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

AFP

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…

The Top Story: Obama, McCain visiting Va.

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham [email protected] Barack Obama is not welcome in Southwest Virginia. That was the rather curious, to me, anyway, message today from the presidential campaign that has said that it will tone down the partisan rhetoric and even reach out across the aisle to welcome Democrats into its reform-minded administration if…

Rick Gray: All in the timing

AFP

Op-ed by Rick Gray Timing is everything. Four years ago, on Christmas night, I flew to Manchester, N.H., to spend a week of my precious winter holiday knocking on doors for Howard Dean. This year, I’ve slapped a McCain sticker on my bumper and agreed to write this piece. Let me explain. I’m a liberal,…

The Top Story: The new new McCain

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham [email protected] Two weeks ago, the ’08 presidential election was essentially a referendum on whether Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama was fit to be commander-in-chief, even as Obama had been efforting for months to convince voters that it was really about change. Last night, John McCain, a political maverick to…

White House ’08: Unemployment on the rise, and candidates respond

AFP

Story by Chris Graham [email protected] Another key measure of economic performance appears to show the continued effects of slowdown. The national unemployment rate rose four-tenths of a percent in August, topping the 6 percent mark, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment fell in the manufacturing and employment-services sectors, with gains in the mining…

Fifth District: Perriello raises questions about Goode fund-raiser

Chris Graham

Item by Chris Graham [email protected] What interest would a lobbyist group have in hosting a pay-to-play fundraiser for Fifth District Congressman Virgil Goode? That question is being asked by the campaign of Democratic Party nominee Tom Perriello. “This is just another example of how Virgil Goode has been bought and paid for by the special…

Special Commentary: Palin-haters?

Chris Graham

Special Commentary by Chris Graham [email protected] “Sarah Palin represents everything they hate,” conservative radio host Laura Ingraham told an audience at the Republican National Convention this week. Which piqued my interest, because I’m guessing that I’m one of those they that she was referring to – a Democrat, a member of the news media. Come…

Fifth District: Perriello campaign says Goode price isn’t right

Chris Graham

Item by Chris Graham [email protected] Fifth District congressional candidate Tom Perriello is using the web and a dash of levity to draw attention to Republican incumbent Virgil Goode’s ties to Big Oil. “This video is a humorous way to learn how Congressman Goode personally and politically benefits from Big Oil, but the facts of the…