Open thread. There is no news. Yea, right.
Did anyone do anything special?
The Rise of the New Right: Part 6 (Final Installment)
Hardball takes a look at right wing media, in particular, Fox News and talk radio, Sarah Palin’s facebook and twitters, the absurdities of Glenn Beck. This segment is the final installment of The Rise of the New Right:
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Is Beck trying to trigger fear and anger in his audiences? Don’t people see through him? Is Beck like Father Coughlin? Does Beck really believe his bunk about FEMA building bunkers?
Police employee dies in the line of duty
The horrible traffic snarl last Friday afternoon in the Sudley/Sudley Manor Drive area claimed a victim. Sadly, Prince William County employee Donald Reid suffered a heart attack while delivering water and supplies to those officers handling the gas explosion. He died at Prince William Hospital later that night.
According to the News & Messenger:
MANASSAS, Va.—A Prince William County police department employee died in the line of duty Friday.“The professional and personal contributions made by Don to the lives of Police Department members will not be forgotten,” Prince William County police Chief Charlie T. Deane said in a press release. “The Prince William County Police Department will truly miss Don Reid.”Donald E. Reid, the police department’s supply section manger, died of an apparent heart attack while responding to a gas leak in the Manassas area Friday, police officials said Monday.He would have turned 60 Saturday.
Friday afternoon, police officers responded to the intersection of Sudley Road and Sudley Manor Drive to direct traffic around a large gas leak, which closed roads in the area for hours.
At about 7 p.m., Reid was delivering water and other supplies to those officers, when he pulled his car over to the side of the road, in “apparent medical distress,” police said.
A Virginia State trooper saw the stopped car, checked on Reid and called an ambulance.
Reid was taken to Prince William Hospital, where he died later Friday night.
Reid began working with the Prince William County police department as a Property and Evidence Clerk in March 2000. Officials said Reid was “commended on multiple occasions for his professionalism and dedication to duty” during his career in the county.
Before working as a civilian employee in the Prince William department, Reid was a police officer in the Village of Tuckahoe in Westchester County, New York. He retired after 21 years as a sworn police officer.
Before he was a police officer, Reid served in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army and was awarded the Purple Heart after serving in the Vietnam War.
He would have turned 60 Saturday.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to his friends, colleagues, and family. His passing is a loss to our community.At about 7 p.m., Reid was delivering water and other supplies to those officers, when he pulled his car over to the side of the road, in “apparent medical distress,” police said.
A Virginia State trooper saw the stopped car, checked on Reid and called an ambulance.
Reid was taken to Prince William Hospital, where he died later Friday night.
Reid began working with the Prince William County police department as a Property and Evidence Clerk in March 2000. Officials said Reid was “commended on multiple occasions for his professionalism and dedication to duty” during his career in the county.
Before working as a civilian employee in the Prince William department, Reid was a police officer in the Village of Tuckahoe in Westchester County, New York. He retired after 21 years as a sworn police officer.
Before he was a police officer, Reid served in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army and was awarded the Purple Heart after serving in the Vietnam War.
Manor Drive to direct traffic around a large gas leak, which closed roads in the area for hours.Sudley Road and SudleyFriday afternoon, police officers responded to the intersection of
Doocy advances false claim that VA county immigration law lowered crime rates
Its about time someone in the media gets the story straight.
Someone GETS it! A big thanks to Media Mattersfor pointing out what Moonhowlings.net has been saying all along.
Copied in its entirety from mediamatters.org:
On Fox & Friends, co-host Steve Doocy and guest Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William County, Virginia, board of supervisors, falsely claimed that the county’s controversial immigration law reduced violent crime and has never been altered. In fact, Prince William County’s violent crime rates actually increased in 2009; the law was modified in 2008 to avoid legal challenges; and a University of Virginia study of the law shows that it has not led to a reduction in crime.
Doocy falsely claimed immigration law led to a “reduction in violent crimes” and an overall “huge drop in crime”
Doocy falsely claims immigration law led to “38 percent reduction in violent crimes.” On the June 21 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends, Doocy introduced Stewart by claiming, “Three years ago, Prince William County in Virginia passed major immigration reform, and they’ve since seen a huge drop in crime.” Doocy later said to Stewart, “Let’s take a look at some of the changes in Prince William County since this law went into place — 38 percent reduction in violent crimes.” The law in question requires police officers to inquire about the immigration status of those persons who have been placed under arrest.
In fact, Prince William County’s violent crime rate increased 10.9 percent in 2009. According to Prince William County Police Department crime statistics, in 2009, the county saw a 10.9 percent increase in violent crimes. The county’s “overall crime rate” decreased by 1.9 percent from the previous year. The law first went into effect in 2008, during which time the county saw an increase in its overall crime rate and a reduction in violent crimes versus the year prior.
Prince William County’s 2009 overall lowered crime rate is credited as being “part of a trend that started long before” the immigration bill. In a National Review Online post, John J. Miller wrote: “As it happens, crime rates have been going down for a long time in Prince William County. The latest numbers are part of a trend that started long before the county took a stand against illegal immigration.” Prince William County Police Chief Charlie T. Deane reportedly noted that crime rates have been decreasing nationwide and that Prince William County’s rates were consistent with that trend. According to The Washington Post, Deane said, ” ‘I also think, nationwide, crime rates are declining, and I’m pleased we’ve continued to see’ that in the county, too.”
“Illegal aliens” only account for a small percentage of crimes and arrests, and the vast majority of those arrested were for “misdemeanor or traffic charges.” The reports show that those suspected of being “illegal aliens” account for only a small percentage of total crimes. In 2008, “[o]f all persons arrested or summonsed in Prince William County, 1.7% were determined to lack legal status,” while “86.9% of those suspected to be illegal aliens were arrested on misdemeanor or traffic charges.” In 2009, “[o]f all persons arrested or summonsed in Prince William County, 2.2% were determined to lack legal status,” while “87.5% of those suspected to be illegal aliens were arrested on misdemeanor or traffic charges.”
UVA study: “[T]he policy has not reduced most forms of crime in PWC.” The University of Virginia (UVA) studied the effects of the law on Prince William County crime rates and concluded, “Overall, our descriptive assessment of PWCPD data on crime reports and arrests suggests that the policy has not reduced most forms of crime in PWC and that its contribution to the County’s drop in serious violence has likely been modest.” A May 7 Washington Post article cited the UVA study and reported that “the study also said that it seems unlikely that the county’s drop in violent crime was because of the policy, because illegal immigrants make up a small percentage of those arrested for such crimes.”
Doocy lets guest falsely claim that the “law stands today as it was written in 2007”
Doocy allows Stewart to falsely claim that the “law stands today as it was written in 2007.” After Doocy asked Stewart about legal challenges to the law, Stewart falsely claimed that “the federal district court in Arlington, Virginia, threw [a court challenge to the bill] out on its face — threw the challenge out on its face — and the law stands today as it was written in 2007.”
In fact, the “ordinance was modified in 2008 amid charges that it was unconstitutional.” Contrary to Stewart’s claim that “the law stands today as it was written in 2007,” The Washington Post reported:
The Prince William ordinance was modified in 2008 amid charges that it was unconstitutional and could lead to racial profiling. In the end, rather than questioning only people they suspected of being undocumented immigrants, officers were directed to question all criminal suspects about their immigration status once an arrest was made.
— J.V.B
Are you as tired of reading and hearing about immigration as I am?
Guest contributor George Harris gives us his unabashed opinion on the never-ending immigration debate. George never sugar coats things, nor is he soft on immigration.
[Disclaimer: guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the blog administrators.]
Are you as tired of reading and hearing about immigration as I am? There is not an hour or a day that goes by without some talking head yammering on about illegal/undocumented immigrants. Newspapers, periodicals, television and radio bombard us with “news” about how we are being overrun by folks who have chosen to not follow the laws of this nation in order to be here legally. Congress is absolutely bumfuzzled about how to fix our “immigration problem.”
Depending on who you read or listen to, the illegal immigrant population is somewhere between 11 and 22 million. Pick whatever number between these two that you feel justifies your feelings about our present situation and you will be somewhere in the ballpark. Recommendations as to what to do about all these illegal immigrants range all the way from blanket amnesty for all of them with numerous paths to citizenship to ship all of them back “home.” While we are deciding on what to do with all the people already here, we want to put up a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border reminiscent of the Berlin Wall or the wall Israel is building to seal off the Palestinians. But many folks understand that you can’t build a wall high enough or long enough to keep people out if they are determined to come in. And it only seems to apply to our southern border. No one is talking about building a wall between the U.S. and Canada.
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History Reinvented: Count the lies
At this point, I am just laughing. What kind of cajones does it take to go on national cable and repeat the same old lies that we have PROVEN are lies on this blog.
No, the ‘Immigration Resolution’ we have now is NOT the 2007 one. Corey, Corey, Corey. This was aired this morning:
Start listing the lies. What’s really scary is that Faux News believes it all. The 287(g) program was dangled out later on. Peter Johnson left out the part about being approved for the program, having a memorandum of understanding and vast amounts of training to be part of 287(g).
The lies are just compounding now. And Prince William looks like ….Don’t want to use that expression here. The foil for all this was Mexicans without Borders.
Drill Baby Drill…might just not mean what you think
[Disclaimer: guest opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the blog administrators.]
There is a general misconception of what oil drilling in the US means. What most people think is that the oil we drill in the US stays in the US .
The politicians say “it makes us more independent” and somehow it helps the amount of oil available for US consumption. Not necessarily.
Once the oil is pumped out it goes into a commodities pool along with OPEC oil and is sold to the highest bidder like Japan China , etc. The basic idea is that there is little differentiation between a commodity coming from one producer and the same commodity from another producer – a barrel of oil is basically the same product, regardless of the producer. It doesn’t matter if it’s off-shore or the Alaska Pipeline or Canada.
So the only thing “Drill Baby Drill” means is more profit for oil companies and that doesn’t count the subsidies we give big oil for exploring off-shore.
If we don’t stop off shore drilling soon we deserve these oil spills!
Happy Fathers Day: Dads and Surrogate Dads
Happy Fathers Day to all you dads out there. My husband, the Grand Pubah of the Howler family, says it takes 30 seconds to be a father but a dad is for a life time. Anyone can be a father, it takes a lot of work to be a dad. Today, to all the men who have been dads to someone, may you have a wonderful day.
Many of you out there have taken the time to be a dad to someone. Coaches, neighbors, teachers, police officers, co-workers, grandfathers, stepfathers, casual acquaintances, etc., have served as dads to someone. Maybe it wasn’t even a child. Perhaps you were a dad to an adult, or someone who had recently lost a dad. Know that you touched someone’s life and without you there would be some vacuum in that person’s life.
If you can, let that person know how special they were to you, even if its a phone call. Maybe they never knew. Don’t wait until you no longer have the opportunity.
Now hit those BBQ grills and have the time of your life.
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Corey Ambushes His Own Party…and apparently they don’t like it.
Just reading between the lines, the Republican state delegates from the area don’t appear to be appreciative of finding out about Stewart’s ambitions 2nd and 3rd hand. It appears they were blind sided.
After hours, News & Messenger online announced:
Stewart recently formed the “Rule of Law” campaign, saying he hopes to spur state legislators into passing a law similar to the one recently passed Arizona.
The Arizona law, which is similar to an ordinance passed in Prince William County in 2007, allows police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop or suspect of a crime.
Stewart said Arizona lawmakers acted because the feds weren’t enforcing existing immigration laws.
“They’re definitely not doing their job in Virginia,” Stewart said of the federal government.
We have all seen Corey Stewart’s proposals on his website, on local blogs and on facebook.
What have local legislators said as the Corey Stewart Rule of Law Immigration Act was unfurled?
Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter, R- 31st District, said legislators in Richmond are already on the job.
“We actually passed a law before Prince William did that would restrict services to people not legally present in the United States,” Lingamfeltersaid. “I’m very appreciative of Corey Stewart’s encouragement and support and interest in the topic, but he should be assured — as well as the public — that you have lots of people who are solidly engaged on this issue and will continue to be.”
Lingamfelter said Stewart could be of help operating on the local front.“I think where Corey could really help if he wanted to is to get the Board of County Supervisors to propose legislation in their legislative package,” Lingamfelter said.
Dismissed. I don’t think Del. Lingamfelter liked the Corey Plan. Delegate Jackson Miller weighed in on the subject:
Del. Jackson H. Miller, R-50th District, echoed Lingamfelter in saying that people are already working on illegal immigration legislation.
“Many of us have been working for years in Richmond on illegal immigration reform and we will continue to do so, and we’re glad that Corey is supporting us,” Miller said.
Miller said he was taken aback when he heard about Stewart’s initiative from secondhand sources.
“I was a little surprised that I hadn’t heard from him because this is an issue that I’ve been working on since I went to Richmond,” Miller said. “Since he wants the state to address this, I’m surprised I haven’t heard from him about it.”
Rather than admit his gaffe, Corey talked back and actually appeared to diss the 2 lawmakers:
Stewart said he might not look to a Prince William representativeto introduce his ideas in Richmond.
“We’re going to choose somebody who can be effective in carrying legislation,” Stewart said.“It doesn’t necessarily have to be a delegate from Prince William County,” Stewart said. “In fact it might be a benefit to have someone from outside the county carry the bill.”
Other areas in the state have issues with illegal immigration, Stewart said.
“Northern Virginia is not the only region with illegal immigration problems,” Stewart said. “Harrisonburg, in particular, Virginia Beach and the Hampton Roads area, and some of the faster growing areas are where you’re going to find the worst illegal immigration problems.”
In case you just missed this very pointed insult, Corey clearly believes he will have to travel outside PW Co. to carry on his zany idea. He apparently doesn’t feel his two Republican peers are capable of passing successful legislation.
Delegate Bob Marshall seemed unsure of Virginia law and has written a letter to the AG for clarification.
This behavior seems to demonstrate that once again, Stewart cannot be counted on to be a team player. He appears to be hard-wired to have total disregard for his fellow elected officials. Had he chosen to work with Delegates Miller and Lingamfelter, and include them in his ideas, perhaps some substantive legislation could have been possible, rather than a cut and paste version of the Arizona Law SB 1070 which is a lawsuit magnet. Corey is the little cheese. Miller and Lingamfelter are the Big Cheese.
Should we be surprised? We saw him throw several of his fellow supervisors under the proverbial bus when he handed over emails from them to a local blogger back in 2008 when he was allowing Chief Deane to be called a traitor. Not exactly a trust builder there (on any level). Additionally, he put these same BOS colleagues on the firing line when he left the county and trumpeted his plans to direct county employees not to do the work necessary to register newly qualified recipients of medicaid. He was going to pass a resolution to direct employees to break federal law! The other supervisors knew nothing of this plan either.
The Rise of the New Right: Part 5
Taking a look at the old right like Barry Goldwater, Pat Buchanan, Strom Thurmond, Joe McCarthy, Ronald Reagan and the John Birch Society, to name a few. Some of the ‘old right’ was much further right than we previously thought.
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Is there a common thread here? It seems that the term ‘conservative’ has shifted a great deal. I don’t recall Barry Goldwater being an ultra-conservative. Conservative, yes. Ultra? no. Now that communism is not the threat it was once thought to be, what has replaced it? Is the underlying theme how American we are?
Channel 4 News: Pol Wants ‘Zona-Style Illegal Immigration Law for Virginia
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The chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors is proposing an Arizona-style illegal immigration law for the entire Commonwealth of Virginia.
The tough law on illegal immigration the county adopted a couple of years ago isn’t sufficient, according to a statement released by Corey Stewart for Chairman.
“We saw a 37 percent drop in violent crime in the first two years of enforcement and overall crime is at a 15-year low,” he said. “But we have anecdotally known, since day one, that the criminal aliens that fled were just going to neighboring jurisdictions.”
So Stewart has started a petition online and a Facebook page for The Virginia Rule of Law Campaign. He has promised a draft of the law soon
It would give police more power to identify and deport illegal immigrants, impose harsh penalties for illegal immigrants, and crack down on day labor and human smuggling. Jails would release illegal immigrants to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement upon completion of their sentences. Police would be allowed to make arrests without warrants if they believed those arrests could lead to deportations. And individual cities and counties would be barred from interfering.
Prince William County’s controversial law doesn’t make it a crime to be an illegal immigrant in the county, but it allows police to check immigration status of people who’ve been arrested, which Stewart credits for the drop in violent crime and fewer illegal immigrants in the county.
Those who campaigned for the law, which took effect in July 2008, argued that the county had to take care of itself if the commonwealth and country weren’t going to address illegal immigration. Stewart’s latest campaign takes the same position.
“As long as the federal government shows no interest in securing the border and no interest in internal enforcement to promote self-deportation, then states and localities will have to pick up the slack,” he said.
And he intends to use the 2011 election to pressure the General Assembly into passing his Virginia Rule of Law next session.
Corey’s Updated Website:
The Virginia Rule of Law Act
Enhance Police Powers to Capture, Detain, and help Deport Criminal Aliens
- Direct Virginia law enforcement officials to ascertain, in any lawful contact, the legal presence of an individual, when practicable.
- Direct Virginia jails to release criminal aliens to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after serving their sentence.
- Allow law enforcement officials to arrest illegals without warrant if they have reasonable suspicion that the arrest would make them removable from the United States.
Virginia Criminal Penalties for Illegal Aliens
- Make it a violation of Virginia law to fail to complete alien registration documents.
- Impose harsh penalties for terrorists and illegals caught with illegal drugs and deadly weapons.
Outlaw Sanctuary Policies
- Prohibit cities and counties from preventing law enforcement officials from inquiring about legal presence or preventing them from sharing information with ICE.
Outlaw Illegal Day Laboring and Public Roadside Solicitation
- Allow law enforcement officials to break up day laboring operations.
- Prohibit solicitation along all public roads, crippling illegal day labor sites.
Crackdown on Human Smuggling Prohibit smuggling and human trafficking, especially for sexual slavery.
The election is in 2011. Corey is attempting to ride the coattails of the Arizona anti-immigration law SB1070 (download the law) and capture some of the national attention that Arizona is getting over immigration. It was announced late this afternoon that the Administration will sue the State of Arizona over its law that is set to go into effect. July 28, 2010. I suppose Corey Stewart is jealous of the impending lawsuit that will cost an already cash-strapped Arizona millions it can’t afford to spend. Does Virginia need to get sued also?
Corey needs to stop grand-standing and stop the continual embarrassment to Prince William County. There needs to be no Virginia Rule of Law Act. There are some extremely serious violations embedded in that proposal that are Constitutional violations that even a novice can spot. No Rule of Law there. If Stewart wants to be Mr. Rule of Law he needs to obey the law and stop trying to find ways to skirt around it just to get his name in the news.
From the PWC Police Crime Report:
RAPE STATISTICS
Way to go, Corey. Last time I thought about it, rape was a violent crime.
Down load Crime Reports:
Crime Report 2008
Crime Report 2009
The Rise of the New Right: Part 4
The rising stars of the Tea Party and the new Right
Abolishing the federal reserve, Medicare, and social security
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Weekly Open Thread Monday 6/14/10
Here you go. It is hotter than hell out there. The BP leak is still going strong. The primaries are over.
Prince William County and Manassas people needs to start following the money. A good place to start is www.vpap.org
Check out all your favorite politicians.
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Friday, might as well make the open thread move along during the week. All that is required is to change the date on the post.
The USA plays Slovenia at 10 am our time. The USA is favored to win. Germany is currently playing Serbia. Those hideous horns are swarming in the background. The score is 0-0.
Is Starry at this match? Search for Starry……..
The Rise of the New Right: Part 3
Part 3 takes a closer look at the various Tea Parties and how they got started.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Strange. Senator Brown certainly doesn’t seem to be all that conservative to me.
I feel like many I have seen in this movement are bullies. I got that feeling watching the town hall meetings on TV and on the internet. I can’t believe that every thing I watched just showed the bad side. I can’t believe that every rally I saw only showed the bad side.
I honestly think people aren’t really sure what they want. Senator Brown is more like a person I might vote for than someone Sarah Palin might vote for.
Texas Republican Calls $20 Billion from BP a Shake Down
Republican Rep. Joe Barton of Texas has spoken out against President Obama’s agreement with BP CEO and US Chairman and called it a ‘shake down.’ What is this man thinking? He apparently doesn’t feel that corporations have any culpability for their actions. How do those along the Texas gulf feel about this shakedown, especially those who are out of work. How about Florida? Alabama? Mississippi? Louisiana? All those gulf states will have economies wrecked, long term environmental damage, high rate of joblessness, and things we haven’t even thought of for years to come. We cannot continue to have companies come in for profit and leave a wake of destruction for the American people to deal with.
I suppose this guy is Michelle Bachmann’s soul mate. Bachmann stated over the weekend:
“But if I was the head of BP, I would let the signal get out there — ‘We’re not going to be chumps, and we’re not going to be fleeced.’ And they shouldn’t be. They shouldn’t have to be fleeced and make chumps to have to pay for perpetual unemployment and all the rest — they’ve got to be legitimate claims.”
Both apparently have the souls of vampires, feeding on the life-blood of those who make their livings, their homes, their lives along the Gulf Coast of the United States.
Had Rep. Barton apologized for the rude way some of his colleagues behaved towards Tony Hayword, I might not have minded. Some are grand-standing and posing like tough guys. They are an embarrassment.
