Say what?

Perhaps that has something to do with the fact he just got Covid himself.  Is he still suing Nancy Pelosi over the House mask mandate?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

In high political office Covid-19 cases news

Virginia governor Ralph Northam and his wife, plus a member of his residence staff.

Missouri governor Mike Parson.

South Carolina state senator Katrina Shealy.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar's security officer.

The new progressive Virginia continues to surprise and impress

Virginia adopted statewide emergency workplace safety standards to deal with the coronavirus, making the state the first in the nation to implement such protection measures. The Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board voted on Wednesday to adopt the emergency temporary standard on infectious disease prevention, which were drafted under the direction of Gov. Ralph Northam (D). The Virginia standards include mandating personal protective equipment, sanitation, social distancing, infectious disease preparedness, record keeping and training, and they will be in place for six months.

[...]

The standards, which passed by a 9-2 vote with one abstention, also require all employers to mandate social distancing measures and face coverings for employees in customer-facing positions.

If social distancing is not possible, employers are required to provide frequent access to hand washing or hand sanitizer. It also requires employers to regularly clean high-contact surfaces and notify employees within 24 hours if a co-worker tests positive for the virus.

Employees who are known or suspected to be positive for COVID-19 cannot return to work for 10 days or until they receive two consecutive negative COVID-19 tests.

[...]

Fines for violations could range from $13,000 to $130,000, and they would increase for repeat offenders.

[...]

The board is voting on amendments and a final draft should be available soon, according to the governor’s office. To be enacted, these standards must be publicly published in a newspaper, which will happen at the end of July.

The Virginia AFL-CIO celebrated the move, calling it essential.

  The Hill

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Something to watch

The governors of Maryland and Virginia both refused direct requests from Defense Secretary Mark Esper to send National Guard troops to help counter mostly peaceful protestors in Washington, D.C.

In separate calls made on Monday, Esper asked Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) to deploy troops into the District, sources with knowledge of the calls said.

Esper made the request without consulting Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), who had already declared a curfew in the nation's capital.<"When this request came in, we quickly learned it had not been made at Mayor Bower's request or coordinated with her, and we have heightened concern based on the President's remarks that the administration is looking to use the Guard to escalate — not deescalate — the situation," [Clark Mercer, Northam's chief of staff, said in a statement.]br />
[...]

The calls came hours before members of Washington's National Guard began shoving protestors away from Lafayette Square Park, in front of the White House, firing rubber bullets, releasing tear gas and setting off flash-bang grenades to disperse what had been a mostly peaceful protest.

[...]

Later Monday and into the early hours of Tuesday, military helicopters hovered dangerously low over protestors, using what are called "show of force" tactics to disperse the crowds.

Blackhawk helicopters buzzed low over crowds across Washington's downtown region.

[...]

The Pentagon has requested additional National Guard troops from Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Utah, who are either already in Washington or on their way, a senior defense official told The Hill.

  The Hill

Virginia is still moving forward - Part the next

Every state should be doing this.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Virginia still moving forward

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) on Friday signed legislation into law that would roll back several restrictions on abortion in the state.

The legislation repeals regulations mandating those seeking an abortion to get an ultrasound at least 24 hours prior to undergoing the procedure and receive counseling on alternatives to abortion. It also revokes requirements saying facilities that provide more than five abortions per year be designated as hospitals and that only physicians provide abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy.

“No more will legislators in Richmond—most of whom are men—be telling women what they should and should not be doing with their bodies,” Northam said in a statement. “The Reproductive Health Protection Act will make women and families safer, and I’m proud to sign it into law.”

The laws will go into effect on July 1.


  The Hill

What happened to turn Virginia into a liberal bastion? Was there an influx of wealthy people spilling over from DC? Whatever happened, it's bringing Virginia into the 21st century.

"Also known as slavery"

“CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King corrected Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) after he referred to slaves as “indentured servants.”

The comment came in Northam’s first televised interview since he began facing calls to resign over a blackface scandal, in which he urged healing.

“We are now at the 400-year anniversary — just 90 miles from here in 1619. The first indentured servants from Africa landed on our shores in Old Point Comfort, what we call now Fort Monroe, and while—,” Northam said, before King cut him off.

“Also known as slavery,” King said.

“Yes,” Northam responded.

  The Hill

Indentured servitude was not the same as slavery, guys.  Unpaid interns at the New York Times and in Congress might be called indentured servants.  Slaves, no.

It's tough to make your way out of a hole when you keep digging.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

In their fucking yearbooks!

A photo of [Florida] state Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R) surfaced last year before he was elected, but recent blackface scandals in Florida and Virginia have refreshed the scrutiny around the photo.

Sabatini told the Orlando Sentinel on Tuesday that the photo was "decontextualized," indicating it was not racist, and described it as a prank between him and a high school friend, who is black, to dress like each other. The friend also defended Sabatini.

[...]

Last month, Florida Secretary of State Michael Ertel resigned after a photos surfaced showing him wearing blackface and dressing as a “Hurricane Katrina victim.”

  The Hill

Was this shit a thing back then?  Is it still?

Virginia Attorney General comes clean in wake of Northam scandal

Herring is second in line for the governor's seat.

I have a glaring example from my past that I have thought about with deep regret in the many years since, and certainly each time I took a step forward in public service, realizing that my goals and this memory could someday collide and cause pain for people I care about, those who stood with me in the many years since, or those who I hoped to serve while in office.

  Office of the Attorney General, VA

But he didn't think about it enough to admit it before now. On the other hand, this is how and the spirit in which an apology should be made...

"In 1980, when I was a 19-year-old undergraduate in college, some friends suggested we attend a party dressed like rappers we listened to at the time, like Kurtis Blow, and perform a song. It sounds ridiculous even now writing it. But because of our ignorance and glib attitudes – and because we did not have an appreciation for the experiences and perspectives of others – we dressed up and put on wigs and brown makeup.

"This was a onetime occurrence and I accept full responsibility for my conduct. That conduct clearly shows that, as a young man, I had a callous and inexcusable lack of awareness and insensitivity to the pain my behavior could inflict on others. It was really a minimization of both people of color, and a minimization of a horrific history I knew well even then.

[...]

"[W]hat I am feeling in no way compares to the betrayal, the shock, and the deep pain that Virginians of color may be feeling. Where they have deserved to feel heard, respected, understood, and honestly represented, I fear my actions have contributed to them being forced to revisit and feel a historical pain that has never been allowed to become history.

[...]

"As a senator and as attorney general, I have felt an obligation to not just acknowledge but work affirmatively to address the racial inequities and systemic racism that we know exist in our criminal justice system, in our election processes, and in other institutions of power.

[...]

"That I have contributed to the pain Virginians have felt this week is the greatest shame I have ever felt. Forgiveness in instances like these is a complicated process, one that necessarily cannot and should not be decided by anyone but those directly affected by the transgressor, should forgiveness be possible or appropriate at all. In the days ahead, honest conversations and discussions will make it clear whether I can or should continue to serve as attorney general, but no matter where we go from here, I will say that from the bottom of my heart, I am deeply, deeply sorry for the pain that I cause with this revelation."

He's lucky nobody had pictures when he was running for office.

Also, when the Northam scandal broke, Herring called for him to step down.  I wonder if someone DID have pictures.  Or at least called to remind Herring of his own behavior.

Jesus Christ, Viriginians.  The Lt. Gov. (a black man) has been (credibly) accused of sexual assault.



UPDATE:

In the grand Virginia tradition

Eastern Virginia Medical School, which embattled Virginia Governor Ralph Northam attended, banned yearbooks in 2013 after the school’s provost was shown a yearbook featuring portraits of three white students dressed in Confederate uniforms and standing in front of a Confederate flag. The decision to ban the yearbooks was made almost 30 years after Northam’s 1984 yearbook page included a photo of two people in black face and a KKK costume.

[...]

The school has hired former Virginia Attorney General Richard Cullen to lead an investigation into how racist photos came to be published in EVMS yearbooks.
  Daily Beast

Hmmmmmm...because racist students put them there.  You're welcome.  No charge.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Idiots in glass houses

It's BEEN found.  That's how we know about it.  It's in the yearbook.



You're a fine one to talk about people making horrible statements.  Maybe it was just locker room talk, and boys will be boys.  Ask Melania.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

LOL, Northam, Part 2

Oh, dear god.  How did this guy get elected in the first place?



Well, it was his fault in that he went out somewhere in blackface.



It worked for Brett Kavanaugh.

Of course, Brett Kavanaugh isn't a Democrat.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:



Jesus.  A whole school of racist docs-to-be.

LOL, Northam

Stepping on his dick trying to back out of his initial admission.







...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:





I read somewhere they're now saying the yearbook editors got pictures mixed up across entries.  Jesus.

He's going to need a friend like Kavanaugh's who will take the blame.

UPDATE:





Oh, dear god.  How did this guy get elected in the first place?



Well, it was his fault in that he went out somewhere in blackface.



It worked for Brett Kavanaugh.

Of course, Brett Kavanaugh isn't a Democrat.

He doesn't think it was him

I'd make two points:
1) He already apologized for it (and then people must have started asking which one was him because they couldn't tell - so, voila! he has plausible deniability - only he should have thought of that before apologizing);
2) If he doesn't know if it was him, that can only mean that he WAS in blackface (or a KKK hood) at some point where a photo COULD have been taken.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:



You're not confused, Seung Min.  Northam is trying to see if he can gaslight just like the president.

Also... he likes beer!  He and Kavanaugh have some similar issues with beer and yearbooks.