About the Three Constitutional Amendments

Words Mean Things... Tom White Translates

This Analysis from Virginia Right [click to read] will help you understand the proposed amendments. I voted "NO" on all three this morning.

Question 1:

Shall Section 6 of Article X of the Constitution of Virginia be amended to authorize legislation that will permit localities to establish their own income or financial worth limitations for purposes of granting property tax relief for homeowners not less than 65 years of age or permanently and totally disabled?

Question 2:

Shall the Constitution be amended to require the General Assembly to provide a real property tax exemption for the principal residence of a veteran, or his or her surviving spouse, if the veteran has a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability?

Tom writes: "These amendments are simply shifting the approval of these tax breaks from the Virginia Legislature to the local Board of Supervisors in each locality. If these measures shifted powers from federal to state or local level, they would be a good thing.

But all they are actually doing is allowing local Boards to bypass the oversight the Virginia Constitution put in place. Localities can still do these things now if they so decide, but they must seek approval from the state legislators. This is a wise check and balance and should not be changed.

Most agree that taxes should be both fair and equal. If a locality decides that some people deserve inequitable tax treatment, oversight is a good idea. While removing or reducing taxes based on age or ability is a noble thing, it must be balanced with fact that you are simply shifting the tax burden to others."

Question 3:

Shall Section 8 of Article X of the Constitution of Virginia be amended to increase the permissible size of the Revenue Stabilization Fund (also known as the “rainy day fund”) from 10 percent to 15 percent of the Commonwealth’s average annual tax revenues derived from income and retail sales taxes for the preceding three fiscal years?

Sounds really fiscally responsible, Right? Tom points out that this is simply allowing the government to overtax us and not account for it. Remembering how VDOT suddenly found it had saved all that money after all, let's just say I'm skeptical at this point.

As Virginia Goes, So Goes the Nation?

Some Thoughts from Lynn at the Washington Examiner


Arriving at the Lincoln Memorial for the Restoring Honor Rally. These people know there's nothing funny about the destruction of the greatest country on earth.

Lynn writes These Thoughts [click to read] on the midterm elections. Read Lynn's article, read the predictions in Virginia Virtucon and then turn off the media. Time to get busy and start rebuilding this great nation.

Virginia Virtucon Predictions [click to read].

Is Socialism Cool in Charlottesville?

Meet Some of Tom Perriello's Supporters Who Think it is


November is coming.

Americans for Prosperity made a creative point in a creative way yesterday in Charlottesville.

"Yesterday, Barack Obama came to Charlottesville to campaign for his liberal sidekick, Tom Perriello. AFP decided to greet his supporters waiting in line by offering them free "Socialism Isn't Cool" bumper stickers. The response we got told us a lot about who is secretly supporting Tom Perriello. Watch this video...and see for yourself!" -- Ben Marchi, AFP

Can Someone Show Me the 12th District?

This is Enlightening...

The Stimulus Money is Saving and Creating Jobs in Nonexistant Congressional Districts [click to read]. I'm wondering how ACORN might be involved in this.

SWAC Girl says: "Virginia has eleven congressional districts. Yet DJ at Right-Wing Liberal alerts us that somehow the Obama administration provided over $2.26 million to the 12th Congressional District. There is no such animal ... will there be an investigation by the media?"


Virginia's eleven Congressional Districts.

No, Virginia, there will NOT be an investigation by the media. Just the obligitory "we knew about it but it's not real news" piece.

This is Frightening...

Cook County politics come to Virginia? We're wondering if some ACORN volunteer turned member of the administration rode the Metro across the river and discovered the large cemetary there. In Chicago that is an underrepresented voter block, as you well know, and the staffer simply jumped the gun. After the Census comes redistricting.

Recently [I am NOT making this up]!!! there was a cemetary in Cook County that was digging up graves and reselling the plots! That it happened in Chicago makes you wonder... if these people were actively voting they didn't need a cemetary plot anyway, did they?

So I have a macabre theory as to where this "12th district" is. Watch out for purple shirts and ACORN 'Voter Registration Drives" in 2010 folks.

New poll - what they're saying

Public Policy Polling has its latest poll out, with all three Republicans leading their races.
Comments and analysis from:
The Shad Plank
Blue Virginia
Virginia Virtucon
Too Conservative
Right Wing Liberal
Red Nova
Contemporary Conservative
SWACgirl

Rare that I am in agreement with ACLU

Groups Drop Lawsuit Against Elections Board
Three free-speech groups have dropped a lawsuit against the state Board of Elections after the General Assembly passed legislation that allows people to wear political clothing to the polls.
The ACLU of Virginia, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression and The Rutherford Institute sued the State Board of Elections arguing that its ban on clothing, hats, buttons or other paraphernalia that expressly advocates the election or defeat of a candidate or issue inside polling places violates free speech rights. See the story here

Some will remember that I got real upset with this when it came up. I was imagining a mature poll worker being afraid to go up to a young ,energetic, dedicated, hard-headed, voter, and saying"Oh , you have to cover that shirt or leave." If the worker did, I saw two scenarios.
The young voter would leave, and go right to the press and say, "They are trying to suppress the vote." Stories and smears would follow. Investigations and hearings. Fortunately, that did not happen this last election.
The other scenario is ranting, raving, etc, and the worker backing down. While the mature voters all complied, and covered.
I saw problems arising more and more each year.