Blue Virginia Hits 1 Million Visits!

Not bad, 1 million visits to our little blog in just 2 years. Add that to the 3 million visits RK got, and that's 4 million visits to RK/BV blogs in 5 years. Not too shabby for a state-based progressive blog. Also, thanks to everyone who's been a reader or contributor. We're always looking for talented new progressives from all over the Commonwealth to join us. If you're interested, drop me a line at lowell@raisingkaine.com Thanks again.P.S. Wouldn't it be great if everyone revealed their actual traffic stats in an "apples-to-apples" way, via Sitemeter or Google Analytics, instead of citing completely unreliable proxies (stuff like incoming links, etc., since they don't have access to actual traffic stats) like Alexa or Compete or whatever? Many Virginia blogs - NLS, The Green Miles, NOVA CommonSense, Moonhowlings, Bearing Drift, and some I won't link to - do have public Sitemeters, but many others don't (or have Sitemeter but don't reveal it publicly). To each their own, I guess, but I've always thought this was an interesting thing to look at, and to let everyone else look at. How about you?

Thanks, Jim Webb

by Elaine in Roanoke

While we all are speculating about who will be the Democratic nominee for senator in 2012, I decided to pause a bit and recall my most vivid memories from the 2006 Webb campaign, a campaign that started out as a long shot, not one not at all sure of victory, but one filled with grassroots and netroots energy and optimism.  The first time I met Jim Webb was early in the campaign at a Roanoke Valley picnic. There were about 100 of us Democrats there. Jim Webb arrived in his vehicle with its camouflage paint job. As Webb stood by waiting to be introduced, I was struck by how he seemed ill at ease and concluded then and there that he was an introvert for whom such events could not be easy. However, when he took the microphone and began to talk, he readily warmed to his task, especially when he told us, with great pride in his voice, why he was wearing combat boots in honor of his son serving in Iraq. At that same picnic I first met and chatted with Mac McGarvey, Webb's radio operator in Vietnam who left his small business in Tennessee and came to Virginia to volunteer as Webb's driver. Mac lost his right arm above the elbow in combat, and Webb introduced Mac to the crowd and told us about a tattoo Mac had put on that arm. It was a dotted line that had the words, "Cut along dotted line," above it. Mac and Jim Webb had that bond that is only shared by those who have served together in combat. (Mac became Sen. Webb's liaison for veteran's affairs.) Jim Webb was at his best at all the events I attended as the campaign progressed when he told us his common-sense, genuinely populist program, the reasons he wanted to be a senator. That was a textbook example of what far too few politicians do: tell voters why they should vote for him/her. So, what are your favorite memories?

Federal Taxes at Lowest Level in 61 Years

So much for "taxed enough already." Taxes too high?Actually, as a share of the nation's economy, Uncle Sam's take this year will be the lowest since 1950, when the Korean War was just getting under way. And for the third straight year, American families and businesses will pay less in federal taxes than they did under former President George W. Bush, thanks to a weak economy and a growing number of tax breaks for the wealthy and poor alike. Income tax payments this year will be nearly 13 percent lower than they were in 2008, the last full year of the Bush presidency. Corporate taxes will be lower by a third, according to projections by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Again, let's emphasize this point, because by the sound of most political rhetoric these days, you'd think it was the exact opposite: federal taxes are now the LOWEST in 61 years, since before the vast majority of Americans were born. And yet, somehow, Teapublicans claim our budget deficits are all because we "spend too much?" So much for that crazy thing called "reality." Also, can Democrats and whatever sane Republicans are left kingly stop reinforcing the absurd "frame" that we are "burdened" with taxes and need "relief," when in fact the exact opposite is true by U.S. historic standards?  Thank you.

Webb Out. Now What?

Oh, wonderful. It has been a great and continuing privilege to serve in the United States Senate. I am very proud of my talented and dedicated staff, which has worked tirelessly to resolve the issues on which I based my candidacy, and to protect the interests of all Virginians in this national forum. Among other contributions we have given our Post- 9/11 veterans the best GI Bill since World War Two; we have taken the lead in reforming our criminal justice system; we have led the way toward stronger relations in East and Southeast Asia; and we have been a strong voice in calling on China to act more responsibly in the world community. We will continue to work on these and other issues throughout the rest of my term.However, after much thought and consideration I have decided to return to the private sector, where I have spent most of my professional life, and will not seek re-election in 2012. Notwithstanding this decision, I have every intention of remaining involved in the issues that affect the well-being and the future of our country. First, thanks to Jim Webb for his service to our country over the course of his life, including the past 4 years in the U.S. Senate. Second, despite my differences with Webb on energy and environmental issues, I'm overall bummed - and surprised, as I really thought he'd end up running - to hear this news. Third, now we need to find a strong candidate to run in 2012; draft Tom Perriello (or will Tim Kaine end up running)? Fourth, I've really got to digest this...what do you all think?P.S. There are also rumors floating around, hopefully untrue, that this is why Kaine and Warner backed Brian Moran for DPVA chair. Supposedly, under at least one version of this theory - and I've heard numerous ones - Moran agreed that he'd go for a primary rather than a caucus, so that Tim Kaine had a better chance of beating Tom Perriello. I dunno, sounds incredibly Machiavellian to me, but you never know in politics I guess... UPDATE: One more thought for now -- THANK YOU to everyone in Jim Webb's "ragtag army," you guys totally rock and should hold your heads extremely high for what you did in 2006. Now, it's time to take that "army" and put it to work electing the best possible Democrat to the U.S. Senate from Virginia in 2012. UPDATE #2: Chris Cillizza writes, "It is [Tim] Kaine who may hold the key to Democrats' hopes of holding the state." Cillizza adds, "If Kaine sticks to his 'no', then Democrats will likely turn to former Rep. Tom Perriello...a favorite of the White House thanks to his willingness to vote for things like health care and the economic stimulus package despite the swing nature of his district." If not Kaine or Perriello, then who? Cillizza mentions Rick Boucher and Gerry Connolly. Stay tuned... UPDATE #3: CNN reports, "Two former House members, though, appear very serious about the seat, according to conversations with various Virginia Democrats: former Reps. Tom Perriello and Glenn Nye." Uh, let's just put a stop to the latter rumor right now - absolutely NO to Glenn Nye. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

Virginia General Assembly vs. Humane Society

Thanks to NLS for alerting me to a bad situation in the Virginia General Assembly. A bad situation, that is, if you agree with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) that laws against animal abuse and cruelty should be strengthened not weakened. Thus, the HSUS has urged Virginia lawmakers to OPPOSE HB 2482 ("seeks to prevent humane officers from seizing animals being neglected and instead mandates that these animals be left in the care of those who neglected them") and to OPPOSE S.B. 1026/H.B. 1541 ("has been introduced with the support of agriculture special interest groups with the intent of removing farm animals from the cruelty code. It could negatively impact countless farm animals, including horses."). Here's the current status of the bills in question:*SB 1026 passed the Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee by a 13-2 vote, with only Donald McEachin and Chap Petersen voting "nay." *HB 1541 actually passed the House of Delegates by a 98-0 vote, apparently on an "uncontested" bloc. WTF? *HB 2482, which the HSUS urged be OPPOSED, was indeed "laid on the table" (aka, killed), in the House Subcommittee on agriculture. That's good news, apparently, on HB 2482, which as Waldo Jaquith points out on Richmond Sunlight, "On the Richmond SPCA's blog, they argue that {HB 2482} would undo twenty years of progress for abused animals." As for S.B. 1026/H.B. 1541, this seems to be yet another case of our part-time, citizen-legislators not having a clue what they're even voting on in a session that is extremely short (by the standards of most states in this country, let alone one the size of Virginia) and crammed with hundreds of bills to consider on every subject under the sun. As I discussed the other day, this is an issue that keeps coming up in my conversations with Virginia General Assembly members. In short, the concern is that legislators have no time to really know what's going on or to understand the bills members are voting on, but that people who do understand are the lobbyists, who spend all their time, year 'round, on their specific issue(s). Which is exactly why, in a case like this, legislators should - at the minimum - pay attention to what respected groups like the HSUS are saying about their relevant issue(s). Of course, if the legislation's labeled as "uncontested," it will most likely just slip through without scrutiny, usually on unanimous votes. In the case of S.B. 1026/H.B. 1541, that appears to be exactly what's happened. Not good at all, certainly not for the animals but also not for what it says about our legislature here in Virginia.

Forget "Red" or "Blue" Virginia, How About "Brown" Virginia?

A few years ago, Richard Rodriguez wrote a book entitled, "Brown: The Last Discovery of America." In an interview on the PBS NewsHour, Rodriguez explained, "when I speak of the brown in America, of America, I mean the mixing of all of us." Rodriguez added that this used to be "a black-and-white country," but that "Hispanics were suddenly announced by the Richard Nixon Administration...as a new minority," along with Asians, and "We were suddenly... there was suddenly these new colors -- not simply white, black, but also red, yellow, brown."Last night and this morning, as I looked at the new Census numbers for Virginia, I thought of Richard Rodriguez and his book, "Brown." Along these lines,NLS has been looking at the numbers, and what he's found is fascinating. For instance, that "[a]t the current rate, Virginia will be a majority-minority state by the 2030 census. Much quicker than was expected." Also, that "Over 60% of Virginians under the age of 18 are non-white according to the 2010 census." And finally, that "When I say majority-minority in total growth I mean growth in all groups besides whites and [H]ispanics. That's AfrAmer, Asians and Multirace." In other words, Virginia is turning "Brown" before our eyes, and at an extremely rapid pace. That's fascinating in and of itself, as is watching the desperate, futile reaction by (mostly) Republicans to try and hold back the tidal wave (e.g., see Stewart, Corey and his infamous, Orwellian "Rule of Law" resolution in Prince William County). Of course, this is a progressive political blog, so of course we care about the political implications of Virginia's changing demographics. I've got a few thoughts on that after the "flip."

lowkell :: Forget "Red" or "Blue" Virginia, How About "Brown" Virginia?

The question is, as Virginia moves from "white" and "black" to Richard Rodriguez's "brown," what does that indicate for whether Virginia goes "red," "purple," or "blue" politically? Obviously, if current voting patterns hold, it's not good news for Republicans, as "brown" people tend to vote Democratic, usually by large if not enormous majorities. Thus, according to Pew, "Hispanics voted for Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden over Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin by a margin of more than two-to-one in the 2008 presidential election, 67% versus 31%." Also in 2008, 96% of African Americans voted Democratic. Finally, Asian Americans went 62%-35% Democratic in 2008. In fact, whites were the only major racial or ethnic group to vote Republican in 2008, by a 55%-43% margin, but that wasn't nearly enough to overcome the enormous edge Obama racked up over McCain among "brown" America.But wait, you ask, what about 2009 and 2010, when Republicans won big, why did that happen if "brown" is going "blue?" Simple: because political participation among non-whites is lagging the (rapid) growth in their population, in states ranging from California to Texas to Virginia. Add to that the "enthusiasm gap" of 2009-2010, as well as a natural snapback from huge Democratic gains of 2005-2008, and that largely explains what happened in 2009 and 2010. In short, the key to Republican victories here in Virginia in 2009 and 2010 was that it was a completely different electorate than in 2008 - whiter, older (because young people - many if not most of whom are "brown" - also are trending strongly Democratic), less urban, and therefore more conservative and more Republican. If 2009 and 2010 had had the same electorate as 2008, the results would have been wildly different. Eventually, of course, voter participation rates between "white" and "brown" are likely to converge, not just in "presidential" election years but also in "midterm" or even "off-off years" (e.g., 2011 and 2013 in Virginia). At that point, Virginia will be highly unlikely to be a "red" state (except, of course, in the unlikely event that Republicans drastically change their approach to issues of concern to African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians) and probably not even "purple," but more likely a "blue" or "purplish-blue" Virginia that is simultaneously "brown." I, for one, believe that day can't come soon enough.

The For-Profit Education Cesspool

by Dan Sullivan

Harris Miller's handy-work is churning away under the surface. Thousands and thousands of Americans who will never benefit from their matriculation at for-profit colleges are receiving their Form 1098-Ts unaware of the long-term damage to their futures. They've been sold a pig-in-a-poke; financially shackled for the remainders of their lives.It is disheartening that so many can be led to the slaughter so unawares. The purveyors of illusion didn't learn their grift attending classes at the "colleges" they are selling and those "colleges" won't provide the skills necessary to recognize the fraud being perpetrated on them. On the other hand, the victims never learned to be critical thinkers in their more traditional K through X experiences either. Recently I crossed paths with a police Captain whose subordinate in the force had been teaching criminal justice courses in a Virginia Beach "for-profit" institution. On occasion, the moonlighting officer asked him to guest lecture. When he wasn't invited for a period, he sought out the officer to find out why. Turned out that the officer had realized an ethical quandary concerning the additional income. The majority of the students in the classes were felons or otherwise disqualified for police service; many would never ever be allowed past the front desk of a station except for booking. The officer could not go on playing a role in this tragedy.

Dan Sullivan :: The For-Profit Education Cesspool

Two days ago I met a fellow who was having his taxes prepared. You might not know this, but with no income at all, you can get $1,000 from good old Uncle Sam simply by filing a tax return. You just have to be "furthering your education" and paying for the classes. "Paying" for the classes. This fellow had a little income (very little) and he was having his taxes prepared. He'd brought his 1098-T; didn't know what it was, but it looked important. The preparer asked some questions. The form is difficult enough to interpret and schools do not consistently report information. But what was clear was that the individual had borrowed money to pay for the portion not covered by grants and "scholarships." He never understood the paperwork "admissions" prepared for him and he'd signed. He'd executed a federally guaranteed student loan for the balance of the tuition not covered by those scholarships and grants (probably using up any Pell money he'd ever receive) without even realizing it. Of course, until he completes the "education" and he receives the first monthly bill, it won't be clear. But at least he was going to get a "free" $1,000 out of the deal from Uncle. Well, the portion of it not taken for tax preparation fees.Then there is the grandmother raising two grandchildren on her own. Her daughter is a good girl who just fell in with the wrong crowd. She was striving at this late point in life to "better" herself. Responding to a slick mailer from a school that offered hope for a new career, she began a "nursing" program. She doesn't understand that the term "nurse" covered any of a number of employment positions that would never pay enough to return her investment in time or money. She may not even live long enough to pay off the student loans even if she makes the payments for the rest of her life. Sure, there are many who have other avenues to pay for their adventures in the free market education sector. They can squander their post 9/11 GI Bill benefits on dreams that take you from ZERO TO BACHELOR'S IN 2.5. A most sought after sheepskin, you hear about job applicants embellishing their resumes with fraudulent claims of an ECPI degree all the time. Oh, I guess not. Anyway, like Pell grants, once the GI benefits are used, they are forever gone. In this case, into the coffers and pockets of the for-profit "college" grifters. Harris Miller is a prince of the industry, but there is plenty of "credit" to go around. There is a growing underclass of Americans. Our history is littered with tales of labor abuse of the defenseless members of this class. Financial abuse of the underprivileged is a modern concept enabled by faulty public policy and even faultier representation. Anyone involved in this industry is tainted by the scum in this cesspool. Their victims are drowning in it.

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Forget "Macaca"; Peter Galuszka Lays Out the REAL Problems with George Allen

Yeah, I know it's fun to focus on the long series of gaffes, idiocies, and racist statements (and actions) of George Allen -- "macaca," a severed deer head in a black family's mailbox, the photo with the racist Council of Conservative Citizens, habitual use of the "n" word, a noose in his office, apparent shame and rage over the "aspersion" over being questioned about his Jewish heritage on his mother's side, insistence that he'd still eat a "ham sandwich for lunch"despite being a "Member of the Tribe," etc, etc. But beyond that, there are actually more serious, substantive problems with George Allen and his candidacy for U.S. Senate. Over at Bacon's Rebellion, the ever-excellent Peter Galuszka lays them out. The main problems:1. Allen "was right there from 2001 to 2006 cheerleading George W. Bush through his budget-busting tax cuts for the well-to-do, minimizing banking rules that helped spur the financial meltdown, and voting for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that still haven't been paid for." 2. Allen is "plunging into some different and hard times," bearing little resemblance to the situation he faced when he was governor, and for which Allen has absolutely no answers or clue about. 3. Since getting his butt booted out of office by Jim Webb and the "ragtag army" in 2006, Allen's been "working in a sinecure-type job as a highly paid energy lobbyist" - not exactly "great preparation for a new run for the Senate." I'd add that Allen hated being in the Senate, was so bored there he called it a "wounded sea slug." And no wonder he was bored; can anyone think of a single, significant accomplishment - just one will do - by George Allen in his 6 years as a U.S. Senator? Uhhhh. In sum, moving beyond "macaca," Allen was a complete waste of space as Senator, has no clue how to relate to a wildly changed Virginia (economically, demographically, you name it), and has been doing nothing since 2006 to indicate any growth or learning or self-awareness. Other than that, he's a superb candidate for Senate, I truly hope Republicans nominate him! LOL P.S. Allen can go on every conservative talk radio show in existence, but if he has nothing to say and nothing new to offer (other than cliches, platitudes, and exhortations to "stand strong for freedom" - whatever that means) then who cares? Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

What's George Allen Been Up To the Past Few Years?

Other than "writing" (in quotes because it's highly doubtful he really could write a whole book) brain-dead, cliche-ridden books about sports and their supposed greater meaning, what's George Allen been up to the past few years?  The short answer, according to an article I wrote for Scaling Green, is "nothing good!" Former Virginia Governor and U.S. Senator George "Macaca" Allen is now Chair of something called theAmerican Energy Freedom Center. It seems like starting a front group is the default choice of every politician to leave politics (Dick Armey's FreedomWorks, Newt Gingrich's American Solutions for Winning the Future, and former Representative Bill Paxon's Americans for Affordable Electricity).True to form, George Allen's front group is a PR firm masquerading as a non-profit policy center. It advocates "a future of abundant, affordable and reliable sources of American energy," as opposed to "expensive, imported and highly regulated energy." What does this organization do? Basically, it shills for the dirty energy industry, opposing what it claims are "expensive, job-killing climate regulations," spreading lies about clean energy, and taking lots of money from ExxonMobil and other unsavory actors. But the craziest thing about George Allen's work at this supposedly "freedom"-loving outfit is this: "the dirty energy industry - oil and coal in particular - got an estimated $72 billion of our tax money in the United States alone between 2002 and 2008." That's right, the industry George Allen represents is a huge recipient of government, taxpayer-funded, corporate welfare, basically the polar opposite of everything George Allen claims to stand for. Utter hypocrisy, as usual, from George Allen and his ideological ilk.

Washington Post Ombudsman Ignores Numerous Gorillas in the Room

Today's Washington Post Ombudsman column, Andrew Alexander's last in that position, raises several important problems besetting the Post, but it ignores numerous, gigantic gorillas in the room. First, here are a few that Alexander (correctly) identified (although even here, I'd argue he was wayyyy too kind). ...[the Post] has become riddled with typos, grammatical mistakes and intolerable "small" factual errors that erode credibility. Local news coverage, once robust, has withered. The Post often trails the competition on stories. The excessive use of anonymous sources has expanded into blogs. The once-broken system for publishing corrections has been repaired, but corrections often still take too long to appear. The list goes on. All true, no doubt about it. The Washington Post today is a pale shadow of what it once was, in just about every way. But this list - plus the loss of hemorrhaging of newsroom talent, plus the "ethical dilemmas" arising from "building a new digital" paper, plus various "journalistic shortcomings" such as "link[ing] to breaking news reports that it can't independently verify."Those are all important issues, and it's great that Andrew Alexander raised them. However, I believe that Alexander - and the Post more broadly, and the newspaper industry even more broadly - is blind, or perhaps semi-aware but incapable of doing anything about - numerous structural problems that beset their industry, and their product.

lowkell :: Washington Post Ombudsman Ignores Numerous Gorillas in the Room

In the case of the Post, let's start with a big one: it's not so much the Washington Post anymore as the Corporate Post, specifically the Kaplan Post. Given that"Kaplan higher education revenues eclipse not only the test-prep operations, but all the rest of the Washington Post Company's operations," it's pretty clear that Kaplan is the dog wagging the (withering, diseased) tail of the newspaper commonly known as the "Washington Post." For starters, that means extremely little coverage of the for-profit "education" industry by the Post. It also means a paper that must constantly put its financial survival in front of whatever journalistic excellent it once might have strived for. That's a major problem, pretty much a death spiral, for this once-proud newspaper, and it's not clear how they get out of it.Another issue not raised by Alexander is the increasing move towards "infotainment," sensationalism, fluff, tabloid-style "reporting," and generally the dumbing down of the newspaper in just about every way. For instance, in the desperate attempt to draw eyeballs to its online product - and, to a lesser extent, the physical one - the Post increasingly goes with the Freak Show version of "news" instead of what we'll call The Economist or The News Hour version of news. The latter is what I'd call "real news" - solid reporting on what's actually happening around the country and around thew world, intelligently written, with analysis that helps put it in context and explain it to readers. That doesn't mean constant "what did Sarah Palin say" or "who's up/who's down in the polls," which is what we see to a growing extent at the Post these days. It means doing the job a newspaper is supposed to do. Of course, that takes money, and that's where the newspaper industry's failing business model kills it, and turns all this into a vicious cycle. Then there's the issue of mixing fact - empirically verifiable, solidly reported with multiple sources (preferably not anonymous) - with opinion, "he said/she said," gossip, and unsupported/anonymous reporting of all kinds. As far as I can see, this is rampant throughout the "news" business these days. Then you've got my favorite, the "false equivalency," in which the newspaper's supposed "objective" model gets taken to utterly absurd extremes. For instance, we get laughable garbage and blatant lies "reported" seriously, like climate change denial (you can't "deny" scientific findings, that's not the way it works), "death panels" (100% false) or "government takeover of health care" (I wish we could go to single payer, but actually the recent health care reform legislation just entrenches the private insurance companies' role and the for-profit healthcare model), etc, etc. None of this should be "reported," except as a blatant lie, which is where the news media might actually provide some added value. PolitiFact is doing that, but what about the Post? And no, their "5 Myths About..." series doesn't do it, as those are usually just one person's opinions, not really myth-busting in any way. Finally, there's the decimation of both coverage, from international (WHAT international coverage?) to local (WHAT local coverage?). Pick up a copy of The Economist sometime, look through it, and you'll realize that you haven't seen 90% or more of the stories in there in the Washington Post.  Then, consider all the stuff going on in Virginia politics - and local politics - and see if you can find any of it in the print edition of the Post. Good luck. Anyway, those are just a few of the many problems endemic to the Post, and which are getting worse every day that goes by. How will any of this be turned around?  Got me. But the Washington Post Ombudsman's final column certainly doesn't get at these core issues, which indicates to me that they don't evensee the biggest problems - the "gorillas," so to speak - they face. And if they don't see the gorillas, how can they have any hope of not getting mauled by them?