Catholic U to phase out co-ed dorms

MoonHowler

From the Washington Times:

Officials at Catholic University say the early response to their plan to phase out coed dorms has been highly favorable, but not every college student is anxious to see the move become a trend.

“I think if my school even attempted to introduce this measure, there would be riots,” said University of Cincinnati graphic-design major Elishia Candelaresi.

Ms. Candelaresi said that although she supports the option of single-sex dorms, she also cherishes her right to choose.

“I feel that it’s important to give people a choice on how they want to live their life and also to realize that you can’t just protect and shelter people their whole lives because then they never learn how to control themselves,” she said.

Are we still having this 40-year old discussion?  First off, I am surprised Catholic U has co-ed dorms.  Secondly, what is the attraction of co-ed dorms?  Don’t young people like privacy any more? 

I seriously doubt that co-ed dorms really affect anyone’s morality.  However, there is just something sort of comforting about being able to sit around in your shabby old robe or nightgown when you aren’t in class.  What is the attraction of co-ed dorms?

Why tax the rich?

MoonHowler

One reason not to up the old tax rate on the more affluent might be sitting right under our noses.  Both the speaker of the house and his second in command are millionaires.  I don’t guess they will have much sympathy for the middle class.

According to the Washington Post:

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Majority Eric I. Cantor (R-Va.) , the GOP leaders who rode to power on the grassroots wave of tea-party activists, are multi-millionaires with financial investments in some of the nation’s largest corporations.

Boehner had minimum financial holdings of $2 million at the end of 2010, while his top deputy was worth at least $3.4 million, according to financial disclosure forms that were released Wednesday. Their true net worth is likely to be far greater because lawmakers are only required to reveal a broad range of their financial holdings and the value of their primary residences is not mandatory in the disclosures. And, as is the case with Cantor’s wife, Diana, spouses are required to reveal the stocks and other assets they hold at the end of the year, not their annual income from the jobs they hold.

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Social Security makes $6.5B in overpayments

MoonHowler

USAToday.com

WASHINGTON — Social Security made $6.5 billion in overpayments to people not entitled to receive them in 2009, including $4 billion under a supplemental income program for the very poor, a government investigator said Tuesday.

In all, about 10 % of the payments made under the agency’s Supplemental Security Incomeprogram were improper, said Patrick P. O’Carroll Jr., the Social Security inspector general.

Error rates were much smaller for retirement, survivor and disability benefits, which make up the overwhelming majority of Social Security payments, O’Carroll told a congressional panel.

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Should the government be promoting acceptance of LGBT youths???

MoonHowler

From CNN.com:

Positive forces such as TV role models and support groups such as The Trevor Project have brought acceptance issues to the forefront for youth in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The federal government is paying more attention as well: The first-ever Federal LGBT Youth Summit took place in Washington this month, emphasizing the gravity of bullying and the many forms it may take.

Full Story

Should our government be investing in the mental health of LGBT youth?  Most definitely.  The suicide rate amongst kids who are LGBT is extremely high when compared to straight kids.  Additionally, even the slightest perception that a person is ‘gay’ brings out the hounds of Hell in the bullying department.  Youth that are LGBTnot only have to protect themselves at school or in sports, they also have to ward off problems within their nuclear family where siblings and even parents can make life a living hell.  Most parents simply don’t have the skills to deal best with a child who doesn’t fit into what society deems ‘normal.’

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Too Vanilla?????

MoonHowler

Last Friday, commentator Bill O’Reilly declared Tim Pawlenty was ‘too vanilla.’  He meant that Pawlenty was not an entertainer and lacked charisma.  The former Minnesota governor says he isn’t running to be “comedian-in-chief.”

According to FoxNews.com:

Tim Pawlenty may be nice, but he’s not willing to be anybody’s fool. So says the former Minnesota governor and 2012 presidential candidate, who blasted claims by Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly that he is too “vanilla” to be president.  

“Is he playing the race card on me?” Pawlenty jokingly asked on “Fox News Sunday” before getting serious. 

“I’m not running for comedian- in-chief, or entertainer-in-chief. If people want that, they should go to the ball park or Broadway play or a Las Vegas show. … Being strong is not the same as being loud. … So, if you want the clown-in-chief, vote for somebody else. That’s not me.”

Interesting comments from both O’Reilly and Pawlenty.   Is it really necessary to have great charisma?  Remember Al Gore being compared to a wooden Indian?  It was seen to be his downfall at the time.  What does a candidate need?  Is Pawlenty lacking personality or entertainment factor and is it really necessary to light up crowds?  Do ideas even count any more?  

The guy seems to be thoughtful and have some solid plans and policy platforms–some that just won’t fit on the head of a sound byte.  Some of us find that very refreshing.   7 candidates will put in an appearance at the New Hampshire debates tonight.  How will vanilla stack up against the flavor of the month?   Odd choice of words after 2 weeks of Weinergate.  I think O’Reilly did Pawlenty a big favor, considering the timing. 

Those who want to sample the flavors can turn in to CNN tonight at 8 pm.

Michael Stafford responds to the Alabama immigration law

MoonHowler

The following is the opinion of the poster and does not necessarily represent the views of moonhowlings.net administration.

 

M-H

Guest c0ntributor:  Michael Stafford, author of An Upward Calling: Politics for the Common Good.

 

At present, America has between 10 and 12 million (or more) unauthorized immigrants. This is roughly the equivalent of the population of Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Illinois. The question of what to do with this enormous population is one of the most complicated, and emotionally charged, public policy issues facing us today. In particular, immigration policy is inextricably linked with demographic change and the diversification of America. It demands a sensitive and sophisticated approach.

On Thursday, June 2, 2011, Alabama’s state legislature passed an Arizona-style immigration enforcement bill. This comes after two unsuccessful efforts at comprehensive reform at the national level under President Bush — and last year with the Graham-Schumer proposal — against the backdrop of an increasingly poisonous debate.

The immigration debate, both in its substantive content and in terms of its tone and tenor, has profound implications for the future of our nation. Richard Land, the head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, has articulated this nexus with particular clarity. Land perceives the danger posed to all of us by the poisoned debate over immigration reform. He has warned that the failure to pass comprehensive reform could “rend the fabric of our society.” In his eyes, “[t]his is a moral issue. It’s an issue that … must be dealt with or it’s going to lead to deep fissures in our society.”1

With the embrace of Arizona’s S.B. 1070 as a cause célèbre by many on the Right, the passage of similar statutes in other states, and the rise of a virulent form of political nativism, the cracks that could, potentially, turn into those deep, society-rending fissures, are already visible.  Avoiding this outcome, and securing a better future for our nation is one of the most critical tasks facing us today. 

To be continued……

An Upward Calling: Politics for the Common Good  is available at Amazon.com and is also formatted for Kindle. 

 

 

Alabama governor signs draconian illegal immigrant law

MoonHowler

Governor Robert Bentley signed the strictest illegal immigrant law package in the United States this week.  According to Huffington Post:

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama’s governor on Thursday signed a tough new illegal immigration crackdown that contains provisions requiring public schools to determine students’ immigration status and making it a crime to knowingly give an illegal immigrant a ride.

The bill also allows police to arrest anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant if they’re stopped for any other reason. Alabama employers also are now required to use a federal system called E-Verify to determine if new workers are in the country legally.

Gov. Robert Bentley said the law is the nation’s toughest, and groups including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center agree. The groups say they plan to challenge it.

Bentley believes that the Alabama law can withstand Constitutional scrutiny.  He campaigned on cracking down on illegal immigration.  Other sources have stated that Alabama leaders feel this law will open up jobs to Americans.  Studies have shown that many Americans simply won’t do the type of work that many immigrants are happy to do. 

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Newt’s Peeps Split

MoonHowler

Washington Post:

Less than a month after one of the most calamitous political launchesin recent memory, former House speaker Newt Gingrich’s campaign for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination imploded on Thursday, when its top officials quit en masse.

At least 16 of the former lawmaker’s advisers, including all of his senior campaign aides, departed the fledgling operation in a major and potentially devastating shake-up. Those who left included Gingrich’s campaign manager, his spokesman, top political strategists and key operatives from crucial GOP primary states. Former Georgia governor Sonny Perdue (R), who was Gingrich’s national campaign co-chairman, also defected, to the presidential campaign of former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty (R), where a close political aide to the ex-governor is the campaign manager.

Does this mean that Newt will drop out or will he hire new people?  Is he a has-been?  Newt stumbled coming out of the gate with his social engineering remark.  He apparently was too moderate for the GOP. 

His staff and he apparently had a falling out over his decision for him and his wife Callista to cruise the Greek Islands.  They felt he needed to tend to getting elected. 

Newt certainly seems to be the most cerebral of the candidates with lots of experience under his belt.  I would hate to see him drop out, even with his flaws, he is a cut above many.

So is Rick Santorum a hypocrite?

MoonHowler

Mr. Family Values, Rick Santorum tipped off his buddy Sen. Ensign that it was going to hit the fan.   He never called for Ensign or Vitter to resign.   He has called for Anthony Weiner to go.  I need someone to explain the difference here.  Could it be the dreaded IOKIYAR?

 

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

Principle in practice just isn’t playing out with Mr. Santorum.  Is he a hypocrite?

Time for this crap to stop!

MoonHowler

From insidenova.com:

MANASSAS, Va. —

A Stonewall Jackson High School attendance officer and girls’ basketball coach was charged Tuesday with having sex with a former student, police said.

 The victim told police that she and Nsonji White had performed “sexual acts” when she was a 17-year-old student at the school in 2004 and 2005, Prince William police spokesman Jonathan Perok said.

 Perok said the alleged assaults occurred at different locations within Prince William County – some in the school.

 White, 38, of the 10100 block of Woodbury Drive, in the Bannerwood neighborhood near Manassas, was charged with five counts of crimes against nature and five counts of indecent liberties by a custodian, Perok said.

 White was held without bond

Yesterday the paper reported that an 18 year old student sexually assaulted a 14 year old in the stairwell. 

What is going on?  I know this kind of crap didn’t go on to this degree when I was a kid.  It was a rarity, not an every day occurrence. 

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The WangOver: More Tawdry Texts

MoonHowler

According to Politico, Weiner called Bill Clinton to apologize.  Stewart says, for what?  Copyright infringement?

 

 

John thinks that people might not be paying close attention to the show and they might be doing ‘other things’ [wink.wink.nudge.nudge] Jon gets Day 5 out of Weinergate.

Aside from the Daily Show, did Breitbart lie to the public and arrange for the real X rated picture of Rep Weiner to be released after saying he would not?  Was it a Breitbart stunt? 

 

IOKIYAR

MoonHowler

Translation:  It’s OK if you are a Republican. 

Rachel Maddow exposes the hypocrisy.  UFB,

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

 

It is the hypocrisy and the different rules for different people that simply makes me sick.  Shame on the hypocrites. 

And these Republicans can keep their family values to themselves.   In my world, it’s a lot worse to cheat on your spouse for real than to act lewdly  on the Internet.  

Who has the cojones to watch this video and see the glaring hypocrisy?  I almost felt sorry for people like Eric Cantor.  He apparently doesn’t believe that sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

How can there be two sets of rules?  Anthony Weiner should resign.  However, Cantor didn’t feel that Stanford, Vitter, Ensign should have to resign for having affairs?  How can this be?  Please justify.

McDonnell Administration’s War on Women’s Health: By The Numbers

MoonHowler

Video produced for VA NARAL.

Pro-choice Virginians knew what they were getting if McDonnell became governor.  That is why some of us were so vocal about his 20 year old thesis from Pat Robertson’s school.  Despite efforts to dismiss McDonnell’s thesis, many of us were not fooled, even though McDonnell attempted to bill himself as a moderate. 

McDonnell is an extremist.  The hospital designation won’t make abortion safer.  It will do what it set out to do….make abortion less accessible.  The anti-choice zealots just don’t have the honesty to say that is the real motive for such a law.