I cannot push the image of Krystal Ball out of my mind. I am not even sure I would vote for her. I know nothing of her politics. They don’t matter. My melt down is over the way people who consider themselves conservatives have trashed and denigrated this young woman and, yes, her husband at the time. Ms. Ball is someone’s wife, mother, daughter and sister.
Krystal Ball owes no one any explanations. She was with her own husband in the privacy of someone’s home. Someone betrayed her and violated the sanctity of her marriage. Couples should not have to explain their love life to others.
What is it that makes some conservatives feel they can degrade her, make crude comments about her? Where is their sense of outrage over someone violating the privacy of this couple? Is it because Ms. Ball dared to go into politics? Is it her youth? Is it that she obviously has a lust for life?
I need conservative principles explained to me. No one here on this blog has been disrespectful. But traveling around the blogosphere, observing that which has gone viral, I see attack after attack from people who are obviously conservative.
Where does the sanctity of marriage kick in? Help me understand. Those pictures were not posted by Ms. Ball anywhere in public. What is the difference in posting those pictures and being your common, every day Peeping Tom? Don’t conservative values include guarding the privacy of married couples? How about being respectful of people’s wives? Don’t most conservatives believe in family values and wouldn’t those values guard the privacy of this couple? How many people who made sexist comments voted for the Virginia Defense of Marriage Act?
Governor McDonnell’s ABC privatization plan is meeting with some obstacles within the Republican party. Many folks are digging their heels in and saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” According to the Richmond Times Dispatch:
Del.R. Lee Ware Jr. is a political conservative standing on principle in the debate over whether to get Virginia out of the liquor business.
“The control of the sale of alcoholic beverages is a legitimate function of state government in serving the public good,” said David A. Bovenizer IV, spokesman for Ware, R-Powhatan. “Consequently, the free-market assertion regarding privatization of ABC is at best secondary to the common good.”
Bovenizer said Ware also regards the governor’s projections of state revenue from a private liquor industry as “unpersuasive” and the sale of the liquor monopoly unnecessary to raise money for road improvements, given the findings of a recent state audit of the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Once again Manassas gets media attention. This time it isn’t Mr. Fernandez:
K K Temptations, an adult boutique, will be opening next month in Old Town Manassas.
Perhaps the first thing people need to do is clarify in their own minds what really constitues ‘porn.’ I have a sneaking suspicious we wouldn’t all agree, especially if some people thought others were watching.
I am curious if a boutique that featured magic, the occult, and earth centered religions would be greeted the same way? Would the Old Guard try to run it off also? 13 Magickal Moons is in historic Occoquan and has been for many years.
I am continually amazed at people who want free enterprize and less government until it is something a little off the beaten, non-vanilla path. Then there is great howling for the government to fix things. I guess that is better than burning people at the stake, however.
Just when we thought it was safe to go back to the City of Manassas, we find out that the sin of sex is lurking about on Battle Street. Oh my goodness! Some Godless sinner wants to set up a shop selling ‘marital aids.’
I suppose the major question should be whether the proposed shop will fit in with the decor of Old Town Manassas or will it have a giant condom the size of Gumby outside, luring customers in. Will Mr. Buzzy be out sitting on the bench outside the shop, showing all the ladies his talents?
Perhaps the shop keeper will behave as anyone wanting to do business and keep the ‘adult’ business inside and the kiddies out. Or, if ‘marital aids’ aka sex toys are just a sideline, perhaps there will be an adult section of the store. Anyone wanting to fit in needs to meet zoning standards and town codes. The decor should match everyone else.
Manassas is no stranger to stores of this nature. There is a Fashion Fantasy clothing shop over on rt. 28 that sells considerably more than fishnet stockings. No one seemed to mind that shop and it has been there for years. All sorts of dirty little secrets can be bought at Fashion Fantasy on 28. If any of the town leaders are upset because the new shop will be in Old Town, then that is pretty hypocritical. I guess it is ok to have an erotic shop over near the trailer park but not too close to the more upscale part of town. Some things never change.
Little birds are telling me that some of the fine folks of Manassas have some fairly draconian plans to discourage customers. So much for the concept of free market. Probably those who are in the biggest tail spin over the new shop are the ones who do a lot of catalog orders. [wink wink]
There is no end to conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories are a big part of Americana. However, most are urban legends and few have been proven, if any. From the Lincoln assassination conspiracy theory to the Roswell Cover-up to the moonlanding being a hoax by NBC, some Americans are convinced that their government is up to something sneaky and un-American.
My favorite one isn’t on the list. I like the one that exposes the government hiding UFO information from us since Roswell. I believe that one. These others are strange. I have heard of about half of them. The rest are tin foil hat theories, with accompanying Xfile music.
The explanations are given. It is far too long to provide exerpts. Plus I wouldn’t want to leave out anything.
Do you believe any of this? How far fetched is some of it? Sell us on a theory.
UVA is lowering the hammer on students who may have an evil twin. When students return August 21 for the fall session, they will be required to disclose any arrests or convictions. Failure to report an arrest or conviction will result in an honor code violation. Honor code violations are good for a trip home–permanently.
This crackdown is a result of the death of lacrosse star Yeardley Love who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, George Huguely who was a fellow lacrosse player. UVA hopes to flag those with violent tendency. The dean’s office will be interviewing those who report an arrest or conviction or any crime committed other than a routine traffic violation.
University President Teresa A. Sullivan discussed the new rule at a news conference marking the end of her first week on the job. University leaders hope screening students for criminal encounters will flag those who might commit violent acts.
Students return to Charlottesville the weekend of Aug. 21. When they log onto the campus computer system for the first time, each will be prompted to report any arrest, other than minor traffic infractions, since enrolling.
UVA is getting serious about domestic violence and it’s about time all colleges follow suit. Domestic violence was a problem 40 years ago at UVA. Hopefully students will police themselves and take any and all expressions of violence seriously and report cases to the campus police. Young people are all too willing to dismiss acts of violence and blame them on drinking, stress, and ‘personal problems.’ These young adults need to understand that these types of behavior are harbingers of worse to come. The message must be sent that domestic violence, even that which can be classified as verbal assault, is dangerous and will not be tolerated in a civilized society.
Is violence that prevalent on campus? What else can be done to ensure students report it so we don’t have another Yeardly Love on our hands? How much does substance abuse contribute to the violence problem? How does the Love killing really differ from the beheading at Tech or from the Tech Massacre?
There are many reasons why I am not a nun. The main reason is that forgiveness is not my strong suit.
In the tragic wake of Sunday’s accident on Bristow Road, where 1 sister was killed and 2 more lie in a hospital bed, barely clinging to life, the sisters of the Benedictine Order magnanimously have requested that their tragedy be viewed in terms of alcoholism and drunk driving rather than used as a platform to rail against illegal immigration.
Politicians and news stations have flagrantly disregarded the sisters’ request. Sister Denise and the driver of the other car, Carlos Martinelly, have been plastered all over every TV screen and newspaper since the accident occurred early Sunday morning, as the 3 sisters were driving to Mass.
The Washington Post has attempted to honor the Order’s request in their front page story today. They have attached faces to this tragedy. It is impossible to discuss this accident without the illegal immigrant issue creeping in.
Nuns at Virginia monastery find room to forgive while mourning sister’s death
About 8:30 Monday night, the doorbell rang at St. Benedict Monastery in Prince William County, and Sister Andrea Verchuck, the sub-prioress, rose from her desk to see who was there. On the slate front porch stood a man and a woman
They looked contrite,” said Verchuck, 81, who has lived with other nuns in the wooded monastery for 66 years. The visitors’ hands were at their sides, their eyes cast down, as Verchuck greeted them.
“They said, ‘We’d like to talk with someone about the sister who was killed,’ ” she recalled.
Anne Rice of sensual vampire fame has rejected Christianity. She is still committed to Christ but said she is fed up with his followers. Interesting concept. From USA Today:
Novelist Anne Rice says she’s quit being a Christian but she’s hanging on to Christ. She’s just fed up with his followers.
The author, whose vampire books (i.e. Interview with a Vampire) were huge sellers long before Twilight and whose return to her childhood Catholicism dominated her more recent works, posted a series of comments on Facebook (confirmed by her publisher as authentic, according to Associated Press).
For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.
The mother of novelist Christopher Rice, who is gay, goes on to say:
I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.
In a USA TODAY profile of Anne and Christopher, Rice talked about growing up Catholic, drifting away as a teen and marrying an atheist. After the death of a young daughter, she began writing her vampire books,
…about lost souls looking for answers, so in a sense I was always on this journey back. I do get people saying, “How can you be such a fool to believe in God?” I sense many are young Goth kids who feel abandoned. I just say, look, you’re looking for the same things that I was, transcendence and redemption. I found what my characters were looking for.
Even now, as she tosses off organized religion, Rice posts that she’s still
… an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God … Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become
.
Perhaps people who continually try to drag religion into public policy helped nudge Ann Rice to this position.
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli will be the special guest at the Capital Pride Festival this weekend — only he doesn’t know it yet.
The Virginia Partisans, a gay rights group with thousands of members in the state, will ask parade attendees to “kiss” a life-size cutout of the controversial attorney general in an event they are affectionately calling “Smooches for Cooch.”
The group will send a collection of photos of people kissing Cuccinelli to the attorney general along with the message that Virginia is for all lovers. The same motto will appear on stickers and banners at the group’s booth along the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route Sunday.
The Partisans hope Cuccinelli will be just the draw they need to recruit members. The group considered a petition drive, but abandoned it because members thought it was too passé.
“We’re sending our love to Ken Cuccinelli,” said Terry Mansberger, president of the Virginia Partisans. “He’s the gift that keeps on giving.”
A spokesman for Cuccinelli had no comment.
Gay pride parades tend to get a little graphic. Cuccinelli knew what he was signing on for when he took on these gay issues. Being Attorney General doesn’t keep you from being humiliated.
Al and Tipper Gore have just announced they are separating after 40 years of marriage. No! Not allowed. I always thought they were the one couple who would make it. They have not given reasons why and I suppose it isn’t any of our business.
Hopefully we won’t find out that Al also has a zipper problem. I just wouldn’t like that at all. Tipper was a true leader is her efforts to hold entertainers responsible for the content of their art, especially if those artists had a main audience of kids. She also was instrumental in insisting on a rating system for music, similar to that at the movies.
Abstinence only seems to be both a cash cow and a political hotcake. And it got lots of headlines this week.
First off, Bristol Palin will be paid up to $30,000 per gig for her abstinence only promos. What kind of message does this send to the very audience the message is intended for? Don’t have sex before marriage. However, if you do and if you have a baby, you can make 30 grand talking about it and telling others to do as you say, not as you do? That’s a hideous message.
Opportunity knocks when you are America’s best-known teenage mom, and Bristol Palin has signed on with Single Source Speakers to give lectures at $15,000 to $30,000 a pop, more lucrative than her current job at an Anchorage doctor’s office.
The second outrage is Mark Souder and the ‘other woman’ who just happened to be his staffer, ‘starring’ in an ‘abstinence only’ video. From Politico:
Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), who will resign from Congress as a result of an affair with a female staffer, filmed a video interview about abstinence only education with that same staffer.
In a statement announcing his resignation, Souder admitted the affair took place with a “part-time member of my staff.” GOP sources identified the woman that Souder had the affair with as Tracy Meadows Jackson. Jackson has been a part-time employee on Souder’s staff since Dec. 2004, according to House financial disbursement records. Jackson could not be reached for comment Tuesday morning
Such hypocrisy. In fact, the fact that non-abstinence people are pushing abstinence is pure hypocrisy. The fact that abstinence is being pushed at all is hypocrisy. Modern life is overloaded with sexual messages from everywhere. Kids get bombarded with these messages from the time they are old enough to be aware from various multiple sources: on the news, radio, Internet, films, advertising, magazines, music, TV, politics, Madison Avenue, the clothing industry…. There is no escaping it. Kids cannot be protected but so much from sexual messages. The taboos that were in place when I was growing up are simply not there now. They won’t come back. The times they are NOT a’changing. They have changed and they will stay changed.
Young people need to be encouraged to make responsbile choices. Parents should be setting goals and behavioral expections for their children. Kids need to be know that sex has consequences and very often these consequences are life altering. Kids need to know about contraception, disease prevention and other vital information in the event that they do become sexually active.
‘Don’t do it’ only works so well. A good dose of practicality needs to be thrown in with the don’t do it. Ms. Palin is just capitalizing on glam. Souder is beneath contempt. How dare he. Maybe his wife will take him to the cleaners.
UVA President John Casteen III delivered a chilling, emotional speech to those gathered at the candlelight vigil for slain lacrosse player Yeardly Love. His message should be repeated over and over in middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities, churches, libraries–just about anywhere there are women.
Casteen told the mourners that we are all responsible for getting people help who are entangled and trapped in toxic, violent relationships. We can not longer just tell our friends, relatives and acquaintances to ditch a toxic relationship. We have to step forward and perhaps make some of those unpopular calls. Doing so might just save someone’s life–someone like Yeardly Love’s life.
The fraternity of silence and the culture of hiding abuse can no longer be tolerated.
There are profound ironies in our gathering here tonight for this purpose. This is the spring time. It’s the time of year for renewal, for new beginnings. And yet we have come here to grieve the ending of a young life, of Yeardley Love’s life, one full of promise and high prospects—and one not unlike yours.
I want to talk tonight about Yeardley Love, and I want to talk about you, and about this community—about us. Some of what I have to say is very hard. Bear with me, and listen.
All the brouhaha stems from Wednesday, when four teens wore red, white and blue garb on Cinco de Mayo, a day when many Latino students wore red, white and green to honor the defeat of the French military in Mexico in 1862.
Reached by cell phone today, one of the boys, Matthew Dariano, 16, said he was not at school today fearing there might be violence on campus. Instead, he and his mother were at a hotel doing satellite interviews with Fox News. He insisted that despite reports that he and his friends said unkind words to Latino students, “We didn’t say anything at all. We just wore our shirts.”
The assistant principal had asked the boys to turn their shirts inside out or go home, saying the clothing was “incendiary” on the Mexican holiday, and that he feared for the safety of the students. The boys thought that was “disrespectful” and two went home; their mothers called the media.
The boys are Dariano; Dominic Maciel, 15; and Daniel Galli and Austin Carvalho, both 16. Two of the boys are of Mexican heritage and two are not.
Dariano said he and his friends have not received any disciplinary actions for their behavior, but they have not received any type of apology either.
Wesley Smith, superintendent for the Morgan Hill Unified School District, said in a statement Thursday that the incident was “extremely unfortunate” and the boys should not have been disciplined for wearing “patriotic” clothing.
Free speech experts agreed with the district, saying political speech is protected even on a school campus as long as there is no basis that it will cause violence or physical harm.
About 100 Latino students walked out of class Thursday and marched to Morgan Hill City Hall to protest the boys’ action.
When does it just become the better part of valor to wear a neutral shirt?
The NY Daily News reports the same story with a little stronger flavor added:
A handful of California students got an unexpected lesson at their high school this week: Don’t wear your stars and stripes on Cinco de Mayo.
Five Morgan Hill, California students were asked to take off their American flag bandannas and turn their T-shirts inside out after students complained, according to NBC news in San Francisco.
Many members of Live Oak High School‘s large Mexican-American student population that felt it was offensive for the students to wear the American flag on a day that’s supposed to celebrate Mexican heritage.
When the boys refused to take off their flag t-shirts and bandannas, they were ordered to go to the principal’s office.
“They said we could wear it on any other day,” Live Oak student Daniel Galli said, “but today is sensitive to Mexican-Americans because it’s supposed to be their holiday so we were not allowed to wear it today.”
The alleged concern was that the T-shirts would lead to fights on campus.
“They said if we tried to go back to class with our shirts not taken off, they said it was defiance and we would get suspended,” said Dominic Maciel.
The chastised teens’ parents were furious.
“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous,” Julie Fagerstrom, Maciel’s mom, said. “All they were doing was displaying their patriotic nature. They’re expressing their individuality.”
Morgan Hill Unified School District released a statement saying it does not agree with how Live Oak High School administrators handled this incident and that the boys would not be suspended.
Funny how 2 different reports seem to give a totally different version of an incident. I still want to know why kids are being allowed to wear bandanas. Gang attire alert.
This area is a suburb of Silicon Valley. It is not a barrio. It sounds to me like kids are being kids and schools are being schools. And some folks on both ‘sides’ know exactly which buttons to push. And the entire nation is at war over it.
Good for the kids who wore neutral white. It looks like maturity set in. No one wants their school to be an armed camp.
UPDATE: according to a video on Foxnews.com, the students say they were not suspended over the shirts. They chose to go home rather than change their shirts.
Jon Stewart tries to educate himself on just what is going on in Arizona. He postulates that Arizona is the meth lab of democracy. Social commentary gets into Jon’s space.
Eric Williamson was aquitted of an indecent exposure charge made against him last October. Williamson was in his own kitchen drinking coffee, sans clothing one morning. A woman, cutting through his yard with her kid, saw him through the screen door and said he made eye contact with her. She called the police who entered Williamson’s home without a warrant and swore that the glass was broken on one of the entrance doors.
Channel 5 news states:
SPRINGFIELD, Va. – One key piece of evidence that prosecutors were hoping to send a Springfield man to jail for being naked in his home ended up being the crucial clue that swayed the jury to find him not guilty of indecent exposure.
Williamson says the photos convinced a jury that he had no idea that two women saw him drinking coffee naked in his kitchen that October morning.
One of those women was taking a shortcut with her daughter through Williamson’s yard when she says she made eye contact with the 29-year-old as he stood naked inside his house in front of his screen door.
Police introduced this photo saying her vantage point was about 25 feet away. But the defense says they proved she was actually 83 feet from his door.
Now Williamson says he wants people to realize how easy it is to be charged with a crime like this and how difficult it is to rebuild your life, even after a jury says you have done nothing wrong.
“It’s great to be not guilty but I still have a lot of wreckage to deal with. A lot of things that were torn apart because of what happened,” said Williamson.
By the time the jury found him not guilty, six months had passed and Williamson had been laid off, lost visitation rights with his young daughter and racked up $15,000 in legal bills.
The commercial diver and his lawyer say this case shows you are not always safe inside your own home. They want to draw attention to the “community caretaker exception” which lets police search a home or car without a warrant based on concerns for public safety or suspicion that a crime has or is about to happen.
Why can’t you be in the buff in your own house? Didn’t we read earlier that the peeking Thomasina was the wife of a Fairfax County policeman? This is just a horrible story. To quote Elena, it sounds more like a peeping Thomasina than a coffee drinking perv. Who says a man’s home is his castle? Are any of us safe?
Full Story at myfoxdc.com
Just when we thought it was safe to go back to the City of Manassas, we find out that the sin of sex is lurking about on Battle Street. Oh my goodness! Some Godless sinner wants to set up a shop selling ‘marital aids.’ 
