Posted on

Tandy: Herring disappoints on the environment; join us on May 18

Originally on Loudoun Times-Mirror

Attorney General Mark Herring (D) last week attended the second of three “Healing Virginia” discussions being held by the Loudoun NAACP and community partners. While the actions Herring has already taken and proposed to take are commendable, his response to the questions posed to him on environmental justice in Virginia were dismaying.

One of the panelists for the event, Karen Campblin, is the NAACP Virginia State Conference Environmental and Climate Justice chair. She spoke about the very real, near-term and disastrous impacts climate change will have on communities of color (CoCs). She addressed how CoCs are negatively impacted by three pipeline projects, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and the Southside Connector, all currently under construction in Virginia. While Herring appropriately talked at length about steps that the community could take in order to remove road signs with segregationists’ names on them – like Harry Flood Byrd Highway – and other similar issues, the impact of climate change and fossil fuel infrastructure on African American communities did not receive a single word from him.

During the question and answer portion of the event, I asked Herring directly what his office is doing to protect vulnerable communities, considering the greatest predictor of the location of fossil fuel infrastructure is whether or not it’s a CoC. His disappointing response was deflection to the legislature.

Attorneys general are tasked with providing consumer protection from dangerous products, which fossil fuels are, and from bad corporate actors, which fossil fuel construction and distribution companies are. In the 1990s, it was state attorneys general that went after the tobacco industry for the public health crisis they were causing and won. Climate change will certainly kill more of us than tobacco will.

Attorneys general are further tasked with the protection of the state’s resources by upholding state and federal environmental laws. Herring’s office has argued to continue the moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia and won at both the 4th Circuit and the Supreme Court. The MVP, ACP and Southside Connector are already harming potable water, poison-free land and breathable air across huge swaths of Virginia. The MVP alone has had over 300 construction violations, prompting AG Herring’s office to file lawsuits against the pipeline construction company, while inconceivably allowing construction to continue.

Enough is enough. Virginia’s attorney general must issue a halt work on the MVP, pursue his lawsuit against MVP to its fullest, refuse to settle the case, reverse his staff’s poor legal advice at the last Water Control Board hearing and affirm the state’s authority to revoke the Clean Water Act 401 certification it granted.

To convince him of this, hundreds of people will gather on the Leesburg Courthouse lawn on May 18 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. to listen to speakers, hear music from the affected communities and find out how they can put pressure on Herring to use his power and authority to stop these tragedies from further harming our great commonwealth.

Amanda Tandy

Leesburg

Posted on

Virginia Could Really Use a Hero These Days. Attorney General Mark Herring Could Be That Hero.

by Emily Satterwhite, Amanda Tandy and Chris Tandy

Originally on bluevirginia.us

What are Virginians directly affected by the destruction caused by the Mountain Valley Pipeline to do when their calls for accountable governance fall on deaf ears? What recourse do people have when a project that has received hundreds of environmental violations from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is still allowed to continue construction? What do you do when you have a scandalously corrupt Governor, but an Attorney General who might still have a future in Virginia politics?

Answer: You make as much noise as close to the place people with power are. To that end, the mountains are coming to NoVA! On May 18, rally with us at the Loudoun County courthouse for Herring: Stand with Appalachia, Not Pipelines. This is the second day of a two-day event that starts with a march in Richmond to bring this fight to Virginia’s elected leadership once again.

Virginia could use a hero these days. It needs someone who does the right thing even if it’s the hard thing, someone who puts others before himself or herself, someone who sees the big picture instead of the short term gains.

Attorney General (AG) Mark Herring could be that hero. Currently, the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is tearing a path of destruction through the heart of Virginia, across the Appalachian Trail, through the Jefferson National forest, ravaging small farms, family homes, small businesses and causing environmental destruction rarely seen outside of a natural disaster. AG Herring’s office has sued the pipeline construction company, owned in part by EQM Midstream, for the more than 300 construction violations, (That’s right, more violations in Virginia alone than the entire length of the pipeline in miles. At this point, it’s like measuring violations per linear foot of construction or like the pipeline construction company is really in the violations creation business with the side effect of a pipeline being built simultaneously.) The AG, however, has not required work to stop while the violations and lawsuit are remedied.

Being the good and decent human being that we believe the AG to be, we assume that he is susceptible to public pressure. Distance has made it easy to ignore the plight of the folks along the route of the MVP, so we are bringing them to Leesburg on Saturday, May 18th from 1-3 at the Loudoun County Courthouse.

Why Leesburg? Why now? We’re holding this rally in Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s hometown to encourage him to confront the incompetence, corruption, and climate consequences associated with fracked gas pipelines.

We have invited Attorney General Mark Herring to join us and will be making enough noise that he can hear us down the street. We request that he:

1) Advise the Department of Environmental Quality – his client – to issue a stop work order for the Mountain Valley Pipeline

2) Ask the court hearing his lawsuit against MVP to issue an injunction halting all work on the MVP

3) Advise the State Water Control Board that it has the power under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act and under state law to commence proceedings to revoke the certification previously issued to MVP.

As Jon Sokolow pointed out on Blue Virginia previously, the Deputy Attorney General erroneously relied upon a section of the Clean Water Act that applies to instances when a company applies for a permit to operate a project that the state previously permitted for construction. The State Water Control Board can and should exercise its power under VA Code paragraph 62.1-44.15 to revoke MVP’s Section 401 water permit. Put succinctly, the law is on the side of protecting the people and natural resources, no matter how many times our elected leaders pretend it’s someone else’s responsibility.

This event is one that Virginia environmental champions won’t want to miss. Emceed by Delegate Sam Rasoul, it features a slate of invited speakers including Karenna Gore of the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary; Reverend Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus; Delegate Chris Hurst; Delegate Elizabeth Guzman; Professor Emily Hammond, George Washington University Law School; affected landowners, and more. Music will be provided by old time fiddler and banjoist Rachel Eddy and the SUN SiNG Collective’s Josh Vana, BJ Brown, and Graham Smith-White. There will be activities for kids, such as face painting, bubble-making, and a make-your-own water or prayer flag station, as well as a giant water spirit puppet courtesy of All Saints Theater Company Light refreshments will be provided with a suggested donation amount.

As they say, Virginia is for lovers. People fighting the Atlantic Coast, Mountain Valley, Southside Connector, and MVP Southgate Extension pipelines know that there’s no love in the destruction of the countless waterways and scenic view-sheds that make Virginia the beautiful place that is. We are also not waiting around for our elected officials to eventually realize the urgency of the climate crisis. We require solutions, not excuses.

Posted on

LTE in Loudoun Times

The Governor has removed two members of the Air Pollution Control Board after those members voiced unfavorable views of the Buckingham Compressor station planned for the town of Union Hill. VA League of Conservation Voters and Sierra Club have been quite vocal about it, Jennifer Boysko has tweeted about it, and so has Al Gore referencing an article in the Washington Post.

You, dear reader might have heard that those members had expired terms, which is true, but there are currently 235 other appointees with expired terms who didn’t seem set to exercise their authority to stop a massive pollution source. This is a clear abuse of power on the part of the Governor. Northam might think we’re all stupid, but we aren’t.

Most of our legislators up here are Democrats lately, and I’m a Democrat as well. So far it seems that only Jennifer Boysko and Mark Keam have said anything publicly about the Governors subterfuge. I would love to know what Delegates John Bell, David Reid, and Wendy Gooditis think about this whole matter of the Governor so clearly putting his thumb on the scale to ram through Dominions compressor station. Mark Keam put it quite elegantly: “To me, the decision by Governor Northam to fire appointees of the State Air Pollution Control Board who disagree with him right before they were about to vote on a major environmental racial justice issue is absolutely wrong, and there simply is no way to explain it away.”

Posted on

Taking Breaks during the Anthropocene

Darlings,

I don’t know about you, but I needed a break from national news and the unsettling feeling that we might not be able to stop our country’s slide into the horrors of whatever Trumpistas have planned for after the election.

To that end, I did several things this week that helped protect my mental ability to continue the struggle and I’d like to share them with you because they’re so goddammed positive I’m radiating joy through my clenched teeth and tear stained face right now:

  • I started every day this week with a sob on the way to work (sorry, other commuters on Route 28. I forget that you can also see me ugly cry at 9:30 in the morning because windshield glass is transparent) or in front of the TV. I disconcerted my husband a little with letting him know that I was having this reaction to eleven perfectly lovely people being murdered in their place of worship, but then reminded him that normal human beings cry at stuff that is horrific, tragic and completely preventable. What I’m saying is, I’m not a fucking snowflake for being sad and letting that emotion out. I’m a healthy person and you are too, if you have similar emotions about shootings, bombings and other violence perpetrated on people.

In response to this, I reached out to people I haven’t talked to in a long time. This included a friend who lives in Pittsburgh and works at a nonprofit refugee resettlement organization. Not only was it a relief to realize that she was ok and her beloved city was as safe as it was going to be, (“We’re safe. Don’t worry. There’s Israeli massad-looking guards and FBI everywhere.”), but that there are so many things to do to assist. Specifically, look at the suggestions on the webpage of the fine organization she works for here: www.jfcspgh.org/communitysupport.  Or, you can support HIAS, the group specifically called out by a coward radicalized online and by our sad, my-father-didn’t-really-love-me, dumpster-fire-in-chief here: https://www.hias.org/. Also, maybe just go be a human by reaching out to your local synagogue and seeing what they need. I bet they’d appreciate it and you’d get the feels.

  • On Thursday, we went to the movies like we did before the world started falling apart around us. The movie? Bohemian Rhapsody. I don’t care how inaccurate it was. I needed it. Freddie Mercury is the rock god by which all other rock gods will be judged. I’m sure there are many people who will analyze it better than I will, but my takeaways were that things that make us different can sometimes make us extraordinary; love is what binds us all together and makes us better; communication is hard for all families, but it’s totally worth having difficult conversations and calling people out on their bullshit when it hurts you; LGBTQ people create so much space for the rest of us to be whatever it is we’re going to be (not to put the burden of being magic rainbow unicorns on every LGBTQ person or indicating that your existence should be a benefit to me, just ham-fistedly trying to express gratitude); and the ‘70’s were the pinnacle of human artistic expression as far as I can tell. Also, maybe that is linked to terrible excesses. I don’t know. It’s the opinion of a partial and ignorant historian.
  • I spent the better part of Saturday morning reading our local newspapers. Not the Washington Post—Loudoun Now and the Loudoun Times Mirror. There were no less than a dozen articles in each paper about how the community is working on issues and support each other in difficult times. If all you do is read or listen to the national news, you’d think the country is only voter suppression and violence. The closer you get to the local, the more you are reminded most of us are decent people just trying to make it through. Additionally, work at the local level is sometimes the most potent. The point I’m trying to make is support your local press. It will be there when you need it if you do.
  • I ate my vegetables. I’m serious; all of this resisting takes a lot of vitamins and minerals. Eating junk food last week was seriously draining. Eating vegetables this week made everything better.
  • I donated to campaigns, walked a packet, solicited for other people’s campaigns and did what I could for the races this year. It matters. It all matters. Ask the Dems in Shelley Simond’s district if they wished they had walked one more packet, spent one more hour on the phones, written another stack of postcards and I bet the answer you will get is, “Yes. A thousand times, yes”. Democracy hinges on every vote. You may feel more in control of the direction this ridiculousness if you participate in whatever way you are able.

I’m now going to go shower, put on a fancy dress, and go to the Freedom Fund Dinner Banquet with Chris.  It is hosted by the Loudoun County chapter of the NAACP, where some of the best people in the county will also be in fancy dresses and nice suits to raise money for the protection of everyone’s civil liberties and scholarships. Not a bad Saturday night and cap to a week that has needed positivity.

I adore you,

Amanda

Posted on

Everyone off the bleachers, and onto the field plase

Tip:
If you’re being nominated for a nonpartisan position as a neutral arbiter on the Supreme Court, attacking “the left,” “Democrats,” “the Clintons” and “the media” in your opening statement while noting there will be reprisal for years to come is, well, disqualifying.

— Danica Roem

So, the Supreme Court confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh has clearly been a real punch in the gut for anyone that leans liberal, or just feels that allegations of sexual assault should be taken seriously. Kavanaugh seemed like a problem well before the sexual assault allegations came out… personally, I was at the Supreme Court building the evening of October 3rd protesting.

I’m seeing a fair amount of hand-wringing about the Kavanaugh confirmation from all kinds of people… a lot of folks that don’t seem terribly active in various causes, political or otherwise. If you’re someone who has been watching the train wreck happen for the last couple of years and otherwise going about your own business, this post is for you.  It’s not about shaming anyone, or polishing anyone’s halo.  The simple fact is that we need a greater portion of the population involved in preserving democracy, the environment, social safety nets, and consumer protections. 

It’s easy to get into a completely useless pattern of feeling like everything’s shitty, and everybody sucks. While I do get that everyone needs to vent once in a while, I’m hoping I can channel some of the rage that’s come out of the Kavanaugh confirmation into useful volunteer work.  Volunteer work isn’t entirely selfless… you tend to meet the nicest people, and at the end of the day you don’t feel like you’re just shouting at your TV and all it’s changing is the channel if you’ve got one of those fancy smart ones. 

We can debate all day whether or not getting more Democrats elected is the right course of action…I tend to think that it is and I’m happy to have that debate, but that’s not what this post is about. If working with the Democratic Party isn’t your thing for whatever reason, there are a lot of groups besides the Democrats pushing for the values you care about… groups that are doing thoroughly amazing work lately. I can’t think of a single one that has as many volunteers as they need, and that’s where you come in. 

You have a busy life, I get it. You have kids… I get it. You have an expensive MTG habit… I… I dunno. Here’s the thing… if every couple with kids and busy lives found one weekday evening a week, or even one Saturday a month for one parent to to put into volunteer work (presumably while the other watches the kids), we could change the world. Many hands really does make light work. Some of the most politically involved folks I know are raising kids and still find ways to make it work. 

If you’re in Loudoun County, I’m Chair of the Issues Committee at the Loudoun County Democratic Committee, and could always use more volunteers there. Amanda and I work with the Loudoun NAACP, and they always need volunteers too. Want to work on LGBT causes? I’ll get you to someone at NoVA Pride. Want to work on environmental issues? We work with 350 Loudoun, Sierra Club, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and Virginia League of Conservation Voters. We’re trying to stop the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines…both environmental disasters in the making that would double the greenhouse gas emissions of the Commonwealth of Virginia, but the ACP also has the distinction of being #20 on the administrations priority infrastructure list. Outraged at immigrant children being locked up in prisons? Lets hook you up w/ CASA in Action. Think gerrymandering is a perversion of democracy that never should have been allowed? You’re right, and One Virginia 2021 is all over the gerrymandering problem…. they need volunteers too. The Poor Peoples Campaign could use your time….great organization. 

Hate all the politicians? Great…lets replace ‘em with better ones. There are some really progressive people that are running for elected office in Virginia lately… people that will listen to you, take your best ideas and work their asses off to turn them into actual policy. There’s a lot of campaign work that can be done from home too. Put a movie on for the kids, pour yourself a glass of wine, and call a sheet of people and tell ’em about some candidates. 

My point is that there are so many places to put your volunteer time into meaningful causes that you care about and ways to do so that it’s mind boggling. There’s always something for everyone to do. All of these little things at the local level bubble up….they do matter. 

Amanda and I know where and who to send you to with a lot of these groups because we work with them. If you could use a hand getting started, or maybe just a pointer here or there, I’m more than happy to help. If you’re pissed off about the Supreme Court confirmation, lets work together. The people I know are about solutions to problems. Let’s solve some problems.

Contact Us

Posted on

Despondence and the Anthropocene

There are so many ways to start this initial blog post I’m not even sure where to begin. My husband is the great communicator of our pair and has so many blog posts ready to go. I have half drafts of multiple ideas started in my head for the positive things that normally swirl through my optimistic head. It’s unexpected to me personally, then, that it’s despondence that is the motivator to start.

It has been a real month. Between the horrors happening to children at the United States border, the erosion of faith in our democratic system, climate change, plastic in the oceans and the suicide of Anthony Bourdain triggering reports that suicide and depression has been up among Americans for well over a decade now because of rot in our culture, I am currently feeling like no amount of effort I make as an individual is going to make a dent in this mess. In response to all of that, I just had a really good sob into my bathrobe while wondering to myself if that is what a healthy person would do. I decided that it was and feel better for having done it and better for having just cried typing about it.

I suppose from there I have a couple of options (in no particular order other than the one that my brain is coming up with them):

1) Wallow.

I don’t know how much value this has a an option. Psychologically, it seems like it must be part of the healing process necessary to move forward. A quick search of “can wallowing be helpful” does indeed turn up a few articles on the subject. This one was very helpful. This one was also not too bad.

Ok, wallowing noted to keep in the toolbox. Also, it makes me think I should really look into the psychology helpline I pay for as part of my insurance instead of feeling that odd stigma of needing help working through what I believe is a rational response to the current state of the world. I’ll let you know how that goes.

2) Disconnect from the Source of Distress

There are a lot of thoughts swirling around in my head on this one. I’m sure watching the nightly news, too much consumption of social media in the form of Facebook and Twitter and feeling like my every action has to be a net positive one (along with the feelings of guilt when they are not net positive) are all piling on and helping with the despondence.

After Chris and I got married and we had decided we weren’t going to have kids, we wondered what to do with ourselves and our time. Getting involved with our community seemed like the obvious answer. So, we engaged with our local environmental organizations, our county level political party, the county chapter of the NAACP and Chris even became a leader in our HOA. Once there, we’ve found amazing people and connections to our community that I don’t think either of us realized were available to anyone willing to show up. Humans, apparently, get enjoyment out of engaging with each other and solving problems together! Who knew!

Lately, however, it feels like the only things we’re doing revolve around community organizing, activism, staying informed and interacting with other people in the same boat. We are at the point where we’re scheduling fun and relaxation and I’m not sure that’s entirely healthy or helpful.

In the last week no less than three people I have talked to have said to stop watching the news every night. All of the corruption and awful violations of our country’s norms will be there on Monday.

Do I have it within me to do what I see many coworkers and neighbors doing and just be as blissfully ignorant as they can be? I don’t think so, but I also don’t think being hyper-engaged is moving the needle as much as I would like. So, maybe Maddow doesn’t get watched this week, again.

A quick search of the interwebs pulls up many articles on activist fatigue and how to address it. I like this one, which talks about one person’s experience after Charlottesville, and this one, which has some good insight into activist group dynamics and tips.

3) Take Half Measures

For this one, what I think I’m trying to say is that just because an opportunity for an action comes up doesn’t mean I have to help organize or participate. I am allowed to make judgement calls on the best use of my time and energy and not organizing or participating doesn’t make me a traitor to others or what we’re trying to accomplish. On this one, I am very lucky in that Chris is very honest with himself and others about boundaries and what he is and is not willing to do.

4) Practice Self Care

This is more of a list that I think needs to be fleshed out and perhaps added to with future examples or a separate post (also, I’m getting bored of writing and think you may be getting bored of reading).

  • Recognize when you need a break
  • Exercise
  • Eat right
  • Make a point of putting your own oxygen mask on first.
  • Give yourself a break. Find something that is disconnected from the shit swirl, whether that’s gardening, dancing, vacationing, reading a romance novel, taking up guitar, playing Cards Against Humanity or whatever else you may need, but make time for that.

5) Share the Burden

If you’re burnt out, let others know. Actually, going back to 1, be honest with all of your emotions. You’re worth it. Also recognize that you aren’t cleaning up the whole ocean by yourself. You aren’t stopping 45 and his assembled team of the worst people in the U.S. and their enablers all by your lonesome. Tell people how much this means to you and tell them how they can help.

6) Celebrate victories and notice the progress, too.

Yes, it’s shitty out there. There have been worse times in history and people got through those. We’ve never gone through an anthropocene, but I can’t believe we’re actually going to let the human species go extinct so fossil fuel executives can all have yachts at the end of history.

Yes, there is plastic in every bite of seafood now. Yes, the corals are bleached perhaps beyond resuscitation. Yes, the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are part of boiling life alive across the globe.

On the positive side, shitheads like David Koch are reaching the end of their mortal coil and are not being replaced. Kids are realizing that they have the power to effect change and are actually doing it. Women are taking hold of the power we have let sit dormant for so long. There are reasons to be hopeful. Frankly, if we can beat the Nazis and make it into space, I am hopeful that we can do just about anything we set our collective minds to.

This may all be trite and repetitive, but I wrote this for me. If it was helpful for you, I am very glad. If it was not helpful for you, that’s ok, too.

Peace.

Posted on

Comments on MVP, ACP at State Water Control Board

Comments are open until the end of May 2018, more information is here:
http://townhall.virginia.gov/L/ViewNotice.cfm?gnid=828

350 Loudoun has a collection of helpful links here:
https://350loudoun.org/comments-for-the-state-water-control-board/

Greetings SWCB.

I’m very concerned about the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, and Mountain Valley Pipeline. I do not feel that the Army Corps of Engineers NWP 12 permit is sufficient for either the MVP or ACP. DEQ must do a comprehensive, stream-by-stream water crossing analysis if the waterways and watersheds are to be protected.

We’ve already seen quite a bit of erosion in Franklin county from the construction of the MVP, and I expect that as construction continues there will be much more of this, and worse. Both the MVP and ACP cross areas with very steep slopes, and I don’t believe that erosion and runoff are being adequately evaluated, or controlled. This virtually ensures that we’ll have mudslides, and pollution entering the waterways that DEQ is charged with protecting, and that as a resident of Virginia practically my entire life, I enjoy using for various purposes like fishing and recreation.

I’m specifically concerned about water quality in the larger rivers of Virginia such as the James and Roanoke rivers, and worry that the watersheds for these two rivers would be irreparably affected by construction of these pipelines. These rivers are a source of water for many thousands of people, as well as quite a bit of biodiversity I would assume. It’s simply irresponsible to allow this kind of construction to happen to the watersheds of these rivers on such a massive scale.

In Bath County, It’s quite clear to me that various smaller waterways where karst topography is a factor would be affected leading to contaminated well water, and destruction of active fisheries.

It is unacceptable that tree felling and construction has already started on these projects. Please ensure that a thorough stream-by-stream water crossing evaluation is completed before any further work is done, as that is the only way I’m aware of to protect water quality in Virginia.

Thank you,
-Chris Tandy

Posted on

Letter: Chris Tandy, Leesburg

View on Loudoun Now: http://loudounnow.com/2018/05/01/letter-chris-tandy-leesburg-2/

Editor:  On April 27, the Loudoun County Democratic Committee issued a statement on the tree sit protestors opposing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Mountain Valley Pipeline. I’m extremely proud of LCDC for publishing this.

Why should Loudouners care? First, the pipelines will affect Loudoun and indeed the entire commonwealth. They will increase our energy bills and contribute to climate change. They will impact the Potomac, James and Roanoke watersheds. Just as important is the undeniable fact that our fellow Virginians are being harmed directly by their construction.

The Democrats I know in Loudoun believe in community and our responsibilities to each other. We should not, and cannot, avert our gaze while the Virginians who do not live in population-dense, high-income Northern Virginia are run over by greedy fossil fuel companies, like Dominion and EQT. Democrats have the best candidates and the best ideas for how to fix the problems we all face, but they must also be courageous and speak up.

I have never seen LCDC stronger than it is now, sticking steadfastly to its values. After running the table in the election last year, we’re bringing enormous energy into this year’s election with issues that people care about, such as pipelines and rural conservation. Our committee is tough. Our members have their canvassing shoes ready. We are experienced, we are dedicated and we will continue to get Democrats elected all over Loudoun.

I am calling on the following Loudoun senators and delegates to add their voices to the statements made by the 14 legislators who spoke on April 18 against the MVP and ACP and the 20 who signed a letter to the Department of Environmental Quality on the same topic: Sen. Barbara Favola (D-31), Sen. Jennifer Wexton (D-33), Del. David Reid (D-32), Del. Karrie Delaney (D-67), Del. Jennifer Boysko (D-86) and Del. John Bell (D-87) .

Loudoun Republicans Sen. Jill Vogel (R-27), Sen. Dick Black (R-13) and Del. David LaRock (R-33), I would also ask you to join in defending personal property rights in the face of overreaching government working at the behest of large corporations, protection of the public lands beloved by outdoors-people and the small business owners and farmers who will lose their livelihoods while a negligible amount of jobs are created. These projects are heinous for so many reasons for so many groups of Virginians. We must stand together and protect our neighbors to the southwest.

The LCDC stands with Red and demands a thorough stream-by-stream water quality review by the DEQ. As the press release states: “Democrats in Loudoun are conscientious stewards of the environment, advocates of rural conservation and defenders of social justice”. Virginia deserves better than the ACP and MVP.

Chris Tandy, Leesburg

Issues Chair, Loudoun County Democratic Committee

Posted on

This blog site is WCAG AA Compliant.

The web is for everyone. WordPress has done a lot of great work to make the platform accessible to folks with vision or motor impairments. Some plugins break compatibility though.

In an effort to make this blog site as accessible as we can, we are not using any plugins that break WCAG AA compliance, and will try to only use accessible plugins in the future.

Validate it here: https://achecker.ca/checkacc.php?id=ce4ea9c64ffe38eac3a2302d71a97ce3dae89c6a&uri=loveandtheanthropocene.com

Posted on

Open Letter of Endorsement of Dan Helmer

IMG_6678.jpg

 

Friends,

We have decided who we’re supporting to succeed Barbara Comstock as our representative from Virginia’s 10th congressional district in the US House of Representatives, and it’s Dan Helmer. Yes, we mean THAT Dan Helmer, the one with the ad that was a spoof of a scene from Top Gun that got a bit of national attention a month or so ago. Our endorsement is our own, and should not be seen as an endorsement by any group that we are members of, or volunteer with.

Here’s the thing: We’ve talked to Dan about where he thinks Congress has lost its footing in recent years, what the problems are he’d like to address and his ideas on how to address them. We’ve found Dan to be incredibly intelligent, principled and someone who we’re convinced will work extremely hard in congress for all of us back home in Virginia and for the entire country. We’ve decided that we would be quite proud to have Dan represent us in our nation’s House of Representatives.

Environment

Among our largest concerns with what’s going on in this country right now is the environment and rampant fossil fuel consumption. We believe that loose regulation, lack of oversight and lack of enforcement are creating a situation where fossil fuel extraction, transmission and consumption are causing destruction of the natural world that will be challenging, if not impossible, to repair in the future. This is a justice issue. Destruction of the environment isn’t just a moral issue (but it is certainly that), it’s a debt that is being handed down to future generations, without their knowledge, consent or influence. We also see anthropogenic climate change as a threat to national security in that it is expected to increase the frequency and severity of global conflict due to the resource scarcities that will directly cause wars (this is already happening in places like Yemen).

Dan is someone who thoroughly understands the urgency of protecting the environment, how it relates to national security and what the intersections are in how the country produces and consumes energy. Dan has shown an un-politician like willingness to take hardline positions on critical issues, such as the two large natural gas pipeline projects proposed for Virginia, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley Pipeline. We’ve talked to Dan about these projects and are convinced that he will be a strong defender of the Commonwealth and the nation against these specific projects and projects like them in the future, whether it’s because they destroy forests, contaminate water, or contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Dan has been talking about being opposed to the ACP and MVP as far back as April 29th of 2016, when he showed up to bring coffee to Loudouners headed off to DC to protest for Climate, Jobs, and Justice at People’s Climate March. He is the original anti-pipeline candidate in the CD10 race.

Dan understands that renewable energy is the future and we have no doubt that he will be a strong advocate for an aggressive transition to the myriad renewable energy sources that Virginia has available to it and away from fossil fuels. He sees that there problems and offers realistic solutions to them for protecting our environment.

International Relations

Having served in war zones, in three different countries, and based on our conversations with Dan, we feel that he best understands our country’s place in the world. Dan understands what can be done using diplomacy and the reasons that diplomacy doesn’t always work. We also believe he’s someone who will strike the right balance in regard to funding our military and make the right decisions on matters under his purview as a representative to keep American lives saves at home and abroad. From Dan’s experience serving in war zones, we believe he will treat military conflict as the option of last resort that it should always be. Like all patriotic Americans, we respect and value our military and those who serve in it. We expect our elected representatives to do the same and act accordingly to protect those who serve as they protect us at home and put them in harm’s way only when absolutely necessary.

A true progressive leader

Virginians are sick of politics and the people need more from Congress than tired rhetoric and duplicitous promises. Virginians need advocates for real progress in Congress. Dan is someone who has the intellect and character to do what needs to be done, even if it isn’t politically convenient. From our conversations with him, we know Dan understands that progress doesn’t happen overnight, or easily, but he will work extremely hard to not only push a progressive agenda, but make it accessible to others. We trust him to promote a Democratic vision for America that delivers on language the Party has promoted for a long time, but often fails to manifest in legislation or outcomes. When politics gets heated, Dan brings the conversation back to our values, and to delivering results for average Americans — that’s the kind of leadership we appreciate.

Dan the unifier

It may be a long shot, but in the modern era of hyper-polarized politics, we look to candidates to bring a progressive message, and ideas, in a way that is accessible to those who might not initially agree. Dan strikes us as adept at this, and someone that conservatives in Congress might find difficult to dismiss as just another liberal.

Dan can win

There are a lot of great candidates running for CD10 and things are looking pretty good right now for a Democrat to defeat Barbara Comstock. A lot can change in a year though. We want to make sure that whoever wins the primary is prepared for the general election and can ultimately win. As poor of a representative of this district as Barbara Comstock has been, it’s extremely important that we get a candidate that can stand up to what is likely to be a very heated, nasty general election. I don’t think we’ll see conservatives saying much about Dan’s background, because it’s a background of service and patriotism that anyone can respect. The only attack line that seems plausible, is that Dan’s a political outsider. Democrats and Republicans alike are sick of cronyism in Washington, and showed that in 2016, whether the sentiment was well placed or not. Painting Dan as inexperienced might actually do as much good for his campaign as harm it. Simply put, there’s no attack line against Dan that we think will be terribly effective, which will force Barbara Comstock to campaign solely on her own abysmal record.

In closing, CD10 has a huge opportunity to elect a steward of the environment that understands international relations, has the intelligence and vision to represent the district well, and can certainly win. Meet Dan at one of his many campaign appearances, and ask him for yourself why he’s running. We’ve made our decision, and hope you’ll join us in our support of Dan Helmer for CD10.

-Amanda and Chris Tandy

To find out more about Dan, go to www.helmerforcongress.com

Dan Helmer - Democrat for Congress