What?

Wilder Publication is under fire for putting warning labels on copies of historical US documents, including the Constitution. The label warns “This book is a product of its time and does not reflect the same values as it would if it were written today.” From the article: “The disclaimer goes on to tell parents that they ‘might wish to discuss with their children how views on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and interpersonal relations have changed since this book was written before allowing them to read this classic work.'” – Slashdot.org

Again, what?

Something’s funny here. I’m, not sure what it is though.

The publisher in question, Wilder Publications is based in Radford, Virginia. And the copyright on the warning is 2007. The publisher itself seems to run heavy into pulp new-agey Christian self-help, sold entirely through Amazon.com.

Weird.

[Update] A smart commenter on Slashdot pointed out that the publisher evidently puts this disclaimer on all their publications. Which makes sens considering what they publish.

[Update 2] The publisher himself has already debunked this story in a blog post of his own. That post is worth reading in its own right.

So the truth is, had we thought about it, we probably would not have put that disclaimer on the book. That being said, it doesn’t change the fact that the offended people aren’t putting much thought into this. The U.S. Constitution legalized slavery and forbid women from voting. In fact, our illegal immigration problem is a direct consequence of the slavery laws. I’m being told that values have not changed since this document was written. Do these people really mean that they don’t think women should vote and that African Americans should still be slaves? If they don’t mean that then they don’t really have much of an argument because values have changed and if the U.S. Constitution were written today it would be different. So either the issue is not well thought out or it’s intellectually dishonest. Personally, I think it’s a bit of both. – Warren LaPine

Some further digging shows that the books Wilder sells are just reprints of “Mind” self-help books from the 1920s! Check out this excerpt from review of one of their books:

**Don’t be duped!** Collier’s The Book of Life is really the Secret of the Ages but under its original title. It was published in 1925 but the title was changed to its current name a year later (and a revised and expanded edition was published in 1948).

I smell a publicity stunt.

If you are a follower of Democratic blogs in Virginia you may have seen a number of posts, recently, about the contest for First Vice Chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA). Vivian Paige does a fantastic job explaining what is going on.

(Note, in the explanation below, Vivian refers to the position as “1st VP” of the Party. More accurately, the position is First Vice-Chair for Organization. That being said, her explanation of the situation and race is spot-on.)

The position of 1st VP is the #2 slot in the party organization. In addition to filling in for the chair when s/he is absent, the 1st VP is charged with “strengthening county and city democratic committees, increasing their membership and activities, perfecting their organization, providing necessary training, and acting as a liaison to congressional district and county and city democratic committees regarding statewide coordinated campaign activities.”

If the 1st VP is female, a DNC slot also goes along with it. If not, the slot goes to the next highest ranking female in the party organization.

…

Secondly, there has been a tradition in the DPVA to have a black 1st VP if the chair is white. Is it in the rules? Nope, not any more than it is in the rules that Norfolk’s vice mayor is black or that Norfolk’s boards and commissions reflect the same racial makeup as council. It is what it is. – Vivian Paige

Follow below the fold for a discussion of the candidates, and what the heck this is all about.On her blog, Vivian goes on to explain her reasons for supporting one of the candidates for the position, Gaylene Kanoyton. Gaylene is the Chair of the Hampton Democrats. A position she stepped into when the Chair became vacant, and the Hampton Democrats needed a leader.

Opposing Gaylene is the Susan Mariner, who is going against long-standing DPVA tradition by running. She is a new face for the party, having gotten her start with the Webb campaign. Susan has been active in Democratic politics since 2003, and gained statewide visibility for her efforts on the Webb campaign. (Thanks for the clarification! – P13) Since then, she has become Chair of the Virginia Beach Democrats, and kept in regular contact with her compatriots from the Webb campaign who run Blue Virginia.

(It appears that the third candidate, Ella Ward, has dropped out of the race and endorsed Gaylene.)

At its heart, the race for 1st Vice Chair has become a proxy fight between competing visions for the Democratic Party of Virginia. On one side is the Party organization model, which has been in place for generations and emphasizes gradual development of leaders and organization based on existing precedents and power structures. On the other side is a model of new activism, which can be characterized by social media, blogging and people who have come to the Democratic Party of Virginia in the past five years or so, at least in part as a reaction to Republican depredations over the past decade.

Gaylene has served Virginia Democrats for years, and worked her way up through the organization. When there was an major vacancy in her local organization, she filled it with grace and energy. She has piled up endorsements from the existing powerful figures within the Party. She meets the criteria of Party tradition by being an African American candidate during a period when the Chair is white. In working her way up through the Party, Gaylene has impressed and engaged the people she has worked with, and served when and as Democrats needed her. Her candidacy is based on that call to serve her Party and fellow Democrats.

Susan Mariner burst onto the Virginia Democratic scene only four years ago, during the Webb campaign. The NetRoots of Virginia identifies with her background and story. She rose quickly to become Chair of the Virginia Beach Democrats in a competitive election (even as Gaylene became Chair of the Hampton Democrats when that seat fell vacant and leadership was needed). Her candidacy is based on bringing new people and faces into the Democratic Party, rather than a long history of Democratic participation and organization. She has taken her run for 1st Vice Chair across the Commonwealth, going to local committee meetings and actively campaigning for the job as if she were running for statewide office (which, in effect, she is).

And then there’s the question of organizational precedent. Race is a real issue in America, and nowhere more than Virginia. Virginia Democrats of recent generations have not been afraid of race. We have been honest about our past and done our best to make up for those failings of our history with action in the present. We elected the first black governor in the history of America. In 2008, the Virginia Democratic Party helped deliver the capital of the Confederacy to our first African American President. Our tradition of advancing African American leaders within our Party organization has made us stronger and smarter across our base of voters.

That being said, the Democratic Party central organization has been accused of being ineffectual over the past few years. Local organizations and activists have been frustrated with its responsiveness and leadership. the campaigns we have won have sometimes been seen to be victories in spite of, rather than because of, the central Party organization. I believe things have improved under David Mills, as the party is now at least issuing opinions on matters of import to the Commonwealth. But improvement is not success, in and of itself. There is an argument to be made that more fundamental changes need to happen at the DPVA, to engage newer and younger Democrats.

I have no candidate in this race. I believe our Democratic Party will be well served by choosing either Gaylene or Susan. We are all Democrats. As our State Party Plan says,

Every resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia who believes in the principles of the Democratic Party is hereby declared to be a member of the Democratic Party of Virginia.

Our 1st Vice Chair is there for all of us, and I believe both candidates understand and exemplify that truth. Regardless of the outcome of the vote tomorrow, Virginia Democrats will be stronger for having a competitive race for 1st Vice Chair, and for having become engaged in the future of our Party as a result.

[Update] Vivian has posted her final thoughts on the 1st Vice Chair and the significance of the position.  

Links for nicer weather.

Another time a lady freaked out because she saw a rat on the sidewalk. It’s a sidewalk. In New York City. That’s where rats live. Be thankful the rat didn’t pull up a chair and order a Bloody Mary and ask for separate checks. – The Bitchy Waiter

You really should click through, there are more fun links this week than ever before!

• The Bitchy Waiter Blog – A nice palate cleanser on a rough day.
• Liz wants this. DROOL. I could actually take my son along to drop him off at school or camp while I BIKE TO WORK!
• The provincial lawyer who is helping plot an emirate coup – Our addiction to oil puts us in bed with some really regressive people.
• Sleep If You’re Tired, Don’t If You’re Not – An old friend opines on napping. I happen to agree with him.
• Nuclear Follies: How Not To Stop the BP Oil Gusher – A reasonable and point-by-point explanation of why nuking the Gulf oil well leak is not a good idea.
• Bloody June – Soldiers are still fighting and dying in Afghanistan.
• Chinese Concept: The Train that Never Stops – The video is worth the clickthrough. Really cool idea.
• Women Forced to Breastfeed Adult Men in Saudi Arabia – Disgusting. Period.
• Re-Attracting Young Voters Back to the Obama Coalition – Dismissing young voters is both insulting and dumb. It’s about reaching out to young people in their own context, just like we do for other parts of the Democratic coalition.
• If It’s Thursday, It’s Bathrooms. Also, on Mondays. Why GENDA is important. New Yorkers, pay attention.
• Abortion Drugs Given in Iowa via Video Link – Expect the right to get the vapors over this one. I love the creativity in insuring that underserved populations can get access to a legal medical procedure, safely. These are among the reasons that my wife and I will be signing up for these license plates.

As has been discussed previously, there is some debate over the form and structure of Loudoun’s government going on among the Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Waters has proposed reducing the number of Supervisors, converting some to At-large and staggering their Terms. Loudoun Progress has discussed this before.

This week the Board of Supervisors began taking action on these proposals, as reported by Scott York in his regular email to his constituents.

Tim Hemstreet, County Administrator, made a brief presentation regarding Structure and Terms of the Board of Supervisors, Form of Government and Reapportionment.  He noted at the January 20, 2010 Business Meeting, an item initiated by Supervisor Waters was discussed regarding the topics of the structure and terms of the Board of Supervisors (including the idea of implementing staggered terms), the appropriate form of government for Loudoun County, and general guidelines for the redistricting process associated with the 2010 census.

Supervisor Delgaudio moved that the Board of Supervisors enter into a Committee of the Whole. (Seconded by Supervisor Waters. The motion FAILED 2-7, Supervisors Delgaudio and Waters voted yes.)

The Board agreed to forward this item to the September 8, 2010 Board Business Meeting for a Committee of the Whole discussion of the issue.

The Board also agreed not to continue further discussion of adding at-large members to the Board. (Emphasis mine – P13) – Board of Supervisors Report

It is gratifying to see that the first of three bad ideas has been dropped. The Board of Supervisors will not be converting some of its membership to At-Large. This means that all Supervisors other than the Chairman will continue to be elected at the District level, thus sustaining the interpersonal, direct relationship between Supervisors and neighborhoods in Loudoun.

Follow below the fold for the interesting report from County Administrator Hemstreet on another of the bad ideas, staggered terms.The Loudoun Times-Mirror reports on the analysis of staggered terms done by County staff.

A report recently released by County Administrator Tim Hemstreet outlining the merits and pitfalls of restructuring Loudoun’s government system says supervisors would focus more on campaigning than work should the board move to staggered election terms.

“Elections and campaigning will not be uncommon for at least a year leading up to an election, and even those members not up for election are likely to be involved in campaigns,” the report said. “As such, and based on past experiences, it is plausible that the board may only achieve one year of effective work before going back into “campaign mode.” – Loudoun Times-Mirror

As things stand, Supervisors generally get three years of work done (for better or for worse) before going back into campaign mode. This allows independence among Supervisors as well as a focus on pragmatic results. Going to staggered terms means that there would always been an election around the corner (think Congress, with elections every 2 years) and encourage a more narrow focus on issues, rather than providing Supervisors with the time to really get into issues and work together as colleagues.

It’s a bad idea.

The Doorbell Queen has a post up today about high school sizes and educational quality. It’s worth clicking through and reading yourself, but here’s a taste.

I’m not saying that large schools always work, or that they are appropriate in every situation, but large schools can be educationally rigorous and can, in fact, beat the pants off Loudoun County’s schools academically.

So, my dear School Board, you’re going to have to come up with something other than “educational reasons” for why you won’t even study the FEASIBILITY of expanding the size of the existing schools. Because I just gave you a total of over ten thousand reasons why that won’t fly. – Doorbell Queen

The question of school size is just one of an entire class of questions about how we do school development in Loudoun. At their core, the issues surrounding new schools in the County are issues with assumptions, rather than outcomes. For example, it is assumed that a high school must have fewer than 2000 students, and sit on 70 acres of land. It is assumed that we want to spend as little money as possible acquiring and building new schools. And it is assumed that elementary and middle schools should only be one floor.

But for many, many years, other assumptions were held that were proven to be fallacious and counterproductive. Like the assumption that kids of different races should go to different schools, for example. Or the assumption that children with special needs and their parents should fend for themselves.

It is long past time to put all of our assumptions about schools on the table and reevaluate them in the light of the needs of our community, today.For example, I’ve long been an advocate of smaller class sizes. Unfortunately, research and data aren’t necessarily showing that smaller class sizes are a solution for student achievement. The Doorbell Queen makes the case for larger high schools based on schools in New York with sterling reputations. We have excellent high schools here in Loudoun which may be able to be expanded, solving some of our problems with overcrowding and class sizes.

Similarly, Loudoun has long assumed that building schools the way we’ve built them for the past twenty years was the right way to do it for the next twenty years. It seems highly likely that is not the case.

The argument has been made, for example, that there is no longer any land available for new high schools in areas with growing student populations. However, that argument is false. Land is always available, at a price. It is one thing to say there is no land, but it is something quite different to say that we as a community do not want to spend the money necessary to acquire the optimal land.

Similarly, it is incorrect to say that we cannot have high schools with over 2000 students. It’s more accurate to say that we do not want high schools with more than 2000 students, which would allow us to have a real conversation about whether that desire ranks higher than our desire to build schools as cheaply as possible.

Far too often, issues of public policy devolve into the shouting of false absolutes. In all of these cases, policies are a question of competing interests. And we will do well to be honest with ourselves and each other by acknowledging that we each value different interests. Just because my interest, and my opinion, doesn’t win out, does not mean that my values and integrity have been sullied.

Schools and school construction are not zero-sum games. I commend the Board of Supervisors and School Board for starting to move past that idea, and I hope there will be even more progress, soon.

As John Flannery mentioned in his diary, the Board of Supervisors is holding its business meeting on the Bay Act proposals on Tuesday, June 15th.

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors will discuss the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act draft amendments during a Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, June 15, 2010. Once an exact time is determined, it will be posted on this webpage. – Loudoun.gov

The links above contain all the information available from the County on the Act and the actions proposed. It is wise to review the facts of the matter before forming an opinion.

If you want to be heard at the meeting, you can sign up by calling the County offices. Please consider coming out and letting your voice be heard.If you cannot make the meeting in person, you can let the Board of Supervisors know your opinion by telephone or email.

In addition to speaking to the Board during a public input session or public hearing, you may send comments to the Board by e-mail at bos@loudoun.gov, or by calling the Citizen Comment Line, 703-777-0115. – Loudoun.gov

For example:

I support the Chesapeake Bay Act. I support any and all necessary actions on the part of the County to comply with it, and enforce it. Providing undisturbed greenspace around our waterways, regardless of how small, is critical to the long term health of our water, the Bay, and not incidentally the quality of life here in Loudoun.

Please implement the necessary policies to provide ourselves and our neighbors with clean water flowing into the Bay.

Think globally, act locally.

Hey, this is exciting! Did you know that you could support your favorite white supremacists by just buying a special plate from the DMV? It’s true!

The plate honors the Sons of Confederate Veterans, they of the Confederate History Month debacle, in case you had forgotten. It was at their behest that the Governor issued his benighted proclamation in the first place, and after Mr. McDonnell walked back that particular piece of bad press, the Sons of Confederate Veterans blasted him for backing off the original proclamation. Of course, they didn’t get their facts exactly right.

The Virginia Division of the SCV was not pleased with McDonnell’s reversal. In a lengthy statement, it commended McDonnell for issuing the Confederate History Month proclamation, but “absolutely refute[d] the claim that Confederate soldiers went to the field of battle for the sole purpose of preserving slavery as an intellectually dishonest argument.” (In fact, McDonnell does not say that the Civil War was fought only over slavery.) – Southern Poverty Law Center

Yes, this is the group that called for the original proclamation, without reference to slavery. And when the slavery acknowledgments were added later, they were so angry about it that they issued a lengthy statement filled with factual errors condemning the Governor!

The SCV, as they are known, purports to be a heritage group, and a heritage group they may have been, but in the course of a series of elections within the organization over the past ten years, a number of unreformed, neo-confederate white supremacists were elected to national leadership. These SCV leaders just so happen to also be members of organizations dedicated to white supremacy, modern-day seccession and reconstitution of the Confederacy.Remember the Confederacy?

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

According to the membership of the SCV, leaders who want to return to the Confederacy are worth supporting and re-electing. Something to think about.

The SCV is allowed to have the Confederate battle flag on a Virginia plate because they won a court case in 2001. This case, and the original plate designation, happened before the white supremacists took over the SCV, however. It is past time for Virginia to revisit this honor and withdraw this plate from circulation. Let the SCV sue again if it comes to that, our Attorney General has no qualms defending crazy positions, after all.

But hey, what’s buying a plate when we simply re-elect a local SCV officer as our Delegate every two years anyway. For all our neighborliness, tacit bigotry can lie under the surface, even here, even now.

(Crossposted from Leesburg Tomorrow.)

Well, the fate of offshore drilling here in Virginia is in doubt (thankfully!), but there’s good news on the offshore wind power front.

Virginia is one of 10 Atlantic states that today signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Interior to form a consortium to promote the development of wind energy off the Atlantic coastline, in an agreement that brings together governors who have both supported and opposed the Obama administration’s decision to halt future oil drilling.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the agreement Tuesday, along with a new Virginia-based regional renewable energy office to coordinate efforts along the Atlantic coast. The MOU calls for an action plan to be developed to help guide state-federal coordination over commercial wind projects proposed offshore. – The Washington Post

So, by my count that’s:

• Renewable wind power creating jobs in Virginia: 1
• Risky deep-water offshore oil drilling creating jobs in Virginia: 0

The “drill baby drill” folks might have created a few dozen of jobs in ten years. The wind power folks will be creating an actual job or twelve here in Virginia in the form of a renewable-energy office here in the near-term.

So we’re both creating jobs and promoting renewable energy, without running afoul of the Navy’s preferences and adding to the risks of a catastrophic oil spill off our coasts?

Sounds like a good deal to me. Funny thing, Governor Kaine thought the same thing a couple weeks ago, before this agreement was announced.

“You have to weigh a couple of things in Virginia’s case,” he said.

“You have to weigh environmental safety. You have to weigh the significant naval operations and NASA operations off Virginia’s coast,” he added. “A third thing you’d have to weigh in Virginia’s case is . . . would it be better to do offshore wind?

“The same place where you might want to do oil rigs off the coast of Virginia, there’s actually pretty favorable wind conditions,” Kaine said.

“So you would look at all the options and you would put them all on the table, including the environmental conditions. And certainly the need to be diligent about that has certainly been escalated dramatically by what we’ve seen in the gulf.” – The Richmond Times-Dispatch

Once again, Democrats had it right in the first place.  

We are now 17 months out from the 2011 Board of Supervisors elections. While that’s a long way away, it’s within range for candidates to start their planning – and fundraising. Kelly Burk has been raising money for her re-election bid, and there are rumors circulating of potential opponents lining up to run against the incumbents.

Thanks to work done by the Virginia Public Access Project, we can see who has raised what by their public filings to this point.

Some interesting financial observations follow, like the whopping $3 raised by Scott York. Click through to consider the implications.First, the zeros. Raising no money at this point is often a sign that the candidate will not be running for re-election.

• Jim Burton – Blue Ridge – $0
• Sally Kurtz – Catoctin – $0
• Andrea McGimsey – Potomac – $0

I would be surprised if Supervisor McGimsey did not run for re-election. Her focus has always been on policy, not politics, and it seems likely she just hasn’t gotten around to raising money yet. Of course, it would behoove her to get started, now. As for Supervisors Burton and Kurtz, their retirement from the Board has been speculated for quite some time, and their lack of fundraising gives credence to that expectation.

Next the nominally funded. While not zero, these less-than-impressive fundraisers may not have their hearts in running again, with money coming in to them by inertia of multi-term incumbency, rather than any active solicitation on their part.

• Scott York – Chairman At Large – $3 (Yes, three whole dollars.)
• Lori Waters – Broad Run – $273

Scott York and Lori Waters are definitely on the retirement watch list. Chairman York has been rumored to be ripe for retirement after the bruising 2009 elections, during which he had to leave both his party and his job in order to stick to his policy principles as Chairman. Lori Waters, on the other hand, has been a popular incumbent in Broad Run for two terms, and has been considered a future rising star of the local Republican party for some time. It would be a reversal were she not to run for re-election.

And now, the fundraisers. Unlike their colleagues, the rest of the Supervisors have raised thousands of dollars towards re-election already.

• Stevens Miller – Dulles $5,097
• Kelly Burk – Leesburg – $3,348
• Eugene Delgaudio – Sterling – $8,923
• Susan Klimek Buckley – $2,700

All four of these Supervisors are well positioned to run for re-election in 2011.

[Update] It has been pointed out to me that Supervisors Miller and Buckley’s “fundraising” is in the form of a personal loan to their campaigns from themselves, rather than actively solicited money. They both have less than $200 cash on hand as of the end of 2009.

Unsurprisingly, Eugene Delgaudio leads all comers thanks to his national reputation as a bigot with a bullhorn. When your fundraising base for a local election can include national anti-equality mailing lists, you can raise money quickly.

The elephant in the re-election room is redistricting, of course. These Supervisors will not be running for re-election in exactly the same districts in which they were first elected. Population shifts since 2000 mean that the lines of Supervisor Districts will need to be redrawn considerably. Leesburg is going to grow, Broad Run is going to be divided, and Dulles and Blue Ridge will see borders shift significantly, perhaps dramatically. It may be the case that some Supervisors are not interested in running for re-election in redrawn districts after serving on the Board for multiple terms already.

It is going to be an interesting campaign, and a fascinating year and half.

(With a tip-o-the-hat to Vivian Paige.)

You thought they were gone, but the links always come back.

Even in the darkest days, we must remember that with many crises come opportunities. Opportunities to learn from our mistakes. Opportunities to seek a better future. This oil spill compels us to take an honest and much-needed look at our dependence on fossil fuels. – Jeff Barnett

• Are Compassion and Community Evil? – I don’t normally like Mike Lux that much, but this post is less long-winded than his usual fare and asks a very important question given the positions of the opposition these days.
• National Crisis, National Opportunity – Our next Congressman, Jeff Barnett, posts at Blue Virginia about our addition to oil, and need to make a commitment to alternative fuels.
• Arizona Mural Sparks Racial Debate – Well, not so much “debate” as overt, disgusting racism, and spineless capitulation, but who am I to judge? Read for yourself.
• Xi Jinping – This is the man who is likely to take over the People’s Republic of China after Hu Jintao. Given the importance of China to our economy and our strategic challenges in the world, he’s worth knowing about.
• India’s Young and Poor Rally to Another Gandhi – Rahul Ghandi is Nehru’s great-grandson and the next Prime Minister of India, by all accounts. Given the importance of India to our economy and our strategic challenges in the world, he’s worth knowing about.
• Happy Birthday! It’s an Alien Invasion – A mom in Leesburg reflects on the best present she’s ever given to her husband.