Columbus Day in Prince William County–looks like the natives got screwed again

MoonHowler

columbus

From a frustrated friend of mine who prefers anonymity:

The $60,000 a year civil servants are who people turned to this past week in both Boston and in Texas.  Public safety and support was mighty important.  Yet the BOCS in Prince William County want to take a holiday away from this very group of people.  Additionally, in the Texas plant explosion, a science teacher was the lead rescue person in getting the elderly and infirmed out of the convalescent home.

Taking a holiday away from municipal employees devalues their worth.  Already Prince William County employees are overworked and treated disrespectfully.  Just read a local blog.   It has been this way since the crash.  Many have no had respectable raises.  Individuals are cannon fodder for local bloggers and those sitting around with an ax to grind.

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Cops, the new rock stars!

MoonHowler
Law Enforcement Officers in Watertown
Law Enforcement Officers in Watertown

Crowd cheering (click)

 

As the crisis in Boston drew to a close, and the stream of law enforcement vehicles drove away, crowds lined the streets, waving flags and cheering for law enforcement.

Local, state and federal law enforcement did a remarkable job.  They found the terrorists who committed a horrible massacre  in less than fout days.   Law enforcement relied heavily on the public to help them.  One of the victims of Monday’s bombing awoke, double amputee, and asked for a pen and let authorities know he could identify who did it.

Meanwhile, all over Boston, the crowds have take to the street, cheering the police, the FBI, the state police,  and waving American flags.  Unfortunately, some police officers aren’t going to be there to bask in the glory of a job well done.  Those  poor souls took one for the team.  RIP.

This past week I think all of us were Bostonians, at least in our hearts.

Great Time Line of events in Boston.

Terrorists found in Boston burbs, 1 dead

MoonHowler

This thread is dedicated for the on-going crisis and man-hunt going on in Watertown, Massachusetts that errupted in the wee hours of the morning today.  There was a massive shoot out.  Explosives were thrown at police.

Our Moonhowlings family has relatives in the immediate vicinity.  An MIT police officer has been killed.  One of the terrorists has been run over and killed.  He was run over by his own brother.  He had an IED strapped to his body.

There is an extensive  man-hunt going on.  People in the burbs of Boston in several communities are under lockdown.

The information is fresh and ongoing as we stay glued to our TVs.

Rep. Dennis Johnson (R-Oklahoma) talks about “Jewing someone down” on house floor

MoonHowler


Where is the contrition? He seems to think he was funny. Maybe with your friends you can get by with saying ‘Jew me down,’ but that just doesn’t fly from the floor of the House of Representatives.

His apology made matters worse. Apologize to the Jews? How about an apology to the American people for using an ethnically charged remark that casts dispersions on a particular culture? I thought EVERYONE knew that was an offensive thing to say.

After he got home, Johnson apparently realized the severity of his gaffe and reworded his apology. According to Huffingtonpost.com:

Oklahoma state Rep. Dennis Johnson (R-Duncan) apologized Wednesday for recently using the phrase “Jew me down.”

While speaking on the virtues of small business in debate over a bill Wednesday, he said, “They might try to Jew me down on a price. That’s fine … that’s free market as well.” He was then handed a note about fifteen seconds later.

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Beer heir Adolphus Busch IV resigns his lifetime membership in the NRA

MoonHowler


 

Huffingtonpost.com:

WASHINGTON — Adolphus Busch IV, heir to the Busch family brewing fortune, resigned his lifetime membership in the National Rifle Association on Thursday, writing in a letter to NRA President David Keene, “I fail to see how the NRA can disregard the overwhelming will of its members who see background checks as reasonable.”
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Manchin-Toomey fails in the Senate

MoonHowler

 

There isn’t that much to say.  Background checks help cut down on the wrong person getting a gun.  Shame on those senators who voted NO.

So close but so far away.  Patricia Maisch shouted out what many folks felt when the final vote was announced :

One gun control advocate, Patricia Maisch, shouted “Shame on you!” from the  Senate balcony as the vote total was announced. In 2011, Ms. Maisch helped  wrestle a magazine of bullets away from the gunman who shot then-Rep. Gabrielle  Giffords, R-Ariz., and 18 others in Tucson. (post-gazette.comj)

Most Americans support background checks.  To say no to background checks is definitely extremism.  Those who voted no cow-towed to the 7% NRA extremism. 90% of the American people supported this bill. Those who voted no will have a surrprise waiting for them at the polls.

Good people have done the wrong thing.  They caved to the pressure.

VA ponders how to deal with sexting teens

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

Three Fairfax County high school students made cellphone videos of drunken sex acts with fellow teens and shared them among themselves, authorities said. When they go on trial Thursday, they face a charge usually reserved for adult predators: child pornography.

The case is one of a number in Virginia where teens caught “sexting” have been charged with a felony that can carry a sentence of 20 years in prison and could require registry as a sex offender.

In Virginia, Maryland and many other states, the law has not caught up with the combustible mix of teens, technology and sex that has made sexting an issue. Prosecutors must rely on a patchwork of laws created before the rise of smart­phones to handle such cases.

Some parents and rights groups are calling for a new law that would distinguish sexting from child pornography, create lesser punishments and focus on educating teenagers, not punishing them. But they also acknowledge that young victims can be devastated when embarrassing photos or videos are spread among their peers.

Kids will be kids?  Stupid is as stupid does?  I want these kids to feel some pain…big pain.  I am not sure I want them to go to prison.  That seems a little harsh.  Once again, perhaps the schools can pick up the slack and tell these knuckleheads about the penalties involved in doing something like this.

Do they still have reform schools?  Where do bad-asses get sent if they aren’t 18?  The simple solution is not to get drunk and disorderly.  I guess that’s too simple.

So cyber-buds…do we send the little pervs to reform school, prison, or slap them on the wrist and tell them not to do it again?

PS there is no opening picture.  I tried to find something and ended up totally grossed out.

UPDATE:

Some of the teens were found guilty. Further Reading…click here.

These little brats sound to me like rapists in training. I hope their punishment is severe.

Parents and victims of VA Tech massacre maintain vigil

MoonHowler


The parents and some victims of the VA Tech mass murder  continue to press for tighter  gun restrictions  for those who shouldn’t have guns, like Cho.  Colin Goddard who survived multiple gun shot wounds April 16, 2007 continues to push for comprehensive background checks for all those purchasing firearms.

According to wjla.com:

Tuesday marks the sixth anniversary of the shootings. Virginia  Governor Bob McDonnell has named April 16 as the official day of  remembrance.

At the stroke of midnight, a ceremony candle was lit and will remain lit for  24 hours.

At 9:43 Tuesday morning, a statewide moment of silence was observed followed  by the reading of every victim’s name.

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Poet Nikki Giovanni reflects on VA Tech–6 years after the Massacre of April 16, 2007

MoonHowler

Nikki Geiovanni saw that something was wrong with Cho almost immediately. If she could tell, why couldn’t the other people tell? Why couldn’t Tech administration? Why didn’t someone step in when Nikki refused to teach him? Why was he allowed to buy a gun?

What has changed since that horrible, snowy day in Blackburg, 6 years ago? What has changed to at least attempt to keep the horrific events of that day from reoccurring? Nothing I am aware of. It’s even easier to buy a gun and mental health services have been cut back both statewise and locally.

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When your heritage bites you in the butt….

MoonHowler

baby veronica 2

Two sets of parents, one little girl.  One set of parents in South Carolina, the other in Oklahoma.  Both want the child.  The birth mother chose the South Carolina couple, the Capobiancos.  The Oklahoma couple is comprised of the biological father, aka sperm donor and his wife.   The biological father had texted earlier that he gave up any claim to the child.
The Capobiancos, chosen by the birth mother,  took care of baby Veronica from the moment of her birth until she was 27 months old.  It was then that the courts. basing their decision on tribal law, gave Baby Veronica to her birth father.  The Supreme Court hears the case this week.

Open Thread………………………………………………..Sunday, April 14

MoonHowler

Cherry_BlossomThere is no more beautiful time in Washington, DC than when the cherry blossoms are blooming.  The added bonus is that usually the many beds of tulips are also in bloom.

We are truly blessed with these trees.  There was a time, right after Pearl Harbor, that the  cherry trees had to be guarded to keep people from hacking them to pieces.  What a strange reaction!

The Apple Blossom parade is also a fun event and is just a hop, skip and a jump over to Winchester.

Virginia TRAP laws whittle away at abortion rights

MoonHowler
Cuccinelli and McDonnell continue their war on women's reproductive rights
Cuccinelli and McDonnell continue their war on women’s reproductive rights

Washingtonpost.com:

RICHMOND — The Virginia Board of Health voted Friday to require clinics that perform abortions to meet strict, hospital-style building codes that operators say could put many of them out of business.

The 11 to 2 vote represented the board’s final say on the matter, which has taken unexpected twists and turns since the General Assembly voted in 2011 to regulate abortion clinics like outpatient surgical centers. The regulations went straight to Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R), who quickly certified them. They now go to two state agencies and Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R), who is expected to sign off on them.

Make no mistake, these TRAP laws do not make abortion safer nor do they protect women.  TRAP laws simply make it more difficult and expensive to provide safe, legal abortion.  Anyone who thinks differently has been misled by political opponents who want to end legal abortion.

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Women worshippers arrested at Western Wall in Israel

MoonHowler

women arrested at wall

Washingtonpost.com:

JERUSALEM —A long-running battle over worship at the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest shrine, was rejoined Thursday as Israeli police arrested five Jewish women who wore prayer shawls at a morning service, contrary to Orthodox practice enforced at the site.

The arrests came two days after disclosure of a potentially groundbreaking plan that could allow for non-Orthodox services to be held in the area on an equal footing with those conducted according to Orthodox tradition.

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