U.S. soldier goes on shooting rampage in Afghanistan

MoonHowler

A U.S. soldier walked off base in the Kandahar Province  of Afghanistan and went on a shooting rampage, killing 16 people.  It is unknown what pushed this soldier over the edge.  U.S. officials vow to get to the bottom of the incident.

Is an act like this terrorism, even though it is in a war zone?  Perhaps.  I don’t know what else to call the killing of unarmed civilians.  

According to the Washington Post:

President Obama and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta called Karzai on Sunday to discuss the incident. Obama expressed “shock and sadness” and vowed to “hold fully accountable anyone responsible” for the killings, the White House said in a statement.

“This incident is tragic and shocking and does not represent the exceptional character of our military and the respect that the United States has for the people of Afghanistan,” Obama said.

U.S. officials shed no light on the motive or state of mind of the alleged shooter. The Associated Press reported Sunday that the suspect was from Fort Lewis, in Washington state. He was taken into custody shortly after the shooting rampage.

“It appears he walked off post and later returned and turned himself in,” said Lt. Cmdr. James Williams, a military spokesman.

What causes this kind of fugue from reality?  American troops will be on high alert across the region following the incident.  Things were just calming down from the Koran burning incidents where locals rioted and fired on US troops for days.  This rogue soldier’s behavior has endangered all of our troops.

PW Teachers Hold Grade-In at Gainesville Wegmans

MoonHowler

About 60 teachers gathered at the food center at Wegmans in Gainesville for an old fashioned grade-in.  What’s that, you might ask?  Those damn union teachers!!!!  Actually, they met at Wegmans, ate lunch, and spent several hours grading papers and making lesson plans.  Their goal was to show the public some of the things that they have to do outside the regular school day.  PWC teachers have not had a step increase in 3 years. 

The public has been very supportive.  The County needs to stop poor mouthing.  First class quality education starts with teachers with good morale.  People who haven’t had a raise in 3 years generally feel under appreciated.   The housing market is coming back.  Businesses are returning..  The Board of Supervisors needed to set the tax rate high enough to support the County school system.  Trying to educate OUR children on the cheap just isn’t going to fly. 

According to insidenova.com:

Some of those shirts even had a roadwork sign emblazoned on the back that read “Educator at Work.”

PWEA and other teacher groups have been lobbying the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, the School Board and even state legislators for additional funds for the school division after learning in February there are no plans for pay step increases in the 2013 budget and perhaps not until 2016.

“The grade-in is designed so that the public can see that there is a lot more in the daily life of a professional educator than just 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. or 7 to 2,” said Jim Livingston, a PWEA board member. “There’s a lot of activity that has to go on outside of the contract day.”

David Foose, a music teacher at Sinclair Elementary School, brought a thick, black three-ring binder full of lesson plans and papers to grade.

“This is all work that’s done outside of the school day,” he said.

“We’re expected to do more and more with less pay,” said Trish Purschwitz, a second-grade teacher at Sinclair. “This is just to show the public that teaching isn’t just done at the school.”

Riley O’Casey, a civics teacher at Bull Run Middle School, said although it varies week-to-week, she works up to 12 hours a week beyond her contract hours.

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Doonesbury to Lampoon Texas Trans-vaginal “Shaming Wand.”

MoonHowler

Cartoonist Garry Trudeau, of Doonesbury fame, is going to tackle the new Texas ultra-sound abortion law the upcoming Doonesbury comic strip.  According to Yahoo.com:

The Texas series features a woman who goes to an abortion clinic and is confronted by several people who suggest she should be ashamed. Among them is a doctor who reads a script on behalf of Texas Gov. Rick Perry welcoming her to a “compulsory trans-vaginal exam,” and a middle-aged legislator who calls her a “slut.”

One panel equates the invasive procedure to rape and describes the device used to perform it as a “10-inch shaming wand.”

Newspapers who don’t want to feature this issue will be offered an alternative.  Hopefully, Trudeau’s biting sarcasm will shame a couple of states, including Virginia, into reversing its their recent legislation.  Some of Trudeau’s language will be quite graphic for a general audience.  

It will be interesting to see which papers carry the syndicated substitute.  Mwanwhile, tired of reproductive rights?  Thank the religious right.  The pro-choice community sure didn’t bring it up.  However, they aren’t going to give it a pass.  Not by a long shot.