Monica Lewinsky: Hell hath no fury

MoonHowler

GTY 493253239 E ACE ENT USA NY

Timing is everything.  Monica Lewinsky, who laid low for the past 16 years, has resurfaced.

usatoday.com:

Teary eyes brought out sympathetic murmurs for Lewinsky today, after she got emotional in a speech to more than 1,000 millennials at Forbes magazine’s inaugural 30 Under 30 summit in Philadelphia.

“It is only my fourth time delivering a speech in public,” she said. “So if I seem nervous, forgive me, because I am. And a little emotional, too.”

It was Lewinsky’s first public speech since she resurfaced for the first time in years in a Vanity Fair essay in May. It was also her most extensive public remarks since she was outed as President Clinton’s go-to intern for extracurricular sex in the White House in the late 1990s.

Now 41, she was there to talk up her plan to launch a “cultural revolution” against cyberbullying, which she says helped ruin her life. The revolution will be be Twitterized; she just joined.

 

There is a little more to all this than just cyber-bullying.  Lewinsky became a prominent national figure because of her behavior.  Her attempts to paint herself as a victim fell on deaf ears with me.   Think what you want about Bill Clinton.  Monica wasn’t a victim.  She was a grown woman and most importantly, she knew that Clinton was a married man.

I am sure she fantasized that he would leave Hillary and marry her.  She had had at least one other affair with the director of a play she was in.  He, too, was married.  Perhaps Lewinsky was a collector of men.  She calls herself Patient 1.  That doesn’t even make sense.  Boo Hoo, Monica.

She isn’t a victim.  If you don’t want to be in an instant fish bowl, don’t fool around with a married man who just happens to be the most powerful man in the world.  The world will be watching and  some of its inhabitants will have something to say about you and your behavior.

The ‘woman scorned” is coming out in her and is exhibited by her timing–right before Hillary announces her bid for the presidency.  Lewinsky still looks stupid and bitter.  I expect her efforts to scuttle Hillary will have the reverse effect.

 

Flip Benham harasses gay weddings in NC

MoonHowler

flip benham

Rightwingwatch.org:

 

With gay marriage now legal in North Carolina, it was only a matter of time before Flip Benham of Operation Save America started crashing wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples. The North Carolina-based pastor, who is the father of Religious Right activists David and Jason Benham, reportedly disrupted several weddings at the Mecklenburg County and Courts Office in Charlotte last week. Benham’s group, which in July disrupted a memorial service at a Unitarian Universalist congregation in New Orleans, “interrupted several couples’ weddings as supporters held up a large rainbow flag to block his view,” according to the North Carolina LGBT publication Q Notes. “Another protester waved a bible in the air as he screamed several profanities and vulgarities.”

 

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Does your boss make you sick? (literally)

MoonHowler

devil bossgirl bad boss

Washingtonpost.com:

Having a bad boss can make your work life a misery, but it can also make you sick, both physically and mentally, researchers say.

“The evidence is clear that the leadership qualities of ‘bad’ bosses over time exert a heavy toll on employees’ health,” says Jonathan D. Quick, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and a co-author of the book “Preventive Stress Management in Organizations.” “The evidence is also clear that despite the rationalizations some leaders may use to defend their stress-inducing, unsupportive style, such behavior by leaders does not contribute to improved individual performance or organizational productivity.”

Research has linked having a lousy boss to an increased risk of heart attack, Quick said. Chronic stress that can result when someone must deal daily with a bad boss has been linked to high blood pressure, sleep problems and anxiety and is also associated with several unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, excessive use of alcohol and overeating.

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Ebola conspiracy theories and the village idiot

MoonHowler

ebola white house

Politico.com;

Along with the onslaught of news stories about Ebola have come the inevitable conspiracy theories, some half-baked and nonsensical and others thoroughly researched—laid out to reel in even reasonable folks.

 In one corner of the Internet, we learn that President Obama created the Ebola virus—or Obama-Ebola—to “infect the DNA of Christians and to destroy Jesus so that a New Age of Liberal Darkness can rise in America.” Obamacare, we are told, is the cover organization to find the cure, and the virus will infect all Americans in the next month.

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Meet the new Ebola Czar

MoonHowler

Everyone else had other jobs to do. Klain has a reputation for getting things done and being able to network. He understands policy.

Do we need an Ebola Czar? It probably wouldn’t hurt. Meanwhile, the jury is still out.

If I were a betting woman, I would bet that we temporarily suspend commercial air travel between Western African countries and the USA. What do you think?

The McDonnells still have their hand out…

MoonHowler

money hand

Richmond Times Dispatch:

Bob McDonnell’s legal defense fund took in $77,660 in the third quarter and spent $104,726 according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

The largest contributor to The Restoration Fund in the quarter that ended Sept. 30 was Dwight C. Schar, a Northern Virginia home builder who donated $25,000.

Contributors in the third quarter also included Del. John M. O’Bannon III, R-Henrico, who contributed $1,000 and Patricia L. West, former chief deputy to Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who contributed $500.

West, a former Virginia Beach circuit court judge, now is a professor and associate dean of the law school at Regent University.

The Restoration Fund this week issued a new appeal for donations, saying the cost of the former governor’s legal defense is in the millions.

Donations to the fund continued to dip in the third quarter. It raised $92,894 in the second quarter, down from $149,242 in the year’s first three months.

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Ebola Czar and quarantines?

MoonHowler

hazmat 2

New York Times:

DALLAS — President Obama raised the possibility on Thursday that he might appoint an “Ebola czar” to manage the government’s response to the deadly virus as anxiety grew over the air travel of an infected nurse.

Schools closed in two states, hospitals and airlines kept employees home from work, and Americans debated how much they should worry about a disease that has captured national attention but has so far infected only three people here.

A federal official said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had broadened its search for contacts of Amber Joy Vinson, the second nurse infected with Ebola at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital here, after interviewing family members who gave a different version of events from Ms. Vinson’s. The nurse had said she had a slight fever before boarding a flight from Cleveland to Dallas on Monday. But family members said she had appeared remote and unwell during her trip to Ohio over the weekend.

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We don’t have a Surgeon General because…?

MoonHowler

surgeon general The United States has been without a Surgeon General since July, 2013.   The acting Surgeon General is Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak,   Why is this position temporary?  The Senate has refused to push through President Obama’s nominee for the position. While the Surgeon General cannot enact laws, this person can influence policy by discussion and is the national spokesperson for health related issues.   Think back to comments from people serving in this position over smoking cigarettes, AIDS, and teen sex.  Many folks just don’t want to have any discussion at all.  This time, the NRA is leading the charge.  Apparently, it fears any talk about gun violence or suicide.  I can’t imagine a doctor worth his or her salt not talking about the importance of gun safety.  Maybe we just won’t find a Surgeon General. Let’s examine what the problem seems to be, according to Billmoyers.com:

[T]he NRA has tried to bar pediatricians from counseling parents about the risks of keeping guns at home. The American Association of Pediatrics recommends that doctors begin to talk to parents about gun safety even before their baby is born and continue the conversation yearly, just as doctors talk to parents about the dangers of swimming pools and the importance of bicycle helmets. Florida passed a gag law in 2011; crafted by an NRA lobbyist, the bill forbids doctors from “making written inquiry or asking questions concerning the ownership of a firearm or ammunition by the patient or by a family member of the patient.” A district court ruled the following year that the law restricted physicians’ rights to free speech and the case is now in the appeals process. Murthy’s opposition to pediatrician gag laws was one of the reasons cited by the NRA and Rand Paul in their attempt to disqualify him.

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Democrat Eric Young running for Brentsville District

MoonHowler

EY_small

Eric Young has announced his candidacy for the BOCS seat vacated by former supervisor Wally Covington.  Young is a life-long resident of  Prince William County  and grew up in Nokesville where he currently makes his home .  He will be running as a Democrat.

I am glad to see Mr. Young throw his hat in the ring for this race.  Even though I cannot vote for him, all supervisors influence the county.  There was just something about that other race that wasn’t quite meeting all requirements of my sniff test.

Mr. Young has taken the pledge to take no developer money.  Now there’s a switch.  It isn’t that Young is anti growth or even anti development.  He seems to want decisions based on what is best for the county, rather than who can throw the most money at each supervisor.  Novel concept, eh?

Stay tuned.

Mr. Young’s website:

http://www.ericyoungpwc.com/

 

 

Supreme Court blocks Texas abortion law

MoonHowler

TexasAbortionOctober

Washingtonpost.com:

The Supreme Court on Tuesday night blocked a Texas law that had drastically reduced the number of abortion clinics in the nation’s second most populous state.

The court’s order, staying a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that the law could go into effect, will allow more than a dozen of the clinics to resume operation, according to the group that challenged the law, the Center for Reproductive Rights.

The court’s brief order did not say why it was disagreeing with the appeals court. Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. would have allowed the law to go into effect while abortion providers pursued their claims that it is unconstitutional.

The order was unsigned, but that apparently meant Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the other five justices — Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan — were in agreement.

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MVP Kevin Durant: grateful athlete thanks those who helped him along the way

MoonHowler

Many athletes have wind beneath their wings. It might be a parent, a coach, a teacher.  Kevin Durant basketball star  player of the Oklahoma City Thunder thanked those who helped him along the way during his acceptance speech when he was awarded The NBA Most Valuable Player award on Tuesday.  He said his mother was the real MVP in his life.

Jon Wertheim, executive editor of Sports Illustrated  wrote about the current struggling athletes for an upcoming issue.  He wonders what is being done for those who haven’t reached the level that Kevin Durant has.  At least 100,000 kids sleep under bleachers or shower in the locker room.  Often coaches and teachers know and bring extra peanut butter sandwiches.  Sometimes the kids hide it.  Some of the kids are literally homeless.

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Pete Candland Attempts to Retread the Immigration Issue

Elena

Dear Pete,

I would never have guessed that you too would have fallen so quickly into using children to propel you into the “immigration” spotlight.  I realize that you were probably not paying attention back in 2007 when this now, recycled tactic, was originally used and abused.

So allow me to take this public opportunity to educate you.  Back in 2007 John Stirrup, along with Corey, focused much of their attention on the “invasion” of children from South America into our public schools system.  They also wanted reimbursement for the supposed “free” education.  Only here is the problem, it wasn’t free (if you live in the county, in a house or apartment)there is a real estate tax being paid on that dwelling.  In case you weren’t aware, THAT is what pays for our schools.

Also, now pay attention, this is another critical piece of information, there is this pesky Supreme Court ruling, Plyler v Doe.  We HAVE to educate all children, I know, so irritating, but hey, I guess we could live in Afghanistan where no one has to be educated.

HHS is providing funds to house and educate these kids while we determine if sending them back home is a death sentence.  It may be, ultimately, this is the critical difference between you and me, you see, I see them as refugees.

You can’t claim “compassion” for children and yet have your actions be self-serving while possibly inciting another chapter of Help Save Manassas.

You are going down a dangerous moral path,  my friend, and I sincerely hope you rethink this journey you have chosen to embark upon.

 

Majority of Virginia thinks McDonnell should serve time

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

RICHMOND — More than half of Virginians believe former governor Robert F. McDonnell should go to prison after a jury found him guilty of 11 counts of public corruption, according to a poll released Monday.

The poll, sponsored by the University of Mary Washington’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, found 60 percent of adults said McDonnell (R) should be sentenced to prison time, while 28 percent say he should not and 12 percent weren’t sure or wouldn’t answer.

Are we just blood-thirsty?  I think I would vote for long probation rather than prison.  Prison is a waste of money because it is expensive.  Neither McDonnell is a danger to society.  Probation and community service (thousands of hours) helps Virginia.  Prison costs Virginians and if federal prison, the rest of the country.

Is prison to punish or is it to remove those who are deemed dangerous from society?

For the record:

75 percent of Democrats, 70 percent of independents and 57 percent of Republicans want to see McDonnell go to prison.

NJ teen-athletes arrested for hazing, sex assault, season cancelled

MoonHowler

football

New York Times:

Seven New Jersey teenagers were charged on Friday in connection with a series of sexual assaults in a hazing scandal that prompted a high school to cancel the rest of its football season, the authorities said.

Six of the teenagers were taken into custody on Friday evening on charges stemming from attacks on four students in four separate encounters at Sayreville War Memorial High School, in Parlin, Andrew Carey, the Middlesex County prosecutor, said in a joint statement with Chief John Zebrowski of the Sayreville Police Department. The seventh teenager has surrendered to the police, the authorities said on Saturday.

Those charged range in age from 15 to 17. Officials withheld their identities because they are under the age of 18.

The county prosecutor said that on four separate occasions between Sept. 19 and Sept. 29, some of the suspects held the victims, who are also juveniles, against their will, while others “improperly” touched them “in a sexual manner.” One of the victims was kicked during an attack, officials said.

The school had been scheduled to play its homecoming football game on Friday night against Monroe High School. But school officials canceled the game and the rest of the season on Monday after they received complaints that older players had bullied and harassed younger ones.

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Huckabee threatens to leave the GOP over same-sex marriage

MoonHowler

Rightwingwatch.org:

This morning’s broadcast of the American Family Association’s “Today’s Issues” program was dedicated to promoting the AFA’s “A Time to Speak” documentary, which is aimed at getting pastors to mobilize their congregations to vote in the upcoming elections.

One guest on the program was Mike Huckabee, who began his interview by threatening to leave the Republican Party if the GOP does not take a stand against the Supreme Court’s decision yesterday not to hear appeals of lower court rulings striking down gay marriage bans in several states.

I am at a loss over why the Republicans are getting the blame for a Supreme Court decision NOT to take a case.  How are most conservatives reacting to legal same-sex marriage?  Have the conservatives in North Carolina turned over and died over it?

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