"His anus had become a gaping hole"

An interview with North Carolina Pastor Patrick Wooden, a driving force behind Amendment One, the ballot measure that would enshrine in North Carolina's constitution a prohibition against gay marriage and civil unions.(HT: Fecund Stench)

Skip Alston's mind-numbing misunderstanding of the U.S. Constitution

County Commission chairman Skip Alston on Guilford County's policy of restricting media presentations by citizens at public meetings, via Yes Weekly!:

“You can’t yell fire in crowded movie theater"

Yes, you can—if there is a fire. Which is what Jodi Riddleberger was trying to do when the Chairman—the mousy commissioners having already voted to prohibited media presentations during speakers from the floor—refused to put her on the agenda. 

Despite his superfluous misrememberance of fifth grade civics, Alston reveals precisely why he is on the wrong side of the issue and why the North Carolina ACLU has sided with Riddleberger: In the United States of America, government officials cannot exercise prior restraint of speech. Without a dire compelling public interest, the government or its agents, no matter how arrogantly ignorant or self righteous, may not decide in advance that what someone may be about to say is to be prohibited. 

For Alston to think that what Riddlerberger wanted to say was equivelant to FALSELY yelling fire in a crowded theater, is an admission that he is engaging in the very prior evaluation of her message the Constitution prohibits. Heck, he even says as much:

“As far as content, I think there should be some kind of restrictions on freedom of speech.”

Whether Riddleberger's message is true or false, annoying or flattering, the Chairman has no right to intervene and those who can stop the Chairman's misbehavior should do so. If it's not going to be the other commissioners, it's going to be a judge—to Guilford County's unnecessary expense and embarrassment. 

Coble to run for 15th term

Congressman Howard Coble announced today that he will run for a 15th term in the 6th district of North Carolina.

ACLU sides with C4GC against Guilford County Commissioners

Yes Weekly! is reporting:

ACLU of North Carolina Legal Director Katherine Lewis Parker expresses concerns about the constitutionality of the Guilford County Commission's proposed citizen multi-media presentation policy in a letter to the board today:

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation ("ACLU-NCLF")was contacted last week by Guilford County resident Jodi Riddleberger ("C4gc"). Ms. Riddleberger has requested our assistance in connection with a recent decision by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners ("the Board") to ban any and all multimedia presentations during prescribed public comment periods of Board meetings. After conducting an initial investigation, we have concerns that your Board is violating Ms. Riddleberger's rights under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

It appears that the county's actions with regard to Ms. Riddleberger, as well as the passage of the ban on multimedia presentations during public comment period constitute violations of the First Amendment. First, we believe that the general requirement that individuals can show videos only if approved and placed on the agenda is an unconstitutional prior restraint on speech. [Roch: That's what I thought too] Further, Chairman Alston's specific comments and actions against Ms. Riddleberger suggest that these new rules, while they appear to be content neutral, are a thinly-veiled disguise for impermissible content discrimination, or even viewpoint discrimination....

[more]

Brad Miller for Governor?

North Carolina congressman Brad Miller announced he will not seek reelection to the newly gerrymandered seat that would have pitted him against a fellow Democratic incumbent. Miller has always struck me as a dedicated and smart representative and one who, without knowing his personal perspective, would not be dropping out of politics for good—not by his own volition anyway.

Assuming Miller is scanning the landscape for another political opportunity, is there anything on the horizon more promising than North Carolina's governorship now that Democratic incumbent Bev Perdue has announced she will not run? Miller would make a good challenger to sitting Democratic senator Kay Hagan in two years, but he'd be the underdog. On the other hand, he would start a campaign for Governor as a top-tier contender. I won't be surprised if he throws his hat in the ring.

Project Gutenberg

If you have an eReader, such as a Kindle or a Nook, you might want to take a look at Project Gutenberg. You've probably heard of it—the website that makes available books in the public domain—but if you haven't visited it yet, or lately, you might wanna. They now have over 38,000 free ebooks—classics, science fiction, detective stories, children's literature, philosophy, technology and more.

You don't have to have a reading device either, many of the book are available in PDF, but for a better reading experience, I recommend ebook in the open ePub format. You can read ePub books (and many other formats too) on your PC with the excellent and free Calibre.

If you visit Project Gutenberg on a mobile device, you will automatically be treated to their superior mobile interface. You can hit it from a PC here.

Calibre eBook Manager & Reader for PC

Calibre ebook management and reader for the PC (Windows, OSx, Linux) is great software for better management of eReader books, with native support for just about any kind of device (list here). For Nook users, just the ability to rename files and metadata of ebooks downloaded to a device (cover art, tags, etc.)  is worth it alone—these features regrettably absent from the Nook.

There is a bit of a learning curve—not too bad, I went from download to finish in about an hour—but it's worth it in order to:

• Safely backup books from an eReader to your PC.
• Edit metadata for better organization and nicer cover art.
• Search for books from multiple sellers with a single click
• Convert books between formats.

Calbre comes with a fine ebook reader too, one of the best I've seen for a PC. You can download it for free (donations are accepted) at calibre-ebook.com. I highly recommend watching the 10 minute introductory video on the main page.

Off the deep end

Fecund Stench on Joe Guarino:

Only someone so diabolical could think to use our least unfortunate for criticism of public projects paid for out of his taxes. He commits a logical fallacy by supposing that the Aquatic Center was constructed for such purposes, but camouflages with the implied arguments that the homeless are unclean and can’t afford to swim there, with the corollary allusion to the poor in general.

[snip]

Conflating the swimmers with the homeless is a gross misrepresentation of the responsible governance which has addressed the needs of both groups of citizens. The social retards no doubt think the notion humorous, but such a highly contrived expression of intolerance is the very definition of evil.

Local currency? Harumph!

The News & Record's Doug Clark is down on the idea of a local currency. To the idea that merchants may offer a discount for using the local bucks, he writes:

If they do, they'll lose my business. In effect, that would be penalizing me to pay with dollars.

Harumph! That'll show 'em!

Similarly, I'm going to stop shopping at merchants who offer coupons in the News & Record, because I'm penalized for not using them.

Intimidating college student voters

Fretting that Greensboro college students are going to swing an upcoming vote on a proposed performing arts center, one commenter demands:

"Anyone who cannot produce a NC ID with a an actual NC local residential permanent address is not eligible to vote."

That's wrong. Aside from the fact that, year after year, the university precincts in Greensboro consistently have the fewest number of voters voting anyway, and have never been a significant factor in any local vote, North Carolina election law is quite clear about the eligibility of out-of-town college students being allowed to register to vote in North Carolina. As Democracy North Carolina explains:

• You can declare your old address (probably your parents’ address) as your home, because that’s where you return periodically; in that case, you may register and vote in your old hometown.

• Or you can declare your new address as your home, because that’s where you return, day after day; in that case, you may register and vote in your new town. 

Let us hope that people do not start promulgating misinformation in an effort to intimidate college student voters.

SOLVED: Windows XP will not read USB mass storage device.

PROBLEM: Attempting to read a USB mass storage device (SDHC card, flash drive, memory stick, camera card, Nook tablet, etc) on a Dell Vostro 1500 laptop computer running Windows XP with service pack 3, results in the contents of the drive not being readable. Although the drive is assigned a drive letter and shows up in Windows Explorer, attempting to open the drive results in the following message: "The disk is not formatted. Do you want to format it now?"

Device manager will report the device as healthy but with an unknown file system.

I will not speculate about why this fix works, all I know is that hours of searching the internet yielded no clear explanation for how to fix this problem:

CAUTION: The fix described below is what finally, after many, many dead ends, worked for me. I make no guarantees that it will solve the problem you are experiencing nor am I responsible for any additional problems it may cause. Try at your own risk.

Having said that...

THE FIX:

1. In Windows explorer, navigate to C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers
2. Find the file fastfat.sys
3. Rename it to fastfat.sys.bak
4. Restart you computer

Try out a device in a USB port. Can you read it? If so great. If not, then this fix wasn't for you. Sorry,  I know it's frustrating. If the fix did not work, you may change the name of the renamed file back to its original.


[With apologies to my regular readers, this post describes a technical fix missing from the Internet and is void of my usual commentary or news. It was written in an attempt to be easily found in search engines.]

My email to the ACLU of North Carolina

I sent this to the ACLU of North Carolina today. You can send them your opinion too.

I am a resident of Greensboro, NC. I am not a member of the group Concerned Citizens for Guildford County Conservatives for Guilford County (C4GC), in fact I do not often find myself in agreement with their opinions and objectives. Nonetheless, I share their concerns regarding the recent actions of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners to limit what may be presented at public meetings, actions which I think, in my layman's opinion, constitute unconstitutional prior restraint of speech based on its content (and in the specifics of C4GC's complaint, speech that would be constitutionally allowable in any case).

Although the County attorney is quoted in the News & Record as saying the prohibitions are legal because they only control time and manner, the policy actually demands that content be reviewed by a small committee for approval. Therefore, I am encouraging you to give serious consideration to representing C4GC on this matter. Indeed, from my perspective, were the ACLU of NC to challenge this policy, it would be to the benefit of all the residents of Guilford County.

If I can be of assistance to you in further evaluating the possibility of your involvement with this matter, do not hesitate to let me know.

"I think the word you're looking for is 'experts'"

John Stewart rightly mocks lawmakers who would censor the internet while admitting they do not understanding the technicalities. He includes a well-deserved poke at North Carolina congressman Mel Watt (at the 3:27 mark. Hat tip, Ed Cone)

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Responding to Charles Davenport Jr.'s charge of cowardice.

A few days ago, local columnist and conservative apologist Charles Davenport, Jr. invited me to engage him in a pro/con for publication on his new website the Greensboro Guardian. Less than ninety minutes later, I accepted Davenport's invitation as a reply in the same thread were he issued it (he didn't leave any other contact information as I did in my acceptance).

Although I did not hear from Davenport, a few days later he writes that I "declined" his invitation, as he "suspected [I] would," he adds. He calls it "cowardice."

Davenport may not have seen my response, although that seems unlikely, but to say that I declined is just flat wrong.

I repeat my acceptance of Davenport's challenge, maintaining my initial preferences that it happen in a forum that allows public comment (his site or elsewhere) and that it be in type larger than the microscopic font currently deployed on Charles' website.

I'm even more eager now, because if I'm going against someone who cannot get his facts straight, it's going to be a cake walk.

Gingrich under fire because he is a conservative?

Joe Guarino suffocates thinking with preconceived suspicion and concludes that the reason the national press is covering the marital history of of a contending presidential candidate while the local press did not cover the marital troubles of a mayoral candidate is because Newt Gingrich is a more conservative Republican than the moderate Republican mayoral candidate. It's the conservatism that brings the scrutiny, he says. In Joe's mind, "it is painfully obvious."

Incorporate the facts though, and Guarino's conspiracy theory crumbles. The local media did not choose to report on the marital histories of ANY council candidate, including those of conservative Republicans. They did not apply a double standard, one for moderates and one for conservatives, they applied the same standard to all candidates, from the most conservative to the most liberal. I don't know why the local press didn't report on the marital histories of council candidates, it could have been because marriage laws are not an issue for city council, but different standards for conservatives and moderates was demonstrably not their reason.

The reason Gingrich gets legitimate scrutiny on this issue is this: Conservatives, all the Republican presidential candidates* and Newt Gingrich specifically, have pledged to refuse to allow marriage for gay people—that discrimination being necessary, they say, in order to "defend marriage."

If the implication is not obvious to you, here it is: If a candidate cannot keep their personal obligation under a marriage, cannot manage a marriage within their personal domain (or if they themselves are privately gay), they really have no businesses dictating, especially not through the power of law, that this institution is too sacred for the participation of consenting gay adults. Their rhetoric is contrary to their actions—hypocrisy. How qualified is a man who destroyed his own marriages to tell other people how to live theirs? Voters deserve to know if a candidate's public statements contradict their actions.


As Think Progress notices, Gingrich has a special place at the apex of hypocrisy on this matter. He doesn't just want gay marriage denied to a segment of loving, committed, consenting adults, he promises, through legislative action, to "defend" marriage as specifically and exclusively between one woman and one man—this while having asked his wife to share him with another other woman. Gingrich cannot keep his own marriage to one man and one woman, but he wants to legally impose that demand on others. It wasn't as if Gingrich's marriage went kaput because of unhappy circumstances either—not as if he was innocently a victim in some unavoidable disintegration of his marriage—it was his actions that brought down the one marriage he had the complete ability to "defend." Destroying his own marriage, he now he wants to control others'.

One of the reason I have thought since last fall that Gingrich would be a contender in this race is because he has vast political experience and the intellectual confidence to think on his feet. Demonstrating those qualities, he is turning this matter back on the media and it seems to be working—at least with the Republican crowd at last night's debate (it won't in a general election)—but for Guraino to proclaim that sinister motives explain the distinction between national media reporting of Gingrich's philandering and local media ignoring the marital travails of local city council candidates is to turn a blind eye to Gingrich's hypocrisy. Local candidates were not saying one thing and doing another and especially not while defending odoriferous discrimination. Gingrich is.

[* Ron Paul cuts a slightly different path, but clearly does not favor marriage equality for gay people.]

Fox8 covers yesterday's anti-censorship web protests

Although the anchor introduction announcing "nearly a dozen" protesting websites was off by about 75,000, Fox8's Brandon Jones' report does a great job explaining the opposition to the internet censorship bills pending in congress and yesterday's online protests.

I didn't know the story would be so much about Greensboro 101 going dark yesterday, but that was pretty great and has nothing to do with my impression that Brandon is a talent to watch. Seriously. He'll likely learn a lot quickly too if he keeps teaming up with, as he did yesterday, the seasoned veteran Lenslinger—who could just as legitimately claim Wordslinger for his jaunty prose.

 

Senator Hagan's justification for internet censorship debunked

North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan on why she is co-sponsor of the deficient Protecting IP Act, via Mark Binker: 

"We have about $58 billion a year of intellectual property stolen."

So say the motion picture lobbyists, but is that accurate?

Not really

From the CATO Institute, via Ed Cone:

Only $58 billion! We’re making progress! So where does that figure come from? The source here is a paper released by the Institute for Policy Innovation, and authored by one Stephen Siwek, an MBA and principal of a consulting firm called Economists Incorporated that produces economic analysis for hire on behalf of (among others) businesses seeking to influence policy makers. That does not, in itself, invalidate the research, but we should at least begin with the recognition that we are not dealing here with impartial academic studies produced by a university or government research agency.

What does invalidate the “research” is the inappropriate use of “multiplier” effects to double—and triple—count loss estimates that were dubious to begin with. As the GAO report notes in its typically understated fashion:

"Most of the experts we interviewed were reluctant to use economic multipliers to calculate losses from counterfeiting because this methodology was developed to look at a one-time change in output and employment."

Greensboro 101 on strike

For the first time since its inception in 2005, Greensboro 101 is not serving its function as a gateway to the news and ideas of the people and organizations of Greensboro. It's on strike in protest of some very bad legislation currently under consideration in the U.S. congress that would allow Hollywood media companies to censor the Internet with a heavy, ham-fisted hand.

The video above explains. It's only a little complicated, but worth your time and attention. More detail here.

North Carolina's senator Kay Hagan is a co-sponsor of the legislation. Our other senator, Richard Burr, is undecided. Contact them both and ask them NOT to support the Protect IP Act. [Email your congressional representatives here.]

Richard Burr: 1-800-685-8916; email
Kay Hagan: 1-877-852-9462; email

"Heavy handed abuse of power"

This is not a partisan issue and Jodie Riddleberger is very much right on:

Strike

Tomorrow I'm going to do something I've never done before—it's important I think; and tomorrow starts at midnight.

Small group meeting compromise

Greensboro City Council person Nancy Vaughan described her concerns about the current small group meeting policy, that the council will revisit this evening. She made a good point about the inefficiencies created by the policy. Specifically, the inability for two council persons to quickly meet with city staff is a hindrance to efficient action.

The policy demands a 48 hour advance public notice if any two or more council persons are to meet with staff. As Nancy pointed out, that is even more ludicrous if two council members are already at City Hall working together on an urgent matter. If questions arise, they cannot just pop into a staffer's office and get some answers.

So, yeah. Maybe we can clear the decks a little bit for council members who want to hustle. But that doesn't have to happen at the expense of the gains in transparency the policy achieved

Here are some ways that the policy could be adjusted so that council members are not frustrated and transparency is not stymied.

1. Keep the audio recording requirement.
   Establishing a public record keeps the meetings accessible to the public, even if after the fact, and does not interfere with speedy scheduling.
2. Increase the number of "small group."
   Raise the advanced public notification requirement for a meeting with two council persons to three or more.
3. Make a public notice within 24 hours of the end of the meeting. The point of public access to small group meetings is to know who met and what city business they discussed. With audio recordings available, a public notice shortly after the meeting would serve that purpose.

Greensboro city council may revert to greater secrecy

The Greensboro City Council currently has a small group meeting policy that requires any meeting of two or more city council persons with any city staff be announced to the public 48 hours in advance, audio recorded and open to the media. Newly elected Mayor Robbie Perkins wants to change that—and not for the better.

There is an item on the agenda for tonight's city council meeting, with Perkins as the primary contact, for the purpose of discussing changes to the small group policy. Documents attached to the agenda (item 32, pp 159 - 162) describe Greensboro's small group policy as being more than North Carolina public meetings law requires and as unique to Greensboro. It's clear the purpose of revisiting the policy is to attempt to weaken or eliminate it.

Greensboro government has a long history, with all too recent manifestations, of cultivating public suspicion by secrecy. The state law may not demand that Greensboro have this small group policy and other cities may not, but so what? When it comes to open government, can Greensboro not stand above the rest of the state? Must we revert to the norm by lowering our standards?

The current policy is a robust plank in support of public trust and an antiseptic against corrosive public suspicion. If it sets Greensboro apart, all the better. It should not be changed.

Newt Gingrich

I will be surprised if Newt Gingrich does not become more of a contender for the Republican presidential nomination than he has thus far. Unlike Romeny, his conservatism is in his bones, not an adornment; and unlike Santorum, he has the intellectual chops to make the case for conservative principles.

Yes, already Gingrich has said some things that assure he will be unacceptable to large segments of the population in the general elections, but he stands out—to me at least—as the guy most capable of making the race about a different direction for the country. If America is truly facing an existential threat from within, as the right frequently insists, Gingrich is most prepared to explain to and convince voters of the need for an alternative.

McDonald's ruins the milkshake

McDonald's has taken their iconic shake and added the word "cafe" to it, which apparently is McDonald's-speak for "shrinking a large to the size of the previous medium." The old large was 32 ounces, the new "large" is 22 ounces (a single ounce larger than the old medium) and the top fifth is filled with whipped cream you don't want.

On the other hand, the generous single quarter-sized slice of tomato on their premium burger made up for it. Not.

Guilford County: hick backwater

Thanks to our County Commissioners, specifically, Chairman Skip Alston, I am embarrassed to call myself a resident of Guilford County.

What kind of hick backwater outlaws multimedia presentations by speakers from the floor at public meetings in this day and age? Guilford County, sad to say.

In fact, no multimedia will be allowed during any portion of County Commissioners' meetings unless it is first reviewed by an "agenda committee" for "appropriateness."

Only with our approval, comrade.

This sounds an awful lot like it oversteps the Constitutional prohibitions against prior restraint of speech. Maybe someone will take it to court and we'll spin our wheels on another unnecessary issue while the world moves on.

WFMY: Government stenographers

WFMY dutifully regurgitates, again, another press release. Surely, one of the most basic duties of journalists is to challenge and check the pronouncements of the powerful, especially the government. The health of our democracy depends on news people doing journalism, not stenography.

Here is a story from WMFY's web site. Although it is identified as "written by Patrick Phillippi," it is almost entirely a reprint of a press release from the State Attorney General. The copied portions are highlighted.

Raleigh, NC -- North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper detailed his opposition to Duke Energy's proposed rate increase in a filing with the North Carolina Utilities Commission on Monday.

Cooper said, "Utilities commissioners should heed the economic damage to North Carolina consumers before signing off Duke Energy's rate increase."

Cooper went on to say, "The commission should come down on the side of consumers when considering a fair rate of return for Duke, especially the economy."

Cooper's Consumer Protection Division intervened in the rate case and questioned Duke Energy's experts in November. During that hearing, attorney's with Cooper's office questioned whether experts who calculated the rate of return to Duke Energy shareholders also took "changing economic conditions" into account.

Earlier this year, Duke Energy applied to the Utilities Commission to request that the company be allowed to increase its revenues by approximately $646 million. That earnings increase would be passed along to consumers in the form of higher electricity bills. If approved by the Utilities Commission, the proposed rate hike would have raised the average Duke customer's monthly bill by approximately 17 percent.

Hundreds of North Carolinians have written to Cooper asking for help and expressing their concern about higher electricity costs, according to the Attorney General.

The Attorney General's Office has filed copies of the letters with the Clerk for the Utilities Commission so that commissioners will be aware of consumers' views on the proposed increase.

Forty Creek Barrel Select

A couple of years ago, I discovered the joys of Scotch Whiskey. My still limited samplings have me favoring well aged single malts. The good stuff is expensive though and since North Carolina ABC stopped carrying the very good $22 10-year Tamdhu, I've been at a loss for an affordable replacement. (12 year Highland Park is beautiful but its $45 price, while still a great value, puts it into the "special occasion" category for me.)

My fallback "everyday" whiskeys had become Canadian whiskeys—Canadian Club, Seagrams*, Black Velvet.

Last night was the first time I noticed Forty Creek Barrel Select Whiskey among the Canadian whiskeys and its $19.95 price encouraged me to pick it up and read the label which described:

A whiskey where aromas of honey, vanilla and apricot fuse with toasty oak, black walnut and spice. The flavour is rich and bold on the palate and is completed in a smooth, long finish.

I was pleased to find that this whiskey offers the flavors and complexities I enjoy from Scotch. To my very uncultivated pallette, I might have even guessed it to be a Scotch, had I not known. For depth of flavor and price, I recommend Forty Creek Barrel Select.

[* Update: Seagrams is a fine domestic whiskey, not Canadian—as everybody knows]

Soggy Doggy

What a great concept, a self service dog wash. Such is the new Soggy Doggy (2511 Battleground Ave.). Prices range from $15 to $35 depending on the weight of your dog.The place provides state of the art walk-in bath tubs, aprons, nice shower heads, shampoos, cream rinse, wash cloths, towels, ear wash and cotton balls, and drying tables with adjustable blowers—in short, everything you need to give your dog a thorough cleaning. Owner Susan will even give you some tips on proper bathing techniques.

Journalist or stenographer?

Michale Hastings:

Look, I went into journalism to do journalism, not advertising. My views are critical but that shouldn’t be mistaken for hostile – I’m just not a stenographer. There is a body of work that shows how I view these issues but that was hard-earned through experience, not something I learned going to a cocktail party on f***ing K Street. That’s what reporters are supposed to do, report the story.

Word.

Cushy teaching jobs and slack ass parents.

I know a particular teacher quite well and I hear a lot about the ins and outs of her job. One thing that just plain infuriates me to hear is of parents who ask teachers to come in early for a parent conference, or to stay late or to schedule two conferences so that separated parents don't have to be in the same room together for a few minutes -- and then don't show up; don't call or email, just blow the whole thing off.

It happens a lot.

Conservatives are wrong that teachers have cushy jobs, they are right that too many parents won't bother to take responsibility for their children's success.

Another Earth

If a parallel Earth came into reach that held the possibility of a life as you but without the mistakes you've made on this Earth, would you go there? That's the question faced by Rhoda in the independent film Another Earth (currently available in Red Box).

The screenplay was written by Mike Cahill and Britt Marling, with Cahill directing and Marling turning in a wonderfully layered performance in the leading role. The film requires some willful suspension of disbelief (the second Earth floats into view in the sky, close enough for a rocket trip), but play along and you are rewarded with a poignant exploration of loss and love. The coming together of passionate directing, writing and acting—of Marling and costar William Mapother—make this film a rare gem, a movie that inspires mature joy and wonder without typical Hollywood sentimentality.

Stylometry

I learned of something new today. Stylometry.

Stylometry is the application of the study of linguistic style. Stylometry is often used to attribute authorship to anonymous or disputed documents.