Life is a State of Mind : ideas, thoughts, rants

Wes Clark for President ’08

The time is right, the choice is right, it’s an easy decision to make: Wes Clark for President.

Clark is totally focused on helping the right people win their Senate and Congress seats this year, and he is not promoting himself, except through his actions for others. He understands the priorities and throws himself into the task at hand the way veterans have been trained to do.

Clark’s military experience will help him win the election against chicken-hawks and veterans alike.

Clark’s simple and direct manner of getting right to the heart of the matter will keep the short-attention-span media focused through the race and his term in office.

His experience with difficult situations and managing through a crisis will help us dis-entangle ourselves from Iraq and prepare for the real threats we fas as a nation because of the Bush/Cheney/Wolfowitz/Perl/Rove/Rumsfeld debacle. By the way, for those who claim Democrats don’t have a plan, Clark’s plan has been published for a long time: http://securingamerica.com/issues/iraqplan.

A large percentage of the Pentagon leadership will have no problem supporting Clark as commander in chief; and that is big. Actively fighting a reluctant military leadership is tiring even with the best administrations, having them cooperate will be hugely helpful to even the worst administration.

All those poor lads (and lasses) sent to Iraq for the wrong reasons need someone they can trust to do the right thing in office.

I really like Edwards, Richardson, and Bayh; but Clark has the experience we need now. H. Clinton is too far to the right for my tastes, heck, so is Mark Warner – though I respect both of them immensely. Gore or Kerry running again would surprise me, and frankly I like the jobs they are doing now as non-presidents. For that matter, both Clintons are doing fine without being POTUS – let them continue in those roles for now. We need everyone working hard in many, many capacities to reclaim our democracy.

Clark’s military background has given him the maturity to hold power in service to the people rather than for power’s sake. That last point is huge with the voters right now.

Campaign Signs and Virginia Law

Craig has started an interesting discussion about the legality and ethics of those campaign signs that popup every year (sometimes twice a year for primary elections) and always seem to take too long after an election to disappear.

He cited the portions of the state legal code (33.1-369) that apply here in Virginia, we think… I am no lawyer, but I’ve read it a couple of times and I am not sure we have the right section. I am really interested in knowing though – so if you are a lawyer I’d love to hear your thoughts about wether this section of the code applies to the campaign signs and for everyone wether there is another section of state, county, or city law that applies.
It may help to see the definitions of the terms listed in that section, they are here (33.1-351). There’s a comprehensive list of exemptions (signs that are specifically allowed) here (33.1-355). Political signs are not specifically mentioned, but several similar signs are.

Aside from the legality of these signs, there are some common sense safety and ethical issues too. Safety is at risk when any signs block view of oncoming or around the corner traffic. When safety is at risk I have no problem with pulling those signs down. Ethically it is wrong to not pick up signs after they are done serving their purpose and possibly wrong to put them up in the first place, but both pale in comparison to those who place wire-framed signs then later pick up only the coverings and leave the wire frame (which is very hard to see with no sign on it) for the county, city, or state mowers to run over with their machines. It’s unsafe and damages the mowing equipment.

Pandak Fundraiser

I just got back from a fundraiser for Sharon Pandak hosted by Beth and Bruce Roemmelt. Food was very good, the people were awesome, Sam (the Airedale Terrier) was his usual curious self, and Sharon spoke eloquently about the issues she expects the board of county supervisors will face.

The Washington Post got it right; this is an easy choice. So easy they didn’t bother doing any journalism in their story. That is sad, because what I sense is happening is that this race is so one sided that too many people are taking it for granted and Mr. Stewart probably has a shot at winning even though he is completely unqualified for the job. His sound-byte responses to each issue sound great, but don’t reflect any knowledge of the details of Prince William County’s complex and varied problems.

One end of the county (my end) is struggling with how to keep it’s rural crescent free of development. The other end of the county has a serious affordable housing shortage and enormous problems with sprawl because of that affordable housing shortage. People need to see these problems as connected. Having denser, clustered housing and shopping, and job centers along transportation routes simply makes more sense, and it also allows the county to address both the needs for affordable housing close to shopping and employment and transportation while also leaving large open spaces for us to enjoy.

It’s a tricky job, it needs a lot of attention to detail and does not lend itself to sound-byte responses. Sharon has the skills; Cory does not. Vote for Sharon Pandak on November 7th, please.

2006 10 10 snolan Local
Personal
Politics
Virginia Politics Comments (0) Permalink

Another Gorgeous Day for Bicycle Canvassing

Subject says it! Today was gorgeous. Cool, clear air, lots of sunshine, clean smell to the air. Perfect day to meet neighbors and do a little more bicycle canvassing for the Commonwealth Coalition’s Vote NO campaign on my recumbent. I went out early this afternoon and came in only when it got a bit dusk and dangerous to be on an unlit bike.

Highlights today: lots of really nice neighbors, most of them see right through the bigotry of this proposed amendment. Did a little catching up with Joe and Anna who I have not seen in a while, and plan to visit their church with them to learn more about their faith. Met another recumbent cyclist who also trains guide dogs for blind and otherwise disabled people; he’s also a volunteer poll worker and recently gotten involved in voting process.

One man was very filled with hatred and loathing for homosexuals and told me I was going to hell for even taking the issue of people’s rights to the voters! He was basically alone though. Today I only met three households in favor of the amendment, and nearly 40 against it. Most people are unwilling to commit either way but promise to read up on it and vote their minds.

Everyone (except the very angry guy) was very glad for my non-partisan sample ballot with the full text of all three amendments and all three Prince William County bond issues. Hopefully the one guy will calm down and learn compassion for others, until then he goes on the do not bother him list.

aenloo, I am sorry I did not remember to call until I was already well through today’s list. I’ll call ahead next time.

2006 10 08 snolan Cycling
Local
Personal
Politics
Virginia Politics Comments (1) Permalink

A New Public Aquarium in Valencia, Spain

Erci and I love aquariums. We have several of aquariums in our home, we visit aquarium stores wherever we travel, and we make semi-regular trips just to visit big public aquariums to learn more about marine life and enjoy the beauty of coral reefs.

We just learned about a new (well, relatively new) big public aquarium in Valencia, Spain.
L´Oceanogràfic is allegedly the largest public aquarium in Europe today (that position probably will not remain for long, they build bigger ones all the time). The architecture and detail of planning the marine eco-systems for all the animals at L´Oceanogràfic appear to be models for the latest in marine biology and education and science. This aquarium is now on our list of must go see places. Any one up for a trip to Spain?

We are going with a group of Erci‘s Dad’s friends in April and May of 2007. Not sure if we can fit this aquarium into the trip or not, but we will try.

2006 10 08 snolan Aquariums
Personal
Travel Comments (0) Permalink

New York State’s 24th Congressional District Race

I have not been following this race very closely because I have not lived in New York since I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1984. I voted absentee for several elections while I was overseas, but gradually lost touch with what was happening there despite my mom’s best efforts to keep me informed.

When the Air Force moved me to Virginia I decided to vote locally here in Virginia, as races in upstate New York are typically very one-sided and non-competitive. That was then, it turns out that this year the race in the 24th district is close, very close. Way too close to call.

2006 10 06 snolan Personal
Politics Comments (0) Permalink

David Swensen’s advice to investors

I heard a story on All Things Considered (NPR) about David Swensen at Yale. Apparently David Swensen manages Yale’s investments for it’s endowment fund, and he’s been doing an incredible job of it for over 20 years. He has some pretty sound and practical advice for investors up on the NPR website and a book called “Unconventional Success” for people interested in investing.

2006 10 06 snolan Economics Comments (0) Permalink

Tommy Yum and Squirrel Nut Zippers Rock!

I have always been a Squirrel Nut Zippers fan, they make some great swing and quickstep music. I just discovered they are good at adapting their music to meet the needs of the day with “Have You Had Enough?”

It takes a minute to get to the words of the song, but you’ll like it.

Nod to the fine folks at FireDogLake for the links.

2006 10 06 snolan Dance
Music
Personal
Politics Comments (2) Permalink

Prince William County Bond Issues

What do residents of Prince William County think of the three bond issues that will be on our 2006 ballots?

The full text of all three is published on the county website.

QUESTION #1 ROAD IMPROVEMENT BONDS

Shall Prince William County, Virginia, contract a debt and issue its general obligation capital improvement bonds in the maximum aggregate principal amount of $300,000,000 for the purpose of paying the costs of acquisition, designing, constructing, and improving Route 1, Route 28, Minnieville Road, Heathcote Boulevard, Prince William Parkway, University Boulevard, Rollins Ford Road, Old Carolina Road and Countywide road Safety Improvements?

QUESTION #2 LIBRARY IMPROVEMENT BONDS

Shall Prince William County, Virginia, contract a debt and issue its general obligation capital improvement bonds in the maximum aggregate principal amount of $42,550,000 for the purpose of paying the costs of acquisition, design, construction and improvement of two libraries, one in the Dumfries area and the other in the Gainesville area?

QUESTION #3 PARK IMPROVEMENT BONDS

Shall Prince William County, Virginia, contract a debt and issue its general obligation capital improvement bonds in the maximum aggregate principal amount of $27,000,000 for the purpose of paying the cost to provide park improvements including the acquisition, construction, development, and equipping of park facilities in the County?

Links to more information are on the county website. This post is partially a marker so I can learn more about each question over the next few days.

2006 10 06 snolan Virginia Politics Comments (0) Permalink

League of Women Voters Debate

The League of Women Voters is hosting a debate between the four candidates for Virginia’s 10th Congressional District on Tuesday, October 17th from 7 to 9 pm at the Dulles Hyatt (off route 28 near Dulles Airport).

Their flyer is online here (PDF format).

Nod to Kenton Ngo for first posting about this on his excellent web log.

The League is also hosting a debate between the two major party U.S. Senate candidates George Allen and James Webb on Monday, October 9th at 8 pm in Richmond, to be aired on PBS television all over the state.