In a press release today, Del. Al Pollard (D-99th) announced plans to introduce legislation that would ease charitable gaming restraints.  Due to abuses, Virginia began significant oversight of these events via the Department of Charitable Gaming. I can attest to the nature of the abuses that was going on prior to 1996, when the Department took over. The amount of money that ended up being available to the charities was miniscule in comparison to the amount that was taken by owners of the bingo halls for rent, supplies and the like. Once the state got involved, though, the amount of paperwork shot through the roof, forcing many small charities to abandon the games altogether.

Pollard proposes reducing the state’s oversight for those charities that hold bingo games at their own facilities.  Given the tremendous stress on charities right now, this is probably a good move.

The full press release is below the fold.

For Immediate Release
Scott Thorpe (804) 462-5466
July 10, 2009

Delegate Pollard Announces Effort to Ease Restraints on Charitable Gambling in the Northern Neck

Lancaster– Delegate Pollard today announced plans to introduce legislation which will allow veterans and charitable organizations to hold charity bingo events at their own facilities with greatly reduced state oversight.

“These men and women fought for our country or volunteer in our community” said Delegate Pollard. “They shouldn’t have to spend their time trying to maneuver through bureaucrats just to have a charity event in their own building.”

Pollard’s vision is a bill which would create a level of oversight somewhat greater than exempted organizations (with $40,000 per year in gross revenue) but less oversight and spending restrictions than current regulations. The new level of oversight would be defined by both gross receipts and whether the gaming took place in the facility owned by the charity and whose primary purpose is to benefit the charity’s mission.

Charitable gaming was legalized in 1973, but it wasn’t until 1996 that the Commonwealth started implementing strict oversight of these practices.  This oversight sprung from the fact that there were a large number of abuses, including ‘shorting’ players on prize money, and shell corporations charging excessive rent to their bingo halls, which minimized profit and thus limited prize money. It is with these big affairs in mind that the Department of Charitable Gaming Commission’s paperwork and regulations were created.  However, especially for smaller volunteer organizations, this work is often burdensome and bureaucratic.

At the start of the next legislative session, Delegate Pollard will work with both Democrats and Republicans to ensure that the laws on the books are not only fair and efficient, but also tangibly improve the lives of citizens of Virginia.

You Are Skilled

You are balanced and competent. You value harmony. Other people see you as dreamy, shy, and even a bit mysterious. Your ideal romantic relationship is unconventional, wild, and very public. You do best in tasks that require you to be logical, hard-working, and courageous.

Hmm -maybe, probably not, definitely not, probably. Guess I picked the wrong shapes

I just got the following email from Democracy for America:

Gary West for Virginia House of Delegates

Vivian - Longtime community leader Gary West has spent his legal career taking on big corporations and government bureaucracies on behalf of the people. West and attorney Richard Glasser were among the first in the country to pursue litigation on behalf of workers and their families who had been exposed to asbestos. Gary’s appointment to the Newport News Planning Commission in 2001 was a continuation of his lifelong commitment to public service. His unanimous appointment to the Commission proved he can bring people together in the name of progress. Gary currently serves as Chairman of the Regulations Committee and seeks to bring his work to the next level as your representative in the Virginia House of Delegates. Gary West is the only DFA-endorsed candidate in the race for Virginia House of Delegates, District 94. VOLUNTEER OR CONTRIBUTE RIGHT NOW TO HELP MOVE VIRGINIA FORWARD With your help we can improve the way Virginia builds roads, educates our children, and keeps our homes and families safe. As a long time resident, Gary understands the needs of the community and will work with YOU to bring progress to Virginia. Stand with Democracy for America and support Gary West in the race for Virginia House of Delegates, District 94. TAKE A STAND – LEND A HAND! Thank you for all you do! -Jim Jim Dean, Chair Democracy for America

Getting the DFA endorsement is no small feat. Congratulations to Gary!

The Jaded JD has a thorough, if complicated, post up about the plan of Republican AG candidate Ken Cuccinelli to expand the appellate division of the Virginia Court of Appeals.

In other words, Cuccinelli has his own “No Car Tax” plan—a proposal that will sound good to most people (who won’t bother trying to understand the details) and really do more harm than good.

Written for non-lawyers, the post explains the issue in depth and the implications of it. It’s worth a read – more than one, actually.

According to The Virginian-Pilot, 2nd Congressional Rep. Glenn Nye has officially drawn another challenger: Scott Rigell.

Rigell, 49, shipped his paperwork to the Federal Election Commission on Monday. He said he is running to help Republicans regain control of Congress and restore fiscal discipline.

Already announced is former Virginia Beach Republican Party chair Chuck Smith. The article mentions several other possible contenders. Rigell, though, has something they don’t: the support of former Rep. Thelma Drake.

That the Republicans have been eyeing this seat is no surprise. Most watch lists have the seat in the vulnerable category, along with that of another 2008 Democratic pickup, Rep. Tom Perriello in the 5th District.

The Nye win in 2008 was a surprise to many. Although Nye received 400 fewer votes than the winning Obama/Biden ticket, Drake ran a little over 8,200 votes behind McCain/Palin. It is the crossover vote that helped to propel Nye into office ~ and the vote he seeks to maintain, if his recent voting record is any indication. Can Rigell appeal not only to the Republicans in this district but also to those in the middle?

Guess we’ll find out soon enough. But I’m hoping this campaign takes a bit of a backseat between now and November. Getting people to focus on this year’s races is more important right now.

UPDATE: The Hill has this story as well and it appears that Rigell has the support of the NRCC.

Public Policy Polling released its latest poll yesterday (pdf). The results show the Republican candidates leading in all three top ticket races:

• Governor – Bob McDonnell 49%, Creigh Deeds 43%, undecided 8%
• Lieutenant Governor – Bill Bolling 46%, Jody Wagner 40%, undecided 13%
• Attorney General – Ken Cuccinelli 45%, Steve Shannon 38%, undecided 18%

It looks like the battle may very well be here in Hampton Roads. Here in the 757, McDonnell has a 51%-33% advantage over Deeds, while Bolling leads Wagner 43%-41% and Cuccinelli leads Shannon 39%-35%. With an overall margin of error of +/-4%, the LG and AG races are virtual ties. The gubernatorial race most likely reflects McDonnell’s higher name ID in the region at this point.

While the poll results are not what we would have liked them to be, the pollsters note that this is about the same place Tim Kaine was in 2005 against Jerry Kilgore. We know how the top of the ticket worked out – but Democrats lost the other two races.

I doubt anyone expected this election to be an easy one. This poll, though, should serve as a wakeup call.  We’ve got a lot of work to do.

Join Delegate Joe Bouchard

for a fundraiser

at

Croc’s 19^th Street Bistro
(A Virginia Green Restaurant)
620 19^th Street, Virginia Beach

Thursday, July 9th
5:30 to 7:30 pm

Host- $500
Sponsor- $250
Friend- $100
Guest- $50

Please make checks payable to

“Bouchard for Delegate” and mail to:

Bouchard for Delegate
PO Box 68594
Virginia Beach, VA 23455

Please RSVP to Jenn or click here

For more information call 757.226.0427

If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change

We are the world

I’m taking a few days off but that doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention to what’s going on. Today’s Virginian-Pilot brought to light the continuing saga of Arthur Whitfield, who was wrongfully convicted of rape and served 22 years in prison before DNA evidence exonerated him and he was released. He was finally pardoned by the Governor last April, but, as the article points out, his life has yet to get back on track.

When the pardon came through, Fasanaro immediately asked the state Supreme Court to provide Whitfield a $15,000 “transition assistance grant.” The money would come from the state’s criminal fund and would be deducted from any other payments Whitfield receives. State law provides that people who are wrongfully incarcerated can receive compensation for the time they spent behind bars. The transition grant is intended to help the person until legislators approve other award money.Once again, the Supreme Court told Whitfield that his freedom would prevent the payment.

Because he was released from prison, the Supreme Court refused to grant a writ of actual innocence, which prompted the pursuit of a pardon which took nearly 5 years. (As the article points out, that part of the law has now been changed.) And now because he was released from prison, they are denying him the transitional grant.

That we would treat an innocent man this way is inexcusable.

Whitfield may be hold no anger. I certainly do.

It’s past time for Virginia to do the right thing by this man.

Thus screamed the 2 1/2 inch high front page headline in Friday’s Virginian-Pilot. The accompanying article laid out how a simple malfunction created chaos for Hampton Roads drivers.

A severe electrical and rain storm rolled across the bridge-tunnel Wednesday night, causing power outages and power surges. Apparently the power issues damaged a water main pump and possibly caused a water main break in the westbound tunnel. The malfunctions caused the pump house to fill with water, eventually overwhelming it and water seeped into the tunnel’s travel lanes.

The water pooled 4 to 6 inches deep at the mouth of the tunnel on the Hampton side. Tunnel staff were unaware of the problem until about 6:30 a.m. The problem was not detected earlier because the alarm system alerting the control room of a failure is electric and also malfunctioned. Water was shut off and the westbound lanes were closed.

Traffic was diverted from the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel to the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel. Of course, there is no direct route on the Southside of Hampton Roads to the MMMBT (the convoluted route back down 64 to 664 doesn’t count, in my book). So that dumped a lot of traffic onto the streets of Norfolk, which, due to HarborFest and light rail construction, already has a lot of closed streets.

I watched this drama unfold via Twitter yesterday from the comfort of my home. I saw reports of 20-mile backups at the MMMBT, delays at the James River Bridge due to downed electrical lines, a 3-vehicle accident inside the MMMBT and more. The Downtown and Midtown tunnels were overwhelmed.

That Hampton Roads finds itself in this predicament is an indictment of a whole lot of folks, both locally and in Richmond. This wasn’t a major storm – Wednesday’s storm bypassed my neighborhood – but the results were horrible. I think I’m most bothered by the fact that the water was able to pool in the tunnel without anyone knowing for a while – what happened to the folks that used to walk through the tunnel? Where are the backups to the sophisticated alarm systems that don’t work when there is no electricity?

This should be a wake-up call for Hampton Roads. It is beyond time to get serious about our transportation mess.

Monday’s Ricci ruling has been hailed and scorned throughout the press this week. Many of the articles have focused on the fact that a 3-member appellate panel which included Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor had been overturned.

One of the best articles I’ve read on the topic, though, comes from Linda Greenhouse of The New York Times. Greenhouse, a former SCOTUS correspondent who now teaches at Yale Law School, says the lower courts relied on prior rulings but that this ruling changed the game:

…where the lower courts saw a safe harbor, the Supreme Court majority saw “express, race-based decision-making” that violated Title VII’s other prong, the prohibition against disparate treatment. A “statistical disparity based on race,” the standard that Judge Sotomayor and her colleagues used, is no longer a sufficient excuse, Justice Kennedy said.

What I see here is judicial activism. The lower courts relied on precedent while the slim majority of  Supremes didn’t.

Senator Mark Warner joined Creigh Deeds today to announce the formation of “Business Leaders for Deeds,” a bipartisan group which will be lead by Ted Leonsis of McLean. Leonsis is the owner of the Washington Capitals.

The press release (below the fold) includes the names of members – so far – of this steering committee. The group consists of members from throughout the Commonwealth.

In a  telephone conference just after the press release, remarks were offered by Deeds, Warner, Leonsis and Richard S. “Major” Reynolds III of Richmond, Managing Director of Reynolds Trust.  The latter focused on Deeds’ rural background as well as knowledge of the issues of the urban areas, saying he brings “a unique perspective” to the governing that needs to take place in the next four years.

In a question from Bob Lewis, Deeds reiterated his support for the right to work law as well as the rights of people to organize. He said that card check, despite Republican Bob McDonald’s efforts to make it otherwise, is not a state isse. The focus of the next governor, according to Deeds, should be on rebuilding Virginia’s economy.

A second question related to the series of debates that McDonald put out yesterday. Deeds said that the campaigns will work out a debate schedule and that all of Virginia will have an opportunity to hear from the two guberatorial candidates.

DEEDS ANNOUNCES “BUSINESS LEADERS FOR DEEDS”
~ U.S. Senator Mark Warner helps launch bipartisan group ~
~ To be led by Caps owner, ex-AOL executive Ted Leonsis ~

ARLINGTON — Democratic candidate for governor Creigh Deeds today announced the formation and leadership of “Business Leaders for Deeds,” a broad-based group of bipartisan, statewide business leaders who have agreed to advise and promote Deeds’ candidacy. “Business Leaders for Deeds” will be led by Ted Leonsis of McLean, the majority owner of the Washington Capitals and Washington Mystics. Leonsis also is a former AOL vice chairman, a venture capitalist and philanthropist.

U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner joined Deeds and Leonsis at today’s announcement. Warner is a former telecom executive who’s pragmatic approach during his term as Virginia Governor (2002-06) resulted in Virginia’s designation as the nation’s “best managed state” and “best state for business.”

“I appreciate the support and the expertise these business executives will bring to our effort, because these men and women recognize that their businesses are only as strong as the people who power them,” Senator Deeds said. “Our administration will be working hard every day to create opportunity and jobs for Virginians, and these business leaders will be a key part of our bipartisan efforts to better position the Commonwealth to emerge stronger from our economic challenges.”

“I am impressed by Creigh’s focus on quality education, technology and innovation as the cornerstones of Virginia’s economic future,” Mr. Leonsis said. “’Business Leaders for Deeds’ will bring together leading executives from across the state to advise Creigh during the campaign – and, more importantly, after his election this fall.”

“I have known and worked closely with many of these community and business leaders, and I appreciate their willingness to step-up and support Creigh’s bipartisan focus on producing real results that move Virginia forward,” Senator Warner said. “We cannot leave any region of Virginia behind as we work together to strengthen our economy and position the Commonwealth to compete in this global economy.”

Other members of “Business Leaders for Deeds” so far include:

Douglas M. Adams of Maiden, Retired President of The Country Vintner, Inc.;

Jane Inskeep Barrell of Culpeper; Co-Owner of Culpeper Management, LLC;

Robert M. Blue of Richmond, Senior Vice President of Public Policy & Corporate Communications for Dominion Corporation;

The Honorable Sandra Bowen of Richmond, former Senior Vice President of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, former Virginia Secretary of Administration and Commonwealth;

William M. Camp, Jr. of Franklin, principal of Holliknoll Farm;

James K. Candler of Lynchburg, Chairman of Candler Oil Company, Inc.;

Judith P. Carter of Orange, Principal of Germanna Title Company;

Laurie C. Crigler of Madison, Vice President of L&D Associates, Inc.;

Edward C. Dalrymple of Mineral, Vice President of Chemung Contracting;

Charlotte B. Dammann of McLean, Associate Broker of Faulconer Realtors Inc.;

Joseph R. Daniel of Culpeper, President of Jefferson Homebuilders;

Joshua P. Darden, Jr., of Norfolk, President of Darden Properties Inc.;

Carlos Del Toro of Stafford, President & CEO of SBG Technology Solutions, Inc.;

Susan Y. “Syd” Dorsey of Mechanicsville, Director of Sales & Marketing at Astyra Corporation;

G.S. “Sandy” Fitz-Hugh, Jr., former President of the Bank of America – Virginia;

David Goode of Norfolk, former Chairman, President and CEO of Norfolk Southern Corporation;

Mark Goodwin of Richmond, former Senior Vice President of UPS Freight;

William C. Hall, Jr. of Richmond, Vice President of Corporate Communications & Community Affairs for Dominion Corporation;

Robert D. Hardie of Charlottesville, Managing Director of Level One Partners, LLC;

Cabell S. Harris of Richmond, President of WORK Labs;

Jimmy Hazel of Oakton, principal of Angler Environmental;

John T. “Til” Hazel, Jr. of Broad Run, founder and former chairman of the Virginia Business Higher Education Council;

William R. Hedrick of Bluefield, President of Fort Chiswell Construction Corporation;

Ted Hontz of Stafford, Vice President of Basic Commerce and Industries, Inc.;

Kenneth Jones of Richmond, Owner and President of Prestige Construction Company;

James L. Keen of Vansant, CEO of Keen H.R. Services, Inc.;

Austin Ligon of Richmond, co-founder and retired CEO of CarMax Inc.;

Mark C. Lowham of McLean, Senior Vice President of WEST*GROUP;

Charles H. Majors of Danville, President & CEO of American National Bank & Trust Company;

John F. Malbon of Virginia Beach, CEO of Papco, Inc.;

Mark R. Merhige of Richmond, President of Shockoe Properties;

Bittle Porterfield, III of Roanoke, President of Rice Management Company;

Richard S. “Major” Reynolds III of Richmond, Managing Director of Reynolds Trust;

Gilbert “Gil” Rosenthal of Richmond, retired owner of Standard Drug Company;

Tom Rosenthal of Richmond, CEO of Med Outcomes, Inc.;

Walter Rugaber of Meadows of Dan, former President and Publisher of The Roanoke Times;

The Honorable Elliot Schewel of Lynchburg, Former President of Schewel Furniture Company and former State Senator;

Ranjit K. Sen of Richmond, President & CEO of CXI;

R. Chris Walters of Abingdon, financial advisor;

Naomi Weathers of Chester, Owner and President of Weathers Engineering Inc.;

Blair K. Williamson of Charlottesville, President of S.L. Williamson Company, Inc.;

Alan S. Witt of Newport News, CEO of Witt Mares, PLC;

Linda Zecher of Charlottesville, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Public Sector of Microsoft Corporation.

I’m trying to take a few days off from work – at least regular work. Still have plenty of other things to do around the house. like cleaning, cutting the grass, some weeding in my flower beds.

But I’m going to try to make it to HarborFest this weekend. Town Point Park has undergone a renovation and, in conjunction with HarborFest, is reopening Friday. Ought to be interesting.

Also – I got the following email from the VB Democratic Committee on some other stuff to do:

BIG Opportunity to help elect Democrats in Virginia Beach
Saturday, July 4th

Fil Am Friendship Festival
Redwing Park
9:00-4:00

Thoroughgood Parade
10:00-1:00
Country Club Circle Road-Thoroughgood House
Joe Bouchard’s District

Mt. Trashmore Fireworks
4:00 PM-Until
Meet at BB&T-Vols will be walking the event

Chick’s Beach July 4th Canvass
7-9 PM
Walk the Beach and pass out literature

Call the Coordinated Campaign HQ
757-320-4201
757-226-0427

What about you? Big plans for the weekend?

(Image courtesy of TPM) With the seating of Al Franken, Democrats now control a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.  Or do we?

Everything I’ve read leads me to believe this majority is a myth – that is, getting all 60 of them to agree on much simply isn’t going to happen. And my own, albeit limited, observations of the Senate confirm this. Yes, we may have one more reliably Democratic vote. No, it doesn’t mean that we will force through legislation that liberal Democrats have been clamouring for.

Here are a couple of other images – from Saturday’s Virginian-Pilot.

The issue was health care reform. Virginia’s two Senators, both Democrats, have divergent views.

If we can’t even get our Senators to agree, what’s the likelihood that there will be agreement among 60?

I’d say nil.

So this magic 60 really means nothing, other than bragging rights. Unfortunately, bragging rights carry nothing with it.

That’s the only thing I can figure out. Either that, or he’s about to come over from the dark side Seriously – we agree again?

I came to the conclusion a few years back that an elected official who can never run for re-election is about as close to an appointed leader as there is. There is no recourse for voters, no way for Governors to ever need to be accountable to the people, and outside of the rare opportunity to run for the US Senate, no chance Virginia voters will ever voice their opinion about their Governor again.

Where is Brian Kirwin and who is this guy they replaced him with?

ActBlue, the online contribution site used by many Democratic candidates and organizations, announced that you can now make contributions to your preferred candidate via Twitter. After setting up an ActBlue Express account, making contributions are easy. From its Twitter page:

To give using your Twitter account, tweet:
“donate $amount @candidate via @actblue“

Only one problem – and it is not addressed in the instructions: the candidate has to have a Twitter account.  I fully expect we will see a)more candidates with Twitter accounts and b)more appeals for money via Tweets. It is the latter that I don’t relish.

With today’s filing deadline, my email has been inundated with requests for funds and my phone has been ringing off the hook. Truth be told, I like Twitter because it allows me to keep up with what’s going on without being overwhelmed by it all. So I’m not so sure this Twitter integration is a good thing.

One thing is certain: if the only Tweets I get from a candidate are requests for money, I’ll stop following them.

Oh – and if you are interested in contributing, you can find links to the candidates’ websites as well as their ActBlue pages on my 2009 Candidates page.

The Washington Post asked some people for their opinion on the governor’s race. Interesting mix of folks as well as a wide range of opinions. Give it a look.

Come Wednesday, it will be a secondary offense to:

1. Manually enter multiple letters or text in the device as a means of communicating with another person; or

2. Read any email or text message transmitted to the device or stored within the device, provided that this prohibition shall not apply to any name or number stored in the device nor to any caller identification information.

The law as approved by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor is here.  The provision doesn’t apply if one is “lawfully parked or stopped.” I’m no lawyer but that seems to indicate that it is OK to read and send texts when sitting at a stoplight or when stopped in traffic.

For those who insist on texting/emailing while driving, take a look at Vlingo.  This speech-to-text application, once properly trained, does a great job. I’ve been using it for several months to respond to emails and to post to Twitter (when lawfully stopped, of course ).

One question for the lawyers out there: the law says “on the highways in the Commonwealth” without providing a definition. Does that mean highways only – such as I-264 or I-64 – or does it also apply to local streets?

UPDATE: Thanks to The Jaded JD, who heeded my call on the definition of highways in the comments. The relevant section is Virginia Code § 46.2-100 and it says:

“Highway” means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way or place open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel in the Commonwealth, including the streets and alleys, and, for law-enforcement purposes, (i) the entire width between the boundary lines of all private roads or private streets that have been specifically designated “highways” by an ordinance adopted by the governing body of the county, city, or town in which such private roads or streets are located and (ii) the entire width between the boundary lines of every way or place used for purposes of vehicular travel on any property owned, leased, or controlled by the United States government and located in the Commonwealth.

Guess that’s that.

Sunday’s Virginian Pilot brought two opposing views on the FTC’s proposed regulation of blogs, which I mentioned briefly in this post. The views were provided by J.R. Hoeft of Bearing Drift and yours truly. Hoeft posted his (unedited) op-ed on his blog last week, while mine (as printed in the paper)  is below the fold.

Reading the two of them side by side today, I was struck by the narrow view of Hoeft, who seemed to limit his remarks to political blogs, who, from my reading of the FTC guidelines and public comments, are not the target, anyway.  His take – that the government, via the FTC,  is attempting to limit free speech – is a misunderstanding of the role of the FTC.

There is a whole world of blogging out there that does not include political blogs. Technorati’s Top 100 blogs counts only one political blog in the top 10, while six spaces are taken by technology blogs. What the FTC is trying to do is make it clear that when advertisers pay for endorsements, the relationship between the endorser and the advertiser as well as the compensation is disclosed. This blogger gets to the core of the argument:

There already are fair trade regulations on the books that dictate appropriate ways for businesses to engage in commerce – whether marketing, communications, disclosures, advertising, etc. These regulations already exist to protect the consumer. As with many industries, new media was a disruptive introduction and businesses are left trying to figure out how to compete in a new landscape.The medium changes, but the business does not.

Businesses are still subject to FTC regulations that protect the consumer from the overrun of over-capitalistic companies trying to beat the competition at the expense of the consumer. This new regulation will simply update existing regulations to more specifically clarify that, hey, yes, companies have to play by the same rules when it comes to bloggers too. Companies should be enforcing their legal requirements on anyone peddling their goods in a quid pro quo or financial exchange. This is fair trade.

That Hoeft thinks that blogs that write product endorsements for money can be “readily identified” without disclosure is naive at best. Even IZEA, who matches bloggers with advertisers, requires disclosure of the arrangements by its bloggers.

Political blogging is different. Here in Virginia, we do have financial disclosure rules for candidates and campaigns. There is no way that a blog “funded by a candidate,” as Hoeft says, is not in violation of those rules if it does not disclose that fact. Bloggers being paid by a campaign are under no such rule to disclose that fact, but as a matter of course, should do so, as it goes to the credibility of the blogger. And as much as Hoeft would like to think so, the blogosphere has not been self-correcting. It’s kind of like rubber-necking drivers who gawk at a car wreck: many blogs exist in the Virginia political blogosphere just for the shock effect. And some of them are among the most visited sites in Virginia.

In any case, the FTC does not appear to be trying to regulate political blogging. Bloggers are free to mislead and mis-inform the public without fear of Big Brother watching.

IT’S ABOUT TIME WE HIT THE BRAKES ON UNSCRUPULOUS BLOGGERS

By VIVIAN J. PAIGE

THE BLOGOSPHERE is all atwitter about the pending oversight of the Federal Trade Commission. New guidelines are expected late this summer and with them will come a bit of taming of the wild, wild world of the Internet.

The FTC is charged with protecting consumers. It administers a wide variety of laws. A quick check of its Web site — www.ftc.gov — gives you an idea of how broad the commission’s authority is. It has won judgments against bogus billing companies, payment processors, foreclosure prevention specialists and corporate merger violators. It is the FTC that requires those disclosures you often see in the fine print of ads, such as “results not typical.”

It should come as no surprise, then, that the agency would want to make it clear that endorsements and testimonials in the new media are subject to the same rules as other advertisers.

The Internet has grown exponentially over the years. Reston-based comScore Inc. estimates that the total U.S. Internet audience in May was in excess of 193 million individual visitors. That’s a whole lot of folks to try to persuade, as the ad man says, to “buy my product.” The Internet has increasingly become the source of information on products and services. Most consumers are aware, if they wind up on a commercial Web site, that someone is probably getting paid to write about the product or service featured.

But what about the bloggers? Most consumers aren’t aware that many bloggers participate in various marketing arrangements to make money. Some simply place ads on their sites.

Technorati, a leader in tracking and indexing blogs, reported in 2008 that 54 percent of blogs contained some form of advertising. Other bloggers participate in pay-per-post arrangements, earning hundreds or thousands of dollars for each post. Still others write reviews for pay, either in cash or goods.

When I co-owned an online technology site, we often received software or other small items for free in exchange for a review. Generally speaking, we had to return the pricey items after reviewing them, but times they are a-changin’. Reports of free computers, trips and other items are no longer as rare as they once were.

Some bloggers disclose these compensation arrangements; others don’t. Although the rules already apply, for the most part it has been within the discretion of the blogger whether to disclose these arrangements. Some blogger groups, such as the Media Bloggers Association, of which I am a member, encourage, but do not require, its members to embrace transparency and to disclose anything “that might influence or appear to influence” the blogger’s independence and integrity. I take the standards of the MBA seriously. The proposed guidelines would make others do the same. Failure to do so would subject the blogger — and the advertiser — to penalties.

In its announcement, the FTC proposed three new examples to be included in the guidelines reflecting material connections between endorsers and advertisers as they relate to the new media. Comments on these three were specifically requested, and the public comments didn’t disappoint. Interestingly enough, not a single one of the 17 public comments came from bloggers. (The public comments are available at www.ftc.gov/os/comments/endorsementguides2/index.shtm)

Most of the comments came from trade organizations, who count advertisers among their members. Several said that regulating the new media was premature, with a couple of them saying such regulation would have a “chilling effect” as bloggers and other viral marketers would shy away from offering opinions that might subject them to claims of misleading the public.

I say hogwash. One of the main reasons bloggers blog is because they have something to say. Regulating blogs isn’t going to change that.

While the FTC believes that the industry should self-regulate, it is obvious that, for the most part, it has not. Bloggers who already adhere to transparency standards have nothing to fear from these proposed regulations. Those who don’t — consider yourself warned.

Vivian J. Paige, a certified public accountant, writes a blog at http://blog.vivianpaige.com. She lives in Norfolk.

The field has been set. As the result, I have finally gotten around to publishing a page that shows the 2009 statewide and House of Delegates Democratic candidates. Where available, I have included a link to their websites.

With the June 30 filing deadline quickly approaching, I hope you will consider contributing to the candidate(s) of your choice. On the 2009 Candidates page, you will find links to the top of the ticket’s individual contributions pages (hey Steve, how come you aren’t on ActBlue?) and at the bottom is a link to the combined House of Delegates page on ActBlue.

One of the blogs I thoroughly enjoyed when I first started reading the Virginia blogosphere was that of The Jaded JD. It is now back, albeit in a slightly different form.

A really good piece was posted on the recent AG debate.  Take a few minutes to read and digest.  It hits some pretty significant points. I think we will all remember this piece come November.

Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott (D-3rd) along with Mike Castle (R-Del.) introduced legislation in February that aims to curtail crime by focusing on prevention. According to The Hill’s Lauren Victoria Burke, the legislation is picking up steam:

The bill … has 204 co-sponsors, including 16 Republicans. Ninety lawmakers have backed the bill since June 1.

The bill seeks to fund evidence- and research-based crime-prevention programs and would allocate $1.2 billion over five years to bring together law enforcement, schools and community organizations in an effort to prevent gang crime. The focus on prevention rather than the traditional “three-strikes-and-you’re-out” approach would represent a dramatic shift in dealing with crime and the costs associated with it.

Companion legislation introduced in the upper chamber by Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) has eight co-sponsors.

In the House, the Republican supporters include Reps. Steven LaTourette (Ohio), Chris Smith (N.J.), Brian Bilbray (Calif.), Tim Murphy, (Pa.), Sue Myrick (N.C.), Fred Upton (Mich.), Mark Souder (Ind.), Todd Platts (Pa.), Randy Forbes (Va.) and Walter Jones (N.C.).

And you can count among the co-sponsors Republican Rep. Rob Wittman, who announced his support in this tweet a couple of days ago.

Crime is neither Democratic nor Republican. It is good to see that some of the 435 recognize that.

The following email is making the rounds. Figured I’d share.

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, why do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of representatives does.

You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red .

If the Army & Marines are in Iraq , it’s because they want them in Iraq .

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Sounds good, but alas … who the heck do we replace them with?

Check out this video.  Does that bird have rhythm or what?

Two of the folks from my childhood – in one day.

I’m feeling old.

Courtesy of vpap

Reading through the blogosphere after yesterday’s announcement by Del. Kris Amundson that she would not be running for re-election this fall, one would get the sense that Republican challenger James McConville has a chance to win this race.  Well, I guess anyone has a chance – the question is how much of a chance.  In this case, I’d say not much.

That’s not to say that Scott Surovell doesn’t have to work hard – he does. That’s not to say that he doesn’t need money – he does. But he would have to be a horrible candidate in order to lose this thing.  And nothing indicates he’s going to be a horrible candidate.

]]> http://blog.vivianpaige.com/2009/06/25/surovell-in-the-44th/feed/ 0 vivianpaige HOD44 http://blog.vivianpaige.com/2009/06/25/cant-pay-without-bill-city-wont-send-bill/ http://blog.vivianpaige.com/2009/06/25/cant-pay-without-bill-city-wont-send-bill/#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:19:09 +0000 vjp http://blog.vivianpaige.com/?p=8288 ]]>

In what has to be one of the more bizarre tales I’ve seen in a while, a large taxpayer in Portsmouth wants to pay its personal property tax bill but the city hasn’t sent a bill.

Marina Mandella would like nothing more than to pay the personal property tax that APM Terminals owes the city this year.

[...]

Meanwhile, Portsmouth officials have been arguing over when APM should receive a personal property tax bill. To date, the city has not sent the company one.

I read this story three times. I still don’t know why no bill has been sent. Regardless of the reason, though, I would think that Portsmouth would want to get a bill out so they can get paid. $2.8 million ain’t chump change.

UPDATE: The bill is going out Friday.

I certainly didn’t see this coming. In a letter to constituents today (pdf) she cites the economy as a motivating factor.

In a brief phone call, she told me she absolutely loved being a delegate, calling it a “great, great gig.” She says she is going to stay involved.

As I expressed to her, I am sorry to see her leave the legislature. My best wishes for her in the future.

UPDATE: Del Amundson posts on her own blog.

Yesterday, organizers of The People’s Debate – AARP Virginia and League of Women Voters of Virginia – announced the panelists for the October 12 event: CBS 6 anchor Stephanie Rochon, WCVE’s “Virginia Currents” host May-Lily Lee, AARP Virginia State President Warren Stewart, EdD, and League of Women Voters of Virginia President Olga Hernandez. As previously announced, the debate will be moderated by Judy Woodruff, senior correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. The debate will be carried live across the state.

As noted in the press release (below the fold), both candidates have been formally invited. Their response is requested by this Friday, May 26.

AARP Virginia and League of Women Voters of Virginia
Announce Panelists for 2009 Race for Virginia’s Governor

The People’s Debate

Richmond, June 23, 2009 – AARP Virginia and the League of Women Voters of Virginia announced today that CBS 6 anchor Stephanie Rochon, WCVE’s “Virginia Currents” host May-Lily Lee, AARP Virginia State President Warren Stewart, EdD, and League of Women Voters of Virginia President Olga Hernandez will serve as panelists for their statewide broadcast gubernatorial debate, slated for 8:00 p.m. October 12.

This unique debate, organized by the largest membership organization in the state, AARP Virginia with over 1 million members, and the League of Women Voters of Virginia whose primary purpose is to encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, will ask the candidates to go on record about issues important to the average Virginian.  The debate will be moderated by Judy Woodruff, veteran political reporter and senior correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and will be broadcast live across the state by all PBS television and radio stations and most commercial networks.  Richmond television stations CBS 6 WTVR and WCVE are co-producing and distributing the debate to all Virginia broadcasters and a total of seven CBS and Public Television affiliates have agreed to broadcast the debate.

AARP Virginia State President Kallio said, “We believe it is time that Virginia tradition included a debate focused on the interests and concerns of voters and seen by more than a small select group of people. Often candidates drag their feet in accepting invitations for public debates, waiting to see what strategic advantage they can gain. We hope none of the candidates will do that this year and will accept the invitation to the people’s candidate forum as soon as their nomination is official.”

League of Women Voters of Virginia President Olga Hernandez said, “This debate will have an online component which will allow the people of Virginia to fully participate by submitting questions and blogging about issues online at the Battleground Virginia website which will launch later this summer.  We will cover an array of subjects to inform the public on the candidates’ positions.

Letters of invitation for the debate were issued earlier this month to Democrat Creigh Deeds and Republican Bob McDonnell with a reply requested by Friday, June 26.

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world’s largest-circulation magazine with over 34.5 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARP’s 40 million members and Americans 50+; AARP Segunda Juventud, the only bilingual U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic community; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The League of Women Voters of Virginia, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.   We never endorse parties or candidates for office.  Voter Service is one of the League’s most important functions. The LWV-VA has a strong history of hosting community public issue forums and candidate debates.   The LWV-VA also publishes a non-partisan Voters Guide for statewide candidates and many of our local affiliates issue Guides for local elections.  So that voters may compare the candidates’ views, our Voters Guides allow all certified candidates to answer the same questions, unedited.  We publish a legislative directory, Your Virginia Government and various other educational materials for public use.  Visit out website at www.LWV-VA.org.

The first debate between Attorney General candidates, Democrat Steve Shannon and Republican Ken Cuccinelli, took place in Virginia Beach last Saturday morning.  The Shannon campaign uploaded the entire video to Blip TV.

(Seriously – if I had known this was being held in Virginia Beach, I would have figured out a way to get in. And I would have had better video )

Technorati Tags: Steve Shannon, Ken Cuccinelli

Jeffrey Breit, who had contemplated a run for Senate this fall, has withdrawn from consideration. The seat is currently occupied by Republican Ken Stolle, who is running for Sheriff in Virginia Beach.

Breit, 54, has four young children. It was his committment to family, as well as his law practice, that prompted him to withdraw.

Also interested in the seat, should it become available, is former senator Sonny Stallings. When I spoke with Stallings last week, he said it would be premature to campaign for the seat, and he anticipated Democrat John Bell will win the sheriff’s race.  Stallings previously held the seat in this Republican-leaning district.

On the Republican side are AmeriGroup Corp. founder Jeff McWaters and school board City Council member Rosemary Wilson.

A man committed five counts of robbery and was convicted. No one was physically harmed. According to this article, a guilty plea would have netted him as little as 13 years.

[Judge Norman] Thomas had no sympathy. He had thought about the case frequently. The judge cited Clardy’s use of Craigslist to lure victims, calling his actions a prostitution of their trust. He noted the location of the crimes, near a college campus and in the sailors’ home.

“You rob them at gunpoint and call them filthy names and hold them down in their living rooms at gunpoint to their head and put them in fear of death in their own home,” Thomas said. “That must be addressed.”

Judge Thomas threw the book at him, sentencing him to five life sentences, plus 53 years for gun and conspiracy charges. Projected release date: 2808.

Senator Jim Webb has sponsored legislation, The National Criminal Justice Commisssion Act of 2009, geared toward reforming our prison system. From a recent press release:

The goal of this legislation is nothing less than a complete restructuring of the criminal justice system in the United States. In my view, this overhaul has been made necessary by the rapid growth of our prison population, which now totals 2.38 million — the highest in the world. The growth in our prison population has not seen a corresponding increase in public safety.

So my question, dear readers, is simple: was the sentence excessive?

Billy Cook

For once, I agree with Brian Kirwin:

Electing the School Board won’t solve everything, since electing the City Council hasn’t exactly stocked City Hall with geniuses. But it can’t hurt to get the schools free of this nonsense.

UPDATE: Billy Cook was unanimously reappointed. Still doesn’t change my opinion on elected school boards.

With the announcement that the two gubernatorial candidates, Democrat Creigh Deeds and Republican Bob McDonnell, will be debating in late July at the pricey Homestead resort, I was reminded of an email that I received back in May and that I promised to post once the primary was over.

On May 4, AARP and The League of Women Voters held a press conference announcing their intention to hold a gubernatorial debate on October 12. The debate, dubbed The People’s Debate, will be televised live throughout the Commonwealth and will be moderated by Judy Woodruff. As noted in the press release, voters will be able to submit questions through the internet.

I hope to hear that the candidates have agreed to this debate. Having direct input from the voters is, I think, a critical part of our democracy.

The entire press release is below the fold.

AARP Virginia and League of Women Voters of Virginia

to Host 2009 Race for Governor of Virginia

The People’s Debate

Richmond, May 4, 2009 – AARP Virginia and the League of Women Voters of Virginia announced today that they have joined forces to produce the only statewide broadcast gubernatorial debate, slated for October 12.  AARP Virginia State Director Bill Kallio said, “We believe it is time that Virginia tradition included a debate focused on the interests and concerns of voters and seen by more than a small select group of people. Often candidates drag their feet in accepting invitations for public debates, waiting to see what strategic advantage they can gain. We hope none of the candidates will do that this year and will accept the invitation to the people’s candidate forum as soon as their nomination is official.”

This unique debate, organized by the largest membership organization in the state, AARP Virginia with over 1 million members, and the League of Women Voters of Virginia whose sole purpose is to encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, will ask the candidates to go on record about issues important to the average Virginian.

The debate will be moderated by veteran political reporter and senior correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Judy Woodruff and will be broadcast live across the state by all PBS television and radio stations and most commercial networks.  League of Women Voters of Virginia President Olga Hernandez said, “Unlike other traditional gubernatorial debates held in Virginia, The People’s Debate will feature an online component allowing voters to submit their own questions to the candidates.  We are very excited to give the average Virginian a voice in this debate.”

Letters of intention were delivered to the state Republican and Democratic Party headquarters Friday.  Letters of invitation will be issued to each party’s nominee immediately following the certification of their primary election results.

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world’s largest-circulation magazine with over 34.5 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARP’s 40 million members and Americans 50+; AARP Segunda Juventud, the only bilingual U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic community; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The League of Women Voters of Virginia, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.   We never endorse parties or candidates for office.  Voter Service is one of the League’s most important functions. The LWV-VA has a strong history of hosting community public issue forums and candidate debates.   The LWV-VA also publishes a non-partisan Voters Guide for statewide candidates and many of our local affiliates issue Guides for local elections.  So that voters may compare the candidates’ views, our Voters Guides allow all certified candidates to answer the same questions, unedited.  We publish a legislative directory, Your Virginia Government and various other educational materials for public use.  Visit out website at www.LWV-VA.org.

###

Attending the NCDC picnic Sunday, I had a chance to talk with both Rep. Glenn Nye and Rep. Bobby Scott about health care, an issue at the forefront of many minds these days as Congress grapples with it. The differences between the approaches of these two Virginia representatives is a microcosm of the debate going on in Washington between Democrats. The Republicans are pretty much united against any form of government-run health care plan.

Those conversations took place on the heels of a recent New York Times/CBS News poll on healthcare, which the NYT discussed in this article.  An astonishing 72% of those polled support “a government-administered insurance plan — something like Medicare for those under 65 — that would compete for customers with private insurers.”

It boggles the mind to think that Democrats – you know, those guys we all worked so hard to elect – are arguing amongst themselves about instituting a government-run plan. Isn’t that one of the reasons we supported a Democratic majority? And with the country firmly behind it, what is the hold up?

We’ve got a big stick – for how long, who knows? – so we might as well use it.

I used to co-own a technology site/blog. As a part of the process, we often received products to review. Some of it – usually software and other small items – we got to keep. The more expensive items, we had to return once the review was complete. On this blog, I’ve reviewed books and other items. All but one* of them I’ve purchased myself. I don’t accept advertising on this blog – if you find my blog via a search engine, you may see ads that have been placed on my blog by the web host, but rest assured, I am getting no compensation for them. Any candidate information on my site is done because I support that candidate, not because a candidate is paying me to do so.

I say all that because of the plan of the Federal Trade Commission to start monitoring blogs.

New guidelines, expected to be approved late this summer with possible modifications, would clarify that the agency can go after bloggers — as well as the companies that compensate them — for any false claims or failure to disclose conflicts of interest.

It shouldn’t be unexpected that the FTC would want to reign in viral marketing disguised as independent opinions. Some blogs routinely include disclosures of compensation, others not. Generally speaking, it is left to the discretion of the blog. Truth be told, the laws already exist.

“It would always be better for bloggers to self-police,” said Robert Cox, president of Media Bloggers Association in New Rochelle, N.Y. “We have laws on the books. They apply to everybody, not just people who write blogs.”

In case you hadn’t noticed, I am a member of the MBA.

Bloggers who self-police have nothing to fear when it comes to FTC oversight. Those who don’t – well, I guess they are on notice.

* – I see that I failed to disclose on that review that the book had been provided, free of charge, by the publisher. No excuse -  I screwed up.

Christina Nuckols of The Virginian-Pilot seems to think so. In an article in Sunday’s paper* she says:

[Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob] McDonnell does his best to encourage comparisons with Warner, and he’s clearly taking cues from the Democrat’s 2001 campaign. McDonnell makes only occasional mention of his party affiliation, for example, and he stresses economic recovery and government efficiency measures.

Nuckols was discussing the recent press release from the McDonnell campaign which announced “bipartisan support” for his candidacy. What the release really showed, though, was a number of Republicans, all of whom had previously supported Democrat Mark Warner, either in his Senate bid or as governor.

Warner remains a tremendously popular individual, with Democrats and Republicans alike. McDonnell, in an attempt to remake himself into a moderate, despite his background, is wise to try to tie himself to Warner. By obtaining the support of moderate Republicans, McDonnell continues to demonstrate that he recognizes the need to appeal to the middle.

A leopard doesn’t change its stripes, however, and like the revered former president Ronald Reagan, I suspect we are going to see the wink-wink sleight of hand appeals to the conservative base. Watch McDonnell closely for his equivalent of Philadelphia, Mississippi. Not saying the issue will be race, but there will be moments of using code to send a message to conservatives that he really is one of them.

And being one of them means he’s no Mark Warner.

* – The Virginian-Pilot, in its infinite wisdom, has put the columnists behind a firewall. You can only read them online if you subscribe to the newspaper or separately subscribe to ePilot. I guess they can reprint the New York Times or the Washington Post but choose not to emulate them.

An article written by my father, the Rev. C. Thomas Paige, as it appeared in the Tri-State Defender on the date shown.

Whate’er thou art, where’er thy footsteps stray,
Heed these wise words: This, too, shall pass away.
Oh, jewel sentence from the mine of truth!
What riches it contains for age or youth.
No stately epic measured and sublime,
So comforts, or so counsels for all time
As these words. Go write them on thy heart
And make them of your daily life a part.
Art thou in misery, brother? Then I pray
Be comforted! Thy grief shall pass away.
Art thou elated? Ah, be not too gay;
Temper thy joy; this too shall pass away.
Fame, glory, place and power,
They are but baubles of the hour.
Thus be not o’er proud,
Not yet cast down; judge thou aright;
When skies are clear, expect the cloud
In darkness, wait the coming light;
Whatever be thy fate today,
Remember, even this shall pass away!

~Author unknown

This poem expresses a sentiment very dear to me. Day by day, I come in contact with people who apparently are enjoying life at its fullest, or at least think they are. They are blessed with good health, a reasonable amount of money, a few friends, and many other things which this world has allowed them to have.

They walk about with the air of one of the hit tunes of some years ago, “I Got the World on a String, Sitting on a Rainbow,” living, if you please, in a fool’s paradise, thinking that nothing can happen to them.

As I look at this teeming number among us, I stop and ask myself, “What is security?” To them, they have the utmost security. But oh how many of us have been awakened to find out that, in the batting of an eye, all that we have can be taken from us and in a few moments, we can be just as poor as we were when we first started out in this world.

Those of us who read our Bibles have run across a man in the Old Testament known as Job. He was the richest man in the East. He looked up one day and one of his servants told home that he had lost all of his cattle. Before this one would get through telling him of the loss, another came and told him of another catastrophe. Finally, his wife told him to curse God and die. This was not a series of things that happened over a period of months or years, but things that happened in the matter of a few moments. It was not a long time before Job’s joys were turned to sorrow, his wealth to poverty, his happy family life to strife and turmoil, and his high social and economic positions to a place of mourning.

Let us accept Job as a type for us. What happened to Hob can happen to any of us, here and now. There are joys and riches that can be ours; there are sources of happiness that can not or will not be taken from us.

I was looking in a paper a few days ago. A woman who had been teaching for nearly forty years looked back over the years and said:

I have not made much money. I haven’t had an opportunity to live the kind of life that many of my friends have enjoyed but when I look back over the years and see the number of lives that I have been instrumental in molding and the grateful hearts that come back to me and thank me for what I have done for them, life has been most rewarding!

I wonder if this type of spirit was not the kind of spirit that Jesus had in mind when He admonished us to store up for ourselves those things that moths and rust can’t destroy and thieves not take away.

This unknown author was like many of us. He had come to the place that he knew changes were constantly taking place. Your friends today will be your enemies of tomorrow. Your fine home today can be a pile of ashes tomorrow. Your bank account can be melted into paying doctors’ bills, court fines, lawyer’s fees and the like tomorrow. Whatever we have today, we can not say that it is ours. We are only custodians of certain things. God loans them to us – our smiles, our personalities, our abilities, our money, our homes, and our automobiles – for the glorification of His cause. As long as we use them for His glorification, we justify ourselves in having them. When they become tools in our hands for personal glorification, then we will awake one day to find them gone.

Yes, whatever our lot today – darkness, despair, loneliness, heartaches, joy, happiness, security – they shall pass away and tomorrow we may find ourselves in just the reverse position unless we dedicate all that we have to God.

View the entire archive of “The Pulpit Speaks” here.

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there.  Spend some time with the kids – and kids, spend some time with your fathers.

For me, it is another Father’s Day – the 35th – that has come without the presence of my own father.  An article in today’s Virginian-Pilot is worth a read. And I ran across the following poem, which neatly sums up what many of us think of our fathers.

Rev. Charles Thomas Paige

What is a Dad?

- Anonymous

A Dad is a person
who is loving and kind,
And often he knows
what you have on your mind.

He’s someone who listens,
suggests, and defends
A dad can be one
of your very best friends!

He’s proud of your triumphs
but when things go wrong
A dad can be patient
and helpful and strong.

In all that you do,
a dad’s love plays a part
There’s always a place for him
deep in your heart.

And each year that passes
you’re even more glad,
More grateful and proud
just to call him your dad!

Thank you, Dad
for listening and caring
for giving and sharing
but, especially, for just being you!

Happy Father’s Day

Promoted from the comments – by Newport News Dem:

Robin Abbott’s event this afternoon was a blockbuster success!

About 75-100 people were in attendance to hear Robin talk about personal story and the need to break the logjam in Richmond by the GnOP failed leadership of the House.

Due to Phil Hamilton’s traffic jams on I-64, Senator Warner was a bit late but talked of how he wished to have had Robin as a Delegate during his term as governor to move on items obstructed by Hamilton’s right wing cronies. He tool some time to discuss his impressions on his first few months in DC. Steve Shannon could not get there on time because of the aforementioned Phil Hamilton traffic jams and Jody Wagner arrived about quitting time at she had a wonderful time on the parking lot that was formerly know as Interstate 64. (to rub salt in the wound, traffic was at a crawl heading back east)

I hope the size of the checks written were large as Law Partner Len Bennett pledged to match each contribution dollar for dollar!

We WILL win this seat.

Sorry I missed this event. Sounds like a great time! And if you missed it but would like to help Robin win in November, send her a few bucks.

From the Steve Shannon for Attorney General Campaign:

Virginia Beach, VA – The first debate in the race for Attorney General revealed profound differences between Senator Ken Cuccinelli and Delegate Steve Shannon. Shannon emphasized his experience as a criminal prosecutor and the leading role he has taken in child protection. Cuccinelli by contrast focused more on attacking President Obama and explaining his plans for changing the jurisdiction of Virginia’s appellate courts.

Shannon addressed Virginia’s growing illegal drug problems by presenting his comprehensive regional strategy to combat gangs like MS-13 that control Virginia’s drug trade. Cuccinelli attempted to match Shannon’s prosecutorial experience by discussing his work on the Senate Courts of Justice Committee. Cuccinelli struggled to explain his support for the “trigger-man rule” that Shannon blames for hindering the prosecution of beltway snipers John Allen Mohammed and Lee Boyd Malvo.

“We are delighted that members of the Virginia Bar had this chance to compare both candidates. Today’s debate made clear that Steve Shannon is the best prepared to keep Virginia families safe,” said Shannon campaign manager, Roman Levit.

Sen. Mark Warner spent the day in Hampton Roads Friday.  The Virginian-Pilot covered his first stop at the meeting of a group of clerics in Norfolk, where his topic was end-of-life care as a part of the overall health care debate.

Lunchtime brought the Senator to Chesapeake for a meeting with members of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce. He covered a wide range of topics, including the stimulus, TARP funds, the foreclosure crisis and entitlement reform.  (I tried to Twitter the more important points that he made in his speech. ) He also took questions from the audience, including one from me regarding that last item – entitlement reform. (I think he forgot that in addition to being a blogger, I’m a CPA as well as a Chamber member )

The late afternoon brought Warner to Virginia Beach, where he joined Del. Bobby Mathieson for a fundraising event. It was there that I learned about the Huffington Post’s Sexiest Senators poll. Warner is among the six included in the poll (and, as of this writing, is ranked sixth) so there was a bit of chatter about folks going over and voting for him

And yes, as I tweeted, former Republican delegate Terrie Suit was in attendance.

Today, Senator Warner will be attending an event for Robin Abbot, the Democratic candidate in the 93rd.

I appreciate  Warner’s willingness to come to Hampton Roads, not only for himself, but for our hardworking candidates.

In 2007, the House of Delegates picked up four seats – two of them in Hampton Roads. And in 2007, the State Senate picked up four seats – again, two of them in Hampton Roads.

How did we pick up those four seats in 2007? I believe it was a combination of things. First, we had really good candidates. Second, we had extremely active caucus members. Brian Moran, as chair of the House Caucus, spent a tremendous amount of time in Hampton Roads. Creigh Deeds, although not Caucus chair, spent a tremendous amount of time here helping Senate candidates. The coordinated campaign – warts and all – did an excellent job on the ground, bringing in volunteers to help paid staff. Finally, the candidates and the caucuses raised significant amounts of money.

Reading through the various sources over the last few days one would think that the only goal this year is to win the governor’s mansion and that the only place that matters is Northern Virginia. I can only hope that I am misreading these early signs.

The announcement that DPVA Executive Director Levar Stoney was taking a leave of absence to be political director of Creigh Deeds’ campaign for governor was the first shoe to drop. Wedesday’s announcement that DPVA communications director Jared Leopold is also heading over to the Deeds campaign left me wondering who the heck will be running the DPVA through the fall.  According to vpap, there are 68 69 contested House of Delegates races this fall.  While it is arguable that each of these races is competitive, truth is that resources will be tied up fending off challengers. That makes the role of the DPVA even more critical.

The House Democratic Caucus does the bulk of its fundraising through the Commonwealth Victory Fund. As of 3/31, the PAC had a paltry $35,442 on hand.  The caucus was a little better off, with $243, 022 on hand, but nowhere near the amounts they are going to need to help fund the races. Note that the second largest contributor to the Caucus has been Minority Leader Ward Armstrong, who contributed $483,000 in 2007. (He was actually the top contributor in 2007.)  I don’t expect to see those kinds of numbers from him this year – he has a challenger. And that $100,000 from John Stryker in 2007? Forgetaboutit. It’s unlikely to happen this year.

None of this bodes well for Democrats gaining the six seats necessary to obtain the majority in the House of Delegates.  And it seems that no one is even talking about that anymore. What’s at stake here? One word: redistricting. Without some gains in the House, we are staring at virtually the same districts as we have now for another ten years! Do you really think bipartisan redistricting is going to be implemented without Democrats at least gaining some House seats?

And then there is the emphasis on Northern Virginia.

Yeah, I know that NoVA represents a significant portion of the electorate. But let’s be real: they can’t do it alone. NoVA may turn out lots of votes, but they can’t pull the load without help from the rest of the state.  Hampton Roads, historically, has come through time after time.

Within days of winning the nomination, we learned that Deeds is moving his headquarters to Northern Virginia. “Resources” was offered as the reason, not a completely invalid one but one which makes the argument that the Democratic ticket is regionally diverse less believable. Already AG candidate Steve Shannon is from NoVA, and LG candidate Jody Wagner seems to spend most of her time there, based on her tweets.

It is a constant refrain of residents outside of NoVA that they are ignored. I hear it from almost every corner of the state.  Here’s what The Virginian-Pilot editorial board said last week:

Steve Shannon of Fairfax County has not distinguished himself during his short tenure in the House of Delegates, and he remains a stranger to voters outside his district. If he wants to be the next attorney general, he should start explaining now why he’s qualified for the job.

Hampton Roads is supposed to be a part of the golden crescent, yet the editorial board knows little of Shannon. Knowing the editorial board, I know they didn’t say this without justification.

And then there are the blogs. During the primary, all three candidates had bloggers’ dinners – in NoVA. Wednesday night, Deeds had a bloggers’ dinner – in NoVA.

Let me let you guys in on a little secret: Hampton Roads bloggers enjoy the support of the main stream media. That’s right: our blogs, in addition to reaching the very small number of blog readers out there, are included in The Virginian-Pilot as pundits. Right alongside folks from the likes of The New York Times and The Washington Post. Instead of reaching a couple of thousand visitors a day, when our posts are published in the Pilot, we reach about 200,000 households.  Does The Washington Post include blog posts in the daily paper or have a whole section in the Sunday paper devoted to blog posts?

Two years ago, Hampton Roads Democrats delivered four seats. In 2009, we will defend our House seats and pick up a couple more.  But it sure would be nice if we didn’t have to do it alone.

UPDATE: I see Mark has thoughts on this as well.

Just a few shots from this afternoon’s campaign kickoff.

Just a quick reminder that Del. Joe Bouchard’s campaign kickoff is tonight.

• When: Thursday, June 18, 5pm – 7pm
• Where: Bayville Park, 4132 First Court Road, Virginia Beach, VA
• Cost: Free
• RSVP to (757) 226-0427

I’m going to try to make it. Hope to see you there!

I was just looking up some stuff over at The Virginia Public Access Project and was amazed at the wealth of information they have incorporated into the site. The one thing I found most interesting: party performance over the last few elections. Take a look at this short video.

vpap just gets better and better. We are so fortunate to have such a tremendous resource. In fact, I think they are so valuable that I sent them a few bucks.

Only in America:

Forty Gloucester County residents have been ordered to pay the county $2,000 each for a failed effort to remove four elected officials.

The order entered Tuesday by substitute Circuit Court Judge Westbrook Parker formalizes a ruling he issued in December that found the residents abused the judicial system for political purposes.

The residents had petitioned for the removal of four county supervisors who were indicted on charges of illegally meeting in secret. The charges and the petitions were later dismissed.

And we wonder why more people don’t get involved. Sheesh!

And for that he got slammed in a Washington Times editorial today.

Poor Bob. He’s getting it from both sides.

h/t Virginia Tomorrow

Please join

Senator Mark Warner

Mr. Thomas Tingle                                       Ms. Verbena Askew

Mary and William Jordan                          Mr. Charlie Stanton

Victoria and Gene Magruder                       Rebecca and Douglas Hockaday

Mr. Leonard Bennett                                              Dr. Drina Northam

Mr. Robert Small                                                     Marie and Jim White

Dr. Donald and Barbara Tortorice            Barbara and Ralph Bresler

The Hon. Tina Vick                                          The Hon. Jeion Ward

For a reception to benefit

Robin Abbott

Candidate in the 93rd House of Delegates district

Saturday June 20, 2009

12:00pm-2:00pm

The Corner Pocket

4805 Courthouse Street

Williamsburg, VA 23188

Host $500, Sponsor $250, Guest $100

Please RSVP to Charlie Ingram by June 18, 2009, at (757) 930-3660 or ingram.charlie@gmail.com