Mother in yellow beats son

MoonHowler

Go woman in yellow, go! She did what a parent should do when they catch their kid being a thug. That was tough love. When interviewed, she said he was her only son and she didn’t want him to become a Freddie. Sometimes that’s what it takes.

Now, when will so bleeding heart do-gooder start whining because she beat her kid about the head and shoulders? Don’t worry. It is coming. It’s about time people stand up and applaud parents for a good whack here and a good whack there rather than parent-shaming that goes on nowadays.

That kid had it coming. I think that woman was a good mother. She did what needed to be done. Get your ass off the street. She might have saved his life.

This is a discussion America needs to have. What she did was not child abuse in my world.

Confession: yes I have done that to both of mine–not regularly but in extreme times.

Mothers, don’t let your sons grow up to be thugs.  The mother in yellow was a hero.

Will same-sex marriage prevail as the law of the land?

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

Obergefell, 48, could become as famous as Brown (the lead plaintiff in the historic school-desegregation decision) or Roe (the pseudonym for Norma McCorvey in the case that legalized abortion nationwide). But his goal isn’t to make history; it’s to make sure he is listed as the surviving spouse on his husband’s death certificate.

There are two basic questions being asked of the Supreme Court:

The justices are considering two simple-sounding questions: whether the Constitution requires states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and, if not, whether states must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states where they are legal.

But the arguments were filled with discussions of equal protection and fundamental liberties, how an understanding of the Constitution changes with society, and when majority rule must give way to minority rights.

 

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Silver Lake–revisited

MoonHowler

I went out to Silver Lake with a friend today.  I love Silver Lake.  I have some wonderful memories involving Silver Lake. There is always something to see.  Today the treat from nature was about 80 water turtles lined up along logs, sunning themselves.  Way cool.

However, the County just hasn’t done right by Silver Lake, even with cute little turtles.

Let’s start by driving in to the lake area.  The road going in is just dreadful.  Pot Hole City.  I thought I was going to break an axle.  I thought that Rainbow Riding was supposed to keep the road upgraded until you pass their property.  If that is the case, they have failed.  That is the worst part of the road.  The rest isn’t any great shakes.  It needs to be graded  and re-graveled.

Part of the road is closed off.  There might be a good reason but the public hasn’t been told.  The cones don’t really limit access.  Cones can be moved.  Why is that part of the road closed?

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Looting, mayhem, and destruction in Baltimore

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

BALTIMORE — Violence swept through pockets of a low-income section of West Baltimore on Monday afternoon as scores of rioters heaved bottles and rocks at riot-gear-clad police, set police cars on fire, and looted a pharmacy, a mall and other businesses. At least 15 officers were injured.

Images of the violence were broadcast nationwide just hours after Freddie Gray was eulogized at his funeral, and Gray’s family and clergy members called for calm. Gray died of an injury he suffered while in police custody.

The rioting did not appear to stem from any organized protests over Gray’s death.

Monday night’s Baltimore Orioles game at Camden Yards near the Inner Harbor was postponed out of concern that the violence would spread five miles east.

The death of Freddie Gray was tragic. I don’t know all the facts so I will not comment other than to say 25 is just too young to die.

Attacking police officers, burning property, destroying a city and creating enough violence and disturbance to close down sports events is thuggery in its ugliest form.  This behavior solves nothing and reflects poorly on the community in general.

Those who cry foul at the police and then act like criminals deserve what they get.

 

 

Jeanine Lawson plays it smart on supervisor endorsements

MoonHowler

Bristowbeat.com:

Brentsville Supervisor Jeanine Lawson was there to lend her support to her fellow Republicans. Lawson said she had endorsed Sheriff Glen Hill as well as current County Clerk of the Court Michele McQuigg who is running against Republican challenger Austin Haynes.

“They both did an excellent job in their positions. I think they deserve to be reelected,” Lawson said.

However, when it came to the Chairman’s race, Lawson said she has decided as a supervisor to not issue an endorsement either way.

I do NOT think Michele McQuigg has done an excellent job.  However, Ms. Lawson may think what she wants.  That’s her right.  Jeanine Lawson did the mature, professional  thing, however, by not issuing an endorsement for either Republican supervisor being challenged.

Let’s face it, she has to work with both Stewart and Nohe as long as she and they are in office.  Ms. Lawson apparently is capable of looking down the road and this decision clearly indicates that she is willing to build coalitions rather than using a daisy cutter on every issue and governing with conflict.

Pete Candland needs to take a page out of Ms. Lawson’s handbook.  Open support for a candidate opposing one of his colleagues just isn’t the smart thing to do.  Four years is a long time.    Pssssst!  Pete–start thinking for yourself.  Turn off that thundering voice stage-whispering in your ear.

 

The very bad no-good Republican firehouse caucus

MoonHowler

I have nothing to say.  However, I was accused of becoming a blog I distained so I think I will just go for it, rather than be hung as a wolf.  I just won’t make fun of people, tempting though it is.

I decided I was not going to subject myself to that kind of scrutiny over voting.  I am an American.  I had been warned by a couple Republican friends who were in the know that I would probably not be allowed to vote.  I had voted in the 2013 Democratic primary for Lt. Governor.  I had also voted in a Republican one but who’s counting.

 

I had plans to vote but after last week’s mailers, I decided that it really wasn’t worth my time.  I really want Michele McQuigg out of there.  More on that next week.  I had planned on supporting Corey.  I was pretending he wasn’t running his mouth about immigration.  Then came the pro-life letter.

That letter hit the mailbox on Thursday.  It was a deal breaker.  I don’t usually get involved in reproductive issues at the supervisor level.  There is plenty of that to go around at the state level.  Other than zoning issues, it really isn’t all that important if a supervisor is pro-choice and to date, that has only come up over some silly letter once with the BOCS.

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Petraeus sentenced to probation and fined

MoonHowler

New York Times:

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A federal judge on Thursday sentenced David H. Petraeus, a former C.I.A. director and the highest-profile general from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to two years’ probation for providing classified information to a woman with whom he was having an affair.

Mr. Petraeus was also fined $100,000, more than double the amount the Justice Department had requested.

The sentencing was a disappointing one for F.B.I. officials, who believed that Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. had given Mr. Petraeus preferential treatment by allowing him to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and recommending that he receive probation instead of prison time. Federal judges are not bound by such recommendations, but they almost always follow them.

Although the judge overseeing the case, David C. Keesler of United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, agreed to the probation sentence, he added $60,000 to the government’s suggested fine of $40,000. Judge Keesler did not give an extensive explanation for why he raised the fine, saying it was necessary because of “the seriousness of the offense.”

This case brings about many questions.  Had he not been the rising star, would he have even been prosecuted?  He breached security with those emails he carelessly let his lady friend have access to.  Should he have been tried for more serious crimes involving national security?

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Water line to nowhere

MoonHowler

A water line to nowhere.  What a great line and one which  pretty much describes the $1.5 million dollar expense to construct a water line from somewhere to Long Park.  The annual operation costs are estimated to be $166,000.

There must be something I am missing.  The county says the water to the fields tests negative for nasty microbes.  The little library is closing in the fall.  The county also reports that digging another well is a far cheaper expenditure and that it will solve the problem.  So why is a water line going in?

Where is the money coming from?  If I heard correctly, it is coming from Gainesville proffers?  What about all the other parks?  Is their fair share being siphoned off?  How about Silver Lake?  It’s still crappy.  You sure can’t get potable water there.

Ben Lomond soccer fields also do not have water.  Splash Down might, since it is an aquatic center but the soccer fields do not have fountains.  Parents and kids bring their own.  It’s been that way for years.  Apparently toting your own water to not good enough for those using Long Park athletic fields.  Big Government should be providing “the chosen” with water.  Deer Park just isn’t good enough.

Dig a new well for the sports fields.  Give the little library bottled water until the new library opens up in a different location.  Hmmmm….did I say new library?  Gainesville Magisterial District now will have 3 libraries.

So how does the proffer money work?  Do individual supervisors get to keep the money within the district and spend it on their pet projects?   Aren’t proffers legally attached to specific rezonings?   How can you take park money  specifically proffered to the Braemar development rezoning dedicating to creating Catharpin Park and give it to Long Park?   Some proffer money is general.  Isn’t the money supposed to be shared among all parks and open space?

These are some of the questions PWC residents need to be asking.  It sounds like they are being fleeced and they are getting a water line to no where.

BOCS adopts 3.88% increase for FY16

MoonHowler

Bristowbeat.com:

In a rare turn of events, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors adopted the advertised tax rate. They also adopted the FY16 budget.

By a 6-2 vote, supervisors approved the residential real estate tax rate of 1.122 percent for every $100 of assessed value, or a 3.88 percent increase from the FY15’s residential tax rate.

Brentsville Supervisor Jeanine Lawson (R) and Gainesville Supervisor Pete Candland (R) voted against the tax-rate as they would have preferred only a 2.5 percent tax increase.

The crowd at the  McCoart  building was in a jovial mood.  Supervisors joked, citizens lavished praise on the supervisors and in the end, people cheered.  It almost made you think you had crossed the county line.

Usually, the BOCS advertises at one rate and then drops the rate considerably.  Such was not the case last night.

At least one local blog made fun of the supervisors who voted for the budget.  They were also called names.  This childish behavior reeked of poor sportsmanship It was a pathetic, last minute retreat  mainsteam thinking since  most of us thought this years exercise turned out to be a good budget session.

Too bad Lawson and Candland didn’t  vote for most of the initiatives they instigated.  If you don’t vote for something, you can’t own it.  I never trust people who cannot compromise and find common ground.

 

 

Moonhowlings endorses Marty Nohe for supervisor

MoonHowler

I will not be voting for Marty Nohe this Saturday. I cannot.  I do not live in his district.  Perhaps it is for this reason that this blog provides an endorsement.

Marty is just a decent guy.  He tries to help any resident of Prince William County without regard to party or ideology.    In fact, Marty seems to be driven by decency and doing the right thing more than any ideology.  It was Marty who put a voice of reason on the immigration wars right here in Prince William County.  It was the right thing to do.

Marty has helped my family out several times over issues.  He and his wife didn’t have to spend hours on the phone with me giving me some much needed information and sought after advice, but they did.  They are givers, not takers.

He has helped out the Sudley community when boundary lines split up neighborhoods when the last magisterial districts were drawn.  I was sorry I didn’t end up in his district.  I am even more sorry now.   He provides park activities for neighborhoods and especially pays close attention to those neighborhoods where families  might not have quite as much.  Marty is keenly aware of such things.

Marty is very much a family man.  He walks the walk in that regard.  Just a glance at his Facebook page shows his level of involvement with his own kids.  He also tries to provide opportunities for other folks’ children.

Marty has also turned the other cheek from some of the viciousness and disrespect shown to him by some of the local blogs.  That takes a big man to do that.  Very few of us could withstand some of the  vitriol that has been thrown his way with the dignity and good humor shown by Supervisor Nohe.

Go Marty go!  May the force be with you.

Al Alborn hits a homerun out of the ball park

MoonHowler

sad elephant

Today’s MUST READ is from fellow blogger, Al Alborn, entitled “Supervisor Candland, you are no Corey Stewart.”  In his opinion piece, Alborn  explains the growth of Chairman Corey Stewart as a seasoned, political conservative who, despite some ideological bumps in the road, has landed on his feet and has guided the county through rough times politically and financially.  Alborn points out that Stewart is likeable and listens to everyone regardless of district.  Al is right.  Corey has become the face of Prince William County.

So why did Alborn attempt to compare and contrast Candland, a 1 term (thus far) supervisor from the Gainesville District to a 2 term chairman?  Why not.  Candland has made saber-rattling chairman noises since he first came into office, either directly or through his anonymous support blog that mysteriously sprung to life shortly after Pete was inaugurated.

The central theme of Alborn’s piece is that Candland is only 1 of 7–he represents only one District, the elite well-heeled Gainesville District, yet he expects the rest of the county to conform to Pete’s “my way or the highway” modus operandi.

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Is there a little Tim McVeigh in us?

MoonHowler

oklahoma city

History.com:

At 9:02 a.m., a rental truck packed with explosives detonated in front of the nine-story Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. The powerful explosion blew off the building’s north wall. Emergency crews raced to Oklahoma from across the country, and when the rescue effort finally ended two weeks later the death toll stood at 168 people, including 19 young children who were in the building’s day care center at the time of the blast. More than 650 other people were injured in the bombing, which damaged or destroyed more than 300 buildings in the immediate area.

A massive hunt for the bombing suspects ensued, and on April 21 an eyewitness description led authorities to charge Timothy McVeigh (1968-2001), a former U.S. Army soldier, in the case. As it turned out, McVeigh was already in jail, having been stopped a little more than an hour after the bombing for a traffic violation and then arrested for unlawfully carrying a handgun. Shortly before he was scheduled to be released from jail, he was identified as a prime suspect in the bombing and charged. That same day, Terry Nichols (1955-), an associate of McVeigh’s, surrendered in Herington, Kansas. Both men were found to be members of a radical right-wing survivalist group based in Michigan.

On August 8, Michael Fortier, who knew of McVeigh’s plan to bomb the federal building, agreed to testify against McVeigh and Nichols in exchange for a reduced sentence. Two days later, McVeigh and Nichols were indicted on charges of murder and unlawful use of explosives.

What makes a person turn into a domestic terrorist?  In the case of Timothy McVeigh, he joined the military, found his niche and then something happened.  According to the McVeigh tapes, he got very disgusted and disillusioned over the wanton killing committed by his country.

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Is climate change destroying our health?

MoonHowler

Richmond Times Dispatch:

Springtime blooms mark the arrival of pollen season in Virginia, and for allergy sufferers the misery seems to be getting worse every year. In fact, it actually is. Doctors across the U.S. are confirming what climate scientists, who have the tools to study atmospheric and oceanic changes, have concluded — climate change is “unequivocal” and it is already affecting our health.

The real questions are now: How is climate change affecting human health? Who is most vulnerable, and what can be done to stop it? To shed light on these questions, a Virginia research center joined  three major medical societies of allergists, lung specialists, primary care and other specialists to assess their experiences regarding climate and health. Nearly 2,300 physicians responded and 375 were from Southeastern states. These surveys revealed notable findings about how climate change is affecting the nation and the state of Virginia.

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Open Thread………………………………….Tuesday, March 31

MoonHowler

daffodils2015 blog

Finally!  Real spring.  Ignore any snow and sleet you might see.  It is an optical illusion.  Last year I had daffodils in February.  This year, not so much.  Finally, this week they are blooming.

My winter pansies met with ill fate in some of the pots.  About half survived.  I have never lost quite as many as this past year.

It was a rough winter.  I would take one like that every year just to get a summer like last summer.

Some gyrocopter questions

MoonHowler

washingtonpost.com:

On Wednesday, [Doug] Hughes, a 61-year-old mailman from a small town on Florida’s Gulf Coast who dearly wants campaign finance reform, flew his fragile little ultralight gyrocopter through some of the most closely protected airspace on the planet and landed it on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. He called it Project Kitty Hawk.

He announced his plans on the Internet and in his hometown newspaper. He said he felt compelled to do what he could to halt corruption in the nation’s capital. He attached a big U.S. Postal Service insignia to the aircraft fuselage, loaded it onto a trailer last Friday, and drove north. He would not go postal, but rather airborne, to deliver 535 letters to members of Congress urging them to tighten the rules on money in political campaigns.

“I have no intention of hurting anyone,” Hughes wrote on his Web site, the Democracy Club, which carries the motto, “Because We the People own Congress.” “There is no way I can prevent overreaction by the authorities, but I have given them as much information and advance warning as my fuel supply allows.”

The warning didn’t help. Air defense systems did not detect the copter as it entered restricted airspace above Washington, according to a North American Aerospace Defense Command spokesman. No one tried to stop the gyrocopter, which sounds like a lawnmower and looks like a flying bridge chair.

I am glad Doug Hughes was uninjured.  He had no intent to harm anyone.  But the question remains, how did we know that?  It seems that there is some real faulty security around federal buildings.

I am surprised that the gyrocopter wasn’t shot out of the sky.  Perhaps it should have been.  There should be no exceptions and no slip ups that close to the Capitol, the Supreme Court and the White House.