I missed the debate. How about filling those of us in who missed it. Who beat up whom?
Who needs to hang it up and just go home?
Campaign signs on public park property
Apparently Corey Stewart and Tom Gordy get a perk the rest of the candidates don’t get–the use of Ben Lomond Park to advertise their candidacy.
Corey Stewart and Tom Gordy both have signs on Ben Lomond Park property. Corey knows this is not kosher. He knows this is against county ordinance. He should be setting a better example for newcomer Tom Gordy.
Quick Corey, make that phone call and have someone go pull those bad boys.
(Notice the Don’s John at the top of the hill. Is that the welcoming office of Westgate? Some one needs to take that thing down!)
Thanks to Lafayette for the pictures and the heads up.
[Lafayette has just reported that all the signs are now off Ben Lomond Park property and the Don’s John has been moved back to the wooded area. Thanks for your efforts, Lafayette.]
In trying to please everyone, you please no one
Over the past few months, at least one person has left this blog permanently, or so it appears. That person felt that Elena and I had questionable integrity. At issue was calling a supervisor who we have taken strong issue with, a racist. Elena and I felt those labels were unacceptable and said so. The person left in a huff saying he/she questioned the integrity of the blog. That’s ok. People do what they have to do. We did. Even though we have often taken issue with this one supervisor, we don’t necessarily think he is a racist nor do we want him called one on this blog. That standard has to be upheld by us and us alone. The buck stops here.
Was that decision censorship? You betcha. And that is our responsibility. Most publications whether print, internet, major newspaper, blog or school newspaper answer to someone and have some set standards.
Most folks always think it is the other guy who is stepping off the curb. We have never made any bones about being independent moderates. The kind of blog we have set as our goal welcomes everyone without making any person feel out of place or more importantly, uncomfortable. Achieving that goal calls for some sacrifice on everyone’s part. First off, Moonhowlings is not a free for all. There are liberals, moderates, and conservatives; Independents, Democrats, Republicans, and all varieties in between who come to this blog. That makes the job harder. You have to weigh what you say to make sure you aren’t making someone else uncomfortable. We won’t always be successful but that is the stated goal.
That goes for Elena and me also. Do you think we have really said how we feel about a lot of things? Not even close. We have often called each other to get help watering down what we want to say. Diplomacy isn’t easy, at least for me. Elena is more diplomatic than I am.
Open Thread…………………………………….Monday, October 17
Let’s try another open thread. Please think about your words and if they are hurtful to others.
Retirement Heist: A must read!
Meet investigative reporter Ellen Schultz:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Ellen Schultz | ||||
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Time after time, loyal modest income employees have watched their retirement pensions disappear before their eyes because companies restructure or lie about ‘unsustainability.’ Sometimes the funds have been descimated by giving high paid executive millions in golden parachute deals.
USA Today had an in-depth review of this novel yesterday.
Journalist Ellen Schultz has been writing about such shameful behavior for a long time, mostly in The Wall Street Journal. Now she has pulled together the copious, irrefutable evidence between the covers of a book. It is shocking, and demoralizing. But will members of Congress and federal agency regulators stop what Schultz calls “retirement heists”? Probably not, unless voters make it clear the incumbents will lose their jobs unless something changes. Unfortunately, voters are rarely if ever that organized, no matter how much they have been cheated by corporate chieftains.
As congress turns a blind eye to this rape of the American worker, Schultz exposes more:
Schultz opens the book with a look at the December 2010 annual outlook investor meeting sponsored by General Electricand CEO Jeffrey Immelt. (She could have focused on another corporation and another chief executive just as effectively, because the pension heists are so numerous.)
World Wide Protest: we still protect the wealthy
Over the weekend, former national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski spoke the following when he accepted the Jury du Prix Tocqueville Prize in France:
The foregoing observation is especially relevant to our understanding of the challenge facing contemporary America. Though a democracy, it is becoming a country of socially ominous extremes between the few super rich and the increasingly many who are deprived. In America today the top 1% of the richest families own around 35% of the entire nation’s wealth, while the bottom 90% own around 25%. It should be a source of perhaps even greater concern that the majority of all currently serving Congressmen and Senators, and similarly most of the top officials in the executive branch, fall in the category of the very rich, the so-called top 1%.
At the same time, though still a unique super-power, America finds it difficult to cope with the consequences of the increasingly accelerating global changes that are spinning out of control, both on the socio-economic and on the geopolitical levels. Socio-economically, the world is becoming a single playing-field in which 3 dynamic realities increasingly prevail: globalization, “internetization”, and deregulation.
Martin Luther King Memorial Unveiled on the National Mall
The Martin Luther King Memorial was unveiled and given to President Obama to present to the people of the United States of America. This is the first monument on the mall that is not a war memorial or a presidential monument
The memorial was supposed to be dedicated on August 28, the anniversary date of Dr. King’s I Have a Dream Speech. It had to be delayed because of the hurricane and the earthquake.
President Obama’s speech:
When Bears Rant…..people should listen
I got the following email last night. It seemed to be more than a rant. Often our words are careless–like when we call something people have paid in to most of their lives an entitlement, like someone is doing them a favor.
Go Bear!
Guest post by BEAR Jones
The following is a rant, feel free to delete without reading!
I spent some time today looking over my Federal Earnings Record.
I started paying Social Security Taxes in 1959 (year before I graduated High School)
I started paying Medicare Taxes in 1966
I continued paying both until I retired in 2005
I’m 69 years old now and those A-holes in Washington say I’m in an “Entitlement Program”
I feel like I spent 40+ years paying “Retirement Insurance” premiums. Now they want to screw with the funding of these programs! I’m not even complaining about all the tax money I gave Federal , State and Local government to fund their activities.(which I’m still paying) I held up my end of the deal with the Government and they shouldn’t be allowed to change their end of the deal.
Sorry, I needed to vent…..Bear
We all need to think before we call Social Security and Medicare ‘entitlement programs.’ It sounds like our retirees are on some sort of free hand-out program rather than something they have paid in to their entire lives.
[Plan taken down. Too expensive. But the rant remains.]
Open Thread…………………………………….Sunday, October 16
A familar sign in the country side this time of year….
Open thread for the week. Remember the golden rule.
The Future of the Jobs Bill–the direct route
What is Congress doing? Is it so important to destroy a presidency that they are willing to sacrifice a country? Remember the words of Mitch O’Connell when he told us that that Republicans’ top priority during the next two years would be to defeat Obama.
There is no bipartisanship in the House nor in the Senate. Obama needs to recognize that the fist has been offered and he needs to act accordingly. The debt ceiling issue that led to the United States losing its AAA bond rating and the subsequent stock market free fall should have been fair warning. Many of us will not forget.
Florida driver argues flashing a warning is first amendment right
Driver Eric Campbell has challenged Florida law enforcement for ticketing drivers for warning oncoming traffic of speed traps. Campbell was ticketed for “improper flashing of high beams.” He says that ticketing and fining him is a violation of his free speech.
According to The Blaze:
Florida Statue 316.2397 is the legislation Campbell is using to take action against the police. It does not prohibit the flashing of headlights as a means of communications, he said.
If he wins, 10 News says his case alone could end up costing taxpayers $15,000.
Campbell isn’t the only one troopers have targeted. Florida Highway Patrol records show that police cited more than 10,429 drivers under the statute. Campbell’s lawsuit accused patrols of wrongfully applying state law in order to generate revenue.
Well, technically he is right. I have always been somewhat ill at ease over dui checkpoints being legal.
So is Campbell just another scofflaw or is he on to something? How can you be fined for simply flashing your headlights?
Does Peter Candland Support Freedom of Religion for Everyone?
[Ed. note: as of 10/17 the offensive article bashing BRUU and its congregation remains. We can assume Mr. Candland has not demanded it be removed.]
Candidate Peter Candland needs to hold his supporters accountable for their behavior on his behalf. Last week, the Reverend Robert Jeffress spouted off about Mormons being a cult and not being Christian. Many bloggers and commentators, including Moonhowlings, took a strong stand against Mr. Jeffress’ specific brand of religious prejudice and denounced bashing an entire religion based on one person’s opinion.
Apparently not everyone feels that bashing someone’s religion is nasty business. BVBL has published a tirade against Candland’s opponent, Ann Wheeler, for having a fund-raiser in the home of Brian Pace who is a leader in the Bull Run Unitarian Universalist Church in Manassas. Brian Pace was used as a springboard to launch into another diatribe vilifying BRUU and its perceived support of progressive issues, specifically opposition to the Marriage Amendment Act, various church events, Gay Prom Night for teens sponsored by BRUU and a variety of other ‘sins’ enumerated by the blogmeister. The piece was prejudicial, gay-bashing, anti-BRUU and illogical.
If elected, Gainesville Supervisor, Mr. Candland will represent people of many faiths, including some with whom he staunchly disagrees on matters of values and beliefs. If he is troubled by this fact, he should not be running for public office. Moreover, reaching out to potential constituents does not signify that Ann Wheeler or any other candidate agrees with the totality of the views held by any group of people. Must someone who supports Mr. Candland accept all of the beliefs of the Mormon Church? Many Protestants, Catholics, Jews and others support Mr. Candland on the basis of his stated conservative views. Why should we think that Ann Wheeler shares all of the beliefs of the BRUU any more than Mr. Candland’s supporters share all of the tenants of his Mormon faith?
A Unique Opportunity to See a Gifted Pianist Play Beethoven!
Martin Berkofsky is a gifted child prodigy pianist. He has spent most of his life, using his musical gift, to raise money for others in need. He has invested little in his own life’s needs.
I have to divulge, he is also my son’s piano teacher. He has been a blessing in our lives. In his head, is a library, a libray of almost every piece of classical music you can imagine, its amazing. Eli describes his playing as “though there are not enough keys on the piano”.
He is holding a benefit concert on Sunday, October 16th, 2 p.m at the Warrenton Presbetaryn Chuch, 19 Maine Street.
Read More
Prognosticator Joe wants Republicans to land on Planet Reality
Joe Scarborough has a very good track record about picking who will endure and who will go by the wayside. He did a bunch of boasting today. Scarborough called himself the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” of pundits. “Just strike me down and I only get stronger, Darth,” he said. He has predicted each of the flavors of the week correctly.
There has been lots of boasting on the blogs about who is going to whup Obama’s butt. However, before there is too much chest thumping, the Republicans have to have a candidate. Who will the heir apparent for the Republican party be?
No, Rick! Stop talking!
This guy is just painfully ignorant. Rick Perry needs to jump back in the limo and ride right on out of town. I can understand misspeaking but his lack of understanding cause and effect simply illustrates he is not capable of running for the presidency. I wouldn’t even want him on the Board of Supervisors.
Most of us can forgive getting centuries mixed up. That’s an easy mistake to make, especially when you are tired. But to apply such foolishness as a cause of the Revolutionary War just illustrates that he needs to go back to Texas and enroll in a couple of history courses. Until then, he just shouldn’t discuss history.
One can only do BS for so long. Then it should start to hurt.
