News and Messenger Endorses Miller for the 50th

MoonHowler

Again, Anti has not endorsed candidates.  However, we do acknowledge the endorsements of other organiztions.  The local paper, the News and Messenger has endorsed Delegate Jackson Miller to continue as the delegate to the 50th state district.  Delegate Miller has been the subject of posts here on Anti in the past for his town meetings and for receiving the VEA and PWEA endorsements for his efforts to return funding to Virginia public schools. 

 

Here is the endorsement he earned from the News and Messenger:

In the 50th District, incumbent Republican Jackson Miller is facing off against Democrat Jeanette Rishell for the third time.
 
Although Rishell has become a better candidate with each campaign, the third time is not the charm.
Rishell shows a much better grasp of the issues and the details of legislation; however, she still has not demonstrated knowledge that approaches the level of Miller’s.
Also, she shows a level of ambiguity that is unsettling in a potential representative.

Seeming contradictions regarding her stance on stimulus money and on “Right-to-Work” laws make us wonder if she acts out of political expediency or in willful ignorance.

She says that she is for both “Right-to-work” laws and collective bargaining for public employees, and although the two may not be mutually exclusive, they can at least be mutually antagonistic; to
imagine that both can coexist comfortably in Virginia is magical thinking.

On stimulus, Rishell seems to think that the state can take money to expand unemployment benefits without making that expansion permanent, despite the fact that the majority in the House voted
against the money because they did not believe that to be true.

Part of the deal if the state took the money was that the expansion would continue after the federal money ran out. Perhaps it would be possible for the state to go back on that deal, but we don’t think
that is an honorable or honest thing to do.

In his time in the General Assembly, Miller has shown himself to be knowledgeable, proactive, extremely well prepared and honest.

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News and Messenger Endorses John Bell for the 13th

MoonHowler

While we have not endorsed candidates in local elections, some of the endorsements have been noteworthy.  The News and Messenger has endorsed newcomer John Bell for delegate of the 13th state district.  John Bell is resident of South Riding which is a newer, more progressive section of Loudoun County, right over the Fairfax County line.  The area tends to vote Democrat.  Bell is interested in transportation, education,the economy and things that affect people’s daily lives.  

We thought that endorsement article should be reprinted in  its entirety since most challengers to the 13th have been local.  Additonally, most of Gainesville and Haymarket include the 13th:

ENDORSEMENT: Lend your support to John Bell in the 13th

Our View
Published: October 22, 2009
In the 13th District, it is time for a change.

For more than 18 years, Republican Del. Bob Marshall has served parts of Prince William and Loudon counties, and he has done so honorably.We ask that you give your vote to Democrat John Bell in the 13th District.

We have great respect for his intelligence and passion.

For example, Marshall defended Virginia against unconstitutional taxes and fees.

The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority would have had the power to collect taxes and fees from Virginia residents, yet none of its members were to be elected directly to their posts by the electorate. Marshall’s case went to the Virginia Supreme Court, and the revenue-generating scheme was found unconstitutional in 2008.

Marshall was also a stalwart defender of families with autism this past session, and for that he deserves admiration.

However, his antagonistic approach to legislating in general has restricted his influence in the House. He has even been denied at least one committee chairmanship because of his behavior. As the 18th
highest-ranking member in the House, he should be able to wield the power that comes from seniority. But his behavior has drained whatever prestige time has given him.

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Rape Victims DENIED Insurance Coverage

Elena

For those of you who still think that insurance coverage denial is simply few and far between, here is ANOTHER outrageous story. I truly believe, once again, those opposed to insurance reform have simply NEVER been faced with serious health challenges. Is it just me, am I the confused one about the purpose of health insurance? Isn’t insurance meant to cover you when you are SICK? How many other rape victims have suffered this same “pre-existing” reason for coverage being dropped?

When Christina Turner feared she had been sexually assaulted after two men drugged her drink in a bar, she did what most women facing that situation would do. She turned to her doctor, who prescribed a month’s worth of anti-AIDS medicine to be on the cautious side.

Only afterward did she learn that her choice left her with a “pre-existing” condition that had made her practically uninsurable.The episode started when Turner accepted drinks from the men at a bar in Fort Lauderdale. She passed out and later woke up lying beside a road with cuts and bruises that pointed to a rape or a sexual assault.

Fortunately, Turner did not contract HIV, and remains free of HIV infection. However, a few months she lost her health coverage. When she sought new coverage, she was told that her treatment raised too many potential issues.

Turner, 45, worked previously as a health insurance underwriter herself, and said the insurance companies naturally checked her health records. Even after she explained the sexual assault and the precautionary nature of the treatment, the insurers declined to sell her a policy, saying that the HIV medication made her too risky. The company told her they might reconsider the decision if she could show she was still free of HIV in three or more years.