5-4 Citizens United Decision Clearly Judicial Activism

MoonHowler

Today the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission which overturned a hundred years of campaign finance laws, including part of the McCain FeingoldAct.  Corporations and Unions can now spend money directly on the support of candidates.  According to Michael Waldman of the Washington Post:

This far-reaching ruling augurs a significant power struggle. For the first time since 1937, an increasingly conservative federal judiciary faces a progressive and activist Congress and president. Until now, it was unclear how the justices would accommodate the new political alignment. The Citizens United decision suggests an assertive court, eager to overturn precedent, looming as a challenge to President Obama’s agenda.

The Atlantic explains the decision:

Justice Kennedy, in the majority opinion, reasoned that the government can’t discriminate against speakers based on their corporate identities, and that “all speakers, including individuals and the media, use money amassed from the economic marketplace to fund their speech, and the First Amendment protects the resulting speech.”

This basically eliminates a middleman: before today, corporations and unions had to set up PACs (political action committees), filed separately with the IRS, that would receive donations. And they did. Corporations and unions spend millions of dollars on elections. Now, however, the accounting firewall is gone, and Wal-Mart or the Service Employees International Union, for instance, can spend their corporate/union money directly on candidates.

 

 
Read More

CEO Announcement Postponed

MoonHowler

Beware All Ye That Enter Here

Residents of Prince William County were told to tune in at 3:00 pm during the BOCS meeting for the long awaited announcement of our new County Executive Officer. Chairman Stewart planned on interrupting the regularly scheduled meeting for this announcement.

No announcement was made. In fact, we are now being told the announcement will be made in 2 weeks at the next BOCS Meeting scheduled for February 2. The reason given was that Supervisor John Stirrup would not be in attendance.

And the real reason is? I thought Supervisor’s absence had been announced the week before. Furthermore, why does John Stirrup have to be present for the announcement of the new CEO? The postponement was just bad business. If the Chairman said an announcement was to be made, then it should have been made. Postponing the announcement just gives rise to rumor and it steals everyone’s thunder, especially the person being hired for the position.

Someone either dropped the ball or is trying to pull something slick.  Considering some of the players, there is no telling.  Why would such an announcement be made and then retracted?

HopeForHaitiNow.org

MoonHowler

The more we learn of the horrors of what has happened to Haiti, the more the apparent the need becomes.  10,000 bodies buried in mass graves each day.  I can’t imagine this in wartime, much less in a time of peace.  Just watching the pictures, seeing our military out on that grass at the airport, bringing those planes in…because that is how the relief is going to get in…one of the only ways. 

There is so much talent.  Hollywood and the music industry are to be commended for giving of their time for this behemoth humanitarian effort.  It is hard not to drown the keyboard watching the victims.    Bruce Springsteen made me head for paypal again.   No more whining over the horrible ass-whupping from the stock market this week.  My family has so much more than those poor people.  

Many people in this country want to give and give a lot when they see the pain and suffering beyond anything most of us have ever known  of , much less experienced.  It isn’t possible for everyone.  We have a friend who just wants people to pray for his granddaughter’s aunt.  They just found her yesterday.  They think she is ok.  So maybe if you know someone who can’t write endless checks, ask them to pray for little Miss S’s aunt. 

Maybe this is the time to say thank you to our military, and to those rescue crews  and to those volunteers who dropped everything on a dime and raced to Haiti to help people they don’t even know. 

I am sort of a salty old dog but I can’t say any more.  This is just too much.  The entertainment is totally awesome.

HopeForHaitiNow.org

Stevie Wonder performs one of the many wonderful songs of the evening.

Owners of Property at 9500 Liberty Street Fined

MoonHowler

 

Prince William Circuit Court Judge Wenda Travers found Delia Alvarez, owner of the property at 9500 Liberty Street, guilty of three zoning ordinance violations and fined her $1200. The on-going saga of the various Liberty Street signs goes back to fall of 2007, around the time Prince William County passed a resolution dealing with illegal immigration.

Each sign erected at the Liberty Street property was addressed by the City of Manassas. Thursday’s court case resulted from a sign tied to a tree on October 29, 2009. City inspector James Gillie told the court that he first saw the sign on this date. Ms. Alvarez was sent a letter advising her that the sign was out of compliance with city zoning code regarding signage. She was directed, in writing, to remove the sign by 9 am on November 2. Ms. Alvarez did not respond nor did she take down her sign.

Read More

Cleaning up Old Town

MoonHowler

What’s going on in the City of Manassas  with all the loitering, pan-handling and shady goings-on  near Harris Pavillion  and the convenience stores?  I keep hearing as many complaints about these sites as I do about Coverstone 7-11.  It is impossbile to go in to  the Grant Avenue 7-11  (between Center and Church) without being  approached and pestered for ‘change.’  Some of them get aggressive when you ignore them.

The store clerks seem to be afraid of the people that hang out in front of there.  The loiters go in and steal from the store then they hang out and intimidate the approaching customers, that is when they aren’t too busy slithering around back to complete their ‘deals.’ 

This loitering has been an on-going problem for several years.  Maybe it is time for the City cops to start making routine stop-bys and run some of these jokers off.  For the record, my sources tell me it isn’t Latinos.  The people are mainly whites and blacks.  There are very few Latinos loitering.   I have also been told to advise women, both young and old, to not go near that 7-11, especially at night. 

It sounds like it is time for this neighorhood to be cleaned up and for the riff raff to move on.  The City of Manassas has a wonderful Old Town section that is being destroyed by this element.  The City has great cops also.  Perhaps people just move on and don’t complain.  However, if you can’t go in a store or to a pavillion because of the loiterers being obnoxious, this hurts the City and it hurts the City’s revenue.  There are enough good City people who are part of this blog that I know this matter will get the full attention of those who can and will fix the problem.  I have promised my souces this.

Glenn Beck Attacks Newly Elected Scott Brown

MoonHowler

Glenn Beck really has no taste. Wednesday after Scott Brown’s extreme overthrow in Massachusetts, Beck came on his radio show and uttered the following about Brown’s kidding remarks about his lovely daughters who are famous by their own rights:

I want a chastity belt on this man. I want his every move watched in Washington. I don’t trust this guy. This one could end with a dead intern. I’m just saying. It could end with a dead intern.

And his TV show was not much better:

 

Republicans might want to get over their idolatry of this man. He immediately attacks the newly elected Republican and then he howls with pleasure over his little inside joke about dead interns. Was he comparing Brown to Gary Condit or to Ted Kennedy? Its hard to tell. Regardless, his comments are tasteless, gross and I don’t think soon-to-be Senator Brown deserves what was said.

Who is going to rein in this bozo? Instead of celebrating a political victory, Beck tries to tear the man down. I simply do not get it. Can he not accept a victory that he personally has not orchestrated?