Congratulations to Creigh Deeds & Jody Wagner

I am proud to support the democratic ticket (Deeds, Wagner, Shannon).

Creigh Deeds is a man of honor. He is a moderate, he connects with working, middle class people because of his own experience. With him as the nominee, I feel like anything is possible- his optimism surely cannot be matched. His credibility in the General Assembly and with voters in Virginia will allow him to get things done in Richmond in a unifying, not divisive manner.

Jody Wagner - what can I say about her? She dominated. She will provide Bill Bolling the competition he needs. She has made things happen in Virginia- she will as Lt. Gov.

Congratulations to all democrats in Virginia. I am now convinced that a primary, while painful to watch, can build the party.

Upcoming dem events

After the election I had a brief respite from the daily political dramas. Now I am in event mode- so many things are happening in the next three months:

Left of Center- "How Perriello Won" at Rapture on 1/5/09 from 5:30-7:00
A Left of Center speaker panel will discuss how Virginia’s 5th District Congressman-Elect Tom Perriello pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the country, squeaking past 6-term incumbent Virgil Goode with a razor-thin margin of 700 votes. Speakers will include two reporters that covered the campaign closely—the Hook’s Lindsay Barnes, and Will Goldsmith from C-Ville Weekly; two senior campaign staff— Tom’s personal assistant Brian Bills, and Rachael Klarman, a lead organizer in Danville; Kelli Palmer, who led efforts that registered 5000 new voters in Southside; and 5th District Democratic Chairman Fred Hudson, to provide some historical perspective. The event is free and open to the public.

Fundraiser for David Toscano

Democratic Breakfast at JABA on Hillsdale from 9:30-11:00 (third Sat. of the month)
Robert Toplin, semi-retired professor of history from UNC, will speak at the January 17th Democratic breakfast. His topic will be "Dealing With Economic Crisis: The Democrats' Approach". Bob spoke over a year ago at the breakfast on radical conservatism, the subject of his most recent book and his presentation was very well received. He is a prolific writer who has published about a dozen books and a multitude of articles on American history and politics.

Inaugural Ball "We did it" Herman Key Recreation Center on 1/24/09 Tickets may be purchased here only. Multiple levels of sponsorship and involvement. Come celebrate the inauguration in style. Proceeds benefit the Road Back PAC, City & County Democratic Committees.

Grace Tinsley Scholarship Fundraiser Elks Lodge on Rt. 20 on February 7th.

Annual Democratic Party Pasta Supper Fundraiser Saturday, March 28th Charlottesville Senior Center

DONT FORGET TO DONATE TO YOUR FAVORITE statewide CANDIDATE PRIOR TO MIDNIGHT TONIGHT- FUNDRAISING DEADLINE FOR THIS QUARTER IS TONIGHT! GO CREIGH!

Am I still a blogger? And other goings on

No posts in December? I am not sure I qualify as blogger any more, so I thought I would post some inside stuff in hopes of continuing my blogger credentials.

Here is the news as I know it.
My favorite Parks and Rec. Director has accepted an offer to head a new Parks department in Arizona- that has professional baseball spring training. So jealous, I love me some baseball. Svetz is a hard act to follow. I wish the City Manager well in finding a replacement. My top pick is Brian Daly, the current Assistant Director (I am not sure why, but I dont know their titles). Brian has been Svetz's right hand man for the past three years. Brian came from FFX County where he helped modernize the parks and recreation. Svetz's political savvy is impressive, Brian has been learning from him.

The CDBG task force has been reviewing applications for the CDBG/HOME funds (federal funds). We have a lot of applications most are very worthy of funding and again we have a reduced amount of money to work with. After this round of applications, the task force will review the RFPs for the Charlottesville Housing Fund, including presentations by the applicants. The task force particularly appreciates hearing the perspectives of the applicants, usually it makes our jobs easier, not more difficult.

Year of Wellness

I am graduating from Sorenson Political Leaders Program (PLP) next week. My project this year was the PLP program (& get Obama/Perriello elected among other things).

Last year, I ran for City Council;

The year before, I started my own business;

In 2005, we moved back to Cville and bought our first house;

In 2004, I had baby #2;

In 2003, I had baby #1;

In 2002, I got married;

In 2001, I graduated from law school, studied for, passed bar, first protective order (ugh).

I am thinking 2009 I can refocus on my own wellness, since in all the hubbub since 2001 I havent had much time for that (and it shows itself in many ways).

What does wellness mean? Do I join a gym, like Waldo or Jim? Do I get a hobby like Marijean (knitting, not the pies)?

If I give myself a goal, which any good type A'er does, what should it be, besides lose weight. Something a bit more than physical wellness is on my mind. I am open to suggestions. Luckily I have a few more weeks to figure it out.

Here are some thoughts I have:
Writing- I do enjoy writing and if I write then maybe I will feel more wellness.
Church- I could do some church tours and see if going to church will bring some feeling of wellness.
Travel- ? not sure if travel brings wellness, I frequently get ill after traveling.
Hiring someone to clean my house regularly (as if, but I think it would bring some calmness to my life).
Quitting all the things that annoy me- I cant figure out if I would be more annoyed without these things or less (I know my bosses would be happier).
Eat healthier- obviously (and eating right does take some work).
Exercise- I dont think I will join a gym until I can demonstrate my own capacity to exercise without a gym..
Meditation- I like the sound of having time to meditate (I read Eat, Pray, Love so of course for a 21st century girl like myself meditation seems like a good idea)

Here is what I will NOT be doing
1. running for office- not that this is news.
2. quitting my job (as I get better at my job, I feel more wellness, and even though its challenging A LOT, this is a good thing).
3. signing up to lead crap- clearly someone else can do it, if it must be done.

Political Buzz

Jody Wagner will be in Charlottesville on Saturday to speak to at the Chville-Albemarle Democratic Breakfast. She is a candidate for Lt. Governor, her opponent in the primary is Jon Bowerbank. Light breakfast will be served, starts at 9:30, donations appreciated, its at JABA on Hillsdale Drive.

Brian Moran says he can win Virginia because a bunch of Delegates in Loudoun County endorse him. I find some flaws in his logic- first those folks better support any eventual nominee, so this isnt about winning Virginia, its about winning the nomination. And Loudoun County is not really part of the rest of Virginia anymore, it is northern Virginia, AND endorsements from Moran's colleagues in the House, while thoughtful, doesnt exactly mean an onslaught of support for Moran.

I went to a Creigh Deeds reception last night, wow it was fun. I had never been to the Second Street Gallery (this is me ducking, I know I should visit). The gallery was full of people, most of whom wore their grown up clothes. The good Senator discussed the economy, transportation and reducing our carbon footprint. Deeds wants to get Virginia moving again- especially with a vision for transportation that represents the future not the past - obviously funding and building roads, but leading the way in new modes of transportation. Deeds is straightforward, in a refreshing, non political way-- I really appreciate candidates who tell me the truth "I am not saying its going to be cheap or easy" he told the crowd. I appreciate that to move forward and protect the future for my children (and yours), sacrifices will need to be made. Donate to Deeds campaign -- its a great opportunity to keep the issues of all Virginians on the front burner.

The NEW Congressman from the 5th district showed up to the estatic and thankful group. Tom Perriello, wearing his classic campaign boots, barely made it past the front door before a line formed to speak to him. He patiently, even enthusiastically talked to everyone and seemed to be doing quite well, not as tired as last week for sure. Even I waited in line with friends to thank Tom for his hard work and awesome campaign. Tom Perriello needs some donations to cover the cost of the attorneys covering his canvasses in far away precincts. Please consider donating so that Perriello can go into his term debt-free (and fund raising for the next cycle).

Am I in trouble?

Today I got a call from Terry McAuliffe- himself. I wasnt home, so he left a message. I have heard from potential candidates/candidates Jody Wagner, Jon Bowerbank both have tried to reach me via telephone because of my role in the City Committee. I do sense I am in trouble and the whole Clinton world may come down on me because of my post yesterday (I am kidding, I hope). Stay tuned...

Its been a week, lets talk 2009

I have my favorites all lined up for next year's statewide offices primary. I wont outline all of them for your here since well I feel bad stating a preference. Anyone who is nominated I will work for 100%. We have some excellent candidates, and I will hold my breathe and hope my colleagues admonishments that "hard fought primaries are good for the party" are true.

In the Governor's race I cant be any more obvious about my support for Creigh Deeds. The man is a good guy, hard working, bright and moderate. I appreciate that in my Governor. Brian Moran is a good candidate, bright, hard working, slightly too liberal for me (I know all of my Democratic friends are rubbing their eyes in shock), I prefer a more moderate Governor.

A third candidate is testing the waters for the Democratic nomination- former DNC chair Terry McCauliffe. This is when I get all "ANYBODY BUT TERRY" in my opposition to his candidacy. Really- who is he? MAKE IT STOP. Dont let his money influence the primary goers of Virginia.

I dont think it will, these primary goers also nominated Jim Webb- a serious moderate without a lot of money (initially). I will continue to support Creigh Deeds (GO CREIGH GO) in any way I can (dont forget to donate to Creigh- use the widget on the side of my blog) and otherwise ignore Terry's potential run (unless he does something ridiculous).

Perriello eeks out victory in the 5th CD

Tom Perriello is now responding to "Congressman Perriello". Congratulations to him, his family, volunteers and the 5th CD. I firmly believe Tom Perriello will serve his all constituents in the 5th district in a meaningful and important way- a path not defined by party, but by hard work, research and leadership. We won, but we will continue to win by having Perriello serving us in Congress.

Major Newspaper Endorsement of Perriello

The Danville Register & Bee endorsed Perriello for Congress this morning.

This is BIG! "On Tuesday, it's time to elect a young man of integrity, energy, faith and hard work. It's time to send Tom Perriello to Congress"

Vote

VOTE- too late if you didnt register, but if you DID register VOTE.

Really- its important.

Focus

Trying to focus. Since I only have two posts this month, perhaps drafting a post will help. I am sick of the election, sick of the scandal, horserace etc. I am but one person, barely involved in the day to day.

Happily I am planning a party for election night. Which reminds me, I gotta find some tvs. Is it the 5th yet?

Anger

Post politics tweeted an article about the anger at a McCain/Palin rally.

Those irritable rally-goers (enlightening Rolling Stone article on McCain)helped elect Bush twice- their anger is completely misguided. The country has not gone to hell because of Nancy Pelosi (she has been the speaker for 22 months), I dont think she and Harry Reid are strong or effective leaders but they didnt get us in the really critical situation we are in now.

I am angry- angry that Bush lied to us about why we needed to go to Iraq, angry that that I got a rebate check when we needed to pay the debt down or for the wars we are involved in, angry that thousands of our troops have died and are wounded, angry that Republicans dont make Veteran's issues a priority, angry that we let a genocide happen in this decade, like we did last decade, angry that we are no longer the country to mirror, angry that freedom now means unwarranted survelliance, angry that 9/11 is so politicized, I am angry at anyone who wants to tell me what to do w/ my body, well I could go on.

As angry as I am at everything that McCain stands for including the awful way he is running the campaign (we dont call him McSame for nothin'), my side has lost a lot of elections- we will still have to call the winner, Mr. President, come January 20th. I see McCain/Palin hate speech and rally-goers anger very dangerous and indicative of how they would run their administration (the rest of us dont matter- just like GW).

Vote Obama!

Tom Perriello for Congress

I have the privilege of serving on a board w/ Neal, news director for NBC29. As much as I loathe the negative ad put out by Perriello's opponent, I recognize it is not the media's problem, it is the opponent. Dont call Neal and yell at him, feel free to watch channel 29 just remember to VOTE and remember to VOTE for Perriello on November 4th! Seriously, Neal isnt the problem, the guy who put the ad up is and if you are angry about it, VOLUNTEER/DONATE and tell your friends in Pittsylvania County (which has a huge population) to VOTE for Tom Perriello.

One thing about Tom I like- the guy is more Virginia than most people I know. I went to high school with him here in what was rural western Albemarle County (before Old Trail and Master Planning Crozet). His father is a doctor and runs a business here in Charlottesville (that employs a lot of people and cares for many of our children).

BTW- having a license to practice law that is in NY does not make one a NY lawyer, in Perriello's case it makes him a lawyer who works internationally against people who are complicit in genocide and terrorism cases. Something I think the incumbent forgot to put in his commercial (among the many other misleading statements in the commercial, the incumbent doesnt rely on truth, or even think the voters deserve it for that matter).What I despise about politics is what the current congressman does- distorts and misinforms. The incumbent does that- he appeals to the worst from people.

Perriello is different in so many ways- but an important difference is his expectation on the best in people.

From his own website: "Washington is broken because for too long, politicians in both parties have been bought and paid for by the special interests. I'm not taking a dime from lobbyists and corporate PACs so that I can fight for you in Washington. Join our people-powered movement."

And now a confession

Thanks to Lloyd at DemCentral I can admit my love of some songs sung by Toby Keith.

Toby Keith correctly points out the problem of labels- to be 100% supportive of the troops is not to support George W. Bush's policy of preemption (whatever the heck that is), we are complex, the wars are complex, here is some of what he says:

"I get roped into these political arguments, but the truth is I don't see things right or left, I see them right or wrong. If you put check boxes on the left and right for all the big issues, my list will go back and forth all the way down. But all I have to do is disagree with a hardcore, far left liberal on one thing and they just mark me down with all the boxes on the right. And it's pretty much the same thing on the other side...I didn't support the war in Iraq and still don't, but I'm sure I know more about it than he [Sean Penn] does...When he and Clooney get together and say we should go to Africa and stop the genocide, I'll be the one over there performing for the troops when it happens." (my edits, Lloyd has the full quote on DemCentral).

I do enjoy myself some Toby Keith, I admit it, I almost considered buying his most recent favorites album, but thought that I would be supporting him and he represented things that I disagreed with. Happily, I did buy some of the songs on the album (American Soldier- that is one great song "...I don't do it for money, there's still bills that I can't pay, I don't do it for the glory, I just do it anyway..") and now much to Chris' consternation I will likely download the rest of the album.

One thing I will complain about, I like the song "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" sure it is a wee jingoistic, but I was pretty angry after 9/11 and its good to remember.

But when I was at a rodeo lately (yes, I am from Virginia and my friend Johnny is a bull rider) the song was accompanied by horrifying phone calls made by people calling 911 on 9/11/01. I find that over the top for the occasion of a rodeo, especially when the song itself is so resonating. So I know his songs are used not only to remember but to perpetuate the fear, which is not necessarily healthy, in my opinion.

For Marijean

Marijean, I have searched high and low for lard ever since I became aware of your search for the perfect pie crust. I frankly was a bit ashamed that lard is so hard to come by here in Central Virgina.

Happily, my Virginia credentials have returned because I found LARD (ok cut the snarkiness) while on vacation in this store in Burkeville, VA (cleverly the store is called Burkeville Market) the only market for 20 miles. I found lard in almost any variety. So Marijean- thank you for your wonderful posts/tweets and for all of your efforts I offer this photo of lard and the store where one can find it (road trip). :)

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One person's account: Rural Access Medical Care

My Sorenson classmate Aryana Khalid works for the Governor as a Deputy Secretary in the Health & Human Services Agency. Our class has a listserv where we randomly diss each other or have interesting policy discussions. A Newsweek article from about two months ago on health care led to a dialogue on the listserv. I asked if I could use her comment so here goes (Aryana represents herself in the following views):

"We [her husband and her] volunteered at the RAM clinic in Wise this year and I can personally tell you of the joy and tremendous sadness I felt. How wonderful to see so many people give of themselves so willingly and with so much kindness; how sad to see something that I thought would only exist in the Third World. My husband, who isn't necessarily the biggest health person (which is why I took him, I wanted him to see what healthcare is really like in the US), said to me, I can't believe this happens in the United States. I thought we were the most powerful nation in the world, but we don't even begin to take care of our citizens.

I am so very troubled as he is. Most of these people work for a living. They suffer tremendously until something like this comes along. Appalachia is one of the most depressed areas in the country. If you all have seen in the paper recently, life expectancy in this area is going in the wrong direction. Everyone keeps talking about it, but what do we actually DO.

The Governor came out, as did some staff. Dominic came out with Delegate Moran, which was a great. And Delegate Bowling came out as well. But that's it (well I should say, that is all I saw and anyone I spoke to saw), for the entire House and Senate of Virginia. I am scheming ways for how to get more State Reps to come and see this…smile.

There are 6 Mission of Mercy RAM clinics across the Commonwealth each year. Wise is the biggest. There are just so many needs. It seems that whatever side of the aisle you are one, we can all probably agree (I hope) that we shouldn't be treating our working citizenry this way. Their should be options out there. This would include Medicaid and Medicare, but also public-private options to create new and innovative types of health insurance products (like the one coming out from Riverside Hospital System Foundation in Tidewater/Northern Neck). You just cannot fathom how bad it is until you see it with your own eyes.

Finally, there were numerous stories that touched me during my weekend adventure. I will share just one. There was a women who used her brother's frequent flyer miles to fly from NY to Bristol, then hitchhiked to Wise to have what was remaining of her teeth all pulled out. She was going to hitchhike back to Bristol to catch her flight back. Her mouth filled with bloody gauze and in tremendous amounts of pain after having numerous teeth pulled. I worry for her…I hope she made it back ok. And it makes me wonder an even bigger question, how did she get in a situation where the RAM Mission of Mercy Project in Wise, VA was the only place she could get the services she needs. I wonder what that says about our society."

When I asked if I could use her comments, she replied yes and followed w/ this:

"I was OUTRAGED to see what I saw. My husband was horrified. You just don’t expect it in this country. It’s not right, no matter what side of the aisle you are on. And if you think it is right, then I just don’t have words…I just hope that those folks never experience what these people go through day in and day out. I have felt so guilty the since that weekend anytime I complain about my life. I have no idea what it’s like to have a difficult life. One day, I truly believe, things will change. We will make healthcare a priority in this country…it may not be in my lifetime…all I know is there are a lot of health advocates out there, including me, who will die trying. We should not leave people on the outskirts of society alone…we should help them."

Yard Signs

Campaigning is three things- identifying your voters, persuading your voters and getting those voters out to vote. The Obama campaign has strategically focused on increasing the number of voters identified. The voter registration aspect to his campaign has been phenomenally successful and exciting to watch.

One thing the Obama campaign does not care about is signs, bumper stickers or loot in any way. Here is a silly blog post on the Obama campaign's disdain for swag.

As some may know, I love signs, I love signs so friggin much that I have 89 in my trunk (and 99 wire thingys). Do you want a tri sign? Let me know, if you are close I may just drop it by your house. The signs have Obama, Warner and Perriello on them. I love it because I dont have to have three signs in my yard.

Still I am not having luck w/ tri-bumper sticker, my car is officially a Charlottesville car w/ the gazillion stickers. Actually I decided to take two of them off to emphasize my Obama/Perriello love. Creigh's bumper sticker can go up after November 4th and Mark Warner will go up again if for some reason he goes down in the polls.

Single Obama signs are hard to come by in the ville. The grassroots campaign office has ordered them intermittently and sold them to pay for their expenses, which many did out of pocket for months. The campaign says feel free to buy them but we are not giving them out because we are trying to buy air time, commercials and pay for the many field offices registering voters (three in our area alone). Understandable, at least I know that is their stance, but I love to win sign wars AND elections!
I appreciate this austerity.

Do signs matter?

Lets try to write

Social media is making me tired. I claim to know VERY little, yet I am on twitter, flickr, facebook, linkedin and myspace (but those last two I dont check very much). So blogging requires thought compared to all of those mediums.
But it is September and a lot is happening so there must be something to write about that will not enrage me (bailout, election, ...).

I am really enjoying my job, my favorite aspect is the research even if sometimes I procrastinate. I worked years at legal aid (not in Charlottesville) and research is not a valued tool. So my bosses are working hard to break me of the quick fix/answer born of years of legal aid work. Plus I have been pleasantly surprised by the wonderful lawyers I have encountered who have so willingly helped me. Its a remarkable community of lawyers in Charlottesville, and LARGE.

The City needs good candidates for the Citizen Advisory Panel for the Charlottesville Police Department. Being the doer that I am, I absolutely want to apply however I am managing a lot right now and the thought of starting something that is brand new is daunting. I want the CAP to be strong and valid, but also advocate for the police department to the community through outreach and other grassroots avenues. Please apply if you want to make a positive contribution to the community.

Tour organizers cool to Armstrong return

Obviously, I am giddy over Lance's return to cycling. I despise the organizers of the Tour de France, I blame them for the prevalence of doping in cycling, the organizers are the biggest hypocrites in any sport (and coming off the Beijing Olympics that is saying a lot).

The organizers are quick to point out the suspicions (none confirmed) that dogged Lance during his 7 Tour Victories. I have no idea whether he doped, I dont really care at this point. People have admitted doping in their wins at the Tour, but those people remain integral members of the Tour, while some never were punished (Riis). I am sick of the organizers ruining cycling w/ its weird brand of retribution and history of hazy enforcement. If everyone is playing by the same rules, everyone should be allowed in.

Perception v. Reality and the Media

I love The Fix, a column in the WaPo online. He is also on twitter and I loved following his Convention tweets during speeches.

The Fix's column today demonstrates what Obama/Biden are up against:
As McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said in an interview with Post editors last week: "This election is not about issues. This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates."

Like Bush before him, McCain doesnt seem to care about the issues or the truth, he cares about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates. See I am actually worried about the issues confronting our country and ...health care, diplomacy, judicial selection, bipartisanship...bridging our differences.

McCain has in the past garnered my respect for promoting issues cross party lines(even if I disagreed with him). Since the convention, McCain has lost control of his candidacy, his handlers are making the decisions, not him. This is how GW Bush let the country be run and now we have a national debt that can cripple the security our families are trying to provide for our children. Someone who can so quickly be overrun by partisanship to get elected is not an ethical candidate, not someone who can be trusted with the title of President of the United States.

What is going on with the media? Why would they let themselves be led around by the nose by the Karl Roves of the McCain campaign? The campaign is not telling the truth, this willful ignorance is what got us into the Iraq War, hasnt the media learned its lesson? Just because they say its true- doesnt mean it is true.

Finally, the Obama-Biden campaign has had nothing to do w/ Palin rumors. It's despicable how the Republican/Righty bloggers/ and some members of the media associate these rumors with the campaign- if they repeat it enough people will think it is true. The Republicans have been lying for 8 years, the McCain campaign already states this is not about issues but framing the opposing candidate in a negative way- they will stop at nothing- including intentionally misleading the media and Americans to vote for McCain. The media doesnt have to buy into the BS, just like the American people do not.
VOTE OBAMA! Together we can bring meaningful change to Washington.