Steven Sisson | Don’t just stand there. Give ‘im a pencil

Chris Graham

In 2003, the Blue Dog first met Congressman Virgil Goode at the Greene County Strawberry Festival. While shaking hands and passing-out Sisson for Senate campaign literature, I heard a high-pitched shrilled voice calling-out … “Steeeveee Sissssson … anti-tax Democrat fer State Senate!” Even though I had never met him, I knew the distinct voice of…

Steven Sisson | Three men in a tub!

Steven Sisson

Hey! Rub-a-dub-dub! Ho! Rub-a-dub-dub! Three men in a tub, And who do you think were there? The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, And all of them gone to the Democratic fair! The Virginia gubernatorial race is on! It’s probably the best field of Democratic candidates running for governor in the history of the party….

David Cox | The Warner Effect

David Cox

While the chattering class has nattered over the Palin Effect in this month’s elections, less mentioned has been the Warner Effect. That is because, first, it affects Virginia. Venture outside the Commonwealth and even Democratic Convention-watchers might say, “Warner who?” As well, we Virginians have gotten rather used to Mark as well as John. The…

Chris Graham | ‘W.’ as art, ‘Religulous’ as divine inspiration

Chris Graham

“I don’t know. She said she fell asleep, it was so bad.” This was the warning from my wife after one of our friends saw an early screening of Oliver Stone’s “W.,” a chronicle of the life and times of the 43rd President of the United States of America, who thankfully is weeks away from…

‘Wake up, damn it!’

Chris Graham

For the uninitiated, Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene told it like it was in his world on the Washington, D.C., airwaves on WOL during the late 1960s and early 1970s before succumbing to cancer. The ex-con, who described himself in his boss’s word – a miscreant, because it sounded more sophisticated – would no doubt be…

Valley Blue Dog: Republican Tricks, Democratic Treats!

Steven Sisson

Column by Steven Sisson Halloween is a time for dressing up in a costume and wearing a mask and having fun. But grownups wear masks, too, especially politicians, and more than ever Republicans are masking the truth behind their agenda. According to nationwide polls, 70 percent of leaders can’t be trusted. The Blue Dog says…

David Cox: Pulpit politics

David Cox

Column by David Cox Two Sundays ago, 33 pastors around the country by prearrangement preached sermons to their congregations that endorsed or opposed candidates for President of the United States. What’s more, they will send their sermon texts to the Internal Revenue Service to defy the ban on tax-exempt nonprofits engaging in partisan politics. Clearly,…

Shepherd Bliss: Slow Food Nation attracts 50,000 … beneath the surface

Contributors

Column by Shepherd Bliss “Come to the table,” Slow Food Nation invited. And come to San Francisco over Labor Day weekend they did — around 50,000 people attending perhaps the largest food celebration in American history. Tables and straw bales appeared in the heart of the city’s Civic Center around a victory garden on about…