Two-Term Virginia LG Bill Bolling (R) Warns that Nominating Trump, Cruz Could Be "Nail' in GOP "Coffin"

It never ceases to amaze me how far the Republican Party has lurched to the far, far, far-right since my days as a Teenage Republian in the late 1970s in Connecticut. At that time, the Republican Party arguably had three strong wings: the (rising) Jerry Falwell/"Moral Majority" wing; the traditional, pro-business, "moderate," "country club" Republican wing; and even (believe it or not) a significant progressive Republican wing (represented by people like Lowell Weicker, Jacob Javits, Charles Percy, Charles Mathias, Jim Jeffords, John Chafee, Nelson Rockefeller, Gerald Ford, Arlen Specter, Thomas Kean, Thomas Meskill, William Milliken, John Danforth, Nancy Kassebaum, Edward Brooke, etc.).

Today, the thought of a progressive Republican, a la Teddy Roosevelt or any of the folks mentioned above, is beyond laughable. The amazing thing to see is the collapse of the traditional, pro-business, "moderate" Republican wing, and the domination of today's Republican Party by: a) theocrats such as Ted Cruz, Ken Cuccinelli, EW Jackson and many others; b) anti-government, science-denying extremists, John Bircher tinfoil hat types, and angry bigots of various types (see a typical Trump rally for evidence); and c) more traditional, mainstream, pro-business conservatives such as John Kasich, pre-presidential-campaign Chris Christie, and here in Virginia, former Lt. Governor Bill Bolling. The problem for that latter group is that they are basically under siege these days by the John Birchers, Tea Partiers, "I'm a Christian first, American second" types (seriously, Ted Cruz actually said he's Christian first, American second), and rabid anti-government types (think of the armed thugs occupying the wildlife refuge in Oregon) of all types. Meanwhile, if the more "traditional" conservatives - still highly conservative by almost any measure, by the way - even attempt to stand up to the crazies, they are shouted down on social media, right-wing talk radio, Faux "News," and the 24/7 right-wing noise machine in general. Not a good situation.

Which brings us back to former Virginia LG Bill Bolling, the man who was in line to succeed Bob McDonnell as the likely next governor of Virginia...until Ken Cuccinelli and his merry band of raving lunatics (Tea Partiers, theocrats, etc.) essentially took over the Republican Party of Virginia and purged mainstream conservatives like Bolling. The result, of course, was the infamous "Extreme Team" ticket of 2013 -- Ken "Kookinelli," wild-eyed lunatic E.W. Jackson, and Mark "Criminalize Miscarriages!" Obenshain -- which went on to lose all three statewide offices in that election to Democrats Terry McAuliffe, Ralph Northam and Mark Herring. Today, in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Bolling laments what has become of his (former?) party. Here are a few highlights.

• Bolling argues that today's GOP is “factionalized and out of control," and says "that should worry us all." I agree 100% with Bolling.
• Bolling writes: "Not very long ago I was regarded as one of the leading conservative voices in the Republican Party in Virginia. I have not changed, but the definition of what it takes to be a conservative Republican has so changed that many now regard me as an 'establishment Republican,' in the popular vernacular. I prefer to think of myself as a mainstream Republican, or a more traditional Republican." That's essentially what I've been saying for years; the party that used to have three strong wings now has ditched two of them, and perhaps added another one in the Tea Partiers, John Birchers and related tinfoil hat types.
• Bolling argues that the Tea Party has come to dominate the GOP, and that this is a big problem for two reasons: 1) Tea Partiers "are not so much conservative as they are anti-government, and there is world of difference between those two things"; and 2) the Tea Partiers et al "offer no positive vision for the future of our country or our state," and instead "are defined by what they are opposed to, not what they are for." Again, I agree 100% with Bolling.
• Today's GOP is a party dominated not by hope and a positive vision for the future, but by "gloom and doom...anger and division." Again, ditto.
• If this continues, and if the party doesn't get its act together fast, Bolling correctly argues, the GOP could go extinct, just like the Whig Party in 1854.
• Finally, Bolling argues that the 2016 presidential election is a "critical test case" for the GOP. He writes - clearly referring to candidates like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz - that "if the party nominates a candidate who is viewed as being too extreme, divisive and out of touch with the American people, it will inevitably lose the election and drive another nail into what may quickly become the Republican Party’s coffin."

As a partisan Democrat, and also as an American, of course I'd be thrilled to see the off-the-deep-end version of the Republican Party collapse. Ideally, this would lead to formation of a more sane, "normal" Republican Party like it used to be - conservative, but not completely off the deep end, not anti-government, not anti-science, not anti-rationality and anti-reason.

Is that really too much to ask for? Or is America going to be cursed with a party led by the likes of Donald Trump, a neo-fascist at worst and a wildly irresponsible demagogue at best; or Ted Cruz, one of the most extreme political figures imaginable in the United States of America? For all our sakes, let's hope that the Bill Bollings of the world manage to take back their party...before it's too late for them, and possibly for the rest of us.

Democratic Opposition to Gov. McAuliffe's "Transform 66" Plan Makes Absolutely No Sense

by Lowell

One of the big controversies during the 2015 Virginia election cycle was one ginned up by Republicans with the goal of using demagoguery, fear-mongering and outright lies to rile people up against Gov. McAuliffe's "Transform 66" plan for smart, market-oriented, low-cost congestion relief on I-66. The key components of this plan are: "dynamically priced toll lanes during weekday rush hours between the Capitol Beltway and Rosslyn" and "multi-modal improvements that directly benefit the I-66 corridor." The overall goal is to "help I-66 move more people reliably," while allowing single-occupant vehicles - "who today are not permitted to use I-66 inside the Beltway during rush hours" - to do so by opting to pay a toll, instead of continuing to use the road illegally.

In the end, despite spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on TV ads that blared some variant of "Democrats Jennifer Boysko and Kathleen Murphy will make you pay $17 tolls on I-66!!!", not a single targeted Democrat lost their election. Not only that, but in Fairfax County and Loudoun County, Democrats actually gained seats on their respective County Boards. In other words, people weren't buying this nonsense -- if anything, it backfired.

By the way, the alternative put forth by tolling opponents is basically adding more lanes to I-66 inside the Beltway. The problem? It turns out, according to the Virginia Secretary of Transportation, that I-66 widening inside the Beltway scores absolutely terribly, either in terms of its "HB599 score" (note: HB599 is a biased, anti-transit, pro-pavement, pro-sprawl scoring system set up under a  bill by right-wingnut Del. Jim LeMunyon in 2012), or in terms of its benefit/cost ratio under HB599.

To the stark contrary, the McAuliffe administration's "Transform 66" plan for congestion mitigation inside the Beltway scores 0.57, over six times more bang for the buck than I-66 inside-the-Beltway widening, which gets a pathetic 0.09 score. And again, that's not even counting all the environmental smart growth, and other benefits not counted under HB599, whose real purpose was to force highway expansion and specifically the widening of I-66, while also seeking to undermine investment in transit.

Given those scores, as well as the failed politics of fearmongering on this issue, support for the "Transform66" plan should be a no-brainer. At least you'd think it would be, except perhaps for Virginia General Assembly members who happen to be: a) biased in favor of building more roads; b) ignorant (or in denial) of the concept of "induced demand;" c) bought and paid for the by the road-building industry; d) pro-sprawl for whatever crazy reason; or e) anti-environment for whatever crazy reason.

All of which raises the question: why in hell would any Democrat oppose the McAuliffe administration plans for mitigating traffic inside the Beltway, let alone actually put forward bills (e.g., see this one by Del. David Bulova or this forced-road-widening monstrosity by Sen. Chap Petersen)? After all, as McAuliffe explained this past Friday, his plan is "not proposing new tolls for anyone" legally using the road now, but will simply "give that [currently law-breaking] single driver an option; instead of getting off on 50 and 29 and causing local congestion, you can stay on 66 if you want to pay to stay on it. This is a choice."

As for the consequences of rejecting this plan? Gov. McAuliffe put it this way: "if we don't do inside the Beltway, it's highly unlikely that outside the Beltway will happen, so you can go for another 15 years with no action on the most congested road in the most congested region in the country....[Opponents] have no plan...But if we don't move forward on 66, let me be very clear, that is not my responsibility, I put a plan out. It is YOUR legislators who have said no. They will own this; so we will be stuck in traffic once again for a very very long time...I have a solution, they're trying to hide and duck."

For my part, I'm going to be watching this one very closely, and definitely taking note of who supports bills to force widening of I-66 inside the Beltway (or outside, for that matter), who favors killing the only plan on the table that makes sense (that would be "Transform 66"), and who is "trying to hide and duck," as Gov. McAuliffe so accurately put it.

P.S. Also see Dr. Gridlock's column on I-66 in today's Washington Post. As he correctly puts it, "No other plan on the table [other than "Transform 66"] offers so much potential to help the vast majority of commuters."

Sunday News: Time to Dig Out; Tina Fey Does Sarah Palin; Corruption, Virginia Style

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for "Snowzilla" Digout Sunday, January 24.

• A blizzard for the ages ("Digging out after historic storm brings the Washington region to a standstill")
• Vladimir Putin’s poison tea (Except by lunatic Donald Trump and some other Republicans who loveloveLOVE former KGB thug Putin.)
• Trump: I could shoot people in streets and not lose support (Yes, a candidate for public office in America - PRESIDENT no less - says bizarre, crazy, extreme s*** like this all the time, yet he's leading the polls among Republican primary caucus and voters. What, I ask, does that say about Republican caucus and primary voters?)
• Presidential Race Is Such a Mess That Bloomberg Considers Independent Run (I strongly doubt there's any groundswell for Michael Bloomberg...)
• They’re all just this deluded and deranged: Anti-intellectual religious wing-nuts run the GOP ("Faith-inspired lunacy runs wild across the globe -- and also at the GOP presidential debate" That about sums it up.)
• The GOP’s Trump meltdown hits critical mass — but can the right’s empty suits stop him now?
• Iowa’s Des Moines Register endorses Clinton, Rubio(The question, particularly on the Republican side, is whether anyone cares about newspaper endorsements anymore...)
• Schapiro: GOP's fingerprints all over AG guidelines on guns ("Republicans also wrote the procedures and standards for determining whether Virginia should recognize the concealed weapons laws of other states. A Democratic attorney general is operating by their rules. Republicans are incensed by his interpretation and are prepared to impose their own — by dismantling their own handwork.")
• Incentive fund gets assembly's attention
• Betting on winners; after they've won in Virginia politics ("The winners in Virginia's legislative election last November also won lots of new friends in the weeks that followed Election Day. Those friends have deep pockets and big interests at stake in the General Assembly." And THAT, my friends, is the definition both of "politics as usual and "corruption.")
• Our view: Goodwill hunting ("If you look close enough at the campaign finance reports that political candidates in Virginia file, you’ll find some curious entries." Speaking of corruption...)
• Editorial: Virginia lawmakers make assault on your right to know on several fronts ("And who introduced the legislation, by the way? Why, none other than Tommy Norment — whose No. 1 campaign donor just happens to be the Virginia Bankers Association. What a coincidence." Yet more corruption.)
• David B. Oakley: The Old Dominion gives birth to gay marriage in the South
• Editorial: The Beach's slippery slope on tax rebates
• With most of Va. blanketed in snow, freezing rain, sleet falls across Hampton Roads
• Crews rescue dog from ice covered lake ("Firefighters rescued a St. Bernard from a frozen pond in Fairfax County on Friday. The dog was in the water for 30 minutes before emergency crews arrived.")
• No flights out of Reagan, Dulles airports Sunday; runways closed for snow removal
• Despite a blizzard and no Metro, some employees still need to get to work
• Snowzilla, biggest snow on record in Baltimore, top 5 in D.C., has ended

McAuliffe Will Turn Down Trump Appointment, Focus on Jobs

by Dan Sullivan

When John Fredericks told Governor McAuliffe he’d recommended him to Donald Trump as Secretary of Commerce, McAuliffe responded that he’s not leaving office early for anything. He might rethink that after this legislative session, but for now he’s focused on jobs, Medicaid expansion, public safety, and invigorating Virginia's exports.

On a recent visit to Virginia Trump, answering a question from the press, remarked that he thinks Terry is a great Governor. It seems that John Fredericks agrees, at least as far as the Governor’s enthusiastic efforts getting companies to come to Virginia and creating jobs. In fact, with the exception of Executive Order 50, Fredericks seems to be a fan himself and said as much in an interview Friday.

On two issues that are related, Medicaid expansion and Certificates of Public Need (COPN), Fredericks’ and McAuliffe’s positions appeared to intersect as do the interests of Virginians on both. Unfortunately, Republican members of the General Assembly have placed politics above the interests of their constituents. Fredericks summed up the two sides of the COPN repeal argument: opponents say repeal would weaken the healthcare system; proponents say it would promote competition. McAuliffe pointed out that he requested the Task Force that is studying COPN. Medicaid expansion or the lack thereof is an essential factor in the design.

Saturday News: "Snowzilla" Continues; Republicans "get what they deserve" with Trump and Palin...but What About the Rest of Us?!?

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and meterological, for this snowy Saturday, January 23.

• Double-digit snowfall blankets the D.C. region with more to come ("Snow fell hard and fast after midnight Friday, accompanied by wind gusts of up to 29 mph at points, creating whiteout conditions on some roadways. More snow and even stronger gusts are expected Saturday, as a blizzard warning remains in effect.")
• With Trump and Palin, Republicans get what they deserve (True, but what about everyone else?!?)
• Republican elites surrender to Trump ("A xenophobic and bigoted showman is now the face of the GOP and of American conservatism." Republicans reap the bitter harvest they've sowed, at least since the 1960s.)
• GOP insiders cave to Trump ("Some in the establishment are making a bet on Trump’s corruptibility — and confessing their own.")
• Conservatives in a meltdown: National Review’s confused “Against Trump” issue is an amazing testament to the right’s implosion
• The Extremism Of National Review's Trump Critics ("The influential conservatives who penned essays for National Review urging voters not to cast their ballots for Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump have their own histories of extremism. They have called President Obama a "racist" with a "deep-seeded hatred for white people" and compared him to a "skinny, ghetto crackhead"; termed Supreme Court Justice David Souter a "goat fucking child molester"; reportedly "helped push" Sarah Palin onto the 2008 GOP presidential ticket; and offered inflammatory Islamophobic comments.")
• Obama Administration Announces Rule To Slash Methane Pollution On Public Lands
• Ted Cruz Forgets To Sign Up For Health Insurance, Blames Obamacare (L-O-S-E-R!)
• Donald Trump and Ted Cruz attack in dueling TV ads to win over Iowa conservatives
• Mike Farris Blasts Jerry Falwell for his Support of Trump (It's about time; where are all the other evangelical Christians on this one?!?)
• Coalition gets Gov. McAuliffe's ear on Virginia offshore oil and gas drilling ("They won a pledge that he’d take a hard look at their concerns – but no indication that the governor will switch from the pro-drilling side." Pathetic on T-Mac's part, just pathetic.)
• Herring asks Supreme Court to uphold new congressional districts
• Virginia settles mortgage securities lawsuit
• I-66 vote to put Virginia legislators on HOT seat with commuters ("A 'no-tolls' vote is easy and accomplishes nothing to improve travel on the interstate.")
• A slush fund of sorts in Virginia ("A Chinese company takes the commonwealth for a ride.")
• McAuliffe on Trump: "I know Donald very well." (Uhhhhhhhh....)
• Winter storm causes power outages, dangerous driving conditions in Hampton Roads
• McAuliffe agrees with Trump on loyalty oaths ("Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Friday that he shares Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s dislike for the oath the Republican Party of Virginia plans to require voters to take before participating in the GOP’s presidential primary.")
• Virginia Beach Sheriff Stolle urges Forbes drop thoughts of running for 2nd District
• Effort to recall Norfolk Treasurer Anthony Burfoot taking shape
• Landes, Bell endorse Gillespie campaign for governor
• Developer considers cutting off Atlantic Ave. for Cavalier project in Virginia Beach
• 'Phishing' scam exposes UVa employee data
• Blizzard warning updates: Waking up to thundersnow as white stuff piles past one foot and counting ("Snow continues intense this morning with thundersnow reported.")
• Southwest Virginia hunkered down as snow poured down Friday
• D.C. area forecast: Blizzard rages today, ending tonight after giant snowfall

Audio: Gov. McAuliffe Says "do not go on the roads;" GOP charges on Justice Roush "totally false"; Serious Ramifications to GA Rejecting I-66 Tolling Plan

by Lowell

Key points by Gov. Terry Mculiffe on the Kojo Nnamdi Show's Politics Hour earlier this afternoon.

• Lots of talk about what a "state of emergency" means, and how Virginia has prepared for the Blizzard-geddon.zilla-whatever. McAuliffe said he has canceled his travel plans (unlike NJ Gov. Chris Christie - lol) and will be "hunkered down" in the "command center." McAuliffe says "we're on top of it."
• McAuliffe's advice for what to do during this storm: "grab a cold beer, sit at home and watch some sporting events; do not go on the roads."
• On the GSA formal request for design ideas on the new FBI headquarters, McAuliffe says "we'd love it in Virginia...most of the FBI agents today live in Virginia...the FBI has a massive operation already in Quantico...it makes sense."
• On Republican Virginia State Sen. Glen Sturtevant saying he won't vote to boot Justice Jane Roush off the Virginia Supreme Court, McAuliffe says, "I give this guy a lot of credit...I respect people who stand up, do the right thing, put the political consquences aside...We need more people like Glen Sturtevant...Politics shouldn't be so ideologically driven like it is today; we need to get things done." 
• McAuliffe said that Republicans charges about not being consulted on Jane Roush's appointment are "totally false, that's political spin, we had an open and transparent process...We reached out specifically to the [Republican] leadership in both the Senate and the House, and they basically said it is the governor's pick...They can't dicate to me whom they want; it's my pick... I've got to do what I'm constitutionally required to do...[This] fussing political temper tantrum that they threw has nothing to do about who consulted who, they wanted to get the pick. But you know what, the law allows me to do it when they're not in session, I'm sorry."
• On gun legislation, McAuliffe said he will veto anything that loosens Virgnia's gun laws. He guaranteed that the General Assembly will not be able to override any of his vetoes of these bills.
• On I-66 tolling, McAuliffe said: "We're not proposing new tolls for anyone; if you're driving for free today on HOV, it stays that way. The only thing we've changed inside the Beltway is a single driver during rush hour is prohibited today from going on 66. All we're saying is we will give that single driver an option; instead of getting off on 50 and 29 and causing local congestion, you can stay on 66 if you want to pay to stay on it. This is a choice."
• The "ramifications" of the House and Senate voting down Gov. McAuliffe's tolling plan are that "if we don't do inside the Beltway, it's highly unlikely that outside the Beltway will happen, so you can go for another 15 years with no action on the most congested road in the most congested region in the country....They have no plan...But if we don't move forward on 66, let me be very clear, that is not my responsibility, I put a plan out. It is YOUR legislators who have said no. They will own this; so we will be stuck in traffic once again for a very very long time...I have a solution, they're trying to hide and duck."
• On national politics, McAuliffe said "I think [Hillary Clinton's] going to win Iowa. He also said "we've got two great [Senators] who would be great VPs. He also said "I think [Bernie Sanders]  would have a very hard time carrying Virginia" if he's the 2016 Democratic nominee.

VA Sen. Mark Obenshain Mocks Freezing Woman Who Threw Concrete Through Gen. Assembly Window In Order to Go Someplace Warm...Jail

by Lowell Feld and Jarrod Nagurka

Virginia State Senator Mark "Criminalize Miscarriages" Obenshain (R-Extremesville), who came horrifyingly close in 2013 to becoming Virginia's Attorney General, strikes again. Click on the image to "embiggen," and check out how Obenshain finds it absolutely HI-larious that a desperate, freezing (and possibly mentally unstable, based on her behavior) woman threw "a piece of concrete through a window at the General Assembly Building on Thursday night during a legislative committee meeting apparently was trying to get arrested so that she would have a place to stay on a bitterly cold night, according to Capitol Police."

The response by Obenshain -- one of the most extreme, bizarre members of the Virginia General Assembly (and that's saying a lot, given some of the crazies there) -- was not empathy or even the oxymoronic "compassionate conservativsm," was to joke about the incident ("I don't have to list that as a gift, do I?" "justanotherdayattheoffice" etc.). Hardy har har.  As I said, HI-larious! Not.

For some thoughts on all this, see below for Democratic campaign manager and UVA senior Jarrod Nagurka's response last night. I agree 100% with Jarrod on this one.

Tonight, Senator Mark D. Obenshain yet again demonstrated his total lack of compassion, empathy, and understanding of those less fortunate than himself. Ahead of the huge snowstorm and freezing temperatures, a woman threw a brick through a wall at the General Assembly so that she could be arrested and spend the night off the streets and in a warm place-- jail. Rather than try to understand this woman's desperate circumstances, Obenshain decided to make jokes out of the whole incident at the expense of someone who clearly can't defend herself and is in need of our community's help, not vilification. I called him out on twitter, and he proceeded to defend his remarks because the woman also punched a passerby in an attempt to get arrested (victim sustained minor injuries.) Personally, I don't think this poor woman's wrongs-- because there's never a defense for injuring someone else-- in order to find a warm place to sleep warrants a State Senator's attacks. Senator Obenshain's actions are beneath the office he holds, and he should apologize immediately. And for those who don't closely follow Virginia politics, this guy was less than 300 votes from being our current Attorney General.

Friday News: Blizzard of 2016 Approaches; Who is President Obama's "true heir?"; Quid pro quo politics "should be criminalized"

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, January 22. Stay safe tonight and all through this weekend!

• D.C. area braces for potentially record-breaking blizzard
• Sarah Palin takes the GOP campaign to a new low ("Palin plus Trump equals a worst-case Republican scenario.")
• Trump and Palin join forces in the war against reason ("The reality TV stars move the GOP from healthy anti-elitism to mindless anti-intellectualism." And much, much worse...)
• Kasich’s rise is bad news for the GOP: How the Ohio governor’s surge could actually derail any hope of thwarting Trump and Cruz ("To stop Trump and Cruz, the GOP establishment needs a New Hampshire breakthrough, and John Kasich could spoil it")
• Sarah Palin’s feel-bad politics: The dark allure of right-wing nihilism, self-pity and curdled nostalgia for a once-“great” America
• Depraved Indifference Toward Flint ("Newly released emails reveal an appalling lack of urgency in responding to Flint’s water problems.")
• Krugman: How Change Happens ("There’s a sort of mini-dispute among Democrats over who can claim to be Mr. Obama’s true heir — Mr. Sanders or Mrs. Clinton? But the answer is obvious: Mr. Sanders is the heir to candidate Obama, but Mrs. Clinton is the heir to President Obama." Agreed, which is why I'm supporting Hillary Clinton -- as much as I like Bernie Sanders.)
• Oil Prices Drop, but U.S. Economy Isn’t Reaping the Benefits (Weird.)
• National Review Launches Conservative War On Donald Trump ("National Review And 22 Conservative Media Personalities Call Trump A 'Philosophically Unmoored Political Opportunist'" Also a sociopath.)
• Forest Service rejects proposed route of Atlantic Coast Pipeline (Awesome, now just kill this @#$@#$! project!)
• Bill: Make governor release appointee resumes
• How the Supreme Court can change politics as usual ("Quid pro quo politics, as in the case of Robert McDonnell, should be criminalized." Absolutely! Is this really such a difficult concept?)
• Luxury 'Skins tickets for McAuliffe cabinet member re-open ethics debate (Exactly the type of behavior that should be criminalized.)
• Virginia General Assembly calls a rare snow day ("The snow day will be only the second time in 48 years that weather has stood in the way of Va. lawmaking.")
• Police: Woman who smashed window at General Assembly Building sought arrest to get out of cold
• Attorneys for Virginia and NAACP defend new congressional boundaries
• Dominion prepares for power outages as winter storm approaches ("The utility is advising its 2.5 million customers to use the website dom.com/outages to report and track power failures. Customers also can sign up to receive text message alerts about outages and restoration times.")
• Senate bill is meant to exclude turtles, but in a good way ("Jay Ford, who directs an environmental group called Virginia Eastern Shorekeeper, is hoping that this year will bring a change. He helped craft a bill introduced last week by state Sen. Lynnwood Lewis that would require some crab pots to be outfitted with cheap, easy-to-install devices that keep diamondback terrapins out.")
• Kerry Dougherty: Legislators' pure and precious ears
• Editorial: $120 million bet on Norfolk's future
• House GOP wants to help 'women in crisis' arm themselves (How about taking guns away from their abusers, stalkers, etc?!?)
• North Korea says U-Va. student arrested for ‘hostile acts’ (Why would anyone in their right mind travel to North Korea?!?)
• Police: Woman who smashed window at General Assembly Building sought arrest to get out of cold (Tragic and deeply sad.)
• Norfolk and Virginia Beach police change stun gun policies in response to court ruling
• Most area school systems announce closure Friday, ahead of major storm
• Central Virginia expecting 'big range' of snow totals
• Storm takes shape over the South; snow could arrive in D.C. region as early as noon

60 Minutes Revisits Health Care in Virginia’s Appalachia

by Dan Sullivan

Scott Pelly rendezvoused with Health Wagon’s Teresa Gardner and Paula Hill-Meade for a return engagement that will be featured on 60 Minutes this Sunday at 7 PM EST. Since the original segment about the mobile clinic, financial support has improved but need continues to outstrip resources.

Without Medicaid expansion or a Republican alternative nearly one million residents of Virginia will continue without health insurance and adequate access to healthcare. Health Wagon and Remote Area Medical are the only figurative and literal band aids.

Virginia House Democrats Release the “Terrible Bill Watch List”

From the Virginia House Democratic caucus; there's some seriously extreme crap in here from Republicans.

RICHMOND, Va. – Today, House Democrats highlighted some of the bills that are the most troubling introduced in the 2016 session. The “Terrible Bill Watch List,” while not comprehensive, provides samples of the legislation that House Republicans have been introducing for years that distract focus from the reasons why citizens sent us to Richmond.

“Again this year, we are seeing Republicans in the House introduce numerous bills that would promote the gun lobby, weaken women’s reproductive rights, limit the right to vote, and turn back the clock on social equality,” said David J. Toscano, House Democratic Leader. “House Democrats, on the other hand, are working tirelessly to pass legislation that helps build the New Virginia Economy, ensure our citizens are safe, and creates a level playing field of opportunity, whether in the workplace or classroom.”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS WANT TO MAKE IT EASIER TO GET GUNS, AND TO HAVE THEM IN MORE PLACES BY ARMING NURSES, PROFESSORS, COLLEGE STUDENTS, HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS AND STATE EMPLOYEES