Yesterday, the debate on the Assembly floor got heated as Republican Del. Dave Albo stood on the floor yelling and waving a photocopy of a bar chart that allegedly showed how they were increasing funding for public education in the budget.

But anytime a Republican tells you they're increasing funding for public education, read the fine print.

As it turns out, the Republicans are really cutting the legs out from under public education while bragging that they're buying it a new hat. Here's what the Republicans new benchmarking process does:

In the last election, Democrats won control of the Senate in Virginia, and gained seats in the lower house.

Yesterday, Democrats increased their numbers to 45 (out of 100) in the House of Delegates.  See this article from the WaPo.

Of course a person is innocent until proven guilty, but this doesn't look good for this republican.

From The Washington Post:

The local election for Delegate here in Leesburg made the front page of MyDD today. And a very interesting affiliation of Joe May's was brought to light.

"Black Katrina victims are "pestilent vermin." "These leeches will go on to pollute the communities [where] they're relocated" - statement made in 2004 by a Sons of Confederate Veterans President.

"We seek a return to ... a majority European-derived society." Statement made in 2000 by a Sons of Confederate Veterans Executive Council Member - MyDD

I would  like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to all my supporters, donors, volunteers as well as all those who live in the Ninth Senatorial District and voted for me. Thank you for your confidence and faith in me. Thank you for your efforts, your time, your contributions and your unwavering support. Your friendship and steadfast commitment carried us through this campaign.  I know that, without your dedication to our cause, we would not have been successful.

Please know that I am always eager to hear from my constituents and my supporters and I look forward to working with all of you to make our communities an even better place to live and raise our families.

Over the next few months we have another task before us – to get a Democratic majority in the State Senate and gain as many seat as possible in the House of Delegates. I look forward to working with you so that we can make a Democratic General Assembly a reality.

Please feel free to contact me if ever I can be of any assistance to you and, remember, my door is always open.

Thank you again.

This year is an "off year" for elections in the United States. Still, there are important elections out there, several of which have potential national implications. Basically, we've got three states (Kentucky, Lousiana, and Mississippi) holding gubernatorial elections, and four states (Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia) electing state legislatures. Of these, I want to spend a few minutes focusing on my state, Virginia.  Specifically, I want to discuss why I believe Virginia is important, both in its own right as well as in the context of national politics for 2008 and beyond. Please join me after the "jump."

House of Delegates District 6

Obviously, my candidate is a Democrat. He faces a battle against 3 entrenched incumbents. He's running because, as he would say, "He's disappointed with the district's represenation and its time for change in Annapolis."

Incumbent # 1 (Sonny Minnick) - has been in the house of delegates since the early 80's, he's well funded, and well liked, but there is still a decent chance of knocking him off.

Incumebt # 2 (Michael Weir Jr) - was elected for the first time in 2002, but his dad served in the house of delegates for several terms. He has solid name id. He, too, is well funded.

Incumbent # 3 (Johnny Olszewski Jr) - recently was appointed to fill a vacant seat in the house of delegates (John Arnick passed away). He's very young and very controversial. Most believe he was appointed solely because his father is a powerful county councilman (Johnny Olszewski Sr). He's by far the most vulnerable of all of the incumbents.

My Democratic state representative, West Virginia House of Delegates Assistant Majority Whip Tim Ennis (D-Brooke Co.), recently introduced House Joint Resolution 106 - the "Marriage Protection Amendment" - to codify a ban on any formal, recognized union between same-sex couples in West Virginia.