Here it is! After waiting all weekend for the Great Debate:
And now for Part 2:
So who won the debate?
Tailgating Banned At Jiffy Lube Live
BRISTOW, Va. —
There will be no more tailgating at Jiffy Lube Live.
Spokespeople for Jiffy Lube and its owner Live Nation didn’t return phones and emails late this week. But Prince William County policeconfirm that the Bristow concert venue is cracking down on partying in the parking lot. No pop-up tents, no portable grills and absolutely no alcohol.
There has always been a rule against drinking in the parking lot. But now the outdoor amphitheater is adopting a “no tolerance” policy when it comes to drinking and tailgating.
Fans buying tickets for shows this season were surprised to see “No Tailgating” stamped on their stubs. On its Facebook page, Jiffy Lube Live writes that safety, and abiding by Virginia’s law banning public alcohol consumption, prompted the change.
How is all this to be accomplished? Gates will open an hour and a half later. Police security will issue one warning to those tailgating or drinking and if the offenders do not comply, they will be served with a trespassing notice and removed from the property.
Reagan Middle School Boundary Decision Creates Stir, Too Many ‘Limited English Proficiency’ and Poor Children?
Updated: Additional info and continued discussion at http://www.pweducation.info/2011/05/reagan-middle-school-boundary-discussion/
From InsideNova
According to White’s presentation, by 2012 Bull Run Middle would be at 147 percent of the school’s 1,233-student capacity without Reagan Middle. Gainesvilleand Marsteller Middle Schools will both be more than 30 percent overpopulated under the same circumstances.
By following Plan 5, Reagan would open at 93 percent capacity and would drop Bull Run Middle’s population to 1,122 students, or 91 percent capacity. Gainesville and Marsteller would both remain over 100 percent capacity, at 106 percent and 123 percent, respectively.
However, four mothers who have children in the affected school zones, voiced objections to Plan 5, mostly due to concerns over the ratios of limited English proficiency (LED) and economically disadvantaged students (EDS).
“I know it’s important when they come up with these plans to balance these statistics,” said Jill Browning, who has two children attending Gravely Elementary that would eventually go to Bull Run Middle under the proposed plan.
This a public school, and all children have a right to attend. Going to school is more than just the 3 R’s it is also about becoming a more well rounded human being. I believe one the of the disadvantages of being in the western end of the county is the lack of diversity, not just ethnicity, but economically.
White’s presentation indeed projects the percentage of LEP students at Bull Run Middle will rise from 3 percent to 14 percent and the ratio of EDS — students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunches — will almost double, from 12 percent to 23 percent.
Reagan Middle would open at 4 percent LEP and 8 percent EDS.
Clearly, there is a proportional difference, but I believe that Bull Run has an advantage in their diversity, one that I hope Reagan Middle School will reach one day in the near future. These moms are not happy to have this diversity at their school. I wonder how they would feel if their kids attended some other middle school?
“I am a conservative but I am not mad at anyone”
“I am a conservative but I am not mad at anyone.” That statement is a paraphrase of Mike Huckabee’s most famous statement and one that describes what is so likable to many about the ex-governor of Arkansas.
Mike Huckabee announced over the weekend that he would NOT be running for president. In many polls, Huckabee was the front-runner. Some analysts believe he is the only Republican who can beat Obama. So why did Huckabee decide not to run? Some folks say he lacked the fire in the belly to do what it takes to run for president.
That’s OK. Huckabee has a pretty decent show on Fox News. (one of the few I will call FOX rather than Faux.) He gets to play music with his band and be a nice guy. He is making good money and he might not want to give it all up. That’s OK too. I still like and respect him. He isn’t a guy I could ever vote for. But I can watch him on TV and listen to his ideas. He isn’t beating me over the head with them.
After this announcement, Mike Huckabee is now a true Freebird!
Mrs. Huckabee says that the Governor will never have too many guitars in his own mind. One gets the impression she would tote half of them off to the dump if his back is turned.
Open Thread……………………………………………Monday, May 16
Happy Birthday to Mr. Howler and Ingrid. May 16 was a very good day, regardless of the year.
Time for a new weekly open thread, for those things we don’t cover.
An Object Lesson in Honor
A black University Law student who filed a complaint of police misconduct admitted last week that the incident never occurred.
Jonathan Perkins, who claimed he had been a victim of racial profiling in an alleged March 31 encounter, told University Police that he made up the story to “bring attention to the topic of police misconduct,” according to a press release.
Police Chief Michael Gibson, who completed a full investigation of the alleged incident, said he will not press charges because he does not want to deter other students from coming forward with evidence of police misconduct.
“I recognize that police misconduct does occur,” Gibson said in a statement. “Pressing charges in this case might inhibit another individual who experiences real police misconduct from coming forward with a complaint.”
This isn’t the end of the ruse. Jonathan Perkins might not be graduating. Why? Honor Code violation. The University of Virginia has a long tradition of Honor Code that is about as strict as any in the United States higher education system.
New Level of Pig-dom
Glenn Beck has reached a new nadir in his attempt to be a pig.
Meghan McCain made a commercial alerting people to the dangers of skin cancer. Both of her parents are skin cancer survivors. Glenn reacts on his radio show.
What I don’t understand is how Beck can go on Faux News at 5 almost as the Reverend Mr. Beck and talk about honor and humility, then have a radio show where this type of behavior is often the order of the day. Why would he make fun of someone’s personal appearance (he should be so lucky!) or make fun of a serious message about a killer disease?
Mock vomiting over a person is simply adolescent. The sooner his business dries up, the better. He owes the McCain family an apology. Time to grow up, Glenny.
Be Still My Heart: O’Reilly vs. Stewart re: Common
UPDATE: Jon Stewart has accepted Bill O’Reilly’s challenge to debate Common’s White House appearance, Fox News announced Friday. Stewart will debate O’Reilly on Monday’s “O’Reilly Factor.”
ORIGINAL STORY: Bill O’Reilly took exception to Jon Stewart’s takedown of Fox News over President Obama’s invitation of rapper Common to the White House–and he challenged his high-profile frenemy to come on his show and debate the matter.
O’Reilly is just one of many Fox News anchors to object to Common, saying he supports the killing of police officers and the assassination of George W. Bush. (Both claims are, to put it mildly, debatable.)
Is it bye bye Coburn?
WASHINGTON — Sen. Tom Coburn played a more active role than previously known in the negotiations between ex-Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) and his former aide, Doug Hampton. The extent of the Oklahoma Republican’s involvement is made clear in a report released Thursday by the Senate Ethics Committee that accuses the former senator of serious criminal violations.
Senator Ensign resigned in disgrace, under a great deal of pressure. People were led to believe that it was to save the Hamptons from having to testify before the Senate Ethics Committee and to avoid embarrassment. Now it seems that there is another reason–
Senator Tom Colburn knew much more about his friend’s infidelity and pay off to the Hamptons. According to HuffPost:
Coburn, a friend of Ensign’s who confronted him about the adultery, became involved as an intermediary in negotiations between Ensign and Doug Hampton. The former aide sought money from Ensign in spring 2009. Coburn negotiated the payment to Doug Hampton down from $8 million to about $2.8 million, according to the report.
Fox News, Report the Facts! Jon Stewart Calls Out Their Blatent Hypcorisy.
Please, before you comment, watch the clip. Fox News goes after socially conscious rapper Common who has been invited to the White House by First Lady Michelle Obama. Now, rap is not my choice of music, but Common is a two time Grammy award winner and apparently is trying to reach out to young people with a transformative message about creating a better future. He urges them NOT to fall into the violence that surrounds them, and instead, make a change for the better in their lives.
Sean Hannity is called out by Stewart for being two faced. On one hand Hannity belittles the Obama’s for inviting a rapper who has “violent” lyrics, but then defends Ted Nugent for calling Obama a “piece of shit” in a concert ? To make it even worse, Nugent suggests Obama “suck on this”, and what is “this” you may be wondering, “this”, is a pretty large gun.
Fox News creates incendiary stories when, every day, there are enough real stories for the American public, they don’t need to fabricate.
The ending to this clip is a riot, the only Jewish rappers I know are the Beastie Boys, so Beastie Boys, move over, here comes Rapper Jon Stewart.
Freedom Rider Rep. John Lewis gives commencement address at UMW
FREDERICKSBURG —
U.S. Rep. John Lewis invoked the spirit of the Freedom Riders in an address Saturday to the class of 2011 at the University of Mary Washington.
Speaking to about 5,000 people, including nearly 1,300 graduates, the Georgia Democrat urged students Saturday to create a better world.
The 1961 Freedom Rider praised the university for its tribute to the civil-rights leaders who endured violence in their quest to end segregation.
I am an alumnus of Mary Washington College. I came along a little later than 1961 and things were not that ‘advanced’ when I was there. As I recall, we had 2 African American students. Those young women were well received but I don’t recall a huge civil rights movement at all. We were aware and we were politically correct. I suppose that was a big step in those days. I was surprised when I opened the college quarterly.
Four planets align in this week’s early morning skies
Grab that coffee early and head outside. You will be in for a real treat this week.
Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus will be putting on quite a display for us earthlings.
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__RLPmenKeo’]
The best time to look is about 45 minutes before dawn, or around 5:30 a.m., according to astronomy magazine www.skypub.com.
Look to the eastern horizon and find a brightly-glowing planet to begin the show. Mars will be the dimmest of the quartet, so a pair of binoculars wouldn’t hurt, NASA says.
Eulogy for Dad– Joe Scarborough
Losing a parent is probably one of life’s worst kicks in the pants. And there is little in life that prepares a person to deal with this inevitability. Former Florida Congressman Joe Scarborough of MSNBC’s Morning Joe has written a eulogy for his recently deceased father. It was published in Politico this morning, May 10, 2011.
It begins:
We measure success in many different ways. Some look to material wealth for the measure of a man, while others make their judgment based on a person’s political influence. Still others keep their focus on fame – even if that fame is gained for the wrong reasons. In the professions I have chosen – politics and media – winners and losers are sorted with a ruthless efficiency that has little tolerance for the kind of setbacks suffered by mere mortals.
My children have accomplished many things that would make any father proud. But none of those successes have made me as proud as when they’ve responded to failure with true grit and determination.
Joe continues to explain that his father’s greatest legacy was what he did when no one was looking.
PolitiFact: Cantor says about half don’t pay income tax
From the Richmond Times Dispatch:
Eric Cantor says that about half don’t pay income tax. Make that half of the tax ‘units.’
“We also have a situation in this country where you’re nearing 50 percent of people who don’t even pay income taxes,” he said.
Is it true that half of all Americans pay no income tax? Let’s take a look.
First, a technical note. When Cantor says people, he means “tax-filing units,” which refers to individuals or couples that either file a tax return or would have if they had earned enough income, according to his staff.
To support his assertion, Cantor’s camp provided a variety of studies and media reports that do indicate about 50 percent of U.S. households owed no federal income tax in 2009 — the most recent year tax data are available.
In 2009, for example, the Tax Policy Center projected 47 percent of people would pay no income tax that year, up from previous estimates of 38 percent — largely due to additional tax credits through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009.
Still, that’s a bit dated. Anything newer?
Death of Osama helps Obama reposition in Virginia
From the Washingtonpost.com:
The poll provides a view of the impact of bin Laden’s death in a state widely viewed as a bellwether for Obama’s chances for reelection nationally. The interviews were already underway when Obama delivered the news late in the evening of May 1; 677 were conducted before the announcement, with 503 afterward.
Against all five potential GOP contenders tested in the poll, Obama stretched his margins after the death of bin Laden. In a hypothetical matchup against former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, for example, interviews before the bin Laden announcement showed voters splitting 48 percent for the president and 46 percent for Romney. Afterward, Obama edged ahead, 51 to 44 percent.
Against former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and businessman Donald Trump, twin 19-point Obama advantages swelled to 31 points in interviews conducted in the three days after bin Laden’s death.
Still, big vulnerabilities remain for the president, the first Democratic presidential nominee to win Virginia in more than 40 years. More than half of all Virginia voters are dissatisfied, even angry, with the Obama administration’s policies, and a vast majority retains a bleak view of the economy. Those opinions did not change with bin Laden’s death, leaving open the question of whether, or how long, the spike in Obama’s fortunes will last.
The poll reveals the movability of voters in Virginia, which firmly established itself as a new battleground in 2008. Two years later, in the tea-party-infused, low-turnout elections of 2010, Virginia swung in the opposite direction, ousting three of the state’s six Democratic congressmen.
What will it take for President Obama to claim Virginia? What will keep Virginia blue? How will the outcome of this election affect the state election in 2013? Is the Prez’s bump artificial, a flash in the pan, or can he sustain it? Why does killing Bin Laden increase Obama’s popularity?
