Its that time again. Time for a new open thread. Lafayette has emailed me and given me the high sign.
144 Thoughts to “Open Thread………………………………………….Tuesday, March 1”
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All contents copyright Moonhowlings.net
Blogroll
- 9500Liberty
- Bacons' Rebellion Blogspot
- Bearing Drift
- Blue Virginia
- Citizen Tom
- Counts of Monte Cristo. The
- Derecho, The
- Dixie Pig, The
- My Side of the Fence
- My Star Journey
- NARAL Pro-Choice VA Blog
- New Dominion Project
- Nova Common Sense
- NovaTownHall Blog
- One Libertarians's Point of View by Al Alborn
- Pete Candland's Blog
- Potomac Local
- Prince William Muckraker
- PW Conservation Alliance
- PWC Moms
- PWCPolitics.com
- PWCPolitics.com
- Red NoVA
- Shad Plank, The
- She the People
- State of NoVA, the
- The Jeffersoniad
- Townhall
- VEA Daily Reports
- VivianPaige
- WDGolden.com
- You, Me and the Lamp Post
Thank you, Moon!! Cargo won’t be first on this thread. 😉
Here’s the local paper’s coverage of the advertised real estate tax rate of $1.21. Lovely, my hood is named specificallly in the article as having a marginal increase this year. Mr. Lafayette is right…We are NEVER leaving Lafayette, but not for the reasons he claims. It’s not me, it’s the house value.
http://www2.insidenova.com/news/2011/mar/01/prince-william-will-advertise-tax-rate-121-ar-876158/
Don’t forget to checkout your 2011 Real Estate Assessment at.
http://www04a.pwcgov.org/realestate/LandRover.asp
@Moon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8H2FIf1oH4
Anyone watching the Buffalo Soldiers?
They did a wonderful job. So did the dancers.
@ Laf -I think Medic is back under a new name.
Medic34 I meant
@Juturna
Where? 😉
I’ll get your email from you know who….
@Laf – done
I can attest to the fact that the person you think is medic is not medic. I hear medic has moved.
I was having the same old bizarre feeling….. 🙂 Thanks for the reassurance.
Three unanimous Supreme Court decisions released today. Two were decisions that were favorable to veterans, including an employment discrimination case. The third one was a decision that was adverse to AT&T. The company argued information it provided the government was exempt from later disclosure through the Freedom of Information Act under the FOIA personal privacy exception. The Court said a company was not a person entitled to personal privacy. Chief Justice Roberts displayed a bit of humor saying at the end of the opinion that he hoped AT&T didn’t take the decision personally. http://www.scotusblog.com/2011/03/details-on-todays-opinions-3/
So let me get this straight…a company isn’t a person when it comes to FOIA but it is a person when it comes to campaign fiance?
No wonder I stay confused.
some comic relief after a review of adjectives and distinguishing between person and personal. So was this heard to erase the precedent set by 3rd Circuit?
I thought it was medic64?
Jutrana – Yes.
Interesting argument tomorrow in Ashcroft v. Al-Kidd. The issue is whether former Attorney General Ashcroft has immunity from a lawsuit alleging the Bush administration abused the material witness statute (which applies to witnesses, not suspects or accused) to detain a suspected terrorist when they lacked probably cause to arrest him for a crime. Arguing in support of Ashcroft is acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal, former defense counsel for Osama Bin Laden’s driver in the 2006 Hamdan v. Rumsfeld case that brought an end to the military commissions created by President Bush’s executive order when Ashcroft was the Attorney General. He is one of the DOJ attorneys Liz Cheney attacked several months ago. He’s also one of the best and brightest attorneys I know. My guess is this will not be a unanimous decision and that Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, and Alito will vote as a block for Ashcroft. Kagan has recused herself, so 4 votes carries the day. ttp://www.scotusblog.com/?p=114777
Lafayette just called. Her internet explorer is down. I tried to help her to no avail. She called Verizon and was told that there is a huge problem nationwide with IE and she was that one tech rep’s 7th call in an hour.
Mine IE is working ok. but ….I have back up in the form of Chrome and Foxfire, so life will go on.
This weekend, my son took his two young boys to the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico. He said it was one of the most fascinating museums he has ever visited — and he has been to places like the Louvre and the Vatican Museum. Some of the life-sized battlefield dioramas seemed so real that the grandsons were almost afraid to go into them. That night, one of the kids looked up at me and said: “Grandpa, I saw your war.” I haven’t been there yet; but it looks like you people in PWC must have a real gem of a tourist attraction in your midst.
Senate to vote on short-term funding billBy Alan Silverleib, CNN
March 2, 2011 2:50 a.m. EST
Washington (CNN) — The Senate plans to vote Wednesday on a bill that would extend funding for the federal government by two more weeks while cutting $4 billion from current spending levels.
The House of Representatives passed the bill Tuesday on a 335-91 vote, with Republicans overwhelmingly backing it while Democrats were sharply divided.
Senators and aides from both parties said they expected it to pass Wednesday’s vote and proceed to President Barack Obama for his signature to prevent a government shutdown after Friday, when the current spending resolution expires at midnight.
While the bill extending government funding for two weeks — through March 18 — had been expected to clear the Republican-controlled House, some Democrats indicated a preference for a month-long extension while legislators worked on a more comprehensive spending plan for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends on September 30.
The White House has voiced concern that the passage of a series of short-term funding bills could create a climate of uncertainty and hamper prospects for a stronger economic recovery.
Obama called House Speaker John Boehner before Tuesday’s vote to discuss the measure, according to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.
Carney indicated the administration would be willing to back a package cutting up to $8 billion from current spending levels over a period lasting up to five weeks. The cuts, he told reporters, would be credited toward further decreases in a future comprehensive spending plan covering the remainder of the fiscal year.
Boehner, an Ohio Republican, brushed aside questions about a longer extension, telling reporters that Democrats should have approached him earlier about that possibility.
“I think we’re taking the responsible path forward,” Boehner said. “The American people want us to get our fiscal house in order, and this is a step in the right direction.”
The last Democratic Congress went on a “spending spree,” declared Kentucky Rep. Harold Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Now “we’re trying to slow down and stop” it.
Democrats have repeatedly argued Republicans are exacerbating the budget crunch by refusing to allow an expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. The cuts passed the then-Democratic-controlled Congress late last year.
Congress should use the two weeks provided by the bill for a “reality check,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California. “I just want to know where everyone was when the deficit grew in the eight years of the Bush administration.”
http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/02/budget.vote/index.html?hpt=T2#
That’s a damn good question.
Wolverine,
The Marine Corps Museum is having a photo scavenger hunt from now through the end of April. More information at http://www.usmcmuseum.com/news_pressrelease.asp?NewsID=106. This really looks fun.
Sorry missed you joining us this past Sunday.
Signs of a bottom: http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-cash-only-20110301,0,7049248.story
Lafayette posted the link to the new assessments as the last post in the previous open thread, which is now far down the list. I think it’s worth repeating:
http://www04a.pwcgov.org/realestate/LandRover.asp
I bought my home in the 90s and calculated the average annual compounded growth rate of its assessments. It came out to about 3.3%. I’m down 43% from the highest assessment in 2006, but gained a tiny amount in 2011.
A 3.3% annual increase is better than a loss, but is still not good. Long-term, real estate should perform better than that. Hindering us in Prince William County is the residential real estate glut arising from decades of the BOCS giving developers whatever they want. PWC ranks 26 in the nation in homes under water on their mortgages.
The developers and real estate people parade through Citizens Time bemoaning their lack of “inventory” and how badly they need developments like Avendale. What they don’t tell you about is the massive stockpile (over 6,000 as of today) of foreclosure, pre-foreclosure and bank-owned properties. I’ll provide that link in a separate post so I don’t get stuck in moderation because of two many links in a single post.
Link to foreclosure data in Prince William County:
http://www.all-foreclosure.com/citysearch.htm?&city=prince%20william%20county&state=VA
@ Moon re: AT&T. I think that AT&T is a coporate legal person. That didn’t change. They did not qualify for an exemption to FOIA by claiming their paperwork was “personal”. The Supremes did not buy their reasoning that “person” and “personal” meant the same thing. I’m sure it’s more complicated than that but that’s what I got out of the arguments.
@BS, its all too complicated for me. I give up trying to figure out personhood.
Correction to post #21, “too many” rather than “two many”
@Wolverine
Do make an effort to come see the Museum…I, in my own VERY affectionate way, refer to it as the “Church of the Holy Grail”. It is a fascinitating place, and for at least 26 years of the Corps history, it touches me personally as having a Gunnery Sergeant Dad.
Once when very young, asked my Mother who did we worship more in our house: God or Chesty Puller? Fortunately for me, my Mother has a sense of humor 🙂
The Supremes just handed down the Westboro Baptist ruling. They backed up the repugnant church having a right to protest in a public place at a public funeral.
That is very disturbing. I suppose that now yelling fire in a crowded theater is ok?
Wolverine,
Yes, indeed. When the Marine Corps League announced plans for a museum, I knew they’d do it right. One of the reasons the exhibits look so lifelike is they used active-duty marines as the models. I saw a story in the local paper about how uncomfortable the Marines were during the process of casting the molds. They had to hold their action poses, while the molds dried, breathing through straws in their noses.
Mrs. T took me there for my birthday, shortly after it opened. We were both blown away. I would encourage you to visit soon. Many of the volunteers are WWII and Korean War Marine Vets, who add personal color to the exhibits. These guys won’t be around forever.
re: housing. Nothing makes people relocate into your district faster than better schools. Just ask West Springfield.
@Cato, it sounds like that would be the reason to upscale your schools, rather than make massive cuts like Marinm suggests.
I know houses are very inflated in McLean in the Langley High School district. Excellent repuations go viral.
Oh, I just got finished reading over the PWC budget, and there are some things in there that can potentially be pole-axed. There’s a lot of administration, assistants of assistance, money spent for “fringe benefits” for executive and administrative staff (whatever that means). Personally I think that hiring an outside auditor would be a good investment.
I hope we get some candidates for BOS that have a detailed vision for economic development (the current one reads like a bad joke) complete with nuts and bolts instead of general platitudes.
These budgets don’t seem very transparent.
@Cato the Elder
“money spent for “fringe benefits” for executive and administrative staff”
Moon, please can’t we discuss?
Lt. Gen. John Kelly, who lost son to war, says U.S. largely unaware of sacrifice
By Greg Jaffe
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 2, 2011; 12:00 AM
Before he addressed the crowd that had assembled in the St. Louis Hyatt Regency ballroom last November, Lt. Gen. John F. Kelly had one request. “Please don’t mention my son,” he asked the Marine Corps officer introducing him
Four days earlier, 2nd Lt. Robert M. Kelly , 29, had stepped on a land mine while leading a platoon of Marines in southern Afghanistan. He was killed instantly.
Without once referring to his son’s death, the general delivered a passionate and at times angry speech about the military’s sacrifices and its troops’ growing sense of isolation from society.
“Their struggle is your struggle,” he told the ballroom crowd of former Marines and local business people. “If anyone thinks you can somehow thank them for their service, and not support the cause for which they fight – our country – these people are lying to themselves. . . . More important, they are slighting our warriors and mocking their commitment to this nation.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/01/AR2011030106355.html
so sad
Fringe benefits, budget line items, oh please, please, just this once, my favorite line item from last year’s budget:
251017 Police – Office of the Chief 2305 Clothing Allowance $4,195 (FY ’09) $4,195 (FY ’10)$4,195 (FY ’11)
Really, four grand a year for uniforms, hope all that trim is real gold.
@ starry, thank you for your link and story. You are right. So sad.
So Mom, do you want the man to dress like a pauper? I like it that the chief looks spiffy.
I don’t want him out there looking like some old bum on the street. It sort of sets PWC apart from some of the other localities.
Sirhan Sirhan has a parole hearing today. Fox is reporting that he was brain-washed.
Funny thing about Sirhan Sirhan Moon… have you ever seen “Decoded” with Brad Meltzer? Great show, I watched one the other night that talked about a religious sect called Rosicrucians and how they may be behind the Georgia Stone. They touch on Sirhan Sirhan a bit, it’s pretty interesting.
@Hello, I have not seen it. What channel? I have heard of the Rosicrurcians. Strange.
OK, a couple from last year’s budget that don’t involve staff: ( All are the FY ’11 base) It totals just over a million, curious, while there has been an across the board freeze on payraises, the BOCS has funded a Cost of Living Reserve program for Executive Staff.
Board of County Supervisors Memberships Dues $291,211
Board of County Supervisors Dumfries District Undistributed & Miscellaneous $47,500
Board of County Supervisors BrentsvilleDistrict Undistributed & Miscellaneous $45,542
Board of County Supervisors Coles District Undistributed & Miscellaneous $47,500
Board of County Supervisors Gainesville District Undistributed & Miscellaneous $47,935
Board of County Supervisors Neabsco District Undistributed & Miscellaneous $43,728
Board of County Supervisors Occoquan District Undistributed & Miscellaneous $45,542
Board of County Supervisors Woodbridge District Undistributed & Miscellaneous $47,500
Board of County Supervisors BOCS – Chairman Undistributed & Miscellaneous $42,086
Board of County Supervisors BOCS – Administration Undistributed & Miscellaneous $8,611
General County Attorney Cost of Living Reserve $10,539
General Office of Executive Management Cost of Living Reserve $7,755 General Office of Executive Management Cost of Living Reserve $900
General Office of Executive Management Cost of Living Reserve $900
General Office of Executive Management Cost of Living Reserve $900 General Office of Executive Management Cost of Living Reserve $900
General Commonwealth Attorney Cost of Living Reserve $18,610
General Sheriff Cost of Living Reserve $4,421
General Fire and Rescue Cost of Living Reserve $250,000
Adult Detention Center Adult Detention Center Cost of Living Reserve $33,448
Adult Detention Center Adult Detention Center Cost of Living Reserve $8,361
MSNBC and Huffington Post are reporting that George Bush as behind the dinosaur extinction 60 millions years ago. 🙂
@Moon, you can catch it ‘On Demand’ if you have Comcast on the History channel. Very interesting stuff, they now have a bunch of interesting episodes. One of my favorite was about the White House corner stone but the one that really made you question history was the one about John Wilkes Booth.
If you ever watch the Booth one let me know what you think…
Found it! @ hello. not comcast but I do have on demand.
@ Moon, cool, great show. Let me know what you think about the Booth episode if you ever get a chance to check it out.
No retina display: http://gigaom.com/apple/apple-ipad-2-what-you-need-to-know/
🙁
Good to see Jobs up and around though.
Check out this study to see how the various states match up on the issue of taxes.
http://taxfoundation.org/files/ff2011.pdf
That white ipad2 may have to be mine!
Just figured out the On Demand feature…Thanks, Hello!!!! 🙂 Awesome.
@Slow
What will you do with your old ipad?
I will wait for ipad3. I don’t have to have this. [she keeps telling herself]
@Moon-howler
Oh, let’s be honest….need has nothing to do with it 🙂 I’m a slave to the Apple-Gadget Masters. They string me along like a puppet. Steve Jobs says “buy this” and my only response is “yes, master”. The cover is way cool, too. I’ll either sell or give my old Ipad to my Mom, I’m thinking.
@slowpoke
I am resisting the iphone. I am telling myself that I can’t see it all that well. I might have to reevaluate this situation though. My only draw back is that iphone has no slider querty keyboard. Droid 2 does. However….sigh…it isn’t it isn’t an idroid.
I enjoyed your confession. I have a need vs want issue myself. I like many gadgets.
Your son might like the old ipad. How old is he now, 3? The gkid who is turning 5 next week loves the ipad and stays mesmerized for hours. She traces, watches movies, gets read to. I make her sit in a chair to do it only so she doesn’t drop it on the tile in the kitchen.
So what you think of that new ipod touch? I just got the older gdaughter one for her 16th birthday. Spoiled much?
I knew I was gone when I walked out of the Reston Town Center Apple Store with a new Ipod Touch not 4 months after buying the previous generation Ipod Touch. I got two cameras I don’t have much use for. I knew that I had ZERO self-control when it comes to Apple at that moment.
Every day I read comments on this blog that make me wonder what people are thinking about. Every day I wonder what is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. Every day I wonder how my grandson is doing in Afghanistan. Every day I wonder if my great-grandson will miss his father (my grandson-in-law)when he deploys this summer. Every day I wonder about the loved ones of friends are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan. Every day I think about people like Lieutenant Genral John Kelly who, despite the loss of a son to these senseless wars, manages to carry on. Every day I pray for these young men and women who have become invisible to our nation while they spill their blood so far from home.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/01/AR2011030106355.html
Thanks for reminding us that we are still involved in 2 wars, George. The civilians find it easy to forget about. We haven’t had to change our daily lives. People like you who have loved ones in harms way never get to forget, even for a minute.
It is a good time for all of us to reflect. Getting out of those wars also would take care of most of our budget problems.
@Moon-howler
A billion $$ a month! We have spent more thatn a trillion $$ and we are no more secure than we were 10 years ago. And 5,500 families have lost a loved one forever and perhaps nearly 40,000 young men and women have had their lives altered forever. And yet we seem to be dragging our feet as far as moving on is concerned.