Michelle and Sasha Obama Dine In Manassas

MoonHowler

The First Lady and Sasha came down to the big city last night for some Louisiana cooking.  They ate in the local bistro, Okra’s in the City of Manassas.  It is reported that they did try the okra. 

This outing was very low key.  The Obamas didn’t request private seating and ordered off the menu. 

According to News & Messenger:

And, of course, White House officials scoped out the area thoroughly.

Gilliam said they visited Manassas at least three times and called ahead when the big-name diners were about 20 minutes away from arriving.

“They check a place out fairly carefully, I guess,” he said.

Onlookers in Old Town were checking out Okra’s on Thursday, too, as it was clear that something was up.

Battle Street between Okra’s and Carmello’s & Little Portugal was blocked by what appeared to be Secret Service SUVs, and a state trooper paced around outside a police cruiser.

A Secret Service agent with a handheld metal-detector stood guard at Okra’s front door, and other agents were on the lookout nearby on the humid, rainy August night.

But anyone who hadn’t been tipped off to the celebrity sighting could easily have missed the first family’s exit.

I would say that Manassas City definitely slammed dunked the county on this one.   Let the crowing begin.  It’s a good thing I wasn’t in Okras.  I am afraid I would have been rude and stared. 

 

To read more in the   News & Messenger  click the blue.

“Shcool” Days, “Shcool” Days, Dear old Golden Rule Days

MoonHowler

shcool_1695090c

Hopefully the sign painters near Guilford, NC have gotten this tiny little spelling error fixed by now. Students are returning to class very soon. There really isn’t much to say. Go to school and learn to spell it. And if you learn to spell it, thank a teacher, even if Sarah Palin rolls her eyes at you.

I should not be surprised. Across the nation, it has suddenly become popular to disparage teachers in one way or another. Teaching is no longer considered an honorable profession, apparently. Last spring people cheered as all the teachers were fired from a Rhode Island school that was struggling with a high drop out rate. Governor Christie of New Jersey is a new folk hero after telling a teacher to get a different job if she doesn’t like the new way things are being run. Americans are moaning and groaning nationwide because of a jobs bill passed this week to help states with schools struggling to prevent teacher layoffs.

One can hear more signs of teacher disparity as pensions are discussed. Teachers make up a large part of many public employee pension funds. While fire fighters and cops are catching a little of the flack, teacher are certainly on the front lines. Those who criticize, including the NJ governor, seem to forget that very often teachers get pension benefits in the form of deferred compensation. I know this is true in the case of Virginia teachers and other public employees in the state who were given paid pension contributions rather than raises for several years back in the 80s.

In another era, in another time, teachers, firefighters and police officers were held in much higher esteem. Now a former governor of the last outpost state rolls her eyes over the profession. How sad. I guess there will be a fire sale for those signs that read:

Shoot, I can’t even find a bumper sticket to cut and paste here.

thank a teacher

So this is what it has all come down to.

Greta Van Susteren: John Morton Discloses New I.C.E. Rules

MoonHowler

Last night, Greta Van Susteren interviewed the chief I.C.E. director, John Morton:

 

 

It’s all about money and limited resources. All of I.C.E. funding comes from Congress. If you want them to do more, write to your congressman and throw more money their way. Morton says they will do what they can with the resources available. He is trying to make the money work more sensibly. Nothing much has worked in the past, you have to admit.

According to the Washington Times:

New guidance telling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to focus on apprehending terrorists and criminals has many of ICE’s rank-and-file agents wondering who then is responsible for tracking down and detaining the millions of other illegal border-crossers and fugitive aliens now in the country.

The new guidelines are outlined in a June 29 memo from Assistant Secretary John Morton, who heads the agency, to all ICE employees regarding the apprehension, detention and removal of illegal immigrants, noting that the agency “only has resources to remove approximately 400,000 aliens per year, less than 4 percent of the estimated illegal-alien population in the United States.”

Mr. Morton said ICE needed to focus wisely on the limited resources Congress had provided the agency and would “prioritize the apprehension and removal of aliens who only pose a threat to national security and/or public safety, such as criminals and terrorists.”

Read More

A Palin Constitution Moment

MoonHowler

From Huffington Post: (and it is many other places for those who think Fox News is the definitive news(sic) station)

Posted by:  

Shannyn Moore

Just a girl from Homer, Alaska

Sarah Palin & company spent several days in Homer filming her “Sarah Palin’s Uh-laska” show. (Eyes rolled).

On the public dock, private security patted down private citizens. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure from their government. Private security searching private citizens in a public place, doesn’t fall under that category. It’s a bit more hinky.

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I.C.E. Ices Corey Stewart

MoonHowler

News on the street is Corey Stewart made Obama blink.  Well, is that so?  How funny.  Actually, I think what really happened is, I.C.E. made Stewart look befuddled and confused.  Or perhaps they just caught him lying, again, like he does about the crime statistics.

According to the Washington Post in the political blog:

According to Stewart, ICE officials also said they will increase detention center space in Virginia to hold illegal immigrants until deportation.

But ICE spokesman Richard Rocha denied that ICE will turn over any names or personal information to Stewart.

“ICE told Prince William County Supervisor Corey Stewart the agency would provide available statistics, for instance about the crimes and custody status of individuals referred to ICE by 287(g) trained officers,” Rocha said. “We anticipate that research to take a few weeks. To clarify, ICE will not be providing personally identifiable information — like names or addresses — to Stewart or others. Under DHS’s Privacy Policy, the Privacy Act, which protects against the release of certain personal information, extends to aliens as well as U.S. citizens.”

Stewart said he was disappointed to hear Rocha’s response. “They are backing down.”

Huh?  Who is backing down?  It sounds to me like Corey is backing down and I.C.E. is sticking to its guns. 

We will be watching to see who is the blinker and who is the blinkee.  Place your bets now.

Steven Slater, Mr. Jet Blue, is a New Folk Hero

MoonHowler

Flight Attendant ArrestBy now, everyone has heard of flight attendant Steven Slater. He had an altercation with an errant passenger who had stood up while the plane was still taxiing towards the runway, she got in an altercation with another passenger, grabbed her luggage from the overhead compartment, hitting Slater in the head with it.

Slater lost it and demanded an apology. A series of F-yous and F-ing adjectives ensued. Slater had a meltdown, got on the plane PA and made sure the entire plane heard his dissatisfaction with the way things were going (which included a resignation) before he grabbed a few brewskies, deployed the jet slides, and slid out of the plane. He dashed to his car and sped home.

Law enforcement caught him at home (some of his neighbors threw him under the bus) and arrested him. He now could go  to go to prison. Meanwhile, nearly 100,000 support him on Facebook.  His ex-wife supports him and says the passenger was in the wrong.  She said only Steven would go out in style like that.

According to the NY Daily News:

Long before he lost his cool on JetBlue Flight 1052, he complained about some aspects of his job – especially carry-on luggage.

In a series of posts to an online forum, a user who appears to be Slater took a swipe at passengers who try to bring on too many bags.

“I hate to be a bag nazi when i work a flight, but I feel if I am not, then I am letting down all those who cooperate and [try] to help out as well,” said a March post under the handle Skyliner747 on Airliners.net.

“I am frustrated with many of them for their unrealistic approach regarding carry-ons.”

Fess up. How many people respect Steven Slater or at least give him a hat tip (h/t) for his efforts and wish they could do the same thing. I have my own fantasies about the perfect job exit…….

Part 1: Police, Feds: Warning Signs Regarding Implementation of the Immigration Resolution

MoonHowler

Part 1. What did the BOCS know?
Part 2 will show that Corey accuses others of ‘having blood on their hands’ when he knew very good and well the situation with I.C.E. Judging from the dates, he also needs to admit that this issue did not start or end with the present administration.

This video was from a BOCS meeting Spring , 2008. It shows the problems inherent in the MOA between ICE and the county. Let’s revisit some of the issues. It seems that many people have forgotten what really happened.

Both Charlie Deane and Jail Superintendent Pete Meletis give their points of view.

Chief Deane updated the BOCS on the status of the Immigration Resolution. Superintendent Meletis warned the BOCS of the problems the ADC was encountering with ICE. ICE was not picking up the ICE detainees after they had served their time in PWC. PWC was attempting to have every illegal alien picked up. ICE rep Mark McGraw told the BOCS that their numbers were overwhelming. He felt that PWC was getting away from the original understanding which was to remove the worst of the worst from the county.

Reminder to his critics: Here you will see Chief Deane salute the job he was given to do. What has changed?

At some point, even the most die hard anti-immigration person has to admit that they cannot deport illegal immigrants themselves. They must rely on ICE and a federal deportation judge. A locality can enact all the draconian laws they want…it doesn’t make ICE get there any faster.

Another area sexual predator arrested

MoonHowler

Leonel Vega-Perezm, an illegal immigrant, has been charged with raping a 10 year old girl. We are not going into the sordid details. The incidences occurred in Manassas Park and in Prince William County. The victim was an acquaintance of Vega -Perezm.

We don’t usually run threads on this type of crime. There are other blogs you can go to for that kind of feeding frenzy. Today however, we are making an exception and we made an exception with the Osbourn High School teacher several weeks ago. Why? because there seems to be just too much of this sort of behavior going on in our community. The default answer as to why would be, “why school is out and our kids are outside and we need to keep a close eye on them.” Unfortunately, Kevin Ricks makes that comment less than valid. he was in a school, lurking and waiting and manipulating.

Child molestors come in all sizes, shapes, ages, educational levels, socio economic classes and ethnicities. This is the vilest of crimes to commit. The News & Messenger reported that local authories had called ICE. So what. ICE would have been notified regardless of the severity of the crime. Hopefully, Leonel Vega-Perezm stands trial and goes to prison for a good 20-25 years, if he is found guilty. He shouldn’t be needing ICE until then. He is a scourge on society and needs to be treated as such, if convicted.

I would be furious if he were turned over to ICE. He needs to stay right here in Prince William County and face the music until he is shipped out to a prison somewhere in the state. If he were just deported, he woud go back to his country of origin and do the same nasty, dastardly thing to some child there. Either we care about children, all children, or we don’t. We cannot differentiate our feelings because of their location. We need to protect them from creeps like this man and Kevin Ricks and all the other perverts who want to harm our children.

Eric Byler Weighs in on the Past, Present and Future of Immigration Reform

MoonHowler

Guest contributor Eric Byler weighs in on the Immigration Resolution, the tragic fatal wreck, and comprehensive immigration reform. He has been out in Phoenix as well as other areas, watching the immigration issue unfold before his eyes. He has talked to many people and heard a variety of opinions in his travels.

Any statements and opinions by guest contributors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the administrators of moonhowlings.net.

 

The fact that this drunk driver was turned over to ICE in 2008, after the
“Immigration Resolution” was put into effect, brings up some real
questions about the wisdom of expensive policies at the local level
that redirect the time and resources of local law enforcement toward a
focus on immigration status rather than public safety. For 2 months
in the spring of 2008, the policy in Prince William County was very
similar to that proposed in Arizona’s SB 1070. But we corrected our
course on April 29, 2008 so that we check the status of ALL
individuals who are arrested for an underlying crime, rather than
people out on the streets who have not committed underlying crimes but
fit a “probable cause” standard. Just about everyone in our county
agrees that the repeal of the “probable cause” mandate made for a more
effective, more fiscally responsible, and more legally defensible
policy. Still it did not prevent this tragedy.

Read More

Law Enforcement Nixes Privatization of Liquor Stores

MoonHowler

Many people who have are in the know fear the enforcement end of private sales of booze.  Liquor stores are known to be rife with crime issues, including organized crime.  See what some Virginia law enforcement officers have to say about privatizing the ABC Stores.  McDonnell really needs to get off this campaign promise.  He is being a naive Nelly.  It isn’t good for Virginia.  The true conservative stand on selling the liquor stores is to tell McDonnell NO. 

From the Richmond Times Dispatch:

Ashland, Va. —

Ashland is a college town with one state-owned store for selling liquor.

Police Chief Douglas A. Goodman Jr. knows that probably would change if the Virginia General Assembly agrees to Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposal to give up the state’s 76-year-old monopoly on the liquor business.

“There’s no doubt there would be an increase in outlets,” Goodman said. “I’m not aware of what the number is going to be.”

That’s a big question for local law-enforcement officials, who met with key members of the governor’s staff last week for a briefing on concerns about the potential effects of privatizing the liquor business on the communities they police.

Instead of 334 state-owned stores spaced across Virginia, local law-enforcement officials are uneasy about the prospect of 800 to 1,000 private liquor retailers, many of them concentrated in areas of high demand, trying to boost sales of spirits in a state where liquor consumption is relatively low.

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Post Nuclear World-65 years after Nagasaki

MoonHowler

65 years to the day after the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, one has to ask still, why the Japanese clung so tenaciously to non-surrender, especially after such devastating military losses, fire-bombings of Tokyo and other large cities, and a nuclear blast that flattened Hiroshima 3 days earlier. 

Japan had a figure head emperor but had been slowly taken over by a military government.  The people were far removed and had been convinced that they must fight hand to hand, if necessary, to the death to protect their homeland and the Emperor.  Until the surrender, the Japanese people had never heard their Emperor’s voice. 

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University of Virginia now requires students to disclose arrests, convictions

MoonHowler

UVA is lowering the hammer on students who may have an evil twin.  When students return August 21 for the fall session, they will be required to disclose any arrests or convictions.  Failure to report an arrest or conviction will result in an honor code violation.  Honor code violations are good for a trip home–permanently. 

This crackdown is a result of the death of lacrosse star Yeardley Love who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, George Huguely who was a fellow lacrosse player.  UVA hopes to flag those with violent tendency.  The dean’s office will be interviewing those who report an arrest or conviction or any crime committed other than a routine traffic violation. 

According to the Washington Post:

University President Teresa A. Sullivan discussed the new rule at a news conference marking the end of her first week on the job. University leaders hope screening students for criminal encounters will flag those who might commit violent acts.

Students return to Charlottesville the weekend of Aug. 21. When they log onto the campus computer system for the first time, each will be prompted to report any arrest, other than minor traffic infractions, since enrolling.

UVA is getting serious about domestic violence and it’s about time all colleges follow suit.  Domestic violence was a problem 40 years ago at UVA.  Hopefully students will police themselves and take any and all expressions of violence seriously and report cases to the campus police.  Young people are all too willing to dismiss acts of violence and blame them on drinking, stress, and ‘personal problems.’  These young adults need to understand that these types of behavior are harbingers of worse to come.  The message must be sent that domestic violence, even that which can be classified as verbal assault, is dangerous and will not be tolerated in a civilized society.

Is violence that prevalent on campus?  What else can be done to ensure students report it so we don’t have another Yeardly Love on our hands?  How much does substance abuse contribute to the violence problem?  How does the Love killing really differ from the beheading at Tech or from the Tech Massacre?

Taliban Kills 10 Medical Aid Workers

MoonHowler

The Afghan Taliban has claimed responsibility for killing 10 medical aid workers, 6 of them American.  These humanitarians provided eye care and other medical services to very remote areas of Afghanistan that can be reached only on pack mule or on foot.

The medical team has been accused of carrying bibles and proselytising.   All ten were shot at close range multiple times.  So much for humanitarian aid.  Where are those daisy cutters (aka commando vaults) when we need them?

Is it time to just let Afghanistan just go the way of the uber third world country?  How many American lives have to be lost and what exactly is our objective again?

ICE to Release Illegal Immigrant Names

MoonHowler

From the Manassas News & Messenger:

Prince William County, Va. – Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will release to Prince William authorites the identities and final disposition of every convicted criminal illegal immigrant apprehended in the county and turned over to ICE, said Chairman Corey A. Stewart on Saturday.

Stewart indicated that this reversed three years of “stiff-armed” responses by ICE to the same question. “They’ve also said they will increase detention center space in Virginia to hold illegal aliens until deportation. It won’t solve the problem, but it will help alleviate the problem.”

Read More

Open Thread for the Weekend 8/6/2010

MoonHowler

Today marks the beginning of one of the three tax free weekends in the State of Virginia. This weekend is for school supplies and clothes. The guidelines can be found here. School supplies have to cost less than $20 and clothing has to be less than $100. (I assume per item)

Secondly, a few reminders about navigating Moonhowlings.net.

Upper left hand corner you will see a little house icon. That takes you back to the beginning.

Bottom right hand corner you will see the word top. It works just like an elevator. If you ride the elevator to the top and then click on the house icon, you are right back at the beginning.

Want to use emoticons? There is a pdf with all instructions.  Click on the highlighted word emoticons.