Government is the enemy

"Government is the enemy

until you need a friend."

William Cohen, Republican Senator from Maine, 1996

Hey Bobblehead Bob, under current Republican leadership, government has become the enemy: of tourists and small business, of farmers, and indeed of all Americans.

Bobblehead Bob Goodlatte, it is long past time to represent your constituents. It is long past time to represent the American people. NOW is the time to sever your perverted subservience to the tea party terrorists.

Virginia League of Conservation Voters Endorsements

After a grueling and detailed process, the Virginia League of Conservation Voters has endorsed candidates for statewide office and in 20 House of Delegates districts. The goal of the League is to elect candidates with a strong conservation ethic and to build a legislative majority to protect our environment and heritage.

For Governor the League endorses Terry McAuliffe because he is committed to keeping the moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia, strengthening Virginia’s land preservation funding program, encouraging the growth of clean energy and clean energy jobs, and studying the ways Virginia can lessen its impact on climate change.

For Lt. Governor the League endorses Ralph Northam because of his strong leadership in restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay. Senator Northam has also lead efforts to improve Virginia’s Renewable Portfolio Standard program.

For Attorney General the League endorses Mark Herring because of is demonstrated devotion to protecting our air, water, and open spaces, supporting an increase in Virginia’s investment in clean energy to create jobs and combat climate change, and supporting the ban on uranium mining.

The League also endorsed 20 candidates, from both parties, for the House of Delegates. No candidates in the central Shenandoah Valley won that coveted endorsement - now what does that say? Check out the conservation scorecard to find out.

INEQUALITY FOR ALL

INEQUALITY FOR ALL, the Robert Reich film about the exploding income gap in the United States, is on the big screen. It is playing in a number of major cities and will be opening at more locations, including the Regal Downtown Mall 6 in Charlottesville, VA within days. Hopefully other theaters in western Virginia, perhaps the Visulite in Staunton, will schedule it too.

INEQUALITY FOR ALL is currently playing at the E Street Cinema in our nation's capitol. General admission is $11.50 but, since he's not doing much of anything right now, maybe Bobblehead Bob Goodlatte can catch the bargain matinee for just $8.50! He might just learn a few shocking things about America the Beautiful (for some but not for all):

• The 10 richest men in America make more than the entire U.S. government housing budget.
• The poorest 47% of Americans have zero wealth.
• Out of 141 countries the United States ranks 4th in the highest degree of wealth inequality trailing only Russia, Ukraine, and Lebannon.

Reich advocates (and tells us how to get these things done) raising the minimum wage, giving workers a stronger voice, reforming Wall Street, fixing the tax system, investing in education, and getting the corruption of money out of politics.

Hey Bob, make it fun afternoon. Invite your obstructionist buddies Eric Cantor, Randy Forbes, Robert Hurt, Morgan Griffith, and Robert Wittman to join you. Enjoy a bitter tea party afterwards!

Blue Ridge Parkway closes during prime time

Every October the autumn leaves light up our mountains with stunning hues of reds, yellows, and oranges making this month one of the busiest (estimated to be an average of 70,000 per day) for the Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway. With the House Republicans holding America hostage and forcing a shutdown, many who love to visit those stunning national treasures will find themselves turned away at the gate.

The Blue Ridge Parkway announced that all park programs and events have been cancelled. Campers and visitors in lodges must vacate by 6:00 pm on October 3. It is lights out for those wishing to experience the beautiful fall colors on the parkway.

Oh well, people can see the colors in their own neighborhood or catch a glance from one of the I-64 overlooks on Afton Mountain. No lasting harm, no foul.

Not so fast - beyond missing the views and the experience of the great outdoors, there are real human consequences to the Blue Ridge Parkway closure:

• 195 Park Service employees are on furlough and an estimated 200 employees of concessionaires will lose their jobs forcing them to dip into savings or use credit cards to pay for food and mortgages;
• The Blue Ridge Parkway will lose approximately $450,000 per day in fees;
• Communities along the parkway, like Waynesboro and Roanoke, will see fewer visitors and small businesses (and their employees) catering to tourism will take an hit - it is estimated that losses along the 469 miles of parkway could total as much as $76 million per day;
• Because of reduced tourism there will be less Virginia sales, gas, and meals taxes collected.

Do the national math: 401 parks and other sites x 20,000 Park Service employees furloughed x how many (??) concessionaire jobs lost x lost tourist dollars in thousands of communities = a huge hit to the American economy. Could Republicans actually be gleeful that a rise in unemployment is a good thing since it might reflect in the President's poll numbers?

Now you may be saying "hey, the House sent a bill to fund the Park Service and exempt it from the shutdown." How convenient - cherry picking a few programs to appease constituents hoping to keep the heat off the politicians who are still collecting their paychecks. Nothing new about public "servants" serving their own interests first.

Bobblehead Bob
Listening to people or party?  

At the core of the shutdown are approximately 75-80 tea party wingnuts from safe (gerrymandered) districts who have little interest in the hard work of governing but a great passion for tearing down the people's government. Many looked forward to and encouraged a government shutdown. It seems that Speaker John Boehner and representatives like Bob Goodlatte lack the gonads to stand up to these terrorists thereby enablin the crazies in their own party. The inevitable result is a scruffy tail is wagging a mongrel dog known as the House of Representatives.

Tell Bob Goodlatte the GOP engineered shutdown is hurting people and communities in the 6th District. Tell Bob Goodlatte it is time to stop marching in lockstep with the party and put constituents first. Tell Bob Goodlatte a prolonged shutdown will undermine the national economic recovery. Tell Bob Goodlatte to join Rep. Scott Rigell (VA-02) and a growing number of Republicans who support passing a clean continuing resolution without unrelated stipulations.

American disconnect

Republicans are masters at spinning false facts into tea party "realities" that are deadlocking our government and undermining our nation.

I don't know where I'm a gonna go

With sincere apologies to Jimmy Buffett. Check out Jimmy performing Volcano in Jacksonville, January 2012.

Now I don't know

I don't know

I don't know where I'm a gonna go
When the tea party blow

Let me say now, I don't know

I don't know

I don't know where I'm a gonna go

When the capitol blow

Ground she's movin' under me

Tidal waves out on the sea

Sulfur smoke up in the sky

Pretty soon we learn to die

Let me hear ya now, I don't know

I don't know

I don't know where I'm a gonna go

When the U.S.A. blow

Now my girl quickly say to me

Mon you better watch your feet

Tea party bull shit come down soft and hot

You better pray for truth now or pray for truth not

Let me say now, I don't know

I don't know

I don't know where I'm a gonna go

When the tea party blow

"Mr. Utley"

No time to count what I'm worth
'
Cause I just left the planet Earth

Where I go, I hope there's rum

Not to worry, Mon soon come

Now I don't know

I don't know

I don't know where I'm a gonna go

When the GOP blow

One more now, I don't know

(Ah, he don't know)

I don't know

(He don't know, mon)

I don't know where I'm a gonna go

When the U.S.A. blow

But I don't want to land on no Speaker Boehner

Don't want to land near Ted Cruz

(No no no)

Don't want to land on no Bobblehead Bob

Don't want to see my country go low

(No no no)

Don't want to land in a closed National Park

Or anywhere in TexAss

(No no no)

Don't want to land in no Houston airport

Or the racist territory

(No no no)

Don't want to land in no Fox News swill

Don't want to land in the NRA

(No no no)

Don't want to land on no Bob Goodlatté

I got nothing more to say

I don't know

I don't know

I don't know where I'm a gonna go

When our economy blow

Just a one more, I don't know

(He don't know)

I don't know

(I don't know, man)

I don't know where I'm a gonna go

When our beloved country blow

when I blow, (hey)

when I blow (hey)

When I blow it smells
 BAD!!!

Cooch's attack ad misfires

If you run a dishonest
campaign, how can you
be trusted as governor?

This week the Cuccinelli campaign released a new ad attacking Terry McAuliffe, alleging that the Democratic gubernatorial candidate made millions when Global Crossings went bankrupt in 2002. The ad features emotional responses from three former Global Crossing employees. Two of those employees told Mother Jones magazine they were never told their (heavily edited) interviews would be used in a political attack ad in another state.

Deb Goehring, a former employee featured in the ad says she was asked several times about McAuliffe making money off Global Crossings. "I said I don't really know anything about Terry McAuliffe," Goehring told Mother Jones. "He was not involved in day-to-day operations in any way that I saw. As far as I'm concerned, he was like me, a stockholder, and he was able to make money at it. More power to the man. Good for him."

Also featured in the ad is former employee Corey Darrow, who seemed glad to tell her story about the impact of the Global Crossing bankruptcy, but feels mislead that the filmmaker never disclosed that it would be used for a negative ad, telling Mother Jones, "I'm kinda glad I got my story out there. What's it doing for me? I dunno," she says. "But I wish I would've known where it was going to be shown and when."

There is more at Mother Jones, including the background of how Cuccinelli's filmmaker misrepresented himself to take advantage of innocent people for political purposes.