This article titled “US tornadoes force shutdown of two nuclear reactors in Virginia” was written by Ewen MacAskill in Washington, for The Guardian on Monday 18th April 2011 17.19 UTC

A US nuclear power company has disclosed that one of the tornadoes that hit the US at the weekend, killing at least 45 people and causing widespread damage, forced the shutdown of two of its reactors.

The series of tornadoes that began in Oklahoma late last week barrelled across the country, with North Carolina, where 22 people died, the worst-hit state.

The US nuclear safety regulator said on Mondayit was monitoring the Surry nuclear power plant in Virginia. Dominion Virginia Power said the two reactors shut down automatically when a tornado cut off power to the plant. A backup diesel generator kicked in to cool the fuel. The regulator said no radiation was released and staff were working to restore electricity to the plant.

The tornadoes were among the worst in the US in the past two decades. Last year, 10 people died in a tornado in Mississippi, while 57 were killed in North and South Carolina in 1984 and 330 across the south in 1974.

Two of the survivors of this year’s storms, Audrey McKoy and her husband Milton, who live near Raleigh, North Carolina, told the Associated Press they had seen the tornado bearing down on them over the tops of pine trees. At a nearby farm, winds were lifting pigs and other animals into the sky. “It looked just like The Wizard of Oz,” McKoy said.

They took shelter in their laundry room. After they emerged, disorientated, they realised that the tornado had turned their mobile home around.

The national weather centre in Raleigh issued detailed descriptions of the tornadoes and their paths of destruction.

One of them, with winds greater than 100mph, destroyed trees, ripped off roofs and wrecked power lines. It hit Shaw University in Raleigh and then strengthened to 110mph. “Snapped trees crashed on to and through numerous homes all along the path. It is in this area where three fatalities were reported when two mobile homes were thrown 30 to 50ft [nine to 15 metres]. Nearly all of the mobile homes in the park sustained some type of damage,” the weather report said.

Thousands of workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the national disaster organisation, are being deployed in North Carolina to assess the damage.

The North Carolina governor, Bev Perdue, interviewed on the NBC Today programme, said the storms had ripped through homes as if they were made of paper.

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This article titled “Jim Webb’s decision not to run in 2012 is a disaster for Obama” was written by Richard Adams, for guardian.co.uk on Wednesday 9th February 2011 17.30 UTC

Just when the Democratic party was starting to get a little more optimistic comes this bombshell: Senator Jim Webb has announced that he won’t run for re-election in 2012 in Virginia.

It was Webb’s nail-biting victory in 2006 that gave the Democrats control of the Senate in the midterm elections, and the Vietnam veteran and former Reagan-era cabinet member was even touted as a possible vice presidential nominee for Obama in 2008.

Now, “after much thought and consideration,” Webb says he is going to stand down when his term expires – a decision that complicates life for both Obama’s re-election prospects and the Democratic party’s hopes for retaining a majority in the Senate in 2012.

While Obama won Virginia in 2008 and both of the state’s US current senators are Democrats, Virginia remains a Republican stronghold, with the GOP winning the governorship in 2009 and dominating the 2010 midterms.

The Republicans are delighted. George Allen – the Republican incumbent who Webb defeated in 2006 thanks in part to Allen’s “Macaca” disaster on YouTube – has already announced he’s running again and is favoured to win the Republican nomination. Webb’s decision may provoke a Tea Party challenge to Allen, however.

The headache now is for the Democrats to come up with a solid candidate capable of winning the seat and generating enough support to give Obama a shot at retaining the state again in the 2012 presidential contest. Tim Kaine, the former governor, has previously said no but pressure from the White House could change that.

The biggest factor, other than the Senate candidates themselves, will be the nature of the presidential contest. If the Republicans choose a weak national nominee then Obama’s coat-tails may keep the seat in Democratic hands – assuming they run a credible candidate.

Webb made his announcement this morning in an email to supporters:

Five years ago this week, on February 8, 2006, I announced my intention to run for the United States Senate. We had neither campaign funds nor a staff. We were challenged in a primary, and trailed the incumbent in the general election by more than 30 points in the polls.

Over the next nine months we focused relentlessly on the need to reorient our national security policy, to restore economic fairness and social justice, and to bring greater accountability in our government. I will always be grateful for the spirit and energy that was brought into this campaign by thousands of loyal and committed volunteers. Their enthusiasm and sheer numbers were truly the difference in that election.

It has been a great and continuing privilege to serve in the United States Senate. I am very proud of my talented and dedicated staff, which has worked tirelessly to resolve the issues on which I based my candidacy, and to protect the interests of all Virginians in this national forum. Among other contributions we have given our Post-9/11 veterans the best GI Bill since World War Two; we have taken the lead in reforming our criminal justice system; we have led the way toward stronger relations in East and Southeast Asia; and we have been a strong voice in calling on China to act more responsibly in the world community. We will continue to work on these and other issues throughout the rest of my term.

However, after much thought and consideration I have decided to return to the private sector, where I have spent most of my professional life, and will not seek re-election in 2012.

Notwithstanding this decision, I have every intention of remaining involved in the issues that affect the well-being and the future of our country.

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Bob McDonnell ran for Governor of Virginia on a Conservative platform. He promised to restore Virginia back to fiscal health after years of liberal taxing and spending. The state was facing a $1.8 billion deficit when he took office.

Here’s what Virginia looks like 8 months later:

Governor Bob McDonnell announced today that the Commonwealth of Virginia has posted a preliminary revenue surplus at the conclusion of the 2010 fiscal year on June 30th. The Governor estimated the surplus, after miscellaneous interest payments are distributed, will be at least $220 million.

…Today’s announcement comes just months after the Commonwealth’s budget shortfall of $4.2 billion in the FY 2011/2012 budget was also closed through spending reductions, without a tax increase.

They simply rolled back all spending to 2006 levels. He admits that it was painful and required cuts in education, health care, and other areas but it simply had to be done. What he did not do was raise taxes on families already struggling through this recession.

Imagine what it would be like to have a real Conservative in The White House with enough balls to roll back spending at the federal level like that.

It would be painful no doubt but it’s the only thing that will save this country from economic ruin.

(hat tip The American Pundit)

If you want a fantastic example of how incompetent government is when it comes to running a business, look no further than Virginia.

To buy liquor in Virginia you have to buy it at a state run liquor store. Sounds like a real financial boon for the state, right? Not so much.

Despite having a 100% monopoly on liquor sales in Virginia the state still loses money. They turn zero profit.

How can you have a 100% monopoly on a product as popular as liquor and not turn any kind of profit? If you’re a big bureaucratic government — easily.

Fortunately, Virginia has a brand new governor — a Republican governor. Newly elected Gov. Bob McDonnell says he plans to end this financial boondoggle for the state and privatize liquor sales.

Here’s Reason.TV’s Nick Gillespie with all the details:

The GOP dominated in Virginia tonight winning the Governor’s race, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General. Congratulations to Bob McDonnell for his double digit victory.