Hope all of you had a better week than I did.

Others have written more elegantly than I on this subject, including this editorial in today’s paper. I have to agree with this article, though: IRS Code section 501(c)4 has been abused and the IRS should be looking at all who are attempting to become tax-exempt under that provision.

Better yet: how about Congress changing the law and making it clear that political entities are not “social welfare” organizations? That would go a long way towards putting a stop to this.

I plan to attend, if for no other reason than to hear what my fellow residents have to say.

UPDATE: See comment from reader Peggy Scott below. Due to prior scheduling, public hearing attendees are asked to come into the doors by the auditorium.

According to VPAP, there are 124,202 registered voters in the 14th. Using the results from 2012, I’d venture to say that roughly 60% – or about 74,500 voters – are Republican. Only a total of 2,052 votes were cast, considered to be a high number, actually.

2.75% of Republicans (and 1.65% of all voters) in the 14th made the choice for everyone else. Yes, decisions are made by those who show up.

June 11 is the statewide primary. The three top of the ticket races for Democrats will be on that ballot. Downballot races in Hampton Roads are Virginia Beach’s Republican nominee for the 85th House of Delegates, Portsmouth’s Democratic nominee for Sheriff, and two in Norfolk, both Democratic nominating contests: the Commissioner of the Revenue and the 90th House of Delegates.

State run primaries, unlike party conventions and caucuses (assembled or unassembled), are open to all voters, regardless of party affiliation. Of the four contests mentioned above, only one – the 85th – currently has a challenger for the fall.

Unless you are willing to step up and run yourself – and you have until 7pm on June 11 to file – the choices will be made on June 11. Now is the time to get involved.

Otherwise, don’t be upset with the choices on your November ballot.

So far, no Democratic candidate has emerged to take on the winner, although some have it under consideration. No wonder – this is a district in which Romney beat Obama by 21 points and Allen beat Kaine by 18.

At the onset, I would have said that Cosgrove was an odds-on favorite – and that might still be the case tonight. But from all that I’ve heard – I don’t live in the district – Stearns has run an ambitious campaign.

If you live in the 14th, check out the candidates as well as the polling locations, which will be open from 5pm to 8pm tonight. All of that information can be found in this article’s sidebar.

I’m not completely sold on the need for the additional two cents, although I recognize that the current budget does little for the neighborhoods. I’ll be at the public hearing on this next Monday (6pm, Granby HS) to hear what my fellow Norfolk residents have to say on the matter.

I have to admit: I buy almost nothing online. My reason is simple: if I’m not happy with a product, I want to be able to return it easily. While I use the Internet to help me narrow my choices, it is in the local stores that I generally end up doing my purchasing. My latest purchase – an iPad Mini – is a perfect example. I did all my research online and then went to a local store to buy it.

Some things, though, have virtually disappeared from the local stores, as the stores themselves have disappeared. I used to buy electronics gear – hard drives, cables, etc. – at various local stores. Nearly all of them have closed – Circuit City and CompUSA, to name two. Right now, I need a replacement car charger for my GPS unit. I’m forced to buy it online – and take my chances – because it simply isn’t available anywhere locally. Truth is that if I had a local outlet, the charger would have been replaced by now. As it is, I’ve got to find the time to track down the part, order it, wait for the delivery, and hope it’s the right one.

For the items that I do buy online – computers, printers, cameras – I find that I end up dealing with the manufacturer. And every one of them collects sales tax.

Internet sales weren’t designed to be tax-free. Consumers were supposed to pay the sales tax – generally called a use tax – on the purchases. But few do. So this Marketplace Fairness Act is about the only alternative.

My column appears in The Virginian-Pilot every week, usually on Thursdays. You can see the columns as they are published here, or navigate to them from the PilotOnline.com homepage by clicking on Opinion and then choosing my name at the bottom of the dropdown list. You can also see the columns by liking my Facebook page. Although my column appears weekly, I am not and have never been an employee of The Virginian-Pilot.

The school division is facing a nearly $400,000 shortfall in the budget for the coming year due to increased requirements and costs and flat county and state funding.

This is the facility that Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli bragged about not too long ago at a Chamber of Commerce lunch in Farmville. Instead of being part of the solution, these privately owned centers have been part of the problem for some time. Abuses documented in Texas and other states by private prison companies have been reported on, but have not gotten traction with a wide group of people.

As I said in an earlier story, it seems tawdry for the Attorney General to stand before a group of rural business leaders, to talk about how he intervened with his good friend, the head of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in order to get an approval for this facility.

Is the Attorney General for rent to a variety of businesses to offer his influence in exchange for fealty?

As we already know, the Attorney General has a fondness for the stock of a company whose lawsuit was in front of his office. Until recently, he owned stock in Star Scientific, a Keysville, VA company that was in the tobacco business. They recently sold their Bailey’s cigarette brand.

Did our Attorney General tout the company at some point? Did he do the same for Star as he did for ICA? Will we know? Or will we have a Governor that has untold stories about undue influence? How does Governor Bob McDonnell’s problems with Star Scientific fit with this story?

The real question is, who will raise these questions in the public square and in an investigation? It is not a stretch to think that something is not being talked about when things don’t fit together. Our media generally has seemed to abdicate it’s responsibility to ask these questions. Not, all however.

If Ken Cuccinelli uses his ability to exert influence as a standard stump speech segment, or as an answer to a question, he should resign as Attorney General.

It was what came afterwards that was a surprise. Mayor Paul Fraim closed the public meeting to “take up another matter.” Saying that he heard the concerns of the citizens, the mayor proposed an additional 2-cent increase in the real estate rate, with one cent for the schools and the other for neighborhoods.

Had the mayor said they were going to look into the budget to try to find additional money for this and if, upon finding none, we should consider an additional rate increase, I probably would have been satisfied. But he didn’t. To his credit, Andy Protogyrou did. He recommended they try to come up with some of the money there first.

But Fraim was anxious to get the public hearing scheduled. And it sounded to me that he was trying to pull the same trick used in Virginia Beach: schedule the public hearing just hours before the vote on the budget. Fortunately, Theresa Whibley helped to nix that idea.

So Norfolk will have a public hearing on whether the rate should go up. That hearing will be held Monday, May 13, at 6pm at Granby High School.

It’s for the children, you know.

Either council is unaware – or doesn’t care – that the optics of putting $89 million into the hotel-conference center are really, really bad. Spending such sums and then asking every other area to do more with less is hard to swallow.

And it certainly doesn’t help to have council on a well-lit stage, looking down on the speakers before them, while saying nothing. Most of the folks on the stage looked bored, as if hearing from the people was a chore. They’ve always done this, of course. But just because it’s always been done that way doesn’t mean that is the way it should be done.

I expect more fireworks this Wednesday, as council hears from the people on the proposed increase in real estate taxes. That complaint session public hearing is set for 6pm at Granby High School.

My column appears in The Virginian-Pilot every week, usually on Thursdays. You can see the columns as they are published here, or navigate to them from the PilotOnline.com homepage by clicking on Opinion and then choosing my name at the bottom of the dropdown list. You can also see the columns by liking my Facebook page. Although my column appears weekly, I am not and have never been an employee of The Virginian-Pilot.

A retired judge from the 14th Circuit Court has been appointed after the judge from the 10th Circuit Court recused himself and the rest of the judges on the panel, presumably due to the fact that Cumberland County is in their circuit.

Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Cynthia D. Kinser appointed The Honorable Daniel T. Balfour, of the 14th Circuit Court to hear the case. Tenth Circuit Chief Judge The Honorable Leslie M. Osborne submitted an order of judicial disqualification.

Virginia Code states that if Wheeler prevails in court, Cumberland County may be required to pay court costs or attorney fees, or both.

Some information for this story came from newspaper reports.

During remarks to the Farmville Chamber of Commerce recently, candidate for Governor Ken Cuccinelli claimed to have some influence in “cutting red tape” for the immigrant detention center/prison built in Farmville a few years ago.

“He went to the head of ICE (Immigration and Customs Control) and got everything off dead center.” So says Gerald Spates, Town Manager of Farmville. Cuccinelli, for his part, claims he believes that the Farmville facility will become the east coast hub of ICE and the need for immigrant detention centers.

According to newspaper accounts, Cuccinelli intervened after talking with the attorney for the Farmville ICE project. The attorney had contacted the Attorney General for help in getting the facility off the ground.

According to Cuccinelli’s remarks, he intervened with the Director of ICE.

Is this the normal provenance of the Attorney General? Evidently he got the ICE agency to ignore health concerns in the facility. This was not an idle concern. An inmate at Piedmont Jail who was an immigrant was reportedly beaten to death in that instance. Nothing that I know of was ever released about his death several years ago, in immigrant detention at the jail

The Attorney General has many duties. I wasn’t aware that included representing private business owners to the Federal Government.

Another reason why Cuccinelli can’t be trusted as Governor of Virginia. He is dangerous, and evidently thinks nothing of awarding preferential treatment to one business while many others could possibly use some help. I wonder if he’ll intervene with the USDA to make sure cattle producers are allowed to pollute the rivers and streams some more.

And that’s exactly what we got when presumptive Republican nominee Ken Cuccinelli made eight years of his tax returns available for inspection to reporters. Some news headlines declared that Cuccinelli had “released” his returns. Um, no. Releasing them would mean that the returns were available – not just for inspection but for copying, and not just to a select group of people but to all. You know, like Mitt Romney did last year. No offense to the reporters who were allowed to inspect them but it was professionals who were able to point out things like this after reviewing the documents. Was there a CPA, tax attorney or other tax professional in the room? If so, I’ve not seen a report from them.

No, this inspection was just a stunt – and a pretty successful one. It forced Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe to do something, even if that “something” was just as – if not more so – inadequate than Cuccinelli had done. Monday, McAuliffe shared “summaries” of three years of tax data with reporters, a move that will silence no one clamoring for the full monty. Whomever advised McAuliffe to do this made a poor decision. Either follow the same stupid format – make the returns available for inspection to reporters – or do nothing.  Going halfway just doesn’t make sense to me.

Virginia gubernatorial candidates have not, traditionally, released their tax returns. That hasn’t changed with these inspections. When the returns are truly released, I, a professional with more than 30 years of experience, will be happy to review them and offer my thoughts on what they contain.

In the meantime, the public knows nothing more about these two than we did before: McAuliffe is rich, Cuccinelli is not.

I was particularly irked by the city manager’s presentation and his emphasis on council’s budget priorities. There was no mention of the input of the citizens into those priorities, despite the claim to the contrary on the city’s website. Besides that, the list of priorities was, according to the presentation, developed in 2011. What, exactly, was the purpose of the series of community meetings, then? Are they working on a new list or something?

If not, then why not teach the citizens how to read the budget?  Let’s just look at one item, to give you an idea of how difficult it can be to figure out this stuff.

On page 121, the city manager’s office shows contractual services increasing from $40,931 (FY2013 approved) to $284,098 (FY2014 proposed). The overall increase in the budget for the city manager’s office is $304,438, the bulk of which is related to reorganizations: a reduction of $110,904 for the movement of environmental protection programs to Public Works and an increase of $354,208 due to putting the Division of Intergovernmental Relations under the CM’s office. I can only assume that a lot of that division utilizes a lot of contractual services, but I don’t know for sure, since all I have is the total being transferred, not a breakdown of what is included in that total. And I have no idea what the budget for that division was last year, as it was lumped into the Communications and Public Information section (see here starting on page 126).

Wait – I found it on page 502, where it was approved for $341,289. So the budget for Intergovernmental Relations is increasing about $13,000. But I don’t know why.

And I certainly don’t know what is included in “contractual services.” Is that the money we pay to our lobbyists?

The thing is that we should have enough time to review this thing and have our questions answered. That’s not happening – again.

My column appears in The Virginian-Pilot every week, usually on Thursdays. You can see the columns as they are published here, or navigate to them from the PilotOnline.com homepage by clicking on Opinion and then choosing my name at the bottom of the dropdown list. You can also see the columns by liking my Facebook page. Although my column appears weekly, I am not and have never been an employee of The Virginian-Pilot.

Image via ABC News – from Local 103 IBEW

What a horrible week!

There are no words to express what the people of the Boston area have experienced this week. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

Both United Healthcare and Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association appeared before Congress recently to talk about a law that UHC says stifles competition and results in higher costs for health care consumers. A 1959 law meant to boost non-profit systems is at issue, and BCBSA is in favor of keeping the law unchanged.

UHC, and also Aetna and Humana companies (who were not at the hearing) favor modifying the law so their companies can compete in areas that are now primarily served by BCBSA. Blue Cross/Blue Shield currently serves approximately 65% of the current and retired federal employees and their families nationwide.

Blue Cross/Blue Shield, for their part, claim there is enough competition, with 230 plans currently enrolled. Also part of BCBSA’s concern is for their wide reaching nationwide plans. They claim their ability to serve nationally would be hurt by modifying the law.

Of course, with Congress, you get this:

Tom Choate, chief growth officer for UnitedHealthcare, said the Blues’ “monopoly” of the program is stifling competition and innovation of insurance products.

“Much has changed since 1959. We’ve moved from typewriters to laptops; from rotary dial phones to smart phones; from 45s to iTunes,” Choate said at the hearing. “It’s time to update that 1959 law, so federal employees and the federal government can also benefit from innovation and competition in the health care marketplace.”

Republicans on the subcommittee said they wanted to increase competition but did not trust the Obama administration to ensure that the new plans won’t serve only low cost regions of the country.

“It is our duty to see how we can continue to save taxpayers’ hard earned dollars and provide the best coverage for our federal workforce,” said Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, chair of the House subcommittee.

The Obama Administration is on record as encouraging competition as a matter of keeping costs down. I support this position, because no one company should control nearly two-thirds of the subscribers in this program.

Council will hold a public hearing on the budget on April 24. Separately, council will hold a public hearing on the proposed real estate tax increase on May 1. Both hearings will be held at Granby High School starting at 6pm.

(iPad friendly version of the video is here.)

Today is the deadline for filing your 2012 federal income tax returns (unless you get an extension). The IRS website has these Free File options for the do-it-yourself folks out there.

The Virginia return is not due until May 1st. If you live in another state, check their websites for the due dates.

I finished my own return Saturday – first time in over 25 years that I haven’t had to file an extension, now that I no longer prepare returns for a living. As I’ve done this tax season, I’ll be doing volunteer tax prep today with the South Hampton Roads Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition, which is a partner in the IRS VITA program.

Sometimes, I think the live stream gives a better sense of things than actually being in the room. The images being broadcast were quite stark: those seating on the right, facing council, were mostly well-dressed businessmen, while those seated on the left were more casually dressed. When a speaker asked who supported moving ahead with the hotel-conference center project now were asked to stand, it was those on the right, for the most part, who did so. The optics of this – like so many things – was well-orchestrated, as were the comments offered.

Reviewing later the portion of the hearing that I missed, I was struck by council member Theresa Whibley’s remarks at the beginning of the hearing: she asked about a presentation from the city manager. Here was an opportunity to engage and inform the public on the particulars of the deal, but council punted.

As I said in my op-ed, civic engagement isn’t about holding public complaint sessions. And transparency isn’t about putting up a 117-page document for public consumption on Monday and expecting everyone to be ready to offer their opinion on Tuesday. Norfolk need only look to Portsmouth to see what a lack of transparency can get you.

I was appalled at the arrogance of some members of council. Nothing raises my hackles more than to be told “I know more than you do” about issues like this. Unless there’s a really, really good reason, as a citizen and taxpayer, I have the right to know the particulars – and you have the responsibility to enlighten me, as my favorite TJ quote, which graces the front page of my blog, says. The paternalistic nature of council is more appropriate to “Father Knows Best” than it is to governing our city. It just makes me sick.

Hats off to councilman Tommy Smigiel for holding a town hall meeting Monday night and for voting against this project. And while we don’t often agree, hats off to councilwoman Whibley for voicing the concerns of the public and for her motion to delay the vote. Too bad it takes more than two votes to get civic engagement into issues affecting those of us who are paying the bills.

The figure for Virginia (pdf) is 78 cents on the dollar. That’s $0.78 earned by a woman while a man earned a dollar. For doing the same work.

The most recent data available is from 2011, so there is an outside chance the disparity has shrunk. I am not holding my breath. The idea that women in this country are devalued every workday is a ludicrous one. Here we are, solving all kinds of complex problems: the environment/energy problem, the gene-splicing problem, the violence problem. You mean to tell me that the value of a worker is less because that person happens to be a woman?

To me, this makes the least sense of any of the discrimination we see every day. No wonder women and men are pushing hard for legislation that will correct this problem. The ideology of sexism is the least defensible. As usual, in the past, the powers that be could stop women from voting, from owning property, from going to the school of their choice, and here we are arguing about allowing this to continue, in 2013.

Women have had to fight bias since the beginning of time. Let’s welcome them to the community of equals. Now.

I found this interesting:

Fraim noted that the council has been briefed in closed session on the negotiations since September. The public hearing and vote scheduled for Tuesday are not legally required because the city long ago transferred the property to the housing authority, he said.

If the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority officially owns the property, then why is all of the conversation about how much money the council is allocating to the developer? Shouldn’t this be characterized as money being given to NHRA? (Note that the public hearing info refers to this as “PUBLIC HEARING scheduled this day, public notice having been inserted in the local press by the City Clerk, to hear comments on the Master Development Agreement to be entered into with Professional Hospitality Resources, Inc., and the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority (“NRHA”), and authorizing the conveyance of the property that is the subject of the Master Development Agreement to NRHA.”)

Council approval is, however, required so the project can benefit from a 2-year-old state program. A Tourism Development Grant would allow the developer to use future sales tax revenue to repay some of the debt on the hotel.

That simply cannot be the only reason for council approval. There has to be more to this; otherwise, why the closed sessions since September? Why the short notice on the public meeting? And why haven’t the citizens been provided a copy of the 117-page agreement?

Way too many questions, far too few answers. At least Councilman Tommy Smigiel will attempt to address them at his town hall meeting tonight (7pm, Crossroads Recreational Center). But we should all get a chance to learn about and weigh in on this deal. (I’m going to try to make tonight’s meeting but can’t do tomorrow’s due to my teaching schedule.)

I found this to be one of the best discussions of what ethics is and what it isn’t. Over the years that I was in public accounting, I had a rule that I never dealt with those who weren’t ethical. I always met with a potential client before accepting them. Some called it an interview, which is probably true. I always thought it was important to deal only with ethical people. Besides, the potential client – generally referred to me by another client – had the opportunity to assess me as well. Sometimes we chose to work together, other times not.

One of the biggest surprises for me in my career shift has been the extent to which I have to devise ways to keep my students from cheating. It’s an epidemic – and I wonder what it portends for the future. Today’s ethical lapses could look like child’s play in the coming years.

And it’s not just cheating. There’s the whole lack of respect thing going on: respect for the position, even if not for the person; respect for positions, even if you disagree. It’s not just a cliche’ to say that you can disagree without being disagreeable; with a little effort, you really can. For me, it is why I can maintain relationships with those on both sides of the political aisle – and those in the middle – because while we may disagree, we can do so without becoming raving lunatics about it. (And for those who can’t do that, I don’t waste my time.) The world is not awash in red and blue, despite all of the efforts to paint it so.

One other thing I find extremely bothersome: situational ethics. Sorry, but if something is wrong, it’s wrong even if your guy does it. And intellectual honesty requires that you say so. If you would have called out the other guy, then call out your own.

Any man who talks about a woman’s looks who is not his wife or partner is making a sexist remark. I can’t find the link right now but I recall reading yesterday that the GOP in SC made a remark about Elizabeth Colbert Bush’s looks. And, of course, it’s all over the place that the president made a remark about the California AG Kamala Harris’ looks. Neither remark is appropriate and both are sexist. It doesn’t matter who said it – sexism is sexism.

The bottom line for me is that everyone needs to figure out what they think is right and what they think is wrong. And then apply it – every single day, in every single situation.

Not having ethics, it seems to me, is not an option.

My column appears in The Virginian-Pilot on Thursdays. You can see the columns as they are published here, or navigate to them from the PilotOnline.com homepage by clicking on Opinion and then choosing my name at the bottom of the dropdown list. You can also see the columns by liking my Facebook page. Although my column appears weekly, I am not and have never been an employee of The Virginian-Pilot.

Truth be told, not much has happened in the interim, except the country has elected a black president, not once but twice. For some – and certainly those challenging Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act – that signifies that racism is dead in America. I don’t think that is true. If anything, the election of President Barack Obama has heightened racism in our country – or, at least, pulled back the covers and exposed it for all to see.

Five years ago, I didn’t think it possible for Obama to win. I really thought he would suffer the same fate that November that Harold Ford, Jr. had suffered just two years earlier. Obama managed to avoid that, by being a post-racial candidate, to the chagrin of black folks who thought we were getting one of our own in office. Black folks are mostly quiet about this – disappointed, yes, but quiet. In the meantime, racism-tinged or outright racist posts and pictures still appear on Facebook and on Twitter.

For me, this increase in overt racism is a concern, and I doubt I’m alone in having a heightened sense of it. I wasn’t raised nor have I spent my adulthood thinking that every little thing is about race. The last few years, though, have me questioning that, as it seems so many things are about race.

The men and women of Dr. King’s generation – my parents among them – knew what racism looked like. It was their world. All these years later, you’d think things would have progressed further. Five years ago I wrote this:

Four days before his assassination, Dr. King gave a sermon that resonates with me to this day. Forty years ago, Dr. King advised us on Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution:

… one of the great liabilities of life is that all too many people find themselves living amid a great period of social change, and yet they fail to develop the new attitudes, the new mental responses, that the new situation demands. They end up sleeping through a revolution.

I fear that many are still sleeping.

Still.

• NY Times columnist Ross Douthat put the blame for the deterioration of traditional marriage on the increase in support for marriage equality. If you didn’t get that impression by reading the piece, then Douthat himself made it abundantly clear in this followup one (which was not in our paper).
• And Cal Thomas has declared that black = liberal, namely in the form of Dr. Ben Carson. I’m sure Virginia Black Conservatives love to know that they are being so categorized.

Is there something in the water these days?

Some of the bill amendments have gotten significant play, like this one that provides that insurers offering policies through the health care exchanges cannot cover abortions, with exceptions for life of the mother or rape/incest. Others, like the changes to the Port Authority Board of Commissioners, portend other changes the governor would like to make.

It’s going to be a very long day in Richmond.

Both articles were reprinted in today’s Virginian-Pilot.

The Cuccinelli article points out that he failed – for nearly a year – to disclose his holdings in the company.

Star Scientific has reported that it is under federal investigation, an inquiry it believes is focused on securities transactions, and the company is also being sued by an investor who alleges that it misstated the promise of its dietary supplement Anatabloc.

One of Cuccinelli’s purchases of company stock — about $10,000 worth — was made just two months after the company filed suit against the state.

There is no evidence that Cuccinelli sought to intervene personally in Star Scientific’s suit, which the company filed in July 2011 to challenge a sales and use tax assessment on tobacco-curing barns it owns in Mecklenberg, Va.

While the DPVA put out an APril Fools’ joke email today, saying that Cuccinelli had resigned, he has not. The AG’s office is, however, charged with defending the tax assessment.

Brian Gottstein, a spokesman for Cuccinelli, said his office did not retain outside counsel to handle the issue because neither the assistant attorney general handling the case nor her supervisor knew of Cuccinelli’s relationship with the company.

Lots of firms, but especially law firms and CPA firms, keep information that allows them to avoid any conflicts of interest. One of the non-profit boards on which I serve has all of items members submit a conflict of interest statement each year. That the AG’s office was not aware makes me wonder if such a list does not exist. And, if not, that is just sloppy.

All professions are bound by a code of ethics and tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to circumstances like this. The code is designed “to avoid even the appearance of impropriety,” House Minority Leader David J. Toscano said in the article.

While the DPVA put out an April Fools’ email today about Cuccinelli’s resignation, there is some truth to it: Cuccinelli should resign. He cannot serve his constituents – that would be the people of Virginia – and his donors at the same time.

As is often the case, I received several emails from those who are opposed to marriage equality, as well as from those who support it. (Negative emails always outweigh positive ones. It seems it is the nature of people, regardless of the circumstances, to complain but rarely commend. No wonder manufacturers ignore comments. But that’s fodder for another day.)

On to the emails! (And no, I did not correct them for errors.)

Government ought not encourage sterile life styles that interrupt the healthy cycle of society. Gays, and all adults deliberately remaining sterile, are damaging the health of the nation. They will be receiving and consuming the labor of others without producing a fair share of workers indispensable to our economy. As a result,
the government feels obliged to import aliens to replace the missing babies, babies missing as a result of abortion, homosexuality, and excessive birth control.

I’m guessing this is the old “gays can’t procreate” argument, but at least he had the sense to include those childless straight couples. Guess they shouldn’t be able to get married, either.

The DOD budget as well as costs by each state funding will have to be expanded by hundred of millions (maybe billions) of dollars to support new dependents of citizens of active duty and possibly retired military couples as well as immigrants who seek and find US citizens to marry people of the same sex so they can become legals overnight.

Therefore, in my view, the impact of a favorable decision for gay marriage by the Supreme Court would be catastrophic to our nation.

Will there be financial repercussions if marriage is allowed? Absolutely. No longer will the government reap the benefit of not having to pay spousal Social Security benefits, for example, and they will just get to keep the money. No longer will the government get to collect estate taxes from same-sex spouses, which is the heart of the DOMA case before the court. In other words, gays have been contributing more than a fair share to the finances of the government, with the benefits going elsewhere.

This reminds me of the question that I raised when interviewing Ken Cuccinelli about the eminent domain constitutional amendment, which, for the first time, would include future profits are a part of the compensation to land owners. The question was about how much more we Virginians would have to pay as the result of this inclusion. His response was that somebody is already paying that, namely the land owners. Virginians overwhelmingly approved the amendment. The money for that will come from all of us.

The gays are an abomination to this country.they do not have the right to marry woman to woman to woman nor man to man. In my Military time we did not accept their life style and we got rid of them when caught doing something they were not supposed to do. I will not go into that. They certainly do not rate the same as a married couple meaning man and woman. To begin with they cannot conceive. Elton John just had a child by getting a woman to conceive for him. Now I say there will be another child being raised to His life style. Recently a Senator who was against same sex marriage found out His son was gay and He has feelings for His son, and now it’s okay for same sex marriage; to where gays are to be able to marry male another, male, and women to be able to marry another woman. A Navy Captain was coming from D.C. to sign a paper stating that this couple were married but He found out the navy will not go along with it. He must be a little on the Gay side or BiSexual. I could never go along with a child of mine being gay. I would love my child but the life style would have to go. In other words find another place to live or change your life style.

So many misconceptions here. But let me address one thing: there are reasons why suicide among gay teens is so high – and this attitude is one of them.

So a majority of Americans favor gay marriage? Where did you get this false information. The highest poll numbers I have seen are 49% and this poll wa heavily to left wing balance. If your assertion is true then why have 39 states VOTED OVERWHELMINGLY to PROHIBIT this? Just because you whacko libs want it to be so does
not make it that way! May God forgive you and the others for your sins against nature! I only hope that we do not go the way of the Roman Empire after it followed the same path of falling morality we are rushing headlong toward! In closing, I implore you to stop your spin and LIES!

Lies? How about the Washington Post/ABC poll, which has support at 58%, or the CNN/ORC poll, which has support at 53%, or the CBS News poll, which also has it at 53%? Heck, even the Fox News poll, which shows 49% in favor, also shows 53% believe gays have a constitutional right to marriage!

Finally, there was this one from this morning:

I think your column in Va. Pilot above is great! Appropriate for the times and carefully thought out.

Thank you!

My column appears in The Virginian-Pilot on Thursdays. You can see the columns as they are published here, or navigate to them from the PilotOnline.com homepage by clicking on Opinion and then choosing my name at the bottom of the dropdown list. You can also see the columns by liking my Facebook page. Although my column appears weekly, I am not and have never been an employee of The Virginian-Pilot.

Yesterday, of course, was the day that the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in one of two cases that affect marriage equality. SCOTUSblog is what I used to get caught up on all that happened, as well as interpretations of what it all meant. (It’s a good resource for anything related to the court.) We shall see soon enough if the justices believe all means all.

One of the better blog posts I’ve run across about this issue is this one. It should be required reading.

These fees may be shocking to some residents and owners, but this is exactly why the existing fiber-optic lines are underused. The construction of the line from the street to the house (regular subdivision) many years ago cost in excess of $16,000. It really is immaterial, since for a lot of people, $1,000 is too much. Welcome to the “digital divide”.

Rural areas have always been underserved, due to the distances involved with a lot fewer customers in a typical rural county. The same situation exists in politics. Rural areas are nearly ignored in favor of anyplace that has a big population. Evidently, votes are worth more in Richmond and Fairfax than they are in Dublin or Madison. So are potential internet users.

NBC29:

Michael Levi, who lives in Nelson County, says he was all for purchasing the new broadband Internet until he learned about the construction fee. He says it’s a fee many people can’t afford, and he believes that defeats the entire purpose of the project.

“The whole idea of supposedly the national government’s plan to get Internet to rural neighborhoods was so everybody could have it,” Levi said.

Fooks says there is a way to cut down on the construction fee. Neighbors can split the cost of a fiber optic line, to be installed from the network backbone to their homes. Then they can each pay the individual price from where the optic line ends to their individual property lines.

Other providers can still jump on board the project but Fooks says it doesn’t matter which provider you pick – there’s no getting around the construction fee.

A video is also at the site of the story, linked above the quote above.

• Port Authority decision tomorrow. The Virginia Port Authority will decide Tuesday on who will run the port. This is big – and has huge implications for Hampton Roads as well as the entire commonwealth.
• Cuccinelli opines on transportation and Medicaid. Attorney General/gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli offered his opinion – at the request of best bud, Del. Bob Marshall, on two pieces of legislation coming out of the just-completed General Assembly session. Del. Scott Surovell was not amused: The logic used by the AG on Medicaid was dismissed as applying in a similar situation. What the governor will do with these two bills will be known shortly, as today is the deadline for him to act on legislation.
• Republican fight over primaries? I’d love to be a fly on the wall at the upcoming GOP convention. This is the latest twist in what to watch for when they gather in May. Will they change the method of nomination for all their candidates? State law currently allows incumbent office holders to choose the method of nomination and efforts to change the law have failed.
• SCOTUS marriage equality arguments Tuesday and Wednesday. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in two marriage equality cases this week. The two cases are not the same and address two separate issues related to the questions raised. This interactive gives an overview of how the court could ultimately rule. In the meantime, we have Karl Rove opining on “This Week” that the next Republican presidential candidate could support marriage equality, and Sen. Claire McCaskill coming out in favor.

I’m sure I missed some important ones. Feel free to share in the comments.

In addition, two other longtime members will be stepping down as of the reorganization convention in May. Phil Burnette, who has held a key fundraising role as perennial chair of the annual dinner that raises money for the committee’s work, will be leaving the committee in May. He is from Henry County, and was also chair of that committee for many years. Phil is the chair of the committee since Hudson stepped down.

Frank Poynter of Appomattox County is another longtime member leaving in May. Frank is a dedicated member of the committee, filling many roles in the activities of the committee. Frank is a great guy, and has worked hard in his community and on the committee.

All of this comes shortly after redistricting added 3 counties to the 5th District, making it one of the largest districts in a multi-state region. Previously, it had more land mass than the State of New Jersey. I haven’t bothered to compare what state the newly-configured district might resemble in land area.

Hudson held this committee together for years after some very rough times in which the committee was mismanaged by someone whose political loyalties were in question. The committee has prospered under Fred, and I thank him for that. I was a member of the committee for a few years, and I would serve again willingly.

There is a void to be filled on this committee, and I hope the transition is smooth, and that the committee continues to prosper and remain effective in its work.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There’s a battle outside
And it is ragin’
It’ll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’.

It’s been nearly a week since Republican Senator Rob Portman announced his support for gay marriage. Days later, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did the same in this video. Clinton had previously supported civil unions. And if that weren’t enough, The Washington Post released a poll showing support for gay marriage is at an all time high, with 58% in favor. With support at an astonishing 81% for 18-29 year-olds, George Will’s comment that “Opposition to gay marriage is literally dying” is dead on: the only age group with  a majority against it are those aged 65 and older.

I am astonished at the pace in which attitudes have shifted. As many others have mentioned, marriage on the ballot in a number of states helped George Bush to win in 2004, just over eight years ago. Virginia passed its own constitutional amendment defining marriage two years later. At the time, I thought it would be a generation or more before our nation moved towards marriage equality. And I thought I’d not live to see it.

(Of course, I’m still not confident I’ll live to see it in Virginia. After all, we were the last holdouts for interracial marriage. And despite the 2003 Lawrence v Texas decision, Virginia’s own sodomy laws remained on the books, having been struck down just last week. Kinda like the cohabitation law, whose repeal passed the legislature this year and awaits the governor’s signature.)

In the coming months, the Supreme Court will render decisions on a couple of cases that will impact marriage equality. I hope they make decisions that will be in favor.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin’
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’.

The Supervisor from Election District 5 is being asked to answer questions about a Federal tax debt that he owes. Parker Wheeler, who previously had been a member of the Zoning Commission, was urged by some citizens to resign. The lien was discovered in Prince Edward County. Wheeler has had no public comment.

Cumberland County will leave unfilled the vacant position of Director of Community and Economic Development. Budget constraints made it necessary to leave the position unfilled for an upcoming period of time. The duties of the position have been assigned to existing personnel.

Questions are being asked about a project originally funded by USDA Rural Development grants. The county could be liable to repay the USDA/RD over $800,000 in grants unless the county can show that it is a viable project. The project would convert chicken litter to gas, which would then be used for fuel. This project may be a good idea, but it is located in the wrong place and is more dangerous than originally thought. The project has had questions surrounding it, including why the then chair of the BOS owned stock in the corporation receiving the federal grants for the project. Also, the project would create only 3-5 jobs for a huge liability.

Part of the reason I’ve attended in the past is to reconnect with some of my friends on the right that I rarely see. But part of the reason is so that the stories that come out of the event are not so slanted. Yes, there are far too many Confederate flags. And yes, it’s not the most welcoming place for a Democrat. But given that this was, initially, a Democratic event, I think it’s important for us to go.

I just don’t know that it’s going to be me there this year.

The last time Norfolk was worried about its bonding capacity, it was at about $1 billion. When I looked at the 2012 financial statements (pdf), it was nearly $1.3 billion. At some point, Norfolk needs to explain how they intend to address this.

Of course, I’m not holding my breath.

My column appears in The Virginian-Pilot on Thursdays. You can see the columns as they are published here, or navigate to them from the PilotOnline.com homepage by clicking on Opinion and then choosing my name at the bottom of the dropdown list. You can also see the columns by liking my Facebook page. Although my column appears weekly, I am not and have never been an employee of The Virginian-Pilot.

Except Obenshain, the rest were people known to me (although I admit to only meeting Macrini last week, when I appeared on his show as a part of the promo for last night’s event). I did know she was the sister of AG candidate, Sen. Mark Obenshain, but that was it. Chatting with her beforehand – we never got into politics at all – I found her friendly and likeable. It wasn’t until we got onstage that I realized I was dealing with Cuccinelli in a dress

Not that it bothered me. (It was pretty ironic that Kate tweeted (as I saw later) she was in with a bunch of “libs” as I felt the exact opposite going in: that was I going to be onstage with a bunch of conservatives.) Nor did it stop me. I think some of the best exchanges of the night were between the two of us. I would have liked to have gotten in a few more comments, though. That’s always a challenge when the panel is so large.

I had a great time – and I hope the audience did, too. I see from the announcement that we were supposed to have been in the lobby afterwards to meet with them, but we were ushered directly into the reception instead. I’m sorry I didn’t get to hear from more of the attendees that didn’t make it into the reception.

Here are a few photos taken at the reception.

Steve Shannon learned it the hard way: you really have to do your homework when running for office. An article in today’s Virginian-Pilot should serve as a wakeup call to Terry McAuliffe as well as other candidates out there. Knowing what the job you’re trying to obtain entails is a requirement. And if you don’t, you’ll be punished for it.

I attended a candidates’ forum last night in which the Democratic candidates for statewide office appeared. To be brutally honest, not a single one of them gave answers that would make you think they knew the office that they were seeking. We are less than three months away from the June 11 primary and I was quite disappointed in all of them. Two of them – LG candidate Aneesh Chopra and AG candidate Justin Fairfax – have never before held elected office. I expected them to be a little light on the intricacies of how Virginia government works and the roles of the LG and AG – and they were. But for LG candidate Ralph Northam and AG candidate Mark Herring, both currently serving in the state senate, I had much higher hopes.

The questions were horrible, mostly directed at national issues over which the two offices have little control. But I expect the candidates to be able to make them relevant to those offices. Instead, what I heard was a lot of platitudes about the issues raised.

When you do that, decisions are made based on style versus substance. And style won the day, if my conversations with some attendees afterwards are any indication. Chopra and Fairfax are better speakers than their counterparts, Northam and Herring. But I’m not one of those for whom talking loud and saying nothing is a winning strategy.

I’ll never forget sitting on an interview panel for a position to be appointed by the Norfolk Circuit Court. There were eight applicants and nearly all came with stellar credentials. One, though, was a politician with no background in the office in which he sought. At least he was honest: he told us he knew nothing of the job but would learn once appointed. Needless to say, he was not appointed and, in fact, was ranked by the panel as the least qualified of the eight.

To earn my vote, a candidate has to demonstrate a grasp of position they seek. I had to do it when I ran. I spent countless hours studying and visiting offices to learn exactly what the job entailed. No, I didn’t win. But at least when those so-called “gotcha” questions came up, I had an answer.

All candidates need to channel their inner student. Quiet competence defeats loud inadequacy any day.

Just ask Steve Shannon.

Based on my discussions with key donors over the past three weeks, I was confident I could raise enough money to run a competitive campaign, but I was not confident I could raise enough money to run a winning campaign.

Honestly, I never thought Bolling would run, not because of the money, but because of the second reason he cited:

Second, running as an Independent candidate would have required me to sever my longstanding relationship with the Republican Party. [...] Maintaining their friendship and respect means more to me than the prospects of being Governor and I was unwilling to jeopardize these longstanding relationships by embarking on an Independent campaign.

At the end of the day, Bolling is a company man. I think he demonstrated that when he stepped aside for McDonnell last cycle. Despite all of the reasons he gave at the time, the only one that really made sense – and one he didn’t offer – was that the party was more important than a single individual. Bolling wants to be governor – I recall him saying it when he was first running for LG in 2005 – but not at the expense of another Republican. (The cynic in me says that four years from now, look for Bolling to be in the mix.)

And that makes his third reason a bit of a stretch. As a company man, Bolling has had a hand in contributing to the hyper-partisanship in Richmond. Not only as LG, where, since 2011 he has wielded the Republican 21st vote, but also as a Senator. He and Cuccinelli differ in style – but not necessarily in substance. Just take a look at his voting record. (Visit http://lis.virginia.gov/lis.htm and look at sessions prior to 2006.)

Nevertheless, Bolling has attempted a bit of a makeover, stretching back to the time he took office as LG. He’s tried to moderate his positions. Whether this is reflective of a change in heart or a calculated move, only Bolling knows.

While I didn’t believe he would run, I did hope he would. Not only would it have been a much more interesting race, but also I think this makes it more difficult for Terry McAuliffe to win. Will Republican voters get in line behind Ken Cuccinelli? Will Democratic voters turn out in the necessary numbers?

It’s going to be a long eight months.

An editorial in Sunday’s Virginian-Pilot raises the issue that the Norfolk Council needs to sell the convention center/hotel to us. Perhaps if they hadn’t made the decision behind closed doors in the first place no “selling” would be necessary.

Sunshine is, indeed, the best disinfectant, to paraphrase Brandeis.

I didn’t do too badly (click to enlarge). You get points not only for right answers but also for how quickly you answer. I think I got a little carried away, trying to be fast. Nevertheless, I scored above average – and above Slate’s editorial director

So have some fun – take the quiz and report your results in the comments.

This study by the Commonwealth shows many of the problems facing Danville. (These studies are available for any area or political subdivision) Companies going out of business, going elsewhere, including overseas. The unemployment problem is protracted and dangerous.

Researchers from the U.S. Census Bureau say barely more than one percent of people in Danville bring home an income of $191,500 or more. This number is based on the top five percent of household incomes from 2007-2011 and the number of homes in each county. It’s one of two metropolitan areas in the country with the least concentration of rich people.

Both are rural; Danville, Virginia, and ironically Danville, Illinois.

At the other end of the spectrum are the suburbs of New York City with nearly 18 percent of rich households, proving that more wealthy people live near high populated areas.

This is how communities die. As I have said before, we can’t afford to be excited about 43 or 152 jobs, although that would be great. We need a giant business, like the textiles used to be. One that will hire 450 people at a time. These communities need long term help, more than they are getting right now.

In a letter (pdf) to United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Gov. Bob McDonnell made clear that Medicaid expansion was not what the General Assembly enacted. From his press release:

The recently passed budget of Virginia contains language outlining a series of reforms that must be completed to the satisfaction of a new legislative commission prior to consideration of Medicaid expansion. Some media outlets and elected officials have labeled this as approving Medicaid expansion in Virginia. This is absolutely incorrect.

The language of the budget actually places a firewall against expansion consideration, unless real, sustainable cost saving reforms are implemented at the state and federal level. Members of the commission have already been appointed by the House of Delegates, and several have already expressed deep concern about expansion.

[...]

Thus, please do not include Virginia on any list of states that have acted to expand Medicaid, as that would be inaccurate.

Don’t be acting all surprised now, folks. The language, while not available to us ordinary people until after it had passed, was available to those voting on it. And if I, a layman, could piece it together, surely the lawmakers could.

As I tell my students, reading is fundamental.

Locally, I have been watching this assault on citizens’ rights for years from Hampton’s City Council.  I wrote a piece earlier this year about one of the most outspoken citizens. It was because of issues like his that the eminent domain laws were recently passed by the people of Virginia. The City Council, however, used him as an excuse to limit speaking time and to move the citizens portion to before the regular meeting. They also discussed limiting the amount of times people could speak. It seems to be a common practice in Hampton to use one person you do not like as the reason of restricting all the other 136,000 people’s rights.

To be fair to Hampton, they have had a couple hard years on topics council had to face. People have criticized things such as repetitive flooding, the building of a new courthouse, financial questions on a police sting and property bought by the city that the Mayor had a limited financial interest in. I will point out all of these topics were city issues and the citizens had a right to question what was occurring. Some of the items got very vocal, especially the land involving the Mayor. I sat in a meeting and watched citizens say horrible personal things about the mayor. The Vice Mayor was supposed to be facilitating the talk and he finally cut one person off and told her personal comments were inappropriate . The speaker looked confused and started up again where she left off and the Vice Mayor did nothing. Now the speaker was wrong. The Vice Mayor should have stopped it. However, that should not be a reason to restrict anyone else from having the right to publicly state their concerns with council.

For years I have sat and listened as they belittled speakers at council. It has become a constant theme between council and city employees that citizens really don’t have any concerns with how the city is run; they just like to see themselves on TV.  While that might have scared some people off from speaking, it never affected me. I figure if you can not argue the point of the policy I am complaining about but can only personally belittle me, then you strengthen my point that the policy is wrong.  This week, apparently belittling the public speakers wasn’t enough: The Mayor decided that the public comment section would no longer be televised. I will note there was no public discussion or any vote on this issue.

This topic was discussed earlier this year at their retreat.  Their complaints varied on items such as  a person reading poetry, someone running for a council seat speaking and people going over the time buzzer. Mayor said at the retreat, “What you can say on the street corner does necessarily apply to the court room or in chambers.” Well she is right about the court and wrong about the council. Citizens have a right to question, disagree or even criticize the government.

The City Attorney Cynthia Hudson offered the idea that some cities restrict speakers to items on the agenda.  Hampton, I am sure, would love to do this as they do not like anyone complaining about the flooding issues and, in the past,  tried to block people from speaking of the problems. With this rule no one would be allowed to discuss an item unless the City Council allowed it by placing it on the agenda. Councilman Moffett agreed with the idea of restricting speech saying that it would bring “decorum” back to council. With all due respect to Councilman Moffett, maybe the Council should lead by example by not belittling citizens who wish to speak on issues either from the bench or in their press releases.

With this latest rule the Mayor has removed access to public comments from people who are unable or unwilling to physically attend the council meetings.  The Mayor gave one of the reasons for limiting access as it would make it more “accessible to all citizens.”  I will leave it up to the reader to try to figure out that logic.

While there was no vote the Daily Press reported Council members Chris Stuart, Chris Snead and Billy Hobbs said they support the change. Councilman Stuart said his concern was one of safety.  While I know people are more upset with politicians people have throughout history have been critically and contentious at government meetings. This is nothing new and should not be used as an excuse to restrict access to the people’s criticism of their governing body.  Also I do not see how people who are not in the room, watching a broadcast, are a safety concern.

Councilwoman Sneed said to the Daily Press that “she feels speakers have personally insulted her for actions and decisions that didn’t involve her.” I would say to her when you do not oppose an action but go along with the majority, then you are voting for that action. Also, Councilwoman Sneed did not run for Miss Congeniality. She ran and won a political office, which, in turn, requires her to be accountable for the actions she takes in the name of the voters.  We are a democracy and no matter how someone votes, there will always be people who disagree or criticize. An elected official should be able to explain his/her reasoning for voting.

Many see it as just increasing petty power trips to suppress the citizens’ right to free speech. Restricting citizens from hearing other citizens’ concerns is also a form of restricting free speech.  The Daily Press article indicated that this particular decision originated from a continued disagreement between the Mayor and former Delegate Tom Gear.

In the most extreme cases some localities have looked into restricting speech to only items that were approved in advance, as Hampton’s Attorney Cynthia Hudson suggested. The problem with this type of rule is that it leaves council with the ultimate power of who is allowed and who is not allowed to speak

My hope is that someone on council will demand a vote be taken on this. Then the citizens could see who supported restricting fellow citizens’ rights to freedom of speech.

To be blunt, it is time for council to quit worrying about how to stop people from questioning or criticizing your votes.  It is time to put on your big boy/girl panties, do your job, and be able to defend how you vote.

Can you imagine where we would be today if abolitionist  Frederick Douglas or suffragist Alice Paul had to ask permission to speak against the government?  One of the best advocates of freedom of speech, George Washington, explained its importance by saying “If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”

The big news on the federal side is, of course, the sequester. It has been discussed ad naseum everyhere, and continued on the Sunday talk shows. Those in areas where defense spending isn’t prevalent think it’s not a big deal. The opposite is true for those of us who are, as Cokie Roberts pointed out yesterday. The effects are already being felt, with more to come.

A couple of other national stories of note:

• Bob Woodward – it didn’t take long for the story of his being threatened by the White House to fall apart. Perhaps my favorite article on this whole thing comes from The New Yorker. I think Woodward just wanted to be relevant again – but he sure picked a strange way of doing it.
• Dennis Rodman – His trip to North Korea landed him in the media for the first time in years. It also earned him an incoherent interview on This Week.

Besides the sequester, Virginia is talking about the recently completed General Assembly session. Most eyes are on the transportation package, the first real effort to inject money in this system in nearly 30 years. It is a strange combination of taxes and fees. One – the hybrid tax – has generated the most controversy, with Del. Scott Surovell and Sen. Adam Ebbin teaming up on an online petition to urge the governor to veto that part of the legislation. At least one hybrid owner I know won’t be signing it.

The other big piece out of the GA was the budget – and the effort to expand Medicaid. Which, as it turns out, wasn’t much of an effort at all. I’m told it’s even worse than I described it, which is a shame. My only question is this: since it was created via the budget, can it be stripped out of the budget by the next GA or governor? If so, I’d really like to see that happen and let’s just start over. My understanding is that this was originally the governor’s decision to make, anyway, not that of the legislature.

Locally – where to start? So much going on In order to keep this short, just these two:

• Portsmouth – Oh my. New councilman Danny Meeks is stirring up a hornet’s nest over there. The saga of the appointment of a new city manager and city attorney has generated a bunch of actions and reactions, with charges of racism flying back and forth. Plus we have the paternity thing going on with married councilman Bill Moody and his girlfriend. (Good summary here.)
• Norfolk – The first salvo in the Democratic primary for Commissioner of the Revenue was fired Sunday with this ad by challenger Evans Poston.  I hope the voters get a chance to see the candidates debate.

Lots more out there. I’ve got a busy week ahead but I hope to find a few free minutes to post some of them.

We now have both – the conference report (pdf) and the amendments. As they were discussing the amendments, most of the effort focused on item 307#20c, which discusses the nature of Medicaid reforms. What I missed was the reference to the establishment of the Medicaid Innovation and Reform Commission. I found this in searching the pdf (although I could have searched the title using the keyword search)  – it is 4-14.00#4c.

Pursuant to that section, the five members appointed by House Appropriations Chair Lacey Putney were announced yesterday. The list – and the requirement that three of its members agree with three of the members appointed by Senate Finance chairman Walter Stosch in order for the expansion to take place – give me serious pause.

Which of the five House members support expansion? Well, it seems that would be a minority of them, if any. O’Bannon and Massie are quoted in the press release. I heard Joannou on the floor, expressing his opposition. Three opposed is enough to make this a no-go.

And that’s what Del. Habeeb was referring to in his post here.

The federal government has given tentative support to Medicaid reform, which was not enough to get a bill on Medicaid expansion through the legislature. Thus, as is often the case, we have legislation by budget.

Medicaid expansion is being considered in a number of states, with Florida the most recent. I understand the reluctance of our legislators to believe that the federal government will not hold up its end on coverage; after all, they have done the same to the localities over the years. But to argue against expansion when all it takes is turning off the coverage if the federal payments stop – especially if we are already gaming the Medicaid system as outlined in this article – is just ludicrous on its face.

Gov. McDonnell rails against Medicaid expansion because of what it would do to the federal deficit. It would be nice if McDonnell kept his eyes on Virginia for now and stop trying to raise his national profile at the expense of low income Virginians.

So Medicaid expansion – at least how I had envisioned it – really isn’t done yet. That just means we have to keep our eyes on the Medicaid Innovation and Reform Commission and hold them accountable to getting it done.

Mary Elizabeth Manning Paige

As a kid, February 22 was celebrated as George Washington’s birthday – and my Mama’s. Today, my mother is 92 – or 93, if some in the family are to be believed. (She always told us she was born in 1921, but some of her siblings say she pushed her age back a year.) Like so many born in the 1920s, Mama doesn’t have a birth certificate. Not that it matters now, anyway.

I alternate between being grateful that my Mama is still with us and profoundly sad because of her current condition. Those who are friends of mine on Facebook know she doesn’t look quite like this now. In my minds’ eye, though, she still does. I try to document each visit with my Mama, by taking pictures and, when she’s up to it, recording her singing. I only wish I had started this earlier – my videos only go back to Christmas 2010, when she was still mobile, and she was at my house, with the rest of my family, for dinner.

We – her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren – will gather this Sunday to celebrate her birthday. We will have cake and sing. And try to remember when she was the one baking the cake and leading us in prayer.

Happy birthday, Mama. I love you.

Section 5 of the VRA is being challenged in the Supreme Court, in the case Shelby County v. Holder. Oral arguments are to start next week (ironically, the last week of Black History Month). SCOTUSblog, the source for all things relating to cases being argued before the Supreme Court, has a special page devoted to this case and includes arguments both for and against it.

Much of what I’ve read regarding this challenge really revolves the coverage provisions in Section 4. Should those be eliminated, Section 5 will fall, anyway. And what happens without Section 5? This article, published this morning, gives a great history of the Act and concludes (emphasis mine):

It will also encourage lawmakers in states like South Carolina to “structure” their voting laws without the burden of worrying about an initial round of review by federal election officials. Logic — and history — suggest this will disenfranchise minority voters. Moreover, without Section 5, the evidentiary burden of challenging this new generation of voting laws will fall not upon the local officials seeking to implement the new measures but upon those effectively disenfranchised by them. Like the way it was before the Act was enacted in August 1965.

Are there issues with the VRA? You bet. The coverage parts need to be changed. Congress needs to get off its collective duffs and fix that. And the cost of preclearance has to be more reasonable.

But to eliminate Section 5 is to take us back nearly 50 years. I’m not willing to go back there.

Some wonder why we are always fighting the battles of years gone by, why our race problem has never been healed in this country. It is precisely because the laws set in place to make discrimination illegal are under constant challenge.The 15th Amendment should have been enough. It wasn’t enough in 1965 and it’s not enough today.

My column appears in The Virginian-Pilot on Thursdays. You can see the columns as they are published here, or navigate to them from the PilotOnline.com homepage by clicking on Opinion and then choosing my name at the bottom of the dropdown list. You can also see the columns by liking my Facebook page. Although my column appears weekly, I am not and have never been an employee of The Virginian-Pilot.