Author: Elena

This move by Senator Specter does not surprise me.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Veteran Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter said Tuesday that he switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party.

“I know I’m disappointing many of my colleagues,” he said at a news conference. “The disappointment runs in both directions.

“I’m putting principle at the top of the list,” he added.

When asked how and when he made the decision, Specter said, “the decision has been reached as I have traveled the state [Pennsylvania] in the last several months. Specifically, I got my home poll results last Friday … and consulted with my campaign managers and had a long discussion. … I came to a decision over this past weekend.”

Specter also said that President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would campaign for him as he runs for re-election — now on the Democratic ticket — in the 2010 race.

The Specter party switch would give Democrats a filibuster-proof Senate majority of 60 seats if Al Franken holds his current lead in the disputed Minnesota Senate race.

“Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right,” Specter said in a statement posted by his office on PoliticsPA.com.

“Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.”

Specter, a five-term Senate veteran, was greeted by a loud, sustained round of applause by dozens of constituents outside his Washington office shortly after the news broke.

“I don’t have to say anything to them,” a smiling Specter said. “They’ve said it to me

Huffington Post has a great comprehensive post on the issue of factory farming, conditions of the pigs, and possible transference of the swine flu to humans. I am not a vegetarian, not even close, but it is important that people understand the facts behind factory farming. You can still consume meat products, but in a much healthier and humane way. I am a big proponent of supporting the small scale farmer!

Large-scale swine producers in Mexico deny that their industry is the source of the deadly new influenza strain, saying the animals are all healthy, and that it is scientifically “not possible” for hogs to infect people with the illness. But lawmakers in the eastern state of Veracruz are now charging that large-scale hog and poultry operations are “breeding grounds” of infection that are making people sick and fueling the pandemic.

On Sunday, the state government of Veracruz confirmed swine influenza in a five-year-old girl in the village of La Gloria, located near a massive US-owned hog facility. The bodies of two other village children who died in February and March will be exhumed and tested for signs of the illness, local media reports said.

And in the western state of Guerrero, 500 pigs were just killed after becoming ill with swine flu.

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Shepard Smith said “We are America, We do not F*&^&*ing torture”…….Shepared Smith several moments later “oops”

I have been concerned about torture since Abu Ghraib became public knowledge. Supposedly these Privates were simply an abberation and did not reflect “American” policy. Hmmm, their defense was that they were just following orders from CIA interrogators. These Army officers were sacraficed to presever the code of silence of torture and the Bush administration did nothing. Now here is President Obama saying that the CIA interrogators were just following orders and therefor should not be prosecuted. I’m sorry, but that stinks of hypocrisy and I expect better from him. This is the very soul of our Nation and it cannot be swept under the rug. Do I wish this would just go away, of course I do, I HATE the idea of dragging this nation through public trials of CIA interrogators and elected or appointed officials. But in this op-ed by a former FBI agent, the reason NOT to torture is crytal clear.

Today is a day to celebrate our planet and all its beauty. We must all remember that we are simply brief visitors on Earth, that what we leave behind matters more than what we gained materially. My friends dad had this great quote, Lanty McClung, ” I never saw a hearse with u-haul” ! My point being, that all this stuff we collect is just stuff, but the legacy we leave behind is the “stuff” that really matters. I would love it if we could take this opportunity to share what we do, personally, to protect this Earth and its mysteries, not just for ourselves, or our children, but for the generations yet to be born.

Want to do more? Here is a link to Prince William Conservation Alliance and its programs that foster local wildlife conservation initiatives.

Some of my favorite quotes:

“He who knows what sweets and virtues are in the ground, the waters, the plants, the heavens, and how to come at these enchantments, is the rich and royal man.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), Essays, Second Series, 1844

“When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.”
– Benjamin Franklin, (1706-1790), Poor Richard’s Almanac

“It is a curious situation that the sea, from which life first arose should now be threatened by the activities of one form of that life. But the sea, though changed in a sinister way, will continue to exist; the threat is rather to life itself.”

– Rachel Carson, (1907-1964) The Sea Around Us, 1951

This is the human side of separating families due to immigration status. Who takes care of the children if we deport the parents?

This article by Linda Chavez sheds new light on this very complicated issue.

A new report out last week from the Pew Hispanic Center confirms what many observers already suspected about the illegal immigrant population in the United States: It is made up increasingly of intact families and their American-born children. Nearly half of illegal immigrant households consist of two-parent families with children, and 73 percent of these children were born here and are therefore U.S. citizens.

How does the new population of immigrants hearken to your ancestors and mine? Although the immigrants who graduate high school strive to attain some college education, the reality is that their long term earning “prognosis” is poor indeed.

The greater concern for some opponents of immigration – legal and illegal – is the fear that these newcomers will never fully adapt, won’t learn English, will remain poor and uneducated, and transform the United States into a replica of Mexico or some other Latin American country. The same fears led Americans of the mid-19th century to fear German and Irish immigrants, and in the early 20th century to fear Italians, Jews, Poles, and others from Eastern and Southern Europe.

Such worries are no more rational today – or born out of actual evidence – than they were a hundred years ago. It is true that Hispanic immigrants today take awhile to catch up with the native born just as their European predecessors did, and illegal immigrants never fully do so in terms of education or earnings.

Given the reality of this population, how do we deal with their presence in a humane and fiscally responsible manner?

The fact that so many illegal immigrants are intertwined with American citizens or legal residents, either as spouses or parents, should give pause to those who’d like to see all illegal immigrants rounded up and deported or their lives made so miserable they leave on their own. A better approach would allow those who have made their lives here, established families, bought homes, worked continuously and paid taxes to remain after paying fines, demonstrating English fluency, and proving they have no criminal record. Such an approach is as much about supporting family values as it is granting amnesty.

” Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) is set aside for remembering the victims of the Holocaust and for reminding all people of what can happen when bigotry, hatred and indifference reign. ”

When I was a young teenager I use to have these vivid dreams, dreams that I was on a train, a cold damp crowded train, headed for a concentration camp, terrified, knowing that only death awaited me.

It is on this day, at sundown, that Jewish people everywhere, take a moment, and reflect on the utter devastation of the Holocaust. It is an opportunity to remember those who died, not just the Jews, but the millions of others who perished in the death camps, and to honor their memory by not allowing another genocide to occur. But sadly, the world has not learned. We have the examples of Cambodia, Rwanda, and the most recent atrocities in Darfur.

Last night, tears gently rolling down my cheeks, I sat quietly, alone, and watched a wonderful Hallmark movie about a brave woman, Irena Sendler. Risking her life, she saved 2,500 Jewish Polish children in the Warsaw Ghetto. It was an amazing story to watch. Having been to the Holocaust Musuem in D.C. several times, I will never understand the evil that lurks within human beings. The horror of Germany was that it was a modern society, steeped in culture and science.

Irena Sendler stands as a testament to the good that can reside within us. Torture and threat of death, could not break her resolve to protect the children, and the brave families who risked their lives to hide them from the Nazi’s. She was an ordinary person, brave enough, to do the extraordinary.

Today, even in the 21st century, you still have Holocaust deniers, like the President of Iran, who proclaimed at the U.N. Conference in Switzerland, “the state of Israel had been founded “on the pretext of Jewish suffering” during the Second World War.”

Around 20 delegates, including envoys from the UK, France, Canada and Finland stood up and left the room at what was considered an anti-Semitic remark by the Iranian leader, who has repeatedly called for Israel to be wiped off the map.

Something about this story touched my heart and I just wanted to share. Click here to see the full video.

So that was how my weekend began on Friday, a surprise phone call from Corey Stewart. Corey pitched an idea to me about creating a new citizen land use committee to help formulate a better land use chapter for the county. Although initially I was excited, upon some deeper introspection, I realized, the very idea of another land use committee was actually a poor idea. Calling Corey back the next day, I shared my trepidation and ultimate decision not to participate on such a committee. You see, Corey shared his frustration with the land use process not having enough citizen input. I agreed, wholeheartedly, with his analysis.  But, forming a new citizen committee,  beyond the scope of the formal public process, in my opinion,  could be interpreted as another, behind the scenes, ” business as usual”,  closed government strategy. 

The real underlying problem is that our process in this county is broken. The Land Use Advisory Committee (LUAC) had members who had CLEAR, actually BLINDING, conflicts of interest. In fact, one of the glaring issues with Robert Duecaster, beyond his immigration rhetoric, was the very fact that he had NO Human Services experience. Who are the people that are appointed to these committees? Should there be a level of knowledge on the specific subject in order to participate? 

Apparently Wally Covington reached out to Katherine Gotthardt(click here to read more) to be on a land use committee also. Is it the same land use committee as Corey? I don’t know? But the reality is that the public process is well on its way, and has been for two years. The Planning Commission, having two plans to choose from as Charlie Grymes so eloquently points out in his commentary, will make their decision on April 15th.

Land use decisions effect each and every one of us, and the “business as usual” paradigm in Prince William County must be resolved. If it is not, if we continue down this same path, we can only expect to see our taxes increase, our infrastructure become even more burdened, and ultimately, our quality of life diminished irreparably. 

Well folks, here is a great recap from the Prince William Conservation Alliance about Tuesdays Board Meeting. Corey, John Stirrup, Mike May, and Frank P all held true to their pledge to protect the Rural Crescent from high density development. At least from that land use perspective, they maintained the integrity of the best smart growth land use tool this County has in its “back pocket”. On the Lueking property CPA, it was a unanimous denial by ALL supervisors. Classic Concepts CPA was able to garner two votes, Jenkins and Covington, all other six Supervisors voted to deny.

However, the buffer areas were not so lucky. Why are buffers so important? It isn’t just about creating a workable transition from the development area to the rural areas, but MORE importantly, its about protecting the Occoquan Reservoir and its ability to survive as a healthy water supply for millions of citizens! It will take some time, but I will get the votes for the SRR also.

Semi-Rural Residential properties, intended to buffer the Rural Crescent and protect the Occoquan Reservoir, did not fare as well. Supervisors initiated five of the eight proposals to increase densities in Semi-Rural areas, on properties covering approximately 155 acres.

Just click here to read more of PWCA’s comprehensive analysis!

Don’t any of these Supervisors recognize the old truthyism (for you Stephen Colbert fans)…..You can’t DIG yourself out of a hole!

The current direction of Prince Wiliam County’s land use policies are simply unsustainable for a healthy community.  We are not, and will NEVER be, a Fairfax County, NOR do we want to be.  We must create a new vision for this county, based on OUR unique assests in Prince William County, of which there are many.  To understand the complete and utter craziness of our entire planning process, click here,and you will wonder if our county is creating just paper plans or a healthy community based in a 3D world where REAL people live.

Doesn’t our County, with its beautiful landscape, and interesting features, deserve a viable land use plan, that takes ADVANTAGE of our assets instead of just the old tired cookie cutter approach (which, by the way, got us in the current fix to begin with!)

Like Charlie Grymes said in his blog post:

The Planning Department must like the “ready-fire-aim” approach. They are recommending approvals of CPA’s now, basing their advice on the draft chapter produced by the Land Use Advisory Committee that the Planning Commission did not accept. Wow, Rube Goldberg must be their favorite designer for household furniture.

If you like unrestricted development, initiate CPA’s out of sequence with plan revisions.

If you like comprehensive planning, do not initiate any CPA’s now.

For the fourth year in a row, yes folks, the fourth year, Classic Concepts Ltd, along with a few other land owners, will be asking to change several hundred acres of land, witin the Rural Crescent, to high density housing. Most of this land is located in Nokesville. This Tuesday, March 17, the Board will once again have to make a decision on several major proposed land use changes.  Given the amount of foreclosures in PWC, does ANYONE really believe that a responsible choice would be to rezone ANY parcel of land from 1 home per 10 acres to multiple homes per 10 acres? Can you imagine if we had not had the Rural Crescent zoning restrictions in place ,how many more homes would have been built, only to end up sitting vacant, dragging our real estate values even further into the proverbial grave? The Rural Crescent demonstrated, in this last “feeding frenzy” of home building, what a great smart growth tool it can be. Furthermore, PWC already has 35,000 homes that have been approved for build out! How much longer can this county sustain itself on real estate alone? I would suggest that WE CANNOT and must not continue down the same broken path anymore.

No Comprehensive Plan Amendments should be initiated by this Board that would approve any changes in current land use designations, not in the Rural Crescent and not in the Suburban Rural Residential zoning categories either!

I hope that Chairman Stewart and Supervisors Stirrup, May, and Principi will hold steadfast to their pledge, signed prior to the last election, that they would deny any changes to the Rural Crescent Boundaries and would hold to the 1 home per 10 acre density. I think we’ve all had enough of “building gone wild” !

http://www.pwcgov.org/documents/bocs/agendas/2009/20090317.pdf

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With my little 6 month old Rachael on my hip, wrapped in her baby sling, we ventured to join a protest in D.C. against the ongoing violence in Darfur. That was almost four years ago, and sadly, little has changed in that region. Today, however, is a good day, for if Al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, steps foot outside his country, he could very well be arrested. This may not stop the violence happening in Darfur, but it sends a strong message, the world is watching.

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This article in the Washington Post, demonstrates, clearly, what I have been saying about this new industry of detaining undocumented immigrants. Is this how a moral country creates new jobs?

The November death of a Prince William County man in immigration custody at Piedmont Regional Jail has prompted Immigration and Customs Enforcement to suspend placing new detainees at the facility, three hours south of the District near Farmville, Va.

In recent years, the rural six-county jail has contracted with ICE at rock-bottom rates to become a principal storehouse for noncitizen detainees from Northern Virginia and the District awaiting deportation. But since the Nov. 28 death of detainee Guido Newbrough, ICE has launched an investigation into medical care at the facility, and its detainee population had plunged from 330 to 53 as of yesterday. As a result, 50 jail employees have been laid off.

“It’s a depressed area to begin with,” he said. “There’s not much industry left here. And the loss of 50 jobs equates to a whole lot of hardship.”

I find this idea extremely disturbing, the idea of “investors” making money off of a very human dilemma, one that can only be resolved with comprehensive immigration reform.

The suspension comes at a particularly sensitive time for Piedmont and the town of Farmville. Piedmont had been earning $46.25 a day for each of the ICE detainees it housed in dormitory-style cells with triple bunk beds. Business was so robust that a group of investors announced a deal with Farmville officials last year to build a $21 million, 1,050-bed, privately run immigration detention facility there, pledging to covert the town into a hub for ICE operations in the mid-Atlantic region.

This Fox news article could not have come at a more appropriate time, considering the conversation we are having, revolving around the 7-11 ICE raid in Maryland. So, here is the crux of it, 80% of people with deportation judgements do NOT leave the country.

About 8,000 cases made it to the U.S. Court of Appeals last year and the study tracked the 7,200 cases in which the Justice Department prevailed. The study found that despite winning those cases, only 1,375 illegal immigrants — 19 percent — had been removed as of last month.

Talk about a broken system! We have SERIOUS financial and security issues facing this country. Do we REALLY want to expend all this wasted energy and money on people, who primarily, are simply working to feed their families? Do we want secure borders, sure, do we want to deal with gangs, sure, but clearly, we are wasting our money on an ICE endeavor that is failing, miserably failing.

The U.S. government spends tens of millions of dollars each year persuading federal circuit courts to uphold orders for thousands of illegal immigrants to leave the country, but those orders have been enforced in only one-fifth of the cases, according to sources familiar with a recent Justice Department study.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, is responsible for “removing” illegal immigrants who stay in this country against the law. But the study found that more than 80 percent of the illegal immigrants whose deportation orders were upheld by a federal appeals court last year were still in the country as of five weeks ago, according to an internal Justice Department memo obtained by FOX News.

“If the people aren’t getting removed, why the heck are we spending all the money?” asked one former Justice Department official who left with the Bush administration.

Two sources familiar with the memo accompanying the Jan. 16 study said the Justice Department spends at least $20 million each year paying litigators to argue deportation cases in federal appeals courts. But, the former Justice Department official said the total cost to taxpayers is much higher considering the price tag of flying some 300 litigators around the country and putting them up in hotels. That’s not to mention the cost for federal and immigration courts to operate so they can hear the cases.