Welcome Spring. It’s been a long, cold winter.
This week we have Japanese nuclear reactors and a new war. It’s always something!
153 Thoughts to “Open Thread ……………………………………………Monday, March 21”
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- Bacons' Rebellion Blogspot
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- Blue Virginia
- Citizen Tom
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- Derecho, The
- Dixie Pig, The
- My Side of the Fence
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- New Dominion Project
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- NovaTownHall Blog
- One Libertarians's Point of View by Al Alborn
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- PW Conservation Alliance
- PWC Moms
- PWCPolitics.com
- PWCPolitics.com
- Red NoVA
- Shad Plank, The
- She the People
- State of NoVA, the
- The Jeffersoniad
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- WDGolden.com
- You, Me and the Lamp Post
@Cargosquid
Cargo, Amazing that people don’t know this stuff. Thanks for sharing it.
Maybe this is where those of us who batted 1000 and hit homeruns thank a teacher.
I think that maybe kids should have to pass citizenship before being allowed to graduate. Maybe we ought to start requiring more basic stuff like this and less knowledge about why people went west and how many pigs in Iowa.
A bombing in Jeruselum at a bus stop. I hate hate.
Yesterday a Capital One bank was brazenly robbed in Manassas. Today a TD bank was robbed in Manassas. Is this Hoodsville or what?
Too bad those creeps can’t be shot on the spot.
Yawsey MH – Shoot on spot!!!
Lowest tax rate in the region. Cheapest place to live and do ‘business’. Get what ya pay for……
They’re evacuating the Eiffel Tower – Gadaffi???!!!
Well, they can be shot on spot Moon. Just need a conceal carry permit, a gun, and a fear your life is in danger.
I fear my money is in danger. That is just as bad.
What is happening with the Eiffel Tower?
Yea, Juturna, if I were king, I would shoot bank robbers. Target practice.
A suspicious package – they have evacuated. They are investigating a threat. Not sure if it’s verbal or written. They do expect to re-open.
Of course all that is being written here could be obtained via search warrant and used against you!!! Younger folks and some older folks are learning that blogs and social media can be used against you when applying for jobs.
@Hello, permit? A permit is not required to carry openly in the Commonwealth. A permit is only required for concealed carry if you don’t meet an exception.
Banks also have no affirmative duty to protect your life in their bank. Just like Virginia Tech was under no obligation to protect those injured and killed by another student.
Warren v. District is a good example of the limited liability of the government in protecting you (a peasant like me) from harm.
That’s the reason Mr. Howler gets to go to the bank. 👿
@marin
Actually they (Tech) had to pay out the ying yang so maybe they were more responsible than you think.
Its a good thing I have no plans to apply for a job in the near future. I think Moonhowlings would be used against me. I have seen that happen in other arenas.
That is one reason I always take mobile equipment with me when I am away from the house for any length of time. You just never know.
@marinm
Thanks for the info, shows how much I know, don’t have a hand gun. Just a shot gun for trap/skeet and hunting. Worked great on pheasants last season, will see how it works on wild turkey in a couple of months.
@Moon-howler
It was a payoff. Hush money. The Commonwealth or the school never admited liability. They did nothing wrong under the law.
The AG is currently defending the Commonwealth against a lawsuit by a college student that attended UMW (University of Mary Washington) who was raped. She is suing for $10M on the belief that the school should’ve protected her from rape.
That’s not the case. As the AG writes: (fredericksburg.com)
The person who committed the assault should be brought to justice,” the response continues. “But the Commonwealth of Virginia cannot be held liable in this case because it did not violate a legal duty it owed to anyone. Allowing [the] suit to go forward, based upon allegations that UMW should simply have done more, would subject the commonwealth to unlimited liability for the acts of third parties.”
Link to the AG’s response seeking dismisal http://blogs.fredericksburg.com/chalkboard/files/2011/03/umw-doc20110307175932.pdf
Link to the story
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2011/032011/03082011/611821/index_html?page=1
What I do find ironic and tragic is that students are disarmed by the government, not protected by the government and then can’t seek damages when something happens because the govt is immune.
The answer is simple. Allow adult students to carry in compliance with the law.
And having grown up in a university town and having graduated from Mary Washington College…ooops sorry, University of Mary Washingon, it makes me shudder to think that students would be armed. It would be totally irresponsible to allow students, given the amount of drinking and immaturity I have personally witnessed, to go about armed.
Being 18 does not make one mature or capable of exercising the judgement to carry a weapon in a campus environment.
#22 in moderation for multiple links. 🙂
M-H,
The Capital one bank robbery was in PWC, or, if you must, near Manassas.
Please stop labeling every bad thing that happens in western PWC as “Manassas”.
Manassas City has enough challenges without adding those from PWC or MP.
@Big Dog, Sorry, I live in the area known as Manassas. I am not a person without a home. The robberies took place near me.
Perhaps you should learn to say Manassas City, therefore being specific.
@Moon-howler
That made me laugh out loud. Smart cookie. Hope Mr. MH doesn’t read the blog.
I am determined to learn how to do this. Next week, bolding.
Fear not, Big Dog…Looks like ya’ll have one of your own today, at the TD bank on Liberia Ave.. Moon was just a day ahead of the news cycle. 🙂 Let’s not forget all of those banks in the City of Manassas that were getting robbed on an almost weekly basis last fall. We are one community. How does the city really plan to be welcoming to tourists when folks like yourself hate the fact that a portion of the county is Manassas too? There’s much to Manassas than the city limits.
edit: There’s much *MORE* to Manassas than the city limits.
Vote and pay taxes in Prince William County? You live in PWC.
Vote and pay taxes in Manassas? You live in Manassas.
Close, but not the same.
@Cargosquid
Beg to differ about teaching to the test. SOL is criteria referenced curriculum. The objectives tell you what content is to be taught and then you test on what has been taught. That’s a far cry from teaching to the test. Cutting through educationalese it simply means teaching specifics and then testing to see if the kids learned the specifics.
And yes, the whole state has the same curriculum. I don’t object to that. The curriculum is considered core material. Local jurisdictions can always add to it, just so all the SOL objectives are covered.
I think that kids need to learn civics rather than social studies somewhere along the line. That is probably what the problem is. There is no general course in civics that I am aware of.
And Cargo, lots of kids know how to spell ‘encyclopedia’ and all about conjunctions from Conjunction Function from watching TV.
Big Dog, have you all petitioned Manassas Mall to change their name? Just asking. How about that Manassas Battlefield you all are going to get the big tourist bucks from?
Banks not only will not protect your money as it is insured, some have been known to use UNARMED guards to make the customers “feel” safer. As a former Brinks messenger, I talked to one guard, asking her why she wasn’t armed and what they expected her to do, “Run for help?” I asked her why she was not wearing a protective vest because a robber would see her uniform and shoot her first. She quit that day at the end of her shift.
As for being armed on campus, if they are limiting it to concealed carry, one must be 21. As for the drinking…Unpossible! There’s no alcohol on campus. Those adults are underage. It would be illegal. I’m shocked! Shocked, I tell you!
Since the campus has specifically denied their students permission to arm themselves, as opposed the reality that visitors to the campus CAN carry, perhaps they ARE liable since they are not protecting the students in the face of disarmament.
Personally, I think that if one is old enough to be eligible for the draft, to enlist, to fight and kill for the country, be responsible for millions of dollars of equipment, be responsible for other lives, make split decisions that may have international consequences, get married and raise a family, sign contracts, travel across the world without permission, and generally live on their own…..they are old enough to drink. If 18-20 years IS NOT, then raise the age of maturity to 21. Either one is an adult or not. And if your are an adult, then you are entitled to exercise all the rights guaranteed to you under the Constitution.
@Cargo, we used that one back in the 60s about buying a beer and voting. Beware of unintended consequences.
My feeling is, if you want to be armed, join the service. They will train you how to use that weapon. You also aren’t armed to the teeth when you go out to the local bars.
Part of me agrees with you about the drinking. I don’t think one is an adult at 18. I think the 26th should be amended to be only about voting. Being able to vote should not confer any other rights on a person. Oooops…that’s what is says. Looks like the courts got hold of it:
.
Being able to vote says nothing about drinking, signing contracts or privacy. It certainly doesn’t mean your parents don’t get your grades in high school or college. Maybe you would rather not have gotten me started on this subject?
The 26th amendment led to the breakdown of all sorts of family crap when it was simply intended to allow people of draft age the right to vote.
As for booze…I have no problem with people under 21 being able to drink on base. The number of alcohol related deaths were drastically reduced once the drinking age went back up to 21. People shouldn’t be learning to drink and drive at the same time.
So, in theory, I agree…in a perfect world. However, the statistics simply don’t support the luxury of being idealistic.
@Moon-howler
Then the content is idiotic. My daughter learned about Greek and Roman history, just a taste really. It was 3rd grade. And then had to learn about the kingdom of Mali. Really? Mali had that much influence on the world. This year, because they have class from 8 to 2, science and social studies/history are taught on alternating months. Actually, they spend one day a week for a month. They spent that on the history of Henrico county. Again, really? No Presidents. No Revolutionary War. No US history.
They spend so much time worrying about the SOL’s, they don’t spend any time on a subject except to hit all the SOL points. Heck, they didn’t even have time to teach writing. Unless the child learned it at home, no child is writing in script.
I wasn’t even thinking of the amendment. I was thinking of all the rest of the things that 18-20 years old people are allowed to do. If they are allowed to act as adults and be held responsible as adults, then they are adults.
@Cargosquid
I don’t think the content has been arranged in an age-appropriate manner, necessarily. Greexe and Rome come back at 8th grade. I could go forever without Mali. Where the hell is that? You mean the Republic of Mali in Africa? I will hand you that one.
She should learn about Henrico County. That’s the history of your own community. VA history has always been a major component of the social studies program in VA so that is next.
I hate how schools have botched up SS and Sci. That is all because of block scheduling which is an invention of the devil and how schools save money. There are lots of other things wrong with it also.
Now…the nitty gritty…the SOLs…If you think of SOL as the curriculum, which it is then they will spend the entire year teaching the curriculum. Do you mean they spend too much time testing? That is only one component of the Standards of Learning.
If the SOL’s are the curriculum, then the content is horrible. In the “social studies,” it comes across as trivia. They reviewed math for, at least, half the year. Her homework was the same type of problems that she had in 4th grade. Science has some continuity. But the scheduling kills that.
They need to add an hour of school to the day. I remember being AT school by 7:30 and the bell ringing at 3:15. She has to be there by 7:50 and the day ends at 2pm.
@Cargo, I am not very familiar with the ss sol at elementary other than what I have worked with my grandson on. He is 4th grade so much is about Virginia. That’s where it has always been. Next year should be the states.
Math is a continual review and growth. Spiral approach. Nearly all math courses will be that approach.
That is a short school day, for sure. However, as adults, we always seem to look back to how WE did things and use that as the standard. I am not so sure how we did things was the best. NOt so sure it wasn’t either.
Look at THIS a-hole!
http://www2.insidenova.com/news/2011/mar/24/24-honored-annual-prince-willam-county-valor-award-ar-924148/#comments
Posted by AntiMoonhowlings on March 24, 2011 – 9:24 a.m.
WOW,getting valor awards for the performance of their duty.
Definitely an A-hole. I went in and complimented those receiving an award from moonhowlings.
We should never sell our police officers short. Every day they get up, they are putting their lives in danger.
Anti sounds like a depressed troll with nothing good to say about anyone.
Thanks Pinko for bringing this to our attention. Perhaps others here will go congratulate those whose valor went above and beyond the call of duty.
I wonder what anti thinks of military awards like purple hearts and other medals?
@Cargosquid
Don’t get me started on this. My daughter who has a LD was “awarded” with free Language Arts SOL preparation sessions after school. Okay, so I know she needs the help, so I send her on Thursdays. Then, at the same time, she gets the same “award” for SOL help in math on Mondays! The poor kid! As if days aren’t long enough and as if she doesn’t spend 2-3 hours on homework as it is! It takes her that long to work on a project or type up assignments. On “good” days she has an hour. She has few opportunities to take part in after school activities like drama which is an art and good for all kids. Recently she had a Monday drama practice because she is going to be a stage hand. I told her to go. When she is tied up with performances, I am still going to let her go.
I wrote to the school voicing my frustration. I told them while I value academics, I think asking kids to extend their trying school day by 90 minutes is ridiculous. She is already exhausted by the time she comes home, and she always frets over her homework. She deserves to do something in the arts, something that won’t tax her tired mind.
I am not saying she is perfect by any means. She is not always responsible when it comes to remembering to take her materials to school or remember her schedule, but I know she tries very hard. Give the kids a freaking break, will ya? Schools need those stupid SOL scores to make AYP and avoid NCLB sanctions. It is RIDICULOUS. And yeah, I have written to the state, too.
BTW, yes, kids learn the same thing every year, but the depth is supposed to grow, meaning they review the basics and get more intense as the year moves on. I know that’s the way math has been at least.
@Pinko, you hit the nail on the head….it is NCLB and she is in a targetted group. I would write your senator and congressman about it rather than the state. What the hell is the state going to do about it? They are under the same gun as your child. Pass or Perish.
Don’t get me wrong…I don’t think that all SOL content is good. That content can be tweaked at the state level. But the idea of continually harranging at kids to not get left behind (or left with A behind) is federal. NCLB is up for renewal soon and what will the politians do about it? Probably renew the damn thing so it can finish killing off love of learning.
You say Manassas, I say Mah-naw-sis. Perhaps we Manassas City folk should call ourselves Manassas Proper.
I’m proud Lafayette and I BOTH live in Manassas, though that Welcome to Manassas sign separates us.
@Cindy,
I don’t have any problem with the boundaries. You know…I have no other locator other than Manassas. It is where I have lived most of my adult life. I think Big Dog needs to say Manassas City if he wants to go exclusive.
Anyone else want to talk about Big Love? I watched the finale a second time this morning and … even though what happened to Bill seemed like a cheesy plot twist … it was a pretty good ending. I had been wondering how in the heck they would wrap that show up. It wrapped up pretty well.
Oh this is definitely the Big Love fan club here.
I thought it was a great ending and I sniveled through the whole thing.
Most shows don’t end that well. Lots of speculating on where the wives will go. I think all will remarry and Margene and Barb will not go the polygamist way. Nikki might.
Hmmm well my guesses would be that Barb would not remarry, Margie would, and Nikki would not because she is so HORRIBLE and the only reason she found a husband in the first place is because he was attracted to younger women.
You’re right that most shows don’t end that well. And on HBO, The Sopranos, Oz, and The Wire all ended weakly. Six Feet Under though went out with a phenomenal ending.
M-H,
The issue is about asking the news media to be factual in their
reporting. “Who, what, when, WHERE and how?” are classic questions
of good journalism. Reading a map and properly identifying where an
event took place is reporting 101. It has nothing to do with being “exclusive”.
Hint: if Prince William Police are investigating a crime and the reporter
quotes a PWCPD spokesperson about an incident — it happened in PWC.
Big Dog, if I see Manassas in a news story, I look for the road or other identifier next and then place it myself as city or county. My take on other geographical issues:
9500 Liberty – same issues, city and county
Hylton Center — city residents benefit too — performers, audience, volunteers. Glad to see city’s volunteer recognition event will take place there in May.
Sesquicentennial — even I was confused (until this morning) about where the shuttle is running (only between city events, not out to battlefield), and what ticket gets you in where ($20 City day pass = admssion to 7 City historical sites + a $5 Manassas Note good at City dining and shopping locations + shuttle). I know it’s the responsibility for a journalist to figure these things out — which logo and website goes with Manassas City events (www.manassascivilwar.org), which logo and website goes with county events (www.manassasbullrun.com)– but it can get confusing when the jurisdictions separate it out.
Neighborhoods — isn’t half of Wellington in the City and the other half the county?
Prince William Chamber of Commerce — writers love short names
Prince William Valor Awards – two MCPD officers and an MCPD detective were honorees.
PW Business and Prince William Living – two new local magazines, both cover Manassas City
Too often the City of Manassas finds itself in a heads you win, tails I lose
situation. Bad events in much of western PWC are tagged “Manassas”
while positive PWC stories in the same area are correctly identified PWC.
And how many negative stories in the City are ever called “in
Prince William County”? None.
The Culpeper paper never confuses the Town of Culpeper with the County
of Culpeper nor do you ever read Fairfax City events being confused with those
in Fairfax County. The situation here isn’t repeated in other places. Why?
(A number of City of Manassas residents have made the same observation).
I cannot be responsible for what the newspaper says. I think it is rather unfair to expect people to pull out a map to see where the boundaries are before they make a comment about Manassas.
Bank robber suspect caught in the City of Manassas:
http://manassas.patch.com/articles/bank-robbery-suspect-caught-in-manassas?ncid=breaking_news
yes, the dreaded SOL’s – but that is what was asked for – people wanted a way to grade/measure a school to see if it was meeting a minimum standard – so you get standard tests, so that each school is measured with same stick. Yes, people are not happy with it, but what is the alternative? Now, you want to base teacher’s salary and employment on results – so, that means SOL’s – otherwise, it is very subjective is how you measure performance. And, this method of measuring teachers (or schools) is far from perfect – there will be many teachers that score low, just because of the demographics of their students – a good teacher will often get more of the ‘needy’ kids, and bring his/her testing scores down, even though they are doing a good job. That is the problem with rating people on test scores. But that is what is being asked for – holding people accountable, holding schools accountable.
SOLs have been around a long time, back sometimes in the mid 90s. They are continually being tweaked. When I say SOL in this case I mean the standards of learning…the curriculum and the assessment tools. (there are also other components)
Teachers should never have their pay tied to those scores. The tests were never intended for that purpose. There are other ways to evaluate teacher competence, albeit none of those methods are without subjectivity.
Too bad that NCLB has cast such an ugly pale on SOL.
I didnt watch 6 ft under. I have gotten fairly involved with Boardwalk Empire. I do like that.
To fill my time now, I am doing marathon The Tudors. Marin says it will be pulled from Netflix soon so I am trying to see as much as I can downloaded.
I didnt watch 6 ft under. I have gotten involved with Boardwalk Empire and like it.
Now I am filling in time with marathon The Tudors from Showtime which I don’t subscribe to. Marin says those shows will be pulled off of Netflix soon so I want to see as much as possible.
I dont think it gets any better than netflix.
@Moon-howler Agreed about netflix! Have you watched the series “Dexter” yet? I’m completely hooked.
I haven’t seen Dexter. Where might I find it?
Netflix has the first two seasons on instant view. Three and four are on DVD.
I cannot say enough about “Six Feet Under”. I watched it back-to-front again recently and retain my opinion that it is a really great work of art and a great TV show.
I don’t see what people like about “Dexter”, though.
@Rick Bentley It’s fascinating. The main character is completely incapable of normal human feeling, and is genuinely baffled by certain emotional situations. He is intensely loyal to the people he “cares” about or “loves.” And he’s a serial killer–of serial killers. Whom he is completely incapable of actually “hating.” His history unfolds in the first two seasons. So while what he does is horrible, he’s only doing it to “bad” people. It’s great psychological stuff.
I totally agree, Rick. I agree with you on the endings to Oz and The Sopranos. I still watch the Oz and 6Ft Under on HBO now, they are showing the first seasons of both. I’ve attempted to watch Dexter a couple of times, but I just can’t get into it.
Has anyone watched Weeds? Now, that’s a good show. I especially liked it when Kevin Neelan(sp?) took up being a “coyote”.
M-H,
It is fair to request people to get the “where” right, especially when
commenting on a negative item. Simply check Google.
“Manassas” should not be used as a generic term for a large
swath of Prince William County, especially in reporting criminal events.
The City of Manassas has plenty of issues to manage without being connected to
every felony in the western half of PWC.
That sword cuts both ways, BD!! Trust me those of us in the county certainly don’t want to be associated/linked to every senseless crime in PoW and GTS either. How do you feel about OUR hospital being named PW Hospital although it’s in the CoM. Do you think it should be renamed the Manassas Hospital?
@Big Dog, you know, I just don’t think City people have a right to ask those of us to not say Manassas when talking about our own community. The Capital One bank that was robbed is in the Manassas area of PWC. I said ‘Manassas’ not because I heard it on the news but because I know where the bank is.
Frankly, I am not going to stop saying I live in Manassas just because I live a mile or two over the border. I am not going to become a ‘woman without a city.’
Technically, Manassas as the area existed before the City. I have lived in the town of Manassas and the Manassas area of the county. I have worked mid county and in Woodbridge, all in Prince Willilam County. In my world, Manassas as a city is Johnny Come Lately.
When the City asks the Manassas Mall and the Manassas Battlefield to rename themselves then perhaps we will have something to talk about. And for the record, I didn’t even wince when someone gave us Mr. Fernandez in print or when something nasty happened in GTS and it was called PWC. Who cares. No one also said which cops caught the bank robber. City or County.
What is six feet about? It sounds like morticians.