an arbitrary web search for the organization we stumbled upon the web site http://www.fcdp.org

I got quite excited before I realized it was the web site for the Franklin County Democratic Party in Columbus, Ohio!

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's Netflix Que

Virginia's governor Bob McDonnell (R) embarrassed all of us who are either from or live in Virginia by infamously declaring April 'Confederate Heritage Month' last week though he sure made me glad I am not a Republican.

Of course, while McDonnell professed that this was a way to help increase tourism in Virginia it was really a payback to the NASCAR Republicans in hamlets like Boones Mill, Ridgeway and New Market who voted for this right-wing extremist.

But, we have 'obtained' a list of the ten movies in the governor's Netflix que. We couldn't resist a chance to publish them here:

1. The Dukes of Hazzard (film version)
2. Deliverance
3. Gone With the Wind
4. The Birth of a Nation
5. Watermelon Man
6. The Passion of The Christ
7. Beneath the Planet of the Apes*
8. Soul Man
9. Invasion USA
10. Malcolm X**

*-because it has Charlton Heston

**-this one got in by mistake.
(This is a work of satire. Of course, we have not really found the governor's Netflix list but I wouldn't be surprised if it actually looked like this, without "Malcolm X"!)


We dedicate this entry to Pat Mullins who is the head of the Virginia Republican Party. He is working diligently to replace Cong. Tom Perriello with a NASCAR Republican...yeehaw!

Health Care: A Tale of Two Congressional Reps

The historic 219-212 Yes Vote for Health Care reform proved actually not to be a Democrati versus Republican matter as much as an inner party struggle where Democratic congressional reps from either red or purple states had to decide if the controversial, yet significant legislation was worth the political risk it entailed.

Thus hardly any Blue State Democratic representatives, with the exception of Cong. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), voted against the bill while several red state Democrats, including Cong. Jeff Tanner (D-Tenn.) and Cong. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) voted against it.

Thus, the battle came down to swing state Democrats and nowhere was that felt more here than along the Virginia/North Carolina border.

My own congressional rep Cong. Brad Miller (D-NC) voted for the bill in spite of death threats he recieved over the summer from far right constituents who wanted to force his vote the other way.

Another Triad rep Cong. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), one of the most partisan Republicans in Congress, publicly said the health care bill was a greater threat to American national security than radical Islamic terrorists.

In the end, there were no surprises in Virginia or North Carolina except that Cong. Rick Boucher (D-Va) who represents the southwest part of the state voted against the bill, perhaps because of impending political pressure from a potential run against Virginia's House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) who has indicated he may run against Boucher. The only congressional rep from Virginia with more seniority than Boucher, elected in 1984, is Cong. Frank Wolf (R-VA) who was elected in 1980.

Like all House Republicans, Wolf- who is considered to be a more moderate member of the Virginia GOP delegation- said he voted against the bill because of the alleged
$1 trillion price tag associated with it.

There were three members of North Carolina's Democratic delegation which voted against the bill. While it may seem more politically safe to make such a move, the three reps who voted against it, Cong. Heath Shuler (D-NC) (a former Washington Redskins quarterback pictured here), Cong. Larry Kissell (D-NC) and Cong. Mike McIntyre (D-NC) faced the scorn of constituents who helped elect them to The Hill.

Ed Morris of Franklin, NC, who was interviewed by NPR, lives in Shuler's district and he has been among the strongest proponents of the bill nationally, criticized the former football star in "The Ashville Citizen-Times" (Asheville, NC, newspaper):

"It may even cost him his job," Morris said. "But if he can save one life, it's a moral responsibility."

Kissell, who represents the area around Kannapolis-the late NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt's hometwon, was also criticized for his 'no' vote by area Democratic activist Michael Lawson who told "The Washington Post" in a December article that 'we sent Mr. Smith to Washington, only to realize he wasn't Mr.Smith.'

But, Tom Perriello (D-Va, pictured) did the brave political, moral thing and voted for the health care bill. Perriello, who resides in Charlottesville when not in Congress, said he had read letters of support from residents and hopspitals in Martinsville, Danville and Charlottesville.

Though he faces tough competition from a current field of seven Republican challengers, including Feda Morton a biology teacher and conservative activist with no prior political experience from rural Fluvanna County, Perriello told "The Daily Progress" (Charlottesville newspaper) that there was only one clear option:

"At the end of the day, it comes down to the dollars and cents at the kitchen table," Perriello said. "Doing nothing is the surest way to ensure that we're moving in the wrong direction."