Republican Women of Clifton

Maureen McDonnell – Historical Book

cliftongop — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:44:28 +0000

Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! Calling All Virginians!

Family homes are prized possessions, and it can be challenging to pass them from one generation to the next. However, when we are able to do so, we gain a much fuller understanding of our ancestors’ lives, surrounded by the furnishings and art that reflect their history.

For four years, Governor McDonnell and I have the honor of living in one of Virginia’s oldest “family” homes ~ the Executive Mansion. Celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2013, the Executive Mansion is the oldest continually occupied governor’s residence in all the fifty states. As you can imagine, this translates to a home full of history and stories of everyday family life. With the 200th birthday of the mansion approaching, we are looking to gain a more intimate understanding of this historic home, one that has not yet been told in the history books.

This fall, the official book of the Executive Mansion’s 200th Anniversary will be released. Our commemorative coffee table book will chronicle the experiences of the fifty-four governors’ families who have occupied the mansion. It is being written by Virginia historian Mary Miley Theobald, with an introduction by Virginia author David Baldacci and designed by Carol Roper Hoffler. We are also planning a yearlong celebration with special events, exhibits, and programs to commemorate this bicentennial.

I believe that the key to unlocking the untold stories of the mansion lies with the people of Virginia, and I’d like to involve you in this endeavor. If you are a descendant of a former “First Family” or of someone who worked in the mansion, we’d love to hear your stories about your ancestors and the mansion. We are looking for old photographs of governors’ families taken in the mansion and any letters and objects with a history of having been in the mansion that we might exhibit. You may have to dig them out of your great-great Aunt Matilda’s trunk that’s been sitting in Grandma’s attic, but they will help shed light on this wonderful home’s proud past.

If you have stories or images of Virginia’s Executive Mansion, please join us in this opportunity to recapture them as we celebrate the bicentennial. Please contact us by mail at Commonwealth of Virginia, Executive Mansion, P.O. Box 1475, Richmond, Virginia 23218; or by email at ExecutiveMansion@governor.virginia.gov, and help us bring the history of Virginia’s Executive Mansion to life!

With warmest regards,

Maureen McDonnell
First Lady of Virginia

Standardized Testing

cliftongop — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:19:08 +0000

Should we end the era of standardized testing? Here are some thoughts against. Teachers oppose the tests:
– because they measure only “low level” thinking processes
– because they put the wrong people — test manufacturers — in charge of American education
– because they allow pass-fail rates to be manipulated by officials for political purposes
– because test items simplify and trivialize learning
– because they provide minimal to no useful feedback
– are keyed to a deeply flawed curriculum adopted in 1893
– lead to neglect of physical conditioning, music, art, and other, non-verbal ways of learning
– unfairly advantage those who can afford test prep
– hide problems created by margin-of-error computations in scoring
– penalize test-takers who think in non-standard ways
– because they radically limit their ability to adapt to learner differences
– encourage use of threats, bribes, and other extrinsic motivators
– wrongly assume that what the young will need to know in the future is already known
– emphasize minimum achievement to the neglect of maximum performance
– create unreasonable pressures to cheat
– because they reduce teacher creativity and the appeal of teaching as a profession
– are culturally biased; have no “success in life” predictive power
– lead to the neglect of the best and worst students as resources are channeled to lift marginal kids above pass-fail “cut lines”
– are open to massive scoring errors with life-changing consequences
– because they’re at odds with deep-seated American values about individual differences and worth
– undermine a fundamental democratic principle that those closest to and therefore most knowledgeable about problems are best positioned to deal with them
– dump major public money into corporate coffers instead of classrooms

Obama’s State of the Union Address

cliftongop — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:21:33 +0000

On Tuesday night, January 24th, President Obama delivered this speech in his State of the Union Address: Link

This can now be carefully and methodically disected, since very little of it actually matches reality. In Obama’s world, he seems to have no problems looking people straight in the eye and implying that he’s doing things that he hasn’t done, supported things that he has actually opposed, and has suceeded where he’s obviously failed – and he can do it with conviction. It’s a head scratcher, but with the advantage of having four highly energized presidential canidates, and the support of many super-pacs, I hope that someone in our party decides to pick the speech apart, paragraph by paragraph, and can articulate what’s actually happened.

The Republican Primary Continues!

cliftongop — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 03:47:34 +0000

This is going to get interesting! Topics are being discussed that are hard to get out there to the general public, and it seems that this longer primary race has the potential to bring us the best possible canidate to assure that Barack Obama will be a one term president!
Current delegate count: Newt Gingrich 21, Mitt Romney 18, Rick Santorum 11, Ron Paul 6

Next RWC Meeting – TUESDAY – Feb 21st – CVHS

cliftongop — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:09:53 +0000

Our next meeting will be TUESDAY, February 21st. Social time begins at 7:00pm and the meeting will commence at 7:00pm. We meet at Centreville High School’s lecture hall on the second floor.

Our guest speaker will be Dr Michael Abidin whose speech will focus on “Lessons From Great Women in History.” Dr. Abidin is a staunch Republican and is very active in local politics at the grassroots level. He attended medical school at the University of Virginia and then a residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He also had a fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and a facial plastic surgery fellowship at Tampa General Hospital. He is currently in a group practice in Alexandria Virginia. Dr. Abidin promises that his speech will be both informative and entertaining.

Webpage Submissions

cliftongop — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:45:49 +0000

Please submit items for publication to the webmaster, Laurie Hamilton. This include events that are of interest to our members, photos taken from events, commentary on local and federal issues, reviews of any attended event, voting informmation, or sharing a video or article of interest. These items may also be submitted to be incuded in the Newsletter, which is currently in transition.

Such a fine lookin’ group of women

cliftongop — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:17:30 +0000

RWC didn’t hold a meeting in July but was able to gather this lovely group of RWC members and guests at the Country Club of Fairfax on July 14. It was indeed a Summer Patriotic luncheon. Those of us who missed it are jealous.

CONGRATULATIONS – 2011 SCHOLARSHIP WINNER

cliftongop — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:32:58 +0000

RWC would like to congratulate Caleb Fite for an OUTSTANDING entry to our scholarship essay. The Scholarship Committee noted that his entry was beautifully written and a wonderful example of conservative principles. The essay topic was: Write an inaugural speech as if you were the next President of the United States.

Good luck, Caleb, in your future educational endeavors. We wish you all the best and stay true to your conservative values. Which probably won’t be too hard considering you are attending Grove City College. Godspeed.

RWC 2011 Scholarship

cliftongop — Wed, 04 May 2011 07:07:05 +0000

All interested high school students in the local area, please go to our “Scholarship Page” to download the application form and counselor form.

We are looking forward to your submissions. Good Luck.

Christmas Party photos posted on Shutterfly

cliftongop — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 22:44:30 +0000

Oh my. Our fun-filled Christmas party is documented for posterity by our much appreciated Vince Cavaleri. You really need to see all of the great pictures he took at the party. I don’t see one eye closed or fuzzy photo. How does he do it?

If you haven’t signed up with your own Shutterfly account and gotten permission from me: please let me know and I’ll add you to the approved list. The site is for our guests only and not for the public.

To view our photos on our Shutterfly account: http://cliftongop.shutterfly.com/

Contact me if you need help signing up: DSinclair2@cox.net