By Holly Hazard: Netroots Nation, the largest gathering of progressive political activists in the nation, convened its annual meeting in New Orleans on Wednesday, August 1. Offering over 100 workshops with 565 panelists and trainers to over 3,000 attendees, and…
Category: Issues
College students need to apply for absentee ballot
If it’s August, it’s time to start getting ready to send your college student back to school. The No. 1 item on the To Do List: Have them apply for an absentee ballot or register to vote ASAP and wait…
We depend on volunteers — join the welcome team!
By Kimberly Davis: Fairfax County Democrats are rolling out a new volunteer coordination program and need about 6-12 members to join the team. With new volunteers signing up daily, excitement is building and we need to support these highly motivated…
School board limits police role in schools, cooperation with ICE
By Brad Swanson: The Fairfax County School Board endorsed a new policy Thursday that limits the role of police officers in schools and that restricts, but does not completely bar, cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The board heard moving pleas…
Protect immigrant students in Fairfax public schools from ICE
By Diane Burkley Alejandro: Fairfax County is poised to improve its policy governing law enforcement in schools significantly, but the current draft fails to protect immigrant students, and must be changed. The matter is urgent because the policy on deployment…
New policy for police in Fairfax schools: law enforcement, not discipline
By Matthew Dunne: The policy governing roles and responsibilities of armed police officers who patrol the hallways of every public middle and high school in Fairfax County is about to be improved, after a community panel submitted more than 50…
Be ready for Comstock to use smear tactics against Wexton
By Rob Abbot: As the race between Jennifer Wexton and Barbara Comstock to represent Virginia’s 10th district in Congress heats up, we need to be ready for Comstock to revert to her usual vicious and false campaign tactics. To see…
Republicans steal the American dream
By William Berkson: Many of us feel cheated of the American dream of growing prosperity. But we should target our anger appropriately. Since 1980, whenever Democrats resided in the White House, poverty declined and middle class incomes rose, on the…
Kavanaugh will support Trump’s march toward autocracy
By Judith Shamir: Donald Trump has always made it abundantly clear that his choice for the Supreme Court would be someone who, like him, is staunchly determined to overturn abortion rights as well as many other civil and human rights.…
Fairfax County struggles with high level of hoarding
By Susan Laume: Imagine sitting on your porch enjoying the gentle breeze of a pleasant summer evening… then being driven inside by odors when your neighbor opens his garage door… He’s a hoarder. What can be done? That’s a difficult…
Trump is out of step with Republican voters on environmental protection
By Vivian Thomson: My mother, who passed away in May at the age of 100, was a lifelong Republican. But she was also a conservationist and environmentalist who was deeply concerned about climate change. She could not abide pollution and…
Fairfax NAACP Recognized as Best Branch in USA
By M. J. O’Brien: The Fairfax County NAACP has been named the top branch in the country by the national organization. The branch will receive the prestigious Thalheimer Award, given annually to the branch with the most outstanding achievements, next week…
Review group questions police role in Fairfax schools
By Brad Swanson: What should be the role of cops in schools? Should armed police officers even be allowed in schools? These were among the issues that rose to the surface in a tense meeting Monday night of a community…
Right-wing funders pursue radical agenda at GMU
By Sheldon Friedman, reviewing Democracy in Chains: Nancy MacLean’s powerful book, Democracy in Chains, focuses on the decades-long alliance between billionaire industrialist Charles Koch and radical right-wing economist James Buchanan—set largely against the backdrop of George Mason University. Fueled by…