Bob, litter is part of the problem

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (VA-06) has introduced a bill to halt the EPA's Chesapeake Bay cleanup plans. Pointing to "more mandates and overzealous regulations," Goodlatte wants to turn the responsibility over to states and to rely on "voluntary efforts." He also calls for "nutrient trading" programs.

In response, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation issued a statement urging Congress to reject the legislation outright. The CBF said, in part, that the legislation will "undermine the pollution limits currently in place, derail cleanup efforts and undercut the federal government's role in making sure that all Americans have access to clean, swimmable, fishable waters."

Okay, let's keep it simple: Goodlatte's bill would result in uneven enforcement at best and a dirtier Chesapeake Bay. And a more polluted Bay impacts Virginia more than perhaps any other state.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed consists of 64,000 square miles and drains portions of six states (Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York) and the nation's capitol. Leaving enforcement up to each individual state could mean no enforcement at all - Pennsylvania, a major contributor of the Bay's fresh water, might decide there is nothing in it for them and the costs just aren't worth it. So even if Virginia and Maryland made heroic efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, it would all go for naught.

"Voluntary efforts" is laughable. Let's try voluntary speed limits on I-81. It is hard enough to keep trucks and cars at 70 mph with enforcement; can you imagine the chaos if it were voluntary. Drivers who voluntarily comply better have a huge and effective rear bumper! As someone who has waded streams collecting water and macroinvertebrate samples, I have personally visited farms that have voluntarily done wonderful things to stabilize stream banks and to keep excess nutrients and pollutants out of our waters. But, I've also seen that a few miles of protected stream can't make up for the others that continue to allow erosion and waste to spoil our precious water resources.

"Nutrient trading" programs may have some validity in the short term. Polluters who can't clean up as quickly or easily could, I imagine, buy/trade nutrient credits with others who have cleaned up their act. But, in the long term we need everyone to get it right and realize we can't keep treating our waterways as sewers. Besides, "nutrient trading" sounds a lot like "cap and trade" which I thought the congressman and his GOP colleagues detested. A bit of Republican hypocrisy and insincerity on display here?

Cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay will take the efforts of all 17 million Americans who live in the watershed. And I do mean all - while intensive agriculture is a major contributor to excess nutrients and pollution in the Bay we need everyone involved. That means enforceable regulations on homeowners (septic fields and overuse of fertilizers), municipal sewage systems, developers, manufacturers, and businesses large and small.

Want to get involved with water cleanup in the Shenandoah Valley? Check out these organizations doing good work in your community:

• Chesapeake Bay Foundation
• Friends of the Shenandoah River
• Friends of the Middle River
• Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River
• Izaak Walton League
• James River Association
• Valley Conservation Council
• and many more....

You can also contact Rep. Bob Goodlate and let him know you oppose his bill (it is probably more about grandstanding against the EPA and posturing for the election than it is about good public policy). I just squawked at at the old bird.

But, will there be overdue fines?

Now that Virginia has some of the most lenient gun laws in the nation, a proposal has been "floated" to make guns even more available to folks who can't afford their own or just get caught temporarily without the Smith & Wesson in a time of need: Gun Lending Libraries.

Perhaps this idea should be expanded and improved. For example:

• Will there be drive-thru windows?
• Will there be overdue fines?
• Will private guns be allowed in the library?
• Will the library be allowed in a bar?
• Will the library raise money by hosting a gun fair?
• Will there be inter-library loans?

The morning after

The morning after a ho hum GOP presidential primary in Virginia. Most areas of the state saw turnout under 5% and some of those cast a blank ballot to protest the fact that neither Gingrich nor Santorum qualified for the ballot. That speaks in part to the Commonwealth's toughest ballot qualification standards in the nation, but more importantly to the lack of a good field operation by either campaign.

So the morning after the boring primary a Republican operative called for the General Assembly to lower the qualification standards for candidates. At the same time, Republicans in the General Assembly are making it harder for citizens to vote. Anybody see the irony, and hypocrisy, in that?

Guess it all fits in well with their battle plan following Citizens United: Fat cat donors bankroll candidates' (pay worker bees to circulate petitions) who will have to collect fewer signatures. Once their candidates are on the ballot, the fat cats and their super pacs bombard the airwaves and tweets with negative ads, character assassination, lies, and innuendo. And to drive the nail deeper in the coffin, they've disenfranchised segments of voter groups who have traditionally voted Democratic. Now that's a strategy to crow about!

Time to start spreading more Coarse Cracked Corn? I will admit the foul nature of politics makes it hard to get my feathers flying again. Some volunteering and other activities leave me feeling better when we turn out the lights each night. But, when the GOP litter starts getting deeper and deeper even an old bird has to crow every now and then. So, we will see how far this goes. Will the lights in the hen house stay on? Or not?

Things are looking fowl

Somebody must have turned on the lights in the hen house. Cluck!

How about pay as we GO?

So Governor Bob McDonnell wants to help pay for transportation in NOVA and Hampton Roads by taking General Fund monies from K-12, from public safety (state troopers are already understaffed; ditto for police/deputies in some localities), and from public health. I guess that reflects his priorities - get a transportation merit badge by any means. Beg, borrow, steal?

Transportation should be paid by the users thereof... including those out-of-staters rambling through the commonwealth on I-95 and I-81. Tolls? Maybe. Raising the gas tax? Seems like a user fee is a fair way to go. Raising license fees for those big trucks that put such demands on our road and bridges? Yeah, they should fully pay their way? And while we are at it, shouldn't electric cars have to pay for the roads, too? Maybe we need to rethink the gas tax and move to a taxation per mile plan- that would certainly face potholes in the political road!

Question is... why is the chicken paying for roads by being the fox in the hen house of K-12, of public safety, and of other core state services?

Conservative Constitution of the United States

We, the Real Americans, in order to form a more God-Fearing Union, establish Justice as we see it, Defeat Health-Care Reform, and Preserve and Protect our Property, our Guns and our Right Not to Pay Taxes, do ordain and establish this Conservative Constitution for the United States of Real America.

Read the rest of the Conservative Constitution of the United States in David Cole's Washington Post column.

Pundits, Republicans, and other fools

I am growing tired of stupid pundits on MSNBC and Fox. The Repubs and Fox nearly always piss me off. What am I talking about - all the absurd commentary on the new jobs numbers that came out today. A big part of our economy's problem is the Bush (and yes, Clinton) "go-go" economics that tossed regs out the window and allowed out of control "capitalism," spiked with greed, to totally f*ck us over. Pundits like Chris Matthews on Hardball think it will be five years before jobs return. And fools like the new House Majority Leader give zero credit to President Obama for the (rather anemic) job growth we've have since Bush policies tanked the economy. But, with his appointments today is the president kissing up to big business and forgetting the people who elected him?

Huge global structural changes have fundamentally changed the US economy. Chris, I doubt those jobs will "return" in five years or ever. Eric, instead of partisan BS like calling every Obama initiative "job-killing," how about some real thinking, some real ideas for moving America forward. I suppose that is far beyond your capabilities.

In the meantime, the most insightful commentator on jobs and the condition of working folks in the USA was, and is, Bruce Springsteen, who in My Hometown, told us "these jobs are going boys and they ain't coming back." Springsteen was absolutely right - the manufacturing jobs of the 50s, 60s, 70s are gone to China, India, Indonesia. If Chris Matthews thinks they'll come back in five years he's a yapping fool. But, if Eric Cantor thinks cutting spending and rolling back health care reform will fix things, he's clearly just another partisan fool on the hill.