What to do with the downtown YWCA?

GREENSBORO, NC --


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I had a nice talk with former city council candidate Julie Lapham this morning about the vacant YWCA building downtown. As the News & Record reported, the price has been cut on the building for a second time, it's down to $1.7 million.

Julie says there are some good ideas floating around out there for possible uses for the place. She'd like to see it accommodate a one-stop clearinghouse for human services, housing representatives from legal aide and law enforcement to refugee services and housing assistance. Another idea, possibly in tandem with the clearing house, is for a theater -- a performance space for the public performance arts agencies such as Community Theatre of Greensboro, Greensboro Ballet, Greensboro Children's Theatre and the myriad other performance groups currently lacking a modern, affordable and appropriately-sized theater.

Personally, the theater appeals to me. The idea of a downtown theater for the community performance groups is something I've long thought would be of great benefit to Greensboro. Doing it right would include a scene shop and rehearsal space.

Any ideas for new uses of this property are going to require some substantial funds both for purchase and rehabilitation, and the commercial options are limited -- Julie says McDonalds looked, but declined because of the limited access. As I told Julie, this is probably a terrible time for projects that would require public monies, but Julie thinks that might not be necessary. She thinks that with the right plan, Greensboro citizens would fund its capitalization through contributions. I think she might be right.

Clark gets another right

Doug Clark of the (Greensboro) News & Record:

"Our law does not allow a natural mother or father to share legal parenthood with a domestic partner -- same-sex or heterosexual. To allow adoption, the natural parent must either marry his or her partner (not legal for same-sex couples in North Carolina, of course) or give up his or her own parental rights -- which just makes no sense."

Rhino editor Hammer mistaken in Yost boast

GREENSBORO, NC -- News & Record editor John Robinson writes to say that the N&R article about Guilford County's questionable real estate broker arrangement did not only appear in their Google-proof e-edition, but also in the printed newspaper on October 4, 2010. (see: If a tree falls in the forest...)

That doesn't let the News & Record off the hook for their backasswards approach to the internet (there are consequences to hiding your online content) but it does make Rhino Times editor John Hammer quite mistaken in his boast that Rhino writer Scott Yost scooped the N&R with his story of December 4th.

If a tree falls in the forest; or the stupidity of the News & Record's secret internet

[UPDATE: Rhino editor mistaken.]

GREENSBORO, NC -- Several months ago, the News & Record started putting some of its online content behind a registration wall in a proprietary format. They call it the "e-edition." Human access requires coughing up your email address, age, gender and zip code; the content is invisible to search engines and its pages un-linkable. (Ed Cone refers to it as "the Google-proof vault.")

Heretofore deaf to the complaints of bloggers and blind to the drastic consequence of being ignored by Google, the News & Record may finally have bumped up against unavoidable evidence that their secret internet is really detrimental to one of the core missions of a news organization which, I assume (correct me if I'm wrong), is the dissemination of news.

At his blog today, N&R editor John Robinson bemoans the fact that weekly print competitor The Rhino Times is taking credit for breaking a story. Not so fast, says Robinson: "We wrote about it three months ago."

I went to the Google. I couldn't find it. I wrote to Robinson and asked for a link. He can't give me one: "It was in the e-edition," he explained.

While Robinson explains away the Rhino stealing the N&R's thunder as the result of "the holiday news doldrums," the undeniable truth is that it is really a consequence of the News & Record making its news invisible. (If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it...)

Whoever sold the N&R on the "e-edition," no, wait, scratch that: whoever bought into this idea at the N&R is either hostile to or ignorant of the power of the internet and a news organization's place in it. They, it's plain, should not be in position to make these kinds of decisions. The N&R needs some new blood in leadership positions, and fast.

Clark pwns Munger

GREENSBORO, NC -- The News & Record's Doug Clark counters Duke professor (and former gubernatorial candidate for whom I voted) Mike Munger's counter to Clark's original editorial on the state's new instant runoff voting. It is Clark's best explanation yet of the scheme's flaws. Clark:

On top of its other faults, IRV is arbitrary. Why not just count first- and second-choice votes? If that had been done, Thigpen's initial lead over McCullough probably would have held up. Why add third-choice votes? That's sliding further from the voters' real preference. Or if the idea is just to count more votes, how about giving voters fourth and fifth choices? Or let them rank all candidates in order of preference? That would be worse, in my view, but it's no less logical than the IRV format applied in this race.

Civitas spam, spyware

I received an unsolicited email "newsletter" from John Pope's Civitas Institute this morning. I'm not sure how they got my email although one thing is certain, I did not provide it to Civitas and I did not ask to receive their newsletter.

That Civitas is spamming me is bad enough, but here is where it becomes really annoying and a stupendously bad public relations move by Civitas: They provided my email address to a third party to send and track the emails. Without my knowledge or consent, Civitas has delivered my email address to iContact.com. The email itself is embedded with tracking schemes through iContacts' domain icptrack.com. Even clicking on a link that appears to be to an article at the Civitas' web site is routed first through a tracking relay at icptrack.com. It's spying.

Worst of all, to unsubscribe, one must click through to iContact.com, a well-known means by which spammers confirm that an email address is valid. Sure, it may stop email from Civitas, but iContact gets a confirmation of a valid email address -- to then use or sell to others if they wish.

The Civitas email contained a solicitation for donations. Here's my answer: No way in hell.

The long and winding road -- every morning

GREENSBORO, NC -- I was speaking to an acquaintance at a party on Friday and she told me that she and her husband are retiring from their News & Record paper route at the end of the year, she after more than 22 years on the job. 

I thought that was remarkable -- that someone would stick with such an unconventional job for so long. More remarkable, I thought, because she also has a professional day job that makes getting up at 3:30 every morning seem impossible to do for the decades she has done it. 

Yet, News & Record editor John Robinson tells me she's not alone: "I’m told that we have several carriers with 30 years on the job and at least one who has been delivering papers for more than 34 years," he writes.  

Amazing. While they apparently don't have the "record," congratulations to Frances and Tom Deering for their dedication. Now get some sleep. 

Local hooping awesomeness

GREENSBORO, NC -- I admire people who take their interests to the level of exceptional, even if it's something we might normally think of as simple. Like this:

WXLV, WMYV -- let 'em go Time Warner Cable

GREENSBORO, NC -- Dick Barron of the News & Record reports that Time Warner Cable (TWC) and Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBGI) have been unable to negotiate a contract that would keep WXLV, the local ABC affiliate, and sister station WMYV on TWC's local cable lineup.

I'm no apologist for Time Warner Cable, their Road Runner internet service has been degrading in quality, performing far below advertised speeds; I'm tired of the dance we have to do every year where they raise my rates and I have to plead with a "retention specialist" to get them back down to a sane price; and they've earned plenty of lingering ill will from when they tried to make Greensboro one of their experimental markets for metered internet usage fees. Should my discussions next month with the "retention specialist" not be resolved satisfactorily, I won't continue as a Time Warner Cable customer.

For now, I remain a customer though and if one of the excuses Time Warner Cable has for trying to raise rates is that its content providers are charging more I would rather they keep costs down and drop WXLV and WMYV from the lineup.

The two shows the Sinclair stations offer in which I have any interest, The Office and Entourage, are also available on other channels and online. The rest is a bunch of crap targeted to the dumbest of trailer park morons. Family Feud? The People's Court? Jerry Springer? Dancing with the Stars? Who cares? They also are the only network-affiliated local station that has no local news. I would not miss them a bit if they disappeared from local cable; and if their absence makes it a little easier for me to negotiate my rates with Time Warner Cable back to normal, all the better.

Moody

GREENSBORO, NC -- One of my favorite local blogs, among many, is Greensboro Daily Photo. Its authors, described only as a husband and wife team who "have roots going back many generations here," capture Greensboro's places on camera.

Good photographers, in my opinion, do not only capture a subject, but they convey a mood. This recent shot by Greensboro Daily Photo of the University General Store is a perfect example.

University General Store from GreensboroDailyPhoto.com

Forget left or right, go get a good deal on some nice furniture

GREENSBORO, NC -- While I poke Tony Wilkins for the composition of his new political committee, I'm reminded of exactly why I am growing to despise factional politics, especially at the local level where I think it is not only unnecessary but counterproductive. The reason is this: in day-to-day living we interact with each other in ways that are far removed from considerations of politics, and there we communicate, cooperate and get things done.

Case in point: Tony Wilkins. Tony is a likable fellow. A self-labeled conservative. We talk politics, sometimes finding we have shared opinions and respecting each other when we don't. But that's in the abstract. Last week we got down to some real business.

Tony owns and operates Furniture Connection on High Point Road (map) and we were happy to buy some furniture from him, happy to get what I think is a good bargain and happy to come to a mutual agreement for our mutual benefit. [Does governing really have to be so different?]

The state is widening the road in front of Tony's store and taking Ton'y building, so he has to be out by mid January. That means you too can find some good values on some nice furniture. This isn't Papa's Furniture Warehouse glued together crap, I'm talking some nice upholstered chairs, sofas, dining tables, beds and end tables. So, if you are in the market for some furniture, visit Tony. Even though he's a conservative. Even if you are a liberal.

But there were no spelling errors

Ed Cone to the News & Record:

Publishing an article about the authorship and intent of the First Amendment that ignores James Madison completely while elevating the relatively obscure Fisher Ames over Jefferson makes you, not just your columnist, look ignorant.

Holiday parade in pictures

GREENSBORO, NC -- The News & Record has a nice bunch of pictures of today's snowy holiday parade. Here is one of my favorites.

More Ranford

Found on Greensboro101.com.

Ranford Almond on Elm St. at the Greensboro, NC Festival of Lights.

You're blowing my mind!

300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

That's the new estimate of the number of stars in the universe. It is about the same as the number of cells in all of the humans on earth.

More images from NASA's astronomy picture of the day collection.

A reporter's value

GREENSBORO, NC -- One of the most useful things a reporter can do is to fact check assertions.

So, when a reporter reports:

For instance, at Guilford Metro 911, Director Wesley Reid’s entry-level employees make about $29,800 a year. After the switch, they will earn about $30,400.

Reid estimated that his department pays starting employees $2,000 to $3,000 less than Winston-Salem or High Point.

I'm left thinking, "Well, is that estimate accurate?" This is the kind of empirical, measurable thing that a good reporter should not allow someone to assert without checking out.

The City of Winston-Salem starts 911 operators at $28,890. High Point currently has a hiring freeze. These positions start at $33,919 in Raleigh.

Furthermore, the City of Greensboro advertises the starting salary range for this position as $29,025 - $32,663.

A wise editor once said, "If your mother tells you she loves you, check it out." This is why.

News & Record propagandists

It is from the Associated Press, but the News & Record put their stamp of approval on it when the chose to place it under the "News" banner on their web site.

The "article" begins with, "Now you can be a high roller for just $5" then proceeds to promote new lottery games.

That's a sales pitch; a come-on worthy of a carnival huckster. It's propaganda, not news.

"An afternoon in the square downtown in Greensboro"

I found this on Greensboro101.com this morning.

An afternoon in the square downtown in Greensboro, N.C. 2010
by Numberonekisser
Music by Ahmad Jamal.

Mayor Mr. Clean

GREENSBORO, NC -- It is not that small gifts might be enough to "bribe" an elected official, it is that they attempt to ingratiate; not to create a quid pro quo, but to engender chummy good feelings. With the exceptions of food served at banquets, honorariums and souvenirs of nominal value, state law prohibits an elected official from accepting gifts from anyone who has or may have business before the official's public body. Such a gift-giver would also be in violation of the law -- even if the gift is just a delicious ham.

So bravo to Mayor Bill Knight for keeping everything on the straight and narrow by refusing to accept a gifted ham from former city council person and project manager of CICO, Inc. Bob Mays. CICO is trying to win the City's trash disposal business. Last week, city council person Jim Kee nominated CICO partner Paul Gilmer to the Zoning Commission, a board that will have an influence on CICO's prospects. Council unanimously approved the appointment. Greensboro's business needs to be decided on what is best for the citizens of Greensboro, not by special influence. The attempts to maneuver CICO to an inside track must end.

Gullible Guarino

GREENSBORO, NC -- Local blogger Joe Guarino posts a video of President Obama "saying" he was not born in Hawaii and that he is from Kenya. "Could this YouTube possibly be legitimate?" asks Guarino.

Hmm. Lets' see, either the President fessed up to the worst fears of the paranoid birthers or somebody mashed up some video and audio as a spoof. I wonder which it is.

Councilman Danny Thompson disregarding his oath of office

Danny Thompson takes the oath of office.

GREENSBORO, NC -- When sworn in on December 1st, 2009 to his seat on Greensboro city council, council person Danny Thompson, like all other council representatives, took an oath to:

"support and maintain the Constitution and laws of the United States and the Constitution and laws of the state of North Carolina."

North Carolina state law demands that the meetings of public bodies be open to the public. The law permits City Council to meet in closed session only for very specific and limited reasons.

So, when Thompson asks City Council to meet in a closed session while claiming to know of no reason that such a meeting would be permissible under the law, he is disregarding state law and violating his oath of office. From the Rhino Times:

Thompson said [Jim] Kee asked him to call for the special meeting and that he was glad to accommodate Kee, but he really wasn't sure why they needed to go into closed session.

The law says there must be a permissible reason for City Council to meet behind closed doors. If Thompson knows of no such reason, he has no business trying to shield council activities from public scrutiny.

Silly logic: Ed Wolverton edition

When you find yourself saying silly things, it is a good sign that your thoughts aren't supported by logic. Ed Wolverton of downtown Greensboro, tells Yes! Weekly's Jordan Green why it was necessary to impose a curfew for teenagers:

Anyone who has walked along Elm Street during the late night hours knows that sidewalks can become quite crowded. Sidewalk cafes bring life and activity, but they also remove space from pedestrians. Lines of patrons waiting to get into restaurants and clubs also limit the sidewalk area. When you further consider space used by trash containers, newspaper boxes, bike racks and other street furniture, sidewalk space often gets very limited. Space narrows down even more when push cart vendors set up on the sidewalks.

Wolverton goes on to "explain" why other problems also not caused by youngsters justify banishing young people from downtown. Silly Mr. Wolverton.

Too cozy: Board appointee's company lobbying city for trash business

hat tip: Triad Watch

GREENSBORO, NC -- At the November 16, 2010 City Council meeting, local realtor Paul Gilmer was appointed to the Zoning Commission (video; 05:27:08 mark). According to The Buiness Journal, Gilmer is a partner in CICO, a company trying to win the business of disposing of Greensboro's garbage with a scheme that includes reopening the White Street Landfill to municipal garbage and developing 600 surrounding acres as "light industrial and other commercial uses." Much of this land is currently zoned for residential use.

Serving on any City board while one's company is trying to win favor from the City is contrary to the tenets of clean governance. Serving on a board whose decisions are integral to the company's plans is even more odious. From the City's web site:

The Greensboro Zoning Commission hears and decides requests for amendments to the City's official Zoning Map. The duties of the Commission include rezoning properties, approving Conditional Zoning Districts, issuing Special Use Permits, and recommending overlay districts.

CICO's plans will require favorable decisions from the board to which Mr. Gilmer has been appointed. Even if he recuses himself from votes directly affecting his interests, it remains a seamy situation where Gilmer's position will give him an inside track to information and influence.

Councilman Jim Kee should have never made this nomination to begin with. Gilmer should decline this appointment.

Will Greensboro see The Nutez Garbage Disposal Facility at county prison farm?

Leon Nutez is a regular speaker from the floor at city council meetings. He never fails to use every second of his available three minutes. I'm sure he is one of the reasons Mayor Bill Knight thinks it would be a good idea to make it more difficult to address the council from the floor. Leon seems to be there for his own enjoyment and to talk about anything under the sun, although I confess, his scoldings against the evils of the three finger weed (or was it the devil's lettuce?) had me in stitches.

Last Tuesday however, he had an idea that left me thinking, "That might be worth thinking about." He suggested that Greensboro forget about the controversial idea of reopening White Street landfill and put a modern garbage disposal facility on the Guilford County prison farm property instead.

Lo' and behold, council person Jim Kee is proposing that Greensboro and the county consider it.

Here is Leon addressing the council:

Guilford County home sales down 24%

Uh... holy crap? Sales of existing homes in Guilford County for the third quarter are down 24% from last year, from 1,185 to 902.

Can you smell what council's got cookin'? Half baked guidelines for small group meetings

GREENSBORO, NC -- The current city council had previously adopted a policy against council people meeting in small groups -- less than the five that would compel them to abide by state open meeting laws. That was well intentioned. One need look no further than the opacity of city councils circa 2002 to 2009 to appreciate the public frustration, and the eventual inevitable loss of public trust, caused by much of the council's processes happening in secret.

Apparently, however, it was not clear what exactly was prohibited or allowed by this policy. The News & Record's Amanda Lehmert brings to our attention council's attempt on Tuesday to clarify this policy. They have raised more questions than they answered. From Amanda's Small groups: educational or skirting open meetings law?:

Councilman Zack Matheny offered a solution to the debate, allowing small meetings as long as the events are recorded and the media is invited. His colleagues -- except Perkins and T. Dianne Bellamy-Small -- agreed to his proposal.

But it raised other questions. Who, for instance, is the media? Council members invoked the names of three local print reporters in their debate. But what about TV folks? Radio? Bloggers? And why make a special exception for the media? If a citizen wanted to attend, could they? Or would they only be allowed to review the recording afterward?

City counsel Jemiah Waterman also raised the issue that this type of meeting could qualify as a kind of council subcommittee, which would require it to be advertised and open to the public. He asked for more time to review the issue, but the council didn't grant him it.

Amanda asks the right questions. Council needs to think this through further and better define this policy; making sure it aligns with the law is probably not a bad idea either.

So when did "so" become the way to begin every answer?

When did business people being interviewed on news programs start answering every question by beginning with "so"? I'm not kidding. It's spreading like wildfire.

Reporter: "Tell us about your new product."
Interviewee: "So it's all electric..."

Reporter: "How long have you been with the company?"
Interviewee: "So I started in 1999..."

Reporter: "What are your expectations for next year?"
Interviewee: "So we see demand growing..."

So it's really annoying. So it makes it hard to take you seriously.

"Closed to teenagers"

GREENSBORO, NC -- From Ed Cone, with another good post about the teen curfew, comes this: A facebook group dedicated to repealing the curfew.

TSA Enhanced Screening Procedures Explained

The incredible shrinking Quizno's sub

I used to really like Quizno's, but it seems as if their subs get smaller and smaller each time I visit.

Two years smoke free

Today is my anniversary: two years since I quit smoking.

If you smoke, it feels normal. Going without feels uncomfortable, impossible, wrong; but your body and mind are zapped, burdened, blurred and compromised to a degree you will not appreciate until you quit.

There is no right way to quit and no wrong way. I used pharmaceuticals, Chantix specifically. If you want to quit and haven't tried it, give it a shot. I'm proof it can work.

Baking up some white bread: Downtown curfew passes

GREENSBORO, NC -- City Council approved a downtown curfew for minors last night 6 to 3. Ed Cone has a great digest. I could not help but notice the number of times proponents of the curfew justified it by saying how they or their acquaintances were feeling "uncomfortable" downtown. Yes, the unfamiliar can be uncomfortable but, for Pete's sake, is passing laws that banish people who are making you uncomfortable an enlightened way to set public policy? No. It is a small-minded approach to baking up some tasteless white bread.

Particularly notable from last night was council representative Robbie Perkins saying that it was really a perception problem and that facts did not support the new ordinances before he voted for the new ordinances.

Here is a woman who lives downtown speaking from the floor against the proposed ordinances. I thought she made some good points:



Bonus
Greensboro's history of curfews: 1969 and 1979.

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Remembering: Bill Knight, speaker from the floor

GREENSBORO, NC -- Greensboro mayor Bill Knight wants to reduce city council's time for speakers from the floor from two televised meetings per month to one. He also wants speakers to sign up eight days in advance.

I think Mayor Knight is doing a good job and I understand his frustration with the grandstanding and the time wasting, but a total of an hour a month and easy access for all are small costs for accommodating robust civic participation and public comment of city government. The mayor seems to be reconsidering, and that's good.



Let us remember that Mayor Knight himself, less than three months before he declared his candidacy, addressed the city council as a speaker from the floor. His topic was controversial and his opinions made some council members visibly uncomfortable. Yet he did not have to register eight days in advance; he did not get grouped, screened, handled or prepared for; he had something to say, went to the meeting, was called upon and said his peace. His remarks were televised, prominently and publicly, as it should be. Hopefully the mayor will remember what it was like from this side of the dais.

News & Record propagandists

The News & Record rearranges a press release it receives from the North Carolina Lottery and puts it online with the byline "Staff Reports." It is not a "staff report," it is unvetted and unbalanced propaganda duly regurgitated by stenographers.

A new newspaper for Greensboro's homeless

I found this on Greensboro 101 today.

News & Record editor: Mr. Consistency (not)

(Greensboro, NC) Yesterday, News & Record editor John Robinson questioned the methodology and value of:

"lists that are created only to draw traffic on the web..."

Today, a different tune -- no such skepticism. He's perfectly willing to accept at face value a list he can use to impugn the significance of Greensboro bloggers.

Robinson miscasts a report on the metropolitan area as a report on Greensboro. Once again, Greensboro is subjected to the dilution that occurs when it is included among Winston-Salem, High Point and the eleven county hinterlands and this time, the newspaper's editor doesn't even notice.*

[* For more on this kind of dilution of Greensboro's benefits and excellence when subverted to "regionalism," see former Guilford County economic development director Rob Bencini's excellent commentary.]

Aunt Louise

I have an aunt Louise. She's two months older than me. (My mom and dad started young, Grandma and Grandpa kept at it.) As a kid, I loved calling her "Aunt Louise," a little taunting--a lot endearing, and she returned the favor with "Roch junior." But, when holidays and family gatherings brought our Florida and North Carolina families together, we were always more than aunt and nephew, we were great friends

We only manage the occasional email and even rarer phone call now. I think that's okay. Our childhood memories are what we mostly have in common anymore. But still, even with our limited involvement with each other, that doesn't keep me from being incredibly proud of her and impressed by her.

Louise is single, a school teacher and a mom. She became a mom about ten years ago.

Sometimes the heart doesn't cooperate with the plan's of the head, add the whims of unpredictable men and there is a lot that can go wrong, a lot that can throw a woman off track. But Louise did not allow herself to be consigned to the circumstances of fate. She decided she was going to be a mom and she became one.

She went to Russia and adopted her lovely son Nicolas. Truth be told, I thought she was a little crazy -- I mean, could she make it any harder? And yet, nearly ten years later she and Nicolas are, as Louise decided they would be, a family.

Here is a recent picture of Nicolas.

Nicolas

That picture was taken last week...

... in Russia...

...where Louise and Nicolas are in the process of adopting Aleksi.

Nicolas and Aleksi

And that is what I can tell you about my Aunt Louise.

Aleksi and Aunt Louise

Anything but guns

Greensboro City Council member Zack Matheny brought downtown property and business owners, city staff and media together this morning at Melvin Municipal to enunciate the city's reaction to downtown shooting that happened last week.

As I predicted, the overreaction was swift and comprehensive. -- Yes! Weekly editor Brian Clarey

I agree with Brian's take, although I think he overlooks the slippery slope and eventual repugnant end of suggesting we cover "as much territory" as possible with surveillance cameras. Still, he ultimately comes to the proper conclusion that these onerous proposals dance around the real issue.

I like calling North Carolina home

Ahead of last night's anticipated freeze, I harvested these from our garden.

More on C4GC and Patriot Coaching: The other side of the same coin

Thinking further about Patriot Coaching's and Conservatives for Guilford County's toxic influence on local politics: You don't treat half of the population as enemies without making enemies. You don't get to contribute to the bifurcation of America without having to deal with the other half. Doing so is not an amputation in which the other half withers and dies, it is a cell division that feeds this:

You, who could not survive the thought of minimal health care reform, or financial regulation, or a marginal tax rate equal to that which you paid just 10 years earlier, perhaps are under the illusion that everyone is as weak as you, as soft as you, as akin to petulant children as you are, as unable to cope with the smallest setback, the slightest challenge to the way you think your country should look and feel, and operate.

But they are not.

And they know how to regroup, and plot, and plan, and they are planning even now — we are — your destruction.

And I do not mean by that your physical destruction. We don’t play those games. We’re not into the whole “Second Amendment remedies, militia, armed resistance” bullshit that your side fetishizes, cuz, see, we don’t have to be. We don’t need guns.

We just have to be patient.

And wait for you to pass into that good night, first politically, and then, well…

Let me head off any arguments about "who started it" or "see what we are up against?" Those miss the point, which is this: By failing to find a way to honestly and respectfully INCLUDE people who do not meet your purity tests, by fashioning an approach to politics that is premised on the very notion of a rigid "us and them"--the included and the excluded with no compromise--this is the battlefield on which you will fight. Read the whole thing. See your "enemy." Then decide if the tactics of division taught by Patriot Coaching and employed by C4GC are the best way to preserve the values you value or if they are more likely to result in their extinction. As the author of the above says, math dictates it's the latter. The only hope is to change the equation.

New comment policy

If you want to make a derogatory personal attack in the comments, you must identify yourself or your comment risks being deleted, at my discretion.

Patriot Coaching: The force behind local tea party failures

Despite the "historic" "wave" election, Conservatives for Guilford County failed to turn a single legislative race in Guilford County. Some good conservative candidates ran some very competitive races, and kudos to them for the effort, but those were despite, not because of, the antics of the C4GC, whose campaign-influencing tactics included producing faked video, defending opaque fund-raising, and adopting an "us versus them" mentality that found even well-known local conservatives on the outs for daring to ask questions.

It turns out that C4GC founders Barret and Jodi Riddleberger had teamed up with Drs.Gary R. Casselman and Timothy C. Daughtry to form Patriot Coaching, an organization that promised to teach local conservative candidates how to "defeat the radical liberal agenda in the public arena."

The central promise of Patriot's teachings, conveyed through a two-day "bootcamp," is to teach "us" how to fend off "them" with goals such as developing "razor sharp responses" to "subversive bloggers." The basic premise is that there is a hard line that defines people and if you are over where they perceive it to be, you are to be handled like an alien in need of special treatment.

I had a Don Vaughan (D) campaign sign in my yard this year. Neighbors had signs for his opponent Jeff Hyde (R). Other neighbors had Burr (R) signs, some for Marshall (D). Here is where Patriot Coaching and C4GC are off base. I know those people with Jeff Hyde signs, not well, but we talk and wave and look out for each other. We have attended neighborhood watch meetings together, keep our grass cut, rake our leaves, bring the garbage cans in from the curb, share gardening tips in casual conversation and fly the flag on special occasions. I don't freak out when one of them puts a sign in his yard with the "Christian flag." They don't think I'm subversive.

In short, our neighborhood could be divided into the "us" and the "them" that Patriot Coaching and C4GC think defines the local electorate. But we are not. We are neighbors. We don't question each others politics before lending a hand with a dead car battery, corralling an escaped dog, or bringing over a chain saw to dispose of a fallen limb. I know they probably voted for Hyde, Randall and Burr. They know I probably voted for Vaughan, Miller and Marshall. Doesn't matter. That is not a relevant filter. When we extend a helping hand, it is not to one of "them" or because they are one of "us." Maybe the people of C4GC just don't live in such a neighborhood. Maybe all their neighbors are "us." Not so where I live. Liberals, conservatives and moderates are not foreign species. We are just people living right next door to each other.

That's what Patriot Coaching and C4GC fail to understand. It is a concoction--a mirage--to subdivide, ostracize and vilify people who have political views that you deem, from your perspective, to require them to be treated differently. Should they ever stop trying to manipulate, aggravate and segregate; stop predetermining how one will be dealt with based on a perception of the person's politics; and, instead, talk to all people with honesty and respect, then maybe they'll get somewhere in local politics. For now, the records of C4GC and Patriot Coaching speak for the credibility of their tactics.

Next week on WFMY News2: Getting to "I do" with voodoo

Once again setting the bar for local journalism, WFMY will continue presenting stuff for which there is no scientific basis* as news with these upcoming reports:

• Better career planning with phrenology
• Getting to "I do" with voodoo
• Palm reading for a wealthier retirement

I can hardly wait.


[* Kudos to WFMY's Tracey McCain, Frank Mickens and Sandra Hughes for putting the weight of their professional reputations behind this important story.]

Library's used book sale, Saturday

Friends of The Greensboro Public Library Semi-Annual Used Book Sale
Books for adults and children priced from 50¢ to $2.00
CDs and DVDs

Saturday, November 6
9 AM - 2 PM
Central Library, 219 N. Church St (map).
Free parking on street or in parking deck next door
[more]

What a coincidence, Greensboro police checkpoint during primaries too.

GREENSBORO, NC -- In addition to the Greensboro police checkpoint in a minority neighborhood between Claremont Court apartments and their polling place at Peeler Recreation Center on this election day, it turns out there was also a police checkpoint on primary election day, May 4, 2010, also in a predominately minority neighborhood, between Parkview Apartments on Apache St. and their polling place at Hampton Academy.

This is not Mississippi in the 1960's. Why is this happening? It is not coincidental.

UPDATE: Commenter Brandon points us to Yes! Weekly's blog where Greensboro Police Chief Ken Miller addressed this matter at a community forum: "Miller said the checkpoint was cut short as soon as the department was made aware of the conflict with voting." More (8th and 9th paragraphs).

Greensboro police checkpoint. On election day. In minority neighborhood. What are they thinking?

GREENSBORO, NC -- Who thought this would be a good idea on election day?

Police will conduct a traffic checkpoint on Phillips Avenue from 10 a.m. to noon today. Police will be checking driver licenses between Drexel Road and Lombardy Street.

This checkpoint is between public housing Claremont Courts (and homes north) and those residents' voting place at Peeler Recreation Center to the south.

[This would be a bad move in any neighborhood on election day. That it is adjacent to a minority occupied public housing project makes it more odious as reminiscent of Jim Crow voter intimidation tactics]

Howard Coble

My day job includes web site design for Congressman Howard Coble. As such, I've had the opportunity to spend a little time with him when he's in the district. No matter where you may come down on the politics, one thing is unavoidable: The man is greatly loved and admired.

Time Warner Cable, your Road Runner internet access really, really stinks

Here is what Time Warner Cable advertises for my level of internet access:

Here are the results of four speed tests this morning:

News & Record circulation down again

GREENSBORO, NC -- According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, circulation continues to decline for the News & Record.

Averages for the six months ended September 31, 2010:

Sunday: 86,087
6 month change:  - 3.6% (-3,188)
12 month change:  - 6.0% (-5,512)

Weekday: 62,074
6 month change:  -8.2% (-5,551)
12 month change:  -12.1% (-8,543)

Since 2005, the N&R's weekday circulation has declined 34.7% from 95,119 while Sunday circulation has declined 23.2% from 112,154.

Uber-conservative picks

GREENSBORO, NC -- Local blogger and uber-conservative Joe Guarino identifies his preferred candidates for local, state and federal races.

Republicans "outperforming" in Guilford County early voting

Comparing early voters by party affiliation to registered voters in Guilford County, NC.








* Early voter turnout reporting from Civitas Vote Tracker, registration statistics from Guilford County Board of Elections.

Early North Carolina voters more white, Republican, male

Early voters in North Carolina have been more Republican, more white, and more male than those demographics' respective representations among registered voters and voters in the 2008 general elections.*














*A comparison of North Carolina early-voting by demographics compared to current voter registration and 2004 and 2008 turnout (through Oct. 27th, 2010). Early voter turnout reporting from Civitas Vote Tracker, registration statistics from N.C. Board of Elections, and historical statistics from George Mason University's U.S. Election Project. (Y axis is percentage of total for data set specified in legend.)

Greensboro police detective inspires blogger to censor post

GREENSBORO, NC -- According to local blogger Jeff Martin (aka Fecundstench), he received a call from a Greensboro Police Department detective that inspired him to remove this from a blog post about nearly getting run over by a firetruck:

"I will fuck up a fireman, if I can every [sic] catch one of the fat bastards alone. Were they in turn out gear it would have been one thing, but to be run over while they were shopping is another."

I would like to know if a legal line was crossed. It might piss him off to hear this, but I take Jeff with a grain of salt and thus find his outrageous outrage frequently amusing. Although it does smart when he takes a swipe at me or one of my friends, I am intrigued by his desire to push the envelope of the medium. Did this particular post cross a legal line or was the GPD detective's intervention intimidation?  I'd like to hear the opinions of people smarter than me.

How to talk to a liberal; or how not to earn the vote of an independent moderate

Jeff Hyde (R), candidate for North Carolina state senate is promoting:

[A]n interesting discussion on the working of the Liberal mind and what [sic] mainstream Americans should handle it.

It is bizarre that people determine themselves to be so alienated from others--find themselves so perplexed--that they need special instruction to communicate with people of their own culture and society--their neighbors--just because of differing viewpoints.

(I imagine a man in pith hat with smoldering pipe and binoculars staring through his window at his hybrid-driving neighbor, taking notes of careful study as he prepares an expedition into her foreign world to ask if he can borrow her rake. "Will she understand me?" "Will she attack?" "How do I talk to the liberal mind?")

That Hyde identifies with a view of a polarized landscape populated with the friendly familiar and the puzzling aliens fits with the reasons I think Hyde would be a less than adequate representative: His inclination towards the ineffective and objectionable "us-versus-them" mentality will dictate his receptiveness to constituents. His line of demarcation puts him in a very condensed landscape too.

I, an independent moderate in Hyde's district, had previously sent an email to Hyde asking him two questions about a campaign fund raising raffle he held and its secret winner:

Was the winner listed on your campaign finance report as having purchased a raffle ticket or tickets?

Was the winner related to you?

Hyde replied by ignoring my questions and asking, despite my name, Roch, appearing twice in the email, if I was some Rick Smith he knew ("Oh, yeah, I mispelled my name. Thanks for correcting that while not answering my questions."). I could only conclude that the nature of any additional response would depend on whether Hyde identified me as an us or a them.

Hyde proceeded to duck and dodge questions about his raffle and the winner even as details trickled out. The winner was Hyde's sister, of different last name. She won with one of eighteen tickets Hyde and other family members bought and put her name on. She told Jeff to keep the $5,000 prize. Hyde refused to put the financial details on his campaign finance reports for public inspection.

Hyde should have just explained what happened and put the information on his campaign finance reports. That would have been transparent and honest, traits we say we admire, if not demand, of our elected officials. Instead, he adopted a bunker mentality. That kind of behavior combined with a suspicion and sense of alienation from unfamiliar people is too small minded and frustrating for my vote.

[Full disclosure: this blogger provides web site design services to Hyde's opponent Don Vaughan for Vaughan's law practice and sold a web site domain name to Vaughan's campaign. This blogger is not involved in Vaughan's campaign in a paid or volunteer capacity.]

Why would a politician lie? (Local reporter gets played)

[Final Update: Joe and I had some good back and forth about this during the day. He takes exception with my characterization that he got "played" and says he wasn't fooled. What I saw that way, Joe says was his attempt to provide some context for Randall's comment, albeit with, as Joe says, "a poor wording choice." Joe explains he was trying to describe where Randall may have got his ideas, not where he got the quote which he now agrees "there's no evidence for" and which will be clarified in tomorrow's paper. I can buy that. Good egg, that Joe: Unafraid and professional.]

[Update: Joe Killian has now cited sources for the "human weeds" comment on his blog:  "The Pivot of Civilization" and "My Plan for Peace." Neither contains the phrase in question. I have asked Joe and his editor, John Robinson, on what page we can find the quotation. Joe has not answered yet. Robinson's reply in its entirety: "Got me."]

[Update II: Joe edited his blog post to say that "The specific 'human weed' language cited by Randall isn't to be found there..." It isn't to be found anywhere. Randall burped up a fable--an urban legend--a tired fantasy of right wing kooks to which Randall added a racial spin.]

Greensboro, NC -- In a candidates' forum Wednesday night, congressional candidate Bill Randall (R) asked what the parents of his incumbent challenger, Brad Miller (D), would think of Miller being endorsed by an organization that called "black people 'human weeds.'"

News & Record reporter Joe Killian gave his reporter's stamp of approval to the accuracy of the statement by writing:

Randall was referring to Planned Parenthood and comments by Margaret Sanger, the founder of the organization that preceded it in the 1920s.

One problem: Sanger never called black people "human weeds." I've asked Joe what was his source for reporting that she had (no reply yet), but it appears as if he just took Randall at his word.

There are plenty of conservative blogs and right wing websites that claim Sanger referred to black people as "human weeds." Most are unsourced. The few that are attribute the quote to Sanger's book "The Pivot of Civilization." But, thanks to Google Books, that tombe is online in searchable form, and "human weeds" just isn't in it. What Randall said was not true. Killian was wrong not to check it out. A correction is in order.

[Yes! Weekly's Jordan Green also reported Randall's claim, but he limited it to reporting Randall's words. Green did not assert, as Killian did, that Randall's claim was founded in fact. Still, there's room for clarification from Yes! too -- that what Randall said is make believe.]

Up is down, down is up; WGHP Fox8 reports the opposite of reality as fact

It seems as if not a day goes by any longer without some reporting error at WGHP Fox8. This time, they just make something up. It is time for the people who care about or have staked their reputations to this station to pay attention.

Today, WGHP reports in "Lower Interest Rates Increase Home Sales":

The increase in home buying is just not happening here in the Piedmont as reports show that across the country new home sales have picked up about 5 points over the last few weeks.

Increase in home buying in the Piedmont? Not according to something like, well, you know, data.

According to Trulia, sales in Greensboro have been in decline since July.

Same thing from the Dixon Hughes Triad Business Index.

"Making it up" is not a professional approach to reporting.

WGHP Fox8 contradicting itself

WGHP's lack of concern for factual accuracy has reached laughable proportions as they currently have two stories online that directly contradict each other. In addition to reporting on the "Guilford County libraries," of which there are no such things (there is a Greensboro library system), a story this evening reports:

"City council voted 8-to-1 last night to add pornography software to computers used by children, but not those used by adults."

"Add pornography software"? Well, you know what they mean. But that part about "not those used by adults"? That is in direct contradiction to their other story from earlier today that remains uncorrected:

"People over the age of 18 will have a choice to use the filters or not."

The claim in the newer story that each of the eighteen reported incidents involved adults is incorrect too.

[View all posts about WGHP's erroneous reporting on this blog]

WGHP Fox8 gets it wrong again

(Greensboro, NC) WGHP continues its recent and disappointing slide towards error-prone reporting.

This time, in "Council Approves Use of Computer Filters at Public Library:"

"People over the age of 18 will have a choice to use the filters or not."

Wrong.

The motion approved by council (video, at the 01:31:35 mark) makes no such provision and indeed, library director Sandy Neerman confirms to this blogger that the approved policy does not give adult users that choice.

Greensboro city council gets it right on library computer filters

Greensboro City Council voted last night to install "porn" filters on computers used by minors at the library. Adult log-ins will not get filtered. This is the correct decision.

There has been no disagreement that children deserve special treatment. The difference of opinion has been over whether to treat adults like children too. The over-protective software solution is right for children. It was wrong for adults.

The idea that software could serve as an appropriate enforcer of "community standards," as councilman Danny Thompson wished for, was misguided. Local online discussions illustrated the futility of identifying a community standard to begin with, as people argued for and against blocking sites about hacking, hate, extreme violence and other objectionable things not about sex. There were some attempts to embarrass people into supporting filters by impugning their morality. Local blogger Joe Guarino even went so far as to suggest that library staff should be arrested if library patrons were found to be viewing illegal materials. That was disgusting and dangerous. We should be thankful that we did not give such sanctimonious self-righteous moralizing any credence by wading into the quagmire of defining "community standards."

The complaint of council woman Trudy Wade, echoed by Guarino, that without filters, people will continue to view pornography is either an intentional canard or, despite the monumental amount of discussion, continued ignorance about the capabilities of filters. Filters can be defeated. Even with them in place, determined users can still view pornography and that imperfection would not only have left Guarino and Wade dissatisfied (and, presumably, looking for additional remedies for a 100% guarantee), it would have come with a heavy cost to legitimate users. As noted here, filters block access to things like Cragislist ads and pictures of bunny rabbits (really--from actual Greensboro library log files). We are better off without a "solution" that would have still allowed porn but which would have had the new requirement that a patron petition library staff should she want to view personal ads. The policies and procedures currently in place to police adult users against viewing obscene material will continue, just without the downside burdens or false sense of security of imperfect filters.

It would have been easy for council to bend to fear mongering and demagoguery on this one--to get scared or try to make hay. I am very proud that they took a deliberative approach to a mature solution. Kudos too to library director Sandy Neerman and library staff who navigated what could have been a minefield with aplomb.

[See all posts on this blog about this issue.]

And now, a bustle in your hedgerow

Rodrigo Y Gabriela

I'm going to let you in on a little secret

I am tempted to keep this to myself, but what good is a life on earth if you don't contribute to the joy of other people? This past summer, when Kathy and I were tooling around the southern North Carolina mountains, we drove past a little gravel driveway on Wayah Road west of Franklin with a modest sign for Wayah Creek Cottages, 800-559-8280. (Wayah is pronounced why-ah). On a lark, we turned around to check them out. When we got back to Greensboro (247 miles, 4.5 hours), Kathy made a three night reservation, guessing when the fall color would be pretty there and just about nailing the peak as this past weekend.

Let me tell you folks, what you get for what you pay at the Wayah Creek Cottages is an amazing value. Our $100/night wood paneled, one-bedroom cottage featured a king bed with linens. The modest but updated bathroom included towels and washcloths. The kitchen was fully equipped with refrigerator, stove, microwave, coffeemaker, cookware, utensils, dishes, mugs and glasses. The living area was comfortably furnished, carpeted with Berber and included a small TV with satellite and a stone fireplace. During the cool-weather months, firewood is included: well seasoned, cut and stacked on the covered porch, organized from kindling to split logs of three increasing sizes. Each of the six cabins has its own creekside parcel with seating, picnic table and grill. Everything, accommodations and grounds, was immaculate.

Husband and wife Jackie and Larry have owned the place for seventeen years and they have every conceivable detail figured out. A handmade guidebook on the coffee table is an accumulation of brochures, menus, clippings and handwritten directions to the area's points of interest Policies and procedures have been refined to assure smooth operation with minimal intrusion on guests. Check out by washing the dishes, unplugging the appliances, shoveling the ash out of the fireplace, taking out the trash and leaving the key on the table.

My only complaint was, when a wind gust brought a tree down on a power line somewhere down the road, the repair stretched into dusk, then dark for about an hour and the battery-powdered "lantern" we were promised turned out to be a closet light not suitable for illuminating a room or even reading. Bring some sufficient battery powered light with you to be on the safe side. A flashlight is a necessity if you are going to use the grill after dark as porch lights are appropriately very dim.

Truly though, the only items you must bring are your clothes, food, toiletries, charcoal, flashlight and books.

Although there is a golf course not too far away, this is the kind of place you stay to relax, read, eat and enjoy God's great creation. There is no Internet access; no cell phone service; the only phone is in the office. The closest convenience store is four miles away. It is a twenty minute drive to Franklin for quaint downtown shops, restaurants and grocery stores.

Franklin weather forecasts suffice for the cottages. Consult the cottage guidebook for area hikes, including the nearby Appalachian Trail. Here are some nearby driving destinations

West on Wayah Road

Going west from the cottages, Wayah Road begins a five mile, 2200 ft. assent.

Rufus Morgan Falls. 2.7 miles from the cottages, turn left onto road 388 to get to the 1 mile trail to Rufus Morgan Falls.

Wayah Bald. 5.2 miles from the cottages, immediately after crossing the Appalachian Trail, turn right on the gravel National Forest Service road to the north for another 4 miles to Wayah Bald. Even with the lookout tower closed for repairs, the vista from this 5,500 ft. peak was spectacular--undeveloped, massive expanses of primordial mountains. (The short trail to the tower is paved and wheelchair accessible. The very fit and ambitious hiker may park at the beginning of the Forest Service Road and hike the Appalachian Trail to the top).

Lake Nantahala. Continuing westward on Wayah Road takes you to Lake Nantahala where Nantahala Marina is on the left, 14 miles from the cottages. Boats are available for rent here (828-321-3001) and there is a popular burger joint upstairs but, for public access to the lake, continue to Junaluska Road (left) then left on Big Choga Road (24.3 miles from the cottages).

Rafting. 24.2 miles from the cottages, Wayah Road meets Nantahala Gorge Road. Turning right, this road skirts the Nantahala river with many riverside picnic tables. There are a number of rafting outfitters too who rent equipment, drop you off and pick you up. We had a great trip last summer courtesy of outfitter Appalachian Rivers and I recommend them.

Hayesville. If you really enjoy driving through the woods, are patient and have a reliable car suitable for some sustained and occasionally steep gravel road, take Tuni Gap road down from Lake Nantahala to Hayesville (41 miles from the cottages -- about 7 of them on gravel). From Hayesville, you can take four lane Hwy 64 back to the cottages.

West on Hwy 64

From the cottages, highway 64 leads to Hayesville, home of the Peacock Playhouse and the Licklog Players, and on to Murphy, home to the John C. Campbell Folk School. Closer to the cottages, at 14 miles, is the Standing Indian Mountain area, with numerous hiking trails of varying difficulty, many along creeks and to waterfalls.