Moran named DPVA chair

Contributors

Brian Moran will succeed Dick Cranwell as chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia. Moran, a former state delegate and 2009 Democratic Party gubernatorial-nomination candidate, bested former Arlington County Democratic chair Peter Rousselot in voting by the party’s State Central Committee. “I want to thank Peter Rousselot for running a great campaign and raising a…

Ken Plum: Unraveling the mysteries of redistricting

Ken Plum

In the very near future Virginia will receive its official population numbers from the 2010 census. Our numbers are among the first to be issued because our off-year elections require us to redraw our legislative district lines in time for the 2011 fall elections. Follow the progress of the census results being made available at…

Valley man finalist in PETA Sexiest Vegetarian contest

Contributors

What do Prince, Sir Paul McCartney, and Christie Brinkley have in common? Besides their enduring star power, they are all sexy vegetarians who just happen to be over 50. Their sizzling example is what inspired PETA to expand its popular series of Sexiest Vegetarian contests to include the over-50 set. After receiving hundreds of entries…

Chris Graham: Repealing 50 years of advances in basic civil rights

Chris Graham

“The federal government,” says Bill Howell, the speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, “has long ago usurped the power reserved to the states and the people via our Constitution.” Here we go again. Looks like we’re about to refight the Civil War. Howell is in Washington today to talk up something called the Repeal…

Linda Tarr-Whelan: A New START for women around the world

Contributors

The so-called New START, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia, is poised for an historic ratification vote in the Senate this year. Three more major international treaties are also lined up on President Obama’s ratification to-do list: the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and CEDAW,…

David Cox: ‘No’ on a worthy sentiment, bad law

David Cox

When I come to the second of three amendments to the Virginia constitution on next Tuesday’s ballot, I hope I don’t punch a hole in the machine when I vote “No.” This proposal aims to help disabled veterans by exempting them from property tax. How could anyone oppose so worthy, so charitable a goal for…

Bradley Rees: A time for choosing

Letters

“A political battle is merely a skirmish fought with muskets. A philosophical battle is a nuclear war.” These words were written by Ayn Rand way back in 1964. This sentiment was, at one time, shared by the Tea Party groups that inhabit central Virginia. They understood that the time for fixing those metaphorical rusty bayonets…

Sarah van Gelder: Families can’t afford to stay home on Election Day

Contributors

If you’re like me, this election doesn’t feel anything like 2008. The excitement and hope of that historic election have been replaced by worry and disappointment. The 2008 campaigns at least occasionally addressed our country’s serious problems. This year it’s all noise, attacks, and accusations. Little actual policy makes it through. Meanwhile, billionaires, big oil,…