By Marcus R. Motta: Saturday, September 19, was the second day of in person early voting at the Fairfax County Government Center in Fairfax. At approximately 11:30 a.m., voters waiting in line outside the building were confronted by a large number of Trump supporters arriving in cars and honking their horns. Part of the group parked their vehicles and re-appeared…
Category: Social Issues
Will VA go blue? It’s up to you!
By Herb Smith: The Commonwealth of Virginia has less than two months to go before Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris become the 46th President of the United States and the Vice President respectively. In 2016, Virginia turned blue. Susan Swecker, the party Chair, was and still remains in leadership and has ushered the state to victory. Early voting…
Protests are an effective instrument for change
By: Matt Savage Dr. King said, “protests are the language of the unheard.” When millions of people gather, politicians listen. Throughout the history of the United States, peaceful protests have been a constructive vehicle for change in national policy. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests that have surfaced in major American cities over the last three months following the murders…
Harris would continue fight for social justice, civil rights, environment
By Susan Laume: In October 2019, when The Blue View covered the visit to Springfield, Va. of then presidential candidate Kamala Harris, we could not have guessed we were meeting the vice-presidential candidate who will share the Democratic ticket with Joe Biden this November. Harris told the crowd that day, “Nothing we’ve done as a nation we’ve achieved without a…
Fairfax Schools show Black Lives really matter
Editor’s Note: This letter to the Fairfax County School Board was written July 23 by Reese Glassman, the new editor of The Blue View, on Black Lives Matter and the name change from Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield, Va. to John R. Lewis High School. Dear esteemed members of the School Board of Fairfax County, I see black…
Pet shops get standards, inspections under new law
By Susan Laume: Virginia law has been enacted to protect and monitor treatment of dogs and cats in pet shops with regulations and inspections. During the 2020 Virginia General Assembly, Sen. Dave Marsden (D-37th) sponsored SB 891 which was passed the Senate by a vote of 38-2, in the House by 64-35, and signed by Gov. Ralph Northam. Most provisions go…
Robert E. Lee High renamed for John R. Lewis
By Marcus Motta: The Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously on Thursday July 23, to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School to John R. Lewis High School in honor of Civil Rights icon and Georgia Congressman John R. Lewis who passed away on July 17. At a hearing on July 22, the public was allowed to give…
Suffragist Demonstrators First Before White House Fence
Historic Artifact Comes to NOVA Park By Susan Laume: Last month, the National Park Service (NPS) announced that a historic section of the White House iron fence will be loaned to NOVA Parks for placement in the Turning Point Suffragists Memorial, currently under construction at Occoquan Regional Park, in Lorton, Virginia. The artifact is a section of the fence in…
Why do Republicans abandon their values for Trump?
By Bob Leggett: It is well documented that the current Republican administration is more corrupt and incompetent than any administration in our lifetime. What is harder to understand is why. What are the reasons that high-ranking members of the Republican party betray the ideals they once stood for? In a recent article in the Atlantic magazine, titled “History Will Judge…
OPINION: Fairfax sheriff still helps ICE deport immigrants
By Diane Burkley Alejandro: Starting July 1, Fairfax Sheriff Stacey Kincaid is taking another step toward non-cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As permitted by a new Virginia law, she says she will no longer collect citizenship and immigration status information for persons booked for misdemeanors.
Ask the expert: Is there something wrong with Donald Trump?
Many of us have asked ourselves if there is something wrong with Donald Trump’s mental state, seeing his behavior stray so far from the norms set by his predecessors in the White House. Now we have a chance to discuss that important issue with an expert, literally the person who wrote the book on the subject: “The Dangerous Case of…
Springfield seniors show their support for Black Lives Matter movement
The Black Lives Matter movement touches Americans of all ages, including the residents of Greenspring, a senior living community in Springfield, who held their own memorial event on the day George Floyd was laid to rest. Approximately 155 residents, together with an estimated 20 staff members, gathered outside the Erickson Living facility on Tue., June 23, at 4 pm to…
Robert E. Lee High School loses name after impassioned hearing
By Marcus R. Motta: Last Tuesday evening, June 23, the Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously in a virtual meeting to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield, ending a long campaign to remove the Confederate general’s name from a public school. The vote followed a lengthy, and often emotional, virtual public hearing the day before,…
Vigil at Fairfax police HQ delivers agenda for action
By Bill Brazier: Like most Americans, I am disturbed by the abuse of Black Americans by police, and want to do something about it. One opportunity came earlier this month in the form of a vigil at the Fairfax County Police Department headquarters, which was not just a protest but also delivered a precise agenda for action. The event was…