After months of press reports of gifts and loans, Gov. Bob McDonnell issued an apology via Twitter yesterday and announced that he had repaid two loans, with interest. No doubt McDonnell thinks this will make everything good again. Um, think again. Trust is something that is earned, over a long period of time, and given … Continue reading Not nearly enough
It's no longer a matter of "if", but "when." Marriage equality will come to every state, including Virginia. Last week, two Norfolk men filed suit challenging Virginia's marriage inequality. Three days later, an Ohio judge issued a restraining order which forbade the registrar of deaths from accepting a death certificate that did not reflect that … Continue reading The day will come
The Zimmerman trial exposed what many are unwilling to acknowledge: there remains a deep racial divide in this country. The Washington Post released poll numbers yesterday on the verdict, but the issue is really deeper: In the Post-ABC News poll, 86 percent of African Americans say blacks and other minorities do not get equal treatment … Continue reading Two Americas
A few articles that caught my eye: Let's enact a new Voting Rights Act. Some commonsense solutions in here. I suggested to Rep. Bobby Scott, after last November's long voting lines, that the federal government implement voting procedures for its races that would be the same across the country. (That is pretty much what happened … Continue reading Quick hits 07/22/13
Two of the three candidates for governor squared off at The Homestead this morning. Although the third, Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis, will appear on the ballot and has garned support in recent polls, he was not included. So we had a slugfest between the two major party candidates, Republican Ken Cuccinelli and Democrat Terry McAuliffe. … Continue reading Quick thoughts on first gubernatorial debate
Time to have a little fun on this hot Friday 🙂 Try this Slate News quiz on current events. I did pretty well. Guess that's what being on vacation will do for you 🙂
My latest op-ed, title above, appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Thursday. No, it's not about Bob McDonnell. Rather, it's about the lack of transparency in financial reporting for those running for local offices.When I prepared the post on the 7/15 financial reports, it had been my intention to do one on the contested races in the … Continue reading ICYMI: Opaque and antiquated disclosure laws
In the last couple of days, three polls have been released which cover Virginia and the contests here. Public Policy Polling led the way Tuesday with its results. It surveyed 601 registered voters 7/11-7/14 and has a margin of error of +/-4.0%. The toplines: Gov: McAuliffe 41%, Cuccinelli 37%, Sarvis 7%. Key quote: "... more … Continue reading Polls X 3
Two videos on separate topics that caught my eye this morning. Each are well worth your time. The first deals with the Cheerios commercial. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VifdBFp5pnw The second deals with economics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IuqGrz-Y_Lc My takeaways from the videos: Racism is learned behavior. This is not, of course, a new revelation for me. It is something, though, that … Continue reading Two must watch videos
Financial reports for the fall's contests were due at 5pm Monday. The reporting period covers 5/30/13 to 6/30/13. Of course, the statewide races are the ones most are interested in. The numbers for the gubernatorial race: Ken Cuccinelli (R) - total receipts this period $1,139,296 (includes $185,397 in-kind), cash on hand $2,652,568 Terry McAuliffe (D) … Continue reading 7/15/13 Financial reports
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 