ESPN Live: George Allen book tour continues today in Portsmouth with Tony Mercurio

Having spent his life in both the sports and political worlds, former Virginia Governor and U.S. Senator George Allen – son of Hall of Fame coach George Allen, Sr. – reveals what our government can learn from the greatest moments-and failures-in sports, in his book What Washington Can Learn From the World of Sports.

Allen will be conducting a book signing on Saturday, June 19th, at Roger Brown’s Sports Bar, a Portsmouth institution. Brown was part of the famed "Fearsome Foursome" Los Angeles Rams defensive line, playing under Coach George Allen from 1967 to 1969.

Tony Mercurio of ESPN 94.1-FM will be broadcasting live from Roger Brown’s Sports Bar during the event. Prince Books of Norfolk will be selling copies of What Washington Can Learn from the World of Sports at Roger Brown’s from 1 to 3 pm.

Portsmouth, Virginia:
Who: Author, George Allen, former Virginia Governor and U.S. Senator
Roger Brown, NFL Legend
Tony Mercurio, ESPN Radio 94.1-FM

What: Booking signing for What Washington Can Learn From The World of Sports
When: 1:00pm; Saturday, June 19h
Where: Roger Brown’s Sports Bar
316 High Street
Portsmouth, VA 23704-3707
(757) 399-5377

To learn more about George Allen’s recently released book log on to, www.WhatWashingtonCanLearn.com.

To follow George Allen on Twitter and Facebook check in at www.GeorgeAllen.com.

Book tour: George Allen's Wednesday radio appearances

George Allen will discuss his book What Washington Can Learn from the World of Sports on four radio appearances tomorrow:

7:30 am ET
Steve Batton in the Morning
WHKT Freedom1650-AM, Chesapeake, VA
Listen Live: www.SteveBatton.com

8:05 am ET
The Grandy Group
WMAL 630-AM, Washington, DC
Listen Live: www.WMAL.com

8:40 am ET
The Mancow Muller Show
Nationally Syndicated
Find your station: http://www.mancow.com/stationfinder

9:10 am ET
WINA Morning News w/ Rich and Jane
WINA 1070-AM, Charlottesville, VA

George Allen on Mark Levin's radio show tonight

George Allen, who has been on a book promotion tour for his new book, What Washington Can Learn From the World of Sports, will be on Mark Levin's radio program tonight at 8:30. His complete schedule for today is below.

4:00p
The Don Kroah Show
WAVA 105.1-FM, Arlington, VA
http://www.wava.com/

6:00p
The Lee Davis Show
WXJC 92.5-FM, Birmingham, AL
http://www.850wxjc.com/

8:30p
The Mark Levin Show
Nationally Syndicated
Available: www.wmal.com

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling to address graduates

Virginia's Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling will be the commencement speaker for graduates in two ceremonies over the weekend.

At 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 15, he will address the Arete Christian Academy graduation at Fairmount Christian Church in Mechanicsville.

Sunday, May 16, the Lieutenant Governor will be at the 10:00 a.m. graduation for Christopher Newport University where he will deliver the commencement address.

Having listened to the LG address a variety of audiences over the years, I know his uplifting address and way of speaking will energize and be appreciated by all.

Congratulations to Kevin Bolling, son of Bill and Jean Ann Bolling, who graduated May 8 from James Madison University. It's graduation season....

Saturday: Del. Dickie Bell townhall meetings

Del. Dickie Bell (R-20th House) will be hosting two townhall meetings on Saturday, May 15.

Staunton City Hall
Council Chambers
10:00 a.m.

Turner Ashby High School
Auditorium - Bridgewater
4:00 p.m.

This is your chance to ask questions about the 2010 General Assembly session as well as any other concerns for the 20th House District.

Del. Bell's Office: (540) 332-3998

Southern Republican Leadership Conference ... Haley Barbour

[A friend attended the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans over the weekend and was enthusiastic in her updates about the speakers. Following is a paraphrasing of what she shared about Mississippi Republican Governor Haley Barbour.]

Repeating a recurring theme throughout the SRLC, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour emphasized, "We have got to stay focused on 2010, not 2012."

His concern for the direction of America was evident as my friend said she had never seen him so serious while speaking. Her companions, both Mississippi ladies who knew the Governor well, confirmed his depth of concern while speaking, saying he was more serious than they had ever seen him in all the years of working with him.

To illustrate his point about staying focused on 2010, Gov. Barbour asked how many remembered Ed Sullivan, and went on to say Mr. Sullivan once had Mr. Hilton of the hotel chain as a guest. Mr. Sullivan asked Mr. Hilton, "If you could tell the American people anything, what would it be?"

Mr. Hilton's surprising response was, "Keep the shower curtain inside the tub." That's focus, said Gov. Barbour, from a man who knew what was important.

He went on to say the American people know you cannot spend yourself rich. "The main thing is the main thing to keep the main thing," he said.

Some other points he made:

"People are scared."

"If you don't win, you can't fix things."

Haley Barbour has been governor of Mississippi for six years.

Southern Republican Leadership Conference ... Mike Pence

[A friend attended the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans over the weekend and was enthusiastic in her updates about the speakers. Following is a paraphrasing of what she shared about Indiana Congressman Mike Pence's remarks.]

Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN) made an impact with his remarks on Saturday, stressing, "We must stay focused and resist temptation to get caught up in 2012." His message was that of regaining Republican control of the House of Representatives in November as he emphasized, "We must take back the Hill!"

He said Americans must rededicate themselves to defending the country ... ideas know no boundaries in America.

To cheers, he said, "Let the world know America is a friend of Israel."

As this point, my friend said a small ruckus started on the opposite side of the room when, reportedly, a group of Ron Paul supporters started booing. Were they booing at the statement about Israel? Others in the room began to shout them down by chanting, "USA! USA! USA!" Paul Wiegel at the Washington Post caught it:

"Let the world know this if it knows nothing else," said Pence. "America stands with Israel!"

As most of the crowd rose for a standing ovation, the cluster of Paul fans -- most gathered stage left -- started booing, turning heads in the media section and in the rest of the room. Other SLRC delegates angrily turned on them, chanting (with an irony that amused the Paul fans) "USA! USA!" until they piped down.

While Paul backers came to the SRLC with high hopes and access to over 600 discounted tickets, their presence here is small and jarring compared with their presence at CPAC. Perhaps it shouldn't be surprising. The South was Paul's weakest area of the country in the 2008 primaries -- he got no delegates here, and no more than 5.6 percent of the vote in any Southern state.

Rep. Pence continued speaking, emphasizing that federal spending needed to be limited to 20% of the GNP by a constitutional amendment because, he said, that was the only way to stop the printing and spending of money. He received roaring cheers at that.

He likened the current crisis to a moral one and suggested that we need more moral people in leadership. My friend wondered if anyone was looking at him for 2012....

Pat has posted more about Mike Pence's speech and the video at ... and So It Goes In Shreveport. Check it out because, as she said, it was a barnburner of a speech!

Trixie Averill ... 6th District Chair candidate speaks at Rockingham mass meeting

Trixie Averill stood with Support the Troops ralliers at the 2007 Cindy Sheehan appearance in Charlottesville. Her sign said, "3 Tour Military Mom." Her son, Sgt. Marcus Averill, was deployed to Iraq three times during Operation Iraqi Freedom. This is my favorite photo of Trixie.

Trixie Averill has had boots-on-the-ground for 30 years working for conservative causes and candidates ... and on Monday night she was speaking to the 100+ attendees at the Rockingham County mass meeting in Harrisonburg.

A Republican activist in the trenches for years, she was typical Trixie ... animated, upbeat, and a patriotic military mom whose son spent three tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. She thanked everyone for coming out ... she commented on the large crowd.

She asked, "Is there anyone in this room who doesn't agree with the Constitution? If so, you're in the wrong room!"

She read the duties of a District Chairman from the Republican Party of Virginia Party Plan, emphasizing that a chairman does the business of the Republican Party by supporting Republican candidates and the Republican Platform.

"It's a travesty what Democrats have done," she exclaimed, referring to government health care reform recently pass by a partisan Democrat vote in Congress. We don't have that problem in the 6th District, she added, because of the excellent representation of Congressman Bob Goodlatte.

She emphasized that there are problems in the 5th District where Congressman Tom Perriello (D) voted for the government health care bill, and in the 9th District where Congressman Rick Boucher (D) voted for cap and trade.

Her grassroots activism goes back 30 years and many know her from her years of traveling the Shenandoah Valley supporting Republican candidates and encouraging volunteers who want to be involved.

Trixie walks the walk ... she doesn't just talk the talk.

A brief outline of Trixie's conservative work throughout the years:

- Conservative: pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment, believes in Virginia GOP Creed
- Worked on campaigns for George Allen, Jim Gilmore, Mark Earley, Jerry Kilgore, Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling, and others
- Traveled all of the Western part of the state since 1993 representing statewide candidates
- Spent countless hours attending and organizing meetings, fundraisers, rallies, parades, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and untold numbers of barbeques
- Made phone calls, lists, distributed materials, worked Headquarters, sent thousands of emails, poked, prodded, and pushed candidates and volunteers alike to work harder to win the race
- Member of the 6th District Committee and the State Central Committee since 1992
- Currently serves as the Western Vice-Chairwoman

Trixie explained her reason for seeking the 6th District Chairman position:

Now, after 16 years of traveling the West, I’d like to focus right here in my home district. The political landscape has changed and we can no longer assume that the 6th will go red, just because it always has. I do believe that we can still win and win big, but we have to buckle down, work together, and stay focused on the goal.

The 6th District Convention is May 22 in Lynchburg.

I've worked with Trixie as a volunteer for 11 years and have seen her in action all those years. Email me if you would like more information about her or about the upcoming 6th District Convention.

6th District chair candidate addresses Harrisonburg GOP

Sixth District chairman candidate Greg Habeeb addresses Harrisonburg Republicans.

The Sixth District Congressional District will have a new Republican chairman this spring, and one of the candidates spoke with Republicans at lunch Friday in Harrisonburg.

Greg Habeeb, currently chairman of the Salem Republican Committee and a Roanoke attorney, presented his ideas for leadership in a strong conservative district that is represented by many Republican elected officials. He was warmly received as the group listened to his ideas and concerns, followed by a question-and-answer period.

Next month Trixie Averill, also a candidate for 6th District Chair, will address the Harrisonburg Republicans.

RPV honors Mike Thomas

Mike at Saturday's RPV luncheon at the Advance.

Congratulation to Mike Thomas, 1st Vice Chairman of RPV's Central Committee, who was honored at the 2009 Republican Advance by having the "Volunteer of the Year" award named after him, something he jokingly said usually happens after someone dies. As it was announced at Saturday's luncheon, Mike made his way to the stage as the packed room of 650 activists, electeds, and officers enthusiastically rose to their feet and honored him with prolonged applause.

A tireless worker for over 30 years, Mike is one of the most respected members of the Republican Party of Virginia, filling in as interim chairman when called upon and toiling long hours for the Party while working with candidates and volunteers.

Along with all his Republican duties, Mike is also a husband, father, grandfather, and Children's Church leader in his church. A graduate of the University of Richmond, he is Senior Vice President of McGuire Woods Consulting.

It is a well-deserved honor and from now on "Volunteers of the Year" will receive the Michael Thomas Award. We all thank Mike for his dedication and service.

The verbal suicide bombers on the left must stop savaging Sarah Palin

"The lynching of conservatives must stop. The verbal suicide bombers on the left must stop. The ideological bigotry must stop.

If it does not, payback against the liberals will be bloody, as they reap what they sowed. --The Tigyrrrr Express blog

Sarah Palin, savaged by liberals as well as some in her own Party, has said enough is enough and is stepping aside as Governor of Alaska.

That's sad.

Gov. Palin is a strong, intelligent, hard-working conservative woman who is not an inside-the-beltway insider. In other words, she's a person ... not a politician.

Guess what. Most of us are not inside-the-beltway insiders. We're everyday people who believe in hard work, paying our own way, standing up for what we believe in, and being civil about it. That is why we identify with Sarah Palin. She loves her God, country, husband and children, raises her kids, has a son in Iraq fighting for our freedoms, hunts and fishes ... she's one of us.

Perhaps every person in the Lower 48 should visit Alaska. It's a different land ... residents are survivalists and individuals who do not depend on the government or anyone else because, after all, in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness there is no one else to turn to but yourself. They are independent and unencumbered by the narrow thinking of most in the Lower 48.

Why do those who are intimidated by Gov. Palin and others like her feel they must sink to the politics of personal destruction? Being accused of frivilous, false charges is time-consuming, a waste of time and expensive as she defended herself over and over, causing a financial drain on herself and her state.

Read this excellent post by Eric at The Tigyrrrr Express. It says what many are thinking.

Changes in the wind for GOP....

Elle at In-Politically Correct has done it again. Read her post "Winds of Change" about conservatives challenging the status quo of moderate leadership in the senate.