Waste, Fraud and Abuse? No one should starve to death in America

I have been listening to all sorts of Republican congressmen and women pontificating about waste, fraud and abuse as justification for their attempt to pass a bill that will cut back food stamps  40 billion dollars over the next ten years is in the proposed bill.  The cuts amount to 5% per year.  So far, I haven’t exactly heard what this waste, fraud and abuse really is.  Before September 5th I was curious.  After September 5, I think I need to demand to know the answer.

On September 5, we got a phone call informing us that my husband’s son Chris who had been a missing person for many years was dead in the Bronx, New York.  He was 46 years old.   He had lived in the San Francisco area for many years with his mother and his adopted father and despite some learning disabilities he had graduated from college.  Somewhere along the line college loans and the associated bill collectors hassled Chris until he vanished.  Despite the fact the California parents were no longer married the California dad looked all over for him and posted flyers over half of San Francisco. He contacted us and we had not seen him.  His brother had no idea where he was.  I think we all assumed he was still in California, maybe off living as Grizzly Adams in the Sierra Nevadas.

How does a person go from middle class and college to being found dead in section 8 housing, cause of death starvation?  We are trying to still figure that all out.  I tracked down neighbors through the medical examiner’s office and found out  that he had been placed in that apartment project  by some agency (still to be determined) and was on food stamps and had a benefits card.

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Jon Stewart: Shooter passed background check with flying crazy

Surely background checks aren’t this limited. I notice that illegal alien is right in there as a reason to prohibit guns sales. However, having your microwave tell you to kill people is not.

Although not stated in the Stewart segment, I also head that the Rhode island police called Navy and apprised them of Alexis’s mental illness issues. That message is still probably sitting on someone’s desk. Meanwhile, 2 people are dead.

The background checks apparently aren’t adequate. The gun laws apparently aren’t adequate if this shooter bought a gun legally in Virginia.

Part of me thinks something this tragic shouldn’t be in a comedian skit. The other part of me thinks the background check must all be a huge joke so why not.

Open Thread………………………………Harvest Moon: September 19

Composite-of-Harvest-Moon1

It’s For The Birds

During a harvest moon there are other advantages for the bird lovers of our planet. This is the perfect time to watch the birds migrate past the light that emits from the moon. Some studies have proven that birds rely on the Harvest moon to migrate from one area to another. They have also proven that the birds wait for this moon to begin their migration.

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Pete Candland Kicks Some Proverbial Ass

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So if you missed the show yesterday, Pete Candland, having decided to go another round with Corey, triumphantly prevailed,  leaving Corey to walk away licking his wounds. In a nutshell, Pete wanted to reaffirm the Board’s language to support closing 29 and 234, ONLY when the approved Manassas Battlefield Bypass was constructed per previous resolutions.  Corey, of course, fearing that his previous under handed work would be undone, vehemently objected.  It was fabulous to watch.  Corey tried sooooo hard to set the stage to support his convoluted narrative that ANY road was intended to replace closing 29 and 234.

Forget that ALL previous resolutions and language only discussed closing the road in relation to the 1988 Congressional  Manassas Battlefield Preservation mandate.  Nope, apparently, you can replace Battlefield Bypass with any old road, even one intended to make PWC the next interstate County truck route! Pete was superb in his ability to call Corey out on his lies in the most effective non confrontational way.

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What WAS Whitbeck thinking?

I rarely defend Ken Cuccinelli.  In fact, I can’t remember ever doing it but once before and I don’t really remember why I defended him, but I did.  This time, I actually have to feel badly for him.  How would YOU like to have to follow this clown?

According to the Washington Post, the following events occurred before Cuccinelli addressed the crowd:

People brought yellow lawn chairs with the motto “Don’t tread on me,” and at least one tricorner hat was visible in the crowd. John Whitbeck, 10th Congressional District Republican Committee chairman, raised eyebrows when he kicked off the festivities by telling a joke in which the head of the Jewish religion presented the pope with a long, elaborate document that the Jewish leader said was a bill for the last supper.

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Cuccinelli tries his hand at gynecology

It’s probably a good idea for Ken Cuccinelli to stick to practicing law and to leave gynecology alone. His efforts against women will cost him the election. Many women who would describe themselves as pro-life are repelled by Cuccinelli’s oppressive stance towards many things dealing with women.

It also doesn’t occur to most people but I don’t know a single soul who is pro-abortion. Many pro-choice people do not necessarily favor abortion. Many simply want to be the one making the decision. They feel they are capable of making their own morally appropriate decisions and that it is not the business of politicians to make deeply personal decisions for others.

Moe Davis cyber-stalked by the Washington Times

Just when you think it is safe to tweet, Moe Davis gets cyber-stalked by the Washington Times.  Moe has some 8,000 followers on Twitter.

Washingtontimes.com:

A Howard University law professor and former chief prosecutor of the Guantanamo military commissions took to Twitter on Monday to blast the National Rifle Association amid the Washington Navy Yard shooting.

“Traffic in Capitol area snarled, Washington Navy Yard on lockdown as gunman enters & opens fire … or as we call it in Gun-merica, Monday,” former Air Force Col. Morris Davis tweeted to his nearly 8,000 followers only an hour after the shooting occurred.


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Domestic Terrorism: 50 years ago yesterday

September 15, 1963

Birmingham Sunday

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Terrorism is really nothing new in this country. The bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church was just as much as act of terrorism as Oklahoma City. The KKK has long been known for its terrorism. Perhaps we should make sure we call their actions exactly what they were. Terrorism. People who commit terrorism are terrorists. It’s really that simple.

The death of 4 girls whose only sin was going to Sunday School let America know that no one was safe.  Perhaps on that day Americans were shaken from their complacency. Perhaps that day, September 15, 1963, real change began.

Senator Tim Kaine: Shutting down the government is unthinkable

From email:

Over a dozen Senators are pushing for a scenario that should be unthinkable: they want to use a government shutdown as leverage to enact an extreme, right-wing agenda that starts with defunding the Affordable Care Act.  And these folks are picking up more support every day.

A government shutdown would be disastrous.  Real people’s jobs are on the line.  The strength of our economic recovery is on the line.   The American people’s confidence in our political system could sink to an all-time low – and seriously jeopardize efforts to use the government to make people’s lives better.

We need to create the political will in Washington to confront our problems responsibly – where we roll up our sleeves, and approach our differences of opinion honestly so we can meet in the middle, find common ground and settle on real solutions.

Every elected official has his or her own favored policy positions.  But if folks dig in their heels and threaten to seriously damage the American economy if every one of their demands isn’t met, our government can’t function.  In fact, nothing could be more irresponsible.

This isn’t a game of chicken.  It’s governing.  When there are problems with our laws, individual representatives need to work together to fix them.

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Cuccinelli does a little back pedaling on immigration

Governor-hopeful Ken Cuccinelli  will fund-raise with Senator Mario Rubio this week.  Rubio is known for  his inclusive stand on immigration.  Cuccinelli, not so much.  According to the Washington Post:

Republican leaders have conceded that presidential nominee Mitt Romney damaged his candidacy last fall by promoting “self-deportation,” and some have pushed the party to embrace more liberal policies to woo Hispanics and move the issue off the agenda in future elections.

Cuccinelli isn’t quite doing that, but his appearance with Rubio at the tickets-only fundraiser suggests that he is trying to soften perceptions about his stand on immigration.

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Stonington residents go without running water

geyser

A potentially dangerous health hazard exists in the Stonington development, right off of Williamson Boulevard in the Manassas area.

The water problem has existed in Stonington since the summer but over the weekend things came to a head.  Water was gushing from the epicenter of the problem early Sunday morning.  Even though the Service Authority  doesn’t manage the water there in the development, they had to be called in to shut the man-made geyser off so that people’s townhouses weren’t flooded.

The problem still existed this evening–there was no running water for about 10 units.  Effected residents repeatedly called American Management who is contracted by the Stonington HOA to complain about the water situation.  The management team answering the phones repeatedly lied that they were addressing  the problem, even though residents could see that no one was out there working on getting the water back on.  One technician who was answering the phone even hung up on those complaining and unfortunately someone else with the company thought he had a ‘dead mike’ and mocked the caller.

That management team’s stance is that those are the hazards of being a homeowner and that not having water is just one of the risks.  Their solution was to go to the association meetings.  It clearly sounds like some residents in Stonington have a law suit.  Most of them fear retaliation from this management team already.

Prince William County needs to light up American Management Company’s lights for ignoring a potentially dangerous situation.  Homeowners and residents have every right to expect to have running water.  Whatever it takes to get the water working in Stonington should be done, regardless of cost, even if overtime has to be paid.

 

 

 

Why the woman vote matters in Virginia

The Virginia governor’s election is possibly the most watched race in the entire country. Far right attorney general Ken Cuccinelli is running against former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe. Neither man appears to be particularly popular with Virginia voters. Ken Cuccinelli is running against a backdrop of scandal.

In recent polls, Terry McAuliffe leads Ken Cuccinelli by 5 points. In a low voter turn out those points would not be significant. However, there is an 18 point gender gap in the governor’s race in Virginia. It is possibly the most watched race in the entire country.

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Turn off the lights? Seriously, is this the best they can do?

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Huffingtonpost.com:

The Senate is scheduled Thursday to debate an energy efficiency bill that includes measures to improve building codes and promote more energy efficiency in the federal government.

While some Republicans are seeking an amendment to the bill that would force a debate on delaying the implementation of health care reform, some less controversial amendments include this one from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.).

Coburn’s proposed amendment (via Politico) would amend the bill by changing a line that calls for “providing information to employees of the Federal agency on the importance of turning off the lights” at the end of the day to “requiring employees” to turn off the lights before they go home.

There are some safety issues here that need to be taken into consideration.  Additionally, how about directives from the heads of agencies being used instead of passing a bill that must become a law?  Government offices are all over.  Not all are in the position to turn out the lights when the workers leave.  Some people work in to the night.  Should  we have late workers walking through dark corridors?

This proposed law seems like a simple answer for a complex problem.  It seems that agency heads  should be given a directive for an energy assessment and where possible possible, direct employees to shut off lights.  Once again, the Senate is guilty of over-reaching.

Terry Jones: continues with the stupidity, endangers the troops

 

Washingtonpost.com

MULBERRY, Fla. — Law enforcement arrested a Florida pastor Wednesday as he drove to a park to light nearly 3,000 Qurans on fire to protest the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Polk County sheriff’s deputies arrested Pastor Terry Jones, 61, and his associate pastor, Marvin Sapp Jr., 34, on felony charges as he drove a pickup truck towing a large barbecue-style grill filled with Qurans soaked in kerosene. He had said he was heading to a nearby park to burn 2,998 Qurans — one for every victim of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Sheriff’s officials said they would hold a news conference later Wednesday to discuss specific charges.

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