Governor Tim Kaine has decided to delay the execution of Percy Lavar Walton for another 18 months: “After reviewing this information, I am compelled to conclude that Walton is severely mentally impaired and meets the Supreme Court’s definition of mental incompetence. Because one cannot reasonably conclude that Walton is fully aware of the punishment he … Continue reading Governor Kaine delays execution
Category: Politics
Hampton Roads blog sighting: Pen and Sword
Over the last few days, I discovered another fine Hampton Roads blog, Pen and Sword, which is written by Virginia Beach resident Jeff Huber. Huber is a retired Navy Commander who writes about military and foreign affairs. His last couple of posts are what caught my eye in the Virginia Political Blogs feed. Take a … Continue reading Hampton Roads blog sighting: Pen and Sword
Playing dirty
Republicans had hired a telemarketing firm to place hundreds of hang-up calls to phone banks for the Democratic Party and the Manchester firefighters union, a nonpartisan group offering rides to the polls. Service was disrupted for nearly two hours. No excuse for such behavior. None. Nada. Nil. Zilch. And we wonder why so many people … Continue reading Playing dirty
Pursuing the 2008 nomination: Mike Gravel
As was pointed out to me, the first candidate to announce for the 2008 Democratic nomination for president is former Alaskan senator Mike Gravel, who announced his candidacy on April 17, 2006. Gravel served in the senate from 1969 to 1981 and was formerly the speaker of the Alaskan House of Representatives. With a theme … Continue reading Pursuing the 2008 nomination: Mike Gravel
Profile: Joel Rubin
The Virginian-Pilot today did a profile of Joel Rubin, host of On the Record and CEO of Rubin Communications. Wearing so many hats (some, such as his involvement with the Norfolk Kiwanis, too numerous to name) creates a situation where his ethics could be called into question. But, as WVEC reporter Mike Gooding says, "the … Continue reading Profile: Joel Rubin
Shaming nonvoters into voting
Roger Chelsey, associate editor of the Virginian-Pilot's editorial page, relates in his op-ed piece today the story of a case of an attempt to shame nonvoters into casting ballots: In Tennessee recently, a black weekly newspaper took a page from that classic and affixed another "A" - for apathy - on individuals who didn't cast … Continue reading Shaming nonvoters into voting
Friday afternoon stuff
Just some stuff: NCDC breakfast. Tomorrow morning, 8:30am, Friendly's, 5764 East Virginia Beach Boulevard. Be there! Nancy Pelosi names Reyes to lead Intelligence Committee. Whew! I'm glad that's over. She wouldn't pick Harmon because they don't get along and she couldn't pick Hastings because of his baggage. Guess we'll learn a lot about Reyes soon. … Continue reading Friday afternoon stuff
Taking the oath using the Koran
A couple of nights ago, I was forwarded an American Family Association (AFA) Action Alert about the decision of Keith Ellison, a newly elected Democrat from Minnesota and the first Muslim elected to Congress, to use the Koran for his swearing-in ceremony rather than the Bible. The email reprints the entire text of an article … Continue reading Taking the oath using the Koran
VPB and WordPress
An increasing number of Virginia political bloggers are abandoning Blogger (yea!) and heading over here to WordPress for their blog hosting. (For anyone who is looking to change over, be aware that WordPress offers an import function, so you can bring all of your posts over from Blogger. Howver, you cannot import your posts from … Continue reading VPB and WordPress
GOTV
For those of us familiar with campaigns, the acronym GOTV is known. A casual reader may not be so familiar with the term, but GOTV - or Get Out The Vote - is a critical component of a successful campaign. Appropriately, long-time activist Alice Marshall has a blog named GOTV. Alice has been posting a … Continue reading GOTV
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 