Rand Paul takes a page from Wikipedia.... literally!

Appearing at a campaign stop on behalf of Ken "The Cooch" Cuccinelli, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul tried to connect pro-choice Virginians with the evil state depicted in the 1997 sci-fi movie (and financial flop), Gattaca. Paul stopped by Lynchburg, the home of Liberty University, to help The Cooch make up a double digit deficit in the most recent polls.

But, if this appearance by tea party favorite Rand Paul was supposed to put a tourniquet on the bleeding, it failed miserably. Seems Mr. Paul, who wants to run for president, was at a loss for words so he heavily plagiarized the Gattaca article on Wikipedia. Now The Cooch and his campaign are distracted by a prominent surrogate cheating. Watch for yourself:

Voters are heading to the polls in one week and the Cuccinelli, Jackson, Obenshain team of monsters and goblins just got caught in another scary mess. Have fun this Halloween, but if any of this trio gets elected the trick will be on the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

This crew is all tricks and no treats.
Be afraid, very afraid.

Governor McDonnell is more than an embarrassment, he's breaking the law

Rachel Maddow schools the nation about the embarrassment Republican governors are heaping upon their states and their party. Governor Bob McDonnell is more than a simple embarrassment like Maine's crazy LePage - Virginia's governor is both an embarrassment to the Commonwealth and is breaking the law. Governor McDonnell should resign immediately.

Coverage on Bob McDonnell begins at approximately 5:40.

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Senators Warner and Webb - don't listen to the hypocrites

Senator Mark Warner and Senator Jim Webb - it is time to show political courage and join with other Democrats and vote for healthcare reform. Your colleagues from the other side of the aisle are surely leaning on you, but their shrill arguments are based in blatant falsehoods and hypocrisy. Senate Republicans will say anything, repeat any lie, make up any distortion, attack the very rules of the chamber that they've used in the past, while in the death throes of their opposition.

It is time to stand up for healthcare reform. It is time to vote.

Using reconciliation to pass healthcare reform is not only legitimate, it is the moral thing to do.

Wolf in sheep's clothing

Tom Perriello has been besieged with attack ads on NBC29 since his courageous vote on healthcare reform. Many of those ads are paid for and sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber, which was once seen as nonpartisan and in many communities as a civic group akin to the Ruritans or Lions Club, has increasingly become aligned with the Republican Party. From where I roost, the Chamber of Commerce has joined the NRA and others as virtual wings of the GOP.

Another group by the name of 60 Plus Association has joined in the attacks against Rep. Perriello. Their ads feature grandma and grandpa types blasting the congressman for selling out Virginians. Being unfamiliar with 60 Plus Association I got a little assistance from our friends at Google to see what I could learn.

Claiming to be a "non-partisan seniors advocacy group with a free enterprise, less government, less taxes approach," 60 Plus appears to actually have few members and depends on funding from the pharmaceutical companies and other conservative groups. Its "leaders" seem to be in an interlocking directorate with conservative groups and individuals ranging from Amway, the National Right to Work Committee, and the Heritage Foundation to GOP direct mail mastermind Richard Viguerie. There's more online including at SourceWatch.

Below, Rachel Maddow exposes the right wing connections of 60 Plus in August of this year:

It is always helpful to know who is really spreading the BS. It may not be the pleasant looking grandma like you thought.

Shot in the arm; kick in the butt

I got my seasonal flu shot at CVS yesterday. Because CVS is the prescription provider with a relationship with my insurance company, I figured it would be covered in full or with a copay. After waiting in line for about 15 minutes I was informed that my insurance (covers lots of people in these parts) wasn't one of those accepted. Seems the company giving the shots was a subcontractor. I went ahead and paid the $30 and made sure I held on to my receipt hoping Southern Health would reimburse me.

The retired Navy veteran in line behind me, nudged me and showed me his Medicare card. He was a talkative and well-informed guy who started the conversation by saying "we should have Medicare for all. Works great." He went on to talk about all the misinformation (he actually said "lies") that had been spread a the town hall meetings. We had a long conversation which ended when it was my turn to get stuck. The last thing he said was, "President Obama promised a public option and said he'd veto anything that falls short. We need to hold him to it."

First we need to get a strong public option to the President's desk. And that means getting it through the Senate. Rachel Maddow has a suggestion for cracking heads and twisting arms:

To wrap up my story, I came home and called the insurance company's customer service. After dancing through the phone tree and listening to messages I finally got to a rep. She was very polite and helpful... and seemed surprised that my card wasn't accepted. She promised to mail a reimbursement form and indicated I should get about $20 back.

You might say "all's well that end's well." Perhaps so. But, why should something this simple be such a hassle? How many similarly situated people would forget to call or would lose the receipt... or worse, not gotten the flu shot? It shouldn't be this tough

The Navy vet had it right. We need Medicare for all.