School Shooting Averted +Gun Updates

WTOP reports (12/19) Police have averted a potential school shooting spree at Laurel high school in Laurel Maryland after students alerted Police about a fellow student who was believed to have access to firearms and was making threatening statements to his classmates.   Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the City of Laurel, told the radio network that he believed a potential dangerous situation was averted. 
According to Piringer, Police found some drawings, diagrams, and other written materials in the student’s locker that indicated a willingness on the part of the student to harm his fellow classmates. 

The student was escorted by police to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, the report states. 

NRA Update: Meanwhile, the NRA has broken it’s near week long silence about the shooting spree in Connecticut, adding that it is ready to engage in dialogue that will lead to meaningful solutions to prevent future massacres.  The organization is scheduled to have a press conference on Friday.
Obama’s Response: President Obama will have a press conference later today in which he will outline some of his policy proposals for responding to the massacre. However, news sources say that Vice President Joe Biden will be tasked with carving out the details of these new proposals.

Gun Hysteria Sweeps Nation: The following is an update of recent developments concerning the continued mass hysteria surrounding firearms in the United States.

-Radio stations across the country are banning two popular songs from the airwaves because of controversial lyrics. The songs are “Die Young” by Ke$ha, and “Pumped up Kicks” by Foster the People.

-The sporting goods store Dicks has suspended the sale of some or all semi-automatic weapons.

-The online store “Cheaper Than Dirt” has suspended sales of all firearms at this time.

-The ultra-violent movie “Django Unchained” has had its release date pushed back in response to the massacre. 

County Responds To Connecticut Mass Shootings

The Fairfax Times reports, (12/17) that Fairfax County Police are stepping up their presence at local area schools in the wake of a mass shooting in Connecticut that left 20 young children dead.  According to Superintendent Jack D. Dale, the additional police presence was not made in response to any specific threat, but was simply intended enhance safety and alleviate the anxieties of students and parents. 

Police At NRA Building: Fairfax County and State Police units were also stationed outside the headquarters of the National Rifle Association today.  Despite numerous threats against the organization’s headquarters, which is located in Fairfax County, only a single protestor was spotted outside of the building. 

However, plans may be in the works for more extensive protests in the near future.  At least one group with ties to the Occupy Wall Street movement is planning to “Occupy the NRA.” 

So far the pro-gun rights organization has remained silent in the face of the horrific massacre. 

Fairfax News Break

Abduction and Robbery: WTOP (12/13) reports on an abduction and robbery that started out in Fairfax, and ended in Woodbridge.  According to the victim, a 56 year old woman, two men, one armed with a gun, took her from her apartment in Falls Church Virginia, forced her into a car, and drove her to her home in Woodbridge in Prince William County where she was allegedly robbed.

Serial Groper Strikes 12^th Victim: Police have identified a 49 year old woman as the 12^th victim of a serial groper who has victimized numerous women in the West Springfield district of the County.  The suspect is described as a Hispanic male wearing a red baseball cap. He is 5-foot-6 inches tall and appears to be in his late 20s.

County Executive proposes Overhaul of Employee Pay System: The Fairfax Times (12/13) reports that County Executive Ed Long is proposing a significant overhaul of the employee payment system in anticipation of a significant budget shortfall over the next two years.  Under the new system employees would receive a cost of living increase in odd numbered years and would be eligible for performance based bonuses in even numbered years.  “Still, trying to find $19 [million] or $20 million in the budget is going to be a challenge, but it’s much more doable,” Long was quoted as saying.  Fairfax County has around 11,000 people in its workforce. 

Tasteless Christmas Carols Poison Season

A liberal activist group, Progress Virginia, gathered in Tysons Corner recently to sing their own version of Christmas Carols for the purpose of protesting imminent spending cuts that will automatically occur as a result of the "fiscal cliff."

According to the WTOP report, the demonstrators changed the lyrics of various Christmas Carols to reflect their political message. For example, "dashing through the snow" from the song "Jingle Bells" became "dashing to the cliff."

My Take:


We the American people have just been through a very difficult period of partisan tension, and I think the vast majority of us would love nothing more than to tune out all of the dreary news coming out of Washington these days. 

I understand that the next few weeks in Washington are going to have a very dramatic impact on all of our lives, but I think our representatives understand this, and understand the importance of reaching or not reaching an agreement on the nation's finances. 

Without a doubt, there will be plenty of opportunities for austerity protests, and austerity riots from the left when the new year begins. (If austerity even happens at all)

There will also be plenty of opportunities for conservatives to commiserate about our current President's policies in the new year.

But until then, let's all just try to make the most of the Christmas season by focusing on our families and taking stock of what we have to be grateful for. 

So here's to a non-partisan, Christmas for all.

Carnage and Chaos

Once upon a time Fairfax was a nice little suburban community with low crime and tolerable traffic. Back then, you could walk around your neighborhood and genuinely feel safe.
That was then, this is now.
Carnage and mayham are now the norm for the County.  Although the crime rate remains low for a population center of 1.5 million, the things that are going on sound crazier and crazier. Here is a list of some of the crazy things going on around the County.
Murder In Franconia
The Washington Post reported on the brutal murder of a man in the Franconia District on Friday.  According to the report, one of the tenants of a townhouse decided to bludgeon his landlord to death with some kind of blunt object.  The murder then led to a manhunt that lasted for several hours.
Take Away: Be careful who you rent out a room to in Fairfax County.
Out of Control Driving
Earlier in the week, WTOP reported that a drunk driver crashed into the headquarters of the Fairfax City Police Department causing $10,000 in damage.  All I can say is that this guy must have been pretty drunk to crash into a Police Station.
Attempted Abduction/Sexual Assault
Although it went un-reported in the press, a press release from the Police described a disturbing incident that occurred in Chantilly last week.  According to the incident report, a young woman was assailed by a young man, who attempted to abduct and sexually assault her.
Take Away: All the single ladies…get a concealed carry permit.

So if you are out and about in Fairfax tonight. Stay safe!

Creeping Commercialism On Thanksgiving

Several stores in the local area have decided to start their “Black Friday” sales a little early, by opening on Thanksgiving this year. 

Wal-Mart stores will be open at 8:00 p.m., Target Corp. will be open at 9:00 p.m. Sears and Toys-R-Us will also open at 8:00 pm tonight. 

There are really two dynamics at work here.  First, stores want to gain a competitive advantage on an important day for sales.  At least one source estimates that stores which choose not to open on Thanksgiving would see sales decline by around 20-25% over stores that do open on Thanksgiving.

Another reason is the obvious security implications of having a midnight “rush” of sleep deprived shoppers hitting the stores at a very late hour.  In the past few years, reports of assaults, and stampedes have trickled in from around the country, sometimes even resulting in fatalities.

By opening the stores a few hours early, these outlets could potentially reduce the adverse effects of these manic crowds.  

But where does this all end?

At least one Catholic Bishop has spoken out against the continuing trend of opening stores earlier and earlier.  This Bishop argues that the practice is depriving families of much needed time together by forcing some to work on this cherished Holiday, while luring everyone else to go off shopping. 

In addition, some Walmart workers are fed up with having to work on yet another Holiday and are planning to walk out from a few locations in California. 

Personally, I’m of the opinion that the commercialized madness really needs to stop.  After-all,  are consumers really saving anything from all of these “sales?”   

I-95 Express Lanes Open

The biggest change to the region’s transportation system is causing chaos all over Northern Virginia.  As of Saturday, two new express lanes opened on I-95, the beltway, in Northern Virginia.  The new lanes are designed to get traffic moving, and can arguably get you into the District faster, but at a price.  Commuters are going to have to cough up their cold hard cash to use the toll lanes, either acquiring an EZ pass transponder, or paying $12.50 if they do not have a transponder.

They’re also causing a lot of confusion on the roads along with traffic delays.  While minor accidents were reported on Saturday, major problems didn’t start until the Monday morning commute. 

A four car accident was reported at 6:30 a.m. this morning, causing a complete block of the north bound entrance to I95 via Braddock road. News reporters and police have also observed numerous cars frantically trying to swerve out of the toll lanes to avoid having to pay up. 

But the big test is going to be this upcoming holiday weekend, when out of state drivers will try their luck with the new lanes.

So what will happen next? Are these express lanes becoming an expressway to traffic hell?

Loudoun Gets Ready For Christmas Showdown

Get ready folks, the Christmas season is about to begin. 

According to a WTOP report, Loudoun County is bracing for a holiday display that is inevitably going to offend someone.  At a cost to the taxpayers of $3,400 the county will offer a holiday display outside the local courthouse that is representative of the Christian, and Jewish religions, and an atheist group. 

Last year, a peculiar display of a skeleton Santa Clause hanging from a cross was just too much for some people to handle.  The display was defaced, and ultimately taken down after severe adverse public reaction.

It’s unknown whether the skeleton will be coming back this time around.

My take: I’m more puzzled about the odd looking skeleton Santa Clause than anything else.  Is it meant to be anti-Christmas or anti-Christmas? Or maybe it could be a statement lamenting an apparent decline in Christian influence on American public life?  Whatever the reasoning behind the display, it is not obvious what message the display is trying to convey.  So how can that be offensive?

My Two Cents: During Christmas, it seems like it’s almost impossible to offend someone.  Local governments need to just man up and do one of two things.  Either honor the Christmas holiday by allowing religiously appropriate displays and put up with a lawsuit from some curmudgeon atheist group, or don’t display anything at all.  Trying to make everyone happy with this multi-display stuff is really starting to get out of hand.

Creeper Assaults Teen Girl

A creep assaulted a 17 year old girl in the women’s rest room of Thomas Jefferson Library in Fairfax, WTOP reports.  According to the Police, the assault happened on Tuesday night and occurred after the girl attempted to evade a man who was following her around, by escaping to the bathroom.

Bad idea…

The man just followed her into the bathroom, shoved and touched her, then fled the scene.

Suspect Description: Black male with a medium brown complexion, between 5-feet-7-inches and 5-feet-10-inches tall and weighing between 160 and 180 pounds.  Other features include  a shaved, bald head, brown eyes, a gap in his front teeth and a scar running across his forehead.  The suspect was wearing a pale green, long-sleeved shirt with khaki pants.

Anyone with a relevant tip is encouraged to call: (703) 691-2131.