McDonnell back-pedals on the ultrasound bill

MoonHowler

Richmond Times Dispatch:

After days of unrelenting criticism, the House of Delegates today passed a weakened version of the ultrasound mandate after consultation with Gov. Bob McDonnell, amending it so that women could reject a procedure if it must be done vaginally

The bill would still require that all women having an abortion undergo an ultrasound to determine the gestational age, but women subject to a transvaginal procedure would be able to decline.

Oftentimes, the procedure must be performed that way, versus on the abdomen, early in a pregnancy.

Because the House made changes to a Senate measure — Senate Bill 484, sponsored by Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier — it must go back before the Senate with the changes.

But this afternoon, Vogel indicated she will try to strike her bill.

Apparently Del. Vogel felt the altered bill made things even worse.  This was abviously a bill that should have never been.  Make no mistake, it wasn’t about informed consent.  It was about guilting women not to have an abortion.  The hope was that if the woman seeking an aborton saw the ultrasound, she would change her mind.

Read More

Controversial reproductive bills held on Monday: Silent Protest in Richmond

MoonHowler

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

No signs, no yelling, no chanting. Virginia legislators had to walk to the ‘big house’ past  a sea of silent stony stares. Most of the organization for this protest came about on Facebook.   The women of Virginia will fight back.

Suddenly this year, 2012, women are no longer capable of having a say in their own reproductive decisions. Unacceptable.

The Moonhowlings blog will continue to cover this topic as long as there is an assault on women’s reproductive rights. Women only have economic equality when they control their own reproduction. 

Just this week, one of the main reproductive rights groups called and wanted money.  They were national.  I told them no, my money will stay in Virginia.  We have enough problems here.

Teacher suspended for telling student “Go back to Mexico”

MoonHowler

 

Teacher Suspended for ‘Go Back to Mexico’ Comment: MyFoxDFW.com

Last week I expressed outrage over the Virginia State Legislature’s attempt to do away with continuing contract in favor of 3 year contracts.  This story is a good reason why all veteran teachers deserve due process and protection from the politics of a school system.

From the Huffington Post:

Looks like this two-time “Teacher of the Year” will not be in the running to win the esteemed honor this year because of her derogatory comment to a Hispanic student: “Go back to Mexico.”

Instead, 63-year-old Texas math teacher Shirley Bunn is fighting to keep her job.

Bunn made the comment on Sept. 30 while distributing Title 1 forms to her eighth grade students at Barnett Junior High School. Dallas-Fort Worth’s Fox 4 reports that a disruptive student requested a Spanish-language version of the form, saying, “I’m Mexican. I’m Mexican.”

According to public record, Bunn attempted to tell the student that he could retrieve forms translated into Spanish from the main office, but the student continued to repeat “I’m Mexican.”

Bunn quickly responded, “[Then] go back to Mexico.”

The school board placed Bunn on paid leave following the incident, until an Independent Hearing Examiner could review the case.

Read More

Chris Christie under fire for flying flag at half mast to honor Whitney Houston

MoonHowler

 

Today Whitney Houston will be layed to rest. Her untimely death knocked her fans for a loop. The cause of death has not been released but that hasn’t kept the public from speculating and blaming her not-so-private addiction problems. The truth is, no one knows what was the cause of her death.

Meanwhile, the controversial New Jersey governor, Chris Christie has ordered the flag to be flown at half mast on all government buildings  in honor of Whitney Houston. Sadly, he has been under a barrage of criticism for honoring Houston in this manner. One of his harshest critics has been a woman whose son was killed last month in Afghanistan. Much of the criticism has been that we shouldn’t be honoring pop stars, especially ones who have died from addiction problems.

Read More

Santorum–a dodge and a miss

MoonHowler

Rick Santorum wanted to be anywhere but in that interview.  Mitt Romney looks like a smooth talker compared to this guy in the hot seat.  First he tried to throw his benefactor under the bus.  Then he tried to blame Obama, followed by taking a few shots at the media and saying they were playing ‘gotcha.’

His worse offense, however, was trying to turn the discussion to kids and to talk about the sex habits of young people.  The Foster Friess comments have nothing to do with young people.  That is an entirely different issue. 

What prompted the Friess remarks was the debate on health care covering contraception for grown working women.  Grown women do not have to justify their sexual behavior to anyone.  How dare Rick Santorum try to deflect a question about grown women by bringing up teenage girls?  Is he implying that grown women are really just older teenagers?

Read More

Virginia’s pro life legislature fails to deal with the danger of texting while driving

MoonHowler

Once again, the Virginia pro-life legislature has failed to deal with the danger of texting while driving.  It’s perfectly logical for all but the most obtuse fools to know that texting while driving is distracting and your eyes aren’t on the road.  Yet a driver can’t even be pulled over for that offense.  If pulled over for another reason, the driver can be be cited for an offense carrying a penalty of a fine of $20 dollars. 

WHAT???  Accidents are caused daily because some twit is behind the wheel of a car, texting away.  Why don’t they just read a book, the newspaper or watch a movie while driving?  Virginia must get serious and put some teeth into laws prohibiting the practice of texting while driving.  It is a matter of life and death.  Those the least experienced as drivers are the ones endangering everyone else.

According to the Richmond Times Dispatch:

A push to strengthen the state’s 3-year-old ban on texting and driving came to an abrupt halt Thursday morning in a House of Delegates subcommittee, but the bill’s patron says he’s encouraged by the result.

That’s because a measure that would have allowed a few more slaps on the wrist for the offense could be back next year — proposing jabs to the jaw instead.

A House Militia, Police and Public Safety subcommittee headed by Del. Ben Cline, R-Rockbridge, softly spiked Senate Bill 219, sponsored by Sen. George L. Barker, D-Fairfax, which would have allowed police to stop drivers for texting.

Under current law, the practice is illegal — punishable by a $20 fine for a first offense and $50 for subsequent violations — but a motorist can be cited only if pulled over for another reason.

Good for Senator George Barker.  Is he the only person in the legislature with any sense?   Maybe the Virginia legislature dropped the bill because it simply wasn’t salacious enough.  Now if those teenagers were sexting you can bet that someone like MY legislators would have probably enacted laws sending them to prison for 10 years.  In Virginia, things have to have a little touch of naughty in them to get our legislators off their apathy. 

Save every ovum but don’t dare stop the 17 year  old ”ovum’ for endangering the lives of the rest of us.

Note:  In fairness, adults also text while driving.  All should be arrested for reckless driving if caught.

The GOP: Suicide by Santorum

MoonHowler

Is the GOP intentionally committing political suicide or does it really not realize what is happening?  GOP, you have to run a real candidate.  Right now the field is narrowed down to a few  someones many people feel are either  morally reprehensible, OR someone no one likes or relates to OR someone so religiously conservative that his positions are repelling most of the people in the United States. 

The attack on women’s reproductive rights is going to bury the GOP.  The Virginia legislature has made the Old Dominion the laughing stock of the nation.  Every night we see another Marshallism ridiculed by Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, or Rachel Maddow.  Ed Schultz has probably gotten in the act also.  While people are mocking the Virginia legislature and acting like the rest of us are all a bunch of bo-hicks, the nation now turns to Rick Satorum.

Santorum has left a paper trail of remarks that belong in another era long enough to bury the GOP and alienate most women.  Remarks about contraception being harmful have turned off all but the most conservative of the pro-life community.  Comments about convenience and aspirin from GOP backers are just feeding the fires of women’s ire.  Not just the feminists are furious.  Plain old normal women who don’t usually have political interests are pretty stirred up. 

Read More

Be-Aware Gainesville, Several HOA’s Hope To Influence the BOCS

Elena

On its face, several large HOA’s joining forces to influence policy sounds good right?  I am not so sure.  One of its leaders, Mac Haddow, was/is a huge supporter of Peter Candland.  From the article, it sounds like there are several leaders in this group, I hope that their voices are not overshadowed by Mac Haddow. Unlike Maddow, the other members are not political donors to any specific elected local official, that is good news.

What makes Haddow particularly noteworthy is that he has experience as a Republican state legislator in Utah and as a lobbyist, meaning he understands how politics works on an in-depth level.

He also donated $1,000 last year to newly elected Gainesville District Supervisor Peter Candland (R) and serves as an informal adviser of sorts to Candland.

Read More

Foster Friess: Gals, Jihadists, and Aspirin.

MoonHowler

Yes, that guy is an A-hole of the rankest order. 

A little background however.  Today Elena called me from her car, sucking air.  She was horrified and told me this story.  She had her radio on so she only got the audio portion.  I sort of shrugged it off.  I thought she was going to come through the phone and neuter me without anesthesia. 

Why was I not horrified?   That stupid, moss-backed comment was something I heard when I was a kid.  People snickered and thought they were being horribly clever.  Kids, girl type kids, rolled their eyes and yawned.  It was something men said and thought they were cute or something your grandmother said.  It was a short cut, and in those days, a less crude way  for telling girls to keep their legs together.  No mention of flies zipped. 

However, we are a long, long way from me being a kid and this jerk should have known better.  If anyone allows you near a microphone, you should know better.  His remark was stupid, ignorant, inappropriate, and lots of other things.  The horrifying fact is, the poor dumb ass thought he was being funny.  He is so out of touch with reality out in the real world that he actually thought he was adding some levity to the conversation by being dismissive.  He has no idea that millions of women will hear the name Foster Friess and his life will no longer be his own.  He is now a laughing stock and an object of derision.

 The real jihadists he is speaking of are here amongst us in the form of him, Rick Santorum and those like them.  He was born in 1940 so he is about 72.  He is filthy rich and involved in conservative Christian initiatives.  He has also donated to Scott Walker’s campaign as well as lots of money to Rick Santorum.  All that money and still socially inept. 

 When does it end?  Each days brings about another  assault.  Andrea Mitchell wasn’t kidding about catching her breath.  She was dumbfounded at his poor social skills. 

Sadly, Foster-baby thinks that “GALS” are thinking about sex. Wrong. They are thinking about de-sexing him.

Rick Santorum: Birth Control not a healthy thing for our country

MoonHowler

Just when you thought you had escaped the Dark Ages:

Virginia is on the brink of legislating a Personhood Bill, HB1, that effectively could outlaw hormonal birth control. It has gone to the Virginia Senate.  Fertility specialists and OB/gyn specialists have expressed medical concerns over a bill this drastic.  Of particular worry is treating ectopic pregnancy should this bill become law.    Virginia is the laughing stock of the nation because of the spate of anti abortion laws.  

Virginia isn’t the only hub of embarrassment.   Now video had turned up from 2006 where presidential candidate Rick Santorum says that he feels birth control is harmful to society.   He didn’t stop there, he elaborated that birth control really created a license where people could do anything they wanted.  He seemed to equate contraception with premaritial sex.  There was no mention of married couples. 

Most people do not share his views. We live in a western society, not some banana republic or theocracy. People may believe what they want, for themselves. There has been an all out war for the past several years on Title X funding, in particular, Planned Parenthood has come under direct fire on the national and state leve and is in constant danger of defunding.  l. Many of the same people who want to outlaw abortion also want to make contraception difficult to get hold of.  This kind of thinking makes absolutely no sense. 

Read More

Todd Gilbert: Lifestyle convenience???

MoonHowler

Deputy House Majority Leader C. Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) said Tuesday night that he “regretted” his “insensitive comments”earlier in the day about abortion being a “lifestyle convenience.”

“Abortion is a sad and deeply serious occurrence,’’ Gilbert said in a statement. “Individuals on both sides of this issue agree that it is tragic for all involved. I recognize that few women undergo the procedure lightly. It leaves scars, both mental and physical, that can last forever. I regret that my comments earlier today on the House floor were insensitive to that reality.’’

What was that Elena said about a war on women?  What further proof do we need?  How dare this arrogant man speak of “Lifestyle Convenience?”   How  dare he! 

I feel so betrayed tonight.  My grandfather’s family were Virginians back in the mid-1700’s.  My grandmother was a member of the DAR, her family were Virginians.  My people were here before there was a United States.  Yet tonight I sit here, as a grandmother myself, wondering what has happened to my state.  Who are these men who came marching in here and decided what they thought was best for the women of Virginia?  These dumb asses will be vanquished.  Sic semper tyrannis