More iris as long as they bloom. I have had a month of them now. The pink one did not come back this year. Cry!
It seems like we have had 2 months of spring and summer already. Will May be hot?
Catepillars are out in force. EEEWWWWWWWWW!
Ticks are horrible this year.
Snakes and frogs, not so much.
“Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and howlet’s wing,–
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.”
The Conscience of the King, Act II: The Convention
“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes”. MacBeth, Act IV, Scene I
Yesterday, we Howlets set the stage for what may well prove to be the greatest community (political) theater we’ve seen in years. Just to recap:
-Jerry Carman, Independent uber-conservative materializes out of the mist, and begins a shadow campaign.
-Doug Brown launches “A Bridge Too Far” (ABTF) and begins catapulting [Rhetorical and Theatrical license here] everything from “severed heads” to “diseased cattle” over the MGOP castle walls, and engages in verbal sword-play with GOP chairman Steve “By the Books”Thomas.
-Baroness Aveni, inadvertently exposes her husband’s support of the usurper, Jerry Carman. (Out, out damn spot!)
So let us now take you back to the convention held on January 28th, 2012. Before doing so, we need to say that neither of us is a member of either party’s “machinery”. Some of the “in’s and out’s” of convention politics are very difficult to decipher, and it took quite a bit of research to figure out just exactly what happened. That said, we feel pretty confident that our account is fairly accurate. The up side is that, we have the scenarios from so many sources.
The way a convention works is people sign up to be “delegates,” by filling out a form. My dog Stoney used to get one in the mail each year. Often those who want to run for office will get his or her supporters to fill out the convention form so they can go vote for that person. This form is returned by a specific date, and the MGOP checks the applicants to make sure they are eligible to vote in Manassas elections. That’s it. Anyone who is an eligible City of Manassas voter can attend, according to the laws of Virginia. Once all the forms are collected and checked, a list is compiled and given to each campaign.
There’s a city election on Tuesday, May, 1st, and it may well prove to be one of the most interesting city elections any of us can remember. This one might even out-do the ill-fated Steve Chapman challenge to Rep. Harry Parrish, about 7 years ago, as far as high political drama goes.
We here at Moonhowlings have been watching the developing political drama from the audience, rather than leaping into what is proving to be “Theater in the Round”. We did have a guest post, but that was not our observations, but theirs. We chose to observe, gather facts and opinions and wait until we had a clear picture of not only what is playing out on the public stage, but a good understanding of the “backstage dynamics” that are driving this political theater….and theater it is:
Current Mayor Hal Parrish is running unopposed for reelection. All of the excitement in this race was settled at the GOP convention, when Hal held off a challenge for the nomination from Andy Harrover. We like both of these public servants, as it is clear to us that they place the best interests of the entire community as priority, rather than bowing to the pressure of a very vocal few. Neither one of them carry pitchforks or torches.
The real excitement is in the city council race. Much more so than may be apparent to the casual observer…or even to those who consider themselves “informed.” We would like to present a clear picture of what appears to really be going on, and we promise that our dear (and not so dear) readers will not be disappointed. This “play” has intrigue and double-dealing, willing and unwilling and even unknowing participants. Basically, it’s a “play” about power and retribution, pure and simple. We here at ‘Howlings will narrate this from stage right (or left, depending on where you sit in the audience). So let’s get to it, shall we?
RICHMOND —
In a sense, today’s Lavender Graduation at Virginia Commonwealth University is not so different from departmental ceremonies being held across campus this time of year.
But instead of a special pin or sash to add to their regalia at next month’s commencement, about 40 VCU students will receive a rainbow cord that reflects more than their academic achievements.
“We want to recognize students who are often rendered invisible or marginalized,” said Elizabeth Canfield, co-chair of the event and an assistant professor in the Department of Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies. “It’s important for people who are oppressed to have a venue to be visible, to be celebrated.”
For Morgan Krug of Glen Allen, the ceremony honoring gender- and sexual-minority students means “my identity that’s been very much treated as a liability is actually being celebrated by the university. I find that to be very moving.”
The graduation is new to VCU, but similar events have been held on other campuses since the mid-1990s. Next month, both Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia will hold their fourth annual ceremonies to recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students.
VCU’s event has been a long time coming, Canfield said. Efforts began nearly a decade ago to hold a ceremony as a way of raising awareness of diversity issues on campus.
I don’t care that this celebration is done but I am not sure why it is necessary. Do we have graduation by departments or by our personal uniqueness? How long will it take before our values politicians attack this practice because it is a state university? How long before special graduations are forbidden? I suppose I understand the rite of passage component of the Lavender graduation but it just seems a little strange to me. Tech and UVA already recognize sexual minorities at their graduations. Where have I been? Living in a cave, I suppose.
This video went viral and has been on every news show for the past 24 hours.
The kid and his parents were just on Morning Joe and he was still being an insufferable BRAT. He talked over his parents, whined, and had to be the center of attention. Someone has obviously told him that he is cute. He wasn’t.
In one of the videos I saw last night, the mother admitted that he had been crying before the baseball was thrown up to the stands. The kid is a spoiled brat of the 12th magnitude. He should not have gotten the baseball.
No, the couple who kept the softball they caught should not have given it up for that kid who is 3. People wonder why kids are such monsters? Take a look. His parents were just as clueless this morning. It was pathetic to see these two goofy adults being controlled by some little 3 year old who has obviously learned that he can get his own way by crying and being a pain in the tail.
Ok, well maybe the father was trying….
And while I am on the high horse, someone needs to tell Joe Scarborough that the word he is mangling is ET-cetera not EK-cetera. ARRRRRGGHHH Rough morning.
