Politics, open government, and safe streets. And the constant incursion of cycling.

Category: Virginia Page 6 of 34

In Celebration of Confederate History Month

At the suggestion of Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, I’m taking another back at that institution that seems to form the basis of so much of Virginia’s politics and identity – the Confederacy.  So, what was the Confederacy all about?  Well, maybe Alexander Stephens, Vice President of that little experiment, can tell us a little.  Here’s his Cornerstone Speech, which laid out the new constitution of the Confederacy, including:

But not to be tedious in enumerating the numerous changes for the better, allow me to allude to one other though last, not least. The new constitution has put at rest, forever, all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution African slavery as it exists amongst us the proper status of the negro in our form of civilization. This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution.  Jefferson in his forecast, had anticipated this, as the “rock upon which the old Union would split.” He was right. What was conjecture with him, is now a realized fact. But whether he fully comprehended the great truth upon which that rock stood and stands, may be doubted. The prevailing ideas entertained by him and most of the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old constitution, were that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature; that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally, and politically. It was an evil they knew not well how to deal with, but the general opinion of the men of that day was that, somehow or other in the order of Providence, the institution would be evanescent and pass away. This idea, though not incorporated in the constitution, was the prevailing idea at that time. The constitution, it is true, secured every essential guarantee to the institution while it should last, and hence no argument can be justly urged against the constitutional guarantees thus secured, because of the common sentiment of the day. Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races. This was an error. It was a sandy foundation, and the government built upon it fell when the “storm came and the wind blew.”

Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.

You should, as the saying goes, read the whole thing.  You might find yourself quite struck between the rhetorical similarities between Stephens and certain popular movements today.  You should also check out the Texas Declaration of Secession, with gems like:

In all the non-slave-holding States, in violation of that good faith and comity which should exist between entirely distinct nations, the people have formed themselves into a great sectional party, now strong enough in numbers to control the affairs of each of those States, based upon an unnatural feeling of hostility to these Southern States and their beneficent and patriarchal system of African slavery, proclaiming the debasing doctrine of equality of all men, irrespective of race or color– a doctrine at war with nature, in opposition to the experience of mankind, and in violation of the plainest revelations of Divine Law. They demand the abolition of negro slavery throughout the confederacy, the recognition of political equality between the white and negro races, and avow their determination to press on their crusade against us, so long as a negro slave remains in these States.

Heritage, not hate, y’all!

Finally, for fun, my most commented upon post ever – The Proper Way to Hang a Confederate Flag

DC Cyclists: Heightened Law Enforcement

It’s that time of year again: local police departments are, in theory, promoting bicycle and pedestrian safety by . . . issuing warnings and tickets to bicycles and pedestrians. The folks over at BikeArlington just saw two cyclists pulled over on Wilson Blvd for running a light. Considering what a rarity that is, I assume that it’s part of this year’s Street Smart campaign.

Street Smart is an annual public education, awareness and behavioral change campaign in the Washington, DC, suburban Maryland and northern Virginia area. Since its beginning in 2002, the campaign has used radio, newspaper, and transit advertising, public awareness efforts, and added law enforcement, to respond to the challenges of pedestrian and bicyclist safety.

The Street Smart program emphasizes education of motorists and pedestrians through mass media. It is meant to complement, not replace, the efforts of state and local governments and agencies to build safer streets and sidewalks, enforce laws, and train better drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.

I don’t really have any problem with enforcement actions against unsafe behavior on anyone’s part. However, I’m not really a fan of this program, as it combines arbitrary enforcement, a focus on the wrong parties, and I suspect that it is mostly ineffective at actually improving safety.

The “Street Smart” program is scheduled to run March 15 to April 15, but I suspect the good weather that just arrived won’t only bring out more cyclists, but also more officers who are willing to get out of their cars to issue warnings/citations. So stay alert, and don’t assume that what was fine last week is fine this week.

More Like This (VA Democrat Edition)

In all honestly, I didn’t really expect that Del. Patrick Hope (the recent winner in my local delegate contest) would be my kind of Democrat.  In his campaign, he struck me as too soft-spoken and willing to accomodate.  Well, here’s to hoping he keeps proving me wrong:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RMPySY7Vdc[/youtube]

And a Liar, Too

Del. Bob Marshall – bigot, misogynist, and general all around creepy guy – made national news yesterday by declaring that disabled children were God’s punishment for the mother having had an abortion. Full quote:

“The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children,” said Marshall, a Republican.

“In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There’s a special punishment Christians would suggest.”

Now, I’m not going to pretend to be surprised or outraged about it. It’s totally in character for him, in my view.  He’s not going to resign, and his district will return him to office (perhaps further inflicting God’s punishment on Virginia?).  He’s rather proud of his ridiculousness, and he’s rewarded for it.   It’s Virginia, after all.

What I didn’t expect, however, was for him to out and out lie about what he said. WMAL catches him.

Marshall however today told WMAL he never said any such thing. “One of the reporters said to me, ‘I wondered why AP (Associated Press) and the other guys didn’t cover this. I said, ‘Jonathan, because it didn’t happen,’ ” Marshall told WMAL.

Well, there’s audio.  Bob Marshall, Liar.

3 Feet to Pass Fails in the VA House

Due in no small part, I’m sure, to the urgings of Delegates Cosgrove & Carricco, the Virginia House of Delegates voted down HB 1048, which provided that motorists should give cyclists three feet when passing. This is very disappointing. The Virginia Bike Federation notes that there is still some hope, in the form of SB 566:

Senate Bill 566 containing just Three Foot Passing is still alive, and will be crossing over to the House Transportation Committee and then, hopefully, to the Full House, in the near future.

As soon as the roll call voting is posted I will forward it along and will urge everyone to contact their delegates expressing disappointment if they voted Nay and thanking them if they voted For the bill. Hopefully, we may be able to turn at least 6 or 7 votes around and get SB 566 passed.

I’ll post that list here, when I have it. I’d really – personally – appreciate any action that readers can take on the bill’s behalf.

Virginia’s 3 Feet to Pass Cyclists Law Up for Final Vote in House

The always helpful Virginia Bicycling Federation reports that the proposed “3 feet to pass” bill, which provides that cars must give cyclists at least three feet of clearance when passing them, made it out of committee.  Barely:

After being reported out of Sub Committee yesterday by a 5-2 vote, HB1048, 3 foot passing & following too close, was reported out of the full House Transportation Committee this morning by a very tight 11-10 vote. Since the vote was electronically tallied and then taken down rather quickly, I’m not sure exactly who voted each way, but it appeared that all the D’s voted for the bill, joined by two or three R’s (which I think included Oder & Rust).

As in Sub Committee, there was even more discussion of how difficult it would be with the additional foot to legally pass a bicycle without going over the double center line on a two lane road. The strongest anti-cycling sentiment was expressed by Del. Cosgrove of Chesapeake, Del. Knight of Virginia Beach, who clearly voted against the bill, along with Del. Villanueva of Va Beach, even though the representative of that City and Bruce Drees of the Tidewater Bicycling Assn. both spoke in favor of it.

Remember, the Virginia Senate has already passed this bill, and it is an unlikely veto target.  So all that stands between this sensible idea becoming law is the Virginia House of Delegates.  VBF asks:

Now its on to the Full House floor (either on Saturday or Monday), where Chairman Joe May of Loudon (who also appeared to vote against the bill) wished our patron, Kaye Kory, a good-natured “Good luck on the floor” after he announced the result of the voting.

Now, we need EVERYONE to contact their delegate. If you don’t know who it is, you can find out at the VA General Assembly’s Who’s My Legislator page…

http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform

Please take a few minutes to do this, even if you think you live in the district of someone who will certainly vote for it.  It would be a shame to get so close to success, yet lose because of a bit of complacency.

Del. Mark Cole: “I just think you should have the right to control your own body.”

Del. Mark Cole’s apparent newfound respect for the right to privacy is just the tip of the amusement, here:

The House of Delegates is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a bill that would protect Virginians from attempts by employers or insurance companies to implant microchips in their bodies against their will.

It might also save humanity from the antichrist, some supporters think.

Del. Mark L. Cole (R-Fredericksburg), the bill’s sponsor, said that privacy issues are the chief concern behind his attempt to criminalize the involuntary implantation of microchips. But he also said he shared concerns that the devices could someday be used as the “mark of the beast” described in the Book of Revelation.

Gosh, more lunacy from a Virginia Republican.  Who ever would have guessed it?  But the story raises concerns about a Democrat, too:

Del. Robert H. Brink (D-Arlington) said on the House floor that he did not find many voters demanding microchip legislation when he was campaigning last fall: “I didn’t hear anything about the danger of asteroids striking the Earth, about the threat posed by giant alligators in our cities’ sewer systems or about the menace of forced implantation of microchips in human beings.”

Reading that, it kinda makes me wonder if Bob’s not adequately prepared for a zombie attack.  Folks are supposed to take imaginary dangers seriously in Virginia, you know.

Updated to add link I originally left out.

Does the VA GOP Require Its Members Be Morons?

Because if things like this are any indication, the answer appears to be yes:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5A2ahIn05M[/youtube]

Remember, There’s No Such Thing as a Fiscal Conservative

in American electoral politics.  Just different spending priorities:

Last week, McDonnell signed a letter asking for $350 million from the federal government to support charter schools.

The Hard Streets of Arlington . . .

WashCycle picks up something I somehow missed in October:

ASSAULTS

LYNN ST. N., 2100 block, 5 p.m. Oct. 13. Two bicyclists collided on the street. One man allegedly assaulted the other and damaged the man’s bicycle.

That’s the miserable intersection of Key Bridge, cross-over to the MVT from the Custis, etc.  I’d expect a little more violence there, to be honest.  I know, it’s not funny, but still . . .

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