Tag Archives: virginia

Creative Legislating

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Who needs reality shows when you have politics? Virginia might have the best show going right now:

To protest a bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion, Virginia State Sen. Janet Howell (D-Fairfax) on Monday attached an amendment that would require men to have a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test before obtaining a prescription for erectile dysfunction medication.

"We need some gender equity here," she told HuffPost. "The Virginia senate is about to pass a bill that will require a woman to have totally unnecessary medical procedure at their cost and inconvenience. If we're going to do that to women, why not do that to men?"

The Republican-controlled senate narrowly rejected the amendment Monday by a vote of 21 to 19, but passed the mandatory ultrasound bill in a voice vote. A similar bill in Texas, which physicians say has caused a "bureaucratic nightmare," is currently being challenged in court.

 

So What Would a Virginia Dollar Buy?

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When I first heard about this I thought it was a prank:  Apparently a resolution has been put forward in Virginia to establish a subcommittee to explore the possibility of Virginia establishing its own currency. Total aside: wouldn't it be great if I could print JonDollars and buy stuff with it?  Back on topic, from the resolution:

WHEREAS, an adequate system of governmental finance and a sound and robust private economy cannot be maintained in the absence of a sound currency; and

WHEREAS, the present monetary and banking systems of the United States, centered around the Federal Reserve System, have come under ever-increasing strain during the last several years, and will be exposed to ever-increasing and predictably debilitating strain in the years to come; and

WHEREAS, many widely recognized experts predict the inevitable destruction of the Federal Reserve System’s currency through hyperinflation in the foreseeable future; and

WHEREAS, in the event of hyperinflation, depression, or other economic calamity related to the breakdown of the Federal Reserve System, for which the Commonwealth is not prepared, the Commonwealth’s governmental finances and Virginia’s private economy will be thrown into chaos, with gravely detrimental effects upon the lives, health, and property of Virginia’s citizens, and with consequences fatal to the preservation of good order throughout the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, Virginia can avoid or at least mitigate many of the economic, social, and political shocks to be expected to arise from hyperinflation, depression, or other economic calamity related to the breakdown of the Federal Reserve System only through the timely adoption of an alternative sound currency that the Commonwealth’s government and citizens may employ without delay in the event of the destruction of the Federal Reserve System’s currency; and…

The resolution's patron represents the 13th district of the Virginia House which is the neck of the woods where my family lived before moving to NC. He's a tad conservative as evidenced by some of the other bills he's championed:

  • One man, one woman Marriage Amendment approved by voters (2006)
  • Steroid Use by Public School Athletes prohibited (2005)
  • Conflict of Interest Laws for Public Officials & Zoning Boards tightened (2003)
  • National Motto, “In God We Trust,” posted in all Public Schools (2002)
  • Sexually Explicit material on State Computers prohibited (1996)
  • Counseling for Effects of Divorce on Children authorized (1995)

I'm thinking it's time to refresh my memory on my old US History lessons re. fiat money, the Federal Reserve, etc.