Amid all the arguments over development, swale and freedom of expression, Loudoun quietly is recovering from the Great Recession. Unemployment is falling (even as the Senate finally overcomes Republican obstruction to help those still without jobs), and there are plenty of shoppers at the Leesburg Corner Outlets every weekend.

It should be noted that this recovery is made possible, in part, by the over 40 projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. From Leesburg to Round Hill, Sterling to Aldie, stimulus funds are helping create and sustain jobs and spur growth.

Follow below for a summary of a few of these projects.Throughout Loudoun, millions (if not billions) of dollars have been made available by the Federal Government to keep our economy on track. And that money is doing just that, enhancing health care options in Leesburg, creating jobs in Ashburn and fixing roads all around the County. Here are just three examples:

• Cornwall Medical Center – Loudoun Community Health Center, aka the Cornwall Hospital, is receiving over 1.3 million dollars for capital improvements and increased coverage for people who need local health services in Leesburg. Stimulus money has helped Cornwall retain and hire new staff to the tune of over 18 jobs, right here in Leesburg.
• Windy Hill Shelter – This important shelter for our neighbors in need received funding for energy efficiency improvements, including rehabilitation of 11 units and installation of solar panels to help defray energy costs. This is spending money now to save money later. It is an investment in the people, and future of Loudoun county.
• Head Start – Over a million dollars has been invested by the ARRA in Loudoun County’s children through various awards to the Head Start program. This has created jobs in Ashburn and elsewhere and helped ensure that all Loudoun’s kids have the best foundation for their future.

And these are just three examples, a very small sampling of the dozens of programs and projects benefiting from the strong stand that our President and our Democratic Congress took in 2009.

The change we need began with the first bill of the new Congress in 2009, and has not stopped since. From Federal funding for recovery through dozens of projects to school loan reform that helps send our kids to college to health care reform that will keep those kids covered when they graduate, to credit card and Wall Street reform, this Congress and President have been watching out for us. Putting America, and Loudoun, back on the right path.

We will do well to remember that in November.  

Because summer is the time for linking.

“I’ll need the morning-after pill,” she told him.

Dr. Gish looked up. He was a trim, middle-aged man with graying hair and, Boyer thought, an aloof manner. “No,” Boyer says he replied abruptly. “I can’t do that.” He turned back to his writing.

• The Dunning-Kruger Effect – The science behind the Tea Party.
• – Breaking the Silence on Infertility – It affects millions, and only hundreds will speak out about it. The time has come to change that.
• Could Your Doctor Deny You Health Care? – Yes.

Hello Ladies may, or may not, be good advice.

As the temperature rises, so do actionable issues.

Mott’s apple sauce and juice products are everywhere, and their earnings are huge: their parent company earned $555 million last year alone and its stock is up a whopping 180 percent since March 2009!

At the Williamson, NY, facility, they’re actually trying to slash wages by as much as $2.50 per hour. They’re even trying to take away the workers’ pension plan!

• Mott’s: 100% juice, 180% greed – Mott’s profits and market share are up hundreds of percent over the past couple years, and they’re trying to slash the wages and benefits of their workers at their facility in New York. Taking a stand for them is taking a stand for all of us.
• BP Makes Me Sick – “BP blocked workers cleaning up the oil disaster in the Gulf from wearing protective respirators.” RFK Junior leads a coalition calling for BP to let clean up workers wear protective equipment.

Few things are more American than the Muppets.

Happy links of July! Or fourth.

I feel a lot better thinking about the concrete victories, however few,  that were won on health care, education, and, if it passes, financial reform, then I do thinking about Al Gore opposing the Iraq war even as I marched in the streets against it. – Chris Bowers

How are you celebrating?  

• When intuition and math probably look wrong – A mind-bending discussion of the relationship between information and probability. Wonderfully illustrative of the strengths and weaknesses of intuitive reasoning.
• How Should Schools Handle Cyberbullying? – It’s one thing when the bullying happens on school property, but the parents in the article who say that dealing with the issue themselves, by going to the other kid’s parents, would be “too awkward” need to decide whether their kid’s well-being is more important than their own sense of discomfort. Sheesh.
• Theory of Change: How I Stopped Being A Radical – Chris Bowers explains how governing isn’t the same as protesting. A worthy read for why the Democratic Party, while not perfect, is the right place to channel your action when you actually want to get things done.

A nice riposte to the Attorney General’s assault on UVA’s academic freedom from the Virginia Democratic Party, in video form.

This is a man following Bob McDonnell’s footprints in trying to rebrand himself as a “moderate.” Virginia should be wary. Freedom doesn’t mean the same thing to Mr. Cuccinelli as it does to the rest of us.  

Last night, David Waldman came to the LCDC presented his work on Congressional procedure and how to reform the cloture rules in the Senate. He was invited because not only is he a nationally-recognized expert on the subject, but he’s also a neighbor who lives right here in Loudoun.

His presentation was a total success, as many members spent a long time afterward discussing the niceties of procedure, the Senate and what can be done. The essential process for fixing the filibuster is as follows.

• At the opening of each new session of Congress (the January after an even-year election), each house of Congress votes on the rules it will use during that session. Those rules pass by a simple majority. That means that a simple majority (51 Senators) can vote to change the filibuster rules in January 2011. Senator Tom Udall has committed to making the necessary motion to open filibuster rules up for discussion and potential change.
• If that motion to discuss change succeeds, the question of how to change it becomes relevant. One option for filibuster reform is Sen. Bennet’s proposal to make the motion to proceed non-debateable. Essentially, that would make it impossible to filibuster the question on whether or not to even have a debate. This would cut the amount of delay in half (of course, half of infinity is still infinity).
• Another serious option is Sen. Harkin’s proposal to reduce the number of votes required to end debate over the course of that debate. Under this proposal, it would still take weeks to end debate, but it would be possible to end debate with a simple majority – something that is impossible now.

If nothing else, passing these three motions (1. The motion to open up the rules for discussion, 2. Making a motion to proceed non-debateable, 3. Making the number of votes necessary for cloture variable with the length of the debate) would get the Senate moving, in a legislative sense, again. It wouldn’t become the superhighway that the House is, but it wouldn’t be total gridlock either.

The power to fix the filibuster problem in the Senate rests with our Democratic Senators. Click through to see how you (yes you!) can take action, today, to help get things moving in the Senate in January.After the positive response from LCDC membership to his presentation last night, David was kind enough to send along links to the things that we can do:

• Progressive Congress is the organization sponsoring David’s work on cloture and process reform. Click through and join their efforts.
• Credo Action is providing matching funds and petitions for the Fellowship that is allowing David to dedicate time to this effort.
• Finally, you can donate directly via ActBlue to the Fellowship fund itself.

As David mentioned last night, the key to getting the right thing done is getting it on the minds of our Congressmembers early. That means that for cloture reform to happen next January, we need to get Sen. Warner and Sen. Webb to start positioning themselves to vote for it now. Hearing from us makes a difference, so please take the time to write our Senators about this, today. Feel free to steal this language:

Dear Senator,

The Senate has become the graveyard of good legislation. Over 250 good bills have been passed by the House of Representatives only to be filibustered to death by Republicans in the Senate.

Abuse of the rules of the Senate has become the last refuge of Republican scoundrels, and I am asking you to put up with it no longer.  In January of 2011, I ask you to vote for changes to the cloture rules of the Senate. Specifically:

• Please vote to pass Sen. Udall’s motion to open the cloture rules for debate at the commencement of the next Congress.

• Please vote to pass Sen. Bennet’s rule change making the motion to proceed non-debatable.

• Please vote to pass Sens. Harkin and Shaheen’s proposal to gradually reduce the votes necessary to close debate as that debate continues over the course of days.

The time has come to make Congress work for the American people.

Thank you for your time.

We have the power to change Congress, let’s use it.

The conference report on Financial Reform passed the House the other evening, adding another accomplishment to the pile of things the House of Representatives has gotten done for the people of America since January 2009. It was a pretty solid vote, with 237 members (out of 435) voting in favor of the bill.

One of those voting against fixing our broken financial system? Frank Wolf. Along with most Republicans in the House, he put Wall Street over Main Street.

Luckily, we have a candidate for Congress who knows that you and I should come first, Jeff Barnett.  When the Bill passed the House, Jeff Barnett had this to say about Frank Wolf’s “no” vote.

“I am disappointed that my opponent voted against a bill that would empower consumers and guard against the reckless speculation that shook the foundations of our economy,” Barnett said. “Frank Wolf’s vote last night sends an unmistakable message about his priorities: our thirty-year incumbent is a powerful defender of the status quo. Frank Wolf chose to defend big banks instead of standing up for working families. Frank Wolf voted to leave intact the system that cost so many their jobs and their savings. That’s unacceptable.”

“My opponent was blind to the onset of the financial crisis when he chaired one of the committees charged with oversight of the SEC. Last night, he had an opportunity to make up for that blindness by voting to protect consumers and investors. Instead, Frank Wolf opposed a bill that will bring security and stability to the financial system. Our Nation cannot afford another two years of Rep. Wolf’s obstructive short-sightedness,” Barnett warned. “I am committed to bringing a new brand of pragmatic and anticipatory leadership to Washington. The 10th District deserves a Congressman who understands both the productive power of the markets and the need for sensible rules to hold them accountable.” – Jeff Barnett

The time has come to change who is representing us in the House. Support Jeff, today!

David Waldman (aka Kagro X) is a remarkably gifted analyst of procedure. He has been writing on the intricacies of Senate rules for years, and is working on cloture reform today.

David will be the LCDC’s guest speaker this Thursday.

This month’s guest speaker, Mr. David Waldman, will share with us the lessons he’s learned and put into practice as a political activist and esteemed blogger. Mr. Waldman will be talking about how a deeper understanding of Congressional procedure promotes more effective activism and advocacy and discuss the ways we can more effectively interact with our US Congressman in the 10th CD.

Date: Thursday, July 1st

Place: Board Room of the Loudoun County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street, S.E. in Leesburg.

Directions: http://www.loudoun.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=628

Social: 6:30pm

Meeting: 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Post-meeting Social at VINTAGE 50: 9:15pm

Incidentally, the Leesburg District will be providing the food this week and we promise it will be both plentiful, and good.

So come out this Thursday and learn a thing or two about the procedures by which Republicans screw up the Senate!