Happy December and Happy Hannukah to our Jewish friends.   Today ushers in the first really cold weather.  The big blast is supposed to last through the weekend.  How is that Christmas shopping going?  Are you all doing it on line or braving the elements and the masses? 

 

193 Thoughts to “Open Thread ……………………………………………. Friday, December 3”

  1. Big Dog

    Lafayette,
    I’ve always been in favor of regional cooperation, but that doesn’t
    mean people shouldn’t know basic political geography. The media
    too often labels a negative event miles away as “Manassas”.
    We have enough of our own problems and don’t need to be identified with ones
    outside our jurisdiction.
    ( Manassas is just ten square miles and with a population less than
    a tenth of Prince William County’s.)

  2. @Moon-howler
    My wife’s organization had a float. We walked with it. I was wearing a stocking cap (it was cold) with the organization’s name on it. And we were handing out green pom poms to the kids. Other than that, I was in normal street clothes. And the kids rode on the float. As I keep my blogging ID and private life COMPLETELY separate as much as I can, at my wife’s request also, I can’t really name that organization. Let me just say, Sign your donor authorization on your driver’s license.

  3. Big Dog

    Handing out candy requires more strategy than I thought.

    – Was directed by parade officials to hand out candy – not throw it.
    Apparently there have been issues in the past with folks being hit in the eye,etc..

    – Leave your group to hand out some goodies and you start to move slower
    than your float/banner, but the next child up has her hand out and then another –
    when do you stop? Suddenly you are next to a strange group that is three units
    behind you in the line of march and you have to jog , almost out of breath,
    to catch up to where you are suppose to be. Then you do it all over again.

    – First time in over twenty years I’ve been in the Christmas Parade. Manassas Jaycees,
    ‘Young Men of Action” use to carry open blankets where people would toss change
    and the funds would enable little kids, suggested by the schools and social services,
    to shop a Sunday afternoon near the holiday at Rohr’s. Edgar would open up the
    store just for them. Still remember how they often spent all their modest allocation
    on their families and nothing for themselves. The deal was the Rohr’s would sell
    everything at cost but I think it was often less than even that.

  4. starryflights

    The deficits went up because George Bush cut taxes on rich people. He also passed prescription medication, and paid for two wars by borrowing money from China.

    That’s why we have deficits.

  5. @Cargo, and I respect that anonymity, Cargo. Your wife is right. I wondered if you were in a costume….and if that required you to yell Merry Christmas. Mainly, it sounded like you just had a wondeful time. You words were contagious.

  6. Elena

    Mom :Cuccinelli praises EPA for polluting homebuilder settlementBy Rosalind S. Helderman
    It’s always a little notable when Virginia Attorney Gen. Ken Cuccinelli (R) praises the Environmental Protection Agency, given that he’s suing the EPA over its finding that greenhouse gases cause global warming and endanger human health and is generally a strong critic of the agency.
    But praise the EPA Cuccinelli did on Friday, for reaching a settlement with national homebuilder Beazer Homes USA Inc. The company agreed to pay a $925,000 fine for clean water act violations in 21 states, including Virginia.
    What goes unreported by the WAPO is that a quarter of the sites in VA were in PWC, all in Wally’s district. How have these violations gone unnoticed/unreported by county staff or the BOCS. Why is the first we’re hearing about it is after the consent agreement in Federal Court? Who will ultimately pay for any remediation or long term impacts? Way to go county staff, you and the BOCS have distinguished yourselves yet again. BTW, Elena, one of the sites was Market Center.

    Hey, guess what Mom, Prince Willian Conservation Alliance reported that violation some time ago. I am glad to see that the EPA finally stepped up!

  7. Need to Know

    “The Wall Street Journal” is reporting this morning,

    “White House officials and congressional Republicans are closing in on a deal that would extend current income-tax rates for all Americans as well as a benefits program for the long-term unemployed, staving off tax increases for middle-class and wealthy taxpayers alike that are set to take effect after this year.”

    This is great news! Raising taxes in the middle of an economic slowdown (the “experts” say it’s not a recession, but the unemployed say it’s the best imitation of a recession they’ve ever seen) would grind the economy to a halt and hinder future economic growth.

    I support the extension of benefits to the long-term unemployed also. Millions of people have been unemployed for many months not because they are lazy and don’t want to work, but because of incompetent, bi-partisan economic policies, oversight and regulatory failures, and unrestrained corporate greed (not free market competition) that led to this disaster.

    Unemployment benefits are one of the few “stimulus” programs that actually work. Moreover, it’s unemployment insurance, not welfare. We all pay premiums for unemployment insurance through our employers and have a right to the benefits just like any other type of insurance we buy.

    “The Wall Street Journal” article says further,

    “Outstanding questions are the length of an extension of the tax cuts and whether the cost of extending the unemployment benefits is offset by spending cuts elsewhere—elements that will affect the compromise’s price tag and the amount of resistance it will meet among lawmakers.

    A senior Republican aide close to the negotiations said that a one-year extension of the tax cuts is unlikely. Aides from both parties said that a two-year extension is considered the most likely outcome, but that this would mean the issue would reemerge in the middle of a presidential election year.”

    This means that the new Republican President who will be elected in 2012 can work with the Republican Congress to make the tax rates permanent with no interruption between now and then, and bring back robust growth to the US economy!

  8. Need to Know

    @Elena

    Elena and Mom – rest assured that as the election approaches next year, more-and-more information on Corey’s and Wally’s back-room relationships with developers will come out. Situations such as this arise because of people like Wally and Corey who care more about developer interests, campaign contributions and their own personal greed, than about the people who elected them.

    Another part of this is the complicity on the part of Corey and Wally in purging the Planning Office of everyone who saw themselves as serving the Prince William County community rather than just Mike Lubeley and his clients. Same goes for the Office of Executive Management, that Corey had pledged to clean out, but instead just perpetuated the rule by incompetent, developer stooges.

    Hopefully, 2011 will bring in a new Board of County Supervisors, and 2012 a thorough house-cleaning of the Planning Office and Office of Executive Management.

    I hope also that the Conservation Alliance will be willing to take off their gloves and fight for this change.

  9. NTK,

    I wouldn’t count my chickens before they hatched. There are enough fools out there to drive the pendulum back the other way.

  10. @Need to Know
    “Moreover, it’s unemployment insurance, not welfare.”

    I call it the Democrat Recovery Fund. Its what you use until the Democrats are out of office….
    🙂

  11. Our buddy, Glenn Beck, is recounting his visit to my hometown, New Orleans. Apparently, Bourbon Street was a…..shock. Woohoo! More tourists will want to go to NOLA to see what the hullaballo is all about!

  12. Big Dog

    Reminder: There will be a Manassas “Town Hall” meeting tonight at
    Haydon Elem. 7pm. A great chance to meet council and
    staff informally – ask questions, make suggestions, etc.
    Everyone is invited.

  13. Is there a topic, Big Dog?

    Cargo, not sure what you want us to see? I went to nola.com and nothing popped out at me.

    Surely you aren’t blaming the Democrats for the unemployment situation? Tell me you aren’t.

  14. Big Dog

    MH –
    The first half hour is an open informal format where city department heads
    and council are available to discuss items one-to-one or in small groups
    with citizens. The second part is a report from the city manager and a
    senior staff member of the school system followed by a citizen’s comment period.
    The topics are varied and often generated by citizen input at the “Town Hall”.

  15. @Moon-howler
    No, no. I was just saying that Beck’s “description”, which left A LOT to the imagination, painted Bourbon St. as a wild place. So I expect more tourists to check out the place. I just shortened New Orleans, La to NOLA. Its a short hand for us Noo Awleenians…..

    I only cared because it’s my hometown.

    Nothing about the unemployment.

  16. Cato the Elder

    Wow. Obama administration is proposing a one year payroll tax reduction according to the WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704156304576003441518282986.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

    Guess what this will do to the markets? Yep: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C5twY6f-rU

    1. That ought to fix that old social security problem, for sure! NOT.

      Oh well…..Guess those deficits aren’t as important now as they were last week when he was taking the blame for all the deficits.

  17. Cato the Elder

    Now let me tell you what could derail the party – the Irish govt. votes tomorrow on the bailout package from the EU, which is by no means a done deal even if it passes. They’ll likely call for new elections and elect a government that would tell the EU to shove it with their austerity provisions, so make sure you don’t stay too long at the party if you know what I mean.

  18. Slowpoke Rodriguez

    That ought to bring Obama and his lunatic-left base closer together! But hey, it’s Monday, December 6, 2010, and Obama did something I like!

  19. Slowpoke Rodriguez

    Oh, and Rangle has a new ethics charge stemming from his use of PAC money to pay for the defense of his previous ethics charges. ahhhh-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

  20. marinm

    Darn Cato. You beat me to the punch. Got the FoxNews alert on my phone and some emails from my buddies that are over the moon with the possibility of a one year tax reduction.. Die hard Beck watchers actually saying Obama has a clue and “gets it”.

    My head is still spinning. This isn’t the BHO that I didn’t vote for. 😉

    1. How does one tell when one is surrounded by a pack of hyenas?

      Those of you still whining about the prez should have offered up a better candidate than the one you did. Mr. Blowing in the Wind himself.

  21. Lafayette

    Elena, Mom and NTK,
    I’ve not read this entire article yet on Finley Asphalt. He named names. 😉 Thoughts after I finish digesting it all.
    http://www2.insidenova.com/news/2010/dec/06/finley-asphalt-anatomy-deal-gone-wrong-ar-698848/

    1. @Laf, Stay tuned. Elena will post something tomorrow.

  22. Red Dawn

    Laf, Funny! I just read the article and came here to see if anyone posted anything about it. I can vouch that they have been here forever- have been a respectable business and it’s not a UNKOWN name to the county!WOW! I think this says it all: Finley said. “I got a real lesson in local politics.“ I’ll call you tomorrow when I get a chance.

  23. Mom

    I guess we need to have the County Health Dept. check out the BOCS chambers for some type of airborne contamination as there must be something in the air that causes short-term memory loss and/or dementia. Unfortunately, there is nothing surprising in the action of all parties involved, BOCS members frequently give private thumbs up to projects or plans and then reverse on a dime leaving applicants and residents in a lurch. The odd thing in this particular instance is that they did it on an application represented by Dolan and his cronies. Finley followed the blueprint for success in PWC, hire Walsh Colucci and let them arrange the meetings, secure support and approval behind the scenes, pay the requisite bribe…err…campaign contributions and wait for the sprinkling of holy water on the application. Although only Corey, Wally and Marty are named, rest assured that others on the BOCS were likely as complicit. The only ones I’ll give a pass on this fiasco are May, Stirrup and grudgingly Principi. May because he doesn’t have the track record that the rest of the BOCS does, Stirrup because I don’t believe he was ever in favor of it and Principi only because he doesn’t have a clue when it comes to land use in the western end of the county. The as yet untold part of the story is the role of county staff, and that’s the part I would really like to hear.

  24. Lafayette

    Red Dawn,
    The quote caught my eye too. However, you have to look at the prior quote. “Prior to this [meeting with Covington], I didn’t follow local politics.” I have to question someone not following local politics, but gives Corey $16K over a three year period. This leaves me shaking my head. 🙄

    Mom,
    We had the same thought regarding short-term memory loss and/or dementia. I like your added touch of sending the Health Dept. out to the chambers for inspection. If their memory is slipping in their forty’s, I hope they are prepared for their “golden years” if they plan on staying in this county later in life.

    I don’t think most supervisors are familiar enough with their own districts, let alone be familiar with a district at the opposite end of the county. However, Principi has voted with Stirrup and May on a couple of LU issues, and he did the right thing.

    County staff? Bwhahaha..Let’s not forget the top dog has gone into retirement. 🙂

  25. Need to Know

    Ditto, Mom. You beat me to the post.

  26. Lafayette

    There’s some good comment on insidenova with this article. One person said they will not be voting for Wally again. Brentsville’s own S Collins is chiming in too. She brings up the kids that were paraded out for Avendale and their fields.

  27. @Mom
    Why fault Principi. Many people, including those who have lived here forever, have a clue about land use in the western end of the county. He isn’t alone.

    Most of the land use in this end of the county is in no man’s land and requires no man’s measures to make it work. Maybe what I really mean is lots of campaign contributions.

  28. Need to Know

    Look back at my post #16. Getting rid of this BOCS, in particular Covington and Stewart is imperative if Prince William County wants to move beyond being the DC region’s banana republic.

    Albrite, named in the article as the owner of the property, is affiliated with Brookfield Homes. Remember the Stewart/Covington shennigans last summer to sneak through BOCS approval of Avendale, the huge residential development adjacent to Innovation? They made the deal with the Gainesville Grizzlies behind John Stirrup’s back to promise never-to-be-seen footbal fields in exchange for parading their kids through the public hearing? Avendale is a Brookfield Homes project.

    Brookfield wanted to dump this property and Finley became the sucker. Stewart and Covington are now apparently employees of Brookfield Homes and doing a great job representing Brookfield’s interests in Prince William County. I think Brookfield should give of them raises. I know I would if I had employees working that hard on my behalf.

  29. Go Grizzlies. Talk about being used.

    I am glad Eric Finley finally decided to speak out. Talk about a royal screw job. He got it.

  30. Need to Know

    Regarding Finley, I have a lot of sympathy for him. I did not support locating an asphalt plant next to Innovation, but Finley himself appears to be a good member of our local business community who creates jobs here. His shortcoming was trusting this Board of County Supervisors and County staff.

    As a Republican, I grudgingly give credit to Principi also. One loses all credibility if truth is put aside in the interest partisanship. Principi has honored his pledge to protect the Rural Crescent by voting against Avendale and the Road to Nowhere, as did John Stirrup and Mike May. Stewart signed it and blew it off when he stabbed his land use supporters in the back. The others never signed it or made any commitment to protect the Rural Crescent or pursue sensible land use in PWC.

  31. Need to Know

    Joe Kernan on CNBC is doing a great job right now tearing apart Sen. Warner, who is opposing the tax rate/unemployment deal. Warner is another example of a rich liberal who has his and now wants to be generous with other people’s money.

    Given a choice between the two, I would keep Webb over Warner any day.

    1. Whoever Kernan is, he will have a large task ahead of him if he thinks he can tear apart Mark Warner. Mark Warner is known for being able to pull Democrats and Republicans together over fiscal issues and for not being generous with other people’s money.

      Actually Warner is a moderate Democrat. He opposed the moveon.org ads.

      Given a choice, I am willing to bet you won’t vote for either one of them. Just a hunch.

  32. Cato the Elder

    Oh please oh please oh please blow up the tax deal!

  33. Cato the Elder

    Well, not blow it up, but put up some kind of fight that makes it *look* like it’s about to blow up..

  34. Elena

    It’s funny to me , not in haha kind of way, but in an odd sense of funny. When Republicans are rich they are admired for being smart business men, when Democrats are rich, they are demonized.

    Mark Warner started his own cell phone business and then succesfully help turn the fiscal mess the state of VA was in. That is why he was able to bring dem and repub’s together, he was interested in getting the job done, not being partisan.

  35. Pat.Herve

    they act like they accomplished something. They wait until December to ‘fix’ the issue of the tax cuts expiring. In a real business, I would fire the entire team for waiting so long to fix such an important issue – and then punting – but, we the people, keep voting in the same lackeys to fix our problems.

    With this compromise, they have done nothing, but kick the bucket down the road for two more years, and set us up for another bout of December fire fighting.

  36. Need to Know

    @Cato the Elder

    Cato – I think the package is good – don’t raise the tax rates, extend unemployment benefits, give some clarity on the death tax, and begin a payroll tax reduction. All of these are broad, apply to everyone and will have a positive impact on the economy.

    Now, begin massive cutting elsewhere. For example, look at the other stimulus programs targeted toward specific special interests (i.e., unions and other Obama supporters).

    The Debt Commission has some good ideas also. I certainly don’t agree with all of their recommendations, but people criticizing the report should read it – http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/.

    For example, from the Commission’s report;

    “Reduce voluntary contributions to the United Nations. According to the Office of Management and Budget, the United States provided over $6.3 billion in taxpayer funds to the United Nations in FY2009. Less than half ($2.7 billion) of that total went to “assessed”
    dues – payments that the United States is charged for being a member and for its share of peacekeeping operations around the world.

    The United States is by far the largest donor to the United Nations in terms of assessed dues. However, the United States gives the United Nations more than $3.5 billion in “voluntary” funds each year.”

    Maintaining the “Bush Tax Cuts” to keep our economy growing, and extending unemployment benefits to help Americans who are suffering through fault of their own are critical. Pumping money into the pockets of corrupt UN bureaucrats who are working against our interests anyway is absurd.

    There are plenty of examples of wasteful spending such as this to fund maintaining the tax rates for everyone, and extending unemployment benefits.

  37. Need to Know

    correction:

    to help Americans who are suffering through no fault of their own

  38. Need to Know

    @Elena

    Warner is an outstanding businessman and deserves admiration on that count as much as any Republican businessman. But that’s not the issue.

    He enjoyed the benefits of a low tax environment while building his business. Now that he has his fortune, however, he wants to raise taxes on everyone, Democrat and Republican, who are striving to accomplish what he did in the business world. He wants to be generous with our money. Why doesn’t he just mail in checks on his own account if he feels so strongly about this?

    Remember also, that while Governor he cried that the sky was falling over and over until he got big tax increases. Then, his tax increases generated large surpluses, which he did not return to taxpayers, or reduce the tax rates. He kept the money coming in from businesses and individuals and expanded the size of the State government.

  39. Cato the Elder

    @Need to Know

    Oh, I think it’s a fairly even compromise. I just want the moonba^^^ err.. I mean “courageous Democrats” to start squawking about blowing up the deal so it would back the market up to 1200 or so to give me some better entries for the end of year window dressing.

  40. Elena

    Pat.Herve :they act like they accomplished something. They wait until December to ‘fix’ the issue of the tax cuts expiring. In a real business, I would fire the entire team for waiting so long to fix such an important issue – and then punting – but, we the people, keep voting in the same lackeys to fix our problems.
    With this compromise, they have done nothing, but kick the bucket down the road for two more years, and set us up for another bout of December fire fighting.

    Agree completely. I thought repubicans ran on paying down the deficit???? CAN’T do that if you pass tax cuts that aren’t paid for! I love it, repub’s want the unemployment benefits paid for but not the tax cuts????

  41. There are sacred cows on this blog. First and foremost, Bill Clinton is the numero uno sacred cow. The second sacred cow might just be Mark Warner. There is a third and fourth but what does it matter.

    What disgusts me is just not being able to hide the partisanship. The of the reasons for the sacred cows is that they can and they can work together for the betterment of America.

  42. @Need to Know

    We simply have different recollections of what happened when he was governor. Actually I remember the state being in crisis, and it was, and Warner working together with Democrats and Republicans. Funny, many moderate Republicans like Harry Parrish also saw the state problems and he and other R’s worked with Warner to bring Virginia’s financial crisis under control.

  43. Mark Warner is tired of far right and far left extremists. Check it out for yourself.
    There is also a video.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/09/mark-warner-move-on-tea-parties_n_780864.html

  44. Need to Know

    @Moon-howler

    Moon, your recollections are correct. I did not like some of the budget shenanigans Governor Gilmore got behind, either. I know a lot about this stuff and do not appreciate someone, Republican or Democrat, trying to slip something like this past me. It’s an insult to my intelligence and, as I’ve written before, I call things as I see them. I have long, detailed memory for this sort of thing and it’s working overtime on the PWC BOCS now. Spotting such antics by Corey Stewart, Wally Covington, etc. is so easy it’s like shooting piranhas in a barrel.

    Warner did face a challenging economy when he took office and, to his credit, worked to remedy it. My problem is with the huge tax increases he got through. They generated surpluses that should have driven tax cuts. They didn’t. The State proceeded to spend the money and increase the long-term, base budget.

    I certainly would prefer Warner for President over Obama. Warner is not driven by ideology to the extent as is Obama and I think he takes a much more practical, business-oriented perspective than does Obama. However, Warner accepts expansion of government much more readily than I like, and now advocates tax policies that make accomplishing what he did in business more difficult for others. I guess it soothes his personal guilt feelings to be generous now with my money.

  45. I have no idea why Warner should feel guilty.
    What tax policies are you talking about?

  46. Need to Know

    When campaigning for governor, Mark Warner promised not to raise taxes. He took office when the nation was still recovering from the recession caused by the bursting of the tech bubble and then hindered by the economic aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, neither of which were his fault.

    Despite the adverse economic circumstances and his own “creative” measures with the State budget to make it look better than it was, Governor Gilmore left a $900 million rainy day fund that Governor Warner proceeded to spend down.

    Despite his promise not to raise taxes and the funds left by his Republican predecessor, Governor Warner campaigned in favor of regional sales tax increases in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, both of which voters rejected. Despite the public stating rather clearly that they wanted Governor Warner to keep his promise not to raise taxes, in 2004 he worked with Democrats and big government Republicans to get a tax increase that amounted to about $1.5 billion annually.

    Two years later, the state was running a budget surplus of more than $1 billion. That surplus was not returned to taxpayers in the form of repeal of the Warner tax package or other tax cuts.

    1. I recall a stated desire not to raise taxes rather than a promise. Circumstances often tangle the best of intentions, as Gov. Gilmore found out when he campaigned to stamp out the car tax. He took a big bite out of it but about 40% still remains. There was still reality to be dealt with and and things change.

      I expect some of that surplus was returned to the rainy day fund or applied to an area that had been shorted. Going back almost ten years taxes the instant recall button of my brain. I am far more comfortable reading that someone, a politician does something someone doesn’t like specifically than political shots about spending other people’s money. Mark Warner was a popular governor with all except the very partisan right. Very few of our governors can make that claim.

  47. @Elena
    Again, one does not PAY for tax cuts. That money belongs to the citizen that earned it. However, one does cut spending. How’s about those that are overspending, rein it in? Historically, the government gets about 19% of GDP in taxes. Anything over that is deficit spending.

    How about we cut about 4% across the board? Think the Senate would agree to that? Remember the Democrats are the ones still in charge in BOTH houses.

    http://reason.com/archives/2010/12/05/how-to-balance-the-budget-with

    1. @Cargo

      Chose a different word than ‘pay for.’ Somehow the money has to be made up.

  48. Pat.Herve

    cargo – I agree with you that one does not pay for tax cuts, the issue is that when COngress does cut a tax, they do not cut the corresponding spending. Even here the tax cuts are extended, unemployment insurance extended, reduction in payroll tax – and no spending relief. McConnel did not even want to give up the earmarks in the Senate (I do not think Reid wanted to either).

    Congress has just go to stop, yet neither side is willing to do what is necessary (because they are worried about their own ‘careers’).

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