Loudoun grade scale change proposed by LCPS

According to Erica Garman at Living in LoCo Loudoun Schools Superintendent Hatrick has released the details of a new grading scale to be used at Loudoun’s schools. It’s the 10-point scale proposed by Fairgrade Loudoun and it will likely be adopted at the next LCPS meeting on 24 March. I’ve written on the topic a few times and I think adoption of this new scale is the right way to go for Loudoun’s kids.

Obama’s “drawdown” in Iraq a lie and a pander.

Remember the sounds of trumpets here in the last couple of weeks over Obama’s announcement of a drawdown of troops in Iraq? If you were at all connected to the news you’d have to be. You couldn’t miss it. With great fanfare, Obama announced that troops were going to be deployed, instead, to Afghanistan. Greyhawk over at Mudville Gazette brings some disturbing information to light. Obama’s been lying to you about that drawdown and he’s been using the lives of some of our military units as pawns in doing so:

Let’s recap the salient points here:

1. In September, 2008, the 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) – after months of preparation – is ordered to Iraq. (One of two SBCTs that were then scheduled to replace the two currently in Iraq)

2. In February, 2009, President Obama announces his Iraq drawdown/Afghanistan surge – the 5th SBCT will be diverted to Afghanistan instead of Iraq.

3. March, 2009, the DoD announces the 4th SBCT will deploy to Iraq this fall, several months ahead of the original schedule replacing the 5th SBCT in the rotation in order to maintain two Stryker Brigades in Iraq.

For the record, I’m in favor of commanders on the ground getting the forces they need to get the job done. I have no doubt that two Stryker Brigades are needed in Iraq, and others in Afghanistan.

I’m deeply concerned when I see troop rotations “adjusted” in what appears to be an effort to fool the American public.

That’s an understatement, Mr. Greyhawk. Read the linked post over there. It has the details and links to the original sources. Greyhawk is military himself and has insights and connections in the military that I lack, so definitely listen to him. As Greyhawk says at the close of this post, of equal or greater concern is the lack of coverage and “connect the dots” by our media over this. Had this happened a year ago, it’d have been a helluva story. It would been one you couldn’t have escaped if you’d tried. Why not now? Hmmm.

“Exploding Whale Obamanomics”

Yes, you read that headline right: “Exploding Whale Obamanomics.” Bob Owens of Confederate Yankee and Pajamas Media has the near-perfect metaphor and I simply can’t excerpt it well enough to do it justice. Go have a look and enjoy!

DC woman sues city for discriminating against her over color

Yeah, and you just know that if I were talking about the woman’s color there’d be riots in the streets by now. No, this woman has been forced to sue the DC government because she has jumped through all of the silly hoops this city has set up that its citizens must negotiate in order to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights and been turned down because her gun is the wrong color. I kid you not:

A D.C. woman has sued the city, claiming officials would not let her register a handgun because of its color.

According to the suit filed Monday in U.S. District Court, Tracey Hanson tried to register a two-tone, stainless steel and black pistol. But the .45-caliber semiautomatic was denied because it doesn’t appear on the California Safe Handgun Roster. The roster only lists that model in olive drab green, dark earth or black.

And if you need any further proof that the DC government is not operating in good faith compliance with the Supreme Court decision in Heller v. DC, you’re just not willing to be convinced.

They denied her application to register a gun that would have passed without further comment had it been olive drab because the color isn’t on the California list. A list, I might add, that DC residents have positively no control over. Absolutely unbelievable. News flash to the alleged professionals in DC: the color of the damn gun doesn’t do a thing to make the gun more or less safe, more or less lethal, and – in a rational world – more or less qualified to be registered. If the members of DC’s council wanted to look any more like the elitist snobs we contend they are, I’m unsure how they’d accomplish it.

This is why Congress should pass legislation taking the decisions over fellow Americans’ exercise of Constitutionally-protected rights out of the hands of the DC Council. They clearly lack the ability to govern in these matters in a coherent, rational manner. The Council should have every responsibility except for managing the city’s snow plows, trash removal, and utilities delivery removed. It’s ludicrous that it comes to this over the color of an item when the color is immaterial to the operation of said item. If they can’t see their way around that, then they don’t need to be in the driver’s seat.

Multiple Pro-2nd Amendment bills headed to Kaine’s desk in VA

I’ve written in the past couple of months of several bills that were making their way through the Virginia General Assembly that were of interest to supporters of the 2nd Amendment. The NRA has helpfully provided a list of those bills in this Action Alert. I’m passing it on here as a public service and with a request that you pop the Governor a note asking him to sign off on it.

Three pro-gun bills (HB1851, HB2144, and SB1035) were approved by the Virginia Senate yesterday and they are now on their way to the desk of Governor Tim Kaine (D) for his consideration.

House Bill 1851, sponsored by Delegate L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-31), passed out of the Senate by a 31-8 vote.  Simply stated, this NRA-backed bill would exempt active duty military personnel or Virginia National Guardsmen from Virginia’s “one gun a month” law on handgun purchases.

House Bill 2144 also passed the Senate by a 40-0 vote.  HB2144, introduced by Delegate David Nutter (R-7), would restrict access to the Virginia concealed carry permit holder list maintained by the Virginia State Police.  This bill would make that information confidential and put a stop to the abuses of the concealed carry permit holder list. As you may recall, the Roanoke Times abused this data by creating a public online database with information about Virginia’s Right-to-Carry permit holders, allowing criminals to target law-abiding gun owners.

The Senate agreed to the House Amended version of Senate Bill 1035, legislation championed by State Senator Emmett Hanger, Jr. (R-24).  This bill would permit a Right-to-Carry permit holder to carry concealed in a restaurant, provided he or she does not consume alcohol. The House amended SB1035, removing the notification requirement of CCW permit holders to the alcohol beverage manager.

Please contact Governor Kaine TODAY and respectfully urge him to sign HB1851, HB 2144, and SB1035.  The Governor can be reached by phone at (804) 786-2211, by fax at (804) 371-6351, or email ima@governor.virginia.gov.

Another one that was passed was HB1655 which was identical to SB1513. This law would allow a court to award reasonable fees, expenses, and court costs to any entity that brought a suit against a local government challenging an ordinance the locality passed that violated the state’s preemption laws. As I mentioned when I 1st wrote about this bill, it would keep a locality from basically bankrupting 2nd Amendment supporters by continually enacting ordinances in violation of the state preemption laws forcing their opposition to sue them in court. After Kaine signs this bill, the cost of overturning those ordinances would fall upon the locality that enacted them. If you would please mention this bill when you write about the other ones, that would be good.

More to come after the Governor makes his decisions.

A message from Lincoln’s time

There was a message from the Civil War era hidden inside Lincoln’s pocket watch, so the story went. The tale has been told for 150 years from as far away as Ireland and, now, we know the truth. The message is real:

For nearly 150 years, a story has circulated about a hidden Civil War message engraved inside Abraham Lincoln’s pocket watch. On Tuesday, museum curators confirmed it was true. A watchmaker used tiny tools to carefully pry open the antique watch at the National Museum of American History, and a descendant of the engraver read aloud the message from a metal plate underneath the watch face.

“Jonathan Dillon April 13 – 1861,” part of the inscription reads, “Fort Sumpter (sic) was attacked by the rebels on the above date.” Another part reads, “Thank God we have a government.”

Click on the link for a picture of the watch and the engraving. It’s an interesting insight into one of the ordinary days of Americans from long ago; a snapshot of the concerns of a local watchmaker trying to make sure that something was not forgotten.

It’s a curious location for a secret message, I grant you. How many of you have ever thought of popping the bezel off the back of your watch just to see what’s there? (Assuming your watch even has a bezel. If you even wear a watch.) Well, there are many mysteries in history and it’s always nice to see one resolved.