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Losing 32 percent of Marine and 21 percent of Army combat troops in battle would devastate our nation. That is how many soldiers said they will definitely leave the US military service early if “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” were repealed. Right before Christmas the “lame duck” Congress ended 232 years of military policy and 6000 years of…
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The 2011 General Assembly session is racing toward conclusion. We are now at the halfway point, the crossover, when each house must complete work on its own bills. We are just days away from having competing versions of the budget adopted and finalizing actions on a number of controversial issues. Intensifying the work is the…
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Listening to debate on the floor of the House of Delegates these days could lead one to conclude that Virginia’s relationship with the federal government is one of the principal issues facing the Commonwealth. The debates are not unlike those that took place when Virginia considered ratifying the new Constitution and joining the Union in…
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The House of Delegates on Tuesday passed a resolution to amend the Virginia Constitution in a manner that could encourage unconstitutional prayers in public schools. The vote was 66-33 to send HJ 593 to the Senate. Although the resolution does not contain plainly unconstitutional language, patron Del. Charles W. Carrico has made it clear he…
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The General Assembly continues to push through a large docket of bills for the 46-day session. Our days are long now, often beginning at 7:00 a.m. and ending at 10:00 p.m. Much of the controversy over the last week has focused on a number of proposed constitutional amendments. For a constitutional amendment to take effect…
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U.S. Sen. Jim Webb joined Sen. Claire McCaskill and other senators in introducing bipartisan legislation to abolish automatic pay raises for members of Congress. The new legislation mirrors a bill introduced by Sen. Webb and Sen. Russ Feingold during the last Congress (S.317). “With many Americans still out of work and trying to figure out…
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U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., today introduced the “STOP the OverPrinting Act” (S. 210), the Senate version of House legislation requiring the Government Printing Office to post legislative bills and resolutions online instead of automatically printing and distributing them to each congressional office. The senators estimate that the legislation should…
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For those who missed her speak at the sold-out 2011 Winter Forage Conferences last week, Temple Grandin—a best-selling author and the focus of a Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning HBO biopic—will appear on two episodes of WVPT’s “Virginia Farming,” airing at 7:30 PM on Friday, Jan. 28 and Feb. 4. The episodes, taped back-to-back on…
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The President’s challenge for all of us to create the country that 9-year old Christina Taylor Green thought we had when she made the fateful trip to hear her elected representative rings true to me. Christina had an ambition to be the first girl to play in the major leagues. Tragically it’s a chance she…
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When a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on January 12, 2010 the world community came to its aid. Millions of private citizens in this country and around the world reached into their household budgets and gave generously to the Haitian people who were grappling with the devastation. We sat in front of our televisions and…
