I decided to create this blogspot to give people a place to post their viewpoints on the recent pending legislation introduced by Senator Richard Stuart regarding Conservation Police. I have never been much of an activist but this situation has outraged me to the point of standing up and saying, "enough is enough". Most of us sit back and shake our heads when we hear news stories about politicians that have done something dishonest, unethical or self-serving. We almost expect it. A little bit of deal making and compromise has to go on to get the job done; however, this situation has gone way beyond the typical political wheeling and dealing.
As I have said from the time I decided to create the petition against this legislation...this is something that ALL citizens should be outraged about. This time it is about hunting and fishing. Next time it may be about something that affects YOU. The point is, we have not been paying attention people! We cannot allow this type of behavior by our elected representatives to go unchecked. They are not royalty and we have got to stop treating them as such. The people that fought and died to get away from this type of government are probably rolling over in their graves! The citizenry elect senators and delegates to represent their concerns and interests, not to introduce legislation as retaliation for a personal matter.
Please take a few minutes to learn the back story and you will understand that this is not just another tale of an unethical politician. The following story gives the basic details of how this legislation got introduced. http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/some-senate-bills-would-greatly-hinder-state-game-department
I hope this angers and outrages you. Ask yourself if you want a person of this caliber in the General Assembly or worse...holding a higher office someday. If we don't come together as citizens and hold our representatives accountable for their actions, then we will only have ourselves to blame when we wake up one day and find out that we have lost all of our liberties while we were busy posting Youtube videos, discussing who is the best on Dancing with the Stars or the latest drunken escapades on the jersey shore.
I am providing a link to sign the petition against SB26 also. I urge you to sign it and send out to your contacts to sign. If this bill passes it could be extremely detrimental to the Game Department as a whole. There will be less people buying licenses if they know that they cannot be checked, which in turn means less revenue to fund fish and wildlife management. Fish and wildlife populations will be negatively affected because officers will not be able to check creel and bag limits to ensure that laws are being followed. We will be effectively turning the clock back one hundred years on wildlife management. Think about it...
http://www.change.org/petitions/conservation-bills-attempt-to-weaken-law-enforcement-authority
This is absurd! I can not even begin to express how this bill upsets me. The only people who want this bill to pass will be the people who want to break the laws and hunt and fish unethical. If this passes there will be no wildlife left in the commonwealth. I only hope that people wake up and stand up if not for your self for your children and grandchildren!
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ReplyDeleteHere is another interesting article re: Senator Stuart:
ReplyDeletehttp://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2010/10/state_sen_richard_stuart_r.html
It is disgusting how this senator apparently fooled so many in 2011 by being part of a bill that would help reduce pollution in the bay, and then turn around this year to show his true colors, which are total disregard for our wildlife resources/environment! Looks like his only reasons for all of his ridiculous bills are retaliation and ways for him and his friends to gain short term success in illegal and immoral overharvest of wildlife resources! His ignorance does not allow him to see the devastation this would cause not only to our environment but also to our economy! Especially in the long term, YOU CAN NOT HAVE A HEALTHY ECONOMY WITHOUT A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT! Healthy environment = healthy everyone! Senator Stuart, you (and many other politicians) are in serious need of an education in ecology and wildlife management!
ReplyDeleteSenator Stuart has a facebook page (Senator Richard H. Stuart) which you can post to. On it he is quoted as saying: "It is an honor to be named the Legislator of the Year by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. I promise to continue to work hard and preserve our Commonwealth's treasures." Wow, isn't that hilarious! Check it out...there are quite a few negative comments!
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