Dr. Schmookler Speaks to Dems From Lynchburg, Amherst, Campbell Co's

Wednesday, May 18, 7:00 - 9:00 PM - Lynchburg Democrats will meet in the Community Meeting Room of the Lynchburg Public Library in the Plaza. Dr. Andrew Schmookler, who is running for the Democratic nomination in the 6th Congressional District to oppose Bob Goodlatte in the 2012 election, will be the guest speaker.      Chairman John Lawrence and Vice Chairman Gerald Cheatham invited Democrts from all the sourrounding counties.

Dr. Andrew Bard Schmookler and Chairman John Lawrence

Ada Smith

Ada L. Smith (born in Amherst County, Virginia) served as a New York State Senator from 1989 to 2006.   She represented the 10th Senate District, centered in the Jamaica, Queens section of New York City.

Smith was ranking Democrat on the state Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee.    She lost the 2006 Democratic senate primary election to Shirley Huntley, who was elected state senator later that year.      Fate turned almost full circle and Ada made it back to Lynchburg.     Welcome Home Ada, it is wonderful to have an experienced representative of the people in the local Democratic Party.

Ray Reed

Reporter From Lynchburg News and Advance

Mr. Reed was there primarily to meet and cover Dr. Andrew Bard Schmookler and his bid to unseat Bob Goodlatte.    Ray Reed, Reporter News and Advance- Lynchburg  is a member of the Virginia Press Association and the Virginia Capitol Correspondents Association.    Mr Reed is a well known and respected political and government affairs reporter.



All the County Democratic Committee's in the new 22nd  Virginia Senate District are now involved in trying to convince Bert Dodson to seek the Democratic Senate Position.     I've been to 3 county meetings in the last 10 days ( Amherst County, Campbell County and Lynchburg ) and we have decided to start a petition to try and persuade Mr. Dodson to pitch his hat in the ring.    We will also attend other County Meetings to get and keep the effort going.     Bert was in attendence at this meeting and Chairman John Lawrence asked Bert to say a few words to the crowd.      We really need for Bert to be the first Senator in Virginia's new 22nd district so we will keep working on him to run.

Bert Dodson

Hard to See but thats Bert up in front of the crowd

Amherst Co. Chairman David Burford and Dr. Schmookler

Walter Fore

Steel Workers of America

Walter has been fighting for workers rights and standing up for the rights of all people for his entire adult life.     It is an honor to have him associated with the Lynchburg Democratic Party.     I remember Walter from the Central Virginia Labor Council when Silas Switcher was the president (and Julian Carper the Head of the State AFL-CIO) and we met at Steel Workers Hall by the Southern States Store just off Campbell avenue.     (memories go way back)     Good to see you again brother.     You haven't lost an ounce of your youthful fire.

David Burford, Ada Smith, Russell Hill

Gerald Cheatham, Vice Chair of Lynchburg Dems is shown here helping set up the food tables.    Gerald has attended the Amherst County Meetings and now that we are all in the new Virginia Senate District 22 we will be getting together more often.

Dr Schmookler's wife (center)  April

Dr. Schmookler has a web site called   none so blind     click to visit.

Dr. Schmookler Challenges Goodlatte in the 6th District

Dr. Andrew Bard Schmookler, 65, is vying for the 6th District Democratic nomination in May to run against Republican Congressman Bob Goodlatte in 2012.

Dr. Schmookler is a writer living in Shenandoah County ,two miles from West Virginia near Orkney Springs.    He spends time writing a blog at nonsoblind.org.    He is married with three children.

“I feel that what I’m fighting for is the soul of America. …It is a grave crisis this country now faces,”   says Dr. Schmookler.

He is using friends for his campaign staff and admits that    “There’s no way I’m going to match [the funds] that the incumbent can raise.”      He’ll get his message out hoping to level the playing field and making   “David’s slingshot a match for his [Goodlatte] Goliath’s sword.”

He said his campaign is    “deeply committed to truthfulness” something he believes is lacking in politics today.   He says he is not a generic Democrat.      He has an   “unusual and powerful message.”

“The country is acting like it is normal politics when forces that we’re not confronting actually are degrading it.”      His campaign theme reflects his message –  “Let’s talk about the elephant in the room – It is a crisis, an emergency.”       Schmookler said he feels “duty bound to do everything that’s in my power to protect the country from going down the tubes.”

He plans to bring out Goodlatte’s untruths about telling constituents he’s on their side when he is not.     Schmookler called Goodlatte   “a loyal foot soldier of the Republican army.”

Schmookler is running as a Democrat because he believes that the “Democratic Party is the only thing that can possibly protect us from the destructive force that the Republican Party has become.”

When it comes to voter apathy there are two kinds said Schmookler.      One just doesn’t care and the other feels that anything they do won’t matter.      His job will be to make them understand that the current state of politics is robbing them and their children of a future.     Others feel   “a form of despair.”     They need to rise up and demand a government with integrity.     “We’ve seen that on the streets of Cairo [Egypt] and Madison [Wisconsin],”    said Schmookler.

Dr. Schmookler has conducted radio conversations, authored many books and makes regular speaking appearances.

He studied as an undergraduate at Harvard University, where he graduated summa cum laude in Social Relations in 1967.

Schmookler went on to earn his doctorate in 1977 at the University of California at Berkeley and The Graduate Theological Union, in a program specially created to accommodate his comprehensive theory of human history.

In 1984, Dr. Schmookler was awarded the Erik H. Erikson Prize by the International Society for Political Psychology.     And in 1985, he was selected by Esquire Magazine as   “one of the men and women under forty who are changing the nation.”       The International Biographical Centre (of Cambridge, England) selected him, in 1999, as one the   “Outstanding People of the Twentieth Century”.

Here is the text of a proposed ad that Dr. Schmookler spoke of during his presentation. 

   

You can go to his website and let him know what you think.      Does it work, does it need changes to have maximum effect.     This is your campaign and your thoughts and ideas are important.     Please share your thoughts.    www.nonesoblind.org

Here's the ad

WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT A POLITICAL PARTY IF IT TAKES THE POSITION,

“MEET OUR DEMANDS OR WE’LL HURT AMERICA”?

That’s the position the Republicans took last December.
 The Republicans (including Bob Goodlatte) said, “Extend the tax cuts for the very rich, or we’ll see to it that the taxes go up for EVERY American.” They knew that was bad for the country, because they said so: an across the board tax hike could derail our fragile economic recovery.

But they threatened to do it anyway.

And then, this spring, once again the Republicans took the country hostage.

The Republicans (including Bob Goodlatte) said, “Give us the spending cuts we demand, or we’ll shut down the government.”

They knew that a government shutdown would disrupt the lives of millions of Americans. Americans didn’t like it when there was a government shutdown in the 1990s. A government shutdown is bad for the country.

But the Republicans threatened to do it anyway.

And right now, the Republicans are taking America hostage again. The Republicans (including Bob Goodlatte) are threatening to refuse to raise the debt limit unless their demands are met.

They know that it would be bad –really, really bad– for the country.

That’s why both parties have always, until now, worked together to raise the debt ceiling so that the country can pay its bills.

That’s why the Congress raised it seven times, without a partisan battle, while George W. Bush was president.

That’s why many people say it could bring on an economic crisis even worse than the one in 2008 America and the world are still trying to recover from.     That’s why even the U.S. Chamber of Congress is pleading for the Republicans not to play politics with the threat to put the United States into default for the first time in its history.

But the Republicans are threatening to do it anyway.

Has any political party ever acted like this in our 220 year history?     I don’t think so.

THAT’S NOT THE AMERICAN WAY!

Threatening to hurt the country –taking the public good hostage– is a violation of America’s ideals for how our democracy should work.

Send Bob Goodlatte and the Republican Party a message.     Tell them you want them to uphold America’s political ideals, or you’ll find people who will!

ACVDN Bottom Line
Todays Republican party is a distortion of what it used to be.     Republicans were once decent people who wanted the same dreams for the future that Democrats have, good educations for our children, social security, medicare, womens health care, early childhood education, health care for all our citizens and retirements with dignity.     For the Republicans those days are long gone.      With the "I Like Ike" era of the late fifties it started to die for republicans.     Today any decency the republicans once had is completely gone.      Republicans want to do away with anything that poor and working people have and to trim back on benefits of the middle class and to direct any savings to the upper two percent of wage earners and big business.      Republicans have become wild dogs roaming the streets of the American dream attacking anything they encounter.     Republicans must be stopped, defeated, diminished in power for the America that is the envy of the world to survive.      For those who still label themselves as republican the time is now to distance yourself from the failing GOP.      As long as you empower republicans they will continue to steal from you and give to the wealthy and big business.      Republicans are the masters of the reverse Robin Hood.

Congressman Bob Goodlatte now has a challenger for his seat. Shenandoah County writer Dr. Andrew Bard Schmookler announced Tuesday that he is running as a Democrat.

Schmookler is an author, speaker, and radio talk-show host.   He says America is stalled because both parties have not learned to work together.

Congressman Goodlatte refused to comment on Schmookler's announcement, saying the election is too far away to start responding to potential challengers.      Goodlattes normal way of dealing with problems is to close his eyes and hope they go away.     When Bob opens his eyes Dr. Andrew Bard Schmookler will still be there.     People who know Dr. Andy as folks who have trouble with his last name sometimes call him tell me he is a pit bull when he tackles problems.     Dr Andy won't let go until he has the desired solution.     When he is our Congressman inVirginia's 6th District he will work just that hard for you, count on it.    

Schmookler's website, www.nonesoblind.org , says he is a Harvard grad and the author of prize-winning book The Parable of the Tribes: The Problem of Power in Social Evolution.

America now faces one of the gravest crises in the history of the nation.

In the American political realm, a battle now that must be fought if we are to meet this historical challenge successfully.   The way to fight and win this battle is by talking about   "The Elephant in the Room."

The idea of   "the elephant in the room"   identifies two problems:   the elephant, and the fact that people act and talk as if it were not there.

The  "elephant"  in our American room is the unprecedentedly destructive force that has arisen on the political right.    We can see how this  "elephant"  is damaging everything in America that it touches.    Taking power away from this destructive force is Job One for us Americans, because until that job is done, none of our other jobs can get done right.

In a democracy, the only way a force like this can gain power is by deceiving the people about its true nature.     The way to defeat this destructive force, therefore, is to expose it for what it really is so that, discredited in the eyes of the American people, it loses its support.

Yet both the national media, and our national Democratic leaders, act as if these are normal times in American politics, refusing to confront this unprecedented force.

Both sides of our political divide have their defects, but they are complementary, not symmetrical:   one insists on making a fight of everything, even when there's no need, while the other shrinks from the fight, even when it is absolutely necessary.

Meanwhile, the battle goes badly--lies continue to be rewarded, power continues to go to the force that has taken over the Republican Party, the nation's good structures continue to be degraded, and the power and wealth continue to flow from the American people to the already very rich and powerful.

If it's clear that the force to turn things around will not come from the players at the center stage, that leaves one possible source in the American body politic:   a rising up of the American people.

If I'm right that this crisis represents as serious a threat to America's traditional values as was the fight against fascism abroad in World War II, for which so many sacrificed so much, we should ask ourselves what effort we as citizens today should be prepared to make to meet the present challenge.

The theme  "Let's Talk About THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM!"   provides the key to forming a social movement for that
purpose--for that theme is at once a call to battle, the weapon of choice, and a strategy to bring pressure to bear on the core of American power.


Show Down at the Not OK Corral


What These Showdowns Reveal by Andy Schmookler

Americans will soon witness the third major political showdown in six months.      It’s worth examining this pattern, because it shows what is seriously sick in our body politic.

First came the impasse last December over the looming expiration of the Bush tax cuts.     Democrats wanted to extend those cuts for the first quarter of a million dollars of a family’s income; Republicans wanted to extend them all the way to the last dollar earned by billionaires.

Republicans threatened to prevent ANY of the tax cuts from being extended unless they got their way.     President Obama and the Democrats gave in.     The whole package of tax cuts was extended.

Several things are worth pointing out:

What the Republicans were threatening to do would have hurt the nation, and their words show they knew that.     The economic recovery remained weak, and an across-the-board tax increase (if no action were taken) would have set back a fragile recovery.

Threatening to hurt the nation if one’s demands are not met is not how Americans have traditionally conducted their politics.     This is a violation of our nation’s political ideals even if the demands are good.

But these demands were not good.     Of all the ways of adding to the national debt, giving money to the very rich was the least effective way of helping the economy get back on its feet.     The Republican plan had the additional defect of further widening the gulf between the richest and the rest in America after a decade when the richest made progress while 90 percent of American families lost ground.

Polls showed the public supported the Democrats’ position.     It was a political battle that the Democrats could have won.    Yet they capitulated.    After the deal,  President Obama said,    “I think it’s tempting not to negotiate with hostage takers, unless the hostage gets harmed. … In this case, the hostage was the American people, and I was not willing to see them get harmed.”

Obama gave in early in the process — before any crisis forced Americans to confront what was at stake and where their interests lay.     Republicans paid no political price for bad behavior.     Obama showed them that blackmail pays.

No surprise that when the next major issue arose this spring – the need to pass a budget for the year already underway– Republicans turned to blackmail again.     This time they threatened to shut down the government.     Again, their policy demands (for various budget cuts) were bad for the country:     The Congressional Budget Office indicates that those budget cuts could cost the economy 400,000 more jobs.     The Republicans also struck at programs like Food Stamps that help the most vulnerable at a time of great hardship for millions of families.

Again, the public supported the Democrats’ priorities.     And again, Obama and the Democrats caved early to Republican demands, preventing a government shutdown which, though regrettable, would have highlighted the Republicans’ reprehensible tactics.

Again, the Republicans paid no political price.     Indeed, they were rewarded for conduct that assaults the political customs that have made America a well-functioning democracy for most of its two-plus centuries.

This sets the stage for the next showdown—over raising the debt ceiling.      Again, the Republicans are threatening to damage the country.      Knowledgeable people say inaction could derail the world economy and do lasting damage to the   “good faith and credit”   of the United States.

Amherst County Virginia Democratic News



Canpbell Co. Dems and Special Guest Tyee Davenport

I have Located Betty Zieger

Betty was a member of the Amherst Co. Democrats and when she moved to Campbell Co. she transferred to their organization.     Our loss was their gain as Betty is a super worker and dedicated to the Party.     Betty runs the Campbell County Democrats Website just click it to visit.

You might not be able to tell but these ladies are hiding something and later I'll show you what it is.     I'm getting ahead of myself so I'll start at the beginning.

Our Chairman is David Burford and below Tyee's picture is the little note he sent me.

Tyee Davenport

Tuesday, May 17, 7:30 PM - The Campbell County Democrats have invited us to join them for their meeting.     Special guest speaker will be Tyee Davenport, Deputy Political Director of the DPVA.     Meet at the Citizens Services Building, 85 Carden Lane, Rustburg (Carden is across the street from the old courthouse.)    Call Betty Zeiger at 237-2237 if they need more directions.     Tyee is going to talk about recruiting volunteers to help in campaigns.

Margret Templeton and Chairman Carter Elliott

Carter called the meeting to order and opened with a prayer by Margret Templeton and then Betty Zieger unfurled the flag and the group stood crossed their hearts and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.   We were a gathering of Democrats so eveyone knew the words and spoke them aloud.     Republicans need a cheat sheet and usually just mumble and move their lips.

It was a pleasant journey to Rustburg, rain then sunshine then rain again.     This gentleman got caught in a downpour on the parking lot on his way to the building.     I was lucky it wasn't raining when I arrived.

Tyee and Charles Wood

Carter handled the necessary business and moved to the point where our special guest was to be introduced.    Because Betty has attended a training session and met Tyee Davenport,  Betty presented her to the meeting.

Charles and Tyee during her presentation

Tyee gave a well organized and paced presentation which she opened for questions many times.     We showed her no mercy as we pummeled her with all the problems we have in our local areas.      Tyee stood up to and endured the onslaught and emerged the winner after fielding each question and offering solid workable solutions to our difficulties.      All in attendance agreed that the state party had hired a champion in Tyee and that her knowledge and ability to deal with problems was indeed impressive.      The materials she passed out will make their way to the next Amherst Co. Democratic meeting as she offered solutions to problems we have had under discussion.     I will ask David to schedule a visit from Tyee for our group if at all possible.

Freda Austin, Carter Elliott,   ???,  Betty Zieger

You guys were great.    My apoligies to all who were misidentified or not identified at all and to the gentleman who worked the lobby because the electric door was malfunctioning.     I missed you completely.    My shortcomings should in no way detract from the greatness of this wonderful gathering of Democrats.     Thank You.

You're thinking he forgot, he's not going to show us what those ladies at the top of the page were hiding.    How wrong you are!

A magnificently equipped food table.   Words fail me when trying to describe this delicious arrangement so look at the pictures.    This treat was tasteful and tasty and everyone enjoyed it.     My favorite was the large juicy stuffed strawberries and running a close second the cookies with macadamia nut chips followed in third place by the selection of cheeses and crackers (Monterey Jack is always the right choice).     You guys know how to set a table.

Wow those susage balls and finger sandwiches were great too and the chips and salsa......Hey I Liked Everything.

The Cambell Co. Democrats gave Tyee a beautiful orchard for her desk.      In the picture its Tyee, Beautiful Orchard and Margret Templeton.      So long until I see you guys again, stay strong.

Amherst County Virginia Democratic News

Amherst, VA News

Supervisor Wants to be Senator

Claudia Tucker

Citing her connections to both the corporate world and the farming business, Claudia Tucker filed Tuesday as a candidate for the state Senate in the 22nd District.

Tucker, chairwoman of the Amherst County Board of Supervisors, becomes the fifth candidate, and second non-lawyer, seeking the Republican nomination in the district, which was created by the General Assembly’s redistricting process.     It does not have an incumbent senator.

“If you want to send an attorney back to Richmond, there are a lot of choices.    But if you want to send a pro-business candidate with real-world experience, there is only one choice,”    Tucker said.
Tucker, 54, is senior director of state-government affairs in 12 states for Medco Health Solutions, a Fortune 50 company that manages pharmacy-benefit plans for corporate employers.

Her husband, Bill, operates Tucker Family Farms, an approximately 1,000-head beef cattle operation that has been in his family for seven generations, she said.    They have three daughters, all college-age or above.

In her work with Medco, Tucker said,   “I hire attorneys or lobbyists or whatever the case may be, and I manage them.    It has been my responsibility to read all legislation, work with legislators, and educate them about our company.”

She also worked four years as chief of staff for former Del. Vance Wilkins, R-Amherst, who was speaker of the House of Delegates. During that time, she was involved in an eavesdropping incident on a Democratic-party conference call that led to her pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge in 2003.

“People make mistakes all the time,”   Tucker said Tuesday.    “My mistake was public, and if you ever want to learn and understand the consequences of your behavior, make a mistake that is in the public eye,”   she said.

The misdemeanor plea was a campaign topic for Tucker’s opponent, Bonnie Limbrick, in the 2009 Board of Supervisors election. Tucker won by 41 votes.

“You can either make a mistake and sit on the sidelines, or take that mistake and learn from it and use your skills to make the process better.    That is what I have chosen to do today,”    Tucker said.

Lynchburg lawyer Mark Peake entered the 22nd District race on Monday, joining three previously announced candidates:   Bryan Rhode of Goochland County,   Brian Bates of Buckingham County, and Tom Garrett of Louisa County.

Republican Party leaders say they will meet soon to decide how to select the party’s candidate, and many of them are leaning toward having a primary election on Aug. 23.

USA News

World News

Political News

And Now To Newt News

Hail The Mighty NEWT

Newt calls the Ryan Plan Right Wing Social Engineering and a Radical Over Reach and The Republicans are mad at Newt for letting the cat out of the bag.     Newt is mad as a hatter, mad at himself for being so stupid.    He knew that you don't tell the truth about Republicans and he did it anyway.   Its ok to call the President of the United States a "Food Stamp President" or a "Kenyan Tribesman Fighting British Colonialism" but to tell the truth
about Republicans, Thats a No-No. 

I Did A No-No

Newt says David Gregory of NBC's Meet The Press tricked me.    He asked me a simple question that he had thought about ahead of time and I gave an answer off the top of my head.    Everybody knows the Ryan budget plan is a radical over reach and a piece of right wing social engineering but Republicans can't say it.    Republicans think as long as they don't say it nobody will know.

"Tricky"  David Gregory

Sarah Palin got tricked this way, Katie Couric asked her what she read and Sarah fell apart.    No Republican will cop to believing in evolution, the GOP will not allow them to say it.   Republicans won't say that they are Killing Medicare, Killing Medicade, Killing Social Security, Killing Womens Health Care, Killing Pell Grants for Education and giving Big Tax Breaks to Big Business and the Wealthy.    They won't say it but they are doing it if the Democrats don't stop them.

Katie Couric

Republicans think their voters are so dumb that they won't know what they are up to if they don't tell them, if they don't say it.    It's rare you will hear me say this,   "Republican Voters are Smarter Than That".      They know they are being sold out so you can give tax breaks to big business and the rich.

Now, Gingrich is urgently struggling to convince the political class that his 2012 hopes aren’t dead, amid an unending barrage of Republican attacks over his comments on the House GOP’s proposal to kill Medicare and overhaul of Social Security.

Gingrich finally seemed to realize the seriousness of his political plight Tuesday, when he held three conference calls, made a personal apology to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and admitted in a Fox News appearance:   “I made a mistake, I should have never told the truth, Republicans just don't do that.”
“I should have supported what Ryan’s trying to do on the budget,” Gingrich told Greta Van Susteren.    “The budget vote is
one that I am happy to say I would have stood lock step on with all the other Republicans and voted for.   The gang must stick together right or wrong or there will be punishments.”

It’s not clear whether that course correction has come too late. Before Gingrich’s evening mea culpa, there were growing signs that his gaffe – undermining his own party by calling Ryan’s much-touted Kill Medicare plan too   “radical a piece of right wing social engineering”   to become law on NBC’s  “Meet the Press” – had already dealt him a near-fatal blow.    Newt may need to
use his bus ticket and get back home to Georgia.

For two days, his team seemed flat-footed in response to a spiraling political crisis.   The chorus of voices criticizing the former House speaker has only grown louder, drawing in Republicans as prominent as House Majority Leader and Professional Birthday Party Clown Eric Cantor and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

Cantor was making baloon animals in his office but took a break to say   “Many have said now he’s finished, Gingrich’s comments were a tremendous misspeak.    The first thing we are taught at GOP Candidate School is to not tell the truth and Newt knew better."

Perhaps most tellingly, not a single prominent Republican has rallied to Gingrich’s defense – a testament to the regard in which Gingrich is held by much of the Beltway GOP establishment.   The Republican nickname for Newt is "Punchy Old Georgia Dirt Bag" but they may lower their reguard for him after this truth telling gaff.

For a host of party leaders, Gingrich seems to have proven with astonishing speed that he deserves his reputation as an undisciplined, self-destructive, shoot-from-the-lip politician.    His flair for provocative rhetoric, combined with his desire to make loftier political points, might make him too combustible for the presidential campaign trail.    Many have observed that Newt is anything but a pretty man on TV and even before this some sort
of extreme make over was in order.

“The problem for Newt is, this is exactly what everybody who has ever worked for or around him said was his basic problem,”   said Rich Galen, the veteran Republican strategist and former Gingrich aide.     “Sooner or later, I suspect, unfortunately, the campaign will collapse from the top because people are going to say, ‘I like him and he was once really smart, but he can’t be president.     You know what they say about time leaving you behind.”

The campaign, Galen added, is  “close to being functionally over.”     This last marriage was being artifically propped up for this presidential run and may be  “close to being functionally over also.”    Usually Newt only deserts his women when they are sick but you know what they say,  "Things Change".

Greta Tried to Trick Newt

Gingrich's dozens of supporters object that it’s far too early to count him out.  The former Georgia congressman has come back from the brink of political death before, and there’s still time for him to recover in the slow-starting presidential race especially since all the GOP candidates are so bland.

Newt sounded a defiant note on Fox Tuesday night, blaming the media for his woes and vowing not to participate in any more   “media interviews or gotcha games.   I'll only do puff pieces and Fox News from here on.”   Gingrich also refused to answer a question about a POLITICO report that he and his latest wife, Callista, amassed up to $500,000 in debt at Tiffany’s.   Newt had requested that Greta submit all her questions in advance but she tried to trick Newt by asking  "Is it raining outside"?    Newt astutely caught the punch and refused to answer.    If Newt can't trust Fox to throw softballs his campaign is over.

“If it doesn’t relate to solving our problems, from now on my answer’s going to be, ‘I’m not commenting on it,”
Gingrich said.    “I’m not playing Trivial Pursuit.    You work at a TV station Greta, if you want to know about weather ask the weatherman.   That wasn't one of our pre agreed to questions."

Gingrich has faced questions about his stance on the Ryan budget during his trip this week to Iowa, where advisers expressed optimism that he’s persuading voters his remarks were taken out of context.    "You tricked me by broadcasting exactly what I said" added Newt.

Republicans Want To Drill for Oil off Virginia's Coast

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) says  "there's enough oil off the Virginia coast to power the entire world for 50 to 60 years."    Eric Cantor and the Republicans say  "Drill Baby Drill".
One is a fool and the other is a clown.    I'll identify the clown further on.       Democrats will know who the fool is but Republicans may be confused.

Without Oil Slicks, Dead Oily Fish and Birds

Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-7th, Remembers 33 cent a gallon gas when Republicans were in charge and see's a day when unrestricted drilling could bring it back again.   In addition to being the Majority Leader Cantor is also a certified clown and comedian.   Before politics Eric plyed his trade as a birthday party clown for hire.    After expeiencing difficulties with higher education at several establishments of learning Cantor applied to the Sam E. Weeny School of Clownology and 10 short months later graduated Clown Cum Laddie.     It was either clown school or hair dressing and there were no openings at costomology school.    Eric is not the only clown to enter politics but he is the only one from Virginia and the Sam E. Weeny Clown University who is the Republican Majority Leader.

Eric Cantor, Graduate

Congressman Eric Cantor (VA-07) comments on the passage of H.R. 1230    "Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act,”    which would require the Administration to move forward with Virginia's Lease Sale 220 and other lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico that the Obama Administration has delayed or canceled:    If Republicans can pass this bill they can force the drilling to start in Virginia Beach and everywhere else and then attack President Obama if something goes wrong which eventully it will.     Republicans are decitful and trickey and they represent big business and big oil.     People who vote republican think the GOP represents them and the thinking ends there.

This is Neptune the soon to be  "Oil God of the Seas"  before Republicans retro-fit him with a yellow Shell Oil Clam Shell Sign

“Gas prices continue to skyrocket over $4 dollars a gallon nationwide, placing increased strain on already tight budgets for families and business people,"   the Majority Leader said.     "In response to the Obama Administration’s aggressive fight against domestic energy production, House Republicans have taken another important step to encourage economic growth, create jobs and lower gas prices – especially right here at home in the Commonwealth," Cantor continued. 

Cantor explained   "On a really hazy day you  wouldn't  see the drilling rigs"

  "We have structured this in a fully responsible way",   Eric
explained.    "The drilling rigs would be a half mile off the Virginia coast line and in Virginia Beach if you stay ground level or even second floor you might not see them drilling and the noise of the wind would make them appear to be silent."    

Cantor then expanded his rationale,    "Tourist only go to the beach duing summer season but the oil rigs would be making money all year long.   Soon the hotel owners and restraunts and tourist would adjust a Republican study shows." 


"For those worried about pollution of the waters off Virginia's coast the odds of a major spill are around 275 to 1 and while all drilling rigs ooze a dozen or so gallons into the waters each day the currents would likely transport these slicks to North Carolina and I don't represent them,"    Eric said.   

I can make animals out of baloons Eric exclaimed

"I have spent many hours golfing with the Oil Lobbyists and they assure me it is safe", Eric continued.

"The Democrats want to switch to a cleaner and safer and more sustainable form of energy and that will be fine when we have drilled every drop of oil the earth hides."

Eddie Cantor

One of the few claims Eric Cantor doesn't make is that he is related to Eddie Cantor the famous vaudevillian and beloved American clown.

The current regulatory blockade on domestic drilling for oil and gas has stifled energy development and eliminated Republican and Big Oil plans to tap Virginia’s offshore energy resources.      This bill will allow us to move forward with the offshore lease sales in Virginia and the Gulf of Mexico in what the Big Oil companies call a safe and responsible way that will utilize American technology, innovation and create jobs and satisfy the lobbyists who fund the Republican party.     Many Republicans feel there is not much to save in the Gulf region, that all the damage has already been done.      Republicans reason why not drill-drill-drill and tear it up like new ground.

“Virginia has vast potential to move our nation towards the goal of achieving energy independence.     Michele Bachmann has calculated that there is enough oil off Virginia's coast to power the whole world for 50 to 60 years.   Offshore energy exploration and development in the Commonwealth will help put Virginians back to work, generate millions of dollars in revenue, produce enough oil and natural gas to fuel our cars and heat our homes, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil so that lower gas prices for families and businesses are a possibility.”   

Eric's Masterpiece, his Mother keeps one taped to the fridge door to show her visitors.

Eric twisted a baloon into a doggy shape and continued by saying    "Letting the Oil Companies drill off Virginia's coast is the answer to all of our problems.      If that 1 in 275 disaster does happen look at all the jobs picking up oil blobs and washing birds and animals that will be creasted.   There weren't enough hands for BP to employ down in the Gulf of Mexico, unemployeement dropped 9 points."  

Eric  "Trust Me"  Cantor

Eric Cantor then did a little clown dance and sang

a verse of Orrin Hatch's new song "Big Oil is Money to Me".

The estate of Eddie Cantor asked that ACVDN make it explicitly clear that Eric Cantor was

unrelated and we will.

Eddie Cantor (January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American   "illustrated song"   performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter. 

His eye-rolling song-and-dance routines eventually led to his nickname,   "Banjo Eyes".      Cantor's eyes became his trademark, often exaggerated in illustrations, and leading to his appearance on Broadway in the musical Banjo Eyes (1941).

His charity and humanitarian work was extensive, and he is credited with coining the phrase and helping to develop The March of Dimes.      So as you can see he is not related to Eric Cantor.    In

fact he is nothing like Eric Cantor.   

Eddie spent his life helping others,  Eric can make animals out of baloons.

Glenn Beck Attacks Young Woman

Megan McCain

Disconnect the neck straps and shoot the picture of the top of the shoulders and the head and you get the image Megan created for a skin cancer psa.     Glen Beck went completely crazy.     The young lady should be applauded for doing the public service spot on such an important topic.

Fox Created Jerk Glenn Beck

Meghan McCain fired back at Glenn Beck, who mocked her for doing a PSA on skin cancer.      Beck pretended to vomit at the thought of a naked McCain, who appeared in a strapless dress in the ad.      Beck is one of the MOST mature people at  Fox News

John was bothered by Beck's comments

Meghan McCain, daughter of Sen. John,  shot a PSA for skin cancer where she posed in a strapless dress to appear naked.     Skin cancer, many will remember, is a disease that both of Meghan’s parents have suffered from.     So, naturally, doing the PSA was near and dear to her.

Cindy was bothered by Beck's comments

Also appearing in the ad, and much more prominently than the younger McCain, were celebrities like Brandy, Topenga from Boy Meets World, one of the sisters from The Cosby Show and a whole bunch of other unrecognizable people.

But it was Megan who answered Beck and put him in his place.

Megan responds to Beck

“Clearly you have a problem with me, and possibly women in general, but the truth is, it’s 2011 and I heard your show on Fox was canceled.     Isn’t that an indication that the era of the shock jock pundit is over?      Don’t you think that’s a sign you should be pulling it back a little?     I mean, if you’re too conservative and outrageous for Fox, that should tell you something,”  she writes.

“There really is no need to make something like my participation in a skin cancer PSA into a sexist rant about my weight and physical appearance, because I’m going to let you in on a little
secret, Glenn:     you are the only one who looks bad in this scenario, and at the end of the day you have helped me generate publicity for my skin cancer PSA, a cause that I feel quite passionate about.”

“As a person who is known for his hot body, you must find it easy to judge the weight fluctuations of others, especially young women.     If any of your daughters are ever faced with some kind of criticism of their physical appearance or weight, they should call me, because women’s body image is another issue I feel passionate about, and have become accustomed to dealing with and speaking with young women about on my college tours.”

“And next time, instead of jumping straight to the “Meghan McCain fat jokes” maybe try out some new material?     Because the fat joke thing, it’s been done so many times, I know a creative
intellect such as yourself can do better than that.”

Megan McCain not only manages to tell Glenn Beck he isn’t funny, but also that he’s both creatively bankrupt and stupid.    You can almost hear the dry sarcasm dripping from her lips.   Megan
is a smart young woman and I wouldn't want her aggrevated with me.    After making the mistake and being so rude I couldn't understand why Beck didn't apoligize, a real sincere apology.

ACVDN Bottom Line

Glenn Beck used the wrong word.   The one he was looking for was phat.    Jessica Simpson is phat, Megan McCain is phat, Angelina Jolie is phat, I could go on and on but you get the point.

The term derives from African American Vernacular English (Ebonics) as a deliberate misspelling of the word fat.

phat (comparative phatter, superlative phattest)
 1.(slang) excellent
 2.(slang) sexy
 3.(slang, music) Rich in texture, prominent. The song has a phat bass line.

Synonyms
 (slang: excellent): cool (slang), excellent, fab (dated slang), rad (dated slang), super, wicked (slang)
 (slang: sexy): foxy (slang), hot (slang)
 (in music: rich in texture, prominent): prominent, rockin' (slang)

So the next time the wife asks  "Does this dress make me look fat"?     Tell her  "Baby if you are talking P-H-A-T (spell it out) it sure does and you look great."      "Now lets get going, we don't want to be late."


Huckabee's Wife Says NO Way

What Can I Do, She Said NO Way

Republican Mike Huckabee, saying his wife won't hear of it, announced Saturday night he won't run for U.S. president in 2012. 

Huckabee has been a Baptist Minister and the Governor of Arkansas but never had a job involving physical work or good pay.    Neither Minister or Governor pays as well as the average factory job with some overtime.   Mrs Huckabee said she had lived in church housing and government housing and barely had enough income or food to support their family and now that Mike
had a good paying job at Fox News he was going to stop chasing the dreams and work for a living.

My Wife Knows Best

The 55-year-old former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister who was unsuccessful in his bid for the GOP nomination in 2008, made his decision known on his Fox News Channel show.
"All the factors say go, but my wife says no, if mama ain't happy then nobody's happy"   Huckabee said.     Huckabee now owns a house and his wife wants the morgage kept current.

Ed Rollins, who guided Huckabee's campaign, said he wasn't surprised since Huckabee had not communicated with him for about a week.

Roll Call reported Huckabee, who now lives in Florida, has declined to enter the race despite polls showing him  "at or near the top"  of the GOP field and internal polling showing his wife could be talked into living with another run if he pressed it.     Ultimately, he said, it was a  "spiritual"   choice and a decision that left him with "inexplicable inner peace."    Translate that inner peace to mean "Mamma's Happy".

A Madrasa in Kenya, Thats Right

Asked on Fox whether he felt an obligation to run, Roll Call said he replied:   "The obligation is to love your country, keep your wife happy, be a partisan republican and keep up the image of being a godly man.   I will do like Sarah Palin and get a twitter account and attack President Obama on a daily basis.   If it gets the job done on the man from Kenya, then yes.     If I can convey the difference between a Baptist Church and a Madrasa then good.    If it's maybe in another role, I'll do it if its ok with my wife.    You know I always attempt to tell the truth but just like running for president I don't  ever make it."


Trump Purchases Huckabees Endorsement

Trump Purchases Endorsement

Mike Huckabee was grinning ear to ear following negotations with Donald Trump for the purchase of his endorsement.       Trump is happy to have right wing christians in his corner and Mrs. Huckabee is thrilled to finally see her husband earn some money.      The wording of Huckabees endorsement follows.

"I am thrilled to endorse the dynamic Donald Trump for President of the United States and urge all my family values christian followers to get on board.     Donald has one of the top rated TV shows on NBC and is a multi-billionaire and a devoted christian.     Don and I prayed together before making the decision to endorse, then Trump slipped me a check and it cashed and I endorse him."

Trump Quits, "This Running for President is too Hard on My Hair"

After buying the Huckabee endorsement Trump announced he is not running for president.      It was expected all along that Donald John Trump was nothing more than a Blow Hole.     Why now and not in June when Trump had said he would make the decision?      Trumps audience for his TV show had dropped more than 30 per cent and NBC informed Trump that he either end his running for president publicity stunt or they were pulling the plug on the show.      For all the lip Trump shoots about being wealthy he couldn't pay his rent without the TV show and he had no chance of winning the presidency and even Trump knew that.     The carnival barker is a house of cards and has been a laughing stock ever since Seth Myers and President Obama made him the butt of jokes at the correspondents dinner.      The Attorney's Generals of several states taking Trump to court over his Training School for Real Estate scam did not help and the boycotts against the advertisers on the Trump TV show were the final straw for NBC.

Sarah  "Tough Enough for a Half Term"  Palin

This opens the door for Sarah Palin who quit after two years as Governor of Alaska and earned the nickname  "half-term".       Trump didn't even make it to election day before throwing in the towel and compared to that Palin looks like a go-getter and a sticker.      Sarah is partial to Newt Gingrich as her VP running mate.      Newt won't drop out for a couple of more months unless his old time Georgia coded language runs away with him.     Newt is a bigot and has an early 1950's style of phrasing that says it without openly saying it.      Newts description of President Obama as a food stamp president was way over the line.

Newt "Food Stamps" Gingrich

The Gop should pick Paul Ryan to run for Vice President.     The popularity of his Kill Medicare plan has unleashed a powerful force in America, Pissed Off Senior Citizens (pardon the expression).

Old People Will Be Happier Paying Their Own Expenses

ACVDN Bottom Line
Seniors know how to organize and vote in droves every election.     It was a terrible idea to smack them and then for all of the Republicans (sans 4) to vote to Kill Medicare, Kill Social Security, Kill Medicade, Kill Womens Health Care, Kill Head Start and Kill Pell Grants was off the charts.     You GOP guys are thinking they will forget about it by next election.     I'm telling You, Don't Bet The Farm on Seniors Forgetting, the party is just starting.

Special Message to Paul Ryan and the Republicans from Willie "The Outlaw"  Nelson.      You youngsters are treading dangerous ground and messing with the traditions of America.      That Gary Johnson fellow can roll a joint with one hand and he stands for legalizing it.     Ron Paul is for legalizing also but he's a pipe man.    I think Newt's a heavy drinker and Trump's ego has driven him crazy.    What you got around here we can eat?


Mayor Rahm Emanuel Has Friends in Washington

Mayor Emanuel chats with President Obama

Today, May 16th -2011, Chicago gets a new Mayor and he is missing a piece of a finger he sacrificed to a fast food job he had
during high school and his nickname is Rombo.    His buddies gave him a dead fish when he left service at the White House to run for Mayor of Chicago.     Yes he is tough enough to do the job.

Getting Rahm Out of DC is a Big F'ing Deal, "We'll Be There"

A large list of luminaries will make the trek to Chicago for the affair.   Among those expected at the ceremonies beside Lake Michigan are Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his wife, Jill Biden;   Hilda Solis, the secretary of labor;   Timothy F. Geithner, the treasury secretary;   Ray LaHood, the secretary of transportation; and  William Daley, the White House chief of staff.

Rahm is a master of sign language

Local notables (like Richard M. Daley, whom Mr. Emanuel is replacing, and Jane Byrne, another former mayor) will also be there.     But the array of names from the administration provides one more show to Chicagoans that their new mayor, a former White House chief of staff and Democrat in Congress, can call Washington whenever he wants.

Rahm, 51, was in February, with 55 percent of the vote.   He announced he was leaving the White House last fall after Mr. Daley, 69, said he would not seek a seventh term.   Mr. Emanuel fought off the unusual legal challenge from critics who argued that his working in the White House meant he didn't have the one-year residency requirement for running.

The move to City Hall in Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, is Mr. Emanuel’s first experience as an elected chief executive.   He arrives at a difficult time:  the city faces a budget shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars and significant unfunded pension liabilities.

Rahm was born in Chicago and describes the mayor’s job as  “a life professional dream for me,”  said that he was undeterred by the city’s challenges.      The possibilities of being mayor — as opposed to working in the power corridors of Washington — carried a directness and immediacy that appeals to him, he said.     “It’s not a discussion point,”    he said.    “You can touch what you’re doing and see its impact.”

The Fish was Dead and about this Big

Mr. Emanuel, along with other city officials, will be sworn in at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, a downtown centerpiece that has been one of Mr. Daley’s proudest creations.

Cardinal Francis George, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Chicago, is to offer an invocation, and religious leaders of other faiths will provide prayers.   Amy Morton, an actor and member of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater, will serve as the master of ceremonies.

It is unclear how much the inaugural events — which are open to the public — will cost.    They were paid for with private donations, but officials said a price estimate would not be available for several days.


Please attend Bob Goodlatte's Town Hall Meeting

Lynchburg,   Monday, May 16th
6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Miller Center Auditorium
301 Grove Street,  Lynchburg

Roanoke/Botetourt,   Tuesday, May 17th
6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Read Mountain Middle School
182 Orchard Hill Drive,  Cloverdale

Bob Goodlatte Voted to Kill Medicare

Republicans Are Feeling the Heat Over their Vote to Kill Medicare.   Only 4 republicans voted against killing medicare.   Bob Goodlatte voted to kill Medicare, kill Social Scurity, kill Medicade, kill Womens Health Care, kill Head Start and kill Pell grants for our childrens education.    Bob Goodlatte stood with billionaires and protected them from a tax increase.    Bob Goodlatte stood with big oil and refused to end their taxpayer-funded subsidies.    Bob Goodlatte has sold you down the river to protect the wealthy and big business.

Here are some questions to ask Bob Goodlatte when you attend his town hall meeting.

Rep. Goodlatte,  why did you vote to destroy Medicare and replace it with a voucher to buy private insurance that will raise the cost of health care for seniors by more than $6,000 in the first year alone, rather than help bolster the Medicare trust fund and bring down the deficit by raising taxes on billionaires ?

Rep. Goodlatte, why did you vote to gut elementary schools, Head Start, Pell Grants and health care for seniors instead of saving billions by ending taxpayer-funded subsidies for oil and gas companies?

Rep. Goodlatte, will you support sneak attacks on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security by supporting arbitrary, mandatory cuts in all federal spending as a condition for raising the debt limit instead of bringing the deficit down by a combination of both cuts where they make sense and revenue raisers like a tax on millionaires?

Rep. Goodlatte, will you support President Obama’s plan to reign in Medicare spending in part by lifting the Republican ban that bars the government from using its purchasing power to negotiate with drug companies on the prices of prescriptions?

There is so much Rep. Goodlatte has to answer for so get there early.    Don’t let him talk over you.     Make sure he answers the questions and call him on it if he won’t answer.

Goodlatte Pretends to Represent Seniors, While He Sells Them Out,  He Voted to Kill Medicare

Don't be embarrised to ask.     Goodlatte is supposed to represent you.     Instead he has sold you out to protect big business, the wealthy and big oil.

Amherst County Virginia Democratic News