A proud member of the reality-based community
This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Wednesday, October 12, 2005 Shades of Willie Horton Back in August I posted about the Scott County, Virginia, political dynasty called the "Kilgore family."John Kilgore, the patriarch, is the long-time head of the Scott County Republican Party. His wife, Willie Mae, is the county registrar. Their eldest son is the head of the Economic Development Office, and their twin sons are, respectively, a delegate from Scott County, and the former state Attorney General before he quit the job to run for governor. Oh, and one of Willie Mae's sisters was the associate registrar until the state passed a law saying the registrar and associate registrar's posts could not be held by members of the same family. Willie Mae thereupon created an additional job in the registrar's office and put her sister back on the public payroll, and was highly indignant when the Scott County Board of Supervisors finally put an end to it.I concluded the post by saying that if anyone wanted to know how Jerry Kilgore was likely to run Virginia, all they had to do was look at how his family had been running Scott County.Well, now you don't even have to do that much. You can just look at Kilgore's new attack ad against Democratic candidate Tim Kaine. If the kind of person who created this sleaze is who you want running Virginia, then go right ahead and vote for him.The ad features Stanley Rosenbluth, an elderly white-haired fellow whose son and daughter-in-law got wasted by their cocaine dealer in 1993 for not paying him. Tim Kaine was a public defender at the time, and was appointed to represent Mark Sheppard, the defendant in the murder case. Now, I don't know how the two young people happened to become cocaine users. I'm not interested in victimizing them. But without mentioning their drug-addicted lifestyle, the ad makes them sound like a couple of innocent kids in a drive-by shooting.Nor does the deception (outright lying, in fact) stop there. Mr. Rosenbluth says, "Tim Kaine voluntarily represented the person who murdered my son. He stood with murderers in trying to get them off death row." Well, no. Tim Kaine obeyed the law and performed the requirements of his job. I suspect Mr. Rosenbuth would have been just as happy if Mark Sheppard had been hauled out of jail and strung up from the nearest tree. And I don't blame him for feeling that way. I don't even blame him for being angry with Tim Kaine. Grief isn't always logical.I do blame Jerry Kilgore for using Stanley Rosenbluth's grief. The ad implies that since Tim Kaine opposes the death penalty, murderers in Virginia may get a free ride. But Kaine has said repeatedly that even though he opposes the death penalty in most cases, he would obey Virginia law. He has been open and straight-forward about his beliefs, and he deserves the respect of the citizens of Virginia for that, if nothing else.The Washington Post nailed it:In Virginia, which has carried out more executions than any state save Texas, Mr. Kaine's stance on capital punishment has caused him no end of grief. As a practicing Catholic, he is morally opposed to the death penalty, and in the past he has backed a moratorium on executions. But he has pledged that if elected he would carry out the law and allow executions to proceed, barring glaring legal problems.Mr. Kilgore has said that Mr. Kaine's activist public record in opposing the death penalty strips his position of credibility. He's entitled to argue that case. But to use Mr. Kaine's courtroom work as an appointee of the state Supreme Court is beyond the pale. That work should be lauded as a public service, not smeared by Mr. Kilgore.I'd say shame on Jerry Kilgore, but considering the example he had from his parents, he probably doesn't know any better. Is that who we want running our state? posted by Liz @ 5:35 PM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
Back in August I posted about the Scott County, Virginia, political dynasty called the "Kilgore family."John Kilgore, the patriarch, is the long-time head of the Scott County Republican Party. His wife, Willie Mae, is the county registrar. Their eldest son is the head of the Economic Development Office, and their twin sons are, respectively, a delegate from Scott County, and the former state Attorney General before he quit the job to run for governor. Oh, and one of Willie Mae's sisters was the associate registrar until the state passed a law saying the registrar and associate registrar's posts could not be held by members of the same family. Willie Mae thereupon created an additional job in the registrar's office and put her sister back on the public payroll, and was highly indignant when the Scott County Board of Supervisors finally put an end to it.I concluded the post by saying that if anyone wanted to know how Jerry Kilgore was likely to run Virginia, all they had to do was look at how his family had been running Scott County.Well, now you don't even have to do that much. You can just look at Kilgore's new attack ad against Democratic candidate Tim Kaine. If the kind of person who created this sleaze is who you want running Virginia, then go right ahead and vote for him.The ad features Stanley Rosenbluth, an elderly white-haired fellow whose son and daughter-in-law got wasted by their cocaine dealer in 1993 for not paying him. Tim Kaine was a public defender at the time, and was appointed to represent Mark Sheppard, the defendant in the murder case. Now, I don't know how the two young people happened to become cocaine users. I'm not interested in victimizing them. But without mentioning their drug-addicted lifestyle, the ad makes them sound like a couple of innocent kids in a drive-by shooting.Nor does the deception (outright lying, in fact) stop there. Mr. Rosenbluth says, "Tim Kaine voluntarily represented the person who murdered my son. He stood with murderers in trying to get them off death row." Well, no. Tim Kaine obeyed the law and performed the requirements of his job. I suspect Mr. Rosenbuth would have been just as happy if Mark Sheppard had been hauled out of jail and strung up from the nearest tree. And I don't blame him for feeling that way. I don't even blame him for being angry with Tim Kaine. Grief isn't always logical.I do blame Jerry Kilgore for using Stanley Rosenbluth's grief. The ad implies that since Tim Kaine opposes the death penalty, murderers in Virginia may get a free ride. But Kaine has said repeatedly that even though he opposes the death penalty in most cases, he would obey Virginia law. He has been open and straight-forward about his beliefs, and he deserves the respect of the citizens of Virginia for that, if nothing else.The Washington Post nailed it:In Virginia, which has carried out more executions than any state save Texas, Mr. Kaine's stance on capital punishment has caused him no end of grief. As a practicing Catholic, he is morally opposed to the death penalty, and in the past he has backed a moratorium on executions. But he has pledged that if elected he would carry out the law and allow executions to proceed, barring glaring legal problems.Mr. Kilgore has said that Mr. Kaine's activist public record in opposing the death penalty strips his position of credibility. He's entitled to argue that case. But to use Mr. Kaine's courtroom work as an appointee of the state Supreme Court is beyond the pale. That work should be lauded as a public service, not smeared by Mr. Kilgore.I'd say shame on Jerry Kilgore, but considering the example he had from his parents, he probably doesn't know any better. Is that who we want running our state?
In Virginia, which has carried out more executions than any state save Texas, Mr. Kaine's stance on capital punishment has caused him no end of grief. As a practicing Catholic, he is morally opposed to the death penalty, and in the past he has backed a moratorium on executions. But he has pledged that if elected he would carry out the law and allow executions to proceed, barring glaring legal problems.Mr. Kilgore has said that Mr. Kaine's activist public record in opposing the death penalty strips his position of credibility. He's entitled to argue that case. But to use Mr. Kaine's courtroom work as an appointee of the state Supreme Court is beyond the pale. That work should be lauded as a public service, not smeared by Mr. Kilgore.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
Powered by BLOGGER Template made possible by BLOGSKINS.
