SB 267 Tabled in Finance

Despite machinations of powerful WMATA and transportation lobbyists, Senator Mary Margaret Whipple's bill to support Tom Davis' federal metro money with a sales tax increase was tabled in House Finance today. This is the same bill which is drawing controversy over at NLS and in today's RTD and WaPo from Bill Leighty's truthiness in re: Mrs. Davis' vote. (She did vote for it).

But I find two other votes much more interesting. Today Delegate Tim Hugo voted "Nay" on the tabling, hoping to bring her to the full floor of the House (where he was sure to vote "yea"). In the Senate, after amending the bill to be enacted only if the federal money is secured, Senator Jay O'Brien voted for it.

O'Brien's vote is more interesting, in many ways, because I wouldn't imagine that capital improvements at Metro stations will do a dang thing for his constituents. If O'Brien voted for a bill to create a sales tax dedicated to widening the Fairfax County Parkway or Route 123, I wouldn't blink. But this almost seems like O'Brien is picking a transportation issue to step away from his fellow Senate conservatives so that he doesn't get branded as someone who refused to do anything for transportation.

Thank God for Bob McDonnell

I'm sure many of you have seen this, but I loved hearing about this...thank goodness for those few hundred voters who made McDonnell the Attorney General instead of choosing someone who would have rubber stamped the Kaine administrations attempts at overruling the majority opinion of the state of Virginia on this issue:

Victoria Cobb, Executive Director, Family Foundation
Friday, February 24, 2006

Victory Alert: AG McDonnell Overrules Governor's Executive Order

Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell today issued a legal opinion stating that Executive Order No. 1, which included sexual orientation as a protected class in the Commonwealth's nondiscrimination policy, is unconstitutional. The executive order was one of Governor Warner's parting actions and Governor Kaine's first act as governor, signed immediately after taking the oath of office on January 14.

General McDonnell issued the opinion in response to a query by Delegate Bob Marshall (R-13, Manassas) on the constitutionality of the executive order. The opinion states that the executive order aims to change public policy, which constitutionally, can only be changed through the legislative process.

McDonnell wrote in his opinion that the executive order was "permissible to the extent the Governor is ensuring that the laws are faithfully executed," but that the addition of protected class status to a particular group "was intended to, and in fact did, alter the public policy of the Commonwealth. It is further my opinion that changing the public policy of the Commonwealth is within the purview of the General Assembly; therefore, that portion of Executive Order No. 1 is beyond the scope of executive authority and, therefore, unconstitutional."

It was the third stinging rebuke to the homosexual lobby and their allies in state government in less than a month. Previously, the General Assembly defeated a bill to add sexual orientation and expression to the protected class in nondiscrimination policy not only for the state, but for local governments as well. The General Assembly also stripped similar sexual nondiscrimination language out of the state budget submitted in January by former Governor Mark Warner before his term expired. The insertion of such language into the budget by Warner was unprecedented, as he tried to get policy passed into law through the budgetary process where he could not through normal legislative means.

Reversing the Governor's a ctions and working to prevent similar legislastion has been a high priority for The Family Foundation this session.

McDonnell's office also played a role in the recent debate on the propose constitutional amendment defining marriage by defending the amendment's language amid attempts to water down its meaning and to delay the process of getting the amendment cipating such an issue was impossible during his campaign, McDonnell's action today was consistent with his campaign plon the ballot.

Statement of the Port of Virginia: February 23, 2006

This is actually very reassuring to know. The state controls the port terminals in Virginia instead of renting them out:

Dubai Ports World (DP) a United Arab Emirates (UAE) state-owned company’s purchase of Peninsular and Oriental (P&O), a British company, has intensified the national discussion on ownership, operations and security at our nation’s ports. As demonstrated in the paragraphs below, DP’s purchase of P&O would not increase the security risk at The Port of Virginia.

To fully understand the implications of this purchase and its effect on port security in Virginia, one must first recognize the difference between a stevedore and a terminal operator, and understand how The Port of Virginia operates.

Terminal operators have access to all information contained in manifests, shipping records and bills of lading and control the movement of cargo through the marine terminal. Terminal operators are generally responsible for cargo from the time it enters the country until it is cleared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and released to a trucking or rail company to leave the terminal. DP (P&O) will have terminal operations in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami and New Orleans.

The ports where DP (P&O) would control terminal operations are “landlord” ports. These ports lease land to a terminal operator which runs the terminal with little or no oversight from the authority.

Stevedoring companies generally load and unload cargo from ship-to-shore. Stevedoring companies are responsible for the movement of cargo around the interior of a marine terminal, but are not part of the transfer of cargo to outside trucking or rail companies. In some cases stevedoring companies may expand their services and provide complete terminal operations, in these cases they are also terminal operators. DP (P&O) will have stevedoring operations in Portland, ME; Boston; New York/New Jersey; Philadelphia; Wilmington, NC; Baltimore; Miami; and most Gulf coast ports from Freeport, Texas to New Orleans. In Virginia, P&O has a 50 percent ownership interest in CP&O, LLC, a stevedoring company. That ownership interest would transfer to DP. At The Port of Virginia, CP&O handles cargo but does not manage any portion of the port operations or data from VIT’s information systems.

Virginia is unique in the U.S. port industry. As a state agency, VPA owns the marine terminals and operates the terminals through Virginia International Terminals (VIT), a private, non-stock state corporation under the control of VPA. VIT controls the movement of cargo from the docks and through the gates. In addition to the control of cargo movement provided by VIT, VPA provides security at the facilities through the use of a state certified Police Department. These stabilizing conditions continue regardless of future changes in ownership of privately held maritime businesses.

On Smoking Bans and Subcommittees

I'm glad to see the latest topic spreading across multiple Virginia blogs has everything to do with a bill, not much to do with scandal, and so far, nothing to do with prank phone calls.

The "Clean Indoor Air Act" (Senate Bill 648, patroned by Senator Brandon Bell, and also known popularly as "The Smoking Ban") indeed was defeated by a 6-0 vote of the ABC/Gaming Subcommittee of House General Laws on Thursday, in a very late meeting after the House finished up with its budget.

In December 2005, we all reported on the change to the House rules which will allow bills to be "PBI'd" in subcommittee, only to be brought in front of the full committee at a Chairman's discretion. As one would expect a change in the rules initiated by a Republican majority generated generally warm feelings from conservatives and generally cold feelings from liberals (which the MSM echoed at the time). Check out Tyler Whitley's piece from last Sunday's RTD for some more recent opinions.

But now we are met with the first real test for the new rule, a bill which people cared about. I mean, a lot of people followed this bill. A large, grassroots anti-smoking lobby, a powerful restaurant, hospitality and travel industry, and TV newsfolk that can get their heads around this simple, tangible, palpable, meat-a-licious topic.

Do yourself a a February favor, and read the Richmond Democrat's account of the day. I wasn't there, so I can't comment on the behavior of Dels. Wright and Albo, or anyone else in the room that Mr. Wilmore criticizes for their personal behavior/appearance. I do believe that he's wrong in assigning blame/credit for the densely packed room and the media coverage to the "secret" nature of the subcommittee. Like I said in the previous paragraph, this is a big story, and it's an easy story, and I think it was worth Rosalind Helderman's
or Christina Bellantoni's time regardless of whether or not she would've been able to look it up on the internet later that night.

Waldo started up some discussion over at his site, and I've joined in there. I'd like to bring it up here too, maybe getting a few more GOPers into the mix. Do we have a problem with a bill dying in front of a 6 person subcommittee? Factoring in the chairman's discretion, should 7 people in the House be able to end what at least 21 folks in the Senate began? Should subcommittee votes which result in a PBI be recorded? There are important questions here and those who favor the majority need to be responsible for answering them now. Someday, and some would say someday soon, we may not be in that situation, and we need to be prepared to fully own up to the precedent we set during our reign.

Smoking Ban defeated

Finally, an article that lays out the real reason to oppose a statewide smoking ban.

From what I've seen, the evidence is that where smoking is banned across a geographic market, there is little to no effect on restaurants or bars, since consumers can't choose between a smoking and non-smoking establishment.
Note the inherent contradiction -- the best that can be said is by eliminating choice, no one suffers disproportionately. Yippee!
I don't smoke, and I'm not a huge fan of that smell on my clothes after a night out. But eliminating that smell by government nannyism? Never. I'll just buy Febreeze.
(For an example of actual economic choice at work, just visit that great Virginia city Charlottesville. There is one bar on the downtown mall which prohibits smoking, and people who really don't like smoke go there. Problem solved.)

Senate Bill Seven Zero Eight

Typing it all out like that makes it sound more menacing, doesn't it? SB 708 is the Senate Leadership's transportation tax package, and it passed through the Senate on Friday 34-6, after over an hour of debate, which I had the pleasure of watching via the closed circuit TV capacity of the General Assembly Building. This post is mostly about my impressions of the legislation as formed by the debate. Go here to read Jim Bacon's assessment as to why this is the "The Worst of All Conceivable Solutions."


Every Senator, including Charles Hawkins and Ken Cuccinelli who started the festivities off, noted the bill was sure to pass by a safe margin. "I'm sure you won't be casting a tie-breaking vote on this one Mr. President [Lt. Governor Bolling]," said the Good Senator from Western Fairfax as he launched into his reserved questions for the Senator from Pittsylvania (Hawkins) and the Senior Senator from Fairfax (Saslaw). Saslaw did most of the legwork in defending the gas tax increase against the rhetorical assaults from Cuccinelli, Obenshain, and Martin. Seantor Watkins stepped out and defended the grantor's tax increase, though it understandably drew much less fire. Senators Hawkins and Deeds made interesting points about being the two members of the dirt road caucus (Hawkins: I'm the only one here who lives on a dirt road, which is off of another dirt road) and casting these votes for the sake of the entire Commonwealth and not their own self-interests. The strongest points made in favor of the bill came from Senator Marty Williams, of Newport News, and the Junior Senator from Virginia Beach, Senator Wagner, who tied the increased funding for Hampton Roads area projects is tied to promises made to the federal government which need to be kept in faith in calendar year 2006, or the region loose important federal matching funds and face future challenges in retaining the sizable presence of the U.S. military in the area. Williams also noted increased efficiency in VDOT over the past four years which should give those of us paying the tax more comfort.

I don't like this bill, but not because I just throw any tax increase out the window without really trying to get my head and heart around it first. I really just don't trust these large hodgepodge omnibus revenue packages which squeeze a little money here, pinch a little more from there, and shake down a few of the little guys. Senator Martin spent a good deal of his time talking about the queerness of the tax plan, and it's odd rebate structure, and Senator Cuccinelli joined in to say that the people least likely to fill out those forms and seek a rebate on their fuel purchases from the Tax Commissioner are those who are most in need of that money. Cuccinelli also stood up for those who would get hit hardest by the "abuser fees" and encouraged everyone to have a sense of compassion for those who'll end up getting hit by a ticket which costs his half a month's pay, when he's just driving the same speed that the rest of us do everyday up and down these highways.

I felt that the Senate's regular conservatives who spoke against this measure were very polite, very professional, and really kept the tone of the debate as just that, a debate. I was taken aback when Senator Tommy Norment, the floor leader of the Senate who is generally the guy who'll keep this sort of stuff over on the house side, put Martin in his sights and accused him of not having the right to ask questions for failure to submit his own transportation package.

The entire bill can be read here, at the General Assembly's website. Go here for the fiscal impact statement. Go here for the PDF version of the bill, which is the one that the members of the House who get their paws on this bill will have. There's a lot of interesting stuff in this bill, and people on both sides of both the aisles (moderate and conservative, D & R, even rural and suburban) have to pick up their pens and go through the bill, line for line, strike what they don't like, add what they'd like to see, and get involved in the debate.

And one more thing. Senator Fred Qualye threw out some numbers and said that the monthly burden on a driver caused by our new gas tax would be "the cost of one Super Value meal at Mac-Donald's, and looking around this chamber and looking at the people I see walking down the street out here in Richmond, I think everyone can part with one Mac-Donlad's Super-Value meal a month."

UPDATE

Riley Not O'Reily, who is Alfred to Vincent Thoms' Young Master Wayne over at TC, has the press release from Senate Transportation Committee Chair Mary Williams (R-Newport News).

Epaminondas of Thebes

Well, this post is waaaaaay outside the purview of the 2006 General Assembly, but I just wanted to note that Wednesday's "Featured Article" on the main page of The Wikipedia was Epaminondas of Thebes, my favorite figure from antiquity.

Back to the present, Speaker Howell has all the bills communicated out of the Senate assigned to committee now (as does Madam Clerk in the Senate). Let the bodies hit the floor, gentleman.

Staples 413 Three Pointers Record Falls

Of all the records JJ had to break, did he have to break this one? It was really neat to see Curtis Staples on hand and in the crowd, congratulating JJ and presenting him with the game ball after the game. Staples was a class act at UVA and a great player to watch. He was a freshman the last time UVA went deep into the NCAA tournamet (Elight Eight in 1995).

Iraq has been peppered with Cheney's munitions. Whittington has been peppered with Cheney's munitions.

Juan Cole thinks he's cute with his top ten comparison of Cheney's decisions in Iraq to Cheny's shooting Harry Whittington. I don't endorse them, but they are rather amusing while simultaneously infuriating.

Bacon's "Breakthrough" in Transportation

Always a must-read, this Jim Bacon article from the latest Rebellion reminds all of us that we don't have to fight harder to derail this biennium's tax hike- we have to fight smarter.

A Breath of Fresh Air

While the rest of the Virginia blogosphere is sucks in the noxious fumes of a wonderful new NLS scandal, I'd like to draw everyone's attention to the long and hard fought victory that Senator Brandon Bell won today on behalf of non-smoking sourpusses everywhere in the Commonwealth.

I don't smoke. I never have. I never will. I don't even smoke cigars!

But I agree with Senator Charles Hawkins (R-Pittsylvania), who hasn't had a cigarette in 25 years, when he says that it is not only an absurd trespass on the rights of restaurant owners and smoking patrons, but also the non-smoking patrons who just think that smokers are more fun.

The nay votes were the regular conservatives, the rural Democrats, and the Senate leadership (who probably were angling for a substitute tax bill to squeeze it to death).

I'm fairly confident the house will stop this measure, but I'd hate for a silly frivolous tabloid story to distract us while our right to pursue happiness is being ground into the ash tray of the nanny state.

Also is this first time in this GA session that Cuccinelli and Chichester have been on the same side of a controversial proposal?

A Tax on being healthy

Though its of a more national flavor, the following article struck me as truly outrageous. This article by Sebastian Mallaby in the WaPo's Op-ed page is in opposition to the President's Health Savings Accounts. The passage that raised my ire was:

"In sum, health savings accounts are not just about ending the tax bias in favor of traditional company health plans. The administration is proposing a new kind of 401(k), and using it as an inducement to quit low-deductible insurance. Rich people, who gain most from the tax breaks on saving, will be first to sign on; healthy people, who subsidize sicker people in company health plans, will be right behind them. Their exit may force traditional health plans into a death spiral. The loss of the subsidy from healthy workers will drive premiums up, which will drive more healthy people into health savings accounts, which will drive premiums up further." (emphasis added)

And you thought taxes on income didn't make a lot of sense; apparently liberals now want to prevent the President from ending a tax on health. I wholeheartedly agree: let's penalize people for being healthy. If you exercise, eat right, don't smoke, etc. you should have to pay.

House GOP proposes transportation fund

From todays WaPo on the House GOP's plan to establish a transportation fund without the broad tax increases proposed by Kaine and the Senate Republocrats. (I'm not normally given to name calling, but I thought the one thing all Republicans could agree on was lower taxes, lower spending. We may fight on abortion, religion, etc. but when did we abandon lower taxes?)

As a resident of Northern Virginia, I'm all for spending more money on roads -- if you've never lived there, you can't possibly understand how big a mess it is. Without exaggeration, "Rush Hour" lasts from 7-10 AM, and 4:30-7:30 PM. And that's if there are no accidents.

On a related note, while I'm sure we talked about this before, what was the logic for rejecting the regional plans Gov. Warner proposed, which would allow localities to tax themselves, if they chose, to pay for transportation? I'd vote against a tax increase normally, but if I knew the money would ONLY go to road projects around DC, I might vote for it.

UPDATE: In the comments, Will Vehrs has asked for a Northern Virginia road priority list, so I thought I'd see if any other NoVaites had thoughts.
My list: Expedite I66 widening, Widen Rt. 7, Rt. 50. I'd also like to see the parking lots expanded at Metro Stations Vienna, East and West Falls Church and Dunn Loring (though this may be a federal issue). Oh, and of course Metro to Dulles.

State tuition for some illegals

Today's WaPo has the story about Sen. Hanger's amendment which would essentially exclude children of illegals whose parents have paid state taxes (and who are themselves seeking legal residency) to receive in-state tuition.

At first blush, I think I'm in favor of this proposal. Ignoring the legal/illegal question, in-state tuition is meant to benefit those students whose parents have paid state taxes. And so long as the student is seeking legal residency, I think in-state tuition is appropriate. Otherwise, aren't we punishing children "for the sins of their father"? Should a student who graduated from a Virginia high school, is seeking legal residency and whose parents pay state taxes receive that benefit?

(Side question: How can you be an illegal immigrant, pay taxes, and have no one notice your illegal status? I just did my taxes and was worried I might get audited for over-deducting my moving expenses)

This is funny

Look at the members of the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services committee. Now look at the members of the Senate Local Government committee.

P.S.--- If you didn't start to fear a genuine Democratic (by which I mean they run with a "D" next to their name) takeover in the Senate after Herring's victory last week...

What a Life

The story of William Borden of Yale '09 is simply amazing.

Borden, the heir to the Borden Dairy empire, chose to become a missionary to China instead, but died at the age of 25 after contracting spinal meningitis in Cairo while on his way to China.

Read it.

"No reserves. No retreats. No regrets." - William Borden

How Bout Them Cavs

Leitao has a limited roster playing excellently. Reynolds is finally playing well, and is complementing Singletary perfectly. They make a great back court.

Glad to see UVA pulled it out against Wake Forest.

McNulty on Hot Seat before Judic Committee

Looks like Mr. McNulty is holding his own during the hearings on his nomination as Deputy Attorney General.

You like me, you really really like me!

A blogger that I've recently gotten into (if only for his incredibly frustrating trivia) tagged me for this "four things" bit that seems to have become all the vogue amongst the Virginia blogs, so here goes.

Four jobs I've had
1. Server of frozen delicacies
2. Campaign staffer
3. Customer Service Associate (i.e. Bagboy/cart corraler)
4. (Whoops, definitely not NASA researcher, sorry Sarge) Caterer

Four movies I can watch over and over
1. Red Dawn (and not just on a Reaganite level, but also for the absurdity of it all)
2. Harvey
3. Animal House
4. For my purposes, the non-sketch Python films count as one

Four places I've lived
1. An locality that begins with a W in the Shenandoah Valley

Four T.V. shows I love
1. The Simpsons (prior to Season 10)
2. Family Guy
3. The West Wing (but honestly, usually only the campaign episodes)
4. Bring back Mister Sterling!....joshing, Futurama

Four places I've vacationed
1. Orlando, Florida
2. Washington, DC
3. Virginia Beach, VA
4. Williamsburg, VA

Four of my favorite dishes
1. General Tso's Chicken, particularly from Brown's Chinesse American in Luray
2. Macaroni and Cheese, but only if its done right
3. Shrimp or Chicken alfredo
4. Crab legs

Four sites I visit daily
1. Bloglines....but I read the best of OMT, SST, and CC from there
2. NLS.....I can't quit you
3. Yahoo! News
4. Facebook *shudder*

Four places I would rather be right now
1. Deep down in some little pocket, screaming to get out.....Charlottesville
2. The Valley
3. The room
4. Peking Pavillion.....they better have eggrolls

Four bloggers I am tagging
1.When I get back

My Four Things

Four Jobs I've Had:
1. lawncare boy
2. retail stock room "associate"
3. campaign manager
4. legislative correspondent on Capitol Hill

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over:
1. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
2. Glory
3. Saving Private Ryan
4. Dr. Strangelove and How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
5. Chariots of Fire
6. Godfather
7. Fight Club
8. Goodwill Hunting
9. Braveheart
10. Oh....whoopsss

Four Places I've Lived:
1. Charlottesville, Virginia
2. Woodbridge, Virginia
3. Richmond, Virginia,
4. Washington, DC

Four TV Shows I Love:
1. Dave Chappelle
2. That 70s Show
3. Andy Griffith Show
4. UVA sports events

Four Books I Love:
1. The Witness by Whittaker Chambers
2. The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
3. In God's Underground by Richard Wurmbrand
4. Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter (John Adams enjoyed reading this in 1810)
5. The Sacred Romance by John Eldredge

Four Places I've Vacationed:
1. Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Congo)
2. Dominican Republic
3. The Scottish highlands
4. The Netherlands

Four of My Favorite Dishes:
1. anything my mom makes
2. Fettucini alfredo
3. anything at the Tavern on Emmet in Charlottesville
4. haggis, neeps, and taddies

Four Sites I Visit Daily:
1. Commonwealth Conservative
2. One Mans Trash
3. BenDomenech.com (what got me interested in blogging years ago) - shut down now
4. Reasoned Audacity, www.charmaineyoest.com

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now:
1. Charlottesville (oh wait, I am here) - did i mention i love Charlottesville
2. Edinburgh, Scotland
3. New Zealand
4. Cambodia

Four Bloggers I'm Tagging:
1. the ones Old Zach is tagging
2. dittos
3. dittos
4. mega dittos

John F. "Jack" Herrity

Jack Herrity will always be "Mr. Republican" for Fairfax County. Nothing was more enjoyable than cruising down John F. "Jack" Herrity parkway and being passed by the man himself in his signature hat.

And he never stopped. He was on his way to another bid for County Chairman. He could be seen on top of every growth issue in the county, positioning himself against the developer-owned and operated Connolly. I think he could have done it.

There's a lot of talk about the doors of tomorrow that shut forever whenever a politician passes away. In the memory of Dalton, J. Sargeant Reynolds, Couric, and Obenshain supporters and fellow party members struggle to pick up the slack for the lost pillar.

I'll be the first to say it then, '07 here we come-

Let's win this one for Jack.

Go over to Too Conservative for more details

Sad Truth: A lot of Virginians just don't care...

The discussion of what Sen. Herring's blowout win over Mick Staton means has begun over at Commonwealth Conservative, which links to similar discussions.

There'll be lots of opinions, each right in its own way, and each also wrong. So with that as a preamble, here's my take:

There's an old saw in politics: In any given election, each side will win 40% of the vote, and the contest is over that middle 20%. Certainly this is true in Loudon County, which even though it supported Kaine was (until recently) a solidly Republican County. So when one candidate gets less that 40%, it's a sign something is seriously wrong.

However, unlike in some other special elections, here I don't think the problem was necessarily an ideological split within the Republican Party. If anything, it was a problem with how Republicans have been approaching elections recently, both here in Virginia and nationally.

It seems as though Republicans can't help but nationalize every election. During the governor's race, we couldn't talk about anything except abortion and the death penalty (which sounds a lot like 2001, when you think about it). The Democrat talked about fiscal solvency, transportation, etc. Both times, the Democrat won. In the special election, even though Staton tried to talk about transportation, even the conservative blogs couldn't help but talk about Dick Black.

At some point, Republicans are going to have to realize that, while the base loves talking about abortion, the death penalty, and other social issues, the "center" (especially in Northern Virginia) honestly doesn't care. All they want is to be able to get to and from work, not pay too much in property taxes, and be able to send their kids to decent schools. That, and the trips to soccer practice, baseball practice, swim lessons and church on Sunday, and that's all most people have time/energy to care about.

It may be hard to believe, esp. if you believe abortion is murder, but the reality is the "center" just doesn't care that much about it. "Legal but infrequent" probably sums up the position. Unless Republicans learn how to talk to people who really don't care that much about politics again, we are going to continue to lose -- maybe not all at once, but slowly over time.

Musical Mayhem: The Fight for A New State Song

As promised in the comments below, here is a set of proposed lyrics for the song "Shenandoah," to make the song more Virginia-centric.

Oh, Shenandoah,
I hear you calling.
To the heart of all your people.
Oh, Shenandoah,
I hear you calling.
And I pause, and think of home,
In my dear Virginia.

Oh, mountains tall,
I see your splendor.
And my heart soars like your summits.
Oh, mountains tall,
I see your splendor.
And I pause, and think of home,
In my dear Virginia.

Oh, rolling wave,
I taste your sea spray.
Old as time, yet ever changing.
Oh, rolling wave,
I taste your sea spray.
And I pause, and think of home,
In my dear Virginia.

Oh, brother mine,
My hand I offer.
Stand with me and be my neighbor.
Oh, sister mine,
My hand I offer.
And I pause, and think of home,
In my dear Virginia.

Very beautiful, although I think it's missing something. It just seems to me it doesn't take in the whole breadth of Virginia's people and culture. Who could be left out.........I KNOW! Here's my suggestion for a final verse.

Oh, 95
Cars snarled in traffic
Standing still, there on your asphalt
Oh, 95
I long to drive home
Away, so far away
Out to west Loudoun

There we go.