Tuesday, February 12, 2013
U.S. Senator from Virginia hopes President highlights entrepreneurship Tuesday night in State of the Union address.
Virginia's senior U.S. Sen. Mark Warner is urging President Obama to highlight startups and small businesses in his State of the Union address tonight. In May 2012, Warner introduced legislation called the Startup Act 2.0 to jumpstart the economy through the creation and growth of new businesses. “As you prepare to deliver your State of the Union address, we encourage you to speak about the important role entrepreneurs play in economic growth and job creation,” Warner said in a letter to the President (see complete letter at right). “Our legislation, which we plan to reintroduce next week, builds on recommendations made by your Council on Jobs and Competitiveness to jumpstart economic growth. Startup Act 2.0 provides new opportunities for …
Monday, February 11, 2013
Omar Joseph Samaha works on gun safety issues, after his sister Reema was killed in Virginia Tech tragedy.
When President Obama gives his State of the Union address Tuesday, in the audience that night will be Northern Virginian Omar Joseph Samaha, a gun violence prevention advocate and guest of Congressman Jim Moran (D-8th). Omar’s sister, Reema, was killed in the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting. Since her death, Omar has advocated for policies to reduce gun violence. Moran is a member of the House Democratic Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and recently introduced the “NRA Members’ Gun Safety Act,” (H.R. 21) that would implement five gun safety reforms that he notes polling shows are supported by at least 63 percent of NRA members. The reforms include universal background checks for gun purchases and gun shop employees, reporting lost or stolen …
Monday, December 10, 2012
President Obama wants to raise tax rates on those making $250,000 or more.
President Barack Obama hopes to raise taxes on Americans making $250,000, the upper 2 percent of incomes across the country. There are no hard and fast numbers for the Chantilly area on how many people make more than $250,000, but the latest IRS data available shows that more than 2,000 households in Chantilly filed tax returns showing adjusted gross incomes of more than $200,000, the highest level income category reported by the IRS. Obama's plan would raise $1.6 trillion in revenue over 10 years, partly by letting decade-old tax cuts on the country's highest earners expire at the end of the year, according to a report by the Associated Press. The president would continue Bush-era tax cuts for all except those earning more than $200,000 …
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Voters for President Barack Obama or Gov. Mitt Romney may split their ticket and not vote a straight Democrat or Republican ticket down the ballot; "split ticket voters" could affect election prospects for Senate candidates George Allen and Tim Kaine.
Driving through Northern Virginia, it's quite rare to see yards with signs revealing that a homeowner plans to vote both Republican and Democrat on Nov. 6. Even if they don't openly proclaim their split-ticket status, they're out there, according to polling. These "split ticket voters" plan to step into the polling booth on Election Day to vote for a Republican and a Democrat: Voting for President Barack Obama and Republican Senate candidate George Allen, or for Republican presidential candidate Gov. Mitt Romney and Democratic Senate candidate Tim Kaine. "It is a real possibility that Romney could win Virginia while George Allen loses," said Mark Rozell, professor of Public Policy at George Mason University. "Some polls have shown that Tim…
Sunday, October 21, 2012
New poll out Friday puts Virginia votes in 'toss-up' status with Romney ahead of Obama 50 percent to 47 percent in Virginia.
Can Bruce Springsteen help President Obama win Virginia? The popular singer will perform in a free concert Tuesday in Charlottesville on the president's behalf. He did the same for the president last week in Ohio, considered another must-win state in the election. The fight for Virginia votes is getting more intense. With Election Day two weeks from Tuesday, Virginia is becoming one of the ground-zero states in the presidential election and the candidates are pulling out all the stops in trying to win the state come Nov. 6. "I consider it one of the three crucial states," said Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of the Rothenberg Political Report, a Washington-based newsletter, counting the others as Ohio and Colorado, the Richmond …
Monday, September 24, 2012
Look up your neighbor's contributions to the campaigns of President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney based on data from the Federal Elections Commission.
Virginia residents have donated more than $19.6 million directly presidential candidates this election cycle, with a lot of those donations coming from Northern Virginia. President Barack Obama has received more than $9.2 million from voters, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has received more than $8.1 million. The remainder—about $2.3 million—went to candidates no longer in the race, including Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich, and political parties. The data in the tool above is directly from the Federal Election Commission based on campaign reports through June 30, 2012. Notes on the data: This data was updated in October 2012 to reflect donations based on campaign reports through Aug. 31, 2012. The data has not been cleaned up …
Friday, September 7, 2012
Now that the Democratic and Republican delegates have officially chosen their nominees, Patch wants to know: Who are you betting on?
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Friday, September 7, 2012
It's official: With President Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Charlotte Thursday night, both the Republicans and Democrats have formally chosen their nominees for the 2012 presidential election. Let the real race begin. A lot can change between now and Nov. 6: Gaffes, scandals or even major international news events could shift the dynamics of the campaign. The latest Gallup Polls show registered voters preferring Obama to Mitt Romney by just one percentage point, 47 percent to 46 percent. A USA Today/Gallup poll taken just before the party conventions found American voters think Obama is more likeable, but trust Romney more to handle the economy. Pundits have been busy for months handicapping the major-party candidates on various …
Saturday, July 14, 2012
President Obama made a campaign stop Saturday at Centreville High School in Clifton.
President Obama visited Centreville High School in Fairfax County Saturday as part of a campaign swing through the state. The photos were taken at the speech, in the high school gym, as well as outside the school, where some local protesters gathered beforehand. Read more about today's visit here: President Obama Campaigns at Centreville High The CVHS Presidential Visit: What You Need to Know Obama to Speak at Centreville High School Saturday Many Wait in Line for President Obama Rally Tickets Poll: Should Obama Propose Extending Tax Cuts to All?
Friday, July 13, 2012
President Obama wants to extend tax cuts only to those making less than $250,000.
As President Barack Obama prepares to visit Fairfax County, one of the wealthiest counties in the nation, on Saturday, members of Congress are debating whether to heed his call to extend a Bush-era tax cut to families making less than $250,000. Republicans want to see that cut applied to all, including families making more than $250,000. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who represents Virginia's 7th Congressional District, said he would schedule a vote later this month to extend the cuts to all, including the wealthy. Obama has said he would veto anything that includes tax cuts for all. Former Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat and friend of the president, disagrees with Obama on the cut-off point. Instead of just extending the tax cuts for …
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Virginia governor tells radio audience on WTOP Tuesday "I am not being vetted by his campaign."
On radio station WTOP Tuesday, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) all but ruled out the possibility of becoming the vice presidential choice of presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney. "I am not being vetted by his campaign," he told the radio audience. That doesn't completely shut the door if the Romney campaign came calling. McDonnell has not said he would say "no" to the VP slot if it were offered. The popular Republican governor, who received 59 percent of the vote before he was sworn in as the 71st head of the Commonwealth in 2010, said he plans to serve out his term, which ends in January 2014. McDonnell became chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2011 and has campaigned for Romney in Virginia, as well as in Southern primary…
Martin Tillett
10:21 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
......continued from above The defeat of crack cocaine in urban America, not because of the billions of dollars spent on the war on drugs resulting only in drugs becoming cheaper and more accessible but because it became clear that smoking crack was committing suicide. Crack evolved from a sign of pleasure to one of death. The same transformation may happen with assault weapons. A week after … more ›