Telemedicine Appointments

During the pandemic, we have had the opportunity to shift some of the kids' doctors appointments online. It has saved so much time and allowed me and the kids to meet with doctors without having to miss work and school. Seven year old Pedro Tulo has seen one particular specialist for over two and a half years. In June, Pedro Tulo had an EEG, and they wanted him to have as little sleep as possible. He made it all the way to 2:45 AM, and I woke him up at 6:00. The Moose stayed up for moral support (and the chance to watch unlimited TV) until midnight. After I woke him up from the couch to take him to bed, he angrily objected and declared that he wanted to win the contest for staying up later. I had to try to explain to a tired and delirious 10 year old that there was no contest and that he needed to sleep.

I'm getting way off topic. That happens a lot. The EEG was in person, but we scheduled the follow-up to be online. This worked out perfectly since we planned on being on vacation. About 30 minutes before the telemed appointment, a staff member from the doctor's office called to check on Pedro Tulo's height and weight and to confirm his medications. She then asked to confirm if we were in the state of Virginia and had the Zoom link. I paused and replied, "Is the first part a problem?" I probably shouldn't have said anything, but I did. The answer was yes. 

Apparently there is some type of Virginia law that you must be in the state for any telemed appointment. I should probably mention that I live in Northern Virginia, just outside of Washington DC. The doctor is affiliated with Children's National Hospital in DC, so he likely has patients in DC and Maryland. I could be in Washington or Bethesda only about 10-20 miles from the office, but the doctor could not meet with us online. Meanwhile, if I was in Roanoke or Virginia Beach over 200 miles away, that would be fine.

At the time of our scheduled appointment, I clicked on the Zoom link hoping that maybe the doctor would see us. He did not. However, a few minutes after I turned off the computer, he called, and we had the appointment by phone. While I'm not a member of the Virginia legislature, and I'm not going to play one on the internet, it seems like someone should look at these regulations. How is it fine to have an appointment by phone but not online? What's the difference? It seems like it is more efficient for doctors and patients to have appointments online in some cases. Why does it matter if I'm in Alexandria or Los Angeles?

Photo by TeleMed. Apparently, there's a company with this name. I just thought telemed was a generic term.

Driving From DC To Atlanta And Back*

For Spring Break, we decided to visit family in Georgia. I had the brilliant plan of driving through the night, so we got the kids bathed and ready for bed and then loaded them into the car in their pajamas. The idea was that we would avoid any traffic, particularly in Northern Virginia, and allow the kids to sleep during the drive. Turns out that the plan wasn't so brilliant. Although we left around 8:30 and didn't hit any traffic during the trip, driving through the night is tough. Basically, if life is a highway, I learned that I do not want to drive it all night long. I had to stop twice to take power naps while the kids (ages 8, 5, and 19 months) were all awake for the majority of the drive. At some point, we didn't even fight it and just put on some videos for them to watch. While I'll write about the trip home momentarily, here are some notes from the drive:

We ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Chattanooga, but it was sad and discouraging to pass so many Zaxby's and Waffle House restaurants and not stop.

By the way, major props to whatever marketing person came up with this billboard:

Can I just share that I'm not a big fan of crosses on the sides of highways. Crosses on church property are fine, but it seems out of place and a little intimidating to see a cross or group of three crosses on the side of the road or on a hill adjacent to the highway in seemingly the middle of nowhere.

Although Virginia is only the 35th state in total area, it takes forever to get through it. I'm looking at you, I-81! Yes, I know that you're going to be on I-5 in California or I-10 in Texas for many more miles, but it just felt like I'd never get back home. It's almost exactly 300 miles on 81 from the southern Virginia border to I-66. Then, it's another 50 or so miles on 66. Of course, it didn't help that a tractor trailer overturned on I-81 on the way home adding at least 60-90 minutes to the trip as we just sat on the highway with the oldest (The Moose) regularly asking how long we would be in traffic.

Eventually, we made our way to an exit several miles beyond Natural Bridge (which I would like to check out some day) for dinner. In looking for food options, we saw that The Red Hen, a restaurant somewhat famous for denying service to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. This brings me to an important question. The Red Hen is a good 3 hours from the White House and could be even more with DC traffic. Assuming that you're going somewhere only for the purpose of a meal, how far would you drive? I don’t think I’d go more than an hour away.

Taking some side roads before getting back on to the highway, we passed what turns out to be Hull's Drive-In movie theater in Lexington, VA. It would be fun to go to a drive-in theater again since I don't think I've been to one since the Greater Pittsburgh Drive-In in North Versailles closed at least 20 years ago. There can't be many around anymore.

You’ve seen plenty of movies and television shows featuring heists of armored cars. After passing 4-5 consecutive Little Debbie trucks in Southern Virginia, I think that a robbery of these tasty treats would make a terrific Hollywood plot.

During the drive, we went by Blacksburg, Virginia (home of Virginia Tech) and Knoxville, Tennessee (home of the University of Tennessee), and I wondered why these two schools don't compete against each other in athletics annually. Then, I-81 hit, and I realized that they're not THAT close. It's actually 236 miles. I doubt that there are many Knoxville to Blacksburg (or I guess Roanoke) flights, and you probably don't want to drive that.

There's a several-mile portion of I-81 North where you're also on I-77 South. Conversely, you can be on I-81 South and I-77 North. Yeah, that's not at all confusing.

Despite the tiring first drive and the long second drive, I think I'm ready for another road trip! Just give me some time to recover.

* The drive was actually from Northern Virginia to just north of Atlanta, but DC to Atlanta sounds better.


Interstate photo by jimmywayne on Flickr.

Jerry Falwell Jr.: Sore Loser

I planned on writing a detailed post about Tuesday's election results in Virginia with voter statistics, exit poll data, and more. While I still have a few notes about the results below, this tweet by Jerry Falwell Jr. deserves its own post.

DC should annex NOVA and return the governance of VA to Virginians! The founders intended DC to include all fed employees who are conflicted

— Jerry Falwell (@JerryFalwellJr) November 8, 2017

There are certainly some cultural and economic differences between Northern Virginia and the rest of the state. The proximity to Washington gives Northern Virginia a much more diverse population with residents from all over the world, and, as my child care bills can prove, a higher cost of living than the rest of Virginia. For example, I think I once read that there are 70 languages spoken at home for kids at my son's public elementary school.

Although I was born and raised in Pittsburgh and will always consider myself a Pittsburgher, I've now lived in Virginia (specifically Northern Virginia) for 16 years, nearly as long as I lived in Pittsburgh. My children were all born in Virginia. I pay local and state taxes in Virginia. I have a (nominal) position on the PTA board and volunteer at Celebrate Fairfax each year. I also coached my son's community soccer team and been a referee for youth soccer across Northern Virginia for well over a decade. I am a member of a synagogue, root for the George Mason University basketball team, and have Virginia 529 plans for my kids. Sure, I would like to do more in the community, particularly volunteering, but I have limited time with three young kids and a job. My point is that I'm a Virginian and you have no right, Mr. Falwell, to think that I'm not based on the area of Virginia where I live.

So are people in Northern Virginia not Virginians because there may be differing political viewpoints? Falwell must know that the majority of money to fund and govern the state comes from Northern Virginia, right? Let's go back in history a bit. There have been 8 presidents from Virginia. Perhaps Falwell heard of one of them named George Washington who lived much of his life at Mount Vernon located in Alexandria, part of Northern Virginia.

You know what else is in Northern Virginia? Arlington National Cemetery, a hallowed place to honor and remember those who served our country. Falwell may have also forgotten that residents of Northern Virginia lost their lives on 9-11 at the Pentagon.

I guess in Falwell's mind, real Virginians need millions of dollars to get their schools out of debt. And you're going to tell me that none of the contributions came from people in Northern Virginia? I'm sure real Virginians also get life insurance payouts of $34 million when their fathers pass away to save their school.

Maybe I'm being too hard on Falwell. As someone from a religious family, perhaps he was devastated by the recent Sutherland Springs, Texas church shooting and finally decided that there needs to be some gun control measures in this country. Due to this stance, maybe he wants the NRA, headquartered in Fairfax in Northern Virginia, to disassociate itself from the governance of Virginia. In that case, my apologies to Mr. Falwell.

Or maybe Falwell decided that it is unfair that nearly 680,000 residents of Washington DC have no representation in Congress and feels like the best way for this to occur is to have Northern Virginia merge with DC. It's not practical and there's no interest from either side to make this happen, but maybe Falwell is trying to bring some attention to this injustice.

Probably not. As someone from a religious family and the leader of an institute of higher education, Falwell should set an example of working together, not helping to spread divisiveness.

Two more election notes:

1. Arguably the biggest election result was Danica Roem becoming the first openly transgender person elected and seated in a U.S. statehouse. She defeated incumbent Bob Marshall who once referred to himself as the Chief Homophobe. He also introduced a "bathroom bill" prohibiting transgender people from accessing spaces that don't match their biological sex at birth. Roem was asked to comment on Marshall after her win and had an awesome response. "I don't attack my constituents. Bob is my constituent now."

While Roem out-fundraised Marshall, all politics is local. Roem canvassed neighborhoods, attended any community event she could, and focused on the most important topic in the community: traffic. Meanwhile, Marshall refused to debate Roem and referred to Roem as "he" or "him" throughout the campaign.

2. When I dropped off my oldest son at school, someone running for delegate was outside the school. I awkwardly told her good luck but that I couldn't vote for her since I live in a different district. When I picked up my son 10 hours later, she was still there. I commented on her dedication being out there all day in cold weather. I was happy to see she won.


Falwell photo from WSET; Roem photo from her Twitter page.

Pittsburgh, Virginia?

Are you a Pittsburgher living in Virginia and looking for a last minute Christmas gift? Here's your chance to show your Pittsburgh spirit by, um, wearing a T-shirt with the word Pittsburgh over the map of Virginia.

While I don't get it, I'll let Teespring, the company designing these shirts, explain:

There are many Pittsburgh fans in the state of Virginia, but unique Penguins fan gear is hard to find. (Sean's note: It is even more unique to find Penguins fan gear that doesn't include anything about the Penguins on it.) Be one of a kind with this Virginia for Pittsburgh limited edition shirt. (You certainly will be one of a kind.)

Each shirt is printed on super soft premium material and remember we always offer a money back guarantee! (Not just soft, super soft!)

This shirt would be perfect...if you lived in Pittsburgh, Virginia. According to Google maps, although there are several Pittsburgh Paints stores in Virginia and a Pittsburgh Tank & Tower Corporation in Virginia Beach, there is no such place as Pittsburgh, Virginia.

Anyway, an ad for Virginia for Pittsburgh T-Shirts appeared on my Facebook feed. In looking at the reactions, plenty of other folks were confused, or worse (several NSFW comments), about these T-shirts. Ah the holiday spirit!

I Don't Understand Virginia Sometimes

I generally like living in Virginia, and more specifically, Northern Virginia. I live in an area with good schools and libraries. I love the fact that Wegmans is only a few miles away though a local Sonic would be nice. Plus, I rely on public transportation and that usually works well for me. (I now fully expect to experience an hour-long Metro delay tomorrow.) Now to the things that bother me. Virginia will be one of the last states to approve gay marriage though marrying your first cousin will likely stay legal forever. I can't say that I'm thrilled to be in a right-to-work state where I could get fired at any time. I also don't understand why there is a one-term limit for Governor when there are no term limits for state senators or delegates. I guess the legislature wants to make sure that they have the power.



Here's something else that bothers me. While this isn't new, I'm only getting around to writing about this now since Virginia Lt. Bill Bolling announced Tuesday that he would not run for governor as an independent. You see, there is not a statewide Republican primary for Governor, Lt. Governor or Attorney General. Instead, the candidates are selected at a party convention which essentially handed the Republican nomination to Ken Cuccinelli. This seems undemocratic! Why not let the people choose instead of the party elite? Anyone have a good explanation for this?

On a related topic, the Virginia Governor race is going to be brutal, and I'm not looking forward to the campaign and especially the ads.

Can Gay Marriage Pass in Virginia

Last month, New York became the sixth (and largest) U.S. state to legalize gay marriage. This got me thinking about whether or not gay marriage could pass in Virginia. Although I’ve now lived in Virginia for nearly 10 years, I admit that I’m not an expert in Virginia politics. Actually, I take that back. I know that there is a one-term limit for the Governor, meaning that the Legislature has all power. In addition, Northern Virginia seems to be a separate state from the rest of Virginia. There are always complaints about traffic in Northern Virginia and how Richmond doesn’t contribute as much money to transportation issues here as they should.

Anyway, I’m getting off topic. I asked people who truly know Virginia politics whether they think gay marriage could pass in Virginia. I didn’t ask them to share their personal beliefs; just realistic thoughts about gay marriage in Virginia. Enjoy (and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section)!



Jim - Bacon's Rebellion

The chances are pretty slim that Virginia will approve gay marriage any time soon. As long as we have a socially conservative Republican governor, an even more socially conservative attorney general, and a Republican House of Delegates packed with social conservatives, there is zero chance of gay marriage legislation being enacted. I question whether such a bill could make it through the Democratic-controlled state Senate. Times are changing, though, and as the younger generation, which is far more accepting of gays, replaces the older generation with traditional values, we’ll see a change in attitude. But it will take another 10 years at least.

Doug - Below the Beltway

To answer your question, legalizing gay marriage in Virginia is going to be difficult. It cannot be done the way New York did it because, in 2006 Virginia passed a Constitutional Amendment that defined marriage as being between one man and one woman only and forbade the creation of any legal relationships for homosexuals that resemble marriage (meaning no civil unions).

Absent court action changing this would require another Constitutional Amendment, which would have to be approved by majorities in both houses of the legislature and then approved via a ballot initiative.

Miles - The Green Miles

Virginia passed a constitutional ban on gay marriage several years ago and it would take a long process to repeal. A recent poll showed Virginians moving in the right direction on the issue, but frankly we as Democrats need to do more to make the case. In particular I wish Virginia's Democratic leaders would vocally get behind repealing the ban and replacing it with equal rights for all Virginians.

Krystle - Crystal Clear Conservative

It is always nice to find another Steelers fan in the Virginia blogosphere

As for your inquiry on gay marriage, Virginia will not pass legislation to approve gay marriage. In 2006, Virginia had an amendment on the ballot to add a constitutional amendment to approve marriage as being between one man and one woman. Voters approved this amendment overwhelmingly. 57 percent voted in favor of the amendment, while 42.9 percent voted against it. [Source]

Loudoun Insider - Too Conservative

No way it could pass in Virginia anytime soon.

VA Blogger - (also of) Too Conservative

Not only can it happen, but it will happen, I'd guess in the next 20 years. Even if Virginia is among the last states to enact it, this is much more of a generational issue than an ideological issue.

Brian - Common Sense (He is also running for Delegate in Virginia's 37th district)

I will try and not let my lingering anger over the Pirates beating the Orioles in 79 influence my answers. :)

To answer your question, I think it is unlikely that a change in the gay marriage laws in Virginia could happen in the near future, as we saw in New York. New York's biggest issue was convincing a number of gay marriage opponents in their State Senate to switch their vote against gay marriage in favor of it. That's just pure lobbying. If I recall correctly, New York's Senate defeated a prior gay marriage bill in 2009. The gay marriage supporters were able to lobby effectively to get members to change their votes. And as New York didn't have a state constitutional amendment defining marriage, all they needed - in addition to the Governor and the Assembly, both already supporting - was a bill passed.

It's much, much harder in Virginia given how our marriage laws operate. In 2006, the Virginia State Constitution was amended to bar gay marriage and to prohibit the creation of civil unions or other marriage equivalent relationships. Constitutional amendments are pretty difficult to achieve in Virginia - in order to pass, the amendment must be passed by two separate General Assemblies - meaning once in one, then again after an election has intervened - and then it goes up for a referendum vote of the entire Commonwealth. The 2006 amendment passed on a 57%-42% vote in a high turn-out year (over 52% turnout - the highest we've seen in a non-presidential year, and that was also the same year Democrats took back the U.S. House of Representatives).

So, in order to repeal the 2006 marriage amendment, the General Assembly elected in 2011 would have to vote once to repeal it. Then the GA elected in 2013 would have to vote again to repeal it. At that point it would be put on the ballot, probably for the 2014 election for a statewide referendum.

That's a heavy lift.

The Marshall Newman amendment (the marriage amendment) had bipartisan support in both Houses of the General Assembly back in 2004 and 2006. Given that the latest polling I saw still has a majority of Virginians opposing gay marriage, I don't expect to see the amendment repealed anytime in the near future.

Joel - Virginia Beach Progressives

Recognition of gay marriage is prohibited in Virginia. In 2006, the General Assembly passed a ballot referendum that sent the Marshall-Newman Amendment to the voters. 57% of Virginia voters voted for the amendment, which prohibits recognition of gay marriage in Virginia.

The process for repealing Marshall-Newman requires that the General Assembly pass a ballot referendum twice with an election in between the two sessions, and then the voters must approve.

The current composition of Virginia's House of Delegates makes passage of a Marshall-Newman appeal very improbable, as conservative Republicans have control of that house. Democrats have a very slim majority in the Senate currently, and Democrats are focused on keeping that majority, with any House pick-ups being secondary. All this makes, for a very difficult, and unlikely, uphill climb for those wanting to make gay marriage legal in Virginia.

The good news is that Virginian's are shifting on this issue, like many states. An RTD poll in May found that 43% of Virginians are opposed to gay marriage, and 47% supporting gay marriage. The RTD article also sites national polls showing a 13% shift in opinion since 2006 regarding gay marriage, where 53% of the nation supports it.

While New York did have Republicans siding in favor of gay marriage, Republicans in New York aren't the same kind of Republicans in Virginia. I don't think we'll see any real movement toward the repeal of Marshall-Newman unless Democrats win control of both houses long enough to have two votes on the repeal.



My take isn't much different than the others above. Governor Bob McDonnell certainly isn't going to touch gay marriage. His website states that he "believes marriage is the union between one man and one woman. As a legislator, Bob McDonnell was chief sponsor and author of a constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage (Chief Patron, HJ 187, 2004)." In addition, McDonnell celebrates being named "Legislator of the Year" twice by the Virginia Family Foundation. Here are the initiatives of the Family Foundation:

•Opposing Domestic Partner Benefits | Homosexual advocates have worked to diminish the status of marriage by providing marriage benefits to any relationship. Already, private companies in Virginia can do so. Despite a marriage amendment that prohibits this, efforts are underway to expand this to state and local government.

•Opposing Homosexual Behavior as a Protected Class | Every year there are efforts in Virginia to add homosexuality to the list of protected classes in non-discrimination laws. This is not only unnecessary, as no evidence of discrimination exists, but has potential negative ramifications on religious liberty.

Wow. There's no evidence of discrimination? I feel like I'm already giving the Family Foundation more exposure than necessary, so I'll just stop. Meanwhile, although gay marriage isn't likely to happen soon in Virginia, I live in one of the states where marriage between first cousins is still legal. Way to go Virginia!



Thanks to all of the bloggers who provided thoughtful answers to my question. Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, please make sure to visit each of these well-written blogs.

Completely unrelated to the gay marriage topic, I love the fact that my blog can't get away from Pittsburgh sports as two replies included mentions of the Pirates and Steelers!

Barack Obama > Lou Holtz

The Virginia Gubernatorial election is, thank goodness, only six days away. All of advertisements have been negative, so I'm looking forward to not seeing them on television after next Tuesday. Although I like to consider myself as generally politically aware, I honestly have no idea where Republican candidate Bob McDonnell and Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds stand on most issues. (Please let me know when someone has a good transportation plan and is able follow through with the plan.) In all honesty, it doesn't matter much. The Virginia Governor can only serve one term, so they are essentially a lame-duck immediately after being elected. Virginia is run by the legislature. (Meaning a transportation plan in Northern Virginia never gets incorporated.) Anyway, that's not the point of this post.

Deeds, trailing McDonnell by double-digits in various polls, enlisted the support of President Obama yesterday at a Norfolk rally with nearly 5,700 people in attendance. Meanwhile, "about 200 people sipped wine and munched on cheese and crackers at the Willow Oaks Country Club" in Richmond on Monday night as McDonnell brought out his own secret weapon: Lou Holtz.



Wait, what? I guess the connection is that McDonnell graduated from Notre Dame in 1976 and Holtz coached the Notre Dame football team from 1986-1996. Were Knute Rockne and Tyrone Willingham unavailable?

So what does Lou Holtz have to do with Virginia and with encouraging people to vote for McDonnell? Well, I'm sure that Virginia voters fondly remember Holtz as the head football coach at William & Mary from 1969-1971. You do remember William & Mary as a huge national college football power during that time, right? During his speech Monday, Holtz was asked what was the most important thing he learned while coaching at William & Mary. His response: "We had too many Marys and not enough Williams." Apparently, Holtz didn't want to wait 25 years to have the opportunity to coach current Steelers coach (and former W&M WR) Mike Tomlin.

While it seems like I'm giving Holtz a bit of a hard time, that's not really the case. Holtz is from my mom's hometown, is likely the most successful person ever to hail from there, and has given back to that community even though he hasn't lived there for years. I guess that I don't understand the logic of McDonnell bringing Holtz to an event in Richmond. Were McDonnell supporters really enthused to pay significant money to attend an event featuring Lou Holtz? When you think of Holtz, you think college football. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to have him campaign for McDonnell in Blacksburg or even Charlottesville?

With all of this written, I will give credit to Holtz for knowing his current events as he said, "What do you call a former Redskins player with a Super Bowl ring? Senior citizens."


Finally, boo (and not in the good Halloween way) to WJLA, Washington's ABC affiliate, for having a Battleground Virginia special on Tuesday night instead of airing It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Yes, I've seen the Great Pumpkin dozens of times, but I was hoping to watch it again on Tuesday evening.

Register To Vote Virginia

As a reminder, today is the last day for Virginians to register to vote for the November election. Please don’t mind all of the prepositions in the previous sentence.

For more information, visit the Virginia State Board of Elections website.