Hey, this is exciting! Did you know that you could support your favorite white supremacists by just buying a special plate from the DMV? It’s true!

The plate honors the Sons of Confederate Veterans, they of the Confederate History Month debacle, in case you had forgotten. It was at their behest that the Governor issued his benighted proclamation in the first place, and after Mr. McDonnell walked back that particular piece of bad press, the Sons of Confederate Veterans blasted him for backing off the original proclamation. Of course, they didn’t get their facts exactly right.

The Virginia Division of the SCV was not pleased with McDonnell’s reversal. In a lengthy statement, it commended McDonnell for issuing the Confederate History Month proclamation, but “absolutely refute[d] the claim that Confederate soldiers went to the field of battle for the sole purpose of preserving slavery as an intellectually dishonest argument.” (In fact, McDonnell does not say that the Civil War was fought only over slavery.) – Southern Poverty Law Center

Yes, this is the group that called for the original proclamation, without reference to slavery. And when the slavery acknowledgments were added later, they were so angry about it that they issued a lengthy statement filled with factual errors condemning the Governor!

The SCV, as they are known, purports to be a heritage group, and a heritage group they may have been, but in the course of a series of elections within the organization over the past ten years, a number of unreformed, neo-confederate white supremacists were elected to national leadership. These SCV leaders just so happen to also be members of organizations dedicated to white supremacy, modern-day seccession and reconstitution of the Confederacy.Remember the Confederacy?

Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth. – Alexander Stephens, Vice-President of the CSA

According to the membership of the SCV, leaders who want to return to the Confederacy are worth supporting and re-electing. Something to think about.

The SCV is allowed to have the Confederate battle flag on a Virginia plate because they won a court case in 2001. This case, and the original plate designation, happened before the white supremacists took over the SCV, however. It is past time for Virginia to revisit this honor and withdraw this plate from circulation. Let the SCV sue again if it comes to that, our Attorney General has no qualms defending crazy positions, after all.

But hey, what’s buying a plate when we simply re-elect a local SCV officer as our Delegate every two years anyway. For all our neighborliness, tacit bigotry can lie under the surface, even here, even now.

(Crossposted from Leesburg Tomorrow.)

Well, the fate of offshore drilling here in Virginia is in doubt (thankfully!), but there’s good news on the offshore wind power front.

Virginia is one of 10 Atlantic states that today signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Interior to form a consortium to promote the development of wind energy off the Atlantic coastline, in an agreement that brings together governors who have both supported and opposed the Obama administration’s decision to halt future oil drilling.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the agreement Tuesday, along with a new Virginia-based regional renewable energy office to coordinate efforts along the Atlantic coast. The MOU calls for an action plan to be developed to help guide state-federal coordination over commercial wind projects proposed offshore. – The Washington Post

So, by my count that’s:

• Renewable wind power creating jobs in Virginia: 1
• Risky deep-water offshore oil drilling creating jobs in Virginia: 0

The “drill baby drill” folks might have created a few dozen of jobs in ten years. The wind power folks will be creating an actual job or twelve here in Virginia in the form of a renewable-energy office here in the near-term.

So we’re both creating jobs and promoting renewable energy, without running afoul of the Navy’s preferences and adding to the risks of a catastrophic oil spill off our coasts?

Sounds like a good deal to me. Funny thing, Governor Kaine thought the same thing a couple weeks ago, before this agreement was announced.

“You have to weigh a couple of things in Virginia’s case,” he said.

“You have to weigh environmental safety. You have to weigh the significant naval operations and NASA operations off Virginia’s coast,” he added. “A third thing you’d have to weigh in Virginia’s case is . . . would it be better to do offshore wind?

“The same place where you might want to do oil rigs off the coast of Virginia, there’s actually pretty favorable wind conditions,” Kaine said.

“So you would look at all the options and you would put them all on the table, including the environmental conditions. And certainly the need to be diligent about that has certainly been escalated dramatically by what we’ve seen in the gulf.” – The Richmond Times-Dispatch

Once again, Democrats had it right in the first place.  

RT @MilesGrant RT @drgrist: Oil, coal & natural gas operations have all exploded & killed people in last month. I believe the term is “collateral damage.”

There’s also a leak at a nuclear power plant that has leaked before (apparently the acidic water is eating away at a cap).

Don’t you think  it’s time for us to begin to do two things?

1. Move to wind and solar
2. Stop wasting so much energy

Stevens and I are scheduling our move to fuel-efficient cars, and we’re also looking at our energy consumption at home. We keep too many things turned on all the time (coughservercough), and some items we have pull electricity even when they’re turned off (I’m looking at YOU, digital cable box).

We’re really good at turning off lights and using the lower energy options on our appliances, but I keep being reminded that there’s more we can do:

• Shop local to reduce the distance food has to travel to us (and benefit local business!)
• Buy organic where possible, because pesticides and non-organic fertilizer are made with petroleum products…aside from not being, y’know, good for you to eat.
• Dry clothing on clotheslines, if your HOA allows it (if you have an HOA). If not, move to get your HOA to allow it
• Carpool, carpool, carpool
• Mass transit
• Save water, shower with a friend! (sorry, that was an ad from the 1980’s drought in NYC)

I know I’m leaving some obvious things off the list. Leave your favorite energy-saving ideas in the comments!

We are now 17 months out from the 2011 Board of Supervisors elections. While that’s a long way away, it’s within range for candidates to start their planning – and fundraising. Kelly Burk has been raising money for her re-election bid, and there are rumors circulating of potential opponents lining up to run against the incumbents.

Thanks to work done by the Virginia Public Access Project, we can see who has raised what by their public filings to this point.

Some interesting financial observations follow, like the whopping $3 raised by Scott York. Click through to consider the implications.First, the zeros. Raising no money at this point is often a sign that the candidate will not be running for re-election.

• Jim Burton – Blue Ridge – $0
• Sally Kurtz – Catoctin – $0
• Andrea McGimsey – Potomac – $0

I would be surprised if Supervisor McGimsey did not run for re-election. Her focus has always been on policy, not politics, and it seems likely she just hasn’t gotten around to raising money yet. Of course, it would behoove her to get started, now. As for Supervisors Burton and Kurtz, their retirement from the Board has been speculated for quite some time, and their lack of fundraising gives credence to that expectation.

Next the nominally funded. While not zero, these less-than-impressive fundraisers may not have their hearts in running again, with money coming in to them by inertia of multi-term incumbency, rather than any active solicitation on their part.

• Scott York – Chairman At Large – $3 (Yes, three whole dollars.)
• Lori Waters – Broad Run – $273

Scott York and Lori Waters are definitely on the retirement watch list. Chairman York has been rumored to be ripe for retirement after the bruising 2009 elections, during which he had to leave both his party and his job in order to stick to his policy principles as Chairman. Lori Waters, on the other hand, has been a popular incumbent in Broad Run for two terms, and has been considered a future rising star of the local Republican party for some time. It would be a reversal were she not to run for re-election.

And now, the fundraisers. Unlike their colleagues, the rest of the Supervisors have raised thousands of dollars towards re-election already.

• Stevens Miller – Dulles $5,097
• Kelly Burk – Leesburg – $3,348
• Eugene Delgaudio – Sterling – $8,923
• Susan Klimek Buckley – $2,700

All four of these Supervisors are well positioned to run for re-election in 2011.

[Update] It has been pointed out to me that Supervisors Miller and Buckley’s “fundraising” is in the form of a personal loan to their campaigns from themselves, rather than actively solicited money. They both have less than $200 cash on hand as of the end of 2009.

Unsurprisingly, Eugene Delgaudio leads all comers thanks to his national reputation as a bigot with a bullhorn. When your fundraising base for a local election can include national anti-equality mailing lists, you can raise money quickly.

The elephant in the re-election room is redistricting, of course. These Supervisors will not be running for re-election in exactly the same districts in which they were first elected. Population shifts since 2000 mean that the lines of Supervisor Districts will need to be redrawn considerably. Leesburg is going to grow, Broad Run is going to be divided, and Dulles and Blue Ridge will see borders shift significantly, perhaps dramatically. It may be the case that some Supervisors are not interested in running for re-election in redrawn districts after serving on the Board for multiple terms already.

It is going to be an interesting campaign, and a fascinating year and half.

(With a tip-o-the-hat to Vivian Paige.)

You thought they were gone, but the links always come back.

Even in the darkest days, we must remember that with many crises come opportunities. Opportunities to learn from our mistakes. Opportunities to seek a better future. This oil spill compels us to take an honest and much-needed look at our dependence on fossil fuels. – Jeff Barnett

• Are Compassion and Community Evil? – I don’t normally like Mike Lux that much, but this post is less long-winded than his usual fare and asks a very important question given the positions of the opposition these days.
• National Crisis, National Opportunity – Our next Congressman, Jeff Barnett, posts at Blue Virginia about our addition to oil, and need to make a commitment to alternative fuels.
• Arizona Mural Sparks Racial Debate – Well, not so much “debate” as overt, disgusting racism, and spineless capitulation, but who am I to judge? Read for yourself.
• Xi Jinping – This is the man who is likely to take over the People’s Republic of China after Hu Jintao. Given the importance of China to our economy and our strategic challenges in the world, he’s worth knowing about.
• India’s Young and Poor Rally to Another Gandhi – Rahul Ghandi is Nehru’s great-grandson and the next Prime Minister of India, by all accounts. Given the importance of India to our economy and our strategic challenges in the world, he’s worth knowing about.
• Happy Birthday! It’s an Alien Invasion – A mom in Leesburg reflects on the best present she’s ever given to her husband.

(The following was written by John Flannery and is posted here with permission. -P13)

Dear friends and political activists,

We have an opportunity right in our own backyard, close to home, somewhat removed from the Gulf disaster, and important for each of us – if we truly care about the environment – even though it is not as obvious a disaster, as it’s moving slower than the oils crept to landfall in Louisiana.

It’s not the Gulf spill but it is a species of the same enviro challenge – reckless or wilful neglect of our treasured resources.

We are putting at risk the water arteries that run through our county where we live.

It is an issue pending before the Board of Supervisors.

We can put our e-mail talk to the test and do something and it’s really not so onerous although time is of the essence.

All we have to do is let our elected representatives know that we have to do something to create 100 foot buffers by these year round waterways — or risk losing them entirely and compromise not only the county’s water, but also the Potomac river, and the Chesapeake Bay.

Some of you may think this just came upon us – at least the discussion about how to redress and repair the damage to our streams.

But responsible members of our community have been fighting for basic reforms for years (more than five years) – and, in the meantime, our water resources have degraded.

Indeed, there are marvelous power point presentations 5 years ago stating what needed to be done, and the proposed reforms, all worthy of your consideration, have been reduced to one digestible emphasis – RIPARIAN BUFFERS.  See http://www.loudounwatershedwatch.org/subitem6_4.html.

The Chamber of Commerce and Dulles realtors say strange things about these reforms including: we don’t need any reform, we don’t want to spend the money, they ask why do you want water to be so pure anyhow, and they refuse to do anything.

But they protest at the outset of these declarations, at every turn, that they are supporters of the environment.

They just don’t explain how refusing to protect our environment is environmental.But I grow tedious.

Consider this picture of one stream site.

Is the Chamber or the realtors going to encourage their members, families, or children to step into any stream like this, much less to drink from the stream?

It should bother these folk that we can’t drink or swim in these waters.

Some of you may remember when Congressman Joe Fisher came out to canoe in our streams and vowed to protect these waters.

But that was 1980. And a lot has happened since.

I wish that this was the only such picture of our streams.

Unfortunately, it is not. Yhere are too many across our once glorious county.

Don’t get me wrong.

We have beautiful water streams that are habitable.

Our concern is, however, not about those. It’s about this spread of stressed streams that were once healthy.

We have too many streams in our county that are severely stressed, and they’ve been multiplying over the years – as our population has grown.

You can take a look at the streams near you on this watershed map – http://www.loudounwatershedwatch.org/maps/ – see if you have a red dot near your home (signifying terrible conditions), and how habitable is that stream?

See pictures like the one above, and read EPA reports on how your stream is doing – or not doing.

One near the eastern end of Middleburg had a note about how bad it smelled; another west of Middleburg was idyllic.

That’s what this is all about.

Holly and I looked at the map to review the streams near us – and we know something of our geography because we walk and hack our horses on the roads and fields near our home.

We have some challenges in our own area.

This exercise is not about throwing up your hands and giving up, but rolling up your sleeves and repairing the damage that’s been done – that we ourselves have done, or that we have allowed to occur.

If we can tell our children to clean up their rooms, we can tell ourselves to clean up our streams, or tell our neighbors they must, as we are all in this together.

What’s really scary is that an active minority of our friends and neighbors don’t believe it – despite the evidence.

If you judged by their enthusiasm, you would guess they would adamantly refuse to do anything even as the fouled waters became lifeless and stung their eyes.

I wrote a column in the recent edition of the Purcellville Gazette that i believe is a fair summary of the debate (included below).

As political types, we should all appreciate there’s more to be done – and quickly – and I believe it is to let the board of supervisors know that they should hold the course, insist on these buffers, to save our rivers that are severely stressed and at risk, and not pass the buck to anyone else.

More precisely, this is what we must think about.

After the public hearing on the 24th,  there was discussion on the Board with the following two courses suggested –

1. Send it back to the Planning Commission  (to start over again – huh?), or

2. Keep it under the BOS control and discuss next steps (of course).

The latter alternative favors a public dialogue to do what local government is challenged to accomplish in every community, the protection of our basic resources when individuals would otherwise despoil it.

The BOS has voted to discuss and decide what to do in a Committee of the Whole meeting on June 15th., either going forward or backward.

In preparation for this upcoming meeting, we need action on 2 fronts in the next week or so:

1. Inform key BOS members that we know what’s at stake here, and we want them to act, starting with a recommendation for action by the Board on the 15th,,and that they handle the issue themselves.

I am told that the following members are uncertain how to proceed, meaning, whether the Board should take this issue by the horns and continue to work the problem at the Board level until it’s resolved – namely – Scott York, Susan Buckley, Andrea McGimsey & Kelly Burk.

I think we have to tell them we support them going forward, indeed this challenge to our streams doesn’t allow of any alternative approach.

I also believe we should be talking and writing to all the board members.

My wife holly already wrote to BOS members and received the response by Supervisor Stevens Miller, and also a favorable response by Jim Burton. She hasn’t heard from the others yet.

Stevens had some terribly useful observations, and he is holding public meetings he’s already scheduled; we’ve arbitrarily included Stevens’ response but Jim’s remarks were quite constructive and helpful.

If you did no more than what Holly did, and implicitly gave support to members who want to get this right, you would be doing something worthwhile.

To combat the misinformation and disinformation that has been circulated about this issue, I am hopeful that the County staff will prepare a presentation, as they did at the last BOS appearance, that separates the facts from that kind of do-nothing fiction and junk science that has become the coin of the political realm of late.

We cannot expect there to be a reasonable discussion of the issues as long as people can keep stating untruths as truth.

We need the BOS to take charge of this issue and to hold district community meetings between now and September to stomp down these scary fictions, in other words, to clarify the issues and to clear up the misconceptions, as well as to identify the issues that need to be addressed by the BOS so they can implement this much-needed reform to save our streams.

As a citizen, my view is that we want the BOS to convene in September, reconvene the Committee of the Whole, to assess results and approve a work plan to address, and to resolve the issues and  move forward.

2.  Speak to the BOS publickly at its next hearing. You should consider speaking at the public input session on the 14th  – if that’s at all possible and it’s something you feel comfortable doing – to clarify why it is so important to take this step as part of a larger strategy to protect water quality in Loudoun and the region.

If the Gulf disaster upsets you, then you should consider doing something about this important enviro- challenge a lot closer to home – while it’s still manageable – if you care to make a difference and change that report about the stream near you house that is now severely stressed.

Thanks for considering my observations.

Warmest regards,

John

John P. Flannery II

Campbell Flannery PC

19 East Market St., Leesburg, VA 20176

Much has been made of the pothole program that Governor McDonnell put in place this year. Loudoun County Traffic wrote about it.

After repairing more than 120,000 pot holes since the launch Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s pothole blitz, the program has been extended through April 15.

“This has been a team effort starting with Virginia’s citizens who have helped identify and report potholes along their travels to VDOT’s Web site and call-in line,” said Governor Bob McDonnell in a press release. “I would like to especially thank VDOT and its contractors who have worked day and night to save many motorists the grief and annoyance, and potential damage to their vehicle. The blitz is working so we’re going to keep it up, and we ask citizens to continue reporting potholes as soon as they develop.” – Loudoun County Traffic

It may not be quite as “successful” as originally reported, however. Tammi M’s Living in LoCo blog explains.

VDOT is out in the area filling in the big cracks and a few potholes by laying down gravel and going over it with a spray of tar. It doesn’t set immediately and drivers are finding that when they drive over these “fixes” they’re spraying gravel all over the place. I witnessed one car skid around a corner and through a newly applied patch, spraying a fair amount onto kids walking home from the bus stop

A few neighbors have talked about how they’re finding bits of tar on their cars and in their houses since pets and people are walking through it unaware that it is still loose. – Living in LoCo

Follow through below to consider the implications of playing fast and loose with tar and gravel.I think kids getting sprayed with tar is pretty awful, but that’s just me. Similarly, I think getting sticky splatter all over my car is unpleasant. In my opinion, if we’re going to repair roads, we should do it in such a way as to avoid splattering kids and cars with crude oil products.

There’s a difference between doing a job fast, and doing a job right. Simply spraying tar over a gravel fill, on roads that have the level of traffic we have here in Loudoun, is more than insufficient, it’s a waste of time and money. At a time when we don’t have transportation money to waste, it seems likely that VDOT is going to have to go back and redo fills that are undone by traffic. That means that time won’t be used to fix other problems on our roads, and that money won’t be available for other critical needs.

But hey, at least Governor McDonnell is getting good press.

To report a pothole, Loudoun County motorists should visit www.virginiadot.org/, call VDOT’s Highway Helpline at 800-367-7623 (ROAD) or fill out an online pot hole repair request form.

Our immigration system is more than bent, it’s completely broken. From deporting Boy Scouts to secretly sending the comatose to the third-world, even though they’re Americans, our system creates bizzare, perverse incentives to break the law, evade responsibility and invites corruption at all levels. Here in Loudoun, our neighbors and neighborhoods are directly impacted, but not in the way you might think.

• For every neighbor afraid to call the police for fear of immigration authorities, another criminal and gang is given power and authority with a commensurate decline in the rule of law.
• For every American citizen born of undocumented migrants, another family is threatened with being torn apart.
• For every residence abandoned by neighbors living in terror of discovery, another neighborhood suffers from blight and foreclosure.

This is a crisis of justice, and needs to be addressed, now. Fortunately, Immigration Reform For America is standing up to do that. We Democrats in Loudoun will do well to join them.

REFORM IMMIGRATION USING YOUR CELL PHONE!

Text JUSTICE (or JUSTICIA for Spanish) to 69866 to receive action alerts and updates in the fight for immigration reform. Be the first to know when a bill hits Congress! We can win, but we need your help!

Follow below for some more discussion of immigration reform and Loudoun.Loudoun County has experienced significant growth in its immigrant community, and we are stronger for it. Recent immigrants pay taxes, start businesses and give back to their communities at rates equal to, if not higher than, citizens who have spent their entire lives here. And they assimilate faster than previous waves of immigrants as well.

Unfortunately for us and our neighborhoods, many of these neighbors cannot avail themselves of public safety services, even though they pay taxes. They cannot get justice from exploitative employers who hold them to a form of indentured servitude.

There is legislation in Congress that solves this problem, and 78% of Americans support it.

We Democrats should be fighting for advancement of comprehensive immigration reform. It has nationwide support, it creates a clear contrast between our Party and our opposition, and can bring a huge and as-yet unactivated population of Loudoun voters to the polls on our side, and keep them with us for a generation.

And leaving the political considerations aside, it’s just the right thing to do.

Immigrants in our neighborhoods today live in fear and have no path to justice. In a nation that ends our pledge with “and justice for all” this travesty needs to be alleviated. The time is now. Let’s get it done.  

(If there are any elected officials reading this, I humbly implore you to take the pledge to fix this problem. Ignoring the problem because it is difficult or perceived to be unpopular is not going to make it go away.)

By the way, they’re not “illegal immigrants” or “illegals.” A person cannot be illegal, and to assert that they can be is both dehumanizing and ignorant. Some of our migrant neighbors are undocumented, just like you and I are undocumented when our driver’s license expires and we drive to the DMV – under an expired license – to renew it. Or when we trespass without written permission to take a shortcut across train tracks.

I leave you with this.  

Last night at the LCDC meeting, Supervisor Andrea McGimsey gave a great presentation on the risks of energy sources that we use, and the techniques we as a county can use to mitigate and manage those risks. The presentation was informative, and stirred some local pride within me when I found out that Loudoun County is a nationally-recognized leader in energy planning thanks to the hardworking efforts of our Democratic Supervisors.

I’ve long been an advocate for a measure already used MDOT, VDOT and our neighbors in PG County: Don’t mow on Air Quality Action Days. It should be relatively straightforward for the County to prohibit its landscapers from running powered landscaping equipment on Code Orange and Code Red days. In doing so, the County can lead by example, and perhaps influence the policies and contracts of the multivarious Home Owners Associations in Loudoun to implement similar clauses in their landscaping agreements.

A second idea follows from the first: Allow liberal teleworking on Air Quality Action Days. I have an agreement with my employers to work from home on Code Red and Orange days. With the major telework programs already in place, it seems logical to extend an air quality policy option that would allow employees who can to work from home when driving to work would exacerbate an already dangerous air quality day.

If you agree with these ideas, please follow below the fold for a draft letter you can send to our elected officials.Below is a sample letter you could write to our elected officials. The best way to implement good policy is to write our elected officials with specific ideas. They’re always happy to hear from their constituents, and you would be surprised how much can get done by simply engaging with our leaders.

The address for our Board of Supervisors is:

Supervisor [Name]

P.O. Box 7000

Leesburg VA 20177

Thank you for your service to Loudoun County. Reducing our environmental impact is critically important to preserving the quality of life we have here, and I’m proud that my local government is taking action to lead on this issue with programs like the County Energy Strategy.

In the spirit of sharing ideas, I wanted to write today and offer my two small suggestions that might help further mitigate the impact of our activities on our local environment.

1. No Code Orange and Red Day Mowing – I believe that my elected leaders should take steps to eliminate mowing and other powered landscaping on days when the air quality is bad. Our government has enough purchasing power to impact the market for powered landscaping services, and should be using that power to implement contract terms with its landscaping vendors prohibiting powered landscaping on code red and orange air quality days. I understand this may lead to grass growing a bit taller than it might otherwise, but that’s a price I’m more than happy to pay to help mitigate my neighbors asthma.

2. Teleworking on Code Orange and Red Days – In a County that prides itself on a 21st century economy and workforce, it seems logical to allow liberal telework on days when keeping cars off our roads is critical to air quality. If this were implemented government-wide for all employees with the capacity to work from home, it would make a difference for our neighbors with asthma, if nothing else. We have snow days because its dangerous to drive, why not air days because it is dangerous to breathe?

Thank you for your consideration, and all you do.

One of the greatest things about the advent of blogging in our political discourse is the fact that claims and assertions can be immediately fact-checked. Of course, it means that lies and misinformation can also spread rapidly, but well written political commentary should come with links to primary sources that backup the essentials of that argument.

Media Matters has been one of the most important voices for truth in politics. It has spent years criticizing media outlets for their credulity in reporting claims by pundits, politicians and others. Now, they’re taking their skills and applying them to the politicians themselves on a new site, Political Correction. Here’s a taste.

Massey Energy, the Virginia-based coal company currently under federal investigation after an explosion at its Upper Branch coal mine in West Virginia killed 29 miners earlier in the year, has received a safety award from an industry group.

…

In a press release, beleaguered Massey CEO Don Blankenship – who several years ago spent considerable sums of money getting a coal-friendly judge elected to the West Virginia Supreme Court – gloated, “All of these awards are well deserved recognition of how our members are committed to working safely and that Massey’s safety culture is effective throughout the organization.”

The safety culture Blankenship alludes to is quite elusive. – Political Correction

Go. Read.Here at Loudoun Progress, we hope to provide a small slice of the service that Media Matters provides on a national basis. We hope to be accurate and truthful in revealing the disingenuous motives and simple falsehoods at the root of some of our political opponents’ assertions and campaigns. And when and where we are wrong, we hope you’ll give us an opportunity to get it right.

Because in politics, as in life, the truth does matter.

“We are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to

tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.” -Thomas Jefferson to William Roscoe, 1820.