From today’s edition of the Potomac News/Manassas Journal Messenger:

OUR OPINION
Published: July 24, 2008

As noted in a recent editorial in a nearby national newspaper, it’s been a year since the Board of Supervisors in Prince William County “launched its drive to hound, harass and humiliate illegal immigrants.” The editorial cites what it calls the toxic effects of the board’s resolution against illegal immigration and claims that “across the nation,” our county has become known as an intolerant community.

We have said before that the resolution doesn’t accomplish anything valuable and the machinations necessary to pursue the policy set by that resolution — like all the hoops through which the county police must jump — have certainly put an unnecessary strain the pocketbooks of taxpayers.

But your local paper agrees with the national newspaper that the board’s action is embarrassing for most of us who live here.

It’s not necessarily this newspaper’s job to practice boosterism and, certainly, part of our job is to point out some of the blemishes we see when the community looks in the mirror, but a year after the board’s regrettable move, we thought it might be appropriate to remind ourselves of the county’s attributes of which we can be proud.

So we turned to the Prince William Regional Chamber of Commerce for some assessments that are far from embarrassing:

1. Our location: We are close the capital of the free world and home to many federal government employees. We have access to good housing and affordable office space.

2. Transportation: Yes, we have issues, but we also have access to three major airports and two smaller ones and a county government that, in the past, has stepped up to build needed some road improvements like the Prince William Parkway and the extended Va. 234.

3. Education: The county is home to a university research and development facility at George Mason and a huge public school system, where teachers work hard to foster success among 72,000 students. (That’s more people than a small city.)

4. Quality of life: We have a couple of symphony orchestras, several community choral groups a thriving theater community, national parks, local parks and — despite the impression left by the
resolution — a diverse population that brings much to any table. We also have a huge heart, demonstrated by ACTS and SERVE and many smaller groups that focus on taking care of those in need.

Yes, that 1-year-old resolution is an ugly zit, but the overall reflection from our mirror shows us a pretty good place to live, work and play.

40 Thoughts to “MJM: Not too embarrassed”

  1. Moon-howler

    I think some of our supervisors also need recognition for stepping up to the plate and doing the right thing. Frank Principi came on board and against all odds became part of a movement to put a stop to a runaway trainwreck about to happen. Marty Nohe took a look at what was going on and realized that the Immigration Resolution was flawed and left the county very vulnerable. He took the initiative to tweak the Immigration Resolution.

    Help me out here. Who else gets a kudo?

  2. Lucky Duck

    Unfortunately there are not many stand up characters in this scenario.

  3. Michael

    We are a community intolerant of “lawlessness” and that includes “illegal” immigrant lawlessness.

  4. Michael

    These suprvisors only became afraid of the financial cost of enforcing the law. I would hardly call that a virtue, and it will only lead to more “lawlessness” the community has to deal with over time.

  5. Bring it On

    Don’t worry Micheal, they won’t be lawless much longer – then you can welcome them with open arms.

  6. I’m sorry this is really off topic, but I’m excited to announce that some color from my Skybaby cartoon are up on youtube!!!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lugGG0cFCkQ

    It’s ain’t much but for me it’s a huge milestone! in two more years it should be finished…sigh-

  7. elvis

    Forgot to point out the awesome part of the county that is Marumsco, that’s such a nice area, suprised it was not mentioned in the article.

    it’s like illegal-alienville out there.

  8. Michael

    Bring it on,

    I will, but first amnesty has to pass the Congress again and the growing sentiment against “illegal” immigrant problems in our nation and what it is doing to our Democracy. If we are stupid enough to pass amnesty a second time, then I will intensify my fight to enforce the law against the NEW flood of 40 million “illegal” immigrants that will “covertly and lawlessly” enter the country again and beg for anmesty again and call all new efforts to enforce the law “racism”.

  9. Emma

    That was quite cool, Rod 🙂

    “Evil Emma”

  10. Bring it On

    Just squeeze the sucker until it bursts!

  11. Moon-howler

    I guess what I thought was the short list was really the long list?

    I can forgive those who realize the error of their ways and try to fix things.

    I want to believe!!! 12:01 am

  12. NotGregLetiecq

    Moon-howler,
    According to 9500Liberty’s new video, Mike May, John Jenkins, Maureen Caddigan all deserve credit for maintaining an alliance with Marty Nohe and Frank Principi on the tax rate and the repeal of the cameras during the budget hearings. Outside the Board, County Executive Craig Gerhart, County Attorney Ross Horton and Chief Charlie Deane all deserve kudos for the repeal of probable cause.

    elvis, stop your hate bunny pooping and go to bed.

    Bring it on,
    I’m with you. Let’s pop the s@*t out of the zit. Can’t wait anymore. The pressure of this big ugly infected zit on our face is killing me. It’s gonna a leave a permanent scar if it gets any bigger.

    Come on, people. How long do we have to live like this? Let’s find a way to fix it. Let’s face it, the fact that we scaled back the resolution doesn’t make a whit of difference. Because of Corey’s outlandish spin to claim that the repeal of probable cause was a victory for him, we get no lift in our image for scaling back the resolution. I think we have to repeal the entire thing and apologize to the Hispanic community and all immigrants and beg them to return to Prince William. Sorry, folks, we f**ked up. Please come back. We have learned our lesson and it will never happen again.

  13. DiversityGal

    rod2155,

    Your animation rocks! Very cool…thanks for sharing that. Don’t worry about being off-topic; you are talkin’ to the queen of tangents.

    NotGregLetiecq,

    While I am glad about the scale-back, I do see what you are saying. I feel that the resolution started out from a place of prejudice for some, and it is hard to be OK with even part of a resolution that has been tainted by that. Having said that, I also think that it is about trying to find common ground at this point.

    BTW, you are one hilarious individual. I laughed hard at the midsection of your post.

  14. Moon-howler

    NotGL.

    Pondering here. Sure Corey and Red Chief put their own spin on it to save face. How can Red Chief go back to the red circles and admit that …oooops….some folks saw the light. How could Corey further his political career? This begs the question: Who listens? Probably not that many people considering how many of us were blind-sided by the entire sordid affair of July 10 and October 16 in the first place.

    Eric and Annabel have documented what happened. Corey can’t deny the words coming out of his mouth. It is his voice, his mouth moving. The truth is out there!

  15. Moon-howler

    Elvis,

    The Marumsco Hills decline is not a new phenomena. Where were you 15-20 years ago?

    Maybe you are spending too much time at the courthouse. You should have been where I was and you might have noticed.

  16. SecondAlamo

    NGL,

    Welcome them back! You obviously have been turning a blind eye and ear to the ‘illegal immigrant problem’ that is the reason for all this discussion. How do you think the nation came about complaining about illegal immigration? It wasn’t because of their conformance to our ways of life that’s for sure. Maybe it was all the Spanish only signs showing up that tipped people off that someone didn’t have American citizen’s interests in mind. Perhaps it was the overcrowding of once respectable neighborhoods. Perhaps it was all the Latinos loitering at the local 7-11. What ever it was is was caused by the illegals bringing attention to themselves first and foremost. Blame it on them not the legal citizens!

  17. Thanks Emma! Thanks DG!

  18. Turn PW Blue

    SA:

    Once again, you do realize that not every Latino or Hispanic person in PWC is illegal, right? I know you may prefer to think in more clear-cut terms (if they are Latino, they are illegal), but that’s just not born out by reality. In fact, a vast number are bona fide US citizens (including some of those loitering at the 7-11 and speaking Spanish in the Shoppers). You also realize, then, that Spanish language signs are also not illegal nor are they only there to cater to those who are illegal (since we just established that not every person who speaks Spanish is an illegal alien).

  19. SecondAlamo

    I’m not talking rhetoric here. You know what I’m referring to, so stop acting coy. The majority of those causing the problems are illegal and you know it. Your solution of amnesty assumes that the illegals would take it to become legal citizens. What if they don’t? Now we would be back to where we are. Millions of illegals still in the country and no solution. What percentage of illegals took the amnesty package offered 20 some odd years ago? Can anyone tell me? God forbid South American countries ever obtain economic parity with the US, because if you thing the exodus from PWC has caused problems wait until all the remaining illegals pack up and move back to their beloved home countries. We need to think long term, and forget human emotion for the time being.

  20. Juturna

    MH add Mr May to your list. I have added him to mine as a positive to watch. Although he came in appearing to be a Corey follower he sure surprised Corey when he voted against reducing citizens time to one minute last Oct. From that point on he clearly was his own man. He is quiet but one to watch.

  21. Marie

    I guess what bothers me is where were Marty Nohe and Frank Principi when all this first started going down. I do not quite understand why the did not tak a stand at the outset.
    They voted for the resolution in the beginning. I am happy they saw the light and do applaud them for that but maybe things would or could have turned out differently if they would have been more vocal in the beginning of this big mess which has left the whole Greater Prince William Area the laughing stock of the nation. Yes, the laughing stock. When I was in CA recently, the residents there are quite aware and I was ashamed to tell them I lived in Manassas. Each time I did I got the comments about intolerance, red necks, etc.

  22. Marie

    SA,
    Get a life. “Maybe it was all the Spanish only signs showing up that tipped people off that someone didn’t have American citizen’s interests in mind” That is a bunch of bull. Signs in Spanish did not tip anyone off. The problem is the brown skinned, spanish speaking moved in to the predominately white areas of the community. Everything was ok with hispanics/latinos living in the US as long as they stayed south and west. When they began migrating north and east for work, people like you began to be upset. Since you have never checked the status of immigrants, then you have no viable information to make statements that they are ALL illegal.

  23. Moon-howler

    Marie,

    Frank Principi was not elected until Novemeber 2007, so he is an innocent on this one.

    You are correct that the rest of the BOCS did vote for the original Immigration Resolution.

    We haven’t had this much negative attention since the Bobbitts, to my knowledge.

  24. Remember, these folks originally said they voted yes because if they voted “no” then the resolution could not be revisted, per some esoteric rule governing the BOCS.

    I think they were also blindsided somewhat by the FAIR folks.

    If they rid us of this resolution and publicly told us the why’s of their original decision, then they will be more respected for admitting a mistake. The BOCS isn’t the Presidency (as much as Stewart would like it to be). There’s no harm in admitting a mistake.

    Covington voted FOR the police cameras, but I took that to mean he supported the police not necessarily Stewart et al. The police need cameras anyway.

  25. I’d prefer the chopped-off-genitals to the cut-up-minorities.

  26. Censored bybvbl

    Marie, if a couple supervisors didn’t have the votes to stop the resolution, they wouldn’t have been able to amend it or bring it up for discussion again had they voted “no”. Only by voting “aye” with the majority would they have had that option. I think Eric and Annabel had an interview with Sharon Pandak that addressed that issue.

  27. […] after anti-migrant legislation passed, with as much respect to those suffering as possible. Also MJM: Not too embarrassed on the effect of the laws to remove undocumented migrants in […]

  28. Marie

    Thank for the clarification Moon-Howler, Kgotthardt and Censored. I am not a County resident but live in the City of Manassas so I probably did not know all of those facts. I guess I got in on the matter later in the process because I could see how this resolution was going to effect residents of my community. You know what happens in PW does not stay there. Thanks again.

  29. That’s right, Marie. We often hear of PWC, MP, and Manassas as “Prince William Area.” There is little distinction.

  30. Moon-howler

    And I have never quite understood the aye vs no vote and its ramifications. That’s the reason I will be forgiving if supervisors are doing the right thing now. Much as changed. I agree that they were somewhat blind-sided by many different things, which I am sure was intentional. Blindside swiftly, confuse the issue, and vilify any one who doesn’t go along with the program. That was the MO. The fact that this was right before an election was obvious. The Immigration Resolution was an instrument to get Republicans elected. I will never be convinced otherwise.

  31. Censored bybvbl

    I think your summary is right on the money, Moon-howler.

  32. Marie

    I also think Moon-howler is right on the money.

  33. I vote to be blind to their initial motives if they agree to change their course now.

  34. Dolph

    I could forgive Corey also if he stopped with the rhetoric and did or said something that healed the county and if he disassociated himself with special interest groups. I have actually contemplated that he is being blackmailed or something. Why else would he throw his political career away at such a young age.

    The spin of April 29 was just dishonest. He had an opportunity to use the word compromise, and he chose to make it look like a win. No smart politician does that.

    He seems like such a likeable fellow when not on this topic.

    I can forgive, I cannot forget what he and others have done.

  35. Nor should anyone forget if we want to make sure it never happens again.

  36. Moon-howler

    I am going to put Wally Covington on the good supervisor list now.
    He gets kudos for coming to the film.

  37. WOW! He came???? What did he say? Do tell 🙂

  38. Moon-howler

    I heard he did from one of my friends. I heard he and Marty were both there. I also heard Sharon Pandak was there. I only heard that from one person though so consider it unconfirmed.

  39. chris c

    Marumsco and the eastern side of Woodbridge have been in decline ever since illegals were welcomed with open arms. MS-13 this and MS-13 that killing a pregnant woman here killing a pregnant woman there. MS-13 are the illegal footsoldiers of an illegal invasion. Is it the fault of legal immigrants and native citizens that most of the illegals in Prince William County are Hispanic? I say no. It is called utter disregard for the laws and the Constitution of the United States. If you come here legally you are always welcome.

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