Moonhowlings

While the native tribes of Virginia plan on presenting Governor Bob McDonnell with a deer later this week, a liberal leaning group, ProgressVA has left a 12 pound turkey for McDonnell, naming him the Turkey of the Year.  Why does McDonnell deserve this dubious award in the bestows eyes?

According to Hamptonroads.com:

The deer offering Gov. Bob McDonnell will accept from native Virginia tribes later this week comes with good intentions and a dose of tradition.

The frozen turkey left for him Monday?

Not so much.

A 12-pound gobbler was presented to McDonnell’s staff by ProgressVA, a left-leaning interest group which named the governor its “Turkey of the Year” for what it deemed his use of accounting gimmicks and cuts to core government services to balance Virginia’s budget.

In addition to the bird, the group left a framed resolution for the governor, accusing him of “maxing out the state’s credit card” with borrowing and refusing to close tax loopholes “that benefit his corporate donors.”

Figuring the governor wouldn’t consume the turkey, ProgressVA recommended a donation to a local food bank, which is how his office will handle the gift.

“The fact is in this tough economy many Virginians could use a free turkey at Thanksgiving,” McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said. “With that in mind we will donate the turkey to the Central Virginia Foodbank and we encourage all Virginians to support their local food banks this holiday season.”

But if officials had their druthers, Martin joked, instead of a turkey they “would have preferred a one year membership in the jelly of the month club, the gift that keeps on giving the whole year.”

McDonnell has played loosey goosey with the accounting as far as VRS is concerned.  I will hold a grudge forever on that subject simply because I believe allowing payments to VRS to be deferred was unconstitutional.  Additionally, McDonnell proclaimed a balanced budget.  If you still have outstanding debt, is the budget balanced?

But I don’t know what else he has done slippery.  Is he still trying to sell our liquor stores?  I guess now he gains a little more power with the senate win, we are getting ready to find out.

From the Associated Press:

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Gov. Bob McDonnell’s administration has awarded a contract to a Pennsylvania-based catering company to sell food, drinks and merchandise at Virginia highway rest areas.

 CRH Catering of Connellsville, Pa., will pay the Virginia Department of Transportation about $2 million a year for vending and advertising rights at the state’s 42 rest areas and welcome centers. Most are along interstate highways.

I thought we were prohibited from installing vendor sales at our interstate rest stops because of federal regulations and that Governor Kaine has applied for relief from the regulations.  How is it we can now have vendor machines at interstate rest stops?  Actually it is a good idea but the bidding  should have been limited   to Virginia companies first.  If no Virginia companies met the specs, then out of state companies could then bid. 

Bringing in CRH Catering is supposed to add an extra  million dollars a year to help offset the cost of keeping rest areas open.   Rest stops should be open.  To do otherwise is dangerous and irresponsible to travelers and it hurts the tourist industry.

Chinook

Washington Post:

Virginia to hold day of mourning for Navy SEALs, others killed in Afghanistan

By Anita Kumar

Gov. Bob McDonnell said that Friday will be a day of mourning for the 30 Americans — including Navy SEALs with ties to Virginia — who died in Afghanistan after Taliban forces shot down their helicopter last weekend.

All state flags will be flown at half-staff from dawn to dusk Friday.

McDonnell (R) asked Virginians to donate money to organizations, such as the Navy SEAL Foundation, that provide support and financial assistance beyond that provided by the Defense Department. Other organizations that residents are encouraged to assist include the Armed Forces Relief Trust, Special Operations Warrior Foundation and Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation.

“The human impact of the loss of these servicemen upon their families, their units, and the Virginia military community are profound,” McDonnell said. “It is with a heavy heart that I ask all Virginians to join me in a day of mourning and remembrance for those who lost their lives defending our country and to offer their support and thanks to the families and military community they left behind.”

Hopefully this day of mourning will include all Virginians who have lost their lives in Iraq or Afghanistan.  Perhaps it is time.  To not include them somehow minimizes the ultimate price other Virginia troops have paid since the post 9-11 wars have been waged.  That sure isn’t the message we want to send from Virginia.

Virginia has a long military history that includes all 4 branches of the service. 

From the VA ABC website:

ABC Tasting Events

In keeping with our mission to provide excellent customer service, Virginia ABC is proud to present tasting events at store locations across the state, allowing customers to sample select products before making a purchase. Each sample is limited to ½ ounce of distilled spirits, with a maximum of three samples per person, or up to a total of five ounces of wine. Please check back each week for new event postings.

ABC projects that approximately 240 tasting events will be held each month at select store locations. During the first year of tasting events, more than 2,850 tasting were held at approximately 195 ABC store locations. Tastings are mainly held on Fridays and Saturdays.

Become an ABC Facebook fan or Twitter follower today to keep up with tasting event postings.

As required by law, a person must be 21 years of age to participate in an ABC store tasting or to purchase alcoholic beverages.

Read more…

Several hundred thousand Irish immigrants fought in the American Civil War.

It is estimated that 40,000 Irsh  fought for the Confederacy and 170,000 Irish fought for the Union. The Union had Irish Brigades. The Irish were integrated in with the general troops in the Confederacy.

In first Manassas they fought without their shirts because of the heat. 

Rachel Maddow has given us a little history on Bob McDonnell’s tenure in Virginia and how he has gravitated towards the centrist position on raising the debt ceiling:

 It isn’t so much that McDonnell is a centrist. It is that he got kicked in the teeth with the reality of what will happen to Virginia should August 2 happen without legislation. 

Are you prepared for Virginia, with its pride in fiscal responsibility, to be one of the first off the cliff and lose its Triple A bond rating?  I, for one, am not. 

Tea-jaddists are not winning the war of words with anyone but their base and I hear that is getting a little shakey.  There is a certain arrogance in assuming that one knows all the answers to not just the US economy but also to the global economy. 

As Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell urges Congress and the White House to compromise over raising  the nation’s debt ceiling  to avoid  default on federal debt, he’s taking grief  from the GOP right.  Two candidates in particular who are trying to curry favor with the far right, Claudia Tucker, and Tito Munoz, both take shots at McDonnell for urging compromise.

According to the Richmond Times Dispatch, Ms. Tucker had the following to say:

“I frankly feel that Governor McDonnell’s willingness to bless a retreat that includes tax hikes and an increase in the debt ceiling is just plain wrong. Republicans share in the reckless spending that has gotten (America) to this point and now is the time to roll up our sleeves and get back to our basic principles.”

Tito Munoz voiced his own criticism of the governor: 

Tito Muñoz, a Republican primary candidate for the 36th state Senate district in Prince William and Fairfax counties, followed Tucker with a statement saying “I understand the governor’s job, but I disagree with his sentiment that there should be a compromise or retreat from solid, conservative principles.”

Read more…

The Richmond Times Dispatch has posted the new laws that will go in effect July 1.

ABC

Drinking and driving: Teens who drink and drive will face harsher penalties, including loss of their license for a year and either a $500 minimum fine or 50 hours of community service. Currently, the punishment is loss of license for six months and a maximum fine of $500.

On Friday, some Virginia restaurants will have the option of going BYOW — bring your own wine.

It’s just one of nearly 900 bills — out of 2,968 proposed — that passed during this year’s winter General Assembly session. Most of the new laws take effect July 1.

The wide array of new laws ranges from an expansion of the availability of protection orders to new measurement standards for selling shelled oysters. Here are some of the highlights.

Booze towns: Residents of towns with a population of more than 1,000 will now be able to vote on whether their county should allow the sale of mixed drinks. Previously, town residents could not vote in such county referendums. The law is meant to address situations where a “dry” town is located in a “wet” county, or vice-versa.

Bring your own wine: A new law will allow restaurants to permit patrons to bring their own wine. The catch? The restaurants will be allowed to charge a “corkage” fee for the privilege.

Underage drinking: Anyone who purchases alcoholic beverages for or otherwise helps someone who they know or have reason to believe is younger than 21 obtain or consume alcohol is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine. Current law does not address consumption or “reason to believe” that the person is underage.

Read more…

Virginia has a long Memorial Day past and lots of war dead.  Arlington National Cemetery is in Arlington, Virginia.  The site of the Lee Mansion has been used as a national cemetery since the Civil War.  Mrs. Lee left her plantation for obvious safety reasons, even though she was horribly crippled with arthrits and lived the life of a vagabond until the end of the war. 

In the past decade, 233 Virginians have been killed in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq.  25 of those were killed just in the past year.  On Thursday, Governor McDonnell and members of his administration gathered on the steps of the State Capital to pay tribute.

“This is the story of America,” McDonnell said. “When I think of what defines our country, it is sacrifice and it is freedom…Throughout our history, the price of liberty has always been American blood.”
Marlene Blackburn, left, who lost her son, U.S. Army Cpl. William Kyle Middleton, in Afghanistan, is comforted by her uncle Bob Galaspie at the service. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) (Steve Helber – AP)

The names of all 233 were read aloud by members of different branches of the armed services. A Coast Guard helicopter performed a ceremonial fly-by in the capital city’s sky, and a bagpiper with the Virginia Department of Corrections played “Amazing Grace.”

From the Washingtonpost.com:

The poll provides a view of the impact of bin Laden’s death in a state widely viewed as a bellwether for Obama’s chances for reelection nationally. The interviews were already underway when Obama delivered the news late in the evening of May 1; 677 were conducted before the announcement, with 503 afterward.

Against all five potential GOP contenders tested in the poll, Obama stretched his margins after the death of bin Laden. In a hypothetical matchup against former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, for example, interviews before the bin Laden announcement showed voters splitting 48 percent for the president and 46 percent for Romney. Afterward, Obama edged ahead, 51 to 44 percent.

Against former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and businessman Donald Trump, twin 19-point Obama advantages swelled to 31 points in interviews conducted in the three days after bin Laden’s death.

Still, big vulnerabilities remain for the president, the first Democratic presidential nominee to win Virginia in more than 40 years. More than half of all Virginia voters are dissatisfied, even angry, with the Obama administration’s policies, and a vast majority retains a bleak view of the economy. Those opinions did not change with bin Laden’s death, leaving open the question of whether, or how long, the spike in Obama’s fortunes will last.

The poll reveals the movability of voters in Virginia, which firmly established itself as a new battleground in 2008. Two years later, in the tea-party-infused, low-turnout elections of 2010, Virginia swung in the opposite direction, ousting three of the state’s six Democratic congressmen.

What will it take for President Obama to claim Virginia?  What will keep Virginia blue?  How will the outcome of this election affect the state election in 2013?  Is the Prez’s bump artificial, a flash in the pan, or can he sustain it?  Why does killing Bin Laden increase Obama’s popularity?

Sometimes efforts to cut spending have a price tag we don’t like.  Virginia was recently denied FEMA relief by the Obama administration.  Ouch!  Here’s what went down.  Governor McDonnell declared Virginia a disaster area so several countries ripped apart by tornadoes in April.  Virginia saw more than 30 tornadoes last month.

According to the Richmond Times Dispatch:

The Obama administration has rejected Virginia’s request for federal disaster aid for rural counties hit last month by tornadoes that killed 10 and destroyed or damaged more than 1,000 homes. The state might appeal the decision.

In a letter Friday to Gov. Bob McDonnell, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said that it was turning down Virginia because it concluded that the state could handle the cleanup on its own.

Read more…

The mayor of Virginia Beach wants to honor the Navy Seals who killed Bin Laden.  The secret military unit deploys out of a tiny military installation at Dam Neck, Virginia, right outside Virginia Beach.   The problem with the mayor’s plans is, the unit is too secretive for the mayor to know who they are or how to find them.  That’s just the way that unit works.

The Washington Post had a very interesting article about Navy SEALs: 

But while such discretion is a prerequisite for covert operations, it raises practical hurdles for a mayor who is used to the cheering crowds that welcome home aircraft carriers to the naval base in Norfolk.

“This community is extremely proud. I’d like to come up with a way to have a city celebration of some kind. If we can!” said Sessoms, whose initial thought was to include the SEALs in the city’s “Patriotic Festival” in June. “But it’s challenging.”

Other Virginia politicians were able to overlook such details, satisfied with the knowledge that that men who killed bin Laden had a connection to the Old Dominion state. Former Republican Senator and current candidate George Allen tweeted: “As Virginians were hit at the Pentagon on 9-11 & USS Cole, it is appropriate that a VA-based SEAL team brought justice directly to #Osama.”

Read more…

The Richmond Times Dispatch:

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied Virginia’s petition to have its lawsuit against federal health-care legislation bypass appellate review and be heard directly by the court.

As a result, the lawsuit will continue on its current path to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is scheduled to hear the case May 10 in Richmond.

Read more…

Today, April 16, 2011, marks the 4th anniversary  of the Virginia Tech massacre.

Nikki Giovanni at the Memorial Service–We are Virginia Tech

President Bush spoke to the Tech Students.  So did Governor Tim Kaine:

Insidenova.com:

DALE CITY, Va. –

By the end of this week, more than 80 individuals in Woodbridge will literally have nowhere to call home.

On Thursday morning, Virginia State Police are closing down a long-time homeless campsite located near the Dale Boulevard exit off Interstate 95 for safety and legal reasons. In an email sent Wednesday, Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jennifer McCord stated that residents will have an hour to move their belongings off that property once police arrive.

Technically, these residents have been trespassing on state property, stated McCord. And because of the nature of the camp setup, McCord said it’s potentially dangerous for both campsite residents and the motorists on the interstate.

“This is a difficult situation and while we are sympathetic to anyone who is homeless, VDOT cannot allow these shelters on its right of way,” stated McCord.

Approximately 35 people are living at the site, said Bonnie Schrader, director of the Drop-In Center program at the nearby winter shelter. To make matters worse, another 46 single adults are officially outdoors after Thursday when the nearby winter shelter closes for the season

This is a story that has no answers.  There are also homeless camps on this end of the county.  What do you do when people have no where to live?  I understand that some of the people in the Dale City camp are children.

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