Waldo’s Virginia Political Blogroll

Since my last classes at Lord Fairfax Community College, I used to make the occasional visit to my former post-secondary institution of education. I had a few friends that were finishing up their degree programs, or simply taking a course or two for a certificate they were attempting to obtain.

Many of these former fellow students and friends of mine had long congregated in a sheltered area outside a set of double doors in an area dubbed "The Smoker's Pit". It was sheltered on 3 sides with a roof, and allowed for some reprieve from the usually miserable elements of mother nature that tend to plague the Northern Shenandoah Valley during the late fall and winter months. It also allowed for reprieve from the stress of exams, labs, and the other strains of college education by giving people a sheltered area in which to relax and have a cigarette or two between classes. Lots of political, social, and pop-culture related banter took place in "The Pit".

During my final year at LFCC, The Student Council not only allowed, but sponsored advertising for "National Smoke-Out Day", posting anti-smoking ads across the hallways of the college. Normally, I would have brushed this off as more liberal drivel and ignored it...except they faced one of these posters through the window towards those smoking in "The Pit". This was alright with the Student Union...but my marker-written replies on the back of the poster(facing inside the school) about Jim Fixx and other "pro-healthy living" people of the past and present(and their early demises) was considered "unacceptable" and "not promoting the health of LFCC students". I wasn't punished at all, but I was chastized for only

This anti-smoking campaign was created, of course, because 18-25 year olds in recent and present generations don't know that smoking can cause cancer and other diseases...that hasn't been drilled in our heads since the early 80's, right?

Upon my return visits to this institution, they have now forced all smokers to smoke in designated gazebos...with maximum exposure to the elements. Need a smoke when the wind chill is 5 degrees outside? Well, too bad...you don't even get a wall to protect you from the bitter cold wind.

Fast-forward to present day. Our esteemed Governor(and Mark Warner coat-tail rider)Tim Kaine has banned smoking in-and-around most government facilities, which is fine. However, now he's exploring the possibility of having smoking in restaurants/bars/etc...banned in the state of Virginia. What Mr Kaine does not realize is that tobacco usage is a staple of this state. To eliminate tobacco use would only drive out Richmond's stalwart corporations due to resentment towards Mr. Kaine's policies, but eliminate a right to smoke that liberals are attempting to eliminate throughout the country.

Smokers have long conceded various aspects of their rights to pacify the aggressive non-smoking advocates. Most restaurants have designated smoking areas to around the bar area, or reserved over two-thirds of dining area to non-smoking tables, forcing smokers at some restaurants to endure longer waits for tables on busier nights than non-smokers. Fast-food establishments, for the most part, banned smoking in their facilities long ago, although a few exceptions remain. Even my present employer forces employees not only to their cars...but have forced employees to drive off the property in order to smoke on their breaks.

Such is the price to burn one and relax for 10 minutes.

With all these concessions made, why the continued left-wing persecution of people for making a "lifestyle choice". If someone choses to be gay, be anti-American, or have a child out of wedlock, the liberals run to their defense as it is a "lifestyle choice". However, if someone wants to light up a cigarette because they enjoy it, down comes the proverbial hammer upon those who smoke because it's "unhealthy" and even "morally wrong", as smoking supports "those evil tobacco companies", as they are labeled by the anti-smoking advocates. Here's some breaking news to the liberal world, smokers know it is unhealthy, and to treat them as though they don't is condescending and demeaning.

I quit smoking for good several months ago as a personal choice, and as a favor to my wife(who requested I do so, as she was allergic to the smell of the smoke)...however, I refuse to quietly allow good people to have their rights denied because a handful of "activists" decided(as usual) to loudly voice their problems with smoking.

And even though I quit smoking, those truth.com commercials give me more of an itch to light up again than any Joe Camel ad ever did in my youth.

Preparing for the Democratic takeover, Mr. Vice President?

See Dick Shred. Shred Dick, shred!

Ever driven down a major highway and seen those big 4×8 ft. signs nailed to the sides of barns and propped up in cow pastures along all the major highways in the state? When you’ve got cars moving at 55-65mph down a highway (my usual pace is closer to 85mph), you need a big sign. You do not, however, need a 4×8 sign when you live on a city street with a 25mph speed limit. A simple yard sign will suffice and has sufficed for decades. But it seems that as Liberal anger builds, the need for them to amplify their displeasure with Bush also increases.

The local Dems are putting 4×8 foot Weed and Webb signs in the front yards of homes on Alderman Rd. and JPA Extended. These are small residential streets with limited traffic and slow speed limits. That hasn’t stopped the Libs from offering these exquisite contributions to neighborhood beautification. As a JPA neighborhood resident, I originally contemplated filing a complaint with the neighborhood association. Upon further reflection, however, I figured that laughing at this ridiculous stunt was simply too amusing, and I decided not to spoil their fun.

I will take a picture with my cell phone next time I go by one and post it later. You cannot appreciate how silly it looks until you see it with your own eyes.

Back on December 9, 2005 I posted the following essay entitled: “The Washington Times is Whistling Past the Graveyard: How George Allen can be Defeated in 2006 (and Why He Should Be).” I thought it would be fun to go back and revisit what I was thinking nearly eleven months ago. Enjoy!The Washington Times has an article entitled “Allen Leads Potential Challengers in Senate Poll.” According to a

Check out the latest fundie bullshit regarding Halloween:

Bruce Watters used to simply hand out candy on Halloween, just like his neighbors in St. Petersburg, Fla., until he decided the holiday's ghoulishness really didn't jibe with his Christian beliefs.

But rather than skip the neighborhood ritual, he's put a Christian stamp on it. For the third year in a row, kids will leave his porch with a piece of candy, plus a religious tract - a concise, colorful handout telling how to attain salvation through Jesus Christ.

It is your solemn humanistic duty, Dear Reader, to TP the house of anyone abusing your children like this. Alternatively, print some copies of the Humanist Manifesto and hand them back to your fundie neighbors!

The federal government's "no sex without marriage" message isn't just for kids anymore:

Now the government is targeting unmarried adults up to age 29 as part of its abstinence-only programs, which include millions of dollars in federal money that will be available to the states under revised federal grant guidelines for 2007.

The government says the change is a clarification. But critics say it's a clear signal of a more directed policy targeting the sexual behavior of adults.

"They've stepped over the line of common sense," said James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that supports sex education. "To be preaching abstinence when 90% of people are having sex is in essence to lose touch with reality. It's an ideological campaign. It has nothing to do with public health."

Abstinence education programs, which have focused on preteens and teens, teach that abstaining from sex is the only effective or acceptable method to prevent pregnancy or disease. They give no instruction on birth control or safe sex.

From the column on the WAPO.

Hoping to get the video up soon…

and from the Potomac News

And I go back to my favorite line, “If you don’t live your values, you don’t have any.”

b

MY FIRST UPDATE: WAPO Video of the issues. This brought to you thru the Internets Tubes.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/campaign06/issues/index.html

Once a week, I’ll give a shout-out to people, places, and institutions that make notable contributions to our “World Class City”. This week’s winners are:

1. Wayside Ole Virginia Fried Chicken- This is the absolute best fried chicken I have ever had. The delicious blend of spices and flavors make this a winner for football tailgates, Foxfield spreads, or just a plain ol’ cure for a killer hangover.

2. Halftime Football Tickets- Since they no longer allow you to exit and re-enter Scott Stadium, it is necessary to have not only your ID to enter the game, but an additional ticket to re-enter after you’ve re-upped your buzz at the tailgate during halftime. Due to the early struggles of the team, I’ve been able to secure these prized pieces of paper for no more than $5 for every game so far this season.

3. Warren James Auto-Body- They may be located 20 minutes west of C-ville in Crozet, but they do a terrific job for a whole lot less than Taylor’s, Cosner Brothers, or any other body shop in town that I’ve found. As an admittedly bad driver, I say hats off to Warren James for affordably keeping my car on the road.

UVA is +11.5 at Florida State. Anyone else think this is a little off? We are on a two game winning streak, Sewell looks better each week, and the Noles are in a tailspin, losing 4 of their last 5 games. I think it’ll be a lot closer than the experts predict, but I guess that’s why they’re experts and I’m not.

UPDATE: College Football News has the line up to +13. WTF?

How well does George Allen have to do in Albemarle County to win? What about Jim Webb? I’ve tried to answer these questions by averaging the percentage of vote won in the last several Republican and Democratic statewide victories in the biggest precincts. For Allen’s target percentages, I averaged the Allen ‘00 results with the Bush/Cheney ‘04 results. For the new precincts, I used the Bolling ‘05 results instead of the Allen ‘00 results and have marked them with an asterisk. For Webb’s target percentages, I averaged the Warner ‘01 results with the Kaine ‘05 results.

To keep up with statewide GOP victories, Allen needs:

Woodbrook- 52.8%
Jack Jouett- 45.3%
Ivy- 44.8%
East Ivy- 52.0%
Scottsville- 59.3%
Monticello- 54.1%
Cale- 41.3%
Keswick- 50.2%
Hollymead- 53.2%
Crozet- 49.1%
Earlysville- 56.5%
Northside- 57.2%*
Stone Robinson- 58.8%*
Brownsville- 50.0%*

To keep up with statewide Democratic Victories, Webb needs:

Woodbrook- 52.7%
Jack Jouett- 59.3%
Ivy- 62.9%
East Ivy- 53.9%
Scottsville- 46.5%
Monticello- 55.7%
Cale- 67.0%
Keswick- 61.4%
Hollymead- 54.7%
Crozet- 61.4%
Earlysville- 51.0%
Northside- 56%
Stone Robinson- 45.3%
Brownsville- 57.1%

Hopefully by watching the results from these precincts come in on the SBE website next Tuesday, we can get a clear picture of how things are going for the two campaigns. Tomorrow, I’ll break down all the Charlottesville precincts.

Yesterday, the parishes distributed the glossy from the Virginia Catholic Conference on the Virginia Gay Marriage Amendment. This fact was duly noted in the Washington Post. Given the bishops involved, I am not at all surprised at the content of their guide. They seem to be buying into the authoritarianism of the evangelical right wing. Politics does indeed make for strange bedfellows.

Much of the pastoral goes to how marriage is an essential institution. If one goes beyond the mythological nature of the story of Adam and Eve, which was itself a teaching tool rather than a rendition of history, one can see how the basic truths recited in the first few paragraphs of the Bishops letter can actually be used as a defense of Gay Marriage, since the marriage covenant is intrinsic to the human condition - regardless of sexual orientation.

Officially, the Church at large believes in civil rights for everyone. For instance, discrimination in employment and housing is not supposed to be allowed and is in fact a sin. I fear the bishops are moving away from even that basic level of decency.

As everyone knows, the Virginia amendment seeks to constitutionalize both the gay marriage ban and a rather miserable law designed to ban most domestic partner benefits, including those that have nothing to do with sex, like medical decisionmaking and joint property ownership. I guess intelligence and enlightenment are related, since anyone with a brain knows that state interference with these rights is a violation of the federal constitution (passing laws to overturn valid contracts is strictly verboten). Irregardless of any new marital rights for gays, the ban being considered in Virginia will fall on those grounds. Of course, this may be a safety valve to have what is a doomed amendment on equal protection grounds fall without actually granting a constitutional right to marry, so the sponsors might actually not be so stupid, although my guess is that the Court will rule on the equal protection issues as well as the contract issues.

As I have said before, celebrating gay unions is actually in the interest of the Catholic Church. To do so is to say that promiscuity is as evil for gays as it is for straights. Equating married gay sex and promiscuous gay sex is like telling gays to go hog wild and by the way, we hope you die. Luckily, marriage is the natural state of any couple, so it is written in the hearts of gays and lesbians as it is in others as well. You would think a Church that prides itself on the study of natural law would figure that one out. Of course, the Church's approach to discovering natural law is flawed, as the election guide shows. The Church claims to teach natural law authoritiatively. The problem is that natural law is based entirely on reason. Once you bring in authority, you are no longer teaching natural law because you are relying on something besides reason. The bishops contend that God would be disappointed with a vote against the amendment. This is silly. If anything, God is disappointed with the amendment itself, for the reasons I have set forth. Of course, God does not get disappointed. God is happiness itself. We do not have the power to make God less than happy. To contend otherwise is huberis. Morality does not exist to make God happy, but to make man happy on earth. Denying gays and lesbians the right to marry is hardly spreading happiness. Neither is discouraging discrimination.