George Loper's Website

Poll finds Fox most trusted name in news

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:48:08 GMT

"Fox is the most trusted television news network in the country, according to a new poll out Tuesday. A Public Policy Polling nationwide survey of 1,151 registered voters Jan. 18-19 found that 49 percent of Americans trusted Fox News, 10 percentage points more than any other network. Thirty-seven percent said they didn’t trust F...

Uriah Fields comments on the visit to Charlottesville of the Haitian Ambassador

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:06:06 GMT

George On Sunday, January 24, 2010, (12 days after the January 7.0-magnitude earthquake that devastated Haiti), the Honorable Raymond Alcide Joseph, Haitian Ambassador to the United States delivered a speech at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, Rev. Lehman D. Bates II, Pastor, in Charlottsville, Virginia. This writer, as well as some state and ...

Henry Weinschenk says defenders of Islam should do their homework

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:11:54 GMT

George: I am thoroughly amazed by the response I keep getting, from my fellow Democrats, regarding my very brief synopsis about the centuries old history of conflict between Islam and Western Civilization. Obviously it sparks a fire in them and they all feel that they have to "straighten" me out. They take it as a crusade, (pardon ...

Supreme Court overturns Campaign Finance precedents

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:38:42 GMT

"You will doubtless hear today that 89-year-old Justice John Paul Stevens read aloud from his partial dissent in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission for almost 20 minutes in a slow, halting voice, periodically getting tangled up in thickets of words like "corporation" and "corruption." Meanwhile, a loud bang...

NARAL: Pregnancy clinics give out inaccurate info

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:12:10 GMT

"The National Abortion Rights League found more than 35 of the 52 pregnancy counseling centers in the state were giving out inaccurate information on infertility, miscarriage, abortion, mental health, cancer, contraception and sexually transmitted diseases. The unlicensed facilities, often run by abortion rights opponents, receive some fu...

Paul Gaston Reflects on the Truly Radical Message of MLK

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:46:32 GMT

George, The last time Martin Luther King Jr. and I met was in March 1963. A student civil-rights group had invited him to come to the University of Virginia to speak. He came and, before an audience of almost 900 people, gave one of his typically vibrant and uniquely inspiring addresses. After the speech and the reception that followed, th...

Dr. Ruth with George Loper

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:25:14 GMT

, January 1992, at the Inauguration of Bill Clinton Dr. Ruth has been named Honorary Secretary of Love & Relationships for the District of Columbia....

Dr. Ruth to spice up D.C.

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:40:24 GMT

"The folks at Destination D.C., the city-funded District tourism bureau, have hired Dr. Ruth Westheimer to be their newest spokesperson. An event scheduled at the National Press Club Thursday morning promises an appearance from the diminutive psychosexual therapist, alongside At-large D.C. Council member Kwame Brown, to celebrate the laun...

Teresa A. Sullivan to Become Eighth President of U.Va.

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:54:32 GMT

Following is the announcement by the University Teresa A. Sullivan, Extraordinary Leader and Respected Scholar, to Become Eighth President of U.Va. January 11, 2010 — Teresa A. Sullivan, the University of Michigan's provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and a leading scholar in labor force demography, will become ...

Paxton Marshall says Christians have been aggressive, too

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:14:08 GMT

George, I would have thought that the excellent responses from Lloyd Snook and Helena Cobban would have sufficiently rebutted Henry Weinschenk’s demonization of the Islamic peoples, but as he seeks to “prove” that we cannot reason with the Islamic world through references to Islamic history, it may be instructive to undertake...

Starting Onions

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:14:18 GMT

Todd Niemeier (rear) and Maury G. Shuler planting onion seeds at the Quality Community Council, January 6, 2010...

Henry Weinschenk replies to his critics

Wed, 6 Jan 2010 19:00:42 GMT

George, I knew it in my bones that my comments would bring out a few reactions. I would love to be wrong, but there are just a lot of historical facts that explain our current predicament. And no, I didn't just pick up a few historical aberrations. Each of my points are just part of an historical continuum. But since I didn't want to write ...

Helena Cobban deplores Henry Weinschenk's view of Islam

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 21:32:52 GMT

George, I'm afraid you're significantly mischaracterizng Henry Weinschenk's argument when you say he thinks he "thinks it is naïve of American liberals to think that militant Islamic fundamentalists will be won over by reason... " [see note, below] But Henry's making a very much broader claim than that. It is not just milit...

Harry Tenney says Moslems have reasons to doubt Western motives

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 21:39:20 GMT

George, Clearly.the record of Christians and Jews and their dealings with the followers of the Islamic faith prove, absolutely, to "militant fundamentalists" as well as the moderate followers of that belief that "reason and basic fairness" have rarely been the diplomatic nor philosophical basis for addressing the differen...

Lloyd Snook says Henry Weinschenk's views are unfair and untrue

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 21:34:36 GMT

George: Henry Weinschenk's letter is a pretty appalling example of an unfair, and untrue, stereotype. It is so unfair, and so untrue, that it is almost hard to know where to begin. Virtually everything that Henry says about Islam could be said, or could in the past have been said, about Christianity. First, Henry's complaint about Isla...

Sallie Kate Park Supports Restoration of Voting Rights for Felons

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 17:32:00 GMT

Thursday, January 7: 6:00 p.m. there will be a rally in Richmond for the restoration of voting rights for felons. (Virginia is one of only two states that do not have an automatic restoration provision). The rally is to encourage Governor Kaine to issue a blanket restoration by executive order before the end of his administration. George, ...

Community Historical & Political Events for January and Beyond

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:43:30 GMT

January, 2010 Thursday, January 7: 6:00 p.m. Rally in Richmond for the restoration of voting rights to encourage Governor Kaine to issue a blanket restoration by executive order before the end of his administration. Click here for more information To RSVP http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=229167370847 Virginia Constitution: Article V ...

Harry Tenney calls out the Cheap Labor Conservatives

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:47:30 GMT

George, As the "gang of six...and counting" contenders for the chance to beat up on Rep. Tom Perriello, I am amused by the efforts they are making to demonstrate who of them is MOST CONSERVATIVE! Based on the record of those who identify themselves as in agreement with the conservative philosophy, I don't think I'd be too keen to...

Leading questions from the RNC

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:48:10 GMT

The following is a scan from a postal mailing received recently by a Charlottesville resident. The accompanying letter, over the signature of Michael Steele, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, explains the serious nature of the questionnaire as an attempt to "gauge where you and other grassroots Republicans stand on the critic...

Rep. Perriello Statement on Supreme Court Decision

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:43:14 GMT

From the office of Rep. Perriello Congressman Tom Perriello released the following statement in response to today’s Supreme Court decision on Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which overturns long-held limits on corporate and union contributions in campaign financing. “When I worked in West Africa, companies would ...

Toscano Update from General Assembly, January 21, 2010

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:04:34 GMT

Taking the Oath On January 13, 2010, in a Capitol building whose blueprint was provided by Jefferson, 100 Delegates and 40 Senators took the oath of office to serve this great Commonwealth. For those of you who don't know, we pledge to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Virginia. The modern Constitution ...

Can the GOP and 'tea party' activists get along?

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:20:44 GMT

? Reprinted by permission of The Christian Science Monitor "Dani Martin makes light of her Facebook group “Bye Bye Blanche.” “It’s something we’re doing to poke fun at her,” Ms. Martin, a “tea party” activist, says of Arkansas’s senior senator, Democrat Blanche Lincoln. “Blanche...

ACLU, NAACP, others disappointed in Kaine over Restoration of Voting Rights

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:04:30 GMT

From the Virginia ACLU Civil rights and faith-based groups that have been actively lobbying Governor Tim Kaine to restore voting rights to 300,000 Virginians disenfranchised by the state's last vestige of Jim Crow today expressed extreme disappointment in the Governor's decision not to act before leaving office. Virginia is one of only two ...

Will Virgil Goode Enter 5th District Race?

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:45:20 GMT

? With seven announced candidates, the Republicans would seem to have plenty of choices from which to pick an opponent for Tom Perriello next fall. (Two other people have announced as Independent or Conservative) Yet today there's plenty of speculation that Virgil Goode might step in to try to reclaim the seat. He lost narowly to Perr...

Senator Deeds Legislative Session Newsletter

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:20:58 GMT

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 will be the commencement of the 2010 Session of the General Assembly. This is the 60-day session when the biennial budget is adopted. This will be a tough time for Virginia government, those responsible for managing it, and those who depend on state services. In the 1990s, this country experienced the longest period...

Sallie Kate Park endorses Uriah Fields

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:42:34 GMT

George, What better person to put a “right on” perspective about the furor created by Sen. Reid, than Uriah Field’s eloquent statement – it should be printed in every major magazine and newspaper in the US, especially in the South. The reality is, as Uriah wrote, that light skinned African-Americans have a better chance t...

Paul Gaston comments about Harry Reid and Barack Obama

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:42:54 GMT

George, I would add this to Uriah Field's excellent comment on Reid's remarks. Harry Reid was among the very first persons to say to Obama that he thought Obama did not really enjoy being a senator, wanted to be an executive. Reid did not want him to run for governor of Illinois (a possibility). He suggested to Obama that he run for presiden...

Charlottesville Democrats Choose New Leadership

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:18:32 GMT

The Charlottesville Democratic Committee chose Jim Nix and Tom Vandever to be their new leaders at its meeting on January 14 at Buford Middle School. Sherry Kraft will serve as Vice-Chairman. After his selection, Nix said, "I am very excited to be taking on the job of co-chair with Tom Vandever. The Charlottesville Democratic party is str...

Joe the Plumber

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:42:04 GMT

Joe '' Wurzelbacher (flannel shirt) at Arch's Frozen Yogurt, Charlottesville, Virginia, January 8, 2010. The occasion was a fundraiser for Laurence Verga, Republican candidate for the nomination to oppose Tom Perriello in Virginia's Fifth District this year Bill Hay (left), chairman of the Jefferson Area Tea Party, speaking wi...

Uriah Fields finds no fault in Harry Reid

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:08:06 GMT

George, In their just released book "Game Change" Mark Halperin and John Heilman report that U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, was highly impressed by Barack Obama's oratorical gifts and believed Americans were ready to elect a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama - a "light skinned" African ...

Dave Norris remains mayor of Charlottesville

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 18:31:30 GMT

"At last night’s City Council meeting, the first for newly elected Councilor Kristin Szakos, Council selected the new mayor. He turns out to be the old mayor Dave Norris, who was re-elected, had nominated Holly Edwards, noting that “in many ways Holly Edwards has become the conscience of City Council and has a vision for this...

Albemarle Supervisors select Mallek, Snow, as chair and vice chair

Wed, 6 Jan 2010 19:52:48 GMT

"Ann Mallek is the new chair of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. Just last week, Supervisor Ken Boyd withdrew his name from the race to give priority to his campaign for the Republican nomination in the Fifth Congressional District . Because former Chairman David Slutzky was ousted by Republic Rodney Thomas in the November ...

Bob Hurt, Once Targeted By Grover Norquist, Now Signs His Anti-Tax Pledge

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 19:13:54 GMT

"Republican contenders scrambling to win the nomination to challenge Rep. Tom Perriello in Virginia's fifth Congressional district are sparring over taxes and one candidate is trying to get back in antitax crusader Grover Norquist's good graces. State Sen. Robert Hurt (R-Danville) recently signed Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform ple...

Support for abortion rights down in survey

Fri, 2 Oct 2009 18:43:40 GMT

"The percentage of Americans who support abortion rights has slipped since last year, and opinion on the issue is now evenly divided, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. The survey results mark a change from 2007 and 2008, when supporters of legal abortion clearly outnumbered opponents, P...

Children, Start Your Engines

Wed, 10 Aug 2005 18:32:52 GMT

"Like any self-respecting 5-year-old, Christian Elder has started whittling down his career options. He might want to be a professional baseball player, which is why this spring he played T-ball once or twice a week near his Charles County home. He also might want to be a professional NASCAR driver, which is why after the Saturday morning...

Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:58:56 GMT

, Salvia Indigo Spires, Charlotte Rhodes Park, Southwest Harbor, Maine, September 14, 2009...

Cedar Waxwings

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:34:24 GMT

, Ships Harbor Trail, Mount Desert Island, Maine, September 15, 2009...

Double Crested Cormorant

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:34:50 GMT

, Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park, Maine, September 18, 2009...