On November 22, 1963 - forty-three years ago today - President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. As a student of history, I went thru what I call my JFK phase, where I read everything I could get my hands on about him and his assassination. I have a copy of the Warren Commission … Continue reading Conspiracy theories
Category: Politics
The draft and Charlie Rangel
Back in 2003, Democratic Representative Charles Rangel introduced a bill to reinstate the draft. On last Sunday's Face the Nation, he reiterated his call, saying: If we're going to challenge Iran and challenge North Korea and then, as some people have asked, to send more troops to Iraq, we can't do that without a draft … Continue reading The draft and Charlie Rangel
Spruill roast
Last night, I attended a roast of Delegate Lionell Spruill (77th). Prior to dinner, there was a reception for people to mingle and talk. I spent most of my pre-dinner reception time in the VIP reception, where I got a chance to speak with some of the electeds in attendence, including Senators Yvonne Miller (5th), … Continue reading Spruill roast
Go Big, Go Long, Go Home
Thus are dubbed the three plans by the Pentagon on what to do about Iraq. According to the Washington Post: The Pentagon's closely guarded review of how to improve the situation in Iraq has outlined three basic options: Send in more troops, shrink the force but stay longer, or pull out, according to senior defense … Continue reading Go Big, Go Long, Go Home
Disgraceful: followup
An alert reader, MB, points out that the disgraceful behavior of Maryland Republican candidates will go unpunished: The Justice Department says it won't investigate misleading fliers that Republicans distributed in Maryland on Election Day. [...] Acting Assistant Attorney General James Clinger says there's not enough legal basis to support such an investigation. And you wonder … Continue reading Disgraceful: followup
LWV: Forum on Redistricting and Reapportionment
Tomorrow, November 18, the League of Women Voters of South Hampton Roads will hold a forum on the subject of redistricting and reapportionment. The forum will feature Senator Yvonne Miller Dr. Rudolph Wilson from NSU Political Science Department and will be held from 9:00am to 10:15am at Virginia Wesleyan College, Boyd East. The forum is … Continue reading LWV: Forum on Redistricting and Reapportionment
Election winners and losers
Lots of lists of winners and losers in the election are showing up in various places. The latest list comes from Michael Shear at the Washington Post. Among his winners is Delegate Donald McEachin: The black Democratic delegate from Richmond supported Webb in the primary, when none of his African American political colleagues did. Included … Continue reading Election winners and losers
The new Democratic leadership
Thursday, the Democrats elected new leadership for the 110th Congress, which begins in January. As expected, Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker, becoming the first woman in history to hold that office. After a somewhat contentious battle, Steny Hoyer was elected Majority Leader. Pelosi, in my opinion, used up a bit of her political capital in … Continue reading The new Democratic leadership
HB619: Repeal predatory lending
I received the following via email tonight: On Tuesday, December 5th, the Virginia House Commerce and Labor Committee will vote on HB 619, a bill sponsored by Delegate John O'Bannon that would repeal the Payday Loan Act of 2002. It's important that this bill be approved and sent to the House floor when the Legislature … Continue reading HB619: Repeal predatory lending
HR550: Paper trail
If they can give you a slip of paper verifying an electronic transaction from an ATM machine, then they can give you a piece of paper verifying your vote. This isn't rocket science, folks. Putting paper trails on electronic voting machines is a no-brainer to me. Just take a look at what's going on in … Continue reading HR550: Paper trail
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 