Lower court upholds same sex marriage ban in 4 states

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

A federal appeals court panel upheld bans on same-sex marriage in four states Thursday, a break with other federal courts that makes it almost certain the Supreme Court must take up the issue of whether gay couples have a constitutional right to marry.

A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in Cincinnati ruled 2 to 1 that although same-sex marriage across the nation is practically inevitable, in the words of U.S. Circuit Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton, it should be settled through the democratic process and not the judicial one.

The decision overturned lower-court rulings in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky and makes the 6th Circuit the first appeals court to uphold state bans since the Supreme Court struck down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act in 2013.

The Supreme Court began its term last month by declining to hear appeals of decisions that had gone the other way, and that move to let the rulings stand greatly expanded the number of states in which same-sex couples may marry.

The court did not explain its reasoning at the time, but Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has said in interviews that there was no reason for the court to jump in to settle a controversy unless there was disagreement among the lower courts.

 

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Candland’s Knight in Shining Armor “Writes” to His Rescue….Again

Elena

Oy Vey, who would have thought that commenting on high jacking constituents emails addresses would provide so much blog fodder!

First, Moonhowler penned a thread regarding the misuse of her email for electioneering purposes by Pete Candland, of which, by the way, I agreed with entirely with her premise.  I have often castigated Corey Stewart for the exact same “violation”.  However, at least I once openly supported Corey, even hosted a fundraiser for him in my home.  There is a reason he has my personal email address, I supported him at one ,albeit many years ago. Probably the Sheriff would not know that history as he miraculously materialized on the PWC political scene as soon as Pete was elected.  What an interesting coincidence!

So I will, once again, attempt to be concise in my explanation so that the “sheriff” may understand why elected officials should NOT misuse constituents personal email addresses’.  Let me say that I did not receive any e-mails from any elected official telling who to vote for, I am simply defending the principal of Moonhowler.

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Republican wave? Who rode in… and who didn’t bother to saddle up

MoonHowler

Shown  are a few of the facts as the Washington Post sees them.  Here on Moonhowlings, some of the men have particularly enjoyed chiding me about the war on women, as if a Republican win not only ended the war, but also proved it never existed in the first place.

Let’s not get too carried away with disproving “war on women.”  It’s been going on since man was first placed on this earth and will continue to rumble far after I am dead and gone.  It’s not an idea that is going to quickly be resolved and it’s not going to be resolved by electing women to office or giving them their own Senate bathroom.

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City Council results: special election vs general election

MoonHowler
MANASSAS CITY – Member City Council
Candidate Votes Percent Graph
Marc T. Aveni
Republican		 4,185 24.22%
Sheryl L. Bass
Republican		 5,243 30.34%
Ken D. Elston
Democrat		 4,028 23.31%
Patricia E. Richie-Folks
Democrat		 3,704 21.43%
Write-in 122 0.71%

Yesterday’s election for local office was a first for the City. Heretofore, the council and school board elections were held in the spring in a special election. Last year, the citizens voted to have this election during the regular time in November. Did this change affect the results?

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Mark Warner squeaks by Ed Gillespie

MoonHowler

 

As of 12:30 am, incumbent Senator Mark Warner seemed to be the apparent winner of the senate election.  No one really expected this election to be so close.   Prince William County, included cities, and Fairfax seemed to save the day for Warner.  Northern Virginia prevailed, once again.  Albemarle, Charlottesville and Nelson County also helped pull off a Warner win, as did some of the southside counties.  At last glimpse, Warner was ahead by about 18,000 votes.

The Republicans will take over the Senate. That fact changes the dynamics of the country a great deal, although it isn’t really apparent how it will change things.  The different factions in the Republican party may decide to battle each other rather than to continue sparring with the President.  Who knows.  They also probably will not have a super majority so bills wont just go sailing through.  then there is also the presidential veto.  I feel certain that President Obama will enjoy using that presidential option quite a bit.  I know I sure would.

This is the first time that the Republicans have controlled the Senate in 8 years.  Will we move forward or will we revisit all the social issues?  That’s what the Republicans seem to concentrate on most of the time these days.  Abortion, personhood, same sex marriage, Planned Parenthood funding, school prayer…the list goes on.

What do you predict?

 

Pete Candland: Don’t tell us who to vote for

MoonHowler

I guess I am just getting grouchy.  I got an email from my supervisor Pete Candland around 6 pm telling me I still had time to vote.  I was ok with that.  It’s a good thing for our elected officials to remind us to vote.  It is NOT OK,  however,  for them to tell me WHO to vote for.  Here is the email:

There is still time to vote!
With polling locations closing at 7:00pm, there is still time to cast your vote for Barbara Comstock and Ed Gillespie.  We need your help to elect good, honest, hard-working people to represent us in Washington.

I’ve had the opportunity to get to know both of these individuals and can tell you they are committed to moving our country in the right direction.

I hope to see you at the polls this evening.

Pete
There was still time to cast your vote for Mark Warner and John Faust also.  Pete can remind us to vote but he needs to drop the partisan crap when speaking to me, the constituent.  Now, if he is at a Republican meeting, or with his R buds, he can say whatever he wants.
Sorry, I have just had too many folks telling me how to vote lately.  I don’t need a last minute reminder from Pete.  what really grated is that the Gainesville District has at least 2, maybe 3 U. S. Congressional races going on.  I had a choice of Mosher and Wittman.   Is Pete not even aware that HIS party aligned his district so it is chopped up like a tomato?  I couldn’t vote for Barbara Comstock if I wanted to.  I am not in her district.  (I would never support any candidate who voted yes for that ultra-sound bill.)
Have the political messages just driven you crazy this election cycle?

Manassas City Council Trifecta

MoonHowler

bass.elston.folks

If you drive around the City of Manassas, most yards with political signs have the same three signs–Bass/Elston/Richie-Folks.  So what, you might ask? 4  individuals are running for City Council–2 Republicans and 2 Democrats. This trifecta is 1 Republican and 2 Democrats.   It seems that most folks, by an overwhelming majority, like this bi-partisan combination of leaders to represent them.

It appears, if yard signs and talk tell the story, that most City folk reject extremist views and penny-pinching  when it comes to public safety, schools and overall quality-of-life issues.  The people of Manassas want some  of their money going to the arts and those things that make living in Manassas fun.  They want their leaves scooped up at the curb, their pot holes filled, their schools to attract and maintain quality teachers, and their  Old Town activities to enhance their lives.

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City Council elections: Like a hell-broth boil and bubble

MoonHowler

damn witch pic

I guess it’s time for me to dig out my bard hat for a few comments about the council election.  Manassas City elections are upon us and the usual actor are ….well, acting out.  As usual, my city owls are flying out to the county with election info.  Whhhoooooo is going to win?  There seems to be little eye of newt in this one.

flying owl 2

Apparently several someone’s are pissed off because all over town people are supporting Ken Elston(D) and Patricia Richie-Folks(D) along with Sheryl Bass(R).  It appears that the City folks are really bi-partisan in their sentiments this year.  Perhaps it is about ideas rather than party?  Meanwhile, “the other Republican” and his buddies are calling people liars and barbs are being thrown on several different facebook pages.

Apparently the guy who isn’t even running,  Mark Wolfe, is getting the blame for all the Republican discontent.  When in doubt, blame Mark.  I seem to remember clearly that “the other Republican” supported an independent last time, rather than Wolfe.  If you have forgotten, check it out here on The Conscience of a King link.  So I have to ask…why is it OK for Mr. Aveni to support someone off the R ticket and it’s not OK for Mr. Wolfe to do it?  Are there two sets of rules?

I have even heard some Republicans have advocated bullet-voting for “the other Republican.”   Does that sound like someone is running scared?   Bullet voting would be only voting the  one  candidate, rather than for a slate of 3 candidates.

Marc, what goes around, comes around.  Maybe you just brought yourself some bad Karma   last election cycle.   I expect Mark Wolfe is supporting you like you supported him.  I distinctly remember an all-out effort to railroad Mark Wolfe off the council.  It just didn’t work.  If memory serves me, Mark Wolfe captured the most votes of all three candidates.   That fact alone speaks volumes.

Meanwhile, I think I will weigh in on the Bass/Elston/Richie-Folks card.  That seems to be the winning moderate ticket.  I have pretty much had it with extremists.  Extremists don’t make very good neighbors.

N.Y. Teacher sues over evaluation

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

Sheri G. Lederman has been teaching for 17 years as a fourth-grade teacher  in New York’s Great Neck Public School district. Her students consistently  outperform state averages on math and English standardized tests, and  Thomas Dolan, the superintendent of Great Neck schools, signed an affidavit saying “her record is flawless” and that “she is highly regarded as an educator.”

Yet somehow, when Lederman received her 2013-14 evaluation, which is based in part on student standardized test scores, she was rated as “ineffective.” Now she has sued state officials over the method they used to make this determination in an action that could affect New York’s controversial teacher evaluation system.

How is it that a teacher known for excellence could be rated “ineffective”?

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