My initial reaction to the song was that it wasn’t as good as the original. (Really – is anything?) Besides, I wasn’t impressed with the voice. In those days, I was in my signing prime, and could sing circles around this new artist.

I sang songs that meant something to me. In those early years of Whitney’s career, she sang those kinds of songs, too. Songs that pull in the listener to hear the words.

It wasn’t long before Whitney’s version of “The Greatest Love of All” became the one that I performed. And it wasn’t long before Whitney could sing circles around me (as much as I hated to admit that). Whitney’s hits coincided with my own performing career and her songs became a staple of my repertoire.

But this one was always special.

I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be

Everybody searching for a hero
People need someone to look up to
I never found anyone to fulfill my needs
A lonely place to be
So I learned to depend on me

I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone’s shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can’t take away my dignity

Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me

The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all

And if by chance, that special place
That you’ve been dreaming of
Leads you to a lonely place
Find your strength in love

I don’t know if drugs played a role in Whitney’s death, although I do know they played a role in her life. I only wish she had taken the words of this song to heart.

Rest in peace, Whitney.

How appropriate that my first post was also written on a Saturday.

Thanks to all who help make this little corner of the internet a fun place.

One of the points I’d make is the invasive nature of transvaginal ultrasounds, which would be necessary in many cases. I’ve had such a procedure – and without going into too many details, let me just say it was not a fun experience. No one should be subjected unnecessarily to such a procedure.

Members of the Virginia Legislature 1871-1872. Library of Virginia.

My latest op-ed appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Wednesday. With February being Black History Month, I wanted to write something for it. I had run across Senate Joint Resolution 13 when looking at bills earlier, reading just the synopsis of the bill. Thinking that there might be a local connection, I finally found the time to read the whole thing and noticed that one of those referenced shared my last name.

From the time I moved here, people have tried to connect me to the Paige family of Norfolk. But my own family is from the Peninsula and I’ve never found a link. Seeing the name of Richard G.L. Paige made me spend more time than I have right now to try to find a link again – to no avail. Nevertheless, as is always the case, I learned a lot about Paige during my search.

One of the things I ran across in my research was the photo above, which accompanied the column in the printed paper. Of note is the placement of the black legislators: all are at the bottom. R. G. L. Paige is 5th from the right in that row.

My own great-grandfather, Edmund G. Paige, was a contemporary of R. G. L. Paige. While R.G.L. was serving in the legislature, Edmund was doing some real estate investing of his own. I have a copy of the deed dated July 4, 1874 in which he purchased 6 acres of land in Elizabeth City County, now Hampton. Also like R.G.L., Edmund had been born a slave, but other than that piece of information, which was passed to me by my father many years ago, I have no other information. It is possible that my great-grandfather made his way to Hampton because of Freedom Fortress, Ft. Monroe. But that is pure speculation. Despite my efforts over the past 30 years, I’ve never found anything older than that 1874 deed about him.

As for the Paiges of Norfolk – I doubt I’ll ever find a link between the two families. I’ve been told many times – as recently as yesterday – that I look like them. While that is true, it’s not because of my Paige ancestry; as far as I can tell, there is no white ancestry on that side. My mother’s side of the family is a different story; it is that side which I resemble most.

My weekly column appears in The Virginian-Pilot on Wednesdays. You can see the columns as they are published here. With the recent update to the PilotOnline home page, navigation to my columns has been simplified: click on Opinion and then choose my name at the bottom of the dropdown list. You can also see the columns by liking my Facebook page.

So there is a little proof that gifts received by lawmakers don’t always have their intended results.

Nevertheless, I’d prefer Virginia lawmakers be paid a reasonable salary and not receive gifts at all. So kudos to Senator Harry Blevins and Delegate Bob Purkey for being among the 15 legislators who reported no gifts.

By the way – this is the second time in the last few days that Sen. Blevins gets my kudos. His vote last week on abortion legislation was the other.

The IRS implemented a tax preparer registration system last year, which will ultimately require certain preparers to take a competency test. In the meantime, it is caveat emptor – beware of who you choose to prepare your tax return. At the very least, spend some time making yourself aware of your own tax situation, so that you will have a better sense of whether your chosen preparer is capable.

A quick look at some of the stories and other stuff from the past week.

Scott Rigell disavows tax pledge
2nd Congressional district representative Scott Rigell has stepped away from his no-taxes pledge. Needless to say, there are some folks who are unhappy about that, including two letters printed in today’s paper (1, 2). There’s not much that Rigell and I agree on, but stepping away from the idiotic pledge is one of them. Kudos to Rigell for showing some independence of thought.

Komen vs Planned Parenthood
Over the course of a few days, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation went from one of the most respected organizations to one of the most reviled. It was a PR mistake of epic proportions. No surprise that they backtracked on the decision to continue making grants to PP, but theirs is a brand ruined, because political hacks, including Ari Fleischer, made a poor decision. And, for the record, abortion services represent only 3% of the services provided by PP.

Meanness in the General Assembly
Unless you are a social conservative, the actions so far in the Virginia General Assembly have been nothing short of mean. When conservatives like Kerry Dougherty call you out, you know you’ve gone too far. Between abortion and voter suppression bills, what has this General Assembly accomplished? I feel like Ed Schultz – where are the jobs?

Best joke of the week

Next week on the Apprentice: Trump and Romney try to fire 243,000 people to account for today's job numbers report.—
Don Mark (@DonMarkRVA) February 03, 2012

You Are 50% Left Brained, 50% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning.Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others.If you’re left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility.Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you’re right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Actually, I think this quiz is dead on. I do use both sides of my brain, every day. How about you? Are you right or left brained?

I think everyone has a favorite Uncle Pete story. Mine is the recording provided to me by pianist Pat Curtis, who worked with Decker on it. Decker sang “My Funny Valentine,” and it was amazing.

Happy birthday, little brother.

I don’t believe it can be said too many times: the issue right now is to get the question on the ballot. Both supporters and opponents of elected school boards should be willing to sign the petition in order to place the question before the voters.

The public lacks the ability to force referendum on most issues in Virginia; normally, that is left up to the legislature. Of course, the legislature could make it easier on the voters to do so, since the petition signature requirements are tough. Guess it would be too much to ask the legislature to reduce this and other signature requirements – like the section on recall, which I brought up earlier.They are a wee bit busy on other matters.

If you believe that Norfolk voters should have the opportunity to decide this, then sign the petition. Then we can talk about whether an elected school board makes sense.

If it weren’t so sad, this would be funny.

I understand the format of tonight’s meeting was changed last night and parents were alerted to the change via the automated phone calling system. (Obviously, I didn’t get the call, as I’m not a parent.) The format will be that of small groups, where each group talks amongst themselves. Presumably, there will be a report out of each group, as has been the case when the City uses a similar format.

If you can attend, please do so and let us know how it went.

In an article today, Smigiel, in his first term on council and a contributor to this blog, stands alone in wanting his colleagues to pursue some kind of action against Councilman Paul Riddick in the wake of the revelation of the latter’s tax problems. There isn’t anything stopping them:

City Attorney Bernard A. Pishko said the council is free to adopt a resolution on any issue it wishes, including one that expresses no confidence in another member.

The editorial board piles on with this piece, although I think the headline is misleading: in order to lose one’s voice, you had to have had one in the first place. But they make an important point here:

A member of Norfolk’s governing body continues to serve under the shadow of federal action with not one voice raised to criticize or even question his ability to do so.

That’s not just ignoring the elephant in the room. It’s giving silent approval to its presence.

Yep. Sorta what I said earlier.

The problem is that Norfolk suffers from a lack of leadership, a point I’ve tried to make in previous op-eds (1, 2). “Leadership is action, not position,” said Donald H. McGannon, a point with which I wholeheartedly agree.

At some point, Norfolk voters are going to realize that we’ve (mostly) not elected leaders.

Geary’s campaign ran into trouble after a highly orchestrated attack on his character by Republican leaders, including U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, R-7th. The leaders revealed that Geary had engaged in an affair with a married woman in recent years.

I watched this happen from afar, knowing none of the players personally. It was not a pretty sight.

This is why the legislature won’t pass a bill to allow party ID on the ballot for local offices, even when that office is nominated by party. Because it allows party officials to support another candidate – in this case, former Del. Bill Janis, who gave up his seat to run as an independent.

We’ll never know what caused Geary to take his life, but no doubt this effort to smear him played a role. Some people can come back from this; others cannot. Those who participated in this smear campaign should be ashamed of themselves.

My thoughts and prayers are with Geary’s family today.

Sabato calls it a “Newt-mare,” a spin on the word nightmare. If Gingrich is the nominee, it’s not just the presidency that Republicans lose, but a lot of those seats they picked up in Congress in 2010. That fear may very well be driving people to link up behind Romney.

I’d like to urge Republicans to support Gingrich but I can’t. There’s simply too much time between now and November and anything could happen. The last thing I’d want is having this megalomaniac as president. I don’t get the sense that Romney is the authoritarian that Gingrich is.

Obviously, I’d prefer that neither of them become president.

Participants are asked to gather at the Bell Tower in the southwest corner of Capitol Square (Ninth & Franklin Streets) at 9 am. More details are on the flyer – click to enlarge.

In its first meeting two weeks ago, organizers tell me that they had about 50 people attend.

The group has to collect petitions containing roughly 12,000 signatures in order to place the question on the November ballot.

As an ODU alum, I would love to have a medical school as a part of the university. But from a practical standpoint, I just don’t see how it ever happens. Not only would it be cost-prohibitive, but I suspect there would be significant pushback from those in Virginia with long memories.

I’m still researching but it appears that the only way the “Norfolk Area Medical Center Authority,” the name of the entity that was created by a 1964 act of the General Assembly, ever came into being was that it would be private and not require state funds. If memory serves, that was part of the argument in 2008 when EVMS asked to be included in the higher education bond package for construction projects.

Right now, I’d like to see ODU get its fair share of state funding. As I outlined in an earlier article, ODU is not getting the funding that its peers are. That needs to change.

Full disclosure: I am currently an instructor of accounting at ODU.

Of equal interest to me in the session yesterday was an update on the Community Services Board. City Manager Marcus Jones’ information on how to handle the CSB moving forward is in this document (pdf). Bottom line is that Jones would like the agency to be brought into the city.

But that wasn’t the best part of the meeting regarding the CSB. Check out Councilman Andy Protogyrou questioning the City Attorney (starts about 16 minutes in).

Must watch TV

Seriously, though – I’m glad the council had these two discussions in public. We’re making baby steps on transparency in Norfolk, and this is another one of those.

Update 2/6/12: The pdf file containing the presentation was moved on the city’s website. I’ve obtained a copy and updated the link.

I don’t put much stock in the 2011 estimated return – way too much guessing going on there.

I haven’t had time to go through them all, but what quickly jumped out at me was the 13.9% effective tax rate (total tax paid of $3,009,766 divided by total income of $21,661,344). Let’s just say that my total income was significantly less than the total tax paid and my effective rate was higher than that – and that doesn’t include my contributions to Social Security and Medicare. That’s what happens when the source of income is from qualified dividends and capital gains, which receive a preferential rate over ordinary income, like wages and interest.

In last night’s debate, Romney questioned Newt Gingrich on his 0% rate for capital gains, which would virtually wipe out Ronmey’s tax liability. Gingrich says yes, he wants that rate for those people because they are the “job creators.” Looking at Romney’s tax return I see only one job created: they have a household employee that was paid a total of $20,603. Um, that isn’t much job creation to justify a zero tax rate, now is it?

I’ll look at the returns a little closer when I have more time. And as of this writing, none of the stories written about the returns are worthy of linking to since they all just repeat the same topline information.

Hirschbiel kickoff

Businessman Paul Hirschbiel officially announced his candidacy in the 2nd Congressional district today. The picture at left was taken from the campaign’s Facebook page and includes Sen. Mark Warner and former LG candidate Jody Wagner.

I was unable to attend but local TV station, WVEC, was there. Below is their report.

The first is a briefing on the five proposals for Waterside. Originally, the council was going to receive this briefing in closed session but it will now be done in the public, informal session.

The other is an update on the restructuring of the Community Services Board. It is not clear if this discussion will also be of where we are on the whole CSB employee thing.

The informal session of council is where a lot of the work of council gets done. If you can make it, the meeting starts around 5pm at 4:30pm in the 10th floor conference room of City Hall. If you cannot make it, you can watch the live streaming of the session from the city’s website. And if that doesn’t work, you can at least watch the recording later, a link to which will be provided on the city’s website.

The agendas for both the informal and formal sessions can be found here.

A quick look at some of the stories and other stuff from the past week.

VA Republican primary: still Romney v Paul
This was my lead last Saturday but it appears it is now final. Rick Perry appealed the judge’s ruling but the appeal was denied. Absentee ballots have been printed and voting has begun. Oh, and that stupid loyalty oath is gone.

Republican primary field narrows further
Perry was the originator of the lawsuit but Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsman, and Michelle Bachmann joined in. Bachmann was gone after Iowa. This week, two more Republican candidates dropped out: Huntsman on Monday and Perry on Friday. Santorum, despite his official Iowa win, will be the next to go. I expect he’ll finish a distant fourth in today’s primary in South Carolina. Gingrich, whose race-baiting is fueling this latest surge, is in it for a while, although I still expect Romney to the be nominee. Gingrich garnered Perry’s endorsement (for what it’s worth) while Huntsman endorsed Romney, as did our governor, Bob McDonnell. As for Ron Paul – well, he’s not going anywhere. I expect him to take it all the way to the convention.

Speaking of Iowa – having watched some of the coverage on caucus night, and then seeing that they lost some of the precincts’ ballots, I think it’s time for them to give up the “first in the nation” position.

Congressional redistricting headed to the governor’s desk
Both the Virginia House of Delegates and the Senate have passed the incumbent-protection congressional redistricting bill. A couple of tweets from yesterday:

Under GOP VA map, none of 11 CDs are between D+5 & R+5 in Cook PVI. #VA10 Wolf (R) goes R+2 -> R+5, #VA11 Connelly (D) goes D+2 -> D+6—
Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) January 20, 2012

Only non-solid incumbent in our VA ratings is #VA02 Rigell, who is Likely R. VA = perfect example of competitive state, uncompetitive lines—
Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) January 20, 2012

Yep. But at least I live in VA-02. Democratic candidate Paul Hirschbiel, already on the DCC’s Red to Blue list, will officially kick off his campaign Monday.

Uranium ban to stay in place
At least until regulations can be written. This might take a while.

Passenger rail coming to Norfolk
By the end of the year, passenger rail service from Norfolk will restart. I am really looking forward to this. I think it would be kinda cool to take the train to Richmond (although I haven’t figured out how I’d get from Staples Mill into downtown Richmond).

Taxes
No, not Newt Gingrich’s (pdf – the one I’d like to see is Gingrich Holdings, Inc.,  by the way) or Mitt Romney’s (no link because he hasn’t released them yet) but your taxes. It’s time to think about them. The IRS announced a new Free File option that is open to everyone, regardless of income: fillable forms. And the Virginia Department of Taxation has followed suit. Electronic filing of tax returns began this week. The federal tax filing deadline is April 17.

Goodbyes
Once a fixture in my childhood neighborhood, I distinctly recall an item my godmother purchased for me from Mugler’s: a plaid shirt-shaped jacket that was popular with the kids back then. It was one of the few times that I ventured into the store, although I walked past it daily, mostly prior to its move up the street. I really didn’t know that it wasn’t located in Phoebus anymore until I read that the store is closing. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

R&B singer Etta James died yesterday. Another beautiful voice gone. Here is a live version of her singing perhaps her best-known song, At Last.

Playoffs
After going 1-for-4 last weekend, I hope no one puts much stock in my football picks anymore Nevertheless, I’m picking the Patriots over the Ravens and the 49ers over the Giants. (Have I mentioned how much I dislike Eli Manning? )

The documents show unpaid taxes going back to 1998. They show the filing of federal tax liens from 2003 to 2008. These alone were enough for every media outlet in Hampton Roads to run a story about it.

What caught my eye, though, was the government’s claim of a fraudulent conveyance (p.8). Having been an IRS agent for six years and a practicing CPA for the past 26 years since, I know the government doesn’t throw around the word “fraud” very often. This is serious business.

Much of the commentary surrounding this issue (columnist Kerry Dougherty and the editorial board both weighed in today) is whether the lack of payment – combined with Riddick’s previous history – make him unfit to serve. I would argue that the majority of people in Ward 4, as evidenced by his re-election, disagree with that assessment. Further, I would argue, that the majority of his fellow council members, who have stood beside him as he faced re-election and who are quite aware of his past history, would disagree with that assessment.

But fraud? That is a step too far.

I have no doubt that Riddick – a very smart man, by the way – relied on the poor advice of some “professional” somewhere. Transferring property to avoid taxes is an absolute no-no. Even if somebody told him to do it, his ethical radar should have gone off to stop it.

I have, on many occasions, defended the actions of Councilman Riddick, both publicly and privately. But this I cannot defend.

To see some of the writings these days, you’d think spell checkers didn’t even exist So while this is all in good fun, the truth is I wish more people would learn to spell.

Or at least how to use a spell-checker. I did the quiz without one, by the way

Your Common Spelling Mistake Score: 100% Correct

Your spelling is excellent. You don’t fall for common spelling pitfalls, and you spell almost everything correctly.

Guess this elementary school spelling champ still has it How about you? Do you make common spelling mistakes?

The other thing is that with Richmond Sunlight, we citizens really don’t have to wait for somebody to tell us what bills are out there. We can do it ourselves. Yes, there are organizations that do it for us – organizations who rely on individuals like me to review all of the bills – but that’s really the easy way out. We can all watch Richmond – and hold our legislators accountable.

I’ll be back at it this weekend, although it will be a little easier: only 52 house bills and 24 Senate bills have been introduced since I wrote my column Tuesday.

The University also presents an award each year to a community member whose lives mirror the principles of equality and humanity. The award is named for Hugo Owens, a long time champion of civil rights in the area and the first black rector of the ODU Board of Visitors. Receiving the Hugo Owens Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award this year was Jane Batten, widow of Frank Batten, former chairman of Landmark, which publishes The Virginian-Pilot. Jane Batten is a community activist in her own right, serving on the board of Smart Beginnings and other organizations.

Effective? Time will tell. But for now, it seems some in Washington are listening.

The “Stop Censorship” ribbon will remain on the site. If you click on it, you will be taken to a site that allows you to contact your Senator about the January 24th vote.

Censorship is not an American trait.

UPDATE: Forgot to mention that the site will be blacked out for just 12 hours, from 8am to 8pm. We will not be off-line; rather, the fine folks here at wordpress.com have designed a wonderful front that includes information about the bills.

In fact, I’d say the chance that those who are elected to represent us in Richmond are less likely to do so today than ever before. They just can’t stop playing politics long enough.

Take a look through the nearly 2,000 bills that have been introduced so far. Show me where the bills are that are about governing this commonwealth. Yes, there are a few. But the large majority – excluding the commemorations and celebrations – are about advancing a political agenda.

What has happened in Washington is happening here in Virginia.

And through their lack of attention, the people are allowing it.

Throughout its history, Virginia has always prided itself on being different. Even in the hated heydays of the Byrd machine (which I will argue still exists in many localities throughout Virginia, and certainly exists in the Code of Virginia – constitutional officers, anyone?), we stood apart from other states.

Now, it’s all about politics. Forget doing what’s best for the Commonwealth.

If they were doing what is best for the Commonwealth, we wouldn’t have the transportation mess we have.

If they were doing what is best for the Commonwealth, we wouldn’t have the education mess we have.

The list is getting longer and longer every day.

We have systematically replaced those who put Virginia first with those who put party first.

On both sides.

So, no, Virginia. We aren’t going to fix transportation, because that would require actual governing, instead of political posturing. And it might include compromise, another dirty word these days.

And so no, I won’t waste my energy on putting out a legislative agenda.

When I see articles like this, I am reminded that our only hope for better government at the top lies with better government at the bottom.

The two are from South Norfolk but are running to bring equality and a voice to all parts of Chesapeake, they said.

Both are independents.

Amick, a Navy veteran who works for the Department of Veterans Affairs, said voters this year will be able to choose candidates who will vote on the issues, not the party line.

“We are independent thinkers without directed ideology,” Hill said.

Hayes, who was present at the announcement, said there is not a “D” or “R” next to their names, but a “C” for Chesapeake.

“These two want to see what’s best for Chesapeake,” Hayes said.

Yeah.

It sure would be nice to see a V – for Virginia – next to the names of our state representatives.

Well, most of the nation, anyway. For some it’s like other holidays – simply a day off. And lately I’ve noticed stores advertising MLK sales.

Some would like this to be a day of service, an opportunity to give back to the community, which I think is a fine idea. Anything that encourages civic engagement is.

Some students, though, are not off today. Washington & Lee is holding classes today. The reason is that the school has founders’ day later this week, but the university doesn’t close for Labor Day or Veterans’ Day, either. W&L isn’t alone: VMI is also holding classes.

While I appreciate that there is a holiday honoring Dr. King, in some ways it has become just another holiday. And that’s sad. Because the lessons of his life and the legacy which he left are still pertinent. I’m old enough to remember a bit of King – especially his death – and the impact he had on our country. His words, some of which grace my favorite quotes page, remain an inspiration.

A couple of earlier posts of mine you might be interested in are here and here.

A quick look at some of the stories and other stuff from the past week.

VA Republican primary: still Romney v Paul
The week started off with a ruling by Judge John Gibney to delay the printing of the ballots for the March 6 primary. When he put the ruling in writing the next day, it appeared that his final order might be in favor of the plaintiffs. (Rick Perry had filed the lawsuit but was joined by Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsman and Michelle Bachmann, the latter three having not even bothered to turn in any petitions.) That was not to be. Friday, the judge heard the arguments in the case and ruled that Perry, et al, had waited too long to fight the rules (pdf).

General Assembly back in session: Republicans in charge
The General Assembly convened Wednesday. To the surprise of no one, Republicans in the Senate claimed control of that chamber. With the large majority in the House, Republicans are now in complete control of Virginia’s government. Despite the exhortation of Gov. Bob McDonnell in his State of the Commonwealth address that Republicans not “be arrogant” and not “overreach,” I simply don’t see that moderation coming to fruition. Elections have consequences, and how Republicans act with their control might just come back to bite them in November.

Republicans in charge: fast-track for congressional redistricting
I have to say I didn’t see this one coming, although I mentioned it as being on the table in my op-ed this week. I just didn’t think they would get to it as quickly as they did, with the first committee vote coming on the opening day of session. The bill has passed the House, but not without some division amongst the members of the black caucus. I have seen the memo – and my first response was that was something that needed to be spoken to the members of the VLBC, not committed to writing, simply because I knew it would end up in a story somewhere. The black caucus is a minority within a minority – and the need to stick together on the big issues cannot be overstated. But next time, I hope this kind of conversation takes place in the caucus meetings.

Bob Marshall is in!
Delegate Bob Marshall, author of HB1, the personhood bill, is running for the U.S. Senate. Marshall, who nearly pulled off an upset in the 2008 Republican convention for Senate, is entering an already crowded primary field. If nothing else, it’s going to be fun to watch Marshall debate front-runner George Allen.

Transparency? Um, no
The finance committee of the Portsmouth School Board canceled its meeting on the budget, rather than allow a Virginian-Pilot reporter to attend. When those who are supposed to represent us are afraid of the media, something’s very wrong. “Stop treating residents with contempt.” And the media, too.

Missing
The latest addition to the Virginian-Pilot editorial board, Michelle Washington, wrote a nice piece earlier this week about the lack of women in public life. Women, as I learned during the 2008 Democratic presidential contest, can be our own worst enemies. The sentiment of that woman she quoted in the story was one I heard far too often from women who would not support Hillary Clinton. If you substituted black for women in the article, you’d find a similar sentiment. There’s a name for it: internalized oppression.

Missing, part 2
Speaking of missing, I attended the Norfolk Forum Tuesday night and the speaker was University of Richmond president Dr. Edward L. Ayers. Ayers is a historian and an expert on the Civil War, the topic of his remarks. I don’t recall a speaker ever not having received a standing ovation before, but Ayers didn’t. Perhaps his blunt talk on the causes of the war made his overwhelmingly white audience uncomfortable.

Playoffs
My picks for the NFL playoffs this week: Saints over the 49ers, Patriots over the Broncos, Texans over the Ravens and Packers over the Giants.

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Whew! I feel all better now So, can you pass 8th grade math?

People often ask me how I keep up with what’s going on in Richmond. The live streams are the only way – and that’s assuming I have some time. Otherwise, I’m left to catch up on Twitter later on. I follow enough folks that are either in the legislature or cover the legislature that I get a pretty good idea of what’s going on. (And I use the best Twitter client available: UberSocial, which remembers the last tweet read.)

One thing I didn’t see yesterday, although I mentioned it as upcoming in my article, was the House
P&E committee vote on congressional redistricting. For that, I had to rely on a text that I received, which let me know the vote. I was proud of Del. Lionell Spruill, Sr. who joined Del. Mark Sickles in voting against this plan. Thumbs down to the other Dems on this committee who voted in favor.

There will be plenty of opportunity to watch the show that is the Virginia General Assembly this year. I hope more tune in and see it.

The text of the speech as prepared is here. I still find it ironic that the governor eliminated funding for public broadcasting last year, including money to our local PBS affiliate, WHRO, and yet his speech was carried on that very station.

The Democratic response was provided by Senators George Barker and Donald McEachin. In light of this afternoon’s acrimony regarding Senate control, I found the speech quite conciliatory. The entire text of the prepared remarks is below.

Senator McEachin: Good evening, I’m Senator Donald McEachin, Chair of the Senate Democrats.

Senator Barker: And I’m Senator George Barker.

We’re happy to be with you to discuss our future as Virginians. We have challenges. We have opportunities. And, most important of all, we have responsibilities.

Governor McDonnell presented some lofty goals tonight. We embrace challenges and will work with the Governor, Republicans in the legislature, and all Virginians to meet many of them. Two years ago we adopted a bold plan to restore Virginia’s pension system to fiscal health. We are pleased that the Governor’s proposed budget restores funding as promised, honoring our commitment to teachers and State employees.

Over the past decade, under Governors Warner, Kaine, and McDonnell, Virginia has received many accolades: Best State for Business, Best Managed State, Best State for Children. We have achieved such recognition by working together, Democrats and Republicans, in the interest of all Virginians.

Although our economy struggled recently, Virginia has done far better than most states, with unemployment well below the national rate. Over the past two years, we have partnered with the Governor and our Republican colleagues to help create more jobs in Virginia. We worked with Governor McDonnell to increase funding and improve targeting of money to bring businesses and investment to Virginia. We have put your interests and problem-solving before partisan bickering.

Over the last several years we cut 6 billion dollars and balanced the budget without raising taxes. We also did it without decimating support for education, public safety, and services for children, the elderly, and those with disabilities. We look forward to working with the governor to pass a budget that is best for all Virginians.

But we are concerned that aspects of the budget Governor McDonnell has put forth will damage Virginia and our economy by cutting hundreds of millions from public education and critical initiatives for children and families. Rather than making such cuts, we should be meeting our legal and moral responsibilities to our children and families.

In the past Virginia has met many needs with limited state funds by partnering with local non-profit agencies. However, the Governor’s budget would eliminate funding for teen pregnancy prevention programs and centers protecting victims of child abuse, and slash support for free clinics and community health centers, among others. We and our children need these programs.

Particularly short-sighted are cuts to pre-Kindergarten programs that put disadvantaged children on a path to success. These programs serve children who need to catch up to their peers before starting kindergarten. Studies have shown that children who come to kindergarten well-prepared are more likely to graduate high school, have higher earnings, and are less likely to be arrested. We all have an interest in continuing Virginia’s tradition of investing in our children.

The governor is also short-changing our kids by proposing to eliminate so called “cost-to-compete” money for our local school districts. This fund allows our localities to keep the best and the brightest school personnel here in Virginia, instead of losing them to higher paying states. This amounts to a nearly 65 million dollar cut to Northern Virginia schools alone.

And now I’d like to re-introduce Senator Donald McEachin.

Senator McEachin: Overall in this, his first budget, the governor is cutting Pre-K and K through 12 public education by hundreds of millions of dollars. His proposal to take more sales tax revenue to fund transportation is perhaps where we have our strongest disagreement. Governor McDonnell’s program would take 110 million dollars out of the General Fund, which is money that pays for our schools.

And taking money from education is a terrible approach to transportation funding. The governor needs to work on a real long-term solution to funding transportation instead of treating public education as a piggy bank to be raided. Taking money out of our classrooms to pave roads doesn’t help build Virginia’s future. It doesn’t help our children and it doesn’t solve our transportation problem.

We also oppose another Republican pet project, giving big corporations tax breaks for donations to private schools. We need to educate all of our children, not just the select few who can afford private schools. We strongly believe taxpayer dollars should be used for public education, not for rich private academies.

Weakening our public schools will not only hurt our children’s ability to compete in a cut-throat global economy, but also will make our state a less attractive place to do business. Last year, as in several years past, Virginia was named the “Best State for Business.” We earned that title for a variety of reasons, including education, a category in which received one of the highest ratings. Businesses will choose to come here if they know their employees’ families will be happy and their children will get a good education. We want to be a first choice for businesses so we can offer good-paying and numerous jobs.

This past November the voters of the Commonwealth elected 20 Democrats and 20 Republicans to the Senate, so to pass a budget we need to work together. We will work with the governor and with senators and delegates of both parties toward putting Virginia on the right track to economic growth, but we will not agree to short-changing our children and our future. Short-term band-aids are not a real solution to problems. Public education, transportation, a well-run and efficient state government-these are important priorities and all of them will determine whether Virginia is a state that leads the country with a robust economy in the next decade, or whether we fall behind.

We have obligations to future generations, and I hope we can all keep that in mind this session.

So I say tonight to the governor and his party, we share many of the same goals; let’s work together to make progress this session. That is what the people of this great commonwealth voted for and that’s what they deserve.

Thank you, and God bless the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States.

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The General Assembly opens tomorrow. This AP story says a fight might break out for control of the Senate. Um, no. One need only read the words of the Democratic leadership to know that no such fight is coming. The Republicans will get their committee chairmanships and control of the committees. And the Democrats will end up going along. Honestly, I doubt there will be many 20-20 ties. There are a couple of Dems who are all too willing to vote with the Republicans on certain issues.

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The congressional races in Virginia have been rather quiet so far. But not for long. Paul Hirschbiel, who is challenging Scott Rigell in the 2nd CD, is having his campaign kickoff in a couple of weeks. The special guest will be none other than Sen. Mark Warner. This is going to be an interesting race to watch – and an expensive one.

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On the local level, don’t forget that the first organizational meeting of the Norfolk Citizens for An Elected School Board is this coming Saturday. While not a fight, it’s going to be a battle to get the nearly 12,000 signatures needed by July 18. I suspect this article about the $20 million shortfall may prod some to get involved. Sure would be nice if the legislature would reduce the number of signatures required to a more manageable level.

I think it’s always good to hear what candidates would do if elected, not that most of these guys have a snowball’s chance of that happening. Truthfully, I expect the field to winnow rather quickly. At some point in the not-too-distant future, the anti-Romney’s are going to figure out that only one of them can actually carry that mantle. Sorry, Max, but that person is not going to be Ron Paul, although as one of two candidates not in the running to be ABR, I expect him to hang around for a while.

The other candidate not in the running to be ABR is Jon Huntsman. I think Huntsman is actually the best candidate on the Republican side. Except for his embrace of the Paul Ryan budget, he seems to really get it. But I’ll be surprised if he makes it past Florida. (The 2012 primary calendar is here.) Look for him to make another run in 2016, though.

So that leaves Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Rick Perry. Will Perry even make it to Florida? I don’t know. But he’s incapable of being ABR. Santorum had his moment in the sun in Iowa – and I expect that will be his high water mark.

Speaking of Santorum – I found his remarks Sunday on secularism to be quite interesting. On the issue of Pakistan, Santorum said:

They are not a theocracy. And we’re very hopeful of — of maintaining a — a more secular state than — than is in place today.

But when speaking of the U.S. and President Obama, Santorum said:

… he knows works because he has a secular ideology that is against the traditions of our country and what works.

So Santorum hopes that Pakistan is secular but doesn’t want that for us? Color me confused.

Anyway – Santorum is soon to be gone, leaving Gingrich as the standard bearer.

And that’s where things are going to get interesting. I think Romney and Gingrich are going to slug it out for a while – although not in Virginia.This trailer is just the beginning:

Ouch!

Once we get past March, the proportional allocation of delegates gives way to winner-take-all. Romney, who I expect will win the nomination, won’t have it locked up by then. The prize on April 3 is Texas – and Rick Perry will be relevant again. Who he endorses may very well influence the outcome there.

I can tell you: it’s a heck of a lot more fun watching the primaries from this side than it was in 2008.

• A newspaper article from 1965 which mentioned the 255 signatures Rockwell turned in. At the time, the requirement for governor was a mere 250 signatures. (I found a number of sites claiming that Rockwell paid a fee in lieu of signatures. That does not appear to be the case. I found no reference to a fee in lieu of signatures.)
• This short article about the 1965 results, in addition to discussing Rockwell, reminded me that my good  friend’s father – “a militant segregationist and member of the John Birch Society” – was also on the gubernatorial ballot that year. Also interesting was the use of the term “right-wing Virginians.”
• A William & Mary Law Review article (pdf) on election law reform from 1970, which explains the differences between the then-existing law and the new law. I note there is no mention of the signature requirements by Congressional district. It seems no one knows for sure when that crept into the law. The legislative history, although cited (like here), doesn’t go back far enough. Clicking on the 152 at the bottom brings up this bill, which shows the signature requirements being increased from 200 per CD to 400.
• I discovered a new source of info – The Virginia Elections and State Elected Officials Database Project, 1776-2008 – at the University of Virginia Library. This allowed me to see the results of the 1965 election, including how much money the candidates each spent, both in 1965 dollars and in 2007 dollars. (For comparison, look at the 2005 and 2009 gubernatorial races. Yes, a lot more voters but a LOT more money spent.)

I do believe Virginia’s 10,000/400 signature requirements are going to be reduced to a more manageable level. Del. Jennifer McClellan introduced a bill in the 2011 session that would have reduced the signature requirement to 5,000. Her bill was incorporated into this one by Del. Mark Cole, which didn’t have the reduction in the number of signatures. Cole’s bill passed.

But that was only the latest effort to reduce the signatures. Back in 2003, Del. Marian Van Langingham introduced this bill (identical Senate bill introduced by Benny Lambert) which would have cut both the overall signatures and per CD signatures in half – to 5,000 and 200, respectively. The bill passed – but without any changes to the language in section 24.2-545.

Opening up Virginia’s ballots to more candidates is the right thing to do. But, as I mentioned in my article, it may very well mean that people like Rockwell gain access; thus, the op-ed’s title (which I didn’t write, by the way). I don’t see that as a problem – after all, Rockwell only got about 1% of the vote.

It was a bit mind-boggling to note that we’ve not had four candidates for governor since 1965. So while I can’t prove the connection between Rockwell and the 1970 election law changes, it sure does make a lot of sense.

Bottom line is that Virginia survived Rockwell’s run in 1965.

It’s past time to change the law.

In addition to the website, the group has set up a Facebook page. More information is in the press release, below.

Norfolk Citizens for an Elected School Board

Organizer Representing Norfolk Citizens Files Paperwork to Initiate School Board Referendum

Norfolk, VA – At 10:30am on Tuesday January 3rd, Patrick Smith, a parent with children in Norfolk schools and a retired Air Force Veteran, filed the necessary paperwork with the Clerk of the Court to begin collecting signatures to place the issue of an elected school on the November 2012 ballot.

According to the Virginia State Code, valid signatures from 10% of the city’s registered voters must be turned in 111 days prior to the election in order for the question to be placed on the ballot.

To organize the petition drive, we will be hosting 2 organizational meetings in the month of January.

The first will start at 10am, January 14th at the Pretlow Library in Ocean View and will be primarily for those looking to take a lead role in organizing the operation.

The second meeting will be held January 28th at the same time and place for those interested in volunteering to collect signatures from their friends, family, neighbors and co-workers.

For more information, please visit our website at www.electedschoolboard.com or contact Patrick Smith at 757-284-0022 or at patrick@electedschoolboard.com.

It was a hoot to watch the folks count the caucus votes, all handwritten on slips of green paper. The votes were tallied on a legal pad, by hand. They punched the numbers into a calculator, as they calculated the percentages that each candidate received. At one point, there was a minor disagreement over what the calculator results meant: is that 3% or point 3%? Reminded me of my students

Then I watched them call in the results to the headquarters. The woman on the other end obviously had the candidates listed in alphabetically order, which seemed to trip up the caller a bit. When the woman asked for the vote totals for Herman Cain, he looked truly confused, as no one in his caucus had voted for Cain.

All in all, I’m glad the hype over Iowa is done. Now to move on to the next hype: New Hampshire

Note: RSVPs are due by tomorrow, January 3rd.

This will be a great time. With the legislative session starting on January 11, no doubt most of the legislators will be in town for this. I’ve attended them in the past and it’s a nice opportunity to hang out with the legislators, not all of whom will be members of the VLBC.

“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.” - Benjamin Franklin

As we roll into a new year, here’s a quick recap of the top posts viewed on this blog over the last year.

1. American Idol results 03/31/11: two eliminated
2. “It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.”
3. DYK…Virginia is a Dillon Rule state?
4. Concert review: Elton John
5. Trailer trash?
6. Tailgating in Virginia Beach: why the disparity in ordinances?
7. BCS championship: the halftime show
8. Political map of Virginia
9. Minority status
10. What happened to the Democratic Party?

Happy New Year!

UPDATE: Can you say “oops”? Cuccinelli reconsiders changing 2012 Virginia ballot

However, after working through different scenarios with Republican and Democratic leaders to attempt to make changes in time for the 2012 Presidential election, my concern grows that we cannot find a way to make such changes fair to the Romney and Paul campaigns that qualified even with Virginia’s burdensome system

In other words, he didn’t have the support in the legislature for his idea.

Round 1 goes to Bolling.

I guess it’s true that a broken clock is right twice a day

I have been to Central Park, though, which, for purposes of today’s quiz, is close enough

You Are Deeply Thoughtful

You believe that there’s an interesting story behind everything and everyone. And you’re fascinated by these stories. You think a lot about the past. You believe that history has a lot to teach us. You are original and expressive. You can make poetry out of anything. You are a spiritual soul who sees into the future. You are also good at interpreting dreams.

Take The Central Park Test