Who Is Mike Gravel?

Just when I thought I knew who I was voting for...

91% Mike Gravel
89% John Edwards
88% Dennis Kucinich
86% Chris Dodd
86% Barack Obama
86% Bill Richardson
84% Hillary Clinton
79% Joe Biden
37% Rudy Giuliani
33% John McCain
25% Ron Paul
25% Mike Huckabee
21% Mitt Romney
21% Tom Tancredo
15% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

I also matched Gravel 91% on a blind poll put up at VAJoe.com -- the cool thing about this one is you have simple choices, no prioritization, no slant to the questions, and no clue how it will come out 'til it's done. http://www.vajoe.com/candidate_calculator.html

Anyone I agree with 91% of the time hasn't a hope in Hades of actually winning at the federal level.

Video Ungeek

I'm not computer illiterate, but I'm not a 22-year-old gaming fanatic either. This is why I was surprised when the video card in my 18-month-old system unexpectedly died with no warning last week.

My idea of built-in obsolescence is that the technology in question is doomed to deteriorate or become outdated within 5-7 years, not less than 2.

I looked all over the internet for consumer or customer reviews on the WinFast nVidia card I had in the machine, and all the initial, first-page reviews I found were glowing. Of course, when you read glowing reviews you wonder if it was something that you did which caused your machine to die on you. It took several sites and pages within them to find posts by people with the same expectations and difficulties that I had.

Apparently, when it comes to video card drivers, I shouldn't have been shocked. 2-3 years is a really good life-span for a card in the video gaming world and, even if your card could last longer, you will have upgraded it by then anyway.

This seems insane to me. We wouldn't buy or keep a car that required a new carburetor or radiator every 2-3 years. We wouldn't invest in any home improvement that was likely to break down after 18 months. Why do we accept this for computers?

I {heart} Huckabee

... but I ain't voting for him.

As most people who know or read me are aware, I'm only "conservative" when it comes to things like green space, energy, and other environmental issues. Which means I'm even more progressive than Teddy Roosevelt. Which is why I was appalled to find Mike Huckabee doing so well in the polls.

After watching Stephanopolous this morning, I am no longer surprised that Huckabee won in Iowa. He's a personable guy, and more intellectually honest than many politicians at the federal level. It was refreshing to hear him calling George out on his lack of ability to recognize a nuanced stance--not once but twice. I like nuanced stances. It means the man has thought through several possible scenarios, has considered more than a bottom-line approach, integrates information well in his analysis of a situation. These are all good indications.

Nope, can't vote for him; he's too ideologically opposite from me. But it sure was nice to listen to a Republican candidate without wanting to throw something at the TV for a change.

Belle Meade Breaks Expectations

Quite a while back, I blasted Al Gore for his home's personal energy consumption on this blog. Because of that, I feel obligated to note that, in the past couple of years, the Gores have been working on that 80-year-old energy pit, adding solar panels, stormwater retention systems, and switching out every bulb (even the ones on the Christmas tree) to CFLs or LEDs. Belle Meade is now a model of efficiency, even by modern construction standards. "Short of tearing it down," everything has been brought up to exceed expectations.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/13/gore.home.ap/index.html

Representivity

I fully admit this is a mini-rant directly derived from the Board of Supervisors' inane approval of the Biscuit Run and Hollymead developments. And it's tangental, not on point. [If you want to get into a really good dissing of that newspiece, Cvillenews.com has a great convo going on here, which has spilled over to the convo on local supes races here.]

\begin rant

What I see in the Albemarle Board of Supervisors and in the Virginia General Assembly is a trend of elected officials who don't know what it means to represent. They spend so much time politicking at the golf course and schmoozing at the tailgate party that they have forgotten what it means to listen to their districts, and put the needs of their regions ahead of their own (or, worse, their friends') agendas.

Once you get into office, your job is to do right by all of the people in your district at whatever governmental level you hold position. If a proposal is (1) against the public good and/or (2) against the public's interest, and/or (3) against the public's will, it is your job to oppose it.

You were elected to listen to us so that you can represent us--all of us, equally and fairly, regardless of what party you adhere to, regardless of what party (if any) we belong to. It's really that simple. Now go do that job for a change.

/end rant

Warrantless Search & Seizure ?!?!

From the NY Times:

Broad new surveillance powers approved by Congress this month could allow the Bush administration to conduct spy operations that go well beyond wiretapping to include — without court approval — certain types of physical searches on American soil and the collection of Americans’ business records, Democratic Congressional officials and other experts said.

Way to go, Dem Congress. You handed a lame-duck president with a Napolean complex and an abysmal record on violating Constitutional rights and claiming executive privilege carte blanche to spy on and terrorize his own citizens.

Given our past issues with this administration on precisely these types of surveillance violations, when did you decide it was not a good idea to read the bill before passing it?

RCS -- Water Conservation Kits for Sale

If anyone is looking to buy a water conservation kit for indoor or outdoor use, the Rivanna Conservation Society has both varieties available on their website store at http://www.rivannariver.org/rcsstore.html.

Drought Warning--Official Restrictions

Effective immediately, the City of Charlottesville has issued a drought warning for our area. The required water use restrictions are at http://www.charlottesville.org/Index.aspx?page=635&recordid=535.

Below the mandatory restrictions is a good list of tips for water conservation in your home or office, both indoor & outdoor use.

My favorite: Buy a few gallon jugs of spring or drinking water at your grocer of choice. Use that water for filling up pet bowls, making the morning coffee/tea, etc. Keep the empty jugs for near-future use. Install a large bucket in the shower or bath and use the gray water from that to fill up the empty jugs. That gray water can, in turn, be used for

(1) watering plants
(2) cleaning the house
(3) doing the dishes in the sink
(4) wiping down outdoor/patio furniture/decking

When the restrictions are over and you want to get rid of the extra jugs, they are recyclable w/ curbside pickup or at McIntire Center. The large bucket can be stored or used for other purposes until needed again. Thereby, you've closed the cycle in nearly all aspects.

Going Underground

It's been a couple of months since I've blogged. I've been taking a deliberate hiatus from all activism and politics, for several reasons. (1) Wanting to have quality time with my significant other, Eryn; (2) Tired of everyone feeling they had the right to demand my time and attention--probably my own fault since I've been overgenerous with those things in the past; (3) Putting some distance between myself and some of the many egos in my "field" (as well as dusting off my own).

My hiatus feels like it's coming to a close now. I'm still as much in love as I was when I began my vacation, but life intrudes. More specifically, certain issues intrude. When you have been a part of civic life, eventually someone will come along and push the right button to activate your immediate concern again.

This time it was RCS's Angus Murdoch who relit the fire by bringing up a Glen Oaks-style groundwater issue that's of concern to some FluCo members.

I don't spend a lot of time on sprawl and rural development issues. After all, Charlottesville's 10 sq. miles are already developed, and now we're just trying to maximize our use of the space. But I've always been interested in advancing ways and means of using a lack or limited amount of natural resources to set the rules and regs for development. So, hearing that FluCo is having similar growing pains to Albemarle's re-engaged my attention. I think it's time to go underground, sift for clues, figure out how to create the right kind of levers so that localities are no longer at the mercy of by-right development.

Really, if we can accept that our economy is globally interdependent, it shouldn't be so far a conceptual leap to accept that the natural resources on which that economy is based are also interdependent, and that economic health naturally depends upon ... well ... you get the idea without the redundancy.

A funny thing happened...

... on the way to the forum Mar. 2. I was introduced to someone who is changing my life.

One of the many luxuries of being single is not having to think about how the ways in which you spend your time effect others. Where there was one, there are now two. And with two, I have to actually think about his schedule and interests before I commit a lot of my time to something I would have enjoyed as a solo act.

At some point, I'm sure my deep interest in politics will resurface, but for now I'm content to let it wash over me. I am just very ... content. I apologize to my erstwhile discussion-mates for the unintended hiatus.

Eco-Cheek

According to MSN Fashion and Lucky Magazine, vegan clothing is becoming the new must-have closet-space waster. The new trend, started by designer Stella McCartney, is called "eco-chic." According to the MSN article, to be designated "vegan fashion," the clothing or accessory cannot be made with any animal products, including animal-based glues and dyes.

But what does that leave? If you look at the websites cited, you'll find a lot of naturally-tinted organic cotton. And you'll also vinyl and other "faux croc" and "faux leather" products--in other words, petroleum-based synthetic materials.

So, if you have to choose, which is more eco-friendly? Wearing the hide of the cow you ate steak from last night and, thus, closing the circle? Or eschewing the cow altogether while wearing vinyl created from the same fossil fuel production that eats up most of our planet's natural resources?

Buy organic cotton, buy hemp, buy natural fibers with as few intermediate steps from plant to pants as possible. That's cool. But vinyl? Plether? PVC? These are not acceptable substitutes if you want to be conscientious in your idealism.

I'll take the cow any day. At least it's a renewable resource--just add bull.

Earth Week Opens Today

April 20-29 Earth Week 2007 Events

More info at www.earthweek.org

• April 20-22, Earth Day Weekend Tree Plantings, City Parks. A great activity for all ages and groups, especially schools studying our watershed.
  Four planting sessions: Friday afternoon 3-5pm, Saturday 10am - noon and 2-4pm and Sunday 2-4pm. Call Susan Pleiss at 970-3585 or email pleiss@charlottesville.org to sign up.
  
  
• April 21, Schenks Branch Clean-Up, LEC, 9-11 am. Prepping for the City's Arbor Day celebration on April 27. Meet by the McIntire Recycling Center and be done in time to enjoy the Dogwood Parade! Bring gloves and waterproof footwear. For more information, call the Living Education Center at 971-1647.
  
  
• April 22, Abrahamse & Co., Builders' Grand Opening--ALA Healthy Homes Project, 1-4 pm. A very special open house event is at 1012 Druid Ave., Charlottesville. Discover the difference in air quality an ALA home can make!
  
  
• April 22, Earth Day Tree Planting, 2 pm. Celebrate Earth Day w/ the Sierra Club by helping to plant a shade tree on the beach at Chris Green Lake in northern Albemarle County. Meet on the beach. Call John at (434) 973-0373 for
  more information.
  
  
• April 22, Larry Gibson, of Mountainkeeper.org, Gravity Lounge @ 2 pm, a special presentation & discussion on mountain top removal. Free/whatever you can give--all donations to benefit Mountainkeeper.org
  
  
• April 26, Kate Starr Rocks Gravity Lounge, 8 pm, CD Release party -- $1 of each CD purchased benefitss Earth Week! The Naked Puritans open.
  
  
• April 27, Arbor Day Celebration & New Trail Dedication, City of
  Charlottesville. McIntire Rd., 11 am. Celebrate Arbor Day by attending the
  ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new trail along McIntire Rd. between the
  Recycling Center and Cville Coffee.
  
  
• April 27, Earth Day at Fridays After Five, 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm, we'll be pulling the taps with both hands to benefit Earth Day. Stop in for a brew and listen to the soulful tunes of King Wilkie and don't forget to pick up some green info at our literature table!
  
  
• April 27, Arts for Bike Paths Art Show at The Bridge, 7 pm - 10 pm, 209 Monticello Rd. Opening night reception with silent auction. All proceeds will benefit a community fund managed by ACCT for biking improvements.
  
  
• April 28, Earth Day Festival at McIntire Park, 10 am - 5 pm, our annual eco-fair with tabling, booths, and activities led by local environmental groups and agencies, featuring a solar panel exhibit, hot-air balloon rides in the morning, an open drum circle led by Drum Call at 2 pm, and trail adventures with RTF. For more info, see the separate flyer.
  
  
• April 28, Robin Wynn Band Takes Starr Hill -- CD Release Party -- $1 of each CD purchased benefits Earth Week! The Dirty Dishes open.
  
  
• April 29, Natural History Day @ Ivy Creek -- 1-3 pm, Ivy Creek Natural Area. Ivy Creek Foundation's celebration with informational tables and the
  Virginia Native Plant Society's annual spring sale!
  
  
• April 29, Stream Daylighting Tour in the Dell with Kennon Williams of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects -- 1:30 pm, The Dell next to the pond across from Newcomb Hall parking garage. Come learn how a empty field and a stream buried for many years were brought back to life using modern sustainable design techniques. There will be a drawing for free plants to start your own wetland garden.
  

Homelessness w/ LaTrina Neal

VA Book! Event:

Faces of Homelessness & Hope with La Trina Neal (author of "He Gave Me Shelter"). The former Howard University student who experienced homelessness and wrote about her journey will be sharing her experiences alongside local advocates and service providers Dave Norris and Erik Speer, as they discuss their struggles, strengths and success stories in putting an end to homelessness.

The event is Sunday, March 25th, 1:30 pm at Gravity Lounge, and is being sponsored by PACEM and Compass.

Photog Exhibit @ Satellite, Thursday

David Plowden will be critiquing 4 local photographers at the Satellite Ballroom on the Corner from 2-6 pm this Thursday, March 22. I remember seeing a show of Plowden's work in Muskegon back in the day I was working for Stannards Music up in Grand Rapids, MI and it was pretty dramatic stuff. If I recall correctly from my years in the biz, he was regularly featured in Modern Photography and Shutterbug, and that was over a decade and a half ago. I'm sure he's an even bigger name now, so getting his attention can be a deal.

Bill Emory is one of the four photographers being reviewed by Plowden. The show is free and open to the public. If you've got the time, swing by Satellite to view it and support our local artists.

NJ Sup. Ct. Supports Condemnation For Slowing Growth

In Mount Laurel Township v. MiPro Homes, L.L.C., 188 N.J. 531, 10 A.2d 617 (2006), the Supreme Court of New Jersey upheld a governing municipal body's desire to slow residential development by ruling that such is a permissible motive for condemning a developer's land. (Mount Laurel made headlines three decades ago for two landmark affordable housing decisions involving land-use planning, Southern Burlington County NAACP v. Township of Mount Laurel, 67 N.J. 151, 336 A.2d 713 (1975), and its companion case at 92 N.J. 158, 456 A.2d 390 (1983).)

In Virginia right now, we can't even condemn on the solid, scientific basis of lack of supporting natural resources, let alone on something as nebulous as a "master plan" or "public will." But wouldn't it be nice?

In light of the buzz re: growth issues which effect Albemarle and many other state jurisdictions [{cough} Loudoun {cough}]), I'm hoping this take-notice will motivate local anti-growth activists to take a look at New Jersey's growing body of case law, find from that the particular NJ Code §§ which allow for such scope of municipal power, extrapolate the changes needed to mirror those rights and powers, and petition the Virginia state legislature to make the suitable changes.

Obviously, this would be a campaign that would take more than ASAP, but could possibly be accomplished were ASAP to team up with other regional and statewide groups with similar ends.

Stepping Down from Step-It-Up

Ok, I admire Bill McKibben. Like every other environmentalist on the planet, I have read his stuff for decades and support his e-zine, Grist. I own multiple copies of his The End of Nature to loan out to unsavvy friends and acquaintance. But, Dammit, Bill, WHY did you have to choose a day in April, of all months, to launch your national campaign on Global Warming?

Step-It-Up may become a much-needed, much-valued grass-roots campaign--or it may become a way for enviros to blow off steam before the 2008 elections and die an early death. Whatever else it may be, it's destined to become a thorn in my side.

Here's just a short summary of what's already going on locally from April 7 to May 6:

• Opening of City Market (a weekly event)


• Opening of the new Transit Center


• The Dogwood Festival (a 2-week series of events w/ a nightly carnival and a golf tourney all of which ends with a parade & ball)


• Historic Garden Week


• Opening of Fridays After Five (a weekly event)


• Opening of the Pavilion concert series


• Earth Week (a week-long series of enviro events and fundraisers, including seminars, volunteer work days, an eco-fair, and a couple of benefit shows & concerts)


• Arbor Day


• Foxfield


• Buy Fresh/Buy Local Campaign


• Clean Commute Day


• Bike Week

We. Do. Not. Need. Any more public events in April. The competition for air space and public attendance is already stiff. Who picks these freakin' dates?

That rant made, if anyone in the Cville area does want to pick up this ball and run with it, Earth Week will publish the event with its calendar. Just contact me with the deets.

An Office with a View

Sometimes, working at my firm isn't so bad. The view is consistently nice. This is from last fall; I had to enhance the contrast in order to do justice to the brilliance of the oranges and reds in the distance. It made the grass too green, but I like it anyway.

I'm always just a little in love with the Virginia countryside. It makes up for Virginia politics.

Al Gore's Own Truth

Inconvenient though it might be, Al Gore had to expect that someone would call him to task for not walking his talk. It seems that the Presidential poster boy for global warming is melting under home energy bills that almost reach $30,000/year. Yep, that's all just for his residence near Nashville. It doesn't factor in his transportation fuel and energy consumption while on tour/business.

I'm not sayin' he should put up or shut up, but, Mr. Gore, it's hard to respect your position when you are using 200 X more electricity than the average American household. It's not like we're good at conservation to begin with, as you've justly and ironically pointed out.

DIY Rain Barrels

We are coming up on Charlottesville's "monsoon season," which will be quickly followed by another drought (my guess -- no I haven't become a weather psychic, it's just been the predominant pattern for the past few years). So, here's a ancient green tip on using the one to survive the other: Get or make rain barrels.

Now, you can buy RCS's rain barrels at Eltzroth & Thompson in Cville, The Garden Barn in Advance Mills, and Pennington's Nursery in Rochelle (on 29 South). RCS's rain barrels are cheap compared to prices I've seen online, which can run up to a $300 bucks a piece. OR you can make them yourself.

The DIY Network has a nice step-by-step guide, with all the pertinent warnings and even some pictures.

Green Girl recommends Aquabarrel's free downloadable DIY Rain Barrel instruction manual, and I note that they'll even send it to you in CD form for $5.

Patrick Hamilton's DIY rain barrel project in the Twin Cities Green Guide is my favorite, thus far, for its cheapness and ease though. I particularly liked his entrepreneurial way of acquiring the barrel. Finding a food-grade barrel around here sounds like it should be a cinch. There are 2 dozen vineyards and breweries within easy driving distance, and castaway oak barrels might be the way to go. After all, you aren't trying to ferment fine wine with it, just capture rain.

So make one of your spring garden & home improvement projects a rain barrel system. It saves water, money, and frequently your lawn, and you will rarely have to worry about power outages and droughts again.

If you decide to go with a DIY kit or method, there is little that is more ironic than a conservationist going to a big-box store like Wal-Mart or Lowes to pick up supplies for a conservation project. Please support your locally-owned businesses by trying Martin's Hardware, Meadowbrook, or Southern States in Cville, Tru Value in Crozet, or Paulett's ACE in Scottsville first.

Council Criteria

We've gotten a bit of a news dump regarding Charlottesville City Council lately. First, Kendra Hamilton announced she will not seek a second term (Daily Progress, 2/23/07). This was followed by Democratic Central discussing who will run. And Waldo picked up that blog post and ran with it on CvilleNews.

In all this talk about how many seats might come open and who might be on the November slate, I'm not hearing jack about what makes a good Councilor--just who everyone likes or doesn't like. Maybe I need to turn my hearing aid up a bit. If I had one, I would.

There have been a handful of elected officials I have genuinely liked, and many more than that for whom I have voted. IMO, "like" shouldn't come into the equation nearly as much as "respect" should.

There are some things I believe are self-evident regarding people who run for public office. One of those things is that everyone who runs for public office has an agenda. They have issues they feel strongly about, changes they want to make. That's the freakin' common denominator among anyone who bothers to vote, let alone campaign.

Once the ballots are counted, that person takes on a job, and every job has a job description--duties that must be fulfilled. If you do not think a candidate has the ability to perform the duties, does it matter whether you agree on the issues or whether you like him/her?

IMO, not so much. There are some basic personality characteristics I look for: Integrity ranks high, as does responsibility. I want a candidate who balances principled conviction balanced with flexibility of mind, so that conviction doesn't become an excuse for arrogance or laziness. Beyond that, it comes down to what each candidate brings into the office.

So, here are my criteria for the job of City Councilor:

Understanding of and dedication to the actual job of being a public servant;

Willingness to do the background research into the issues brought before the dais, so that each vote made is informed as much by hard knowledge as it is by personal belief in "the right thing to do";

Desire to go beyond the parameters set by staff, which necessarily entails doing more analysis than just reading staff reports, although those are an important tool in decision-making;

Active solicitation of opposing points of view on any potentially controversial issue, and not just from friends, or at public hearings, or through the charlottesville.org e-mail inbox;

Ability to identify and prioritize the greater good;

Knowledge of structural/organizational systems, and how to work within one to change it; and

Time management, time management, time management.

That's my wish list, and I'm hoping our November slate has people who, individually or combined and working together, possess all of them.