R.I.P. Gainesville Times?
By Greg L | 13 August 2007 | Prince William County | 19 Comments
One of the print media websites I like to check in on regularly is the Gainesville Times, and for at least the past several days their website for Prince William County at timescommunity.com, which reflects the content of the Gainesville Times, is pretty much blank. The timescommunity.com page, which shows all the different counties this media company covers, doesn’t even list Prince William. Does this mean that the Gainesville Times is no more?
That would be a real loss. Reporter Dan Roem has done a great job covering local politics in Prince William, and his articles regularly have been among the very best in the area. If we lose the Gainesville Times, voters are going to lose perhaps the best print resource in Prince William County that might help voters understand the issues and the candidates. Let’s hope this is just a screw-up with the website.
UPDATE: I’ve been told that the Gainesville Times is running along just fine, but that the website isn’t getting updated. Let’s hope they get that straightened out, as their website is a pretty valuable source for local news online. And no, it’s not going to turn into a Spanish-language newspaper!
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19 Comments
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We always have the MJM to fall back on…..
park’d…stop with the funny jokes!
Is that like falling on your own sword?
It’s being taken over by new management. It will reemerge in Spanish soon.
ROFL at Rick - sad but probably true
How is it sad just because a paper might be published in spanish? Do you hear the things you are saying?
Where in the constitution does it say freedom of speech is restricted to only those speaking a particular language. Do you have so little love for your own personal liberty that you despise those who practice theirs by speaking whatever language they feel like?
Liberty is not a concept or a right that belongs to any particular group…be they spanish speaking, english speaking, or whatever speaking. It is a noble concept untethered by ethnicity or language.
I can respect when people disagree with the content of what is being said…but not when people disagree with the fact that it is said in a different language.
I think americans who truly love and cherish the constitution would embrace the exercise of freedom of speech irregardless of the language used…what you look upon with so much disdain, is tantamount to a minor miracle in many parts of the world where exercising freedom of speech can get you killed.
And I think establishing a subculture of Spanish-speaking manual laborers who don’t speak English, are catered to in Spanish, and can only get by in America by living 15 to a townhouse is a sad sad thing. If we don’t get these unassimilated poor out of our country, we will I think careen headlong into a caste society where the English speakers own most of the property and the teeming mostly-Spanish (but not entirely) underclass is used for labor. See Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” for an illustration. The middle class is dwindling, and the effect will only magnify over time as they become burdened with the tax bills of an underclass growing every year, and a labor force increasingly uninsured and making sub-poverty wages; I see us becoming that society of haves and have-nots.
There was once dignity in manual labor in this country. No more. There was once pride across all social levels in being American; no more.
In my opinion, if you are living in America and aren’t speaking English, you’re in the wrong damn country. We have people from all over the world eager to immigrate here legally, and participate in our society and customs to include the speaking of English. Those who are here merely because they walked across a border illegally, and who don’t speak English, should leave forthwith and make room for those who want to be American. This is not and never will be little Mexico if I have anything to say about it.
Personally when I hear two Prince William County residents happily, loudly babling in Spanish I get angry and I think - you don’t belong. You’re most likely a criminal. I don’t respect you as my countryman and don’t respect your right to be here. Somebody told you you could come here and live this way - but it wasn’t me, and I will fight - long and hard - to get you to go back home and leave this country for those who care enough about it to speak its language.
You can take Dish Latino and all the Spanish papers, bundle them together and send them to Mexico as far as I’m concerned. There’s no place for them here - because the America that many of us fought for and built is under assault by waves of poor people cynically sent here by Mexico’s rich, who dispose of them like trash. Don’t come here and expect to make my town into a Spanish ghetto, without feeling my anger and all the political muscle I can flout, from now until I die. If you want to be American, stop babbling so happily and loudly in Spanish. If you don’t, don’t expect happiness or tolerance from the Americans who built the neighborhoods and towns that you are trashing and making into a fascimile of your primitive country, the one you abandoned and which abandoned you.
You are most likely a criminal if you speak Spanish out loud? There is no dignity in manual labor in this country? And you wonder why so many people think many contributors to this blog are racist. It’s because folks like Rick Bentley are blatent, hateful racists. The premise of the conversation on this blog is normally correct. We need to reign in the illegal population one way or another, but we can’t lower ourselves to the lowlife opinions of Rick Bentley. We need to keep this civil or the general population will never take us seriously.
Rick Bentley,
Your whole rant is against the principle of individual liberty.
What?!?/Advocator/Redneck Review/Wakeupwhitepeople? and whatever you are calling yourself on this thread. Aren’t you late for your NAMBLA meeting or something?
What?!/Without hate,
They were kidding around. Lighten up.
As for your rant and dropping the race card, you know, people who are not Hispanic do manual labor and speak Spanish. White people, black people, brown people, yellow people….so I don’t see how race comes in to play. There is enough racism in the world without inventing it.
I don’t mind hearing people speak Spanish amongst themselves. I mind when I have to conduct business in my own country in another language or in pigeon English. I mind when I am excluded from the conversation because 2 or more people chose to speak in their own language in front of me. Behavior like that is rude and is virtually the same thing as covering your mouth and whispering. Notice I haven’t criticized any one group of people for these offenses.
As for English, English is the language of empowerment. If you live in this country and do not learn to speak English, you have basically locked yourself in to a lifetime of poverty. People all over the world learn English so they can conduct business. Is it fair? Doesn’t matter. Just is.
The same can be said for any immigrant entering a country on a permanent or semi permanent basis who refuses to learn to communicate in the language of the host country. You simply will not get ahead unless you learn to communicate with the majority of people around you.
I wasn’t kidding at all. I resent all of these people babbling in Spanish, and yes, the majority of them are criminals - illegal aliens who engage in identity fraud.
Dolph where do you live? Where I live an American kid who can’t speak Spanish can’t get a job taking food orders. Because 40% or so of our population is illegal.
Rick,
I was referring to the exchange about relying on the MJM and the few following comments when I said ‘they were kidding around.’ I was referring to Park’d, John Light, you, and Dan. I took the exchange to be tongue in cheek.
I didn’t address your later comment at all. I should have been more specific since you now want to attack me. You told of your pet peeves and I told of mine. Tell me what exactly it is that I said that offends you?
To answer your question, I live in Prince William County, near Manassas. Both of my adult children are in food service and neither of them speak fluent Spanish. They are both white Americans. Granted, they aren’t flipping burgers but try pouring drinks and managing a high end coffee store.
Dolph,
You seem like an intelligent person with a good perspective on things. Rick sounds like a racist slob and he makes all of us who want to clean up the illegal problem seem to be like him. He hates a lot and needs professional help.
Rick,
I think you have some legitimate complaints until you start saying….
‘In my opinion, if you are living in America and aren’t speaking English, you’re in the wrong damn country.’
‘Personally when I hear two Prince William County residents happily, loudly babling in Spanish I get angry and I think - you don’t belong. You’re most likely a criminal. I don’t respect you as my countryman and don’t respect your right to be here.’
‘If you want to be American, stop babbling so happily and loudly in Spanish.If you don’t, don’t expect happiness or tolerance from the Americans who built the neighborhoods and towns that you are trashing and making into a fascimile of your primitive country, the one you abandoned and which abandoned you.’
….you sound unbalanced. You might have some legitimate complaints to make about behavior but languages are neutral things. When you see 2 people speaking spanish, it may remind you of all the things you resent about illegal immigration but it’s still just 2 people talking and doing nothing to you so why get so bent out of shape?
You are free to resent whomever you’d like. You have that liberty. You don’t owe me or anyone else your good will. Just don’t infringe on anyones life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness. Spanish speaking persons have no right to obligate you to speak spanish, but neither do you have a right to obligate anyone to speak english.
Look at it from a different angle…if these people all spoke english, all the problems that you have a legitimate complaint about would still exist.
I understand that it is annoying when you have to interact with people who don’t speak your language…but guess what…whoever said life was fair? If i had a nickel for every time life was unfair with me…
Oh…and to Batsin Dee Belfree…what is NAMBLA?
The Spanish may be a symptom rather than a cause, but at any rate I do resent it - and I think you’ll find many, many Americans have that same reaction.
NAMBLA is the North American Man Boy Love Association, an organization of self-professed pedophiles who want to legalize sex between men and young boys, who exist as an extreme case of unpalatable free speech, and who Howard Stern and South Park have made famous.
In this country we speak American …only the Brittish speak English!
Batson D. Belfry: Thank you for showing your true colors: RED WHITE & BLUE!!!