In the Loudoun Times-Mirror, Mike Turner asks Congressman Frank Wolf an open question:

Mr. Wolf, which of the eight active provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (listed above) will you try to repeal if you’re re-elected?

That is the right question. The Republican party has made it clear that their order of business if they get the majority is repeal of the progress that has been made over the past two years. We, the voters of the 10th District, deserve to know where Mr. Wolf stands on that plan.

Will Mr. Wolf repeal lifetime limits on health insurance coverage?

Will Mr. Wolf repeal the provision that prevents denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions?

Will Mr. Wolf kick family members between the ages of 18 and 26 off their parents’ insurance?

I want to know, Mr. Wolf, what would you do?  

The health care reform bill that passed earlier this year is having a direct impact on the quality of available health care in Loudoun county. Contained within the bill was a provision providing over $8 million to the Loudoun Committee Health Center, aka Cornwall medical center in Leesburg.

The Loudoun Community Health Center found out Oct. 8 that it has been awarded $8.7 million in federal grant money to build a new facility.

It is one of 143 community health centers across the country to be awarded funds to address pressing construction and renovation needs and expand access to quality health care.

…

The Loudoun Community Health Center opened in 2007 in the old Loudoun Hospital on Cornwall Street in Leesburg in space donated by Inova Loudoun Hospital. It provides medical, dental and mental health care to those in need, regardless of age or ability to pay, whether they have insurance or not. Since opening, more than 6,000 patients have been cared for at the Loudoun Community Health Center, but with limited space, the wait list continues to grow.

…

“In short, we have reached a limit that prevents us from keeping up with the overwhelming demand for our services.”

Kenyon said the facility receives between 400 and 500 calls a day from patients and those wanting to establish care with the center.

The new 25,000 square foot building plans include 18 exam rooms, 10 dental operatories, a full on-site pharmacy, optometry, mental health counseling rooms, patient education meeting rooms and prenatal services. It is anticipated that the new facility will enable the Loudoun Community Health Center to expand from its current annual patient base of 5,000 to more than 12,000 patients and will create dozens of jobs locally.

– The Loudoun Times

You may recall that earlier this year, Cornwall was awarded a grant under the Recovery Act. That means that under President Obama and the Democratic Congress, Leesburg and Loudoun have seen a significant $10 million investment in our local ability to provide health care to people who would otherwise not be able to get it outside of expensive (for us) emergency room care. And that’s just the benefit of the services themselves. That doesn’t count the jobs created and money spent by those employees that boost the local economy.

Great news, and well done. Congratulations Cornwall! You’ve come a long way from being threatened with closure if BRMC was built.

 (I will save for another time the discussion of why a story about a grant that would allow healthcare coverage to expand to 12,000 of our neediest neighbors would be buried on page A5, in small type, nearly hidden by ads. Suffice it to say that layout is an Editorial decision at the Times-Mirror and stories about government money helping poor people get medical care and creating jobs don’t quite fit the “right” narrative.)

Yes, I know we have a periodic blog post that gets posted, but I wanted to highlight this one, from today’s Washington Post:

The foundation, an Arlington-based religious enterprise associated with a house at 133 C St. SE where several members of the House and Senate have rented rooms, acknowledged Wednesday that it had received two $25,000 checks, in May and June 2004, from the Missouri-based Islamic American Relief Agency.

The charity was included on a Senate Finance Committee list of terrorist financiers in January of that year.

Nothing like a fundie group receiving payments from a known terrorist group while the lunatic fringe on the right claims that the President has ties to terrorism.

Oh, and here’s another nugget about the “Fellowship Foundation”, aka, “The Family”:

Other Members who have accepted trips from the Fellowship Foundation are Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), who also lives at the C Street house, and Republican Reps. Frank Wolf (Va.), Joe Pitts (Pa.) and John Carter (Texas), according to House records. Sens. John Ensign (R-Nev.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) each also accepted one trip from the foundation.

Wait, what? Our congressman, Frank Wolf, accepted trips through a foundation that is funded partly through donations from terrorist organizations?

What pressing legislative work was Mr. Wolf doing on these trips he was taking? How many trips did he take? From Mother Jones:

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.)

$15,268

for trips to Hawaii, Greece, Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, and Lebanon, all for “meeting with government officials and other National Prayer Breakfast activities.”

Ah, “National Prayer Breakfast Activities”. Much more important business than, say, making sure that $900 million in funds for the Dulles Rail project isn’t squandered, in a Subcommittee you chaired. It’s much more important to promote the “National Prayer Breakfast”, sponsored by the Fellowship Foundation, a secretive Christian fundamentalist group that has received funds from known terrorist organizations.

But wait (as they say), there’s more!! From Huffington Post:

The stated destination of Tony Hall’s and Frank Wolf’s February 18-25, 2000 conjugal junkets was Kona, Hawaii, home of the international campus and headquarters of Youth With a Mission. YWAM is a global Christian ministry that owns the C Street House and whose founder Loren Cunningham proposes an ambitious plan for Christian domination in which believers achieve control of key societal sectors including government, business, media, and education: the 7 Mountains Mandate. snip

…The 7-M Mandate has also been promoted at Sarah Palin’s most significant church, the Wasilla Assembly of God.

and:

Longtime Family leader Douglas Coe, who has for decades been able to arrange private meetings with sitting US presidents, has come under scrutiny as footage has surfaced showing Coe expressing admiration for the dedication, and organizational and revolutionary prowess, of Hitler’s Nazis, Chinese Red Guard, and Lenin’s Bolshevik revolutionaries.

A little light reading for a Thursday, folks. Take this into consideration when you decide to cast your vote on November 2nd.

(hey, if the Tea Partiers can do it, so can I)

[Sounds of me banging my head on the keyboard]. THIS IS WHY WE’RE HAVING AN ENTHUSIASM GAP! Dammit! Equality is in the National fucking Platform for crying out loud.

I hear Danny Glover shouting in my head.

From the Jeff Barnett for Congress campaign:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

13 October 2010

Candidates Clash in First Campaign Forum

Hundreds Gather to Question Barnett and Wolf on Issues

GREAT FALLS, VA – Jeff Barnett and his Republican opponent Rep. Frank Wolf, candidates for Congress in Virginia’s 10th District, met last night at a candidate forum in Northern Virginia. The forum, sponsored by the Great Falls Civic Association, was the first such meeting of the campaign.  

Hundreds of residents from Great Falls and the surrounding area packed into The Grange to see the candidates discuss their vision for the future of Northern Virginia. Spirits were high, and supporters of both candidates interjected loudly, asked pointed questions, and broke into applause at regular intervals. Bill Redpath, libertarian candidate for Congress, also participated in the forum.  

“We’ve been working hard on this campaign for nine months, and I know voters were grateful for the chance to finally see both candidates on stage, and to ask them questions,” Barnett said on Wednesday, referring to Wolf’s previous refusal to attend candidate forums. “That kind of apples-to-apples comparison is so helpful to voters. After last night, the contrast between Mr. Wolf and myself is abundantly clear. As he said repeatedly, Frank is running on what he’s done in the past. I think that’s the wrong approach. With so much at stake, we must look to the future. That’s the only way to meet the challenges we face. We need anticipatory leadership, and our 30-year incumbent has made it very clear that he won’t provide it.”  

Sarah O’Neil, a resident of Great Falls, agreed. “It seemed like Frank Wolf highlighted a laundry list of small accomplishments, things like post offices and road preservation. I thank the Congressman for his help on those matters, but we’re facing billions of dollars in deficits and high unemployment, thanks in part to his failed economic leadership. We need big solutions and transformative ideas, but Frank Wolf would only talk about the little things. His solution to everything, including fighting the deficit, seemed to be to convene an outside commission. Don’t we elect Congressmen to make the tough decisions? Jeff Barnett stood out for the clarity of his ideas and the courage of his convictions.”  

Herndon resident Cesar del Aguila was worried by the Congressman’s attitude. “Some of Mr. Wolf’s remarks bordered on being outright discriminatory. When explaining his support for closing a local Islamic school, Frank Wolf seemed to conflate peaceful Muslims with hateful extremists. Northern Virginia is an increasingly global and diverse community, and the Congressman’s aggressive attitude towards religious minorities is way outside the mainstream.”

####

It’s not surprising that Wolf is only taking credit for token legislation, and not taking ownership of the fact that for the past 2 years, all he has done is say “no” to his constituents’ needs. No to health care reform; No to reform of the financial services industry; No to equal pay for equal work; and No to just about everything else proposed by President Obama or Congress that would move the 10th District of Virginia, and this country as a whole, forward.

We deserve better. We deserve a man like Jeff Barnett, who served his country admirably in the United States Air Force for 26 years while Frank Wolf was roaming the halls of Congress keeping himself hidden from view (and pretty much his M.O. since Jeff launched his congressional campaign).

Vote Jeff Barnett for Congress on November 2nd.

I grew up in New Hampshire (sniff). This hits home.

BitchPhD is going dark. I am so sad about this. That blog has been enormously influential to me. Not least because the lead writer taught me how to get my bras properly fitted. I hate it when blogs I love go dark. I hate it worse when they take down the site entirely. I really hope that doesn’t happen with Bitch PhD.Damn it, I’m going to miss that blog.

The following is a press release from the Jeff Barnett for Congress campaign:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

12 October 2010

Frank Wolf Dodges Another Joint Appearance

Refuses to Attend Fairfax Chamber of Commerce Debate

Fairfax, VA – Jeff Barnett, Democratic nominee for Congress in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, appeared this morning in a candidate forum hosted by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce at George Mason University. Rep. Frank Wolf, Barnett’s opponent, did not attend the forum, continuing his longstanding refusal to engage in public debate.  

Frank Wolf was the only major party candidate from the three congressional districts in Northern Virginia who failed to attend the forum.

“I am disappointed, but not surprised, that Frank Wolf has ducked another opportunity to debate our plans for the future of our District and our Country,” said Barnett. “Instead of agreeing to have an honest discussion on resolving the problems we face, Frank did the same thing he has been doing for years Congress: he just said ‘no.'”  

“Frank Wolf’s decision to skip the Chamber of Commerce forum is an insult to the business community of Northern Virginia,” said Barnett spokesman Patrick Dorsey. “Wolf claims to support small business, but he won’t share his ideas with them. Even after 30 years in office, a public servant has an obligation to work with the leaders of his community. Wolf’s refusal to do so is very disappointing. It’s a clear sign that we need new leadership in the 10th District.”

Barnett addressed the members of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce at the beginning of the day’s events. He spoke about his plans to help small business and his vision for grow the next generation of jobs in Virginia. Barnett also promoted the value of lifelong education. “I am tremendously optimistic about the future of our economy,” Barnett said, complimenting the ingenuity and perseverance of the area’s businesses.  Barnett concluded his remarks expressing his certainty that the Country’s best days lie ahead. He thanked the Chamber of Commerce for their hospitality, and expressed his eagerness to work with the membership as a Representative in Congress.

So what are you waiting for? An engraved invitation? Go get registered!

So we’ve been here 6 months, we have over 40 registered users, 4 regular bloggers, and 6 guest posters!

We’ve had debates on transportation, schools, CPBO, and whether or not Obama is progressive enough (personally, I say, “no”).

I’ve certainly enjoyed our first 6 months. It’s an honor to blog here.

Don’t forget that you can post without registering, by signing in as Guest (password is Guest).