Comments for Great Blue Heron

Comment on Oh, Barf by Deal or No Deal? « Great Blue Heron

Deal or No Deal? « Great Blue Heron — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:53:56 +0000

[...] contrast, our 2nd District “Democratic” Congressman Glenn Nye met with health insurance salesmen at their convention, billed it as a “civil town hall meeting,” then voted against his [...]

Comment on Every Vote Counts! by laughingcossack

laughingcossack — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:30:40 +0000

Unless you vote several times in upcoming elections, your vote doesn’t count for squat. The U.S Constitution is SILENT concerning our RIGHT to vote. This is delegated to the states so that they can concoct 50 different sets of keystone-cops-style voting laws. We do not have the ABILITY to vote for representatives of good report. In order for our vote to have any meaning at all, we have to vote for candidates from political machines. Want your vote to count? Fix the problems with the 1965 Nation Voting Act, add the right to reject any or all candidates, and propose it at a Constitutional Amendment. That is only the START of what needs to be done; but 95% of the greed, corruption, and unethical, immoral practices of our leaders and captains of industry will go away.

Comment on Go Ahead, Jump by vjp

vjp — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:49:54 +0000

The page may be gone but you can read his statement on voting no here. The "endorsement" of his position from the NFIB was particularly enlightening.

Comment on McDonnell vs. Deeds: It Matters by Great Blue

Great Blue — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:54:57 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Kate.
Creigh Deeds is a great guy, personally. Not a weak candidate at all. He lost to McDonnell by about 300 votes statewide in 2005 for Atty Gen.
This time, McDonnell ran for Gov for four years with little serious Repub opposition. Deeds was the product of a three-way primary prompted by the invasion of Terry McAuliffe’s ego trip into electoral politics for the first time. Deeds is a good one-on-one, authentic campaigner, but not a slick packaged guy. As the survivor of the primary, the DNC tried to package him and he had no time for the electorate to get to know him. Add to that the disappointment of the Northern Virginia folks who had supported McAuliffe and the hometown Moran (who might have been good statewide as well), and you have the recipe for an unenthusiastic base in your most populous area.

Worst of all, Deeds and those running his campaign never gave anyone a positive reason to vote FOR him. Their emphasis on abortion in campaign ads virtually guaranteed a motivated electorate for McDonnell. McDonnell ran as a generic, smiling good guy, talking about creating jobs and building roads. He never said how, never mentioned he was a Republican, never mentioned a social issue. Deeds tried to build McDonnell’s negatives, and the Washington Post’s discovery of the thesis helped, but with no positives for Deeds, the younger and progressive electorate Obama discovered here stayed home. The older, conservative Virginia electorate will elect Republicans every time here, and I would doubt most New Yorkers would recognize most of our Dems as Dems at the statehouse level!

Given the sweep of the three top offices, and the losses in local races as well, I don’t think all the blame can rest with Deeds. I think the blame goes to complacency, infighting, and Terry McAuliffe. But credit the Republicans with unity behind a very slick candidate who avoided a “macaca moment.”
And pray for us in the Fundamentalist Republic of Virginia

Comment on McDonnell vs. Deeds: It Matters by Kate Ryan

Kate Ryan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:36:31 +0000

Greetings from the great state of NY! I agree that McDonnell’s words should have spoken louder to Virginians, and I’m sorry that they didn’t. I have read that Deeds was a really weak candidate. Is that true? I have a belief that the Dems are seeing some disconted in THEIR base – which is a bigger factor in Deeds’ loss. Your thoughts?

Comment on What They Said! by Great Blue

Great Blue — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:42:09 +0000

You were talking about Thomas Jefferson, not the Constitution. I quoted Jefferson’s exact words, which are precisely the opposite of what you claimed. Jefferson was describing the free exercise and establishment clauses of the First Amendment to the Constitution, and used the term “wall of separation of church and state.” Did you go to Regent?

As for Bob McDonnell’s thesis, I quoted his exact words, too. I encourage anyone who intends to vote to read the thesis. It can be found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/McDonnell_thesis_082909.pdf?sid=ST2009082902758

Comment on What They Said! by Garrett Watson

Garrett Watson — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:06:19 +0000

Great blue that is a letter not the Constitution Last I checked the Constitution was what governed the United States, not a letter, 2nd the comment in the letter was because the Baptist wanted a holiday for for Thanksgiving, so what was said in that letter has no influence in our government. Also, you may want to read the thesis and stop taking things out of context you hack.
P.S. have a great election day, with the republican sweep and about 6 HOD changeovers

Comment on Bob McDonnell’s Thesis: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste by McDonnell vs. Deeds: It Matters « Great Blue Heron

McDonnell vs. Deeds: It Matters « Great Blue Heron — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:05:37 +0000

[...] called the separation of church and state “conventional folklore“ in his thesis. He has not repudiated that view. Imagine a governor reviewing [...]

Comment on Bob McDonnell: The Pretty Face of Sex Discrimination by Scout

Scout — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:11:05 +0000

Lisa Caruso has never worked for Bob McDonnell. She worked for Ed Barnes and his firm when she got to Virginia. She never said she had 10 years of prosecution experience and she is certainly not winning every case. Interesting that you look to attack Caruso in this forum.

Comment on What They Said! by Great Blue

Great Blue — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:35:13 +0000

In his 1802 Letter to the Danbury Baptists, Thomas Jefferson originated the term “wall of separation between church and state.”

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state.”

Thomas Jefferson’s beliefs against establishment of religion are an important facet Virginia and American history. Maybe they should teach that at Regent.