Mr. Deeds for Governor

MoonHowler

The Washington Post has again endorsed Senator Creigh Deeds for Governor of Virginia.  Ironically, it appears that Mr. Deed’s courageous stance  that he would not rule out a dedicated transportation tax  solidified his endorsement.  His opponent, Attorney General Bob McDonnell, has proposed a hodge podge of ways to cannibalize various state services like education, health and public safety. 

The entire Washington Post endorsement may be read:

A LEGACY of sound policies, coupled with the proximity of the federal government, has partially protected Virginia from the harsh retrenchments that the recession has forced on many states. Yet the commonwealth faces a daunting crisis in the form of a drastic shortfall in transportation funding, measured in the tens of billions of dollars, that threatens future prosperity. If the current campaign for governor has clarified anything, it is that state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, the Democratic nominee, has the good sense and political courage to maintain the forward-looking policies of the past while addressing the looming challenge of fixing the state’s dangerously inadequate roads. The Republican candidate, former attorney general Robert F. McDonnell, offers something different: a blizzard of bogus, unworkable, chimerical proposals, repackaged as new ideas, that crumble on contact with reality. They would do little if anything to build a better transportation system.

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Report: Va. infrastructure ‘sliding toward failure’

MoonHowler

The American Society of Civil Engineers issued a report card yesterday on the state of Virginia’s infrastructure that is just dismal. 

Virginia’s parks and recreation facilities received a B- minus while roads, dams, and schools received a D- minus.  According to the report, found in the News and Messenger:

“Despite the important role infrastructure plays in our daily lives,“ the report said, “Virginia’s roads, water systems, schools and other critical foundations are underfunded, and in many cases, sliding toward failure.“

Additonally,

“We can keep on ignoring this stuff, but the cost to fix it once it fails is 10 times the cost to maintain it along the way,“ said Thomas L. Fitzgerald, the group’s president. “The big challenge is a sustainable funding source.“

The Virginia engineers did not say how much it would cost to return to acceptable levels of service, though estimates for drinking water systems, dams and roadways alone ran to more than $6.5 billion. The state is receiving more than $1 billion in federal stimulus funds for infrastructure improvements.

 

 

Somewhere along the way, politicians are going to have to get over the fear of saying that taxes are going to have to go up. Fixing a dam or a bridge is not wasting money. Right now, the anti tax crew has politicians unwilling to say that things have to change.

It probably won’t happen this election cycle, but soon the brave leaders who will get elected will be the ones who fact the American people and tell them that there is NO free lunch. Our infrastructure must be updated and it has to happen sooner rather than later.

This is where stimulus money should be going.

The Worst Taste Costume Award

MoonHowler

 

 

 

A Southern California Immigrant Rights group has asked Target to remove this costume from their shelves, stating that the ‘illegal alien’ costume is offensive to immigrants. Duh, ya think? Can’t imagine why anyone can’t take a joke. [sarcasm alert]

In the first place, many immigrants, as they learn English, take exception to the term ‘alien’ because of the outer space implication. The orange jump suit and ‘green card’ just add a few more layers to the degree of offensiveness.

According to Forbes Magazine:

Target spokesman Joshua Thomas says the company is removing the costume from the site after receiving several complaints.

He says the store never intended to sell the outfit but included it in its online offerings by mistake.

Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, says she wrote an e-mail to the Minneapolis-based retailer Friday calling the costume “distasteful, mean-spirited, and ignorant of social stigmas and current debate on immigration reform.”

 

[UPDATE:  This costume has been pulled from Toys R Us and from Target.  However, it is still for sale at Amazon.com. 

A petition asking the stores to pull the costume maybe be signed here:  http://bit.ly/23IuZT]

 

High Achieving Students Dare to DREAM!

Elena

These young adults, oftentimes, do not even know that they are not legal Americans. Their work ethic would make any person proud, and yet, they are trapped in limbo. Are these hard working young people, bright, dedicated, dreaming to excel, to be denied the ability to be fully productive citizens, just because their parents were unable to adjust their status due to immigration incompetence?

News and Messenger Lambastes Anderson

MoonHowler

Many bloggers have been following the story of  incumbent Paul Nichols having his NC arrest record plastered all over a mailer sent out in the 51st district by challenger Rich Anderson. Today the Manassas News and Messenger and its sister papers have taken a stand on what has happened. The paper  suggests an apology.

The editorial:

Politics in the race for the 51st District House of Delegates seat recently took a turn toward the irresponsible, and Paul Nichols deserves an apology.

Nichols, the Democratic contender in the 51st, was the focus of two recent mailers sent out by his opponent, Republican Rich Anderson.

The mailers show Nichols’ arrest record from a 2006 incident in North Carolina.

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4 Month Old Baby DENIED Health Care Coverge

Elena

*Oct 12 - 00:05*This, THIS is what is wrong with insurance today!  When I read this story I was truly shocked. My son was a chunky jovial healthy baby, and he also was approximately 17 lbs at four months.  Although the insurance company eventually acquiesced and covered the baby, that they even DARED to deny at all should outrage us all. Why should it require media attention for American citizens to obtain decent health care coverage.

A Taste of Things to Come–No COLA for Seniors

MoonHowler

It seems that the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment will elude senior citizens for the first time in 3 decades. Stagnant prices which are the basis for the COLA associated with Social Security will prevent the increase.

President Obama has suggested a one time payment of $250 to offset the annual raise which usually comes in January each year. In a good year the cola is about 5%. Disabled Americans would be eligible for the same $250. The cost of this one time payout is estimated to be at least $13 billion dollars.

The Washington Post reports:

An increase in benefit checks each January has been a yearly ritual since the mid-1970s, when the government moved to ensure that its subsidies to retirees, pension recipients and others who receive Social Security benefits kept pace with inflation. Thursday’s announcement by the Labor Department will mark the first time that the federal formula used since then, which is tied to the consumer price index, will translate into no increase at all. That is because consumer prices have remained stagnant in the weak economy — a sharp reversal from this past year, when Social Security checks grew by 5.8 percent, an unusually large amount.

Congress and President Obama seem to be scrambling to make this all happen and to at least make it look like they haven’t forgotten the seniors. To me, it seems $250 is like pissing in the ocean.

Will Congress get a raise this year? What is their raise based on? Performance? (Bwwaaahahahahahaha) Is there some formula that determines what their raise will be? How about benefits? Do you suppose they pay as much for their health care as say a senior citizen living on social security does? Just Medicare Plan B costs about $100 a month now. They just snip that right out of the social security check as a courtesy, to save the seniors from buying stamps. Then there are the bridge policies and the rx policies. People I have talked to pay at least $300 a month. That’s getting pretty steep. I am willing to bet Congressmen and Senators don’t pay this much. I wonder how one would find out?

If people thought there were pissed off seniors before, they ain’t seen nothing yet.

Full Story

Kids Get First Shot at H1N1 Vaccine

MoonHowler

The line opened at the mall near sears at 3 pm.  By 5 pm people were being turned away because the line would close at 7:30 pm.  Right now efforts are being made to get kids vaccinated because they and pregnant women seem to be the most at risk. 

Clinics are being held at Manassas Mall and at Hillendale Fire Station Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, from 3-7:30 pm.   There is a clinic on Saturday from 12 noon- 4 pm.  The Manassas clinic began today.  Hillendale begins  Wednesday, October 21. 

The following are being vaccinated first:

—Pregnant women;

—Those who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age;

—Health care and emergency medical services personnel;

—Children older than 6 months through young adults up to the age of 24;

— Those aged 25 through 64 who are at higher risk for 2009 H1N1 because of chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems.

The vaccines are free.

More information:

Manassas News and Messenger

  http://www.pwcs.edu/News2/swineflu-update2009-10.html

Do most people plan on getting the H1N1 vaccination? Do you feel it is safe? What would make someone not get it? Is this all hype? Should kids get to go first? What about the people who have to work in crowds?

Senate Finance Committee Passes Health Care Bill

MoonHowler

As the Senate Finance Committee passed a $829 Billion bill that reshapes the health care system today, sides squared off for the  mother-lode of battles: The White House vs The Health Care Insurance Lobby.

Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) was the lone Republican to cast her vote in favor of this reform.

According to the Washington Post:

…[A]ttacks on the leading Democratic reform plan this week by the insurance lobby left little doubt that two of the most powerful institutions involved in the debate — the White House and the nation’s insurance companies — have abandoned any real hope of forging a compromise. What was a tenuous truce has turned quickly into an all-out battle, with both sides ratcheting up the hostilities.

As the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday approved a 10-year, $829 billion bill to remake the health-care system, Obama’s top advisers and the insurers moved into a more intense stage of conflict.

“The insurance industry has decided to lead the charge against health reform, and everyone recognizes their motives: profits,” said White House deputy communications director Dan Pfeiffer. “We are going to make sure they can’t sink this effort at the last minute.”

After watching all those commercials intended to scare the crap out of people, after listening to all those tea party people, after listening so many say that we have the best health system in the world, one has ask themself:  Why are we letting the people who have been cheating us and robbing us blind all these years dictate national policy?

Full Story in Washington Post

Lindsey Graham Faces Irate Tea Partiers

MoonHowler
We discovered that there were many Lindsey Graham fans on Antibvbl.  Unfortunately, he has his share of nutwings to deal with as is witnessed in this video.  The crowd was angry because Senator Graham is working with Senator John Kerry on climate change and clean energy legislation.  Isn’t that supposed to be how it works?  Collaborative efforts?

 

 

 

I am curious why people think this is acceptable public behavior.  I know on the frontier 150 years ago people shot each other over politics.  I thought we had gotten better.  Perhaps not.  What is WRONG with people?

US Cannot Track Visitors on Foreign Visas

MoonHowler

Last year 2.9 million foreign visitors checked in on temporary visas but never officially checked out, according to immigration officials.  It is estimated that several hundred thousand of them simply do not leave. according to the New York Times:

Since 2004, homeland security officials have put systems in place to check all foreigners as they arrive, whether by air, sea or land. Customs officers now take fingerprints and digital photographs of visitors from most countries, instantly comparing them against law enforcement watch list databases. (Canadians and Mexicans with special border-crossing cards are exempt from those checks.)

But homeland security officials said that a series of pilot programs since 2004 had failed to yield an exit monitoring system that would work for the whole nation. They have not yet found technology to support speedy exit inspections at land borders. And airlines balked at an effort last year by the Bush administration to make them responsible for taking fingerprints and photographs of departing foreigners.

The current system relies on departing foreigners to turn in a paper stub when they leave.

Last week’s terrorist plot brought this problem to a head, once again.  New concerns over national security were sparked by a 19-year-old Jordanian who had overstayed his tourist visa and who has been accused  of plotting to blow up a Dallas skyscraper. 

Congress has repeatedly mandated verification that visitors have left the country but it still is not being done.  Verification of entry and exit of the United States is a must  for both national security and if the government is serious about curbing illegal immigration.  Currently, estimates indicate that about 40%  of all illegal aliens living in the United States overstayed a visa.

All the ‘Secure our Border’ signs in the world won’t take care of 40% of the problem. 

 Further reading: New York Times

BOCS to Deal with Immigration Policy Changes

MoonHowler

The Department of Homeland Security will end its Memorandum of Agreement with Prince William County October 16, 2009 and replace it with a new, revised  287(g) program  that will attempt to make information more accessible.   Additionally, how immigration arrests are handled nationally will be standardized.

According to the Manassas News and Messenger:

“[Immigration and Customs Enforcement] has made changes to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOA), terminating the original agreement and requiring execution of a new and revised MOA,” state background documents to the board, which will meet to discuss the issue at 2 p.m. at the McCoart Administration Building.

 

Supervisors have to authorize the police chief to sign and execute the new agreement.

 

The new agreement will not limit the number of officers eligible for 287(g) training and require ICE to give credentials for those who pass the course. It will also require the police department, as well as ICE, to perform background checks, according to the background documents.

 

Further: The new agreement states that “ICE must give approval for an immigration arrest where no state or local charges are made [and] ICE must give prior approval of planned operations where immigration enforcement is the sole function.” One more revision “provides levels and types of criminal offenses that ICE directs to be a focus, rather [than] pursuing immigration enforcement based on specific charges,” according to the background documents.

 

The cost of the 287(g) program to the county is not expected to change because of the new agreement, “unless additional officers are designated for training,” the background documents state.

Tomorrow the BOCS will discuss and vote on whether to authorize  Chief Deane to sign a new Memorandum of Agreement with DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The agenda item is at http://www.pwcgov.org/documents/bocs/agendas/2009/1013/8-A.pdf

Fairfax and Prince William County are the only 2 jurisdictions in Virginia to have the new 287(g) agreement, if supervisors agree.  Maricopa County in Arizona will have the same set of rules we do.  The police dept will operate under a task force model.  The ADC will operate under a dentention model. 

I don’t think this means we are going to start operating like Sheriff Joe.

Demonology: MJM Claims Chairman Stewart “Demonized” in 9500 Liberty

MoonHowler

There were a number of things that disappointed me in this article in the Manassas Journal Messenger, including a huge mistake in misquoting  Chief Deane.  But this part disappointed me, puzzled me, and pissed me off.  The writer editorializes that 9500 Liberty,

works to demonize board Chairman Corey Stewart, R-at large, who was running for re-election in 2007 when he and Supervisor John T. Stirrup, R-Gainesville, pushed to pass the resolution.

I’m not sure what the writer was thinking when he added this perspective to what is supposed to be a straight news article.  First of all, there is no call for using such a strong word.  Second of all, the film does not “work” to do anything other than show Chairman Stewart being very good at what he does.  If you like the idea of immigration culture wars dividing your community right before an election, Corey is no demon in this film, he’s a saint.  No one in the film criticizes him.  No one who spoke after the film directly criticized him.  In fact, his name didn’t even come up. I was among a number of audience members who were shocked that certain of the Chairman’s most dastardly deeds were NOT included in the film.  I wasn’t going to respond to the comment other than to say I agreed, but this was posted yesterday by Last Best Hope:

Billed as a film that “makes Corey Stewart look like an idiot” (this was the big quote in a MJM article from someone who got a sneak preview), the film revealed nothing I did not already know about him, while omitting many of the things he did to make himself look, if not idiotic, at least unhinged. There was nothing about Stewart instantaneously forwarding internal BOCS emails to Greg Letiecq so that the Letiecq Internet Frenzy machine could be used to bully the Board into firing Chief Deane. That was Stewart’s lowest moment and a glaring omission from the film. Stewart’s second lowest moment, or most brilliant depending on your agenda, was using county funds to send out a political post card during his “fighting illegal immigration” reelection campaign setting up the circus act BOCS meeting in Oct. 2007. While this is 10 times more predictable, it was also 10 times more infamous and more discussed at the time. I was looking forward to seeing Maureen Caddigan’s brilliant move to hold the Chairman’s feet to the fire when he tried to limit the very people he invited to participate to only one minute at the podium. I believe Stewart lost the vote 6 to 2, and the result was 12 hours of Citizens’ Time to delay a vote that was already decided before they showed up. But this was skipped as well.

Last Best Hope concludes by saying, “Basically Stewart is not in the film other than Board meetings, and I’m not sure this alone makes him look like an idiot.”   I could not agree more.  If anything, the film was soft on Corey Stewart, considering how it should, or could have been made.  Much was left out that could follow Corey politically. 

 

Speaking of soft pedaling, I thought the film went too easy on Mr. Fernandez as well.  Most people I have talked to say that his sign hurt the Hispanic community more than helped it, by handing Greg Letiecq a perfect gift with which to demonize (here is where the word is apt) the Hispanic community.  Greg got more mileage out of that sign.  He signed up more people because of it than he ever would have with his laughably manipulative pictures of men with ski-masks holding machine guns. 

The voice over in the film  criticizes the wording of the third sign, which was over-the-top offensive, but only because the inflammatory language could endanger his kids.  A fair point, but it did more than endanger kids, it pissed a lot of people off, of all races,  who might not otherwise have been that critical of the sign.  Fernandez insulted the very people who were actually trying to help; the coalition of people who were working to fight back the powers of darkness ended up being included in the broad-brush insult.

Jail Beefs Up Screening For Illegal Immigrants

MoonHowler

Last week, Prince William  Regional Jail  joined a federal system called Secure Communities.  Secure Communities, a part of DHS, takes the process of checking the status and criminal background of illegal immigrants a step further than the 287(g) program.   Secure Communities creates an information sharing system that enables jurisdictions across the United States to access more comprehensive federal records. 

According to last Thursday’s Washington Post:

“Secure Communities is a Department of Homeland Security initiative to more broadly manage and modernize the processes used to identify and ultimately remove dangerous criminal aliens from our communities,” said Marc Rapp, acting executive director of Secure Communities. “Our goal with this effort is to use information sharing to prevent criminal aliens from being released back into the community, with little or no additional burden on our local law enforcement partners.”

Under Secure Communities, the Prince William-Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center can access Homeland Security’s biometrics-based immigration records. Previously, the jail accessed only the FBI’s criminal records during booking as part of what is known as the 287(g) program.

Col. Peter A. Meletis, the jail’s superintendent, said that officials launched the program locally last week and that it does not cost the 12 state and local law enforcement agencies that use the jail anything. Booking officials at the jail simply run the fingerprints of an arrestee simultaneously through the FBI and Homeland Security systems; one largely identifies a person’s criminal activity, and the other better identifies immigration status.

Jail Superintendent Pete Meletis says that this new program just gives the jail  additonal tools to work with.  Fairfax and Prince William are the only 2 jurisdictions in Virginia who utilize Secure Communities because of the high concentration of what ICE deems to be criminal illegal immigrants. 

An ICE detainer allows the criminal to be held after the sentence has been served.  ICE makes the final evaluation about what to do with the detainee.  Congress has allocated 1.4 billion dollars to ICE for enforcement efforts against criminal illegal immigrants.

President Obama Awarded Nobel Peace Prize

MoonHowler

President Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for attempting to change the direction of diplomacy. According to the New York Times:

The U.S. president Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize
“for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international
diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” the Nobel
Foundation said in Sweden on Friday

The President says he is humbled.

.