Ken Plum: Obamacare in Virginia

Ken Plum

President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Obamacare, into law on March 23, 2010. On the same day Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli filed the first lawsuit in the nation to challenge the provision in ACA that most individuals be mandated to have health insurance. Eastern District Federal Judge Henry Hudson ruled in…

Webb, Corker issue joint resolution on Libya

AFP

Sens. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) today introduced a joint resolution requiring the Administration to provide a detailed justification of U.S. operations in Libya and prohibiting the deployment of U.S. troops on the ground there. It further calls on the president to request authorization for the continuation of U.S. involvement in NATO activities…

Ken Plum: Virginia’s energy future

Ken Plum

President Barack Obama declared a “Sputnik moment” for our country to recognize the dangers involved in our unquenchable need for oil and the civil unrest that marks the countries that supply us with petroleum. He established as a goal that 80 percent of U.S. energy come from clean generation sources by 2035. Just as engineers…

Claire Coleman: Family planning – an essential part of American life

AFP

If you’re an average woman, you want two children, according to various surveys. That means you’ll spend about five years of your life trying to become pregnant, being pregnant or recovering from pregnancy, and 30 years trying to avoid it. You can do that thanks to the June 1965 landmark Supreme Court decision Griswold v….

Ken Plum: A frugal, well-run government

Ken Plum

A slick postcard mailed by the Republican Party of Virginia arrived in the mailboxes of many voters in my district last week just as many people were completing their tax forms. In the standard Republican charge against Democrats, the card text read that I wanted “to take even more” of my constituents’ tax money. The…

Downtown couture: Shop adds to local flavor in Waynesboro

AFP

Couture fashion – not exactly what you’d expect to find in Waynesboro, but that is one of the latest additions to Downtown Waynesboro with the addition Mariah Amine Couture. Don’t be too intimidated by the word couture, though; the shop still has the local feel that local shoppers are comfortable in. It’s within a few…

Gov. McDonnell, Senate Dems go toe-to-toe over redistricting

AFP

Gov. Bob McDonnell on Friday vetoed the redistricting plans approved by the Virginia General Assembly, citing issues with the plan passed by the Democratic-majority Senate. Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw vowed that Senate Democrats will not back down. “The only thing Governor will accept is absolute surrender on the part of the Democrats of the…

Chris Graham: Down the middle

Chris Graham

President Obama on Wednesday released a down-the-middle plan for dealing with the federal government’s deepening budget crisis. I meant the term down the middle to mean one thing – that it features some elements that appeal to the left and some that appeal to the right. But I full recognize that it can mean something…