Is the local food movement a passing fad for the wealthy?
I’m putting on an event for Left of Center on Tuesday night here in C’ville. It’s about three topics that are important to me: food, local economies, and sustainability. Here’s the description we’re circulating: Tuesday, June 2, 7:00pm at Rapture (Facebook RSVP) Is the local food movement a passing fad for the wealthy, or is [...]
The Bristol Herald Courier has endorsed Deeds.
The Bristol Herald Courier has endorsed Sen. Creigh Deeds for the Democratic nomination for governor: Deeds is a strong candidate to face McDonnell and the only candidate seeking the Democratic nomination who previously has run for statewide office. Deeds acknowledged that McAuliffe has garnered a lot of attention and that Deeds is much less flashy. [...]
Moran promises to fight Marshall Newman.
Brian Moran told a Charlottesville audience today: A governor always has time to fight for equality. To allow discriminatory language in our constitution is not acceptable, and I will do everything I can in my power as governor to repeal the Marshall Newman Amendment. Emphasis mine. Here’s my question: What powers does the governor have, [...]
The NRCC’s foolish claims about Perriello.
Seeing the NRCC trying to paint Rep. Tom Perriello as Nancy Pelosi’s lapdog is pretty funny. Given Perriello’s voting record, I’m guessing Pelosi’s name doesn’t appear at the top of his fan club stationary. The NRCC’s most foolish claim is that “Perriello votes with Pelosi 91 percent of the time,” therefore he exhibits “unwavering support [...]
Deeds is demonstrably more bipartisan than Moran.
Here’s an interesting, contextless fact. I just crunched some numbers on bill copatrons in the legislature in the past four years, looking at who legislators tend to copatrons bills with. (I hope to add this as a Richmond Sunlight feature very soon.) As you can imagine, Democrats tend to copatrons bills with more Democrats than [...]
“Why journalists deserve low pay.”
Economics professor Robert G. Picard argues that many journalists deserve low pay in an article in the Christian Science Monitor and, to my surprise, I agree with him. Picard’s thesis is: To create economic value, journalists and news organizations historically relied on the exclusivity of their access to information and sources, and their ability to [...]
Burning my nonexistent Terry McAuliffe bridge.
Here’s the thing about Terry McAuliffe: I don’t like him. At all. Whether the man were a Democrat or a Republican I wouldn’t like him. I don’t trust him. I don’t believe that his motives are good. I think that he’s the opposite of what the Democratic Party needs, and I think he’s wrong for [...]
McAuliffe asks us to “think of the children.”
The AP’s Bob Lewis inquired as to how much that Terry McAuliffe is worth, in light of his Global Crossing investment. McAuliffe’s response is a strange one: McAuliffe won’t disclose his net worth, citing concern for his children I don’t even know what that means. Is he seriously claiming that, if people knew precisely how [...]
Shunpiking.
Shunpiking is the avoidance of major highways while driving, in favor of country roads, though the term originates in the shunning of turnpikes, as in Smithfield Ham truckers’ long-time boycott of the James River Bridge. I guess I’m a shunpiker.
Is “conservative nightlife” an oxymoron?
The Washington Post is in a bit of trouble for disparaging Lynchburg, although really it’s for disparaging religions conservatism. A freelancer promoting Lynchburg wrote of her low expectations, writing that “its reputation as home of conservative Christian-oriented Liberty University and the late Jerry Falwell hardly bodes well for style, culture and night life.” The ombudsman [...]
I’m leaning towards Mike Signer for LG.
I went into this lieutenant governor’s nomination contest a supporter of Jody Wagner. But now I’m not so sure. Wagner hasn’t done anything to lose me, she’s run a fine campaign, and I like what she’s had to say. There’s really nothing I don’t like about her. Despite that, I’m impressed by Mike Signer and [...]
Jandd is a company worth buying gear from.
I bought a Jandd Gabriel messenger bag in 1995, in part because of its lifetime warranty. I’ve used it every day since. The shoulder strap wore out in 2000 and again last year. Each time I contacted Jandd, and each time they’ve repaired it for me without complaint or cost (and each time with a [...]
Recommended: Jon Henke’s writings at “The Next Right.”
It would be easy to believe that Republicans have no solutions to offer our country, no understanding that things have gone terribly wrong for them, and that their anti-intellectualism has purged the party of anybody with the sense to steer them back in the right direction. I’m no slouch in keeping up with the political [...]
The straight dope on the Sotomayor nomination.
SCOTUSblog has a really solid analysis of Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination. I’ll be keeping an eye on SCOTUSblog in the weeks ahead—it’s a great source of facts and straightforward analysis on all things Supreme Court related.
The American poor are the most charitable income bracket.
The poor give to charity at twice the rate as the wealthy, a McClatchy analysis of BLS data shows. Americans making less than $19,000 year give 4.3% of their income to charitable causes, while those with incomes above $91,000 give just 2.1%. The only group that even comes close is households with between $36,000-$58,000 in [...]
Followup: The coming Wikipedia election.
I wrote in December that Wikipedia is positioned to play a significant role in November’s election, and I think a follow-up is in order. Implicit in that are three claims: that relevant Wikipedia entries will appear prominently in search on Google, that many people will read them, and that information will influence how they will [...]
Conservative radio host surrenders after six seconds of waterboarding.
Professional asshole/radio host “Mancow” had himself waterboarded to prove that it’s not torture. He made it six seconds. It only required three quarters of a gallon for him to surrender. He said that it pained him to say it, but that it’s “absolutely torture,” and that he wouldn’t have done it if he’d known how [...]
The Washington Post has endorsed Creigh Deeds for governor!
I’m stunned and very impressed: The Washington Post has endorsed Creigh Deeds for governor. In a long, detailed editorial running in tomorrow’s issue, they spell out why “Mr. Deeds may not be the obvious choice in the June 9 primary, but he’s the right one.” He’s “politically astute,” “in a unique position to persuade rural [...]
Congress enacts gift card regulation.
Gift cards have become something close to a scam. Many stores will automatically reduce the value of them monthly until they’re worth nothing, and many others provide expiration dates. If the company files for bankruptcy—even if they’re just reorganizing—that’s a debt that they may just not pay off, rendering the cards worthless. Gift cards are, [...]
Study: American prisoners more likely to reoffend than Guantanamo detainees.
Prisoners released from Guantanamo have a recidivism rate five times lower than American prisoners. That’s based on comparing the Defense Department’s 14% rate with the DOJ’s general recidivism stats. Those 14% are merely suspected of planning crimes, so I’ve compared them to the 67.5% of released American prisoners who are arrested. So either these suspected [...]
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Waldo Jaquith (JAKE-with) is an open government technologist who lives near Charlottesville, VA, USA. more »
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