Month: January 2016

Misogynist Trump still attacks Megyn Kelly

MoonHowler

Donald J. Trump 

✔@realDonaldTrump

“@gene70: @FireFlyFury@megynkelly@realDonaldTrumpAnd this is the bimbo that’s asking presidential questions? pic.twitter.com/oU1uUGnuWb“

megyn 1
6:36 AM – 28 Jan 2016
From Twitter.
I have never been a big Megyn Kelly fan.  That opinion is beside the point.  She is an accomplished journalist.  It doesn’t matter if she posed in GQ or not.  BFD.  Lucky her that she is attractive enough to do it.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, is unfit to lead this country because of his demeaning, misogynistic attitude about women in general and because of his attack on Megyn Kelly.  She dared to ask a question about his past behavior regarding comments about women.  Good for her.  She made him accountable.
Trump didn’t learn his lesson.  He continues to this day to make unkind, sexist remarks about Megan Kelly.  I rarely complement Fox News, but good for them for standing behind Megyn Kelly.  They have gained at least 100 points in my book.
Trump needs to erase the term “bimbo” from his vocabulary.  He, whose past behavior exhibits that he is a “bimbo monger” simply has no room to call anyone a bimbo.
Trump is coming dangerously close to winning the Republican nomination.  What will the Grand Old Party do?  Will they tolerate this pig running under their banner?  These are scary times.

The Governor and 2Aers strike a deal

MoonHowler

gun-laws-21

Washingtonpost.com:

RICHMOND — Gov. Terry McAuliffe plans to announce Friday that Virginia will restore handgun reciprocity agreements with nearly all states, in a stunning reversal of a firearms policy that had angered Republicans and gun rights advocates across the nation.

The about-face is part of a deal that McAuliffe (D) struck with Republican leaders one month after Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) ended the right of gun owners in 25 states to have their concealed carry permits recognized in Virginia.

In exchange, Republicans will agree to a major concession: Anyone subject to a permanent protective order for a domestic violence offense will be prohibited from carrying a firearm for the two-year life of the order. The issue had been a nonstarter in the Republican-controlled General Assembly.

“This is a bipartisan deal that will make Virginians safer,” McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy said. “It also demonstrates that Democrats and Republicans can work together on key issues like keeping guns out of dangerous hands.”

 The agreement marks the first break in a logjam in the state over gun rights and gun control marked by heated rhetoric on both sides.
The NRA applauds the bi-partisan agreement.  Not all the gun groups do, however.
There were other concessions made:

It includes an amendment offered by Sen. Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax City) that says Virginia will not honor an out-of-state concealed carry permit held by a person whose Virginia concealed carry permit was previously revoked — a practice known as “state shopping.”

In another concession, state police must be present at all gun shows to administer background checks in private sales of guns on a voluntary basis. McAuliffe’s budget includes $100,000 to fund the activity.

Those seem like common sense ideas that might make us a little bit safer.  Those are all measures that make most of the voters happy–all but the most strident of the gun activists.

 

Is the War on Women finally over?

MoonHowler

tampax

Potomaclocal.com:

Virginia’s sales tax covers almost everything you buy, from athletic socks to zippers. But it doesn’t apply to medicine, contact lenses and certain other personal health items. Now, the General Assembly is considering adding feminine hygiene products to the list of exemptions.

Del. Mark Keam (Fairfax County) introduced House Bill 952, which seeks to remove the sales tax on tampons and sanitary napkins in Virginia. Currently these items are taxed at the standard rate, like most other items: 6 percent in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, and 5.3 percent in the rest of the state.

“I think that most people, Republican and Democrats, would agree that this is an unfair tax,” Keam said Wednesday in an interview in his office at Capital Square. “It’s not equitable for women to have to pay a tax on something that guys don’t have to spend money on.”

Virginia is one of 40 states that tax tampons and sanitary napkins. Of the 10 states that don’t tax these products, five deliberately changed their laws specifically to end the policy. The other five do not have a sales tax at all.

Read More

1 Oregon terrorist dead–stand-off not over

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

After an exchange of gunfire Tuesday that left one man dead and another injured, the two brothers who orchestrated the armed occupation of a remote central Oregon wildlife refuge were taken into custody while traveling outside the area, along with six of their followers.

Then, early Wednesday the government shut down the area, initiating what authorities called a “containment” with checkpoints and promising to arrest any unauthorized people attempting to travel into the refuge.

Read More

Anti abortionists indicted in Planned Parenthood hoax

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

 David-Daleiden-evil-encounter-1

AUSTIN, Texas — A Houston grand jury investigating undercover footage of Planned Parenthood found no wrongdoing Monday by the abortion provider and instead indicted anti-abortion activists involved in making the videos that provoked outrage among Republican leaders nationwide.

David Daleiden, founder of the Center for Medical Progress, was indicted on a felony charge of tampering with a governmental record and a misdemeanor count related to purchasing human organs. Another activist, Sandra Merritt, was also indicted on a charge of tampering with a governmental record. It’s the first time anyone in the group has been charged criminally since the videos started surfacing last year.

In a statement announcing the indictment, Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson didn’t provide details on the charges, including what record or records were allegedly tampered with and why Daleiden faces a charge related to buying human organs. Anderson’s office said it could not provide details until the documents charging Daleiden and Merritt were formally made public, which was expected later Monday.

“We were called upon to investigate allegations of criminal conduct by Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast,” Anderson’s statement said. “As I stated at the outset of this investigation, we must go where the evidence leads us.”

The anti-abortion Center for Medical Progress has released several covertly shot videos of Planned Parenthood officials discussing the handling of fetal tissue from abortions. The center claims that Planned Parenthood illegally sold fetal tissue; Planned Parenthood officials have denied any wrongdoing and have said the videos were misleadingly edited.

It seems like the grand jury agreed with Planned Parenthood.  Sometimes people get so wrapped up in what they believe that they justify altering facts and the truth.  Apparently this is what happened here.

 
Read More

What do you do when the lights go out during the blizzard?

MoonHowler

Sound-Avenue_Blizzard

Get your mind out of the gutter!  Seriously…what do people do who are totally dependent on electricity for all their entertainment if they no longer have electricity?  I live with 2 other people.  I asked the question.  Everyone just sort of dropped in their tracks.  What would we do?

We came up with reading, cards and board games to break the boredom.  Actually I thought about sleeping.   Then I immediately started charging kindles, iPads, tablets, and power chargers.  We dug out an old ups or whatever you call them.

So what do adults do when there are no electronics?  What forms of entertainment are there to do during blizzards?  Your input is needed!

 

 

Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona

MoonHowler

winslow1

Winslow3Winslow 4

Glen Frey was simply too young to die. What talent. He was an excellent guitarist, talented song writer and his vocals were exceptional. Eagles, the group, have had a following that spans 40 plus years. I simply can’t stop listening to their songs. I even broke down and brought my Eagles best into the house, out of the car.

I really did go to Winslow Arizona about 10 years ago just to see the Standing on the Corner statue. That fire made it unsafe to get up to the actual park.

Winslow is right on route 66. All of those small towns along that route really dried up once the interstate went in. Winslow was just cool.

Thinking about favorite songs, I can’t make up my mind. I guess Lying Eyes, New Kid in Town, Peaceful Easy Feeling, Take it Easy, and of course, Hotel California. I only saw them once. I sat in the nose-bleed section at RFK. I paid a fortune for the tickets also. I wouldn’t trade it for anything though.

RIP, Glen Frey. You rule!

Update:  Winslow today as of June 2015

 

2015–the warmest year

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

U.S. officials stressed that the El Niño pattern alone does not account of the year’s record warmth. “The interesting thing is that 2015 did not start with an El Niño,” Schmidt said. “It was warm right from the beginning.”

Because a strong El Niño still is in place, “2016 is expected to be an exceptionally warm year, and perhaps even another record,” Schmidt said.

The release of the 2015 temperature data prompted statements from leading Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Clinton, in a Twitter posting, said, “Climate change is real. It’s hurting our planet and our people. We can’t afford a president who ignores the science.”

There was no immediate comments from the major GOP contenders, several of whom have been openly skeptical of the mainstream scientific view that human activity is causing the planet to warm. Front-runner Donald Trump has dismissed climate change as a hoax.

According to the NOAA analaysis on Wednesday, every month in 2015 broke previous temperature records except for two: January and April. NOAA also announced Wednesday that for December, the “temperature departure from average was also the highest departure among all months in the historical record and the first time a monthly departure has reached 2°F.”

From a climate policy perspective, the warmth of 2015 is also highly significant. Global leaders in Paris agreed in December that the planet should not be allowed to warm 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures — and ideally, warming should be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius if possible.

Which presidential contenders do not believe that there is climate change?
Read More

Stewart steps up his conservative cred

MoonHowler

Bristowbeat.com:

Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman At-large Corey Stewart (R) announced a controversial proposal to eliminate all county concealed handgun permitting fees.

If passed, Prince William County will be the first locality in Virginia to eliminate permit fees, and Stewart expects other jurisdictions may do the same.

According to Stewart’s media release, he believes the proposed policy would benefit all of the law-abiding citizens who pass existing state background checks and meet state statutory requirements for the issuance of the permit.

Stewart insinuates the proposal is a response to Attorney General Mark Herring’s (D) announcement that Virginia would no longer recognize out of state concealed handgun permits.

Read More

Adultery still against the law in the Old Dominion

MoonHowler

Wavy.com:

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A legislative panel has rejected a bill to decriminalize adultery in Virginia.

Media outlets report that the Senate Courts of Justice Committee killed the measure on a voice vote Monday.

State law classifies marital infidelity as a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $250. Democratic Sen. Scott Surovell of Fairfax County proposed keeping the $250 penalty but making adultery a civil offense.

Surovell said that in the last decade, there have been just eight successful prosecutions for adultery in Virginia. He said only about a dozen states treat adultery as a crime.

Republican Sen. Ryan McDougle of Hanover County said that while there may not be many convictions, the charge can be a useful tool in prosecuting other offenses.

Give me a break.  Virginia still really wants in your bedroom (or motel room or neighbor’s bedroom)

Read More

Anti-government bad-boys trumpet their take-over

MoonHowler

LaVoy+Finicum+Anti+Government+Protestors+Occupy+gckm_d5gbrAl

Washingtonpost.com:

“It needs to be very clear that these buildings will never, ever return to the federal government,” said LaVoy Finicum, one of the leaders of the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.”

Tinicum’s words sound to be like enemy take over of our lands.  They get what they deserve including being shot.yI am all for not making martyrs of these criminals but they also have seized government property.

They need to be removed.  Apparently they have free egress to come and go at will.  That needs to stop.  Let’s see how long they last with limited food and water.  They want to play hardball.  So do I.

 

WaPo reporter Jason Rezaian released and headed home

MoonHowler


Christian Science Monitor:

TEHRAN AND VIENNA — Iran will release four detained Americans in exchange for seven Iranians held or charged in the United States, U.S. and Iranian officials said Saturday in a major diplomatic breakthrough announced as implementation of a landmark nuclear deal appeared imminent. A fifth American detained in Iran, a student, was released in a move unrelated to the swap, U.S. officials said.

Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati, pastor Saeed Abedini and Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, whose name had not been previously made public, were to be flown from Iran to Switzerland aboard a Swiss aircraft and then transported to a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, for medical treatment, U.S. officials said.

Rezaian’s wife and mother were expected to be on the plane.

This breakthrough is indeed good news. It is time for Iran to start behaving itself and stop acting like a rogue terrorist nation.

Good for Team America for implementing the release of these captives.    Hopefully their health is good and their homecoming uneventful.

Sometimes these international issues take diplomacy.  Too many people often want to throw on their proverbial “sh!t-kicker” boots and go barging in, risking the safety of the very people they want to rescue.

Trump Youth Corp?

MoonHowler

These girls remind me of Hitler Youth. It is only right that they are female. How truly frightening that this could come to pass.

Of all the American Pie symbols of America, I can’t think of one that I would associate with Donald Trump other than perhaps rampant capitalism.

He truly represents the ugly American, in every sense of the world.

Trump efforts to suppress GOP pledge fail in court

MoonHowler

Washingtonpost.com:

A federal judge on Thursday rejected an effort by Donald Trump supporters to block the use of a party loyalty pledge in Virginia’s Republican presidential primary on March 1.

In her decision, U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck ruled that there wasn’t enough evidence to show that voters would suffer “irreparable harm” by signing a party affiliation statement before receiving a ballot on Super Tuesday, as Trump’s supporters argued.

The testimony “does not support the extraordinary remedy of a preliminary injunction” against including the requirement on instructions for ballots issued on election day or absentee ballots mailed to registered voters outside the state, Lauck ruled.

The lawsuit, filed this month in the Eastern District of Virginia on behalf of three pastors who support Trump, stems from the state Republican Party’s decision in September to require voters to sign a “statement of intent” before taking part in the primary.

The pledge, already on ballot instructions printed across the state, reads: “My signature below indicates I am a Republican.”

 

Read More

How about them bulls and bears?

MoonHowler

bear_bull_008

Holy bulls and bears, the stock market is like a run away roller coaster these days.  I thought this all was bad.   The drop in oil prices and China’s economy are seen as the main culprits.  Who knows.

Actually the stock market is pretty much like a giant roulette wheel in many cases.  You never know what really spooks it on some days.

A couple of my friends sell the instant they see a down turn.  That sure isn’t what the experts advise.  I hunker down.  It will stop falling when it stops.  Not much I can do about it.

Who has some sage advice to give?

(or just blame Obama)