As we prepare to begin the Memorial Day weekend, it is important for each of us to pause for a moment and reflect on the meaning for the day.
While it can be viewed as the unofficial start of summer and a chance to enjoy a family picnic, we all should recognize Memorial Day is truly a day for remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice to make our Nation free.
Our brave, selfless, and devoted men and women have fought and died to protect the rights and freedoms we all enjoy every day. This is our opportunity to honor them.
As a Americans and a Democrats, we should set an example and educate our children and grandchildren the true meaning of Memorial Day and remind them of the tremendous privileges we Americans enjoy thanks to the valiant service of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen.
As you enjoy the long weekend with friends and family, I ask you to remember the ideals that make our country great and those who have sacrificed to protect those ideals.Attend one of the many memorial services across the state. Proudly display the Flag. If you see a veteran or person currently serving our Nation in the Armed Forces, tell them "thank you," because we owe a debt to them that can never fully be repaid. And say a prayer for all those currently serving our Nation in harm's way.
Happy Memorial Day and may God continue to bless Virginia and the United States!
Esam Omeish
Dr. Esam Omeish is running for the House of Delegates in Virginia's 35th District here in Fairfax County. He is also the Chief of Surgery at INOVA Alexandria Hospital, a first generation immigrant, a father of four, a community leader, and a long time advocate for quality healthcare and job creation. Please come help us get this amazing leader elected!
Call it a sign of the times. Despite his stellar record in the community as both a physician and activist for the needy, there is a vocal minority with extreme views in the blogosphere and media who want to distort and tarnish the good name of Dr. Esam Omeish. Read below a few direct comments made by a variety of well-respected community leaders and professionals about Dr. Esam Omeish as they defend his character: Virginia's Governor Tim Kaine: "Dr. Omeish is a respected physician and community leader." Father Jerry Creeden, : "Words of support from the Faith community, the Commonwealth (of Virginia) is for all of us." Rabbi J. Moline: "I am sorry that the juggernaut of prejudice" "I would welcome your defense. This is an extended hand from my community, let us do something together." Attorney Vic Glasberg: "You have handled with grace the indignity visited upon you. What you said was understandable and suitable for its context, and its misuse is regrettable and an injury to us all." Kate Hanley, Virginia Secretary of State: "Dr. Omeish is one of two elected from his peers from among more than 300 physicians, and he was the recipient of the "Outstanding Physician of the Year Award" for 2007 in Alexandria Hospital". Many doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, and patients who know Dr. Omeish personally also felt compelled to write their words of support for him. Below is just a couple of statements exemplifying how strongly his colleagues support him. Dr. L. Kerness: "I have known you (Dr. Omeish) as a caring and skilled surgeon, a gentleman, and a family man. It is hard to imagine you as anything other that a pacifist. Rest assured that I, and all those I have spoken to, have not waivered in our support of you as a person and a surgeon, and are not swayed by media hype and political propaganda. I wish you and your family peace during this stressful time, and remember that this too shall pass." E. Bushmiller, RN, CNOR, B. Engler, BSN, CNOR, C. Hortman, RN: "The one thing we would like to make clear is the commitment Dr. Omeish has to democracy and more importantly peace. He is a committed family man, hard working and capable surgeon, and a good person. He is knowledgeable in basic tenets of the three Abrahimic religions and points to areas where they intersect, always searching for common ground. We are upset and disheartened with what has happened to Dr. Omeish. We wish to speak up on his behalf." As the Chief of General Surgery at Alexandria Hospital, Dr. Esam Omeish has earned the highest praise from his colleagues and patients because of his tireless and unconditional advocacy for the highest quality patient care, regardless of a patient's financial status. With your assistance, Dr. Esam Omeish will represent Virginia's 35th District with the same passion as a healthcare advocate at it's General Assembly. He will bring to Richmond his same caring ethical standards and proven leadership skills that have led Dr. Omeish to winning the "Outstanding Physician of the Year Award" in 2007. We must be able to compete and deliver our winning message of building on the successes of Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. The time to make a much-needed investment in our campaign is now.Even a small contribution of $10 or $20 makes a real difference.DonateOver the past few days, Esam has withstood attacks and has continued to focus on talking to voters about his fresh ideas, chairing his comprehensive plans for Accessible quality healthcare, improve NoVA transportaion, Conscientious environmental stewardship, and Continued excellence in education. With just less than one month to go, we need your help to make sure Esam can be heard over the chorus of attacks, and spread his positive message throughout the 35th District.To take a stand with Esam, please make a contribution today.Let's give Dr. Omeish the opportunity to be the same role model for Virginians for which he has already been awarded by his medical peers at Alexandria Hospital. Help Dr. Omeish to give excellence in healthcare to all Virginians.
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I realize that Virginians are facing the toughest economic times since The Great Depression. Because the nation's economic downturn has taken it's toll on Virginia's workers, I support President Barack Obama's recently passed Stimulus Package (Congress' American Recovery and Reinvestment Act). I support it because it provides Virginians with $4 billion to improve it's state infrastructure while it puts more Virginians back to work. The bill also allows for $125 million in assistance to extend insurance benefits and provide retraining assistance to unemployed Virginians. Given the opportunity to serve Virginia as the 35th District Delegate, I would not elect to send the Stimulus funds back to Washington. Instead I would support Gov. Tim Kaine's statement that an additional $4.50 per worker annually is manageable for Virginia's employers.This is particularly true since the additional $4.50 per worker would only be paid for those Virginians still unemployed 2 years after the Stimulus funds have taken their effect on Virginia's economy. This is a relatively small price to pay to avoid a worsening middle class economic meltdown that would otherwise translate into more suffering for our Virginia neighbors across the board. I would instead seek to provide immediate relief for unemployed Virginian workers to help them manage their financial affairs during what is the worst economic crisis they have suffered since The Great Depression.Looking ahead, I see Virginia's 35th District as a vibrant, diverse, and progressive community with much untapped economic potential. I would seek to help generate more "green" jobs to lead Virginia towards a renewable energy economy while we respect and protect Virginia's natural beauty and environment. I would also seek to invest more funds for providing greater internet access to further develop Virginia's electronic infrastructure. Additionally, I would support more research and development funding for Virginia's universities. This would encourage a Virginia economy based on "the best and the brightest" it has to offer it's citizens. Expanded funding for small business and entrepreneurship programs will also help Virginia continue as a national leader in job innovation.With your help, I will be able to help Virginia's citizens heal their economy as I represent it's 35th Delegate District. I will work to have Virginia's General Assembly consider policies that will encourage even greater opportunities and prosperity for Virginia's businesses and workers as we strive for a complete and full economic recovery. Help me be Virginia's next 35th District DelegateTo GET INVOLVED! To Contribute
Together, we can!Esam
When I came to the United States as an ESL student, I chose to apply myself academically in order to meet my personal goals in life. I realized that to make my dreams of being both a doctor and a public servant in America come true, I would need to work extra hard to learn English as well as all other required high school subjects. Despite the great language challenges that I faced, I was able to excel at school. I graduated from Fairfax County's J.E.B. Stuart High with honors and a perfect 4.0 grade point average.I have appreciated from an early age the opportunities that hard work combined with a quality education can provide to anyone living in America. I pursued my education with a double major in Biology and Government at Georgetown University, making the Dean's List each year. I then completed my schooling at The Georgetown School of Medicine. With the support of my nearby parents and siblings, I was proud to become the first doctor ever in the Omeish family.I am now raising the next Omeish generation as students of the same Fairfax County public school system that I attended. As the beneficiary of a system nurturing academic excellence, I would like my children to have the same quality education I was fortunate enough to have available growing up. I will work hard to preserve the same high standard of education I benefited from as a Fairfax County student for my own children as well as for all of the students of Virginia.With your help, I would like to represent Virginia's citizens on education issues as Virginia's 35th District Delegate. I will work to have Virginia's General Assembly consider policies that will encourage even greater opportunities for our next generation of students. I know that the brightest future possible for Virginians will only be through a Virginia education system that provides our youth with a solid foundation critical for it's success.
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Today, as Virginians and residents of the 35th District celebrate Earth Day, it’s a great opportunity to take this time and reflect where we are and where we are going in terms of responsible, renewable green energy that both protects our environment and provides jobs for the Commonwealth. As we look to the future of our families, community and Commonwealth, we can all agree that strengthening Virginia’s economy, protecting our precious natural resources and building an exciting, renewable energy future will be the key to ensuring a healthier community in which to live and work. The future of our environment is an issue which transcends politics. However, as delegate it would be my responsibility to fight for policies which protect our environment, strengthen our economy and compliments the efforts people make on a daily basis to make Virginia a better place. According to a recent poll, 76% of Virginians think that global warming is real and will adversely affect our environment. Capitalizing on alternative energy sources and investing in smart, green technology that taps into local talents and resources will help ensure Virginia becomes and remains a leader in the stewardship for a better community for us all.
The campaign could use your help so please sign up today to volunteer! Any amount of time will help us reach our goal. After all, TOGETHER WE CAN!
Esam
Click here to sign up with Esam Omeish For Delegate Click here to contribute.
The justices said they will review a lower court ruling upholding a provision of the Voting Rights Act that requires all or parts of 16 states with a history of racial discrimination, most in the South, to get approval before implementing any changes in the way elections are held.
In 2006, Congress voted overwhelmingly to extend the measure for another 25 years. The 1965 law was designed to prevent governments from making it harder for minorities to vote.
The high court has upheld earlier extensions of the provision that calls for either the U.S. attorney general or a court to sign off in advance on changes to requirements to hold office, polling places and other issues involving the conduct of elections.
The justices will hear the case in April and probably decide it by June, against the backdrop of a presidential election that was unimaginable when the law was enacted more than 40 years ago.
"The elephant in the room is what to make of the Obama election," said Nathaniel Persily, professor of law and political science at Columbia Law School, referring to the election of Barack Obama. "Does the election of the first African-American president undermine the central justification for parts of the Voting Rights Act?"
Under Chief Justice John Roberts, the court has looked skeptically at government efforts to take race into account in the assignment of students to public schools and the drawing of electoral districts.
A second case accepted for argument Friday looks at whether a decision by New Haven, Conn., to scrap a promotion exam after too few minorities passed it violates the civil rights of white and Hispanic firefighters who did well enough to advance.
The latest voting rights challenge comes from a local Texas government that says it was created in the 1980s, has no history of discrimination and shouldn't be subject to what it calls "the most federally invasive law in existence."
Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One, a government board formed to provide local services to about 3,500 people, sued following the 2006 extension. The board asked the court to exempt it from the law and said Congress had not shown a link between the district's need to get advance approval and past racial discrimination.
A federal court in Washington ruled in May that the prior approval provision is constitutional.
The three-judge panel said that the utility board didn't qualify as a "political subdivision" and could not be exempted from the law. It also ruled that racial discrimination in voting persists and that Congress acted appropriately when it extended the law.
Under the law, appeals go directly to the Supreme Court.
But the court could avoid the constitutional issue if it finds that the board has the right to bail out of the law.
Congress has extended the Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act four times, in 1970, 1975, 1982 and 2006.
An array of rights groups, including the NAACP, American Civil Liberties Union and Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, have intervened in the case in support of the law.
President George W. Bush signed the latest extension into law and his administration asked the high court to affirm the lower-court ruling. The government noted in court papers that more than 2,400 proposed voting changes have been blocked since 1982.
"The record includes evidence of discrimination throughout covered jurisdictions perpetrated at every level of government," the government said.
Eight states are covered in their entirety: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas. In Virginia, all but 15 cities and counties must comply with the measure.
Parts of California, Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina and South Dakota also need permission to make voting changes.
The case is Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Mukasey, 08-322.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Get ready for the in-law in chief.
President-elect Barack Obama's mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, is moving into the White House at least temporarily to join Michelle Obama and the two children, transition officials said Friday.
That's good news not just for late-night comics, but for 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha. During the campaign, Robinson retired from her job as a bank executive secretary to help care for her granddaughters.
"Mrs. Robinson will be coming with the family to help the girls get acclimated, and she will determine in the coming months whether or not she wants to stay in D.C. permanently," said Katie McCormick Lelyveld, spokeswoman for Michelle Obama.
Michelle Obama also made another hotly awaited decision: She's keeping the White House chef. Cristeta Comerford took the job in 2005 and is the first woman and first minority to serve as executive chef.
"Cristeta Comerford brings such incredible talent to the White House operation and came very highly regarded from the Bush family," Michelle Obama said in a statement released by the transition team. "Also the mom of a young daughter, I appreciate our shared perspective on the importance of healthy eating and healthy families."
Plenty of in-laws have taken up residence in the White House before, not to mention cousins, grandchildren and other relatives.
"Throughout history there have been many extended first families in office," said Robert Watson, author of "Life in the White House."
Ulysses S. Grant's father-in-law, Richard Dent, stayed for several years. Harry S. Truman's mother-in-law, Madge Gates Wallace, lived there, too, and was critical of her son-in-law.
"She never liked him. She always felt that Bess had married below her station," said Myra Gutin, a first lady historian and professor at Ryder University in New Jersey.
"For his part, he was gracious. Whatever Mother Wallace wanted, she pretty much got."
Mamie Eisenhower's mother also had extended stays, but like her daughter she tended to sleep until noon, said Maria Downs of the White House Historical Association.
Even the presidents' mothers can be tough. Lillian Carter stayed in the White House and got on well with her son Jimmy, but Gutin said that when he first told her, "Mom, I'm going to run for president," she replied, "President of what?"
By all accounts, Obama has a good relationship with his mother-in-law. She had put off retirement for years, but finally retired last summer to take care of the granddaughters while their parents campaigned.
"She didn't want anyone else taking care of the kids but her," McCormick Lelyveld said. "She wanted to be the one there."
Barack Obama has called her one of the unsung heroes of his campaign, and spoke of holding her hand on election night.
But when asked by "60 Minutes" if Robinson would move in, he quipped: "Well, I don't tell my mother-in-law what to do. But I'm not stupid. That's why I got elected president, man."
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe said on Saturday he intends to run for governor of Virginia.
After months of speculation over his plans, McAuliffe announced his intentions in a video posted on his Web site. In the video, McAuliffe said he will make his intention to run official on Wednesday as part of a week-long campaign kickoff.
The stops include town hall meetings in Hampton Roads, Bristol, Richmond and others, where McAuliffe will unveil plans for job creation, education and renewable energy.
"Over the coming months we will travel to every corner of the commonwealth to ask all Virginians to join our campaign to get the economy moving again," McAuliffe said in the video.
In November, the 51-year-old established his campaign committee, Friends of Terry McAuliffe, with the State Board of Elections, secured the services of strategist Mike Henry and began touring Virginia, but had not made his candidacy certain.
McAuliffe faces two other Democrats who have been active for nearly a year in an already contentious nomination fight to succeed Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.
State Sen. Creigh Deeds narrowly lost the attorney general's race in 2005, and former House Democratic Caucus chairman Brian Moran is also in the race.
"We welcome Terry McAuliffe to the race and we're looking forward to an open and honest discussion of how we keep Virginia moving forward," said Peter Jackson, a spokesman for Deeds.
In a statement, Moran also welcomed McAuliffe to the campaign.
"I am more convinced than ever that Virginians want a governor with a proven record of fighting for Virginia families and a vision for the commonwealth," Moran said.
The Democratic nominee will face Republican Attorney General Bob McDonnell, who is unchallenged for his party's nomination, in the Nov. 3 election.
Phil Cox, a spokesman for McDonnell also welcomed McAuliffe into the race, saying he has a "tough primary fight ahead of him." But Cox said there will be plenty of time during the campaign to compare and contrast records.
A native of upstate New York, McAuliffe has lived in Virginia for about 17 years. He lives in the Washington, D.C., suburb of McLean.
McAuliffe brings to the race a national fundraising base and profile that neither of his potential primary rivals could match. As chairman of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, McAuliffe helped her raise tens of millions of dollars. And as DNC chairman, he helped restore the fiscal health of a party that was broke and dispirited after Al Gore's wrenching 2000 presidential loss.
But McAuliffe also brings a political portfolio well to the left of Democrats Mark R. Warner and Kaine, who toiled in the state party for years before they were elected governor by pledging bipartisan cooperation and campaigning as moderates.
McAuliffe, however, does ride a crest of success the Democratic Party has not known in Virginia for generations.
President-elect Barack Obama became the first Democrat to carry Virginia in a presidential race in 44 years. The party claimed both of the state's U.S. Senate seats for the first time since 1970, and it controls six of the state's 11 U.S. House seats in the wake of newcomer Tom Perriello's victory over Republican Rep. Virgil Goode after a recount.
Only two states - Virginia and New Jersey - elect governors this year.
Parents,
We've put together both a Web site and easy-to-download one-page flyer that shares tips & tacticsfor supporting the campaign in the final two weeks. Please read, print, post, share with others. Juggle young kids and campaign? YES WE CAN!
p.s. If you find these tips useful, please let us know.
