Cuccinelli's cesspool

Ken Cuccinelli, the simultaneously idiotic, funny, and incompetent attorney general of the Commonwealth of Virginia, has stuck his foot in his mouth and his head up his ass again. During a recent interview on right wing entertainment radio WMAL he alleged that President Obama only won because lax voting laws (presumably Virginia's as well) allowed for voting fraud.

During the "interview" the host Cheri Jacobus suggested that Obama lost every state where photo ID is required. "He can't win in a state where photo ID is required, so clearly there's something going on out there."

Cuccinelli agreed saying, "your tone suggests you're a little upset with me (a photo ID is not required in Virginia). You're preaching to the choir. I'm with you completely." He went on to lament that inquiries into election issues can only be raised by certain local and state officials and as attorney general he could not act without a complaint.

As if it makes it difference on conservative entertainment media where the truth is a fiction, Jacobus was dead wrong - President Obama carried Michigan and Florida, states which have strict voter ID laws.

Every Virginian should be involved in Cooch Watching because this fool wants to be governor. Unfortunately, when NOVA dozes during gubernatorial elections bad things happen to the Commonwealth.

Help save the Chesapeake Bay

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The menhaden is a very small fish, but its importance to the Chesapeake Bay is huge. Overfishing has left the population at its lowest level on record and since menhaden is primary food source that endangers the entire Bay ecosystem.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is pushing fair and reasonable limits and fishing rules:

A 25 percent reduction of the menhaden catch as a first step toward eliminating overfishing. 

Reducing the fishing rate further to achieve the target level within five years. 

To avoid undue financial harm to local fishermen catching menhaden for bait, the allocation plan should split the new quota 70:30 between the industrial fishery and the local bait fishery. 

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering new fishing rules to ensure long-term protection of this valuable fish. It's accepting public comment only until November 16 so take action now!

New neighbor

As I discussed in a previous post, in May I built and installed a screech owl nesting box on our property. From my research, I knew we might have a bit of a wait for our first owl - folks report that it often takes two or three years for an owl to inhabit a manmade nesting box.

This week an owl arrived and appears to have taken up residence!

The owl has been there at least two days. Observations are best made at dusk as it perches in the opening turning its head from side to side taking it all in. So far, it seems fairly tolerant of our nearby activities and I was even able to move within about 25 feet for this picture.

Eastern screech owls are usually 6.3 to 9.8 inches in length, weighing 4.3 to 8.6 ounces, and with a wingspan of 18.9 to 24 inches. Screech owls eat small mammals such as mice and voles, insects, birds, and various invertebrates. The daily regurgitation of bones and fur may leave the ground beneath the nest littered with pellets from which I may be able to learn more about its diet. We have yet to observe the owl singing its distinctive trill or whinny.

Silence is Golden

I spent the week prior to the election on a Sierra Club trip in the Florida Keys. Mercifully, the only TV we watched was about Sandy and my phone was silent. Reconnecting with nature, especially in an environment so different from my home turf, was totally refreshing for both body and soul.

In the weeks prior to leaving I, like everyone else in Virginia, had grown weary of the attack ads and phone calls from both sides, but especially those from Romney and his disgusting cohorts like Karl Rove. It is gratifying to know that the billionaires who tried to buy our democracy are POed at their bad investment in the man more responsible than most for dividing America.

Well, I didn't entirely escape the calls and ads. Returning home late on Sunday our voicemail was carpet bombed with a couple dozen messages - only three nonpolitical. There was Restore Our Future, the NRA, the Chamber, and an array of other more shadowy groups spewing lies and hate. Press #3 to delete. And trying to catch up on local news that evening offered more evidence of Sheldon Adelson's $53 million in what turned out to be an expensive bad investment. It is my belief that the volume, tone, lies, and hate blasting into our dens and kitchens actually helped turn the election in favor of President Barack Obama.

On election day I was again shielded from the last round of ads and calls as I counted absentee ballots for my county. It was uplifting (and exhausting) to be part of that experience - fellow citizens of both parties striving to make sure the most essential act of democracy is protected with honesty and integrity. Sure there were long lines and other problems, but Officers of Election and Electoral Boards met the challenges and made sure our voices were heard and accurately counted.

Emerging from the seclusion of this important civic duty at nearly 11:00 PM the radio told me the early signs were good. By the time I got home Ohio and the election had been called for President Obama. Surfing channels I landed on Fox just as Rove was ranting about calling Ohio too early and the fake news network sent Megyn Kelly hiking to its "decision room" to restore a tiny bit of dignity after its living-in-a-bubble pundits and polsters were just plain wrong!


Since then I've been enjoying the splendid fall weather, cleaning up leaves, and catching up around the house. Yesterday I got the opportunity to learn about banding of Saw-whet owls so it was yet another later night. A chilly hike to the ridge top to collect owls followed by lessons on aging, sexing, and understanding their lives and migration. I got home about midnight but once again nature, and the humans who spend time and energy helping to learn more and protect it, inspires.

Thoughts about Ballot Question 1

In addition to voting for electors for President and Vice President, for a United States Senator, and for a member of the House of Representatives, Virginians will be voting for two Ballot Questions concerning amendments to the Constitution of Virginia.

Ballot Question 1 states:

Shall Section 11 of Article I (Bill of Rights)of the Constitution of Virginia be amended (i) to require that eminent domain only be exercised where the property taken or damaged is for public use and, except for utilities or the elimination of a public nuisance, not where the primary use is for private gain, private benefit, private enterprise, increasing jobs, increasing tax revenue, or economic development; (ii) to define what is included in just compensation for such taking or damaging of property; and (iii) to prohibit the taking or damaging of more private property than is necessary for the public use?

Eminent domain - the power of government to take (with just compensation) private property for public use - has been on the public radar since the U.S. Supreme Court held that New London, Connecticut had every right to take a home that stood in the way of commercial development. The outrage was nationwide. In Virginia that anger was translated into 2007 legislation that prohibited government from condemning property for private purposes. This reasonable legislation is still in effect.

Some, like the Virginia Farm Bureau, fear the current law could be weakened legislatively and wants an amendment to the Virginia Constitution to assure its staying power. That's all well and good. But the proposed amendment adds provisions - provisions that could sink us in an expensive legal swamp - into the eminent domain cauldron. Before we look at that issue, voters should be aware that, if passed, this amendment would not affect the power of the federal government regarding eminent domain.

Ballot Question 1 contains the following language that raises questions about how the General Assembly will define lost profits and access:

Just compensation shall be no less than the value of the property taken, lost profits and lost access, and damages to the residue caused by the taking. The terms “lost profits” and “lost access” are to be defined by the General Assembly.

Current law awards compensation if the property is landlocked after the taking. Under the amendment any reduction of access might be grounds for compensation. So a new median blocking an easy left turn into a McDonald's or a farmer having to divert his hay wagon from a preferred lane might prompt a lengthy court battle and increase the costs of a new road.

The "lost profits" provision is even stickier. Lost profits for how long? How can the legislature or a judge predict future profits that are determined by supply and demand? If the "lost profits" are awarded to a restaurant that soon thereafter goes out of business does it get refunded?

While most Americans want to protect private property rights, they also want to have new roads or utilities such as water, sewer, and electricity done at the lowest possible costs to taxpayers and consumers. This amendment threatens the ability of state and local government to provide those improvements as cheaply as possible.

Ballot Question 1 will be a hay day for two groups - the lobbyists who will twist legislators arms about the enacting legislation and the lawyers who will argue the cases. Beware of the unintended consequences of well-intentioned legislation. The devil, as always, is in the details. Ballot Question 1 should go back to the drawing board.

North River Gorge

In the middle of a political campaign filled with lies, distortions, and flip flops it clears one's mind and soul to spend some quality time with the truth and beauty of nature. Pictures from a recent hike on North River Gorge Trail in the George Washington National Forest, Augusta County, Virginia.

North River seen from the swinging bridge.

Fall colors light up the trail.

A serene pool in North River.

What if you throw a party and nobody comes?

Photo: Mike Tripp/The News Leader

Americans for Prosperity and the Shenandoah Valley Tea Party threw a rally on a beautiful October Saturday at the Wharf in Staunton. But, what if you throw a tea party, call and invite everybody you know, and still nobody comes? What an embarrassment! A party crashed by apathy! A party crashed by empty seats representing those who refuse to associate with their message of racism and hate.

With empty seats and hollow rhetoric the organizers lamely blamed "Dancing with the Stars," "TV," and "too many other events going on..." for the poorly attended rally. Yesterday reminded me of an Americans for Prosperity bus tour in late June that drew virtually nonexistent crowds and petered out before the day was done.

The irony of the backdrop - the shell of a old building for lease - captures completely the crumbling and desolate movement that was the Tea Party.

Coverage of the "rally that wasn't" at The News Leader.