Carrie Wigal

Do you watch the direction that America is being taken in and feel powerless to stop it?

Do you believe that your voice isn’t loud enough to be heard above the noise anymore?

Do you read the headlines everyday and feel an empty pit in your stomach…as if you’re completely alone?

If so, then you’ve fallen for the Wizard of Oz lie. While the voices you hear in the distance may sound intimidating, as if they surround us from all sides—the reality is very different. Once you pull the curtain away you realize that there are only a few people pressing the buttons, and their voices are weak. The truth is that they don’t surround us at all.
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We surround them.

So, how do we show America what’s really behind the curtain? Below are nine simple principles. If you believe in at least seven of them, then we have something in common. I urge you to read the instructions at the end for how to help make your voice heard.

Twelve Values

* Honesty
* Reverence
* Hope
* Thrift
* Humility
* Charity
* Sincerity
* Moderation
* Hard Work
* Courage
* Personal Responsibility
* Friendship

The Nine Principles

1. America is good.

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.

9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

You Are Not Alone

If you agree with at least seven of those principles, then you are not alone.”

Gather your like-minded friends and family and join us at Rivals Sports Bar & Grill near the Fashion Square Mall on East Rio Road in Charlottesville on Friday, March 13th from 5PM-6PM. We’ll watch Glenn Beck unveil his plan to get our voices heard. See you there! (It’s a smoke-free, family-friendly environment) If you’re in the Charlottesville area, regardless of whether or not you can make it, join us at Charlottesville We Surround Them.

Governor Mike Huckabee spoke yesterday at CPAC in Washington DC. Watch for yourself:
PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

My all-time favorite movie is Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, primarily because of its premise. Each life has extreme potential and significance to the lives of those around them, impacting society in ways we can never fully fathom. If you haven’t seen the film yet, rent it today…in fact, go ahead and buy it…it’s a keeper.

Well, there’s a video clip put out by CatholicVote.org that speaks volumes concerning the potential of life, and I’d like to share it with you here:

As a side note, this ad was submitted to play during the SuperBowl and was rejected by NBC because it was too political in nature.

I was pleased to find that the Fluvanna County School Superintendent, Dr. Tom Smith decided last fall to begin a new way to communicate with the Fluvanna Community by starting his own blog. His introductory message gave a status update to the progression of plans on the new High School, among other things.

“The School Board has approved design specifications submitted by the architects and hope to consider and approve the final construction drawings at the December, 2008 School Board meeting. Once approved, we will then advertise for construction bids. It is still hoped that we can break ground sometime around the first part of 2009.”

I took it upon myself to respond in light of the new economic climate we are all facing and the discovery that school enrollment is down this year (since rapid enrollment growth is the basis for the urgent need of this new high school). I had hoped I would see a response, but never fully expected one.

To my surprise, a month and a half later I found he indeed responded to my concerns only a week after I expressed them. He indicated the numbers I had stated were misleading and the growth trend was about 60 students/year. Specifically he stated, “we have continued to increase our enrollments by approximately 60 students each year” and again at the School Board meeting on January 14th 2009 he stated, “We are down. But again we have seen about an increase of about 60 students. This the October enrollment…“[SOURCE]

His figures confused me, so I asked for clarification. I also reminded him of the economic climate we are in on the federal level and how this will affect us here in Fluvanna. In his response he had also stated that he feared there was “a danger in waiting to begin the building program” and that we “can expect the costs to be significantly higher”.  I explained that I did not see that as sufficient cause to press forward given the magnitude of the situation.

I was pleased to see that my comment was posted on his blog after awaiting moderation for several days, but he had not responded again. So, I emailed him (and copied the School Board & Board of Supervisors) asking that he reply in order to settle my concerns. He replied early this week that he would respond to me within the week. And he did.

He did not address the economic climate, but rather gave me enrollment figures from 2006/07 and 2007/08 as proof of his 60 student growth trend and referred me to a construction link on the Fluco.org website for further reasoning on continuing with the Domino plan given in September 2005.

Okay, I was getting a little frustrated because it seemed like he was ignoring the current situation…as if he was holding his ears and going “la, la, la” to drown out the present day facts. While I appreciated him taking the time to respond to me, I don’t think he was hearing my most pressing concerns, that enrollment is down and our economy is in the tank. Here was my response to him: Read more »

Have you contacted your Senators yet concerning your thoughts on the “Stimulus Bill“? I did yesterday. Today I received a response from one of them, Senator Mark Warner (D). Here’s what he had to say to me:

Dear Mrs. Wigal,

Thank you for contacting me with your views on the economic stimulus package.  In order to best represent you as your United States Senator, it is vital that I hear your view on this and other important matters.

We have received numerous responses from across the Commonwealth from those both in favor of the stimulus and those opposed.  I understand concerns about the expense of the bill and about certain provisions included in the package.  Although no effort on this scale will be perfect, President Obama and the relevant Congressional committees have been in close consultation with our state and local officials and a wide range of economic experts who have indicated that this agreement represents a prudent and effective path to economic recovery.  To do nothing could lead to catastrophic consequences for small businesses and working families across the country.

The committees drafting the legislation have provided for unprecedented oversight, accountability and transparency to ensure that taxpayers’ money is handled carefully and used in the most efficient and effective manner possible.  You should know that a Recovery Act and Transparency Board will oversee the disbursement of the funds and a website provided by the White House, www.recovery.gov <http://www.recovery.gov> , will post detailed information about recovery spending.

Again, thank you for your input.  As we move forward in the 111th Congress, please continue to be in touch with your opinions and concerns.

Sincerely,
MARK R. WARNER
United States Senator [emphasis mine]

Oh, don’t worry, Senator, you will be hearing more from me.  “…a prudent and effective path to economic recovery…“? I don’t think so. Let us review again:

• $7.7 billion for various upgrades and work done on federal buildings
• $5.2 billion for voter fraud experts ACORN and other “neighborhood stabilization” groups
• $2.4 billion for carbon capture projects
• $1 billion for AMTRAK
• $650 million–more–for coupons for the conversion to digital television
• $600 million for federal automobiles
• $400 million for research into global warming
• $335 million for the prevention of sexually transmitted disease
• $50 million to the National Endowment for the Arts

How is $650 million (more) spent on coupons for the conversion to digital TV an effective path to economic recovery? Sounds to me like Big Brother the government seems a bit anxious about having folks tune into their boob tubes…why is this tucked inside a “stimulus bill”?

And $5.2 billion to ACORN and the like? Are you kidding me? After the obvious bias in this last election…prudent, my pinky toe!

Call your Senators today! Tell them to quit playing party politics and act on your behalf…the primary objective is to “create & preserve jobs”, isn’t it? If they want to help stimulate the economy, they need to quit dolling out dollars to special interest groups and pet projects. The secondary objective was for “infrastructure investment” yet only about 17% of the near $900 Billion is designated for that…and that is the secondary objective? How many objectives are there for this “American Recovery & Reinvestment Bill of 2009″?

Get on the horn today and give a shout out to your public servant (a.k.a. US Senator)…he/she needs to hear from you NOW.

Vote NO for this so-called “Stimulus Bill”.

Yesterday, the House passed the “Stimulus Bill” a.k.a. H.R.1 American Recovery & Reinvestment Act with a vote of 244-188 with every Republican voting against it. While I’m still angry that this bill passed in it’s current form, I’m glad that the GOP stood together in opposition after a day-long debate. Unfortunately, my representative didn’t vote the way I wanted…Tom Perriello voted “Yes” on this “stimulus” bill.

[NOTE: Had Virgil Goode still been in office, he would have most certainly voted against this spending frenzy as he did when he voted twice against the initial bailout bill. I sure hope he plans to run again in 2010.]

But Mr. Perriello is my representative now, and I have my eye on him. I plan on holding this man accountable for the work he’s doing in DC on my behalf, and I will be certain to be a vocal constituent.

For those who would like to know where some of this $819 BILLION dollars is expected to go, here goes:

• $7.7 billion for various upgrades and work done on federal buildings
• $5.2 billion for voter fraud experts ACORN and other “neighborhood stabilization” groups
• $2.4 billion for carbon capture projects
• $1 billion for AMTRAK
• $650 million–more–for coupons for the conversion to digital television
• $600 million for federal automobiles
• $400 million for research into global warming
• $335 million for the prevention of sexually transmitted disease
• $50 million to the National Endowment for the Arts

Given the fact that we do not have this money to spend in the first place, why in the world are we spending it on stuff like this?

Be sure to thank (or chew out) Congressman Perriello for spending your money this way.

The Senate bill is nearing $900 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal, and the House of Representatives votes TODAY. Here’s the “Stimulus Package” for your review.

Call your representative. Take 45 seconds and do it NOW. Don’t rely on your neighbor to call, don’t rely on me to call (I already did). You need to call and make your voice heard. It’s easy. Don’t think for a second that your voice doesn’t matter, it does! Don’t listen to the voice in your head that says they’re not going to listen to you…they may not, but you still must express yourself anyway! Call your congressman or congresswoman now and tell them, politely, that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, that they should vote NO on the so-called “stimulus” package.

Please call. Please do it now.

Click HERE for the congressional directory.

Have you seen Obama’s Agenda yet? It’s on the WhiteHouse.gov website, and quite frankly I find it revolting. Governor Huckabee had Matt Staver (from Liberty Counsel) on his show this weekend and here they discuss just a few of the social issues under the category, “Civil Rights”. Watch it and then head on over and read the Agenda put forth by Mr. Obama yourself. [WARNING: Content may cause severe nauseau…read at your own risk.]

I just went to the new library yesterday for the first time and I was baffled by the “Fuel Efficient Vehicle Parking” signs reserving the spaces right in front of the door. There were about 3 or 4 6 of them (in addition to the 3 or 4 5 handicapped spaces). What’s up with that?

When I went inside and asked about it at the front desk, I was told it was because the buildings were “green”. I asked who qualified to park there…she said she wasn’t sure herself. People who drive “fuel efficient vehicles” would know if they qualify.

What about moms carrying a van (or minivan) load of kids? Or very pregnant women who have great difficulty getting in and out of their cars?

When I was coming out yesterday, my husband was inside checking out books and I was trying to get my 18 month old in his car seat while my 3 and 5 year old were supposed to be standing on the grass, but they were running back and forth next to the edge of the lot. Meanwhile there was another woman also parked across the lot toting a baby carrier and I thought I saw another child or two milling around her. I couldn’t tell if she was coming or going. All the “FEVP” spots were open so cars coming in drove right up to the front (thinking there were available spots, I suppose), but when they saw that they didn’t qualify to park there, they proceeded to find a spot around the other side of the building. Maybe it’s just me but I perceived this to be a safety concern.

To me this concept is absurd. This is a public facility and the idea that many men, women and children are being discriminated against because they don’t drive/ride in a “fuel efficient vehicle” and have to park at the back of the bus, uh, I mean lot, is wrong. It discourages non-fuel efficient vehicle owners from coming to the library. Is that the kind of message we want to send to our community?

What do you think?

UPDATE 01/15/09: I received a phone call this evening from the fellow who heads up the Department of Public Works. It seems a letter I wrote last night concerning this issue raised some eyebrows and folks are re-thinking the use of these parking spaces. I was told a formal written response may be forthcoming. I’ll keep you updated as to what I hear.

UPDATE 01/21/09: I received the following email this morning:

Dear Mrs. Wigal,

After conferring with John Robins, Dir. Of Public Works; Garland Nuckols, Dir. Of Buildings and Grounds; and Cyndi Hoffman, Library Manager, we have decided to leave two parking spots for energy efficient vehicles and label them as being for cars having over 30 mpg, to reduce confusion.  The other four parking spots will have new signs.   One will be labeled “Senior Parking,” two will be labeled “Reserved for parents with small children,” the final one will be labeled “For Expectant Mothers”.  These four new signs will replace the signs directly adjacent to the uncovered sidewalk extending from the Library entrance.  Until the new signs can be ordered and put in place, the present signs will remain in place. 

I hope that this will be more in line with the needs of the citizens of Fluvanna County.

Curtis Putnam
Energy Technician
 
Fluvanna County
Buildings and Grounds Deparment
P. O. Box 540
Palmyra, VA 22963
 
cputnam@co.fluvanna.va.us
434-591-1925 phone
434-591-1924 fax

There has also been a healthy discussion on this subject concerning this issue at FluvannaOnline. It’s nice to see the County respond to input from her citizens. Now, if we can just get more citizens to share their input on various issues (such as out-of-control spending) in a respectful and responsible manner and have other factions of our County Government listen to her citizens, sincerely considering their concerns and responding in a swift and appropriate manner…