You cant  reform a racist, But you can make it cost money.
To bad the good people will also have to pay.

Every vote is important!

so much as he's arrogant, incompetent, and dumber than a pile of rocks.

I agree that I don't think Corey Steward is actually a racist deep down inside.
Frankly, I don't think he is much of anything deep down inside, just an empty vessel willing to pander to any group he thinks will help him.

He's a weasel, no - that gives weasels a bad name.  He is a professional politician with no values, no standards, and no ethics of his own.  He simply used the racists to get re-elected, and he used the gay-bashers to get elected in the special election the year before.  He really does not care at all about race or orientation... he just uses people and picks the ones he thinks will help him most.

He just riles up racists. He could not do it without the MOB.

As far as racism goes, If Barrock Obama becomes President, he would be president of all the racists too. He needs to appeal beyond the racism of  the 8% who admit it. If he does, he truly would be a great president.

I feel that I and my fellow Prince William county taxpayers and residents deserve exactly the tax raising and stupidity we get from our board of supervisors, because we allowed the fools to get elected.  Even those of us who voted against Stirrup and Stewart, because we did not raise enough money nor enough votes to put a stop to what was obviously stupid back in 2006 and again in 2007.

We knew that most of the board would pander to racists, gay-bashers, bigots simply to spread their own fear and hatred agenda so they could continue milking developers for personal gain.  We failed to stop what was obvious.
We reap what we sow...  

PW county is in for a rough ride for a while to come.
It is up to us to do something about it, or suffer the stupidity we put on the board.

I know down here the County has held some hearings on the impacts of illegals on social services, county services and the jails in particular, but what is it about PWC and some of the other NOVA localities that this issue has gotten so hate-filled? How different is PWC or Fairfax fundamentally than say Va Beach or Richmond (I said fundamentally not politically)? Is it due to the perceived numbers of illegals within the County? Is there some social norm condition or historical bias or has it simply replaced the old black/white issues of old? I just wonder why it is so much of this issue is resinating in NOVA and not other parts of the State as well-or lat least to the same level as NOVA.

This whole issue is extremely complex

There is a small vocal minority that is motivated by pure hate

There is a larger group that was basically motivated by being overwhelmed

There are a chuck of communities within PW that within a period of ten years went from white working class neighborhoods to having a high concentration of hispanics who were unfamiliar or chose to ignore common "standards"  (overcrowding, littering, multiple vehicles, noise at all hours of the night)

Finally there is a group of people that objects to illegal immigration on law and cost grounds

Prince William has a higher proportion of these types of people than many other locations and that is why the issue was brought to the forefront

If you are not careful, you may be considered a racist yourself, or lumped as an apologist for the right-wing hysterical nativists group HSM...just kidding of course.

I agree, I'm ardently opposed to calling Stewart, Stirrup, Letiecq, HSM racists, and the resolution racist-based.  

The deal with the funding is complex.  Amongst other matters, if I am not mistakened, I beleive that 60% of the project costs related to car cams slated w/i the funding, was already spread out in the budget's queue.  PWC PD does not have car cams and the chief stated that to avoid lawsuits while enforcing the resolution, they should have them; but the county was already planning for them over time in its budget.    

Quite frankly, I never believed that the cams were an absolute necessity for nearly every vehicle, solely because of this reform.  What differences would cameras do to defend the PD, if it were a white person speeding and pulled over, versus an illegal speeding and pulled over?  How many times have your heard either yourself or your friends say, I got a ticket but I wasn't speeding?  
Nonetheless, I fail to see how its reduction is the crux of the funding problem being stated.  

As stated, the opponents to the reform moreorless have been solely using the notion the resolution is race based.  I believe this is a weak position, one generated in haste and is a poor strategy to overturn or change the resolution.  I have stated early on, the cost for reform will cost money so the county should not do it on the cheap.  It should have been in place prior to the late 90's expansion, which has directly led to overexpansion and the county's inability to properly manage its growth.  Consequently, the correction in the housing and credit has affected PWC that much more, because most of what we see in PWC today, was built during this expansion.  This is something that GMU Econ Prof Fuller does not mention, and solely blames county decay on the resolution.  

Secondly, while I believe the the resolution was necessary to remove criminal & unemployed undocumented immigrants to correct or assist to correct a slew of issues, it still needs to go farther and establish precisely who it is the county prefers to remain, and who is desires when the economic opportunity presents itself.  The resolution also doesn't enforce the "rule of law" which applies to landlords who willingly or knowingly allow overcrowding or business who employ illegals.  

The resolution should resemble a balance reform which would be applicable at the federal or state level, not just a one-sided reform which eliminates part of a class.  Racism? No.  Poor politics?  Possibly.  Typical gov't work in process?  Definitely.  

What is up with the budget in the first place. Why does not the police in a juristiction as large as PWC not already have camera in the cars. Where is the money in the budget and how much of the overall PWC budget is being allocated for police. The illegal debate aside, officers need to be and are protected as well as the County with these cameras which are used throughout the country for DUI prosecutions and others as well.
The bigger question is not one on illegal immigration from a budgetary perspective, but why it is the security and safety of citizens and law enforcement seem to be getting the short end of it long term.
If folks think that this somehow will weaken the case against illegals, or cases being brought before the courts, maybe leaders like Corey Stewart ought to begin to move towards hard descisions like enforcement on business that employs illegals and not the illegals themselves on the streets. Or would this mean he would have to tackle his own political support in PWC???
I am not saying go anti-business but weed out those employers who seek to take advantage of the illegal aliens and subvert the tax and legal system and that would be more cost effective (potentially) anyway. Without the economic opportunity you very well may see a decrease in the number standing outside on the corners waiting for work or to be picked-up by business entities or those (sorry) folks virtually littering our walkways and intersections with cigarette butts and fast food trash in the morning s while they wait for work.
In any case the PWC police should still get cameras installed at some point in the near future regardless of the illegal immigration debate.

is risky as well.  In case you missed it, on Monday the WAPO had an enlightening article on employer based enforcement efforts in Arizona.

This is a very tangled situation no matter how you look at it and there is simply no way to easily remove the "illegals" from our society without significant economic and social repercussions.  It can't simply be a question of how to best remove them, it has to be a holistic solution to the entire situation.  

I think that the employer situation could be used as a measure to not "remove" illegals per say but by cracking done on the illegal employment practices of the business community we could make it harder for illegals to get jobs which may help lead to these illegals who are here and are not going anywhere any time soon see the need for going through the the process the right and legal way.
The risk of course is the fallout in the business community but also if we take these jobs no matter how illegally obtained away it could puch the ranks of social welfare and starin on social services even higher if these individuals have no work and remain. That is why your point regarding a holistic solution is so critical.

Much of the country is in a recession
Many blue collar towns are hurting

What would happen if you took some people from Ohio, PA, WV, VA etc and sent them to Arizona to do the work

Please tell me I am missing something here.

The only downside I see is people not wanting to leave their communities.  

See my diary for more.

In the county's north part, there is increasing commercial and retail vacancy, unrelated to departing immigrants, as immigrants laborers moreorless do not reside there.  I'm a bit surprised the professor does not say more of the macroeconomic issues having a greater causal affect.  I'm left feeling that he thinks the resolution is the primary force hurting the county at the current state, as well as the primary force which will supress its ability to recover when the regional economy stablizes.

Most of what we see here and now identify PWC as being, was moreorless constructed since the start of the expansion boom in 1997.  The affects of the correction and/or crises related to housing and credit, has an added affect simply because a greater % of the county is affected, unlike its neighbors.  The county's inability to manage the growth was due in part of the county's willing complacency towards expansion with illegal labor, which as we now see, has a cascading and devastating affect.  

The immigration reform should have been in place in the mid-90's, when its costs could have been evenly distributed by those who participated in the growth.  Now we are trying correct the problem by billing the county as a whole thru the "backdoor", unfairly billing everyone.  I do recall a previous post you made to me regarding this, since I question the BOCS ability to manage expansion I should also question the reform, I see your point, but this questioning should not supercede the matter, a correction is needed.  Hence, I have always felt the resolution should be reformed to include positives related to or creating standards as to who can remain and who is desired when the opportunity presents itself.  I am opposed to change based on supporting racist claims towards proponents of the resolution.  I favor a guest-worker program with a path towards citizenship (if desired) based on criteria.  

These folks are not "immigrants" in the traditonal sense are are basically "migrant workers"----yeah trey harsh!