Tag: Bill DeSteph

See below for some analysis by Chaz Nuttycombe and me of two key 2019 Virginia races: HD40 and SD8. First, here's HD40, which Chaz rates...

By Kenny Boddye; crossposted from DailyKos Diary written by contributor ZenTrainer State Senator attended fundraiser in genie costume that said “Rub Me” on lamp protruding...

Note that Virginia's 8th State Senate District (Virginia Beach), currently held by right-wing Islamophobe Republican Bill DeSteph, was won by Ralph Northam in 2017...

Virginia Beach's Miracle at 24th Street has turned into something of a celebration. But it uncovered local and national friction points thought resolved by most. It opened a window on the readiness of the local government to respond and the character of many of the local leaders.

Make no mistake, the amazing efforts of first responders, fire, police, and Emergency Medical Services, frame this event. Yesterday City Councilman Bill DeSteph was out early passing along the good news. He had been at the site until late Friday evening and he was exuberant as he commended the performance of all involved and the news he had just received that all the residents had been accounted for. He described details of the process he'd observed the prior evening including putting floor wax down at the scene to capture carbon fibers from the wreckage. And he was proud of the community response providing housing and assistance to those displaced.

It's a combination of miracle and a combination of training and professionalism. You really understand what these people go through and how they're selected and why they're selected. It's situations like this. And that goes for the first responders who run into fire when everyone else is running away. - Mike Imprevento

The navy has indicated a catastrophic mechanical failure may be at issue in this mishap. There could be many other factors such as a bird strike or, less likely, foreign debris on the runway that can cause a structural issue (recall the crash of the Concorde where metal that had fallen off another aircraft caused the catastrophe). It might also be a hydraulic or electrical failure. Yesterday on his local radio program, Mike Imprevento helped provide a broader context to the entire event with guests New York attorney Daniel O. Rose, former naval aviator who practices aviation, maritime, and products liability law and local media personality Joel Rubin.

I couldn't agree more with Vivian on this one.

Virginia Beach Councilman Bill DeSteph sent a letter to the mayor and council members of New York, protesting the location of a proposed community center. The letter was wrong on so many levels, including the fact that he used official city letterhead and failed to discuss it with fellow council members.

But that wasn't the part that got me. After all, I don't live in Virginia Beach. No, what got me was that he made it sound as if he were not only representing Virginia Beach but all of Virginia.

[...]

Um, Bill - I don't recall anyone casting a vote for you to represent the Commonwealth. Your name wasn't on the ballot last November. Don't we have at least three spokesmen for the Commonwealth whose names were on that ballot? Did you consult any of them before penning this missive?

Other than falsely speaking for all of us, DeSteph also gets the basic facts of this situation all wrong, as Vivian correctly points out.  For instance, DeSteph charges in this ignorant tirade/rant that "Muslems build mosques to represent Islamic supremacy over their enemy."

First of all, it's spelled "Muslims" not "Muslems." Moron. Second, Muslims build mosques for the same reason that Jews build synagogues and Christians build churches - to pray in! Third, if DeSteph really wants to criticize Muslims for building their houses of worship over churches and synagogues -- which he certainly does in his ignorant tirade/rant -- he really might want to check out Spain, where untold numbers of former mosques are now churches. He might also want to check out Cusco, Peru, where churches are built over Incan sanctuaries and even one of its most sacred temples, the Coricancha. The fact is, every religion and every culture does this - Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, you name it. Fourth, as Vivian points out, "it's not at Ground Zero, but on property two blocks north that the group already owns." So much for conservatives respecting private property, at least in Bill DeSteph's world. Fortunately, DeSteph doesn't speak for anyone but himself, even if he thinks he does.