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If you haven’t reserved your seat for this Friday’s Valley Family Forum “Salute to the Family,” with special guest Bishop E. W. Jackson, time is running out. If you live or work in the Shenandoah Valleyare within driving range, or just want to make a night of it, we hope you will join us at this wonderful event.

The program begins at 6:30 Friday, May 13, at the James Madison University Festival Conference and Student Center in Harrisonburg. This year’s theme is “A Celebration of God and Country.”

Bishop Jackson is founder and Chairman of S.T.A.N.D., a national organization dedicated to restoring America’s Judeo-Christian heritage and to preserving our Christian faith and values, and Exodus Faith Ministries, based in Chesapeake. He is a nationally acclaimed speaker, combining immense intellect and passion, whom no one forgets after hearing. He is an ex-Marine, Harvard Law School educated attorney, and frequent guest on the national media programs, including those on ABC, FOX News and NPR. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post have covered him and he’s even braved the liberals on MSNBC. Bishop Jackson also is the former chaplain at Boston Red Sox Services and for The Family Foundation.

The evening will include special music by The Faithful Men, plus the annual Wilberforce Award presentation. Tickets are $25 per person or $200 for a table of eight. For reservations, e-mail family@valleyfamilyforum.org or call 540-438-8966. The Valley Family Forum is a grassroots chapter of The Family Foundation.

* This event is to benefit The Valley Family Forum and The Family Foundation and is not a campaign fundraiser for Bishop Jackson. Titles, party affiliations and references to elected offices sought are listed for informational purposes only and do not imply endorsement by The Family Foundation.

Here’s another reminder of the Valley Family Forum’s 10th annual Shenandoah Valley “Salute to the Family,” with special guest Bishop E. W. Jackson. If you live in the Valley, or even outside of it, this is a terrific event that has gained a prominent spot on the political calendar each year. So, we hope you can join us in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, on Friday, May 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the outstanding James Madison University Festival Conference and Student Center in Harrisonburg. This year’s theme is “A Celebration of God and Country.”

Bishop Jackson is founder and Chairman of S.T.A.N.D., a national organization dedicated to restoring America’s Judeo-Christian heritage and to preserving our Christian faith and values, and Exodus Faith Ministries, based in Chesapeake. He is an ex-Marine, Harvard Law School graduate, acclaimed speaker, and frequent guest on national television and radio, including ABC, MSNBC, FOX News and NPR. He has been written about in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post. Bishop Jackson also is the former chaplain of the Boston Red Sox and for The Family Foundation.

The evening will include special music is by The Faithful Men, plus the annual Wilberforce Award presentation. Tickets are $25 per person, or $200 for a table of eight. For reservations, write to family@valleyfamilyforum.org or call (540) 438-8966. The Valley Family Forum is a grassroots chapter of The Family Foundation.

Note: This event is to benefit The Valley Family Forum and is not a campaign fundraiser for Bishop Jackson. Titles, party affiliations and references to elected offices sought are listed for informational purposes only and do not imply endorsement by The Valley Family Forum or The Family Foundation.

For those who think Fox News is not fair and balanced, we give you this: Tonight, on Special Report with Brett Baier, Washington Post editorial page writer Charles Lane joined the panel discussion. On the subject of Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), the House Budget Committee chairman, running for president, Mr. Lane actually said this:

He has no foreign policy experience, he has no executive experience.

Either he is admitting the Barack Obama is a failure or he truly thinks Paul Ryan is not qualified to be president. Clarifying a moment later, he admitted he meant the latter, not understanding the ironic hypocrisy. Seriously, now, why does anyone (except, of course, themselves) take liberal pundits seriously?

One of the most unsightly of all the sausage making that is the legislative process is redistricting. Every 10 years, all 140 General Assembly districts, as well as Virginia’s Congressional districts, must be redrawn to reflect population shifts as accounted for in the census. The districts can get pretty contorted, to say the least, with compactness and communities of interest giving way to snake-like shapes that slither from one end of the state to another (not that Virginia is an exception, either).

Complicating matters is that whatever the General Assembly and governor agree to must be approved by the Justice Department because Virginia falls under the Voting Rights Act. But there are several rare dynamics at play this year. For one, it’s the first time since Reconstruction that opposite parties control the two chambers during a redistricting year. As each chamber has prerogative over its districts, traditionally they don’t interfere with each other’s plan. However, with Governor Bob McDonnell as a GOP backstop to Senate Democrat mischief, Senate Dems laid down the law: Instead of two bills this year, anything coming from the House would be attached to the Senate’s bill as a way of safeguarding its new districts from the governor’s veto or amendments. If not, Senate Dems promised stalemate on the House plan. Interestingly, in this interview (read transcript) on The Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU-FM in March, Majority Leader Dick Saslaw (D-35, Springfield) was asked what the governor’s role was in redistricting and he replied, “sign or amend” the bill. No mention of the veto option.

Here’s more from the senator that day (hear audio), starting partisan, then trying to soften:

Well, if I lose a few seats as a result of redistricting, and I’m in the majority, I’m not doing a very good job. … And I would simply say, well, you know, our goal is to make the Democratic districts, particularly the marginal ones, a little bit better than they are now. I’m not greedy. I’m not trying to put all the Republicans out of business by any stretch. They didn’t do that to us 10 years ago. And we’re not gonna do that to them.

So much for that. Governor McDonnell vetoed the bill sent to him last week anyway, primarily because of the dysfunctional and obscenely drawn Senate districts that drew fire from groups as varied as Prince William County to the NAACP (see Jenifer Buske at the Washington Post Virginia Politics Blog). While the House plan passed with all but 10 Democrat votes, the Senate plan — which could add up to three Democrat seats per the Richmond Times-Dispatch — was divided on party lines, 22-18. No wonder. None of this was a surprise.

More dynamics: While there is time to settle the Congressional districts because those elections are not until next year, all 140 General Assembly seats are up this year. Already, primaries have been pushed back to August to accommodate the readjusted districts. Candidates filing to run still don’t know where they are running. Even if the parties and governor come to an agreement, there’s this: This is the first redistricting since the Voting Rights Act with a Democrat president. Who knows what changes his Justice Department might demand. If all of this can’t be wrapped up by a time certain, the entire process for both chambers gets transferred to judges.

But today there is hope. After he bragged that he wouldn’t change “a dot or a comma,” declared with bravado he wouldn’t “surrender” and dared the governor to issue a second veto (Ros Helderman at the Post) for fear of sending it to the unelected judiciary, Senator Saslaw backed down. Now, Senators Janet Howell (D-32, Fairfax) and Jill Vogel (R-27, Winchester) are leading a bipartisan working group to come up with a new plan (the Post). But is it false hope? Senator Howell echoed Senator Saslaw’s original sentiments: “We won’t negotiate away our majority.” But then Senator Saslaw told the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, “There are some of us who are going to try to . . . get things worked out in an amicable fashion. We’re determined to try to make the process work right.” The whiplash changes in attitude are enough to require psychological testing. More on that in a second.

Senator Howell needs to understand that she doesn’t determine the majority. If she did, there would be no need for elections. Voters determine majorities. One wonders what she and Senator Saslaw fear. Only three years ago, liberals heralded Virginia as blue. The existing Senate districts were good enough to flip a one-time 24-16 GOP majority to 22-18 Democrat. If Senate Democrats are so confident in their ideas and performance the last four years as the majority, what’s with the gerrymandering that has split some localities into as many as eight districts?

Grossed out yet by the sausage making? Then you may or may not want to take this little test based on Senator Howell’s vetoed plan. The districts’ shapes are so contorted one might think they are ink blots on a Rorschach test. Click here to take the Is It Howell Or Rorschach? test. Disclaimer: Score does not correlate to actual state of mental health, but may indicate the insecurity of some Senate Democrats.

Just two months before leaving office, former Governor Tim Kaine left Virginians an unwanted present in the form of proposed changes to adoption guidelines for private agencies (see the Washington Post Virginia Politics Blog). These proposed regulations — by a Social Services Board still dominated by Mr.Kaine’s appointees — slowly working their way through the process, seek to force private adoption agencies to place children in foster care or for adoption with parents irrespective of faith or sexual orientation. It would force faith-based adoption agencies to either abandon their principles or cease providing adoption services (as did Catholic Charities in Massachusetts, after more than 100 years, when that state’s Supreme Court imposed such regulations by judicial fiat).

The proposal under discussion here goes far beyond any policy currently in Virginia law. The Virginia Code clearly details who is eligible to adopt. In § 63.2-1201.1, it plainly states:

Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit any child to have more than two living parents by birth or adoption, who have legal rights and obligations in respect to the child, in the form of one father and one mother.

There is no mistaking Virginia’s intent. The current regulatory proposal, which includes prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation, contradicts the intent of the General Assembly.

Nondiscrimination policies that include sexual orientation, whether enshrined in law or implemented through internal constructs, and regardless of their legal weight, highlight the inevitable and unavoidable clash between the unalienable fundamental right of religious liberty and the postmodern era of sexual freedom. While one may agree or disagree with the actions of individuals or private organizations that express their faith in these ways, their fundamental right to do so is at risk with these proposed regulations. Faith-based family organizations have assisted children for decades without unnecessary intervention by government entities. It is very clear that homosexual special interest groups have no concern with preserving religious liberty in pursuit of their political agenda.

Upon learning about these proposed regulations weeks ago, The Family Foundation immediately contacted the governor’s office. At that time, we were assured that Governor McDonnell does not support the current non-discrimination proposal and the current proposal would not stand. To ensure our voice was known where it needed to be, we submitted our official public comment and encouraged pastors to do so as well. After the public comment period closed, Governor Bob McDonnell publicly weighed in, telling the Washington Post:

I know I had said during the campaign that I would essentially keep our adoption laws — which I think are good — the way they are now. … I don’t think we ought to force Catholic Charities to make [the proposed regulations] part of their policy or other similar situated groups. Many of our adoption agencies are faith-based groups that ought to be able to establish what their own policies are. Current regulations that say you can’t discriminate on the basis of race, color or national origin I think are proper.

Since then, concern has mounted based on the circulation of incorrect information stating Governor McDonnell must act by April 15. However, this is an incorrect interpretation of a section of the Code (§ 2.2-4013) that details the time frame for the Notice of Intended Regulatory Action stage, not the proposed stage. The public comment website shows that the adoption regulations are completing the proposed stage, not the NOIRA stage.

A chart published by the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget is extremely helpful in understanding how the circuitous regulatory process works: The proposed adoption regulations currently are in the bottom box of the middle column (not the second box of the first column). Correct reading of Virginia Code and regulatory process shows that the Board of Social Services has no less than 15 and no more than 180 days from April 1 (April 16 through September 28) to adopt the proposed regulations and submit them for full executive branch review. As displayed in column three of DPB’s chart, the proposed regulations must then pass several more reviews prior to final acceptance, including reviews by DPB, the corresponding cabinet secretary, possibly by the attorney general (see Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s stated disapproval in the Washington Post) and the governor, then go through at least one more public comment period. The Department of Social Services already has amended the regulations and will present these changes to the Board of Social Services at an upcoming meeting. During any of these stages, the governor can reject or make changes to the proposal.

This adoption proposal, which tramples religious liberty, is a significant overreach through regulation into uncharted waters prohibited by Virginia Code and Virginia Constitution and will not be tolerated. The Family Foundation has been actively involved in seeing that these proposed regulations are not adopted and will continue to monitor the issue very closely.

Last week, at the Call To Prayer at the state capitol that officially inaugurated the Virginia Legislative Prayer Caucus, we caught on camera another type of caucus: The Virginia Republican Candidates for U.S. Senate Caucus. In particular, we saw Jamie Radtke (see Ben Pershing at the Washington Post Virginia Politics Blog) and Bishop Earl Jackson (see Richmond Times-Dispatch) speaking to each other as the event neared its conclusion.Was this a first debate? After all, there were plenty of mics and cameras nearby. If and when there is a debate, it may have to be outdoors — there may not be a building big enough to hold all the candidates. Still, we have to wonder: What were they discussing? Or were they debating after all? Oh, to be a fly buzzing around that meeting!

Former Virginia Tea Party chair Jamie Radtke (left, white shirt, turning to greet someone) and Bishop Earl Jackson, former chaplain of The Family Foundation’s Pastors For Family Values (back to camera), both candidates for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2012, have a friendly discussion at the state capitol last week. Believe me, we had a great shot until the man in the gray jacket stepped forward, and then had to scoot off to lobby for the two pro-life amendments adopted during the General Assembly’s Veto Session.

Last week, Governor Bob McDonnell added a pro-life amendment to an ObamaCare induced bill — Delegate Terry Kilgore’s HB 2434, that directs the Commonwealth to set up health insurance exchanges in accordance with the new law. (Under ObamaCare, if states don’t act to establish their own exchanges and rules, the federal government will do ti for them.) The governor’s amendment would restrict the proposed and mandated health insurance exchanges from covering abortion services, except in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is at risk. Without such change to the bill, pro-life citizens will be coerced into funding the unethical destruction of human life. His amendment also would prohibit insurance companies from selling optional riders that cover those same abortion services. Typically, NARAL went ballistic (see the Washington Post VIrginia Politics Blog, a Post news article and the Richmond Times-Dispatch; we’re quoted in all three), although the amendment reflects decades-old federal policy under the Hyde Amendment.

Now, the General Assembly must accept the governor’s amendment at next Wednesday’s veto session. During this year’s General Assembly session, similar health insurance abortion funding opt-out language was passed by the House of Delegates twice with overwhelming majorities, but was defeated in the Senate. The Senate voted on a procedural motion, at the end of session, to strike a bill almost identical to Governor McDonnell’s language. It succeeded on a 22-18 party line vote. Since the governor’s language strictly is a policy vote, not a procedural vote, we hope to urge at least two pro-life Democrats to support the amendment.

Of course, this is nothing new. Whether it is a widely-passed bipartisan House bill or a governor’s amendment, the Senate remains the body that blocks nearly every pro-life effort, and has done so for several years. Over the last several days, The Family Foundation has mobilized citizens across Virginia to contact key senators so that they know Virginians want this amendment passed. It is clear that it will not be until the Senate reflects the values of Virginia that we will see many victories. The opportunity to make those changes is quickly approaching, as all 40 Senate seats are up for election in November.

We believe the key to sustaining the amendment lies with five key senators: Fred Quayle (R-13, Suffolk), John Watkins (R-10, Midlothian), Roscoe Reynolds (D-20, Martinsville), Chuck Colgan (D-29, Manassas), and Phil Puckett (D-38, Tazewell). Contact these senators now and urge them to vote yes on Governor McDonnell’s abortion funding opt-out amendment for health insurance exchanges on HB 2434.

You can contact them by calling their district offices (numbers below) or by clicking on their names for their e-mail addresses:

Senator Quayle: 757-483-9173

Senator Watkins: 804-379-2063

Senator Reynolds: 276-638-2315

Senator Colgan: 703-368-0300

Senator Puckett: 276-979-8181

Anyone who reads this blog with the slightest of regularity knows that a major issue we’ve tried to bring to voters’ attention is the fact that local governments use taxpayers’ money to lobby against their interests, rights and liberty at the General Assembly. Whether it’s through direct lobbying or through a collective effort via their associations (the Virginia Municipal League and the Virginia Association of Counties), and almost always through both by large cities or counties, local governments actively work to empower themselves at their citizens’ expense and use their hard-earned tax money to do so. It’s as if they consider themselves apart from the citizenry and look out for their own fiefdoms, while the serfs unwittingly fund their own demise.

A case in point was exposed in Tuesday’s Washington Post concerning how well Fairfax County fared during the recently completed session, as if the county was a citizen seeking relief from government rather than the special interest local governments have become. While much of the article concerned school funding (which might not be such a problem if local governments and school boards supported much needed reforms) there were two telling sections:

County officials lobbied against a measure that would begin the process of amending the state Constitution to prevent the use of eminent domain for economic development. Fairfax officials said they thought the measure went too far.

As if protecting homes, businesses, farms and places of worship is something that can be negotiated. How would local governments like it if their ability to tax was negotiated? Oh, wait:

(Supervisor Jeff McKay, a Democrat) expressed frustration that perhaps the most comprehensive approach to solving the region’s transportation woes was barely given a hearing — a bill put forward by (Democrat Delegate Vivian) Watts that would have changed the way that gasoline is taxed and allowed Northern Virginia to impose certain taxes to fund projects in the region.

If it’s not taking your property, limiting your choice in education or the right to spend your money in gargantuan proportions, you can be guaranteed it’s always about the right to tax you more (and more and more). Poor, poor Supervisor McKay . . . denied the right to suck away more hard-earned money from his constituents, especially gas taxes as gas station light bulbs blow out staying current with daily price increases on the way to $4.00 a gallon. It’s estimated now that 15 percent of disposable income is spent on gas and we can expect food prices (and other items) to continue to climb  as transportation costs skyrocket.

But as families look for ways to make ends meet, pay the mortgage, plan for their children’s college and other financial responsibilities, and worry if their jobs, farms or businesses will exist in a week, month or year, local governments continue on. They know their future. As long as they have us to foot their bill, they’re golden. After all, has a local government ever gone out of business?

According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, two of the 20 reasons why this year’s General Assembly mattered were the abortion center safety bill and the proposed constitutional amendment to protect property rights. Both, at numbers one and nine, respectively, were Family Foundation priorities.

So, it’s with no small reason that we emphasised those pieces of legislation and that we revisit one of them today — property rights (see Washington Post article on our influence on the legislation). That’s because one senator who voted for the property rights resolution (HJ 693) is very much on record as being against constitutional protections from eminent domain. He made that very clear in 2007, when he helped kill a similar resolution. See for yourself:

As the video explicitly shows, Senator Dick Saslaw (D-35, Springfield), now the majority leader, not only pronounced his opposition to protecting citizens from government seizing their land, but said it twice — on succeeding days. No slip of the tongue there. What a difference four years and this November’s upcoming-tough-battle-to-keep-his-majority makes. Although he was most assuredly working behind the scenes to stop this year’s amendment as well, once the train left the station, and not willing to leave his caucus exposed on a popular campaign issue, Senator Saslaw (D-37, Springfield) decided to vote for the resolution.

Not only that, and perhaps to even things out from four years ago, Senator Saslaw voted for it not once, but twice — on the original vote (here) and on a reconsideration vote (here), when some senators finally figured out that property rights really do belong in the constitution and wanted to upgrade from nay to yea before their constituents found out. It required a double take to believe he did not vote no when given the second chance, but despite what people think, miracles and conversions (of the election year kind) do happen, and happen often at the General Assembly.

The House Appropriations Committee chairman was quoted in the Washington Post last week, saying:

Do you think I know everything in the budget? I don’t know what’s in a $78 billion budget . . . I don’t know.

If the chairman of the budget writing committee doesn’t know, who does? Tomorrow morning, members of a House Appropriations sub-committee can help rectify this situation. It will vote on an important reform that will bring greater transparency — and thus, less government — to the Commonwealth’s budget and spending practices. It previously defeated a similar measure, so urgent action is needed to contact sub-committee members and ask them to vote in favor of SB 1353!

SB 1353, patroned by Senator Tommy Norment (R-3, Williamsburg), passed the Senate unanimously. It would prohibit the House-Senate Budget conference committee (12 members of the General Assembly) from including in its budget any funding for non-state agencies, funding for projects that were not introduced as legislation during session, and items that were not included in either chamber’s version of the budget — unless the chairmen of the money committees enumerate those items in a letter to all 140 members of the legislature (see Daily Press editorial).

This is a long overdue and simple reform that will reduce government spending — with this ray of sunshine on them, the few legislators with this “earmark” privilege will be reluctant to spend money that didn’t go through the normal legislative process.

Much of the final budget is a mystery. Lawmakers get it a few hours before the vote on the final day of session. SB 1353 would make it apparent what items are in the budget that were not voted on at any stage during session. If members want to spend, it should be voted on separately, up-or-down, and on the record, not buried  in a mammoth spending bill that funds our police, schools and transportation.

Virginia’s budget process leaves much to be desired and is no way to run the country’s best managed state. This bill would provide transparency for citizens and help lawmakers make informed decisions.