Bristol Herald Courier Endorses Steve Shannon for AG

The Bristol Herald Courier has endorsed Steve Shannon for AG. Here are some excerpts:

In our view, Democratic Delegate Steve Shannon has articulated a vision of the Attorney General’s office that is best in line with the needs of residents of Southwest Virginia – from his ideas about addressing prescription drug abuse to developing contractual agreements that allow public universities and private businesses to partner on projects that would bring jobs to the region.

Shannon has a solid background in public safety, including experience as a prosecutor. Republican state Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, a private practice attorney who deserves respect for his advocacy for people with mental illness, does not have this prosecutorial experience.

[...]

...we are troubled by [Cuccinelli's] past efforts to ask Congress to amend the Constitution to deny citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants. Children born in this country are citizens of this country. Cuccinelli also has supported a measure to bar journalists from knocking on the doors of bereaved families. Both these bills failed to generate support, but they signal Cuccinelli’s possible social agenda.

For attorney general of Virginia, we want a person who has experience as a prosecutor and a broader agenda of public safety goals. We also need someone in that office who understands the need to create a legal environment in which the public and private sectors can both work on the real social issues burdening Virginia, such as a dearth of jobs in the more rural regions.

We believe Shannon has that experience and we urge you to support him Nov. 3.

Go Steve!

Fairfax Deputy Sheriffs Endorse David Poisson

Courtesy of DanielK at New Dominion Project, here's a press release by the David Poisson for Delegate campaign on Poisson's endorsement by the Fairfax Deputy Sheriff's Coalition, Local 5016 of the International Union of Police Associations (IUPA).

Delegate David Poisson was endorsed today by the Fairfax County Deputy Sheriffs Coalition today. The Fairfax County Deputy Sheriffs Coalition is the only labor union representing deputy sheriffs in Virginia.

"I am honored to have the support and confidence of the deputy sheriffs and the law enforcement community. Deputy sheriffs risk their lives on a daily basis to protect our communities, and I look forward to continuing to work with them to keep our families safe," Delegate Poisson said.

Dan Kalbacher, Communications Director of the Fairfax County Deputy Sheriffs Coalition said in his statement: "If there is one Delegate in the Virginia House that is a staunch and unabashed supporter of deputy sheriffs, it is Delegate David Poisson. Many legislators like to talk the talk about supporting law enforcement, and particularly deputy sheriffs, but Delegate Poisson is one of the select few who can also walk the walk. His strong advocacy on behalf deputy sheriffs demonstrates a keen understanding of the challenges faced by the men and women who work in sheriffs' offices throughout our Commonwealth."

"Many legislators attempt to be tough on crime. But as the men and women on the front lines of keeping our communities safe know, we can't be tough on crime without also being smart on crime. That is something Delegate Poisson has continually demonstrated he understands," added Kalbacher.

Congratulations to Del. Poisson.

Obama a Complete Non-Factor in Governor's Race?

Is Barack Obama a complete non-factor in the Virginia governor's race? It sure looks that way.

... the internals of the new Washington Post poll in Virginia suggest that Obama may not really be an important factor at all. It finds:

* Seventy percent of likely voters say Obama is “not a factor” in ther choice. Only 15% say opposition to Obama is a factor, while 14%, say support for him is a factor.

* Seventy one percent say it makes “no difference” if the governor is from the same political party as the president. More people say it’s good to have a governor from the same party, 16%-13%.

* Obama’s approval rating in Virginia is 54%, in line with many national polls.

Look, there's going to be a lot of post-election commentary on 11/4 and beyond, and at least some of it's going to be on target. But this meme, that somehow the Virginia governor's race - in a state which almost always votes opposite to whichever party controls the White House - was a referendum on Barack Obama is utterly ridiculous. I would also point out that there's zero/nada/nil evidence that this election is a referendum on the national Republican Party, which continues to hover at abysmal, near-all-time low approval ratings in the polls. The bottom line: there have been races in the past which hinged on national issues, but this isn't one of 'em.

McDonnell Takes $20,000 From Funder of Anti-Muslim Movie "Obsession"

According to VPAP, Bob McDonnell received a check for $20,000 from an individual named Sheldon Adelson on 10/21/09. Who is Sheldon Adelson and why should you care?

Let's start with the basics: Adelson is a billionaire (at one point the third-richest person in the United States) and "is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., the parent company of Venetian Macao Limited which operates The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center." He is also a huge donor to Republicans, such as $500,000 to the second inauguration of George W. Bush (Adelson was so generous he earned the title of "Bush Pioneer"). Adelson also "founded the 527 lobbying group Freedom's Watch, a group that advocates America's continued involvement in the war in Iraq, and is run and supported, in part, by former officials of the Bush administration."

For more about Adelson, including his close friendship with convicted felon Tom DeLay and his fierce opposition to a two-state solution in the Arab-Israeli conflict, see here. But Adelson doesn't just oppose a two-state solution, he's one of the biggest patrons to something called the "Endowment for Middle East Truth" (EMET), the "radical Islam" obsessed group which - along with the Clarion Fund - produced the film, "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West." This is where things get really interesting. Check this out by NPR:

Critics are calling the DVD, "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," anti-Muslim hate, or politicking, or both. It doesn't mention or even obliquely allude to the presidential candidates. It couldn't, since it was made in 2006. But as whisper campaigns dog Obama with rumors that he's a secret Muslim, the DVD showed up as an insert in some 70 newspapers, with an emphasis in swing states.

The obvious question: Who is behind it?

And the answer: The DVD is distributed by the Clarion Fund, a nonprofit set up by the film's producer, Rabbi Raphael Shore...

Lovely, eh? But what's so terrible about "Obsession," you ask? According to this article:

Critics allege that the movie "Obsession" is "hate propaganda" which paints Muslims as violent extremists and, among other things, explicitly compares the threat posed by radical Islam to that of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

At least two major metropolitan newspapers solicited to insert the paid advertisement into their product have refused to do so because of a perceived bias in the film.

"Despite the perilous state of American newspapers, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch advertising department took an ethical stand and refused to distribute the DVD of a film that for two years has troubled American Muslims," wrote Tim Townsend, a reporter at Missouri's most influential newspaper earlier this month after it rejected the ad.

While the initial press reports about the mass distribution focused on the Clarion Fund's financing role, it was EMET that organised and oversaw the distribution, EMET's spokesman, Ari Morgenstern, told IPS. Morgenstern, a former press officer for the Israeli embassy here, said he contacted IPS at the Clarion Fund's request.

So there you have it: Sheldon Adelson's "EMET" is the distributor of anti-Muslim "hate propaganda," which among other things was used in the 2008 presidential campaign as unfounded rumors swirled that Barack Obama was a "secret Muslim." And Sheldon Adelson just gave Pat Robertson's Manchurian Candidate, aka Bob McDonnell, $20,000. What's that all about, Mr. "Moderate?"

Whipple Clip Dozen: Tuesday Morning

Thanks to Tom Whipple for getting up early on a rainy morning to bring us the "Clips."

1. MCDONNELL'S EDGE OVER DEEDS GROWS STRONGER
3. POLL: DEMOCRAT DEEDS DOWN BY DOUBLE-DIGITS
4. CANDIDATE POSITIONS ARE MURKY WHEN IT COMES TO FORT MONROE
5. MCDONNELL LEADS DEEDS IN TALLY OF CONTRIBUTIONS
6. OBAMA COMING TO DEEDS' AID AMID WORSENING TROUBLES
8. DANVILLE ‘BOOK CLUB’ DISCUSSES MCDONNELL THESIS
9. HAMILTON HITS ABBOTT FOR TURNING DOWN CNU FORM....
10. FRANKLIN MILL CLOSURE DEFINITE, COMPANY SPOKESMAN SAYS
11. NORTH ANNA REACTOR SHUT DOWN BECAUSE OF LEAKS
14. 'ONE FREE SWERVE'
16. NRA ATTACKS AREN'T CREDIBLE
17. WAGNER FOR LT. GOVERNOR

FDL Action Health Care Update: Monday (10/26/09)

Here are the FDL Action health care reform highlights for an eventful Monday, October 26.

1. Jon Walker writes that Olympia Snowe feels so strongly "about giving the insurance companies another chance" that she's willing "to waste $100 billion of your tax payer money...for the explicit purpose of protecting the private health insurance industry from public competition." And for that, Walker points out, Snowe "is considered to be one of the most 'reasonable' and 'moderate' Republicans in Washington." Of course, "only" wasting $100 billion is moderate compared to Bush's trillion-dollar giveaway to the super-rich or his multi-trillion-dollar adventure in Iraq. So yeah, by those standards, Olympia Snowe's a "moderate." Definitely. Heh.

2. Jane Hamsher takes blogger snark to a high level with "The History of the Conspiracy to Link Obama to Triggers."

3. Jon Walker uses "Occam's Razor" to dissect President Obama's attitude(s) towards the public option and concludes, "Obama does not support–and likely never supported–a strong public option." I'm not sure I agree with Walker on this one, but it's always interesting to see Occam's Razor employed by by someone who knows an issue inside and out.

4. Jane Hamsher urges everyone to sign the petition against triggers, which - in the spirit of Halloween, perhaps - she calls "the zombie that keeps coming back from the dead." Trick or treat? :)

5. Jon Walker explains the "when, how, who, and what of the public option opt-out." The bottom line is that "it is possible to design an opt-out that would result a large number of states opting out of the public option" or one which "would result in very few if any states opting out." Essentially, this is a case if there ever was of "the devil's in the details."

6. Speaking of which, Jane Hamsher has a diary entitled, "Reid’s Opt-Out: The Devil is In the Details." Hamsher concludes that "[d]epending on how an opt-out [is] written, it could potentially disenfranchise large parts of the population." Or not. No wonder they compare legislating to "the making of sausage."

7. Jon Walker reports on the big news of the day, that "Senate Majority Leader has decided to be a real leader and defy Olympia Snowe" by announcing his support for a public option with an "opt-out" provision. Walker hopes this means that "Empress Snowe" has been "dethrone[d]," concluding that a "bill that can pass the Senate without Snowe’s vote will likely be a much better bill in the end." But wait, what about bipartisanship for bipartisanship's sake and all that good stuff? (snark)

8. Jon Walker writes about a CBO analysis on repealing the anti-trust exemption for insurance companies. Walker concludes that this would "at best a light slap on the wrist" and more likely just "so much smoke and mirrors." Having run out of metaphors, I will now conclude the Monday FDL Action health care reform update! :)

McDonnell, Bolling, Shannon Held Cash-on-Hand Advantages as of 10/21

Courtesy of the amazing Virginia Public Access Project, here are links to reports for Republican and Democratic statewide candidates during the first three weeks of October, as well as their reported ending balance on October 21:

McDonnell for Governor (Raised $4.0 million on hand: $1.8 million)
Deeds for Governor (Raised $3.1 million; on hand: $937,772)

Bolling for Lt. Governor (Raised $496,033 on hand: $524,445)
Wagner for Lt. Governor (Raised $463,856 on hand: $237,365)

Cuccinelli for Att General (Raised $532,113 on hand: $153,863)
Shannon for Att General (Raised $532,575 on hand: $955,436)

In sum, Bob McDonnell and Bill Bolling held 2:1 cash-on-hand advantages over Creigh Deeds and Jody Wagner, respectively, as of 10/21. On a more positive note (from a Democratic perspective), Steve Shannon held a huge (6:1) CoH advantage over Ken Cuccinelli. Let's hope Steve can use that money to make up ground in the last week and spare us from Cooch's reign of right-wing radicalism.

Washington Post Poll: McDonnell 55%-Deeds 44%

This sucks.

Republican Robert F. McDonnell carries a double-digit lead over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds into the final week of the campaign for Virginia governor, according to a new Washington Post poll.

[...]

McDonnell is also buoyed by support outside of Northern Virginia, where he is currently outperforming all other top-of-the-ticket Republican candidates this decade. Statewide, McDonnell now leads Deeds among likely voters by a 55 to 44 percent margin. McDonnell, who narrowly defeated Deeds in the race for attorney general four years ago, has been above 50 percent in all four Post polls in the campaign.

Harry Reid Announces Support for Public Option with "Opt-Out" Provision

Good stuff, and it's in large part thanks to pressure from progressive bloggers and activists. Let's celebrate for a moment, but then let's get right back to pushing for the strongest possible health care reform bill - with the most robust possible public option - we can get!

Wait, John O'Bannon is a DOCTOR?!?

Wow, this guy is a doctor yet he totally doesn't understand the concept of pluripotency (ability "to differentiate into all derivatives of the three primary germ layers: ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm.") and why that makes embryonic stem cells so potentially powerful in developing treatments and cures for a long list of terrible diseases? The Republicans once again prove that they are the "know-nothing, anti-science party." Amazing.

P.S. For O'Bannon's information and potential edification, he might want to know that "while embryonic stem cells can generate all cell types in the body, adult stem cells are multipotent and can only produce a limited number of cell types."

UPDATE: More evidence that "Doctor" John O'Bannon has absolutely no clue what he's talking about when it comes to science or medicine. Wow, this is painful to watch. Great work by Del. Vivian Watts (D-39), by the way. Also, go Tom Shields!