Majority of Americans think refugee children should be allowed to stay

MoonHowler

U.S. Agents Take Undocumented Immigrants Into Custody Near Tex-Mex Border

Huffingtonpost.com:

WASHINGTON/McALLEN, Texas, Aug 11 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s pledge to fast-track the deportation of migrant children from Central America is out of step with the opinion of a majority of Americans, who say the children should be allowed to stay in the United States, at least for a while.

The results of a Reuters/Ipsos poll highlight the complexity of the child migrant issue for Obama, who has sought to emphasize his compassion while also insisting that his administration plans to send home most of the children, many of whom have fled violence in their homelands.

The poll, conducted on July 31-Aug. 5, found that 51 percent of Americans believe the unaccompanied children being detained at the U.S.-Mexico border should be allowed to remain in the country for some length of time.

That included 38 percent who thought the unaccompanied youngsters should be sheltered and cared for until it was deemed safe for them to return home. Thirteen percent said the children should be allowed to stay in the United States, while 32 percent said the children should be immediately deported.

Very interesting that Americans come down on the side of protecting children.  This wish is not for permanent residency but until such time that it is safe for the children to return home.  President Obama needs to listen to his constituents and stop being in such an all fired hurry to send children back to God-knows what.

James Brady death ruled a homicide

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

Monday’s death of President Ronald Reagan’s press secretary James S. Brady has been ruled a homicide resulting from the gunshot wound he suffered in the assassination attempt on Reagan in 1981, more than three decades ago.

The ruling was made by the medical examiner’s office in Virginia, where Brady, 73, died in an Alexandria retirement community, and was announced Friday by Gwendolyn Crump, the D.C. police department’s chief spokeswoman.

There was no immediate word on whether the shooter, John W. Hinckley Jr., who has been treated at St. Elizabeths psychiatric hospital since his trial, could face new criminal charges. Hinckley, 59, was found not guilty by reason of insanity after he shot Reagan and three others on March 30, 1981.

But the decision to pronounce Brady’s death a homicide 33 years after he was wounded outside the Washington Hilton on Connecticut Avenue NW raises questions about whether prosecutors can, and will, try to get around double jeopardy — the legal concept that protects a person from being tried twice for the same crime — and pursue a murder charge.

Isn’t charging John Hinckley with murder really overkill?   Why on earth should Hinckley be charged with murder some 30 years after the fact?  He has been incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital for over three decades.  He was found not guilty by reason of insanity at the time.  What are prosecutors hoping?  He will be less insane?  More insane?  Even if he had been charged and convicted of murder, he might be eligible for freedom after 3o years.

Suggestion:  Leave it alone.  Recharging Hinckley just costs the taxpayer more money with very little end result.   It seems to me that the medical examiner was acting out of political motivation.  Had Hinckley shot anyone else, would the ME really declare a death  a homicide  after 30 some years?  Probably not.

Virginia State Board of Elections: More government intervention in voting

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

Inflaming a contentious debate over voter identification laws, the Virginia State Board of Elections decided this week that, to cast a ballot, voters will have to present a current photo ID or one that expired within the past year.

The Republican-controlled board voted 2 to 0 Wednesday — with the Democratic member absent — to narrow the definition of valid identification, a move that one board member said would streamline and simplify the rules.
“We believe it’s a compromise and gives people a reasonable grace period,” said Donald Palmer, who was appointed to the board by then-Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R).

But Democrats and voting rights advocates said the new rule will confuse voters less than two weeks before a special election in which the rule is expected to apply.

Read More

Resignation Day: 40 years ago today

MoonHowler

I didn’t dislike Richard Nixon. He was not the anti-Christ many would have us believe. He was a moderate Republican who understood that programs needed to be run better, not eliminated. Was he likeable? Not particularly. He appeared to ill-at-ease and insecure at times. He was always calculating his next move.

Read More

Rep. Amash shows how graceless and rude he can be

MoonHowler

Justin Amash ripped into his opponent after a win.  Will this behavior be tolerated in Congress?  Is there ever an excuse for rudeness?  Supposedly Amash’s base is millennial and they like telling it like it is in politics.  I sure hope that is not the case.  I am used to the civility of the old Senate.

I would never vote for anyone who acted this rude, even if I hated his opponent.  His mother should get hold of him and take a switch to his backside.

August 6: A-Bomb Day

MoonHowler

abomb

It’s here again, August 6, A-Bomb Day–the day we dropped the big one on Hiroshima.  Three days later the United States dropped a plutonium type A-Bomb on Nagasaki.  Ironically, the last survivor of the Enola Gay,  the B-29 that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, died last week.  Theodore “Dutch” Van Kirk seemed to have few regrets about  the decision to drop the bomb and when asked, once eloquently responded  “It’s really hard to talk about morality and war in the same sentence.”

Yet 69 years later, the debate continues.  Only select Americans knew anything about an atomic bomb.  The Manhattan Project was top-secret and in those days, when things were top-secret,  people didn’t find out.  In fact, until he assumed the Presidency, Harry Truman knew nothing about an atomic weapon being built.  After the bombs were  dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, only then did the rank and file American begin to contemplate and discuss the moral responsibility of dropping such a deadly weapon of mass destruction.

Read More

Open Thread………………………………………………….Tuesday, August 5

MoonHowler

sunflower-300Summer is at its peak.  Everything that grows is coming to its maturity.  It is the time for sunflowers and Queen Anne’s Lace.  I had several sunflowers come up where the birds had dropped seeds.

The cicadas are loud and the lightning bugs are making the tall trees light up at night.  Bats are flying low, gobbling up insects.  Spiders are building fortress webs that will catch you in the face when you walk out your door.

Farmers markets thrive as people attempt to capture all that is good about fresh produce.  Corn and tomatoes seem to be favorites.

Homemade green beans just don’t taste as good as they used to.  Watermelon also has changed its flavor.  It just isn’t as good as it used to be.  I don’t think it is me.  I think it is watermelon.

What is the best corn to buy this summer?  How about the peaches?  One week they are great.  The next week I couldn’t give them to my dogs.

What are the readers finding good out there?

James Brady, RIP

MoonHowler

James Brady, Sarah Brady

Washingtonpost.com:

By Jon Thurber August 4 at 5:24 PM

James S. Brady, the often-irreverent press secretary to President Ronald Reagan who was shot in the head during an assassination attempt on his boss in 1981 and who became an enduring symbol of the fight against unfettered access to guns in American society, died Aug. 4 at a retirement community in Alexandria, Va. He was 73.

Gail Hoffman, a family spokeswoman, confirmed his death and said she did not know the immediate cause. Mr. Brady had long suffered from health problems resulting from the shooting.

Read More

To bloggers and politicians in PWC: Let the hysteria subside

MoonHowler

Insidenova.com

School officials: No immigrant influx

Although “hundreds” of immigrant Central American teens and pre-teens have spent time at Youth for Tomorrow in western Prince William the past two years, there’s little sign that significant numbers have enrolled in local schools.

In response to questions from the Prince William County Board of Supervisors earlier this month, YFT Chief Executive Officer Gary Jones told county officials the Bristow-based Christian group home for troubled teens is now housing about 80 young immigrants. He also said the non-profit founded by former Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs has hosted “hundreds” as part of the two-year contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Read More