Honesty Counts

SurveyUSA responds to an inquiry

2006-09-30T19:19:00.000-04:00

I emailed SurveyUSA today to ask about how various polls make it to their website's posted lists. Jay Leve, a SUSA editor sent me the following response:

SurveyUSA operates under the following rules of engagement, which we believe are industry standard:
All SurveyUSA “public opinion polls” are public, and as such, SurveyUSA publishes the results and makes as much disclosure as possible about the methods used to conduct the research. Once a SurveyUSA “public opinion poll” enters the public domain, SurveyUSA has an obligation to answer any questions put to it, that would help the media, or a citizen (such as yourself) make sense of the data.

By contrast, SurveyUSA conducts “private market research” for businesses, media and some political organizations. Results of these market research studies are confidential to the entity which commissions them – provided that the entity does not in any way make public reference to the results. Once the entity releases some or all of the results of a SurveyUSA “private market research” study publicly, by issuing a press release, or in some other way trumpeting the results, then the results of that study enter the public domain, and SurveyUSA treats the research as though it were “public,” and SurveyUSA is obligated to answer questions put to it, as to how the research was conducted and what questions were asked of respondents.

So, basically, until WDBJ talks about any Goode/Weed surveys done since July 26, we won't be able to find any information on SUSA. Personally I don't think we'll hear the results any time soon. I don't think the numbers are as "sensational" for Virgil this time around.

The Internet is great, isn't it? You can go online, find information (or the lack thereof) and then contact someone to ask a question about it. If you're really lucky, they actually respond. Thanks, Jay, for getting back to me in about two hours. Now, if only the other email recipient would answer my question.

It's been a while...

2006-09-30T16:20:00.000-04:00

Things have been hectic lately, but I'm taking a break from homework to write a couple of posts.

Between my job (teaching school) starting on August 3 and graduate school beginning at the end of August (yes, I was accepted for a doctoral program at ODU), I have been really busy. I'm glad the garden was winding down when school started. We'll be cleaning a lot of it off this afternoon as well.

My job is even more stressful than before, as the administration changed our 4x4 block schedule so that teachers now teach 4 (four) 90 minute blocks each day with about 55 minutes at the end of the day for every teacher in the high school to have planning at the same time. Two days a week I have to leave when planning starts to go to my graduate classes and several of the other days always seem to have a meeting I'm required to attend. (At the end of the day, most of us are almost too tired to plan anyway. With only 30 minutes for lunch, bathroom breaks when you can get them, and a couple of teachers having three or four different preparations each day, this new plan is a killer!)

Graduate school is .... well, um, graduate school. Lots of projects, plenty to read, and homework to turn in. Yep, that's graduate school. This semester I'm taking Instructional Technology and Statistics. Nothing like a boring chapter on Educational Theories to put you to sleep at night, unless it's one on statistics, that is. I'm most enjoying the technology projects. We are beginning Flash projects using SwishMax in the next couple of weeks.

Learning new things is the best part about going back to school. In many ways, I wish I could take the time off from work to complete my doctorate instead. But, bills call...

Jim Kent, where are the results you promised?

2006-09-30T15:52:00.000-04:00

The following email was sent to Jim Kent, news director for WDBJ7 in Roanoke this afternoon:

I wrote you in July about the fact that I found your SurveyUSA poll to be skewed in its analysis. In case you lost/deleted the email from July 28, 2006, I’ve copied it for you below:

To Whom It May Concern:

Not only are links in this WDBJ7 article not working (both the ones for email and survey details), but your report fails to identify 45% of the likely voters as being Republicans and 44% of the respondents as saying they are Conservative. Checking the crosstabs for the survey shows the actual data involved. Had the numbers been fairly distributed rather than skewed, I would consider the SUSA survey and your analysis valid. As it stands, I find both to be highly suspect and your coverage misleading. If we can’t trust our local media to provide accurate and detailed information, we might as well be listening and looking elsewhere. I hope in the future you will research more completely by looking at the make-up of a survey, rather than skimming the analysis for sensationalism.

Lisa Blanton
Cumberland VA

Your response was:
Ms. Blanton,

Thank you for your email. I looked this morning and found no problems with any of the links on our survey story. We haven't heard from anyone else who had trouble. The "Survey Details" is how you get to the cross-tabs, which you apparently saw, so I'm not sure what is not working for you.

The SurveyUSA poll is a random survey. The numbers are not skewed. A link to a complete explanation of the pollster's methodology can be found on the same page where you saw the cross-tabs.

Incidentally, we'll be doing these polls monthly during the campaign.

Thank you again for taking the time to write--and I'm sorry you had trouble with some of the links.

Sincerely,

Jim Kent
News Director

I am now writing to ask: Where are the monthly polls you told me would be done during the campaign?
I have checked the SurveyUSA site very carefully. In their 2006 Election Polls list, I find that you have done surveys for the Senatorial races on 9/29/06, 9/27/06, 9/13/06, and on 8/21/06. You have even done polls on the Virginia marriage amendment on 9/29/06, 9/13/06, and 8/21/06. But on no date since the July 26, 2006, original poll that I questioned have you provided any results of a survey regarding the Goode/Weed contest.

I can only assume that the results were not to your liking, the sensationalism I referred to in my original email was lacking, or that, as I intimated in my original email, you can’t be trusted to provide accurate and detailed information. Perhaps you can direct me to the results—but then, I doubt it.

Sincerely,

Lisa Blanton
Cumberland VA

P.S. Incidentally, I will be posting a copy of this email on my blog Honesty Counts and it will be picked up by the Virginia Blog Aggregator about 5 P.M. today.

I did respond back to his original email with the following:

Thanks for your reply.

Since your links did not work using my Mozilla Firefox browser, I actually had to go out to the original source—SUSA—to look at the crosstabs. In addition, I had to use your “Contact” link on the sidebar in order to send my email.

Most of the reports I have seen discussing this article are only looking at your coverage and passing on your information. They aren’t interested in the crosstabs or the methodology behind the survey. They are simply saying that Weed is being beaten by over 20 points. I still consider failure to mention that almost half of the respondents were Republican (even in a random survey) a bias. Unless the analysis in your article mentions this fact, people assume (no matter how wrong it is) that those participating were evenly distributed among the various parties being represented.

Thanks for the update about monthly polls. I’ll be interested in seeing if the numbers change with Virgil’s recent statement about the Department of the Defense no longer needing MZM/Athena’s services in Martinsville. In addition, if next month’s survey is primarily Democrats, I hope that you will maintain your silence about the makeup of the respondents and let the chips fall where they may. Anything other than that could definitely be considered biased reporting.

This all has me wondering: Does the sound of silence about any poll being taken indicate a definite bias in their coverage of this 5th Congressional District race? I certainly think so. Does their silence mean that the numbers aren't good for Virgil? Only WDBJ can tell us that answer and I don't think we'll be hearing from them any time soon.

(Gasp!) The Horror...Well, Not Really...

2006-07-27T22:56:00.000-04:00

Believe it or not, I found out the other day that my ex-husband is a Republican—from our children (ages 13 and 9) no less. I knew that his name did not appear on the Prevail lists used by our local committee, but figured it was just a factor of the criteria used to develop them—including those sent by candidates for GOTV purposes. While I knew that his views were becoming more right-leaning since remarrying, I never thought he was a “card-carrying” Republican. As you can tell, we rarely discussed politics during our marriage—except on Election Day, of course. No wonder his mother (a Democrat from way back) always said that we cancelled out a lot of his votes.

But I’m not worried about this fall’s Senate election—nope, not one bit. Why? As a state worker, my ex griped about George Allen for years. During the four years that Allen was governor, there were hiring and/or salary freezes for state workers. “He’s balancing the budget on the backs of the state employees” was a comment I heard over and over. So, according to my children, their father is voting for Jim Webb. Hmmm…maybe I’ll go next door and offer him a Webb sign for his yard.

NOTE: At the same time, I think I’ll ask my ex what Virgil has done for him lately as well. Considering that Virgil’s gotten only one of his introduced bills through Congress in the 10 years he’s been there, it can’t be much. At least Al Weed has a plan for what he’d like to accomplish in Congress.

Boycotts and Bogus Email Campaigns—a new kind of hate crime?

2006-06-26T10:50:00.000-04:00

(Regardless of how busy you may be, some things just need to be dealt with.)

Two emails in one day--from two different people--all about the same organization's tactics to push its anti-homosexuality agenda onto two different groups, the National Education Association (NEA) and Ford company owners and prospective customers. How weird is that?

The first email from Virginia Education Association President Princess Moss says that the American Family Association (AFA) believes that the NEA is about to endorse homosexual marriage. Part of the AFA email says:

...The National Education Association is set to endorse homosexual marriage at their convention coming up in Orlando June 29 through July 6.

The new NEA proposal essentially says schools should support and actively promote homosexual marriage and other forms of marriage (two men and one woman, three women, two women and three men, etc.) in their local schools. The new proposal, expected to pass overwhelmingly, is found under the B-8 Diversity paragraph:

The Association... believes in the importance of observances, programs and curricula that accurately portray and recognize the roles, contributions, cultures, and history of these diverse groups and individuals. The Association believes that legal rights and responsibilities with regard to medical decisions, taxes, inheritance, adoption, legal immigration, domestic partnerships, and civil unions and/or marriage belong to all these diverse groups and individuals.

Translated, that means the NEA will promote homosexual marriage in every avenue they have available, including textbooks, to all children at all age levels and without the permission or knowledge of parents. Their plans will include every public school in America....”

According to Princess:

First of all, know that the NEA and the VEA have no position on same-sex marriages, and we are not seeking to establish a position. … Furthermore, NEA does not direct public schools or school districts on what is contained in their curriculum or in how they should proceed in any activity.

…

Meeting earlier this year, the NEA Resolutions Committee adopted a proposed change to Resolution B-8 that calls for the protection of legal rights and responsibilities of all diverse groups and individuals, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or other considerations. The Resolutions Committee's proposed language reads as follows:

The Association believes that legal rights and responsibilities with regard to medical decisions, taxes, inheritance, adoption, legal immigration, domestic partnerships, and civil unions and/or marriage belong to all of these diverse groups and individuals.

As a result of questions asked by some leaders, a change was recommended to the Resolutions Committee Chair. The recommended language below will be considered at the June 29 Resolutions Committee meeting. If adopted, this language is proposed for movement to Resolution B-10-Racism, Sexism, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identification Discrimination and would clarify the meaning of the original proposed amendment, reaffirming the Association's long-standing opposition to discrimination in any form.

The Association also believes that these factors should not affect the legal rights and obligations of the partners in a legally-recognized* domestic partnership, civil union, or marriage in regard to matters involving the other partner, such as medical decisions, taxes, inheritance, adoption, and immigration.

* As of June 2006 in the United States, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts recognizes same-sex marriage, while California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey and Vermont grant persons in same-sex unions a similar legal status to those in a civil marriage by domestic partnership, civil union or reciprocal beneficiary laws.

The second email came from my dad, who has somehow gotten on the mailing list for this same organization. His email (a forward from AFA) says that:

The boycott of Ford Motor Company is working! Sales of automobiles made by Ford dropped 2% in May. This follows drops of 5% in March and 7% in April. When AFA began the boycott of Ford on March 13th, their stock was selling for $7.86 a share. As of Tuesday the stock had fallen to $6.68, a drop of $1.18 or 13%.

The success of the boycott prompted Chairman Bill Ford to have an email sent to all Ford dealers pleading with the dealers to "ask customers to support Ford." The email said customers "should stand by our company because of our innovative products, because for generations we've been a positive force in American society, and because our successful Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers have made their communities stronger."

It is clear that Chairman Bill Ford is willing to take Ford into bankruptcy to appease a small group of homosexual leaders. … Did you know that Ford Motor Company forces their employees to undergo "Diversity Training"? At Ford, "Diversity Training" means forced attendance at company sponsored meetings which are used to promote the homosexual lifestyle. Attendance is required. Employees cannot opt out. In their "Diversity Training" homosexual leaders present the homosexual lifestyle and teach employees to accept that lifestyle.

No other view of homosexuality is allowed to be presented. No one is allowed to speak against the homosexual lifestyle or present the serious health problems associated with it. At Ford, "diversity" means there is only one view of homosexuality--that presented by the homosexuals--and that is the only view Ford will allow.

I went to the AFA website and found this:

When Ford responds to those who write concerning their promotion of homosexual marriage, the response they get from Ford's Customer Relationship Center says their support "is a strong commitment we intend to carry forward with no exception." For Ford, that support also includes homosexual polygamy.

To show those supporting traditional marriage they mean business, Ford sponsored the June 6 issue of the homosexual publication The Advocate. The cover (article) … promotes homosexual polygamy.

Ford sponsored the publication with a full page back cover advertising Ford Motor company product Volvo and a full page ad for all Ford brands with the line: Ford Motor Company. Standing strong with America's families and communities.

Ford's support for the magazine's promotion of homosexual polygamy leaves no doubt that Ford means to continue pushing the homosexual agenda, even including homosexual polygamy.

Ford’s policy (from their website):

Valuing Diversity
Diversity embodies all the differences that make us unique individuals. Not limited to physical aspects of race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, and sexual orientation, it includes culture, religion, education, experience, opinions, beliefs, language, nationality and more.

At Ford Motor Company we recognize that diversity is not only a reality of our global nature, it’s a distinct advantage, and one that we value and embrace. We also know that we can only leverage the benefits of diversity by understanding and respecting the differences among all employees.

Just as our customer base is infinitely diverse, so is our workforce.

Reflected in our products, diversity is a competitive advantage in a global economy. It broadens our range of talents and stimulates our creativity, adding to the appeal of our products especially in new and emerging markets. Our understanding of diversity helps us serve our customers better.

Diversity Proves Its Value
We find that well-managed, diverse work teams can outperform homogeneous teams in quantity, creativity and quality; that complex problems can best be solved by cross-functional teams typical of matrix organizations; and that people who work, live and learn in integrated settings develop stronger interpersonal communications and negotiating skills.

Diversity enhances confidence and improves the contributions made by people in such environments. Valuing and respecting each individual simply makes good sense. Success and productivity are natural extensions of a corporate culture that truly values all people, putting diversity among our top corporate priorities.

Equal Opportunity
Ford Motor Company is an equal opportunity employer committed to a culturally diverse workforce. Here is a brief statement of our commitment:

Opportunities for employment and advancement will be available on a non-discriminatory basis--without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, handicap, or veteran status. We take affirmative action in accordance with law to have minorities and women represented appropriately throughout the workforce and to provide qualified handicapped persons, disabled veterans and veterans of the Vietnam era opportunity for employment and advancement.

Ford has set up several resource groups to “provide support and fellowship, identify barriers, contribute to employees' professional development, and provide organized activities for employees of diverse backgrounds.” One does focus on gay, lesbian or bisexual employees, but there are others for women, Hispanics and other cultural and ethnic groups, families, individuals with disabilities, and even one for people of faith.

Founded in 2000, the Ford Interfaith Network (FIN) aims to assist the company in becoming a worldwide corporate leader in promoting religious tolerance, corporate integrity, and human dignity. We strive to act in accordance with our beliefs and out of love for human beings and all of creation, promoting understanding and respect for the various faiths.

I support an individual’s rights to his/her own privacy—including from government monitoring of phones, internet usage and even library checkout habits. Of course, I personally wonder about the AFA for two reasons.

Despite the Bible's teachings on not judging harshly, unfairly or in selfish ways, I'm starting to think that "religious tolerance" is an oxymoron.

And the second reason? It’s based in Mississippi—the same state where citizens fought against civil rights by killing activists and promoting segregation. Racism still exists in the South, as I know from my own area of the world.

I saw on Waldo’s sideblog that homosexuality has been documented in over 450 vertebrate species. If it’s that common among God’s creatures, it just can’t be a human “problem.” I think the AFA needs a little diversity education or at least a little religious tolerance.

Running Behind

2006-06-26T08:59:00.000-04:00

I am still working on my take/views/opinions on the second day of the blog summit in Charlottesville. Life has intruded as usual.

The garden beckoned--especially since I will be in class at Longwood this week for a "Highly Qualified" session in order to keep teaching high school English to special education students and then off to the beach (Nags Head) for a much needed vacation with my family. I've got to have everything under control before this all starts. (Yes, I do have some control issues. It's on my list of things I need to work on.)
My interview and acceptance into ODU's doctoral program for Occupational and Technical Studies took place last week. I officially start in August as a part-time student. I'm excited, but nervous about all the changes this will bring to the household.
I've been really tired between working in the garden and the house, the heat and the health issues the doctors are working on finally diagnosing. They believe it's fibromyalgia and I'm just glad that:

it's not in my head, especially since it's other places that hurt.
it's not just old age, which my "friends" kept telling me to get used to. :)
there are some things that you can do to help yourself feel better. (Plenty of rest is one--I'll have to add that to my list as well.)

I hope to have my summary done sometime this week. Maybe I'll work on it during the writing portions of this upcoming class. Hmmmm? More multi-tasking. The story of my life.

Blogging from the Summit

2006-06-17T06:49:00.000-04:00

Waldo has a great post about the first day of the summit here, but I had a few thoughts of my own. (Of course, it helps if you have all of your notes when you start to write. Mine were in the truck when I wrote the initial draft of this, so it is being posted at the end of the second day. Musings about day two will be posted later today.)

Virginia's Attorney General Bob McDonnell was the opening speaker for the summit. While I really enjoyed the information about laws that affect blogging, I have to smile at the joke that really bombed during his talk. After claiming to know very little about technology, he then told us he had two blogs--one of which was entitled "Not Creigh Deeds." No one in the room laughed. Yes, Mr. McDonnell, it has always been readily apparent that you are NOT Creigh Deeds. (The real Creigh Deeds did come to Al Weed's social hour at the Biltmore Grill. I enjoyed listening to the conversation surrounding him--much of it very passionate at times. Having worked the recount in December, I wish we had all worked a little harder to bring a few more Democratic voters to the precincts in each locality last November.)

Following Mr. McDonnell was Dr. Robert Holsworth from VCU. He talked on three main points: the budget problems surrounding transportation, the 2006 midterms involving Webb and Allen, and the 2008 races with Warner and Allen. During the discussion, he gave a four-point list of why George Allen would probably win the 2006 general election this November. The reasons are: a) he's popular, b) he beat Robb, c) he hasn't aggravated anyone , and d) he enjoys campaigning.

I found the list interesting, but would like to ask "Dr. Bob" about the third item: Has he really EXCITED anyone either? Has he introduced or promoted any legislation in Congress that will benefit Virginia and encourage voters across the state to turn out for him? Will his comments in Iowa about wishing he was from that state hurt him in the long run? Will his stated boredom in Congress affect the attitudes of the voters? I guess only time will tell.

I attended the session by Jon Henke and Waldo Jaquith on "Enhancing and Promoting Your Blog." There were several useful ideas that I obtained from their presentation, as well as information on other blogging applications and plug-ins that can be used to streamline the blogging and commenting process. Great job, guys!

Jerome Armstrong was a great speaker in my opinion. Having already read Crashing the Gate, I found his comments very interesting. I also appreciated the fact that he invited questions and comments from the group. Bloggers do have opinions and the ones here at the summit are expressing theirs whenever there is an opportunity. I enjoy the discourse that arises from the expression of their opinions and the questions asked of the speakers and panelists.

I have also met several people at the summit that I know only from reading the Virginia Political Blogs aggregator. (What a great forum it is! Thanks, Waldo.) While it's not always possible to read every post that appears on it, I have come to know and appreciate the writings of several people. I am also amazed at how young some of them are. These young bloggers' posts are very insightful and well-written. I'm glad to know that they are the future of our country.

Well, off for the second day of the summit! (Although I'll be going to Bodo's this morning for breakfast with the Charlottesville bloggers, I can't wait to see what Amber and the Sorenson Institute crew have lined up for lunch. Dinner last night was awesome.)

Letter to the editor about stolen campaign signs

2006-06-10T06:58:00.000-04:00

The following letter is being sent to the editors of The Farmville Herald and The Cumberland Bulletin:

Editor,
In the last few weeks, eighteen political signs for two different Democratic candidates have been taken down from one piece of private property on Route 60 in Cumberland. I replaced signs for the fifth time on Thursday, June 8. In addition, I called the Cumberland Sheriff’s Department from the site to report the stolen signs. Around midnight on Friday night (June 9), the signs were missing again and I called the Sheriff’s office once more (on Saturday morning). This is the third time that a report has been made to the department.

The person(s) stealing the signs obviously don’t know that the removal of political signs is considered petty larceny. The property owner could also charge the thief/thieves with trespassing or allow the Sheriff to do so, since permission was given to locate the signs there. Hopefully this letter will let the thief/thieves know so whoever is involved can discontinue their illegal activity.

Lisa Blanton, member
Cumberland County Democratic Committee

This situation is fast becoming ridiculous.

UPDATE--Saturday at 1 P.M.: The signs that were put up last night (Friday) around midnight have disappeared again--for a total of 24 Jim Webb/Al Weed signs that have been taken down. So, I've made another call to the Sheriff--and we'll be putting up more signs in a little while.

I can't wait...

2006-06-08T16:57:00.000-04:00

I can't wait until the Senatorial election is over on Tuesday, June 13. I'm really tired of the negative Harris Miller flyers and robo-calls I've been getting regularly. I was even targeted with the Democratic Women flyer at the end of last week. So, opening the mailbox today and finding another one just makes me want to get...I don't know, violent or something. I'm already grouchy. It's the last week of school for students and I desperately need my summer break.

But what did I get instead of a nice quiet evening tonight? I get a new Miller flyer asking me how I can "trust Webb to support Democratic values when he supports Republican candidates." You know, it's funny--I could swear I heard something about Harris Miller making donations to GOP candidates.

The remark about Webb praising Ronald Reagan was also amusing, since Ronald Reagan is the President that won last month's poll about the most popular president in recent history. I'm sure that Democrats as well as Republicans were among the group that voted him into the leading position--with Bill Clinton as the runner-up.

I laughed at the Webb remark about Clinton's presidency being the "most corrupt administration in modern memory." Many other people consider Clinton's presidency to be corrupt too. Although I'm almost as old as dirt (just ask my children), I can barely remember Richard Nixon's presidency, which is probably the most scandal-ridden one to which I can think way way back. [The main thing I remember about President Nixon is seeing his picture in a Scholastic Weekly magazine I got at school in first or second grade.] Iran-Contra and the elder Bush administration also rank close in there for problems. However, I don't think any of those (Nixon, Bush I or Clinton) are as morally AND legally corrupt as the current Bush administration. The entire inner circle is responsible for a lot of the problems that the United States is currently facing both at home and abroad. So, give me a break on the Clinton corruption too.

Why don't we talk instead about what Harris Miller was doing while Webb was making all of the comments that are being broadcast by the Miller campaign. Harris was representing IT companies in Congress to send jobs overseas--including jobs that are negatively affecting Southside Virginia at this very moment. Harris was making money as a corporate lobbyist--personal money he is now using to fund this negative garbage that I keep finding in my mailbox or hearing on my phone. And Harris was making donations to various Republicans running for office--and not just those in Virginia.

So, when it comes to voting next Tuesday, for whom will I cast my ballot? The one with the least negative campaigning and advertising. The one with the military background and know-how to help bring our troops home. The one that doesn't deny what he has done, but uses it as an example of why he made a change back to the Democratic Party. The fact that he is back in the Democratic Party is a reason to celebrate. I see it as a blessing, not a curse. Of course, I'm not trying to beat him in the primary. And with all this negative campaigning, Harris Miller probably won't beat him either.

Book Recommendation

2006-06-02T09:02:00.000-04:00

I just finished Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower and enjoyed reading about the first 50-60 years of the Pilgrims' settlement. As is found true of most historical events, the reality is not always the same as the legends/myths/stories that have been passed down through time. I highly recommend this book for those of you interested in history and what really happened almost 400 years ago in New England.

My first wine festival

2006-05-28T21:29:00.000-04:00

Beautiful weather…great music…good food…awesome wine.

The 2006 Fiesta de Primavera at Mountain Cove Vineyards ended late this afternoon. Having seen the festival information on a campaign calendar for Al Weed, we decided to attend his annual Memorial Day weekend event. I, for one, wasn’t disappointed at all.

It was good to see Al in a different venue—at home this time. There were no campaign signs, bumper stickers, or staff members. No itinerary, phones or cameras flashing (although we did take some pictures for our own use.) Just a pretty laid-back affair with live music, pork barbecue, some local vendors and plenty of wine to taste. (And obviously a little R & R for everyone else in the campaign!) Other than support stickers on some fellow attendees and visiting cars with Weed bumper stickers today, you’d never know that Al is actually running for Congress.

Al Weed explains the winery operation during a tour at Mountain Cove Vineyards.
Posted by Picasa

During a hiatus for the band, Al personally lead a tour of the winery operation to a group of about 20 people and explained the setup from planting the vines (eight acres of white and red grapes) to the wine cellar. The wine business is a very complicated and amazing operation—at the whim of the weather and science (think chemistry!) more than I imagined. Having been in business since 1973, the vineyard has had its share of hurricanes, late frosts and, even more devastating to the crops, droughts. Most of the vines were replanted in 1996 and are just coming back into full production. Al’s learned from experience what makes the best wines from his grapes and how to utilize other materials in the area (apples, peaches, and blackberries) to supplement his own crops. He is now one of the foremost producers of fruit wines in the state.

From its beginnings as a one-man bottling operation (with seasonal help for harvesting grapes) to an operation that now employs a full-time staff, Virginia’s oldest winery has grown as the wine industry has expanded in not only Virginia, but also Nelson County (with six other vineyards). I plan to visit more vineyards in the future and see what they have to offer. Looks like I’ve missed out on a whole lot of fun over the years.

NOTE: While I was talking to his wife about the grounds today, Mrs. Weed was telling me about one worker’s comment about a flower bed we were near. As she repeated the statement (including his use of “Senora”), she turned to me and said, “He is a legal immigrant.” I had to laugh--there was no doubt in my mind that Al Weed would use nothing else to work his operation. As a matter of fact, many 5^th District farmers use legal immigrants to work their farms. Cumberland County farmers use them with their truck crops and in their chicken houses.

A new link has been added

2006-05-26T23:47:00.000-04:00

The Southern Democrat has been added to my links section. Check him out!

Any corruption is too much for me

2006-05-26T22:59:00.000-04:00

A diary by habeas on Raising Kaine says it all:

When recently confronted by reports of ethical violations, Virgil Goode (R-VA 5th) deflected the question, saying that the accusations of wrongdoing were coming from a liberal group, Common Cause, without addressing the merits of the accusation. Instead, he chose to argue "Everyone else in Washington is corrupt, why does it matter if I am?"

And then Virgil issued a press release that clouded the issue. (see the complete release on the RK site)

habeas' response?

But all of this misses the point. It doesn't much matter to me who Harry Reid took money from. Becuase Harry Reid is not running for Congress in Virginia's 5th District. And neither is Hillary Clinton.
Our choice is between Virgil Goode and Al Weed. One has taken illegal money from corrupt contractors and one hasn't. One has been named in a Federal criminal prosecution and one hasn't.

Virgil Goode is running for Congress in Virginia's 5th District, and we don't care if other people in government are crooked.

We care if he is.

I couldn't agree more.

They’re back…

2006-05-25T22:24:00.000-04:00

One of the best things about living in the country is watching the seasons change and observing the cycle of life all around us. The flowers are blooming, the garden is growing and tonight...the lightning bugs have returned.

Treated like "regular folks"?

2006-05-25T17:39:00.000-04:00

With Representative William Jefferson (D-LA) being in the midst of a federal investigation involving bribery, it is refreshing to see one Senator supporting the view that Congress be treated just like regular folks. Virginia's own John Warner (R) issued a statement on Wednesday that said:

I think it's very important that Congress be treated no differently than the average citizen when it comes to criminal matters.

Of course, I am not surprised that the President has frozen the access to documents taken from the Congressman's office. I personally see this as a way of preventing the FBI from later seizing information from the offices of corrupt Republicans in Washington, D.C. (including the 5th District's Virgil Goode). Given Bush's past record of changing/ignoring the laws to suit himself and the actions of his adminstration and making documents classified when they are requested for other federal investigations, I would expect no less from our Dear Leader, who thinks he's the king rather than a servant of the people.

What's your favorite political/campaign button?

2006-05-21T16:30:00.000-04:00

Last night, while looking at different fundraising ideas, I came across some buttons designed specifically for Democrats. There were several I liked, although most didn't even come close to State Senator Roscoe Reynolds' quip at the 5th District Dinner in March: "Jesus didn't ride in on an elephant." Some were a little more hopeful (listing various candidates for President in 2008) and some were heading toward profane. [Don't get me wrong. The profane buttons are okay, unless you have impressionable school-aged children or live in a community where your every movement and action are often fodder for the gossip-mongers and passed on to your boss at the first opportunity. I qualify on both those counts.]

Still, I'd have to say my favorite (although definitely a little risqué in my house and community) is:

Love a Democrat. Whoever heard of a good piece of elephant?

With the primary upon us and the general election less than six months away, we'll be seeing more campaign buttons and bumper stickers as we go along. What's your favorite all-time political or campaign saying?

Show Your “Donkey” Spirit

2006-05-20T16:48:00.000-04:00

A fellow Cumberland County committee member and I were discussing fundraising ideas at the 5^th Congressional District Democratic Convention in Buckingham today. Having noticed some of the other women wearing various donkey pins and scarves, I mentioned that selling those kinds of items might be an option. I later found out that the Campbell County Democratic Committee has a wide selection of donkey jewelry, tack pins, bags, etc. Interested? Contact Jennifer Mayhew.

Bern Ewert throws his support behind Al Weed

2006-05-20T16:39:00.000-04:00

The 5^th Congressional District Democratic Convention was held today in Buckingham County at the high school. Christine Senger-Bryan (Buckingham’s county chairman) and her committee had the task of preparing the site for our meeting. They should be commended by everyone on a job well done. I told several of them personally, but thanks again for the hard work put into this event!

In all, 187 delegates were seated for the convention with many alternates and guests also in attendance. Both Bern Ewert and Al Weed had satisfied district requirements for running and were nominated for the 5^th District’s Democratic candidate for Congress. After voting by secret ballot (and while awaiting the results), those in attendance had a chance to listen to both Senate candidates speak: Harris Miller and Jim Webb. Having heard Harris Miller speak previously, I was more interested in hearing what Jim Webb had to say today. He did not disappoint me.

Finally, the moment came for the important announcement. Would there be a candidate or would we need a second ballot? As many of us thought would happen, there was a candidate. Al Weed won the election by a 114-73 vote. Given the chance to speak first, Bern said he fully supported Al and would work to help him beat Virgil Goode in the November election. He was given a standing ovation as he left the podium. I’m so glad that he is working to unite the 5^th district. After all, working together can make all the difference.

Then it was time for Al to accept the nomination. I think he was touched by the welcome he received as our elected candidate. His acceptance speech (which I should’ve taken better notes on) brought out something to keep in mind as we go through the next 5-6 months:

We all think we know Virgil Goode. He comes to our communities and our events. He shakes our hands, listens to our concerns and asks how things are going. But do we really know him?

Do we really know the Mr. Goode who has voted with President Bush 97% of the time? Do we really know the Mr. Goode that supports deporting 11 to 12 million illegal immigrants and building a wall between the United States and Mexico? Do we really know the Mr. Goode who accepted over $90,000 in illegal campaign funds from Mitchell Wade and made over $9 million dollars in earmarks for his company MZM?

Virgil has been in office for 10 years. What has he done to help us? Southside Virginia suffers from double digit unemployment in some areas. What jobs has Virgil really brought to the area? Even MZM (now Athena) may be taken over by a new company in the not so distant future. How has he improved education in the 5^th CD? Let’s check his voting record on No Child Left Behind and other pieces of education legislation. Besides giving his illegal contributions to fire departments and rescue squads in the district, what else has Virgil done for them? I’m not talking about photo-ops, festivals or celebrations, or showing up when grant checks or awards are being presented (like in the pictures on his campaign website or government webpage). I’m talking about something Virgil introduced, worked for and supported that benefited this district. There really won’t be many things that will come to mind.

Therefore, it’s time to send Virgil Goode back to Rocky Mount. Let’s all rally behind Al Weed and do our part to make that happen.

Virgil not ostentatious?

2006-05-20T07:57:00.000-04:00

I read this quote on the VA 5th Congressional District site (original source here):

….."Virgil is not ostentatious," said Jim Severt, a political consultant and his former chief of staff. "He doesn't need a mansion or a Cadillac, because his life is politics."

I know that Jim probably did not see the limousine in which Virgil arrived at Buckingham County Days last weekend. I did--and I'm looking around to see if anyone there took a picture. I'd like to post a photo of this "ordinary" vehicle for everyone to see.

New Editorial Online

2006-05-18T21:44:00.000-04:00

An opinion piece with Friday's date has come out on the Daily Progress website (just one day before the Convention in Buckingham). You can check it out here. It discusses Bern Ewert's recent activities regarding asking 5th District delegates to break pledges.

I wonder why the papers in the Martinsville/Danville/Roanoke area aren't printing pieces like this or the one by Bob Gibson earlier this week. Oh, yes, I forgot. Bern has promised to lift them out of their economic troubles. What a crock! While Ewert claims to have created 16,000 jobs in the Roanoke area alone, Larry Campbell of Danville says he has a record of creating 7,000 jobs. Check that out on Bern's own website.

Another email makes the rounds

2006-05-18T21:16:00.000-04:00

This email from Bern Ewert about Saturday’s 5th District Convention (printed as received) is going around the 5th District:

Dear ________ (name withheld),

The Virginia Democratic Rules govern this Convention and not the personal interpretations of any one individual. Those rules state that delegates can not be bound, only pledged. I am following the rules to the letter of those rules and only stating facts in my literature. I am running to help the people of the entire district and in part icular the unemployed in Southside Virginia, which would have the highest unemployment in America were it not for the devestated communities of the Gulf Coast. This nomination will be decided by the entire 5th District delegation, as it should be. I do not understand why you would deny the people of Southside the opportunity to speak their mind at the convention.

Best wishes, Bern Ewert

Isn’t it funny? He’s never once really come out with any ideas (new or not recycled) and outlined how he can help anyone in this district. Of course, it’s easy to see that he’s now pandering to the unemployed in Southside. Has anyone heard what’s he has offered to do for them? But wait, I bet he would only pledge to support them and provide assistance in their time of need. Based on his own words and actions, we all know that means he can’t be bound to those promises. Sounds like good old fashioned Republican politics to me!

An interesting article

2006-05-17T16:31:00.000-04:00

While I was reading Crashing the Gate (by Jerome Armstrong of MyDD and Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of Daily Kos), I received a link to this article in an email. Called "Not as Lame as You Think," the subtitle says "Democrats learn the art of opposition." I found it interesting. Hope you do too.

What this woman wants

2006-05-16T22:01:00.000-04:00

I’ve given a lot of time and thought to the 5^th District Democratic nomination for Congress. I have researched both candidates heavily and even asked questions when I didn’t understand and couldn’t find out what I wanted to know. As May 20, 2006, draws nearer, it’s almost time for that fat lady to sing—but I still don’t have answers from Bern Ewert to my questions from February. So I guess I’ll just have to decide what I’m really looking for in a candidate and go from there in making the final decision as to my vote at the convention.

If I was looking to hire someone to balance a budget in the 5^th District, I would have to consider Bern an excellent candidate for the position. He has come up against some really large deficits in the past (not in Virginia, however) and helped to whittle them down to a workable amount. However, if you consider all the localities where he’s worked in the U.S., the jobs he takes credit for creating (all on his own, of course) are probably running pretty close to the jobs that have been lost on his watch (due to company downsizing, moving outside the locality, closure, etc.) and the jobs that have been eliminated to balance budgets. [I’m only looking at jobs for which there are documented statistics—like the civil labor force numbers from VELMA, part of the Virginia Employment Commission website. If the jobs can’t be documented by outside sources, then they don’t really count. As a college class it would be called “Fun with Numbers.” Know any former economics and management professors out there who might qualify to teach that class?]

However, when it comes right down to it, what I’m looking for right now is a candidate for Congress—not a fiscal manager for the 5^th District. What are my criteria?

I’m looking for someone who will answer the hard questions regardless of whether the responses are popular—about his record, his stand on the issues, and why things were or should be done one way rather than another. In other words, I’m looking for someone who will not blow off even one person’s questions or consider themselves above answering whatever is asked of them.
I’m looking for someone who can bring new ideas to help in the district’s widespread corners—someone who has ideas in many different areas for the broad range of localities that the 5^th District contains—not someone who only wants to create another layer of bureaucracy in Southside to examine the economic issues “one more time.”
I’m looking for someone who considers every constituent important and goes out to visit every locality in the 5^th District to meet and greet voters. Not someone who picks the area(s) where he’s best known and caters to them more than the rest of the district.
I’m looking for someone who doesn’t pander to any group—women, African-Americans, gays/lesbians, military veterans, etc.—or use “civil rights” as the key focus for their record without being able to prove it with numbers rather than only words. Words are cheap—where are the facts?
I’m looking for someone who doesn’t lose his cool when things don’t go his way or when his ideas are not accepted. I’m not looking for someone who screams or tries to shout his opponents down, blames others for his problems or poor record, or tries to divert attention away from areas of concern. I’m looking for a people person who can work with others—even when those people are difficult to deal with.
I’m looking for someone who will not joke his way out of a problem by claiming “temporary insanity.” Those of us with real mental illnesses (like depression) don’t appreciate your jokes—no matter how politically motivated or cute they may seem to you.
I’m looking for a candidate who has real opinions on the issues and whose stand on those issues is supported by his past actions. Don’t tell me you’re for civil rights for women and have your record show that you supported a city employee whose actions were against the very policies he is supposed to monitor (sexual harassment). Don’t talk about being a union supporter when you’ve talked about unions being a major problem with city budgets in the past and don’t even use union printers to produce your current campaign signs.
And above all, I’m looking for the honest candidate—not someone who lies about FEC filings (without being able to produce copies of the initial paperwork), can’t produce letters of support from prominent individuals, or tells a reporter a story that he knows isn’t true.

As it stands right now, Bern Ewert doesn’t meet ANY of my criteria. But there’s still a few days left until the convention and I’ve been a patient person so far. A few more days of waiting for answers won’t kill me.

Read anything lately?

2006-05-16T17:51:00.000-04:00

I got a letter from Al Weed today in response to the last Bern Ewert flyer that I received. I’m sure there were several different letters again, since mine addresses uncommitted delegates. As seems typical of the Weed campaign, this one was also printed on their stationery and personally signed by Al. I’ve got to hand it to them—they don’t skimp when it comes to communicating with the delegates to this Saturday’s convention in Buckingham. I’m sure that the cost of mailing 196 letters to delegates several times to provide details about Saturday or clear up mistruths (at $76.44 a pop just for postage each time) is not quite how they planned to spend donated funds. But sometimes you have to do it anyway. (If anyone would like to see a copy of the letter, please let me know.)

Speaking of reading something, did anyone read the latest Daily Progress article on the Ewert/Weed race? Bob Gibson’s piece can be found here. He talks to each of the candidates as well as 5^th District Chairman Fred Hudson, former Delegate Mitchell Van Yahres and Charlottesville resident and Weed delegate Virginia Germino. I’ll have to check some of the other 5^th District newspapers to see if they are also covering this story.

UPDATE: According to reliable sources, Virginia Germino is an alternate delegate to Saturday's 5th District Convention. I apologize for passing on this mistake in my post.

Desperation in Bern Ewert's Campaign?

2006-05-14T00:06:00.000-04:00

All I can say is: Wow! After all the hoopla raised about a previous Weed flyer, Bern has now attacked Al Weed one week before the 5^th District Convention.

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He attacks Al on three major points (immigration, jobs and gay marriage) and shows in his discourse that he has very little working knowledge about any of them. He has also proven that he doesn’t know the people in the entire district or their livelihood very well either. He has gone out so far from reality—into outer space even—that I’m surprised he’s still able to breathe any air.

On immigration, Bern makes a connection that illegal immigrants and migrant workers are the same thing. How ludicrous! There are several market farmers in Cumberland County who use migrant labor to harvest vegetables and small fruits, not to mention working in the Tyson chicken houses they may operate as well. I teach the migrant children when they are here and send them back to Florida in the winter to harvest citrus each year. Migrant workers are very hard working individuals who earn their money often by toiling in the hot sun to earn money for their families. They are not illegal aliens and have the visas to prove it. And, believe me, there are few competitors for the jobs they are doing in Cumberland. This same scenario is played out in counties across this district—if Bern had bothered to check his data.

On jobs, once again Bern Ewert has dragged out the same old tired employment statistics—without providing even a shred of evidence. I’ve gone out to the VEC websites myself and posted the data from them showing that he is wrong. He talks about the numbers—but never provides actual documentation of his figures or their validity. Let’s also talk about Bern’s success in Southside for a minute. What happened at Explore Park? Isn’t it ironic that after not having his contract renewed by the River Foundation amidst claims of mismanagement in the Roanoke Times Bern actually left the country for several years [the accounts differ (three, three and a half, or four years) depending upon where you look and what Bern has said in various newspaper articles]. How convenient! And what about the Virgil Goode/Dickie Cranwell/Bern Ewert connection? They worked closely together during that same Explore Park experience. Virgil was in the State Senate, Dickie was in the House and Bern was in charge of Explore Park and was working with both of them to obtain funding, favorable legislative changes, and support. It is also laughable that Dickie supported Bern’s run for Congress, but neither could find the copy of the letter written early last year. Is that another example of his success? Not in my book. The successful businessmen I know can find their paperwork, since responding to lawsuits or complaints make the documentation of vital importance.

His information about Gay Marriage is also a hoot. He doesn’t even state his position on the matter, but once again mentions his work in civil rights as evidence that he is the answer to these “considerations.” In his public appearances he has pandered to African-Americans and women when making his points about his civil rights record—by referring to them specifically in his answers to the questions. I’ve even asked him to provide information on this “supposed” record and never heard a word from him to support his claims. Now he offers the absurd idea that he is the end all, be all savior of civil rights for everyone. His comments about “not redefining marriage” and “not denying gay people their rights” make him look more like a homophobe than anything. Where do you stand on this issue, Bern?

Actually, Bern, where do you stand on any of the issues? Do you have ANY new ideas or are you content to just talk about yourself and your undocumented record in public without offering any suggestions other than the same old tired ones that have already been tried? I’ve already asked these questions several times before—and I’m still waiting for my answers.

Some have accused Al Weed of taking the low road? What do they think now?

2006-05-13T23:01:00.000-04:00

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Buckingham County Day

2006-05-13T18:40:00.000-04:00

Today was Buckingham County Day. An excellent job of organizing the event helped to make it a very successful day for many of the clubs and vendors on the grounds. The great weather helped too.

Both Al Weed and Bern Ewert were in attendance. Virgil Goode was also there for a little while. Al and Virgil participated in the parade, but I didn’t see a vehicle with Bern’s name on it. Someone please correct me, if I’m wrong.

Virgil had rented a huge white limousine that had local residents talking. He also was handing out his usual pencils along the parade route. I saw him a couple of times around the grounds, including once at the Buckingham County Democratic Committee booth when he greeted Al and his staff.

Al was in his modified Checker cab. I looked over the vehicle while his staff decorated it. He had added a pickup bed to the back and had done an excellent job. Al had several volunteers as well as his campaign staff assisting him in handing out literature and greeting voters.

I saw Bern several times. However, other than one other man with a Ewert sticker on his shirt who looking for the Democratic Committee booth when I arrived at the grounds around 10 A.M., I saw no other Ewert-identified workers. There wasn’t even any campaign literature at the booth. Perhaps the letters he’s sending delegates are taking the place of letting the public know that he’s still running for Congress and hoping for the 5th District nomination on Saturday.

The food was good, the drinks were cold, and the weather was just right for a festival in the spring. Pictures are being posted at this site.

Politics in the mail as well

2006-05-13T18:25:00.000-04:00

I got more political information today than just the weird call from the RNC.

I got a Harris Miller flyer, which I much prefer to any robo-call. Funny, though—none of the pictures included looked like some of the ones I’ve seen on other blogs in recent weeks. Every one was an excellent shot (no eyes closed, no mouth open, no weird expressions). Harris says that we can count on him “for real change.” I’d much prefer the dollars that Republicans keep giving to their own, but I do agree that we must shift the balance of power to the Democrats and take back our country. However, the information I’ve seen lately about his record shows that he is probably not likely to alter the way that things are being done. (In spite of the union baggage he’s carrying, the flyer did carry a union logo, however. That’s one thing I like to see on candidate information.)

I also got a letter from Al Weed. There were three letters sent from what I understand—different letters to Ewert supporters, Weed supporters, and uncommitted delegates like me. Unlike the one I received from Bern on Friday, this one had my mailing address, my name in the salutation line and was personally signed by the candidate. (No photocopied “Dear Friends” low budget communication here.) While I understand this is standard fare for convention delegates, it is nice to see that personal touch. It makes you feel you have an important role in the political arena.

As an uncommitted delegate, Al congratulated me on being elected and outlined his plans for the future (dependent upon being nominated by the district this coming Saturday to run against Virgil Goode). In the two different letters I’ve seen, there were no attacks on his primary candidate. And considering the fallout from Weed supporters over Bern’s request to Al’s delegates to change their vote, I doubt there was a request to Ewert delegates to break their promises to Bern.

If anyone wants to see a copy of the letter from Al Weed, just let me know. I’ll be happy to scan and post it for you.

Perhaps I have an evil twin?

2006-05-13T17:17:00.000-04:00

I just got the strangest phone call. Turns out I’m one of the loyal supporters of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and they just wanted to thank me. I was quick to ask the lady calling how that could be, since I am a member of the Democratic Party and a delegate to the 5^th District Democratic Convention next weekend.

She said they must be confusing me with someone else in this area. I assured her that the only other person in this county with the same name as me was also not a Republican. After laughing at the irony of the situation, she said she would remove my name from her calling list. Unfortunately, she could not remove my name from the mailing list—so I’m still not immune from Dennis Hastert’s stupid RNC questionnaires asking how much I like President Bush and his initiatives.

This whole RNC thing is almost as annoying as the Harris Miller robo-calls or our local schools’ Instant Alert messages about the landfill meetings that were conducted by the county.

Breaking News: I just heard that there is a new Ewert letter being mailed to delegates in the 5th District, which is different than the one I posted about yesterday. I'll let you know more when I have a copy.

Ewert Persists in Asking Delegates to Break Promise

2006-05-12T16:27:00.000-04:00

The letter targets uncommitted and Weed delegates. Bern uses the words of 5th District Chairman Fred Hudson to give it a tone of authority and authenticity, which would make it seem more acceptable to committed delegates who may not know that they could be called dishonest for following his advice. Justifying asking people to "lie" by voting against the person they were elected to nominate is absolutely deceitful.

As an uncommitted delegate to the May 20 5th District Convention in Buckingham, I got this letter in my mailbox today. I'm still waiting for the answers to my questions--and this wasn't it.

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Concerned about Tactics

2006-05-07T17:48:00.000-04:00

The emails I posted the other night (about Bern Ewert’s campaign trying to get Al Weed delegates to change their vote at the 5^th District Convention) are making the rounds of the 5^th District, as some county chairmen are forwarding the copies they received to their delegates and alternates. Responses the chairs received are also being sent around the district and will be published here (as they were written) with the authors' permission.

I received your e-mail concerning the efforts on the part of the Ewert campaign to have delegates change their vote at the 5th district convention later in the month. I wish to respond and was hoping you could pass my message on to as many persons that you think would be interested.

As one of Nelson counties delegates to the fifth district convention to nominate a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, I am deeply concerned by the tactics being employed by Marlin Adams on behalf of the Ewert for Congress campaign.

At the beginning of this process to nominate a candidate I was interested to hear what Mr. Ewert had to offer and was entirely ready to shift my support to him had he shown himself to be a better voice than Mr. Weed. This, however, did not occur, as the only thing that came out of the Ewert camp was the same negative rhetoric, which Marlin Adams continues to spout off today in hopes that those of us committed to Al Weed will change our minds. I submit to Mr. Adams that this party in-fighting does not help either candidate and is high up on the list of why my support, and hopefully the support of the other 105 committed Al Weed delegates will not be changing their votes.

I have yet to hear what Mr. Ewert has to offer the citizens of this district and the country in general. I am positive that he has ideas, and I am equally as positive that those ideas may very well be what the citizens of the fifth district are seeking. The problem is I have not heard them. By contrast, I have heard Mr. Weed. Al Weed has spoken of bringing economic and educational vitality back to the district, and replace the rubber stamp vote of Virgil Goode.

The fact of the matter remains," Mr. Ewert"," Mr. Adams", the citizens of the fifth district have spoken and what we are saying is that we want Al Weed as our nominee. While we respect your efforts, what the party needs now is your support, not your disdain. Perhaps it is the Ewert delegates who should change their votes as a gesture toward party unity in defeating Virgil Goode this November. Since Mr. Weed posses enough delegates for the nomination perhaps the Ewert campaign would care to join the effort in defeating the Republican candidate instead of creating turmoil within the Democratic party.

In closing, I would just like to remind the Ewert campaign of a candidate who made the effort and was also unsuccessful many times. At age 23, he lost a bid for state legislature, at 34 was defeated for a nomination to the House, was later elected at 37, but lost the nomination again at 39, at age 40 was defeated in bid for land office (that's right land office), at 45 and 49 defeated in bid for U.S. Senate.

So not everyone succeeds when they run, the point is that they run and it seems clear that the citizens of this district want Mr. Weed to run again. By the way, that candidate above was Abraham Lincoln who was elected President at age 51. So if your argument is Al Weed cannot win because he has failed to in the past, I would say that is a futile argument.

While I do not presume to compare Mr. Weed with former President Lincoln, I am merely pointing out the similarities in circumstance and would argue for the sake of Mr. Weed that there is no reason why he cannot start a string of positive outcomes starting with this November.

Matt Matzeder
5th district delegate
Nelson County

A second response says:

…When I received your letter the other day, I went to the Ewert web site and sent a message that said this; " I find it very disturbing that some one would ask me to renege on a pledge. That is a tactic that Republicans use and I do not want to be a Republican. I have listened to Mr. Ewert's campaign speech and read the literature. To me it sounds too much like a Republican campaign. I am leery that should Mr. Ewert win the nomination he would end up doing what Virgil did after the Democrat's gave him the office.

It is my belief that Mr. Ewert should accept defeat and bow out gracefully and stop embarrassing himself and the Democratic Party by these underhanded tactics.

Gordon A. Koerner
Voting Nov. 7th! Remember
"Jesus DID NOT travel Jerusalem on an Elephant"

What is a pledge?

2006-05-04T19:09:00.000-04:00

This is an interesting question that has come up in response to some email I received a little while ago from my county chairman. All emails are as I received them. None have been changed in any way.

The initial message is from a Campbell County Democrat:

Hello Bern,

This is Jennifer Mayhew it Campbell County. I think that what your website is saying, and I quote ". . . once Delegates arrive at the convention on May 20th, they are free to vote for either one of the candidates, regardless of whom they voted for in the Caucuses." is a lie. The first vote will be Delegates who have declared who they are voting for. I don't understand why you are trying to get Delegates to switch their minds. In my oponion you are doing a great disservice to first the Democratic party and 2nd to yourself. Please reply to this email and explain yourself.

Sincerely,
Jennifer T. Mayhew

She received two responses—one from Bern Ewert’s campaign manager Marlin Adams and the other from Fred Hudson, the 5^th District Chairman.

Mr. Adams’ response:

Hello, Ms. Mayhew,

thank you contacting the campaign.

While we disagree with your statements, we do appreciate you taking the time to visit the Ewert For Congress website.

The 5th District Call To Convention states specifically that the first ballot at the convention is a written, private ballot, which means that delegates are free to vote for the candidate that they think has the best chance of winning in November.

We do in fact intend to let all delegates know why we believe that Bern Ewert is the Democrat with the best chance of unseating the Republican incumbent, and in so doing, we will in fact, I'm sure you would agree, be doing a great service to the Democratic Party, and the Nation.

If you are a Al Weed delegate, we hope you will reconsider your support for Mr. Weeds 5th attempt to win public support in this district. The fact of the matter is is that Mr. Weed doesn't stand in a chance in this very conservative district. Al Weed is the same candidate he was 2 years ago when he was beat badily, 3 votes to every 1, in what has to be seen as a decisive rejection of his candidacy by the people of this district. He is the same candidate that has run 4 other loosing campaigns, dating back to 1975. Al Weed should stop now and give Democrats a better chance of winning.

You can do the Party a great service by switching your support to Bern Ewert because he can actually put together the coalition of conservative voters and Democrats to beat Mr. Goode. Al Weed cannot, has not, will not. That's the only conclusion people of good will and objectivity can reach judging by his 4 decisive losses.

Thanks again for your note.
MA
--
Marlin Adams
Manager, Ewert For Congress
434-220-2498-o; 917-232-1906-c
MarlinEsq@gmail.com

Mr. Hudson’s response:

Jennifer:

You have asked a very good question. With most good questions, the answer is not a simple yes or no!

The reality is that the Caucuses elected the delegates to "pledge" their vote on the first ballot at the May 20 convention. In my opinion, the delegates should vote that pledge as that is how they have represented themselves.

However, there is no specific rule in the Party Plan, 5th District Call, or the 5th District Rules that prevent the delegate from changing their vote. We try to anticipate every possible situation. However, in this case, Bern Ewert is technically correct. In my opinion, the statement on the web site is a bit of an over extention of the facts, but still technically correct. I personally hope that well intentioned people like you, Carter, and I can assure people that it is not just a "free" vote on the first ballot in the Convention, but one to be very aware of why people were elected to be a delegate to the Convention.

As to subsequent ballots, there is no restriction on people's vote in the 2nd and additional ballots. There never was an intention to restrict those votes or we might never get a candidate!

I hope I have answered your question. I wish I could give you a simple yes or no, but I have explained it as well as I can.

Thank you for your inquiry, and I hope to see you in Buckingham.

Fred

So, to repeat my question from the title of this post: What is a pledge?

According to Answers.com, the noun pledge is “A solemn binding promise to do, give, or refrain from doing something.” When used as a verb, pledge means “promise solemnly and formally” or to “give as a guarantee” (WordReference.com). In simplest terms, a pledge is a promise or guarantee given by an individual.

There are only a few things that I can promise or guarantee:

I need air, food and water to live.
I will have to pay taxes.
I always try my best to do whatever task I am given.
If I give you my word, I will do what I say.

So, a pledge is also giving your word.

My dad taught me that there are only two things you always have in this world: your word and your good name. He also said that what you do to one affects the other. Therefore, if you go against what you’ve promised or guaranteed (pledged) to do, your good name will suffer. Once you’ve broken a promise, people never seem to trust you as much as before. And those people who ask you to break your word or destroy someone’s trust in you? They’ll have to live with their own “good” name.

Shades of the past?

2006-05-01T16:40:00.000-04:00

As things stand now, it appears that Al Weed has the delegates to win the 5th District nomination for November's election. Michael had a wonderful post on Friday about that and about everyone moving on in the whole process.

However, the word on the street is that Bern lost his cool last night at a candidates' forum in Brunswick. Anyone out there hear about that? Actually, if it's true, I'm not really surprised. I've been writing about his temper and actions when things don't go his way beginning back in February. Check details here and here.

Nice to see

2006-04-19T20:46:00.000-04:00

I've been reading my usual blogs while I'm in WV visiting my parents. Good posts on all of them.

I appreciate the work done on View from Mars. Mario always has excellent pieces about Virgil and the latest one is a great example of his work.

Michael has a good comment on how to help the 5th CD candidates during the upcoming weeks. I encourage everyone who is interested to do something to further this process.

And then there's Waldo's site. I have to admit that it's nice to see other people going out and doing their own research about 5th CD candidates. For a while there, it seemed like I was the only one who had questions. As I've stated all along, there's plenty of information out there--if you care enough to look.

I actually still have the same questions I’ve always had—never did really get an answer to any of them. Pretty soon it will be too late for not only those answers, but also for the fat lady to sing.

Look for the Union Label

2006-04-17T22:43:00.000-04:00

After all these years, I can still hear the tune and most of the words that were being sung in the International Ladies Garment Workers Union commercials on TV as I was growing up. Fortunately, the Internet helped me find the lyrics as well as the sheet music:

Look for the union label
when you are buying that coat, dress or blouse.
Remember somewhere our union's sewing,
our wages going to feed the kids, and run the house.
We work hard, but who's complaining?
Thanks to the I.L.G. we're paying our way!
So always look for the union label,
it says we're able to make it in the U.S.A.!

Of course, the union information coming into my childhood home also informed us which manufacturers were union companies and which weren't—and in effect told us which clothes to buy and which to avoid if we wanted to support labor. Just like now with buying from “blue” companies—those companies that are primarily Democratic supporting.

I still look for that union label—also called the “union bug.” Sometimes I find it and sometimes I don’t. I was impressed with the number of campaign signs at the 5^th District dinner in Forest that had the union logo. And, of course, I was not really surprised with the signs that didn’t support unions.

Does your candidate support union printers? Check his (or her) campaign sign for a bug and see.

Inartful? Let's talk inept!

2006-04-01T17:04:00.000-05:00

An editorial in today’s print edition of the Richmond Times-Disgrace (RTD) called Goode's "go back to Mexico" remark “inartful,” and claims that “Diplomacy is not the Congressman’s strong suit,” When I looked inartful up online, I came across this colorful definition:

Inartful: The perfect word to use to get liberals off your back. They think you’re apologizing (them being liberals and all), but since it’s not a real word, it doesn’t really count.

I also checked “Inartful” at Dictionary.com and Answers.com and found no definition listed. However, I did find the following link which verified what I had observed:

“…Look up inartful in the dictionary. If you find it, let me know. I couldn't.'' Inartful is in no dictionary because it is not a word.

But this article also goes a step further and says:

An early meaning of artful was ''performed with skill, dexterous”… That meaning of the word has atrophied, however, its function taken over by skillful…What happened to artful? It came to mean ''adroit,'' then gained a more pejorative connotation, almost ''crafty, wily”… If artful now means ''crafty, wily, slippery,'' what would inartful mean? Take disingenuous as an analogy: ingenuous means ''innocent, naive,'' and disingenuous means ''falsely frank, calculating.'' Thus, with artful meaning ''wily,'' inartful would mean ''not wily'' and would be a compliment.”

As that piece goes on to say about its situation, using inartful to mean made a mistake or “goofed'' makes no sense. And it does not make sense in this editorial.

The RTD also claims that Goode raises a good question. No one is denying that he has brought up an issue that is currently dividing the Republican party and people across the nation. However, we do ask that he learn how to talk in public—or use notes to help him look more intelligent. : )

Still confused on Jobs

2006-04-01T11:51:00.000-05:00

Last night at the 5th CD Democratic Committee annual dinner, Bern Ewert corrected earlier job figures that he had provided at earlier debates/meetings. Of course, there's still a problem. Bern said that, after going back and looking at the data, there were 16,000 jobs created in Roanoke while he was there as City Manager. The Labor Department figures I have say:

Roanoke City

	Civilian		Annual %
Year	Labor Force	Change	Unemployment Rate
1978	52873	0	6.4
1979	50197	-2676	5.3
1980	50099	-98	5.5
1981	50330	231	7.2
1982	50384	54	8.7
1983	51338	954	7.0
1984	52341	1003	5.1
1985	50861	-1480	5.9
1986	52221	1360	6.0
	Net Loss	-652

The overall change in the size of the labor force from 1978 to 1985 is -2012. I even added 1986—when Bern was not employed by Roanoke City—and there’s still a -652 balance in the labor force.

In the last 15 years (1990 – 2005), the rates for Roanoke City, Salem City and Roanoke County have fluctuated, but not near as much as that of Danville and its surrounding areas.

Annual Civilian Labor Force Data

Year	Roanoke City	Salem City	Roanoke County
2005	45,926	12,793	47,183
2004	45,159	12,622	45,909
2003	45,783	12,774	46,279
2002	47,128	13,197	46,831
2001	46,735	12,897	46,109
2000	46,266	12,854	45,572
1999	48,761	13,411	47,842
1998	49,578	13,751	48,456
1997	49,523	13,923	47,994
1996	49,863	13,982	48,403
1995	51,301	13,836	49,318
1994	50,638	13,592	48,572
1993	50,728	13,293	47,631
1992	50,422	13,148	46,773
1991	49,810	13,135	45,747
1990	48,469	12,680	44,725

Also note that the labor force figures for Roanoke City had fallen by 3752—a loss—from 1986 to 1990. From the data shown in the two tables, the civilian labor force figures have never regained their high of 52,873 in 1978—when Bern became City Manager.

So, how Bern thinks he contributed 16,000 jobs to the Roanoke City labor force I don’t know. Maybe he’s confusing Roanoke and Prince William County. I’ve already posted about the fact that Prince William County added over 20,000 jobs during Bern’s tenure there.

[To check labor figures for yourself, go to this site. Choose the Labor Market Analysis tab, then the Labor Force section. Select the Labor Force, Employment and Unemployment session option and choose your location from the A City or County option drop-down box.]

An email to the Times-Dispatch

2006-04-01T00:11:00.000-05:00

To: news@timesdispatch.com

Gee, thanks for printing my comment to the article containing Peter Hardin’s distortion of the quote made by Virgil Goode at yesterday’s immigration news conference in which he changed the wording to reflect better on Mr. Goode. Your failure to print my opinion makes me believe what I heard others say just tonight at a 5^th District Democratic Committee dinner—that the paper is really known as the “Richmond Times-Disgrace.”

I have posted your reprehensible performance on my blog and will be seeking other outlets for it as well.

Lisa

Whose coverage would you trust?

2006-03-31T15:52:00.000-05:00

In articles about the immigration news conference by House conservatives in Washington yesterday, there is a comment by Virgil Goode being angry about recent demonstrations across the country in which the people protesting are waving Mexican flags. While looking at a few articles online, I found the following quote by Fox News:

Referring to a wave of demonstrations in recent weeks, Rep. Virgil Goode of Virginia said, "I say if you are here illegally and want to fly the Mexican flag, go to Mexico and wave the American flag."

I thought to myself, “I wonder if he knows how stupid that really sounded.” But, as I continued to look, I found this quote in a Richmond Times-Dispatch (RTD) online article:

"I say if you are here illegally, and you want to fly the Mexican flag, go to Mexico to fly the Mexican flag!"

While I felt better about his ability to speak in public and questioned the authenticity of the Fox News report, I continued to search. A second RTD article quotes it the same way as their first article. But an ABC News article also has Virgil telling them to wave the American flag, as does Yahoo news, CNN and every other instance of this quote I found on the Internet.

It seems that every news outlet that used the Associated Press version has the first quote listed, while the RTD’s own Washington correspondent Peter Hardin has changed the quote to obviously reflect better on Virgil.

And guess what? There’s a link to give your opinion on one of the two RTD articles. You can believe I sent my opinion of this blatant distortion of the truth. Now we’ll just have to see if the RTD will print it online. : )

Fox News or the Times-Dispatch—now who would you believe first?

UPDATE: Well, the RTD did not publish my comment. So I'm sending them an email about it and also sending the information to Media Matters. Newspapers should state the truth as it is said--and, if they change anything, should be sure to let us know.

Republicans hoping for Bush numbers

2006-03-29T18:09:00.000-05:00

Michael posted a link to National Journal’s The Hotline today. The story was about the Republican National Committee memo telling Republicans not to criticize President Bush. The basis of the memo is “If Bush drops, we (Republicans) all drop.”

I found the comments to be very much what I would expect from Democrats who are angry about the current state of our nation and those government officials who have caused it. One comment, however, struck me in the list. It was:

*Wanna get elected?

Be competent.

Be honest.

Be responsive to greater good instead of catering to the whims of corporate overseers.

Get it?

Show some integrity.

B. Butler | 03.28.06 07:39 PM*

This entire piece speaks to me on so many levels, but the third item on being “responsive to the greater good instead of catering to…corporate overseers” made me think of the mess in Washington with Duke Cunningham, Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay and MZM’s Mitchell Wade. Wonder if Virgil reads The Hotline? If not, I'm sure he might have seen it in other places--because it's being discussed all over the web.

UPDATE: Not sure what the President's approval rating looks like across the US? I found a link to this picture while looking around on Waldo's site. His comment:

There are now three "red states” in the entire nation. From sea to shining sea, shades of blue.

How sweet it is!

Delivery Confirmation

2006-03-28T21:02:00.000-05:00

(Click on the picture for a larger version.)

Mailed in Cumberland VA at 4:07 P.M. on Tuesday, March 21, 2006.
Accepted in Washington, D.C. at 9:41 A.M. on Monday, March 27, 2006.

Discounting Sunday, that's just barely over 4 days to get from Cumberland to D.C.

No other comments necessary.

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FEC Complaint tops list of Entry Pages

2006-03-27T23:26:00.000-05:00

It's official--my posting about filing an FEC complaint against Bern Ewert is my number one entry page, according to Site Meter. It now has beat my blog home page as the top page people are looking at first.

Of course, my entry about Lorenzo Grant is running a good third. I hear people are talking about that one as well.

On the flip side

2006-03-27T07:03:00.000-05:00

In response to Greg Kane's comment about my FEC complaint filing on Waldo Jacquith's site, I posted the following comment this morning:

Yes, we have found the Internet in Cumberland County, Greg. Interesting that you do not refute even one of the posts I've put on my site--you only attack our committee's lack of a website.

On the flip-side, are you saying that the other county committees who do not have a website haven't found the web yet? I'm referring to Bedford City, Bedford County, Brunswick County, Campbell County, Charlotte County, Greene County, Halifax County, Henry County, Lunenberg County, the City of Martinsville, Mecklenberg County, Pittsylvania County and Prince Edward County.

More often than not, county committees do not have a website or at least one linked to the district website. So be careful what kind of comments you throw around, since you leave a lot open to conjecture.

Thanks, Waldo, for the sideblog. I’ve posted about your generosity on my own site.

I read several blogs each week and enjoy what they have to say. For more information on what's going on politically and otherwise, check out the blogs in my Links section. There are several excellent ones listed there. Each of them has another list of links to blogs across the Internet on their own pages.

PWC - Part I

2006-03-26T23:22:00.000-05:00

A couple of things I’ve learned along the way:

Figures don’t lie—although the analysis can sometimes be wrong.

It takes more than one person to effect a change in a classroom, school, town, city, county, region, state or nation.

While one person can bring in some new and innovative ideas, it takes a “village” to make it work.

That being said, I’ve found a new site that I just love. It gives me historical labor and employment information from 1990 to the present at the click of the mouse. So I checked into some figures for Prince William County (PWC) and you wouldn’t believe what I found:

(Click on the picture to see a larger version, which is easier to read.)

It looks really good, doesn’t it? The years when Bern was there correspond to a drop in the unemployment percentage for the county. But, being the skeptic that I am, I said to myself, “Hmmmm, wonder what the figures look like for the counties and cities surrounding Prince William for the period that Bern was working there?” So I went out and got those figures for 1996 to 2001. And guess what?

(see the next post!)

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PWC - Part II

2006-03-26T23:19:00.000-05:00

(Click on the picture to see a larger version, which is easier to read.)

All of them pretty much show the same trend. Although some are a little better and others a little worse, every piece of the data falls below the state unemployment average for the time period. This means the entire five county/three city region was experiencing a growth spurt in employment and a related reduction in unemployment. Manassas Park exhibited a tremendous drop in unemployment rates—from 3.7 to 1.9% in only one year. With all of this going on around PWC, there may have been new jobs locating there without anyone doing anything to attract them. I wondered about that. Bern claims he attracted 3,000 high tech jobs. While I didn’t check into the different industries’ numbers, I did check the civilian labor force figures.

	Prince William County
	Civilian
Year	Labor Force	Change
1997	131,789	0
1998	136,668	4,879
1999	142,169	5,501
2000	152,081	9,912

	Total Jobs Created	20292

The total job growth for Prince William County during the time when Bern was there was excellent, with almost 20,300 new employees entering the labor force. Of course by implementing a controversial growth barrier proposed by Bern, the county’s Board of Supervisors put a halt to some of the housing construction in their attempt to slow down county expenditures for schools, roads, libraries and parks as well as other county services and make the area more attractive to high-tech companies. The unemployment rate pretty much bottomed out and flat lined at 1.8 percent for the last two calendar years he was there (1999 and part of 2000). The economic development continued after he left. But the unemployment rate began to rise again and continued to go up—just like in every other county and city around PWC.

Go figure. One person can't do it all and one person can't stop it all. Sometimes stuff happens regardless of what we do.
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Thanks, Waldo!

2006-03-26T20:05:00.000-05:00

My site has been experiencing a lot of activity lately. In checking my referrals on Site Meter, a lot of them have come from Waldo sideblogging my FEC complaint story. Pretty soon that post will replace my blog homepage as the number one entry page. Of course, the Joe Knollenberg story comes third in my list right now. I even found some people in Michigan looking at that one. I am finding the blogging experience to be fascinating--especially when you can check all the statistics. I just love facts and figures.

Interestingly enough, even Bern Ewert's webmaster has posted a comment on Waldo's site about my complaint. He wrote several paragraphs actually--a lot of which is probably questionable since he is paid by Bern. Ironically he doesn't refute anything I've said, just made a lot of dismissive statements. Most of them are directed at the local county committee, of which I am a member only. The committee doesn't tell me what to do on this blog and I don't ask for their approval of what I write. Unlike Greg, no one pays for my time either--for research, web work or writing. I'm simply tired of dishonest candidates and I'll work for free to get the message out whenever I feel the need.

Greg and Bern have not really checked into the local committee here. Bern did not even respond to personal invitations to speak to us that were made two weeks before this blog ever went online. Yes, Bern, you were issued invitations on February 11, 2006, in Richmond to speak to our committee and to attend our Patriot Day celebration this spring. Thanks for getting back to us. Of course, with the non-functional calendar on the Ewert campaign website, we can't even check to see if you've penciled us in anyway.

Whether you want it or not, here's some information for you, Greg :

The Democratic Committee's chairmanship changed in the last three months. Our leader is a long time Democrat and activist. He's been watching politics since the late 1970's and has been working on campaigns since 1984. So he's not a new kid on the block and we are not the same committee that we were even six months ago.
Our chair has also been playing around on the Internet since 1993--before it ever became the World Wide Web as we know it now. He has worked on several websites, including some locally. As a computer literacy instructor, I am far from a newbie as well. When it comes to a county committee website, we've talked about it. But right now a couple of us are planning to do an Anti-Virgil website instead. Another chance to put those research skills to use. [I'm sure if I was using them against Virgil when Bern was the only Democratic candidate, there wouldn't be any problem with what I was doing.] We'll focus our energies on that site and then work on a county one later. It's not like we're the only committee without a website. Are you throwing rocks at them, too?
Vitriol? Obviously, Bern is now feeling abused, poor thing. Well, all I have to say about that is this: If Bern had been more honest about his record in the first place, then none of this would have come out in an effort to fill in the gaps he created in his own background. The same goes for not answering my questions regarding my concerns and his FEC filings. And let's not forget the still missing Dickie Cranwell support letter in this as well. Everybody talks about it, Bern uses the information at every opportunity, but no one can find it. What is that old saying? Either put up or...
Valid, but marginal--valid I can see, since the details I provide usually speak for themselves and I link to the original sources. Marginal? That's more difficult. Let's see.... How about: Despite the fact that Bern keeps saying that no one has ever come back from 36% to win an election, I can't find any evidence to verify this statement anywhere. Bern claims that Al Weed will not win against Virgil even if he is nominated at the convention. You know, Virgil Goode's website doesn't mention Bern Ewert anywhere at all. I can't even find a recent article where Virgil has even mentioned Bern as one of his opponents. Although I can find plenty where the Democrats are talking about Virgil. Marginal must therefore describe Virgil's opinion of Bern as a contender for the 5th District Democratic candidacy.
Lots of things have been slipped past some of the 5th District voters--but not all of us. In Cumberland, we are watching all of the candidates--and so far Bern is the one that has been found to appear the most dishonest. [Of course, until this recent fiasco involving MZM, many in the 5th District felt that Virgil was honest too. And some still do. We'll see how that changes as more details come out while Mitchell Wade's case progresses.]

Like it or lump it--we're not going to change here in Cumberland. As my grandma always said, "Make sure your nose is clean and your conscience won't have anything to worry about."

Update on jobs--Roanoke

2006-03-26T20:01:00.000-05:00

While I posted some information on Roanoke the other night, I find these figures much more telling:

Roanoke City

	Civilian		Annual %
Year	Labor Force	Change	Unemployment Rate
1978	52873	0	6.4
1979	50197	-2676	5.3
1980	50099	-98	5.5
1981	50330	231	7.2
1982	50384	54	8.7
1983	51338	954	7.0
1984	52341	1003	5.1
1985	50861	-1480	5.9
1986	52221	1360	6.0

	Total jobs:	-652	Average = 6.3

If Bern brought in 5,000 jobs as his campaign handout card states, then I’d like to know where they are in the state’s figures. The figures they have show a net loss of jobs from 1978 to 1986 of -652. Of course if you remove the 1986 figures (since Bern was no longer city manager), the net loss is 2,012—that’s right, -2,012. More jobs were lost than created during the period when Bern was city manager. As you can see, the unemployment rate also was higher for several years during his tenure as well.

Do figures lie? Not usually. Political candidates? That a different answer entirely.

For the record

2006-03-26T10:56:00.000-05:00

Including the Danville breakfast on February 24, 2006, I have met Al Weed twice (the first time was in his 2004 run for Congress) and Bern Ewert once. I have not met or talked to either one since. Bern had told me that day to contact him with my concerns. I did by email and got no response. I emailed his campaign's webmaster too with the same result. I have sent emails to both candidates and their campaigns asking questions, etc.--most of which are posted on this blog. I finally got a response from Bern's campaign saying that I clearly support the other candidate.

I haven't come out publicly or financially in support of either candidate. While Al's record is pretty complete and can be easily verified, Bern's is not. I have taken a lot of time to research both candidates. If pointing out (and filling) the gaping holes in Bern's record, highlighting the inconsistencies between his information and the public record, questioning why he doesn't answer direct questions on the issues, looking at the campaign's poor job in filing FEC paperwork, and focusing on his poor people skills and repeated involvement in public relations nightmares for the localities he has been hired to represent is seen as an automatic endorsement of Al Weed by the Ewert campaign, then I guess I've done a better job at my research than I thought.

I just know which one appears to be more honest about his record, supports his stance on the issues based on his beliefs, and is cooperative in his dealings with people. And, like many others I meet on a daily basis, an honest, ethical and cooperative person is what I want to represent me on any level of government--including local and state.

Unemployment Figures--courtesy of Virgil Goode

2006-03-25T17:19:00.000-05:00

Virgil is taking credit for all the fine work he’s done for the district. He even has his friends write letters to support him and tell what a wonderful job he’s done for the 5^th District. Some of us are a little harder to convince, however.

His stand on several key issues reminds me of what David Brooks (a right wing conservative) put in a March 15, 2006, editorial piece in the Farmville Herald:

“…Call for less foreign adventurism and more spending at home to win the Democratic base. Go hard against illegal immigration to win the working class. Rail against China and free-trade deals to build support…” (permalink unavailable)

Of course, Brooks was talking about how someone can win a seat at the White House table; but, the premise is still the same: Keep dragging out the party agenda whenever someone will listen. Virgil must be following that party line. On his own website, he says:

Economic Development: We need a greater federal investment in the economy of the Fifth District of Virginia… Measures that I have secured… have been important to keep and attract business and industry to the Fifth District.

Immigration: We need to stop illegal immigration...

International Relations: I oppose the placement of our Armed Forces under United Nations command. We need to curtail expenditures to the World Bank, the IMF, and to many foreign nations.

Trade: Agreements like NAFTA and the trade provisions in fast track authorization lead to the erosion of this country's vital manufacturing base. I do not favor international trade agreements such as these that result in a loss of American sovereignty and jobs.

Well, it all sounds good, but here’s the real deal. Following is a table of unemployment rates for January 2006 in the counties and cities of the 5^th District. Included are the averages for the 5^th District and the state of Virginia. Where does your locality fall?

January 2006 figures	Unemployment Rate (%)
Greene County	1.9
Fluvanna County	2.2
Nelson County	2.8
Bedford County	2.9
Franklin County	3.1
Virginia	3.3
Cumberland County	3.3
Campbell County	3.4
Appomattox County	3.8
Buckingham County	3.8
Bedford City	4.4
Albemarle County	4.9
Prince Edward County	4.9
Fifth District	5.0
Brunswick County	5.0
City of Charlottesville	5.0
Lunenberg County	5.3
Henry County	5.5
Halifax County	6.2
Pittsylvania County	6.2
Mecklenberg County	6.3
City of Martinsville	8.1
Charlotte County	9.2
City of Danville	11.3

Thanks, Virgil—this table wouldn’t have been possible without you.

What was Lorenzo Grant (VA-01) thinking?

2006-03-24T23:20:00.000-05:00

(Click on the picture to see a larger version, which is easier to read. I'm sorry it's not in the original red, white and blue.)

You know, it’s bad enough that Lorenzo is almost plagiarizing Tim Kaine’s campaign materials. The conventional wisdom says that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; but, come on, guys, show a little more originality here. A campaign is your chance to show what you can do—not how well you can mimic others’ materials. Are you going to copy his speeches and legislative agendas as well? I don’t think it will work, but you can always give it the old college try.

NOTE: An anonymous commenter on the above link says bloggers should talk about the issues instead of the campaign’s lack of creativity. So, in deference to this person who will not own up to his own comments, I will now address Lorenzo and his campaign’s poor judgment in reporting his opponent’s stand on the issues.

However, when he misquotes a Daily Progress article on that aforementioned literature to claim that the Republican incumbent doesn’t care about various issues, then he’s being downright dishonest. And that’s just not right—whether he’s a Democrat or not.

Using a December 22 Daily Press article as his source for each issue, Lorenzo claims that Jo Ann Davis’ stand on the issues is:

Transportation: No Problem. Jo Ann Davis is not aware of any transportation problem in the First District or the state.

Education: No Problem. The only educational concern Davis has is whether high school bands can give holiday concerts.

Quality-High Paying Jobs: No Problem. No public statement or action regarding this issue.

Healthcare: No Problem. Not an issue with Jo Ann Davis. You are on your own.

Public Safety: No Problem. No public statement or action regarding this issue.

Well, I looked at the article in question and I’m appalled. There is not even a mention of transportation, jobs, or public safety in the whole piece. The educational information on holiday concerts relates to a non-political Congressional resolution in support of Christmas, which has since been highly criticized—although it passed the house by a vote of 401-22. (By the way, did anyone tell Bill O’Reilly about this?)

And Lorenzo’s claim about Jo Ann and healthcare? The piece quotes her as saying she does not support a national health plan. She thinks

“everybody should have access to a large group plan, but I do not think a business should be required to pay for it.”

That’s a long way from “You are on your own.”

So, come on, Lorenzo, get YOUR facts straight. People are watching and your dishonesty could cost you some voters, if not the election. Jo Ann Davis does need to be replaced, but you should show yourself as the better candidate and get some new media materials. (Or perhaps even some new advisors!)

NOTE: A permalink to the 12/05/2005 Daily Press article is unavailable.

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Civilian Labor Force in Roanoke

2006-03-24T21:44:00.000-05:00

(Click on the picture to see a larger version, which is easier to read.)

According to labor figures for Roanoke City when Bern was City Manager, the civilian labor force dropped drastically after the first year and never regained its initial level.
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Unemployment Rate in Roanoke

2006-03-24T21:39:00.000-05:00

(Click on the picture to see a larger version, which is easier to read.)

Even during the years he was in Roanoke, the unemployment rate was above that of the state. During the time period shown, the average unemployment in Roanoke was 6.3%, while statewide it averaged 5.6%.
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Full Disclosure

2006-03-24T17:48:00.000-05:00

It must be tough on political candidates to have everyone watching what you are doing. Must be even worse to have your constituents (or possible future constituents) look into your background and question your record, including what you’ve left out—in some cases intentionally. I guess that’s why “full disclosure” is always the best policy. I’ve always tried to be that open and honest. I wish more politicians and wannabes were the same way.

So, in the spirit of full disclosure, I am divulging what I’ve been up to for the last week or so. After looking into the FEC complaint procedure, I have mailed an official complaint about Bern Ewert’s FEC filings to the Office of the General Counsel in Washington, D.C. There are too many details that just don’t add up, in my opinion. We are talking about someone who began talking about running for Congress and getting letters of support in “late spring or early summer;” had radio and newspaper publicity in the middle of November; and made his official candidacy announcements in Charlottesville, Danville, and Bedford on December 3, 2005. We’re talking about someone who told 5^th District Democratic chairs that he had “filed in January but the FEC did not get his documents,” signed “replacement” paperwork one day before he told a reporter he “doesn’t know why it (his name) is not listed on the agency’s Web site,” and, at the same time, reported that he had raised between $20,000 and $30,000 by the third week in February. You know, my BS indicator goes crazy over this kind of stuff. Therefore, I am questioning his filings, how much he spent in the 7-8 months from first talking about it until the end of the year and how much he had in donations (including in-kind).

I mailed my notarized document (original letter with documentation plus four copies) on Tuesday, March 21, 2006, at 4:07 P.M. At least that’s what my postal receipts say. The one for certified mail is hand stamped with the various postage amounts and the date, while the computer-generated receipt has only the total money amount but also included a timestamp in addition to the date. We are definitely high-tech at the local post office.

Receipts can tell you a whole lot about a mailing transaction. My certified mail slip also records that I wanted a return receipt as well. I want to know who signed for the documents and exactly how long it takes for a package to get to Washington, D.C., from little ol’ podunk Cumberland County. We’re pretty much out in the sticks here—not like Charlottesville, which is right on a major interstate. So it won’t be long before I have the answers to my “who” and “how long” questions.

Of course, with online tracking I’ll know when it was delivered long before the little green postcard arrives in my mailbox. And, hopefully, the FEC can clear up some of the mysteries about Bern’s filings as well. I’ll keep you posted.

Joe Knollenberg: A Connection to Corruption?

2006-03-23T06:35:00.000-05:00

When you look back at Bern Ewert’s contributions to other campaigns over the years [NOTE: click the link and then insert Ewert, Henry into the boxes before you hit the Get Listings button], the ones that stand out in my opinion are two to Joe Knollenberg for Congress, a Republican Congressman from Michigan. Of the $1550 that was donated over the years, $1000 was donated on May 2, 2002 (in two $500 amounts). While Bern related to a group in Danville on February 25, 2006, that the donations were a business investment involving a project in Northern Virginia, it is interesting that neither his business nor his occupation are listed on those receipts. Even more interesting are the ties that are being exposed between Joe Knollenberg and Brent Wilkes, one of the co-conspirators in the Randy “Duke” Cunningham case along with Mitchell Wade of MZM.

And this is not the only association with lobbyists or the connection to corruption. Just recently Knollenberg received bad press for a trip to Hawaii with his wife that was paid for by lobbyists for the American Association of Airport Executives. He has also received over $10,000 from Tom Delay’s ARMPAC (and voted with Delay approximately 96% of the time). In addition, the Democratic National Committee quoted a December 2005 New York Times article where Knollenberg had

“inserted a provision into a transportation bill that earmarked $8.3 million dollars to Amtrak if the railroad company dramatically increased the amount of freight it hauls. The sole supplier of rail cars to haul such freight is ExpressTrak, a company owned by one of Knollenberg's largest donors, Anthony Soave.”

Even Joe’s own constituents are upset about the corruption they see in him.

All this information makes me wonder what type of project Bern was doing in Northern Virginia in 2002 and what Joe Knollenberg was voting on.

Progressive?

2006-03-23T05:01:00.000-05:00

For all that he claims to be forward thinking and has brought high-tech companies and/or jobs to various areas in which he has worked, Bern Ewert is surprisingly behind the times. His company website, where his personal email address is attached, is simply a placeholder. For those who may not understand that term, it is similar to a name card at a dinner table. It marks a spot whether anyone shows up or not.

And obviously no one is at home at Ewert and Company. Despite the fact that the site was created on September 9, 2005, no work has been done on the webpage at all. There are no pictures or projects for us to examine as a way of checking what he claims about his company on his resume. There are no testimonials from satisfied customers. There isn’t even any contact information for potential clients to utilize.

In this day of online businesses, web searches on anything from all over the globe, and immediate contact with people we don’t even know, simply having a place on the web is just not good enough in today’s world. Many people, myself included, research products and ultimately companies before we buy anything. Does this mean that Ewert and Company doesn’t have anything to sell? You’ll have to decide that for yourself.

Speaking of Education

2006-03-22T21:38:00.000-05:00

While looking at a site of George Mason University salaries for the Spring, Fall and Summer sessions of 1995, I found the following information listed for each of the three:

EWERT, HENRY BERNHARD PROF
MELLON/ECON/MGMT REF 103,399.00

(If it’s not Bern, then it must be a very close relation. And if it is him, then why isn't it listed anywhere on his resumes?)

Knowing he had worked with the Mellon Foundation as part of his work in the Czech Republic and considering that the foundation is active with George Mason, it’s not hard to guess what MELLON stands for. I also understand that the professorship was in Economics and Management, although the meaning of REF escapes me. But what I really don’t know was if the amount of $103,399 was paid for the entire 1995 year or for each specific term for which it was listed. I’m also not sure if he taught there before 1995 since that’s the first year for which the information is available. Regardless that’s a lot of money for someone who doesn’t even have a Master’s degree.

Education

2006-03-21T18:17:00.004-05:00

Why is it when people want to attract and keep teachers as voters they talk about paying for college-level classes, increasing the tax deduction for teacher-purchased school materials and increasing salaries? How many of you that teach get letters from state legislators and national leaders telling you what they have done for educators in the past session? While I appreciate hearing what they have done and benefit from their work, I also know why they do it: because it’s good public relations and will ultimately increase their chances of being re-elected.

All candidates make promises to different groups of voters—and our 5^th District Congressional candidates are no different. Al Weed has an entire list of education initiatives, while Bern Ewert lists only one education item in his “Strengthen and Expand the Middle Class” section. When it comes to education, Bern has a plan on only one subject. He is using the “paying for classes” ploy in his attempt to get the Democratic nod for the 5^th District and ultimately the Congressional seat in Washington. However, when it comes to the schools in the fifth district, he obviously doesn’t have a clue about what is being done about his issue in the area.

In Cumberland, we have a tuition assistance program for both teachers and administrators taking classes. While some apply for reimbursement of classes needed to get or update their certification, others are working toward advanced degrees. While the fund is “first come, first served,” the funds are there and the amount available increases each year. In addition, grant funds are available for annual professional development, additional college classes, reduced rate classes, and tuition-free classes. Our paraprofessionals have benefited over the past three to four years from free classes offered by the school system to assist them in meeting national certification requirements.

Additionally, there are specific programs for teachers to meet No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates. In Region 8 (which includes Cumberland) and in other Superintendent’s regions across the state, there are highly qualified workshops that will help special education teachers meet the increased requirements for teaching students with special needs. Other programs are being offered for Earth Science teachers, math teachers, etc. So funding is already available—on more than one level.

I have always said that if I was in teaching for the money, I would not have stayed at Cumberland all these years. I appreciate those candidates who want to bring money to the localities to make things better overall—not just spouting pipe dreams of free college classes and, ultimately, degrees. The realities of NCLB do not support those promises. If the federal government will not fully fund that program to support the students (who are the “Child” in NCLB), what makes Bern think that the federal government will subsidize college classes for teachers across the nation? Let’s get real here—there are more pressing issues in education in this area than that. He should do a little research of his own.

Bern and Religion

2006-03-19T20:24:00.000-05:00

Is Bern Ewert a man of faith? He never talks about it. I can find nothing in my research—not even on his campaign materials—to point out where his religious ties are currently found or even his religious background. He speaks of his professional values, but what about personal values, moral convictions, and religious affiliations?

At the February 1 DFA debate in Charlottesville, the Daily Progress reported that

One person asked how each candidate would deal with the hot-button issues of "God, guns, gays and immigration."

Ewert, from Charlottesville, said he'd stress "bread and butter" issues such as jobs and healthcare and highlight his experience in local government.

Isn’t that a non-answer? Or is it misdirection instead? I feel this is one more indication that Bern is not comfortable answering any questions that are asked of him—especially if they are not related to economic development. Shouldn’t Bern have been able to answer this question? And why do people who support him not ask him about these values more often?

On the other hand when asked the same question,

Weed, a Nelson County vintner, said that in order to win, a Democratic candidate must confront those issues head on.

"The simple answer to the four hot-button issues, God, guns, gays and immigration, is, 'I'm for them,'" Weed said. "If you dismiss them, then you lose them."

Whether you agree with his response or not, that is a direct answer to a direct question.

What do I find when I look for Bern Ewert (all of his given names) and religion on the Internet? The only hits are on his own site, where I see Bern relying on his association with Larry Campbell, Assistant Pastor at Bible Way Cathedral, to bring in voters. He is also using a 20 year-old civil rights record endorsed by the wife of a deceased Baptist minister to help in this area as well.

Is he a man of faith? Is he a man of no faith? Is he ashamed of his faith? I guess that’s between God and Bern. And neither one seems to be talking about it at all.

A 5th District Independent Candidate?

2006-03-19T11:15:00.000-05:00

While doing some more researching this morning, I found this site. Imagine my surprise to see that another candidate is running for Virgil's seat--from the Independent Greens party: Joe Oddo.

Does anyone know anything about the candidate or the party?

How Sweet! (yeah, right!)

2006-03-19T10:24:00.000-05:00

In answer to my questions about Bern’s claims in Danville about hiring African-Americans and women in Charlottesville while he worked there as deputy city manager, he has posted a letter on his site about his civil rights work in ROANOKE.

Way to go, Bern! What an excellent way to dodge the question. Do you think that will cover you from answering questions that you yourself caused to be asked? Your lack of honesty, your constant misdirection, and the inconsistencies in your record are mounting.

And I am watching…

(Now, if only he could find that letter from Dickie Cranwell!)

My favorite cartoon of all time!

2006-03-11T17:55:00.000-05:00

What's yours?
Posted by Picasa

An idea worth considering

2006-03-11T09:41:00.000-05:00

Although the national media has focused on Virgil Goode’s involvement in the scandals involving MZM, Mitchell Wade, Duke Cunningham and, more recently, Katherine Harris, many of the local newspapers and city guides are following their partisan lines and downplaying both his role and the impact on the upcoming election in the 5^th District. I have been reading Mar’s postings on this topic. I always enjoy the descriptive way he gets his irritation over their biased reporting across to his readers. : )

A link in a recent posting by Waldo about Virgil sent me to Wikipedia, where I followed another link to the word “blog.” [I’ve been enjoying this one so much that I wanted to learn more about them!] While reading through the history of this alternative media, I found a comment that was particularly interesting:

… In 2002, many blogs focused on comments by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. Senator Lott, at a party honoring U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond, praised Senator Thurmond by suggesting that the United States would have been better off had Thurmond been elected president. Lott's critics saw these comments as a tacit approval of racial segregation, a policy advocated by Thurmond's 1948 presidential campaign. This view was reinforced by documents and recorded interviews dug up by bloggers. … Though Lott's comments were made at a public event attended by the media, no major media organizations reported on his controversial comments until after blogs broke the story. Blogging helped to create a political crisis that forced Lott to step down as majority leader…

It made me think. While 5^th District bloggers may not be able to have an impact on Virgil stepping down from office, we CAN do some digging and keep putting the information out to local media in letters about his record, campaign contributions and perhaps even his spending patterns (check this site in response to the one sideblogged by Waldo). We can provide data to his opposition after the 5^th District caucuses and convention in April for use during debates with Virgil and publicity pieces. We can show up at events and ask questions. And hopefully that will make people in this district begin to think about the paradox represented by this question:

Why would anyone with a net worth of $1.2 to $3.3 million dollars be driving around in a vehicle with 270,000 miles and duct tape and maintain a rickety office in Rocky Mount?

Is he trying to dupe the voters into thinking he’s just like them? Is he advertising hard times in order to fit in? Therefore, I feel we need to look into his background a little more closely. Where does he live and what does his house look like? Does he actually drive that old vehicle around in Washington—or just around the district? Where does his campaign spend funds and for what? We all have the means to do a little digging—and, if the local media won’t do it, then we have the right to let the truth be known.

We might actually be surprised at what we find. For example, I was intrigued to see in last Sunday’s Richmond Times-Dispatch an article (5 March 2006, starting on page A1) stating that Danville has the fifth-worst job market in the nation—behind New Orleans and Biloxi, victims of the last hurricane season. I was also unaware that, while 2,500 jobs had been created in the last two years, the net loss of jobs in the city is still 1700 (listed on page A13). Bringing jobs to the 5^th District is what Virgil keeps talking about. Who knows, there might actually be an amendment to the bill he introduced in the House about the border fence between America and Mexico that requires 5^th District voters to be given jobs on the project!

Facing the Reality

2006-03-10T22:54:00.000-05:00

As a teacher, I’ve taught at all levels in our public school system and I have always emphasized the multicultural aspects of my classroom. From information on various cultural holidays throughout the year to Black History Month, I have attempted to make information available to my students. I feel it’s my duty to make sure they know their own history—and the background of their own as well as other cultures.

This year I have been teaching high school English in a self-contained special education classroom. After spending time last fall writing research papers, the students and I went on to the stories and poetry of Edgar Allen Poe. We listened to audiotapes of short stories by O. Henry. We read novels by Jules Verne and Robert Louis Stevenson. In between we talked about American tall tales and European fairy tales and fables and how they mirror real life at times. Then, for the last few weeks, I chose to celebrate Black History Month in my classroom.

Black History Month has been officially celebrated in the public school system for years. From time to time, the various schools where I’ve worked have had trivia questions, poster contests and speakers or programs about famous African-Americans during February. The students can tell you about Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and Douglas Wilder. They might have heard of George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass. That’s been a part of the lessons they’ve gotten over the years. But, in the teaching of this latest unit, I realized how limited the students’ exposure to all aspects of their history has really been.

As a part of our study, I had my students reading selections by African-American authors from our literature books. We discussed the stories’ conflicts (slavery, being poor, and segregation). We read about the amazing things done by some of the poems’ characters (Harriet Tubman, the 54^th Massachusetts Regiment, and John Henry). We even talked about conditions which existed during the various pieces’ settings (the crowdedness of the slave ships, the secrecy and danger of the Underground Railroad, and the unfairness of separate bathrooms, water fountains and seats on buses). And my students were amazed at these historical and social aspects of their culture. But not as amazed as I at what else they didn’t know.

These students are not familiar with the music and literary history of their own people. In all of their music classes over the years, they had never heard of Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong or Charlie Parker. Their opinions of the original recording of Paul Robeson singing “Ol’ Man River” by Thomas Edison ranged from “scratchy” to “too slow.” They didn’t even connect to the fact that the recording was over eighty years old and was sung by a black man who couldn’t use the same stage door as the actors with which he worked.

They knew nothing about Langston Hughes, Lucille Clifton, and Eloise Greenfield. When Langston Hughes talked (in an audio collection) about Josephine Baker arriving in Paris while he was there, they had no clue who she was or why she had to go to Paris to become famous. And Langston Hughes’ poetry was weird because it didn’t rhyme. Listening to Lucille Clifton recite her poem “Homage to my Hips” on the Internet made them laugh. But they didn’t understand the meaning behind many of the lines. Don’t get me wrong. There were a few bright spots where they could relate to what we were discussing. As we read excerpts from Eloise Greenfield’s “Childtimes,” I showed them the clapping game “Old Mary Mack.” They recognized the rhyme as something they had learned when they were younger, although their versions differed from both mine and Greenfield’s. They also remembered “Mother May I” and the big giant steps. This led to further discussions of other childhood games like “Red Rover” and “Simon Says.” But, the discovery that children of all ages and all times have played the same games was truly eye-opening for some of them.

My students also didn’t realize what their ancestors have gone through for them to be where they are now. While reading “Lineage” by Margaret Walker, we discussed how hard it had been for the women to plow the fields back in the old days with a horse and mule. We talked about the injustices of the sharecropper system—just one step above slavery at times. In “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall, the students were shocked to learn about four young girls who died in a church during a freedom march protest. Before we read the poem, I asked them the safest place for a person to be and they automatically replied, “A church.” In “She Taught Me Purple” by Evelyn Tooley Hunt, we talked about how parents have always encouraged their children to rise above where they grew up—and reach for the gold that lies just out of reach. (I chose this poem for the unit because it was the inspiration for “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker, which was made into the movie of the same name starring Oprah Winfrey.)

It is not just their youth that has caused this deficit in knowledge, as they also don't know about contemporary writers as well. When I mentioned that Tupac Shakur wrote poetry, most of my students thought I was only referring to his songs. One student had transferred into my class from an inclusion class and knew a little about his work. Amazingly, Maya Angelou was an unknown entity as well. So, I didn't push the issue any further. However, you can believe I am already planning my literature unit for next year’s classes. I’m also planning to bring some of my own music collection to class for them to listen to this spring as well—especially the jazz, big band and blues CDs by the artists listed above. I will include more recent artists as time goes on.

Today, as we prepared to move on to “The Red Badge of Courage” by Stephen Crane, I asked them to use their laptops to brainstorm and research the Civil War. While some of them were more interested in listing how many battles had been fought and naming the various generals from their side of choice, others were more impressed by the audio clips of slave stories and songs collected about the time period and made available over the Internet. Perhaps I’ve made an impression on a couple of them. Only time will tell.

Note: Currently, my enrollment is about one-half African-American and one-half Caucasian. In about two months my sole Hispanic student will return from Florida, where her migrant family lives during the winter. I can’t wait to welcome her back, as I’ve truly missed her eager attitude and smile. I’ll be sure to also include some stories by Hispanic authors from our literature books as well. And we'll just have to see where those discussions lead.

What are you reading?

2006-03-09T21:42:00.000-05:00

This has been a very weird and tiring week. I'm looking forward to the weekend and a chance to relax. I hope to catch up on some reading and paperwork, as well as researching for a couple of posts. So, I'll give you a break on posting today--and do better in the next few days.

I'm been reading "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin about Abraham Lincoln. I highly recommend this book. I also have a couple of others on the nightstand for later. No trash novels in the bunch! : )

Let me know what you're reading. I might want to add them to my stack.

Lisa

Finally--Bern’s FEC Registration Appears on the Web!

2006-03-08T17:55:00.000-05:00

It’s been done! And, as I’d reported in an earlier post, the date of the application was February 24, 2006—one day before the Danville meeting where Bern told Bernard Baker of the Register & Bee that he didn’t know why his name wasn’t up there. While you’re on the FEC site, you can actually see the form that was filled out by the campaign and signed by Bern—just click on the “view image or PDF” link to see either choice. Who knows, maybe he really didn’t remember signing the form the previous day.

I looked at the second page of the PDF to find that the postmark on the envelope used to mail the form was illegible. Even that is not surprising considering how many different stories have been spread around since February 1, 2006, when Bern first said he had filed with the FEC. Now we’ll never know for sure when it was mailed—unless Bern produces his mailing documentation. According to page two of the PDF, the letter was registered/certified by the postal service (USPS). Wonder if the campaign paid for that mailing?

I also found his name on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) site again today, although his name did not appear on the FEC site either on Monday or early on Tuesday. While the DCCC Virginia page says:

“This website is updated the first business day of each week with the FEC filings,”

it appears that they did not follow their own stated policy. Not surprising, considering that Emily from the DCCC had previously said Bern made it to the list in the first place by sending an email to the committee telling them that he had filed with the FEC. Not anything official, mind you, just an email from the candidate.

In closing, that Register & Bee article mentioned above referenced Bern saying he had already raised $20,000 to $30,000. Since he announced his candidacy on December 3, 2005, in Charlottesville, Bedford and Danville, there was approximately a four-week period in December where he could have been receiving campaign donations. I refuse to believe that he received no donations to his campaign at any of the announcement locations or during the rest of the month. Therefore, I’ll be interested in seeing his December 31, 2005, report to the FEC as well as the one at the end of this month. Wonder how long he has to file that December report anyway? Al Weed’s filing is already on the web.

I also respond to Frank Ruff through the local papers

2006-03-07T23:38:00.000-05:00

I had planned to send this off last night, but didn't get to it, as I was looking at the MZM PAC information. Click here to see how many 5th District residents were actually on that 2004 MZM donor list and check here to see how many 5^th District residents are on the 2006 MZM donor list. I wasn’t aware that Tampa FL, Tempe AZ and San Diego CA were so close to us!

March 7, 2006

Dear Editor,

This letter is in response to one sent by Republican State Senator Frank Ruff (District 15) and published in many local papers on Friday, March 3, 2006.

I found it extremely hilarious to have someone (and especially a Republican politician, no less) finally put into print that the problems with jobs in Southside Virginia (and especially the 5th District) had become worse in the last 10 years—the exact length of time that Virgil Goode has been in office. I’m sure the connection was not lost on others who read it. And, if it was lost on them, then they can now relate his statement to the economic reality of this district.

In addition, Senator Ruff talks about Virgil’s integrity and honesty. Let’s not get too hasty in casting stones at others (namely Bern Ewert and Al Weed) who, like me, are upset about what’s going on in Washington. Personally, I’d prefer to wait until we see the paperwork about the donations to Virgil’s campaign by MZM and check it against the timing of his voting as well as his very small record of sponsoring and writing legislation actually benefiting Virginia’s 5th Congressional District. While the MZM PAC information is available on the Internet, the earmark documents themselves will tell the whole story about “Representative A.” Even the news media is interested in seeing this information, as the ongoing investigation into Virgil’s activities have been covered in several national magazines, including Time, Newsweek, USA Today and U.S. News and World Report, as well as many of the current political talk shows on regular, cable and satellite channels. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire—so we’ll just have to wait and see whether it will take a garden hose or an ocean to put it out.

Perhaps the next time someone wants to promote another candidate’s character as “unquestionable,” he will have be sure to have his letter checked and approved by the campaign of the candidate in question. This letter certainly didn’t do it for me. As a matter of fact, his letter associating and supporting others with questionable actions in their recent past leads me to wonder what I will find when I check Ruff’s own background when he runs for State Senate again in my county.

Al Weed Responds to Frank Ruff

2006-03-07T22:22:00.000-05:00

Found on the Farmville Herald’s Letters to the Editor Page tonight:

Is The 5th District Waking Up To Goode?

Editor, The Herald:

State Senator Frank Ruff (R-Clarksville) recently expressed "amazement" that I would suggest that Mr. Goode has done anything wrong in the MZM affair.

Many around the nation have been critical of our Congressman's apparent ethical indifference, and they have good reason to wonder. How can Mr. Goode suggest that he was "shocked and amazed" that the contributions were illegal?

Senator Ruff talks about Mr. Goode's thirty years in politics as a virtue. If he is such a seasoned politician, he should know better. MZM was the largest contributor to his campaign, he helped them get lucrative contracts the Pentagon didn't want, and they did not have to sign a performance bond leaving Martinsville and Henry County potentially to hold the bag. Then many MZM employees, all of whom live outside of the district, magically give him maximum contributions. And we are expected to believe that he was fooled by MZM? Perhaps he was, but it is certainly right, in our democracy, to question a foolish Congressman.

All across the nation Congressmen are working to get new jobs in districts hurt by globalization, yet only Mr. Goode and Ms. Harris (R-FL) felt that MZM should pay them for these jobs. I guess a $160,000 annual salary is not enough.

Senator Ruff said that he finds "it truly amazing" that I would attack Mr. Goode's morals, when all I've suggested is that I'm saddened that Mr. Goode thinks so little of us to claim that he did nothing wrong. We have to wonder, though, why the Republicans have so quickly jumped to defend Mr. Goode? Is it my published comments, or the sounds of the 5th District waking up?

Al Weed

A crop to replace tobacco

2006-03-07T18:36:00.000-05:00

While researching on the Internet last night, I ran across this article by Kurt Rheinheimer. The author’s name was very familiar to me as he is the editor of Blue Ridge Country, a magazine I have enjoyed reading for many years.

This comment in the 1988 Roanoker article about Virginia’s Explore Park struck me as very ironic:

“Tell me how to save coal and I’ll do it,” says Vinton Delegate and Explore’s legislative champion Richard Cranwell. “Tell me how to create a crop that will replace tobacco and I’ll work on it….”

Hmmmm—a crop to replace tobacco? Isn’t that what Al Weed is proposing as one of the solutions to issues in this campaign? But time passes and promises are forgotten, I guess—especially since Bern Ewert claims “Dickie” Cranwell (now our state Democratic chairman) has endorsed him instead—although the official letter has yet to be found, of course.

Unbelievable

2006-03-06T18:05:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it's amazing what you find while researching the Houston (TX) Chronicle. Check here and here.

I can imagine that Galveston residents were upset in the first article about the poor image being projected by both elected and hired (if interim) city officials. It’s just not good public relations, now is it? And while Bern may or may not have been surly and throwing his weight around in the illegal parking incident in Galveston, the story has a similar pattern to the other articles I’ve found about his "temper."

And even more surprising was this link. As a working woman, I would hate to think I had to contend with this man continuing in his position and supporting me in a sexual harassment complaint. Whether the woman arrested had been drinking or not, I feel Bern’s assistant city manager was out of line in several ways. His continued employment sends a poor public relations message about the administration’s acceptance of such reprehensible behavior. It is my sincerest hope he was such an awesome employee that accepting his resignation would have hurt the city terribly. But I won’t hold my breath on that.

Labor in the News

2006-03-05T17:36:00.000-05:00

You know, I love it when Republicans make the news and the word “mistake,” “approval rating,” or “scandal” is included in the headline as well. It does my heart good for them to have to eat crow every once in a while, since they keep trying to force it on Democrats. A Daily Progress blog posting on March 3, 2006, points out potential problems for Republicans in upcoming legislative races if they don’t confirm Danny LeBlanc as Secretary of the Commonwealth. A former Virginia Labor boss, LeBlanc’s supporters would quickly begin protesting if his nomination is axed by Republicans, according to reporter/blogger Bob Gibson. Hey, bring on the protest! I’m sure our 5^th District candidates would be glad to have a few more volunteers around the campaign office.

Speaking of labor, also in the news recently was information about the National Education Association (NEA) and the AFL-CIO working on a Solidarity Partnership Agreement. The agreement would allow local NEA organizations to join the AFL-CIO at both the local and state levels—providing them with the same rights as any other AFL-CIO affiliate. As a local association president, I’m going to have to talk to my Virginia Education Association (VEA) UniServ representative in Charlottesville to see what the status of this agreement is in Virginia and its impact on my co-workers and me as teachers. While we may not be able to strike in Virginia, there are other benefits from belonging to a union, as I’ve seen first hand over the years.

Almost all of my life (and I’m pretty old, according to my children) I’ve been hearing about unions. My dad was a member of both the Carpenter’s and Electrician’s locals for many years, as well as the United Mine Workers (UMW) for a couple of years before that. [He retired last year on disability and his pensions are helping pay the medical bills now. So I have a special affinity for unions since they support their workers even after retirement.] As a teenager I read every magazine coming into the house—including the ones that told union members which companies to avoid because they hired “scabs.” I can imagine many children in union families thought of crusted over wounds when they first heard their parents talking about non-union workers. But being a teenager I quickly made the connection. I also got insight into other new terms, as local plants in the Big Bend area of the Ohio River Valley faced strikes and union-busters (also scabs). Jack-rocks, picketers and Molotov cocktails were ones that I remember from newspaper articles during my youth. Luckily enough, my dad had left the UMW by then and didn’t work for Kaiser Aluminum, so our family wasn’t hit hard financially as were some families in the area.

After graduating from West Virginia University, moving to Virginia to work, getting married and having children, I didn’t always hear about “real” unions anymore. Dad worked mostly for the Carpenter’s local then and attended meetings on Friday nights. During this time, my conversations with my parents centered around what the boys were doing and when I was coming home for a visit. But after my divorce I met someone who was even more of a union supporter than I had been. Like me, his dad was a long-time union man and a carpenter as well. I quickly found out what unions across the country had been doing and what they had been contending with during my preoccupation with my family. Because of him, I even found out about Wal-Mart’s union-busting and small-company-closing activities in all parts of the country. And, although it was hard in this rural area, I have now cut my visits to about once every two to three months instead of every week or so. My visits to Sam’s Club are now about one or two a year. And others are joining this fight as well.

So, I’m a union girl from way back—and the idea of being a part of the AFL-CIO is really kind of intriguing. I can’t wait to find out more about the recent NEA/AFL-CIO agreement. I think I’ll call John tomorrow and ask him what he knows.

And, since I’m getting ready to post this, I am also wondering if Al Weed and Bern Ewert have ever dealt with unions and union workers. If so, I’m sure I can find something about it online. Off to research!

Have a great evening!

Excellent Writing!

2006-03-05T08:23:00.000-05:00

For more information on another blogger’s opinion of Virgil Goode’s involvement in the MZM scandal, check out View From Mars. I plan to keep an eye on this site myself.

Virgil's Record

2006-03-05T00:16:00.000-05:00

Want to know how Virgil Goode has voted on the issues? Check here!

Thanks to my partner for the great site!

UPDATE: As I glanced over the site's information further, I realized that Virgil was listed as an Independent. So I emailed the site to see if they could update that piece of information. Might as well let the Republicans keep taking credit for their own. : )

2006-03-04T23:50:00.000-05:00

My daffodils are blooming! Can spring be too far behind?
Posted by Picasa

No Trolls Allowed

2006-03-04T20:02:00.000-05:00

I hate trolls—unless, of course, you’re talking about those plastic ones with the wild hair that my sister collects. I’m referring to blog trolls—those people who come on web logs and write comments (usually anonymously). They either attack the person posting or their ideas, often without providing any documentation to the contrary.

As I was reading Waldo’s site this morning, I figured out why I have not changed this blog to allow anonymous comments to my postings: you could end up spending too much time dealing with someone who obviously has a personal axe of some kind to grind. I had considered allowing anonymous comments and had even discussed the pros and cons of making the change with friends. But I already have too much research to do and little enough time to do that. So, no trolls allowed!

By the way, congratulations to Harry Landers on having a son like Waldo. I’d be proud to admit to having a son who stands up for his own rights and those of others as well.

And thanks for the link to the Urban Dictionary, Waldo. It’s a riot!

A new question for the candidates

2006-03-04T14:07:00.000-05:00

The latest in my quest for answers, this message was sent to candidates Bern Ewert and Al Weed just a few minutes ago:

- - - - - - - -
You are both businessmen in the 5th District, although in different industries. So, let’s consider your campaigns as businesses for the sake of this question.

As businessmen you often have to decide which products or services your consumers will buy. Both of you currently have issues which you are trying to “sell” to the 5th District voters. Therefore: Besides jobs and economic development (which is a no-brainer in Southside Virginia), if you could only “advertise” three of your issues for voters to support, then which ones would you select and why? Pick your top three (after jobs/economic development) and briefly tell why they are so important to your campaign in making things better for the constituents in the 5th District.

I look forward to your responses and will be posting this question on my blog momentarily.
- - - - - - - -

I don't know about you; but, as usual, I'm really interested in seeing the answers.

On the State Level: We need a sane transportation plan...

2006-03-03T21:08:00.000-05:00

According to information I received by email, the Foundation for Virginia is asking people to contact their state legislators asking them to support a transportation plan that increases funding without taking money from the state General Fund. The Senate is onboard with this proposal; however, the House of Delegates is not.

Read on:
- - - - - - - -

Take 2 Minutes for the Future of Transportation in VA

Transportation investment is long overdue for our state, as shown by the support it has received by both Governor Kaine and the Senate's Republican leadership. However, we need to make sure that the transportation reform is not used as an excuse to roll back the education investments made last year.

Right now it is crucial that your Delegate hears from you. The House is currently proposing a budget that not only continues the underfunding of transportation, but also raids extensively from the General Fund, endangering education and public health funding.

Please take two minutes to call your Delegate at (800) 889-0229 and tell him or her to:

Support a transportation plan that does not
raid our General Fund!

Please do this as soon as you can.
- - - - - - - -

If you don't know who your delegate is, go to Who’s my Legislator?, and enter your personal information (only street address, town and zip code are required).

If you’d rather write a letter or send an email to your representative, they propose the following format:

- - - - - - - -
Delegate _________,

Virginia needs to address the issue of long term funding for transportation this year. It is crucial for the long term health of our state to invest in upkeep of our local roads and to encourage economic growth. However, it would be a mistake to try to increase transportation funding by stripping money away from our schools, nursing homes, police officers and our natural resources. Therefore, please support Governor Kaine's transportation plan or a similar plan that addresses the urgent need for transportation investment without raiding the General Fund.

Thank you,

Name
Address
Phone
- - - - - - - -

Virginia will have to be accountable for this funding and make sure the money actually goes toward transportation. It is also absolutely imperative that the state government reform land use and transportation planning. This is a state-wide bipartisan endeavor and we should all support it.

Ruff slams Goode’s Democratic Opponents

2006-03-03T19:55:00.000-05:00

From the Friday edition of The Farmville Herald:

- - - - - - - -

Rep. Goode Has 'The Highest Character'

Editor, The Herald:

I write in amazement that Congressman Virgil Goode's potential opponents in this fall's election have made the following statements regarding Mitchell Wade and his company:

Al Weed was quoted saying, "there is a strong taint about the whole thing."

Bern Ewert said that he was "very sad about this continuing story" and that he wanted to "bring honest representation to Washington."

Let me clearly state what the people of the Fifth Congressional District already understand— that we presently have good and honest representation in Virgil Goode and there is absolutely no "taint" surrounding his name.

I have been privileged to know Virgil Goode for over 30 years. I have always considered Virgil a man of the highest character, integrity and honesty.

Virgil Goode has been working tirelessly to bring jobs and economic opportunity to our communities. Our region has been devastated by the loss of Jobs over the last decade and Congressman Goode is constantly working with local leaders to revitalize the economy in our communities.

I find it truly amazing that anyone would even consider running for any office by attacking an incumbent whose morals are beyond reproach for working to create needed jobs.

Virgil Goode's character is beyond question (emphasis mine!)—his political opponent's motives, in my opinion, are not.

Frank Ruff

Clarksville

- - - - - - - -

Does “beyond question” refer to being at a level above everyone and that he is not responsible to answer the questions posed by not only his constituents but also the public at large (including the media)?

And if he has been working so tirelessly to bring all these wonderful things to Southside Virginia, I hope Mr. Ruff (excuse me, Republican State Senator Ruff) will start to count the actual number of bills that Goode has proposed or written that benefited the area. And, if all the jobs and businesses have been lost in the last decade, perhaps he can also tell me who has been our Congressman for the last ten years? Give me a break!

Virgil may have been of “the highest character, integrity and honesty” at one time in his life, but when you’re hanging around people with questionable characters, then people begin to ask questions about yours as well. And where there’s smoke (MZM campaign contributions), there’s usually a fire of some kind (the timing of his votes in Congress).

If Ruff is supporting Virgil Goode and raising his character as sacrosanct, then maybe I ought to check into his background as well.

FEC Update - When will the truth finally come out?

2006-03-03T18:15:00.000-05:00

After making the call to the FEC today, I decided to check how long it took Al Weed's campaign to have his papers filed. According to information received from their campaign staff, the process took only four days.

And guess what else I found out?

Rather than faxing a copy of his registration papers to his opponent as Bern's Wednesday email to the county Democratic chairs said, Mark Pennypacker (his Finance Director) hand-delivered the papers to the Weed campaign today (Friday).
The date on those papers was Friday, February 24, 2006.

In the email to the county chairs (posted on this site on Wednesday, March 1), Bern wanted everyone to know:

“When I realized that they had no record of my filing, I resubmitted the forms to them.”

And, according to his own paperwork, the date of that submission was February 24—one day before the Danville breakfast meeting. Therefore, the following statement made to the Register & Bee reporter on Saturday, February 25,2006, in Danville was not true.

“Ewert said he has filed his campaign with the FEC earlier this year. He said he doesn’t know why it is not listed on the agency’s Web site.”

If we are to believe what he is telling 5^th District Democrats, then, of course, he knew why it was not listed. He knew they had not received his paperwork, because he had resubmitted it the day before! So why didn’t he tell Bernard Baker that instead?

Details, details, details—those are the things that keep me going here. I love to look at information and see how it all relates (or not!). Picking apart documents comes pretty easy since I’ve been working as a proofreader on and off for over 25 years now. I also love researching to find those little details—those little nuggets of information that are so telling when combined with similar nuggets from other locations. And the goal of all this:

Keeping the Candidates Honest and Above Board

Like it or not, Honesty Counts!

Calling the FEC

2006-03-03T17:50:00.000-05:00

I promised Eric Payne at Ewert for Congress that if I called the FEC, I’d let him know what I found out. I didn’t call myself, but was there to witness the exchange of information. Here’s my email to Eric:

- - - - - - - -

Another friend did call for me this afternoon after work and talked to someone named Brian/Bryan (sp?), who said the filing information was not there. When questioned, he said it takes 48 hours for processing.

Thanks,

Lisa

An Email from the Ewert Campaign

2006-03-02T21:22:00.000-05:00

I got a message from the Ewert campaign today:

- - - - - - - -
Lisa,

Again, thanks for your interest in Bern’s campaign. You are running a blog that clearly promotes another candidate. I completely respect and support your decision to do this, but I think it’s not reasonable for you to expect another candidate to contribute to your site. This campaign should be about replacing the current member of Congress. You and I may disagree on who the best person is to do that, but I think Democrats are served best we when promote our own candidates, not spend time tearing each other down. I look forward to work with you after the nomination, for whichever Democrat wins. I hope we can agree on that!

Sincerely,
Eric Payne
Ewert for Congress
804-928-3949
- - - - - - - -

My response?

- - - - - - - -
Eric,

When I talked to Bern after the meeting last Saturday, he told me to call him about my concerns. I do not choose to use the telephone to do that—I choose to use email and document all communication from both sides. That way there can be no misunderstanding by either party. I will not be involved in any situation where there is not a clear “paper” trail of what has been said. That’s just not good business. And neither is it good business to not respond to questions that you requested be forwarded to you. It shows a deliberate lack of respect.

Bern and I also discussed some of the concerns on Saturday. I felt he was very rude and aggressive in his questioning of me about being a member of the Weed campaign and dismissive in his statement that I was overreacting when I am a potential constituent. While I had looked over some of the research about his brusque manner before the meeting, I did go back and do further research after being treated in so cavalier a fashion. Is this the type of behavior any politician should use with residents of their district? I don’t think so.

I am personally interested in presenting both sides of the current Democratic campaign and I am looking for information on both candidates. Unfortunately, the only negative information I find is on Bern’s background. The information I found about him considering a run for Congress as a Republican is even linked on his own campaign website. If you or anyone else knows something about Al Weed that I should be considering for publication on my blog, I will be glad to examine it and do so anonymously. I give you my word.

I do not feel that I am openly promoting another candidate. I am clearly pointing out inconsistencies and omissions in Bern’s record and his statements. I am linking to sites that include information about both candidates. However, if Bern thought past information would not come out, then he obviously hasn’t been watching the political scene very long. And, if he cannot handle the heat in a personable manner now, then the fire that will be created by the opposition should he get the nomination for the 5^th district will surely consume him.

The fact that Bern and I do not agree about him being completely open and honest about his previous jobs should not preclude him from giving further information about his issues to my blog. This whole email leads me to wonder whether Bern and the Ewert campaign feel that bloggers (even those in the 5^th district) are not worthy of having an educational discourse with the candidates. If you cannot trust a fellow Democratic—especially one who is willing to publish anything they receive from a candidate, then who can you trust and how will these issues get out there? If Bern chooses not to present information on his issues through every means available, then that is his choice. But I will be including that refusal on my blog—and informing the district voters about the information that is available to them.

Thanks for your response!
Lisa

P.S. The turnaround time on FEC filings and the information being made available to the public is only two days to both Department of Public Records staff members and the public, according to sources I have contacted. That is completely different from the information that Bern sent in his email to county committee chairs yesterday where he claimed a two week turnaround time. As of today at 3:15 P.M., his filing information was not yet available to the federal staff or the public.

I did get a follow-up email from Eric asking for a contact name at the FEC to clarify my P.S. information and I am attempting to obtain one for him. Contrary to what anyone might think, I did not personally contact the FEC. At that time (March 2, 2006, at 3:15 P.M.), I was at work and there is no outside line at my desk or in my building. I knew someone already experienced in tracking down that information and they took care of my request. I appreciate the timely fashion in which my call for assistance was handled! I know I’ll be glad when this issue is resolved, as even the remote possibility of Democrats breaking federal election law makes us subject to the same scrutiny we are giving the Republicans.

Al Weed/Bern Ewert - Research Update

2006-03-01T19:53:00.000-05:00

I’m still looking around on the Internet. If there’s anything to be found, I can usually find it. This week I’ve checked twice as many sites for Al specifically as I’ve checked for Bern with the following to report:

So far the only negative thing about Al that I've come across is the fact that Virgil beat him in 2004. But, considering that neither candidate has ever had an elected position, this is immaterial. While Bern may have name recognition in some areas of the district, what he supports is not fully fleshed out (see the next point).

Al’s take on the issues are the main point of emphasis on several sites at which I've looked. Even on the Band of Brothers site (as well as the Fighting Dems, The Randi Rhodes Show on the Air America Radio site, Blue Force Blog, and Draft Zinni), Al has a link to the issues he supports. If Bern is listed on the site, only his bio appears. Bern’s blurb, when it does appear, says, “…I am also ready for an end to the empty slogans put forth as policy and ready to replace them with Real Solutions that strengthen our nation.” Unfortunately, I haven’t seen any solutions with enough details to really evaluate. Even on Bern’s own campaign website, his issues page is blank (as is his calendar page).

Al is listed on the Act Blue site and on many of the above military sites with a link to his website’s contributions page. Bern has a clickandpledge.com box on his website for donations; but there does not appear to be a link. I get a line of javascript each time I try to create a hyperlink to include here.

Well, it’s late. I’ll do more research tomorrow.

Update to previous post - another email to the Ewert campaign

2006-03-01T18:38:00.000-05:00

Email sent on 3/1/2006 at 6:18 P.M.:

As I was pasting your email into my blog, one of the comments you made struck me as very funny. It was: “If anyone has any questions, please direct them to me.” You know, that is exactly what I did on Saturday (2/24/2006) afternoon—and on Sunday (2/27/2006) as well, through your webmaster. I asked specific questions on my attachment about your date of candidacy as well as your FEC filing date. Perhaps if you had responded to my emails in a timely fashion, this would not be quite the reactive issue that it has become. It’s much less stressful to be proactive in a situation instead of reactive.

Also, I have yet to get a response from you about your plans for the regional economic development entity that you are proposing and my question about African Americans and divorced women being hired for managerial positions in Charlottesville during your tenure there. I will continue to send you questions—and I will continue to document your lack of response.

Solving the FEC problem?

2006-03-01T18:01:00.000-05:00

I received an email from Ewert for Congress this morning, obviously in response to the email I sent last night to all of the 5th District Democratic Chairs with email addresses on the state party site. I also carbon copied the message to the State Party Chairman Richard Cranwell, who has endorsed Bern (although the letter exchanged somehow cannot be located). My message to them said:

- - - - - - - -
Dear 5^th District Democratic County Committee Chair (and State Chairman Mr. Richard Cranwell),

While Bern Ewert contends that he has registered with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the FEC has no record of his filing. Since the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) lists candidates who have filed with the FEC and updates their list each Monday, Bern’s name (which had somehow mysteriously appeared) has now been removed from the list of Virginia races—namely our own VA-05 race. Al Weed is currently the only candidate listed that is opposing Virgil Goode on the site. If you want to verify this information, go to my new Internet blog Honesty Counts (especially when it comes to political candidates) and look under “LINKS.” You’ll find a link that will search the FEC filings for “Ewert” and another that points to the current DCCC Virginia Races page. When Bern does file, I’ll update my blog to reflect that.

If you do go to my blog, check out some of the posts I’ve written, research I’ve done and the specific questions I’m asking the candidates. Please make comments, tell me your hot button issues, and/or suggest other questions to be asked of Bern and Al. The more we know about our candidates and their plans for our future, the better informed we can be—whether it’s at the 5^th District convention or on Election Day. And, once our Democratic candidate is selected in Buckingham, I’ll continue to research and post my findings about both him and Virgil Goode.
- - - - - - - -

The response I received from Bern’s campaign (and as an FYI reply from a 5^th District county co-chair) was:

- - - - - - - -
Dear Democrats,

It has come to my attention that there are some concerns with my filings of campaign forms with various governmental agencies. In January I filed statements of economic interest with the US House of Representatives and sent declaration of candidacy forms to the Federal Election Commission. I got a receipt on 2/1/06 from the House and they told me by phone that my forms were filed on time. As a first time Federal candidate, I did not realize that I should have received separate confirmation from the FEC, but apparently they didn’t receive my forms. When I realized that they had no record of my filing, I resubmitted the forms to them. I was told today that it takes the FEC approximately two weeks to get the filing into their public information system, so I expect that they will be processed soon. I’m faxing a copy of the forms to my Democratic opponent, so he too is aware of my filing.

I appreciate people’s concerns with these matters. If anyone has any questions, please direct them to me. I hope that we can now all focus on the substance of this campaign and all work together to replace our current congressman. I pledge to focus my campaign on my positive record of improving our cities and counties and improving the lives of our citizens and focus on a positive message for change. A Democratic Party united around a candidate with a strong record and a positive message is the only way to win against the incumbent.

Sincerely,

Bern Ewert
Democratic Candidate for Congress
Fifth District, Virginia

Paid for and authorized by Ewert for Congress
- - - - - - - -

My response to both Bern’s campaign and the county co-chair was:

- - - - - - - -
Since some of our problems with Virgil concern campaign fundraising violations, having a Democrat who is in violation of campaign election law is not good. It shows that we have some of the same problems as the Republicans, which is not the message we want to send 5^th District voters.

I will note this email on my blog—and we’ll have to see when it actually happens. Since you can call the FEC to check filing status and submission dates, I’ll also make sure that the person who had called the FEC personally to check the filing information is aware of this. He might want to call them again, so that all of us are finally on the same page.
- - - - - - - -

So, we’ll just have to see what the research and fact finding mission says, won’t we?

Al Weed - Can a candidate be that wonderful?

2006-02-28T21:19:00.000-05:00

As I've said before, I am researching both 5^th District Democratic candidates and pointing out problems that I have with their platforms, backgrounds, and job records. I'm asking questions of the candidates and, as any potential constituent should, expecting answers.

I've spent some time researching Al Weed on the Internet. And, so far, I only find information telling how hard he's worked over the last three years both on his campaigns and to build up the Democratic base in the 5th District, how down-to-earth he is, and the many organizations to which he belongs or offers support. He’s appears to be a very busy man, as the events list on his website easily shows.

Despite losing to Virgil Goode in 2004, he has continued to work for the good of Southside Virginia. He obviously didn't go back to Nelson County to turn his back on the 5^th District voters and lick his wounds. Nope--he established Public Policy Virginia with leftover campaign funds. The ideas he discusses at campaign events show that both thought and time have been invested in examining all aspects of problems he has observed in the district (and on the national level as well). He is knowledgeable about biofuels, veterans affairs, and health care. He cares about the environment, education and election reform. He has position papers available on what he calls his “vision.”

So, can a candidate be that wonderful? Based on my research thus far, I’d have to say “Yes.”

Galveston

2006-02-28T20:08:00.000-05:00

Bern Ewert made several comments on Saturday, February 25, in Danville about his work in civil rights (especially in the Charlottesville area). But, when I started looking into his time in Texas, a statement in a 1996 local Galveston paper struck me as odd. It said,

In an unusual arrangement, City Council decided Thursday to keep Ewert on as interim manager for a full year longer than planned when the Virginia-based consultant was hired in January to straighten out the city's serious financial problems.

Rather than name Ewert permanent city manager, council extended his contract 12 months beyond May 3.

Attorneys for the local League of United Latin American Citizens and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People had sought a court order earlier Thursday to prevent Ewert's appointment as permanent manager.

Why would two minority groups be trying to prevent him from being hired permanently? While I don’t know all the details of this right now, it makes me wonder what I’ll find out by doing more digging.

Hey, check it out!

2006-02-28T06:48:00.000-05:00

Bern Ewert told the Register & Bee reporter on Saturday that he had filed with the FEC. As of this morning, there is still no record of that on the official Elections Commission site. And, more interesting than that, is the fact that Bern’s name no longer appears on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) site showing the Virginia races either. According to the DCCC, "This website is updated the first business day of each week with the FEC filings."

Looks like the only people that may be fooled here are the state Democratic leaders, the 5th District's leadership and county chairmen and/or voters who will believe what he has said (in Richmond at the 5th District/Central Committee meetings) or what they read in the newspaper and who don't go check this information out for themselves.

For your convenience, I’ve included links in my sidebar to both the FEC and DCCC sites that show exactly what I’m talking about. You can use these links to check his status whenever you want. I know I’ll be using them.

By the way, still no response from Bern on my question sent by email yesterday. (Come to think of it, he still hasn't responded to some questions I sent to him personally on Saturday and forwarded to his webmaster on Sunday). Makes me wonder about the campaign staff he referred to in that same Register & Bee article. Just like with the FEC, saying it doesn't make it so.

Have a great day!

Questions for the Candidates - Al Weed's Response

2006-02-27T17:48:00.000-05:00

Thank you, Lisa, for your very constructive questions. As to switchgrass, they go to the heart of the challenge a non-incumbent has in fleshing out a legislative strategy that is something more than just signing on to an existing bill. It takes a while for an outsider to pin-point the pressure points in Congress. We are in contact with two or three organizations in DC who are helping us to identify the answers to your questions. We have been working on this for some time and are planning a press-event here in Danville for 6 March and expect to have a fleshed out strategy. Let me, though, answer those components now that I can.

Legislative strategy - forthcoming
Time line: Our concept is that a pilot plant could be built (or existing steam/power facilities -- In Danville there is the Bramsby plant owned by the city)and switchgrass could be purchased right away. There are over 5000 acres planted in Virginia today, but not all concentrated in Southside. That means the startup costs would include transportation subsidies that would decline as local plantings come on-line. This initial plant would produce steam and power, generating immediate cash flow. As farmers respond to the market the output of the pilot plant could be increased, and bio-mass for co-firing with coal could become an additional product. As output develops the supply issue will be solved and bio-fuel technology will be brought on line to convert the switchgrass to its highest market value product -- bio-diesel, bunker oil, ethanol, pellets for co-firing.
The first steps could begin as soon as a steady source of funding was available. There is scope in the 2005 Energy Bill to provide such funds, the Tobacco Commission is interested and the State, if it commits to buying fuel for co-firing, could also be a source. The very first step would be to fund an engineering study, but this is something for which DOE grant funding has been requested by a group in Charlottesville that I am working with via Public Policy Virginia.

Al

Thank you, Al, for such a timely response. I look forward to hearing more of your plans after the March 6 event.

Questions for the Candidates--Part 1 (my email of 2/27/2006)

2006-02-27T04:33:00.000-05:00

Today’s questions involve your opening segments from Saturday and your responses about tobacco and jobs. I have separate questions for each of you regarding this:

Al,

As a former agriculture teacher in Cumberland County, I found your biofuel/switch grass proposal interesting as an alternative to tobacco. It appears to be well thought out. My questions:

Please briefly outline what Federal and/or state agriculture, policy, and tax changes would be necessary in order to make that plan more likely to achieve successful implementation in Southside Virginia.
Knowing that there is a 3-year timeline for crops to reach maturity, how many acres of switch grass would be needed and how long do you estimate it would take for such a plant to be fully operational?
In addition, what Federal and/or state funds are currently available for farmers looking to make the change from tobacco to crops supporting this proposition?

Bern,

I can understand your opening emphasis on jobs while speaking to an audience in Danville. I can also see why you would continually emphasis your “work” in civil rights, given the physical make-up of the group. Therefore, I have two questions for you in this area:

You cited the fact on Saturday that African Americans and divorced women were not in management positions in Charlottesville when you arrived there in 1971. At the risk of you possibly being accused of pandering to the crowd with your comments and being a divorced woman myself, I would like to know: How many African Americans and divorced women were in management positions when you left Charlottesville?
You continually push regional economic development as a way to bring jobs to the Danville and Southside Virginia area. Personally, I see this as just another layer of bureaucracy in an area that needs answers now. Many of the localities already possess the information that such a council/committee would be charged with obtaining. What makes your proposal not just a repetition of work already done in this area? I also find the whole idea as presented very vague, hence my question: Briefly outline the regional economic development entity you have in mind. Please include:

· a demographic/geographic description of the localities/groups/individuals that should be included;

· a tentative timeline for: the creation of the group, the amount of time for them to gather data, and the tentative date that 5^th district constituents could expect new businesses/jobs to locate and/or be created in the area; and

· an outline not only of what the group will be doing, but their basic budgetary needs as well.

Thank you both for your time. I’ll be posting this email (and your responses when I receive them) on my blog Honesty Counts.

Emailing the Candidates--and Publishing Their Responses

2006-02-27T03:56:00.000-05:00

I have emailed both Democratic Congressional candidates for the 5th district about my intention to send them questions and concerns that I have, which I would like further clarified. Over the next few weeks I will be publishing both my emails to them--and their responses to me.
Sharing this information across the district will allow more people to focus on the issues in this race. I hope I hit your hot button issue. If not, just let me know. I'll be glad to add your questions to my list. : )

That "Famous" Bern Ewert Temper

2006-02-26T21:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I attended a “meet and greet” breakfast meeting at Ryan’s Steakhouse in Danville VA. I went with the purpose of listening to the current 5^th Congressional District Democratic candidates for the office held by Virgil Goode. Having already done my research on both candidates, I admit to being a little distressed with what I had found out. Needless to say, that research was the basis of the question I asked Bern (and which I had written down upon arriving at Ryan’s):

Having lived in this district for 22 years and having voted for the Democrat Virgil Goode several times, I feel personally burned by his defection to the Republican Party and what I see as his lack of honesty in the recent revelations from Washington. So I am very interested in seeing Virgil replaced. In my personal research of the current Democratic candidates, I found several pieces of information mentioned about you that are stressful to me, given the recent 5^th District history. (1) Opensecrets.org, which is associated with the FEC, shows a $500 donation to a Republican Congressman from Michigan and (2) I found documentation that you had also considered running for Congress in 1987—as a Republican. My question: How can 5^th District Democrats be assured that you will also not defect to the Republican Party?

He quickly blew off my question by citing that the Republican donation was just a business- associated investment associated with a project being completed in Northern Virginia and admitting that he had “lost his mind for a couple of weeks.” He went on to say that he stands on his record and that “Dickie” Cranwell, the State Democratic Chairman, has endorsed him and has known him for 30 years. (Unfortunately, I have questions about a lot of that, too—and will be discussing my feelings and research in later postings).

After the meeting, I stopped outside the room near my friend, who was talking to the other Democratic candidate Al Weed (a man I had previously been introduced to only once—during his 2004 Congressional race against Virgil). Bern walked up to me and immediately asked if I was a member of Al’s campaign. Needless to say, that assumption made me very annoyed and I replied that I was a member of the Cumberland County (VA) Democratic Committee. During our ensuing conversation, I told him that the Republican issue was only one of the questions I had about the research I had done on him. As he gave me a business card and told me to call him about my concerns, he asked me what those other concerns were. I mentioned Explore Park and the fact that his two resumes don’t mention his exact duties in regards to the Park. He attempted to blow me off with some facts and figures about the Park, but I got the impression that my comebacks (based on research I had done) showed that I knew more than he thought.

I told him that I felt he should be presenting his entire employment record for the 5^th District voters to examine—and, as he was digging in his bag, he told me that I was overreacting to the situation. He pulled out a resume (the same one handed out by Katherine Turner of Bedford at the 5^th District/Central Committee meetings in Richmond) and proceeded to show me that Explore Park was listed under his company’s name—Ewert and Company. I told him that being a director of Explore Park was a lot different than just saying his company worked on the project. I told him that his resume shouldn’t just list what makes him feel good and look good as a candidate. He disagreed vehemently again and I left, after asking if I could take the resume with me.

Needless to say, I’m still annoyed—as much about his assumption that I work for the Weed campaign as the high-handed manner in which he discussed his irritation about my question with me. Unfortunately, for Bern, his irritation for having his actions/recommendations questioned and his lack of “people skills” have been mentioned before—in several online newspaper articles and web logs that I have researched (including today’s Danville Register & Bee).

· A July 20, 2003, comment by the Peoria Pundit about Bern when he was interim city manager was “I haven’t been particularly impressed with Ewert. He’s a go-along, get-along guy, and sits there at council meetings with a sour look on his face, like its (sic) an affront to his dignity to listen to anyone who doesn’t agree with his recommendations.”

· In August 2003, the Pundit says, “In his last official act as interim city manager, Bern Ewert displayed, once again, his unwillingness to follow the explicit instructions of the
majority of the council when the instructions conflict with the wished of the pro-economic development crowd.”

· A January 24, 2004, blog listing by the Pundit referenced a Peoria Star Journal article which said, “Bern Ewert, the Savior of Economic Development, is not beloved everywhere. The former /temporary/ city manager is being touted by Mayor Dave Ransburg to head the Peoria Civic Federation. But it’s a hard sell. It seems that the movers and shakers found Ewert’s tenure a little too contentious for their tastes. So did some of the other people he’s worked with before. Kudos to Jennifer Davis (a Star Journal reporter) for digging up the information.”

· The Peoria Star Journal’s Davis even mentioned his current Congressional race in a February 6, 2006, online article with this comment: “Bern Ewert, a Virginia-based former city manager and private consultant for government, was either heralded or hated during his five-month stint here in 2003 as Peoria's city interim manager.

· Even Waldo Jacquith says about Bern: “He’s prickly and seems to lack the people skills that, for example, Al Weed has.”

· Who’s who in Galveston says Bern left his acting city manager position “after failing to respect certain sacred cows.”

These shortcomings have also been cited as reasons his contracts with various localities have not been renewed at times. So, I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised by his manner yesterday morning—just ticked off.

I still contend that Bern Ewert should disclose his entire employment history to 5^th District constituents and take credit for even his failures. And why he should think that his skeletons [giving money to a Republican Congressman from Michigan (one wonders why) and thinking of running for Congress in 1987—as a Republican, no less] would remain in the closet in this day and age is beyond me. Even Jack Ryan (R-IL—and supported by Virginia’s own George Allen) found this out the hard way in his campaign against Barack Obama. Wake up, Bern—it’s the 21^st century!

Welcome to Honesty Counts!

2006-02-26T19:53:00.000-05:00

I'm looking for a few honest candidates! What a shame that's becoming harder to find all the time. From the scandals rocking Washington to the lies and/or omissions in the local races, I'm fed up. If you're tired of it, too--then this is the blog for you. Join me as I let you in on the research I'm doing.