One Week Until the Election

I've been out of town for a while and have not done particularly well on updating the blog of late. This past week, I was in St. Louis for a convention. Interestingly enough, the World Series was in town. I hope to blog about that experience later in the week.

But now that we're down to a mere seven days until the mid-term election, I thought I better get back to a couple of issues that I've been promoting. The first is the idea of getting Senator George F. Allen out of office. Seriously, this guy is an embarrassment to the Commonwealth of Virginia. He's been making regular appearances on Democratic Underground's weekly list of the Top 10 Conservative Idiots and he shows up again this week, this time at No. 3.

In a related story, see this satirical article that pokes fun of the absurd claim made by the Allen campaign that his opponent, Jim Webb, is unfit to be senator because of "sexually explicit" material in Webb's books.

This race is going to be close. Allen has been leading Webb since the beginning, with a wide double-digit margin just a few months ago. This new poll, however, is the first to show Webb actually leading Allen. George Allen has been nothing but a Bush puppet for six years. If you are concerned about the War in Iraq, the shrinking middle class, and myriad other issues, it's time to look for a new direction, which means getting rid of the Bush yes men such as George Allen.

In another important initiative in this election, Virginia voters have the opportunity to vote on a so-called "marriage amendment." An interesting look at the amendment can be found in this column from The Washington Post. And a nice letter to the editor about the topic appears today in the Fredericksburg newspaper.

It's Nearing Halloween, and Allen Has Skeletons

Yes, Sen. George F. Allen of Virginia continues to see the skeletons come dancing out of his closet. The fact that he is a racist has been discussed for years, but after his "macaca" incident the magnitude of Allen's racism became more apparent. Then he had the very odd reaction to the revelation that his grandfather was Jewish. And last week it was revealed that Sen. Allen failed to report stock options, which is required by Congressional rules.

As Allen makes yet another appearance in The Top 10 Conservative Idiots list (how many weeks in a row is this?!?), it seems that he may have run into some trouble with the law back in the 1970s. It makes you wonder, if a few diligent folks would really do some digging into George Allen's life, what skeletons WOULD come screaming out of the closet?

It should be interesting to see what other news about Allen is revealed between now and election day. And it should be noted that Allen, who held a double-digit lead over Democratic challenger Jim Webb just three months ago, is now essentially deadlocked with Webb.

Vote NO on NOvember 7

On the ballot next month in Virginia is a proposed amendment to the state's constitution. The so-called "marriage amendment" is a far-reaching attempt by conservatives to strip away the rights of couples—of any kind—who are not married. Conservatives are trying to get their base out to vote by promoting the amendment as something that will ban gay marriage. But gay marriage is already illegal in the state of Virginia so there is no need for an amendment to reinforce that. So who really is the target of this amendment? It's actually straight couples who are cohabitating.

What does the Marshall/Newman amendment say? Here's how it will read on the ballot:
BALLOT QUESTION NUMBER 1

Question: Shall Article I (the Bill of Rights) of the Constitution of Virginia be amended to state:

"That only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions.

"This Commonwealth and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance, or effects of marriage. Nor shall this Commonwealth or its political subdivisions create or recognize another union, partnership, or other legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage."?

Why should people be opposed to this amendment? According to The Commonwealth Coalition:
The proposed Marshall/Newman amendment goes too far.
This amendment goes far beyond existing state law to ban any and all legal recognition of relationships between unmarried couples (gay and straight). The effect of the amendment will be to render unenforceable any agreement between two unmarried people that "intends" to approximate the benefits, significance OR effects of marriage. This includes agreements for end of life and medical decisions, guardianship of children and ownership and transfer of property. The amendment also bans government recognition of same-sex or heterosexual civil unions and domestic partnerships meaning that no public college or university or other public employer will ever be able to offer unmarried couples health or life insurance benefits.

The proposed Marshall/Newman amendment writes discrimination into our Virginia constitution.
The Virginia bill of rights was written to protect the inalienable rights of individuals against the government. This amendment to the bill of rights would take rights away from all "unmarried individuals."

The proposed Marshall/Newman amendment unnecessarily intrudes the government into our homes and private lives.
Even if one is concerned about "gay marriage," Virginia has had a law on the books prohibiting same-sex marriage for 30 years and a law on the books prohibiting same-sex civil unions for 3 years. These laws have not been challenged. We do not need to take risks with the Virginia bill of rights by adding this ill-considered proposal with its far-reaching and largely unknown consequences for all unmarried Virginians. We do not need to jeopardize our privacy and extend government's reach further into our homes and private lives.

Yes, all of that is from The Commonwealth Coalition. I urge you to visit their Web site to get more informed about the amendment and its effects.

But the issue is in the media as well. Today's Roanoke Times has an article about the matter, which features yours truly and my partner Taryn as part of the story. The Times offers another article about how the amendment may affect domestic violence.

This is an important issue, and if you live in Virginia, I urge you to vote NO on the amendment. If you haven't registered to vote, TODAY is your LAST CHANCE to do so! In addition to voting against George Allen (see my last several blog entries!)—and yes, I'm voting more AGAINST Allen than I am FOR Jim Webb—you will also get to vote NO on the Marshall/Newman amendment. So be sure to vote!

Allen Out of Options

Some people have suggested that I am obsessed with this George Allen thing. My response? I am. And will be for another few weeks. Bottom line: Allen does not deserve to the privilege of representing the people of Virginia. Seems like every week we find out just how much of a racist and unethical jerk George Allen is.

This week we find out that George Allen failed to report to Congress the stock options he has been receiving. Maybe it was just a small oversight that happened once? No, it's happened for the past five years. We like to call that FRAUD. This article provides an excellent overview of Allen's most excellent ethics. Some might even say that Allen is "ethically unfit."

This week's version of the Top 10 Conservative Idiots is the "Foley Loaded" edition, so Allen only gets a brief mention. But it's good to see that he once again makes the list.

Frequent Flyer

Virginia Sen. George Allen should be getting some sort of Frequent Flyer-type deals from the folks at Democratic Underground where ol' George is making yet another appearance on its Top 10 Conservative Idiots of the Week. Coming in this week at No. 5, our fine senator is once again being admonished for being the racist jerk that he is.

To be fair, Allen opponent Jim Webb has had his share of bumps in the road as well. In fact, the Virginia senate race between Allen and Webb made The Daily Show last week in its Senate Spotlight. Ahhhh, Virginia politics.