I Despise the (Racist) Name of the Washington NFL Team, But Arlington County Is Wrong Here

The other day, I noted approvingly that the Arlington County Democratic Committee (ACDC) had passed a resolution calling on the Washington NFL team to change its name, "citing the offensive and derogatory nature of the racist slur and the negative impact it has on the image of our region." Now, I happen to strongly agree with ACDC on this issue, and I hope that other Democratic committees will adopt similar resolutions and that the team will change the name.

Having said all that,  I also have to largely agree with a former employee of said Washington NFL team, Ben Tribbett, who responded to this Arlington County Board's official Facebook page by writing, "This is bizarre to see such an inappropriate use of a government Facebook account."

Now, just to be clear, I have no problem whatsoever with the Arlington County Board passing a resolution urging the Washington NFL team to change its name. In fact, the Arlington County Board did just that in May 2015. And I have no problem with the Arlington County Board publicizing that resolution on any/all of its social media channels. However, I do NOT think it's appropriate for an official government website, Facebook page, etc. to be linking specifically to one political party committee or the other.

Similarly, I'd dislike it if the Republican-majority Loudoun County or Prince William County Boards linked to their local Republican committees' resolutions on abortion or guns or whatever. In those cases, I'd likely disagree with the resolutions. In this case, I agree with it. But either way, the County Board should not be giving the impression that it's a mouthpiece for any political party, particularoly since everyone's tax dollars -- Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Independents, etc. - fund the county government, including its media budget. If the County wants to weigh in on this, or any other, issue, it should do so by passing its own resolutions, using its own voice, etc.

P.S. By the way, I checked the Arlington County Facebook page going back to the fall of 2011, and didn't see anything else like this -- no links to the Arlington County Democrats, Republicans, Greens, etc.

Monday (Pearl Harbor Day) News: "Obama's Honesty on ISIS" vs. "Conservatives' Reckless Delusions"

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, December 7.

• Hillary Clinton: How I’d Rein In Wall Street("Rather than pursuing the kind of high-stakes speculation that devastated our economy before, Wall Street should focus on building an economy that creates good-paying jobs, rising incomes and sound investments so that more families can achieve the security of a middle-class life.")
• Obama warns terror threat has evolved, vows to destroy ISIS
• Even ExxonMobil says climate change is real. So why won’t the GOP? (Because they're completely insane?)
• President Obama’s Tough, Calming Talk on Terrorism ("The president properly sought to reassure Americans on counterterrorism, but warned against sacrificing the nation’s values out of fear.")
• Obama's Honesty on ISIS Is Better Than Conservatives' Reckless Delusions
• A Plea for Patience and National Unity ("Mr. Obama tried to make the case that his administration was ahead of the problem the Islamic State poses, and not playing catch-up.")
• Paul Krugman: The Not-So-Bad Economy ("Unfortunately, the U.S. ended up doing a fair bit of austerity too, partly driven by conservative state governments, partly imposed by Republicans in Congress via blackmail over the federal debt ceiling. But the Obama administration at least tried to limit the damage.")
• Marco Rubio’s “bomb control” nonsense: Getting the logic of gun control precisely backwards ("Marco Rubio wants to know why liberals are soft on bombs, inadvertently making a case for stricter gun control." Rubio is hard right AND an idiot. Great combo.)
• George Will, shameless lackey for the 1 percent: Inside his latest ploy to abandon the working class ("In his newest column for the Washington Post, Will is singing the merits of conservative tax reform. Yeah, right." The question is why the Amazon, Nee Kaplan Prints this crap.)
• Democrats might give Big Oil a big win in Congress (Sure, how about oil exports in exchange for a hefty national carbon tax and/or mandatory Renewable Portfolio Standard of 100% clean power within 10 years?)
• Clinton condemns Liberty University head's call to 'end those Muslims' (Just like his father, Jerry Falwell, Jr. is evil.)
• CBS' Face The Nation Lets GOP Frontrunner Donald Trump Push New, Anti-Muslim 9/11 Conspiracy Theory ("Trump Falsely Claims Non-Existent Wives Of Hijackers Left U.S. Prior To Attacks, Calls For Surveillance Of Muslim-Americans")
• Venezuela elections: socialists dealt a blow as opposition wins landslide (Good!)
• Bernie Sanders urges carbon tax and deeper emissions cuts in climate plan (Let's shoot for 100% clean electricity within 10 years, as Al Gore called for in 2008.)
• A win-win on health care in Virginia ("Uninsured people, hospitals and even Virginia itself would benefit if a new tax goes through." Agreed!)
• McAuliffe to propose millions in grants for regions that team up
• Carter Announces His Brain is Cancer-Free (Great news for the best ex-president ever!)
• Editorial: Small praise for a small improvement (We need to compensate for any lost revenue.)
• Virginia AG, bar to announce legal assist for needy veterans
• Bill would requires detailed euthanasia reporting from PETA, others
• Should state -- not just local school boards -- have power to approve charter schools?
• Lawmakers urge Gov. McAuliffe to keep Jens Soering in state prison
• Outlet mall in Hanover moving forward: opening now planned for holiday 2017
• Pearl Harbor vet remembers the attack of Dec. 7, 1941
• Fairfax music teacher lauded for her ‘electrifying’ methods ("Angela Ammerman, 31, is admired for her energy and dedication to her students.")
• D.C. area forecast: A pleasant, partly cloudy day, edging warmer by week’s end

Today in Ignorance and Islamophobia: EW Jackson Claims "Islam and Christianity do NOT...worship the same God"

by Lowell

E.W. Jackson, the 2013 Virginia GOP nominee for Lt. Governor, is of course a raving lunatic and anti-Muslim bigot. These latest tweets are also utterly ignorant. Regarding to Jackson's bizarre claims that "the 'god' of Islam" is not the same as the "God of the Bible," and that "Allah" doesn't mean "God," see here and here. As it turns out, Jackson is yet again full of crap.

• "Pre-Islamic Christians, Jews and the monotheistic Arabs called Hanifs used the name Allah and the terms 'Bismillah', 'in the name of Allah' to refer to their supreme deity in Arabic stone inscriptions centuries before Islam."
• "As Hebrew and Arabic are closely related Semitic languages, it is commonly accepted that Allah (root, ilāh) and the Biblical Elohim are cognate derivations of same origin, as is Eloah, a Hebrew word which is used (e.g. in the Book of Job) to mean '(the) God' and also 'god or gods' as is the case of Elohim. Elohim and Eloah ultimately derive from the root El, 'strong', possibly genericized from El (deity), as in the Ugaritic ’lhm (consonants only), meaning "children of El" (the ancient Near Eastern creator god in pre-Abrahamic tradition). In Jewish scripture Elohim is used as a descriptive title for the God of the scriptures, whose personal name is YHWH, Elohim is also used for plural pagan gods." 
• "The Aramaic word for "God" in the language of Assyrian Christians is ʼĔlāhā, or Alaha. Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, use the word "Allah" to mean "God". The Christian Arabs of today have no other word for "God" than "Allah". (Even the Arabic-descended Maltese language of Malta, whose population is almost entirely Roman Catholic, uses Alla for "God".) Arab Christians, for example, use the terms Allāh al-ab (الله الأب) for God the Father, Allāh al-ibn (الله الابن) for God the Son, and Allāh al-rūḥ al-quds (الله الروح القدس) for God the Holy Spirit. (See God in Christianity for the Christian concept of God.)"
• Allah is the Arabic term used by Muslims (as well as Arabic speaking Christians and Jews) for the one God, while ilāh (Arabic: إله‎) is the term used for a deity or a god in general. It is related to ʾĔlāhā in Aramaic, the language of Jesus.
• According to Pope John Paul II, regarding Christians and Muslims, "We believe in the same God, the one God, the living God, the God who created the world and brings his creatures to their perfection."
• Accordong to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: "The Church has also a high regard for the Muslims. They worship God, who is one, living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth... They strive to submit themselves without reserve to the hidden decrees of God, just as Abraham submitted himself to God’s plan, to whose faith Muslims eagerly link their own. Although not acknowledging him as God, they venerate Jesus as a prophet, his Virgin Mother they also honor, and even at times devoutly invoke."
• More from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, quoting Pope John Paul II: "Dear Muslims, my brothers: I would like to add that we Christians, just like you, seek the basis and model of mercy in God himself, the God to whom your Book gives the very beautiful name of al-Rahman, while the Bible calls him al-Rahum, the Merciful One.”
• And still more from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, again quoting Pope John Paul II: "Christians and Muslims have many things in common, as believers and as human beings...We believe in the same God, the one God, the living God, the God who created the world and brings his creatures to their perfection."

This could go on all day, but you get the idea. Just one more point; E.W. Jackson is also wrong in his (mis-)translation of "Allahu Akbar," which actually means "God is greater" or God is [the] greatest." Other than that, Jackson really nailed it in his two tweets, huh? LOL

Sunday News: Bigoted Extremist "Liberty" President Jerry Falwell, Jr. Urges Students to Get Guns and Help "end those Muslims"

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, December 6.

• U.S. Rethinking Terror Strategy; Obama Plans to Address Nation
• 95,000 Words, Many of Them Ominous, From Donald Trump’s Tongue
• From pharmacy student to terrorist: Tashfeen Malik’s baffling journey
• They terrorized my daughters and killed my baby. That’s why we’re Syrian refugees. (Exactly; these people are VICTIMS of the same terror we're fighting!)
• Jerry Falwell Jr.'s Troubling Remarks on Guns ("The Liberty University president told students that with more concealed-carry permits, 'we could end those Muslims.'" Like father, like son...bigoted, extremist lunatics.)
• Australians Marvel At The Stranglehold The Gun Lobby Has On America (So do tens of millions of Americans!)
• ‘TREASON’: Father of reporter shot on live TV calls out politicians who refuse to act on gun control
• Schapiro: McAuliffe offering GOP a trade - tax cuts for health care? ("Hoping to secure, largely unscathed, the budget that will be the fiscal foundation of his legacy, McAuliffe is trying a different approach: He’s speaking the Republicans’ language — at the expense of irritating the Democratic left.")
• As McAuliffe nears halfway point, he can point to economic successes
• Casey: After episodes of vulgarity, congressman comes around ("Until last week, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke County, was seen as a chief roadblock to re-authorization of the 9/11 first responders health-care bill. But after the first responders called him some unkind names, the two sides were able to strike a deal.")
• Rebel flag flap continues as Roanoke's Christmas parade nears
• No coal, no ash: A path toward a greener grid, a greener economy ("If we have learned anything from the Dan River coal ash spill, it’s that things need to change — that the dangerous fossil fuel technologies of the past can’t and shouldn’t propel us into the future. The Clean Power Plan offers us that opportunity.")
• Virginia Beach City Council set to vote on arena deal
• Endangered sturgeon at center of battle over power lines
• Northern Virginians to pick how toll money is spent ("After a long debate, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission agreed to administer revenue distribution for I-66 HOT lanes inside the Beltway.")
• D.C. area forecast: Mainly dry with mild afternoons through midweek and beyond

As Mass Shootings Occur on an Almost Daily Basis, Del. Mark Cole (R-VA) Pushes to STRENGTHEN Gun Rights

With so many mass shootings in this country -- including recent ones at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado and in San Bernardino -- and with overwhelming public support for tightening gun laws (e.g., 77%-18% support banning those on the U.S. government's terrorist watch list from purchasing guns; 92%-7% favor background checks on all potential gun buyers; 70%-28% favor establishing a federal government database to track all gun sales; 57%-40% support a ban on assault-style weapons; etc.), you'd think that our elected officials would be taking action along these lines.

But noooo. Instead, what we're seeing are stories like Gun rights? Try gun pride: GOP candidates display firearms machismo and Why mass shootings don't convince gun owners to support gun control and Senate blocks effort to keep guns from terrorists. It's almost beyond comprehension, yet here we are, with "Republican politics hav[ing] hardened from gun rights to gun pride, as candidates embrace and show off the more militaristic features of weaponry." It's beyond appalling.

The craziness is not just at the federal level, sad to say. Here in Virginia, for instance,  Del. Mark Cole (R-Spotsylvania/Stafford; 100% rating from the extremist Virginia Citizens Defense League;  introduced a bill in late November to codify the Supreme Court's DC v. Heller opinion regarding an individual's right to bear arms. There are just a few major problems with Cole's bill.

First, it's the exact wrong way to go, both in terms of sound public policy and also with regard to what the public actually wants its legislators to be doing. Second, the Supreme Court's 5-4 decisions in recent years on gun rights have been, like many of this right-wing/activist court's decisions, a radical, extreme departure from many decades/centuries of prior case law. Third, and on a somewhat lighter note, what Del. Cole apparently does not realize is that the Heller case only dealt with the right to bear arms in "federal enclaves" such as Washington, D.C. -- NOT in states like Virginia. Of course, the Supreme Court a few years later extended the individual right to bear arms to the states in McDonald v Chicago, but that is NOT the case Del. Cole is trying to codify.

Duhhhh....drooooool.

Saturday News: "We will not be terrorized"; Donald Trump as a "pink rug?"

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, December 5. Also see President Obama, who thanks the first responders in San Bernardino, mourns for those murdered, stresses that it's "way too easy for dangerous people to get their hands on a gun" and says Congress should act. Finally, President Obama declares that we will "uphold our values" and "we will not be terrorized."

• FBI investigating Calif. attack as act of terrorism ("Investigators are trying to determine if the husband-and-wife killers acted alone — inspired, but not directed, by foreign Islamist radicals — or were involved in a more elaborate plot.")
• When mass shootings become ordinary
• In GOP, gun rights swell to gun pride
• Ethics at issue in live TV broadcasts from shooters’ home (So much for any "journalistic ethics" in this case.)
• End the Gun Epidemic in America ("It is a moral outrage and national disgrace that civilians can purchase weapons designed to kill people with brutal speed and efficiency.")
• Why mass shootings don't convince gun owners to support gun control ("If there are ever to be gun laws passed in the US, any kind of policy response to the rising tide of mass shootings, it will be because the people who want it amass the political power to overwhelm the power of the gun lobby. It will be because they organize and deploy more intensity, money, and votes than their opponents. More mass shootings are not going to do the job for them.")
• Right Wing Media Attack Loretta Lynch For Condemning Anti-Muslim Rhetoric That Leads to Violence (Of course, because sadly many on the right actually LIKE anti-Muslim rhetoric.)
• Good news: U.S. economy adds another 211,000 jobs
• G.O.P. Field Continues to Chase Donald Trump, New Poll Says (And "JEB" Bush at only 3%!)
• David Brooks on why Donald Trump won’t win: He’s the pink rug you wish you never bought! ("David Brooks stops analyzing and starts hoping — wishing GOP voters wake up about Trump before it's too late." Yeah, good luck with that David!)
• Virginia lawmakers remain deaf to ethics reform
• Va.’s commitment to homeless veterans is ongoing, not finished
• Sanders submits signatures in effort to get on Va. primary ballot
• Virginia Senate hopeful raised more than $20K a day but still came up short (Money is wildly overrated.)
• Our view: Governor tax cut? (This is just an all-around silly editorial.)
• Federal spending cuts have taken a toll on Virginia's economy
• Report shows Virginia economy struggling to cope with federal cuts
• New long-term federal transportation bill will bring $6.2 billion to Virginia
• Rand Paul in, Rubio signature check coming
• Beyer visits Virginia mosque
• Huckabee brings campaign to evangelical and Jewish voters in Henrico
• D.C. area forecast: A gorgeous Saturday, even milder on Sunday

Video: Democrats Rally in Support of Northern Virginia Muslims

Note that it's the Democratic Party standing up for our fellow citizens, while the Republican frontrunners for President in 2016 (and others, like 2013 Virginia GOP nominee for Lt. Governor E.W. Jackson) engage in the most vile, inflammatory, divisive and dangerous demagoguery against one of the largest religions in the world. For instance, unless we're going to start labeling terrorism by religion in all cases - "Christian terrorism," "Jewish terrorism," "Buddhist terrorism," whatever - then there is absolutely no excuse for doing so when it happens to be an extremist Muslim. Sorry, but there happen to be a small minority of extremists in every faith (and among people who have no faith too), but that doesn't justify demonizing the entire faith because of it, just like when white supremacist Dylann Roof  murdered nine African Americans in an act of domestic terrorism, we didn't immediately say "all white Christian males are terrorists." Is this really THAT difficult for some people (e.g., Donald Trump, E.W. Jackson, Ted Cruz) to understand?!?

Audio: Meet the Extremist Bigot Headlining the Upcoming Republican Party of Virginia "Advance"

by Lowell

Yep, that would be our old friend Laura Ingraham, and she is indeed scheduled to headline the upcoming Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) "Advance." Ingraham, of course, has a long history of extremism, bigotry, and just plain lunacy. Her most recent remarks are typically heinous.

LAURA INGRAHAM: Your reaction, to [Sen.] Tim Kaine [(D-VA)]? People call him a moderate Democrat, you know. Tim Kaine. Its evil. All y'all people in Virginia got a lot of guns in Virginia. A lot of gun owners in Virginia. Lots of them. Is that your senator? Really, that's the guy you elected? Northern Virginia is a problem. What's Northern Virginia? All immigrant population have come and moved into Northern Virginia. We have mosques going up. We have a mass influx of illegal immigrants in Virginia. We have mass resettlement of Central America and Mexico in northern Virginia. Arlington middle class communities now, majority dominant communities, illegal immigrant population. We have Sterling, Virginia mosques, we have Fredericksburg, Virginia mosques going up. The northern Virginia problem for the GOP and for politics in Virginia is obvious. And these are rabid fanatics. Tim Kaine, Tim Kaine comes across as a fanatic anti-Second Amendment person in those comments. He's a fanatic. They say we're fanatics? You guys are okay with suffering in the United States by American people to show the world that you're mature. You're going to bring in more refugees, we don't know their background, we're going to bring the refugees in because the U.N. says they're okay. You must take the refugees. Really, we must take them? Y'all are fanatics.

Friday News: "Republicans' Climate Change Denial Denial;" "GOP unmoved on gun control as massacres pile up"

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, December 4. Also check out Trevor Noah ripping Ted Cruz a new one for holding a "gun party" a few hours after the San Bernardino shootings (and the Planned Parenthood shootings last week).

• Republicans’ Climate Change Denial Denial ("...the inability of our news media, our pundits and our political establishment in general to face up to that truth is an important contributing factor to the danger we face.")
• GOP’s climate radicalism: Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio reject science — and even Ronald Reagan — on climate change (This alone should be an automatic disqualifier for holding public office in America.)
• Donald Trump's speech to Republican Jews was filled with anti-Semitic stereotypes
• GOP unmoved on gun control as massacres pile up (Demented party.)
• Republican reactions to San Bernardino changed a lot after learning an alleged shooter was Muslim
• Attackers had arsenal of bombs and bullets (Why on earth would it be legal to have any of that crap?)
• Our insane approach to guns and the people who use them to slaughter us
• The one clear lesson of San Bernardino: Block access to the deadliest weaponry
• The tragic choice we make about guns ("The common denominator in mass shootings isn’t politics, religion or mental health. It’s firearms.")
• You’re a Nazi, and other shocking truths according to Trump’s fact-checking rules ("The GOP candidate’s innovative approach: Go online and see if random people agree.")
• Senate approves bill repealing much of ObamaCare (Republicans continue ("an amendment sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to bar suspected terrorists from buying guns...failed by a vote of 45 to 54." That's right, Republicans voted to allow suspected terrorists to buy guns!)
• Congress overwhelmingly backs 5-year transportation bill (Big problem: they failed to fund it with a sustainable revenue source, such as a gasoline tax. Lame.)
• Anti-Muslim rhetoric isn’t brave ("It doesn’t take courage to pander to a mob.")
• Kaine: Gun violence ‘a real sickness in this country
• Ingraham: "Northern Virginia Is A Problem" Because They Have New Mosques, "Illegal Immigrant[s]," And Refugees (This bigot is headlining the upcoming RPV "Advance". Will the RPV denounce her remarks and revoke her invitation? Don't count on it!)
• Paul is eighth GOP candidate set for Virginia's March 1 primary
• Virginia a good test for presidential campaigns, political operatives say
• Va. State Crime Commission declines to support legislation on asset seizures ("The Virginia State Crime Commission on Thursday declined to back legislation barring the seizure of ill-gotten assets until after a person has been convicted and appeals have been completed.")
• Va. hospitals do about-face, giving McAuliffe Medicaid bargaining chip (One thing; the Post subheader is wrong, as this is NOT a "bed tax")
• McAuliffe proposes cutting Va. corporate income tax ("The budget plan could put business-friendly Republicans in an awkward spot on Medicaid expansion.")
• Republican Rob Bell vows to oust Herring as Va. attorney general ("The conservative delegate said Herring has not fulfilled a promise to ‘take politics out of the office.’" Bell, of course, is a Cooch-style hard-right guy politically.)
• McDougle: Expunge first-time pot, alcohol possession convictions for under-21 offenders
• Inside-the-Beltway I-66 tolling faces crucial vote
• Trial for Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms rescheduled as judges recuse themselves
• Pipeline opponents cite contamination of drinking water supply as cautionary tale
• Ex-coal CEO Blankenship found guilty of 1 misdemeanor after Massey mine explosion (Better than nothing, but not even close to sufficient.)
• Newport News shipyard union president: 736 layoffs coming at Newport News
• Manassas Mosque gets threatening phone call: ‘You all will be killed’
• D.C. area forecast: Sun reigns as breezes slowly calm. Mild and fairly enjoyable weekend ahead!

Virginia Hospitals Bend Over Backwards to Try to Bring Back Federal Health Care Dollars

by Lowell

With the 2016 Virginia General Assembly session slated to start in just a few weeks, one of the big issues yet again will be health care -- a topic of much partisan discord the past few years in Virginia and nationally, as we are all well aware. On that note, earlier this week, the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) sent a letter to Gov. McAuliffe on "Reimbursing the Cost of Hospital and Health Care Services Provided to Virginians" (see here for the full VHHA Letter and also on the "flip"). The gist of the message in the truly extraordinary VHHA letter is as follows:

1) Virginia's hospitals are doing a great job at patient care, but are hurting financially due to issues like "sequestration," declining Medicaid reimbursement rates and to the fact that the hospitals "underwrite more than $1 billion in care for current and potential Medicaid patients;"
2) "Immediate action is needed to remediate these serious issues," as Virginia's "local hospitals and health systems simply cannot continue to absorb these reductions while simultaneously bearing a heavy portion of the state's indigent care costs;"
3) The ideal solution would be for "Virginia to avail itself to the fullest extent possible of existing federal programs," including "provision under the law through which the uninsured can obtain coverage" (aka, Medicaid expansion);
4) If that's not possible, for whatever reason, then an "alternative method" the hospitals are proposing "involves having hospitals and other providers finance a portion of the required state match to access all available federal funds;" 
5) In other words, the VHHA is "fully prepared to engage in a process to develop an appropriate mechanism for Virgnia's local hospitals and health systems to contribute the funds necessary to meet federal matching requirements and draw down additional federal funding to address the challenges outlined above;"
6) This is truly extraordinary, clearly something the hospitals would prefer not to do, but as they say, "the status quo is simply unsustainable" and it's time to break the log-jam on this.