Category: Politics

More fun from Virginia’s House of Delegates this session. Today they approved by a 60-34 vote H.B. 1981 which “Provides that any person who exposes his below-waist undergarments in a lewd or indecent manner shall be assessed a $50 civil penalty“.

Now I’m quick to offer my own disdainful smirk whenever I see some slovenly looking teen showing off his boxer shorts like it’s some sort of fashion statement. And if it was my own kid it would earn them a rap on the head and a shouted ‘Pull up your pants!’. But a $50 civil penalty? Ridiculous.

The bill brings penalties for display of undergarments ‘in a lewd or indecent manner’. Is there a tasteful and decent manner for showing off your thong or boxers? What about on the beach, where bikinis and swimsuits differ little from underwear? Does the mean that such items without pants are OK, but if on display hiked up above pants worn over them they are illegal?

C’mon Virginia. That’s twice this week the work of our House of Delegates has made news for their intolerant and stupid legislation. Do some real work or wrap it up and go home.

UPDATE: The Virginia Senate shows some good sense.
Droopy-Pants Bill Dropped in Va. Senate
AP, 2/10/05

Virginia is for Lovers, that’s the long standing tourism pitch here in my home state. It’s a pitch that’s been in use for 36 years, so it’s certainly demonstrated some shelf life. Don’t mess with Texas, but come screw in Virginia. It make me feel good about which state I live in.

Another means by which Virginian’s can display our pride in various qualities of our state, our membership in an organization, or support for a cause, is on the license plates we wear on our cars. The Virginia DMV currents offers 180 specialized plates, and our General Assembly is hard at work on a new option promoting ‘Traditional Marriage’.

With only a week remaining in an overloaded session (and just in time for Valentine’s Day), the General Assembly in our state for Lover’s has passed HB 660 which requires that Virginia “shall issue to the applicant special license plates for supporters of traditional marriage. The design of such special license plates shall include the legend: TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE and two interlocked golden wedding bands over a red heart.”

But does this go far enough? I had in mind that perhaps the new plate should specify that our Virginia values can only support the missionary position (for purposes of procreation only thank you). And Waldo Jaquith has done a fine job with a proposed design along those same lines. Well done Waldo.

That our elected officials would waste a moment with such hateful nonsense to promote this opportunity to proudly display our intolerance on our cars is an embarrassment to all Virginians, and a warning to others that Virginia may be only for ‘Traditional’ lovers.

Thanks to Eric Folley for pointing this travesty out

Four years ago, as George Bush completed his judicial coup at his first inaugural, I was fortunate enough to be out of the country. This time around I am not so lucky, but will instead work from home to avoid the security, gridlock, and hoardes of Republicans who have descended on DC to revel in Round 2. It’s still hard to imagine that based on his collosal record failure in his first term, this idiot got re-elected. Either a majority of Americans are REALLY that stupid, or the Republicans have just gotten better at stealing elections. Neither are comforting thoughts.

So one painful four-year slog has ended, but instead of a finish line we find ourselves at a halfway point. Shit.

For further reading:

Inauguration: Lifestyles of the Rich and Heartless
Center for American Progress, 1/20/05

In Today’s Washington Post, author Scott Turow has a piece about the numbers that let to Bush’s election victory last month that is worth a read:

A Dominant GOP? How So?
The Washington Post, 12/26/2004

In the article, Turow points out that Bush’s popular-vote margin over Kerry is the lowest ever recorded by an incumbent president – just under 2.5%, and on this point he writes:

This shouldn’t underrate Bush’s achievements. He improved on his 2000 performance, winning a slight majority this year – a little less than 51 percent. And it is probably a tribute to his political skills that he won at all because sitting presidents tend to win decisively, or lose. But by the yard stick of history, the Bush victory cannot be taken as a resounding chorus of support from the American people asking for more of the same.

If Bush won (and in America today you don’t have to be a raving nutjob to accept the fact that THIS President would go to any lengths to win legitimately or not), then Democrats will have to accept that. What we must not accept is the Republican attempt to spin this razor-thin victory into some a mandate by a predominantly Red America that just plain doesn’t exist.