Friday 3pm

Register here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/z6ZjMdNdTXeiFvQijOf2lg

Featuring Amanda Iovino - 2021 Pollster of the Year

Iovino bio link

Friday 3pm

Register here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/z6ZjMdNdTXeiFvQijOf2lg

Featuring Amanda Iovino - 2021 Pollster of the Year

Iovino bio link

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY!

It’s also Love Your Lawyer Day. With all the laws out there, shouldn’t it be LawyerS plural?

Good thing plumbers don’t write the plumbing code.

Can you imagine how expensive they would be?

I feel a rant coming on so let’s just get to some fun graphics.

Just a Matter of Time Day!

Gas Prices Matter Day!

History Repeating Itself Again Day!

Duopoly Day!

Somehow We Still Have Only Two Parties Day!

We Can Do Better Than MAGA and DSA Day!

When Parents Fight Kids Lose Day!

Beautiful Day - U2

Oh Happy Day - Sister Act 2

Lovely Day - Bill Withers

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Friday 3pm

Register here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/z6ZjMdNdTXeiFvQijOf2lg

Featuring Amanda Iovino - 2021 Pollster of the Year

Iovino bio link

33 Senate Seats - 8 Toss Ups or 24%

435 House Seats - 22 Toss Ups or 5%

Historic Context

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Yes, both were recorded.

Yes, transcripts are available.

Yes, the read aheads can be yours, too.

Wait…

You mean we can still register?

YES! (In fact, over the weekend a local business policy leader heard how good the class was and registered)

HIT THIS LINK AND REGISTER

For all of $150 (12.50 per class) you get SO MUCH useful information.

As a former member of the General Assembly, I can only say that you are missing out - but you can catch up quickly.

In fact, this information is sooo good and sooo useful that I will offer Late Registrants a Catch Up Class that includes all the recordings, transcripts, and read aheads.

Having been involved in Virginia elections for the last THIRTY FOUR years, I can honestly say that BOTH parties should be using this information in their campaigns.

There is ONE SOLID statewide issue campaign from Lesson One.

Any candidate for office should be able to take this Academy and easily turn it into a 30 TIMES the return on investment (ROI) - with ONE simple question.

And that’s with ONE question you SHOULD be asking during Call Time.

That ONE QUESTION is in Lesson Two. Seriously - 30X return. Easily 30…should be more like 100x.

I will give all registrants that ONE question at the end of the Academy.

October 5 - Virginia’s Economic Engine

October 12 - Business Fundamentals

October 19 - TONIGHT - Taxation and Competitiveness

October 26 - Labor markets

November 2 - Energy policy

November 9 - Infrastructure

November 16 - Housing

November 23 - Healthcare Economics

November 30 - Technology and AI

December 7 - Trade

December 14 - State vs. Local governance

December 21 - Capstone session on real-world policy tradeoffs.

HIT THIS LINK AND REGISTER

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One Love - Bob Marley

One - U2

You’re Still The One - Shania Twain

I’ll begin at the beginnin’

The Ides of October having passed, the season is now fully autumn and we all know what season it really is…

No, silly.

It’s Election Season.

Yes, again.

We are two weeks from actual Election Day here in America and blessedly the campaign commercials will finally end.

Before we even begin to look at all of the polling that is criss crossing our screens, let’s get a level set on the basics or The Beginning.

Election Basics - Top Five

1. Politics is about the future, not the past. NO ONE cares (much) about past accomplishments. Oh, they have an opinion and it’s likely well informed; however, folks CARE about what’s going to happen vs. what has already occurred.

   Advantage - Democrats. They at least know what they will do in the next Congress - stop Trump. Not a difficult bumper sticker.

2. “Good gets better, bad gets worse” great quote from longtime pol Haley Barbour. Momentum matters and rarely does it reverse four weeks out.

   Advantage - Democrats. Incumbent parties are losing all over the globe (yay democracy) as everyday people are still suffering transitory inflation. Neither party here in America is willing to comprehensively tackle the underlying causes and thus it continues. The party out of power tends to win these discussions.

3. Environment - probably the #1 predictor of overall electoral outcomes. If the wind is at your back, you will win more than lose and vice versa if you are facing gales.

   Advantage - Democrats Yes, I know there are polls showing varying degrees of generic ballot testing. Yes, I know that summer polling has been off in recent cycles. That’s not the point here. It’s just a bad year for the GOP and likely a good year for Democrats. Why? The GOP is in power and most elections have had one theme for as long as I can remember - change. This is just likely a change thing. Yes, it would help if the GOP had a message other than “we suck less.”

4. Candidate Quality - an often overlooked dynamic in elections, but it is a top three element.

   Advantage - Toss Up There are simply too many races to grade Candidate Quality and show one of the parties being ahead; however, several key races like the Texas U.S. Senate race are draining resources away from other possibly competitive states. That hurts the one area where the GOP rarely has an advantage…

5. Money - As the old saying goes, “Money talks and Bravo Sierra walks.”

   Advantage - Republicans The GOP has a big lead in financing elections but is it being allocated efficiently? Is there enough to make up for the negative Environment? Well, this is why we play the game.

How To Impress Your Friends

With all the polling out there, it’s hard to know what’s REALLY happening in the election.

Impress your friends with this one shot straight to the gut:

FOLLOW THE MONEY and THE CANDIDATES.

That tells you EXACTLY what’s going on.

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U2 - I Will Follow - LIVE Red Rocks 1983!

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She was upset about a court ruling on her recent divorce. If memory serves, it also had to do with child custody and money.

My classmate was quite emotional about the situation and asked me to call the judge in order to get him to change his decision.

I remember that her situation and explanation were quite compelling and that I was sympathetic to her plight.

BUT.

As I explained back to her, I was in the legislative branch and it would be highly inappropriate of me to contact the judge on her behalf about her case.

This upset her and she pressed me, “You mean you can, but you won’t!”

I explained that my role in government is to make the laws, not interpret or carry them out. Those were the roles of the judicial and executive branches.

“But you elect the judges! You can tell them what to do!”

True. I could call a judge and relay a constituent’s concerns.

But it would be wrong to do so.

I tried to explain the appellate process to my classmate and constituent. She was having none of that and hung up the phone angrily.

That story has been on my mind quite a bit during the first half of the State Corporation Commission’s review period of the pending Dominion/Next Era merger that is before them.

Our system of government in Virginia is a good one with appropriate levels of checks and balances throughout that, in the end, produces overall excellent results.

It might take more time than some would prefer, but we get “it” right. And there always plenty of “its” to come along to refine our living peaceably among each other.

Regarding the SCC’s consideration of the Dominion/Next Era merger, it has been good to see bipartisan agreement on Virginia’s decision making process.

Former and long time SCC judge, Mark Christie who has worked for Republicans in the past, wrote on LinkedIn about Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell’s recent op-ed in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He said:

Major kudos to him for emphasizing that the State Corporation Commission must follow a specific statute -- Va. Code Section 56-90 -- and that the legal standard the SCC must follow is really about just one question: whether "adequate service to the public at just and reasonable rates will be impaired." Period.

Thank you Sen. Surovell for bringing this needed focus to a public debate that has seen its fair share of political posturing. And I have every expectation that this Commission -- three very smart and dedicated public servants -- will apply the law to the facts in the record and make a good-faith decision based on the statute and the record.

And when they do, that decision should be respected.

That’s the SCC Strike Zone on the Dominion/Next Era merger, folks.

It comes down to “just one question.”

Rates. Both “just and reasonable.”

That’s the role of the SCC.

It’s a good one.

To echo Judge Christie about the pending decision of the SCC

that decision should be respected.

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Lyrics below from Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters help here:

Nothing Else Matters - Lyrics

So close, no matter how far
Couldn’t be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words, I don’t just say
And nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know

So close, no matter how far
It couldn’t be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know

I never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words, I don’t just say
And nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they say
Never cared for games they play
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
And I know, yeah, yeah

So close, no matter how far
Couldn’t be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
No, nothing else matters

Monday October 5th - 7pm

Virginia FREE is proud to announce the launch of the Virginia FREE Academy, a non-partisan educational program designed to educate people involved in public policy making about how our economy actually works.

Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School confronts business professor with real world trade offs in this scene:

Yes, it has been 40 YEARS!

UGH….

It also makes the point this Academy will, in part, explore.

Assumptions v. Reality with TOP experts and all for $12.50 a class!

Starting Monday, October 5, and running through December 21, 2026, the Academy is a 12-week webinar series held live every Monday evening from 7:00–8:15 PM.

Register today at THIS LINK

Sessions cover the issues shaping Virginia’s competitiveness:

October 5 - Virginia’s Economic Engine

October 12 - Business Fundamentals

October 19 - Taxation

October 26 - Labor markets

November 2 - Housing

November 9 - Infrastructure

November 16 - Energy Policy

November 23 - Health Care Economics

November 30 - Tech and AI

December 7 - Trade

December 14 - Local and State Governance

December 21 - Capstone Session Real World Trade Offs

Tuition is $150 per participant

Register today at THIS LINK

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Is McDonald’s hamburgers or real estate?

Virginia FREE is proud to announce the launch of the Virginia FREE Academy, a non-partisan educational program designed to educate people involved in public policy making about how our economy actually works.

(FREE stands for Foundation for Research and Economic Education )

Starting Monday, October 5, and running through December 21, 2026, the Academy is a 12-week webinar series held live every Monday evening from 7:00–8:15 PM.

Just over one hour a week!

Our Academy was built for any elected official - state, local, and federal and their staff or anyone seeking those offices.

It’s also built for those who are involved in policy making or would like to be.

Yes, that includes lobbyists and their firms and/or those who work for the companies they represent.

Yes, that includes state and local employees!

Register today at THIS LINK

Sessions cover the issues shaping Virginia’s competitiveness:

1. Virginia’s economic engine

2. Business fundamentals

3. Taxation

4. Labor markets

5. Energy policy

6. Infrastructure

7. Housing

8. Healthcare economics

9. Technology and AI

10. Trade

11. State vs. Local governance

12. Capstone session on real-world policy tradeoffs.

Tuition is $150 per participant

Graduates also gain ongoing access to quarterly alumni policy labs, monthly executive briefings, and regional in-person leadership forums.

Register today at THIS LINK

Seats are limited to keep sessions interactive, so we encourage early registration.

If you have questions or would like to discuss group registration for your office or organization, please reach out directly.

Share

Subscribe now

I was asked via e-mail from a current state employee:

I am a state government employee who spends at least part of my time trying to explain to my agency that we need to understand economics (beyond our own internal budgeting).

Given that my agency doesn’t always appreciate being challenged on how economic development and business really works…

The person went on to ask if it was okay to join the Academy.

YES!

WHY NOT?

Virginia FREE has launched the Virginia FREE Academy, a non-partisan educational program designed to educate people involved in public policy making about how our economy actually works.

(FREE stands for Foundation for Research and Economic Education )

Starting Monday, October 5, and running through December 21, 2026, the Academy is a 12-week webinar series held live every Monday evening from 7:00–8:15 PM. Just over one hour a week!

Our Academy was built for any elected official - state, local, and federal and their staff or anyone seeking those offices.

It’s also built for those who are involved in policy making or would like to be.

Yes, that includes lobbyists and their firms and/or those who work for the companies they represent.

Register today at THIS LINK

Sessions cover the issues shaping Virginia’s competitiveness:

1. Virginia’s economic engine

2. Business fundamentals

3. Taxation

4. Labor markets

5. Energy policy

6. Infrastructure

7. Housing

8. Healthcare economics

9. Technology and AI

10. Trade

11. State vs. Local governance

12. Capstone session on real-world policy tradeoffs.

Tuition is $150 per participant

Graduates also gain ongoing access to quarterly alumni policy labs, monthly executive briefings, and regional in-person leadership forums.

Register today at THIS LINK

Seats are limited to keep sessions interactive, so we encourage early registration.

If you have questions or would like to discuss group registration for your office or organization, please reach out directly.

Subscribe now

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What has been dubbed the Mississippi Miracle is not a new subject and a story about the Magnolia State schools in early September, for once, does not mention former Ole Miss football head coach Lane Kiffin.

Here’s the headline and link:

Mississippi Fixed Its Schools. Here’s How Other States Can Too. Powerful teachers’ unions are an obstacle to reform. But Mississippi’s dramatic breakthrough proves that evidence-based literacy can succeed anywhere.

What stirred social media over the weekend was the chart below from the piece (ooooh….graphics) comparing state literacy programs with the strength of teacher unions in the states.

From the Canter column:

When my colleagues and I compared the Fordham teachers union strength ranking to ExcelinEd’s early literacy tracker, we found a strong, negative correlation between the two—the more powerful the unions, the fewer literacy policy principles the state had adopted.

Next up - Literacy and Migration.

Yes, parents can and do talk. They also can move.

The Progressive Policy Institute website has more on Mississippi at this link.

Screen shot from their landing page:

And with that…

Maybe Garth saw it first when asked about making a change…

“We fear change.”

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Want to make a Change?

Virginia FREE has launched the Virginia FREE Academy, a non-partisan educational program designed to educate people involved in public policy making about how our economy actually works.

October 5th Kickoff!

Click here to Register

As soon as you are able
Woman, I am willing
To make the break that we are on the brink of
My cup is on the table
Our love is spilling
Waiting here for you to take and drink of

So if you're tired of the same old story
Oh, turn some pages
I'll be here when you are ready
To roll with the changes
Yeah, yeah, woo

I knew it had to happen
Felt the tables turnin'
Got me through my darkest hour
I heard the thunder clappin'
Felt the desert burnin'
Until you poured on me like a sweet sunshower

Michael Jackson started with the Man In The Mirror

I’m gonna make a change
For once in my life
It’s gonna feel real good
Gonna make a difference, gonna make it right

As I turn up the collar on my favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin’ my mind
I see the kids in the street with not enough to eat
Who am I to be blind, pretending not to see their needs?

A summer’s disregard, a broken bottle top
And a one man’s soul
They follow each other on the wind, ya know
‘Cause they got nowhere to go
That’s why I want you to know

I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change

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States Ranked - Virginia’s Peers

16. Oregon

17. Alaska

18. Maine

19. Virginia

20. Pennsylvania

21. Rhode Island

22. Colorado

Lowest Taxed States

44. Florida

45. Idaho

46. Arizona

47. South Carolina

48. Alabama

49. Tennessee

50. Mississippi

Causation or Correlation or Less Affordable?

Other Notable States - Ohio (31), Texas (34), Georgia (38) North Carolina (39)

Virginia FREE Migration Ranking

Starting Monday, October 5, and running through December 21, 2026, the Academy is a 12-week webinar series held live every Monday evening from 7:00–8:15 PM.

Just over one hour a week!

Our Academy was built for any elected official - state, local, and federal and their staff or anyone seeking those offices.

It’s also built for those who are involved in policy making or would like to be.

Yes, that includes lobbyists and their firms and/or those who work for the companies they represent.

Register today at THIS LINK

Sessions cover the issues shaping Virginia’s competitiveness:

1. Virginia’s economic engine

2. Business fundamentals

3. Taxation

4. Labor markets

5. Energy policy

6. Infrastructure

7. Housing

8. Healthcare economics

9. Technology and AI

10. Trade

11. State vs. Local governance

12. Capstone session on real-world policy tradeoffs.

Tuition is $150 per participant

Graduates also gain ongoing access to quarterly alumni policy labs, monthly executive briefings, and regional in-person leadership forums.

Register today at THIS LINK

Subscribe now

Share

I was asked via e-mail from a current state employee:

I am a state government employee who spends at least part of my time trying to explain to my agency that we need to understand economics (beyond our own internal budgeting).

Given that my agency doesn’t always appreciate being challenged on how economic development and business really works…

The person went on to ask if it was okay to join the Academy.

YES!

WHY NOT?

Virginia FREE has launched the Virginia FREE Academy, a non-partisan educational program designed to educate people involved in public policy making about how our economy actually works.

(FREE stands for Foundation for Research and Economic Education )

Starting Monday, October 5, and running through December 21, 2026, the Academy is a 12-week webinar series held live every Monday evening from 7:00–8:15 PM. Just over one hour a week!

Our Academy was built for any elected official - state, local, and federal and their staff or anyone seeking those offices.

It’s also built for those who are involved in policy making or would like to be.

Yes, that includes lobbyists and their firms and/or those who work for the companies they represent.

Register today at THIS LINK

Sessions cover the issues shaping Virginia’s competitiveness:

1. Virginia’s economic engine

2. Business fundamentals

3. Taxation

4. Labor markets

5. Energy policy

6. Infrastructure

7. Housing

8. Healthcare economics

9. Technology and AI

10. Trade

11. State vs. Local governance

12. Capstone session on real-world policy tradeoffs.

Tuition is $150 per participant

Graduates also gain ongoing access to quarterly alumni policy labs, monthly executive briefings, and regional in-person leadership forums.

Register today at THIS LINK

Seats are limited to keep sessions interactive, so we encourage early registration.

If you have questions or would like to discuss group registration for your office or organization, please reach out directly.

Subscribe now

Share

Virginia FREE is proud to announce the launch of the Virginia FREE Academy, a non-partisan educational program designed to educate people involved in public policy making about how our economy actually works.

(FREE stands for Foundation for Research and Economic Education )

Starting Monday, October 5, and running through December 21, 2026, the Academy is a 12-week webinar series held live every Monday evening from 7:00–8:15 PM. Just over one hour a week!

Our Academy was built for any elected official - state, local, and federal and their staff or anyone seeking those offices.

It’s also built for those who are involved in policy making or would like to be.

Yes, that includes lobbyists and their firms and/or those who work for the companies they represent.

Register today at THIS LINK

Sessions cover the issues shaping Virginia’s competitiveness:

1. Virginia’s economic engine

2. Business fundamentals

3. Taxation

4. Labor markets

5. Energy policy

6. Infrastructure

7. Housing

8. Healthcare economics

9. Technology and AI

10. Trade

11. State vs. Local governance

12. Capstone session on real-world policy tradeoffs.

Tuition is $150 per participant

Graduates also gain ongoing access to quarterly alumni policy labs, monthly executive briefings, and regional in-person leadership forums.

Register today at THIS LINK

Seats are limited to keep sessions interactive, so we encourage early registration.

If you have questions or would like to discuss group registration for your office or organization, please reach out directly.

Subscribe now

Share

Virginia FREE is proud to announce the launch of the Virginia FREE Academy, a new non-partisan educational program designed to close the gap between business reality and public policy.

Starting Monday, October 5, and running through December 21, 2026, the Academy is a 12-week webinar series held live every Monday evening from 7:00–8:15 PM.

Sessions cover the issues shaping Virginia’s competitiveness:

1. Virginia’s economic engine

2. Business fundamentals

3. Taxation

4. Labor markets

5. Energy policy

6. Infrastructure

7. Housing

8. Healthcare economics

9. Technology and AI

10. Trade

11. State vs. Local governance

12. Capstone session on real-world policy tradeoffs.

Register today at THIS LINK

Who should register now?

Elected and appointed officials — This program was built with you in mind. Whether you’re a legislator, legislative staff member, or serve in an appointed capacity, the Academy gives you a practical, working understanding of how Virginia’s economy and business community actually function — the kind of grounding that leads to policy built on outcomes, not assumptions.

Virginia FREE members — As a member, you know firsthand how much better policy outcomes are when officials understand the business realities behind them. We’d ask you to register yourself if this fits your role, and just as importantly, to help us spread the word to officials in your network who would benefit.

Tuition is $150 per participant, with sponsorships available for organizations that want to support participation.

Graduates also gain ongoing access to quarterly alumni policy labs, monthly executive briefings, and regional in-person leadership forums.

Register today at THIS LINK

Seats are limited to keep sessions interactive, so we encourage early registration.

If you have questions or would like to discuss group registration for your office or organization, please reach out directly.

Subscribe now

Share

Some movie recommendations that highlight business resilience:

Baseball, Nike, and Baby food.

FLIP = counter punch

Rainey Center - polling with questions and crosstabs

Note NET support shift/flip

But Fear Moves Voters More

Political Reaction: Boomers probably move more on Cure Diseases than Job Destruction but the opposite for Gen Zers. Gen Xers - probably the swing generation vote here - a draw given dual concerns of aging parents and debt laden children.

Personal Reaction: Diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago and more aligned with Cure Disease cohort - the Moderna skin cancer vaccine caught my eye. I’m pretty sure they weren’t walking the test results down the halls for analysis.

Final Analysis - Yes, all politics is local but it’s also personal.

Proper zoning of data centers and selling the benefits matter.

Speaking of cowbell….

One of the more memorable Saturday Night Live skits involves Will Farrell playing the cowbell on Blue Oyster Cult’s famous song, “Don’t Fear the Reaper.”

Given all the sturm und drang from those peddling a fear based back of the brain narrative on data centers, I say move to the prefrontal cortex with the benefits of data centers - and use more COW BELL.

Here are two famous cowbell songs sans THE famed producer Bruce Dickinson:

Rolling Stones Honky Tonk Woman LIVE (best cowbell version)

Mississippi Queen - Mountain

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All this data, data, data feels more like…

Kind of boring?

Back to the Future was made in 1985 about 1955.

Here’s the Johnny B. Goode scene which ends with telling the audience that the future belongs to our kids.

We need to make sure the future works for them so they can love it.

(grandkids, too!)

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In the national hysteria over data centers, it looks like one locality has decided to use this as an opportunity to invoke economist Thomas Sowell’s famous line:

There are no solutions, only tradeoffs.

Tonight, Chesterfield County will consider whether or not to use tax revenue from data centers to lower the rate of taxation on cars.

Here’s an article from online outlet - the Richmonder -that discusses the likely vote:

Chesterfield proposes using data center revenue to lower car taxes

proposal to use tax money collected from data centers to reduce the car tax rate, a move the county says would give residents a direct financial benefit from the facilities.

The current car tax rate in the county is $3.25 for every $100 of assessed value. According to a county press release, the data center dollars could reduce it to as low as $1.79 following the full build-out of Google’s three planned campuses.

The tradeoff seems to be a solid one - finding a benefit from data centers to overcome the absolutely HATED car tax.

From the article - not just a benefit but a “direct financial benefit.”

Quoting Dr. Peter Venkman from Ghostbusters:

If I'm wrong, nothing happens! We go to jail—peacefully, quietly. We'll enjoy it! But if I'm right, and we can stop this thing... Lenny, you will have saved the lives of millions of registered voters…

(I’m just thrilled I got to quote Ghostbusters! Thank you Chesterfield Board of Supervisors!)

<sniff> I’d also like to thank the Academy…

Sorry…got carried away…

<end scene>

This could be an excellent reframing of the debate since some politicians are looking at highly misleading polling that ask respondents whether or not they want data centers in “their neighborhoods” or “communities.”

Seriously?

The vast majority of data centers are zoned industrial, not residential.

Quoting again from the miniseries “The Crown” when Prime Minister to be Harold MacMillan says to the soon to outgoing PM Sir Anthony Eden:

There is no justice in politics.

Or push polls.

Some politicians are caught in today’s Wind Sock Populism and are not seeing how data centers are used almost every minute of every day by consumers and, yes, registered voters.

What’s the tradeoff if the Supply of data center computing power doesn’t keep up with consumer/registered voter Demand?

Prices go up.

Period.

Supply and Demand ain’t theory - it’s law.

You think tariffs increase inflation? (yes)

Or wars on Iran make gas prices go up? (also yes)

The wind will shift quickly indeed and there will be no justice.

How about when the prices or fees on these everyday uses go up?

20 Everyday Consumer Uses of Data Centers

1. Text messaging & instant messaging

2. Email

3. Internet search

4. Social media

5. Streaming TV & video

6. Streaming music & podcasts

7. Credit and debit card transactions

8. Online and mobile banking

9. Digital payments & mobile wallets

10. GPS, maps & navigation

11. Online shopping & e-commerce

12. Cloud photo & video storage

13. Video calling & conferencing

14. Online gaming

15. AI assistants & generative AI

16. Smart-home devices

17. Healthcare portals, records & prescriptions

18. Travel reservations & transportation

19. Food ordering & delivery

20. Work, school & cloud productivity

What political consultant wouldn’t want to run ads against opponents who made those prices go up?

Those ads will write themselves and not figuratively.

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Bob Dylan - Blowin’ In The Wind

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Frank Sinatra…

Summer Wind

And to the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors…

Let’s Groove Tonight!

YES - Earth, Wind, and FIRE!

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In 1964, Justice Potter Stewart tried to define obscenity and gave up, settling for “I know it when I see it.” It was honest — and a warning. Within a decade the Supreme Court replaced it with something more structured, because a rule that lives in one observer’s gut can’t be trusted twice in a row.

There’s an old line that’s made the rounds in statehouses for generations, in one version or another:

if you can’t take their money, eat their food, drink their wine, and still vote against them the next day, you don’t belong here.

Nobody’s quite sure who said it in Virginia first, and the fuller original doesn’t bear repeating — but the point survives the paraphrase. It assumed something we can no longer take for granted — that a lawmaker’s independence was strong enough to survive a donor’s hospitality.

Ask around Richmond today about the state of campaign fundraising, and the word that comes back most often isn’t corrupt, or even coercive.

It’s brazen.

That’s a word about scale, not just conduct — a sign that what used to be a private judgment call has become an open pattern eroding public trust a little further with every cycle.

That’s the real cost of a standard nobody can pin down: not just unfairness in any one case, but the uncertainty it creates for everyone trying to plan ahead.

Business owners, investors, and employers feel this every time a decision in Richmond seems to turn less on the merits of a proposal than on who has the right relationships.

Strike Zone

Everyone’s watching the same game and calling a different strike zone — and that uncertainty isn’t just a political problem.

It’s a business cost, because capital and talent go where the rules are clear and stay away where they aren’t.

Baseball faced its own version of this for a century, with every umpire calling his own zone and players adjusting to each one’s quirks.

The zone had gotten slippery over the years, drifting with each umpire’s habits, and this year an automated system dialed the temperature back down.

It didn’t remove the umpire’s judgment — it gave everyone in the ballpark a fixed zone to check that judgment against.

The call is still made by a person, and when players challenge it, the umpire is upheld about half the time — the point was never that umpires are usually wrong.

One veteran ump summed up the psychological toll of being second-guessed by a camera:

it’s like your wife watching you parallel park — technically helpful, spiritually devastating.

But fans trust the calls more now, umpires have gotten sharper knowing every pitch can be checked, and there’s less arguing, not more.

Narrowing what counts as a strike served the game and the fans alike.

Clean Campaign Pledge

That’s the idea behind a Clean Campaign Pledge, and it’s worth being precise about what it is and isn’t.

This is not an attempt to police candidates — no outside group could do that job, and no one should want it to.

It’s an attempt to narrow the strike zone: to give the public, and candidates themselves, a clearer, shared sense of what’s in bounds, so the public can be better informed and engaged.

Narrow the zone enough, publicize it clearly enough, and something better than policing happens — candidates and incumbents start checking their own pitches before anyone else has to call it. Self-awareness of the standard does more than any outside enforcement ever could.

Scrutopia

There’s an old idea underneath this worth naming honestly.

No one is beyond mistakes, and the philosopher Roger Scruton argued that our civilization itself was built on the cornerstones of confession and forgiveness — the willingness to examine one’s own conduct against a known standard and be trusted again.

It’s no accident that the Catholic rite most people call confession is formally an examination of conscience: the value isn’t the penalty, it’s the habit of checking oneself before anyone else has to.

A Clean Campaign pledge asks for exactly that habit — not a courtroom, not a scorecard, but a standard clear enough that candidates can examine their own conduct against it and voters can see that they have.

It’s worth being honest about the limits, too. A strike zone is a physical fact, measured to a fraction of an inch; whether a fundraising call was coercive will never be that clean.

No pledge makes conduct self-executing, in politics or in commerce. What it can do is move the argument from private impressions to one shared text everyone agreed to beforehand — a real upgrade, short of perfect precision.

Not everyone will sign it, and that’s fine.

A pledge everyone signs reflexively isn’t really a standard — it’s a formality.

For those who decline, the honest ask isn’t a demand but an invitation: to say plainly, in their own words, how they intend to conduct themselves. Either way, the conversation moves from vague suspicion to a specific, statable standard — which is the point.

We’d rather none of this were necessary. Most candidates, and most business leaders, already conduct themselves honorably, and no pledge substitutes for that integrity.

But confidence in a state’s economy isn’t rebuilt by asking people to see more clearly on their own — it’s rebuilt by giving them more of the game to actually look at.

A political culture that runs on private impressions, and on the word brazen, can’t sustain the trust that investment, hiring, and long-term planning upon which we all depend.

The framers understood this better than we sometimes give them credit for. They didn’t promise a perfect union in the Constitution’s preamble — only a more perfect one, an ongoing correction rather than a finished state.

A Clean Campaign pledge asks for something far more modest, but in the same spirit, and its payoff runs past the ballot box: a political culture that plays it straight is also the foundation of a business climate people can plan around.

Not a verdict.

Not a guarantee.

Just a shared zone, more eyes on it, and a Commonwealth a little easier to trust and to build.

Virginia FREE Clean Campaign Pledge

A voluntary commitment to conducting campaigns and holding office with financial transparency and ethical independence.

Preamble

Virginia’s political system depends on candidates who can exercise independent judgment, on donors who can participate in the process without forfeiting their rights, and on a public that can trust both. This pledge asks candidates to commit to a standard of conduct — not to any position on a specific issue, industry, or donor.

By signing, a candidate affirms the following principles for how they will raise money, make decisions, and run their campaign.

1. Independent Judgment

• I will evaluate legislation, regulations, and policy questions on their merits, based on the best available facts and the interests of my constituents — not on the basis of who did or did not contribute to my campaign.

• I will not accept any contribution, offer of support, or endorsement that is conditioned — explicitly or implicitly — on a promise to vote a specific way on pending or future legislation.

• I will not treat any lawful contribution as creating an obligation to act against my own judgment or my constituents’ interests.

2. No Coercive or Retaliatory Fundraising Practices

• I will not solicit or accept support from any organization that conditions its assistance on my agreement to refuse contributions from lawful donors based solely on their employer, industry, or personal affiliations.

• I will not ask a donor to return or forfeit a lawful, properly disclosed contribution because of pressure from a third party — nor will I apply that kind of pressure to others.

• I will not participate in “pay-to-play” arrangements in which financial support is explicitly exchanged for a specific official action.

• I recognize that individuals do not forfeit their right to participate in the political process because of where they work, and I will not treat their contributions differently on that basis.

3. Financial Transparency

• I will file all campaign finance disclosures completely, accurately, and on time, as required by Virginia and/or federal law.

• I will disclose the true source of all contributions and will not knowingly accept funds that are being routed to obscure their origin.

• I will make my campaign’s funding sources reasonably accessible to voters and press upon request, beyond the legal minimum where practical.

4. Honest Campaign Conduct

• I will not knowingly make false statements about my record, my opponent’s record, or the facts of an issue in my campaign communications.

• I will correct the record promptly if my campaign publishes or distributes information later found to be false or materially misleading.

• I will not use manipulated media (including deceptively edited audio, video, or AI-generated content) to misrepresent an opponent’s words or actions.

5. Respect for Opponents and the Process

• I will conduct my campaign — and expect my staff and any coordinated efforts to conduct themselves — without personal attacks, threats, or harassment directed at opponents, their families, or their donors.

• I will not use or authorize threats of primary challenges, financial retaliation, or public pressure campaigns as a means of controlling how another candidate or officeholder votes.

• I will accept election outcomes determined by a fair and lawful process.

6. Accountability

• I understand this pledge is a public commitment, and I welcome scrutiny of my compliance with it.

• If I am found to have violated this pledge, I will acknowledge the specific violation publicly and take corrective action.

Candidate Signature: _______________________

Date: ____________

Office Sought: _______________________

District: ____________

This pledge is offered by Virginia FREE as a voluntary standard of conduct. Signing is not an endorsement by Virginia FREE of any candidate, party, or policy position, and non-signature does not constitute a Virginia FREE position on a candidate’s ethics.

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Topics:

1. National trends - Democratic Socialists - Fad or Trend

2. $40 TRILLION in US Debt

3. Virginia Midterms - How many GOP seats are in play?

4. 2028 Democratic Primary Schedule - Virginia joins the chat

5. Governor Spanberger polling - Adults v. Registered Voters

6. Next Era/Dominion Merger -

7. Job Losses but Revenue Growth?

8. Speaking of Data Centers….Loudoun County revenue tops $1.3 BILLION from them. That’s annual local tax revenue. #BuildSchools

Two odes to Ross Perot national campaign in 1992:

Pretenders saw the future…h/t Rush Limbaugh. (Up next week…Dan Ackroyd Blues Brothers rant from Dec. 1979)

I went back to Ohio
But my city was gone
There was no train station
There was no downtown
Somehow it had disappeared
All my favorite places
My city had been pulled down
Reduced to parking spaces

Hey, oh, way to go Ohio

I went back to Ohio
But my family was gone
I stood on the back porch
There was nobody home
I was stunned and amazed
My childhood memories
Sort of swirled past
Like the wind through the trees

Hey, oh, way to go Ohio

I went back to Ohio
But my pretty countryside
Had been paved down the middle
By a government that had no pride
The farms of Ohio
Had been replaced by shopping malls
And music filled the air
From Seneca to Cuyahoga Falls

Said hey, oh, way to go Ohio

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The first out was from the Wilder School at VCU - click here for that one.

Spanberger is at 44% Approval and 47% Disapproval or underwater by 3.

<cue gasp> Social media cut and pastings galore with headlines repeating GOP talking points.

As soon to be incoming British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan reminded the about to be sacked PM Sir Anthony Eden in the fabulous Netflix series The Crown:

There is no justice in politics.

Great line.

Fast forward off of the July VCU poll and Morning Consult released its polling on statewide electeds (Gov and US Senate) for every state and not surprisingly found a very different Approval/Disapproval for Spanberger.

Why not surprisingly?

VCU and Morning Consult use different methodologies

VCU polled Adults - which means anyone over 18 who answers the poll while Morning Consult polled Registered Voters.

Neither is technically wrong but neither is a campaign poll.

According to Morning Consult, Spanberger has a MUCH better Approval to Disapproval: 54 to 37 or plus 17.

That’s a 20 point swing from VCU and it didn’t happen over a month.

What’s remarkable about the Morning Consult poll is that Spanberger has a higher net approval rating among Democrats (+78) than U.S. Senators Mark Warner (+72) and Tim Kaine (+68) but lower among Independents.

Spanberger is only +8 while Warner is +25 and Kaine +15 among Independents. It’s also another reason why Warner appears to be cruising to re-election this fall.

That’s a number that should be more and more important going forward as more and more voters self identify as Independents.

Self Identification

The VCU poll had Self Identification at 37% Independent, 31% Democrat, and only 22% Republican. Again - among Adults, not Registered Voters.

Looking Ahead to Mid Terms - Future Markets

Senate - Toss Up

House - Flip to Democrats

Future Market - 2028 Nominations

AOC vs VP J.D. ?

Issue Coming to the 2028 Cycle? Social Security

Why? Insolvency comes in 2032 - the term of the current US Senate election.

Yes, the Kicked Can finds the end of road soon.

The Doors - The End

R.E.M - It’s the End of the World

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