Friday fun: what color is your personality?

You Are Blue You are detail oriented and focused. You enjoy keeping your life in order. You are a perfectionist, and you tend to take your time with tasks. Anything worth doing is worth doing right. It's hard for you to deal with dramatic, flippant, and silly people. You value maturity. You are a good … Continue reading Friday fun: what color is your personality? →

Judge rules DADT unconstitutional

Ruling on a lawsuit brought by the Log Cabin Republicans, a judge has ruled the military's policy of "don't ask, don't tell" unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips granted a request for an injunction halting the government's "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays in the military. Phillips said the policy doesn't help military readiness … Continue reading Judge rules DADT unconstitutional →

City-paid private club memberships

The Virginian-Pilot has been on a roll lately, documenting and reporting on various behaviors of our local governments. It is what the hometown newspaper should be doing and I applaud them for it. Today's other big story is about the taxpayer dollars being spent on private club memberships.  At least it's not just Norfolk this … Continue reading City-paid private club memberships →

VBDC: Not very democratic

As I wrote a long time ago: Back in 2005, the Democratic Caucus of the House of Delegates asked the Democratic Party of Virginia to not share its voter file with anyone challenging an incumbent. At the time, it only affected two people: Don McEachin and Keela Boose. McEachin, a former delegate looking to reclaim … Continue reading VBDC: Not very democratic →

When is enough enough?

Norfolk Commissioner Sharon McDonald has hired a PR person to work in her office in the position of Chief Deputy II.  The mayor is none too happy about it. Mayor Paul Fraim strongly criticized the decision to hire [Charles] Hartig, whom he describes as "a lifelong friend." He said McDonald, with a staff of just … Continue reading When is enough enough? →

Warner as chief of staff?

Yesterday's announcement that Chicago Mayor Richard Daley will not run for re-election has created a buzz in political circles as speculation on whether White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel will pursue his ambition to run for that seat.  Already, pundits are discussing who might replace Emanuel and an interesting name popped up: A wild … Continue reading Warner as chief of staff? →

Think “local” this campaign season

"Democracy is not a spectator sport." -- Lotte Scharfman My latest op-ed appears in this morning's Virginian-Pilot. It galls me that so much time and effort, not to mention money, goes into the top of the ticket races, where our votes really don't matter, while the local races get almost no attention. In the big … Continue reading Think “local” this campaign season →

Scott’s 34th Annual Labor Day Picnic

It was a beautiful day in Hampton Roads and a number of folks gathered at the waterfront home of the family of Congressman Bobby Scott.  People from all over came together for a little food and a lot of politics. Among those in attendance was James Quigley, one of Scott's opponents. Three of the four … Continue reading Scott’s 34th Annual Labor Day Picnic →

Thoughts on 2nd CD second forum

For the second time in as many weeks, the three candidates in the 2nd Congressional District participated in a candidates' forum. My thanks to the fine people at Second Calvary Baptist Church in Norfolk who not only hosted the debate, but had wireless access which allowed me to broadcast it in its entirety. The forum … Continue reading Thoughts on 2nd CD second forum →