Gabby Giffords has released the following video announcing that she's stepping down from Congress.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Brian Moran Responds to McDonnell's Endorsement of MItt Romney
As Mitt Romney appears to be wrapping up the Republican nomination and Bob McDonnell is one of the people being mentioned as a potential VP candidate, it shouldn't be too surprising that McDonnell finally came around to publicly supporting Romney. Brian Moran wanted to make sure Virginians were aware of this, however, and sent out the following statement that highlighted how Romney still refuses to fully release his tax returns.
"Governor McDonnell's endorsement of Mitt Romney should come as no surprise," said Democratic Party of Virginia Chairman Brian Moran. "After all, both men believe in an economy that benefits the wealthy, gives corporations handouts and tax loopholes while letting Wall Street write their own rules - all while cutting vital programs make middle class families sacrifice even more than they already have. We've seen McDonnell slash funding for schools, Medicaid, Medicare, and long-term care while leaving the middle class holding the bag - sure sounds like a Romney supporter to us."
"The timing of today's endorsement is no accident. Mitt Romney is desperate to change the subject after what the media called his "very bad night in Charleston" where the best answer he could come up with when asked if he'd release his tax returns was "maybe." He can try to change the subject all he wants, but Virginia voters see what's obvious: Mitt Romney plays by a different set of rules than everyone else."
"Governor McDonnell's endorsement of Mitt Romney should come as no surprise," said Democratic Party of Virginia Chairman Brian Moran. "After all, both men believe in an economy that benefits the wealthy, gives corporations handouts and tax loopholes while letting Wall Street write their own rules - all while cutting vital programs make middle class families sacrifice even more than they already have. We've seen McDonnell slash funding for schools, Medicaid, Medicare, and long-term care while leaving the middle class holding the bag - sure sounds like a Romney supporter to us."
"The timing of today's endorsement is no accident. Mitt Romney is desperate to change the subject after what the media called his "very bad night in Charleston" where the best answer he could come up with when asked if he'd release his tax returns was "maybe." He can try to change the subject all he wants, but Virginia voters see what's obvious: Mitt Romney plays by a different set of rules than everyone else."
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Today on the Hill
After not being in session for almost a month, the House of Representatives came back to DC for all of two days and Members of Congress will now be heading back to their districts for the weekend. All in all, there were a few hearings, they elected a new Sergeant-at-Arms, and passed a resolution expressing opposition to the debt ceiling increase (which is largely symbolic as it doesn't stand a chance in the Senate). So you don't think they did absolutely nothing during the past couple days, however, I will be posting a piece soon about a hearing held Financial Services Committee that focused on the Volker Rule.
It's also worth noting that while it wasn't an official event, the big news of the week was all of the opposition to SOPA and the online protests that took place yesterday. They lead to thousands of phone calls and emails being sent to Members of Congress and brought about some interesting changes. Although I've already written a post about how Bob Goodlatte remains one of SOPA's chief advocates despite all the public opposition, I'll be posting about Congressional reaction to the public opposition and what we can take away from all the online protests.
With all that in mind, and considering that Congress isn't in session today, some folks might find it rather interesting that NDN will be holding a luncheon today discussing a new paper that's been released entitled "The Employment Effects of Advances in Internet and Wireless Infrastructure: Evaluating the Transitions from 2G to 3G and from 3G to 4G." I think the title of the paper pretty much sums up what the panel discussion will talk about, but it should be interesting -- especially if they touch on some of the SOPA debate that's been taking place recently.
It's also worth noting that while it wasn't an official event, the big news of the week was all of the opposition to SOPA and the online protests that took place yesterday. They lead to thousands of phone calls and emails being sent to Members of Congress and brought about some interesting changes. Although I've already written a post about how Bob Goodlatte remains one of SOPA's chief advocates despite all the public opposition, I'll be posting about Congressional reaction to the public opposition and what we can take away from all the online protests.
With all that in mind, and considering that Congress isn't in session today, some folks might find it rather interesting that NDN will be holding a luncheon today discussing a new paper that's been released entitled "The Employment Effects of Advances in Internet and Wireless Infrastructure: Evaluating the Transitions from 2G to 3G and from 3G to 4G." I think the title of the paper pretty much sums up what the panel discussion will talk about, but it should be interesting -- especially if they touch on some of the SOPA debate that's been taking place recently.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Video Explains Why SOPA is Controversial
I've already posted about how Bob Goodlatte is one of SOPA's leading advocates and I have a post coming tomorrow morning about the reaction on the Hill to the protests surrounding the legislation, but I wanted to highlight the following video because it does a good job of explaining why the bill is so controversial.
PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.
Bob Goodlatte's One of SOPA's Biggest Advocates
Now Goodlatte claims he only wants to go after "rogue sites," but most people outside of the entertainment industry realize that the legislation could have a devastating impact on websites that are designed to legally bring information to the general public. A prime example of this is that sites like twitter, youtube, and other social media sites could be significantly harmed by SOPA. While some people use these sites to post funny videos of their cats, we've seen social media play a huge role in protests both domestically and abroad in recent months. As a result, SOPA would ultimately have an extremely negative impact on free speech and take away a major way we hold our government accountable for its actions.
The more people become aware of SOPA's impact on free speech, the more opposition to the bill seems to grow. I even had a friend who works for the entertainment industry tell me via facebook "Sopa and Pipa have me really damned concerned. And I *work* in the entertainment industry." What this tells me is that even folks who have an extremely personal interest in seeing the intellectual property of the entertainment industry realize that this law goes way too far. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, however, doesn't appear to really care about this because he's still out there leading SOPA's defense.
In an article that points out how Goodlatte had a lot of influence in how the bill was shaped due to his position as the Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet, the Roanoke Times pointed out that his opposition "has gone viral."
[He's gone viral] because he's taken a strong position on one side of a raging debate over a bill that some claim could reshape the Internet.While Goodlatte is busy leading the charge for SOPA despite its consequences, it looks like his constituents are paying attention. This is making Goodlatte's claims that hes standing up for jobs and businesses because a lot of business leaders from Virginia are rather outspoken in their opposition to the bill. Venveo, for instance, is a company based in Virginia that has been victim of online piracy in the past. But even that company's creative director is talking about how the legislation over steps the stated goal and he told the Roanoke Times that it could end up "stifling" creativity instead of protecting businesses.
Goodlatte is a co-sponsor and outspoken defender of the Stop Online Piracy Act, which has sparked an extensive online opposition campaign.
"The idea behind it [SOPA] is good, but the issue is I don't think Congress is really consulting a lot of the entities and organizations this would affect the most," said Zach Williams, creative director for the Blacksburg-based digital marketing firm Venveo. "They're obviously trying to cut down on pirated software and music, but it opens up the door for a lot more regulation that I think could be stifling. That's the big fear."What this all means is that Bob Goodlatte is not only supporting an extremely controversial bill, but he's doing it despite the apprehension from the Virginia businesses he claims SOPA will protect. Fortunately, voters will have an opportunity to remind Goodlatte of their opposition to the bill. That's because both his opponent in the GOP primary (Karen Kwiatkowski) and his potential Democratic opponent in the general election (Andy Schmookler) have expressed opposition to the bill.
Video: Allen Attacks Recovery Act While Campaigning at Companies that it Benefitted
The Democratic Party of Virginia has been highlighting George Allen's hypocrisy. They've been able to find so much material that it's almost humorous to see the press releases come in several times a week pointing out the latest way in which George Allen can't even live up to his own standards. The latest development in the string of hypocrisy alerts is a video DPVA made highlighting former Senator George Allen's recent visit to Micron Systems, a Manassas semiconductor manufacture that received $5 million from the Recovery Act that Allen opposes strongly.
"Attacking the Recovery Act while campaigning with companies that benefitted from it is exactly the sort of hypocritical doublespeak that helped cost George Allen his Senate seat in 2006 and has defined his campaign for re-election in 2012," said DPVA Executive Director David Mills. "George Allen is clearly comfortable saying one thing and doing another, but Virginians deserve more than that in a U.S. Senator."
"Attacking the Recovery Act while campaigning with companies that benefitted from it is exactly the sort of hypocritical doublespeak that helped cost George Allen his Senate seat in 2006 and has defined his campaign for re-election in 2012," said DPVA Executive Director David Mills. "George Allen is clearly comfortable saying one thing and doing another, but Virginians deserve more than that in a U.S. Senator."
Today on the Hill
The Senate is still in pro forma session, but the House of Representatives came back to session yesterday as the Armed Services Committee held a hearing on "Business Challenges within the Defense industry" and the Rules Committee held a hearing on a resolution to express opposition to the President's request to increase the debt ceiling. The full House also took a quorum call and voted on a new Sergeant At Arms for the House which, as expected, was fairly uneventful.
As far as action on the floor of the House today, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. First votes expected: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. You can probably expect a fair amount of attention to be given to the vote for the resolution expressing opposition to raising the debt ceiling because many Republican members are gearing up to use this as an opportunity to show their opposition to Obama's policy. There's going to be about two hours of debate on the resolution, so I imagine this could produce a few newsworthy clips if the right members head to the floor.
There will also be three committee's in action tomorrow and Eric Cantor's office has highlighted the markup of H.R. 1173 as the "committee activity of the day." It shouldn't be too surprising that Cantor highlighted this hearing because H.R. 1173 repeals a part of President Barack Obama’s health care reform effort called the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program.
I won't be watching that markup, however, because I'll be covering the Financial Services Committee hearing on the Volcker Rule. This is important because the Volcker Rule's a provision in Dodd-Frank that prohibits banks from taking part in certain kinds of speculative trading that don't serve the needs of customers. In other words, it prevents some of the behavior that led to the recent banking meltdown. Despite the fact that financial analysts believe this is a step in the right direction, Republicans have been against this measure since before they even gained a majority in the House.
You can see the full schedule of committee hearings below "the fold."
As far as action on the floor of the House today, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. First votes expected: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. You can probably expect a fair amount of attention to be given to the vote for the resolution expressing opposition to raising the debt ceiling because many Republican members are gearing up to use this as an opportunity to show their opposition to Obama's policy. There's going to be about two hours of debate on the resolution, so I imagine this could produce a few newsworthy clips if the right members head to the floor.
There will also be three committee's in action tomorrow and Eric Cantor's office has highlighted the markup of H.R. 1173 as the "committee activity of the day." It shouldn't be too surprising that Cantor highlighted this hearing because H.R. 1173 repeals a part of President Barack Obama’s health care reform effort called the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program.
I won't be watching that markup, however, because I'll be covering the Financial Services Committee hearing on the Volcker Rule. This is important because the Volcker Rule's a provision in Dodd-Frank that prohibits banks from taking part in certain kinds of speculative trading that don't serve the needs of customers. In other words, it prevents some of the behavior that led to the recent banking meltdown. Despite the fact that financial analysts believe this is a step in the right direction, Republicans have been against this measure since before they even gained a majority in the House.
You can see the full schedule of committee hearings below "the fold."
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Could Surovell's New Committee Assignment Have Political Impact?
I pointed out a few days ago that Mark Keam picked up an additional committee assignment in the House of Delegates (the Education Committee). It looks like he’s not the only House Democrat who has gained a committee assignment as Delegate Scott Surovell picked up a third committee and will now be serving on the Committee on Militia, Police, and Public Safety.
Scott said that he looks forward to the assignment because it means he can put more of his professional experience to good use while he’s in Richmond. “I’m in Traffic Court and Criminal Court several times per week,” said Delegate Surovell, “I also look forward to focusing on reforms to our prison system such as solitary confinement and prisoner re-entry programs.”
I think it’s great to see that we now have another progressive serving on that committee as we really do need to make some reforms to the prison system. As Scott hinted at in his statement, after all, we need to make sure that prisoners receive the skills necessary to succeed once they are released from prison. That not only would allow for a moral victory in keeping the prisoners away from a life of crime after being released, but would also save tax payers money. (If we don’t have to lock people up for a second or third time, we don’t have to pay for their second or third incarceration).
Being assigned to that committee, however, also sometimes has some political consequences. The Republicans like to introduce controversial gun laws in order to force potentially vulnerable Democrats to cast a vote on the issue. This is one way to get the NRA or other anti-gun control activists to help fund potential opponents for relatively junior members of the legislature.
Now Scott was able to win re-election last November with almost 60% of the vote, but that was against an opponent who only raised $228,000 (almost $100,000 of which was in-kind donations). If he draws an opponent who’s able to get the NRA to fund attack ads, the race will be a whole lot closer. And when you consider how there’s a growing debate regarding guns on college campuses in Virginia, that is a very real possibility considering Scott’s new committee assignment.
In the end, this move means that Democrats will have a solid progressive voice on the Committee on Militia, Police, and Public Safety. This will prove to be beneficial as the general assembly is considering laws, but it will also mean that we’ll likely have to work a little harder in 2013 to make sure Scott Surovell is elected to a third term in the House of Delegates.
Scott said that he looks forward to the assignment because it means he can put more of his professional experience to good use while he’s in Richmond. “I’m in Traffic Court and Criminal Court several times per week,” said Delegate Surovell, “I also look forward to focusing on reforms to our prison system such as solitary confinement and prisoner re-entry programs.”
I think it’s great to see that we now have another progressive serving on that committee as we really do need to make some reforms to the prison system. As Scott hinted at in his statement, after all, we need to make sure that prisoners receive the skills necessary to succeed once they are released from prison. That not only would allow for a moral victory in keeping the prisoners away from a life of crime after being released, but would also save tax payers money. (If we don’t have to lock people up for a second or third time, we don’t have to pay for their second or third incarceration).
Being assigned to that committee, however, also sometimes has some political consequences. The Republicans like to introduce controversial gun laws in order to force potentially vulnerable Democrats to cast a vote on the issue. This is one way to get the NRA or other anti-gun control activists to help fund potential opponents for relatively junior members of the legislature.
Now Scott was able to win re-election last November with almost 60% of the vote, but that was against an opponent who only raised $228,000 (almost $100,000 of which was in-kind donations). If he draws an opponent who’s able to get the NRA to fund attack ads, the race will be a whole lot closer. And when you consider how there’s a growing debate regarding guns on college campuses in Virginia, that is a very real possibility considering Scott’s new committee assignment.
In the end, this move means that Democrats will have a solid progressive voice on the Committee on Militia, Police, and Public Safety. This will prove to be beneficial as the general assembly is considering laws, but it will also mean that we’ll likely have to work a little harder in 2013 to make sure Scott Surovell is elected to a third term in the House of Delegates.
MoveOn Joins SOPA Protest with Website Blackout Tomorrow
There's been a lot of debate over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) that's currently been making it's rounds through Congress. While nobody's really denying that companies should be able to protect their intellectual property, most people realize that this bill would go a lot further than simply preventing people from downloading illegal copies of music and movies. In fact, it could stifle free speech by threatening websites like youtube and many social media outlets. When you consider how many protests both at home and abroad have started using these resources, SOPA would therefore eventually take away one of our major ways to have an informed populous and hold our government accountable.
That is why many of the most frequently used websites (both political and non-political) will be taking part in a massive website blackout tomorrow. Here's the statement I just received from the communications director at MoveOn.org about why they'll be taking part in the blackout.
That is why many of the most frequently used websites (both political and non-political) will be taking part in a massive website blackout tomorrow. Here's the statement I just received from the communications director at MoveOn.org about why they'll be taking part in the blackout.
MoveOn.org is joining Reddit, Wikipedia, Mozilla, and thousands of others tomorrow in a massive website blackout to protest Internet censorship legislation, (SOPA & PIPA), that threatens free speech, and technology innovation on the Internet. The White House recently responded to petitions opposing the internet censorship bills stating, "We will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global internet."
MoveOn will be blacking out their website tomorrow and directing visitors to learn more about the Internet censorship legislation and how they can take action to stop it.
Statement from Justin Ruben, Executive Director of MoveOn.org:
"Congress is playing fast and loose with Internet censorship legislation that would have people like Justin Bieber thrown in jail for uploading a video to YouTube. The Internet censorship legislation could severely restrict free speech, and put a stranglehold on one of the most innovative, job-creating industries of our time. MoveOn is joining the massive website blackout because it's critical to preserve an open internet that enables our members to engage on issues they care about. Members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, would be wise to take a step back and reconsider their support for this reckless legislation."
Monday, January 16, 2012
Mark Keam Speaks About Korean American Day
Mark Keam, who I believe is the first Korean American to serve as a Delegate, spoke on the floor of the House of Delegates to speak about Korean American Day on Friday. I wanted to post this video because it not only reminds us that we should be celebrating the contributions Korean Americans have brought to Virginia, but I think it shows a little bit of Mark's personality. I mean, he does make jokes about Friday the 13th and Follow Friday on twitter during a 90 second clip celebrating Korean American Day.
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