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Something to think about...

The following text is a draft written by Thomas Jefferson in 1777. It promoted religious freedom for the state of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison promoted the bill for years before it was finally passed by the Virginia legislature. At the time, the Anglican Church was officially recognized as the state religion. The law disestablished that denomination. An alternate proposal that many other denominations be recognized was rejected.

This bill is often called "the precursor to the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment" of the U.S. Constitution. 1 It is this Amendment that guarantees religious freedom for the individual, while erecting a wall of separation between church and government.

A BILL FOR ESTABLISHING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
SECTION I. Well aware that

the opinions and belief of men depend not on their own will, but follow involuntarily the evidence proposed to their minds;

that Almighty God hath created the mind free, and manifested his supreme will that free it shall remain by making it altogether insusceptible of restraint;

that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments, or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, who being lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do, but to extend it by its influence on reason alone;

that the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as
ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men,
have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own
opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as
such endeavoring to impose them on others, hath established and
maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and
through all time:

That to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical; that even the forcing him to support this or that teacher of his own religious persuasion, is depriving him of the comfortable liberty of giving his contributions to the particular pastor whose morals he would make his pattern, and whose powers he feels most persuasive to righteousness; and is withdrawing from the ministry those temporary rewards, which proceeding from an approbation of their personal
conduct, are an additional incitement to earnest and unremitting labours
for the instruction of mankind;

that our civil rights have no dependance on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or geometry; that therefore the proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages to which, in common with his fellow citizens, he has a natural right; that it tends also to corrupt the principles of that very religion it is meant to encourage, by bribing, with a monopoly of worldly honours and emoluments, those who will externally profess and conform to it; that though indeed these are criminal who do not withstand such temptation, yet neither are those innocent who lay the bait in their way;

that the opinions of men are not the object of civil government, nor
under its jurisdiction; that to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude
his powers into the field of opinion and to restrain the profession or
propagation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency is a
dangerous falacy, which at once destroys all religious liberty, because
he being of course judge of that tendency will make his opinions the rule
of judgment, and approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or differ from his own;

that it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order; and finally,

that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself; that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate; errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them.

SECT. II. WE, the General Assembly of Virginia, do enact that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.

SECT. III. AND though we well know that this Assembly, elected by the people for the ordinary purposes of legislation only, have no power to restrain the acts of succeeding Assemblies, constituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this act irrevocable would be of no effect in law; yet we are free to declare, and do declare, that the rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present or to narrow its operation, such act will be an infringement of natural right.

January, 2005

Happy New Year. This past holiday season was one of the best for my family. Watching my two girls enjoy the holidays was a delight. Yet even with the joy of the season and the optimism of the New Year, I know I am not alone when I say that the tragic events in Asia have been on my mind. My wife has an aunt who is currently in Sri Lanka. She was up in the mountains, inland, on the day of the tsunami and she is now working with relief agencies to do all she can to help. Our hearts go out to the families, governments and friends suffering through the aftermath and the loss of loved ones.

We started this year with other sad news. Delegate VanLandingham has decided that she will not run for re-election. She has been a strong and honest voice for our city. She leaves office with a lasting legacy on behalf of children, historic preservation and education. I have heard from many in Richmond who will miss her intelligence and wisdom in the statehouse. All of our thoughts and prayers are with her.

I am looking forward to 2005. The implementation of our strategic plan with a new city manager should make this year interesting and eventful for Alexandria. By the way, Jim Hartman started on the 10th of January. You are likely to see him at many community events in the very near future.

Best wishes to you and, as always, I encourage you to send on your thoughts, questions, comments and ideas.

Rob Krupicka
Rob@Krupicka.com

(If you or others want to be added to my e-mail list, send a message to the same address with "Add Krupicka List" in the subject line.)

Important News -- New Refuse Collection

Beginning on January 31st, Alexandria households which receive refuse and recycling collection from the City of Alexandria may be served on new routes. The changes are necessary in order to reduce the amount of truck traffic, noise and pollution on neighborhood streets, and to provide more efficient service to residents. This program saves the City money. Only households which receive City refuse collection (about 19,000 out of about 70,000 households) will have a new collection day and expanded recycling. Residents who receive service from private companies will not be affected.

Check Your Pick-Up Date: Refuse collection schedules, including the day of pickup and a map of routes, is posted on the City web site alexandriava.gov/tes . Residents can enter their address to verify their new collection day. An additional reminder notice will be delivered to households two weeks prior to the start date. 

Expanded Recycling: In addition to the change in refuse collection routes, the City is expanding the types of material that will be picked up at the curb for recycling. The types of materials that will be picked up at the curb for recycling will expand the end of January to include office paper and cardboard. "Office paper" includes office and computer paper of all colors, junk mail and writing paper. Food and candy wrappers, milk cartons and juice boxes, for example, are not included. To recycle office paper, it may be mixed with newspaper and magazines in a brown paper bag, while cardboard can be flattened and placed under the yellow recycle bin for collection. Items currently collected at the curb include plastic bottles and jugs, glass bottles and jars, aluminum and steel cans, newspapers, magazines, catalogs and telephone books. The City hired a private company, Century Disposal of Maryland, to provide the expanded curbside recycling.

For more information, visit the City's web site http://www.alexandriava.gov/tes or contact the City's Solid Waste Division at 703.751.5130.

Pedestrian Safety and Neighborhood Traffic Calming

2004 was a good year for pedestrians and bicyclists in Alexandria. Working closely with neighborhoods and residents, the City built: 

• 1000 feet of "missing link" sidewalks,
• 27 speed cushions,
• 18 textured and ladder crosswalks,
• 15 bulb-outs,

All of these efforts are intended to make our neighborhoods safer for joggers, walkers, children and families. There are many more projects on deck for this year. Descriptions and photos of these and other projects are available at: http://www.AlexTrafficCalming.org 

Spirit of Alexandria: Small Business Recognition

Firehook bakery is one of the many small businesses that make Alexandria unique. While many of us are familiar with the highly regarded Firehook bakeries located around the metropolitan area, not everybody knows that their main bakery is located in the heart of Alexandria. In 1992, Firehook was established by Pierre Abushacra on South Lee Street. It became so successful that Pierre soon began expanding to other locations and had to move its bakery operations (and wood burning brick oven) to larger facilities at 214 N. Fayette Street. Today there are three Firehook cafes in Alexandria at the Fayette Street main bakery, at 105 S. Union Street and the recently purchased Shuman's Bakery at 403 S. Washington Street. In addition to the Alexandria locations, Firehook has 6 bakery cafes in the District. It truly has one of the best reputations in the bakery scene and is one of the most successful bakeries in the region. The high fashion magazine W has included Firehook in its short list of top five bakers in the world! We are proud that Alexandria is home to such a distinctive attraction.

Business: Firehook Bakery
Main Location: 214 N. Fayette St., Alexandria 22314
(703) 519-3903
http:// www.firehook.com

Alexandria café locations: 214 N. Fayette St.
105 S. Union St.
Shuman's at 430 S. Washington St.
Owner: Pierre Abushacra pierre@firehook.com


If you have thoughts about other small businesses to recognize in future newsletters, let me know. 

Community Lodgings: Making a Difference in Alexandria

Community Lodgings, established in 1987 by a group of Alexandria churches, is the only agency in Alexandria that provides both affordable housing for the working poor and transitional housing for homeless families. Its mission is to help homeless and disadvantaged families become self-sufficient. Through its transitional housing program, "Door to Independence",Community Lodgings rents units to formerly homeless families and offers clients a comprehensive array of programs and services, ranging from training programs that help clients acquire basic skills critical for independent living and getting better jobs, to neighborhood-based after-school and summer educational programs for school-aged children. Over 75 percent of their clients become independent and self sufficient.

If you want to help reduce the number of homeless and disadvantaged families, contact Community Lodgings. http://www.communitylodgings.org or 703-549-4407 (phone)

Help Celebrate the Success and Growth of the Exploreum

On February 1st, from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM at the Evening Star restaurant on Mt. Vernon Avenue the Natural Exploreum will have its first community reception. Mayor Euille, Vice Mayor Pepper, Councilman Smedberg and myself will join others in celebrating the many successes of this new City organization. The Exploreum team creates interactive exhibits and programs that honor the unique environment, history, and culture of the place we call home Northern Virginia. Through community events, pre-schools and schools, these exhibits are made available to children throughout the metro area.

Since its inception the Exploreum has:

Designed an educational exhibit "Fishing the Potomac" which invites children to climb in a boat and try their hand at catching fishes that inhabit the Potomac River. This exhibit has reached over 1000 children throughout the Alexandria community. For the Hands-on History Day at the Carlyle House in Old Town Alexandria, they recently expanded the exhibit to include a historical perspective.

Created an interactive exhibit "Watering the Potomac" where children experiment with rainfall and habitat materials to learn how water and pollutants travel through a watershed. This exhibit was featured at both the Alexandria Waterfront Festival and Art on the Avenue in 2004. 

Produced an exhibit "Welcome to Birdland", an adventure in local bird songs and habitats. They have brought this exhibit to preschools in Alexandria, including head start schools. Teachers are able to continue the experience by using Exploreum educational packets in their classrooms.

Learn more, contribute, and join them at http://www.alexandriaexploreum.org