Is he as good as his word? I doubt it.

Rush Limbaugh said he'd leave the country if the healthcare bill passed. It did. Will he live up to his word? Doubtful... he's a blowhard who is only interested in sucking in money and dupes who believe his tripe.

If you are interested in seeing one less idiot in the U.S.A., how about making a contribution to the guys at A Ticket for Rush. They've raised almost $2K... isn't that enough for a one-way ticket to Costa Rica? Hey, what's wrong with Afghanistan??

And if the village idiot reneges... like we all know he will since there is little believable in any crap that comes out of this mouth... the donations will go the Planned Parenthood Action Center. Too back his mom didn't catch a ride...

Tell Bob Marshall to resign

By the time I got this post up, the news is old, but the disgust only grows deeper and the stomach churns with bile. In case you are one of the few who hasn't heard, Delegate Bob Marshall, R-Manassas, stated at a press conference where he opposed funding for Planned Parenthood:

The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children... in the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There's a special punishment Christians would suggest.

An absurd and cruel statement that lays bare his dark heart, Delegate Marshall should immediately resign his office. As a truly classless individual, he won't do that without some encouragement. Perhaps we can provide some:

• Marshall's legislative email address is: DelBMarshall@house.virginia.gov
• His Richmond office phone is: 804-698-1013
• His cell # is 703-853-4213
• Take the elevator and find him in Room 809 of the General Assembly Bldg.
• His district office address is PO Box 421, Manassas, VA 20108 and the phone/fax is 703-361-541
• Contact page on his website: http://delegatebob.com/contact
• Contact Pat Mullins, chair of the Virginia GOP at 804-780-0111, fax 804-343-1060, or visit the contact page of their website: http://www.rpv.org/about/page/contact-us-form
• Contact Governor Bob McDonnell and let him know how disgusted you are with his friend and ally. The Governor's contact info is here: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/Contact.cfm

Bob Marshall has been one of the most out-of-touch and reactionary legislators in the General Assembly - an embarrassment to not only to his district, but the entire Commonwealth. It is past time for him to go.

Bowing at the Alter

In what has become an annual pilgrimage, a host of legislators bowed at the alter of Dean Welty and the Valley Family Forum at their annual "Unveiling" last Friday. Attending werethe predictable Republicans: Del. Matt Lohr of Broadway, Del. Steve Landes of Weyers Cave, Del. Chris Saxman of Staunton, Del. Ben Cline of Rockbridge, Sen. Mark Obenshain of Harrisonburg, and Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel of Winchester. Noticeably absent was Sen. Emmett Hanger who, while he may agree on some issues, is clearly not in lockstep with this crowd . Todd Gilbert was also a no-show.

According to Welty, the mission of the Valley Family Forum is

"Our purpose is no different tonight than [in years past]. Our purpose is to defend and rebuild the moral foundation of the nation. Unless we rebuild the foundation that protects our culture, we cannot survive."

No real specifics there, but one can assume they want to ban all abortions, give vouchers or tax breaks for private schools and home schoolers, support abstinence-only sex education, promote prayer in public school, make their God a player in public policy.

So, what did the legislators offer up? Off-shore oil drilling. Anti-union legislation. Kicking Planned Parenthood out of sex education classes. Requiring parental permission for students to join clubs.

I guess off-shore drilling might connect to families by providing some jobs, but it is difficult to see the relationship to VFF goals. How about green jobs like might be provided by wind power? Unions are anti-family? Huh? So, because you disagree with organization's stand on choice/abortion, the state shouldn't work with Planned Parenthood in preventing teen pregnancy? That's hardly productive solution!

Some of the ideas made some sense, but probably aren't high on the VFF wish list. Lohr suggested easing some mandates of SOLs and NCLB because of the coming budget cuts to public schools. And, Landes' idea about donating unused medications to free clinics has merit and should be explored.

Read more at the DNR and check out the long list of comments in their online forum. Make your own comment. Those comments and common sense tell us the "family values" pushed by Valley Family Forum are out of the mainstream of many families in the Shenandoah Valley and most people in the Commonwealth. We can hope that, as they make decisions affecting us all, legislators will listen to the other voices that make up their constituencies.