Fiscal Conservatives are agitating to permanently extend the Bush tax cuts.

To do so will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 trillion dollars over ten years.

That is $1.3 billion a day. Every day. For ten years.

Neoconservatives took us to war in Iraq.

Combat operations in Iraq cost us at least $3 trillion dollars over five years.

That’s $1.6 billion a day. Every day. For five years.

I’m not sure we can afford more Conservative policies from our government.As a bonus.

Republicans want to prevent a permanent tax cut for 294,000,000 Americans, in order to preserve one for 6,000,000 Americans.

And Democrats are the ones accused of being elitist.

A thank you to everyone who worked to make America a better place over the past election season.

I really like this video. This is the guy I voted for.

2011 starts today.

We will have a dozen races in 2011 that directly impact Loudoun, and those races start today.

I choose to focus on that this morning, because yesterday did not turn out the way we would have liked. As good Democrats, we hope for the best and prepare for the worst. I take heart in the fact that Harry Reid won and we retained the Senate. I choose to see Tom Perriello not as a former Congressman, but as a future Governor. I recall the dedication and energy of our fantastic volunteers and smile in the knowledge that the return of the Democratic Party in Loudoun rests on a solid foundation.

2011 starts today. Kelly Burk and other Democratic Supervisors are running once again for the Board of Supervisors, and Loudoun Republicans have their eyes on those seats. Mark Herring is running for re-election to the Virginia Senate, and the odious Dick Black is likely to oppose him. (For those, like me, who were not here when Mr. Black last served in public office, all you really need to know is that he mailed plastic fetuses to people in his zeal to oppose the right to choose. And he did this while serving in the Assembly.) I strongly suspect that great Democratic candidates will emerge to challenge for our Assembly seats and the countywide Constitutional offices that are also on the ballot in 2011.

For my part, Rebuilding our Democratic base in Leesburg will be essential to stopping the negatives to which Republican governance tends, as Loudoun counts on Leesburg being a bright blue beacon in a fog of Republican red. There is no place in Leesburg where Jeff Barnett, out-spent 3:1 in a strongly Republican year, did not get at least 30% of the vote. That is a strong core from which to build.

So, today, take heart. Stay strong and true. Talk to your neighbors about what is important, and have them stay informed and get involved. Plant the seeds of Democratic action early. Proudly advertise your affiliation on your car. You, each, are part of that effort. The first step to reasserting our majority here is letting our fellow Democrats know that they are not alone. That we are in this together.

Politics and elections in Virginia are constant. That’s one of the great things about living here. There is always another chance to make things better just around the corner. The only question is whether we take that chance.

I know my answer. 2011 starts now.

(Crossposted with some edits from Leesburg Tomorrow.)

Regardless of outcomes today. We remember.

Insert your own link pun here. I’m out.

Watching one Republican candidate for office after another declare outright that they do not believe humans are causing climate change is befuddling enough. But to flat-out reject science as a guide to policy is beyond medieval. It’s a retreat to pure superstition, a surrender to barbarism. We might as well be reading omens in the entrails of sacrificial animals. Our wealth as a country, our incredible technological wonders — the Industrial Revolution! — were built upon scientific discovery.

• Virginia gun dealers: Small number supply most guns tied to crimes – Fascinating investigation into where the guns used in crimes are purchased.
• The new barbarism: Keeping science out of politics – Salon says what a lot of us are thinking.
• The Thirty-Five Star Flag – The Richmonder claims a historical flag for our side. I like it.
• Death of Notre Dame Student Punctures Myopic World of Big-Time College Sports – A really interesting and vital take on the state of the college sports industry today…sorta.

Liz says:

• I read this post by Dave Hingsburger and had to get up and walk off my anger. Curbing Anger: Daring Difference. In Canada, a young man with autism was physically tortured by three other young men. Who filmed what they did on their cell phones. And the judge let them walk free. I still can’t even…I mean…I…Just read it.

In other news:

• We disagree on politics, but Jen Lancaster get it totally right on Marie Claire’s debacle in I’ve got your counterpoint right here, Marie Claire.
• And from Shakesville: In case you were ever under the impression that thin privilege doesn’t exist…

President Obama was interviewed on the Daily Show. It is totally worth watching.

If you are planning on going to the Rally To Restore Sanity, a caravan from Loudoun is gathering at the Kohls parking lot in Leesburg (1040 Edwards Ferry Road, Leesburg) at 9am on Saturday. I strongly recommend starting from there and traveling with friends!

A Jack Conway (D) supporter was stomped on by a Rand Paul (R) supporter in Kentucky the other evening. And there’s video:

Note: Paul’s people got YouTube to take the video down, but DailyKos preserved it first:

I suspect you didn’t actually click play and watch the video. Go do that. Seriously.

The kicker? The police questioned the stomping victim.

Then there was the anthrax scare sent to the campaign office of Rep. Raul Grijalva. Earlier this year, Rep. Grijalva had to close another campaign office earlier this year because someone shot at it.

Here in Virginia, Rep. Tom Periello’s brother had his home address posted to Tea Party lists, and subsequently found his gas line severed.

For the past two years, our elected representatives have been under threat. Literally under threat on their lives, simply for doing their job representing their constituents.

In what world is this okay? In what America is beating up, shooting at, and threatening other Americans a legitimate expression of political views?Great coverage of this over at The Huffington Post.

And Aznew expresses his outrage over this incident at Blue Virginia.

Remember Art Linkletter?

The Tea Partiers belong to a different tradition-a tradition of divisive fundamentalism. Like other fundamentalists, they seek refuge from the complexity and confusion of modern life in the comforting embrace of an authoritarian scripture and the imagined past it supposedly represents. Like other fundamentalists, they see in their good book only what they want to see: confirmation of their preexisting beliefs. Like other fundamentalists, they don’t sweat the details, and they ignore all ambiguities. And like other fundamentalists, they make enemies or evildoers of those who disagree with their doctrine.

• How Tea Partiers Get The Constitution Wrong – A great fisking of Tea Party principles, such as they are.
• The Sistine Chapel – A pretty cool site by the Vatican that allows a 360 degree, zoomable view of this masterpiece. Okay, not political, but cool nonetheless.
• Closeted Discoverers: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Scientists – When even members of the academic research community are fearful of revealing their sexual orientation, we as a society are not close to achieving equality. Fixing things like this is what achieving a “more perfect union” is all about.
• Persistence: Being Too Dumb To Quit Is Helpful – From a dad blogger I know, this is a nice reminder that sticking with things yields benefits and results. I thought it useful to link to given the frustration experienced by many Democrats this year.
• Republican Blogger Reaction To Racist Emails – If you haven’t been following the saga of racist emails sent by the (now former) Virginia Beach Republican Chair, head over to Blue Virginia and check it out. It’s fascinating.
• DARPA Funded Hundred-Year Starship Program – The US Government is investing in a long-range plan to create the capacity to colonize other planets. I love it.
• Fox News Viewership Plunges 21% While MSNBC Grows – “The cable news ratings for the third quarter of 2010 were released today, and Fox News is showing signs of decline as their viewership has decreased by 21%, and their top shows all posted double digit losses, while MSNBC’s shows grew and the network attracted more younger viewers.” Is the tide finally turning? Are people finally realizing that Fox is nothing more than an arm of the GOP, spewing false information?
• Raul Grijalvas Office Hit By Terror Attack – It’s funny, but I don’t see a lot of Democrats sending death threats to and shooting into Republican campaign offices.
• Loudoun County Moon Tree – Did you know that there’s a tree in Hamilton that was grown from sees that orbited the moon in 1971? How cool is that! (with a tip-o-the-hat to my friend Keith.)
• Muslims Wearing Things – “Former NPR analyst Juan Williams, among other ignorant people, has an irrational fear of Muslims, and thinks you can identify them based on what they look like. Here I will post pictures of Muslims wearing all sorts of things in an attempt to refute that there is such a thing as “Muslim garb” or a Muslim look.” Awesome.
• Bank of America’s Foreclosure Mess Won’t Disappear Quickly – “Having convinced millions of Americans to buy homes they couldn’t afford, Bank of America is now revving up its foreclosure efforts on these same homeowners. At the same time, having sold tens of thousands of these same terrible loans to investors, it is going to spend tens of millions of dollars on lawyers to keep from having to buy back their junky loans.” There. Are. No. Words.

The two candidates for Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, among whom we’ll be choosing in the election booths next Tuesday, November 2nd, will be having their debate tonight.

The first and only debate of the congressional campaign in Virginia’s 10th District will occur tonight.

The debate, sponsored by the League of Women Voters, begins this evening at 7:00 PM at Dominion High School. The address of the school is 21326 Augusta Drive, Sterling, VA 20164. The event is open to bloggers and members of the press, who are requested to arrive early and check in at the media table.

If you would like to cover the debate but are unable to attend in person, a recording of the entire debate will be available on our website an hour after its conclusion. Check in at www.jeffbarnettforcongress.com at 10:00 PM for a full replay.

Jeff Barnett will be available after the debate to take questions from the press.

Click through for a map of the debate location. Come out tonight!Here is the location of Dominion High School on a map:

View Larger Map

There is only one office up for election on the ballot this year, and you should vote for Jeff Barnett on Tuesday, November 2nd. But there’s more to vote on than that office. On the ballot this year are three proposed Amendments to the Virginia Constitution, and a school bond issue.

The proposed Constitutional Amendments are as follows:

Proposed Constitutional Amendments (Statewide Ballot Questions)

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?

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? – Loudoun.gov

And the School Bond question is:

School Bonds (Loudoun County Ballot Question)

Question: Shall the County of Loudoun, Virginia contract a debt and issue its general obligation capital improvement bonds in the maximum amount of $27,820,000 to finance, in whole or in part, the cost to design, construct and equip the new Leesburg Area Elementary School (ES-15)?

Follow below the jump for some explanation of what the voters of Loudoun are being asked to approve of in these referendums.The first two constitutional amendments are geared at allowing localities (Counties, Cities, Towns) more freedom to manage their taxing structure. Under the Dillon Rule, localities need specific state dispensation to do, well, anything. These Amendments give localities that dispensation to exempt certain groups (disabled veterans, seniors on small fixed incomes) from paying local property taxes.

Here is the explanation from the state of the first of the Amendments, which explains the logic behind the first two Amendments:

Present Law

Under the Constitution, the General Assembly may give localities the power to grant full or partial exemptions from real estate taxes to persons 65 years of age or older or for persons permanently and totally disabled. The exemption applies to owner- occupied property used as the sole dwelling of such persons. The exemption is currently available only to such persons who bear “an extraordinary tax burden” in relation to their income and financial worth.

Proposed Amendment

The proposed amendment (i) removes the requirement that tax exemptions are available only to such persons who bear “an extraordinary tax burden,” and (ii) gives the General Assembly authority to permit localities to determine their own income or financial worth limitations for tax exemptions for persons 65 years of age or older or for persons permanently and totally disabled.

The third Amendment grants more freedom to the Assembly to save money within the budget for the future. The Constitution requires the state budget to be balanced. That means that the Assembly must have explicit authority to not spend all the money it has every two years (since we have a biannual budget cycle). If the Assembly didn’t spend all the money it got, the budget wouldn’t be balanced! The “rainy day fund” provides a way for the Assembly to carry surplus budget money over from budget cycle to budget cycle while keeping the budget balanced under the Constitution.

Right now, the rainy day fund is limited to 10% of the budget. The third Amendment on the ballot would allow the Assembly to increase that to 15% of the budget.

The school bond question is one which is often confused and misunderstood. Voting “yes” on the Bond question does not give the County permission to issue bonds. The county inherently has the authority to issue bonds, regardless of whether or not they put it to a voter referendum. The ballot question on bonds is necessary for the County to issue bonds at the lowest possible interest rates. Thus, voting “yes” on the bond question allows the County to get the most favorable interest rates on the bonds, which saves us money on interest payments.

If you vote “yes” on the school bonds, you are basically voting to avoid having to pay more taxes to pay higher interest on bonds in the future. Voting yes is a very good idea.