Bull Run Republican Women’s Club THE BRIDGE, 2019-01
President’s Corner January 2019
Happy New Year! 2018 was a very busy year for the Bull Run Republican Women’s Club. We:
• increased our membership with 11 new members
• volunteered a total of 7673.25 (at least) hours
• made over 6,346 at our annual Fashion Show and Luncheon Fundraiser
January • supported a variety of charities including Carried to Full Term, CareNet, the Haymarket Food Pantry, Streetlight Ministries, 2019 and some Title One schools in PWC
• donated “The Remarkable Ronald Reagan” to elementary schools in Brentsville, Coles, and Gainesville Districts.
Our members: ran for and held public office
were campaign managers, Election Officers and Poll Workers
knocked doors, phone banked and wrote postcards for our candidates
manned the Republican Booth at many Festivals and Parades throughout PWC worked at the PWC Fair Republican Booth
lobbied both the Virginia House of Delegates, as well as the US Congress
wrote to our Congressmen and Senators, as well as to other Representatives
supported Judge Kavanaugh by contacting the Senators on the Judiciary Committee and attending a rally to show that women are behind him
attended rallies, including one supporting ICE
travelled to Richmond to ensure that the State Board of Elections penalized Harry Wiggins for his fraudulent campaign activities
However, 2018 is now over, and we must get busy with the 2019 election cycle. It is time for everyone to renew their membership. It is also a great time to invite others to join us. Our first meeting will be on January 17th at the Lion and Bull Restaurant in Haymarket. We will start meeting at 6pm for dinner, and our business meeting will start at 7:30.
Our Fashion Show will be held on Saturday, April 6th at the Brass Cannon at Stone Wall Golf Club. Start collecting donations from Restaurants, Spas, Wineries, etc. Also, get your guests confirmed early – we are always competing with a variety of other events.
I will be calling everyone to find out what Committees (both Club and Fashion Show) each of you would like to be on. If there is a committee that you are especially interested in working on, let me know now.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the losses that the Club and members suffered this year, including the death of Jean Robinson, Debbie Bowers’ mother, Elaine Pugh’s father, Michelle Baker’s sister, and Pat Johnson’s husband.
I will end on a joyful note, by letting you know that my grandson Keith Charles Desmedt was born last Friday! These little people are why we work continuously – their future depends on it!
May God Bless all of you and your loved ones, as well as our wonderful Country!
Meg January is named after the Roman god Janus.
Originally “Janarius,” the month had 29 days until the Julian calendar when it became 31 days long. Janus (who represents new beginnings) is the Roman god of gates and doorways. He is often depicted with two faces, each looking in the opposite direction. His festival month is January.
January’s gemstone is the garnet; the flowers are the Carnation (sometimes referred to as a gillyflower) or the Snowdrop. Snowdrops will often bloom in the snow, but legend has it that it’s bad luck to pick these delicate flowers. Those born in January are said to be intense and natural leaders, able to stand up when no one else can.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 2 3 4 5
Happy Happy Birthday Birthday Stefanie Michelle
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Law Epiphany Enforcement BRRWC VFRW Executive Legislative Committee Day Appreciation (Richmond) Day Meeting 9th
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
BRRWC Lee Robert E. Lee MEETING Jackson Birthday 6:00 Dinner Day 7:30 Meeting
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Martin Luther King Jr Day Happy (Fed Holiday) Birthday --- Marta Nat’l Hug Day
st nd 27 28 29 30 31 February 1 February 2
Jacks National Happy Happy Groundhog ”Wear Red” Day Birthday Birthday Day Bonnie Shirley
2 17 Dinner at 6:00 or as you are able; Meeting Called to Order at 7:30 January 17th – Lion & Bull
Table of Contents Dates To Remember JANUARY President’s Corner Page 1 January Calendar 2 Jan 1 Happy Near Year! Table of Contents 3 Jan 2 Stefanie Stauffer’s Birthday Dates to Remember 3 Jan 4 Michelle Baker’s Birthday Personally Speaking 4 Jan 6 Epiphany Sympathy 5 Jan 9 BRRWC Executive Committee Meeting Newsletter Help Wanted 5 Jan 9 Law Enforcement Appreciation Day Tree Disposal 5 Jan 10 VFRW Legislative Day Mountains and Molehills 6-8 New Desmedt Baby! 8 Jan 15 Newsletter Deadline Yesli - PWC-BOCS 9 Jan 17 BRRWC Meeting Wiggins found guilty 9 Jan 18 Lee-Jackson Day World-wide migration 9-10 Jan 19 Robert E. Lee’s Birthday Republican Creed 10 Jan 21 MLK Jr. Birthday (Fed Holiday) 2019 Dues 11 Jan 25 Marta Munzi’s Birthday
Fashion Show Donations 11 Jan 27 Bonnie Ippoliti’s Birthday
Legislative Update: Equal Rights Amendment 12-16 Jan 28 Shirley Way’s Birthday “Disease of Despair” 17-18 Voter Fraud 19-22 LOOKING AHEAD BRRWC in Photos 23 Feb 1 National “Wear Red” Day Members and More 24 Feb 2 Groundhog Day Miscellaneous 25 Feb 3 Superbowl Sunday 2019 Of icers 26 Feb 3 Chrissy O’Connor’s Birthday Membership Application 27-28 Feb 7 Jane Beyer’s Birthday Committee Interest Form 29 Feb 17 Debbie Weber’s Birthdays Websites 30 Feb 20 Meg Connelley’s Birthday
Feb 21 MLK Birthday Feb 23 Renee Baldwin’s Birthday
3
Get Well Wishes
Birthdays This Month
Stefanie ~ Jan 2
th Michelle ~ Jan 4 Heather Rice had surgery on December 14 to repair her knee and is doing well. Marta ~ Jan 25
Bonnie ~ Jan 27 Stefanie Stauffer is also doing well following back surgery she had at the end on November. Shirley ~ Jan 28
Ilma Striker and Jacquie Meeks are both now at home recovering from broken hips. They would appreciate cards or visitors very much!
Your Info Welcome
Anniversary, illness, birth of a grandchild, or special trip? Any other announcement that you would like to share with your fellow club Bob Colucci (Judy ‘s husband) has been members? (Trips are not announced until undergoing chemotherapy after your return)
Have an article, a photo, or an opinion to Debbie Bowers’ mother passed away on share? Your input is both welcome and wanted! December 13th Please contact Jan at: jan.bullrun @ yahoo.com
4 TREE DISPOSAL Help Wanted! Wondering where to dispose of your live Christmas tree? Trees may be dropped off at the following locations: I have agreed to stay on as Editor. Prince William County Land ill However, as Treasurer, I will not • 14811 Dumfries Road in Manassas be able to put forth the me and • Monday-Saturday, 6am-6pm; Sunday 8am – 5pm effort needed to con nue to Balls Ford Road Compost Facility • 13000 Balls Ford Road in Manassas publish the type of newsle er as • Monday – Saturday, 7:30am –5pm; Sunday, 8am – in the past year. 5pm Shelter 2 at Leesylvania State Park • 2001 Daniel K. Ludwig Drive in Woodbridge I am looking for one or more members who will write • No restrictions on hours ar cles as a regular feature in each month’s newsle er. NOVEC Write on any topic you choose. No experience • 5399 Wellington Branch Road in Gainesville • between December 26 and January 7. necessary. Otherwise, the newsle er will be shorter • Take to the front parking lot of Novec’s tech center, where orange safety cones will be set up, and some features will disappear.
5 CREATING MOUNTAINS OUT OF MOLEHILLS AND MOLEHILLS OUT OF MOUNTAINS
Reprinted with permission from: ConservativeGovernment.Net
The article below is from 2013, but the tactics have not changed. All of us need to be aware of how progressives play their game. Each link (in blue) substantiates the arguments made. Click on any of the links for more details.
Posted June 27, 2013
One of the key progressive tactics is to create straw men issues out of tiny or non-existent issues, fabricating “mountains out of molehills”, while at the same time downplaying real crises and ignoring them, in effect turning real mountains into molehills. In many cases, the left completely makes up the mountain out of whole cloth, Republican “War on Women?” Please! What better way to show this strategy than to list some examples, all to the detriment of our country, by the way:
Mountains out of Molehills:
• Donald Trump and His campaign “colluded” with the Russians to steal the 2016 elec on. • Criminals are mistreated by America, and should be given their full rights back. “Obama doesn’t think rapists, armed robbers, drug dealers are criminals”, now called “justice-involved- individuals”, VA Gov Terry McAuliffe executive action grants 206,000 felons right to vote. • Global cooling – Clearly their alarmist prediction of another ice age never happened. • Man-made global warming – Now that we have 17 years without a global temperature rise, they changed the lexicon to global climate change and blame extreme weather on carbon. Global Warming Science Reversal of Green Guru Lovelock , falsifying data to create warming. Climate Change Infographic. • GOP “War on women”– Sadly this worked and helped get President Obama reelected in 2012. • “ Ban Bossy” effort • DDT – Completely made up claim that DDT was dooming the planet. Bogus claims were made like DDT was responsible for killing bald eagles by reducing the thickness of eagle egg shells. Banning DDT resulted in (tens of millions of people dead from malaria, and now bed bugs are returning to the US, don’t let them bite!) • US healthcare system was in crisis – Hysteria used to ram through Obama care • Energy • High oil prices (blame oil companies, speculators) • Offshore drilling, Anwar, coal mines, fracking, Keystone XLOil Pipeline ( claims that it will destroy the environment and poison our water) • Incandescent Light bulbs (soon may not have any American made bulbs).
• Republicans out to kill the elderly, indigent, women and children (yet death panels and abortions are democrat’s designs)
• Class warfare (self-fulfilling prophecy) – The wealthy are rich because they steal from the poor. The Poor have no wealth because the rich keep it all. Income inequality.
Continued, page 7 6 Of Mountains and Molehills from page 6
• Coconut oil is bad for you –We no longer use it to make popcorn, but contrary to claims it has been proven to have many positive effects such as reducing the impacts of Alzheimer's . • Salt will kill you –Latest studies say this is way overblown. • Debt reduction/Balanced Budget –Any movement in this direction destroys the country, evil Republicans, “women and minorities hardest hit”. • Voter ID laws exist to disenfranchise the minority vote – In fact they are essential to keep our elections honest, no dead people need show up to vote. • Comprehensive Immigration Reform– Only 3% of Americans think this is a top priority. • White Privilege – Itself a racist screed, taught across the progressive educational spectrum. Do progressives feel guilty because the Democrat Party has such a racist history? • The Population Bomb , we’ll soon be forced to eat the bodies of our dead!
The above list is just a drop in the bucket, but hopefully makes the point. Be on the lookout for this tactic from the left! I’d be interested to hear what other examples you can list to further the cataloging of progressives crying wolf and making mountains out of molehills to create national, and often global, panic in order to advance their agenda.
Molehills out of Mountains:
Hillary Clinton, the DNC and the Obama Administration’s actual involvement with the Russians. Uranium One Sale, $145M to the Clinton Foundation, Hired Russians to make up dirt on Donald Trump.
• IRS Harassment of Conservative Groups, Tea Party • Benghazi (Avoidable murders of 4 Patriotic Americans) • The Loss of the Middle East to Terrorism • Fast and Furious • US’s crushing deficit • Long-term liabilities of Social Security, Medicare, etc. • Increasing magnitude of paying back debt as % of budget (OMB projections are that the annual cost of interest on the National Debt will exceed the Defense Budget in approximately 2020). • Impacts on future generations(What we are doing is enslaving them to massive taxation) • Obamacare – Hardly a day goes by without another story coming out detailing the harm ObamaCare’s implementation is having on our country: Death Panels, Rapidly rising costs, Single Payer Government Controlled end state. • Democratic Party’s history of radical racism • Crushing impacts of Big Government regulations on free trade, free enterprise, and US economy. • War on Christianity – Even the Pope is concerned, (Army warns against Christians, Tea Party), Latest, 90,000 Christians Killed in 2017 for their Faith • Drug Violence spilling over from Mexico • Unions killing industries, public sector unions killing local, state, federal budgets • High taxes- Damaging US businesses, forcing capital offshore, Americans renouncing their US citizenship (look at the impacts of high taxes – New York, California, vs Texas • Banning of Gulf Oil Drilling (despite federal judicial rulings to the contrary) • Voter fraud Continued, page 8
7 Of Mountains and Molehills, from page 7
• Failing US education system– From K-12 and into Universities (nearly 8 out of 10 NY City high school graduates can’t read). • Opposite of contrived GOP “war on women”, true war on women in the Islamic world. • “Clean Energy” • Windmills chopping up birds(estimated 888,000 bat and 573,000 bird fatalities/year); Obama OK’s killing eagles, (400% increase in the # of bald eagles that companies can kill annually); making people seriously ill, deformities and aggression • Impacts of ethanol on food prices, environmental harm, scarcity, (too much corn and less of everything else) • Massive size of solar panel farms needed to produce power – torching birds, 30 in just 2 hrs! Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Plant. • It doesn’t deliver, given all of the harmful impacts it’s a false promise • Huge cost/waste of taxpayer money (Solyndra, and others.) • Driving up energy costs • Crony Capitalism (gov’t choosing winners and losers). • Cost of College Education • Failure in War on Poverty
These two lists are in no way meant to be comprehensive. Sadly, there are far more examples that pop up every week.
Bits and Pieces from the 2016 Election
Turnout in the 2018 mid-term election was estimated to be 50.3% of eligible voters, making it the highest turnout in a midterm election since 1914 and the first time a majority of eligible voters cast ballots since women gained the right to vote. According to an NBC News Exit Poll, 16% said that they were voting in their first mid-term election. (per Gallup Polling)
Democrats ran Spanish language ads in twice as many states as Republicans (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, and Virginia) while Republicans aired Spanish-language ads in Florida, New Jersey, Nevada, and Texas. (per Kantar Media/CMAG)
Democrats gained 40 seats in the House (not counting the unresolved race in NC-09). This is the largest net gain for the Democrats since the Watergate midterm of 1974. (By comparison, Republicans gained 63 House seats in the 2010 midterms.) In the Senate, Republicans gained two seats, bringing their majority to 53, with 47 Democrats in the 116th Congress. (per Gallup polling)
Republicans won 56% of “Toss Up” races (5 out of 9) (per Gallup Polling)
The total cost of Senate and House races for 2018 was $5.2 billion, the most expensive mid-term election in history. Five Senate races cost more than $100 million. The most expensive House race (excluding special elections) was CA-39, which cost $36.8 million, and was won by Gil Cisneros. (per Opensecrets.org).
8 More than 750 Million People Worldwide would migrate if they could (Gallup Polls)
The US is the Number One Destination Point
A recent Gallup worldwide poll found that the desire to permanently migrate to another country actually increased between 2015 and 2017. Gallup's surveys throughout this period found 15% of
the world's adults -- or more than 750 million people -- saying they would like to move to another country if they had the opportunity. This is up from polls since 2010. Between 2010 and 2012, 13%
wanted to migrate. Between 2013 and 2016, that percentage was 14%. Sub-Saharan Africa topped the list with fully one-third wanting to migrate. In Latin America, 27% of the citizens wished
to migrate, with most choosing the US as their favored destination.
More info page 10
https://news.gallup.com/poll/245255/750-million- worldwide-migrate.aspx
9
INCREASED DESIRE TO MIGRATE The Virginia Republican Creed
We Believe …
Gallup World Poll ...That the free enterprise system is the most productive supplier of human needs and economic justice, Major Conclusions
• Desire to migrate in Northern America up for the first time ...That all individuals are entitled to equal • U.S. still No. 1 desired destination for potential migrants rights, justice, and opportunities and should assume their responsibilities as citizens in a free • 18 countries attract two thirds of all potential migrants society, worldwide
and budgetary QUESTION: ...That fiscal responsibility restraints must be exercised at all levels of Ideally, if you had the opportunity, would you like to move government, PERMANENTLY to another country, or would you prefer to continue living in this country? ...That the Federal Government must preserve individual liberty by observing 2010-2012 2013-2016 2015-2017 constitutional limitations, % % % Sub-Saharan Africa 30 31 33 ...That peace is best preserved through a Latin America and Caribbean 18 23 27 strong national defense, Europe (non-European Union) 21 27 26
Middle East and North Africa 19 22 24 ...That faith in God, as recognized by our European Union 20 21 21 Founding Fathers, is essential to the moral iber of the Nation. Commonwealth of Independent States 15 14 15 Northern America 10 10 14
Australia/New Zealand/Oceania 9 10 9 (Copyright 1975, 1997 by Republican Party of Virginia) East Asia 8 7 8 South Asia 8 8 8
Southeast Asia 7 7 7
13 14 15 Welcome to World our Newest Member: Note: Figures represent percentage who would like to move if they could https://news.gallup.com/poll/245255/750-million-worldwide-migrate.aspx Natasha Pietri 10 TIME TO BEGIN AGAIN! Please Send Your Application Form and Dues to Jan! It’s not too soon to be thinking about collecting items for the Silent Auction for the Fashion Show. Businesses decide early in the year which It’s that time of year again! charitable donations they will make for the year. If Membership fees for 2019 are due by the end of you approach a business in March or April for a January! donation toward the Silent Auction, they are likely to tell you that they’ve already committed their Please complete an application maximum for the year. So please start talking to form (see page 28) the businesses you frequent, asking them to EVEN IF YOU ARE A RENEWING MEMBER support our Fashion Show! and send with your check to
Jan Burch, BRRWC Treasurer 8559 Dover Downs Court When you receive a donation or a sponsorship, Gainesville VA 20155-2929 please be sure you provide the name of the business, a contact person, and an address so that Please make checks payable to BRRWC Heather can write thank you notes afterward. 2019 DUES ARE:
$35 Active Membership More Than (that’s most of us) 750 Million Worldwide $40 Sustaining Membership Would (for those who want to be voting members but don’t want to be asked to work on any committees or hold Migrate If They office) 68.2% of Americans say they Could always vote in presidential elections. $15 Sustaining Membership The US is (a non-voting membership available to Republican By comparison, 84.3% of older men or to women who hold Active or Sustaining the adults (those who belong to membership in another RWC Club) Number AARP) say they vote in all presidential elections. one $5 Student Membership (a non-voting membership for students of any age, provided those under 16 are accompanied by an adult)
If you prefer, application and check may be given to Jan at any meeting. Please also complete the Committee Interest Form (see page 29). The Interest Form may be returned with your dues, or given to destination Meg. These forms will help Meg as she decides upon po Committee Chairs for 2019. Totally Useless Facts & Figures
Please consider saying “yes” if Meg asks you to chair Those in the 85-plus age-bracket will more than triple in a committee. In part, she will use the Committee size between 2010 and 2060, making it the fastest Interest Forms to decide on Committee Chairs, but growing of any age group during that time period. she also takes into consideration those with ( According to the AARP Public Policy Institute) Leadership qualities. If she asks you to chair a This rising population of older Americans may affect the committee, it’s because she believes you have both the outcome of elections. The overall self-reported talent and the ability to handle the responsibility. percentage of those who say they always vote in presidential levels is 68.2%. We also hope that all Active Members will participate on at least one committee. 2019 will be a busy year However, in the 85-plus age bracket, that figure rises to and we’ll need all hands on deck to accomplish our 84.3% for presidential elections. goals!
11 Legislative Update EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT & FAMILIAR TACTICS
“The Equal Rights Amendment is a US Constitutional Amendment irst introduced in Congress in 1923. It promises federal equality that cannot be denied on account of sex”
Questions: What rights are currently denied to women due to their sex? Does “sex” refer only to males and females, or does it include LBGTQI and other “genders”
The Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly have tion in accordance with Article V of the Constitution. A decided that passing the Equal Rights Amendment is their suf icient number of states failed to ratify the Amendment primary objective in the upcoming Legislative Session. Not within the 10-year deadline set by Congress – by March 22, just an objective, but their primary objective. Despite the fact 1979. that the ERA died in 1982 when it expired without a suf icient number of states having rati ied it, Democrats are By 1977, the amendment had received 35 of the required 38 determined to revive it one way or another. state rati ications. But before that all-important 38th state rati ication, (and before the expiration date) emotions In their own words ( https://www.equal rights amend- surrounding the ERA began to change and ive state ent.org/, the ERA is “designed to guarantee equal legal legislatures (Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, Tennessee, and rights for all American citizens regardless of sex; it seeks to South Dakota) voted to rescind their rati ications before the end the legal distinctions between men and women in terms March 22, 1979 rati ication deadline date. The 5th state, of divorce, property, employment, and other matters.” South Dakota, had built a sunset date into their rati ication in the event that an insuf icient number of states voted to ratify Other matters? Which other matters? Specifying precisely the Amendment. which matters could make the difference between an amendment intended to guarantee fair treatment for women, In 1978, Congress passed (only with a simple majority rather and one used to bludgeon everyone who is not a female. than the larger majorities required to pass the initial amendment) a Joint Resolution to extend the rati ication The process used in every instance to date to pass a deadline to June 30, 1982, which was signed by then- Constitutional Amendment is for Congress to irst pass the President Jimmy Carter. Amendment with a 2/3 majority in both houses. It is then sent to the states where ¾ of the states (38) must ratify the Since a suf icient number of states did not ratify the amendment for it to become a part of the Constitution. Amendment, it remains unknown 1) whether a state can revoke its rati ication of a federal constitutional amendment, But because the ERA failed using the conventional method, and 2) whether an extension is permissible, and in this case, supporters plan to attempt a never-used alternative in which especially since the extension passed only with a simple 2/3 of the state legislatures request a Constitutional majority rather than the larger majorities required to pass Convention. In that case, any proposed amendments must be the initial amendment. voted upon by the states, and may be rati ied by either the state legislature or by a state convention called for that Nevertheless, believing they have only one state to go, purpose. Democrats are determined to pass the ERA in Virginia, thus, they believe, passing as a Constitutional Amendment. This Congress determines the method of rati ication. The voters might be the case if the expiration date had not come and do not directly vote for or against amendments. gone many years ago, but such “trivial details” will not stop the Democrats from trying The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was passed by the House in October 1971, and by the Senate in March of 1972, continued next page at which point it was sent to the state legislatures for rati ica-
12 From page XX:, Equal Rights Amendment • Women could be ordered to pay alimony to a non- Supporters of the ERA are using familiar tactics to try to working ex. pass ERA as a Constitutional Amendment: Since they have • Currently, women-owned businesses receive no con idence in their ability to get a new Amendment preferential treatment in government contracting through Congress, rather than go through the legislative awards. This and any other preferential treat- process, they will circumvent Congress and again use the ment would automatically be eliminated by the court system to achieve their goals. ERA. • Women of all ages currently receive advantageous As you will recall, it is through the courts, not Congress, that treatment under most car insurance policies; the left had abortion rights, gay marriage, and other issues these would be considered discriminatory. enacted as if they were law. Currently, they are attempting • If there are no differences in gender as claimed, to pass immigration reform and the ERA the same way – by there would be no need to go to the added judicial decree. expense to build separate school locker rooms, showers, rest rooms, etc., for different genders. • Women would immediately sue if their salaries This time, the goal is to have Virginia ratify the amendment are not equal to or above those of their male (as the 38th and inal state needed, they claim), then use the colleagues. The inevitable result is fewer women Court System to eliminate the barriers. They are clearly will be hired. counting on the courts to toss out the expiration date and to • Some supporters claim the ERA would allow argue that states had no authority to withdraw from the government-paid abortions and transitional agreement. surgery for transgenders - but the rationale has been convoluted. Supporters claim that the ERA has the support of 81% of • Supporters, including several Democratic Virginians. If the country is as supportive of ERA as claimed, legislators in Virginia, claim the primary reason there should be no problems introducing ERA as a new the Amendment is needed is to due to “the right amendment and beginning the process all over again, rather to force the government to carry the burden of than selecting some of past events (passage through proof in a 5th/14th amendment Equal Protection congress and 37 states), while simultaneously ignoring lawsuit alleging that a government policy other parts of the past (an unmet expiration date and ive unconstitutionally discriminates against women. states rescinding their approval). Is it not up to the litigant to prove discrimination rather than for the individual or business sued to Supporters claim that the ERA has the support of 81% of prove their innocence? Virginians. If the country is as supportive of ERA as claimed, • The phrase “ Equality of rights under the law there should be no problems introducing ERA as a new shall not be denied or abridged by the United amendment and beginning the process all over again, rather States or by any State on account of sex” could be than selecting some of past events (passage through construed to include transgenders, gays, etc., and Congress and 37 states, while simultaneously ignoring other could be conferring rights not fully understood or parts of the past (an unmet expiratnion date and ive states accepted by the people and may overturn state rescinding their approval). laws.
A number of unanswered questions and unintended consequences remain if supporters succeed in passing the Meanwhile, as Prince William County Democrats tried to ERA. After all, there are always ulterior motives with the force the PWC Board of Supervisors to accept the ERA, there left: was not even a second for the motion. Jeanine Lawson • women would be required to register for the proposed that, instead of the ERA, PWC instead adopt the draft; potentially, they may be required to serve in EAR (“Equality Af irming Resolution” see next page). If the military equality for women were truly the goal, there is no reason • preference for the mother in custody cases of pre- EAR would not satisfy those pushing for the ERA. school children would be eliminated Th
13 Lawson’s “Equality Af irming Resolution” SOURCES
WHEREAS, the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th https://www.equalrightsamendment.org
Amendment provides that no state can “deny to any person https://www.wvtf.org/post/equal-rights-amendment- within its jurisdiction the equal protection under the law,” gets-unfriendly-committee-placement#stream/0
WHEREAS, Article VI, Clause 2, the Supremacy Clause, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ establishes the Constitution as the Supreme law of the land, Equal_Rights_Amendment
WHEREAS, the United States Constitution does not https://www.princewilliamtimes.com/equality- affirmation-resolution/article_7b987220-edd6-11e8- speci ically identify a person based on their sex, race, 94de-3fba035a7db6.html religion, or national origin, it therefore denies no one equal protection, 115 th CONGRESS WHEREAS, current protections in place for women and minorities, by federal law, such as Title 9, federal contract There are two different types of ERA legislation that have been intro- duced in the 115th session of Congress: (from January 3, 2017, to January award guidelines, grants and scholarships, and child custody, 3, 2019): could be jeopardized with the passage of the Equal Rights 1. Traditional legislation to ratify the ERA using the Constitution's Article Amendment, V rati ication process, and
2. Three-state strategy: legislation to remove the time limit on the ERA's WHEREAS, signi icant legal and cultural advances have been rati ication process, and to nullify the recission by ive states (Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky, and South Dakota), thereby retaining the made since the 1972 introduction of the Equal Rights existing 35 state rati ications despite the fact that 5 states have since rescinded their approval. Amendment, parity for women has been afforded in workplace protections, equal pay and employment security, The two methods are described in more detail on page 15.
WHEREAS, the time limit for rati ication has expired and subsequently ive states have rescinded their approval,
WHEREAS, Prince William County is a place that respects and values the differences of individuals and strives to ensure equality for all genders,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Prince William
Board of County Supervisors reaf irms that all persons residing in Prince William County are afforded equal protection under the law and that no county legislation will be passed that infringes or denies one’s Constitutional rights.
Three-state strategy: legislation to remove the time limit on the ERA's rati ication process, and to nullify the recission by ive states (Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky and South Dakota), thereby retaining the existing 35 state rat ications despite the fact that 5 states have since rescinded their approval. 14 TRADITIONAL LEGISLATION
Senate: Senate Joint Resolution 6 (S.J. Res. 6) Lead sponsor: Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) Introduced January 20, 2017; read twice and referred to Committee on the Judiciary
Text: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to equal rights for men and women.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States:
'Article--
'Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
'Section 3. This article shall take effect 2 years after the date of ratification.'
House of Representatives: House Joint Resolution 33 (H.J. Res. 33) Lead sponsor: Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) Introduced January 24, 2017; referred to Committee on the Judiciary
Text: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to equal rights for men and women.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when rati ied by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States:
'Article--
'Section 1. Women shall have equal rights in the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
'Section 2. Congress and the several States shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
'Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of rati ication.'
Note: The wording of H.J. Res 52 differs slightly from S.J. Res 16 and the Equal Rights Amendment passed by Congress in 1972.
"THE THREE-STATE STRATEGY” LEGISLATION
Senate: Senate Joint Resolution 5 (S.J. Res. 5)
Lead sponsor: Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) Introduced January 17, 2017; read twice and referred to Committee on the Judiciary.
Text: Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That notwithstanding any time limit contained in House Joint Resolution 208, 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972, the article of amendment proposed to the States in that joint resolution shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution whenever rati ied by the legislatures of three- fourths of the several States.
House of Representatives: House Joint Resolution 53 (H.J. Res. 53) Lead sponsor: Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) Introduced January 31, 2017; referred to Committee on the Judiciary.udiciary.
Text: Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That notwithstanding any time limit contained in House Joint Resolution 208, 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972, the article of amendment proposed to the States in that joint resolution shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution whenever rati ied by the legislatures of three- fourths of the several States. 15 Why They Say We Need the ERA:
Proponents don’t seem to have any speci ic reasons why they feel the ERA is necessary other than the fact that it is possible that some future Congress might pass laws, or revoke laws, that would revoke rights that women have.
They argue that because “progress of the past 60 years is not irreversible,” it stands to reason that “Legal sex discrimination is not yet a thing of the past,” They concede that “gender inequities result more from individual behavior and social practices than from legal discrimination” today. Yet they make the argument that any such social practices “can be positively in luenced by a strong message.” So the ERA, in reality is all symbolism. Proponents use fear tactics in attempt to pass ERA
They give a number of reasons why the ERA is “necessary,” but they sum up their fears in one succinct statement:
“Congress has the power to make laws that replace existing laws — and to do so by a simple majority. Therefore, many of the current legal protections against sex discrimination can be removed by the margin of a single vote. While courts in the near term would still apply skeptical scrutiny to laws that differentiate on the basis of sex, that precedent could be undermined or eventually ignored by future conservative or reactionary courts.”
In other words, they fear the possibility of a conservative majority in the future who may re-evaluate current or future laws. That would require that that conservative majority and/or the Supreme Court would have to completely ignore, among others, the:
• Equal Pay Act (1963)
• Title VII and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act (1964)
• Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978)
• Supreme Court decisions based on the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause
Notable Quotables
“We will not waver; we will not tire; we will not falter, and we will not fail. Peace and Freedom will prevail.”
George W. Bush
16 “Disease of Despair”
In the words of Virginia State Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver, “What we’re dealing with is an addiction epidemic, not an opioid epidemic.” While Virginia expects a slight dip in fatal opioid-related drug overdoses in 2018, deaths caused by cocaine and methamphetamine abuse are on the rise, indicating a “disease of despair,” according to a report by the state health commissioner discussed at a meeting on December 13th. Infants born addicted to drugs because of use by their mothers is another indication. Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, which occurs when an infant goes through withdrawal from drugs that the mother used while pregnant, has risen dramatically over the past decade.
The Virginia Medical Examiner’s Of ice predicts that deaths due to opioid overdose will fall to 1,175 in 2018, down from 1,230 in 2017. Yet drug overdose remains the leading cause of unnatural death in Virginia, out surpassing even gun deaths or traf ic accidents.
“We may get a handle on prescription opioids just to see meth and other things take their place,” Oliver reported. “On the surface, it appears to be the opioid epidemic, but where you look at the opioid epidemic or addiction in general, it’s really a disease of despair. What drives it is the lack of jobs, the lack of affordable housing, the lack of transportation ...” Because the areas that lead the Commonwealth in drug fatalities are the Richmond area and a swath of Southwestern Virginia, he may well be correct.
NUMBER OF FATAL DRUG TYPES OF DRUGS IN FATAL OVERDOSES OVERDOSES
Fentanyl is often the culprit. Fentanyl is a strong synthetic opioid which requires a prescription. However, it is frequently produced illegally and sold alone or in combination with other illegal drugs. Because the illegal version is unpredictable in strength, users never know exactly how much Fentanyl they are taking, thus leading to frequent overdoses. It is this illegal version that is responsible for the majority of the overdoses.
Up until 2013, Fentanyl overdoses were rare, with fewer than 100 deaths attributable to its use. But as illegal Fentanyl has looded the market, Fentanyl was responsible for half of all overdose fatalities in 2017. It now has the dubious distinction of being the deadliest drug in Virginia.
Opioids are not the only cause of overdoses. Other drugs such as methamphetamines and cocaine are also responsible for these fatalities. Deaths from opioid abuse are down slightly. Deaths caused by cocaine have gradually increased over the past several years, from 84 in 2012 to 398 in 2017. This year is on pace for 445 cocaine deaths. Methamphetamine, although accounting for a small percentage of drug overdose fatalities, has also caused more deaths, increasing from four fatalities in 2012 to 106 projected in 2018. Although fatalities from each type of drug rose, the sharpest increases involved fentanyl, cocaine, and fentanyl/cocaine combinations as shown in the charts on the following page.
17 Fentanyl Cocaine, with & without opioids Cocaine with Opioids
Oliver may have a point about a lack of jobs and other conditions leading to despair which then leads to drug abuse. The areas with the greatest abuse are also the hardest hit inancially: Richmond area and large swaths of Southwest Virginia. The “disease of despair” is nothing new to SW Virginia where employment has been dif icult for some time.
In 2015, Virginia’s overall unemployment rate was 5%, but it was 6.1% in SW Virginia with a few counties far exceeding that average. The Counties of Buchanan (11.1%), Dickenson (10.2%) and Wise (9.2%) had the highest unemployment rates in the region. They are in the furthest Southwestern portion of Virginia, abutting Kentucky, and are also the three largest coal-producing counties in Virginia, home to approximately 80 percent of the state’s coal miners. In 1990, the three counties had 9,773 coal mining jobs. That plummeted to an average of 2,812 jobs in 2014. Counties within southwest Virginia saw improvements to unemployment rates last year, but the situation still is not rosy. Buchanan County had the biggest percentage drop, but was still tied with Dickinson County with the highest December unemployment rate of 6.6% in 2017.
The focus on “social determinants,” such as an individual’s environment, income, and access to education, housing and transportation is a relatively new plan, and is something that the Virginia Department of Health has built into its strategic plan. Some of the local health departments have followed their lead and are including more holistic approaches to improving health. Oliver cited the city of Norton, a Southwest Virginia city that is one of the least populous in the state, as an example. Economic development such as building tourism in the region is now a focus of the city’s health department.
Oliver described actions the state health department has taken to reduce drug overdose fatalities. VDH authorized three “Comprehensive Harm Reduction programs” (aka needle exchange programs) in Wise and Smyth counties and the city of Richmond this year. The purpose of the program is to “reduce the spread of hepatitis and infectious diseases among abusers. Prescribing physicians are now required to prescribe naloxone hydrochloride (Narcan) to patients taking higher doses s opiates.
SOURCES
https://www.richmond.com/life/health/opioid-deaths-are-down-but-addiction-continues-to-plague-virginia/article_0eb7c6b9-bb60-541e-8854- fdc8f392ba0f.html?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=NEWS%20-%20RTD%20Virginia%20Politics%20Insider&utm_campaign=_RTD %20Virginia%20Politics%20Insider
https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdosedeath-ratesrugs Involved in U.S. Overdose
virginialmi.com/report_center/ community_profiles/5115000441.pdf
https://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/ 2015/aug/17/israel-oquinn/israel-oquinn-says-some-sw-virginia-counties-are-n/
18 “There’s No Such Thing as Voter Fraud!” “Strengthening Voting Laws is Voter Suppression”
You’ve heard it before: “There’s no evidence of voter fraud!” Inevitably, that claim is followed by claims of voter suppression. But unless you accept the argument that minorities can’t igure out how to get a photo ID (which is insulting to minorities), evidence is never given for either claim. Of course, that’s because there is evidence of voter fraud if anyone cares to look. The next time you’re told there’s no voting fraud, the following two articles may provide you with some ammunition.
LOS ANGELES TIMES US DEPT OF JUSTICE Foreign Nationals Charged for Voting in 2016 Election fraud scheme on L.A.'s skid row got Election - Multiple Defendants Voted In More homeless to sign fake names for cigarettes Than One Election and cash, D.A. says
August 24, 2018 –(lightly edited for space) By HANNAH FRY and MARISA GERBER Nov 20, 2018 | 1:35 PM
The Eastern District of North Carolina today announced A forged signature swapped for $1 — or sometimes a that nineteen foreign nationals were charged with, among cigarette. other crimes, voting by aliens, for their actions prior to The crude exchange played out hundreds of times on and on November 8, 2016. A twentieth defendant was L.A.’s skid row during the 2016 election cycle and again charged with aiding and abetting a fellow defendant in this year, prosecutors said Tuesday as they announced falsely claiming United States citizenship in order to criminal charges against nine people accused in a fraud register to vote scheme.
A federal grand jury in Wilmington, North Carolina Using cash and cigarettes as lures, the defendants returned an Indictment charging the following foreign approached homeless people on skid row and asked them nationals with false claim of United States citizenship in to forge signatures on state ballot measure petitions and order to register to vote, and voting by an alien: voter registration forms, the district attorney’s of ice said. The defendants — some of whom were scheduled to be • Jose Cruz Solano-Rodriguez, age 41, of Mexico; • Guadalupe Espinosa-Pena, age 63, of Mexico; arraigned Tuesday — face several criminal charges, • Sarah Emilia Silverio-Polanco, age 35, of the including circulating a petition with fake names, voter Dominican Republic; • Elizabeth Nene Amachaghi, age 44, of Nigeria; fraud and registering a ictitious person. • Maria Ru ina Castillo-Boswell, age 31, of Philippines; • Dora Maybe Damatta-Rodriguez, age 64, of Panama; • Elvis David Fullerton, age 54, of Grenada; “They paid individuals to sign the names,” Of icer Deon • Olive Agatha Martin, age 71, of Guyana; and Joseph, the senior lead of icer on skid row, told the Times • Kaoru Sauls, age 54, of Japan. in September. “That’s an assault on our democracy.” Separately, criminal charges of voting by an alien were iled against the following foreign nationals: The charges, which were iled three weeks ago but made public Tuesday, followed a Los Angeles Police Department • Jose Jaime Ramiro-Torres, age 52, of El Salvador; • Juan Francisco Landeros-Mireles, age 64, of Mexico; crackdown on suspected election fraud on skid row • Alessandro Cannizzaro, age 46, of Italy; earlier in the year. • Dieudonne Soi ils, age 71, of Haiti; • Hyo Suk George, age 69, of Korea;
See LA TIMES, page 20 See JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, page 20
19 LA TIMES, from page 19 JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, from page 19
State of icials said petition signatures scams aren’t • Merius Jean, age 54, of Haiti; • Rosemarie Angelika Harris, age 60, of Germany; widespread in California, but Joseph said they do pop up • Daniel Tadeusz Romanowski, age 39, of Poland from time to time on skid row. People hired to help In separate cases, a Federal grand jury returned qualify initiatives for the ballot are often paid per indictments against: signature collected, typically $1 to $2, but of icials said a • Diana Patricia Franco-Rodriguez, age 26, of Mexico, recent slew of proposed ballot initiatives had pushed the with fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other rate as high as $6 a signature. It is illegal for the documents, and voting by an alien. collectors, however, to pay people for signatures. • Denslo Allen Paige, age 66, with aiding and abetting Espinosa-Pena in falsely claiming United States citizenship in order to register to vote. Los Angeles police Capt. Marc Reina said of icials used undercover of icers and security camera video before Separately on August 14, 2018, Ramon Esteban Paez- arresting Kirkland Kauzava Washington, 38, one of the Jerez, age 58, of the Dominican Republic, was charged and nine individuals charged by prosecutors. Washington pleaded guilty to a two-count Criminal Information allegedly set up a card table outside the Midnight Mission, charging him with passport fraud and voting by an alien. where homeless people line up for meals and shelter, Reina said. According to the Criminal Information, Paez-Jerez in 1988 was ordered deported from the United States and failed Two other people arrested at the same time as to appear for his scheduled removal. According to court Washington were either homeless or living in a single- records, Paez-Jerez assumed a fraudulent identity and room-occupancy apartment on skid row, but neither of applied for amnesty. Paez-Jerez in 1989 was granted them was among the nine defendants charged by L.A. lawful permanent status under the false identity and in County prosecutors.“We didn’t charge any homeless 1999 was naturalized contrary to law as a United States people,” said district attorney spokeswoman Shiara citizen. On July 7, 2007, Paez-Jerez registered to vote in Davila-Morales. North Carolina under his fraudulent identity
L.A. County elections chief Dean Logan previously said it On September 16, 2009, Paez-Jerez made a false state- was unlikely the forgeries eluded his staff, who manually ment in an application for a US passport when he applied compare petition signatures with those on registration under the fraudulent identity and failed to disclose his forms. But, Logan said, he worried about “any activity real name. that causes voters to lose faith in the process.” On November 8, 2016, Paez-Jerez illegally voted in the General Election of 2016 in Wake County, North Carolina, Washington, Harold Bennett, 53, and Louis Thomas Wise, knowing he had illegally obtained US citizenship. 36, face up to six years and four months in prison. The others charged — Richard Howard, 62, Rose Makeda Paez-Jerez faces maximum penalties of eleven years’ SOURCE: Sweeney, 42, Christopher Joseph Williams, 59, Jakara Fati imprisonment, a $350,000 ine, and a term of supervised https://www.justice.g-voting-2016-election Mardis, 35, Norman Hall, 61, and Nickey Demelvin release following any term of imprisonment. Sentencing Huntley, 44 — face up to four years and eight months in is scheduled for the term of court commencing on prison. December 11, 2018, in New Bern, North Carolina.
SOURCE: SOURCE: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-skid-row-voter- fraud-20181120-story.html? https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/pr/nineteen-foreign-nationals-charged- outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true 20 voting-2016-election POLITICAL OPERATIVE FOR DEM CANDIDATES CONVICTED OF FEDERAL CAMPAIGN FINANCE CRIMES
A longtme Democratic political operative was found guilty of federal campaign violations and of obstructing justice.
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) investiated the case wherein Kenneth Smukler was convicted of charges of making and causing unlawful campaign contributions and giving false statements to the FEC in connection with the 2012 re-election bid of Democratic U.S. Rep. Bob Brady.
Smukler had been working to elect dozens of Democrats over the past 30 years. He orchestrated a $90,000 payment to Brady’s primary election opponent to convince him to drop out of the race.
SOURCE:
Daily Caller: Election fraud/2018/12/04
POLITICAL OPERATIVE FOR REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE UNDER INVESTIGATION
North Carolina’s Electoral Board was concerned about the integrity of the midterm elections in Bladen County, especially because a political operative named Leslie McCrae Dowless, Jr. may have abused the absentee-ballot program in 2016, and was subsequently hired by another candidate in 2018. Although Dowless was never indicted or sanctioned in the 2016 election, he became the center of investigation when hired by Mark Harris, a Republican candidate. In 2018. Mr. Harris won by 905 votes over the Democrat, Dan McCready.
Initially, all the major races that Dowless worked on were for Democratic candidates. The irst was for Democrat Harold Butch Pope’s campaign for Bladen County district attorney in 2010. According to campaign inance reports, Dowless was subsequently hired to work on the campaigns of Wesley Meredith (D), Ken Waddell (D), and William Brisson (a Democrat at the time, who became Republican 10/25/17).
This is, at a minimum, the ifth investigation revolving around “voting irregularities” in Bladen County. In 2010, an investigation by the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation was referred to the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Unit, and was closed in 2013 without any criminal charges being iled. Then in 2016, the Board opened three cases against groups within the County, all involving alleged voter fraud and/or absentee ballot fraud. At least one of these involved McCrea Dowless who was working on Mark Harris’ 2018 campaign for Congress. But the only one to lead to signi icant consequences is in the 2018 race in which the Republican won. T Along the way, McCrea also worked on the campaigns of some Republicans and Democrats in local races, working on a dozen races in all. There are also Investigations into: ▪ Possible absentee ballot fraud committed by Patriots for Progress IE PAC, a conservative group which McCrea helped found in 2014, (He also helped found Politico Management Services in the same year.
▪ Possible absentee ballot fraud committed by the Bladen Improvement Association PAC, a Democrat-backed group.
▪ Voter fraud allegations and possible false statements to affect election outcomes allegedly by McCrae Dowless, who worked as a contractor for Republican Mark Harris’ 2018 congressional campaign.
SOURCE: www.wect.com/2018/12/04/bladen-county-district-attorney-deeply-troubled-by-election-fraud-allegations/
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article222678960.html#storylink=cpy
https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/debunking-voter-fraud-myt h
21 “Debunking the Voter Fraud Myth”
Despite ample evidence of voter fraud, most of the Left insists that voter fraud, if it exists at all, is negligible. The left-leaning Brennan Center (unrelated to John Brennan) for Justice is one of many websites that you can ind whose purpose, at least in part, is to convince you that voter fraud never, ever happens in the US. The website lists too many studies to include here, but they can be readily found at: https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/debunking-voter-fraud-myth
The headlines include such information as “...the likely percent of non-citizen voters in recent US elections is 0.” Or, an immigrant is more likely “to be struck by lightning than that he will impersonate another voter at the polls.” When instances of voter fraud, are covered, assurances that the problem is rare are often the lead story. For example, when The Washington Post discovered 31 credible instances of impersonation fraud from 2000 to 2014, the report adds that “this is out of more than 1 billion ballots cast” and “even this tiny number is likely in lated.” If it’s likely in lated, their research was lacking. Just a few of the headlines to give you a feel for the overall theme (emphasis and comments in red are my own).
• “Sensationalist claims”
• “fraud is vanishingly rare, and does not happen on a scale even close to that necessary to “rig” an election.
• ”.it is more likely,...that an American “will be struck by lightning than that he will impersonate another voter at the polls.” ( ~a frequent theme)
• ‘A study found that the rare fraud that was reported generally could be traced to “false claims by the loser...or clerical error.”
• “...the likely percent of non-citizen voters in recent US elections is 0.” Likely? Is that based on anything factual?
• “Studies Agree: Impersonation Fraud by Voters Very Rarely Happens” Did they check into Absentee Ballot Fraud?
But the Brennan Center goes further still. It concludes that of icials should focus not on phantom fraud concerns, but on ”those abuses that actually threaten election security” such as “racially suppressive voting measures — including poll taxes and all-white primaries.” Sadly, this attitude is not rare. But just like the monkeys who “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”, when one never looks, one never inds. And to the Left, if one closes their eyes, voter fraud ceases to exist.
22 2018 Christ as Par and Installation of Officers
If you have photos of the par to share, please send to Jan at jan.bullr [email protected]
23 Members and More
Thank You! The Bower Boys on Armistice Day
From Debbie Bowers Many thanks to our hosts, Mir a and Jer , for opening Armistice Day on November 11, 2018 marked the 100 their beautif l home to us for our Christ as Par and year anniversary of the end of WWI. In Washington DC alone, 26,000 people served in that war, and the residents Installation of Officers. Mir a was the perfect hostess, of DC put up a memoial to their service near the Reflec ting Pool. Note that this pavillion isn’t the official World and we are ver appreciative. War I Memorial. Anyway, my sons Michael and Timothy (age 14) are in the Navy Sea Cadets and we attended the celebration this year. When I was a teenager, I couldn’t have told you when World War I was, much less when it Thanks also to Bonnie Burkhar , VFRW Second Vice ended. Remembrances like this are such an important way to let our families know of some of the sacrifices of President who was g acious enough to a end and so many in our country. What a wonderful opportunity it is to live near DC and attend activities like this. We are perfor the Installation of Officers. truly blessed!
TIDBITS
23% ofAmericans report that they or a member of their household have been victims of credit card theft.
By comparison, those who report they or a household member were the victim of:
sexual assault, 1% robbed with a weapon, 1% Editor’s Note: victims of car theft, 2% mugged /physically assualted,11% car/home was vandalized, 14% Congratulations, Michael and Timothy! What a great had money stolen, 14% opportunity you had! victims of identity theft, 16%
I would love to regularly feature members, or their families in short articles such as this, and especially want your photos! Please let me know what you’ve been up to and let me include you in the next issue!
24 US TOO DANGEROUS FOR One woman can change REPORTERS? anything. Reporters Without Borders added the US to its list of the most dangerous countries for reporters – along with Syria, India, Afghanistan, Mexico and India. The inclusion on the list was due to the fact that six Many women working together journalists were recently killed. However, the circumstances around those deaths are very different can change everything. from those for other countries on the list.
Two local journalists died when a tree fell on them Antelope Wells, New Mexico is in a wilderness of while covering a storm in North Carolina. In addition, 4 reporters died in an attack on the Capital Gazette in mountains and desertland, 45 miles from the closest town, Maryland by a “crazed lunatic.” The gunman had held population 49. It is here that the 7 year old Jakelin Caal arrived a grudge against the Capital Gazette for 6 years, ever with her father Nery and died one day later. What was a 7-year- since a 2011 article which named him, and which he old girl doing here, in the middle of the desert, to begin with? felt was unfair. The gunman harrassed the newspaper Antelope Wells Border Station is one of the most remote outposts ever since, culminating in the massacre at the paper. along the 2000 mile border. Lately it has been been used by one of a number of “brazen start-up” smuggling operations that have While these deaths are tragic, they differ from others been herding Guatamalean families to these outposts. Busloads on the list. Reporters Without Borders generally go around the border gates and turn themselves into Border includes countries in which the government executes Patrol agents, claiming asylum. Their large numbers overwhelm reporters who reveal government corruption, or those border agents whose numbers are few, and whose outposts are in which the government makes little attempt to not designed to hold families or large numbers. control organized crime - not because of natural disasters or the actions of one crazed man with a At home, Guatamalans are persuaded that the trip to the US will grudge. But the organization, which leans far to the be easy, and that the US will assist them with becoming left, chose to follow the Gazette’s lead and interprete acclimated to the different language and culture. Word has the events in the worst possible light, spread across Central America that adults who arrive with children have the best chance at avoiding U.S. detention and deportation. The smugglers know this, too, so children are Despite their long history with the gunman, the smuggled for free since chidren are the ‘gold ticket’ into the US. editorial staff intentionally implied that Donald Trump was responsible for the shooting. Immediately after Although Mexico has always been the country with the largest the shooting, the editorial staff of the Capital Gazette number of people crossing illegally, so many Guatemalans have wrote: been persuaded to make the “easy trip” to the US that Guatemala has now surpassed even that number. "We won’t forget being called an enemy of the people. No, we won’t forget that. Because A new caravan with 15,000 Hundurans is currently forming and exposing evil, shining light on wrongs and ighting expected to leave Honduras on January 15th. injustice is what we do. Our community has rallied around us to show they understand who we are, and that we are not the enemy of the people. We are your neighbors, your friends. We are you."
Have you checked out the website Apparently, being persecuted by the President garners RNC Women ? more empathy than being attacked by a man with mental health issues. As such, these deaths are lumped in with journalists subjected to unprecedented This website is run by the RNC for Republican women. violence and execution-style murder because they dare to report on Mexico’s corruption among government From the website: of icials and organized crime or the Syrian government’s attacks on innocent civilians. Thus, the The Republican Party provides a way for women to create their own American dream. RNC Women works to engage, educate, US becomes one of “the most dangerous places for and empower women to be candidates, leaders and activists at journalists. all levels. We provide the training and resources to empower women to make a difference in their community, state and country. Join RNC women and help restore the American dream. SOURCE: Click on the link in the headline to be connected. https://www.dailywire.com/news/39528/oh-please-us-added- list-most-dangerous-places-paul-bois
25 Bull Run Republican Women's Club 2019 Officers
Office Officers Home Cell
President Meg Desmedt 703-754-0694 703-987-5567 [email protected]
1st VP/Programs Stefanie Stauffer 703-243-4750 703-304-6161 [email protected]
2nd VP/Membership Tiffany Woodard 703-257-7126 703-463-4605 [email protected]
Recording Secretary Gail Forry 703-754-0342 571-261-2556 [email protected]
Corresponding Secretary Heather Rice ------575-430-6753 [email protected]
Treasurer Jan Burch 703-753-8435 703-975-2356 [email protected]
Immediate Past President Jan Burch 703-753-8435 703-975-2356 [email protected]
To send an email to any of the Of icers, just click on the email address below their names.
Meg is in the process of selecting committee chairs. The page listing chairs and their contact information will resume when she has inished.
26 Bull Run Republican Women's Club
Membership is open to all who support the principles of the Republican Party and advocate support of its candidates.
Active Membership : A full voting membership, available to women, which includes membership in the Virginia and National Federations of Republican Women. Annual dues are $35 which includes $14 for membership in the state and national federations, and $3 for the Women’s Candidate Fund.
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Associate Membership : A non-voting membership available to Active Members of other Republican Women Clubs and to Republican men. Annual dues are $15 and do not include membership in the state and national federations, and does not include any contribution toward the Women's Candidate Fund.
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The BRRWC’s iscal year is January 1 through December 31. Dues are payable each January. For new Active Members joining after June 30, dues are prorated at $1 a month plus $14 for state and national federation dues for the balance of the year.
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Wishing you and your loved ones the
happiest of New Years,
and
all good things throughout 2019