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“Anyone can succumb to ideology. All it takes is a sense of one’s own moral superiority for being on the right side; a theory that purports to explain everything; and — this is crucial — a principled refusal to see things from the point of view of one’s opponents or victims, lest one be tainted by their evil viewpoint.”
— Gary Saul Morson, The New Criterion, “How The Great Truth Dawned” (2019)
One of the funny things about meeting politicians is the fawning that most of us do over them. For myself — having elected a few and worked for many others — you come to realize that there is a distinction between their role as a public figure and their personality that is about as wide a gulf as any canyon or valley.
In short, how they present themselves is far different from how they are presented by their opposition, and even more different than how they actually are in person. Believe me — they are far more interesting as human beings rather than off brand demigods, I assure you.
Most human beings don’t have the courage to become a politician. Imagine taking your entire self — all of it — and placing.
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Mr. William A. Anderson — mastermind behind the 1901 Virginia Constitution — would certainly understand what is happening daily outside the early-voting location in Spotsylvania County.
Blatantly deceiving voters.
Neither Nick Ignacio — a candidate for clerk of court — nor Steve Maxwell who is running for Spotsylvania Sheriff have Anderson’s acumen. Yet they certainly share his desire to twist and exploit every gap they can find in the law to promote false information and mislead voters.
From the first day of early voting, Ignacio and Maxwell have knowingly been passing out misleading sample ballots — one Democratic, one Republican — to unsuspecting voters, with Ignacio making the false claim that he has been endorsed by both parties.
In fact, Ignacio was expelled from the Republican Party and according to Bob Martin who chairs the Spotsylvania Democratic Committee, has not been endorsed by the Democratic Party.
The misleading Democratic sample ballot they are circulating claims the Democrats endorse not only Ignacio and Maxwell, but.
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Tucked away behind its more famous neighbor, the Renwick Courthouse, the old jail seldom generates any interest for passersby. Little significant.
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Joshua Cole (D) is a former member of and present candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates who shares his perspective.
Published by Mercer Univ Press (September 5, 2023), Hardcover – $27, 291 pages
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“Anyone can succumb to ideology. All it takes is a sense of one’s own moral superiority for being on the right side; a theory that purports to explain everything; and — this is crucial — a principled refusal to see things from the point of view of one’s opponents or victims, lest one be tainted by their evil viewpoint.”
— Gary Saul Morson, The New Criterion, “How The Great Truth Dawned” (2019)
One of the funny things about meeting politicians is the fawning that most of us do over them. For myself — having elected a few and worked for many others — you come to realize that there is a distinction between their role as a public figure and their personality that is about as wide a gulf as any canyon or valley.
In short, how they present themselves is far different from how they are presented by their opposition, and even more different than how they actually are in.
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Published by Mercer Univ Press (September 5, 2023), Hardcover – $27, 291 pages
Hardback edition
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There is a temptation to read The Girl from the Red Rose Motel through the veil of fiction with the comforting thought that the story of Hazel “Zell” Smalls is far removed from the Fredericksburg area and its schools.
Unfortunately,.
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Fall Foliage
Entering the last weekend of September, fall colors are beginning to make their way to Virginia’s mountains, according to American Forests.
Near-peak and peak viewing times will be October 16-23, according to the same website.
For those who enjoy keeping a close eye on leafy colors, Smokeymountains.com invites people to help improve predictions by reporting leaf.
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Augustus was pulling off coups long before Lisa Phelps came on the scene.
Educated citizens will understand the reference. The chairman of Spotsylvania County’s school board, however, surely won’t. That would require reading – and given her desire to ban and burn books with “pornography,” we assume anything from, or about, the Roman Empire is on the burn-to-a-crisp list.
Let’s explain it for her – sans any reference to Augustus’ sex life (he was a notorious philander who had a proclivity for deflowering young maidens).
Augustus, born Gaius Octavius, brought an end to the Roman Republic – with its democratically inspired representative government – by slowly consolidating all power unto himself.
He rejected imperial titles, keeping the facade of the Republic in place. But over time he managed to have the Senate name him commander-in-chief, tribune, and censor. For life. He was first among equals. And everything went through him.
The senate remained, but never again would it be the governing authority.
This is precisely what Phelps and Superintendent Mark Taylor have orchestrated. Phelps, whose only role in the system should be to ensure that rules at school board meetings are followed and the democratic integrity of the board remains in-tack, is now the de-facto head of the school district, with Taylor her cuckolded “Yes man.”
And like the Roman Emperors, her greed for power will prove her undoing.
Consider what happened on Thursday.
When teachers reported to work Thursday morning, they were confronted with the following email:
Dear SCPS Staff,
As a reminder to SCPS personnel about Policy BG-R, which outlines the procedures for communication.
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