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Morning Notes

by ARLnow.com | July 10, 2012 at 9:15 am | 3,078 views | 173 Comments

Undocumented W-L Valedictorian “Still Kind of Scared” — This year’s Washington-Lee High School valedictorian, 17-year-old Nataly Montano, is one of the young people impacted by President Obama’s recent policy decision to pull back on the deportation of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. Montano, a 4.3 GPA student, says she is “still kind of scared sometimes because things could happen to get me deported.” [Sun Gazette]

New Washington Blvd Trail to Impact Trees — A new trail extension planned for Washington Boulevard between Columbia Pike and Route 50 will result in the removal of “about 350 trees.” The plan has, on some level, pitted bicycle advocates against tree huggers, according to a blog post. [Commuter Page Blog]

‘Tapping Party’ Tonight in Shirlington — Capital City Brewing Company in Shirlington Village is hosting a “tapping party” tonight (Tuesday) for one of its newest beers, a Rye IPA. “Medium to full bodied, the Rye IPA (6.5% ABV) is an American style IPA made with the addition of Rye malt that lends a spice to the flavor profile and then dry hopped with American style hops,” according to a press release. The event starts at 7:00 p.m. and will include a question and answer session with the brewmasters, a free appetizer buffet and a trivia contest. [Shirlington Village Blog Spot]

Flickr pool photo by Maryva2

The Dude

“pitted bicycle advocates against tree huggers”

I LOLed when i read that
Help a fellow out here

Here’s an analogy, involving getted pitted (so pitted) –

Instead of surfers vs. waves, bicyclists vs. trees

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-5F_7DwPpo
The Maple Games

May the odds be ever in your favor.
Wai … what??

Isn’t most of that stretch right-of-way with scrub? What are they doing, taking the trail through Towers Park?
- daniel
  
  +1
Chris Slatt

The 305 number is the number of trees that could “potentially be impacted” (the EA I saw says 297 – not sure which one is more accurate) of those 186 would actually be removed, the contractor would be required to protect and attempt to preserve the remainder.

While yes they are taking the trail through Towers Park, the vast, vast majority of the trees impacted are along the Washington Blvd shoulder. Most of the trail’s route through Towers Park would run along an existing maintenance road.

Additional details on my blog for those interested in the great trail debate of 2012:
http://www.alongthepike.com/archive/2012/07/03/bike-trail-benefits.aspx
- Chris Slatt
  
  Oh wait 350? No idea where that number came from.
  - DW
    
    It’s either a typo that Steve (and then Scott) need to fix, or it came from you-know-where.
- Wai … What??
  
  I was only joking about Towers Park. *yikes* I assume then that the trail will go along the easement on the north side of the dog park. But where will it terminate? Scott & Columbia? Wash Blvd ramp & Columbia?
- Mike
  
  Show me a biker who has impacted 350 trees, and I’ll show you a biker who wishes he or she had worn a helmet!
John Fontain

Tree huggers are often hypocritical. They’ll stomp and scream about any tree removal that doesn’t benefit them but when they stand to personally benefit, they suddenly lose their conservation-minded way and have no problem seeing the trees go.
- drax
  
  This is a silly generalization. I could make one about any group I want to.
  - John Fontain
    
    Logic fail. Just because you are able to generalize about something else doesn’t make my statement untrue.
    
    Off the top of my head, I can think of several tree huggers in my neighborhood who blasted others for taking down trees only to do so themselves when it personally benefitted them. I’m sure others have similar stories.
    - jackson
      
      And just because you can think of “several” doesn’t make it “often.”
    - drax
      
      It’s a pointless comment. It adds nothing. There are hypocrites in any group. Who cares? Generalizations are unfair and add nothing. Go argue with your neighbors about it if you don’t like it. Don’t bring this lame crap here.
      - Richard Cranium
        
        “Generalizations are unfair and add nothing.”
        
        Hmm – let’s think about that statement for a moment.
      - Sam Walton
        
        “Don’t bring this lame crap here”
      - drax
        
        Keep thinking.
      - nom de guerre
        
        Some people exhale out of their whistling bunghole.
      - John Fontain
        
        drax said: “Generalizations are unfair”
        
        Generalization: People usually breathe through their mouth and nose.
        
        Generalization: Babies usually sleep more than adults.
        
        How are these generalizations “unfair?”
- John Fontaine
  
  This other person with a similar name does not share my views. Many people have asked me if I’m the that person. I’m not.
  - John Fontain
    
    Good thing you cleared that up because everyone was wondering whether you were me or I was you or we was us.
    - Joan Fountain
      
      Don’t forget me.
      - ResponsibleDemocrat
        
        You think they might have Alzheimer’s too?
      - IrresponsibleRepublican
        
        Does your momma?
      - John Fontain
        
        I never could forget you my dear, as much as I’ve tried.
      - Joan Fountain
        
        Ha! That’s what they all say!
The Dope of South Arlington

I was ridiculed for saying Washington-Lee was full of undocumented alien students; perhaps this will show how right I was.
- John
  
  By best guess is that at all three high schools about 5-10% are undocumented. That there are lots of undocumented students is not at all a surprise to most.
  - Hank
    
    Where did did you come up with this figure? I’m guessing from some place on which you are sitting?
  - bringmetheyuppies
    
    Try 30-50 % here on the south side. 50-75 in elementary.
- WeiQiang
  
  1 student [or 50 students] = full ??
- DeportEmAll
  
  That’s a lot of “undocumented” (illegal alien) students. As an Arlington taxpayer, I definitely don’t appreciate that!
  - drax
    
    So illegals don’t pay taxes?
- Henry
  
  You might benefit from taking a statistics class, I think.
Joe Hoya

After last week’s power outages, I’m done with trees. Let’s cut ‘em all down, Civil War-era Arlington style.
- Id
  
  killing fields
Taxpayer

One wonders if her parents are paying taxes to support her premium education?
- KalashniKEV
  
  +1
  Bill them. Deport them.
  
  Problem solved.
  - meh
    
    The problem of what to do with 4.3 GPA students.
    - drax
      
      Deport them and lower the grading curve so a dumb citizen can replace them.
      - dirty biker
        
        Deport them so another country benefits from our investment in their education…
      - drax
        
        So they can develop the economy there and buy more of our exports.
    - dk (not DK)
      
      …who volunteer at the local hospital. It’s a travesty!
- FaintlyProgressive
  
  I would say the taxes of the froyo eating clarendon hipsters (who have no kids of their own in the schools) are paying to support her premium education. If they are cool with it, I don’t think the oppressed folks in SFH’s and with 2 or 3 kids in school should complain.
  - SomeGuy
    
    You are confused. Clarendon doesn’t have hipsters. “Yuppie” is the word you’re looking for. And it doesn’t make you sound informed when you conflate these two very different terms.
    - Juanita de Talmas
      
      Exactly. “Hipsters” don’t live in half-million dollar condos and drive BMW 3-series.
    - drax
      
      I have spotted a few authentic hipsters in Clarendon.
      - Ballston Resident
        
        Doesn’t mean they live there. Probably coming to beg money from their more successful siblings.
      - drax
        
        They were shopping. You know, spending money.
      - Ballston Resident
        
        Property taxes support the schools, not sales taxes.
      - drax
        
        Yeah, whatever.
      - Just sayin’
        
        Sore loser.
      - drax
        
        I was just pointing out that there are hipsters in Clarendon, and they aren’t poor (because they were spending money). I wasn’t referring to taxes.
      - Id
        
        You don’t have to spot them. You can find them by smelling the strong overpowering stench of petrulli oil in the air.
      - Justin Russo
        
        You must be old. Nobody has worn that stuff since the 60s.
      - Mom Translator
        
        Hippies are what you associate with patchouli oil (petrulli?) – hipsters are an entirely different species. (I personally preferred the former.)
    - JamesE
      
      and 75% of the yuppies spotted in Clarendon actually live in Maryland or Fairfax so their taxes don’t go to Arlington.
      - Bon Air
        
        That number is far too high.
      - JamesE
        
        more like 74%
      - Occasionally a fact
        
        Except the taxes they pay on food, drink and other items they buy here …
    - FaintlyProgressive
      
      I’ve been called a hipster for thinking RBC is more walkable than Ashburn. Both Hipster and Yuppie are now more or less generic terms of abuse for anyone who does not live in a SFH on a one quarter acre or larger lot, with at least 1.8 kids and a dog. Or even for someone who DOES live that way, but thinks we have too much of that.
      - nope
        
        Nope. Yuppies and Hipsters are entirely different.
        
        http://lmgtfy.com/?q=yuppie
        
        http://lmgtfy.com/?q=hipster
      - Westover
        
        Yuppies>Hipsters
        One is out to make something of this world, the other thinks looking like a geek while doing nothing makes them cool….
      - novapeeved
        
        All that shows is that the person who called you that didn’t know what s/he was talking about.
      - Westover
        
        Too many hipster parents that do live in single family homes with multiple kids and dogs in the Arlington Public School System. I prefer the hard working, made something of themselves parents.
  - Hank
    
    Yep, I’m completely fine with my taxes paying for her education! And I’m fine with novasteve’s taxes paying for her education. And I’m especially fine with KalashniKEV’s taxes paying for her education. And for AC subsidies.
    
    Good for her.
    - dk (not DK)
      
      +1. She sounds like a wonderful girl with a very bright future. If only all our tax dollars were so wisely invested! I wish her all the best.
- Thes
  
  Undocumented immigrants pay billions of dollars MORE in taxes than they actually owe.
  - Burger King
    
    Somebody has to, since the 1% don’t pay their fair share.
  - Id
    
    How do you know if they are undocumented?
  - Id
    
    Does that include terrorist sleeper cells?
    - jackson
      
      Oh, and all the terror babies! The congressman from Texas warned us about them!
  - South Awwlington
    
    Can we get supporting evidence for this claim my recent than 2008? Seriously.
- Scott
  
  Depends if they own or rent their home I guess. Anyone who rents doesn’t pay real estate property taxes directly.
novasteve

Maybe her parents shouldn’t have violated the law? No other country on earth is as lenient as we are when it comes to illegal immigration. If you say that “the children shouldn’t be punished for the actions of the parents” then you must logically then not jail any parent for any crime, including murder, because it harms the children who will be deprived of their parents.. You can’t have it both ways.
- meh
  
  Good analogy, bro. Very intelligent and well thought out.
  - Glebe Roader
    
    Yes, his arguments always are.
- Bon Air
  
  Please don’t use ‘logically’, as your grasp of logic is tenuous at best.
  - novasteve
    
    Do you have an counter argumen or just personal attacks? You’re saying dont’ punish children for the acts of their parents. But you are picking and choosing.
    - jackson
      
      Using YOUR logic, I should be able to get my 72-year-old father to beat you to death, then use the “It would harm me if he’s locked up” defense.
    - Bon Air
      
      Allowing a 4.3 student who was brought here undocumented when she was a young child to remain here is common sense. She committed no crimes and by every possible sign will be contributing member to our republic. (Multiple high courts have ruled that just being here illegally does not constitute a crime)
      
      As for picking and choosing, we have to pick and choose. We deport 400K+ undocumented immigrants a year. (Obama has deported more per year than Bush ever did) Our resources are stretched to the limit. Why would we waste our limited resources on law abiding members of our community, let alone those who are in this country undocumented due to nothing they have ever done?
      
      No one will ever argue that murderors shouldn’t be in jail because they won’t be home to raise their kids. Bringing that up was just pointless.
- dk (not DK)
  
  Your analogy makes no sense and clarifies nothing. There are plenty of murderers out there whose children would likely be much better off if they were raised by someone else.
  
  The apt analogy wrt “punishing children for the actions of their parents” would be imprisoning the child of the murderer, not allowing the murderer to go free.
curious george

So if one or more of this young lady’s parents are illegal what is the status of their deportation?

I can see some sympathy for her but not for them.
Buckingham Bandit

Unrelated, but a 4.3 GPA? Is Arlington on a 0-5 GPA system? Or has IB/AP GPA inflation gotten to Arlington County Schools?
- dk (not DK)
  
  I don’t know about IB, but AP classes are generally on a 5 point scale. And that was true when I was in high school 30 years ago.
- Henry
  
  Normal classes are on a 4-point scale, AP classes are on a 5 point scale.
You are Idiots

You people are idiots! This girl is the future of our country and yet you come on this board and make comments about kicking her parents out of the country?

You should be embarrassed. You realize that in the future you will depend on her (due to old age) and your children will work for her… The country should be paying her to stay…
- John Fontain
  
  I agree with all you said except the last sentence.
  
  Let’s keep the best apples and at the same time quickly throw out the really rotten ones. In the grand scheme of the immigration debate, this student should be near the bottom of the list of our concerns.
  - drax
    
    You agree that we’re all idiots?
    - CW
      
      I resemble that remark!
  - dk (not DK)
    
    +1
- drax
  
  Then we should change the law to make her parents able to stay here.
  
  But we haven’t yet.
- Smellmer
  
  You realize that in the future you will depend on her (due to old age) and your children will work for her…
  
  If the Republicans succeed in their plan to eliminate Social Security, she won’t be paying anything to support me in my old age.
  
  And why would I want my kids to work for a foreign lawbreaker?
  - jackson
    
    Your children can instead work at Wal-Mart, where everything is made by slave labor overseas and half the employees are so poorly paid they qualify for welfare. Yay!
    - Sam Walton
      
      Wait until we open our Shirlington location.
  - John Fontain
    
    “And why would I want my kids to work for a foreign lawbreaker?”
    
    If a recent high school graduate has spent almost her entire life in this country, except for the first year or two when she was a baby and can’t remember anyway, is she really in substance a foreigner or any different from any of her other classmates who happened to spend their infancy in this country? Again, I’m asking you to think about the substance the situation.
    - Smellmer
      
      And just because she is valedictorian doesn’t mean she’ll be a business owner employing native-born children. One leap is just as great as the other.
      - John Fontain
        
        Huh? What does this have to do with my question?
      - Sam Walton
        
        It’s called a non draxitur
      - John Fontain
        
        Good one!
  - Id
    
    Social Security is out of money in 2035 (estimated down from 2042). Who the hell is taking care of me but me, or the Reaper.
    - Justin Russo
      
      That’s not how SS works, bro.
Sinceriously

Yeah, 350 trees is very wrong. ARLnow.com, fact check this. Yes Buckingham Bandit, how does someone get a 4.3 gpa?
- jackson
  
  AP classes, most likely. Students can basically take college-level courses in high school that are weighted more.
  - John Fontain
    
    A lot of the AP stuff (excluding the math courses) is a big joke. Nowhere near college level and often easier than the regular, non-AP, equivalent because of the way it is taught and tested.
    - jackson
      
      You could also say a lot of freshman-level college classes are a big joke when taken at college too. General introduction classes aren’t especially difficult.
      - Hokie
        
        Especially at VT
    - South Awwlington
      
      In all seriousness, my non-scientific poll of crime committed in and around Columbia Pike in recent weeks has a familiar thread….
      
      Are we so caught up in Arlington with political correctness and too often look the other way when people bully or harass, that we are culpable in situations like the rape that happened on Four Mile Run last week?
      
      At some point, do we, by giving amnesty to the children of undocumented aliens create magnet that will spin out of control. We will attract the bad with the good and will be reluctant to say jack about anyone or any behavior for rear being called a bigot or racist.
      - dk (not DK)
        
        One thing I know for sure: most crimes are committed by white people.
      - drax
        
        Time for a white people roundup!
      - South Awwlington
        
        drips and drabs:
        
        This isn’t the case on the western end of Columbia Pike. And I’m not talking about petty thievery such as robbing CVS blind as “customers” eat and drink their way through the shelves while shopping.
        
        This isn’t the case in any number of car thefts, burglaries or the recent rape either.
        
        In terms of immigration law enforcement, why fear braking the law if the law has no teeth?
        
        I encourage you to visit with a second or third generation family of naturalized Middle and South American immigrants. Ask them how they feel about undocumented aliens. They aren’t fans. It also paints an entire ethnicity in a less than flattering light – whether or not they can cite the Bill of Rights with more accuracy than John McPherson III at Georgetown Prep.
      - Karl Rove
        
        Not on a percentage basis. Non-whites commit crimes at a rate much greater than their proportion of the population.
      - Westover
        
        It is a fact, but why?
      - Willie Horton
        
        Dunno
      - drax
        
        Ah, shucks. Time for a non-white roundup!
Roover

so this is what the world coming to. Every time a tree is about to come down its a story. This is getting stupid!!
- DarkHeart
  
  Everybody wants to be Shel Silverstein (well, maybe not the part about being dead).
- not stupid
  
  i guess YOU think it stupid cause you are unaware of what a problem this is. look up the word “desertification”. think drought, landslides, flooding.
Observer

Whomever is undertaking this project that will cause the removal of so many trees should be required to replace them elsewhere in the county. DC already recognizes that this type of balancing of resources is beneficial to the quality of life of its residents. Does Arlington not have the same type of program?
- jan
  
  great idea!
- drax
  
  Yep. Mitigation. Problem solved.
- bobco85
  
  They do have a policy for replacing trees. See the Tree Replacement Guidelines page on the Arlington county website.
  - Observer
    
    That’s great news. I look forward to all of these impacted trees being replaced by the project’s client.
    - 5555624
      
      “Any trees removed would be replaced under the County’s Tree Removal formula – the current calculation would result in the planting of 250 new trees. If space allows, they would be planted within half a mile of the project site. While the trees planted would be small, they would all be native species (unlike many of those being removed) and would eventually, after decades of growth, result in a fuller tree canopy and improved air quality in the area. While the County’s trail guidelines recommend not planting new trees within 10′ of the trail (so as to avoid tree roots destroying the trail over time) much of the area being dug up is only being disturbed in order to regrade it – those areas are prime locations for replanting and will eventually help shade the trail. In addition, Towers Park which the trail runs through is fairly bare and would benefit from the planting of many new trees (at least in my opinion).”
      
      http://www.alongthepike.com/archive/2012/07/03/bike-trail-benefits.aspx
      - 5555625
        
        There is no space within 1/2 mi. nor Towers Park for 250 trees. This is bull****. Towers Park loses 14 trees for this proposed trail. Surrounding property is either private or DOD owned. This info is from someone’s blog who is supports the current design. Also please pay attention to ” …after decades of growth ….will result in improved air quality.” Decades…
      - joan
        
        Now I am confused. You say that the park loses just 14 trees? The rest are on private property or DoD property?
        
        Also, how can there not be space for 250 trees if they are removing 200+ trees? (One blog says 350 or 305, another says 180-odd.)
      - 5555624
        
        Uh, all I was pointing out was that it appears that plan calls for the planting of new trees. Are you saying that it does not?
        
        Also, the blog post — feel free to cite another source — does not say that the 250 trees would be “be planted within half a mile of the project site” — it says “if space allows.” According to the county’s “Tree Replacement Guidelines” the trees do not have to be replaced on the project site itself, but “attempts will be made to plant trees as close to the original project site as possible.”
        
        Does anyone know how many trees are going to be removed? You say only 14, while the blog entry I reference said 186, which includes six dead ones. The CommuterPageBlog says 350. Does anyone know?
      - 5555625
        
        Trees-14 come out from Towers Park and the rest come out of VDOT property. If the trail is 10 ft wide with a 2 ft shoulder, then that takes up most of the replanting space.
      - treesandbikes
        
        i wonder why you keep painting this as an either or scenario. it is not. there are alternatives so we can keep the trees and have a bike path.
        
        decades is way too long to wait for trees to grow back, when we already have perfectly good trees right now. this debate is getting silly.
        
        NO ONE said we don’t want a bike path. we just don’t want to lose the trees to get one. how about working together instead of this course of action which is creating hard feelings and the neighborhood is going to lose out if this continues.
KARLington

Clearly this young woman is an achiever and means to do well but there is no question that she and her parents are here illegally. I am happy to have people come here from other countries if they’re going to live/work legally and pay their fair share. (If they’ve made efforts toward citizenship, the news article did not indicate that.)

So what really irks me is her comment “I feel like I can never call myself an American.” AMERICANS PAID FOR YOUR EDUCATION. How much more do you need to be given? Once she’s gone through college/med school, she might think about becoming a citizen and back-paying all of the financial aid that Arlington County (we) gave her from age 6-18.
- drax
  
  Financial aid? Huh?
  
  She wants to be here. Presumably that means she wants to work and pay taxes.
- Buckingham Bandit
  
  Her family obviously either owns their domicile or rents it. If they own it, they pay direct property tax. If they rent, the property tax is covered for in their rent payments.
  
  Property taxes finance Arlington Public Schools, and they pay property tax. Ergo, they finance Arlington education, commensurate to the financial value of their domicile, just as much as anyone else.
  
  “AMERICANS PAID FOR YOUR EDUCATION” Her education was subsidized just as much as Betty McAmerican’s education.
  - jackson
    
    McAmerican? Sounds Irish to me! Where are her papers?
  - drax
    
    People have this weird idea that illegals get everything but pay nothing.
    - novasteve
      
      They don’t pay federal income tax nor state income tax. Also, since they are not covered by the obamacare mandate, we the people who actually pay these taxes will still be paying for their healthcare. But deny that and make some accusation that I’m racist.
      - brif
        
        you are wrong.
        
        http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2008-04-10-immigrantstaxes_N.htm
      - Westover
        
        Lots of folks without papers are working on the SSNs of others and having money taken out of their checks, yet not filing returns and getting their refunds. Other than our ERs, in the aggrigate I would say the workers give much more than they get.
      - bringmetheyuppies
        
        They all claim 5 dependants at 18 and their taxes taken out are miniscule. I know because I used to take their 7-11 documents and process them. Me cuanto ninos? them: cinco. Me: cinco ninos?! BUT YOU ARE ONLY FRICKIN 18 years old!!!! them: Si.
- Bon Air
  
  Her parents pay property taxes, either on property they own or through their rent to someone else who uses that to pay their property tax.
  
  So they actually do pay for education, as property taxes fund the school system here. It’s good to be informed before becoming all judgemental, otherwise you end up looking in a less than positive light.
  - Just sayin’
    
    I heard they drive in from another jurisdiction and drop her off.
    - jackson
      
      In their limo paid for with welfare dollars. Thanks suckers!
    - KalashniKEV
      
      I heard that in that other jurisdiction they live on Section 8, WIC, and EBT, and consume far more than their tiny contribution.
      - Bon Air
        
        Well, by that measure, only the wealthy and upper middle class would be able to get good educations.
        
        Which is the way things seem to be going in this country.
- John Fontain
  
  KARLington said: “So what really irks me is her comment “I feel like I can never call myself an American.” AMERICANS PAID FOR YOUR EDUCATION. How much more do you need to be given?”
  
  I don’t believe the context of her quote is that she doesn’t want to be an American. I believe the context of her statement is that she thinks of herself as an American and wants to be one, but feels like she isn’t able to call herself one because she legally isn’t. From all of the other quotes, it is clear that she understands how fortunate she has been to be here and to receive the education she’s received.
- dk (not DK)
  
  Did you miss the part where it says she is undocumented? She feels like she can’t call herself she is an American because, hello, she’s not an American.
  
  Also, maybe because she knows so many people think she should be thrown out on her ear no matter how hard she works, how much she contributes to her community, or how “American” she feels.
  - dk (not DK)
    
    “feels like she can’t call herself an American…”
    
    It’s good to proofread.
terri78

This is the same County Government that will allow (per last night’s Planning Commission meeting) several new buildings to be constructed in Rosslyn with a total of 717 parking spaces.
- Id
  
  Get on the pile! To hell with infrastructure supporting density, they say! Argggghhh.
Lori

Tapping parties are now news? Rock Bottom has a tapping party every month when their new monthly is ready.
- Id
  
  Do they use protection?
  - Clarendon Skank
    
    I’d tap that.
- CW2
  
  Heck yeah! I think the “Chupacabra” is next on the Rock Bottom list…
YTK

350 trees? Taking down those Trees that act as Air Filters near HEAVILY TRAVELED highways? Welcome to a more-polluted Arlington, folks.
Birds that nest in those tres will have to play a lottery for Nesting Spaces now.
- John Fontain
  
  Won’t someone think of the birds!!!!!
  - Sarah Pailen
    
    Birds will poop on the trail and bicycle helmets. CUT BABY CUT.
novasteve

Reminder, illegals are not required under obamacare to buy health insurance, so we the taxpayers will be paying for their ER bills despite obamacare. So citizens get shafted, once again. More special privileges for CRIMINALS.
- Justin Russo
  
  Thank goodness it doesn’t work that way now.
- dk (not DK)
  
  Yes, it is such a special privilege to have to go to the ER for treatment!
  
  So tell me, if illegal immigrants were allowed to participate in the health care exchanges or eligible for subsidies, you’d be okay with that?
  - KalashniKEV
    
    I’d like to make them all immediately eligible to be pursued, captured, detained, and deported.
  - novasteve
    
    They aren’t allowe dto, and the taxpayer has to pay their medical costs. Despite that being the claim of obamacare, that people need to be forced into the system, so that costs don’t get passed onto others, yet they still have TENS OF MILLIONS OF ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIENS in this country that we’ll still have to pay the medical care of despite the claims of obamacare.
    - novastephanie
      
      So once President Romney repeals Obamacare, how will that change?
    - dk (not DK)
      
      HR 3962, the health reform bill introduced by Dingell (D) that passed the House, actually allowed illegal immigrants to purchase insurance through the exchanges. That provision was dropped during reconciliation. You know, that compromise thing that happens when lawmakers disagree.
    - Bon Air
      
      Taxpayers pay the bulk of their costs now anyway. I dont understand why you are suddenly so concerned.
Roquer

So what has Miss Montano done to ensure her ‘domestic’ tranquility and ability to stay in the US. Always. Has she hired a lawyer, started her immigration process? Or is she like the other 30 million illegals just waiting around like a slave for the government to free her?
- Joe M.
  
  I agree with this comment. It’s great the she is a good student and apparently a relatively upstanding person, but what is she doing about her immigration status? Because if she thinks she’s got it tough now as an illegal alien, it’s only gonna get worse as time passes. Wanna be a lawyer, doctor, engineer? It’s gonna be real hard to pass those ethics/background checks.
  
  I think that at some point the children, who’ve “done no wrong”, of illegal aliens, become responsible for their immigration situation. 12 Years from now, if this girl is still illegal at 30, does she still get the benefit of “she didn’t make the choice to come to America illegally?”
soarlslacker

Unless you are a Native American (American Indian, since Columbus could not tell that he missed India)–shut up. All of us pay taxes that fund crap we could care less about. I am darn tired of paying for stuff like the Artisphere, the constant replacement of artificial turf with more artificial turf, and the Trolley to bring crime from Fairfax and Cola Pike to SosoArl and Alex. I’d rather my taxes fund the education of illegal immigrants’ children, roads, and bike trails, but that is not how government works. Did anyone pass a civics or government class in high school? Instead of raging against everyone who is not you. Count your blessings. You could still be in the rat hole of a country your ancestors came from…because if it was so darn great why did they leave and why are you here now?
- curious george
  
  “Native Americans” immigrated here . Just a lot earlier than the rest of us.
  - The Dope of South Arlington
    
    …and you see what happened to there society and culture once they lost control of their borders.
    - The Dope of South Arlington
      
      “their”
      - Bon Air
        
        Many of them never had ‘control’ of their borders in any sense.
      - Jane-Dallas
        
        Sorta like us.
South Awwlington

It’s OK for one group of minorities to break the law but not other groups.

Talk about flippant application of law.

UPDATE (2): Fatal Hit and Run Near the Pentagon Bryce Harper Invited to Become Volunteer Firefighter in Arlington

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