Child sex abuse? Rule of Law! Rule of Law!!

Angelina_Apr

Mike Hethmon, for those of you who do not remember, was one of the outside sources giving Prince William County legal advice on how to write their “Rule of Law Resolution.” There are just some things that come back and bite you in the ass. This is one of them.  Surely Prince William County could seek advice from someone who didn’t have this alleged dirty little secret.

Don’t expect other blogs to be covering this tawdry story.  I am sure it will be brushed under the rug.  The anti-immigration blog might be crawling back under its rock with this news.

Mike Hethmon tried to protect us from anchor babies.  If this charge is true, who is going to protect the anchor babies and all the rest of the children from Mike Hethmon?

Mike Hethmon advises US on Rule of Law????

Mike Hethmon is innocent until proven guilty.

Pete Candland: Red badge of shame

Angelina_Apr

From Pete Candland’s website:

Statement on Housing of Undocumented Border Children in Prince William County July 15, 2014

Statement on the Housing of Undocumented Border Children in Prince William County
July 15, 2014With news breaking this past week that a facility in Prince William County is being used by the Federal Government for an extensive program to house undocumented border children, I believe that two important actions must be taken immediately to address this issue.

First, the County must exhaust every regulatory tool available to stop the placement of any additional undocumented border children anywhere in Prince William County.  Now that we know this extensive program exists, we need to stop growing the problem.

Second, every undocumented child who is presently housed in a Prince William County facility that receives taxpayer money must be repatriated with their families as quickly as possible. Furthermore, Prince William County and the Board of County Supervisors should take action to facilitate that process.
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Lies, leaks and children in crisis

Angelina_Apr

children_on_border

From The Sheriff of Nottingham BlogSpot:

The Sheriff has learned that Chairman Stewart gave permission to Youth for Tomorrow, a taxpayer-funded non-profit serving at-risk youth in Prince William County, to open their doors to house children for Homeland Security that have been flown to Prince William County from Texas and other areas on the southern border.

This statement is an outright lie.  It is not up to Corey Stewart to give permission or not give permission to Youth for Tomorrow.  YFT is a private organization.  YFT is also not a tax-payer funded organization.  Does it get a grant like many other organizations in the county?  Probably.  So do lots of agencies and clubs that meet the criteria. However, most of the county money received by YFT is for services rendered.

One such  example  of these services would be if a child needed residential placement because Prince William County Schools could not provide the appropriate educational setting for this child.  PWCS would pay the residential /educational fee to YFT, the same as it would pay to any other 24 hour facility.  The court system, in conjunction with social services, might also place a child in the YFT setting.  Either the state or the county would pay for those services.  That to me, is not “tax-payer funded.

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Pete Candland Kicks Some Proverbial Ass

Angelina_Apr

Get Microsoft Silverlight

 

So if you missed the show yesterday, Pete Candland, having decided to go another round with Corey, triumphantly prevailed,  leaving Corey to walk away licking his wounds. In a nutshell, Pete wanted to reaffirm the Board’s language to support closing 29 and 234, ONLY when the approved Manassas Battlefield Bypass was constructed per previous resolutions.  Corey, of course, fearing that his previous under handed work would be undone, vehemently objected.  It was fabulous to watch.  Corey tried sooooo hard to set the stage to support his convoluted narrative that ANY road was intended to replace closing 29 and 234.

Forget that ALL previous resolutions and language only discussed closing the road in relation to the 1988 Congressional  Manassas Battlefield Preservation mandate.  Nope, apparently, you can replace Battlefield Bypass with any old road, even one intended to make PWC the next interstate County truck route! Pete was superb in his ability to call Corey out on his lies in the most effective non confrontational way.

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The Delusion of “Logo-gate”

Angelina_Apr
PWC Witch Hunt
PWC Witch Hunt

The destructive nature of these constant attacks on the ever widening circle of county employees must end.  The climate within the McCoart building is one of mistrust and confidence levels have been diminished.  Whether it be for a desk, a toilet, a sink, an Easter egg hunt or the process of finding a new logo, these constant investigations and searching for wrong doing  is no way to run county government.  It’s like big brother is watching every move just to see if they can catch wrong doing.  Who can work effectively in such an environment.

We witnessed a serious smack down during Supervisors time today.  Supervisor Peter Candland, for unknown reasons, decided that it would be a good idea to attack Supervisor Frank Principi over this continued, ad nauseum, discussion over a county logo.

Pete submitted a three page, single spaced, diatribe demanding to know every single detail of who, what, when, why, where of the county directive to obtain a new logo for marketing strategies.  My question is why?  Why has this issue risen to the level of such intense scrutiny?  Like there was some kind of fraud involved.  Was it the best process or best logo choice, probably not, but the insistence on making this logo issue the next Benghazi  conspiracy needs to stop.

There was an  “all call”  fundraising e-mail that was penned by Robyn Candland, excoriating the process and targeting Frank Principi as the “democrat” villain.  Pete chose to turn his need for every nook and cranny to be inspected from a BOCS issue into a FOIA need.  That is not how it should have been handled.  Frank apparently thought the level of questions were over the top and formally objected .  Having read them and included them in this post, I would say that I agree.

 

NOTE:  Video below the fold

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Corey Stewart: A view from Prince William County–how they really see you

Angelina_Apr

dark ages3

On another blog, in a time not so long ago, a little supervisor contacted all the dark masters to see what could be done to help him win an election.  This time became known as The Dark Ages of Prince William County.

Yes, Corey Stewart, we are talking about YOU.  Remember when you jumped on the Rule of Law bandwagon and went after everyone Latino?  You didn’t just go after criminal illegal aliens.  You went after everybody.  You actions tore at the very fabric of our community.  You rubber stamped thousands of  homes to be built  while targetting those who came to our community seeking work in the building industry.   You  meanwhile lined  your war chest with developer money.

You used  immigration to your own political gain, inciting a county rather than seeking sensible solutions.  You made promises that could not be kept, knowing that what you said could not be implemented.  You back-stabbed your colleagues on the Board of Supervisors by giving their emails to local bloggers.  You allowed the police chief to be called a traitor by your blogger buddies.  His “sin” was meeting with immigrants and Latino community leaders to explain the new changes and to reassure them that they would not be profiled.  The BOCS had directed him to do this.  Chief Deane deserved better.

Your Rule of Law Resolution that you chest thumped so hard about allowed probable cause to be used to intimidate immigrants.  Even though you declared probable cause would change over ‘your dead body,’ it did change and you tried to obfuscate the situation and claim that you supported the new Rule of Law all along.  This new rule was ushed in by supervisors who had had time to think about what was being done.  In the end, anyone arrested had their status checked, a far cry from random checks that happen when ‘probable cause’ is the law of the land.

Now local Republicans have turned on you.  I expect they see you as a candidate who lacks convictions.  Your code of ethics seems to stop at anything that isn’t self-serving.

Corey, you divided a county for political gain.   It seems now that much of the community has turned on you simply because you have made poor decisions.  You pledged to keep part of our county rural, yet the minute you were in office you approved thousands of acres to be exempt from the rural crescent restrictions.

You really have kept your promises to no one.  Good luck tomorrow.  I doubt if you will get much support from those of us in the ‘hood.  I hope you aren’t counting on the Latino vote.  The people of Prince William County  have long memories.  Virginians don’t take to betrayals real well.

Amy Wolfe honors son’s life and sacrifice with ballet entitled “Colin”

Angelina_Apr

WJLA.com:

A Manassas mother is honoring her son’s memory the best way she knows how – through dance.

After 9/11, Colin Wolfe of Manassas decided to trade in ballet to serve our country. But after less than two months in Afghanistan, he was killed by a roadside bomb in 2006.

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If Corey Stewarts Lips are Moving, He’s Lying…….

Angelina_Apr

Insidenova.com:

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. —

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is set to phase-out its 287(g) program and Prince William County chairman Corey A. Stewart, R-at large, isn’t happy about the development.

Under section 287(g) of Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, local jurisdictions are allowed to enforce immigration laws by helping to arrest and eventually deport criminal illegal immigrants.

In 2007,  the Prince William board passed a resolution aimed at enforcing local illegal immigration laws after months of discussion with law enforcement,  the board and Prince William residents.

Stewart said the resolution helped county officials deport  more than 5,000 “criminal, illegal aliens” who were suspected “murder, rape, and other crimes.”

“I am personally  am convinced that this program is instrumental in that reduction in crime,” Stewart said. [bold print by author]

Stewart also credited  the resolution with contributing a  47.8% drop in violent crime.

“A recent action by the Obama administration is, in my view,  reprehensible,” Stewart said.

The number of lies Corey Stewart has told about the PWC immigration program is what is reprehensible.  Let’s start with the bold print.  Corey states that county officials deported more  than 5,000 illegal aliens.  First lies told right out of the gate.  County officials cannot deport anyone.  The only persons who can deport are federal judges.  5000 illegal aliens have probably been turned over to ICE through our MOA with 287(g).  However, the County does not know who, if anyone, was deported.  The DHS does not tell the county the disposition of those picked up.  This angered Stewart so badly he led the county to sue for the information.  Click here to  read about this lawsuit and further information on our 287(g) program.  To date, the information sought has not been released by the DHS.

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The Conscience of a King, Act IV

Angelina_Apr

The Conscience of a King, Act IV:     The Final Act?

As we enter act IV of our play, a few minor happenings in the wings are worth noting. Please consider these, as we make a few scenery changes behind the curtain, in preparation for act IV.

Late yesterday, we received reports from our ever vigilant roving ‘Howlings reporters. First one in was a report of hot pink flyers being delivered to homes and handed out at spots throughout the city. These flyers encouraged voters to “Write-In Sheryl  Bass” on the front, and gave a very detailed listing of her very impressive record of service to the citizens. No attacks on the other candidates. Just a positive plea by the campaign to consider Bass, as they head to the polls. We Howler ladies have to say, the way this campaign has been conducted reflects the grace and poise that Bass herself has exhibited over the years. Classy. Very Classy.  

Contrast this with a very nasty piece put out by some anonymous pitchfork bearer (or would that be pitchforker?)   that was delivered to other residents of the city. This nasty piece, full of errors and negative-spin, did nothing but attack Mark Wolfe. What we find downright hilarious is the flyer asked voters to pull the lever for Lovejoy, “Carnahan”, Way. (Is this like pull the joystick for the non-existent candidate?)

Last up, a flyer we assume was produced by Doug Brown, because it is being distributed by ABTF and linked to at bvbl, while better written, has its own bit o’ spin: Jerry Carman’s business experience has risen from that of middle management to the “corner office with a view”: He claims Carman “Managed a Fortune 500 Company”.  And what company might that be, that he was president or Chief Executive Officer of? But when you are nothing but the “Alleluia Chorus” for the House Aveni, credibility and intellectual honesty are minor considerations.

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The Little City Theater in the Round: The Conscience of a King, Act I

Angelina_Apr

There’s a city election on Tuesday, May, 1st, and it may well prove to be one of the most interesting city elections any of us can remember.  This one might even out-do the ill-fated Steve Chapman challenge to Rep. Harry Parrish, about 7 years ago, as far as high political drama goes.

We here at Moonhowlings have been watching the developing political drama from the audience, rather than leaping into what is proving to be “Theater in the Round”.   We did have a guest post, but that was not our observations, but theirs.  We chose to observe, gather facts and opinions and wait until we had a clear picture of not only what is playing out on the public stage, but a good understanding of the “backstage dynamics” that are driving this political theater….and theater it is:

Current Mayor Hal Parrish is running unopposed for reelection. All of the excitement in this race was settled at the GOP convention, when Hal held off a challenge for the nomination from Andy Harrover.  We like both of these public servants, as it is clear to us that they place the best interests of the entire community as priority, rather than bowing to the pressure of a very vocal few.   Neither one of them carry pitchforks or torches.

The real excitement is in the city council race. Much more so than may be apparent to the casual observer…or even to those who consider themselves “informed.”   We would like to present a clear picture of what appears to really be going on, and we promise that our dear (and not so dear) readers will not be disappointed.   This “play” has intrigue and double-dealing, willing and unwilling and even unknowing participants.  Basically, it’s a “play” about power and retribution, pure and simple.  We here at ‘Howlings will narrate this from stage right (or left, depending on where you sit in the audience). So let’s get to it, shall we?

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Wartime Museum? Is it just another shell game or do they want a million bucks?

Angelina_Apr

Kipp Hanley of the News and Messenger did a great job explaining the recent developments of the proposed Wartime Museum that some day will be over in Dale City.  So far, the County dealings with this endeavor have been shrouded in the haze of politics.  Kipp held up the torch and uncovered a few things.  For starters, and most importantly, the museum wants $200k from us, the taxpayers, for the next 5 years.  Secondly, the CEO hired to oversee all the fund-raising etc. is no longer at the helm  the organization.  However, it does appear that he still sits on the board.  Thirdly, and this becomes a question, why is the director of operations, the same person who is in charge of doling out the arts money in Prince William County?

 

 

Hanley’s article, Wartime Museum gets financial reinforcements, managed to unearth all sorts of information most of us had questions about but couldn’t find the answers to.

Taxpayers were once again bamboozled by the a “land deal.”  Apparently the Hyltons donated the land in exchange for a zoning swap deal.  NO plans have surfaced yet for that parcel of land.  Why was the county even involved?   If the Hyltons want to donate land, have at it.  They shouldn’t get anything in exchange for their generosity from the county.

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Kathleen Parker: The Silence of the Lions

Angelina_Apr

 This opinion piece is a must read. 

Kathleen Parker from the Washington Post:

Warning: This column is not suitable for children, and its content may be offensive to some.

In the wake of “Slutgate,” the operative argument seems to have devolved into a barnyard taunt: “My pig isn’t as bad as your pig.”

This pithy summation comes from Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren, who has been leading the charge against vile language used to describe women in the public square. Among other things, Van Susteren deserves credit for single-handedly shaming the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association into parting ways with its headliner for this year’s dinner, comedian Louis C.K.

On her blog, “Gretawire,” she promised to boycott the dinner and invited others to join the protest. Her reasons should be clear with a quick scan of Louis C.K.’s shtick, which we’ll get to shortly. But first a word about some of the other offenders and why we need to have this conversation.

As many have observed lately, including Peggy Noonan, who this week wrote a powerful column about misogyny aloft in the land, Rush Limbaugh isn’t the only culprit to use the word “slut” and “prostitute” to describe a woman with whom he disagreed. MSNBC’s Ed Schultz called radio host Laura Ingraham a slut and later apologized. Limbaugh, who reserved his comments for a 30-year-old law student, Sandra Fluke, also apologized, if begrudgingly once sponsors began pulling away.

And, of course, everyone remembers what happened to Don Imus when he referred to a women’s basketball team, which happened to be mostly African American, as “nappy-headed hos.”

There isn’t sufficient space here to comb the history of slurs — or how we got to this point from the hilarious “Jane, you ignorant slut” skit from the original “Saturday Night Live,” though a quick note of distinction bears mentioning: Jane Curtin was in on the joke. And, remember, she countered with: “Dan [Aykroyd], you pompous ass.”

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Rainbow Riding Seeks 85,000 from County Coffer

Angelina_Apr

Two weeks ago the teachers lined up to implore the Board of County Supervisors to set the tax rate high enough to handle the needs of the school system, a hand crept out of Silver Lake, asking for more county money money.  The executive director of Rainbow Theraputic Riding  asked the county for $85,000 that woudl go to capital improvements.  It would put in a bathroom and pave the parking lot.  The parking lot needs paving because it is hard to push a wheel chair over gravel.

All of these improvments sound like a good idea.  However…..who should be paying for them?  Rainbow Riding serves just over 60 kids.   Should the tax payers be footing the bill?  We say no.  Money for special projects like this should come from fund raisers.  Too many county employees have gone without raises and worked overtime to just willy nilly hand over $85,000 for a program that serves less than 100 children.

Perhaps Rainbow Riding needs to consider putting in wooden ramps and walks to help with the rough gravel problem.  That would serve them in the short run while they earned the money for a more permanent solution to the parking lot problem.  This might be a good time for some of the wealthier patrons in the county and surrounding area to make a tax free donation to this worthwhile organization.  Regardless of how worthwhile an organization is,  we can’t pay for them all.

The county is much too free with its cash as it is.  Discretionary funds are out of control, we are sinking thousands into the tank museum and supporting the Hilton Center for the Arts well beyond what most citizens think should be happening.  Still other residents have complained about the large amount of money given to Manassas Ballet by the county.

Certainly the  county can chip in small amounts for arts and charities but at what point do we put a ceiling on these things, especially during economic down-turns?  Didn’t we just have to give nearly a quarter of a million dollars to cover the costs of the Sesquicentennial?   There has to be some control over who gets to stretch their hand to the county for funds.

 

 

Too Conservative calls out LCRC

Angelina_Apr

 We hesitated before posting this picture.  We still aren’t comfortable doing it.  However, there is no way to convey the inappropriateness without the visual. We are going to post this montage for 24 hours, with reservations,  and then take it down so as not to further contribute to something we don’t approve of.   Update:  as an alternative, we took the President out of the picture.

Congratulations to Loudoun Insider for calling out the Loudoun County Republican Party for their inappropriate Halloween montage featuring President Obama with a bullet hole in his head.   According to Too Conservative Blog:

LCRC Goes WAY Too Far

By Loudoun Insider

This cartoon montage just arrived as part of an LCRC email blast.  I am no fan of Barack Obama, but putting up a photo of him as a zombie with a bullet hole in his head????????????  Like him or not he is the legitimately elected the President of the United States and Commander in Chief of our armed services in a time of war.  THIS IS DISGUSTING AND SHAMEFUL.  Someone should send this to the US Secret Service.

WTOP.com printed that Governor McDonnell went on record opposing the depiction of such violence and said forcefully that it wasn’t to happen again:

Gov. Bob McDonnell, through spokesman J. Tucker Martin, called on the Loudoun GOP to “apologize for their actions, and to immediately ensure that such imagery is never used again.”

Virginia GOP Chairman Pat Mullins said such an image “has no place in our politics. Ever.”

Loudoun County GOP chairman Mark Sell said in an email response to The Associated Press that the graphic was “a light-hearted attempt to inject satire humor into the Halloween holiday.”

Chairman Sell needs to grow up and exercise some  judgement if that is what he thinks.   Remember how appalled most of us were when some reporter threw a shoe at President Bush?  Many of those who were outraged weren’t Republicans.  They were Americans who had seen their president threatened.   I think the same sentiment leaps out at us here. 

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Babur Lateef bats them out of the park with his campaign ads

Angelina_Apr

This is classic!  Corey’s fundraiser the other night, almost a quarter of a million dollars, says it all.    I well remember when Corey excoriated Sharon Pandak for being ” The Developers Candidate” and how he was the people’s candidate.  Times sure have changed. 

2007 exerp fom the letter Corey Stewart submitted to Advocates for The Rural Crescent regarding his opponent Sharon Pandak:

“I am pleased to see that my opponent in this years election has changed her mind about pledging to protect the Rural Crescent. YOur supporters should be reminded that my opponent refused to sign the rural protection pledge a mere eleven months ago during the last years special election. By contrast, I have always stood as an uncompromised champion of protecting the Rural Areas of our county against development encroachments. Since my opponent was the developers candidate in last years special election, and is quietly so again this year, there are some who might view her decision to sign the pledge this year as politicl posturing intended to confuse the voters.”

Well, since this letter, Corey voted for Avendale which took over 125 acres out to the Rural Crescent and put several hundred homes were only 12 were allowed by the the Comp Plan.   Corey has now taken over the mantle of the  “Developers Candidate” as VPAP clearly demonstrates with the numerous large developer campaign contributions.  

Guess  what industry gave the highest amount of money……….real estate/construction (139,857.00)

http://www.vpap.org/committees/profile/money_in_industry1/1931

My oh my, how the not so mighty have fallen.