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VALLEY AMERICAN ARCHIVES, DECEMBER 2008:
THOMAS HERN:
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TODAY'S TOP STORY:
Legislators Speak at Annual Unveiling by
Mike Hodge
HARRISONBURG, VA--The Valley Family Forum held its 5th annual “unveiling” recently. Local delegates and senators addressed the audience about their pro-family, pro-business initiatives that they are sponsoring for the upcoming General Assembly session. Legislators speaking at the event included: Del. Ben Cline (R-Rockbridge), Del. Steve Landes (R-Waynesboro), Del. Matt Lohr (R- Rockingham), Del. Chris Saxman (R-Staunton), Sen. Mark Obenshain (R- Harrisonburg) and Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel (R-Winchester).
Chris Freund, Vice President of Policy and Communications for the Family Foundation of Virginia, an offshoot of Focus on the Family, started by saying that Focus on the Family has two functions, “to nurture and to protect the family, and the Family Foundation of Virginia is mainly on the ‘to protect’ side.” Freund said locally we have some of the best representation in all of Virginia.
Local Ministry Delivers Bibles to Overseas Believers by
Bill Dolack
GREENWOOD, VA--Bibles. You see them everywhere.
Walk into virtually any church in America and you’ll find Bibles sitting in every pew. Visit most bookstores and shelves will be stocked with Bibles of all sizes and colors.
And when you stop at your friend’s house for a cup of coffee, you guessed it, there will probably be a Bible there as well.
But despite the abundance of Bibles here in the United States, can you imagine four churches being forced to share one Bible?
VOP offers blueprint for revenue shortfall by
Virginia Organizing Project
It has already been projected that the Commonwealth of Virginia will face a budget deficit of an estimated $973.6 million in fiscal year 2009 and $1.54 billion in fiscal year 2010. New estimates suggest that the biennial revenue shortfall may be $3.2 billion or higher ($686 million greater than the October estimate).
In the face of these expected deficits, the Virginia Organizing Project (VOP) applauds Governor Tim Kaine’s efforts to limit the number of state employee layoffs and the reduction of state services as he and the Virginia General Assembly move to close these anticipated shortfalls.
(NewsUSA) - Upcoming winter weather brings charms with sledding, skating and snowmen, but when icy weather means plumbing problems, homeowners find themselves longing for spring.
When temperatures suddenly drop, water in pipes can freeze. Water expands as it freezes, causing the pipe to rupture. When the pipes thaw, homeowners might find a nasty surprise, like a flooded basement.
Cuccinelli Hits Kaine on DNC Chairmanship
by
Ken Cuccinelli
ALEXANDRIA, VA.--The Media Research Center today announced its Best Notable Quotables of 2008: The 21st Annual Awards for the Year’s Worst Reporting, and MSNBC’s Chris Matthews “won” the dubious honor of Quote of the Year for gushing over a Barack Obama speech back in February: “I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don’t have that too often….And that is an objective assessment.”
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Wins “Quote of the Year”
by
Media Research Center
ALEXANDRIA, VA.--The Media Research Center today announced its Best Notable Quotables of 2008: The 21st Annual Awards for the Year’s Worst Reporting, and MSNBC’s Chris Matthews “won” the dubious honor of Quote of the Year for gushing over a Barack Obama speech back in February: “I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don’t have that too often….And that is an objective assessment.”
FRC Endorses Blackwell for RNC Chairman
by
Family Research Center
Washington, D.C.--Family Research Council Action
President Tony Perkins issued an unprecedented endorsement
of Ken Blackwell in his race for chairman of the Republican
National Committee.
McDonnell Campaign Launches New Website
by
VA Staff
Richmond- -The McDonnell gubernatorial campaign launched its new website for the 2009 campaign at www.bobmcdonnell.com. The website will be the online home of the McDonnell campaign, a one-stop shop for information about Bob McDonnell's record and vision for Virginia, details on how to volunteer and get involved with the campaign, and all the latest news and updates from the campaign.
REPUBLICAN LEADERS LINE UP IN LARGE NUMBERS TO SUPPORT LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR BOLLING’S RE-ELECTION
by
VA Staff
RICHMOND--Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling released an overwhelming list of Republican elected officials and party leaders who have agreed to lend their support to his 2009 re-election campaign.
The list includes every Republican member of Virginia’s congressional delegation, more than 70 Republican members of the General Assembly and almost every member of the Republican Party’s State Central Committee.
My take on the state of the Republican Party by
Mike Hodge
There’s been alot of talk about the future of the Republican Party, both statewide and nationally, so I’ll add my take on things.
Let’s tackle the national level first. Democrats won in 2006 due to the incompetence of the Republican leadership.
Most of the Democrats that year and this year
ran on a conservative platform: i.e. lower
taxes, etc. The Republicans, when they were
in power, did not act like Republicans. That’s
why they lost. They increased spending, the size
of government, and were afraid to stand up to
the Democrats on anything. There has been no
leadership from the Republicans, in my humble
opinion, since Newt Gingrich left.
When I was watching the television on that
brisk November day it came to my attention
how much the state of Virginia has changed.
North Carolina, Ohio, and even our very own
state of Virginia, have made some landmark
changes. Locally, the Valley no longer rings
out as Republican and conservative. Much to
my surprise--and everyone else’s--the people
who traditionally voted Republican found
themselves on the fence.
Here in the Valley, traditionally known
for having a wealth of Republican voters,
the demographics of voters have changed
dramatically. Generally people were more
concerned with the environment, there were
more minority voters, more women voters, and
more young voters than ever before. Generation
Y voters who are over 18 have played an
increasingly important role in politics as they
are coming out in record numbers.
From the Archives: Christmas Clichés by
Bill Dolack
You’ve heard the sayings before or seen them splashed on bumper stickers or coffee mugs: Jesus is the Reason for the Season and Keep Christ in Christmas. For many of us they’ve become little more than clichés rolled out every year on the day after Thanksgiving, then tucked away in a drawer once again on December 26.
But perhaps it’s time to put away the catchy phrases and clichés, and take a look at the Man behind it all.
[The following is a response to the recent column by Eighty-One publisher Perry Neel entitled, “Abortion is not murder.”]
Over the thirty-five years since the Roe v. Wade decision, upwards of 44,000,000 silent screams have echoed across America. Forty-four million babies. Murdered. To deaden the language would be to dishonor those souls. To borrow a Shakespearean quote: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Pretending that abortion is not murder because Christians refuse to return evil for evil by gunning down abortionists reeks as despicable as the violent assault of schoolchildren waiting daily on that predictable yellow bus.
Some quote studies that attempt to unmask some “truth” that prefers to take refuge in the shadows. Their findings tend to indicate, maybe to their own consolation, that, lo and behold, born again, religious, evangelical Christians are indeed to blame for this nation’s legalized massacre. The esteemed, albeit slightly biased, Alan Guttmacher Institute issued what it appeared as an astounding finding that “78 percent of women getting abortions are religious”. (This seems to fit with the 85 or so percent of the American population at large that associates itself with “religion.”) An earlier Guttmacher study also unveiled that about 20 percent of those mothers electing abortion are evangelical Christians. And, as if that were not enough, there are those who want us to believe that the reported silence of the otherwise preoccupied Believers acquiesces to, if not actually advocates for, the murder of 1.2 million pre-born human beings every year. A word of somber warning here: the prayers of that “mum minority” are heard hour by hour before the throne of a just God.
Blagojevich Attempts to Sell the Seat by
Thomas Hern
On Tuesday, December 9th, 2008, Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich, was taken into custody on corruption charges alleging he was attempting to auction off the now vacant Senate seat of President-elect Obama for money and/or political favors. He was trying to sell the seat for a position for his wife on a corporate finance board, campaign funds, or a position in Barack Obama’s cabinet as Health and Human Services Secretary or Secretary of Energy.
He was, after all, considering a presidential run in 2016. And he still might try to appoint himself; he already decided before all of this, that if the situation got worse, this action could be some kind of unfeasibly bizarre escape route. Blagojevich was aware of the corruption investigation the whole time. He was not, however, aware of the FBI wiretaps that captured everything he said.
Click HERE to hear this exclusive interview with bestselling author David Baldacci
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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:
O Little Town a big hit for Statler Brother Don Reid by
Mike Hodge
O Little Town . . . Sounds like the beginning of a Christmas carol, right? Well, not in this case. It’s the title of Statler Brother Don Reid’s new book. This is Reid’s first novel, after having written or co-written four other books since the Statler Brothers retired in 2002.
Not surprisingly, O Little Town takes place in small town Virginia in the 1950’s with an emphasis on faith. The Statler Brothers’ success was because of their ability to relate to the nostalgia of yesteryear, and Don does this in the book. Of course, Don wrote several of the Statler hits over the years, so this comes naturally.
(NewsUSA) - In America, the term "stem cells" is automatically associated with "embryonic stem cells," the cells that scientists can only extract by destroying a human embryo.
But while American politicians, scientists and religious leaders debate moral issues, the rest of the world uses adult stem cells to treat -; and heal -; patients.
AUGUSTA COLONIAL FOUNDERS: James Patton by
Greg Humphries
Without question, the most audacious and dominating Augusta County founder was James Patton, little remembered and greatly misunderstood. Between 1740 and 1755 he was the undisputed “boss” of the county (then stretching from the Blue Ridge to the Great Lakes and from Frederick County to the Mississippi.
During this time, Patton came to be county lieutenant, commander of the militia, president of the Augusta court, president of the Augusta vestry, commissioner of the Tinkling Spring congregation, county coroner, county escheator, customs collector, county sheriff, member of the House of Burgesses, and other minor offices. He was credited with maintaining absolute law and order when on the job.
