Fairfax County has a poop problem

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/fairfax-neighbors-head-to-court-over-unscooped-dog-poop/2011/10/19/gIQAPCRkDM_story.html?hpid=z2

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/virginia-woman-found-not-guilty-of-violating-pooper-scooper-law-after-jury-trial/2011/10/26/gIQANQlAIM_story.html

Dear Fairfax County,

YOU ARE AN EMBARRASSMENT TO THE JUSTICE SYSTEM.

And a double embarrassment to the integrity of your citizens. I cannot believe you wasted taxpayer dollars and a JURY’S TIME on PROSECUTING A DOG WALKER for maybe/maybe not failing to pick up a piece of dog poop. And LO AND BEHOLD – they cleared her!  

I also cannot believe that there are communities full of people that are ACTUALLY INSANE ENOUGH to send in dog shit for DNA TESTING so you can prove what evil citizen forgot to bring a biodegradable plastic poop baggie with them and then SHAME THEM PUBLICALLY.

You people are clearly on crack, because there is no other explanation beyond a really bizarre poop fetish.  But I could not come up with a better personification for the kind of retard that spends three quarters of a million dollars to live in a McTownHomeCommunity then this story.  WOULD YOU PLEASE JUST HIRE A CALL GIRL TO CRAP ON YOUR CHEST NEXT TIME?

It would be a lot less embarrassing to the rest of us.

And FWIW – I clean up after my dog and think others should, too. But I’m pretty sure a simple citation would have covered this one.

Cheers,
The rest of us

WTF happened to DC?

Growing up, if you screwed up, your parents would figure it out – and address it pronto. There was never any question of it being the fault of something or someone else. If they didn't address it immediately, it was expected that another adult would.

There was a recent, and very overblown, discussion on a local DC blog about a cyclist “attacking” a child that threw rocks at him. The kid allegedly threw something at the cyclist (could’ve killed him) and the cyclist stopped and backed his ass against a wall. The thing is, rock throwing is an ongoing problem in DC – as well as brick throwing (someone broke an ankle, DCPD did nothing), cinderblock throwing (nearly killed someone), and potato throwing (WTF?).

Frankly, I’m of the ilk that believes that this is a pretty dangerous crime. Hit a cyclist in the head with a rock and they could very easily fall in front of a moving car and be killed (and for all of you that don’t think that’s a problem, IMAGINE THE TRAFFIC DELAYS). I support the cyclist for addressing this on the spot, since it has been regularly ignored by local law enforcement. If the parents won’t parent the children, society winds up doing it.

This, apparently, makes me guilty of PERPETUATING VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN. Even though, like, I wasn’t there.

So I did a little further research and discovered this little gem from The Hill is Home.

http://www.thehillishome.com/2009/11/rock-throwing-nihlistic-youth-of-a-street/

“Roger” refuses to address the children who are throwing the rocks and instead chooses to focus on the owner of a gravel driveway. He goes on and on, for lengthy paragraphs, about how this is, in fact, the fault of the homeowner. For having a gravel driveway. That has been there for years.

Molly- here on this Blog in your own post, you have admitted current ownership of the NW corner house at 17th & A Sts SE, one that seemingly has truckloads of stone in the public space. When the previous owner had placed the stone there during 2004(?), I thought what a dumb idea and knew that eventually someone would get hurt. It has now happened. Since you now have ownership, these stones are your responsibility with never-ending potential liability to public safety. The property was also identified on local TV News broadcast with no comment from the owner. You may already be on some attorney’s radar screen because of that broadcast. If you don’t like that either then go raise hell with the TV news too. It’s rather arrogant of you to ask of me, an innocent non affected 3rd party, to contribute financially to your dilemma. I don’t readily have the money to fix your property’s problem. You may not like nor appreciate what I post here, take it as economical advice versus being served a court summons from an attorney representing an injured party. I hope you have adequate Homeowner Insurance since everything you own is on the line while that stone exists there. Good Luck to you.

Molly – Please believe that I am not attacking you, but expressing a neighborly concern for everyone’s safety and wellbeing here including your own. I also wish people would not throw stones, it’s just impractical, but limit their quick and easy access to small stones.

I am all about SAFETY, PREVENTION and LIMIT of LIABILITY. Landscape stone is not in my yard or yards of my neighbors since it could contribute to much danger. I’ve expressed safety and prevention in person to my immediate neighbors and they respect me and equally share similar concerns. People who read this faceless blog, may or may not know me in person. HGTV and other home improvement channels have shows using Stone for landscaping all the time. In some instances it’s great, but in our urban neighborhood with plenty of foot traffic of all types of people, small stones are a continuous liability. Sure it’s way too easy to blame the disruptive kids, but when weapons are easily reachable to them or anyone, the blame easily becomes a shared issue.

The stones have already contributed to this one unfortunate heinous act. I am not an attorney, but do work in the field that supports public safety of millions of people every day. Don’t like what I have written, then by all means consult with a reputable attorney of your own choosing, get their professional opinions about what has transpired here and potential liability associated to similar future events. Their advice could be similar, reduce one’s liability by not having small stone in landscape easily reachable by transient pedestrians and thrown.

Roger is clearly on crack.

Let’s not blame the criminals for their crime, let’s blame rocks for being accessible.

The only problem is, Roger’s attitude has become prevalent around here. Blame everyone and everything except the person who has committed the crime. Then, when that person grows up and murders someone senselessly, hold a candlelit vigil, hold hands, and proclaim tearfully about how you’re “taking back the night!” and how, as a "member of this community," you feel so much safer when you’re in large groups clutching candles.

But by GOD, do NOT address the crime.

Is it any wonder that the nation is in shambles? These idiots are writing your public policy.

On a serious note

While I am not a scholar of history, the last time I checked, one of the rights of being an American citizen was the freedom of speech and the right to disagree with governmental policy within the scope of the law. Politically, this falls under the right of revolution (the tame, 21^st century version where we blog about it) and is spelled out in the Declaration of Independence:  

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

In this paragraph, the citizenry is told to think, to check, and to balance. It also points out that the power of the government draws its powers from the consent of the governed. This very suggestion gives credence to the opinion of the citizenry.

This article,  written by a marine, however, tells us that it’s disingenuous for us to have these opinions once boots are on the ground; and that you cannot support the soldier and disagree with his cause. The soldier uses the buzz word “undermine” and insinuates that any controversy is detrimental to the success of the mission. The trouble with this, of course, is that it doesn’t leave any room for discussion or change, even when the battle itself changes – to send more troops, to withdraw troops, or in light of new intelligence information.Further, if we’re going to use the term “undermine,” this marine’s comments undermine some of the very tenets of this country that this marine has sworn to protect and defend. Freedom of speech and protest is our way of life, as long as we respectfully contain it within the scope of the law.

We as citizens are responsible to understand, as best we can, the choices and decisions of our government, because they are supposed to answer to us. We are responsible for becoming educated, for consideration, and to apply our thoughts by voting appropriately. We are responsible for voting our opinion, because we are told that it matters - as one commentator put it, the constituti­onal responsibi­lity for oversight rests in our democratic process.
 We are not told to blindly agree with the decisions of the government and military once boots are on the ground – in fact, that is inherently discouraged, for there is no room for despotism in a democracy.

I would like to think that a thinking citizenry that takes these responsibilities seriously - and one who applies them with care and consideration to improve the country to its very best abilities – is the very definition of supporting the troops.

Sam Trombley is a Moron

Thank you, Sam Trombley, you've made our shit list today. But mostly you've made our WTF list.

How is it possible that anyone, in this day and age, could be dumb enough to think that because you legalize same sex marriage, there's going to be a HIV epidemic because the gays are going to... start having more sex? I can't believe anyone was stupid enough to think that gay people weren't having sex all along because the US government didn't recognize them as couples, and therefore they were just totally all waiting until these pesky little bills passed, so they could do it all legal-like.

And how is it even possible that you think that a HIV-epidemic is going to come from people committing their lives to EACH OTHER and thus, forsaking all others and lowering their risk of STDs?

As the New York Senate prepares to vote on marriage equality, Sam Trombley (R), a member of the Clinton County Legislature, argued that homosexuality is a public health risk: “I’m surprised the health department has not come out against this because we are going to have an HIV epidemic if this passes.” He added, “You don’t see two male dogs sleeping in the same dog house together.”

Idiot.

Yuppie City

http://www.princeofpetworth.com/2011/06/what-is-coffee-house-etiquette-talking-or-no-talking/#comment-348951

Oh, DC.

Thank you for providing us with further proof that the city has “gentrified.” And by “gentrified” I mean “turned into a bunch of really insipid whiners who pay $800,000 for a row house and are LITERALLY COMPLAINING IN THE BLOGOSPHERE ABOUT PEOPLE THROWING THEIR BIO-DEGRADABLY BAGGED, TIED OFF AND SANITIZED DOG SHIT IN THE ‘INCORRECT’ TRASH CAN.”

FYI? People still get shot here.

Wow, Senator Hamerlinck, you sound like Sam Arora.

http://www.iowademocrats.org/2011/06/go-back-home-iowa-republicans-welcome-students-testimony/

“I do not like it when students actually come here and lobby me for funds.  That’s just my opinion. I want to wish you guys the best.  I want you to go home and graduate.  But this political fear, leave the circus to us OK?  Go home and enjoy yourselves.  I want to thank you for joining us and though I have to concede, your time speaking before us is kind of a tad intense.   It’s probably a pretty new experience.  You probably prepared for it for days and you sat there in front of us trying to make sure your remarks were just right, and that’s a good thing.  But actually spending your time worrying about what we’re doing up here, I don’t want you to do that.  Go back home. Thanks guys.”

Ass.

Everyone knows it's our favorite thing here when our elected public officials don't care about the opinions of their constituents or the general public.

Sam Arora Again

http://themoderatevoice.com/111042/minnesota-representative-tony-cornishs-lack-of-professionalism/

At least this screwball responds to emails. Not, mind you, in a manner befitting to an elected public official... but he responded.


That would make that loser one better than you.

Thank you, MSN Money

For the most utterly asinine fiscal arguement I've ever heard.

Seriously? I LIVE in one of the neighborhoods mentioned and commute into another one. I do not make $250K a year, I clean my own house, and I survive just fine.

The people they're writing about pay more for CONVENIENCE, not necessity. They're living in $750,000 homes; spending $3000 on gifts and $5,000 on housekeeping. The fact that the author suggests that it’s “impossible” for two people who work full time to maintain a home, care for children, and dress for professional jobs without a “big outlay” (i.e., a maid, a lot of dry cleaning, etc) says it all – but what I don’t understand is how the rest of us have managed to do exactly that and not go into debt. Anyone?

I've mostly now learned that folks can't manage their money worth a damn. MSN may argue that these people are not rich, but downtrodden? In debt? Only because they're insisting on keeping up appearances. This kind of thing is why Americans have a reputation as idiots.

''Whites can hide their sexual preferences and still get all of the rights that society has to offer. I can't hide my blackness and get the rights that I'm due, so to say that this is a civil rights issue upsets me to no end.''

Another gem from Emmett Burns. 

News flash - if you have to hide something major in order to get it fair treatment under the law, you're not exactly getting all the rights that society has to offer.

What about the religious? I'm pretty sure they had some civil rights denied, maybe they could've just hidden their religions and everything would've been ok. In Germany the Jews weren't allowed to marry Germans, they probably should've just faked it and maybe they wouldn't have been murdered. /sarcasm.

You had an option for a public forum, Delegate, and you squandered it.

I wanted to take a minute to remind public servants that their job is to serve the public.

I was recently reminded of this when my former classmate, now a delegate in Maryland, sort of forgot that he was from a liberal district. He also sort of forgot that he ran on a platform of equality and sort of forgot that he promised a whole lot of people that he was going to vote to allow same sex marriage in Maryland. He also sort of forgot that he co-sponsored that bill. So basically, he lied to a whole bunch of people because he sort of forgot everything he claimed to stand for.

So, I sent him a letter. I told him that when I knew him, he had been a thoughtful and compassionate person that we were fairly well-convinced would run for President one day, due to his commitment to civil justice and public service. I told him that his going back on his word was very surprising to me, and I begged him to reconsider.

I didn’t receive a response. I asked on his facebook wall why he didn’t reply (not even a form letter!), and he unfriended me, and then deleted my post. A number of his constituents asked the same question – and also did not receive a response, and were also deleted. In fact, this delegate has refused to address these issues whatsoever and make a statement to the people who elected him.

And honestly? A form letter would have shut me up. Anything to let us know he was listening.

I just wanted to take this opportunity on my own forum to remind Sam Arora, D-Maryland, that when one’s job is public service and when one was elected by the public to serve the public, they need to respond to their public and take their concerns seriously, because they answer to the public. I hope that this delegate is able to grow up and grow a pair, instead of tweeting about 5-cent bag taxes when his constituents still want answers regarding serious matters.

I’m going to ask you to please send him an email - sam.arora@house.state.md.us – and remind him that it’s dangerous precedent for a politician and public servant to censor the public. He probably won't read it (or respond) but it will make me feel better.

An Open Letter to Emmett Burns

..in response to an article in the Washington Examiner, where Burns is quoted as saying: “ “Those who want to ride on our coattails are historically incorrect," and then asking to see the marks, scars, or bruises endured during the struggle gay Americans. “How many of you have had crosses burned on their lawns or been thrown in a police wagon?”

Dear Mr. Burns,

I had the misfortune to come across your recent comments while thumbing through some local newspapers, and I was deeply, deeply ashamed that words like that could come from an elected politician from my home state of Maryland. And then, I was furious.

Lets begin by addressing some of your points. First I’ll give you Matthew Shepard. He’s the poster boy for being beaten just for being gay. They left him on a fence in the freezing cold to die, and he suffered, and then he died.

Then I’ll give you Lawrence King. He was fifteen when he was killed for being gay. He was shot to death inside his junior high school.

And what about Steven Parrish? He was no boy scout, but he was killed for being gay. Jason Mattison, Junior. Fifteen. Raped, gagged, and stabbed to death. Both of these gentlemen were from Baltimore, Mr. Burns, your home district.

They’re all dead, so you can’t see the bruises.

But if you insist, Todd Metrokin’s pictures were published on the website of the Washington, DC City Paper after he was beaten in 2008. They called him a faggot repeatedly while they beat him. They’re still up, if you want to see them. His face is so swollen that he can barely open his eyes.

What about Jack Price? He suffered a broken jaw, fractured ribs, a lacerated spleen, and a collapse of both lungs. Helpfully, the Huffington post has a VIDEO of him being beaten if you want to watch it. If you run a Google search on his name, you find pictures of him in a coma, bruises clearly visible.

When Mr. Price woke up from his coma, he said “I thought I died.”

You want burning crosses? I’ll give you Brandon Waters, from Tennessee. Someone burned a giant cross on his front lawn. How about Roy Kirkland and his partner Doug Sebastian, from Georgia? A 7-foot cross was burned on their front lawn. They received death threats. In the end, their house was burned to the ground and they were forced to move.

These are by no means the only stories like this.

But it does answer your question - that marks, scars, bruising, death, and struggle in the name of equality are not limited to one minority group. And in my personal viewpoint, even ONE incident like any of these, for any minority, is too many, and it tells me that we need to better address tolerance in this country. And I hope that you, as a legislator, will use your time in office to do better for tolerance. I ask that you stop focusing on the ways that we are different, and remember the ways that we are exactly the same.

At least now you can no longer claim ignorance on the facts of the matter. As I think that we can all agree, ignorance is no excuse for hatred, discrimination or inequality under the law.
Sincerely,

TCoMO