The application for a Virginia concealed-carry permit asks several mental-health-related questions:
Have you ever been committed to the custody of the commissioner of mental health, mental retardation and substance abuse services?
Have you been acquitted by reason of insanity, adjudicated legally incompetent, mentally incapacitated or adjudicated an incapacitated person by a court of Virginia or any other court?
Have you been involuntarily admitted to a facility or ordered to mandatory outpatient treatment, or were you the subject of a temporary detention order . . . who later agreed to voluntary admission?
Have you received mental-health treatment or substance-abuse treatment in a residential setting within the five years prior to the date of this application?
Are these questions fair? What back ups are there to make sure that people are being truthful? What prevents them from lying? Is this the honor system?
If Virginia is going to be relaxing its hand gun laws, what should the state do to ensure that guns are being bought by responsible people rather than by unstable people?
Does having a conceal-carry permit prevent a person from being limited to one hand gun purchase every 30 days?
First of all, there was already an exemption worked into the “requirement” for health care coverage, so is Bob just grandstanding? States rights vs federal rights is an ongoing fight, in many ways the civil war seemed to address that ying and yang, didn’t it?
How about those who are opposed to social security or medicare being taken out of their pay checks because they oppose that “government” intervention into their lives. There are credible arguments for ensuring that all Americans are insured, my issue with the requirement, is that you are just lining the pockets of insurance companies if you don’t also allow for a non profit public option! Anyway, there are lots of federal laws that we all abide by, and I would say that if the state can opt out of healthcare, what else can the state legislative body, at the behest of whichever party is in control, “opt” out of, if the opposing party happens to be in power at the Federal level.
Here is the plea from the county sent to parents and other concerned citizens over snow removal:
Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) thanks you for your patience, support, and understanding during this extended period of inclement weather. The staff of PWCS is working hard to get schools ready to reopen Tuesday, February 16, as scheduled. Please know that the safety of our students and staff is our highest priority. And this is where you can help by ensuring your neighborhood sidewalks, walking paths, and bus stops are cleared so students will have a safe place to walk and wait for buses, and so buses will have a clear route to safely pick up children.
The School Division has completed snow removal efforts at its 88 schools and additional offices, clearing parking lots, sidewalks, and walkways. The staffs at individual schools are continuing to clear miscellaneous areas at each campus. However, we need your help in your communities to make sure students are safe if they walk to school, or wait at bus stops. If everybody pitches in to clear their sidewalks and walkways it will make a tremendous difference. You might consider gathering a group of parents to clear away bus stops. Please contact your residential association to help with bus stop clearing and to urge them to clear fallen trees, common sidewalks, and side streets for school buses if this hasn’t been done already.
With everyone’s help and support, we can make sure schools reopen in a safe and timely fashion. Thank you. Please enjoy the Presidents Day Holiday on Monday, February 15, and keep checking www.pwcs.edu for future updates. Thank you for your continued support of PWCS and the safety of students.
Today in the Manassas News & Messenger, PWC School system also asked for volunteers to remove snow from bus stops and sidewalks. Such a request would be all well and good in a perfect world that doesn’t have 3 feet of snow to start with and a record breaking winter. However, many bus stop areas have 8 foot mountains of snow that need to be machine removed. Sidewalks have been cleared, recleared and dumped on again in the case of Amherst Drive and over in Lindendale (and probably other places we aren’t aware of).
Sidewalks that do not run in front of private residences have not been plowed, blown, shoveled etc. This was the case over on Dale Blvd. Before the blizzard Beville students were walking down the middle of the street on that busy road. Sidewalks on one side of Stonewall Middle have been cleared. Those running in front of the bus lot on the other side have not been cleared. As of the weekend, snow had not been removed from in front of Sinclair. An update is need there. How about the bridge crossing between Irongate and Westgate Elementary School? Granted no one has to go in the road but many kids will be sitting in class all day with wet feet.
We are not asking for hot cocoa on their desks when the little dears arrive but some precaution is needed. If the schools cannot have bus stops and sidewalks cleared, then they need to consider not opening for business until these basic safety measures can be ensured. The school system cannot depend on the residents to handle such massive amounts of snow that have been placed by machine and packed down into immovable objects. Many residents have returned to work and others can can barely move because of the muscles they had to use all last week. County trucks, bob cats and snowblowers need to be brought back out and custodians and county grounds people need to be brought out for some of this snow removal. All hands on deck. If this is not possible then schools need to stay closed until it is safer to get there.
UPDATE FROM OUR ROVING REPORTER:
I’ve just been to four schools in the WestGate/Sudley area. The conditions as of right now are still not favorable for students to be walking in. The snow did melt a fair amount yesterday and Saturday, but there’s still plenty around. Here’s my review of the schools. We really need the cooperation of all of the county boards(School, County, Park Authority, and Service Authority) with clearing the bus stops. I know this is a record setting winter, but our students safety should be a top priority.
Stonewall Middle-The parking lot and sidewalks leading to school are clear. The parking lot is treated with sand. The sidewalk on one side of the school is clear. The sidewalk in front of the bus lot has not been touched. (Lomond Dr)
WestGate Elementary-The parking lot, sidewalks, and the bridge to Irongate are all clear. Urbanna Rd is clear, but only a few sidewalks are clear.
Sinclair Elementary-Garner Dr has all but three sidewalks clear. The very last house next to the school does not have a clear sidewalk. The driveway has a snow wall about 8 feet tall and 8 feet deep. This makes it impossible for kids to even walk safely on the side of the street the school is on. Then the the kids that walk and cross Sudley Manor have no sidewalk cleared for them to get to school when they cross Sudley Manor to access the school.
Sudley Elementary-The parking lot and sidewalks are clear. There’s a loader there now clearing the parking lot. The kids that walk down Dublin Dr from Greenview to Sudley Manor only have one sidewalk clear to walk on. Then when they get to Sudley Manor the corner is piled with snow.
Who says leopards can’t change their spots. Dick Cheney stepped up to the plate and rebuked Sarah Palin’s idea of Obama declaring war against Iran to show the world and others that he is tough. To Cheney’s credit, he told ‘This Week’ on ABC News that Palin’s logic was faulty:
“I don’t think a president can make a judgment like that on the basis of politics,” Cheney said. “The stakes are too high, the consequences too significant to be treating those as simple political calculations.”
For perhaps the first time ever, I agree with Dick Cheney. He obviously has some concerns over the direction our country is going also.
Is going to war with any country a show of strength? What would be the impact of declaring war on Iran? Is it dangerous for a figure such as Palin to go around making war noises at foreign countries? How would someone even describe Palin? A future presidential candidate? An ex- VP candidate? An ex-governor? i would like her to declare her intentions before she makes such wreckless remarks publically.
Neo-Nazis and leftist demonstrators have squared off in Dresden, German. Police efforts to quell the disturbance have been challenging as rioters break up property, automobiles, and battle each other to mark the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Dresden by the UK and United States.
Dresden was the target of massive firebombing. Approximately 1300 UK and USA bombers dropped nearly 4,000 tons of incendiary bombs and other explosives on the city between February 13 and 15, 1945. The city was decimated and historians estimate that between 24,000 and 40,000 people lost their lives. Previous estimates went as high as 200,000.
The bombing of Dresden has always been controversial because of the incendiary devices used and because of the city supposedly was of little military importance. Critics have described the bombing of Dresden as war on a civilian population. The war ended in Europe May 8, 1945. Today, Neo-Nazis charge that the bombing of Dresden was akin to the Holocaust.
Clashes broke out on Saturday in the centre of the city where about 5,000 neo-Nazi protesters faced off with an estimated 10,000 leftist demonstrators.
The leftist supporters had gathered across the Elbe river, joining hands to create a human chain to try and prevent the neo-Nazis from staging a march.
More than 4,000 German police officers were deployed to prevent clashes between the two groups, but Natalie Steger, a correspondent for Germany’s ZDF Channel, told Al Jazeera that security officials had difficulty keeping the order.
“The police really have a hard time because they’re trying to separate these two groups – the neo-Nazis, which want to march and the left-wing people.”
Scuffles also broke out between police and protesters from both sides, with several barricades set on fire and some minor injuries reported.
‘Bombing Holocaust’
The February 13 anniversary of the bombing of Dresden has become a focus for neo-Nazi groups in the past few years. Some far-right politicians have also sparked controversy by describing the raids as a “bombing Holocaust”.
But Helma Orosz, the mayor of Dresden, said the city does not want the neo-Nazis there, the Associated Press news agency reported. This gang doesn’t belong here,” she said, following a legal attempt to stop the neo-Nazi march failed.
The human chain helped “make Dresden a fortress against intolerance and stupidity, and the anniversary provided a reminder of who started the war”, Orosz said.
The Dresden air raids are considered one of the most controversial attacks by Allied forces during World War II.
More than 30sq km of the historic city was destroyed in heavy bombing by US and British forces.
It is difficult to assess Dresden, some 65 years later. Bombing a civilian population seems uncivilized. However, most of WWII seems uncivilized. Does it take a firebombing of Dresden and Tokyo to end the insanity? Regardless, in light of the real Holocaust, the Neo-Nazis really need to stop whining and behave. Some jail time for the rioters might be just the attitude adjustment they need. Most of us rarely have sympathy with rioters.
Then
Now
The irony of the two videos is striking. Gathering material for this post became very problematic. I had difficulty finding any current video of the situation that could be embedded. That is unusual. Secondly, the number of people killed in Dresden in 1945 varied a tremendous about–from approximately 20,000 to 250,000. That variance seems extreme. Additionally, many articles were peppered with opinion as news. Many news stations seemed as critical of the United States and Great Britain as they were of the Germans. The most neutral account I found was, oddly enough, Al Jazeera News. Go figure. The United States News sources had very little written on this story.
The lack of information almost becomes the story here. Was America wrong to firebomb Dresden and Tokyo? Can we fairly evalate the war strategy from that long ago? Do the Neo Nazis have any right to call the bombing of Dresden a Holocaust?
Talk to anyone and they will be telling you that kids in PWC will be going to school until the 4th of July. People are questioning why there is no school on Monday. Don’t these kids have to make up the missed time? No. Not yet.
There were 2 built in days. Those are gone. There have been a total of 10 days used. 3 in December, 2 for the 6 inch snow and 5 for last week. I count ten used. PWC kids can miss 7 more days before the doom and gloom of July 4th according to the PWCS website:
Explanation of “Snow Days” in PWCS
State law mandates 180 days of school but allows for school divisions to make up missed teaching days by providing students with instructional hours equivalent to the missed days to meet the minimum 990 teaching-hour requirement. In PWCS, we have additional days built into the calendar (two this year at the middle and high school level, and one at the elementary school level) but we also provide more than the minimum time of required instruction with a six-hour school day. This provides adequate time to meet the state minimum number of teaching hours if school is closed for an extended number of days. This allows for up to 15 additional days for all students after the use of the “built-in” days
It seems hard to believe but that’s the nuts and bolts of it. The kids of Prince William have dodged the bullet.
Several friends sent me a copy of the daily koz article on Virginia HB 53 accompanied by peals of laughter. I am fairly skeptical about Koz and immediately looked for another source. I mean this bill looked like the Xfiles joined Armageddon. Unfortunately, the Washington Post pretty much reported the same story.
The Virginia House of Delegates voted Wednesday on HB 53. It is a bill that makes it illegal for anyone to put a microchip in your body without your permission. The bill passed the House of Delegates. The bill is mainly aimed at employers, insurance companies and government. To most people, having a bill that sounds like the Xfiles is a bit unusual:
According to the Washington Post, quoting from the bill’s sponsor:
Del. Mark L. Cole (R-Fredericksburg), the bill’s sponsor, said that privacy issues are the chief concern behind his attempt to criminalize the involuntary implantation of microchips. But he also said he shared concerns that the devices could someday be used as the “mark of the beast” described in the Book of Revelation.
“My understanding — I’m not a theologian — but there’s a prophecy in the Bible that says you’ll have to receive a mark, or you can neither buy nor sell things in end times,” Cole said. “Some people think these computer chips might be that mark.”
Cole said that the growing use of microchips could allow employers, insurers or the government to track people against their will and that implanting a foreign object into a human being could also have adverse health effects.
“I just think you should have the right to control your own body,” Cole said.
The religious overtones have cast the debate into a realm that has made even some supporters uneasy and caused opponents to mock the bill for legislating the apocalypse.
In the interest of respecting diversity, I am not coming to comment other than to ask, why is our House of Delegates dealing with this type of legislation? Have there been threats of body snatching? Aare we going to make it illegal to do the alien abduction thing? If it is religious, doesn’t that belong in church? Is our state legislature losing it or what?
Mulder and Scully, here I come!
I will respect diversity…I will respect diversity….I will respect diversity…..
Delegate Scott Lingamfelter (R-Woodbridge) has introduced a bill that would repeal the 1 handgun a month law that has been in effect in Virginia since the days of Governor Doug Wilder. HB 49 has made it out of committee and stands a good chance of being passed. The Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee voted 15-6 Friday to advance Del. Scott Lingamfelter’s bill.
Why do we have such a law limiting the number of handguns we can purchase? In a nut shell, Virginia was a gun running state. Prior to 1993, when the 1 hand gun a month law went into effect, Virginia was the # 1 gun-running state. Scofflaws would come to Virginia, buy up a load of guns, and return home to sell them illegally. New York had a particular problem with Virginia guns. Since the law was passed, Virginia has been #6 in gun running.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Virginia’s ban on buying more than one handgun a month would be repealed under a bill that passed a House committee on Friday.
The Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee voted 15-6 to advance Del. Scott Lingamfelter’s bill to a vote in the GOP-controlled House, where it is likely to pass.
Supporters say lawmakers have carved so many exemptions into the law that it was no longer effective. Since the legislation was passed in 1993, legislators have exempted the state’s 214,000 concealed carry permit holders, all law enforcement and corrections workers, those whose guns were stolen within a month of purchase and other groups from the ban. It does not apply to rifles or shotguns.
“It may have had a purpose in 1993 when it was passed, but if did, the rationale for this statute has been neutered by all the exemptions that now exist,” Lingamfelter said.
Opponents argued the prohibition had helped move Virginia from being the nation’s No. 1 supplier of guns used in the commission of crimes to No. 6. Repealing it, they said, would make it easier for criminals to get guns through so-called straw purchases. In a straw purchase, someone who can pass the required federal background check buys the gun for someone who is a felon, mentally ill or for some other reason is barred from buying guns.
“If a person can walk out with a box full of Glocks, they’re going to walk out to the street and sell them,” said Andrew Goddard, who has lobbied against gun rights bills since his son was shot four times at Virginia Tech in 2007 but survived.
There seems to be room for compromise here. Many of us who are gun owners don’t mind being limited to buying 1 a month. Perhaps changing the law to 2 hand guns a month might help. If a person needs to buy more guns than currently are allowed, there are many ways around the problem. Virginians need to be looking carefully at how to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, especially after the massacre at Virginia Tech, rather than repealing all laws. We are going to wrong direction.
It appears that the legislators in this Northern Virginian region all support the wild west mentality of buying as many guns as one wants. Hopefully down-state realizes that this law in Virginia not only protects Virginians but also the rest of the country. Being #6 isn’t great but it beats being #1.
I think only a fool would underestimate this movement. There are lots and lots of people out there who are angry and mad. Angry, mad people won’t just go away. However, if the people I see in this video represent this movement, I fear for our country.
Are these people imposters? Do they not represent the Tea Party Movement? Why should I not believe these are the people of the grass roots movement. Convince me I am wrong.
There are people who are tired of this topic. There certainly are topics I am tired of, yet I keep hearing them. I cannot turn on my TV without hearing about them and many ideas I feel are repugnant. I am tired of hearing the President being called a socialist. I feel it is disrespectful. I am tired of hearing he isn’t an American. That too is disrespectful. I dislike hearing people call for revolution. I feel this call threatens my country. Convince me I have misunderstood.
The City of Manassas is frantically trying to make arrangements to house its 5th and 6th graders for the rest of the year. The roof on the 4 year old school has been declared compromised and has been deemed unsafe even for teachers to re-enter the building to get supplies and personal belongings.
School superintendent Gail Pope is trying to open school in 9 days with no supplies, no phones, and at this point, no classrooms. So far, plans are to use old Marstellar that was bought from Prince William County by Manassas Baptist Church. The City is also looking at renting space from Manassas Assemblies of God Church that has classroom space. Additionally, there is some limited space at Round and Weems, according to Pope.
Who will bear the cost of this major roof repair that has structurally harmed part of the building? This is a 4 year old school. How could this have happened? Was it not built to code? Are other schools compromised because of flat roofs? How will this temporary situation affect SOL scores of the 5th and 6th graders? They will have missed more school than their counterparts not living in the City. Will the state make them make up the time? If yes, those poor kids will be in school until the 4th of July.
That darling of the nativist crew, Tom Tancredo, opened the Tea Party Convention in Nashville last weekend with a litany of insults towards President Obama, John McCain, and the culture of multiculturalism (whatever that means).
The opening-night speaker at first ever National Tea Party Convention ripped into President Obama, Sen. John McCain and “the cult of multiculturalism,” asserting that Obama was elected because “we do not have a civics, literacy test before people can vote in this country.”
The speaker, former Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., told about 600 delegates in a Nashville, Tenn., ballroom that in the 2008 election, America “put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House … Barack Hussein Obama.”
Tancredo did not stop at the Democratic president — ripping McCain, R-Ariz., the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, for shaping up to be a repeat of “Bush 1 and Bush 2.”
“Thank God John McCain lost the election,” he said, voicing his belief that McCain would have presided over big budgets and lacked a tough stand against immigration.
Tancredo served 10 years in the House of Representatives and made a name for himself with his ardent opposition to immigration. He believes the 2008 election served to galvanize the right.
“This is our country,” he told the crowd. “Let’s take it back.”
Is anyone else uncomfortable with Tancredo’s words? Calling the president of the United States a “committed socialist ideologue” is disturbing. One wonders who he means when he says ‘our.’
Tancredo further described the American electorate as “people who cannot even spell the word vote, or say it in English.” Additionally, he called for a culture war in the name of preserving “Judeo-Christian principles whether people like it or they don’t.”
His rhetoric is unacceptable to many Americans. Hopefully the Tea Party people or whatever they want to be called will reject this kind of political mentality. It certainly doesn’t represent MY America. It is still unclear exactly who these folks are or what they want. To the best of our knowledge, and looking at who seems to identify with them, the Tea Party folks seem to be to the right of Republicans. Tancredo, Bachmann, Beck and Palin would fit this description. However, Scott Brown does not. It is expected that they will kick him to the curb now he is no longer needed to prove a point. Brown seems far too moderate and more like John McCain or William Weld.
Many of our contributors defend the Tea Party with their last breath. How do you see the Tea Party? What is their cause? Are they simply a grass organization? If so, why are there so many groups? Are they a populist group similar to the Perot people? Is there one definition of this group or does each splinter group have its own persona?
Elizabeth Hasselbeck seems to think we should all go around in mourning because of the economy or maybe its over the 2 wars. She wasn’t quite clear during her rant. She needs to read some history. Americans got through the Great Depression listening to FDR’s Fireside Chats. He tried to cheer people up, keep them informed, give them hope. Yes, he told a joke or two. Americans have always maintained their cheerfulness in the face of adversity.
Some background, Sarah Palin, like her or not, mocked President Obama by writing on her hand as her ‘teleprompter.’ Now everyone knows that all presidents since JFK have used the teleprompter. They have other things to do rather than sit around memorizing speeches. However, laughing at President Obama over his use of the teleprompter is something his opponents have latched on to, and so be it. He is a gifted speaker.
This humor seems rather harmless to me. Palin mocks Obama, Gibbs mocks Palin. No one is a sacred cow. There is nothing much vicious being said. So why does Elizabeth Hasselbeck get close to hysterical over the issue? I don’t watch The View. I don’t enjoy watching and listening to people attempt to scream over each other. But isn’t Hasselbeck really a little over the top or is she just politically naive?
Did Hasselbeck think Palin was serious? Didn’t she realize that Palin was spoofing the President? I thought it was silly but also harmless. And she got it back at her. Hopefully she is woman enough to take it. I imagine she is.
The NASA Earth Observatory has taken true-color satellite photos of Snowmageddon, everyone’s favorite Beltway-crippling massive weekend snowstorm.
From this morning:
Here we go again. We are in the middle of a blizzard where 10 inches of new snow is expected to drop on Prince William County today. So far, about 4 inches have fallen. The snow has been heavy at times but nothing blinding. But it isn’t over. The emergency blurb from N & M that arrived moments ago says we are under a blizzard warning and to expect blinding snow and high winds.
That was all earlier today. It looks like we dodged the proverbial bullet. Areas north of us were not nearly so lucky.
The weather is costing the municipalities a fortune!
Prince William County, Va.—It’s too soon to figure how much money Prince William taxpayers are spending on snow removal and related storm activities, but supervisors were told Tuesday to expect costs to be “extensive,” according to the county’s emergency services manager.
The bright spot is that the county executive’s recent declaration of a state of emergency makes the community eligible for pursuit and receipt of federal disaster dollars.
“We’ll follow the [Federal Emergency Management Agency] guidelines for reimbursements and go after every dollar we can,” said Patrick Collins, the county’s emergency services man-ager, in a last-minute presentation to supervisors during a 2 p.m. board meeting on Tuesday.
It’s been record-setting levels of snow that Prince William has experienced—and another 10-to-20-inches is on the way by Wednesday evening, according to weather reports.
“According to the totals we’ve seen, with another 10 inches, this will be the snowiest winter in 111 years,” said County Executive Melissa Peacor. “So we’re facing that proverbial 100-year storm.”
Some places in the county reported 30 inches of snow this past weekend, Collins said. Power outages, meanwhile, have hit thousands. But as of 2 p.m. Tuesday, service had been restored to all but 523 NOVEC customers and 107 Dominion customers, Collins said.
Those without electric service may contact Dominion at 888-667-3000 and NOVEC at 888-335-0500.
Virginia’s Department of Transportation has all but depleted its stores of salt, Collins said, and most county Public Works clean-up trucks were now relying solely on sand to help clear the roads.
How does the state run out of salt. Totally amazing. Is it possible to get more? We are still at the beginning of February and there could be a lot more el Nino left. Should we take bets that there is no more moisture left in the atmosphere?
The snowiest winter in 111 years is quite an accomplishment. What did people do back then in 1899? Were they better equipped in some ways than we are today? Were people better prepared then? When we lose our comfort zones, are we more miserable?
On a lighter note, the dude on Squawk on the Street just said he was in the heart of Snowmageddon 2010. (Reagan National)
RICHMOND — Virginia’s Senate has passed a bill that would write into law executive orders by the past two governors that ban bias in the state work force based on sexual orientation.
Sen. Don McEachin’s bill advanced from the Democratic-controlled Senate on a nearly party line vote of 23-17. One Republican, Sen. Fred Quayle, joined the Democratic majority.
Democratic Govs. Tim Kaine and his predecessor, Mark Warner, issued executive orders during their tenure banning discrimination in state government hiring and workplace protection.
Republican Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has not reissued such an order but says Mr. Kaine’s is still in effect while he studies whether such orders are legal.
The measure faces a tougher fight in the Republican-dominated House.
Now wait a minute. Are we to understand that Democrats are opposed to discrimination and Republicans are in favor of discrimination? When is discrimination ever acceptable? In what ways does the State discriminate against gays when the ban isn’t in effect? How can Virginians have this kind of vacillation based on who is governor? I am embarrassed for my own state unless this issue is corrected.
Delegate Scott Lingamfelter (R-Woodbridge) has introduced a bill that would repeal the 1 handgun a month law that has been in effect in Virginia since the days of Governor Doug Wilder. HB 49 has made it out of committee and stands a good chance of being passed. The Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee voted 15-6 Friday to advance Del. Scott Lingamfelter’s bill.
From the 