From free flights, to wedding gifts, to FBI investigations, ProgressVA wants to help you see, understand, and then share with others, the extent of their exploitation and what McDonnell and Cuccinelli believe is acceptable.
Some of the extreme policies supported by Cuccinelli and a range of Lt. Governor and Attorney General candidates include:
2013 Convention Guide, Limited Women's Health Edition by ProgressVA
]]>From free flights, to wedding gifts, to FBI investigations, ProgressVA wants to help you see, understand, and then share with others, the extent of their exploitation and what McDonnell and Cuccinelli believe is acceptable.
Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli has filed a petition with the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond asking the full 15-judge court to reconsider a decision by a three-judge panel last month that overturned the state's sodomy law.
The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 on March 12 that a section of Virginia's "Crimes Against Nature" statute that outlaws sodomy between consenting adults, gay or straight, is unconstitutional based on a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2003 known as Lawrence v. Texas.
A clerk with the 4th Circuit appeals court said a representative of the Virginia Attorney General's office filed the petition on Cuccinelli's behalf on March 26. The petition requests what is known as an en banc hearing before the full 15 judges to reconsider the earlier ruling by the three-judge panel.
"We certainly hope they won't," said Claire Gastanaga, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, which filed a friend of the court brief urging the three-judge panel to overturn the state sodomy law.
"We think it's a situation in which everybody agrees that the statute is unconstitutional," Gastanaga told the Blade.
Greg Nevins, an attorney with the LGBT litigation group Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, which joined the ACLU in filing the friend of the court brief calling for overturning the Virginia sodomy law, said requests for en banc hearings are turned down most of the time.
He quoted a federal appeals court rule as stating, "Although petitions for rehearing are filed in a great many cases, few are granted."
...
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It's incredible that any politician would champion the rights of violent criminals at the expense of women and children's safety. But many conservatives in Congress, under Eric Cantor's leadership, voted yesterday to oppose renewing protections for abused women and children. Meanwhile, they're fighting for the power of criminals, rapists, and stalkers to get guns. Stronger gun laws help keep guns out of the hands of violent criminals. The Violence Against Women Act revolutionized the way we prosecute violent criminals. House conservatives refuse to support both.
The new bipartisan Violence Against Women Act bill resolves the procedural complaint House conservatives used as an excuse to force this landmark law to expire -- but it didn't resolve their opposition to extending the law's protections to more women. A woman's chances of being killed by her abuser increase more than 7 times if he's got a gun. Our laws should protect all women and children from violence and keep violent criminals from getting guns, and the new Violence Against Women Act does just that.
]]>Elements of Governor Bob McDonnell's education "reform" agenda follow closely policies supported and advocated by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. McDonnell will join Bush on a conference call this afternoon to discuss his A-F school grading proposal, an idea Bush's educational foundation has championed. A recent expose by a public interest organization foundBush's educational foundation frequently advocated for state education laws and regulations that could benefit its corporate funders, including private virtual schools operators like K-12, Inc. According the Virginia Public Access Project, McDonnell has also accepted significant funds from for-profit education corporations, including $55,000 from K-12, Inc. since 2009.
]]>]]>E-Mails Show Jeb Bush Foundation Lobbied For Businesses, Including One Tied To Bush
Lee Fang on January 30, 2013 - 8:48 PM ET
A public interest group has released the results of a multi-state Freedom of Information Act request concerning the lobbying efforts by the Foundation for Excellence in Education (FEE), the nonprofit led by Jeb Bush. The e-mails confirm previous reporting showing that Bush's policies are designed to benefit businesses seeking to privatize public education--particularly the companies that finance Bush's nonprofit.
What's new in this release, however, is the revelation that Bush could be using his education reform crusade for personal gain.
In one e-mail from last year, Bush's top aide at his foundation, Patricia Levesque, communicated with school officials to urge them to use a company called SendHub, a start-up that uses cloud computing and text messages. Bush, according to TechCrunch, has a modest "five-figure" investment in SendHub. Garrett Johnson, the founder of SendHub, previously worked for Bush and still serves on the board of Foundation for Florida's Future, another Bush-run education nonprofit.
In November of 2011, I published my first investigation with The Nation and The Nation Institute concerning the rush of for-profit education technology companies to enact radical "virtual schools" across the country. In the reporting, we uncovered that many individuals associated with the education reform universe--even those ostensibly leading major philanthropic foundations--are closely tied to the for-profit interests who stand to gain from these policies. Levesque, we reported, was quietly receiving funds directly from for-profit education tech companies while also serving as the executive director of Bush's nonprofit.
The new round of FOIA e-mails should send shockwaves through the reform movement. In the Public Interest, the group that filed the request, summarized some of their other findings:
-- In New Mexico, FEE acted as a broker to organize meetings between their corporate donors and individual Chiefs [for Change].
-- Maine moved the FEE policy agenda through legislation and executive order that would remove barriers to online education and in some cases would require online classes--including eliminating class size caps and student-teacher ratios, allowing public dollars to flow to online schools and classes, eliminate ability of local school districts to limit access to virtual schools.
-- In Florida, FEE helped write legislation that would increase the use of a proprietary test (FCAT) under contract to Pearson, an FEE donor.
The simmering scandal with Jeb Bush's nonprofit recalls a similar scandal with his brother, NeilBush, who led Ignite! Learning, a company the Los Angeles Times found profiting from No Child Left Behind policies enacted by President George W. Bush.
While the education tech industry has enjoyed a recent surge thanks to the policies enacted byJeb Bush and his allies, there's growing evidence that these privatized, proprietary charter schools are under-performing. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the virtual charter school policies peddled by FEE, the publicly-traded online charter school management company K12 Inc., has been cited in several studies for its abysmal performance. A report last year found that K12 Inc.'s students score between 14 and 36 percent lower than their non-cyber school peers. Only 27.7 percent reported meeting Adequate Yearly Progress standards in the 2011 school year, which the National Education Policy Center notes compares poorly to the 52 percent average scored by brick-and-mortar schools.
There is perhaps no better week for these e-mails to emerge. This week is "School Choice Week," a public relations blitz designed by Jeb Bush and Frank Luntz to drum up support for school privatization and teacher union-busting laws. Rather than a movement to support children, the e-mails show that many of these reforms are also about padding the profits of companies like Charter Schools USA, K12 Inc., Pearsons and Jeb's SendHub.
Carrico's bill could be heard in the full Senate Privileges and Elections Committee as soon as Tuesday. But, while the scheme would give the GOP a definite advantage in 2016 (since they've already gerrymandered the congressional districts to their benefit), not all members of the caucus have supported similar past proposals.
Lt. Governor Bill Bolling opposed an electoral vote gerrymander scheme as a State Senator.
In 2001, Senator Mary Margaret Whipple introduced SB1219 to allocate Virginia's electoral votes according to the popular vote in each congressional district. The bill failed in the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee. Then-State Senator Bill Bolling, as well as Senators Norment, Martin, and Hanger opposed the bill. [Legislative Information System]
Four GOP State Senators opposed a similar 2008 measure.
In 2008, State Senator John Miller introduced legislation to award Virginia's electoral votes according to the popular vote in each congressional district. The measure failed in the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee on a 2-9 vote. Senators Martin, Obenshain, Blevins, and Vogel opposed the bill. [Legislative Information System]
State Senator Jill Vogel opposed 2008 gerrymandering bill.
Vogel voted against a 2008 measure in committee. [Legislative Information System]
GOP State Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment and GOP Lt. Governor nominee candidate and State Senator Steve Martin have twice voted against electoral vote gerrymander bills.
As State Senators, Norment and Martin opposed measures in both 2001 and 2008. [Legislative Information System, Legislative Information System]
Even more great photos from ProgressVA and SEIU below.
From the Candlelight Vigil in Roanoke via Virginia ALF-CIO:
Update #4:
Update #3:
Update #2:
Update #1:
Also from Tyson's Corner and Norfolk:
Tomorrow at noon, Virginians are gathering at Senator Warner's Norfolk and Vienna offices to "Carol Against Cuts". ProgressVA, the Virginia AFL-CIO, Virginia Organizing, Move On, AARP, Alliance for Retired Americans, SEIU, and fellow progressives from cross the Commonwealth will reprise well-known holiday melodies with new lyrics, such as such as "Oh Fiscal Cliff" to the tune of "O' Christmas Tree".
Our caroling events are part of our statewide day of action asking Virginia's representatives to protect Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security in the fiscal cliff negotiations while letting the Bush tax cuts for the top 2% expire. We will also visit Senator Warner's office in Roanoke for a candlelight vigil later in the day.
We will be posting pictures, videos, and updates from the events here throughout the day - so be sure to check back. Also, if you can please join us, we'd love to have your support and hear your voice.
Event details and links to RSVP below.
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| Carol Against Cuts: Vienna
When: Monday, December 10th from 11:45am - 1pm We will gather at 11:45 at the mall entrance to the right of Nordstrom's (when facing the building from the parking lot) at Tyson's Corner Center. We'll practice our carols and sing to shoppers at Tysons Corner Center for 30 minutes before walking down the street to Senator Warner's nearby office to share our musical message and deliver comments to the Senator's staff. Carol Against Cuts: Norfolk When: Monday, December 10th from 11:45am - 1pm We will gather on the sidewalk outside to share our carols with downtown workers on their lunch break before heading up to the Senator's office to share our musical message and deliver comments to the Senator's staff. Candlelight vigil against cuts When: Monday, December 10th from 4:30pm - 5:30pm |
Elections have consequences. In the voting booth, Virginians and Americans spoke loud and clear in favor of raising revenue and creating jobs. As Congress approaches the so-called "fiscal cliff", it's time to bring some sanity in to the discussion. Below is a terrific 5-point guide from MoveOn to the fiscal showdown cuts through the political noise. But before we get there, here are a few facts to keep in mind:
Congress has an opportunity to do the right thing before the end of the year, and enact the policies voters supported on Election Day!
By ending the Bush Tax Cuts for the top 2%, and letting middle class taxes remain steady, we strengthen the middle class and maintain their purchasing power while helping businesses stay strong as the economy continues to recover. At the same time, the revenue generated by asking the wealthiest among us to pay just a little bit more will help restore fiscal sanity and create greater confidence in the U.S. economy.
It's an important fight we need to win in Congress. Ending the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% will restore sanity to our economy and make sure everyone is paying their fair share.
1. The "Fiscal Cliff" Is A Myth. As Paul Krugman put it, "The looming prospect of spending cuts and tax increases isn't a fiscal crisis. It is, instead, a political crisis brought on by the G.O.P.'s attempt to take the economy hostage." Republicans are manufacturing this crisis to pressure Democrats to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and accept painful cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
2. The Bush Tax Cuts Finally End December 31. If Congress does nothing, the ax will fall on all the Bush tax cuts on New Year's Eve. Then, on January 1, the public pressure on John Boehner and House Republicans to extend the middle-class tax cuts (already passed by the Senate and waiting to be signed by President Obama) will become irresistible. So the middle-class tax cut will eventually get renewed, and we'll have $823 billion more revenue from the top 2% to do great things with.
3. The Sequester. The sequester is another political creation, forced on Democrats by Republicans in exchange for lifting the debt ceiling last year to avoid crashing our economy. It's a set of cuts (50% to a bloated military budget and 50% to important domestic programs) designed to make both Republicans and Democrats hate it so much that they'd never let it happen. And the cuts can be reversed weeks or months into 2013 without causing damage.
4. The Big Three. Nothing happens to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits on January 1--unless Republicans force painful cuts to beneficiaries in exchange for tax increases on the wealthy, which are going to happen anyway if Congress does NOTHING. So, there's literally no reason benefits cuts should be part of the discussion right now.
5. We Should Be Talking About Jobs. The real crisis Americans want Congress to fix is getting people back to work. And with just a fraction of that $823 billion from the wealthiest 2%, we could create jobs for more than 20,000 veterans and pay for the 300,000 teachers and 52,000 first responders, which our communities so desperately need. That's not to mention jobs from investing in clean energy and our national infrastructure.
"When a group of 86 large U.S. companies came out in late October in favor of fixing the debt it was seen as a rare example of corporate unity, and a wake up call on just how urgent an issue the growing federal deficit has become for business.
In a new report, the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), a liberal Washington think tank, argues that the group, called "Fix the Debt" is basically a larger version of an earlier Washington corporate lobbying group called "Win America", and shares its focus on getting corporate money now being held overseas back into the United States with little or no taxes taken out...
Such a change would result in a $134 billion windfall for the 63 publicly traded companies in the Fix the Debt coalition, IPS calculates."
Check below the fold for Reuters' chart of the 10 ten beneficiaries, their profits, and their potential tax savings.
]]>Included in IPS's $134 billion figure are these top 10 beneficiaries:
| Fix the Debt Member Company | Offshore Profits | Potential Tax Savings |
| General Electric | $102 billion | $35.7 billion |
| Microsoft | $60.8 billion | $19.4 billion |
| Merck | $44.3 billion | $15.5 billion |
| Cisco Systems | $41.3 billion | $14.5 billion |
| JPMorgan Chase | $21.8 billion | $4.9 billion |
| Goldman Sachs | $20.6 billion | $3.3 billion |
| Bank of America | $18.5 billion | $2.5 billion |
| Qualcomm | $16.4 billion | $5.7 billion |
| Corning | $10.8 billion | $3.8 billion |
| Dow Chemical | $10.0 billion | $3.5 billion |
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Though Gov. Romney and Rep. Ryan repeatedly refuse to say which specific tax breaks they would eliminate or reduce, the Tax Policy Center calculates that these major tax benefits for middle-class families would have to be reduced by 58 percent to pay for his tax cut for the rich. That 58 percent cut does not even account for the fact that middle-class taxpayers would be forced to pay for the $1.1 trillion corporate tax cut also championed by the Republican ticket.
]]> Here is how this hidden part of the Romney-Ryan tax plan would affect low-income and middle-class families in Virginia:
The Romney-Ryan budget costs include: