The Virginia Senate Transportation committee Thursday gave the green light to a handful of new specialty license plates, including a tea party-themed slogan “DONT TREAD ON ME.”
This news should make many people on this blog happier than a snake on a yellow flag!
Indiana Congressman Mike Pence has declared a personal war on Planned Parenthood in hopes of ending abortion. For the past three legislative sessions, he has targeted Planned Parenthood by introducing legislation that would deny Title X funds to any organization providing abortions. According to Politico:
This week, Pence went even further, introducing an amendment to the continuing resolution that would strip Planned Parenthood — and Planned Parenthood alone — of all federal funding.
Pence’s latest maneuver comes at an inopportune time for many in the Republican Party.
Some GOP leaders — including Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels — have urged their party to downplay hot-button social issues in order to win over moderate voters ahead of the 2012 presidential race. Others, like House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), have said House Republicans must focus on creating jobs and cutting spending.
Rep. Pence remains the darling of social conservatives. Many supported him for the presidential race in 2012, despite the fact he has said he will not run. Pence has not ruled out the possibility of running for Indiana governor.
Alert! Update:
Minutes ago, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to bar Planned Parenthood from all federal funding for any purpose whatsoever. That means no funding to Planned Parenthood health centers for birth control, lifesaving cancer screenings, HIV testing, and other essential care.
Natalie Munroe was suspended from her job in the middle-class Central Bucks School District for her profanity-laced blog, which has since been taken down.
In it, the 30-year-old teacher called her students “disengaged, lazy whiners” and complained that they are “just generally annoying” and “disobedient, disrespectful oafs.”
Online comments applaud her for taking a tough love approach or excoriate her for verbal abuse. She’s attracted media attention, and backers have started a Facebook group.
Munroe did not use her full name or identify her students or school. A school official did not return a message Tuesday.
If the lady didn’t use her full name or identify her students or school, it seems like she is being denied her first amendment rights. It sounds as though some folks out her way are being either thin skinned or paranoid.
Many students are lazy, whine, cheat and think they should get good grades for doing not much at all. Perhaps they need to read how they are perceived. Their bosses will find the same thing their teachers are currently looking at.
I am not sure why she admitted to the blog being hers. Something is missing in this story. I am not sure how I feel about this story. Meanwhile, if no names were given, what is the harm? Contributors? Is this teacher out of line?
Much has been said about peaceful demonstration and the Egyptian people just wanting to be free. Perhaps we need to re-examine how peaceful the revolt really was. The Cairo Museum was broken in to and artifacts from antiquity were damaged or stolen. There were hundreds of deaths. Supposedly nice people were hurling stones. Anderson Cooper and Fox News crew Greg Palkot and Olaf Wiig were beaten up pretty badly. And on Friday, as it was all supposedly coming to an end, the Huffington Post reported:
On Friday February 11, the day Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stepped down, CBS correspondent Lara Logan was covering the jubilation in Tahrir Square for a 60 MINUTES story when she and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration. It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy.
Prince Willliam County will sue the Department of Homeland Security to find out the whereabouts of all criminal illegal immigrants who were taken into federal custody. Previous FOIA attempts have gone unanswered.
The county received no information regarding what appeared to be irregular protocol with Carolos Martinelly Montano. Martinelly was charged with causing the drunk driving accident that killed the Benedictine nun Sister Denise Mosier last summer.
The supervisors are also requesting a full Congressional investigation to find out where everyone processed through the county 287(g) program is. The county has no idea if those turned over to ICE were deported, imprisoned or released.
This afternoon President Obama awarded the Medal of Freedom to 15 recipients. The following were recipients:
Warren Buffett, Yo Yo Ma, George H. W. Bush, Bill Russell, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Rep. John Lewis, John Adams, Maya Angelou, Jasper Johns, Gerda Weissmann Klein, Tom Little (posthumously) , Sylvia Mendez, Stan Musial, Jean Kennedy Smith, and John Sweeney
The awards ceremony was very touching. President Obama was magnanimous. The most touching mini speech was given for former President Bush, who was in attendance.
Virginia scientists have discovered dead bats in Hamilton Cave in southwest Virginia. The bats have died of white-nose syndrome which makes the dead bats look like they stuck their noses in a vat of flour.
According to the Richmond Times Dispatch:
That white gunk was a fungus believed to cause a torturous disease in bats called white-nose syndrome.
In 2009, when scientists last checked Hamilton Cave in far Southwest Virginia, all the bats looked fine. But the mysterious fungus, new to science when it appeared in New York in 2006, is spreading quickly.
White-nose has killed more than 1 million bats from New Hampshire to Tennessee, including thousands in Virginia. At some Northeast caves, it has wiped out more than 90 percent of the bats, leaving behind little brown bones like pine needles.
Portland, Oregon is considering a restriction on fragrances for all city employees. The fragrances would fall under the category of anything that emits an odor like strong deoderants, perfume cologne, aftershave, etc.
The reason for considering this ban is the number of people who are allergic to strong scents. People have been known to go in to respiratory distress from fragrances. They can also trigger migraines.
Is this too much government interference? I am going to vote no. I am one of those people who is allergic to some scent. As ridiculous as it sounds, I can no longer use dryer sheets even. I would like for the restriction to go even further and include people in restaurants and stores. I think other jurisdictions should consider it.
One of the worst migraines I have ever had came from sitting behind some woman at a UMD basketball game. She must have bathed in perfume before coming to that game. I have this theory about fragrance. It should be for people you are up close and personal with. They should be able to smell it, not everyone who comes within 5 feet of a person. What say you?
Happy Valentines Day!
Watch out for those sneaky cupids.
Guest Post by Lafayette
Guest Post by Lafayette
Barbara Bush, always with her quick wit, tells her husband, George H. B. Bush, that he could be speaker of the house.
George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, appeared yesterday on NBC’s “Today Show” for an emotional Valentine’s Day special about their lasting love. While reading one particularly sentimental segment about their saved love letters, the 41st president began to tear up. Barbara to offered swiftly delivered comparison between her husband and the current Speaker of the House, John Boehner (although not by name).
Here is a fun, informative new toy to play with. The U.S. Census has blocked the census into bit size bits for us to look at called census tracts. Thanks to the New York Times.
My map is NOT interactive. However, the interactive map can be reached by clicking INTERACTIVE MAP and then using whatever zip code or city name you want. You can find out some really interesting information about racial distribution in an area.
Song of the Year
Need you Now
The cross over country group cleaned up with County music record of the year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, you name it. Lady Antebellum raked in 5 Grammies.
Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs” was named Album of the Year.
All that’s needed is a governor’s signature and Virginia will have yet another unfunded mandate. Starting in 2014, all elementary and middle schools must provide 150 minutes of PE per week for students. Half-day kindergarten students would be exempt. This change would be most significant in elementary schools where only 10% of schools meet the state standard. Recess would not be allowed to substitute for PE.
Not everyone likes the new law. The VEA opposes the bill. Several school systems oppose it also. According to the Washington Post:
But some school district officials oppose the looming requirement – to be implemented in 2014 – saying it could extend the school day, lead to cuts in arts and music classes, or increase costs because additional teachers would be needed.
“Schools can’t be expected to solve all of society’s problems,” said Fairfax Superintendent Jack D. Dale, who lobbied against the legislation.
Naturally, educators are concerned about PE cutting in to instructional time for academics. One of the biggest problems is where to hold PE classes during inclement weather. Many elementary schools simply lack facilities to have phyical activities going on inside the building. Most schools do not have gyms and often use the cafeteria when lunch isn’t being served. That’s going to be a problem.
From Politico:
“Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman and her husband, actor William H. Macy, marked the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade in Washington on Thursday with a song.
Huffman, who emceed the NARAL Pro-Choice luncheon in the vast Omni Shoreham Hotel ballroom, invited her husband to join her on stage. He obliged, ukulele in hand, and the two sung ditty about abortion rights.
“Some like government big, some want it small, and some people dream of no government at all. I’m simply asking you utopian rubes, keep politics out of my fallopian tubes,” went one verse.
Reminder, the issue is simply who choses, you or the government? Many of us find it amazing that those who advocate less government, smaller government, still want government in the business of reproduction decisions.
Who makes the most deeply personal decisions for us? Certainly not congressmen or women that don’t even know us.
Huffman and Macy entertain about a subject many of us take very seriously.
