An American Airlines plane originating from DC broke overshot the runway in Jamaica and broke apart. Witnesses report that the plane ran off the runway, through a fence and ended up on the beach very close to the water. There was substantial wing and engine damage and fuselage damage. The plane was carrying 148 people. About 40 were injured, some seriously.
During Governor Tim Kaine’s last radio show, he had a caller, ‘Barry from D. C. ‘ The Virginia governor had quite a suprise from this ‘Barry from D. C.’
As it turns out, ‘Barry from D. C. ‘ was none other than the President of the United States, who had called to play a trick on the governor who is also Chairman of the DNC and to wish him well. These 2 along with Senators Warner and Webb had quite a whirl wind trip through Virginia in 2008.
According to Politico:
“Barry from D.C.” was on the line Tuesday morning for the last edition of Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine’s “Ask the Governor” radio program.
“Well, Governor Kaine,” said “Barry” when he was patched through, “this is actually the president of the United States calling.”
“No,” Kaine said, cracking up. “Oh, my gosh.”
President Obama said he’d been planning to complain about the traffic in Northern Virginia, but decided to thank Kaine for his service instead.
“I just wanted to say how proud we are of your service as governor of the commonwealth of Virginia and just wish you and your family all the best this Christmas season after a terrific round of service,” Obama said. “We are just very proud of you.”
Governor Tim Kaine leaves office next month.
Obama! You prankster. Imagine being cranked by the President of the United States.
From Politico:
Democrats got a punch in the gut on Tuesday when freshman Congressman Parker Griffith (D-AL) announced he would switch parties. Griffith is what is known as a blue dog Democrat, or a Democrat who is more fiscally conservative than the average Democrat. He stated as his reason for switching parties:
[H]e can no longer align himself “with a party that continues to pursue legislation that is bad for our country, hurts our economy and drives us further and further into debt.”
“Unfortunately there are those in the Democratic Leadership that continue to push an agenda focused on massive new spending, tax increases, bailouts and a health care bill that is bad for our healthcare system,” Griffith said in a statement. “I have always considered myself to be an independent voice and I have tried to be that voice in Congress – but after watching this agenda firsthand I now believe that the differences in the two parties could not be more clear and that for me to be true to my core beliefs and values I must align myself with the Republican party and speak out clearly on these issues.
Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo III, a commander in northern Iraq,has made pregnancy among troops serving in Iraq a punishable offense and one that could lead to court martial. The order applies not only to females but to the male who impregnated them.
The reason for such a drastic measure is to ensure that someone else doesn’t have to cover for the pregnant woman. Military experts have said that Major General Cucolo is perfectly within his rights to make such a order. The order also applies to civilians reporting to the general. Heretofore, pregnant soldiers were sent home, often leaving a duty uncovered. The slack had to be taken up by others.
According to AKnews
Army spokesman George Wright said the service typically sends home from the battlefield soldiers who become pregnant. But it is not an Army-wide policy to punish them under the military’s legal code, he said. However, division commanders like Cucolo have the authority to impose these type of restrictions to personnel operating under their command, Wright said.
Cucolo oversees forces in northern Iraq, an area that includes the cities of Kirkuk, Tikrit and Mosul. His Nov. 4 order was first reported by the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. Cucolo’s order outlines some 20 barred activities. Most of them are aimed at keeping order and preventing criminal activity, such as selling a weapon or taking drugs.
But other restrictions seemed aimed at preventing soldiers from leaving their unit short-handed, including becoming pregnant or undergoing elective surgery that would prevent their deployment.
Under Cucolo’s order, troops also are prohibited from “sexual contact of any kind” with Iraqi nationals. And, they cannot spend the night with a member of the opposite sex, unless married or expressly permitted to do so.
Stars and Stripes reports that thus far, 7 soldiers have been punished under the 6 week pregnancy ban. None to date have been court-martialed, however. According to ABC sources, Major General Cucolo states:
“I see absolutely no circumstance where I would punish a female soldier by court martial for a violation … none,” Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo III wrote to ABC News in an exclusive statement. ” I fully intend to handle these cases through lesser disciplinary action.”
UPDATE:
Multiple sources have reported that the Virginia Civil War Events, Inc has withdrawn its request to partner with Prince William County as an events planner for the Sesquicentennial in 2011. ‘Withdrawn’ can be a temporary situation. It can simply mean ‘for now.’
The BOCS had decided to revisit the plans for the proposed Memorandum of Understanding with this group in January.
No explanation was provided via our sources. It could very well be that the harsh reality of the extremely austere budget cuts Virginia is facing signalled that there simply is no money. Or…The organization’s chair could be revising his plans. Stay tuned.
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Winter arrives officially today, December 21, 2009 @ 12:47 PM.
The Winter Solstice has been observed in most cultures since time began. It signaled the shortest day of the year. Early people looked on winter as a time of dread. In ancient times, many people didn’t make it through the winter. They died or their loved ones died. They battled the elements, faced starvation, ran out of fuel, and were often ravaged by disease. Winter was deadly to early people. Even as late as last century, winter could spell destruction for people. Depending on where you live and your circumstances, winter can be deadly even in our modern culture.
While most cultures celebrated the Winter Solstice, one might ask, why celebrate? Good question. All sorts of superstitions and rituals were performed for good luck and to ward off bad things and evil that could happen. Of all early people, the Celts are probably the group many of us are most familiar with who celebrated Winter Solstice.
In Celtic myth, the Holly king and the Oak king, twins, were in a continual struggle for domination. At the Winter Solstice, the Holly King is overpowered and the Oak King rules until he is overthrown at the Summer Solstice. Winter Solstice is a time for celebration because it marks the beginning of the days getting longer. The cycle of the year is represented by this turmoil of continual struggle. Neither can exist without the other.
Many of our Christmas traditions include pagan ritual involving Winter Solstice. Yule logs, Christmas trees, Santa Claus, Mistletoe, the date of Christmas, holly, all have roots in pagan culture or in other religions. Religions do not just spring up in isolation. They merge and infuse and often take the old beliefs and remodel them into newer ones.
So regardless of your religion or culture, you are sure to find a fit somewhere in the winter holiday season around the Winter Solstice. Most of us are fortunate enough to be able to throw another log on the fire and sit back and let the winds howl outside.
Seasonal music on the next page
Please check out the howling in the last video.
WARNING: Temperatures this morning are in the teens. Roads are treacherous. 12/21/09 (7 am)
VDOT, our state transportation overlord with those bright orange trucks, rules supreme right now. It is they who determine who gets plowed and who doesn’t. They can be found at http://www.virginiadot.org/default_flash.asp VDOT has announced that some neighborhoods will not be plowed until Wednesday night. Wednesday night?!
The cities like Manassas and Manassas Park have their own snow removal. The county relies on VDOT and those road jockies who are out riding the trucks, plows and tractors scrapping, dropping, sprinkling , spreading and barricading us back in our driveways.
Poor Westgate has had very little plowing since Saturday during the storm. It is obvious. Entire blocks can be driven without seeing pavement. Sudley, meanwhile, has been plowed. There are a few rough spots but there are single lane paths through nearly every street. Sudley Manor and Strasburg, on the other hand, have been scraped clean. Why can’t those trucks who have made 20 trips up and down Sudley Manor Drive (yea right, snow emergency route…that’s the ticket) go over and take a few swipes at the Westgate roads that look like a white, wintery moon scape?
Hard to believe, isn’t it? Bill O’Reilly attended the White House Christmas party and had some rather nice things to say about the first lady, Michelle Obama. Ingraham accused O’Reilly of gushing over her. O’Reilly has that Irish temper and we got to see a bit of it. In short, he calls Ingraham out and tells her she is an idealogue and is hooked up to an IV kool aid drip. The moral of this story is not to piss off O’Reilly.
Health care … goodbye to Anonymous Is A Woman’s blog … your snow stories here.
Nothing will bring Luis Ramirez back to his family, but the wheels of justice have finally begun to turn in the correct direction. I was truly shocked to hear of charges levied against the very people who are suppose to uphold the law. As reported by CNN:
Washington (CNN) — Five people, including three police officers, have been indicted on charges related to the beating death of a Latino man in rural Pennsylvania in July 2008, the Justice Department said Tuesday.
Two indictments charge the five with federal hate crimes, obstruction of justice and conspiracy in what authorities are calling a racially motivated attack.
About a year ago we ran an article about Haiyang Zhu who murdered international student Xin Yang. Ms Yang had been at Tech only about 2 weeks, Zhu had been appointed as a mentor to help her become acclimated to Tech. Both students were from China.
Zhu didn’t just murder Ms. Yang. He decapitated her. This week Mr. Zhu plead guilty to first degree murder. He faces up to life in prison. Mr. Zhu reportedly had been very troubled before the murder. Managers at the apartment complex where he lived had tried to get Blacksburg police involved because of the strange behavior he exibited, to no avail.
SUNDAY EVENING UPDATE:
CLOSED MONDAY: PWC SCHOOLS, MANASSAS CITY SCHOOLS, MANASSAS PARK CITY SCHOOLS, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN THE DC AREA
UPDATE: THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A BLIZZARD WARNING FOR THE PRINCE WILLIAM AREA . 12/19/2000 9:30 AM
The weather forecasts are all predicting 20-25+ inches of snow is headed our way, right up the state. Charlottesville is supposed to be ‘ground zero’ whatever that means. That might be CNN-speak for ‘gets the most snow.’
We can use this thread as this week’s open thread (as promised) and also to discuss the impending snow storm which I now hear might just become a blizzard. Our last big blizzard was in 1996. Stay warm and let your fingers do the talking.
[UPDATE: Ms. Lucas has clarified some of the questions posed in the post. See her comments below.]
On December 3, 2009, PWCS announced the resignation of Neabsco District School Board member Julie Lucas, effective December 31. Ms. Lucas was a dedicated board member who appeared to have the best interest of all PW kids on the front burner. She was accessible and was highly regarded by parents, staff, and administration.
Ms. Lucas cited care of her father as the reason for her departure and she did indicate she would be leaving Virginia to help her family. If she is leaving Virginia, how can she serve on the Governor-Elect’s Education Workgroup? Are we the public missing something here?
In September ABC announced that long time journalist Charlie Gibson would retire. Tonight as throngs of family and friends and dignitaries honored him, Charlie Gibson signed off World News for the last time with the following words:
As has been mentioned a time or six over the past week — this is my last broadcast in this chair. And it’s hard to walk away from what I honestly think is the best job in the world — but my parents taught me you should understay — not overstay your welcome. And there is so much to do. In the years I have left, I don’t want to miss any of it.
Governor Tim Kaine will unveil his budget proposal that he hands off to Governor-Elect McDonnell on Friday. Virginia faces a $3.5 Billion shortfall over the next 2 years. One place this money can be made up in part is to repeal the car tax. Currently, Virginia is picking up the tab for about a billion dollars of this money because it reimburses localities for the difference so there is no local shortfall.
Few Republicans are happy with the car tax. They want it eliminated completely. Democrats supposedly want it reinstated because of the funds it robs from the state. Most people are just glad to be paying a couple hundred dollars tax rather than close to a thousand dollars per year per car.
