Tag Archives: Hall of Shame

This week in anti-gay temper tantrums

We-dont-discriminate-stickerFirst up: Oral arguments in Bostic v. Schaefer before the Fourth District Court of Appeals are scheduled for May 13. The court will be hearing the appeal of Judge Arenda Wright Allen’s ruling that struck down Virginia’s anti-marriage Marshall-Newman amendment.

The Virginia “Family” (not yours) Foundation, in anticipation, is holding a 40 day “fast.” Don’t be alarmed, though. They won’t starve, or even lose any weight. The word “fast,” according to the clarification that appears on their website, and contrary to its common meaning, “does not translate” to “hunger strike.” It only means temporarily giving up something you kind of enjoy, like Diet Coke. Yes, Diet Coke is actually the example they cite. This word salad, apparently intended to explain the aforementioned desperate action, also appears:

Our state and nation are mired in a morass of confusion and post-modern thinking that does not believe in absolutes nor that any truth can even be known..

Huh? A bizarre statement, until you realize that it perfectly describes their own post-modern thinking. Martyrdom is just not what it used to be.

Next, from the Magnolia State: As you might imagine, Mississippi, like Virginia, has no civil rights provisions protecting LGBTI people from discrimination. Unlike, for example, in New Mexico, it is perfectly legal for the proprietor of a Mississippi business or public accommodation to refuse service to someone on the basis of their actual or perceived gender presentation or sexual orientation. It’s also perfectly legal to fire someone, deny them housing, deny them a bank loan, or any other form of discrimination that would be prohibited if it were on the basis of race, nationality, or religion.

That wasn’t enough for those in the state who see imaginary violations of their constitutionally protected religious freedom in every shadow, however. Earlier this month, the state legislature passed a bill, similar to the one famously vetoed by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, that reiterates the “right” to discriminate that anti-gay bigots in Mississippi already enjoy, and effectively expands their “right” to discriminate against anyone else they dislike as long as they claim the discrimination is motivated by a “sincerely held religious belief.”

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Bob Marshall’s marriage meltdown

bob_marshallBob Marshall has said some dumb things over the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard him embarrass himself more than he did yesterday on the Kojo Nnamdi show.

Marshall was interviewed for a segment about Attorney General Mark Herring’s determination that Virginia’s anti-marriage amendment and statutes are unconstitutional. His remarks start out calmly enough, if poorly reasoned. Then the wheels come off. The entire segment starts at the 9:20 mark; the interview with Marshall is introduced at the 10:56 mark.

Marshall begins this rhetorical circus by asking whether Tim Kaine, governor in 2006-7 when the Marshall-Newman Amendment was enacted, “consciously signed a bill that violated the Fourteenth Amendment.” This is simply a stupid question on its face. Of course he did. How would any unconstitutional law ever become law if this didn’t happen? Every governor in every state that enacted similar amendments signed a bill that violated the Fourteenth Amendment. Does Marshall believe that it’s impossible, by definition, for anything enacted by a legislature or popular vote to be unconstitutional? Because that seems like a problem.

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The Worst Person in the Universe: Congressman Frank Wolf

Hat tip to Nolan Dalla for awarding Congressman Frank Wolf The Worst Person in the Universe award. Dalla writes:

Rep. Wolf is a longtime Republican congressman from Virginia.  He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives way back in 1980, riding the cozy coattails of Ronald Reagan’s landslide victory.  Since then, Rep. Wolf has been as faithful as a potted plant, deeply rooted to every corporate-funded, neoconservative, right-wing cause.  Like a slice of cold stale pizza, he’s one of the final leftovers of the late Jerry Falwell’s “Moral Majority,” a witch-hunting political movement of Bible-thumpers who once professed to know what’s good for us all, and was dedicated to transforming America into a modern theocracy named “Jesusville.”

In his so-called retirement, Wolf will continue to work with the worst theocratic elements in American society. His retirement statement says, emphasis and annotations mine:

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Whitbeck led reform commission to “save BILLIONS,” boasts Delgaudio

Eugene Delgaudio's lie-filled 12-11-13 email promoting John Whitbeck

Eugene Delgaudio’s lie-filled 12-11-13 email promoting John Whitbeck

John Whitbeck co-chaired the Loudoun County Government Reform Commission subcommittee responsible for studying fees for county services, privatization and outsourcing. His subcommittee targeted the vulnerable county workforce and the after school program that serves the county’s poorest children. Whitbeck’s subcommittee report was delivered four months late. It made no outsourcing recommendations, and its major “saving” recommendation was to double the fees on the already profitable CASA after school program.

In one of the most lie-filled emails of all time, Eugene Delgaudio’s 2013-12-11 campaign email boasted:

The largest and most comprehensive budget cutting program and money saving ideas ever presented to Loudoun since my own “Delgaudio’s 100 Million Dollar Tax Reducation [sic] Plan” was produced by Loudoun County Government Reform Commission.

The scale of the Reform ideas is gigantic and could save BILLIONS over the next decade if implemented.

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Dave “I’m-So-Busy” LaRock – Serial Debate No-Show

Where in the world is Dave LaRock?

Republican Delegate Candidate Dave LaRock is a serial debate no-show in this Fall’s General Election line-up for the House of Delegates in the 33rd District.

Dave’s just so busy doing “something else,” and we’re talking “scheduling conflicts” here, that he can’t show up in person in Loudoun to say why he should be our delegate.

Apparently he believes we, the Loudoun voters, should rely on his caustic witty one-liners in expensive glossy multi-colored oversized postcards that he’s stuffing into our mail boxes.

This man’s Franklin-Covey day-timer must be a blizzard of conflicting activities that would challenge the skills of an Amtrak scheduler.

For the record, before last week, Dave had ducked the Clarke County Debate Forum as well as the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce Debate Forum. Now that’s news! What candidate of either party ever ducks the Chamber’s well-attended high class opportunity to chew on issues that are well-framed and widely covered in the media? Our Dave did. Dave also refuses to answer the Chamber’s written questions on the issues. Thus, we have Dave the politically obscure and obdurate.

Last Wednesday evening, at 7 PM, there was a Debate Forum convened by the Purcellville Gazette at the Carver Center, not that far from Dave’s home.

There was a good size crowd. We all just got so cozy in our folding chairs about 7 PM with free cups of high test java and fresh made cookies and settled back, waiting to hear Dave tell us why he should be our next rep in the Northern Hemisphere’s oldest deliberative body.

While sitting there, I thought of the Monty Python lyrics, “Brave Sir Robin,” and thought we should sing instead of our “Brave Sir Dave” while we were waiting:

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Dave LaRock thinks the rules don’t apply to him. Again.

Unauthorized use of Catoctin Creek Distillery image in Dave LaRock campaign mailer

Unauthorized use of Catoctin Creek Distillery image in Dave LaRock campaign mailer

Another campaign mailer from Dave LaRock arrived at our house. It contained some photos from local businesses, with the tagline “Dave LaRock: Helping small businesses. Creating jobs.” The implication, of course, is that those pictured endorse his candidacy; that’s not unusual. But it turns out that Mr. LaRock did not seek authorization to use the photos.

Scott Harris, the owner of Catoctin Creek Distillery and pictured below in the green shirt, was forced to politely correct the record in a letter to the Purcellville Gazette:

Catoctin Creek Distillery on Political Endorsements

Recently, a campaign flier was distributed showing my image and speaking with one of the candidates for delegate of our district. I would like to clarify that Catoctin Creek is an independent organization, and does not support political candidates formally.

We have had the pleasure of meeting both candidates in this election, and we were happy to show each of them our facility and explain the nuances of our small business and its particular challenges.

We wish both candidates the best of luck in the election, noting that Catoctin Creek is not endorsing any particular candidate in this election.  It is our wish simply to encourage people to get out and vote, no matter their politics.

Scott Harris
Owner, Catoctin Creek Distillery
Purcellville

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Photo of the day

Gary DeMar's "Pink Hitler"

The photo above appeared in a Gary DeMar “Godfather Politics” article titled  “Gestapo-Like Initiative Becomes Law in San Antonio.” DeMar was responding to San Antonio’s anti-discrimination ordinance, that, by the way, protects Christians. I “found” Godfather Politics because they praised Congressman Wolf (who just endorsed Dave LaRock) for his endorsement of labeling every single citizen of Saudi Arabia a potential terrorist. Continue reading

Speaking of conservative bad taste

Perhaps the most callous letter of all time appears in today’s Leesburg Today. Supervisor Delgaudio has a classy klan of apologists, doesn’t he.

Letter: John Grigsby, Hillsboro

Posted: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 12:45 pm

Dear Editor: Too bad for Supervisor Delgaudio.

If, instead of doing something that couldn’t get him charged by a grand jury, he had shot and killed an unarmed woman off her meds in Costco, he would have been given a clean bill of health by Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Plowman and the Board of Supervisors would have said nothing.

John Grigsby, Hillsboro

 

Enough Mephisto

Eugene's campaign workers. Hannah Champ (Scoggins) at the door, Werner Workman on the right.

Leesburg Today ran a very critical editorial of Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio’s latest LCRC antics, but the criticism, “Stop the Circus,” didn’t go far enough in exposing Supervisor Delgaudio operations.

He was putting on a political show—one, like so many during his 14-year board tenure, that was woefully short on substance, but with potential to help fuel his campaign fundraising machine. Continue reading