Happy Labor Day! Today is definitely holiday routine around the Bearing Drift compound, so we’re getting a very late start on today’s report.
First, as Vivian Paige most correctly states this morning, let’s remember why many of us have today off. According to the U.S. Department of Labor:
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
The image Vivian used is the “We can do it!” WWII poster that happens to feature a relation of mine: Geraldine Hoff Doyle. Ms. Hoff was 17 and working in a Detroit factory in 1942 when her picture was taken and then transformed into the iconic image. In many respects, it was American labor, combined with the bravery and sacrifice of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines on the front lines that helped win WWII.
Additionally, my grandfather, Gerhardt Hoeft, would work his farm in upstate Michigan from planting to harvest, and then drive the nearly 300 miles to Detroit to work in the factory – separated from his family – in order to make a living.
Labor and hard work has always been part of my American experience – and, so, today, I’m glad we celebrate the spirit that drives American freedom and enterprise.
But hard work is not necessarily the only thing that can drive success. Sometimes over-burdensome regulations and special interests can hamstring an entire region, as RTD reports on the Northern Neck.
But, clearly, the president, 2/3rds of his way into his presidency, finally has a plan. And he’s going to share it here in Virginia. The president is due in to Richmond the day after he will unveil his magic, mystery plan that will transform the American economy. Decision Virginia reports that “Obama returns to Richmond on September 9th”
Speaking of jobs, namely government jobs, under then Gov. George Allen, the commonwealth of Virginia managed to cut nearly 10% of its workforce and privatized many of those functions. Yet PolitiFact “struggles” to call Allen’s statement that he substantially cut the state government workforce as “mostly true.” PolitiFact is becoming a caricature of itself.
You can’t talk about characters without talking about the state’s most-esteemed political columnist, Jeff Schapiro. In this week’s good copy, he writes about The funny math of a GOP takeover. The column looks strikingly familiar. I wonder where I have seen some of it before?
In the “let’s make news up to get concerned about” category of the day, it comes from, of course, the Washington Post. Apparently the Post is doing that hard-hitting investigative journalism we’ve all grown to expect from them. Their next scoop is about the governor’s reform commission holding private meetings to develop a plan to eventually PROPOSE publicly. This is, of course, in spite of the commission traveling around the state earlier in the McDonnell administration’s term soliciting public input. Shocker! News at 11.
In election news, stoking controversy is clearly on the mind of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, which takes an off-the-cuff comment by Attorney General Cuccinelli as he was boarding an elevator as a clear indicator he’s ready to enter the governor’s race. “Cuccinelli says he may run for governor, Bolling doesn’t think so”. My guess is Cuccinelli is still undecided. We’ll know what his plans are soon enough.
Here in Hampton Roads, some of us are wondering how this experiment with light rail is going to turn out. Apparently, if you get enough celebrities to ride the train, you get passengers. Until light rail actually supports commuters – and that means running spurs to Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, and Portsmouth, as well as making it much more robust in Norfolk – we can’t really expect it to have much of a regional impact.
More seriously, as Irene was barreling in on what I like to refer to as “Virginia’s cul de sac” (Hampton Roads), I-64’s eastbound lanes were not reversed. Kate Wiltrout of the Virginian-Pilot takes a look at why. Every time we talk emergency transportation, reversing I-64 is part of the discussion. It doesn’t get to be much more of an emergency than a Cat-2 storm barreling your way.
Finally, in what can only be seen as good news, in the shadow of the newly dedicated memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, more Virginia communities are now being released from the Voting Rights Act. Discrimination clearly still exists, but we’re beginning to move forward, away from the stain of slavery and towards that ideal of equal treatment and opportunity under the law.
Have a great Labor Day!
