GOP Endorser Mocks Opponent's Stutter

Classy, GOP, classy. Just when you thought the Republicans couldn't be more classless, the Virginia governor's race came to the fore when a prominent endorser for Republican Bob McDonnell mocked the slight stutter of Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds (pictured).

Sheila Johnson was taped discussing the importance of communication skills in the state's next governor at a rally for McDonnell's campaign. Yeah, right. She said:

"We need someone who can really communicate. And Bob McDonnell can communicate. The other people that I talk to, especially his o-pop-pop-pop-pop-pponent (unclear) could not articulate what needed to be done."

I have already forwarded news of this affront to the National Stutterers Foundation. As they note on their website, many notable people have overcome stuttering, including James Earl Jones, Bruce Willis, Bill Walton, Tiger Woods, Jimmy Stewart, and Carly Simon. That's just a short list, mind you.

This appears to be the face of the Republican party: can't beat someone, make fun of them. Remember when Rush Limbaugh mocked Michael J. Fox for his Parkinson's? He said that Fox was on drugs, so he shouldn't have exhibited the twitches he did. What Dr. Limbaugh didn't know is that despite the drugs that Fox takes, his motions are perfectly symptomatic of the disease.

At the time, Elaine Richman, a neuroscientist in Baltimore who co-wrote "Parkinson's Disease and the Family" said:

"Anyone who knows the disease well would regard his movement as classic severe Parkinson's disease. Any other interpretation is misinformed."

Misinformed is kind. Cruel is another word I would use. Let's not forget, it's not the style with which a speech is presented that is most important, but the content.

Watch Johnson on video below:

Execution Date Set for John Allen Muhammad, the D.C. Sniper

Mark Nov. 10th on your calendar. On Wednesday, Prince William County Circuit Judge Mary Grace O'Brien set that date for the execution of John Allen Muhammad, who with teenage accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo was was involved in the 2002 sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C., area that left 10 dead.

Muhammad was sentenced to death for the slaying of Dean Meyers, one of 10 people shot to death during a 2002 killing spree that terrorized the Washington, D.C., area. Malvo is serving life in prison for the murders.

The date was picked during an early morning conference call with the judge, the attorney general's office and Jonathan Sheldon, Muhammad's attorney. Originally the AG's office requested that the execution be on Nov. 9th, O'Brien chose a day later, Tuesday, in case courts are required to address last-minute appeals.

Sheldon said Muhammad will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and ask Gov. Timothy M. Kaine for clemency. It is unlikely he will see any results from this. Last month, a federal appeals court rejected Muhammad's argument that prosecutors withheld critical evidence and that he never should have been allowed to act as his own attorney for a portion of his trial because he was mentally impaired.

Additionally, he and Lee Boyd Malvo were also suspected of shootings in several other states, including a killing in Louisiana and another in Alabama.

The rampage has also been called the Beltway Sniper killings, based on its proximity to I-495, an Interstate Highway that circles Washington, D.C. and its inner suburbs in Maryland and Virginia.