News for today's 2018

Richmond Times-Dispatch's non-endorsement for Virginia governor 2013 - UPDATED

3:00 PM Tukiyooo 0

<blockquote>"This marks, we believe, the first time in modern Virginia that The Times-Dispatch has not endorsed a gubernatorial nominee." -- Richmond Times-Dispatch (October 20, 2013)</blockquote>In an editorial that laid it on the line, the <a href="http://www.timesdispatch.com/opinion/our-opinion/our-choice-for-governor-in-none-of-the-above/article_6a2c5e41-20f3-561a-a25d-52eedf4741f3.html">Richmond Times-Dispatch</a> refused to endorse Democrat, Republican, or Libertarian for Virginia's 2013 gubernatorial race. That news ricocheted around the internet as citizens woke on a Sunday morning, met with raised eyebrows and mild surprise from some while others nodded in solemn agreement. This has, indeed, been an odd election year in Virginia. The Times-Dispatch notes many of the issues in question and the final results are the same: they are not comfortable endorsing. Indeed, they note: <blockquote>In the past, The Times-Dispatch has endorsed candidates with varying degrees of enthusiasm. We find it impossible to endorse any of the 2013 candidates with even minimal zeal. Elections make voters complicit in the government they receive. If we would not urge a family member to vote this way or that, then we have no business recommending Cuccinelli, McAuliffe or Sarvis to our readers.</blockquote>Interestingly, the <a href="http://m.dailyprogress.com/opinion/editorials/bill-bolling-for-governor/article_38a77d40-3930-11e3-91a7-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=jqm#.UmPLvqcRC4E.twitter">Charlottesville Daily Progress</a>, finding itself in the same boat, endorsed Lieutenant Governor <a href="http://www.billbolling.com/">Bill Bolling</a> as a write-in candidate, noting, "Do the write thing. Put Bill Bolling’s name on your ballot on Nov. 5. Virginia needs him." UPDATE October 28, 2013: Another newspaper refused to endorse in the 2013 gubernatorial election. On Sunday, the <a href="http://www.newsadvance.com/opinion/editorials/article_b051cb8e-3dbd-11e3-bb5b-0019bb30f31a.html">Lynchburg News & Advance</a> wrote, "Put simply, not one of the three candidates for governor of Virginia deserves the office or has made a strong case that he is the best candidate. Not one of them, neither Democrat Terry McAuliffe, Republican Ken Cuccinelli nor Libertarian Robert Sarvis." And more. UPDATE October 31, 2013: A third major Virginia newspaper has refused to endorse in the 2013 gubernatorial election. Is this unprecedented? The Roanoke Times editorial on Thursday noted, "... an endorsement carries with it the credibility of this institution. When a candidate who receives our support visits ridicule or even shame on the commonwealth, we share in that disgrace." Then in a stunning reminder of the <a href="http://m.dailyprogress.com/opinion/editorials/bill-bolling-for-governor/article_38a77d40-3930-11e3-91a7-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=jqm#.UmPLvqcRC4E.twitter">Charlottesville Daily Progress</a>' endorsement of Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling as a write-in candidate, the Roanoke Times added, "Those who cannot in good conscience vote for the official candidates should consider writing in Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling." With five days left until election day, 2013 continues to be one of the oddest in my memory....

Richmond Times-Dispatch's non-endorsement for Virginia governor 2013 - UPDATED

"This marks, we believe, the first time in modern Virginia that The Times-Dispatch has not endorsed a gubernatorial nominee." -- Richmond Times-Dispatch (October 20, 2013)In an editorial that laid it on the line, the Richmond Times-Dispatch refused t…

Va Dems circle wagons ... Va Republicans join in circular firing squad

1:05 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzu6mx_OP-aLZIZi7Ucyom47Zw-LDmp_2YgIElcYCyPc7Si7jGyYwuPbY7epVwA-z9Tck9k2KUuUMK8rKhVVm-qDU8QqbblpuxnMQ5A1Do1fszC1tXWH4sf5Hcd_GEmnWM5fXj2bOqxOT/s1600/2009+McD,+Bolling,+Cooch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzu6mx_OP-aLZIZi7Ucyom47Zw-LDmp_2YgIElcYCyPc7Si7jGyYwuPbY7epVwA-z9Tck9k2KUuUMK8rKhVVm-qDU8QqbblpuxnMQ5A1Do1fszC1tXWH4sf5Hcd_GEmnWM5fXj2bOqxOT/s400/2009+McD,+Bolling,+Cooch.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> Attacking Republicans seems to be the sport of the day, not only by Democrats, but also within the Republican Party. Recently, Marco Rubio and Chris Christie were attacked by the right wing of the GOP for not being conservative enough on their policies about immigration and other issues. Now add Bob McDonnell to that list. Conservative bloggers like <a href="http://bearingdrift.com/2013/07/10/on-conservativsm-vs-access/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bearingdrift+%28Bearing+Drift%29" target="_blank">Willie Deutsch at Bearing Drift</a> have joined with Democratic bloggers in the mindless act of becoming participants in attacking the Virginia Republican Governor. What should be more disconcerting is the effect this circular firing squad will have on GOP gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli who has also been <a href="http://www.c-ville.com/cuccinelli-mcdonnell-and-the-star-scientific-scandal-that-just-keeps-growing/#.Ud68GW2kNRw" target="_blank">caught up in the controversy with his own issue of unreported gifts</a> from Star Scientific and Jonnie Williams. When the far right is done with Bob McDonnell, will they then turn their guns on Cuccinelli? In the words of Richmond Times-Dispatch political writer <a href="http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/jeff-schapiro/schapiro-even-mcdonnell-s-friends-bracing-for-the-worst/article_245b13e4-371b-54cc-ab69-08165cdc980b.html">Jeff Schapiro</a>, "... all Democrats have to do is watch a great Republican tradition: cannibalism." The hemorrhaging needs to stop. Interestingly enough, in the shadows away from this controversy stands Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling. The far right had its fair share of attacking him earlier this year by calling him a RINO and questioning his conservative credentials. In hindsight, perhaps Bolling did the wisest thing by stepping aside in this toxic environment. Meanwhile, as Jim Hoeft  <a href="http://vapolitics.us/2013/07/bollings-office-says-business-as-usual/" target="_blank">reported,</a> it's business as usual in the LG's office as he goes about the job of working for the people of Virginia. The LG is also on the minds of the editorial board at Charlottesville's <a href="http://www.dailyprogress.com/opinion/editorials/bolling-in-shadows-as-mcdonnell-s-star-plunges/article_8311a3ea-e9c3-11e2-833f-0019bb30f31a.html" target="_blank">Daily Progress</a>, wondering what if concerning Bolling's aborted campaign for Governor. Noting the issues surrounding the Governor, the <a href="http://www.dailyprogress.com/opinion/editorials/bolling-in-shadows-as-mcdonnell-s-star-plunges/article_8311a3ea-e9c3-11e2-833f-0019bb30f31a.html" target="_blank">Daily Progress</a> wrote: <blockquote>“Much of this has occurred on center stage during a summer that was supposed to have belonged to Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a better man who stands in the shadows, cast there by a party that failed him and failed Virginia. Undercut by state GOP leaders whose political IQ’s can only be measured in minuses, Bolling was thrown to the side by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a man with more baggage than Samsonite. Rather than hold a primary to allow voters to select the next Republican candidate for governor, party string-pullers conducted the rough equivalent of a meeting in a smoke-filled room, holding a convention to hand Cuccinelli the nomination. Bolling could have taken his shot in 2009 — surely, he wishes now that he had — but he agreed to stand aside to unify the party, paving the path to McDonnell’s sweeping victory. The idea was that Bolling would wait his turn until 2013. Then along came Cuccinelli. One wonders how strongly the capital’s most powerful Republican stood for the friend who helped him win election. There are apparent prices to be paid for McDonnell’s friendship. Williams is Exhibit A, evidently. That has stirred rumblings about McDonnell’s possible early departure from Richmond. A conservative blogger claimed over the weekend that two sources told him the governor was preparing to resign in a plea deal to avoid ethics charges. McDonnell’s staff quickly denied the rumor. It’s a sign of how deep the governor is in his own mess. Were he to be forced out, moving Bolling into the mansion, Virginia would be served in the interim by a leader superior to the alternatives being offered up for the fall. Perhaps Bolling might gain fuel enough for a write-in run. That might be a dream, but it is far pleasanter than the nightmare now being lived out in the state’s highest office.</blockquote>What the far right's circular firing squad is doing is driving people like Laura Lennox of Richmond to<a href="http://www.timesdispatch.com/opinion/your-opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article_2d1648dc-9440-5bf3-968b-678c444fd32a.html" target="_blank"> consider a write-in vote for Bill Bolling</a> while others have <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Write-in-Bill-Bolling-for-Virginia-Governor-2013/599114856787021?hc_location=timeline" target="_blank">taken to Facebook.</a> The loser in all this is the Republican Party, both statewide and nationally. Maybe we all need to reconsider the 11th commandment often quoted by Ronald Reagan: Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.

Va Dems circle wagons ... Va Republicans join in circular firing squad

Bill Bolling Bob McDonnell Chris Christie Daily Progress facebook Jim Hoeft Lynn R. Mitchell Marco Rubio Virginia Politics On Demand write-in campaign Va Dems circle wagons ... Va Republicans join in circular firing squad

Attacking Republicans seems to be the sport of the day, not only by Democrats, but also within the Republican Party. Recently, Marco Rubio and Chris Christie were attacked by the right wing of the GOP for not being conservative enough on their polici…

Charlottesville ABC agents should be reminded of the Alicia Showalter Reynolds tragedy

8:04 PM Tukiyooo 0

I had no intention of writing about the Charlottesville ABC agents who apprehended a UVa student in the false belief she was underage with beer. Her "beer" turned out to be sparkling water but a series of events led to her arrest and she was thrown in the slammer overnight. ABC agents thought their lives were in danger, and the young lady thought her life was in danger, and it ended up in a big mess. The actual incident occurred in April but came to light at the end of June when the Daily Progress reported on it after charges were finally dropped against Elizabeth Daly. Reporter K. Burnell Evans wrote "<a href="http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/bottled-water-purchase-leads-to-night-in-jail-for-uva/article_b5ab5f62-df9b-11e2-81c4-0019bb30f31a.html">Bottled-water purchase leads to night in jail for UVa student</a>:" <blockquote>When a half-dozen men and a woman in street clothes closed in on University of Virginia student Elizabeth Daly, 20, she and two roommates panicked. That led to Daly spending a night and an afternoon in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. Her initial offense? Walking to her car with bottled water, cookie dough and ice cream just purchased from the Harris Teeter in the Barracks Road Shopping Center for a sorority benefit fundraiser. A group of state Alcoholic Beverage Control agents clad in plainclothes approached her, suspecting the blue carton of LaCroix sparkling water to be a 12-pack of beer. Police say one of the agents jumped on the hood of her car. She says one drew a gun. Unsure of who they were, Daly tried to flee the darkened parking lot. "They were showing unidentifiable badges after they approached us, but we became frightened, as they were not in anything close to a uniform," she recalled Thursday in a written account of the April 11 incident.</blockquote>And then there's this: <blockquote>Prosecutors say she apologized profusely when she realized who the agents were. But that wasn't good enough for ABC agents, who charged her with three felonies.</blockquote>She was charged with two counts of assaulting a police officer and one count of eluding police. What stands out to me is that half a dozen agents closed in, at night, on several young college students. The agents were in street clothes, unrecognizable as law enforcement, and apparently their quick flashing of badges was not enough to be seen or confirmed. It was dark, the agents banged on the windows and jumped on the hood of the vehicle. The girls fled, terrified they were being assaulted. Stopped a short distance away by another police officer, Ms. Daly was told the car-jumping, window-banging shadows in the night were actually agents, and she apologized profusely. They slapped the cuffs on her and hauled her to jail. <a href="http://www.readthehook.com/109831/terror-harris-teeter-gun-wielding-abc-agents-arrest-underage-water-buyer">Local</a> and national news outlets have picked up on it. As I read yet another account of the incident, I thought about Alicia Showalter Reynolds who was abducted and murdered 17 years ago on Rt. 29 north of Charlottesville, reportedly by a man who had a flashing police light on the roof of his truck and pulled her over. She went missing for two months until her body was found in Culpeper. The murder was never solved ... the case is still open. That incident was an alarming event for women in the area. Still unsolved, Virginia State Police issued a statement in March of this year: <blockquote>CULPEPER – Apprehending the person responsible for the disappearance and death of Alicia Showalter Reynolds remains a priority for the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Culpeper Field Office. March 2, 2013, marks 17 years since Ms. Reynolds was abducted in Culpeper County on Route 29 while traveling from Baltimore, Md., to Charlottesville. Since then the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Culpeper Field Office has received more than 10,040 tips relating to the ongoing case, with 27 of them coming in within the past 12 months. State police continue to ask the public to come forward with any information related to the investigation. According to witnesses who observed Ms. Reynolds’ vehicle parked on the southbound shoulder of Route 29 on March 2, 1996, a white male, approximately 35-45 years old with a medium build and light to medium brown hair was stopped out with her vehicle. The man, described as between 5’10’ to 6’0 tall, was driving a dark colored pickup truck, possibly a green Nissan. Ms. Reynolds’ remains were found two months later on May 7, 1996, in the Lignum area of Culpeper County. As news spread about Ms. Reynolds’ abduction, several other female subjects came forward advising that a white male had either stopped them or attempted to stop them while they were traveling along Route 29 in Culpeper County. Despite the passage of time, state police continue to pursue this case. “Within the past year, the investigation into Ms. Reynolds’ murder was the focus of review by State Police violent crimes investigators from around the state,” said Capt. Gary T. Settle, commander of the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation Culpeper Field Office. “These investigators poured over the entire case file, leads, witness statements, interviews, suspect profiles, evidence, etc., to strategize and pursue any new evidential or technological avenues that could benefit and, ultimately, advance the progress of this ongoing investigation.” Anyone with information pertaining to the abduction and murder of Alicia Showalter Reynolds is asked to contact the Virginia State Police Culpeper Division toll-free at 1-800-572-2260, or the Bureau of Criminal Investigation toll-free at 1-888-300-0156 or by e-mail at bci-culpeper@vsp.virginia.gov.</blockquote>At the time, police advised women who were apprehended by a "police" vehicle to find a safe area before stopping, and were assured real officers would know they were not fleeing. With that in mind, perhaps ABC officers, especially those working in college towns, should be reminded of the <a href="http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Alicia_Showalter_Reynolds">Alicia Reynolds tragedy</a>. UPDATE: A number of newspaper editorials have questioned the validity and wisdom of ABC agents' actions during this incident including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, posting the editorial, <a href="http://www.timesdispatch.com/opinion/our-opinion/today-s-top-opinion-drunk-on-power/article_6d59ca44-59bb-5bb2-88b6-78f17b3ffade.html">Drunk on power?</a>