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James River Maven

  • Charter Schools, New Buildings And Other Panaceas (Part II)

    Number of comments: 0
    Well Mayor Jones proposed it, the School Board accepted it, the City Council approved it and the Richmond Times Dispatch gave it its blessing. The “it” I am referring to is the plan to spend $175 million of our money to build a new high school, a new middle school, [...]
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    Posted: December 10, 2009, 10:50pm EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Charter Schools, New Buildings And Other Panaceas (Part I)

    Number of comments: 0
    Yesterday, in its lead story the Richmond Times Dispatch revealed that Virginia “gets F on charter schools in report.” I know that Monday is a slow news day but, come on, is this the most important event that took place in the world over the weekend? It wasn’t until I [...]
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    Posted: December 09, 2009, 10:43pm EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Only One Man To Blame For Fort Hood Shootings

    Number of comments: 3
    When this maven was a wee little boy I often watched television with my mother. I remember that when a particularly nasty crime was reported on the local news she would say, “Let him not be Jewish.” You see, this was back in the 1950s when the Holocaust was still [...]
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    Posted: November 07, 2009, 10:38am EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Millions And Billions And Trillions Of Jobs

    Number of comments: 1
    Reader, I know you’ve been waiting on the edge of your seat for the rest of Mr. Jobs Governor’s plans to flood Virginia with tons of new jobs. It would take many hours to discuss them all, so I’ll stick to the highlights. Okay, fasten your seat belts.

    [...]
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    Posted: November 02, 2009, 10:07am EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Hundreds Of Jobs, Thousands Of Jobs

    Number of comments: 0
    The United States (as well as the rest of the world) is suffering through the worst economic contraction since the 1930’s. Millions of men and women have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. Nationally, the unemployment rate has risen to 9.5%. Here, in the Commonwealth, we have [...]
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    Posted: October 29, 2009, 5:52pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Virginia—A Male Dominated State?

    Number of comments: 2
    I was researching the boundaries of some of the congressional districts in the Commonwealth when I looked at the photographs of our representatives. Guess what? They are all men. And, of course, both of our U.S. Senators are men. At the state level, only about 15% of the members of [...]
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    Posted: October 27, 2009, 2:59pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Bill Bolling: Look In The Mirror

    Number of comments: 0
    Unless you don’t have a television, you must have noticed that all statewide Republic candidates are in attack mode. It’s hard to watch any show on any network (broadcast or cable) without being inundated with attack ads against Creigh Deeds, Jody Wagner and Steve Shannon. Sometimes I find it pretty [...]
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    Posted: October 27, 2009, 9:15am EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Ken Cuccinelli: You Better Believe Him

    Number of comments: 1
    I am often worried about how an election will turn out. Last year at this time, because of a shortage of money, sabotage of my campaign by a supporter of one of my opponents, and a string of organizational endorsements for another opponent, I was worried that I might not [...]
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    Posted: October 22, 2009, 2:25pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Biased Reporting

    Number of comments: 2
    A short time after it runs its feature on Creigh Deeds next Sunday, the Richmond Times-Dispatch will endorse Bob McDonnell for Governor, Bill Bolling for Lieutenant Governor, and Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General. Over the years the TD has consistently endorsed Republican candidates in major elections. I understand the policy [...]
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    Posted: October 21, 2009, 9:02am EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Has Bob McDonnell Changed His Stripes? Part 3

    Number of comments: 1

    Before I get to the substance of this posting, let me make one thing clear. I am not against religion. I am not against Christianity. In fact, some of my best friends are Christians. I do not object to our national or state leaders praying or reading their chosen [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2009, 4:27pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Blame It On Jody!

    Number of comments: 0
    Three years ago I brought to your attention the Republican campaign tactic of using the “Big Lie” to try to win elections. 1 The theory is that the voters are basically stupid and that they will believe anything you say. In fact, the bigger the lie the more likely [...]
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    Posted: October 12, 2009, 11:16am EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Has McDonnell Changed His Stripes? Part 2

    Number of comments: 0
    Let’s talk about Bob McDonnell’s views on the state’s role in regulating the sexual behavior of consenting adults.

    For those of you who are not lawyers: In 1965 the Supreme Court of the United States issued the landmark decision in Griswold v. Connecticut. The Court declared unconstitutional the [...]
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    Posted: October 09, 2009, 4:23pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Christian Right Poised To Rule Virginia

    Number of comments: 0
    The leaders of the Christian Right in Virginia are feeling good today. The Washington Post poll shows all of their candidates—Bob McDonnell for governor, Bill Bolling for Lieutenant Governor and Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General—with significant leads over their Democratic opponents. If they can just get through the next twenty [...]
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    Posted: October 09, 2009, 1:24pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Has McDonnell Changed His Stripes?

    Number of comments: 4

    Hopefully, the Deeds for Governor campaign will be spending more time on positive ads rather than the negative stuff that’s been keeping them distracted. However, that doesn’t mean that this maven cannot spend some of his time analyzing Bob McDonnell’s master’s thesis. Between now and the election, when the [...]
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    Posted: October 08, 2009, 4:18pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • There You Go Again, Bob

    Number of comments: 7
    This maven has observed ten or eleven gubernatorial contests in Virginia. In every one of them the Republican candidate has accused the Democratic candidate of intending to raise taxes if elected. This is such a standard part of Republican campaign rhetoric that I assume it’s required by the rules of [...]
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    Posted: October 08, 2009, 8:38am EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Ernesto Sampson Is A Republican, Right?

    Number of comments: 0
    This maven is always fascinated by politics. While up in Northern Virginia last week, I was looking at the political signs and saw some for Bob McDonnell, which read “Fairfax’s Own.” Has Bob McDonnell moved without telling me? Hey, all’s fair in love, war and politics, right?

    Signs are [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 3:52pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Why Deeds Will Lose

    Number of comments: 4
    Last week I was up in the Democratic hotbed of Northern Virginia. I was talking politics with some friends and asked who they were voting for for governor. They were all voting for Creigh Deeds. I asked them why. The only answer I received was “because he’s not Bob McDonnell.” [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 12:19pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Is John O’bannon Too Conservative For The 73rd?

    Number of comments: 0
    One of the hotly contested House of Delegates races in the Richmond area is in the 73rd District, where University of Richmond professor Tom Shields is trying to unseat incumbent Republican John O’bannon. For reasons too complicated to discuss here, I attended a debate between these candidates last month. Just [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 10:56am EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • A Chutzpah Award For Bill Bolling

    Number of comments: 2
    The TV ads being run by and for incumbent Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling tell of all the things Bill plans to do if he is reelected. But, wait a second. Isn’t Bill the incumbent? Why has he done none of these things during the last three and three quarter years [...]
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    Posted: October 04, 2009, 6:32pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • The World According To McDonnell

    Number of comments: 2
    The following are some quotes from Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell's masters thesis. Trusted reader, I leave it to you whether you want a person with this basic political philosophy to be the chief executive of our beloved Commonwealth.


    The modern American experience can be seen as an' [...]

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    Posted: September 09, 2009, 2:39pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • I’m Sure He’s Changed His Mind

    Number of comments: 0
    There’s been a whole lot of flak lately about Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell and his Master’s thesis at the College of Law and Government, CBN University (now called Regent University). Apparently Mr. McDonnell made some rather derogatory assertions about single mothers and working women in that thesis and some [...]
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    Posted: September 08, 2009, 10:32pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • You Just Can't Trust Him

    Number of comments: 1


    Well, I've read the release of the president's proposed speech to America's children. Clearly, we were absolutely justified in fearing this man talking to our vulnerable young 'uns. From beginning to end, the entire address is a socialist manifesto. You just have to read between the lines.

    [...]
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    Posted: September 07, 2009, 10:20pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Henry Marsh Sure Plays a Mean Game of Chess

    Number of comments: 0
    Whether you love him or hate him, one thing you have to admit. State Senator Henry Marsh is brilliant at playing chess on the political game board. For example, just this year Senator Marsh made these great moves*:

    · Pawn to King 3 (Dwight Jones from House of Delegates [...]
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    Posted: June 06, 2009, 12:29pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Carlos Brown, Where DOES He Live?

    Number of comments: 2
    Last week, I wrote about the primary race in Virginia’s 69th District for the Democratic nomination for the vacant House of Delegates seat. I mentioned that Betsy Carr and Antione Green were each my friends and were each running for the 69th District seat. I explained that because of this [...]
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    Posted: June 04, 2009, 5:59pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • OMG, Is It Doug?

    Number of comments: 0

    I’m sitting in the den, minding my own business, watching the evening news, when I see that face and I hear that voice. My blood pressure starts to rise. My mouth starts to salivate. Is this a dream? Can it be real? Yes, it is! It’s Doug Wilder on [...]
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    Posted: May 31, 2009, 1:00pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Brian, You Make Me So Mad!

    Number of comments: 0
    They’re back. Just when this political junkie had gotten used to seeing real “commercial” commercials on the tube, the political ads are back. Republican Bob McDonnell has been running these ads setting out his background, record and philosophy and has dubbed himself the “jobs governor.” Democratic Creigh Deeds tells us [...]
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    Posted: May 30, 2009, 1:27pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Jody Is The One

    Number of comments: 0
    As I said the other day, the person is more important than the issues in most elections. This is especially true in the primary race for Lieutenant Governor between Jody Wagner and Mike Signer. You and I both know, trusted reader, that the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia does almost nothing. [...]
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    Posted: May 26, 2009, 11:43am EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • No Liberty At Liberty

    Number of comments: 0
    It didn’t shock me too much to read that Liberty University has banished young Democrats from its Lynchburg campus. Liberty is a private institution so it need not concern itself with such Un-Liberty type stuff as the First Amendment. And, let’s face it, Liberty’s founder, the late Jerry Falwell, did [...]
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    Posted: May 23, 2009, 4:37pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Our Next Delegate in the 69th

    Number of comments: 0
    When I decided to run for the School Board last year I sought the advice of my state delegate Frank Hall. After talking for a while, Frank gave me this one great piece of advice—elections do not turn on issues, they turn on personalities. If people like you they will [...]
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    Posted: May 23, 2009, 4:10pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Five Bucks Well Spent

    Number of comments: 0
    I must admit that this maven is not a theater critic. Nonetheless, I cannot recommend strongly enough that you lay down five dollars to see “No More Raisins, No More Almonds” playing this weekend at the Virginia Holocaust Museum. This play, written by a survivor of the Nazi Holocaust and [...]
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    Posted: April 30, 2009, 2:43pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • The Dwight & Yvonne Ad Agency

    Number of comments: 1
    Kudos to Mayor Dwight Jones and School Superintendent Yvonne Brandon on their plan to market Richmond Public Schools to parents in River City. If I were not the modest maven I am, I would be crowing that finally somebody is listening to me. For many months I have been trying [...]
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    Posted: April 10, 2009, 11:41pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Hard Times? Schools Get Shafted—Again

    Number of comments: 1
    This one will be short and easy to understand.

    Our pro-education mayor has submitted a proposed 2010-2011 fiscal plan that further reduces the share of Richmond’s general fund expenditures for Richmond Public Schools. The pie-chart on page 45 of the mayor’s proposal indicates that RPS will receive 24.34 percent [...]
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    Posted: April 01, 2009, 12:33pm EDT
    by Bert Berlin

  • Who Owns Virginia?

    Number of comments: 1
    While we’re talking money, it would be nice to know who supplies all that cash that our state politicians survive on. The best place to find that information is the Virginia Public Action Project . When you get to the main site, go to "donors" and click on contributions [...]
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    Posted: March 05, 2009, 4:45pm EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • TGIO—Thank Goodness It’s Over

    Number of comments: 0
    The 2009 session of the Commonwealth’s General Assembly is over. The guys and gals representing us in Richmond did a few good things and a few bad things in the two months they spent working in our fair city. Mostly though, it was much ado about nothing. Yet our senators [...]
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    Posted: March 03, 2009, 10:07am EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Who’s On The Side Of The Kids? (Not Again!)

    Number of comments: 0
    Well, it’s February and the Richmond School Board is going through its annual budget evaluation. For those of you who remember, it was about this time last year that this maven found the performance of the school board in formulating a budget to be somewhat lacking. I criticized the board [...]
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    Posted: February 04, 2009, 10:47am EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Who Slipped Up, Mr. President?

    Number of comments: 1
    A funny thing happened to Tom Daschle on his way to being the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Apparently, much to everyone’s surprise, staffers on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions actually checked out Mr. Daschle’s background and discovered that he owed beau coup bucks to [...]
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    Posted: February 04, 2009, 9:31am EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Superintendent Selection Process Redux

    Number of comments: 0
    After my posting yesterday, I received an e-mail from a member of the School Board stating,

    Since the seating of the new board, we had 2 public meetings where we talked about the search process. Because no one from the media attended the first, we made sure to do [...]
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    Posted: January 28, 2009, 11:27pm EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Government In The Dark

    Number of comments: 1
    For those of you who thought you were voting for change in November, you need to rethink. Richmond still has both a City Council and a School Board that think they may carry out their functions in secret. Today the board appointed Dr. Yvonne Brandon as our new School Superintendent [...]
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    Posted: January 27, 2009, 11:36pm EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • So Help Me Dog

    Number of comments: 0

    Okay, I’ll admit it. It probably is not as easy as it looks. For one thing, you gotta be careful to use the President Elect’s name rather than your own. It would not do for Barack Obama to start his oath with “I, John Roberts.” And then, there was [...]
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    Posted: January 22, 2009, 4:25pm EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • How Guilty Should I Feel?

    Number of comments: 1
    "What is good for General Motors is good for America" - GM Chairman and CEO, Charlie Wilson, 1955

    Reader, the maveness and I make the last payment on our car number one this month. As is our usual practice when this happens, we are retiring car number two, moving [...]
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    Posted: January 09, 2009, 3:28pm EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Politics And Money In The Old Dominion 1.5

    Number of comments: 0
    Loyal reader, did you see the story in the Metro section of the Washington Post on New Year’s Day? It says that, although money can’t buy you love, it can buy you endorsements if you want to run for state or local office in Virginia. 1

    It [...]
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    Posted: January 05, 2009, 5:26pm EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Time To Shake Things Up 1

    Number of comments: 1
    Recently I had an e-mail exchange with Jonathan Mallard, my fellow also-ran in the Fourth District school board race. Jonathan had asked me what I thought of his analysis of the Request for Procurement (RFP) for renovations to make Fox Elementary School compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act. You [...]
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    Posted: January 05, 2009, 5:26pm EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Politics And Money In The Old Dominion 1.0

    Number of comments: 1
    Last week I expressed my astonishment and misgivings about Seventh District Representative Eric Cantor raising $4.5 million in “campaign” contributions during the last election cycle. Fund-raising at this level is obviously for a lot more than just running for re-election. But money is not just a Republican thing. Just this [...]
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    Posted: January 05, 2009, 12:56pm EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Race-Based Politics? In Richmond?

    Number of comments: 2
    In his January 1 TD column, Michael Paul Williams had this to say about Douglas Wilder’s mayorship:

    “Wilder gets props for changing the arc of Richmond history by ushering in a new era of civic democracy. In doing so, he aided Richmond in its maturation beyond race-based politics.” [...]
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    Posted: January 04, 2009, 8:14pm EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Happy New Year Mister Mayor

    Number of comments: 3
    In his January 1 piece TD columnist Michael Paul Williams pointed out the change that the end of Douglas Wilder’s term as mayor will have on the jobs of reporters and molders of public opinion here in Richmond. In Williams’ words:

    “L. Douglas Wilder's departure from the mayor's suite [...]
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    Posted: January 03, 2009, 11:42pm EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Dems Heading For A Big Fall?

    Number of comments: 1
    Surely, ‘twas a great victory! For the first time in more than forty years, a Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, won Virginia’s electors, capturing more than 52% of the vote. Democrat Mark Warner won the U.S. Senate seat by an overwhelming landslide. Democratic candidates won previously Republican House of Representatives [...]
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    Posted: December 30, 2008, 10:22pm EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Cantor Raised How Much?

    Number of comments: 0
    Reading my Times-Dispatch on Saturday, I was drawn to the lead story in the Metro section, “Cantor to keep donated money.” The gist of the story was that Seventh District Representative Eric Cantor was not going to return $2,300 in campaign contributions he received from Robert I. Toussie. If you [...]
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    Posted: December 30, 2008, 2:24pm EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Merry Christmas Etiquette

    Number of comments: 3

    Tuesday night I went to the ABC store to purchase a bottle of brandy. After the financial transaction was complete the sales clerk wished me a “Merry Christmas.” Instantly I was caught in the dilemma that every non-Christian in this country faces every December. I certainly appreciate that the [...]
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    Posted: December 25, 2008, 11:23am EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • Be Of Good Cheer!

    Number of comments: 0
    After reading through the Times-Dispatch this morning I am feeling real good about this holiday season. Of course, the lead article about Circuit City’s continuing plunge was a bit of a downer. But you can’t just look at the big headlines. You have to read and analyze and then synthesize [...]
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    Posted: December 23, 2008, 12:21pm EST
    by Bert Berlin

  • I’m Back!

    Number of comments: 2
    It’s been at least six weeks since this maven last spoke to you. During that time the world has changed a great deal:

    1- Barak Obama was elected our next president winning a majority of the popular vote and a decisive margin in the Electoral College;

    2- The [...]
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    Posted: December 12, 2008, 11:58am EST
    by Bert Berlin
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