I interrupt this blogging hiatus to bring you...

Not one, not two, but THREE items today from what's become one of my absolute favorite blogs, Raising Kaine, "The Voice of Progressive Virginia."

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First, we have the proposal to rename the city of Falls Church (which is two blocks from where I live). Obviously, the post should be taken with a grain of salt... the town won't be renamed. Still, the story brings attention to the fact that the Episcopal church the town was named after just broke away from the more mainstream Episcopal church to join the Episcopal church of Nigeria, which favors jailing homosexuals. The city of Falls Church, incidentally, favored Jim Webb over George Allen 71% to 28%.

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Next, a little item about Congressman Tom Davis. I don't want to make a big deal out of this one, because I don't think there was any bad intent here, but he might want to think about the way he talks about "traditional Virginians," given the events of the George Allen campaign.

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Now, Congressman Virgil Goode. Unlike, Tom Davis, this man is an indisputable douchebag. Mel Gibson is bad. George Allen is bad. Michael Richards is bad. Even Rosie O'Donnell has a little explaining to do. But I think Virgil Goode's late entry just took the crown for.....

BIGOT OF THE YEAR!

From Raising Kaine... forgive me for copying the whole entry....

You'd think a guy connected to a federal bribery investigation would keep a lower profile. Not Virginia's Virgil Goode! Via Waldo, check out this unbelievable letter by Rep. Goode (R-VA).

Thank you for your recent communication. When I raise my hand to take the oath on Swearing In Day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way. The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran. We need to stop illegal immigration totally and reduce legal immigration and end the diversity visas policy pushed hard by President Clinton and allowing many persons from the Middle East to come to this country. I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped.

Seriously, my jaw has dropped to the floor. Since I'm speechless, I'll let Waldo sum it up: "Wow. I always knew that Rep. Goode appealed to xenophobic, and I knew that his closest allies in the House were staunch racists. But this? Just. Wow."