Headed home...
Headed home…

 

Whew….over for another year.  Did everyone get what they want?

How about the children?  Did all the children get what they wanted?

Meanwhile, an ageless old man and some very tired reindeer head back to the land of the midnight sun to rest up for yet another year.

47 Thoughts to “Open Thread…………………………………………..Wednesday, Dec. 26”

  1. Hart to Hart

    For those with ears, hear; for those with eyes, see. The first telling of the revelations of the The Gray Ghost, Son of Prince William County, appeared in the open thread of December 21 on the eve of Christmas at fifty-six minutes after the third hour of the afternoon. This spirit hath once more haunted my dreams. From whence bekometh the Sheriff such tales of woe and malfeasance? Tis’ largely a pouring forth of the breath of the Lady of the Wondrous Land and her faithful Lord. They had then and now such magical powers of divination. None but they and the Sheriff have so breached the fortress of the wicked Ogre who once guarded the secrets of the kingdom with so awe-inspiring merit. Hence is the Ogre’s power failing, and the young Prince rising with the new sun.

    The amiable, besotted Jester doth seek in vain the Sheriff. Alas, he seeks the wisdom of the demon that appears in the worldly form of the spotted cat. Let all who hold their proper wits about them beware this demon. This demon will feaste upon the flesh of all victims of its wiles. None is safe; not the Sheriff, nor the birdies, nor the deputies, nor the Lady and her Lord, nor the Ogre, nor the Jester, nor the young Prince.

    I know not when the spirit will visit once more. This ephemeral apparition hath raised the hope of future revelation that will shake the earth. One must but wait and learn.

  2. Tyndall

    Facts to remember. Columbine had an armed guard. Virginia Tech had its own police department. Ft. Hood was a military base. How many still died?

    1. I think we are coming up with a scary answer….what can we really do?

      We can spend millions, billions, and still not address a problem. The problem really still is, guns get in the hands of a few who should not have access.

  3. Starryflights

    New York Journal News Publishes Gun Owners’ Names In Westchester, Rockland Counties
    The Huffington Post | By Rebecca Shapiro

    Posted: 12/25/2012 11:46 am EST | Updated: 12/26/2012 3:19 pm EST

    A New York newspaper is under criticism for publishing the names and addresses of local gun owners on Monday.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/25/new-york-journal-news-gun-owners-westchester-rockland-counties_n_2362530.html?utm_hp_ref=technology

    Hahha, that is funny. I would like to see a local paper on the same here in PWC.

  4. The problem with that is it tells any gun their who owns a gun. Of course, steal at your own risk.

    I am not sure what the point is in publishing this information. Somehow I think their rights have been violated but not sure exactly how.

    In Virginia you wouldn’t know.

  5. Someone certainly is trying to be cryptic.

  6. Emma

    @Starryflights Great bullying tactic, except when it visits something that invades your own privacy, I guess.

  7. Censored bybvbl

    I agree that anyone who looks at the map mentioned above steals at his own risk, but there is a benefit. It allows neighbors to make a choice about allowing their children to play in someone’s home. And, if there is a particularly nutty person or one with anger management problems, there is the chance that the police would be notified before something could happen.

  8. Emma

    Maybe we should also have liquor sales monitored, and publish the names of people who purchase more than an arbitrarily-decided amount of alcohol per month. Then we can all rest easy about keeping our children out of those homes, too.

  9. Censored bybvbl

    I agree that robbers will steal at their own risk, but there’s an advantage to this information being public. It allows parents to decide whether they want their children to play at a particular house. They may know a neighbor to have anger management problems or alcohol abuse problems and not want their child in that particular house.

  10. Censored bybvbl

    Oops. Looks like a doublet that finally went through…

  11. Censored bybvbl

    @Emma

    Yeah… and maybe we should monitor Twinkies….

  12. Emma

    Agreed. You can never be too safe.

    @Censored bybvbl

  13. Emma

    Interesting discussion today. So far we have the following “solutions”:

    Build a fortress around schools and install more metal detectors. Doesn’t solve the problem of insiders, though, or how to protect kids when they are outdoors at school. But maybe our kids should get used to living like they’re in Pakistan.

    Expose the names and addresses of gun owners. What a brilliant idea, especially if you’re outing law-enforcement officers. But we must always respect the privacy rights of convicted felons and the emotionally disturbed.

    Don’t allow concealed carry, because a person who open carries will never turn their weapon on an innocent person. When that innocent person sees the gun, they can sit at a far table so a bullet can’t reach them.

    Don’t allow teachers to carry, because none of them could possibly shoot straight or even remotely comprehend when someone intends to kill them. Besides, it would be better if dozens die rather than risk the possibility that one innocent could be injured or killed in the process of trying to stop a shooter. Talk about spreading the wealth.

    Never mind that a government that cannot control the flow of drugs and people across its borders is somehow going to magically be able to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. What matters is that we come up with a solution, regardless of the lack of correlation of that “solution” with the reality of Newtown. And then when the next tragedy happens, there will be more hand-wringing, more useless laws and more hot air about limiting gun rights.

  14. Lyssa

    Well we both agreed that thorough backgrounds on all purchases should be required.

    No one person has the answer. It’s only going to happen through collective and sincere discussion with open minds and an intent to improve things vs protecting certain agendas or egos. I will say that the shooting in Rochester came pretty close to my family. That does provide some conviction to solve – and conviction to be less angry and more productive. We should be scared.

  15. Lyssa

    Changing the topic – for readers of older fiction (Emma) I recommend Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann.

  16. Starryflights

    The Violent Video Games the NRA Didn’t Blame
    By Paul Wagensil | LiveScience.com – 1 hr 5 mins ago

    In a news conference today (Dec. 21), National Rifle Association Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre blamed video-game studio and publishers for helping to create “genuine monsters” like Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old who killed 20 first-graders with an assault rifle in Newtown, Conn., last week.

    “There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people,” LaPierre said.

    LaPierre gave five examples of “vicious, violent video games”: “Bulletstorm,” “Grand Theft Auto,” “Mortal Kombat” and “Splatterhouse,” plus the obscure Flash-based online game “Kindergarten Killer.”

    In a news conference today (Dec. 21), National Rifle Association Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre blamed video-game studio and publishers for helping to create “genuine monsters” like Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old who killed 20 first-graders with an assault rifle in Newtown, Conn., last week.

    “There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people,” LaPierre said.

    LaPierre gave five examples of “vicious, violent video games”: “Bulletstorm,” “Grand Theft Auto,” “Mortal Kombat” and “Splatterhouse,” plus the obscure Flash-based online game “Kindergarten Killer.”

    But there’s one kind of violent video game LaPierre didn’t mention at all. Those would be military-themed shooters, such as the best-selling “Call of Duty” and “Medal of Honor” series, as well as the Pentagon-produced “America’s Army.”

    Unlike the games LaPierre did name, the military shooters exalt American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, and the targets being shot at are Nazis, Russians, terrorists and zombies.
    Retired service members serve as paid consultants to the game makers, who strive to make the weaponry depicted as true-to-life as possible. Active-duty members of Navy SEAL Team Six were punished last month for consulting on “Medal of Honor: Warfighter.”

    And, as mentioned, the U.S. Army produces and distributes “America’s Army” itself as a recruiting and training tool.

    Yet such games are not without controversy. “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” released in 2009, contains an optional level called “No Russian” which realistically depicts a massacre of unarmed civilians in a Russian airport.

    In the “No Russian” level, the playable character is an undercover CIA agent who has infiltrated a terrorist group and must take part in the massacre. The player can shoot and kill non-playable civilian characters, although no points are awarded for doing so and no points are deducted for not firing a weapon.

    Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian spree killer who shot 69 people, mostly teenagers, in July 2011, later testified at his own trial that he used “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” to train himself to use holographic weapon sights.

    http://news.yahoo.com/violent-video-games-nra-didnt-blame-032627245.html;_ylt=Ap3dOgLUEkpBBktGoOiczHRTaQ8F;_ylu=X3oDMTRwY3ViMXNpBG1pdANBcnRpY2xlIENvbnRlbnQgQnVuZGxpbmcEcGtnAzU0YTgzYWY4LTlkZjYtMzBiYS1hN2I3LWM2YzRhMDllNWVhYQRwb3MDMQRzZWMDTWVkaWFBcnRpY2xlUmVsYXRlZENvbnRlbnRCdW5kbGUEdmVyA2JjNzY2NDAxLTRmZDUtMTFlMi1iN2ZlLWZkZDlmM2JjNzdhMA–;_ylg=X3oDMTNkcW05OXZiBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDYzM2MGU2OGEtZmMwYi0zOThkLTkwNTctMWQxZTFlMTJiMmZhBHBzdGNhdAN3b3JsZHxjYW5hZGEEcHQDc3RvcnlwYWdlBHRlc3QDTjRVX2NvcmU-;_ylv=3

    I am appalled and disgusted with the NRA.

  17. @Starryflights
    And then your name and address can be published as NOT being armed along with the names and addresses of every reporter and employee of the news entity.

  18. @Starryflights
    “I am appalled and disgusted with the NRA.”

    Yeah…we know.

  19. Bubberella

    The publication of gun owner names is a Freedom of Information Act issue. Most government registration or licensing processes are open to the public — voter registration, professional licensure, dog licenses, sex offenders, etc. The information is available to the public and can be published if someone so chooses. For example, PetSmart can go to the county and get a list of the owners of licensed dogs and use it for marketing to them. Political parties use registered voter lists to send mail and do voter identification. Licensed plumbers probably like that the public can look up their name to determine licensure status.

  20. I think that Virginia, or at least, my county, keeps the names of those with Concealed Carry permits out of public records. If one does not have one of those, gun ownership is anonymous.

  21. Emma

    @Bubberella The intent was malicious. What about the law enforcement officers who were outed? What about the safety of them and their families?

  22. Lyssa

    Most public record systems do allow citizens and in particular law enforcement to block address/ name information upon request. Prince William and Fairfax do. It’s recommended by the Departments internally.

  23. Watching

    @Hart to Hart

    I don’t think any revelations are going to take down the Ogre and I think the young Prince is a Pretender. Perhaps the new year will prove me wrong and the Demon will appear.

  24. Bubberella

    Emma, if the lists were public records under FOIA, the Freedom of Information Act doesn’t care why someone makes a request. If you allow goverment to start asking “why” a member of the public wants public records and only release information when the government deems it proper, then you are allowing government to operate in the dark.

  25. Emma

    Understood. But just because you can do something, doesn’t necessarily mean that you should do it. What’s the newspaper’s motive here? When was the last time they published an interactive neighborhood map with the names and addresses of convicted felons? DUI’s? What about the fact that it also helps identify homes where there are no firearms and likely no resistance against intruders? Why does a newspaper feel the need to pit itself against law-abiding, legal gun owners?

  26. Hart to Hart

    @Watching

    Revelations pertain not to the Ogre. All there is to know about the Ogre is known. Many secrets about the Sheriff and his Merry Band, and the Jester remain untold. Beware ye all the Demon.

    Ye Watching miss the point.

  27. Another person has been charged with embezzling from the county.

    From Dalecitypatch.com:

    A former Prince William County Public Works employee faces embezzlement charges after auditors found she bought a cell phone for herself using a county account, Prince William County Police said.

    Robin Elaine Bogart, 48, of Qualls Lane in the Dale City area, was charged and released on a $5,000 secured bond.

    One of Bogart’s duties was to purchase cell phones for the agency. it appears that Ms. Bogart allegedly went a little overboard, purchased one for herself, then quit, and kept the phone.

    One has to wonder how wide-spread this practice is when so many employees seem to have access to various work related credit cards. This is the second person if recent history in PWC to get busted for similar type behavior. Good for PWC for catching those who would steal from us. Allegedly of course. I am not sure why someone would take such a risk over a cell phone. I have never met the cell phone I would be willing to go to jail for, not to mention ruin a career for.

    This just sounds like bad practice to me.

  28. The President will address the nation at 5:45 concerning the fiscal cliff.

  29. clueless

    @Emma
    I agree with Emma on this one. No need to put targets on people, as a former police officer I hope they were kept off the public list. It is not a good idea to give folks access to an officer’s address.

    1. I didn’t realize you were a former officer. Which list are we talking about? The Conceal carry list? I have mixed feelings about that. Part of me thinks it is an invasion of privacy. The other part of me feels like, well, if you need a permit, permits should be a public record. We don’t want the govt. keeping secret lists of people.

      hmmmmm…where to go with this one.

  30. Starryflights

    Gun sales surge in Virginia
    By Justin Jouvenal, Published: December 28

    Gun sales have surged in the region and across the nation in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre as enthusiasts rush to buy firearms they fear will be outlawed by a fresh push for gun control.

    Gun dealers requested nearly 5,150 background checks on purchasers in Virginia eight days after the Dec. 14 shootings in Newtown, Conn. — the largest number ever in a single day, Virginia State Police said. And in the days since, the daily number of background checks has regularly doubled corresponding totals from the previous year.

    “I’ve never seen shelves so bare in stores that weren’t going out of business,” said John Pierce, co-founder of OpenCarry.org, a Virginia-based gun rights networking hub. “It’s really shocking.”

    The Nation’s Gun Show at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly on Friday was ground zero for the boom. Organizers expected twice as many attendees as came to a similar event last November. One dealer canceled because he ran out of ammunition to sell.

    A line already snaked around the building shortly after the three-day event began at 3 p.m., and the parking lot was jammed. People heading into the gun show were met by protesters from the activist group CodePink, who held up a large pink cutout of a gun that read “assault weapons.”

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/gun-sales-surge-in-virginia-after-newtown/2012/12/28/0ad349e8-511a-11e2-839d-d54cc6e49b63_story.html?hpid=z2

    Mass shootings are good for business.

  31. @Starryflights
    Threats of confiscations and gun bans are good for business.

    1. It was for the gun show up here. Lots of sell outs. Are you coming up to go, Cargo? Big crowds. Long lines before it even opened.

  32. @Moon-howler
    Not this time. No money and no time. I don’t have anything to sell or buy. I’m keeping my EBR. They’ll probably go up in price. Besides, I have to get it fixed before anyone would buy it. There’s an empty shell casing jammed in the firing chamber. And my daughter told me that I can’t sell “her” guns, ie…the old ones.

    Oh…in case you’re wondering….EBR stands for “evil, black rifle.”

  33. Btw….

    Obama thinks that Congress and Biden are doing such a great job, he raised their pay. Now MORE of your tax money is going directly into Congress’ pockets.

    1. Federal govt workers are who should get the pay raise. Theirs has been frozen for a couple of years.

    2. A more accurate way of saying this is that he unfroze their pay that had been frozen since 2009 and 2010, depending. I wouldn’t have unfrozen congress but I woul dhave unfrozen the federal workers.

  34. punchak

    Just reported on BBC that Hillary Clinton is in a NY hospital being
    treated for a blood clot>

  35. Ijust heard that.

    I hope the guy bolton who accused her of malingering feels like a heel.

  36. punchak

    The entire FOX crew have been snotty beyond decency about Hillary.
    Chris Wallace, as late as this morning talk show, was making snide remarks abt her.

    1. That’s just how crummy they are. re fox crew. They really have been snotty about her. Now watch the crocodile tears for her.

  37. Starryflights

    Hail to the Redskins!

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