Bob Weir of Haymarket Declares Candidacy for Chairman of the BOCS

MoonHowler

Bob Weir, council member for the Town of Haymarket,  publically declared his candidacy for Chairman of the BOCS during citizens’ time today.  Most people looked rather surprised.  Mr. Weir spoke of his outrage over lack of transparency, lack of open government, and the impact and undue influence of special interests and his comments were directed at the Chairman, Corey Stewart.  He also spoke of his disappointment in leadership and overall lack of knowledge of the issues.

Bob Weir told the Board that there were 4 boxes to use in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo.  Mr. Weir will challenge as a Republican.   Corey Stewart responded with “And Happy Holidays to you, too.”

Lame-as-F@#k Congress

MoonHowler

Here’s a tribute to a few Republican senators who find comfort and advantage in invoking the heroes of 9/11 but refuse to give them health care.

Shame Shame Shame!

 

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Lame-as-F@#k Congress
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> The Daily Show on Facebook

“Since when does the Republican party make   9/11 first responders  stand  over in the corner with the gays and the Mexicans?” asks Jon Stewart. What are they thinking? First Responders should be taken care of before anyone. Many are sick. Many are sick after they were assured the air was healthy. This situation is a national disgrace and there are just too many opportunistic hypocrites out there.

It must be the calendars.

A lot of liability and little authority: Manassas Fire and Rescue Chief resigns

MoonHowler

Manassas Fire and Rescue Chief Mike Wood has resigned and not as a happy man.  He has been at his post for 2 years.  According to News and Messenger:

However, by his own admission, Wood is resigning a disappointed man. He said the current fire and rescue department gave him a lot of liability and little authority. It’s also a system that he feels makes residents of Manassas less safe than they should be

“[Public safety] is an essential service and an essential service needs a strategic vision, a strategic plan,” Wood said. “Some two years into my appointment, we’ve not been able to develop a strategic plan. There are too many diverse and opposing views on what could be done, should be done and what may need to be done.”

Manassas City established a system that was a six-person public safety committee comprised of volunteer and career staff.  Additionally, there was a 5 person appeals committee.  City Councilman Andy Harrover helped create  this Manassas Fire and Rescue set-up that was organized to prevent problems.  Obviously it didn’t.  Other officials weighed in on the subject in the N & M:

Manassas Volunteer Rescue Squad president Mike Enright was a little more blunt, stating the Manassas Volunteer Fire Company “disrespected” Wood.

 “I am surprised he lasted this long,” Enright said.

Manassas Mayor Harry J. “Hal” Parrish II said it was tough for all parties involved, including City Council. Set up in January, the system established a six-person public safety committee made up of volunteer and career staffers and a five-person appeals committee made up of Manassasresidents and run by city manager Lawrence Hughes. Councilman Marc T. Aveni chaired the public safety committee.

“I can’t help but think that a great system can come together when people decide they both need and want to work together cooperatively as a team, that is the key,” Parrish said.

Woods departure is seen by many as a real set back to City Fire and Rescue. 

Assistant Fire & Rescue Chief Mike Rohs said he could’ve retired a few years ago but chose to stick around to see what Wood could do.  Both Rohs and Enright praised Wood for his professionalism, open-door policy and his ability to obtain grants for the betterment of the department.

How do volunteers and paid staff work side by side?  It never made sense to me how this works.  Obviously someone or several someones didn’t like taking orders from the paid professionals.  They probably thought they were volunteers and didn’t have to go by the same rules as those on a pay check.  Yet, the volunteers help already stretched municipal budgets and provide a great service to the community.   Regardless of what has transpired, Mike Woods seems to have the respect of most city folks. 

Prince William County has certainly had its ups and downs with this issue also.  Regardless, the next Chief needs to have a great deal more authority over all fire and rescue.  The people of Manassas deserve no less.  City of Manassas people also need to be willing to dump a few of their tax pennies into the public jar to ensure that they have the most up to date equipment.  Word on the street is, they rely a little too much on other jurisdictions to make up their equipment deficiencies.   Hopefully, city folks will help fill in the blanks here.  

 

 

 

Richard Holbrooke, special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Dies

MoonHowler

Richard Holbrooke has died after complications of 21 hour surgery to repair a torn aorta.  He has served under every Democratic president since JFK.  The Washington Post reports:

…that Holbrooke’s last wordscame just before the 21-hour operation.  As Holbrooke was sedated for surgery, his final words were to his Pakistani surgeon, family members said: “You’ve got to stop this war in Afghanistan.”

Those are powerful words coming from a man who has brokered many difference peace accords between countries. 

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From Prince William Conservation Alliance: The End Run

MoonHowler

From The Prince William Conservation Alliance:

 

PWC Comprehensive Plan Environment Chapter 2010 Update – Developers propose 11th hour changes that will force higher taxes this spring
Supervisors vote on December 14, 7:30 pm at McCoart Government Center. Click here for the staff report and here to read about the original draft policies.

Supervisors adopted most but not all the positive changes to the County’s Environment Chapter on December 7. This consensus document, as recommended by County staff, includes input from citizens, environmental organizations, civic groups, businesses and developers.

However, after the public hearing was closed, the Chairman put forward 11th hour revisions at the request of developers. Supervisors deferred these items to to this Tuesday’s Board meeting, 2:00 pm, at McCoart Government Center.

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The Real John Boehner on 60 Minutes

MoonHowler

and there is more….

Why does he reject the world compromise?  All of politics requires compromise–each side giving in a little.  No one side can always win. 

He seems like a strange bird to me.  Is the crying normal?  Politics make ME want to cry but…..he seems somewhat unstable.  He seems soft but his politics aren’t soft.  Is this incongruous?

 

Geminid Meteor Shower Defies Explanation

MoonHowler

December 13-14 mark the best nights for viewing the Geminid meteor shower.  What makes this meteor shower so special?  What makes it worth going out in the cold of winter to see a few ‘shooting stars?’

A Geminid fireball explodes over the Mojave Desert in 2009. Credit: Wally Pacholka / AstroPics.com / TWAN.

The Geminids are the most intense meteor shower of the year, it lasts for days, and it is known for having the most fireballs. 

According to nasa.gov:

It’s also NASA astronomer Bill Cooke’s favorite meteor shower—but not for any of the reasons listed above.

“The Geminids are my favorite,” he explains, “because they defy explanation.”

Most meteor showers come from comets, which spew ample meteoroids for a night of ‘shooting stars.’ The Geminids are different. The parent is not a comet but a weird rocky object named 3200 Phaethon that sheds very little dusty debris—not nearly enough to explain the Geminids.

“Of all the debris streams Earth passes through every year, the Geminids’ is by far the most massive,” says Cooke. “When we add up the amount of dust in the Geminid stream, it outweighs other streams by factors of 5 to 500.”

This makes the Geminids the 900-lb gorilla of meteor showers. Yet 3200 Phaethon is more of a 98-lb weakling.

3200 Phaethon was discovered in 1983 by NASA’s IRAS satellite and promptly classified as an asteroid. What else could it be? It did not have a tail; its orbit intersected the main asteroid belt; and its colors strongly resembled that of other asteroids. Indeed, 3200 Phaethon resembles main belt asteroid Pallas so much, it might be a 5-kilometer chip off that 544 km.

 

More can be read at the NASA site.  Most folks just want to know where to look:

 

Gemini is easy to find.  Just look left and up.  If you have an iPad, there are star watchers to help you navigate the sky.  My favorite is Sky Walk.   The Geminids often appear in colors and they are slower to cross the sky than other meteor showers.  Fireballs are associated with this show. 

The long and short of it is, most meteor showers come from comet tail dust.  The Geminids come from the debris of a busted up asteroid, Phatheon. 

  

And you laughed at me….

MoonHowler

Some of you had a good  laugh at me last fall when I said that there have been no states rights since the Civil War. 

I lifted this letter from the Charlottesville Daily Progress.  It seems that at least someone else agrees with me, even if he lived many generations before me:

Jefferson Smith

December 6, 2010

Having read the “apology” from a Confederate soldier (Daily Progress letter to the editor, Nov. 25), I would like to offer thoughts from another Confederate soldier.

I am 82 years of age. My grandfather served the Confederacy under North Carolina Gen. J. Johnston Pettigrew. He died at the Battle of Gettysburg. I will allow his thoughts, written to my grandmother just a couple of weeks prior to that battle, to speak for themselves.

“My lovely wife. I do so miss you, and the life we have there on the small plot of land God has given us. More and more, it seems that my thoughts are drifting back there to reside with you. Yet, as badly as I desire to be back home, it is for home for which I deem it best for my presence here with these other men. The proclamation by the Lincoln administration six months prior may appear noble. Were I here in these conditions, simply to keep another man in bondage, I would most certainly walk away into the night and return unto you. God knows my heart, and the hearts of others here amongst me. We know what is at stake here, and the true reason for this contest that requires the spilling of the blood of fellow citizens. Our collective fear is nearly universal. This war, if it is lost, will see ripples carry forward for five, six, seven or more generations. I scruple not to believe, as do the others, that the very nature of this country will be forever disspirited. That one day, our great great grandchildren will be bridled with a federal bit, that will deem how and if they may apply the gospel of Christ to themselves, their families and their communities. Whether or not the land of their forefathers may be deceitfully taken from them through taxation and coercion. A day where only the interests of the northern wealthy will be shouldered by the broken and destitute bodies of the southern poor. This my darling wife, is what keeps me here in this arena of destruction and death.”

 Odd that this man who lived so many years ago and who lost his life at the Battle of Gettysburg, seemed to be prophetic.  ‘Bridled with a federal bit’ is a rather eloquent way of stating things. 

Virginia Public Employees May Have to Pay Own VRS Contributions

MoonHowler

Virginia public employees may have to start paying their own 5% VRS contribution if some lawmakers have their way.  According to the Richmond Times Dispatch:

Virginia legislators are preparing to take a fresh look at whether to require state and local government employees to pay their full share of pension costs.

Faced with rising rates to pay for long-term liabilities, members of the General Assembly are considering requiring all public employees — not just those hired after last June 30 — to pay 5 percent of their salary toward their pensions.

The legislature also is likely to discuss whether to offer state employees the option of contributing to a 401(k) plan they can manage themselves instead of a defined-benefit plan run by the state.

“There is no doubt this issue is going to be revisited this session,” said Del. S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on compensation and retirement.

Jones also said he is disappointed that most local governments and school systems chose to pay for new employees’ share of pension contributions.

A new law took effect last July 1 that allowed localities to hold new employees responsible for their own contributions.  Very few localities took advantage of this offer.  About 80% continued paying this benefit for new employees.

…[T]he governor and the legislature also deferred paying $620 million into the state and teacher pension plans to balance the $70 billion biennial budget. That diminished the retirement system’s ability to pay future liabilities at the same time it lowered its expectations for returns on market investments. The result is intensified pressure on contribution rates, which will be reset in 2012.

McDonnell has promised to begin making up those deferred payments in the coming year, but he wouldn’t say last week whether he will propose to reverse a 27-year-old deal that allowed the state to cover employee shares of their pensions instead of raising their pay.

In an interview last week, McDonnell said he will recommend changes to the retirement system when he reveals his proposed budget amendments Friday, but he would not elaborate.

“What I’m interested in is the long-term solvency of the retirement system,” he said, adding that he has 22 years of state service vested in the system.

McDonnell said he created a work group several months ago to consider pension options. He cited concerns about unfunded, long-term liabilities; the increasing number of employees retiring; and the potential for big increases in employer contribution rates next year.

The amount borrowed from VRS keeps changing.  At one point it was in the neighborhood of 6 billion dollars.  At one point, VRS received accolades  for being one of the best handled retirement systems in the United States.  How could things have gone south so quickly.  Perhaps Eric Cantor’s wife can explain it.  She is chairman of the board of directors of VRS.   We cannot ignore the fact that large sums of money were borrowed from the pension fund and that is part of the reason it isn’t in as good of shape as it once was.  

Of course the VRS lost money during the \crash of 2008.  However, it lost around 20% which is a whole lot less than what most individuals lost.  The investments were very solid.  As for employees electing to go the 401k route rather than the pension route…what fool is going to fall for that one?  No one would do that unless the pot were sweetened a great deal.

Many people rely on the VRS for their retirement.  All state employees, judges, magistrates, commonwealth’s attorneys, sheriffs, police, county employees, and teachers are part of the system unless the locality elects to have its own form of retirement.  It is unfortunately that this retirement system appears to have appendages on the chopping block because of state deficits.  Strange that it was the first place the state looked to borrow from when the budget needed balancing. 

Back in the day when employees had to pay their own 5%, they weren’t given an option to join or not join.  It was required.  How is that different than being required to have health care?  Can   a government require an individual to buy retirement?  Perhaps Cuccinelli will sue the state over that one, should it come to pass.  Wait…he is the state.  Ooops.

[note:  highlighting by administration.]

[UPDATE:  noon  12/12/10-  Blue Virginia’s take on this issue   http://www.bluevirginia.us/diary/2572/pension-plan-pay-cut]

 

Virginia participants

 

 

 

Bill Still has his Mojo

MoonHowler

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Damn, he still has that old Clinton MOJO. It pays to listen to Bill. He certainly proved it during his presidency. And he did know how to meet people half way. Nuff said. 

 

From Huffington Post:

Clinton gave the package his full-throated endorsement, even while noting that he opposes the extension of upper-income tax cuts – though he himself will benefit from it.

“I personally believe this is a good deal and the best he could have gotten under the circumstances,” Clinton said, urging fellow Democrats to support it.

“If I was in office now, I would have done what the president has done,” he said.

Clinton, whose focus on the economy helped get him elected in 1992, said he spends about an hour a day studying up on it and trying to figure out what to do about it. He said the proposal to trim Social Security taxes is the “single most effective tax cut” to support economic activity and create jobs. “I expect it to lower the unemployment rate and keep us going,” he said.

“In my opinion, this is a good bill and I hope that my fellow Democrats will support it,” Clinton said. “I think this is a much, much better agreement than would be reached were we to wait until January.”

So is Bill right or wrong?  Is this the best deal President Obama will get?

“Manning Up”? Speaking the truth with courage and conviction

MoonHowler

“Manning Up”? Speaking the truth with courage and conviction

Guest post byCamillus

Camillus, a former Republican Party officer in his home state in the Northeastern United States who was involved in campaigns at both the local, state, and federal levels during the 2010 elections.

Disclaimer: All guest posts are the opinion of the poster and do not necessarily represent the views of moonhowlings.net administration. M-H

 

Joe Scarborough, a former Congressman who is now a conservative television host on MSNBC, recently called on national Republicans to “man up” and confront Sarah Palin. I want to propose something rather different. The real need is for people of good will across the political spectrum to “man up” and speak honestly about the movement that supports and sustains both Palin and other similar politicians such as Carl Paladino and Sharron Angle- the Tea Party- and the broader cultural forces that have given rise to it and that continue to fuel it today.

Although I agree with some positions held by the Tea Party movement, and share many of its concerns regarding the direction of the country, I am convinced that its emergence represents a real danger to our common future. Indeed, I am persuaded that its course runs inevitably to a dystopian tomorrow.

Why? Because it is marked by anti-intellectualism, hostility to established institutions, resentment, and, most significantly, fear and anger. This fear is inchoate, but ever-present. At its base, I think it is a fear of the future- of the economic, demographic, and cultural changes sweeping both our nation and the globe. In other words, it is a fear of the unknown. And being fearful, it is brittle. As a result, it is intolerant of dissent and the open discussion and debate of ideas. This intolerance is expressed in naked hostility towards opponents- they are not merely wrong, they must be demonized. Above all else, it is marked by the utter absence of love, by which I mean that love of brother- agape- that is for me always truth’s handmaiden.

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Vote to Repeal DADT Fails 57-40

MoonHowler

 

Public opinion supports the repeal of DADT policy.  This seems to be a blow to civil rights.  The 3 missing votes were from 1 new Democrat, Joe Manchin  from West Virginia and 2 Republicans.  There was defense department support for repealing this antequated policy.  Both Senators Warner and Webb voted to repeal it and for the military funding. 

There is strong rumor that Joe Liebermann and Susan Collins will introduce an independent, separate repeal of DADT. 

 

Some New Heroes

MoonHowler

The BOCS is learning and we have some new heroes.  Mike May, Frank Principi and Marty Nohe simply didn’t allow Corey Stewart to change staff recommendations on the Environmental Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan to favor his developer buddies. 

Last Tuesday’s meeting lasted until well after 10 pm.  Listening to it was worse than being beaten with whips and chains all while watching paint dry and grass grow.  After what seemed like hours of droning by staff and citizens,  Stewart wanted to change 3 different areas of impact from what staff recommended.  He tried to talk his way around the business end of it.  That didn’t work.  Staff had just gotten the copy of the proposed changes that afternoon.  That didn’t sit well.  Perhaps they remember the ripping they got over passing Corey’s ‘attachment’ to the legislative package before they had time to read the attachment, digest the UVA report, or give citizens time for input.  They sure didn’t allow him to do it to them  or the county again. 

Mike May moved to pass everything but the 3 items in question.  Those were to be tabled until next week when a side by side comparison would be prepared.  Citizens would also have time for input.  Congratulations and thanks to Mike May for good governance.  Thanks to Supervisors Nohe and Principi for doing good back up.  Sunshine is always needed, even in Prince William County. 

Moonhowlings is glad to see our supervisors putting a stop to the end runs and antics  of the Chairman.  He obviously wants to dispense with some of the environmental issues since they get in the way of the developers making a buck.  Sneaking in changes late at night when the changes have not been subject to public review is sneaky.  Using the excuse that endangered species is a federal issue just isn’t going to fly, Corey.  He must think that the migration flight of the butterfly is an example of illegal immigration or something.  Geeez. 

Note:  if other supervisors were part of blocking the end run, it was late, I was bored out of my skull, and I apologize to them.

 

The DREAM Act passes the House

MoonHowler

The DREAM Act passed the House, but outlook for the Senate is not so good.  The DREAM Act is short for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act.  Wikipedia provides the following information:

This bill would provide certain illegal and deportable alien students who graduate from US high schools, who are of good moral character, arrived in the U.S. illegally as minors, and have been in the country continuously and illegally for at least five years prior to the bill’s enactment, the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency if they complete two years in the military or two years at a four year institution of higher learning. The students would obtain temporary residency for a six year period. Within the six year period, a qualified student must have “acquired a degree from an institution of higher education in the United States or [have] completed at least 2 years, in good standing, in a program for a bachelor’s degree or higher degree in the United States,” or have “served in the uniformed services for at least 2 years and, if discharged, [have] received an honorable discharge.”[2] Military enlistment contracts require an eight year commitment, with active duty commitments typically between four and six years, but as low as two years.[3][4] “Any alien whose permanent resident status is terminated [according to the terms of the Act] shall return to the immigration status the alien had immediately prior to receiving conditional permanent resident status under this Act.”

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