Tag: mineral virginia

Liberty’s Chrysalis

“The love of power is natural; it is insatiable; almost constantly whetted; and never cloy’d by possession.”

Henry Saint John, 1st Viscount of Bolingbroke

This spring my wife and I planted a small rain garden.  The plantings included several swamp milkweeds, the preferred plant for Monarchs to lay their eggs on.  It’s Latin name is Asclepias incarnata for the serious gardeners out there.  The other day, to our delight, we discovered a dozen monarch caterpillars denuding the milkweeds.  

It took several days for them to consume every leaf.  Fully fueled with toxic bitterness and relatively immune from predation, they slowly wandered off to other plants, leaving the bare stalks of the milkweed as testament to their presence.  One by one they moved on, rambling off into the garden seeking leaves or branches to safely transform into chrysalises.  

Within several days of the caterpillar migration, we spotted two bright green chrysalises hanging under leaves.  A third caterpillar wasn’t quite there yet. We hope that within 14 days, given the mild weather, the caterpillars will be reborn as butterflies.  A well-tended garden brings unexpected joys.

The discovery of the caterpillars reminded me of the words of Henry Saint John, that liberty is like a tender plant.  He penned these words close to 300 years ago and the metaphor could not be more relevant in our time: “liberty is a tender plant which will not flourish unless the genius of the soil be proper for it; nor will any soil continue to be so long, which is not cultivated with incessant care.”  

He wrote these words in the early 18th century, a time of upheaval in England: political factions vying for power in a deadly struggle.  He didn’t always choose wisely, backing the Stuart’s claim to the crown and the ensuing Jacobite Rebellion, ending up in exile in France for some time.  He is most famous, I think, for his essay “The Idea of a Patriot King,” arguing that a King should be above faction.

This idea of a King above faction is important in our own history. It informed how Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and John Quincy Adams saw the presidency.  A president above faction.  They tried mightily to be above faction, not always successfully, however.  Andrew Jackson threw the notion of a patriot president out a White House window along with the contents of a chamber pot.   

Today, we are ruled by an unsound and troubled president hell bent on hyper factionalizing our country, resorting to violence and armed soldiers patrolling city streets.   He has taken the notion of faction to new extremes in America, not seen since the late 1850s.   This includes sending the military to occupy blue cities to show his political muscle;  flaunting the rule of law; criminally investigating critics; ruling solely by dictate; musing publicly about being a dictator; rewriting our history; engaging in extrajudicial killings on the high seas off Venezuela; and setting the stage to nullify next year’s mid-term election results unfavorable to him.

Our garden of democracy needs tending.  And damn quickly.  

We must steadfastly feed and nourish our democracy.  Stay informed in the face of daily trespassing against our liberty.  Although in today’s world where most Americans get their ‘news’ through social media, ‘informed’ is perhaps obsolete.  There still are reliable news sources out there.  Social media is not one of them.  Social media is an avalanche of computer driven feeds designed to elicit clicks, rage, and profit.  Curate your news sources. Go old fashioned and read books, lots of them.  The more you read, the more you realize how little you actually know about things you thought you knew a great deal about. That’s a good thing.

We must clear out the authoritarian weeds that plague our garden of democracy.  We must elect leaders that reflect our values and are in tune with today’s generation and willing to fight.  The continual reelection of octogenarians does the party no good.  

We must go to the polls this November and elect Abigail Spanberger governor and weed out the noxious plants occupying Virginia’s governor’s mansion.  We must not just elect her but elect her in a historical landslide. We don’t want to become an autocratic state like Texas or Florida. 

We must seed our garden of democracy with plants that are robust and acclimated to our current political reality:  An opposition party bent on one-party authoritarian rule.  We can do that by supporting new faces and ideas in the Democratic party at all levels.  Starting with David Rogers who is running for the Mineral seat in our local board of supervisors.

We must amend the soil of our garden.  Get friends and family to register to vote, get them to the polls on election days.  Attend rallies or local meetings.  Donate to candidates you support.  If you can, canvas for that candidate. Volunteer with the Louisa Democrats.

We must not only resist the orange piped piper of Mar-a-Lago but fight him at every junction.  Write or call your representatives, write the Supreme Court Justices, write our governor.  Tell them your story and how you are impacted by Trump’s dangerous and illegal actions.  That food, housing, and healthcare will be unaffordable and unattainable once the full impact of Trump’s tariffs, deportation of farm and food processing workers, and regressive taxes are felt.   

Plant a garden an act of subversion against Trump’s war on climate science.  Whether you have only a south facing front door stoop, a small balcony, or quarter acre, or ten acres, plant a garden in the dirt or in pots.  Every plant you grow feeds or houses an insect or animal and soaks up carbon.  Get radical and grow a victory garden.

Our garden of democracy is in big trouble, but with our incessant care and nourishment our democracy can flourish once again.  Together we must tend the garden of democracy and create the space and time to protect and nurture liberty’s chrysalis from Trump’s insatiable drive to possess absolute power. 

David H. Rogers in His Own Words: Candidate for Louisa County Board of Supervisor.

Democracy is the cornerstone of our Republic.  It is just as important to focus on local elections as it is national elections.  Sometimes, however, local elections get swept up and into national debates and they become sideshows, even though our local elected officials make decisions that impact our lives daily.  To promote local discourse, I intend to highlight persons running in local races, to let them, in their own words, make their case for your vote. 

I recently asked David Rogers if he would be willing to answer three questions about his run for the Mineral seat of the Louisa County Board of Supervisors.  He agreed.  I am pleased to present to you David’s responses to the questions below.

Mr. Rogers is running to replace Duane Adams, who is also the current Chairman of the Board of Supervisors.  Adams term expires December 31 of this year.   

David H. Rogers, Candidate for the Mineral Seat of the Louisa Board of Supervisors

What motivates you to run for the Mineral seat of the Louisa County Board of Supervisors?

First let me say what does not motivate me to run. I am not running because I need something else to do. I am not running because I need to get my name out so I can run for another office. I am not running because I am not happy with what I already do a s a Church Insurance Agent.

I am motivated to run because we have not had good representation with our current board member. We cannot keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. I believe that if people want change, then someone must stand up and fight for it. I would like to be that someone.

I am motivated to run because under the present board, projects have been voted upon that benefit developers and not the people. In negotiating contracts with businesses, we should have a give and take relationship with the Mineral/Louisa residents coming out on the positive end.

I am motivated to run because under the current board member, there is no transparency. The constituents find out about an issue after the fact. This must stop. When Board members move on to other aspirations, we will still be here struggling with the aftermath of bad decisions for many years if we don’t do something now.

What makes you the best candidate for the Mineral seat?

I am the best candidate for the Mineral seat because I realize, “it is not about me.” It is about the people. I have no ulterior motives for running except to help the people of Mineral and Louisa at large. Although I did not grow up in Louisa, I spent my summers here with my grandparents. My family has owned land here for about 130 years. I know that the decisions I make will affect many families including my own.

I CARE about the people in Mineral. I have gotten word that there are homeless people in our Louisa County. This may not be something we want to admit, but it is true. There are groups that are seeking to help these families. There was a ruling that says if churches opened their doors to those who found themselves homeless, the churches could be fined. It is unconscionable to even think about imposing a fine on churches for opening their doors in the freezing cold to those who have found themselves homeless. It is bad enough that our neighbors have had problems resulting in loss of shelter. To have them risk freezing to death is savage. When did we lose our humanity? Whoever even thought to write that down or even think that we could fine a church for doing what the church is called to do, needs a “humanity check”. We need to assist as much as possible.

I believe I must be transparent and keep the people informed. We found out, after the fact, that data centers would be coming to the Mineral/Louisa area. I also noticed that zones in the town of Mineral were changing from commercial to residential to commercial on a whim. Who did this benefit? The developers. The people may not have agreed with this.

A proposal was made for a truck stop to be developed in the Cuckoo district. If it had not been for the people of Cuckoo, coming out twice in full force in the rain after their private meetings, it may have passed. A truck stop would have brought more crime to our county, in the form of drug and human trafficking along with prostitution.

Most of all, I want to hear what the people need and want so I can include them in making the best decisions for all. Many of the issues I mentioned above were shot through before the people got a chance to digest them. It is my goal to always put the people first. That means having regular communication using the best means possible to keep the people informed. Communication with my neighbors will be of the utmost importance to me.

What challenges will Mineral in particular, and Louisa County in general, face in the next three to five years? How would you address them?

Problems with our roads

Many of our roads are receiving traffic they were not built to handle. I am speaking of the eighteen-wheeler tractor trailers. These heavy trucks travel on the curving roads and chew up the road shoulders. It is hard to see around the curves so crossing the road to get to a mailbox is unsafe for our citizens, especially the elderly. Trucks also present a safety issue while traveling on these single lane narrow roads. Some roads were made for this type of traffic but there are no signs to encourage trucks to use them. This will only get worse as our population increases. Maintenance is also an issue. Strict guidelines will need to be followed to keep large trucks on the appropriate roads when driving through our locality.

There is also a need to study traffic signals at the busy intersections to keep the traffic flowing, especially around the busy hours of the day.

 Problems with data centers

The present Board of Supervisors have already voted to have data centers come to our county. These centers take up a lot of resources like land, water and electrical power. This will result in brown outs and black outs because of the increased stress on our old power grids. There have been no plans to upgrade the electrical grids in the Louisa area. I am told that upgrades have not been done since the 1970’s when the power plant was built. Based on our population and current usage, the area would not be able to sustain added pull on our old system. We may have put the cart before the horse and need to take a side-step before moving forward with like projects. Truth be told, better planning could remedy this.

As mentioned, the roads will need to be upgraded to handle the heavy truck traffic during the construction of the data centers. The construction will take several years.

Keeping Louisa balanced between rural and metropolitan

I know many of the residents in Louisa have come here because they like the rural atmosphere. This is something I want to preserve and in my discussions with many of my neighbors, they feel the same way. Are we following the standards that would keep Mineral/Louisa rural? We need to revisit these standards before we become too metropolitan. Sustained growth is good, but we must do it in a way that we do not take away our rural lifestyle.

Having adequate housing to support our residents

We need to negotiate with developers to build housing that is affordable. The housing needs to be affordable for people we want to attract to our area like new teachers, just out of college, new emergency personnel, and other recent college graduates. We are already lacking in these areas.

Having businesses to support living in Mineral/Louisa

We need to attract businesses that will train and employ the people in Mineral/Louisa. Louisa County High School has many excellent programs that train our students. We need businesses to capitalize on their career training if so desired, they do not have to leave home.

Having adequate resources to keep Mineral/Louisa safe for all its residents

Louisa has a growing elderly population. We need an Urgent Care Center in the heart of Louisa (not close to the county borders) that all our county people, especially our elderly, can reach quickly. The center could have medical personnel to initiate treatment and to be able to stabilize a person in an emergency and to prepare them for transport. It could also provide preventive care and medical education. Having after-hours care would be of benefit because you know children don’t get sick until after dark.

These are just a few things. Please know that I am always open to discussion about any concerns of the people in Mineral/Louisa. I am David H. Rogers. I can be reached at rogersdh97@gmail.com.