Young Democrats Meeting

The 1st meeting of the Southwest Virginia Young Democrats will be held on Sunday, July 2, 2006 at Los Arcos in Abingdon at 5:00 P.M.

For more information,

http://swvadems.com/young
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jf

James Webb Rocks! & Bush's Poll Numbers

Well, James Webb pulled off a great victory against Harris Miller, winning by 7 percentage points statewide, and winning by 21 votes in the city of Bristol. Here's to you, Jim! Now, on to the bigger fish to fry... George Allen is going to put up a hard fight, but Webb can pull off a victory if he sets his mind to it.

In other news...

Bush has "spiked" in the polls!! Okay, for those of you who do not know how spiked is defined by Fox News and Pat Robertson, his poll numbers increased by 4 percentage points. Give me a break guys. Actually report on something that is worthwhile, like MSNBC does...

Warner looks beyond left and right...to '08



The minimum wage...

Why can't they raise the stupid thing to at least $6.15? I mean, they can provide tax breaks to small businesses to offset the costs. I hope Ted Kennedy succeeds the next time he goes for a wage winner.

James Webb Appearance?

James Webb is rumored to appear in Bristol on May 29th, 2006, Memorial Day for those of you who are in the dark about national holidays.  How fitting that Webb should supposedly decide to show up in majority Republican Bristol on a day that honors American soldiers.  Webb, being a Marine rifle platoon and company commander back in the Vietnam War, will fit right in with the other vets.  Here's to Webb and the upcoming primaries!

 

29 days until Primaries!

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jf

Gas Prices

The price of a gallon of gas is getting quite ridiculous, and by my figuring, I don't see it stopping any time soon.

Unless we do something about it.

 

I've heard repeated calls to boycott gas on a certain day of the week, or just boycott a certain oil company.

I've been thinking about this issue for a while now, mentioning it to Neal and the rest of my government class, but I want it to become a national project, one that will make the gas companies and the rest of the nation take notice that there IS something we can do to fight this growing problem.

 

What I suggest is that we NOT buy gas from ExxonMobil.... at all.  The CEO, when he retired, received a $700 million payout from the company.  Now what good would it do to keep buying gas from them to keep giving payout after payout.

 

more on this later.....

Aside from politics, Google is romancing us...

Today, Google, Inc., google.com, announced its newest innovation.  Google Romance was presented on today's Google site where they introduce new ideas from the company.  According to the site, you can build your profile, match up with other users of the service, and then go on a date.  Google will pay for the entire date!  They send you out with all expenses paid.  The way they do this is they have strategically-placed AdSense ads that are subliminally wherever your date is.  At your dinner table, the park, etc.   If something goes wrong on the date, then Google will talk with you through Google Talk and tell you what went wrong.

 

Check it out at google.com/romance today!

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jf

Immigration

Yeah, I've been sick, had my computer upgraded, and tennis season has started.  Blah, blah, blah... Yeah.... anyway...

Immigration.... hmm....

Here goes President Bush trying to dictate the great masses of Hispanic influence there is in this country.  I support the Kennedy/McCain proposition, and I'm sticking to that.  For those of you who do not know, their idea is to give illegals 7-year temporary work visas, then give them a chance after that to earn permanent citizenship.  The United States was put here for freedom.  I believe that these immigrants crossing the border are just looking for freedom and a better life than they have in Mexico.  "Land of the free, home of the brave."  I still hope that rings true.

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jf

Virginia Budget

As the deadline of March 11 comes upon the General Assembly, legislators are hard at work crafting amendments to the state budget.

 

Delegate Bud Phillips is working to introduce an amendment that will add $100,000 to the budget for the Ralph Stanley Museum in Clintwood, VA.  Also proposed by both him and Terry Kilgore is an amendment that will ask for $1 million over a period of 2 years for developing a software engineering program at the University of Virginia @ Wise.

 

I personally hope that both of the these amendments pass through the General Assembly.  Ralph Stanley has been for many years an influence on the soul of country music.

 

As for the software engineering program at UVA @ Wise, I think it is a very good investment.  I am very computer-savvy, and I believe Southwest Virginia would be better suited for larger investments such as computer and programming initiatives.

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jf

Smoking? Not here you're not!

As the Virginia Senate voted today 20-18 passing the ban on indoor smoking, I can't help but praise the senators that did support this ban. Even though that may sound a little conservative, I do not think that so many psople should have the extreme right of smoking where some are allergic or asthmatic to the fact. I myself am allergic to cigarette smoke, that is why I praise this bill. Like Matt Smyth over at Not Larry Sabato mentions here, there are 3 senators that changed their minds.

Awesome!

James Webb for Senate

Wow, once again, it's been quite a while since I last wrote. I was quite sick last week with a fever of 103, a bad case of pharyngitis, and a bad case of bronchitis. But I am well over that now as I am back at school, and going to write once more.

Unfortunately, I was not able to write when James Webb announced that he was running for the Senate seat against incumbent George Allen. But taking into effect the stances that he wants to take, so far I believe he is a very good candidate for the postition. Here are a few stances listed on his website James Webb for Senate.

• Refocusing America's foreign and defense policies in a way that truly protects our national interests and seeks harmony where they are not threatened.
• Repairing the country's basic infrastructure, which has eroded badly over the past decade, and developing more creative ways to assist disaster-stricken areas such as those in New Orleans and along the Gulf coast.
• Reinstituting notions of true fairness in American society, including issues of race, class, and economic advantage; and
• Restoring the Constitutional role of the Congress as an equal partner, reining in the unbridled power of the Presidency.

Blogger Problems

I am having problems updating my blog through email. If anyone else is having this problem, please let Blogger web support know about it.

This has been probably one of the main reasons why you readers haven't seen a new post in a while.

jf

State of the Union

Well, it has been infinitely long since I made a post here one Virginia Left Wing, mainly because of the ever-pressing government homework that arises every day(Neal, don't say a word). But anyway, you asked for it. Here's a new post... finally.

President Bush delivered his annual State of the Union address tonight as the country contemplates its actual place in the world, seeing as how our economy isn't where it should be, more than half of the country thinks Bush is failing, and we are hated by more and more countries every day.

He outlined points on terrorism and stem-cell research, among points on the war.

I think one of the things that I found funny was how the Repubs. would stand up at almost everything, and the Dems stood up, like, once. I found that to be quite funny.

And the point made about human-animal hybrids? What an idiot! That is NOT stem-cell research! That is some made-up stuff that does not even relate to the science.

I myself believe in stem cell research, believing it will find possibly find a cure for cancer, AIDS, and everything else we need to combat when it comes to diseases.

Virginia Left Wing CSS Help

If anyone knows about style sheets, I would really appreciate some help with mine. I'm trying to make a clean 3-column template, but the main center content is pushed to the bottom. If anyone has any experience with CSS, please leave a comment. Thanks!

DNA Test proves Coleman was guilty

Brian Patton has a post about Roger Coleman, the man executed and just recently proven guilty by DNA testing put forth by Former Governor Mark Warner, here.

Video of the Inauguration

Brian Patton has a link on a post to WDBJ-7's video clips from the inauguration here.

"Slanted Press or Slanted Blogs?" The (Supposed) Media Bias

I thought that this struck me as quite interesting...

There are more and more bloggers mentioning the idea that there is a strong media bias. Many are conservatives disgusted by what they feel is a left-wing tilt by the media. And the others are the liberals, who are thinking or almost convinced that the press is leaning with the Bush administration and waiting for its every move.

The ball is not in the the conservatives' court, nor the liberals'. It happens to be in both, calculating to a global paranoia that threatens the blogging world as we know it. Okay, maybe not that extreme, but there is a brewing battle.

As for me, I do think somewhat that the press is still leaning toward the right, but only slightly. It has been since 9/11 the understanding by the majority of Americans that the media will pull us out of a crisis, from Bush the first few days after 9/11, to the Iraq war. But Americans can get it together now, because there is no worse idea to think than to think that the President of the United States is controlling the media and we all somehow HAVE to support him. Wrong.

Sources: Howard Kurtz,
Washington Post

And on that note.... good night and God Bless.......

Tom Delay resigns..... and Neal 2028 is having a birthday!

So, embattled House Majority Leader Tom Delay has dropped his bid to remain in that position, which now clears the way for Republican elections in the House to take place.

 

Reps. coming forward and putting their name in the hat include:

 

• Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt, the current majority whip
• Rep. John Boehner of Ohio

Those two seem to be the frontrunners for the position at this time.

 

We'll have to wait and see what happens.

 

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In news of the blogging world...

 

The author of Neal 2028, Neal Osborne, celebrates his 18th birthday today, so make sure to leave a comment wishing him a happy 18th!

 

All for now.

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jf

BREAKING NEWS>>> 11th congressional district Congressman Tom Davis accepted $500 contribution from Jack Abramoff

I received this today..... and the binding story continues

For Immediate Release

January 5, 2005

Contact: James Walkinshaw

703-314-****

*Davis' actions too little too late, says Democrat Andrew Hurst*

Springfield, VA -- Democrat Andrew Hurst, candidate for the 11th
congressional district of Virginia, criticized Congressman Tom Davis
(R-11) for accepting a $500 contribution from embattled lobbyist Jack
Abramoff and waiting five years to return the money. Hurst also demanded
to know why Davis' campaign failed to disclose Abramoff's occupation to
the Federal Election Commission, as required by federal law.

"The people of the 11th district deserve to know the truth about the
relationship between Representative Davis and Jack Abramoff," said
Hurst. "The damage has been done here. Votes and legislative action by
the Republican majority were influenced by all of the funds paid or
solicited by Jack Abramoff, and the money was spent to elect people to
office. Giving contributions to charity years after the fact is
insufficient to alleviate the Republican culture of corruption. After
more than a decade in Washington, Tom Davis is an integral part of that
culture."

Jack Abramoff, a well-known Republican lobbyist and deal-maker, recently
pleaded guilty to conspiracy, fraud and tax charges that could earn him
ten years in prison. High-profile Republicans have begun returning or
donating to charity hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign
contributions given to them by Abramoff. Yesterday, President Bush gave
up $6000 in contributions received from Abramoff, his wife and one of
his clients.

In a quarterly report dated April 15, 2000 Davis claimed to have made
"Best efforts" to determine Mr. Abramoff's employer and occupation(
http://images.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?20035472449 ). However,
Abramoff was a well-known lobbyist by that time with strong ties to the
Bush Administration and to Republicans in Congress.

"It's very difficult to believe that Congressman Davis did not know or
could not determine Abramoff's occupation. He was a lobbyist and
influence peddler with deep ties to the Republican establishment. It
appears that Davis has skirted campaign finance law and misled his
constituents. He should come clean about his relationship with Jack
Abramoff," said James Walkinshaw, Andrew Hurst's campaign manager.

The Hurst for Congress campaign is running a well-financed, grassroots
campaign to defeat Tom Davis in November 2006. The campaign has raised
nearly $50,000 to date, has a growing base of volunteers and is prepared
to knock on 20,000 doors before June 14.

Democratic candidate Andrew Hurst is a partner with the Virginia law
firm Reed Smith LLP who is committed to defeating Tom Davis and
reforming the culture of corruption in Washington. His priorities in
Congress will be to implement real campaign finance reform, improve
ethics in government and make our government more accountable to its
citizens.

www.hurstforcongress.com <http://www.hurstforcongress.com/>

*James R. Walkinshaw*
/Campaign Manager/ *Andrew Hurst for Congress*
*@*.com <mailto:James.Walkinshaw@gmail.com>
mobile: 703 314 ****

Statement for the President

I have an idea, President Bush. Why don't you run and hide like you did
from the war? Oh, wait! You can't because the NSA will find you! Good
luck with THAT one!

I would LOVE for the White House to be wiretapped! I'm sure quite a bit
of people would not approve of the actions going on in there.

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Justin Fleenor
jf