Anti-BVBL

Attempts to sow seeds of terrorism fear about Obama may have backfired on the McCain Campaign. McCain himself has had to put out a few fires at political rallies where crowds have shouted out, ‘Screw Obama,’ ‘Terrorist,’ ‘Kill him,’ ‘Bomb Obama.’ and other horribly offensive types of language. One woman, as seen in the embedded video said she didn’t trust Obama because he is ‘an Arab.’

To his credit, Senator McCain took the microphone back and told the lady that wasn’t true and issued a few platitudes about Obama. It looks like Senator McCain and Governor Palin are reaping what they have allowed to be sown.

Are character assassination and attempts to associate Senator Obama with former Weather Underground leader turned education professor Bill Ayers going to pay off for The McCain Campaign or does this type of rhetoric just make his campaign look desperate? Has Senator Obama taken the high road?

Lastly, does any of this look vaguely familiar?

Come help out a local restaurant, Giuseppe’s in Haymarket, enjoy great Italian food. Let’s come to together and talk about how far we have journeyed from October 16th, 2007.

15120 Washington Street

Haymarket, VA

7:30 p.m.

The stock market tanked again today. People are scared. Trading was heavy as people tried to scoop up bargains.

According to the NY Times:

Stocks Plunge Again in Last Hour, Dow Below 8,600

A late-day decline once again pushed stock markets down
sharply Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average declined
about 7.3 percent or 678.91 points on the day to close at
8,579.19, about 40 percent below its peak close of 14,164.53,
exactly a year ago. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock
index was down nearly 7.6 percent on Thursday

These are scary times. We are at a 40% correction at the moment. Today was the biggest percent drop since the crash of 1987.

This is who was attacked as a “Communist clique” …

This is who did the attacking:

Which version of Faith do you prefer?

These are two fairly different versions of religion which seem to be in sharp contrast to each other. The second video is a convoluted version of Christianity which endorses a ‘Send them Back with Love’ approach which appears quite different than the atmosphere that was evident at the recent VOICE (Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement) event.

Here is one of the many offensive comments on a recent Greg Letiecq attack:

Bolstered by communists from Arlington and Alexandria, the large crowd asked Prince William County Chairman Corey Stewart to provide more “affordable housing”, more ESOL classes, and taxpayer-subsidized dental care.

Do you see Communists in this video?

Landscape Buffers: Here today, gone tomorrow?

As if the major changes proposed for the Comp Plan weren’t enough, Supervisors will vote on proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance on December 16. One of these changes would weaken our buffer standards for new and existing development. Buffers are strips of land with trees and other plants that separate (buffer) two different land uses, such as roads, strip malls, stormwater facilities and neighborhoods.
Read more »

This recent article in the Potomac Journal, clearly demonstrates, why the qualifications of appointees matter! Robert Doucaster is a symptom of a much larger problem in Prince William County. People appointed to public policy committees are often times selected for political reasons not because they necessarily have the proper experience or judgement for the particular committee!
Read more »

On September 30th, the County did a final head count of their student population only to discover that any supposed ’savings’ based on Chairman Stewart’s and Supervisor Stirrup’s ‘Immigration Resolution’ will be neglible AND now because of that miscalculation we are short millions of dollars in our school budget!

Update: According to the School system, they will be able to adjust their budget and all students will continue to receive the same level of services.

Here are the numbers from the Prince William County Schools.

Per your request, here’s the ESOL information from our Sept. 30, 2008 student enrollment count of 73,657:

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) 14.8% funded [ie receiving direct instruction]; 17.8% Total ESOL

Regarding the English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) student enrollment: Total School Division enrollment increased from Sept 30, 2007 to Sept 30, 2008 by 1,003 students for a revised total of 73,657 (336 over projection). During the same period, total ESOL student enrollment decreased from 13,409 to 13,130 or 279 students. Please note that the number of ESOL students classified in a “monitor” status and whom are monitored, but otherwise do not receive direct services decreased from 2,203 to 2,201 for a reduction of 2 students. The number of ESOL students receiving direct instructional services decreased from 11,206 to 10,929 for a decrease of 277 students.

However, it is important to note that during the FY 2009 budget process, the School Division base budget was reduced to reflect the decreases in student enrollment (and associated costs), including students receiving ESOL services, that were realized during the last school year. The September 30, 2008 actual enrollment for ESOL of 13,130, is 527 students greater than the 12,603 students included in the FY 2009 Approved Budget. The number of ESOL students receiving direct instructional services increased from 10,400 to 10,929 for an increase of 529 students. The School Division must now address the additional cost of these 529 ESOL students, without a commensurate increase in County funding.

Please contact me if I can be of additional assistance.

Note: The emphasis in the last paragraph is mine and did not come from the County.

The State Corporation Commission yesterday agreed that there was a ‘need’ for a 500Kv powerline to run through Virginia. Now the construction of the line hinges on the decision of Pennsylvania judges who have atleast temporarily put a halt its construction through their state based on the argument that the line is not needed but rather is a mechanism to increase profits for the power company.

Dominion originally proposed a path that traversed the Virginia countryside, appropriately described by the Prince William County Board of Supervisors as ‘a drunken sailor looking for port.’ That path crossed hundreds of acres of conservation easements, crossed in close proximity to school sites and ran directly through the newly constructed Toll Brothers Country Club in Dominion Valley. They have since replaced that path with a longer one that runs on existing utility easements but will ruin the viewshed of the Manassas Battlefield.

Then as a further affront to the citizenry of Virginia, Governor Kaine puts the fox in charge of the hen house with his appointment of a Dominion attorney to the State Corporation Commission, effectively handing over the keys to the electric company to proceed at will in the Commonwealth.

Discussion. What are your impressions of what each candidate says?
We, the people, will have at it.

In order of appearance:

V.O.I.C.E. Questions and Fairfax County Vice Chair Sharon Bulova’s answers

Prince William County Chairman Corey Stewart’s answers:

Arlington County Chairman J. Walter Tejada’s answers followed by Alexandria Mayor William Euille:

Former Governor and 2008 Virginia Senate candidate Mark Warner’s answers:

NOTE: Below is the text of the original thread, written without the advantage of having video.

Thousands met yesterday afternoon at First Mt. Zion Baptist Church near Dumfries for the first meeting of VOICE, the Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement. This group’s goal is to provide more affordable housing, strengthen education for people who want to learn English and provide affordable dental care. Leaders from all over Northern Virginia also attended this gathering in addition to the religious representatives. Our own Corey Stewart attended.
Read more »