Moonhowlings

Colonel Moe Davis can’t stand  terrorists and hypocrites. Colonel Davis has assisted Indiana Congressman Brad Ellsworth, a candidate for Evan Bayh’s senate seat, repudiate an attack ad made by his Republican opponent, former Senator and DC lobbyist Dan Coats. Remember Coats from the bad old days?

It seems that Dan Coats is quite the hypocrite on a few things. He needs to be careful who his friends are. He released an attack ad stating that Ellsworth voted to close Gitmo and bring prisoners to the United States. Ellsworth denies the charge.

Here’s Colonel Moe Davis:

Coates has been out of office since 1999. According to the South Bend Tribune:

SOUTH BEND — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Brad Ellsworth is fighting back against a campaign advertisement his Republican opponent, Dan Coats, released last week.

Ellsworth held news conferences in Indianapolis, Crown Point and South Bend on Thursday to counter Coats’ ad, which says Ellsworth voted to close the federal detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transfer suspected terrorists to prisons in the United States.

“The claim in the ad is blatantly false. I never voted to close Gitmo,” the Evansville congressman said in an interview at the St. Joseph County Democratic Party Headquarters. “I said I will look at the plan when it comes in and make a determination then if that’s something I think makes Americans secure.”

Coats’ campaign stands by the content of its ad, which cites two votes Ellsworth cast against Republican amendments that would have barred the use of federal funds for closing Guantanamo and transferring detainees to the U.S. for trial. Ellsworth said Congress already has the power to approve or deny federal funding if the president presents a plan for transferring detainees to U.S. soil.

Ellsworth added members of both parties are “pretty notorious” for using such procedural votes to create campaign fodder.

“Those are very common Washington, D.C., tactics — what we refer to as ‘gotcha votes’ for things just like this, where you can refer to them and infer something happened that didn’t,” he said.

Nice job, Colonel Davis, nice job!  Moe was the chief prosecutor at Gitmo from 2005-2007.  He can call it as he sees it because unlike Dan Coats, he was there and on the right side–fighting terrorism.  He knows first hand what Coats did and did not do.

Anything to get re-elected

Many years ago, in Prince William County, there was a gang on either the BOCS or the appointed school board who were not-so-affectionately named the 4 horsemen. They were seen as enemies of the school system. It seems that the 4 horsemen have been reincarnated, after several decades, on our board of supervisors. I am trying to remember . Why they were named that?   Was it a nice way of speaking of the educational Apocalypse on the horizon or was it short for horse body parts? Perhaps those  readers  who have been around PWC for a while will remember.

But I digress….

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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.

According to the the Pew Reseach Center undocumented immigration is down since mid-decade. (see above)

The annual inflow of unauthorized immigrants to the United States was nearly two-thirds smaller in the March 2007 to March 2009 period than it had been from March 2000 to March 2005, according to new estimates by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.

This sharp decline has contributed to an overall reduction of 8% in the number of unauthorized immigrants currently living in the U.S. — to 11.1 million in March 2009 from a peak of 12 million in March 2007, according to the estimates. The decrease represents the first significant reversal in the growth of this population over the past two decades.1

The Pew Hispanic Center’s analysis also finds that the most marked decline in the population of unauthorized immigrants has been among those who come from Latin American countries other than Mexico. From 2007 to 2009, the size of this group from the Caribbean, Central America and South America decreased 22%.

By contrast, the Mexican unauthorized population (which accounts for about 60% of all unauthorized immigrants) peaked in 2007 at 7 million and has since leveled off. The number of unauthorized immigrants from the rest of the world did not change.

Even though the size of the Mexican unauthorized population living in the United States has not changed significantly since 2007, the inflows from that country have fallen off sharply in recent years

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What is the cause? Better border enforcement? The economy? Random?

Entire Pew Report

Shark Breath?

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in to the water, an 8 foot shark is caught in the Potomac River. It wasn’t just any shark. It was an 8 foot deadly bull shark.

According to the Washington Post:

Willy Dean was on the Potomac River in a 22-foot skiff Tuesday morning when he realized there was something both abnormal and enormous in his net. It was a deadly 8-foot-1bull shark, a 300-pound-plus killer that had likely been feasting on cownose rays at Cornfield Harbor, just off the shores of Point Lookout State Park.

Buh bump. Buh bump. Buh bump buhbump buhbump. . . .

“When I first seen it, it was like ‘Jaws’ — we need a bigger boat!” Dean said Thursday. “I’m not kidding you. It looked huge. I didn’t know how we were gonna get it out. It’s my first shark. I’ve been fishing here a little over 30 years, and it’s the first time I’ve even seen one.”

But it wasn’t even the only one caught on the river during what has apparently become Shark Week on the Potomac. Thomas Crowder, a commercial fisherman from St. Mary’s County, said he and his crew were cutting a net near Tall Timbers on Wednesday when an even bigger bull shark was trapped. “He couldn’t swim and breathe, and he drowned,” Crowder said. “We kept saying for years that we wanted to catch a shark. . . . And Willy gets one, and then all of the sudden we get one. What are the odds? It’s just bizarre.”

Crowder measured the shark (8 feet, 3 inches), took a few photos, then dumped it back into the river, its stomach split open to keep it from floating.

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The Justice Dept. has filed suit against Sheriff Joe Arpaio. They accuse him, Maricopa County and his office of failure to cooperate with the civil rights investigation of his office.

According with MSNBC News:

The Justice Department has been investigating allegations that the sheriff’s office has engaged in discrimination against Hispanics. As a recipient of federal funds, the sheriff’s office is required to cooperate with such investigations.

But today, the Justice Department said it’s been trying to get the sheriff’s cooperation for more than a year without success. That makes his department “an extreme outlier,” given that no other local law enforcement organization has refused to cooperate with a civil rights investigation in the last 30 years, the government says.

“The actions of the sheriff’s office are unprecedented. It is unfortunate that the department was forced to resort to litigation to gain access to public documents and facilities,” says Thomas Perez, the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division

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Sheriff Joe is already a national folk hero to many people. If this keeps up he will be a national saint. It will be interesting to see who blinks first. I doubt if it will be Sheriff Joe. There has to be a better way than this. In Sheriff Joe’s case, it seems like he wins regardless of what he does.

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]

UPDATE FROM NEWS & MESSENGER 9/3/10

Coming soon to a place on Battle Street

Batten down the hatches, here comes Earl. And if Earl doesn’t get us there is Fiora out there and then some unnamed menace behind her. Yes, the hurricane season is upon us.

Right now, the most eminent danger is Earl who is classified as a category 4 hurricane at present. The Outer Banks and coastal North Carolina are right in his path. The weird thing about hurricanes is that they have a mind of their own. Earl could slam North Carolina or it could veer right abruptly and head on out to sea, to die a slow death as it reaches colder waters. No one totally understand hurricanes.

A century ago, before weather instruments were as exact, people didn’t have much warning about hurricanes. Huge killer storms  were right on top of people before they knew what hit them.  Hundreds, even thousands were killed.  I am sure people felt the air, the fallen barometeric pressure , and saw extra mushrooms coming up in unexpected places. But they didn’t always heed what little warning they did have.  Folks in Texas, along the Gulf Coast and Florida probably have been beaten up the most from these killer monster storms. They are not alone, however.

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That old one was getting too long. Here is the open thread for this week.

Several days ago someone on the blog said they were just waiting for the pictures of the people who looked like the biggest idiots or who had the worst signs.  In other words, the liberal media has been accused of cherry picking.  Perhaps. 

At any rate, whoever said that would happen was correct.  Here it is:

The misinformation is astounding. What do Americans do to combat this kind of misinformation?
This video is about political perceptions, not the rally. It must have seemed like a good place to dip-stick.

Some of the slogans and buttons seen around town this past weekend simply do not represent the truth.  How do we break these sort of misconceptions and report history accurately?

Seen at the Glenn Beck rally

George Washington never said it or wrote it, accordingn to most  sources.

How about redefining what some of the founding fathers were?

From the Glenn Beck rally

Right Wing Radicals? There was nothing right wing about these guys.  If one defines radical as:  One who advocates fundamental or revolutionary changes in current practices, conditions, or institutions, then most definitely radical, just not right wing radical.  I used to think that expression was an oxymoron.  Not any more. 

Glenn Beck gave a post mortem on his Restoring Honor rally.  He was very concerned about the crowd size numbers being reported.  Every organization is always concerned with numbers.  It is going home with the most marbles on a grand scale.  He did bring in a huge crowd.  Good for him. It was peaceful and no one carried offensive signs. 

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I guess the BOCS showed Dr. Walts. Apparently many of them think he is getting too big for his britches.

From the Washington Post:

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors postponed accepting and budgeting federal stimulus funds for school jobs Tuesday, halting Superintendent Steven L. Walts’s effort to hire 180 more teachers by next month.

“We always respect and honor the decisions of our governing bodies,” Walts said in an e-mail. “While our preference is to have the new teachers in place for this year in order to positively affect our students’ learning as soon as possible, we will postpone our plans. . . . For the thousands of students who will not have the additional teachers this year, I am extremely disappointed.”

Class size will continue to be a problem as long as the budget is tight. The BOCS, however, hit a double. They got to show Walts who is boss, or in their case, who ultimately holds the purse strings. In addition, they all got to show that they wanted to ‘cut spending,’ even though counties run by smarter leaders will get the money.

Class sizes and the organization of special ed classes will continue to keep PWC Schools from being a world class school system. Walts was hired to create the best learning environment for the children of Prince William County. It seems that he walked on other people’s turf while attempting to do what he was hired to do.

The children of PWC will be in overcrowded classes while Walts gets taught a lesson and the BOCS can crow to their constituents that they voted down spending.  And whoever gets the money that would have gone to PWC Schools is laughing all the way to the bank while they use our stimulus money to pay salaries, benefits (including VRS) for additional teachers. 

Prince Billy Bob strikes again. 

Full Story from the Washington Post

I meant to post this yesterday. King managed to capture the moral imperative of the day. Perhaps this is a good time to compare and contrast.

Yesterday’s rally cannot be ignored. There was relevancy there that we have not yet realized. Probaby the participants have not yet realized it either. There are some winds of change that might not be in the best interests of anyone. Time will tell. Meanwhile, read Bill4Dogcatcher for some insight from a moderate conservative first hand witness.

Full Text of the I have a Dream Speech

The Washington Postcolumist  Dana Milbank has a few words to say about Glenn Beck and his new-found affection of civil rights.

Civil rights’ new ‘owner’: Glenn Beck

By Dana Milbank
Sunday, August 29, 2010

There is a telling anecdote in Glenn Beck’s 2003 memoir about how the cable news host was influenced by the great fantasist Orson Welles. To travel between performances in Manhattan, Beck recounts, Welles hired an ambulance, sirens blaring, to ferry him around town — not because Welles was ill but because he wanted to avoid traffic.

Most of us would regard this as dishonest, a ploy by the self-confessed charlatan that Welles was. Beck saw it as a model to be emulated. “Welles,” he writes, “inspired me to believe that I can create anything that I can see or imagine.”

I was reminded of Beck’s affection for deception as he hyped his march on Washington — an event scheduled for the same date (Aug. 28) and on the same spot (the Lincoln Memorial) as Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic march 47 years ago. Beck claimed it was pure coincidence, but then he made every effort to appropriate the mantle of the great civil rights leader.

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According to the Huffington Post:

Palin told the tens of thousands who stretched from the marble steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the grass of the Washington Monument that calls to transform the country weren’t enough. “We must restore America and restore her honor,” said the former Alaska governor, echoing the name of the rally, “Restoring Honor.”

Palin, the GOP vice presidential nominee in 2008 and a potential White House contender in 2012, and Beck repeatedly cited King and made references to the Founding Fathers. Beck put a heavy religious cast on nearly all his remarks, sounding at times like an evangelical preacher.

“Something beyond imagination is happening,” he said. “America today begins to turn back to God.”

I don’t ever recall America losing her honor. That is probably one of the most offensive remarks I believe I have ever heard. If America’s honor needs restoring, does that mean America is dishonorable? I sure hope that isn’t what Sarah Palin meant. She is on real shaky grounds with her remarks.

Jon Stewart is going on vacation again for 10 days. grrrrrrr

Before he leaves, however, he did handle some important business. Jon’s humor is biting on this one. He rips Glenn Becks’ civil rights/restoring honor rally.

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and his sidekick, Sideshow Bob (Marshall) have quite a dog and pony show going.  Marshall asks a question of a controversial nature and AG answers it, thus setting the Old Dominion on a collision course with civil liberties each and every time.  Does anyone notice a pattern? 

The Loudoun Times:

Loudoun County’s controversial debate over public displays on the courthouse lawn now has the ear of Virginia’s top attorney.

State Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli on Aug. 24 issued an opinion saying Loudoun County can erect holiday Christmas displays on public property as long as the displays represent other faiths and beliefs.

The opinion came at the request of state Del. Bob Marshall (R-south-central Loudoun).

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Saturday, August 28, 2011 is the big Glenn Beck Restoring Honor Rally.  It will be held at the Lincoln Memorial. 

Yahoonews.com:

Beck, a popular figure among tea party activists and a polarizing Fox News Channel personality, is headlining the event, and Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee and a potential 2012 president candidate, will be a prominent speaker. But Beck told his television audience again on Thursday that it’s not about politics.

The event’s website says the rally is to pay tribute to America’s military personnel and others “who embody our nation’s founding principles of integrity, truth and honor.” It also is to promote the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides scholarships and services to family members of military members.

The website urges citizens to attend and “help us restore the values that founded this great nation.”

How can anything featuring Sarah Palin not be about politics?  She is the embodiment of politics. 

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Its about time for another open thread. This one will be pinned to the top. Enjoy.

Rachel Maddow does an excellent job of showing how rights can be taken away by making whatever it is that people are trying to do  inaccessible.  Inaccessibility  substitutes for making an act illegal.  Its a rather cowardly, un-democratic means of getting one’s own political way.  Maddow  also interviews the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Maddow explains how hospital regulations would financially  burden abortion providers rather than making abortion safer (Double wide hallways, swinging doors, 15 mile proximity to emergency room, etc.) Cuccinelli’s explanation is vague and full of weasel words, so that the average Virginian really doesn’t know what is being said.

Cuccinelli  attempted draconian, technically illegal abortion legislation while he served in the Virginia Senate.  He was unable to ever pass his legislation.  Now he attempts to circumvent legislation by simply declaring his opinion to be law.  His attempts to codify his own opinion won’t fly for long. 

Cuccinelli will not last. Most people don’t like having other people in their bedrooms. It remains to be seen if McDonnell will execute Cuccinelli’s opinion into state policy. Meanwhile, Cuccinelli has driven Virginia so far to the cultural right that he endangers other Republicans who might not be extremists.

Finally, Maddow addresses something the rest of us have been aware of for a long time. There is a tendency to bully those who are pro-choice. Many pro-choice people feel too  intimidated to admit they are pro-choice, much less hold their legislators accountable for their votes. Every woman in Virginia must decide that the women of Virginia are capable of making their own morally appropriate choices. They need to decide today that they will not allow others to define them. Pro-choice is not being pro-abortion and do not let anyone tell you it is.