I will try to do a live blogging session tomorrow on BlueNC from the NCCU campus in Durham where Barack Obama will host a massive "countdown to change" rally.
The Obama campaign has given Me press credentials and I've been assured that the whole campus there is wirelessly connected.
I plan on starting at 4.30 pm, Obama is Scheduled to speak at 5 pm. So head on over to BlueNC at 4.30 pm if you want to follow the event live.
In case you will be attending yourself, they had to move the event from the Gym to the O'Kelly Riddick Stadium because of the overwhelming demand for tickets and they plan on opening the doors already at 3 pm to allow the thousands of expected supporters to get in on time.
I will post an extensive report on the event on here as soon as I get home. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Live blogging tomorrow: Obama in Durham, NC
Monday, October 29, 2007
Monday blues
This is the first installment of my new weekly post to chase away that "Monday blues" feeling.
I plan on serving up some humor every Monday to make you forget that you just started a new work week.
If you want to get a preview of what the Republican presidential nominee is going to talk about a lot next year, you just have to watch this compilation of the 2004 republican national convention.
If only the guy who got the most votes actually had won the 2000 presidential election...
You haven't voted in this years municipal elections yet? Maybe you should let the guys from SouthPark explain to you how important it is to vote.
And finally, with Halloween around the corner, it's good to know the 5 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Apocalypse Could Actually Happen. Let's hope Al Gore does something to prevent it.
I hope your week started off good!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Congressman Hayes would prefer you smoke instead of having a healthy kid.
Unbelievable. That was my first reaction when I heard How Robin Hayes keeps voting against the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill. I'm pretty sure you'll agree with Me after you read what his reasoning behind his vote is.
I didn't write this post to debate the actual SCHIP program, although I will do that soon, but I just wanted everyone to realize why Robin Hayes says he keeps voting against it. You see, even if you're a republican you'll have to agree that Hayes' logic on this one is extremely twisted.
Contrary to what I hear from most republicans, including our dearest President, Hayes is not against the SCHIP bill because it would "be a first step toward government run healthcare....bla bla....communists....9/11". That logic is crazy and dead wrong, but at least there's some logic to it.
No, Hayes is all for SCHIP, the only thing he disagrees with is the way it is funded. The way the expansion of the SCHIP program would be paid for is by raising the taxes on a pack of cigarettes by 61 cents. He fears it would hurt the North Carolina tobacco industry.
First of all, I don't think anyone is going to stop smoking because they would have to pay 61 cents more for a pack of cigs. Even if they do, is that a problem? I thought that quitting smoking was a good thing?
Tell me honestly, would you have a problem paying 3 cents more per cigarette you smoke if you knew that this money would pay for health care for millions of children?? Apparently Hayes thinks you'd have a problem with that.
Hayes quotes some economist that's been working for the tobacco industry for years and he estimates the damage to the NC tobacco industry would be $540 million. I seriously doubt these numbers because, like I said, I don't believe anyone is going to stop smoking because a cigarette costs 3 cents more. Even if you do believe this number, there is one thing Hayes forgets to mention.
He forgets to tell you that on Oct. 22, 2004, President George W. Bush signed legislation creating the Tobacco Transition Payment Program, better known as the tobacco buyout. This program pours approximately $3.9 billion into the North Carolina Tobacco farmers' pockets over a 10-year period. According to the program "Growers must use their producer payments to transition to a new era of tobacco production, out of tobacco production to other agricultural enterprises, or out of tobacco production to a non-farming occupation." So basically, it pays tobacco farmers to switch their business to growing something else.
The conclusion is that Hayes feels sorry for NC tobacco farmers because now, according to his own numbers, they'll only get $3.36 billion in taxpayers' money ($3.9 billion - the $540 million in "damages"). Awww... don't you feel sorry for them too?
I came up with a solution for Hayes that would let him support the tobacco industry and at the same time allow him to vote for SCHIP. Why doesn't he start a program to encourage as many kids as possible to start smoking? These kids would then support our tobacco industry and at the same time pay for their own health care program through the taxes they pay on their pack of cigs. Brilliant!
Seriously though, we need a representative in Congress who understands what "regular people" in our 8th Congressional district go through every day and how a lot of us are really struggling and having a hard time ensuring our kids have healthcare. Robin Hayes didn't have to struggle one minute of his life, he doesn't understand us and he never will. We don't need someone who was born with a silver spoon representing us in Washington, we need one of us. One of us last time came within 300 votes of firing Hayes from his job and next year he'll be giving Hayes his pink slip.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Can a senator from North Carolina be gay?
If your answer would be "Yes of course, why do you even ask such a stupid question?", you and I will get along just fine.
This past Saturday the, so far only, Democratic candidate to take on Elizabeth Dole for her US Senate seat was answering live questions on another favorite blog hangout of mine.
That candidate is Jim Neal.
At one point in the question and answer session the following came up:
Question: I've heard you're gay...Neal went on to write that he plans to win the race and is "not running to make some social statement."
Answer: I am indeed. No secret and no big deal to me-- I wouldn't be running if I didn't think otherwise.
"When people meet me, they'll see beyond the labels and into my character," he wrote.
Does the sexual orientation of a political candidate matter? Of course it doesn't. Does it matter to a bunch of right-wing nutjobs? You bet it does.
What a lot of republicans will forget is that they already have gay representatives in their own ranks, e.g. Senator Larry "wide stance" Craig from Idaho.
The difference is that gays in the republican party have to remain hidden and lie about their true nature or they'll be forever banished.
There's plenty of other national republican figures, even from North Carolina, that have a lot of questions about their sexuality circulating around them. You'll never hear them openly say that they're gay though, because that pisses off the oh so important "conservative values" voter block within the republican party. How you can call being homophobic a "value" is beyond me.
Something else that's not a value is total hypocrisy, which brings me to the following.
Sen. John Ensign, who chairs the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, made clear that he wants embattled Sen. Craig to leave the Senate immediately. Ensign said:
"He pled guilty to something that, you know lewd behavior, that's not the behavior a United States senator should be engaged in."What Mr. Ensign forgets to mention is that he never asked another republican Senator, David Vitter, to resign even though Vitter has admitted to committing a "serious sin" with a Washington prostitute when he served in the House.
There are even stories saying that Vitter also frequented prostitutes in his native Louisiana.
The difference? Vitter isn't gay.
Saturday's conversation gave a lot of reasons why you should vote for Jim Neal next year although I'm sure the press will focus on the "gay issue".
Jim Neal's 5 priorities: restoring Protecting our nation and its freedoms, fiscal responsibility, health care for all Americans, protecting our environment and restoring government accountability to the voters who elect and pay the freight for the elected reps.
Some of his statements on Saturday:
"I'm running to lead in the Senate for the voters in NC-- something Senator Dole has not done."
"We have no choice-- as a state and a nation-- to move with a sense of urgency to make up ground and move forward with light speed to address the assault on our environment which this Administration has ignored. Our state and its natural resources and incredible and are treasure we can't lose-- and that's one battlefront which has been ignored."
"When I win, I will represent every voter and citizen of this state regardless of whether they supported me or not. That's the right thing to do. It's what I believe a good leader should do."
"NCLB (No Child left Behind) simply don't work. It's flawed in concept, doesn't engender positive outcomes and is underfunded by about, say, $50 billion. Catchy name with no substance or money to match the moniker."
"As someone who's done a lot of fundraising, I've always referred to political dollars as "the dirty underbelly of democracy." It's repugnant the amount of money required to mount a national campaign-- which I'll do-- but it's gotta change. Public financing across-the-board: the only way to take dollars out of the equation. This is an election, not an auction."
"We are a noble republic made up of giving and generous people. However, we are trapped by a misguided Administration with misplaced priotities-- or in kid-speak, they got lost in a forest and can't find their way home. However, a rescue team is on the way."Folks, get on over to Jim Neal's website and let him know how much you appreciate an honest and open candidate. While you're there, don't forget to send him some monetary love.
Read More......
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
I'll be back Sunday.
I'm packing my bags right now to leave for the ConvergeSouth Conference in Greensboro.
ConvergeSouth is a free bloggers conference and it's a great opportunity to learn what's happening behind the scenes on the intertubes in North Carolina.
It's a great conference with lots of how-to info on all aspects of citizen journalism, new media, social networking and more.
If you want to attend, it's not too late! Just surf to the website and sign up.
I'll see you guys after the weekend, unless I have some time available to send some live comments from the conference floor.
By the way, early voting for the municipal elections starts tomorrow! For more information on the candidates, visit my Google map.
Have a nice weekend!
End of the jail trail?
In case you missed it, the County Commissioner meeting of last Monday was also interesting because a final "compromise" on the construction of the downtown jail housing unit got voted down.
Commissioner Grace Mynatt proposed to reduce the size of the building by leaving the top 2 floors off the planned 6 story building. Only Coy Privette agreed with her and so the proposition got voted down by 3 votes to 2.
Immediately after that Commissioner Juba introduced a resolution demanding that this would be the last time a jail "compromise" would be discussed.
Apparently Grace Mynatt felt personally hurt by this resolution saying that it was "totally unnecessary and uncalled for" and stating that "you know this would be the last time anyway". This resolution also got voted down because only Joni Juba and Bob Carruth voted in favor of it.
We now have to wait for the decision of the N.C. Court of Appeals in the lawsuit filed by 11 downtown residents against the city of Concord for granting the county a conditional use permit to build the jail, which should come within 3 months.
In case the court rules in favor of the City of Concord (and so also in favor of the County), the start of construction would be within a year unless the decision gets appealed to the NC Supreme Court. It could take up to a year for construction to really start because of applications that need to be done, reviewed and approved, and because after that the bidding process needs to run it's course.
In the probably unlikely scenario that the court rules in favor of the plaintiffs, we're back to square one.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Coy Privette isn't resigning (yet), seems to blame his wife.
I had a blast at the County Commissioner meeting last night. It was hard not to laugh out loud and at one point I did.
The antics of Coy Privette are getting more and more ridiculous. All the other Commissioners really can't stand him anymore and it shows. At one point Commissioner White accused Privette of not being able to read and there were a lot of "testy" exchanges between Commissioner Carruth and Privette.
The item on the agenda that dealt directly with Coy Privette was a "report by the County Attorney, Richard Koch, on possible actions with regard to Commissioner Privette". Richard Koch told the commissioners their legal ability to take action against Privette, such as restricting his participation on committees, was limited.
Koch said any move to curtail Privette’s activities as a commissioner would probably be overturned if challenged in court.
However, They could "censure" him, which is basically an official reprimand.
Commissioner White then made a motion to publicly censure Coy Privette, stating “I’ve heard judges say one time is a mistake, two times is a pattern,” he then added “Six times is a history.” (You will remember that Privette was convicted of 6 counts of "aiding and abetting prostitution".)
County Attorney Koch suggested that such a resolution should be drafted in advance of the vote being taken. All the Commissioners agreed with this and so the censure resolution is to come before the board next month.
Privette has stated he would resign his seat when a replacement is named, and only after his house in Kannapolis is sold. He's said moving away is the only reason he would leave the board and his possible resignation wouldn't have anything to do with his legal troubles. *cough* liar *cough*
The problem is that it's pretty hard to sell your house if isn't for sale at all. I drove by there again today and there is still no "for sale" sign on his lawn and his house isn't listed on any Realtor website. When asked about this by reporters yesterday, I heard Mr. Privette explain that his wife doesn't want to have any people in their house until it is in "tip-top shape" and that "there were painters over there today".
Apparently it took Mr. Privette a month to be able to hire painters.
Of course while i drove by his house I also didn't see any painters, nor any vehicle in the driveway. It certainly doesn't look like there is anyone at work in that house and from the outside it looks in perfect shape to be sold.
When asked by a Charlotte Observer reporter when his house would be ready for the market, he answered, "I don't have the slightest idea."
When it comes to finding a successor, Mr. Privette is in a complete stalemate with the Executive Committee of the Cabarrus County Republican Party, because Privette doesn't want to resign until a successor that he likes is chosen, while according to state laws the Republican Party can't search for a successor until there is a vacancy on the board.
Privette said that Robert Freeman, a previous member and chairman of the Board of Commissioners, would be his first choice as a successor. It figures that Mr. Privette would say that since Mr. Freeman has always been in the back pocket of Privette and I'm sure Coy would love to have a puppet that he could control on the Board of Commissioners.
Regarding the censure resolution to be presented next month, Privette told a Salisbury Post reporter during a recess at Monday's meeting that he wanted to see what it contained.
"They might say something favorable about me," Privette said.
I think Mr. Privette will be sorely disappointed.
So next month's Commissioner meeting promises to be one filled with fireworks.
Keep the evening of November 19 free on your calendar, I might need you to be there ;-)
Sunday, October 14, 2007
The next chapter in the Privette soap: tomorrow!
As a kid I used to watch "Dallas" on TV with my parents.
I must say that these days Coy Privette outperforms Dallas By far.
From refusing to resign as commissioner after hiring a prostitute 6 times, to announcing he will resign after all, to basically saying he will only resign if he can handpick his successor, to saying he will resign after his house will get sold while his house isn't even for sale, this soap keeps going on and on.
I wholeheartedly invite you to join me at the County Commissioner meeting tomorrow, because this is the best live entertainment you can see and it's totally free!
The meeting starts at 6.30 in the County Governmental building on Church Street in Concord. You can click here to see a map and get directions.
You might recall the last chapter in the Coy soap as i reported about it in an earlier post.
As far as I know the story hasn't really evolved much since then, although I'm sure there have been a lot of discussions going on behind closed doors. Basically, Privette refuses to resign until he agrees with whoever succeeds him, while the Executive Committee of the Republican party (who by law needs to appoint the successor) refuses to discuss any successors until Privette resigns.
To turn up the pressure on Privette, his colleague commissioners have asked the County Attorney to make report on how they can limit Privette’s role as representative of the board and the county. They will receive that report tomorrow and then decide on further actions.
Knowing Privette a little by now, I'm sure he'll pull another surprise out off his hat.
Speaking of soaps, there's another one on the program for tomorrow. Commissioners will also review a “final” (we've heard that before) compromise proposed for the controversial 480-bed downtown jail housing unit. Commissioner Grace Mynatt has worked with local residents, who filed a lawsuit against the City of Concord for granting the county a conditional use permit to build the jail, to find a redesign that could meet current jail space needs, but also end the lawsuit.
Other important items on the County Commissioner meeting agenda tomorrow are:
* Commissioners will consider beginning the process to issue up to $145 million in certificate of participation bonds (COPs) in January to address major school construction funding.
* Commissioners agreed to partner with Kannapolis and contribute up to $168.4 million in taxes for 20 years from a district surrounding the campus to pay off bonds for community improvements needed for the campus’ success.
Commissioners want to see if the county’s contributions to the bonds may begin to decline once Kannapolis sees revenue from campus taxes.
You can find the complete agenda for tomorrow's meeting on the Cabarrus County website.
It promises to be an exciting meeting tomorrow. I'll see you there.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Robin Hayes swears he doesn't have cooties.
Our local excuse for a congressman, Robin Hayes(R), is ticked off.
No, he isn't ticked off about jobs shipping to Central America and He certainly isn't ticked off by millions of poor children without health insurance, Robin Hayes is upset because he is convinced that people in Washington think he has cooties.
You can find the full story in today's Charlotte Observer.The House Homeland Security Committee planned a fact-finding trip about public health preparedness at mass gatherings and decided to conduct the research at two of the nation's most heavily attended sporting events, NASCAR's Bank of America 500 event this weekend and the UAW-Ford 500 last weekend.
Rep. Robin Hayes, a Republican from Concord, was upset when he heard about it.
Staff who organized the trips advised the NASCAR-bound aides to get a range of vaccines before attending -- hepatitis A, hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria and influenza."I have never heard of immunizations for domestic travel, and as the representative for Concord, N.C., I feel compelled to ask why the heck the committee feels that immunizations are needed to travel to my hometown," Hayes said in an Oct. 5 letter to Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who chairs the Homeland Security panel.
Now, I most admit that I don't believe you need to be immunized to go to Lowe's Motor Speedway. The worst thing you can catch there is redneck fever or, on rare occasions, a tire on your head.
What Mr. Hayes doesn't seem to understand is that congressional staff wasn't advised to get immunized because they went to a NASCAR race, but because they were going to visit hospitals and various medical holding areas."Since committee staff members are visiting hospital and other health-care facilities available at or near these venues, including areas where groups of people are detained before being transferred to other off-site facilities, I believe that the recommendation (not requirement) that our congressional staff receive these same immunizations was sound," Thompson said in a letter responding to Hayes issued Wednesday.
You also can't really blame some folks in Congress for thinking we have some strange diseases in this area, since they probably base their beliefs on observing Robin Hayes from day to day, and he has had quite a few medical issues in the past few years.
He went from contracting the flip-flopping virus (aka CAFTA syndrome), to catching Crusader fever, to getting a serious SCHIP rash. Lately he's even been known to come into contact with quite a few rabid dogs.
So come on down Congressional staff, you don't really need vaccinations to visit my town as long as you stay out of the vicinity of Mr. Hayes.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Fired up: Obama in Rock Hill, SC
(Click on pictures to enlarge them.)
I had the pleasure of attending a big spirited rally for Barack Obama in Rock Hill, SC yesterday. I thought you might like to read a report on the event.
The Gym of the Northwestern High School in Rock Hill was packed to the brim with over 2000 supporters.
I was surprised to see a very diverse crowd there (I had expected a predominantly African American group), from disabled veterans to young teenagers, from black to white, young and old.
The doors opened up at 6.45 pm and Senator Obama took the stage at 7.45. He spoke for a little more than an hour. He was introduced by Congressman John Spratt after the local marching band played a few tunes.
Obama spoke in front of a rowdy crowd in Rock Hill, receiving loud applause at points in his speech.
"The reason you're here, let's face it, is that you're sick and tired of George Bush," he said.
Obama's speech emphasized hope for the future and the need for substantial political change.
He spent quite some time in his speech defending himself from the critics that are saying he "doesn't have enough experience" and "doesn't know how to play the game in Washington".
In an obvious swipe at fellow contender Hillary Clinton he stated: "We don't need somebody who knows how to play the game better, we need somebody to put an end to the game playing and change the game".
Naturally, there was a lot of talk about the war in Iraq.
Obama harshly criticized President Bush for pursuing what he called, "a war of passion, not of reason". Obama was always against this war and has consistently voted against it.
He pledged to call the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the White House the day after he gets sworn in to start pulling our troops back.
He received an equally loud response when he proposed increasing the minimum wage every year and criticized the No Child Left Behind education program.
Other highlights of His speech talked about raising vehicle emissions standards to decrease dependency on foreign oil and providing health care to all Americans.
Obama also touted the need for open government and pledged to be honest about where he stands on issues and what his plans are.
He ended his speech by having the crowd chant "fired up" and "ready to go" and concluded with a marching order: "Let's go change the world."
I left being thoroughly impressed with a man that just radiates charisma and really seems to mean what he says.
He's got my vote.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Putting people before money for a change.
Concord City Council members voted unanimously Monday to halt construction on a drag strip that's being built at the Lowe's Motor Speedway complex, according to the Charlotte Observer.
A surprising move since proponents claim the drag strip would bring high-paying jobs and millions of dollars in needed tax revenues to Concord.
I applaud the City Council members for choosing the health of people above the almighty dollar for once.
Speedway owner Bruton "I can do whatever I want" Smith in August announced plans to build the drag strip, saying then that racing would begin next spring. The land for the drag strip backs up to neighborhoods and businesses, including a hotel and convention center.
Smith Apparently thinks he's the king of the land around here and started grading his land about a week ago, without even applying for the required permits. The council's vote Monday changed the zoning on Smith's property to bar drag strips.
Last week, Smith said city officials "weren't doing enough" to back motor sports and threatened legal action if the council intervened in his project. If you've ever driven anywhere near Lowe's Motor Speedway during race week in May or October, you know Mr. Smith is full of it when he says that Concord isn't doing enough.
Residents can already see construction for the drag strip from their backyards.
The National Hot Rod Association, the organization that sanctions the nation's top drag racing series, has an "inaugural" race event scheduled for Sept 11-14 2008, according to insiders this would be on the new drag strip in Concord.
Not surprisingly, people who live in a subdivision that's not even a mile away from the proposed site aren't too happy to see this circus arrive in their backyards, the noise pollution being their main worry. Apparently Speedway Motorsports representatives don't want to provide data to show how loud noise from the drag strip would be.
If you want to hear for yourself, watch the following video after you turn up the speakers on your computer:
This is not the first time Bruton Smith thinks he can do whatever he wants to. In 2004 Mr. Smith wanted to build a new Parking lot for the Motor Speedway. The land he wanted to do this on was within the Mecklenburg County limits. To get Charlotte's approval to build a parking lot, Lowe's Motor Speedway agreed to protect hundreds of trees. Three months later, it bulldozed almost all of them.
Let's hope the City of Concord can stop him this time before he does any irreparable damage.
