General Assembly Hard At Work

It seems like every year, state legislators work very hard to pass more laws, criminalizing and regulating even more behavior than the previous year.  Indeed, wouldn’t it make sense for us to ask our legislators how many bad laws they managed to repeal this session? Unfortunately, that is not how our political system works.

All that being said, some laws are simply honest attempts to fix other laws that have proven ineffective or have had unintended consequences for the public after they were enacted.
Since the actions of the General Assembly will undoubtedly affect our lives here in Fairfax County, here is a small list of some of the more interesting laws being considered this session.

SB 786, introduced by Democratic Sen. Dave Marsden of Burke, would impose a $250 civil fine for failing to report to law enforcement that a firearm he or she lawfully possesses is lost or stolen.

Another gun law to watch for is SB911, which was introduced by Sen. Janet Howell of Reston. This proposed law would require criminal background checks for any firearms sold at gun show events, even ones that are sold by a non-licensed vendor outside the ordinary course of business.
These look like the token gun control legislation that Democrats try to push through every year.  While its outlook remains doubtful, the Newtown shooting event may make measures like these more attractive in the public eye. 

Meanwhile HB1357 introduced by Tom Rust of Herndon would make texting while driving a primary offense.  Currently, the secondary nature of this offense means that the police cannot pull you over if they see you texting in your vehicle.  However, if they pull you over for speeding, they can charge you with the additional offense of texting.  With the new law, the Police will be able to make a traffic stop and fine you for texting if they see it while patrolling around. 

Fairfax Spared Wrath Of Sequestration

Thanks to the fiscal cliff compromise it looks like Fairfax has temporarily been spared the full wrath of  defense spending cuts known as sequestration.

Some sources were reporting yesterday that as many as 800,000 federal contractors would have received layoff notices as early as Wednesday if the sequester had gone into effect.  The local region in turn could have lost as many as 100,000 jobs.  This in turn could have easily turned into an economic disaster for the local area as the resulting job losses would have spilled over into the broader economy. 

Unfortunately, we are not out of the woods yet. Congress only delayed the cuts by two months.  Republicans are hoping to use the sequester as leverage in another debt ceiling deal with President Obama. 

The fiscal cliff deal also saw tax rates rise, and not just for wealthy Americans either.

WTOP published an article that breaks down expected tax increases for 2013 based on income level. 

Unfortunately, every income level will see their tax levels increase at the start of the new year. 

So at the start of the new year, we are all facing higher taxes and potentially massive layoffs in the months to come.

Happy 2013 indeed!

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!