Raising Kaine - Recommended Diaries

Perriello and his campaign don't just pay lip service to their values

aznew — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:37:05 GMT

So many politicians these days on both sides of the aisle talk about values, but when push comes to shove, don't seem to reflect them in any kind of substantive or tangible way.

All to often, they use values as a bludgeon to criticize others, rather than as a positive call to action.

So I think this move by Tom Perriello's campaign is both smart and, well, decent:

Perriello Campaign Launches Unprecedented Initiative to Tithe 10% of Volunteer Hours to Community
May 12, 2008-Danville, Charlottesville, and Collinsville, VA-With events in Danville, Collinsville, and Charlottesville, the Perriello for Congress campaign launched its volunteer tithing initiative, unprecedented for a political campaign. The campaign will tithe 10% of all its volunteer hours to community service projects around the district. The campaign has logged more than 1,700 volunteer hours in total; over the weekend, volunteers kicked off the initiative by tithing 42 volunteer hours and moving forward, will tithe 10% of its hours.
"I was raised to believe that a strong faith is a lived faith that must be made clear by our deeds. I want my campaign for Congress to reflect those same values," said Tom Perriello. "That is why we are asking our campaign team to commit 10% of their volunteer hours to local charities to reflect the value of service to community and to country."

(Remainder of release is after the flip)

Perriello campaign volunteers launched the volunteer tithing initiative in three locations around the district. In Charlottesville, volunteers worked on constructing a house for Habitat for Humanity. In Collinsville, they brought groceries to the local post office for the "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive. In Danville, they served food to the hungry at a local church.
Tom Perriello is the Democratic candidate for Virginia's fifth congressional district. Born and raised in the district, he is a national security analyst and has founded faith-based organizations.
Video and photos are available at
http://www.perrielloforcongres...
For high-res photography, contact Jessica Barba at 434-882-4163.

Republican Transportation Session Goal: Humiliate Tim Kaine

dsvabeachdems — Tue, 13 May 2008 02:48:17 GMT

Stand by for heavy rolls in this coming special legislative session. The Republicans fully intend to be obstructionist during the special session likely because they want to diminish the goodwill that Governor Kaine has sustained and possibly even increased for the Democratic Party during his tenure. And they are preying on the aspirations of the average Virginian to trick them into believing they will be somehow harmed if the state is fiscally responsible. This is a continuation of the Governor Allen double talk and the slight of hand Governor Gilmore set in motion. Handoff to Attorney General Bob McDonnell who released a partisan attack on the plan today under the letterhead of his elected office rather than as a campaign statement. Where was he when the General Assembly handed the Governor the clearly unconstitutionally crafted transportation plan of 2007? Muffled by the lock-step dictates of the Virginia Republican Party hierarchy?

This all goes to the ballad of the "Bleeding Heart Conservative," the "Compassionate Conservative," or whatever you want to call those who cry for welfare for the rich. Pity those who bear the burden of success. Praise them for their benevolence when they tip appropriately for good table service. Yes, there is a knucklehead commentator on every afternoon who believes that we should be grateful for the tax cuts for the rich because, after all, they just could not afford to tip us well without that consideration, leaving us who knows where. And, after all, it is those tips that power our upward economic mobility.
Of course they sprinkle in a little pandering to the average Virginian by throwing around terms like "regressive tax" just to get them coming and going. You see, no one likes taxes. Everyone aspires to be rich. While you are not rich, a regressive tax is bane. And when you will be rich, a progressive tax is a disincentive to be rich (or so that great tipper commentator tells his listeners who are not rich because they perceive the opportunity cost of every additional dollar as being equal to the pain of the tax dollar they are paying now; it's not. Oh, by the way, his audience lacks wealthy listeners to support him because they are too busy ignoring his whole argument while making more money). Yes, there are aspects of regression. But some aspects of the tax are arguably progressive. And the regressive portions can be balanced in the tax code.

Regressive is the cost of repairing your vehicle when a chuckhole swallows your wheel, breaking a hub or axel. Regressive is sitting in traffic for hours watching the fuel gauge drop while getting nowhere fast. Regressive is eliminating the car tax so that everyone rich and poor equally fails to pay for the costs of the transportation infrastructure. Regressive is redirecting the burden of the state's responsibility to local municipalities and counties whose only source of revenue is sales or property taxes (until they find they must levy a city income tax). Do you really believe a Republican can stomach a "progressive" tax?

The Republicans firmly believe that you can't get elected if you tell the truth. They are aided and abetted by staff writers in the "liberal press" who provide such scintillating balanced reporting as this from the Richmond Times Dispatch:

"Gov. Timothy M. Kaine at this hour is rolling out yet another tax-fattened plan to repair Virginia's cash-starved transportation system."

A few of them know the truth. But they have created such a pleasant cache of fairy tales that even they want to cling to them. These are all crafted around taking advantage of the discontinuity of scale between microeconomic and macroeconomic theory; or by never having advanced beyond econ 101. Governor Warner's campaign for the Senate, given Gilmore is his opponent, is the best opportunity to pull back the curtain and reveal the combination of naivety and cowardice demonstrated by these fiscally irresponsible con artists.

The chickens may be coming home to roost. The Republicans underestimate Governor Kaine. They underestimate the people of Virginia. They underestimate the truth. They underestimate the schism a Warner-Gilmore race may have among the Virginia Republican Party's faithful.

Cross posted at VBDems.org - Blogging our way to Democratic wins in Virginia Beach! Go RK!

Progressive Patriots Fund Poll

acluka — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:38:56 GMT

The Progressive Patriots Fund (Russ Finegold is the Honorary Chair) is giving away 5,000 dollars to a Progressive Candidate, and guess who is on the list?

Tom Perriello

I figure since he is a local boy and all, you all would be happy to vote for him!

Obama Shouldn't Help Pay Hillary's Debt

Matt H — Mon, 12 May 2008 21:26:52 GMT

After last week's elections I sent in another check to the Obama campaign and would be very troubled to see him offer to help Hillary pay for the debt that she has accrued after staying in the race for too long.

Perhaps if she hadn't played the race card, or had not played into the 3 AM pseudo fears of the public, I'd be less upset with the prospect of my hard-earned money going to her.

Should Obama select Hillary for the Veep position, I'd be equally perturbed.

Hybrid Identity Crisis -- my film TRE now on DVD

EricByler — Sun, 11 May 2008 21:32:03 GMT

A journalist named Ben Hamamoto is writing a piece about my latest film "Tre" being a first with its hapa romantic leads (Kim and Daniel), and hapa writers/director (Kim and me). This clip from the DVD bonus features is the best I have ever done explaining how mixed-race identity folds into the layers of meaning in this film and in others like "Charlotte Sometimes" and "Americanese" that deal with sex, race, and relationships. It was actually said in response to a post-screening question about the "raw" sex scenes in "Tre." I talked about "hybrid identity" and then worked my way back to answering the question.

This is one of seven chapters in the Director Q&A bonus feature on the recently released DVD, available here.

Other bonus features include a behind-the-scenes documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Reuben Aaronson, and my student film, "Kenji's Faith."
Also this is another clip from the Director Q&A feature on the DVD:

And here is the theatrical trailer.

TRE
directed by Eric Byler
written by Kimberly-Rose Wolter & Eric Byler
Daniel Cariaga, Kimberly-Rose Wolter, Erik McDowel, and Alix Koromzay.
with Teddy Chen Culver, Eric Hackett, and Jackie O'Brien
Cinematography by Rob Humphreys
Music by Michael Brook
www.TreTheMovie.com