News you can use:

• The campaigns for Shawn Mitchell, Jennifer Wexton, and Cliff Keirce have all announced yard sign availability.
• The Coalition for Women's Health is having a rally down in Richmond on October 15. Bus ride is free if you RSVP ASAP.
• Jennifer Wexton has challenged Jim Plowman to a debate. This is one to watch!
• I've got 21 responses on the Metro question (out of 39), 7 responses on Full-Day Kindergarten (out of 23), and 4 on Donations (out of 20), with promises of more to come on each. Do you have a question you'd like me to ask the candidates? Let me know.
• Also, sometimes the obvious needs to be stated. Not everyone knows about the election on November 8. Make sure you get the word out to your friends and co-workers. People fight and die every day all over the world for the right to vote. Let's show our support by herding Federal voters of our aquaintance to the polls in the off-years.

From the Inbox

Dear Liz,

It could come down to just 20 minutes.

The McDonnell administration is pulling out all the stops to steamroll through new, overreaching regulations that could force 17 of Virginia’s 21 abortion providers to close their doors.

Tell Gov. McDonnell to veto this bill today.

Last month, cunning anti-choice lawmakers voted to categorize Virginia’s abortion providers as hospitals! This, of course, is not only utterly ridiculous, but downright reckless. Their aim is to shut down clinics. And, if that happens, the majority of women in the Commonwealth will lose access to vital reproductive health care.

We have learned that the process to recategorize abortion providers are hospitals is being fast tracked and that the public will have little to no input. In fact, the Board of Health will only allow 20 minutes for public comment at their September meeting! That’s not how democracy should work!

You can help stop this power grab by putting pressure on Gov. McDonnell. It’s not too late. He has not yet signed this draconian bill into law, but every minute counts. He has until Tuesday, March 29.

After trying to pass this sort of bill into law for 20 years, it could come down to just 20 minutes of public comment - 20 minutes that could shape women’s access to safe, legal abortion in Virginia for the next 20 years and beyond.

The McDonnell administration is attempting to work in secret to eliminate safe, legal abortion care in Virginia. This cannot happen. It’s up to you to stop this attack!

Ask the governor TODAY to veto the bill designed to shut down abortion providers.

If Gov. McDonnell signs this bill into law, we will spend the next six months working tirelessly to make sure new regulations do not severely limit access to abortion in the Commonwealth. We have our work cut out for us, but I know pro-choice Virginia is ready to stand up and tell the McDonnell administration we will not tolerate its harmful anti-choice agenda.

Please stay tuned over the coming weeks to learn more about how we will be fighting this dangerous attempt to limit reproductive care.

For choice,
Tarina Keene
Executive Director

P.S. We will need a lot of support in the coming months to fight these attacks, so please consider making a donation to help us protect Virginia’s valuable abortion providers.

Dear Anonymous

The answer to your question is, "No."

No, I will not primary Andrea McGimsey. I truly understand the anger and frustration behind the question, but I believe that she has been a very good supervisor, this one decision notwithstanding. Disagreement on one issue isn't a good enough reason to primary an incumbent, when she's done a good job on so many other issues.

I do wish she would change her mind on this one topic (and I wish she took a stronger position on Choice, but that's just me), but I will not run for her seat (or any other) this year.

There is still time for her to change her mind on the districts, see Stevens's blog for more info about that.

Here's the thing

Blogging at work, and reading blogs at work, is a major no-no. So I wait until I get home. And then I make dinner, and eat dinner, and play with my son, and watch Red Dwarf, and put my son to bed, and then I read blogs. And then I'm just pooped. So that's what's been going on with the lack of bloggish activity on this here blog.

But there's a whole hell of a lot going on in the world. Wisconsin. OH MY GOD, how much do you love the Dem Senators in Wisconsin? And the protesters? I am so stoked by what's going on there. This is the stuff I read about when I was a kid, and sang songs about at summer camp, and everything. I am totally living vicariously through my Twitter feed.

I think that the Wisconsin GOP are going to get seriously spanked by the voters for this one. And I, for one, can't wait.

Perhaps more federal Dems will take their cue from the Wisconsin 14. Standing firm against stealing from the poor is a Democratic value.

And last but not least, Johnny Mathias who worked on Stevens's campaign for Delegate, is in WI as we speak, and is reporting LIVE! on Facebook and Twitter. He is awesome.

Pop and Politics

Wisconsin, the Mid-East, The House's attacks on pap smears and baby formula...I've got lots to say, but right now it's mostly spluttering disbelief, which makes for a very incoherent post.

So in the meantime, I give you a song that's been in my head lately. Amazing how themes keep repeating.