McCain declares Code Pink “Low life scum”

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) confronted anti-war Code Pink protesters at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, saying “Get out of here, you low-life scum.”

The hearing, to include testimony from former secretaries of state Henry Kissinger, Madeleine Albright and George Shultz, was on global threats and national security strategy.

“I’d like to say to my colleagues and to our distinguished  witnesses this morning: I’ve been a member of this committee for many years, and I have never seen anything as disgraceful and outrageous and despicable as the last demonstration that just took place,” said McCain.

Read More

Majority of Americans support Government action to curb climate change

MoonHowler

New York Times:

An overwhelming majority of the American public, including nearly half of Republicans, support government action to curb global warming, according to a poll conducted by The New York Times, Stanford University and the nonpartisan environmental research group Resources for the Future

 

In a finding that could have implications for the 2016 presidential campaign, the poll also found that two-thirds of Americans say they are more likely to vote for political candidates who campaign on fighting climate change. They are less likely to vote for candidates who question or deny the science of human-caused global warming.

 

Although the poll found that climate change was not a top issue in determining a person’s vote, a candidate’s position on climate change influences how a person will vote.

So what’s a conservative to do who is a denier? Supporting a candidate who denies probably isn’t such a good idea. Many people think that NOT doing something is irresponsible and immoral. The question becomes, are you willing to take the risk on your own sense of being right? What if you aren’t right? What if it’s too late to make the necessary changes in human behavior?

Maybe we do nothing. Maybe we simply start regulating human beings and how many kids they have. Yes. Population control. Somehow, governments regulating energy consumption, the auto industry, and fossil fuels seems a lot less intrusive.

The clown car begins to empty…We Be Bold

MoonHowler

Jon seems to be spot on.   Serious question here… what IS Sarah Palin on?  Her teleprompter supposedly broke.  Didn’t she used to make fun of President Obama for depending on a teleprompter?  Just asking…

I am always speechless after these things.  Rick Perry sounded the most intelligent.  Should I be scared?

Bring on the clowns.  To quote that intellectual giant, Sarah Palin:  We be bold!

 

 

Cheapo actions by BOCS cause serious cuts to school system

MoonHowler

insidenova.com:

Prince William County could have “a fundamentally different school system” if a proposal to hold real-estate tax bills at the rate of inflation is approved, a move that could trigger up to $20 million in cuts next school year, School Board Chairman Milt Johns says.

The school board won’t discuss particulars until Feb. 4, but to brace for what Johns calls an “unplanned and dramatic revenue cut,” he’s asking board members to consider discretionary spending cuts to absorb a loss of about $11 million in expected revenue. At the same time, he wants to maintain a planned pay scale “step increase” for teachers, costing about $8 million, and a $1 million plan to reduce class sizes in one grade level.

Johns is asking the board to find savings in three areas: full-day kindergarten programs at non-Title I schools; bus service to middle and high school specialty programs and construction and renovation projects planned to begin in fiscal year 2016.

None are cuts Johns would advise, but they are the few large-ticket items that can be reduced to find significant savings in the division’s budget.

I have a plan. PWC needs to stop going on the cheap. They attempt it again and again. That’s how we get in these pickles to start with.   There cannot be a supervisors meeting without Pete Candland piping up and trying to “reform” us.  In December, he proposed to disregard the 5 year plan and hold revenue increases to 1.3%.  As it stands, the budget guidance is once again going on the cheap.

Pete and his sidekick are only 2 people.  Why did three other irresponsible people chose to support cheap again?   I don’t like paying taxes either.  In a perfect world. I would get really good services for nothing.  As it turns out, that isn’t how things work.  If I want decent services commensurate with Northern Virginia standards, I am going to have to cough up some money.

Read More

Principal announces a snow day: Game on!

MoonHowler

School head Matt Glendinning announces that Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island is closed because of inclement weather.

I think that Principal Glendinning has missed his calling. He seems too talented to be doing the BS that principals have to contend with.

Any takers? Are any of the local principals this talented? I will publish if we have any takers.

Auschwitz Liberation 70th Anniversary: The Guardian Point of View

MoonHowler

auschwitz

Editorial from The Guardian:

The facts are, wrote Hannah Arendt in 1946, “that six million Jews, six million human beings, were helplessly, and in most cases unsuspectingly, dragged to their deaths”. Human history, she added, “has known no story more difficult to tell”. In the years since those facts first became known, the story of the Holocaust has been told and retold, yet it still remains obdurately difficult to tell.

Scholarly inquiry, the search for causation, the most meticulous reconstruction, the grave questions of theologians and of thinkers like Arendt herself, the wrenching accounts of survivors, the discovered testimony of victims like Anne Frank – it all goes only so far. The unknowability of the Holocaust was famously, if inadvertently, expressed by the guard at Auschwitz who curtly told Primo Levi: “There is no why here.” We cannot in the end explain the Holocaust: it is beyond explanation.

The converse is not true. We cannot explain the Holocaust, yet, in large measure, it explains us. The Holocaust set the moral, ethical and geopolitical parameters within which the western world lives, influenced international institutions, sits balefully on the shoulders of writers and artists, and is never entirely absent from our minds.

Read More

McDonnell to remain free pending appeal

MoonHowler

Richmond Times Dispatch:

 

Former Gov. Bob McDonnell will not be reporting to prison next month, thanks to a brief order from the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday that grants him bond pending his appeal.

The court noted that McDonnell is not a danger to society or a flight risk, that his appeal is not a delay tactic, and that there is a substantial question of law or fact that could lead to a reversal or new trial.

“I am grateful for today’s ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit allowing me to remain free on bond pending my appeal,” McDonnell said in a statement.

Virginia’s 71st governor said, “I plan to spend time with my new granddaughter who was born this month, attend my sons’ graduation ceremonies, and embrace family time with my daughters.”

I am pleased he won his appeal.  McDonnell made some bad choices.  He didn’t take a bribe, cheat anyone, steal, or embezzle.  He broke no Virginia laws.  However, the federal government swooped in and basically overruled Virginia.

I resent that and I also don’t think McDonnell is a bad person.  I think he should have been allowed to do community service.  Let’s cast our partisan politics aside.   McDonnell was stupid.  Being stupid isn’t illegal.

Disclosure:  I am no fan of McDonnell.  I disdain his politics.

Palin considers the presidency…again

MoonHowler

What is all this babbling about?  Yes, Palin has said she is interested in running for president.  How scary.  She is still just as ignorant as always.

Rightwingwatch.org:

“It’s going to take more than a village to beat Hillary,” she said. “We the people, we realize that this is war, it is war for the solvency, the sovereignty of the United States of America.” Palin said that Republicans need to prepare for attacks from the liberal media, which seeks to “crucify” conservatives, warning that liberals use Saul Alinsky-inspired political tactics, such as charges of “racism” and “sexism.” Republicans should reject these “Orwellian” and “disgusting charges from the left,” Palin said, before calling on conservatives to label liberals as the real racists and sexists: “Reverse them, for it is they who point a finger not realizing that they have triple that amount of fingers pointing right back at them revealing that they are the ones who really discriminate and divide on color and class and sex. We call them out. We don’t let them get away with it.”

Does Sarah Palin actually have ideas or is she just going to spend the entire time calling out the “theys” of the world?  With Palin and Huckabee, we are sure to get a good side-show this election cycle.  Poor Jeb Bush.  Poor Mitt Romney.  Those guys are going to take a back seat to the sideshow of Republican clowns.  Will Donald Trump throw his hat in the ring also?  He is always good for a few laughs.

Get your tickets now.  This years Republican run is surely good for a few laughs.  I have great expectations, in fact.  Both Huckabee and Palin need to go ask for their day jobs back at Faux News.  Jon Stewart was right!

 

Open Thread………………………………..Monday, January 19

MoonHowler

winter pansies 3 The winter pansies at my house are struggling because of all the cold weather.  It looks like some of them have croaked but they might surprise me and take a new lease on life. The little ones like Johnny Jump Ups do better than the bigger faced pansies.  The big faces flop around a little too much under snow and ice.  I was greedy this year.  I have 5 containers of them.  The smaller ones are wintering on the porch for protection.

New state GOP chairman elected

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

RICHMOND — The newly elected chairman of the Virginia Republican Party on Saturday promised to stick to GOP principles of fiscal responsibility and individual liberty.

John Whitbeck, a 38-year-old lawyer from Loudoun County, ran on a platform of healing a fissure within the party and expanding its reach through a renewed focus on fundraising.

To underscore the point, he also announced former Texas governor Rick Perry will give the keynote address Feb. 24 at a fundraising dinner.

Read More

Anti-abortion bill includes tax hike on small businesses

MoonHowler

Huffingtonpost,com:

WASHINGTON — After a botched effort to pass legislation imposing a 20-week ban on abortions, House Republicans are moving forward Thursday with what’s being dubbed a less controversial bill that codifies a ban on federal funding for abortions.

The bill would do a number of things — including block federal funds for abortion for women who are in the military, who live in Washington, D.C., and who are poor — but one aspect of the legislation that hasn’t received much attention is the fact that it would raise taxes on the vast majority of small businesses.

The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act would deny small businesses a tax credit they currently receive through what’s known as the SHOP exchange, a part of the Affordable Care Act, if they include abortion care in their health plans. Roughly 87 percent of private plans include abortion services as part of comprehensive coverage, meaning the bulk of small businesses would be hit with a tax hike if the bill were to become law.

Read More

NCSI investigation: another affair, another reassignment, an unexplained death?

MoonHowler

NCSI investigates an unexplained death at Gitmo. The naval commander at Gitmo has been exposed for an affair with the dead man’s wife and has been reassigned to a base in Florida. Commander Nettleton has not been charged with anything specific but adultery is a crime under  the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Does Gitmo need any more negative attention than it has already received?

Read More

Rules for talking about balls….footballs that is

MoonHowler

You would think that the football issue was a matter of national security.  I got so sick of hearing about balls yesterday that I thought I would put my foot through the TV.  I don’t care!

I cared about basketballs, not footballs.  How about those Wahoos!!!  The Wahoos remain undefeated and are ranked #2 in the nation.  This is our state.  When have we ever been ranked #2 in the nation?  UVA seems determined to get in the news, regardless.  Come on folks, this is exciting!  This is a good thing.

Go Wahoos.

Anti-abortion bill doesn’t make it to the table

MoonHowler


Washingtonpost.com:

House Republicans passed a watered-down antiabortion bill Thursday after withdrawing a more restrictive measure that some female GOP lawmakers argued would hurt the party’s efforts to broaden its appeal to women and younger voters.

The rebellion on the abortion bill, led by women and moderates, was an illustration of some of the new challenges the party faces as a result of its expanded majority in the House. The 246-member GOP caucus is now experiencing rifts that previously did not exist, and those divisions are largely being driven by concern among moderates that they could face tough reelection battles in 2016, when more Democratic and independent voters are expected to turn out for presidential election.

So this anti abortion bill is basically a retread.  Maybe they think that the  Hyde (that old hypocrite) Amendment missed something.
Read More