Waldo’s Virginia Political Blogroll

It’s probably a function of my midwestern upbringing that I love rhubarb as a dessert. This astringent fruit makes a fine addition to the dessert sauce cabinet if you know what to do with it. Serve this warm or hot with ice cream and watch the eyes of your guests light up.

Rhubarb Tart
8 Servings

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons (about) ice water
3 tablespoons apricot jam
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons brandy
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 pounds fresh rhubarb, trimmed, cut diagonally into 1/2inchthick pieces

Mix flour, salt and powdered sugar in processor. Add butter and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolks and process briefly to blend. Add enough water by tablespoonfuls until mixture forms moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12inchdiameter round. Transfer to 9inch diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Trim crust overhang to 1/4-inch. Fold overhang in, creating double thick sides. Freeze crust 15 minutes. Line crust with foil. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until sides are set, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake crust until golden brown, piercing with fork if bubbles form, about 15 minutes. Transfer pan to rack. Brush crust with jam. Cool completely. Combine sugar, water, brandy, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil. Add rhubarb and bring to boil. Reduce heat to mediumlow. Cover pan and simmer until rhubarb begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Let stand covered until rhubarb is tender, about 15 minutes. Uncover and cool completely. Using slotted spoon, remove rhubarb from cooking liquid and arrange decoratively in crust. Boil cooking liquid until reduced to glaze consistency. Brush glaze over rhubarb. Bake the rhubarb sauce in the pie shell for 35 minutes at 350 degrees and cool before slicing.

To celebrate the restoration and extension of the State Capitol, a rededication ceremony will be held at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, May 1.  The event will commence on the South portico of the Capitol.  Speaker of the House of Delegates, William J. Howell, and President Pro tempore of the Senate, John H. Chichester, will be joined by Governor Timothy M. Kaine, along with members of the Virginia General Assembly and citizens of the Commonwealth.  The ceremony will mark the conclusion of an extensive three-year project, (2004-2007), which has fully restored the Capitol to its early 20th century appearance.  At the conclusion of the ceremony (approximately 10:30 a.m.), public tours of the newly restored Capitol will begin.  Additionally, at 12 noon, the “Virginia Capitol Pathway,” an inscribed brick walkway along Bank Street, officially opens.  The Rededication Ceremony will be held rain or shine. 

Source:  Virginia General Assembly.

Maybe he’s just trying to deflect some attention from embarrassing himself on a weekend assault on all things Regent.  But tonight Ben says that this post from The Virginia Progressive ”might be a new low for the blogosphere.”

That’s a priceless comment from Ben.  Of course, he knows all about new lows for the blogosphere.  Or was that new Lowell’s for the blogosphere.

Anyway, Ben wants the post to go away.  Just in case it does, I got a screen shot.  The Virginia Progressive says they have an Exclusive Interview with Tom Davis’ Ex on His Senate Run.

Here’s the picture:

In case you don’t recognize the video, it’s Carrie Underwood singing “Before He Cheats.”

I gotta admit, it’s a bit slimey, but I got a chuckle from the post.

I reckon Ben is just more offensive…er I mean offendable, than I am.

Want more evidence of how the term "Northeast Republican" will soon become an oxymoron? The New York State Republican Party is holding a fundraiser "to put the near-bankrupt state GOP on a sound financial footing." Originally hoping to rake in upwards of $3 million, organizers are saying that they'll be lucky to raise $1 million at the event. Not only that but Republican NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg is blowing it off. Does anyone else remember the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner a few months ago here in Virginia? The numbers were off the freakin' charts. Can you imagine if Richmond Mayor Douglas Wilder pulled a Bloomberg and didn't bother to show? Me either. Chin up Northeast Republicans, you've still got Joe Lieberman.

Oh, what a day to pick to be silent.  Still it was out of respect for the  Virginia Tech victims and the entire family.  We will continue to remember the fateful events of that day.  But we must likewise get on with our lives.

First,the big news is that Governor Kaine and Attorney General McDonnell for working together to close the gun loophole.

The Mason Conservative:  Kaine & McDonell Show Bi-Partisan Leadership

See also

I’m Not Emeril:  The Loophole Is Closed. Don’t Let It Become A Noose

But the story in the Virginia Political Blogosphere is how Lowell and Ben went out of the way to poke fun at Regent University law school graduates, specfically attacking Regent alum Attorney General Bob McDonnell.

That would be the Bob McDonnell Harvard Graduate Tim Kaine turned to for advice on the gun loophole.

Chris at The Mason Conservative has more:  Kaine, McDonnell, and The Blogs

See also…

SW Virginia Law Blog: On the influence of Regent law school in the Bush administration

Good Sense: Bastion of Integrity?

Spark it Up!!!: Taking Lowell to the Woodshed

Chiang Mai Sunset from the IGO roof

Chiang Mai Sunset a few minutes later

Different qualities (First sunset):
Medium resolution, high quality (3000×573, 398 KB)
High resolution, low quality (11,534×2204, 895 KB)
High resolution, high quality (11,534×2204, 14.4 MB)

Different qualities (Later sunset):
Medium resolution, high quality (3000×614, 421 KB)
High resolution, low quality (11,028×2256, 917 KB)
High resolution, high quality (11,028×2256, 5.69 MB)

Tags:chiang mai, IGO, Personal, photography, sunset Thailand
Technorati Tags:chiang mai, IGO, Personal, photography, sunset, Thailand
chiang mai, IGO, Personal, photography, sunset, Thailand

Greg L of BVBL points us to this rather disturbing initiative by senate candidate Greg Galligan, running for the oppurtunity of getting beat again by Jay O'Brien.

We'll make calls in the 39th District and work on other vital campaign activities to get Greg Galligan's progressive message out. We'll provide everything a volunteer needs from phone calls to campaign food and BEER to good company. Just bring your enthusiasm for sending another good Democrat to Richmond and we'll provide the rest.

Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy beer. But should a state candidate really be attracting volunteers by using alcohol? And it seems funny and meaningless now, but what if one of those volunteers drove home and plowed into someone? The blogosphere just spent an extended amount of time talking about smoking, but drikining is arguably just as deadly, if not more. For a candidate, someone who wants to serve in the state senate, to be bringing in campaign workers by offering free drinks - what does that say about that person?

Perhaps I'm too sensitive to this, because I had a tragedy in my life during college due to drinking. This is the height of irresponsibility and could be much worse. Greg Galligan, a "progressive," should be ashamed of himself and his campaign. He is running for a position of leadership and responsibility, instead he's turning his campaign headquarters into a speakeasy. Is there any doubt that this guy can't hold a torch to the professionalism and integrity of Jay O'Brien?

According to Bob Novak -- usually a dubious source, but maybe not this time -- internal polling for the Democrats shows a likely pickup of 9 to 11 more House seats in 2008.  In his April 29 column, he writes:

Private House Democratic polls of the 50 most competitive congressional districts project a gain of 9 to 11 seats in the 2008 elections that would be an unprecedented further surge by the party after its 2006 gain of 30 seats to win control of the House.

All previous major surges of House seats have been followed by losses in the next election. The 54-seat Republican gain in 1994 that produced GOP House control was followed by an eight-seat loss in 1996. However, the current Republican political slump, fueled by President Bush's unpopularity, would reverse that pattern if the election were held today, according to the Democratic polls.

The incumbent Republican House members who won by less than 2 percent of the vote in 2006 and are targeted for 2008 include Representatives Heather Wilson of New Mexico; Deborah Pryce of Ohio; Mike Ferguson of N.J.; Jon Porter of Nevada; Jim Gerlach of Pennsylvania, and Jean Schmidt of Ohio.

Now, Novak is usually a very unreliable source for "the straight scoop."  He tends to give off a Republican party line, as when he served as Dick Armitage's stenographer for the "Valerie Plame outing" column in 2003.  So when he runs the story about good news for the Democrats, there are two possibilities:

[More after the break]
1.  The Republicans have fed him this "news" that they want him to print so as to create some expectations that Republicans can only improve on; or

2.  The Republicans have fed him this "news" that they want him to print to help create a sense of urgency among their hard-core supporters, who read Novak.

Personally, I tend to favor the second scenario -- I think that the Republicans are having a hard time getting some of their inner circle geared up for the Congressional fight.  They are so busy worrying about who the presidential nominee will be that the folks who follow Congress are getting worried that Republican fundraisers and campaign operatives aren't getting psyched up enough early enough.

The column mentions a few weaklings in particular.  Jean Schmidt is a walking gaffe machine in Ohio, which has been trending hard toward the Democrats.  She won her seat in a special election in 2005, narrowly defeating novice Paul Hackett in a district that is VERY solidly Republican.  Many observers thought that if Hackett had run in 2006, he would have won the seat.  But Hackett had his eyes on the Senate, and when it became clear that Sherrod Brown had locked up the financial and organizational support to win the nomination, Hackett withdrew angrily and refused to run for the House of Representatives seat that he would likely have won.  Schmidt's opponent was Victoria Wulsin, another novice, and Schmidt won by just over 1% of the vote.

Heather Wilson of New Mexico has been on everyone's short list of most vulnerable Representatives.  She narrowly won re-election in 2006, and since the election it has been revealed that she was involved in trying to pressure United States Attorney David Iglesias to bring corruption charges against Democrats.

Bangkok Post:

Four people were killed, one of them beheaded, in separate attacks in Pattani yesterday as the secretary-general of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) began his first official visit to Thailand. Two people were killed instantly and 24 others were injured when home-made bombs set off by militants on motorcycles exploded at a market in central Pattani last night, officials reported.

Tags:beheading, bombing, terrorism, Thailand, thai news Uncategorized
Technorati Tags:beheading, bombing, terrorism, Thailand, thai news, Uncategorized
beheading, bombing, terrorism, Thailand, thai news, Uncategorized

The Conservative Cajun reminds us that Mayday is National Mobilization to Support Immigrant Workers! He writes: Tomorrow is May Day 2007 for the National Immigrant Solidarity Network. That means tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of “immigrants rights” groups are going to be protesting in the streets of major U.S. cities, including Dallas and Los Angeles. Therefore, tomorrow should be a perfect day

From the looks of their new website, the Prince William County Democratic Committee seems to be focusing on a couple of School Board races and the Greg Galligan primary campaign in the 39th Senate District. In order to attract volunteers to work on these initiatives, it seems they have to resort to some unusual methods of attracting volunteers which include the unusual perk of offering free beer. I can imagine that towards the end of a shift, the calls start to get a little, well, interesting. (more…)

It’s particularly interesting that Kyle and Monica (I’m sure they had much more preppie sounding nicknames for each other) were originally supposed to be given total authority to clean house. Only when that was considered possibly unconstitutional did Gonzales retain the authority to sign off on their decisions. Really, the “loyal Bushies” can [...]

I received a report that at least one loyal Republican listed on the trait..., er Lucy Beauchamp's, list of Republican endorsers has pledged his support to Michele McQuigg for Clerk of the Circuit Court. It does not surprise me, but I don't yet feel comfortable reporting the name absent confirmation or permission from the principals to report it.

One hopes that the imagery is the reverse of "rats deserting a sinking ship," i.e., the ship deserting a sinking rat.

Here’s a great Op Ed: 
I tend to be on the libertarian side of things, and I have to say this is one of the best articles I’ve seen: it argues against limiting government but it actual helps make the case for limiting government.  The Times-Dispatch blogisphere is full of comments about natural property rights and […]

From Equality Virginia:

(Richmond, April 30) – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal in a two-state custody case between a former lesbian couple.

Lisa Miller, a woman living in Virginia and claiming to be “ex-gay,” filed the appeal contesting a Vermont court order requiring that her former partner, Janet Jenkins, be allowed to visit their now four-year old daughter once weekend a month. Janet lives in Vermont.

“By refusing to become involved in this case, the Supreme Court is sending a message that state and federal laws in custody disputes are adequate to protect the best interest of the child,” said Dyana Mason, Equality Virginia Education Fund’s Executive Director, which has participated in the case on behalf of Janet Jenkins. “It’s heartening to see that the sexual orientation of the parents had absolutely no bearing on this case.”

Originally filing immediately following the implementation of HB751, or the “Affirmation Act” in July 2004, Lisa Miller attempted to prevent Janet from having any parental rights in regards to their daughter born while they were together and the couple had a civil union. The lawsuit contradicted a temporary custody order that had been issued while dissolving their civil union.

Arguing that “forum shopping” is not permissible under state and federal laws to prevent parents from seeking more friendly venues after they already have filed in one court, Janet Jenkins argued her case successfully before both the Vermont Supreme Court and the Virginia Court of Appeals. Lisa filed this latest petition with the U.S. Supreme Court based on the federal Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA.

“Hopefully now, Lisa will abide by the court order and allow Janet visitation rights with their child. Unfortunately, initial reports state that while they have lost nearly every round in this case, Lisa fails to see that the law in this regard is quite clear and she should abide by it,” Mason said. “Their daughter deserves nothing less than two loving parents in her life.”

This might be a new low for the blogosphere. Virginia Progressive (Not Bob James) claims to have an interview with Tom Davis's ex-wife here before his Senate race begins. 

TAKE THIS POST DOWN.  (If they don't take it down by midnight  I may link the video here, but I would PLEASE JUST TAKE IT DOWN.).

Emmett Hanger is doing a liveblog with Republitarian as he faces the primary fight of his life against Scott Sayre.  Go check it out here.

This weekend we saw a coordinated attack on Regent University and AG Bob McDonnell. Two blogs, NLS and Raising Kaine had similar posts on the subject. Charlie at Goodsense was the first to respond with this post. The Mason Conservative has a butt kicking post about it here. I was amazed when I first read the attack on a Virginia University. I can say nothing surprises me about Lowell Feld. The

Just in case you can’t wait until July: