Former Republican Delegate Dick Black is back. He’s going to announce his candidacy for State Senate on November 11th, Veterans Day, and I imagine it’s to highlight his military service (please provide a copy of your DD-214, sir). That’s all well and good, but it glosses over his odious behavior from the time he served in the General Assembly, before many current Loudouners were residents here.

They may not be aware of some of Mr. Black’s antics, so I’d like to remind everyone, and to bring certain issues to their attention:1) Mr. Black voted against increased penalties for a second stalking conviction within 2 years (HB 2688, February 2005), raising the crime from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6 felony;

2) He voted against a bill in subcommittee in 2005 which would have notified parents when their children were being assaulted at school (i.e., an “anti-bullying” measure). He touts the fact that he eventually supported the bill, though. Sort of like,” I was against it before I was for it”. But the fact remains that he tried to kill the bill before it left committee;

3) HB 1015 (4/26/04) included language that would allow the provision of counseling and advice through the schools to children who are victims of sexual abuse. Mr. Black voted against that bill;

4) On education, he voted against a bill that included a raise in teacher salaries (HB 292) in January 2004. He was also ranked next-to-last for Delegates in 2005 by education advocacy group Virginia 21 for “protecting higher education, increasing economic opportunity and creating an open government top priorities”;

5) He argued, on the floor of the House of Delegates in 2002, against the removal of the “marital exemption” in Virginia’s rape law (HB 488). Mr. Black stated, “I don’t know how on earth you could validly get a conviction when they (a husband and wife) are living together, sleeping in the same bed, she’s in a nighty, and there’s no injury. We’ve got to establish rules to reasonably ensure that we’re not going to convict an innocent person”;

6) In 2005, his final year in the House of Delegates, he was given a rating of 42% effectiveness by the Virginia Foundation for Research and Economic Education, ranking him 96th out of 98 Delegates measured.

Those are just a few examples of his bizarre behavior.  And that doesn’t take into account his offensive act in February of 2003 of sending plastic replica fetuses to members of the legislature along with a grisly description of abortion procedures. Or his quote in January 2004 where he called contraceptives “baby pesticides”.  He is noted for his desire to legislate what consenting adults do in their own homes; for relentless censorship, book-banning, and anti-First Amendment efforts, and for his intolerant stances on civil rights.

This type of extremist, unproductive behavior has no place in Loudoun County. We got rid of Mr. Black and his brand of extremism 5 years ago. There’s no reason we should return to it now, no matter in which Senate district he ends up. Please consider these issues when Mr. Black starts his campaign.

Oh, and by the way, Mr. Black, if an exemplary Air Force officer such as Jeff Barnett couldn’t be helped in his campaign by his stalwart military service, what makes you think yours matters?

Yeah, we got smacked last night. But you know what? I’m not dismayed. I’m actually interested. Interested in seeing how the dynamic between a closely divided Democratic Senate and a more Republican House works. I give the Republicans 18 months to fix what they perceive to be wrong.

It’s only fair, after all, since that’s all they gave the President.

A high from yesterday: meeting and working with a great group of volunteers in Broad Run District, Republicans included. The “opponents” I interacted with were very cordial and not at all filled with malice.

A low would have been some of the reactions I got from Republican voters when trying to hand out sample ballots. A simple “No, thank you”, or even a “No” would have been sufficient, but to reach out and then quickly pull your hand away like the sheet of paper is diseased is uncalled for. Also uncalled for are the under the breath insults. “Yeah, right” or “Not on your life” are two examples. It doesn’t hurt to have a little civility once in a while.

High: Sharron Angle losing. Harry Reid isn’t my favorite politician in the world, but he’s better than his bat-sh*t crazy opponent. Had Nevada voters put up anyone else, Reid would have lost.

Low: Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) losing. He was one of the few true progressives in the House, with a blunt style, to boot. He told it like it was. Sorry to see him go.

High: Very better than expected voter turnout in my district yesterday. Great to see everyone exercising their constitutional right.

Low: Our guy, Jeff Barnett, pulled in about 34% of the vote. He’s a hard worker, with great ideas, but I guess the anti-Democrat mood didn’t help him.

All in all, it was a very long day, a disappointing day, but not completely unexpected. Now we take a breath, relax for a bit, and then start to gear up for a busy 2011 election season.

Dedicated to the upstanding volunteers on the Rand Paul for Senate campaign in Kentucky (Warning – potentially offensive lyrics):

Well maybe I’m the f***** America;

I’m not a part of a redneck agenda.

Now everybody do the propaganda;

And sing along to the age of paranoia.

Conservatives have been bloviating, ranting, foaming at the mouth this campaign season about government spending too much.

I read a posting this morning from one of my Facebook friends, an avowed conservative from Arizona, that talked about the city of Mesa trying to pass a ballot initiative allowing the city to spend $99 million to build a stadium complex to keep the Chicago Cubs in Mesa for spring training.

The Cubs new owner has threatened to move the team’s spring training facility to Florida, after being in Mesa since 1953, if a new complex is not built.

On Tuesday, Mesa voters will decide whether to allow the city to spend up to $99 million on a new spring training facility for the Cubs ($84 million for a small-scale Wrigley Stadium and $15 million for infrastructure) that would include a private development, Wrigleyville West.

When the Ricketts family purchased the Cubs from the (Chicago) Tribune Co. last year for about $845 million and announced they were entertaining an offer to move the team to Naples, Fla., where they were being courted for a new facility, (Cubs legend Ernie) Banks initially supported the move, citing first-class golf courses he liked to play on and a lot of Midwesterners who frequent spring training there.

But, with the Cubs generating $138 million a year in economic impact and steeped with history and tradition, and with fans coming to Arizona from all over the world, Banks said he now believes it’s important for the Cubs to remain in Mesa to retain and create more jobs in a slow economy.

So let me get this straight – when the President and the Democratic Congress spend money (aka, “the stimulus”) to retain and create jobs in a slow economy, it’s socialism. But when your baseball team is threatening to leave your quaint little town (in a “Red” state, nonetheless) that they are in for one month a year, this type of government spending, to retain and create jobs, is perfectly fine.

The hypocrisy is baffling.

Note: Bob, if you read this, I’m not saying you’re a hypocrite, just pointing out the hypocrisy of the whole right-wing mantra against any kind of government spending.

This little video from the Jeff Barnett for Congress campaign says it all:

Here’s the quote from that vid that I find most damning:

For decades on the appropriations committee, Wolf wrote the budgets that added more debt than any other time in U.S. history (source: OMB)

The right-wingers and tea-partiers can rail all they want about the debt and say that it’s spiraled out of control the past two years, but here’s evidence from the non-partisan OMB that Wolf (and by extension, the Republicans) were the major players in the explosion of the federal debt.

It’s time to retire Frank Wolf.

Lowell over at Blue Virginia has a new post on a very Delgaudio-like interview given by the noted homophobe, the hate-filled Dick Black.

Highlights include Dick Black (yes, that’s really his name) riffing on the supposed evils of gays in the military – increased HIV and AIDS, ogling and fondling in the showers and the foxholes, and worse!

And Lowell also notes that our own clueless representative, Frank Wolf, “praised Black as ‘a vital member of my team'”.Thankfully, Jeff Barnett, running to unseat Wolf in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, has issued a statement:

McLEAN, VA – Jeff Barnett, Democratic Candidate for Congress in Virginia’s 10th District, has condemned recent statements about gay people and the military made by Dick Black, Republican Candidate for Virginia State Senate. Black recently sat for an interview with a group named “Americans for Truth About Homosexuality.”

“Mr. Black’s comments about the imagined “danger” of gay men and women serving in the military are hateful,  and they are an affront to the thousands of people who serve their country with honor but live in fear,” said Barnett. “Not only are Mr. Black’s comments inappropriate, they are incorrect. I served for 26 years in the United States Air Force. I can state unequivocally that simply allowing gay people to serve their country will not, as Mr. Black ludicrously contends, cause deaths on the battlefield. In fact, it is the outdated and discriminatory “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy that really endangers soldiers, by undermining the trusting and honest relationship that should exist between a commander and his men.”

“Mr. Black’s comments are very upsetting. Perhaps equally upsetting is that Frank Wolf, who likes to portray himself as a moderate, has called Mr. Black “a vital member of my team.” Discriminatory statements of the kind propagated by Dick Black have no place in the American political discourse. I call on Frank Wolf to denounce these hateful sentiments immediately,” Barnett said.

Is this what we want in Loudoun County? We want hate-filled bigots like Dick Black and Eugene Delgaudio representing us? And we want Frank Wolf to act as benefactor and behind-the-scenes supporter?

We defeated Black once. We will do it again. Wolf is next, followed by Delgaudio. Let’s work together to rid Loudoun County of hate, fear-mongering, and a perpetuation of lies and innuendo, all in the name of securing votes.

Wolf, Black, and Delgaudio, I pity you all. As a military veteran, I am appalled that you discredit my fellow troops in this manner. You are a disgrace to this county, and to this Commonwealth.

In every re-election which Frank Wolf has run in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, the Fairfax Times has endorsed him.

Until this year.

In Barnett, a retired Air Force colonel whose most recent job involved advising corporate and government leaders on the information age, we see someone who is tailor-made to lead a district that boasts an array of technological industries and government defense contractors.

We certainly like Barnett’s emphasis on creating and preserving jobs, which includes providing tax incentives for small businesses to expand as well as helping area firms innovate and compete in the global marketplace.

We also like his thoughts on reducing the federal deficit, expanding lifelong education opportunities and leveraging Northern Virginia’s proximity to Washington, D.C., to get more federal road and transit money. As a 26-year military veteran who spent time keeping the peace in some of the world’s hottest war zones, he also has some interesting thoughts on making the U.S. military leaner and meaner.

Frank Wolf, as always, is a good, safe choice.

Jeff Barnett, who radiates energy and optimism, is a better one.

It’s time, after 30 years, and twice where Wolf said he would serve a limited term (and later re-neged), that the 10th District changes for the better.

Jeff Barnett is better.

From the office of our outstanding Senator, Mark Herring (D-33), via Facebook:

Leesburg, VA – Senator Mark Herring (D-Loudoun and Fairfax) has sent a letter to Virginia Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton requesting available state funds for two projects critical to alleviating traffic along the Route 7 corridor:  the construction of a planned interchange at Route 7 and Belmont Ridge Road, and the construction of the Sycolin Road overpass.

“The completion of these two projects will make great strides toward the completion of Route 7 as a limited access highway and improve traffic flow on one of the region’s most critical transportation corridors,” Herring states in his letter

“It would support employment growth in a corridor of regional and statewide significance, bolster the area’s economic competitiveness, reduce congestion and travel time on Route 7, improve the quality of life for thousands of commuters who suffer through heavy traffic congestion and frustrating delays every day, improve safety for the traveling public by eliminating two of Loudoun County’s most dangerous intersections, and allow for the state to be a full partner in the public/private partnership that has characterized the forward progress of the corridor over the last fifteen years.”

The letter comes as a result of the second meeting of Senator Herring’s Route 7 Task Force, a group of fifteen business and community leaders that Herring has formed to address the rapidly worsening congestion on Route 7.  The group identified the Route 7/Belmont Ridge Road interchange and Sycolin Road overpass as top priorities for getting traffic moving.  The group agreed at the meeting to compose a companion letter to Secretary Connaughton, to be signed by all of its members.  

In September, Governor McDonnell, along with Secretary Connaughton, released the findings of an independent financial and performance audit of the Virginia Department of Transportation.  Among the audit’s findings: $800 to $900 million in funds that the Governor noted could be put to work immediately building roads and reducing congestion statewide.

###

Excellent work, Senator. The Belmont Ridge Road (Rte. 659)/Route 7 interchange is one of the most dangerous intersections in Eastern Loudoun. It is in dire need of improvement, not only to improve traffic flow, but for the safety of other drivers.

Disclosure: my wife sits on Sen. Herring’s task force.  

From the Loudoun Times Mirror, Broad Run District Supervisor Lori Waters has announced she will not seek re-election in 2011.

This is an election that is really in play now. As the Broad Run District chair for the LCDC, I do know that we have prospective candidates for this seat. I’m just not at liberty to discuss them at this moment.

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)