First, thanks to the readers who have sent in comments, suggestions, links and encouragement. Many of the items you see in this Update are the result of this input, and after research was conducted to validate key issues.
Thanks also for the many mentions of this blog from two radio talk show hosts in the area – Joe Thomas of WCHV, and Rob Schilling of WINA.
Contents of today’s Update:
- Essay: "Things To Keep In Mind On This 232nd Independence Day"
. - CCP&J Denies Sponsoring Protests – BUT…
. - CCP&J Publishes Another Hate-Filled Appeal For Disruption Of Monticello Ceremony
. - Who - And What - Is Really Behind Many “Peace” Groups?
. - Have You Seen Any "Peace" Groups Protest Or Disrupt These Events?
. - Official Response From Goode Campaign On David Swanson's Hate-Based Accusation At CCP&J Website
(1) Essay: "Things To Keep In Mind On This 232nd Independence Day"
As we Charlottesvillians approach this momentous Independence Day, to be celebrated at Monticello along with a naturalization ceremony officiated by the President of the United States, here is an original essay that will help to frame and justify the existence, and stances, of this blog. Read it here.
(2) CCP&J Denies Sponsoring Protests – BUT…
A detailed blogpost, chronicling the highlights of email exchanges between a member of the CCP&J's board and this blog, along with key background information. In summary, the board member stated that the CCP&J is neither sponsoring nor organizing any protests or disruptions at the July 4 ceremonies at Monticello - and furthermore, that David Swanson, the one who has been fomenting these actions on the CCP&J website, is not a board member, and does not speak for the organization in any official capacity. Given this, it was requested that this blog remove all references to the CCP&J.
This blog explained that as virtually every item on the front page of the CCP&J's website (15 out of 17, as of July 3) were posted by Mr. Swanson - including his unhinged hatred, anti-American propaganda, and appeals for various anarchist-type behavior - it is the CCP&J's responsibility to deal with this problem.
A mutual resolution offered by this blog was met with silence. And the facts that emerged as to Mr. Swanson's statements, actions and actual status within the CCP&J lead to more questions than answers - not only about him, but about the willingness of the CCP&J to control, if not protect, its website and public image.
Read it all, here.
(3) CCP&J Publishes Another Hate-Filled Appeal For Disruption Of Monticello Ceremony
Highlights of another appeal from Mr. Swanson - posted at the top of the CCP&J website - for "activists" to protest and disrupt the July 4 ceremonies at Monticello... despite the statements of the CCP&J board member. Grab a bottle of Pepto-Bismol and read it all, here.
(4) Who - And What - Is Really Behind Many “Peace” Groups?
A detailed expose' that chronicles the actual, little-known ideological roots of one of the most prominent "peace" groups in America, which the CCP&J's David Swanson proclaims he has a formal affiliation with.
On this 232nd anniversary of American Independence, it is worth considering who, and what ideas, are behind the drive to protest and disrupt the July 4 ceremonies at Monticello. Reference articles discuss the broader "peace" movement, and why many of its constituent members and affiliated groups are working for anything but their publicly-professed missions.
Read it all, here.
(5) Have You Seen Any "Peace" Groups Protest Or Disrupt These Events?
If "peace" groups in America were principled and intellectually consistent, they would protest and disrupt all speakers and events that advocate hatred, violence, discrimination, terror and war. The fact is, most draw an impenetrable line when it comes to protesting any speech or event that is given by a (foreign) tyrant, dictator or murderer, especially if their vitriol is aimed squarely and exclusively at America.
Read it all, and learn about specific examples in Virginia, here.
(6) Official Response From Goode Campaign On David Swanson's Hate-Based Accusation At CCP&J Website
On June 27, shortly after it was announced that President Bush is to speak at the July 4 ceremonies at monticello, David Swanson posted the following at the Charlottesville Center for Peace & Justice (CCP&J) here - in regards to what is, and should always be, a non-partisan event:
"The Unitary Executive is scheduled to disgrace the grounds of Thomas Jefferson's house, Monticello, in Charlottesville, Va., making a speech on the morning of July 4, 2008. The event is open to the public, and is Monticello's annual Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony. Numerous immigrants will become citizens in an event besmirched by the presence of a war criminal, and held in the district of Congressman Virgil Goode, whose entire reelection campaign platform consists of hatred for immigrants."Congressman Virgil Goode's official response, verbatim, is as follows:
"The blogger's statement is false. I do not hate anyone. The blogger also does not distinguish between legal and illegal aliens. The illegal aliens have not followed the process and procedures that those being sworn in as citizens on July 4th have followed. The illegals and the proponents of amnesty want to jump in front of those going through the legal process."
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We anticipate that this will be the last update until at least July 5.
Let us hope that there will be no protests or disruptions of the momentous ceremonies to take place tomorrow at Monticello.
.
2 comments:
The year was 1958. Miss Helen Craddock told her Fifth Grade Class at Burnley Moran Elementary to look out the window. The trees had shed their leaves and what was previously hidden came into view. We could espy Monticello on the mountaintop in the distance.
According to Miss Craddock we sat in the only classroom at Burnley Moran with such a view. One classroom at Clarke Elementary had a view but not a good she said. Moreover these were the only two classrooms in the nation with a view of the home of any U. S. President. I’m confident she was correct and telling the truth: she also headed the Primary Sunday School Department at First Baptist Church.
Little did I realize in the Fifth Grade how many Independence Days I would spend at Monticello or what a lasting impression those days would make. Until moving to Richmond in 1993, I was a regular member of the Charlottesville Municipal Band. It offers a prelude of patriotic music before each Naturalization Ceremony. I don’t claim to have made it every year but did make most.
Naturalized citizen are sworn in at ceremonies conducted by Federal District Courts throughout the year all across the nation. But consider how moving it must be to be sworn in on Independence Day at the home of the author of the Declaration of Independence.
I remember how hot most July Fourths are on that mountaintop.
I remember reading the printed program each year and marveling at all the exotic names.
I remember the late Darden Towe dressed as Uncle Sam each year passing out miniature U. S. Flags.
I remember President Ford and Queen Elizabeth attending in 1976.
I remember the late U. S. District Judge J. Harry Michael of Charlottesville presiding, looking and sounding every bit like a silver haired judge straight out of central casting should.
I remember driving my boss, the late Congressman J. Kenneth Robinson, the year he spoke, and how he spent far more time and attention preparing those remarks than any political speech he ever gave.
But most of all I remember the oath the naturalized citizens-to-be took. I’ll never forget the sight of them raising their right hands and swearing the following:
"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."
I can only hop that those in attendance this year appreciate and reverence what is taking place. Please Charlottesville, don’t spoil the moment. There will be plenty of other opportunities to express political opinions. This is a day for our newest fellow citizens.
Mr. Leake:
Thank you for your insightful narrative. It is largely for people like you that this blog was created. But mostly, it was created as an expression, and defense, of Jeffersonian values - most acutely at the moment, secure property rights.
Imagine if one of the deranged BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome) sufferers were to bust into your 5th grade classroom and proclaim that you shall not be permitted to enjoy the ceremony in peace, because he and his cohorts decided for all of us that the President does not deserve to be there.
Fast forward 50 years, and that's where we are today. It is sad, but well worth fighting.
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