Freedom of speech in Prince William County
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Ellen Meir
Published: May 11, 2008
In reference to a May 7 Potomac News article written by William Westhoff titled “Frank Principi is the hero of PWC,” in which Mr. Westhoff referred to “many obnoxious citizens.” Every legal U.S. citizen is entitled to freedom of speech. To my knowledge this right has not been taken from the legal U.S. citizens, however, please correct me if I am wrong.
At the supervisors meeting on April 29, 3/4ths of the citizens who spoke concerning the “Rule of Law” are IN FAVOR of the continuing resolution without any changes.The rest were against continuing the resolution.
I was at that meeting and I kept a record of the votes. Perhaps it is that 1/4th of the “obnoxious” citizens are wrong. However, every legal U.S. citizen is entitled to their opinion even if others disagree.
ELLEN MEIR
Woodbridge
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( willow703 ) on May 14, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Chris,
Two tours in Vietnam, 17 years as a corrections officer (prison guard to the uneducated) & 35 years of driving in the DC
metro area - that last thing is the only one that has ever “scared” me - although I do have a healthy fear of things like standing in the middle of I-95 at rush hour. For the record, I am a descendant of couple of other men who were not “scared”, Rev. John Robinson & Rev. William Brewster.
I may be killed, I can not be cowed; my head may be bloodied, it will not be bowed. I am 100 percent American and my name is Darrel Salisbury.
Posted by ( phdee ) on May 14, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Manassas, “enforce the zoning laws”?? Why someome will just go before the BOCS and get a zoning changed from one category to another. Happens all the time. You must be hinting at immigrants…
Posted by ( zcxnissan ) on May 14, 2008 at 12:55 am
Willow i would be willing to bet that Cobra would tell me his name. Are you scared or something? Most people aren’t criminals so they say. Chris Cummings
Posted by ( willow703 ) on May 13, 2008 at 9:22 pm
manassas,
You can’t enforce the zoning laws. That’s a
violation of the owner’s property rights.
If you don’t believe me, ask your friendly developer. Of course, he will tell you that he has rights, you don’t. See Kelo v. New London, CT.
Posted by ( Manassas ) on May 12, 2008 at 5:44 pm
enforce the zoning laws!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by ( willow703 ) on May 12, 2008 at 10:54 am
zcxnissan,
Quite simply the logic is already known that being illegal is synonymous with breaking the law and being a criminal.
And, of course, speeding & parking illegally is synonymous with breaking the law and being a criminal.
If you don’t know my name, check with cobra, maybe he will tell you his name also.
Posted by ( zcxnissan ) on May 12, 2008 at 3:57 am
Phdee to put it bluntly even if a speaker seems uneducated or cannot speak properly, this maybe true, however if the individual is a legal citizen he has every right to speak out on this issue. If you have an illegal alien speaking like the king or queen of England or for that matter the king or queen of Spain does not mean anything for he or she is still breaking the law. Quite simply the logic is already known that being illegal is synonmous with breaking the law and being a criminal. “Quality of people” sounds pretty elitist and some would say downright racist eh their sparky. Or maybe your education helps fulfill your racist tendencies eh Mortimer i mean Huffington eh Phdee. Of course we don’t know your real name. Chris Cummings
Posted by ( phdee ) on May 11, 2008 at 3:56 pm
I have just been discharged from Pot Hosp after 2 weeks there. On the room TV, I several nights watched part of the April 29 BOCS meeting - there were replays nearly every night. PWC tries to present itself as “sophisticated” and “upscale”. However, I have newver seen so many ignorant and unsophisticated speakers in my life. So many could not read nor speak. And so many could not present a position that had logic, no matter what the viewpoint was. Sorry to say it, but this is really a hick place. Did these folks get their education in PWC? I even saw Stewart as a bumbling, fumbling lawyer. I’ve lived here for years, and boy have I missed out on the “quality” of people. I can fully understand the speakers’ position on the resolution. Prejudice and racism have its roots in “lack of education” - and boy did it show.
Posted by ( willow703 ) on May 11, 2008 at 8:07 am
Not only is every legal citizen entitled to their opinion, every other person in this country, legally or illegally, is entitled to their opinion & their right to express that opinion is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution, which like every other amendment in the Bill of Rights, does not contain the word, “citizen”. That was the “original intent” of the framers, who used the word, “citizen” only when they established eligibility to stand for public office and to vote for those standing for public office. The “original intent” crowd finds that “obnoxious”, ignoring the fact that the word, “citizen” had been a part of the English language for, at least, 400 years, when the Bill of Rights was written. We have a right to be “obnoxious”, disagreeable, even rude, but we have an obligation to be judicious in the exercise of our right. We must never insist that our rights outweigh the rights of another.