My latest op-ed appears in this morning’s Virginian-Pilot. It galls me that so much time and effort, not to mention money, goes into the top of the ticket races, where our votes really don’t matter, while the local races get almost no attention. In the big scheme of things, when you are casting your vote for a member of Congress, you are helping to choose .2 percent of the representation in Congress – one of 435 members. One representative – unless they have been in Congress a very, very long time – simply cannot make the difference alone (and even then that is suspect). They have to convince 217 other members to support their efforts – none of which we get to vote for.

Is it any wonder, then, decisions get made which are not representative of what the voters want? Is it any wonder, then, that Congressional approval is so low?

It is why I focus on the local. At the local level, one person can make a difference. And we can help them.

Go to the State Board of Elections website, find the local candidates in your area, find out what they are about and choose which ones you want to support. If you have some cash, donate a few bucks. No amount is too large or too small. If you have some time, go and help them distribute literature, knock on doors, and make some phone calls.

It simply isn’t enough to show up on Election Day.

While you are visiting the SBE website, check out the three constitutional amendments that will be on the ballot.

In the first video below, Rep. Scott offers brief remarks and then, as is his custom, introduces all of the electeds and candidates in attendance. He needed a little prompting this year – there were just so many. (And yes, Scott introduced Quigley.)

Arriving early and staying late was Senator Jim Webb. In the second video below, Webb gave a little speech and then introduced DNC chair Tim Kaine. In his role as cheerleader for the party, Kaine did his best to energize the crowd.

A great time was had by all.

If you are reading this through email or an RSS feed and do not see the video, please visit my blog.

Image from Virginia Beach Progressives

For the second time in as many weeks, the three candidates in the 2nd Congressional District participated in a candidates’ forum. My thanks to the fine people at Second Calvary Baptist Church in Norfolk who not only hosted the debate, but had wireless access which allowed me to broadcast it in its entirety.

The forum was not as well-attended as the first one, perhaps because we were dealing with the possibility of Hurricane Earl making landfall in Norfolk. That is a shame, because this forum was much better than the first one in that it covered a lot more ground.  And, for the most part, the candidates were much better with their answers, despite the irksome setup of having them answer questions in the same order every time.  It was disadvantageous for Democratic incumbent Glenn Nye to have to answer every single question first, and advantageous to Republican challenger Scott Rigell to always answer last. Independent Kenny Golden provided his answers in between.

All of the candidates appeared to have been more relaxed at this forum. Working with 1-minute responses to the questions, you might expect there would be a lot of sound-bite answers – and there were some. Overall, though, that was not the case – and you have to give the candidates credit for that.

My impression, after reviewing the video a couple of times, is that there was, once again, no clear “winner” in this debate. They all had their moments, both positive and negative.

Nye’s approach is to be precise, almost clinical, in his responses. He cites his record and – annoyingly – his “independence.” He seemed prepared for attacks that really didn’t come, especially in his closing statement. When they did come, he stood his ground.

Rigell was much softer in his answers, eschewing the “preacher talk” he adopted in the earlier forum. I was surprised to hear him call “Obamacare,” the Republican characterization of health care reform, a pejorative. He made, in my opinion, a major gaffe when he tried to pin the JFCOM situation on Nye but not on fellow Republican Randy Forbes. If Rigell is going to go after Nye for voting for Nancy Pelosi for speaker, somebody needs to point out that Rigell is going to do the Republican equivalent: vote for John Boehner.

Golden was the truth-teller at the forum. He said that JFCOM is “gone,” which squares with what others close to the situation tell me. And he said that negative ads work, which we all know to be the case. (If they didn’t, no one would run them.) He seemed a little subdued, though, and slipped at the end, when he referred to this area as San Diego.

If memory serves, there were only three candidate forums in the entire 2008 campaign. We’ve already had two – before Labor Day. I know of at least two others (not including the Chamber event, in which the three candidates will appear separately), including the one televised debate the League of Women Voters, in conjunction with ODU and WHRO,  is hosting on October 9.  Golden and Nye have already committed to that event, and I hope Rigell will follow their lead. The 660,000 residents of the 2nd Congressional District deserve to hear more than 30-second commercials on what these candidates will do once in Washington.

After all, not all of them read this blog

According to The Virginian-Pilot, five people have been fired or forced out of the Community Service Board as the result of their knowledge of a worker who was paid for 12 years but never came to work.

At a news conference, CSB Executive Director Maureen Womack said the agency found no evidence that anyone other than the employee, Jill McGlone, received any of the salary while not showing up for work. But the five staff knew all along that McGlone was being paid without working.

Somebody tell me: why in the heck would you cover up something like this, especially if you weren’t benefiting from it?

In the words of another infamous character, Forrest Gump, “Stupid is as stupid does.”

Be there!

• The leak of the audit report on Commissioner Sharon McDonald came on Monday afternoon in advance of Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
• The Council’s response Tuesday night was pretty harsh and included an ordinance.
• The editorial board finally weighed in on the McDonald controversy.
• The FBI and others have joined the probe into the issue of a 12-year no-show employee, who has finally been identified and who got raises during the 12 years.
• Afr’am festival organizers shut down, leaving unpaid bills, including wages owed to police and sheriff’s deputies who provided security.
• McDonald held a press conference (video here)
• Barbara Lai, the city employee who bought a cell phone for a gang banger, involuntarily resigned.

Just another OMG week in our fine city

Braiiiins!

What’s Your Zombie Name?

What I found was pretty interesting.

In a recent report, the ITEP takes a look at how states can reform itemized deductions.

Itemized deductions cost more than 30 states billions of dollars in income tax revenue annually while undermining the fairness of state tax systems, a new report shows. Moreover, federal tax changes enacted during the presidency of George W. Bush have gradually made itemized deductions even more unfair and expensive over the last five years, automatically passing tax cuts onto states’ wealthiest residents even as state governments face unprecedented budget challenges. Itemized deduction reform could play a positive role in making state tax systems fairer and more sustainable.

The authors propose five different ways for reforming itemized deductions and provide, on a state-by-state basis, the estimated effect of adopting each. For Virginia (pdf):

1. Repeal itemized deductions entirely and increase the standard deduction. Under this scenario, 43% of Virginia taxpayers would receive a tax cut, while state revenues would increase $400 million per year.
2. Capping the total value of itemized deductions at $40,000 per year for couples and $20,000 per year for singles. This would raise $306 million per year while affecting 7% of Virginia taxpayers.
3. Converting itemized deductions to credits equal to a percentage of the deduction’s value, capped at certain limits. This option would raise $386 million while providing tax cuts to 35% of Virginia taxpayers.
4. Enacting stand-alone phaseouts starting at federal adjusted gross income of $150,000 for couples and $75,000 for singles. This would raise $148 million and impact 10% of Virginia taxpayers.
5. Decoupling from federal Pease repeal, which is a gradual phaseout of the itemized deductions limitations, and an option that may occur anyway if the Bush tax cuts are not extended. This would raise $76 million and affect 6% of Virginia taxpayers.

Virginia has what is pretty close to a flat tax. A long time ago, our current governor headed up a group studying changing the tax structure. Perhaps, since that study went nowhere, the governor is willing to consider it again. These ideas are a good place to start.

In other words, the legislators will be choosing their own voters.

Where things are going to be bipartisan is in the drawing of Congressional lines. My guess is a lot is going to ride on the results of November’s elections. Currently, the Democrats occupy six of the 11 Congressional seats in Virginia. If the Republicans pick up two seats – a real possibility at this point – they will have a majority and combined with the Republican House and Governor, I would expect that whatever changes they would like to make to lines will happen. For that matter, even if they don’t pick up the seats whatever the lines the Republicans want will probably be enacted.

I really didn’t expect Governor McDonnell to keep his campaign promise on redistricting reform but that doesn’t make me any less disappointed in his failure to do so. Virginia will live another 10 years with the lines that will be released in 2011. And that’s a shame.

To follow the redistricting process, please visit the state’s website.

Check it out.

“Sharon felt once she had a travel budget, it was an entitlement,” he said.

“There is no logical justification for the … hundreds of hotel room stays, hundreds and hundreds of meals, gifts, et cetera. The council no longer has faith in the commissioner’s ability to exercise sound judg ment over her budget.”

[...]

“She misses the point,” he said. “No one expected to find that Sharon broke any criminal laws.

“What’s clear to us is she broke the public trust. We all expected as a public servant she would exercise sound discretion and protect the public purse. In the council’s opinion, that discretion was abused.”

I attended the informal session of council Tuesday evening, where the council was provided a presentation on the audit report. After the presentation, council went into a rather lengthy closed session, ostensibly to deal with “personnel matters.” I guess that is technically correct, since one of the items discussed in that meeting was the elimination of position within the office, but it seems to me that much of the conversation revolved around how to curtail the activities of the Commissioner, who is not a city employee.

I had not planned to stay for the formal session and in fact, had left the building but had not gotten out of the parking lot when I received a text that the council was about to vote on a new ordinance. Although I missed the vote, I did get a copy of the ordinance, which reads:

AN ORDINANCE TO BRING THE COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE’S TRAVEL POLICY INTO COMPLIANCE WITH THE CITY

BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of Norfolk:

Section 1:- That the funds budgeted for the Commissioner of the Revenue for travel may only be expended after approval by a process determined by the City Manager or her designee, which process shall be essentially the same as required by city department heads.

Section 2:- That this Ordinance shall be in effect from and after its adoption.

I guess the council has finally figured out that the only control over constitutional officers is local ordinance. Why I’m pleased they finally learned this, I’m disappointed that it has taken so long. Now perhaps they will fix a couple of other ordinances to further rein her in.

In addition to the new ordinance and the elimination of the position of her personal assistant, council also continued the hiring freeze previously imposed.

McDonald has scheduled a press conference for Wednesday morning. I understand she also had planned a reception – billed as a vindication party – to be held after the conference. I’m guessing she doesn’t have much to celebrate now.

In a separate editorial, written and posted online several hours before the news story, the editorial board comes to virtually the same conclusion as the mayor.

If a politician asks people for their vote, there are things she must do in exchange.

She must do her job fairly and to the best of her ability. She must make only promises she can keep. She must respect the office she holds and do nothing to dishonor it. She must take care with taxpayer dollars. She must do all of that openly.

Sharon McDonald has violated at least one of those expectations, and arguably more. If voters disapprove, their ballots in November 2013 should reflect their displeasure.

I’m not convinced that the voters should have to wait that long. If McDonald won’t resign, the options provided by the code for removal should be explored. And between the General Assembly and the City Council, more effort – as hinted at by the mayor – should be undertaken to curtail the potential for abuse that these offices have. One thing that was quite clear from the audit report: constitutional officers have no bosses, save the voters themselves. There are few, if any, rules governing their behavior.

And the scariest part of all of this? McDonald was the president of the Commissioners of the Revenue Association!

The best course of action, in my opinion, is the elimination of some – if not all – of these constitutional offices, or at least make it easier  should a locality choose to do so.

Apparently, one of the mayoral candidates called a civic league president in order to verify that the group was meeting on a given night. The candidate was basically turned away, as the civic league had already met with one of the other candidates and had already decided – without meeting any of the other seven – to support that candidate.

I have no way of knowing – nor did the email writer know – if this decision was that of the entire civic league or of the president of the league. Regardless of who, it seems they do not understand nor respect our democracy. Not that I’m surprised, mind you, just disappointed. While I have witnessed such groups denying anyone other than their candidate of choice to speak to their members, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a group turning away candidates.

That isn’t democracy, folks, and you’re doing both yourselves and your members a disservice when you engage in such behavior.

I hope the civic league rethinks its position and opens its doors to all of the candidates.

Looks like it’s OK to break rules as long as those rules are not laws. I’ll try to remember that.

I’m hoping to get a copy of the audit report and will post it as soon as I do. (Not sure why it isn’t already available on the City’s website.)

Other reports from the Virginian-Pilot, Roanoke Times and the Washington Post offer different points on the effect of the ruling, which can be viewed below.

The one-term feature of the governorship means a governor’s political capital is greatest the first year. McDonnell understands that, and it is why he promised last year that he would act on transportation in his first year. He stated it very eloquently as he proposed his plan: “We cannot create new jobs and spark an economic resurgence if Virginians are stuck in traffic … It is time to say yes to new and creative transportation solutions that will get projects built, decisions made, jobs created and Virginia moving again.”

Gov. McDonnell, your political capital will not be greater than it is today. The campaign is over. Now is the time to be bold, lead and fulfill your promise to fix our transportation system this year. And if you lead, you will find allies in unexpected places.

The other comes from former 79th House of Delegates candidate Henry Light. This op-ed urges the adoption of a 15-cent increase in the gas tax.

It is long past time for the “no new taxes” argument to sway us — it doesn’t work. Give us sources of revenues to fix these problems.

A 15-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase spread over three years would be virtually unnoticeable with gas prices swinging as wildly as they do and would provide an additional $1.5 billion for the transportation budget in Virginia.

I don’t know if a gas tax can get through the legislature but there is no doubt that something needs to be done about our continuing transportation needs. McDonnell the candidate had it right: we need to get Virginia moving again. Will McDonnell the governor figure out how to do it?

First we have Democratic incumbent Glenn Nye releasing a campaign ad in which he purports to be an “independent voice,” brags that he has voted against health care reform and against the Wall Street bailout. I’m sure that will endear him to Democrats. Yes, he needs independents in order to win. But he also needs Democrats.

And then we have Republican challenger Scott Rigell signing a Tea Party pledge. Later, he tweeted about hashtags for independents and conservative Dems. Why? Are moderates – of any stripe – going to support him, in light of this pledge? And what was to be gained by signing the pledge? Does he really think the Tea Party members are going to support him?

I’ll go out on a limb here and say that voter turnout in the 2nd will be the lowest it has been in years. Both Republicans and Democrats have reason to stay at home.

~

The next 2nd CD debate forum will be held this Thursday, September 2, at Second Calvary Baptist Church (2940 Corprew Avenue, Norfolk) at 7pm. If we have internet access, I’ll broadcast the debate forum live on my UStreamTV channel as I did the first debate. If no WiFi, I may try it over Bluetooth. Otherwise, I’ll record it for posting later.

You love to pamper yourself, and why should that stop at home?

You have the finest furniture and home decor that your money can buy.

You know that you’ll be spending a lot of time at home, so you try to make it as wonderful as possible.

Your home is truly your castle. And it’s a very comfortable castle at that!

What Feels Like Home to You?

Um, not quite.  I just liked the picture But it’s a nice sentiment.

• Sunday – we learned that a Norfolk city official used a city credit card to buy a $250 phone for a gang banger.  The guy used the phone the next day to commit (allegedly) a violent felony. The Norfolk official still has a job. Why?
• Monday – whew! Nothing
• Tuesday – we made up for the pass on Monday with two stories. First we discover the city has $4.4 million in federal funding sitting unspent. Then we learn of our own trash truck mishap – Virginia Beach has their own.  At least no one died in Norfolk.
• Wednesday – a break in the action (unless you count this third story dated Tuesday, which was in the Sunday Compass and appeared mysteriously online but not in Tuesday’s paper).
• Thursday – a 12-year employee, who never showed up for work, is fired. I can’t wait to see the outcome of this.
• Friday – nepotism in the Commissioner of the Revenue’s office. “Everybody does it” is not an excuse. As my Mama would say every time I tried to use it, “if everybody jumped off a cliff, would you?” I’m already hearing more rumblings about a petition drive to remove her from office.

This is just plain embarrassing.

By J. J. Prats, May 19, 2007

90 years ago today, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote. My column in yesterday’s paper covered a bit of Virginia’s role in the struggle.

Today, I head to Ft. Story to give a speech for Women’s Equality Day, which is what 8/26 has become known.  I will be discussing Lucy Burns and Alice Paul, two of the many heroes of the suffragist movement. Both women were at various times imprisoned at the Occoquan Workhouse.

I think we sometimes forget what those who came before us had to endure to secure the rights that we take for granted. On this day, I hope we can all take a minute to acknowledge the hard work of the women -and men – of the suffragist movement.

• September 8th, 7pm – Natural Science Center, VA Western Community College (Roanoke)
• September 22nd, 7pm – Roper Performing Arts Center, Tidewater Community College (Norfolk)
• October 5th, 7pm – Mason Hall, George Mason University
• October 18th, 7pm – Regional Center for Advanced Technology and Training, Danville Community College
• December 6th, 7pm – University Hall, University of Mary Washington (Stafford Campus)
• December 17th, 10am – 9th Floor Appropriations Room, General Assembly Building (time approximate, after Governor’s remarks to the money committees)

Redistricting will be the topic of the 2011 General Assembly session. For more information, please refer to the Redistricting website.

From the press release:

“I commend Chairman Levin for agreeing to schedule this important hearing on the future of JFCOM and the additional efficiency initiatives announced by Secretary Gates,” said Webb, who chairs the Senate Committee on Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee. “Congress has an essential constitutional oversight role in such matters. I believe that further action by the President or Secretary Gates should be suspended until Congress has had ample opportunity to review the full scope of the Secretary’s actions.”

In his response to Senator Webb’s request, Chairman Levin said, “I share the Secretary’s objectives of reducing ‘duplication, overhead, and excess in the defense enterprise,’ and instilling ‘a culture of savings and restraint’ across the Department of Defense. At the same time, I agree that the far-reaching initiatives announced by the Secretary deserve close scrutiny from our Committee.”

The Virginia delegation representing the region sent a letter to Secretary Gates regarding the elimination of JFCOM. The letter was signed by Senators Webb and Mark Warner, and Representatives Rob Wittman, Glenn Nye, Bobby Scott, and Randy Forbes.

President John Broderick

ODU President John Broderick gave his State of the University address to a packed house at the ODU Constant Center this morning.  Among the many in attendance were Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim, former Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf, Delegates Lionell Spruill, Matthew James, Ron Villenueva, John Consgrove and Senator Harry Blevins.

Broderick laid out the strategic plan for the University:

1. Providing students with the tools to succeed;
2. Gain a national reputation through key academic programs and scholarship;
3. Investing strategically to spur economic growth; and
4. Build strong civic and community partnerships.

This last part was quite interesting to me as Broderick explained that the University has already launched the Business Gateway, which “provides a single entry point to the university’s intellectual capital, world-class infrastructure and innovative technologies.” They are launching a new program for the study of critical issues. Broderick explained that “this program will gather community leaders, business and industry heads, and our own faculty to identify and examine the most pressing challenges facing Hampton Roads today.”

Having the resources within this campus and not sharing them is simply not an option. We must honor the trust placed in us by parents, taxpayers, students, faculty, and donors to participate in intelligent thought and action for the common good.

But, we must also listen to and learn from the community. We must hear its concerns and bring to bear our resources to solve problems.

I hope that Broderick will make sure that the community – and not just the usual suspects – are at the table when these “pressing challenges” are identified; otherwise, I can pretty much write the list right now

As a two-time graduate of ODU, I’m proud to see how far my alma mater has come. I look forward to what comes next.

Here are a couple of photos from this morning, courtesy of ODU photographer Chuck Smith. Click to enlarge

“Those of us that chose not to attend (about 80, or a little less that half) were marched back to the company area. At that point the NCO issued us a punishment. We were to be on lock-down in the company (not released from duty), could not go anywhere on post (no PX, no library, etc). We were to go to strictly to the barracks and contact maintenance. If we were caught sitting in our rooms, in our beds, or having/handling electronics (cell phones, laptops, games) and doing anything other than maintenance, we would further have our weekend passes revoked and continue barracks maintenance for the entirety of the weekend.

The AP reports that the Army is looking into the allegations.

[Pvt. Anthony] Smith said he went up the chain of command and traced the concert edict to a captain, who said he simply wanted to “show support for those kind of events that bring soldiers together.”

While not accepting blame, the officer apologized to the soldiers who refused to attend the concert and said it was not his intent to proselytize, he said.

Apology aside, this should have never happened.  I hope the officer realizes that he crossed the line. Sounds like to me he deserves a little punishment.

WordPress.com Political Blogger Alliance

For the past three years, Marilyn Bess has operated MS Philly Organic, a small, low-traffic blog that features occasional posts about green living, out of her Manayunk home. Between her blog and infrequent contributions to ehow.com, over the last few years she says she’s made about $50. To Bess, her website is a hobby. To the city of Philadelphia, it’s a potential moneymaker, and the city wants its cut.

In May, the city sent Bess a letter demanding that she pay $300, the price of a business privilege license.

Ah but the devil, as always, is in the details:

After dutifully reporting even the smallest profits on their tax filings this year, a number — though no one knows exactly what that number is — of Philadelphia bloggers were dispatched letters informing them that they owe $300 for a privilege license, plus taxes on any profits they made.

Let me guess: each one of these people filed a Schedule C (pdf). Probably did so to claim expenses, like their internet service, or to deduct the cost of a computer, most likely on the (bad) advice of a friend or even an accountant.

A Schedule C is entitled “Profit or Loss from Business” for a reason. From the instructions (pdf):

An activity qualifies as a business if your primary purpose for engaging in the activity is for income or profit and you are involved in the activity with continuity and regularity. For example, a sporadic activity or a hobby does not qualify as a business.

So by completing Schedule C, you are acknowledging that this is not a hobby. And guess what most localities – including every one in Virginia – require? A business license.

I have to wonder what exactly Bess reported on her tax return. Her blog is hosted – for free – at wordpress.com. The policy of wordpress.com is that advertisements are not allowed. (My blog is also hosted at wordpress.com. The company runs ads on our sites, that regular visitors do not see but if you find us via a search engine, you will see them. All of the money for those ads goes to wordpress.com, not the bloggers.) So unless she’s got income from her other gig – and the story says she earned money as a freelance writer – she was a bad example.

So enough with the $300 blogging license meme.

I do take exception to this:

According to Andrea Mannino of the Philadelphia Department of Revenue, in fact, simply choosing the option to make money from ads — regardless of how much or little money is actually generated — qualifies a blog as a business.

Unless that is specifically in the code in Philadelphia, that is not the case. Many people had ads on their blogs simply to offset the cost of hosting, and making a profit is not the motive. I simply don’t see how ads alone elevate the operations to that of a business. Perhaps she needs to familiarize herself with the IRS rules.

Of course, the bloggers in the story need to learn the rules, too.

Graphic from VB Progressives

The three candidates on the ballot in November for the 2nd Congressional district squared off Thursday evening in the first debate of the season. Democratic incumbent Glenn Nye and his two challengers, Republican Scott Rigell and Independent Kenny Golden, faced an overflowing crowd at Princess Anne High School. I managed to not only make it to the debate, but to broadcast it live from a rather hot balcony at the school, thanks to Wifi help from fellow blogger Joel McDonald, who live blogged the debate.

Traveling down Virginia Beach Boulevard, I was met with a sea of Rigell signs. It was a harbinger of things to come. Once I finally found a parking space and made it into the building, it was clear that the Rigell camp had turned out its volunteers and supporters. Golden was out front greeting people and I saw a few members of the Nye campaign staff before rushing upstairs to get positioned for the broadcast. Being more concerned about making sure the broadcasting was working, I only half listened to the debate. Having reviewed the video a couple of times, I’m ready to declare a winner.

That winner would be no one.

Seated between Rigell and Nye, Golden had a tremendous opportunity here to make his case as the alternative candidate. In my opinion, he fell short. Perhaps it is his Republican roots, but I found him too much in agreement with Rigell. (Part of that was a function of the questions, discussed later.) Golden, who I interviewed earlier this year, has a lot more depth than was demonstrated in the debate. It wasn’t until his closing statement that he was able to work in his “blue glass, red glass, clear glass” appeal – and that rang hollow, based on his responses. I did enjoy, though, his gregarious personality. In the future, if he is truly an independent, I’d like to hear some more independent answers.

Rigell played to the crowd, throwing out Republican talking points over and over. Contrary to what his handlers may have told him, this was a debate, not a campaign rally, and his speaking style in this context – call it preacher talk, if you will – seemed out of place. I know Rigell has a greater understanding of some of the issues, but he failed to articulate them. I have to admit that I expected more from Rigell but he seems to be still in primary mode.

Early in the debate, I tweeted that if this turned into a Nye-bashing fest, Nye would win by default. While both Rigell and Golden got in their digs at Nye, it didn’t overwhelm the conversation. In his answers, Nye referred to his record in Congress or the old standby, his service prior to entering Congress. I have to admit that I cringed every time Nye said he voted on issues the way his constituents wanted – because rarely does he vote the way I’d like him to, and I’m one of his constituents.

As others have said, this debate sounded like one for a Republican primary. Perhaps the biggest reason was the phrasing of the questions. Except for the one on the environment, the questions themselves appeared designed to elicit only conservative responses. While I applaud the organizers for getting this debate done, I wish they had gotten some input from others on the questions. (And I wish someone had taught them how to pronounce Rigell’s name!)

Fortunately for the voters in the 2nd, we’ll have other opportunities to hear these candidates. Once such opportunity is coming up on October 9, when the League of Women Voters, of which I am a member, in conjunction with WHRO and ODU, will host what will likely be the only TV-broadcasted debate. As of this writing, Nye and Golden have committed to attending. Rigell’s camp is still holding their three (or five) independent polls position on whether they will show, ludicrous in light of their participation Thursday.

What Decade Are You?

UPDATE: In case you missed it live, here is the video. Sorry it’s so dark – the lighting in there was pretty bad and I was in the balcony.