Virginian Pilot Endorses Scott Taylor and Donald McEachin

It what must be a blow to ego of the perennially worthless and rabidly anti-gay Randy Forbes, that the Virginian Pilot has endorsed his GOP primary challenger, Scott Taylor, for Virginia' 2nd Congressional district.  For the 4th District which Forbes fled after its redrawing which took away his insured re-election, the Pilot has endorsed Democrat, Donald McEachin who is a long time supporter of LGBT and women's rights. Thankfully, in the editorial, the Pilot lists out Forbes' lack of constructive legislation over his tenure.  The only thing left out of the take down is Forbes' love of and advocacy for ever right wing Christian resolution coming down the pike.   Here are editorial highlights:

When federal judges in Richmond forced a redrawing of Virginia’s eastern congressional maps, Forbes’ reliably conservative 4th Congressional District seat became demographically untenable for a man known more as a Christian social warrior than an effective lawmaker.

So Forbes decamped into the 2nd District from the 4th, where he still lives. Because the 2nd District grew more Republican in that process, the June 14 primary is likely to determine the prohibitive favorite in November.

A candidate’s physical home may matter less than it once did, but it’s not irrelevant. Neither is a candidate’s record.  On that score, Forbes’ performance in Congress has been wanting since his election in 2001. The only bill to become law under his name was the one to rename a post office.

Forbes built his current candidacy on support for the military, his membership on the Armed Services Committee, and his chairmanship of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee. But the record during his time in Congress presents its own problems.

• Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach suffered an existential threat during the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission round because Florida was better positioned and prepared than Virginia.

• A few years later Forbes fought to give Virginia localities the right to veto a new outlying landing field for Oceana, which would’ve tied the Navy’s hands.

• In 2011, the Pentagon disestablished the Joint Forces Command in North Suffolk, a decision that damaged the region’s push to make modeling and simulation a vector for growth.

• Just last month, in an Editorial Board interview, Forbes said he now opposes drilling for oil and gas off Virginia’s coast because of Pentagon concerns. Forbes’ reversal is curious because the Pentagon has said since at least 2006 that drilling off Virginia would imperil its training mission.

If Taylor brings inexperience to the task, Forbes’ tenure doesn’t inspire confidence.

Neither does his willingness to dwell on issues that divide rather than unite, including in 2013 waging “a lengthy crusade to convince his colleagues and the National Republican Congressional Committee brass they shouldn’t back some gay candidates,” according to Politico.

The 36-year-old Taylor has vowed to avoid such distractions, and has made it a point to strive toward the kind of big tent that has been missing from too many GOP campaigns. . . . . he’s also a candidate of intellectual heft, and his relative moderation would serve the voters of the 2nd District — as did Scott Rigell’s — better than the alternative.

The 4th District, which Forbes vacated, also has decisions to make. The vacancy attracted four candidates — two Democrats, two Republicans — and the winners of this month’s primary will face off in November.

The revised 4th District is more compact than its previous incarnation, with the furthest boundary moving east. It now includes Richmond and Petersburg, which means the center of power has shifted from Hampton Roads.

On the Democratic side, state Sen. Don McEachin appears best positioned to succeed in that role. A lawyer with 16 years in the General Assembly for the people of Henrico County, McEachin has family ties to the Peninsula and experience serving a diverse constituency.

He was quick to admit that he has a learning curve when it comes to advancing issues on behalf of Hampton Roads, and it shows. Though passionate on matters of social justice, he is more tentative when asked about the military or when to deploy it.

He shows a willingness to learn, however, and his success in the legislature inspires some confidence that he has potential as a D.C. lawmaker.

Virginian Pilot Begins Charging for Digital Access - A Step Toward Suicide

Virginian Pilot publisher David Mele

Writing a blog and being contacted by would be advertisers I know one thing:  to get paid for advertising online, the number of page views a blog or publication receives determines advertising rates and ultimately long term viability if making money is the main motivation.  The folks at the Virginian Pilot don't seem to get this reality and/or suffer from the delusion that they are in the same league as the New York Times (10 free articles a month) or Washington Post (20 free article a month).  Hence, going forward, Pilot online readers will get only 10 free articles a month.  

The Daily Press was even more draconian and allowed no free articles.  The result?  I don't even bother to look at the Daily Press and don't link to it at all anymore.  The Daily Press was always an inferior paper, and since sifting to charging for online access there has been a parallel further decline in its content.  Hence, the boyfriend and I dropped our 3 day a week print subscription.  The Daily Press frankly seems headed toward extinction.  The Virginian Pilot seems headed for a similar fate in my view.  Readers should expect a marked drop in this blog's references to and links to the Virginian Pilot.  I hope that helps decrease its page views.  Here's the Pilot's bullshit reasoning:

Our next change begins today, as we implement a new membership model which will require subscriptions for unlimited access to our journalism and content online.

Current subscribers to The Virginian-Pilot will receive membership and full access to our digital content as part of their existing subscriptions, at no additional charge.

For nonsubscribers, we will allow some sampling of our content on a monthly basis, with a system that will require membership to gain access to our digital content after 10 articles are read. Some sections of our websites will remain freely available, including home pages, obituaries, and online marketplaces for jobs, autos, and real estate.

There are plenty of free news outlets where one can find better quality coverage.  Truth be told, the Pilot only cares about selling advertising.  Quality journalism has always been a secondary concern.  Online traffic will seek these out and one can hope that the Virginian Pilot meets the end it deserves as readership declines further and advertisers balk at paying for inferior coverage.

Virginian Pilot: Good Luck to Norfolk Gay Couple Seeking to Overturn Gay Marriage Ban

 

It has been frustrating not being to access a copy of the federal lawsuit filed last week in the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia via the Court's pacer system which has a time lag between when suits are filed and when they become accessible.   I am sure the complaint follows the road map laid out in Justice Kennedy's majority opinion in United States v. Windsor which condemned DOMA for having a deliberate plan to discriminate against gay couples and having been motivated by animus.  In its main page editorial today, the Virginia Pilot wishes the two plaintiffs, Tony London and Tim Bostic (pictured above), good luck and success in the litigation.  Here is the editorial:

Best wishes, Tony London and Timothy Bostic, on your upcoming fight for nuptials in Virginia.  Hopefully, congratulations will soon follow for your win, and your marriage.

On Thursday, London and Bostic became the first couple in Virginia to file a federal lawsuit challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The lawsuit follows U.S. Supreme Court decisions that struck down parts of the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional and let stand a lower court ruling that a ban on gay marriage in California was unconstitutional.

London and Bostic could travel to one of the 13 states that permit same-sex couples to marry. But they have lived together in Norfolk since 1991. As their lawyer told Pilot reporter Scott Daugherty, "They are Virginians and they want to be married in Virginia."

Times and temperaments have changed radically since Virginia enacted its constitutional ban on gay marriage in 2006. A poll from Quinnipiac University released the same day that London and Bostic filed their lawsuit showed that more Virginians now support same-sex marriage than don't.

Virginia should not seek to prolong a ban that discriminates against its citizens. It should support couples who want to make loving commitments to each other.  Good luck and good wishes, gentlemen, now and on your wedding day.

Needless to say, some Christofascists - and no doubt self-loathing closet cases like Ken Cuccinelli - are having conniptions, but the world is changing and their brand of hatred is losing acceptance, albeit not as rapidly as I would like.   It is also an ironic coincidence that the Pilot ran its editorial the morning after Ken Cuccinelli reaffirmed his anti-gay bigotry. 

Virginian Pilot: Cuccinelli Should Step Down as Attorney General

As this blog has noted before, despite a long tradition in Virginia that attorney generals resign from office when they run for governor to (i) avoid appearances of conflicts of interest, (ii) avoid politicizing decisions, and (iii) avoid the use of state employees as campaign workers.  It has been a common sense approach for decades.  But like in so many other things Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli believes that he is above the law, U. S. Supreme Court rulings, etc.  Consequently, Cuccinelli has refused to resign and appears to be shamelessly using employees on the state payroll to work his campaign.  Today, the Virginian Pilot's main editorial demands that Cuccinelli step down.  Here are highlights:

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli wants to be governor. He wants to promote his new book. He wants to be in the national spotlight. And he wants to hold onto his job as attorney general.

But Cuccinelli has demonstrated that he cannot do all those things simultaneously, at least not well. The full-time endeavor that should be his priority has increasingly devolved into a perfunctory task, a platform facilitating an ambitious politician's quest to achieve more glamorous goals.

The immediate and proper solution is obvious: Cuccinelli should resign as attorney general. That decision would be best for his office and for the 8 million Virginians who need an attorney general capable of devoting full energy and attention to the job.

The attorney general, naturally, has rejected such suggestions. He has cast himself as the victim of a political Catch-22, where his critics would chastise him for quitting because he failed to serve his full term, as he promised, and for staying because he didn't honor Virginia's tradition of attorneys general resigning to campaign for higher office.  He should be less concerned with political fallout and more concerned with doing the right thing, as his recent predecessors all have done.

Bob McDonnell, who resigned as attorney general in 2009 to run for governor, offered this assessment then: "The office is a very difficult job. It demands a full-time attorney general to do the hard work that's required."

Cuccinelli needs no help in drawing criticism or ridicule. His performance in that regard has been unparalleled, thanks to a style of public service that favors antagonism and uncompromising dogma. The list is lengthy, but highlights include:

** Interpreting a bill providing for new architectural regulations solely for abortion clinics, and bullying an independent board into agreement with him.

** Wasting taxpayer dollars on losing battles against federal health care reform and the University of Virginia, which had a professor whose climate research failed to comport with Cuccinelli's predetermined conclusion.

** Defending a Virginia sodomy statute that, due to a U.S. Supreme Court decision a decade ago, is hopelessly unconstitutional and in need of revision.

Cuccinelli's penchant for drawing attention to himself and pandering to supporters is matched only by his inability to see when his own financial interests undermine the credibility of the office he leads.  That lack of awareness became apparent three years ago, when he dragged his feet on campaign donations from an official of a fraudulent charity, the U.S. Navy Veterans Association. That official had given Cuccinelli more than $50,000. Although the charity operated in Virginia, Cuccinelli deferred to officials in Ohio to investigate and pursue charges.

Until Friday, Cuccinelli's office was defending the state against a tax-assessment lawsuit filed by a company in which Cuccinelli holds a financial interest greater than $10,000. He has received thousands more in gifts from the company's owner.
 
Cuccinelli's blindness to such conflicts is problematic for any candidate, but devastating to confidence in the office of the attorney general.  That distrust is magnified when the officeholder is as preoccupied with distractions as Cuccinelli has been. Which underscores why he must go.

Virginian Pilot: DOMA Needs to Be Struck Down

In a pleasant surprise over the weekend the Virginian Pilot issued a main page editorial that called on the U. S. Supreme Court to strike down the federal Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA") as unconstitutional.  Apparently, the Department of Defense's plan to extend more military benefits to families and spouses of LGBT service members prompted the often conservative Virginian Pilot to issue the editorial.  Here are some editorial highlights:

The Pentagon has not yet made an official announcement, but several news organizations have reported plans to extend some benefits to same-sex partners of service members. It's welcome news from the Defense Department, more than a year after the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" allowed gay members to serve openly.

But even as the Pentagon seeks to provide equal treatment for gay and lesbian service members, officials still find a federal law that institutionalizes discrimination blocks them.  The U.S. Supreme Court need look no further than the military services for an explanation of why it should declare unconstitutional the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.  DOMA defines marriage as between one man and one woman and prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages or extending benefits offered to straight married couples. The Supreme Court hears arguments next month; a ruling is expected this summer.

Gay and straight service members alike deploy, spend months away from loved ones and face enemy fire. Straight married service members know their families will continue to receive health care coverage, access to on-base stores and help from military spouse support groups.  Gay and lesbian service members have no such guarantees, despite the fact that nine states and Washington, D.C., now allow same-sex marriage. Their spouses do not receive death benefits. Nor do same-sex couples who both serve in the military have the expectation  that their service branches will make an effort to place them in the same part of the world.

Last month, the Army Times reported that Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Tracy Dice became, as far as is known, the first same-sex military widow. Her wife, 29-year-old Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Donna Johnson, was one of three soldiers killed Oct. 1 in Afghanistan by a suicide bomber.

Because of the Defense of Marriage Act, Dice was not eligible to travel as Johnson's spouse to meet her wife's repatriated remains at Dover Air Force Base Dice traveled with the Johnson family. Her expenses were covered; a spokesman said the benefits were provided as a soldier or family friend, not as a spouse. Dice will not receive compensation through a Veterans Affairs program that provides a monthly income to heterosexual spouses of service members who die on active duty.

Dice's loss, her grief, is no less profound because of her sexual orientation. The Defense of Marriage Act insults many who defend our country, along with the thousands of other civilian same-sex couples who seek to cement their loving commitments to each other and their families.

It should fall, and the Pentagon should extend full benefits to all its married service members, gay or straight.

Not surprisingly, one knuckle dragging subscriber was incensed by the concept of treating all families and service members equally and resorted to the standard Christofascist screed against gays and homosexuality seeking to punish anyone who doesn't buy into their dream of a Christian theocracy rather than the constitutional republic envisioned by the Founding Fathers.  Kudos to the Virginian Pilot for standing up for equality and condemning what in the ultimate analysis  is nothing but unvarnished religious based bigotry.

Quote of the Day: Virginian Pilot Slamming Cuccinelli

As the previous post indicated, Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli is an extremist by any measure.  All too often the Virginia Pilot - whose publisher has Christofascist ties and endorsed extremist like hate group endorsed Scott Rigell - would avoid immediately slamming a darling of The Family Foundation like  Kookinelli.  But not today.  In its main editorial, the Pilot basically tells the Virginia GOP think twice and pick someone else over Kookinelli. Here are excerpts:

During his tenure as attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli has distinguished himself as that rare politician whose missteps and bullying style have inflicted more damage to the commonwealth than to his own career. And so he trudges on, ascending the political ladder.

Cuccinelli's sights are set on becoming Virginia's next governor, and his prospects improved markedly this week, when fellow Republican Bill Bolling bailed out of the race rather than fight him for the party's nomination at a convention.

Bolling's latest decision effectively serves notice that the Republican Party of Virginia is poised to surrender to its more extreme, and temperamental, wing. The result is bad for the party and worse for Virginia.

Cuccinelli has repeatedly conducted himself in a manner that reflects poorly on the Old Dominion. His recent comments on a Washington radio show about voting laws that don't require photo IDs helping President Barack Obama win re-election represent the type of partisan nonsense he so often reflexively contributes to the public domain.

His attraction to hot-button social issues is of the same piece that alienated so many moderate and swing voters Nov. 6, contributing to Republican losses in contests that never should've been close.


Early in his term, Cuccinelli insisted on reversing a long-standing policy preventing discrimination against gay state employees, a mean-spirited move that McDonnell overrode.



More recently, Cuccinelli strong-armed the state's independent Board of Health when it appeared ready to defy him over new and expensive requirements for abortion clinics.


Republicans will gather this weekend in Virginia Beach for their annual advance, in which they'll likely plan for the upcoming legislative session and refine strategies leading to the 2013 elections and beyond.

They would do well to consider whether Cuccinelli is the right choice to represent Virginia Republicans, and whether he represents the best opponent to former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe, the only Democrat to announce his candidacy so far and one that many Virginia voters view with skepticism.

Virginian Pilot: University of Virginia Rector Helen Dragas Should Resign

As a double alumnus of the University of Virginia (The College as undergrad and Law) I've been holding my tongue at first on the machinations and behind closed doors intrigue that led to the ouster of the University's first woman president.  Ironically, the ouster was engineered by another woman, Helen Dragas (pictured at right), the daughter of wealthy Virginia Beach developer George Dragas.  While her defenders argue that Dragas is a bright and astute business woman, the truth is she inherited a thriving business from her family - i.e., construction company, real estate development company and a mortgage company division. And, in my opinion, like many other state board and board of visitors appointees, she basically bought her position as Rector of UVA by making the right (and large) political contributions. Sadly, that's the way things work in Virginia. Money ALWAYS trumps credentials, skills and true talent. Now, even the Virginian Pilot is calling for her resignation from the UVA Board of Visitors.  Here are highlights:

Helen Dragas, rector of the University of Virginia, has failed repeatedly to explain why President Teresa Sullivan was forced out a week ago. Dragas has, however, built a convincing case for another departure - her own.

The Virginia Beach developer and 1984 U.Va. grad was the architect of Sullivan's ouster. She is also the board's spokeswoman, a strange post for someone who has failed so utterly to communicate with everyone.

The resulting chaos has caused substantial damage to the commonwealth's premier institution of higher education. That, as much as anything, brought 2,000 to the Lawn on Monday afternoon for an unprecedented protest against the school's leaders.

At a special Board of Visitors meeting, Dragas continued to dodge demands - from students, faculty, lawmakers, taxpayers - for more details about the drastic differences between the board and Sullivan.  Instead, Dragas doubled down on her initial generalities and platitudes. Worse, her efforts to strike a conciliatory tone devolved into parody.

Dragas refused to address what happened or how. She was silent on reports that at least three board members knew nothing of efforts to remove Sullivan almost until a deal was struck. She declined to comment after one board member publicly opposed a motion to promote Carl Zeithaml, the dean of the McIntire School of Commerce, as interim president, effective Aug. 16.

She failed to address the resignation of Peter Kiernan, chairman of the Darden School Foundation's board of trustees, just days after he sent an email saying he had worked for weeks with Dragas, at the behest of two "important Virginia alums," on a new presidential search.

Sullivan addressed board members in private Monday. Her remarks, made public afterward, suggested she was unwilling to go along with demands for "corporate-style, top-down leadership." She talked about the culture of U.Va., and the need to protect and nurture it. She highlighted the administrative changes she had made, which provided a foundation for more significant change to come.  It was a comprehensive defense of her tenure, and the contrast with the inadequate indictment by the board could not have been clearer.

The Board of Visitors has the legal right to hire and fire the president. But it has a responsibility to explain its actions to the school's constituents.  Dragas and other board members have failed to even try. The result is tumult, the likes of which U.Va. has never seen.  She has shredded her credibility as a leader of the board, and so diminished the campus community's faith in her judgment that she is now simply ineffective.  

Dragas' term ends July 1, although she is eligible for reappointment by Gov. Bob McDonnell.  In the best interests of herself, the governor and the university she professes to love, Dragas and her collaborators should resign, as the Faculty Senate's executive council demanded Monday.

If Dragas does not, McDonnell should refuse to reappoint her. Otherwise he is signaling his support for what she and the board have done and how they've handled it.

A tremendous amount of work must be done at U.Va. to quell the suspicion, the anger and the distrust that have roiled the campus. That work cannot be done if the person responsible for it remains there.

In my view, Ms. Dragas is way over her head.  She's not her father who likely would have known better than to engage in such tactics and would have avoided seriously wounding UVA.  She needs to resign NOW.

Virginian Pilot: Make Gay Marriage Legal

I nearly fainted when I saw the lead editorial in today's Virginian Pilot which called for Virginia and the federal government to make same sex marriage legal.  Moreover, the column takes both Republicans and Democrats - but more so Republicans - in Virginia for the anti-gay discrimination that is the hallmark of this state.  And yes, "Slideshow" Bob Marshall gets slammed by name.  As do "Christians" who for centuries used the Bible as justification for slavery and later segregation.  Not surprisingly, in the comments left on the editorial some of the local Christofascsists and Kool-Aid drinkers are shrieking and claiming that they, not gays, are the ones being persecuted.  Obviously, these folks are not only liars and hypocrites but they also need to extricate their heads out of their asses.  Here are excerpts from the column:

Democrats and Republicans joined in Virginia to pass a law defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Democrats and Republicans together decided to put the civil rights of homosexuals to a popular vote. And Virginians - Democrats and Republicans - voted to marginalize their gay neighbors in 2006.  It was clear, even then, that history would judge such "defense of marriage" measures harshly - and not only because they do nothing to defend marriage. Popular opinion has been moving inexorably toward tolerance for gay unions.

Still, state lawmakers this month rejected a judicial candidate because of his sexual orientation. That gave his chief detractor, the author of Virginia's constitutional amendment on marriage, the opportunity to explain.  Del. Bob Marshall denounced the notion that gay people struggling for marriage rights have any parallel in history: "Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks never took an oath of office that they broke," he said on CNN. "Sodomy is not a civil right. It's not the same as the civil rights movement."

One of the nation's most forceful civil rights organizations pointedly repudiated thinking like Marshall's: "(T)he NAACP has opposed and will continue to oppose any national, state, local policy or legislative initiative that seeks to codify discrimination or hatred into the law or to remove the Constitutional rights of LGBT citizens," read the organization's statement. "We support marriage equality consistent with equal protection under the law provided under the 14th Amendment. ..."

Virginians seemed to recoil immediately at the legislature's vote on the judicial candidate and at Marshall's explanation, seeing both for what they are: embarrassments.  The vote and explanation also represent compelling arguments for why anything short of marriage equality will continue to provide cover for such bigotry and argument.

The federal government once deferred to states on mixed-race marriages, for example, and most passed laws barring it. The avowed purpose, to quote the U.S. Supreme Court, was "an endorsement of the doctrine of white supremacy."  The high court cited 14th Amendment freedoms when it settled the issue for the nation in the 1967 case that pitted Mildred and Richard Loving against Virginia: "To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State's citizens of liberty without due process of law."

Civil life and laws aren't fixed to religious doctrine, nor should they be in a secular society.  Churches supported and resisted the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century. But the legislation that ended institutional bigotry arose from America's foundation in equality, belated though its application might have been.

To deny marriage to any couple solely on the basis of the way they are born makes a mockery of America's bedrock principles. To refuse marriage to gay people based on tradition or cultural norms elevates both above human rights.  It gives government too much authority over the most intimate relationship in an adult's life without sufficient civil justification. If the NAACP and Obama's endorsements were overdue, so is this one: Gay marriage should be legal across America, and it should be legal now.

Cardinal Bernard Law Retires - May He One Day Face a Higher Law

I came out to my former wife in October 2001, just moths before the sex abuse scandal exploded in the Archdiocese of Boston. Subsequently, in February, 2002, I did a guest editorial in the Virginian Pilot when the then Bishop of Richmond, Virginia whined in a letter to the editor that the Catholic Church was being subjected to anti-Catholic bigotry. Even though my guest editorial laid out the statistics of sexual abuse by priests worldwide, I was roundly attacked by sheep like followers of the morally bankrupt Catholic bishops. Central to the sex abuse scandal in Boston was Cardinal Bernard Law, the Archbishop of Boston. As things heated up and it became clear that Law had sent out henchmen (e/g. Bishop Daly, later Supreme Chaplain to the Knights of Columbus and Bishop Egan, later Archbishop of New York) to threaten and intimidate victims of abuse and their families, Cardinal Law resigned his archbishopric and fled to Rome - most likely to dodge the Boston police and court subpoenas.

Was Law punished in Rome? Not hardly. He was given a plum position and literally lived as a price in a palace. Would that all of us could be so severely punished. The upside of the scandal was that I realized that there was no reason for me to suffer from religious based guilt for being gay. With Law's retirement from his plum position in Rome, a column in the Boston Herald looks at Law's tawdry legacy. Here are highlights:

So Cardinal Bernard Law goes out, at worst, with but a gentle, subtle push. It’s hardly a satisfying end for the international “poster child for child clergy sex abuse,” as Vatican watcher Peter Borre called Law yesterday.

Law was never indicted. He was never tried. He never had to explain why in the world he wrote glowing letters of recommendation for priests accused of molesting hundreds of children, as he did for Father John Geoghan and Father Paul Shanley.

News flashes yesterday all referred to him as the “disgraced” cardinal. But that disgrace brought him a promotion, not punishment from the Vatican for aiding and abetting such crimes.

Remember how Suffolk Superior Court officials treated Law like royalty when, even as evidence mounted against him, they nonetheless let him and his dark-windowed sedan be whisked inside a garage, then up a back elevator. He never had to face the TV cameras or reporters’ questions.

And most people I’ve asked expect Law to stay in Rome, a city he reportedly adores [and which keeps him outside of the reach of U.S. police authorities]. A month ago I would’ve said well, at least we’ve all learned a lesson. Then Penn State came along.

Catholics who bucked the odds to remain Catholic can separate their faith from the corrupt cabal of cardinals. And many Catholics see justice around the corner as the 80-year-old Law inches ever closer to the ultimate higher authority.

Virginian Pilot: Good Riddance to Ban on Gays

As Bob Marshall fulminates over gays soon being able to serve in the military without fear of discharge haunting them 24/7, the Virginian Pilot - which refused to publish information on GOP Scott Rigell's endorsement by and anti-gay hate group prior to the recent election - has even come out and lauded the demise of DADT. While in my view anything by allies to LGBT Virginians, even the folks at the Virginian Pilot can do the math and realize that with 77% of the population nationally supporting repeal, they had best get on board. The editorial page writers may also be belatedly waking up to the fact that the region needs to become more progressive and socially tolerant after being after slammed and being described as "Old, Slow and Not Too Bright" in a Brookings Institute study. Here are highlights from the Pilot editorial page:
*
Good riddance to ban on gays. The inevitable arrived early. Despite overwhelming evidence that the military's controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy was doomed one way or another, it didn't appear Congress would ever muster the courage to end it - until Saturday.
*
On a 65-31 vote, the Senate finally approved legislation to allow gays to serve openly in the armed forces. Among those voting for the measure were Democrats Mark Warner and Jim Webb of Virginia and Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Kay Hagan of North Carolina. The vote was somewhat surprising, given the hyper-partisanship on Capitol Hill these days - not to mention the chronic hand-wringing and waffling over this issue.
*
[A]generational shift in attitudes toward homosexuality - in the armed forces and the general population - ensured that such a discriminatory policy would not last. Recent court rulings also indicated the ban would not withstand continued legal challenges.
*
There's no need to continue denying the reality that gay Americans can serve - and always have served - honorably in the military. More than 13,500 members of the armed forces have been driven out since the "don't ask, don't tell" policy went into effect in 1993. Countless others have lived in fear of reprisal, opted not to re-enlist or decided not to join because they didn't wish to live a lie.
*
The military will adapt to this change, just as it did to racial integration and to allowing women to serve. In both those cases, critics predicted the sky would fall. It didn't. It won't this time, either.

Christofascist Rigell Beats Incumbent Nye in 2nd Virginia District

We'll never know if the election results would have been different if the Virginian Pilot (depicted in the blue pants in the photo) had not deliberately refused to print a story on Scott Rigell's ties to a registered anti-gay hate group. However, we can pretty safely figure out why the nasty rag of a newspaper killed the story: Rigell's dealerships under the Freedom Automotive umbrella spend big bucks advertising with the Pilot. The other possibility is that from my personal encounters with Frank Batten, Jr. - whose family controls the Pilot - Batten, in my opinion, is a far right Christian and likely drinks the same Kool-Aid as Rigell. It's disgusting and, in my opinion, is yet another example of bad political consequences resulting from journalistic malpractice and prostitution. The only good news is that the Pilot's circulation numbers continue to drop as more and more area residents realize that the only way to get accurate news coverage is via the Internet and papers from outside the area. Increasingly, the Pilot's only value is for store coupons or as a liner for a bird cage. Here's a sampling of the Pilot's crowing over Rigell (excuse me as I vomit):

*
Scott Rigell, a Republican who pledged to promote job growth by cutting federal taxes and reducing regulations on business, defeated Democratic incumbent Glenn Nye on Tuesday in Virginia’s 2nd District.
*
Rigell, 50, a multimillionaire car dealer making his first run for public office, won the close race after a 16-month campaign that was funded mostly with his own money.
*
Fueled by a $3 million campaign fund that included close to $2 million of his own money, Rigell used marketing skills developed over two decades of selling automobiles to get out his name and his message. The campaign’s mantra, Rigell said, was “operation domination.”
*
With all that money, the Pilot must feel secure that Rigell's advertising revenue teet will remain available to it. The message to area LGBT residents? Cancel your subscription to the Pilot and avoid it's advertisers. Oh, and moving from Virginia might not be a bad move either.

Virginian Pilot Gives Journalist Fellatio to Ken Cuccinelli

I cannot help but ask myself WTF is wrong with the Virginian Pilot which has published a propaganda piece on Ken Cuccinelli that for the most part reads as if it had been authored by The Family Foundation, the toxic Virginia affiliate of Focus on the Family and Family Research Council. Cuccinelli embodies the religious extremism and religious based bigotry that the Founding Fathers sought to prevent - e.g., Virginia's Statute for Religious Freedom which is still part of the Code of Virginia although utterly ignored by today's GOP zealots. Despite this reality, the Pilot gives Cuccinelli the equivalent of fellatio in its gushing description of a Christofascist and opportunist who cares nothing for the rights of most citizens or how backwards and bigoted he makes the Commonwealth appear to those in other states and counties. Equally upsetting, the Pilot raises the issue of Cuccinelli - who is equally insane as Sarah Palin - as a presidential candidate in 2012. Again, WTF is wrong with the Virginian Pilot? Here's a tiny sampling of the batshitery:
*
Conservative Wall Street Journal columnist Stephen Moore was delivering a luncheon address to a group of like-minded New Jersey voters in August when something unexpected happened. Moore asked audience members to name their preferred presidential candidate in 2012. Several offered Ken Cuccinelli's name.
*
To Hampton Roads Tea Party founder Karen Miner Hurd, Cuccinelli is refreshing precisely because he isn't a typical politician and his brand of no-nonsense pragmatism doesn't neatly "fit into the paradigm of conservatives."
*
A New Jersey native raised Roman Catholic, Cuccinelli has called Northern Virginia home since he was a child. He still lives there with his wife, Teiro, and seven children. After the 2009 election, the family moved from Fairfax County to Prince William County rather than Richmond, where his job is based, so their eldest daughter wouldn't have to leave her Catholic school. His younger children are home-schooled.
*
[H]is supporters believ[e] Cuccinelli is destined for higher office. "Ken Cuccinelli... is on the front lines, and people know if this guy is in the White House, he'd be undoing the Obama agenda so fast, people's head would spin," gushed Rick Shaftan, a political consultant who has worked on past Cuccinelli races.
*
Cuccinelli rejects the "maverick" label, but it's clear his agenda isn't always in lockstep with Gov. Bob McDonnell or the governor's heir apparent, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, both fellow Republicans.
*
That was evident weeks after taking office, when Cuccinelli gave legal advice to colleges and universities that they lack the authority to include sexual orientation in non-discrimination policies. Cuccinelli defends that guidance as a reminder to those schools "that their powers are limited" by the state constitution and code and "no matter how well-intentioned their efforts, they may not exceed those limits."
*
"I'm a target, so I've got to act like one," Cuccinelli told The Washington Post. "Which just means work hard. Don't wait for the election." "He's going places. He's either going to be president or on the Supreme Court in 10 years. One or the other," predicted Shaftan, the political consultant. "I think the left is very afraid of him, as they should be."
*
Done vomiting yet?

Virginian Pilot Slams McDonnell on Gay Rights Failure

Unlike Bob McDonnell and Ken Cuccinelli, some people in the Commonwealth worry about the sensibilities other than the Christo-fascists at The Family Foundation, Pat Robertson's CBN studios, and the wingnuts at Liberty University. Some of those people are on the editorial board of the Virginian Pilot - hardly my idea of a stellar newspaper, but with a large circulation by Virginia standards - and they are displeased with Mr. McDonnell and are fearful of what his theocratic regime may do to Virginia. Most business leaders are not Christian Right extremists (I'll address one exception, potential 2nd District Congressional GOP candidate, Scott Rigell in a later post) and college and university faculty most definitely typically are not. As a result, a Bible centered administration is likely to be regarded as down right frightening. Particularly, if one is gay or gay friendly. Sadly, Bob McDonnell cannot see beyond the script handed to him by The Family Foundation. Here are highlights from the Pilot's main editorial give McDonnell a dressing down:
*
McDonnell has adopted an equal opportunity policy that prohibits "discrimination for any reason." It doesn't actually say gay workers are included in those protections, but everyone knows that's what the governor means because he said so. However, the policy covers only about 30 people.
*
But those policies don't cover the vast majority of Virginia's 103,000 state employees. They don't prevent a forensic lab technician from being rejected if she asks about domestic partnership benefits during a job interview. They don't protect a museum employee from being assigned menial tasks because of his sexual orientation.
*
McDonnell refused to sign an executive order guaranteeing workplace protections to gay state employees. . . . His passive posture on job discrimination would be troubling enough if he were leaving the fate of state workers in the hands of hundreds of individual agency heads. But it's an embarrassment for McDonnell to look on helplessly as Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli bullies colleges and universities that have retained workplace protections in place for at least eight years.
*
This is not only an issue of fairness; it's also relevant to McDonnell's core mission of job creation. Universities often are important players in economic development packages. James Guyette, president and chief executive officer of Rolls-Royce North America Inc., cited a research partnership with the University of Virginia as a key reason his company selected Prince George County over locations in seven other states for an aircraft engine plant three years ago. If Cuccinelli succeeds in chasing talented academics who happen to be gay out of Virginia, their loss will reverberate beyond any one campus.
*
McDonnell must decide whether it's more important to pacify his political base or to run an effective state government and attract jobs to Virginia. If a nondiscrimination policy is good for his gubernatorial staff, it should be good for all state workers.

Virginian Pilot Runs First Gay Wedding Announcement

I can just imagine what some of the letters to the editor will read like as the local Kool-Aid drinkers become unhinged over the Virginian Pilot's new policy whereunder gay wedding and commitment ceremony announcements will be published in the Weddings/Engagements section of the Sunday newspaper. The first such announcement ran today and I'm, sure that Pat Robertson and other extreme homophobes like Victoria Cobb of Daddy Dobson's Virginia affiliate, The Family Foundation, will be doing their best to flood the newspaper with angry letters containing threats to cancel subscriptions or worse. The world and society are changing and I am happy to see the Pilot adjusting to the new reality. Here is the first announcement to run under the new policy:

*

Joseph Jagodzinski & Thomas Brown

*

Thomas Brown and Joseph G. Jagodzinski Jr. to wed. Irene and Joe Jagodzinski of Virginia Beach, VA (formerly of Stamford, CT) are pleased to announce that their son Joseph Jagodzinski Jr. will wed Thomas Brown, son of the late Wesley C. and Marjorie J. Brown of Slippery Rock, PA. The two will be wed in an outdoor ceremony in Stanley Park, Vancouver, B.C., Canada at the beginning of August 2009. Joe earned his Bachelor`s degree from Slippery Rock University while Thom is a graduate of Westminster College.

*

I wish much happiness to Thomas and Joseph and applaud their decision to run the engagement announcement. Having visited Vancouver several years back, I know that Stanley Park will provide an amazing setting for their wedding.

National Day of Protest and Responding to Hate Mongering

A good friend of mine who has worked with me on many activism projects helped organize the Norfolk, Virginia, protest on November 15, 2008. In addition, she sent a letter to the editor to both the Virginian Pilot - which gave the protest no coverage whatsoever - and to the Daily Press, which publishes to the Hampton, Newport News and Williamsburg markets on the north side of Hampton Roads. While the Pilot all too typically did not print the letter, the Daily Press published it on November 17th with no editing whatsoever. I fully agree with her views (particularly the need for main-line denominations to grow some backbone and challenge the haters) and wanted to share her words with readers. Here is her letter:

*
On Saturday, November 15th, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgendered and their allies rallied across America, all at 1:30 ET, to protest California’s Proposition 8, and other anti-gay measures, passed on Election Day. Even though the local media, save WTKR Channel 3, chose not to cover the story, in Norfolk, we had a peaceful, yet vocal crowd of about 200 protestors. There was also a small group of Christian protestors on hand, yelling that gays are going to hell, and the like. This continued hate mongering is very disturbing to me.

*
I encourage all main-line Christians to talk about love, acceptance, and equal rights for all- just as Jesus did. Please stand up in your churches, your neighborhoods and at work and tell everyone you know if you do not share the same views as the Religious Right. That small minority is giving Christians a bad name and is turning many away from knowing the love of Jesus Christ because of their hate-mongering. This group uses false teachings as a way to raise money. Gays are just their current scapegoat of choice, a mantle that has been shared with blacks, immigrants, unwed mothers, and many others over the years.

*
Many Christians are disturbed that their congregations are shrinking and people are falling away from the Faith. I suggest that it is due to this ugly, fundamental minority of Christians. Because they are so vocal and organized, they appear to speak for all Christians, which we know is not the case. Until straight Christians across the country actively speak out and stand up for the true teachings of Christ, this abhorrent campaign of hate and bigotry will continue, alienating anyone who feels different.

*
I am Christian, and I am a lesbian, and I know my God created me and loves me exactly as I am. I am, however, one of the lucky ones. I encourage you all to reach out and open your hearts (and give your voices) to our lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender brothers and sisters. There are many out there who are hurting. With our civil rights being stripped away, little by little, state by state, the feelings of disenfranchisement and alienation are growing, even for someone as strong in the Faith as me. Please take a stand. Don't let hate rule America, ESPECIALLY in the name of Christ.

Virginian-Pilot Cuts 125 Jobs

The Virginian Pilot, the larger of the two newspapers in this area is cutting 125 jobs, citing declining advertising sales as the cause. While the advertising sales are down due to the economy, in my personal view, the bigger cause is the generally poor quality of the news coverage in the Virginian Pilot. Often stories of national note appear days later - if they are covered at all - than in larger newspapers after those stories have been available for 1 or 2 or 3 days online. In addition to late coverage, the Pilot has shown time and time again that the concept of investigative reporting is a virtually unknown concept. Serious readers want more than just a regurgitation of what often disingenuous people are saying when the available facts show them to be lying.

*

Along this line, many of the Pilot reporters I have dealt with over the years are young, lazy, and I'm sorry to say not overly bright. As I recently told one reader who is a journalism professor in another state, you can research and write a story and give it to the Pilot reporters and the story will still come out screwed up. The only thing the Pilot has going for it is that the Daily Press on the Peninsula is even worse. Newspapers and the larger media have a serious role to play in keeping politicians and others honest through probing investigations and hard hitting reporting. Unfortunately, the Pilot forfeited this role years ago. Here are highlights from how the Virginian Pilot describes the cuts:

*

Plagued by advertising declines, The Virginian-Pilot is cutting at least 125 positions - or 10 percent of a 1,260-person work force - mostly through layoffs and shutting affiliated publications, publisher Maurice Jones said Friday.

*

The size of the newspaper will be reduced, and the weekday and Saturday business sections eliminated, in January, Finley said. Local business stories will appear in the front and Hampton Roads sections, he said, and the front section will include a "market page" Tuesday through Saturday. Stock listings will appear on The Pilot's Web site, Jones said.

*

The Pilot, Jones said, will remain "the most thorough source of news, information and advertising in the marketplace." The newspaper's owner, Landmark Media Enterprises LLC, continues to negotiate a sale of the newspaper. A buyer is trying to get financing, Jones said. The potential sale, he said, did not influence the cost-saving measures. The Pilot also is expanding ways to generate revenue, Jones said. In October, it began printing front-page advertisements.
"The paper will be a little smaller," Finley said. "I think readers will notice. We will keep the quality of the journalism as high as possible. There will just be less of it in the daily Pilot."

*

Already struggling with Internet competition, newspapers nationwide have suffered further declines in advertising and circulation with the shriveling economy this year. Many have been cutting costs and laying off workers.

*

A recent report showed that The Pilot's average circulation for the six months that ended on Sept. 30 declined slightly less than the national average. The weekday average fell to 174,573, down 3.4 percent from the previous year, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported. The Sunday average fell 4.3 percent, to 200,457. The declines nationally were 4.6 percent on weekdays and 4.8 percent on Sundays.

Glenn Nye for Congress

While I no longer live in the 2nd Virginia Congressional District, I have actively promoted Glenn Nye several times on this blog and attended fund raising events for him. Somewhat surprisingly, the Virginian Pilot has endorsed Glenn rather than incumbent Congresswoman, Thelma Drake who received the Pilot's endorsement two years ago. Not only is Glenn right on the issues that impact gay rights, he will also be a breath of fresh air compared to Thelma Drake who has typically voted in lock step with the Chimperator's policies. I know Thelma personally, but sadly I agree that both Congress and the 2nd District need Glenn to help clean up the mess from 8 years of Republican misrule - misrule which Thelma assisted. Here are highlights from the Pilot endorsement editorial:

*

Two years ago, this page endorsed U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake's re-election, citing her "superior command on all the issues and her advocacy for her constituents, especially the military and veterans." Things have changed.

*

Her opponent in 2008 is Glenn Nye, a Norfolk native of considerable promise, with a deep understanding of foreign policy, clear differences with his opponent and the poise to express them. Since 2006's Democratic takeover on Capitol Hill, Drake has been a member of a dwindling and increasingly rigid minority in Congress, and not a particularly effective one at that. It has led her into some curious decisions, including on the most important vote on veterans benefits in a generation.

*

[A]ny hopes that the congresswoman might shift toward the moderate middle have been dashed by a continued adherence to the notion that party loyalty is more important than solving problems. Now she is arguing on the stump that she is a bipartisan legislator, even putting together a list of votes where she and Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama have aligned. But Drake's conversion, if that's what it is, runs counter to both her career and history. Instead, she has her feet firmly in the furthest reaches of the Republican Party's right wing.

*

On many issues, Drake is among the most doctrinaire conservatives in Congress, according to multiple measures from multiple sources. She is also among the least powerful, according to congress.org and Roll Call, Capitol Hill's newspaper. . . . Back at home, Drake has run an especially distasteful campaign, based almost entirely on throwing spurious personal attacks at her opponent.

*

In the campaign, Drake has been scrambling back to the middle where the electorate lives. Hers has been an unconvincing journey, particularly when so many of her political moves have been measured and dictated by the White House, even as it rode the nation into a ditch. For four years now, the congresswoman's hand was on the wheel, as surely as the president's, and she must be held accountable. After so many consistently wrong turns over so many years, it's unrealistic to expect Drake will help steer us out. In this election, quite simply, Nye's potential is a better bet than Drake's performance.

Virginian Pilot Subscribers in Revolt Over Robertson Talks

I previously posted about Pat Robertson's announced interest in buying the Virginian Pilot, the sole newspaper for the south side of Hampton Roads and northeast North Carolina. An area with approximately 1 million residents. To say that local residents and subscribers are NOT PLEASED would be a bit of an understatement. Robertson is NOT popular in this area and has been said to have about a 70% negative rating in opinion polls. Should Robertson buy the paper, I would think advertising revenues will drop sharply as people stop buying the paper. Here is a sampling of letters to the editor on this topic:

I was dismayed to learn that Pat Robertson is considering purchasing The Virginian-Pilot (Business, Jan. 11). I have been a loyal subscriber for more than 20 years, but will immediately terminate my subscription if Mr. Robertson is successful in his efforts. It would be too painful to see our hometown paper become just another outlet to spread his biased and self-serving viewpoints.

Pat has the right to speak his mind, even if it is over the right field fence and past the parking lot. That however becomes a major problem for news if the only newspaper in the region is bought by one of the most ignorant (read lack of understanding and knowledge), mean spirited, and divisive figures in our country. But if it happens, then the market will take care of it. I will be another multi decades subscriber who will cancel my subscription as many others will and hopefully many advertisers as well.

I can pretty much see the writing on the wall. Well, there goes journalism. Unless of course he buys the Pilot and merges it with the CBN center for "religious news" just like state run news in Iran. Oops...sorry. I didn't mean to portray Pat and his groups as "one sided."

Should Robert$on buy the Pilot I will cancel my subscription of 40+ years immediately. The last thing I need in my life is the ramblings of a delusional theocrat. To place this descendant of a newsheet from our early history into the hands of those who routinely lie about the beginnings of our country, and those who subscribe to science and rationality, if not a crime against humanity becomes at least a travesty in the realm of journalism.

I certainly hope that someone else saves the paper from Robertson's grasp.

Pat Robertson Says He Is Looking into Bid for The Virginian-Pilot

This area has enough problems in getting decent news coverage and reporting. Hence, Pat Robertson's statement (http://hamptonroads.com/2008/01/pat-robertson-says-his-attorneys-are-looking-bid-virginianpilot) that he is looking at possibly buying the Virginian Pilot - Norfolk's only news paper - has not exactly made many folks too happy. It is bad enough having loopy Pat as a neighbor much less controlling a big segment of the local news media. I definitely hope it does not come to pass. Would that I could figure out a way to move from this area. Note how Robertson sees the purchase a place for Regent journalism students to work. I shudder to image what types of stories they would write. Not surprisingly, the comments posted on the article by current subscribers are not flattering towards Pat Robertson. Here are some story highlights:

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, who has sharply criticized The Virginian-Pilot in the past, is considering making a bid to buy the newspaper, an associate said Thursday. Landmark Communications Inc., a Norfolk-based media company, announced last week that it was evaluating whether to sell all of its assets, including The Weather Channel and The Pilot.

"Although the price for The Weather Channel is a little rich for my blood, I am considering a potential bid for the Pilot and have asked my attorneys to look into it," Robertson said in an e-mail forwarded by his personal assistant, G.G. Conklin. "It would be particularly helpful to provide internships for Regent University journalism students." In a subsequent e-mail, Conklin confirmed his interest. Robertson, she said, "has no further comments to offer at this time." Robertson is the first investor to announce that he might seek to acquire The Pilot.

Robertson has objected to articles in The Pilot that he has said unfairly characterized his pursuits. Most recently, an article last month said Regent's counseling program has experienced an exodus of nearly half of its faculty members. Students, the article said, have been punished for voicing concerns.

Here's the type of stuff Robertson says (and most likely believes):

"The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians."

Virginia Politicos Woo Bloggers at Online Convention

An event yesterday - which was very poorly advertised, it would appear - demonstrates that even in Virginia politicians are waking uop to the power of the blogosphere. The event, Blogs United Conference, was held at Christopher Newport University across the water in Newport News. In addition to the bloggers, who attended?

Four guys said to have aspirations for the governor's chair in Richmond. Two guys stumping to be chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. One guy handing out bumper stickers for Fred Thompson, a Republican who may or may not run for president.

The story continued saying:

"They are opinion-makers in Virginia," said Del. Brian Moran, D-Alexandria. "More and more people are getting information from blogs." And while Web logs still have only a fraction of mainstream media's reach, their influence in and around Hampton Roads politics is swelling.

"There's a responsibility," added Vivian J. Paige, who runs a namesake political blog. "I put my name on something, I have a responsibility to know that I can stand behind it." The fine line of what is acceptable in blogs was debated over and over Saturday, with bloggers, political operatives and journalists reluctantly agreeing that standards are left up to individual pundits.

Perhaps this situation will cause the Virginian Pilot to pay more attention to tips from bloggers in the future.