Virginia Republicans concoct a highway horror story about I-66 tolls
By Editorial Board
Washington Post
TURN ON the World Series these days and, at the commercial break, you’ll be subjected to an onslaught of political advertising, courtesy of Republicans running for the Virginia state legislature. Like many political ads, these are crass, misleading and pitched toward exploiting voters’ fears — in this case, about the costs of commuting.
The bogeyman invoked to strike terror in commuters is the specter of punishingly high tolls on Interstate 66 in Northern Virginia — specifically $17 tolls, as scary as any Halloween fright. The 30-second spots suggest that Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) plans to impose that levy on all drivers who use I-66, a major artery for commuters in Fairfax, Prince William and Loudoun counties.
That’s false. In fact, rush-hour drivers who drive legally on I-66 now — meaning those with at least one passenger — would be untouched by the governor’s plan. They drive the road for free now and would continue to do so.
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Exorcism live: real or just a hoax?
All reality TV producers have to prepare for worst-case scenarios when they air a live event. Jodi Tovay’s worries are a bit more unusual, because she is sending paranormal investigators into a house they believe is infested with demonic spirits.
“The worst-case scenario is that one of these entities will attach to someone,” Tovay said. “It is dangerous.”
Luckily, Tovay says, the physical symptoms are usually obvious when an evil spirit attaches itself to a person: nausea, scratches, superhuman strength. A team of paramedics will be on standby, as will police. She’s ready.
War of the Worlds: Are people just smarter now?
Shortly after 8 p.m. on the Halloween Eve, 1938, the voice of a panicked radio announcer broke in with a news bulletin reporting strange explosions taking place on the planet Mars, followed minutes later by a report that Martians had landed in the tiny town of Grovers Mill, New Jersey. Although most listeners understood that the program was a radio drama, the next day’s headlines reported that thousands of others plunged into panic, convinced that America was under a deadly Martian attack. It turned out to be H.G. Wells’ classic The War of the Worlds, performed by 23-year-old Orson Welles.
77 years ago today, at around 8 pm, thousands of Americans pushed the proverbial panic button, loaded up their cars and drove off in a panic, convinced that they had moments to live because of an invasion. It’s hard to believe, nowadays, that people were that naïve–or is it?
Andy Parker: Whatever it takes
RICHMOND — A state senator from southwest Virginia told police Wednesday that he felt threatened by the father of the Roanoke TV reporter fatally shot during a live broadcast in August.
Andy Parker has become the public face of gun-control efforts in Virginia in the aftermath of his daughter’s slaying, appearing with Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), campaigning for legislative candidates who favor gun control, and starring in TV commercials that are part of a $2.2 million ad buy bankrolled by former New York mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s gun safety group.
Late Tuesday, Parker sent this message to Sen. William M. Stanley Jr. (R-Franklin), via Facebook: “I’m going to be your worst nightmare you little bastard.”
“I take this very seriously as a threat against the safety of my family,” said Stanley, who has received an A rating from the National Rifle Association. He said he contacted Capitol Police and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, and picked up applications for concealed handgun permits for himself and his wife because of the message.
“We are proud firearms owners, but I never felt the need for a concealed-carry permit until now,” Stanley said.
Cops on the loose: What really happened here?
This video asks a lot of questions. Let me ask a few.
Is the cop definitely wrong?
Would you feel differently if the student had been male?
Do we know what the student did?
Would you want your child’s instruction disrupted by this student or another student?
What would have been a better way to remove this student from the classroom?
Will incidents like this keep individuals from becoming public servants?
Watching TV today, I heard a number of people in the media pontificating on how horrible the police officer was. I had a flash back to a few fairly evil students I had encountered over the years. I found myself thinking, “walk a mile in my moccasins.” Then I thought about the police officer. I am sure he will be fired. I can feel it. (I hope I am wrong.)
Palestinian anger beats out a violent sound track
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian teenagers who came one after another into the True Love gift and music shop on a recent afternoon all had the same request: nationalistic songs — the new ones.
The proprietor quickly handed over the CDs that he had just started keeping at the checkout counter, like “Jerusalem Is Bleeding,” featuring the track “It’an, It’an” — “Stab, stab” — with its ominous backbeat.
“When I listen to these songs it makes me boil inside,” said one customer, Khader Abu Leil, 15, explaining that the thrumming score has helped pump him up for near-daily demonstrations where he hurls stones at Israeli soldiers.
Inspired by this month’s wave of Palestinian attacks against Israeli Jews and deadly clashes with Israeli security forces, musicians in the occupied West Bank and beyond have produced scores of militaristic, often violent tunes. Published and shared on YouTube and Facebook, they form something of an intifada soundtrack, illustrated by videos that include gritty clips from fresh events.
Science vs. Religion
Are science and religion at odds with each other? A majority of the public says science and religion often conflict, with nearly six-in-ten adults (59%) expressing this view in newly released findings from a Pew Research Center survey. The share of the public saying science and religion are often in conflict is up modestly from 55% in 2009, when Pew Research conducted a similar survey on religion and science.
People’s sense that there generally is a conflict between religion and science seems to have less to do with their own religious beliefs than it does with their perceptions of other people’s beliefs. Less than one-third of Americans polled in the new survey (30%) say their personal religious beliefs conflict with science, while fully two-thirds (68%) say there is no conflict between their own beliefs and science.
Netanyahu suggests Palestinian caused final solution
There is no Israeli orator tougher and more pugnacious than Benjamin Netanyahu, but even his allies expressed bewilderment — and shock — Wednesday after the prime minister asserted that a Palestinian religious leader gave Adolf Hitler the idea to annihilate the Jews.
In a speech here Tuesday evening, Netanyahu sought to explain the surge in violence in Israel and the West Bank by reaching for historical antecedents. He said that Jews living in what was then British Palestine faced many attacks in 1920, 1921 and 1929 — all instigated by the grand mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, who allied himself with the Nazis during World War II.
A trickle down Halloween
Hmmmm…does this sound familiar?
How about those treats.! I couldn’t resist.
Open Thread…………………………………………………………..October 1
My favorite month is finally here. Good things happen in October. Leaves change, the air gets crisp, mosquitoes go away, and fire pits get used.
Today, October 1, we are wondering if we are going to get struck by a late hurricane named Joaquin. It’s warm, humid and rainy today, nothing like the beautiful October to arrive in the next week or so.
It’s time for wineries, farmers markets, and leaf watching. After this summer, I am more than ready!
McAuliffe executive order bans guns in most state buildings
RICHMOND, Va. (WUSA9) — Stymied in the state legislature, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe just took new gun restrictions into his own hands.
The governor signed an executive order Thursday banning firearms in most state government buildings and empowering the Attorney General to prosecute illegal gun sales.
Up until the governor’s order, almost everyone was legally entitled to carry a firearm into the DMV in Virginia.
Governor McAuliffe handed to pen he used to sign Executive Order 50 to the parents of murdered WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and argued the measures will help reduce gun violence.
“No more excuses. No more politics. No more senseless deaths while elected leaders play partisan petty games,” McAuliffe said.
The ban on openly carrying guns applies immediately to all state buildings the governor controls. He also hopes to ban people with concealed carry permits from bringing their guns in, but that process could take a month.
To date, there is no ban on concealed carry. I am assuming those guns with a permit can still be carried anywhere.
Let’s have this discussion explain why anyone should have a gun in state buildings. For the life of me, I can’t see carrying a long rifle into the governors mansion. The Capitol and General Assembly have no gun bans as they are under the control of the General Assembly.
I can understand not wanting guns in the DMV. Too tempting, just too tempting.
In defense of Cecil
Zimbabwean hunter Theo Bronkhorst leaves court in Hwange, October 15, 2015. Bronkhorst is facing charges for breaching hunting rules which led to the killing of the country’s most famous lion, Cecil, by US Dentist Walter Palmer…A Zimbabwean hunter accused of failing to stop the killing of Cecil the lion said on Thursday his family and business had been destroyed amid the outcry that followed the lion’s death and that charges against him should be dropped.
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Tell me again why we call it “Faux News”…
Wayne Simmons claimed to be something of an American James Bond, and if you watched TV or ran his name through Google, you’d have no reason to doubt him. In his public speaking engagements and frequent appearances on Fox News, the purported former CIA operative spoke authoritatively about terrorism and clandestine intelligence operations, which he claimed he helped run for nearly three decades.
What is Democratic Socialism?
According to Bernie Sanders, Democratic Socialism is:
“What democratic socialism is about is saying that it is immoral and wrong that the top one-tenth of 1 percent in this country own almost 90 percent — almost — own almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent. That it is wrong, today, in a rigged economy, that 57 percent of all new income is going to the top 1 percent.”
— Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
Can someone who unabashedly states that they are a Democratic Socialist be elected president? Are Americans programmed to abhor the term “socialist?” I grew up in an era where you didn’t want to be any kind of “socialist.” It was considered JV communist.
I do agree that it is immoral for the top one-tenth of 1 percent to own almost 90% of the wealth. I like many of Sanders’ ideas. Some I don’t like.
Your thoughts?
Israel gun laws restrict civilians despite Palestinian stabbings
GIVAT ZEEV, West Bank — The phones have been ringing nonstop at the Gun Hill shooting range, following a week of daily knife attacks by Palestinians and a clarion call by Israeli politicians requesting that permit holders should carry their pistols on their hips to help protect the citizenry against terrorists.
“It’s a madhouse,” said Yair Yifrach, general manger of the training center and gun shop here at a Jewish settlement north of Jerusalem.
Perhaps not the best choice of words for a shooting range. “But people are going a little crazy,” Yifrach said.
Israelis are frightened by violent demonstrations and daily attacks by Palestinians, not only in the West Bank but also in the heart of Israel. On Monday, Palestinians staged three stabbing attacks against Israeli civilians and police in Jerusalem; two of the attackers were shot dead, Israeli police said. One victim was a 13-year-old boy.
Yifrach, a gun instructor, does not think it is a good idea to have a bunch of undertrained, anxious Israelis rushing to own guns. But he does suppolrt the idea — as do most Israelis — that civilians who are veterans of military service trained in responsible use of firearms are a “force mutiplier” on the streets.
“In truth, getting a gun permit in Israel is not easy — that’s what I tell people,” Yifrach said.
