Court dismisses lawsuit over GA’s authority to draw congressional districts

AFP

The Richmond Circuit Court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by six Virginia residents that sought to have the court draw Virginia’s congressional districts for the upcoming elections. The court found that the 2012 General Assembly had the power to draw new congressional districts, and therefore, the plaintiffs’ suit had to be dismissed.

Federal court dismisses suit against Virginia’s congressional redistricting

AFP

On Friday, a federal court dismissed a lawsuit brought by six Virginia residents that sought to have the court draw Virginia’s congressional districts for the upcoming November elections. Among other reasons, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed the case based on its finding that the recent actions of the…

Mark Warner: A bipartisan center forms in the U.S. Senate

Chris Graham

When I asked Virginians in 2008 for the privilege of serving them in the United States Senate, I pledged to go to Washington to try to lead a “radical bipartisan center” that would work together to find common ground to solve our nation’s biggest challenges. As our country’s $14.7 trillion national debt grows by more…

Susan Shaer and Kathy Crandall Robinson: The U.S. should ratify test ban treaty

AFP

On September 24, 1996, after intense international negotiations, a verifiable global ban on nuclear test explosions — the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) – was presented for countries to sign. Because the CTBT clearly benefits U.S. national security by constraining other countries’ nuclear weapons capabilities, the United States played a galvanizing role in test…

Kate Wofford: Congress should accept Valley’s caution on gas drilling

AFP

A dozen Shenandoah Valley residents and I went to Washington last Friday, where I served as a witness at a congressional oversight hearing. The focus was a U.S. Forest Service proposal to ban a controversial natural gas drilling technique – horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing – from more than one million acres of public land…

Sanford D. Horn: Happy Birthday to U.S.

AFP

“The Declaration of Independence [is the] declaratory charter of our rights, and the rights of man.” – Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826); Founding Father; credited author of said document and third American president. A housekeeping note – I dislike the expression “happy fourth of July.” Happy Independence Day is the correct expression or happy birthday America is…

Former Congressman Sestak speaks of restoring American dream to Bridgewater grads

AFP

As Bridgewater College’s graduating seniors and their families celebrated on the campus Sunday, former Pennsylvania Congressman Joseph A. “Joe” Sestak urged the 326 graduates to resuscitate a faltering American Dream by restoring trust in leaders and institutions, standing on the values of accountability and providing principled leadership. Sestak, a 31-year veteran of the U.S. Navy…

Earth Talk: Is U.S. air quality getting better?

Roddy Scheer

Dear EarthTalk: Is air quality in the United States improving or getting worse? Is it cleaner in some parts of the country than in others? – K. Gould, Sherman Oaks, Calif. Air quality across the United States has improved dramatically since 1970 when Congress passed the Clean Air Act in response to growing pollution problems…

Frank Knapp Jr.: A warning for U.S. democracy

AFP

Make no mistake about it – the peaceful Egyptian revolution was brought about by the workers and small business owners of that country protesting together. They want economic opportunity for all and a democratically elected government that puts its peoples’ interests above the interests of the financially powerful, well-connected oligarchy. There is a lesson here…