Ken Plum: The politics of fear

Ken Plum

Fear can be a powerful influence in our lives. A healthy fear of something that is harmful may keep us safe. Fear of the unknown can cause helpful caution or limit our perspective. Too often fear can be misused to manipulate the actions of others. In Richmond as elsewhere, fear is evident and at work in many aspects of the legislative process.

Kaine, Biden take part in gun violence roundtable

AFP

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine on Friday joined Vice President Joe Biden, Representative Bobby Scott, mental health experts, and law enforcement officials from Virginia for a roundtable discussion to highlight strategies to reduce gun violence. The event at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond acted as a forum for Kaine and others to outline measures that were taken after the Virginia Tech tragedy to curb incidences of gun violence and mass shootings.

Creigh Deeds: Redistricting shenanigans

Creigh Deeds

The only thing predictable about a “short” session is that the days will be full and pass by quickly. We are more than a third of the way through the 46 day session and had real fireworks this past week. On Monday, the nation celebrated Martin Luther King Day and the second inauguration of President Barack Obama. Nevertheless, since the Virginia Constitution calls for the General Assembly to be in session, we were hard at work considering bills and resolutions. All legislation has importance to someone, but overshadowing those bills was a tactic involving redistricting that was sprung on the Senate at the close of business on Monday afternoon.