Reuters reports that the Occupy crowd wants to shut down Wall Street. Didn’t they try to do this already? I know things have been busy with the election, and maybe, I have neglected a few things when it came to the Occupy crowd. Oh well, I wonder if it will be as successful as it has been in cities like Oakland and Portland, where they have been booted out.
They are probably not succeeding in Springfield.
I have to give props to Kimberley Strassel of The Wall Street Journal for her recent op-ed on President Obama’s decision to invest time in Virginia. Strassel pointed out what has been underlying in the 2011 elections in Virginia: the unpopular Presidency of Barack Hussein Obama. As mentioned by many in both the blogosphere and mainstream media, Obama’s star has been dimming due to his lack of interest in handling the economic situation, as well as pushing through damaging legislation, such as the health care plan.
Strassel was especially right, when she said: “Elected state Democrats—who form the backbone of grass-roots movements—couldn’t distance themselves far enough from Mr. Obama in this race. Most refused to mention the president, to defend his policies, or to appear with him.” This point was especially true, as many TV ads from Democratic candidates went above and beyond to keep their distance from the unpopular President.
With the results from Tuesday night’s election, Obama better think again about putting all of his energy in Virginia. Investing resources in Virginia was a bad move, as we saw how unpopular Obama was, especially in the Southern parts of the Commonwealth and in Loudoun County. While the election was in a low turnout year, this does not yield well in winning the Commonwealth, and in fact, he will have an even difficult time than he did in 2008.
Thank you to all who have served in the Armed Forces and for protecting our freedoms.
The Medco/Express Scripts merger is not just under scrutiny by some members in Congress, but Attorneys General in 29 states, including Virginia. Recently, Financial Times reports that the proposed merger has caught the attention, due to antitrust issues, as second tier pharmacy benefits managers are starting to compete with Medco and Express Scripts.
According to a spokesperson from Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s office, Cuccinelli is looking into this issue, due to the fact that this merger could take away from competition in Virginia.
Since the Express Scripts-Medo Health Solutions merger could impact Virginia consumers, we are taking our role seriously to investigate whether this merger will create any anticompetitive consequences in the prescription drug market here. We have not made a determination yet of whether we feel the merger will be anticompetitive, competitively neutral, or even precompetitive. We are not opposed to the merger, but we do feel that we have a responsibility to investigate this matter thoroughly.
There are many questions and issues involving the merger, and while it is customary for Attorneys General in many states to review such mergers, this merger is particularly concerning due to the fact that Medco/Express Scripts will take away from the competition. When competition is non-existent, it is only a given that pharmaceutical prices will continue to climb. This is not something that many Virginians can afford, during these troubled economic times.
On Capitol Hill Tuesday, the Preserve Community Pharmacies Access NOW! (PCPAN) coalition and other local groups joined with Reps. Joe Courtney (D-Ct.) and Thomas Marino (R-Pa.) to voice their opposition to the merger of Express Scripts, Inc. and Medco Health Solutions, Inc., two of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits management companies. There is a push to urge Congress and the Federal Trade Commission to oppose the merger.
This merger could go into effect, if approved, in early 2012. Several elected officials, attorney generals of dozens of states, pharmacy service providers, consumer advocates, and patient advocacy groups have questioned the merger.
During their visit, the coalition expressed concerns that the merger would mean that the new mega-PBM would control the supply line of brand-name and generic drugs, as well as hurting health care quality and limiting access to community pharmacies driving prices through the roof.
Kelly Williams, past president of the Virginia Dental Hygienists’ Association said, “The merger would make it difficult for smaller community pharmacies to keep their doors open, resulting in reduced competition, and reduced competition means cost increases for the public.”
Joining Williams to express concern about the pending merger was William Towler, who owns Grove Avenue Pharmacy in Richmond. If this merger goes through, there would be a detrimental impact on Towler’s business and other small community pharmacies across the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Today is Election Day in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Liberty is at stake with these state elections, and we must continue to protect the freedoms we cherish by voting. If we allow liberals to take control in Virginia, we are likely to face a deeper economic crisis with tax increases across the board. Do we really want this to occur? No. So, it is time to rock the vote.
If you believe in liberty, then I do not have to share endorsements, because you’ll know what is right. However, if you live in the 35th State Senate District, you can probably tell there is a great need for change. In fact, I have given you six good reasons to defeat Dick Saslaw. (Note: I would have had more, but marathon training got the best of me.) Also, there has been some corruption within the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office…but of course, we need to fix that as well by dropping Stan Barry.
Aside from the election in Virginia, there is an election in Ohio as well to decide on Issue 2. SB 5 was voted on in the Ohio legislature to assist local governments with spending on government employees. Basically, it will enact some changes within benefits and collective bargaining agreements for government employees. This is one step for government reform, and the people will decide in Ohio to keep SB 5 (Issue 2) or vote against it and allow the local government to spend more to keep these employees happy. You can learn more about Issue 2 here, but it is imperative (especially if you have family in Ohio) to vote Yes on this issue.
There is much at stake both in Virginia and Ohio, so we can’t stand idle and watch liberty burn to the ground. We need to fight to preserve liberty.
On the sixth day of defeating Dick Saslaw, it is apparent that he will do anything to stay in elected office. Although, I have been behind on this series, I have covered on some of the essential reasons why Saslaw should be defeated on November 8, as he stands against gun rights, wants to raise your taxes, against school choice, and has a track record of failed leadership.
Today, I will be highlighting another reason why Saslaw should be defeated…the Kings Dominion law. Of course, we all know how valuable Kings Dominion, Water Country U.S.A., and Busch Gardens are to Virginia’s tourism industry. During summer, it is a ritual to attend these amusement parks. However, there is a law that Saslaw valiantly defends and that is to delay the start of school until after Labor Day.
Saslaw receives large donations from Sea World Parks & Entertainment and the Virginia Hospitality & Travel Association. Saslaw has been against repealing this law and has even called the arguments by teachers and parents “hogwash.”
Even more interesting is that many of Saslaw’s fellow Northern Virginia state senate colleagues are against the Kings Dominion Law. Dave Marsden (37th State Senate District), Kaye Kory (38th State Senate District), and Janet Howell (32nd State Senate District) are in favor of repealing this law. Marsden even said, “What kind of message are we sending if selling cotton candy at Kings Dominion is more important than schools?”
If Saslaw is such a strong advocate of public education, why is he opposed to opening schools before Labor Day to ensure students receive more classroom time?
On the Fifth Day of Defeating Dick Saslaw, YouTube again gave to me…another great clip of his frequent habit to interrupt someone speaking about an issue that he disagrees with…school choice.
We all know that Saslaw is a puppet for the teacher’s unions, so it should come as no surprise that he would be against school choice initiatives. After all, school choice allows the parents to have control over their child’s education. When Del. Jimmie Massie (R-Henrico) delivered his statement before the Senate Finance Committee regarding school choice legislation, Saslaw rudely interrupted Massie and basically cut down the legislation. Additionally, The Family Foundation of Virginia also noted Saslaw’s disdain for school choice.
For the record, Saslaw voted against HB2009, which would have allowed open enrollment for students to attend the school of their choice within their district.
Perhaps, it is time to send someone to Richmond, who would champion school choice legislation in place of Saslaw.
Prepare yourselves…
On the Fourth Day of Defeating Dick Saslaw, all signs point to failed leadership. If it involves the BRAC/Mark Center relocations, the HOT Lanes, and transforming the bureaucracy in funding transportation, then Dick Saslaw has failed at addressing the transportation issues involving the Mark Center and HOT lanes, and he has done nothing to ensure that Northern Virginia has received their fair share.
In terms of BRAC selecting the Mark Center for relocations, there might have been nothing that could have prevented the Pentagon from choosing that site. The decision was made five years ago to locate 7000 Department of Defense personnel to the Mark Center site, and in that five year span, nothing was done to find a remedy for the traffic problems that would occur. Where was Saslaw in all of this?
If you thought the BRAC/Mark Center lack of leadership was bad, let’s take a look at the HOT Lanes. HOT Lanes were the brain child of former Governor Tim Kaine, and remember, they are supposed to solve our traffic woes. If this were the case, let’s take a look at a WTOP report that points to how HOT lanes were actually making traffic worst in Atlanta, not better.
Even Arlington County agreed that HOT Lanes were going to create more problems, and they posed a lawsuit against bringing these lanes further up I-395. Instead, these lanes will end at Edsall Road, and since this is the area Saslaw represents, he did nothing to prevent the lawsuit being pursued by the Arlington County Board of Supervisors (chaired by Barbara Favola, his chosen candidate for the 31st State Senate District). Where’s the leadership? You would think he would want to prevent the lawsuit from occurring.
Last, but not least, where has Saslaw been on bringing transportation funding to Northern Virginia? Since Saslaw has been in office, he has done nothing to transform the bureaucracy in Richmond to create a model more receptive to the population growth in Northern Virginia. We need transportation improvements to allow us to spend more time with family and for relaxation, instead we are stuck in gridlock. Where’s the leadership? You would think Saslaw would want to ensure that his district received their fair share of funding.
