Author: Elena

“Corey Stewart Ends His Political Career“

This was written by a very well-respected Virginia Republican Shaun Kenney — the Vice-Chairman of the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors, and former Communications Director for the Republican Party of Virginia.

Kenny writes this about the Rule of Law campaign:

Now defenders of the Rule of Law campaign have assiduously maintained that it has nothing to do with Hispanics per se. No no no… even if it was 20 million Canadians, they insist this is about illegal immigration (and that alone).

Which, of course, is why Prince William County uses as a metric how many Hispanics they’ve driven out in order to judge their success. Read it for yourself… 8,000+ Hispanics out of PWC.

And this about Stewart’s latest swipe at George Allen:

It’s worth watching Corey Stewart struggle for the right words to envelope his true feelings about George Allen… amusing and angering at the very same time.

So I have a theory on how George Allen redeems himself after “macaca” — how’s about running mano-e-mano against Corey Stewart on the merits of his HISPANICS OUT! Rule of Law act? How’s about we measure up how much more good Allen did both as a governor and a U.S. Senator and ask the 8,000+ Hispanics and their families what they think of the land of the free and the home of the brave?

The path to George Allen’s redemption in Virginia politics runs through the broken, tattered remains of Corey Stewart’s political career.

Between the Tea Party favorite in Cuccinelli, the mainstream GOP Senate ’12 nominee in Allen, the Catholic Church, and everyone with even the slightest twinge of doubt that this one-man crusade against “illegal aliens” is really about targeting Hispanics… that’s an army of conscience right there. I’ll gladly march in that army.

Best of all, there is a comment from a wormy sounding Greg Letiecq, already displaying the tail between his legs Corey Stewart seems to be lacking:

Greg L said:

Shaun, I really admire a lot of what you write and do, but you’re way, way off base here. I’m tempted to fire back, but instead of wrongly impugning your motives or criticizing the shallow understanding on display here I’ll just make you an offer: Come out of Fluvanna for a while and let me give you a tour of some of the places where the impacts of illegal immigration remain disturbingly significant. Let me show you personally what this looks and feels like, and allow me to introduce you to some folks who have suffered from the impacts of illegal immigration.

I can pretty much guarantee that if you really understood what so many law abiding people had to go through with this you’d find a much more productive way to address the issue than by casually branding many decent people as simple racists. I know you want to be responsible in this debate, so let me put some facts in front of you.

Greg’s best argument for Corey’s political suicide is there are still visual signs of immigrants in Manassas? Gee, and I thought the “Rule of Laughing Stock” had been a great success, that’s why it needs to be statewide even though in PWC it was quickly repealed. It’s incredible how Corey and Greg shift their story according to the argument of the moment.

It has come to our attention that Corey plans on submitting his “virginia rule of law resolution” to the Legislative package this afternoon.  

In accordance with the report’s strong endorsement of Prince William County’s policy, I would like to add the following language to our legislative agenda.

Virginia Rule of Law

Prince William County has implemented an effective policy whereby local law enforcement is mandated to determine legal status during any physical custodial arrest, which strengthens local law enforcement’s standing authority to determine legal residency status during any lawful stop, detention, or arrest.

Given the County’s successful implementation of this policy, Prince William supports implementation of similar sound policies by all law enforcement agencies within the Commonwealth. The Prince William County policy provides for mandatory legal residency status checks for all suspects placed under physical custodial arrest.

The County’s policy also forbids racial profiling, and mandates protection of victims regardless of their immigration status. The County has established a formal agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), under which criminal illegal immigrants are turned over to federal authorities when they are released from detention or upon completion of their sentence.

Prince William supports the implementation of similar policies and programs that will enhance public safety across the Commonwealth

Corey A. Stewart
Chairman
Prince William Board of County Supervisors
1 County Complex Court
Prince William, VA 22192

(703) 792-4640 – Telephone/(703) 792-4637 – Fax

[email protected]

www.co.prince-william.va.us

Anyone remember the movie “Groundhog Day” ?  I do, this is like reliving the ambush of the original immigration resolution.

First of all, citizens have not had an opportunity to review the UVA report, which, by the way, Corey is  basing the urgent need for his last minute addition of the Virginia Rule of Law Campaign. 

Whether or not you agree with the Virginia Rule of Law Campaign is not the issue right now. Why is Corey so desperate for the camera and spotlight? Why is he willing to abrogate his responisiblty to provide open government and transparency in order to include this last minute change in the Legislative Agenda, denying an opportunity for citizens to comment?

Finally, Corey is postulating that because UVA has some favorable conclusions, the logical conclusion would be to implement the current PWC immigration  policy statewide.  That would be an interesting disucussion IF his Virginia Rule of Law blather were ANYTHING similar to what  UVA reported.   Simply put, the Virginia Rule of Law looks NOTHING like what PWC implemented in 2007.

So, here we are, 2010, and THIS election is a “referendum” on the governance of President Obama.  Are we so sure?  Didn’t we hear that about the 2004 win of Bush, that Republicans were saying it was a “referendum” on the current Bush policies. 

O.K., so stay with me, move ahead to the 2006 election and take over of the house and senate by democrats.  It was a “referendum” on the Bush white house, at least that is what the left said.  It’s funny, what I recall the Right punditry saying was that it was simply an election cycle and we should not read too much into it. 

Now, fast forward to 2008 and the overwhelming win of President Obama.  His win was a “referendum” on Republicans!   Republicans were so pissed at Bush that they decided to stay home (kind of what is being said about democrat voters in 2010).  A “real” conservative was not on the ballot.  Somehow McCain did not count as a real conservative, but hey, I’m considered a leftie commie these days so what do I know!  

Now……yep, let’s fast forward again to 2010 and THIS election , really, this one for sure, is truly a referendum on the current administration, no joke.  Unless, of course, maybe there really is no such thing as a referendum.  Am I the only one noticing something funny?  The right will claim if they win it’s a referendum, and guess what, the left will claim it is just an election cycle. 

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth……OY VEY, I am getting such a headache! 

So, what does this tell us?  It tells us nothing.  Well, for me, actually, it suggests that no matter who is in office, they need to remember that their is an entire electorate that just wants to make sure that their concerns are never forgotten.    Politicians need to just do what they believe is the best policy and hope, in the end, they used their noggin to the best of their ability.   They did their due diligence in fact finding, listened to different points of view, and made a decision they could be satisfied with, even IF they do not get re-elected. 

As the evening unfolds, I hope posters here will keep this thread full of current wins and losses.

I found this story truly amazing. The Muslim leadership in Albania directed its people to think of Jewish children as their own. They risked their lives to save their Jewish neighbors.

With rising anti-Muslim sentiment across the country, an untold story is raising greater awareness about the Muslim faith and the teachings of the Quran. That awareness comes from an unlikely source: a small Jewish congregation in Creve Coeur.

Temple Emanuel is premiering a groundbreaking exhibit of photos that reveals Albanian Muslims who saved 2,000 Jews during World War II.

It’s a story you’ve likely never heard. It is a story told through the faces of Albanian Muslims who risked their own lives to live by a code of faith and honor called Besa.

It is impossible to watch the miraculous recovery of these miners and not be affected. 

The entire world watched, from North Korea, to Iran,  from East to West, we were all transfixed,  waiting, and hoping that the ending would be joyous.  And it was.   So many people worked together to bring these men back to the surface, out of their would be dark and dreary underground coffin. 

Their survival is a testament to the human spirit, to working together, to caring enough for our fellow human being, even though, they may be a complete stranger.

Here is a thought, if something you do requires hours upon hours of explanation, maybe don’t do it? 

Mr. Iott does not appear to be a bad person, I do not believe he is a Nazi wannabe.  However, his complete lack of sensitivity is astounding.  There is clearly a well established negative connotation of the SS and their complicity in the murder of babies, children, moms, dads,  and all the other innocents of the final solution.  As an American, I find it hard to understand WHY anyone would choose to openly admire ANY SS Nazi unless they had been a defector. 

Geez, even Eric Cantor and I agree on this one.   There is something about glorifying the “fight for freedom” from communism by the Nazi’s as a somewhat twisted reason to honor them.  Is it me?  Is communism actually that much worse than fascism?  Stalin was a mass murderer, but then again, so was Hitler.  Is what Hitlers Germany fought for a righteous fight?  Wasn’t Germany the aggressor and it’s ultimate goal total European domination? 

Here is a link to the wiking website.   Maybe I am being hyper sensitive, but there must be ways to re-enact the different sides of WWII without actually compliemnting them, aren’t there?

“European Volunteers, Join to Fight Bolshevism!” Germany headed a stong movement in Europe to actively campaign (politically and through warfare) against the ideals of Bolshevist Communism. This culminated in 1941, when the German armed forces were pitted against the very home of Bolshevism, Soviet Russia. Nazi Germany had no problem in recruiting the multitudes of volunteers willing to lay down their lives to ensure a “New and Free Europe”, free of the threat of Communism. National Socialism was seen by many in Holland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and other eastern European and Balkan countries as the protector of personal freedom and their very way of life, despite the true underlying totalitarian (and quite twisted, in most cases) nature of the movement. Regardless, thousands upon thousands of valiant men died defending their respective countries in the name of a better tomorrow. No matter how unsavory the Nazi government was, the front-line soldiers of the Waffen-SS (in particular the foreign volunteers) gave their lives for their loved ones and a basic desire to be free.

Here is a link to just one book that demonstrates the Waffen SS on the Eastern front were absolutely linked to atrocities and not just simply soldiers.

Richard Cohen wrote this fabulous op ed piece.   I just had to share it on the blog. 

Christine O’Donnell, the Tea Party candidate from lil’ ol’ Delaware, confesses to have once “dabbled into witchcraft” — a fittingly ungrammatical revelation that not only was to be expected but explains what has happened to the Republican Party. Someone — possibly you know who — has cast a spell on it, and now it has a candidate whose main contribution to political thought or, indeed, the plight of the poor is to have railed against masturbation, which she likened to adultery. Only a spell can explain such thinking.

Only a spell also can explain how Newt Gingrich, possibly a presidential candidate, can attribute the politics of Barack Obama to “Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior.” Obama allegedly picked up this behavior from his father, whom he knew only fleetingly, which is to say almost not at all, and who has long been dead. This, as Gingrich and others under the spell can tell you, is proof of the demonic power that can come out of the grave, enter the White House (look, the gate-crashing Salahis did it) and pervade the very body and mind of the commander in chief. It’s enough to give you the willies.

Honestly, I WANT, no I NEED, the Republican Party to find its footing again. In order to find the best solutions, we need to have vigorous EDUCATED debate. We need to find our way back to that ying and yang that ultimately brings us to compromise or at least allows for informed disagreement.

This fatuous infatuation with the Constitution, particularly the 10th Amendment, is clearly the work of witches, wiccans and wackos. It has nothing to do with America’s real problems and, if taken too seriously, would cause an economic and political calamity. The Constitution is a wonderful document, quite miraculous actually, but only because it has been wisely adapted to changing times. To adhere to the very word of its every clause hardly is respectful to the Founding Fathers. They were revolutionaries who embraced change. That’s how we got here.

The analogy to the bible and constitution cannot be ignored. There are those who believe the bible is a guide, just as the Constitution was created as a guide, as a document to be interpreted throughout the evolution of society, so is the bible. I have NO interest in having my country governed by those who believe the bible is literal or that the constitution is some iconic piece of paper that holds every answer in the most simplistic format.

So, which one are you?

L’Shana Tova, translated in English……for a good year

My hope for this new year is that people will recognize, in each other, their common humanity.

For me, the 10 days are an opportunity to simply reflect upon what I would like to do better. At dinner tonight, which by the way, my 8 year old son made (it was fabulous), we shared at least one personal flaw that we would like to change within ourselves. We listened to the horn of the Shofar on the internet, gotta love Google search, said our prayers, and then for desert, had apples dipped in honey.

Why the apples and honey you may ask? They symobolize the hope for a sweet year.

Why the blowing of Shofar (rams horn)? In a nutshell, the sound of the horn brings in the New Year and gets people workin’ on redemption and the end of the new year, Yom Kippur, it is blown again, to signal the end of the 10 days of Awe.

Rosh Hashanah is one of two High Holidays in the Jewish religion, the other being Yom Kippur, which occurs 10 days after Rosh Hashanah begins. These two holidays form the High Holiday period, arguably the most significant time in the Jewish year, as it marks the chance for repentance and forgiveness in the eyes of God. During the High Holidays, Jews cleanse their soul and get the chance to start fresh with an unburdened conscience and the intention of doing better in the coming year.

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Give up? They will all be on a panel together, September 7th, in New York.

 

The Screening of 9500 Liberty will have a full “cast” to debate the impact of the events in the movie and probably, the broader questions of immigration enforcement and immigration reform.

Honestly, I never would have thought that Corey would have the chutzpah to be in a real debate with knowledgeable people, not only on immigration, but what happened, specifically, in Prince William County. Hats off to Corey for having the courage to do so. I wonder what he will do when faced with facts counter to what he has been spewing. I think just a couple of my favorite inaccuracies have been “Arizona has implemented exactly what we did in PWC” and “crime increased with the immigration influx and decreased after the resolution”.

Boy, I wish I could be on that panel. I wonder if we will finally hear his explanation for the old ” over my dead body will I repeal probable cause” and, well, we all know what happened. Probable cause was repealed AND Corey is certainly still up to his horse and pony tricks!

My hope is that people will no longer extrapolate what they WISH the facts said, but instead work within the the context of truth.  No one is denying that there are problems associated with illegal immigration, but we can’t fix them if our foundation for finding solutions are based on propoganda  and inaccuracies.

This is an excellent thread by Charlie Grymes over on the PWCA blog. What is happening at Hellwig Park is a travesty and every tax payer should be outraged in this county.

What a scam. Listen to this. We, as in me and you and every other taxpayer, is expected to not only PAY a private Developer for their land but we will also BUILD the road the Developer needs in order gain access to his lots!

The BOCS will need to hear from citizens that we will NOT use our precious tax dollars to fund a Developers road!  On September 14th the BOCS will vote to deny or approve the Park Athority’s appeal of Planning Commission denial of this wasteful road.  I hope citizens will be willing to take the time to e-mail the Board and tell to “just say no”.

 

From Your Piece of the Planet

The county Park Authority must have discovered a sofa in the office that was filled with change behind the cushions. They want to spend money on an unplanned road, one that is not needed. There’s a rumor running rampant that some people are experiencing a recession and some government agencies are struggling for money… but the Park Authority thinks it is rich.

For over four years, the Park Authority has been planning new ballfields at Hellwig Park. Prince William adopted an ambitious 20-year Transportation Plan six months ago that will require $3-$4 billion in new funding to build 700 more miles of road over the next 20 years. Until very recently, the Park Authority was clear on what it needed – and no plans included bisecting the park with a new Hellwig Highway to Aden Road.

Now, the Park Authority has discovered they just gotta build a new road. On June 2, the Planning Commission approved the long-planned new entrance for the park on Bristow Road, but rejected the unplanned connection to Aden Road. On September 14 the Board of Supervisors will consider the Park Authority’s appeal of the Planning Commission’s decision.

Why would the Park Authority be so anxious to add a new project to an already underfunded list of new roads, and redirect scarce park bond money to a road project? Hint: This new road would provide access to unbuilt lots in the Liberty Oaks subdivision, saving the developer the cost of building their own road. Bonds sold to develop public parks will instead be used to subsidize a private developer.

Even more interesting, the Park Authority has committed to pay the developer who needs access to the unbuilt residential lots $315,000 for the land where the road will be built. That is significantly more than the asking price for other lots in that development. Whoever sat in that Park Authority sofa, spilling change out of their pocket, must have been loaded.

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I have had many debates about this Cultural Center near the remains of the World Trade Center. For me, it is not just about upholding our constitution, it is about expressing to the world that as Americans we truly believe in our Democracy, that we are not hypocrites, that we are NOT afraid of Islam.

My brother who lives in NYC fully supports this center. People who I know that survived the attack on 9/11, support this center.

I read a wonderful article on the Imam, sent my way from a dear friend who is Muslim, and we had a wonderful exchange. Before people go screaming in fear and hysteria, I would recommend reading this very informative piece on the imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the man who had the vision and dream for this project.

I wanted to share story by NPR, for it gave me hope that maybe in all this fear, anger and hatred, their is hope after all.
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So, WHO exactly told the Grizzly leadership, behind closed doors, that they would be getting free land in the Avendale rezoning process? I sent this letter to the Grizzly leadership and have not heard any response. In the mean time, tomorrow night should be a real show, as planned, by whom, no one knows!

Dear Grizzly leadership,

My name is Elena Schlossberg and for 8 years now, citizens, like myself, have invested their energy in protecting the best land use tool this county possesses, the Rural Crescent. I am aware that this organization may not be aware of the severe negative consequences of approving Avendale. Every year, a developer proposes to dismantle, via a housing project, the Rural Crescent, for the past two years, citizens have been fighting Avendale, one way or another through a very long process.

Why does Avendale matter? Because the developer would turn a maximum of 12 homes into a possible 700. Can you imagine the strain on the infrastructure for citizens? Schools, roads, emergency services, etc!

The PWC school board sent a strong letter to the Board of County Supervisors rejecting Avendale, the overcrowding is simply too much from past unrestrained development. Haven’t we learned our lesson from overdevelopment given the past housing crisis that contributed to an economic meltdown?

The fact that you all have been “promised” football fields behind closed doors, or as it certainly appears to citizens, is incredibly unethical by any open government standard. Government cannot promise ANY “free” land to a private sports team. There is a public process via the Park Authority that must be followed if park land is proffered.

Nothing is for free. In return for you outcry and “show” at Tuesdays Board meeting, you will be complicit in destroying the Rural Crescent. The rural crescent, in place for over a decade, keeps all our taxes lower, reduces the stress on our school system, our roads, our emergency services, our drinking water cleaner and keeps our air just a little less polluted.

This vote Tuesday is so much more than football fields and I strongly believe that the parents in your organization should be aware of that before they attend the hearing. Shouldn’t they know before they get there that citizens, having fought to protect the Rural Crescent on behalf of ALL PWC citizens will be there in opposition of Avendale? Would your parents feel comfortable fighting for this “free” land to play football if they knew the consequences? Is the message the Grizzlies want to send “the end justify the means” ?

Sincerely,
Elena Schlossberg

Advocates for the Rural Crescent

Arturo Rodrigez, president of United Farm Workers, joins Stephen Colbert to discuss the impact illegal immigrants have on American workers. Additionally, he discusses the difficulty of agriculture work and insists that most Americans don’t want this kind of work. The above application is on his website at www.takeourjobs.org. He had 3 applications he has placed in the fields. Colbert makes the 4th.

According to the Farm Worker Campaign:

Missing from the debate on both issues is an honest recognition that the food we all eat – at home, in restaurants and workplace cafeterias (including those in the Capitol) – comes to us from the labor of undocumented farm workers.

Agriculture in the United States is dependent on an immigrant workforce. Three-quarters of all crop workers working in American agriculture were born outside the United States. According to government statistics, since the late 1990s, at least 50% of the crop workers have not been authorized to work legally in the United States.

We are a nation in denial about our food supply. As a result the UFW has initiated the “Take Our Jobs” campaign.

Farm workers are ready to welcome citizens and legal residents who wish to replace them in the field. We will use our knowledge and staff to help connect the unemployed with farm employers. Just fill out the form to the right and continue on to the request for job application.

The Colbert Report	Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Arturo Rodriguez
href=’http://www.colbertnation.com/’>www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election Fox News

 

Some people might say that the farmers just need to pay higher wages, well, O.K.,  I have no problem with that, but remember, that means a substantial increase in produce costs.  For our family, we already buy local or organic fruits and veggies, which tends to cost more anyway, are you prepared to pay a much higher cost?   For every action  there is a reaction, don’t forget.

So, it has begun, the lawsuits regarding the constitionality of the Arizona law, SB1070.  As reported by CNN:

Washington (CNN) — The Justice Department weighed in on one of the most explosive issues in American politics Tuesday, filing a lawsuit to overturn a tough new Arizona immigration law that has sharply divided people along partisan, ideological and ethnic lines.

 

It also asked the federal courts to grant an injunction to stop enforcement of the measure before it takes effect late this month.

Arizona’s law requires immigrants to carry their alien registration documents at all times and allows police to question the residency status of people in the course of enforcing another law. It also targets businesses that hire illegal immigrant laborers or knowingly transport them.

Justice Department lawyers argued in its brief that the state statute should be declared invalid because it has improperly preempted federal law.

“A state may not establish its own immigration policy or enforce state laws in a manner that interferes with the federal immigration laws,” the brief states. “The Constitution and the federal immigration laws do not permit the development of a patchwork of state and local immigration policies throughout the country.”

The Arizona law “disrupts federal enforcement priorities and resources that focus on aliens who pose a threat to national security or public safety. … If allowed to go into effect, [the law’s] mandatory enforcement scheme will conflict with and undermine the federal government’s careful balance of immigration enforcement priorities and objectives.”

Arizona is interested only in “attrition” in order to end illegal entries and has not addressed several other federal obligations to deal with immigrants, including removal proceedings, humanitarian concerns and foreign relations, the brief contends.

President Barack Obama said in a speech July 1 that the measure has “fanned the flames of an already contentious debate.” Among other things, it puts pressure on police officers to enforce rules that are “unenforceable” while making communities less safe — in part, by making people more reluctant to report crimes, he said.