Islamic prayer at General Assembly causes stir

Delegate Adam Ebbin (D-Arlington County) invited a Muslim cleric yesterday to give the daily “opening prayer” at the General Assembly. The cleric, Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, spoke in his prayer about inclusion: “Give us the strength to go beyond tolerance and understanding,” he said to a chamber only nine-tenths full. The Pilot suggests that the ten Republican lawmakers who remained outside during this prayer did so to protest the cleric’s presence, but that strikes me as only a corollary to the real reason. Obviously the Republicans feared that tolerance on their part would constitute proof that a Muslim God is answering Muslim prayers. If Abdul-Malik wants to prove to Christians that Islamic prayers can be successful, he should pray for a more likely occurrence, such as an utterance by Governor McDonnell that’s ridiculous enough to be lampooned on the Daily Show.

Senate okays economic incentives to lure businesses

“After striking language that would have placed protections for gay and lesbian workers into law,” this article begins, “Virginia’s Senate today unanimously approved an economic incentive bill requested by Gov. Bob McDonnell.” This language, which had called for “an ecumenical atmosphere in its sexual orientation hiring policies,” was considered no longer necessary now that McDonnell has issued an executive directive instructing state agencies not to discriminate for any reason. His decree “doesn’t have the force of law,” unlike his executive order from two weeks ago that very clearly does permit discrimination. Virginia is quickly turning into an international punchline. I was going to write national, but then I recalled meeting two Germans here in Berlin who heard I was from Virginia and asked “How can you stand to live there?” in direct reference to the recent comments of Ken Cuccinelli. News travels, and you never know who might be about to relocate his business. (I don’t like arguing for gay rights on a solely economic basis, but I’ve noticed that when Republicans claim to believe gays should have rights, they often seem to think so mainly because we spend money.) And although it doesn’t matter anymore, ecumenical isn’t the most objective word when codifying principles of equality into law, given that it can mean “pertaining to the whole Christian church.” For my money, I’ll take a state that doesn’t base its egalitarianism on the behavior of the Christian church. I’ve seen their work.

So far, Virginia lawmakers’ pay immune from budget cuts

I could try to drum up some fake outrage about this, but since state senators earn only $18,000 a year anyway, I’ll be ecumenical.

Cost of Beach’s proposed $40M rail path may rise

At the moment I have neither the energy nor the time to explain why I think concerns about light rail’s cost are misplaced. Just as a far larger federal stimulus bill would have paid for itself many times over, the benefits of light rail will be huge and immeasurable. For instance, a commenter named Alexvb writes that “When Ilived in the big city, i liked riding the train to pick up girls. Every day, you meet someone new, perhaps this will help solve the single people problems in the area.”  Alexvb is absolutely right: when the Tide reaches the oceanfront, the single people problems that plague Hampton Roads will disappear. In Berlin, where I write these words, public transportation is fast, varied, and efficient; as a result, the city has no single people problem. Men and women of all ages, seeing that I’m single, veritably throw themselves at me on the U-Bahn. To avoid this, I mainly walk, even when I’m wearing the ill-fitting shoes that are fashionable around here. As a result, I’ve hurt my foot and won’t be able to run in the Shamrock Marathon. Does anyone want my registration number?

Annual statewide tornado drill planned next week

I’m glad I’ll be home in time for this.