Has spring really arrived? It’s still questionable, even though the days are a little warmer and it is staying light longer.
The daffodils are long gone. Tulips are slowly coming to life. The one predictable thing has been pollen.
I hope to get up to the Skyline Drive to see the dogwoods. There seem to be fewer and fewer each year. Supposedly some dogwood disease is killing them off.
Change is coming to Moon-Howlings.
A new theme!?! Well it’s about time! Improvements: The new theme should display nicely on mobile devices — now should be easy to view and use with phone and tablet. Comments have more/fewer features… you should have about a 3 hour window to edit your comments; upvote/downvote comments that you like/hate; etc. Other stuff, too. Theme will continue being improved.
Dog breath, you have done an awesome job! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I absolutely love this new format!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It art!
The new site looks great! Great job on the look and layout.
Dog breath is absolutely the man of the hour. Lot’s of complements!
Wow…….
Interesting social experiment… guy records reactions from people when holding up a ‘Trump’ sign vs a ‘Sanders’ sign:
“Opponents of Trump were far more vocal and aggressive when he was holding up a sign supporting the Republican front runner with two even turning violent.
The result may be surprising to most after recent stories of angry Trump fans attacking protesters at The Donald’s rallies.
Meanwhile when holding the Sanders sign, Salads didn’t receive any abuse and even remarked people were giving him the thumbs up.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3523052/Whose-supporters-aggressive-Man-conducts-social-experiment-Bernie-Trump-fans-violent-results-surprise-you.html
Nice upgrade – hopefully not an April’s Fool.
Nope, not a joke. I am trying to figure out why so many comments have gone in to moderation. I guess there are always tweets.
Nice.
Another hint: To return home, click on the MOONHOWLINGS sign at the top of the page.
Watching the BOS mtg….despite SoN hating him, David Cline is pretty sharp and can not be shaken
Watching the BOS meeting…despite what SoN says, David Cline is pretty sharp and can not be shaken
The school board meeting has started….15 minutes late.
This one ought to be a doozie!!!!! Over 40 people signed up to speak for and against changing the name of Godwin Middle School.
Mcauliffe just vetoed a bill that would have allowed for private security officers on school grounds to be armed under certain conditions. The legislation would have allowed private security officers who are retired law enforcement officers to carry their weapons on school grounds.
We all know that a single armed resource officer cannot be an effective deterrent when he goes to lunch. The use of retired law enforcement officers would be a good way to maintain a constant armed security presence. It is extremely rare for a potential mass murderer to choose a target that has an armed presence.
Mcauliffe cited potential poor training as the reason for his veto, but training standards should be left to individual localities. It seems to me that the gain in security would far outweigh the risks.
If there is another school shooting in Virginia, Mcauliffe will rue the day that he chose to veto this common-sense legislation.
Resource officers do carry guns. They are uniformed police officers.
I am opposed to armed guards on campuses also. However, a retired police officers I would have no problem with. The problem is, not all guards are retired police officers.
I don’t know. I would have to know more. I think there is some fear of meter maid types and shopping center mall security people being hired and carrying around kids.
Your new page looks VERY nice. Did the capability to edit submitted posts go away? If it did, I will miss that.
I think it is still there. You have an hour to fix your posts. If that is too short of time, let me know, that is an easy fix. Even *I* can do that one. I leave the more difficult stuff to Dog-breath.
I like the look. Little challenging on mobile devices. Not a big fan of the captcha codes, or the per-post character limit.
Loved the edit feature on the old blog. That appears to have vanished.
We will get those things back. I need to see DogBreath over it. I hate the captcha codes also.
The comment editing has been set to allow editing up to 3 hours after posting a comment. Please let us know if it isn’t working.
And the annoying captcha code thing should be disabled now.
It looks like Jackie McGovern (nee Coakley) is back in the news, as Rolling Stone faces the first of what should be many defamation suits for their (retracted, debunked) story “A Rape On Campus”. It would appear that the judge in this suit ordered all of Jackie’s text and email communications surrounding her “catfishing” scheme, and these will be used as part of the current Eramo vs. Rollingstone case http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/06/rolling-stone-defamation-lawsuit-jackie-deposition
But what has Jackie been up to since her lies and deceit caused so much damage? She got married last October, and is also expecting her first child. She and her new husband were married on a beach in VA, and created a Wedding registry AND a baby registry on the same day. There are pictures of the happy (expectant) bride and groom on their special day, at various news websites.
I gotta say, the groom/father-to-be must be a heck-of-a-guy, to wed Jackie/mom-to-be, knowing that she may be sued into perpetual poverty, and, her history will be floating around in the ether.
I suspect the Honeymoon will be short-lived, and this young wife and mother will be facing years of testifying and being deposed. Eramo will get a judgment in her case…and then each of the Frat members, not to mention the innocent acquaintance accused (by first name only in the story) of participating in the fictional rape, will sue Rolling Stone. They will likely get some sort of settlement for their troubles too.
Will the wronged eventually go after Jackie? I’m torn on this one. Part of me would like to see justice, but the other part would prefer mercy. She obviously had/has some serious emotional issues, and only a casual relationship with integrity. But, unless she’s hit the lottery, she doesn’t have any real assets (and if she did, like a trust-fund, it’s likely been shielded in some way). A 22 year-old new wife and mother is a challenge anyway, without being rolled over by a vengeful legals system. We all know she lied. It’s being proven in court right now. No need to prove it again and again.
I am torn also. She needs to make some things right. I am not sure how.
Good catch, Steve. The Jackie story is horrifying. I admit I fell for it 95%. However, there was just something that didn’t seem right.
Hell of a guy.
Does anybody have information on the new police station they are building on Davis Ford Rd.? When is it going to open?
I don’t know. Anyone? I expect they could tell you if you can the non-emergency number.
Has winter officially returned?
War on our national parks? Not too cool.
Tea Party Wave Washes Up ‘Anti-Parks Caucus’ In Congress
Welcome Hiker01,
I used to have a western friend to felt like national parks were land grabbed by the feds. I love the national parks. They are a national treasure for all of us to use and enjoy. Screw those who wage war on the parks. May a buffalo gouge them.
NOTICE… I think the comment system has been messed up, and some of the comments posted over the last two days haven’t actually been posted. I apologize to everyone for the inconvenience. I’m working on getting the comment system back working again.
Dog breath, we appreciate all that you do. Thanks for working on the problem.
Hillary Clinton joking about “being on colored people time” for some reason didn’t go over very well the other day… odd.
No she didn’t. Bill De Blasio said it. I just this minute saw the skit. He said he owned it. For the record, his wife is african American and he has 2 bi-racial children.
We get that you don’t like Hillary but make sure you get it right…especially on a woman-owned blog.
@MoonHowler
I got it right Moon, she was a willing participant in the skit that joked about “colored people time”. I did not say that she said it but she knew about it and participated in it. I am sorry but those are the facts.
So what. Cry me a river. It was satire from a man with a bi racial family. I guess that means you are going to itch your vote and now vote for Bernie!!! Shame on you, in unloyal ingrate. You have been a secret Bernie boy all this time!!!
Caught caught caught!!!
@MoonHowler
Lol! I do love your sense of humor Moon 🙂
This election cycle is the most f’ed up I have ever seen. While I’m not ‘feelin the Bern’ I must say that the other side isn’t doing it for me. This is one of those rare times that I really do not know who I am for.
By the way, I am in a bi-racial marriage with bi-racial children. Does that give me a free license to do insensitive racial jokes?
I didnt know you had another child. Congrats.
It all depends.
@MoonHowler
Depends on what exactly? Ethnicity? Gender? When is it okay to perform racially insensitive jokes just because you are in a bi-racial marriage with bi-racial children?
Just curious because I do not want to offend anyone. If there is a situation where it is A-Okay then I will have that as an excuse.
Let me ask you, did you know what “CP Time” meant? I did not. Born and raised in the south. I never heard it.
For all I know it was a joke within the black community or something specific to the New York area.
I didn’t really get it. I had never heard the expression and it wasn’t funny to me. Even if I knew the meaning of the expression, it wouldn’t have been funny. She might have known about it in advance but it was his skit and his joke. Maybe it was funny to some people. Perhaps it is an expression used in the black communities in NY.
Basically, it isn’t important enough to me to give it any time.
Hillary Clinton is a big advocate for equal pay… however, at her own Clinton Foundation she pays female executives 38% less than male executives.
http://dailycaller.com/2016/04/12/pay-gap-alert-clinton-foundation-male-execs-earn-38-more-than-women/
Wrong again. Hillary bashing is off limits. Put it elsewhere.
That kind of crap is so boring. That isn’t a pay gap, if it even exists. The problem in America is…two employees of equal rank. The male gets paid more for the same work.
Equal pay for equal work.
@MoonHowler
How is this wrong? A study of the tax filings of the Clinton Foundation very clearly show that she pays female executives 39% less than male executives. This is using the same exact metrics that the Obama administration uses to she show the existence of ‘pay gap’.
This is the ‘Open Thread’, right?
Please product those tax filings. I am dying to see them!
A link to the actual filings will do fine.
@MoonHowler
You ask and you shall receive: http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/311/311580204/311580204_201312_990.pdf?_ga=1.5545712.291683474.1434655854
You know I am not going to read a line by line form. Direct me to what you want me to see. Do I just look like a chump?
Huh?
Reread.
@MoonHowler
Also, Mrs. Clinton herself over the past few years has cited the Census Bureau study which claim to prove the existence of a ‘pay gap’:
@HillaryClinton, April 8, 2014: 20 years ago, women made 72 cents on the dollar to men. Today it’s still 77 cents. More work to do. #EqualPay #NoCelings
When those same metrics are used it shows that Mrs. Clinton pays women less than men in just about everything she is associated with. Pays women 38% less at the Clinton Foundation, paid her Senate staff women 72 cents on the dollar to men and so on. If she is going to use a set metrics and methodology to show a ‘pay gap’ then why would she not be subject to said metrics and methodology?
Is there one rule for the public and a different set of rules for her?
I expect the list of people on Hillary’s payroll. I want their gender and their pay.
You know, when we talk about equal pay from a national stand point, we don’t mean individuals. I would hate someone who didn’t hire a qualified man for a job because he didn’t have internal genitalia.
If you really gave a crap rather than just trying to degrade Hillary, then you would know that the national trends are the problem. Fewer women in executive positions isn’t the entire problem. Factory workers in NC might be the problem. Men chicken pluckers might be getting paid more than female chicken pluckers, because the men “have families.”
I am not putting any more comments thru from you unless you address the entire problem and stop using it as a false vehicle to do Hillary bashing. I just really don’t have time for this superficial kind of assholitry.
@MoonHowler
I provided the tax returns you requested for the Clinton Foundation. Ill dig up some additional data for her various other payrolls and will post them for you to review in detail using the same metrics and methodology that she cites in many of her tweets and stump speeches.
I actually do really give a crap and to be quite honest I think that we agree on many of the same points when it comes to the real pay gap (mostly the disparity when it comes to women vs men in executive/leadership positions).
Where we disagree is that Mrs. Clinton stumps on the debunked methodology which ‘proves’ the pay gap. When that same methodology is applied to her she falls into the same category that she rails against. Any objective person looking at this issue can see that as it is plain as day. Data is data and metrics is metrics. When you apply the same metrics that she stumps on she is shown for doing the same exact thing that she denounces. It is black-and-white. There is no real debate about it, it is what it is… Do you disagree?
So Pete is still at war with someone.
and this is why the average person thinks that there are two systems of justice – and why Wall Street is corrupt. If you are wealthy, you can steal $ Millions from people and still keep on trucking while only paying a fraction of what you stole. All without admitting guilt – and then do it all over again.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-cohen-e5e7e5d4-0260-11e6-8bb1-f124a43f84dc-20160414-story.html
That’s pretty much the story of America.
Just shoot me. AC is out. Bad capacitor. ARRGGHHHHH. First pretty day.
Is the editor working ok for everyone?
It worked for me from the front side of the blog but that might not be the case for everyone else.
Former senator Jim Webb has an interesting opinion piece in the Washington Post today about the Contributions of Andrew Jackson. I certainly learned a few new facts, starting with his intent in the Trail of Tears was not genocide. I didnt know that he had adopted an Indian baby and raised him as his own son either.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-can-celebrate-harriet-tubman-without-disparaging-andrew-jackson/2016/04/24/2f766160-0894-11e6-a12f-ea5aed7958dc_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-b%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
Violent liberal anti-Trump demonstrator pepper sprays the elderly and children at a Trump event: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3560701/Pepper-spray-flies-Trump-protest-clash-California.html
Zealots can be real turds, regardless of whose side they are on, can’t they?
It’s the economy, stupid!
The latest economic report from the Commerce Department showed that the US economy had its smallest growth rate in two years. This means that Obama will be the first US president in history that failed to create economic growth of +3% for any year of his presidency. Barring a sudden economic miracle for the remainder of the year, he will also have the fourth worst economic record in history.
This dismal record, more than anything else, probably explains why Trump is a viable candidate for this election cycle.
And what was going on when he took office?
@kelly_3406
So we had over 3% annual growth as Bush marched us into the Great Recession?
@ColMorrisDavis
Welcome back! I look forward to a vigorous debate of Obama’s record during the election season.
Growth during the Bush years was anemic also. Nevertheless, it was not as bad as we have seen with Obama. There should have been a robust recovery following the Great Recession. However, Obama and his super majority in Congress chose to focus on healthcare rather than on the economy. And of course we know that Obamacare has been a drag on employment also.
I don’t recall the great recession being over in 2010.
@Kelly_3406
Barring some cataclysmic event before the end of 2016, Obama will leave office with positive GDP growth in every full year that he was in office. On the other hand, Bush’s last full year in office — 2008 — saw the biggest GDP drop since 1934. Growth has not been as robust as anyone would have liked while Obama has been in the White House, but considering the state of the economy he inherited from Bush and a party focused exclusively on trying to make him fail, I believe history will look back and judge him favorably.
This should piss off some people. Corey Stewart, among other Trump supporters, got their butts kicked!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/cruz-wins-the-most-delegates-at-virginia-gop-convention/2016/04/30/f6b9ea9a-0efb-11e6-8ab8-9ad050f76d7d_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_trumpicahn-1246pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
It seems extremely odd to me. See post on the subject. I bet I know what Corey is saying….
Hmmmm.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/fairfax-abortion-clinics-license-suspended-by-virginia-health-department/2016/04/26/5cb69ea4-0bd4-11e6-8ab8-9ad050f76d7d_story.html
interesting.
If the Washington Post is reporting correctly, then they should be closed down. Had this establishment under the old Cuccinelli system, that would have not made one iota of difference.
I am trying to figure out which clinic that one is. There is no excuse for bad medicine, regardless of what service is being provided.
It is important to note that the clinic that was shut down was American Women’s Services on Arlington Blvd.
That place has been questionable for a while.
If *I* needed that type of service (ok, you all, stop laughing) I would go to the Codding’s establishment @Falls Church Healthcare Center.