North Carolina Senator Richard Burr Is In Top 10 for PAC Recipients Who Knew?

The Center for Responsive Politics has a top 10  for the House and Senate candidates CLICKHERE

Our own North Carolina Senator Richard Burr has made the list of top 10 recipients of Political Action Committee money otherwise known as PAC money . Here is the break down of the top 10 Senators.

Lincoln, Blanche (D)*

(Arkansas Senate) $4,368,642

Reid, Harry (D)*
(Nevada Senate) $3,513,434

Blunt, Roy (R)
(Missouri Senate) $3,252,143

Portman, Rob (R)
(Ohio Senate) $2,957,653

Schumer, Charles E (D)*
(New York Senate) $2,905,309

Burr, Richard (R)*
(North Carolina Senate) $2,721,777

Grassley, Chuck (R)*
(Iowa Senate) $2,598,405

Gillibrand, Kirsten (D)*
(New York Senate) $2,393,652

Kirk, Mark (R)
(Illinois Senate) $2,364,142

Murray, Patty (D)*
(Washington Senate) $2,360,201

All figures are for all candidates in the 2010 election and are based on FEC reports filed through March 31, 2011.

Does New York State's 2011 budget eliminate 53,333 jobs?

New York State 2010 $136.5 billion budget - New York State 2011 $132.5 billion budget = $4 Billion less = $4 billion / $75,000 = 53,333 jobs?

Local Real Estate Group Wants To Deny The Citizens of Greensboro The Right To Protest Petition

On Monday 3-28-2011 there was a joint session of the Regulatory Reform Committee meeting at the campus of Guilford Tech . Community College. While looking at my twitter account i came across this tweet by Greensboro News and Record state and federal government reporter Mark Binker which he had this to say,

"TREBIC out in force at #ncga Reg Reform committee asking for repeal of protest petition rules. #GSO just got it back a couple years ago."

Here is a link to Mark Binker's twitter account CLICKHERE

The TREBIC in the post belongs to the Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition our local developer lobbyist organization. It is amazing to think that it hasn't even been 2 years and they are already whining and complaining to the state about this law. To also understand that the citizens of Greensboro have been getting screwed for the past 30 years of not having this state law and we are only going on 2 years of finally having it be a part of the zoning laws to see them complain to the regulatory commission is ridiculous.

 We also have a blog post from Jordan Green at Yes Weekly on this meeting here is what Jordan had to say.

" Lolita Malave, president-elect of the Greensboro Regional Realtors Association, asked the General Assembly to repeal the protest petition, which allows neighboring property owners to trigger a requirement of a 75 percent majority vote for approval of a rezoning request if they file a valid protest petition.



“It is easier to change the US Constitution that it is to rezone your property under the protest petition,” Malave said. “The US Constitution can be changed with a simple-majority vote of the people or a two-thirds majority vote of Congress. By contrast, the owner of 5 percent of the land within 100 feet of a proposed land rezoning project can trigger a requirement for more than a super-majority vote. That equates to more than 75 percent of voters. It is absurd and unfair that such a small number of citizens can and do decide the fate of many.”


One speaker echoed Malave’s appeal, while another spoke in defense of the protest petition.

here is a link to the whole article CLICKHERE

 We also have  our local Greensboro City Council Member Zack Matheny talk about Protest Petition in a council meeting last year here is the clip;







Now we have a local city council member talk about how they are frustrated with Protest Petition being a part of the zoning process and this was over a year ago that the councilman talked about this, then we see this year they go in front of a regulatory commission meeting to let them know how they feel and want it repealed. With this being said it shows to all the citizens of Greensboro that this law is working for it's purpose and needs to stay a part of the process. 

It is time to let our local state representatives know how you feel about Protest Petition and to say to them keep this a state law and it should stay that way.


Here is a link to all of our local representatives if you would like to say to them "KEEP PROTEST PETITION AS STATE LAW".

STATE SENATE SIDE

Don Vaughan CLICKHERE
Gladys Robinson CLICKHERE
Phil Berger CLICKHERE
Stan Bingham CLICKHERE

STATE HOUSE SIDE

John Blust CLICKHERE
Maggie Jeffus CLICKHERE
Pricey Harrison CLICKHERE
Marcus Brandon CLICKHERE
John Faircloth CLICKHERE
Alme Adams CLICKHERE

You can also let the Regulatory Reform Commission know how you feel as well by filling out this form on the state web site  CLICKHERE

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Newsbusted is new for the day please check out the embedded video compliments from out friends at newsbusters

Financial Mismanagement? Vote Buying at safety's expense? Will Greensboro's Aquatic Center = Fewer Fire Fighters? Breach of Fiscal Duty?

"The city may get rid of a nine-person firefighting team in the next round of budget cuts. . Fire Chief Greg Grayson said he must identify $900,000 in potential budget cuts for City Manager Rashad Young. .

Did Nancy, Jim, Robbie, Dianne and Zack know that public safety services could be limited, when they voted for a $19.5 million swimming pool?

.

. Cutting one of nine $360,000 teams — known as ladder companies — is among the recommendations that Grayson gave to Young. . ...Grayson also recommended eliminating the funding for one deputy fire marshal. . If the manager chooses to eliminate a ladder company, Grayson said he will choose one that has the least impact on emergency fire services citywide. .

. Did Nancy, Jim, Robbie, Dianne and Zack know the Jordan Lake Rules could cost the city $270 million, when they voted for a $19 million swimming pool?

.

Ladder companies break down doors, ventilate roofs and help search for victims in building fires. They also respond to emergency medical calls if engine companies are not available. . The City Council, which will approve the final budget, wants to see $18 million worth of cuts this year. . .

Did Nancy, Jim, Robbie, Dianne and Zack know that public safety services could be limited, when they voted for a $19.5 million swimming pool?

.

. ...Ladder companies responded to 8,654 of the 50,170 emergencies that Greensboro firefighters went to in the last 12 months, according to Grayson. . Although the City Council has asked that the public safety departments be a priority in budget discussions, fire services still has faced cost cutting in recent years. . .

Did Nancy, Jim, Robbie, Dianne and Zack know the Jordan Lake Rules could cost the city $270 million, when they voted for a $19 million swimming pool? .

.

...training and computer equipment, have taken significant cuts in the last two years, Grayson said. . ...The fire department has nine vacant staff positions, which Grayson has frozen, pending a decision by the city manager." . . Amanda

City of Greensboro Information Request:

Please provide the following details of where "Appropriated Fund Balances",
under "Total Revenue by Major Type",
on page 13 of the City of Greensboro's 2010-11 Adopted Budget:

Where did the Actual 2008-09 $33,421,883 come from
and what was it spent on?

As part of overall efforts to balance the General Fund Budget without a tax rate increase,
the General Fund will receive transfers
from the Network Services Fund ($1,745,000) and the Parking Fund ($955,000).

Fund Balance

The City of Greensboro fund balance policy states
that “each year the estimated savings realized from unexpected appropriations
in the General Fund shall be evaluated
with respect to appropriation to the following year’s revenue budget
as Appropriated Fund Balance to assist in financing that year’s budget.”

Appropriated fund balance amounts are increasing from $21.7 million to over $30 million.

Appropriated fund balance for the General Fund increases from $4.7 million in FY 09-10
to over $5 million in FY 10-11.

Appropriated fund balance in the Debt Service Fund
will increase from $7.5 million in the current year to $8.7 million for FY 10-11
to help support increased principle and interest payments
and offset lowered interest income earnings.

The Technical Services Fund
will draw down $1.5 million in fund balance
to cover the cost of radio replacements scheduled for FY 10-11.

The Network Services Fund
will appropriate $1.8 million in fund balance to cover the cost
of a one-time transfer of funds to the General Fund.

This support is necessary to help the balance the General Fund budget.

Greensboro's 2010-11 Adopted Budget

If $5 million + $8.7 million + $1.8 million
+ $1.745 million + $.955 million = $18.2 million,
where is/did the other $11.8 million go,
and where is it coming from in 2010-11's Adopted Budget?

Abner Doon at Ed Cone's on March 24: "What if a container ship with 100 containers shows up at long beach, and 2 click the Geiger counters?"

"The economic disruptions from Japan’s crisis have cascaded into another, crucial link in the global supply chain: cargo shipping.

Fearing the potential impact on crews, cargo and vessels worth tens of millions of dollars, some of the world’s biggest container shipping lines have restricted or barred their ships from calling on ports in Tokyo Bay over concerns about radiation from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Meantime, ports in China are starting to require strict radiation checks on ships arriving from Japan. And in California on Friday, the first ship to reach the Port of Long Beach since Japan’s earthquake was boarded and scanned for radiation by Coast Guard and federal customs officials before being allowed to dock.

...the Tokyo Bay ports of Tokyo and Yokohama are normally Japan’s two busiest, representing as much as 40 percent of the nation’s foreign container cargo. If other shipping companies join those already avoiding the Tokyo area, as radiation contamination spreads from Fukushima Daiichi 140 miles north, the delays in getting goods in and out of Japan would only grow worse.

The shipping industry’s fears have escalated since port officials in Xiamen, China, earlier this week detected radiation on a large container ship belonging to Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and quarantined the ship. The vessel had sailed down Japan’s northeast coast and reportedly came no closer than 80 miles to the damaged nuclear power plant...

Hapag-Lloyd, a German container shipping line that is one of the world’s largest, halted service to Tokyo and Yokohama after the tsunami swamped Fukushima Daiichi. The shipper has not resumed service to those ports.

...Reuters reported that another German shipper, Claus-Peter Offen, has also stopped calling at Tokyo and Yokohama.

OOCL, a shipping line based in Hong Kong, said late Friday that the company had decided to halt all traffic to Tokyo and Yokohama.

...Merchant vessels may have to be scrapped if quarantined even temporarily for radioactivity, because they would face extra coast guard checks for years at subsequent destinations...

The extra inspections make it hard to keep a schedule...

...Shippers, even if they can avoid radiation exposure, know that cargo coming from Japan is now subject to new delays.

...the ship scanned for radiation at the Port of Long Beach carried about 2,500 containers from four ports: Kobe and Nagoya in the south and Shimizu and Tokyo farther north.

...concerns from dockworkers prompted Coast Guard and customs inspectors to board the Japanese ship in the harbor and scan the cargo for radiation with hand-held scanners. Only then was the ship allowed to dock.

...“One of the problems we’ve been hearing is they have transportation issues of getting things from northern Japan,”

...“Which is why we expect to get a slowdown of autos and auto parts. That should hit us in a few more weeks.”

One of China’s largest ports, Yantian port in Shenzhen, next to Hong Kong, announced Friday that it had begun screening all arriving vessels and containers for radiation if they had been to Japan in the preceding 28 days and if Yantian was their first port of call in China. These vessels will not be allowed to unload until after all screening has taken place.

The port of Hong Kong announced earlier this week that it would begin screening random vessels for radiation as well.

...until the radiation problem is contained, Tokyo and Yokohama are themselves threatened as fully functioning seaports."

NYT

Dismal Science at Ed Cone

Dear neo-Keynesians IV: Are taxes rising or falling if workers, savers and investors are exposed to inflationary capital confiscation?

Ponzi finance units must increase its outstanding debt
in order to meet its financial obligations.

A transition occurs over the course of an expansion,
as increasingly risky positions are validated by the booming economy,
that renders the built in margins of error superfluous,
encouraging adoption of riskier positions.

Eventually, either financing costs rise
or income comes in below expectations,
leading to defaults on payment commitments.

Hyman Minsky

Dear neo-Keynesians III: Does increased Federal Reserve money creation = a hidden tax increase on the middle class many that benefits a wealthy few?

.
Inflation is one form of taxation that can be imposed without legislation.
.
Milton Friedman

Dear neo-Keynesians II: Should an IOU backed by faith and credit, remain relatively stable, as long as faith and credit exist?

If a nation prints more money,
like cutting a 16 inch pizza into 12 slices instead of 8,
is each slice worth less?

What if the pizza shrinks while the number of slices rise?

If the City of Greensboro had what may be at least $394,451,589 in short term savings on 6/30/10, what happened to the $56,098,176?

Fund Balances - June 30, 2010..................................$115,582,210
2010 Greensboro CAFR
PDF, Page 56 of 311, second number above bottom right hand corner

+

Investments..................................................................$278,869,379
Total Fair Value
PDF, Page 95 of 311, middle

= ......................................................................................$394,451,589 in 2010?


http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/D0E2C0F2-4642-45BB-90A5-55A7385AA93C/0/2010CAFR.pdf
.
.
.

Fund Balances - June 30, 2009....................................$136,731,968
2009 Greensboro CAFR
PDF, Page 52 of 305, second number above bottom right hand corner

+

Investments.....................................................................$313,817,797
Total Fair Value
PDF, Page 86 of 305, middle

=.................................................................$450,549,765? in 2009?


http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/0875886F-1223-4F2D-8681-8CEE59044D32/0/2009CAFR.pdf

.
.
.
$450,549,765

- $394,451,589

= $56,098,176

Edited Excerpts from Rashad Young's "Community Conversations" Budget Presentation

FY 10-11 Expenditures.......................................$254.9M

FY 11-12 Planning Budget Revenues................$250.0M

...............................................................................= $4.9M Reduction in expected revenues

(General Fund Only: Water and Sewer, 41% Greensboro's budget, not included:
ie... Lake Jordan)

If Greensboro expects to spend $423,791,632 in 2010/11,
why would Rashad Young tell a budget meeting $250 million?

FY 11-12 Planning Budget Expenditures......................$259.0M

FY 11-12 Planning Budget Revenues..............................$250.0M

...........................................................................................= $9 million revenue shortfall

(General Fund Only: Water and Sewer, 41% Greensboro's budget, not included:
ie... Lake Jordan)

Did Nancy, Jim, Robbie, Dianne and Zack
know the Jordan Lake Rules could cost the city $270 million,
when they voted for a $19 million swimming pool?

–Other Revenue Growth of -4.5%
($1.74 million reduction from one time transfers in FY 10-11)

What one time transfers?

–$3.5M use of Fund Balance (one-time contribution)

One-time contribution to what?

•Increase in energy and fuel costs

•Increase in mandated state contribution to retirement system

•Additional program costs for Keeley Park

For how long has who known about Greensboro
needing what could be $270 million for Lake Jordan Rules,
on top of another $25 million that North Carolina could take?

State Revenue at Risk

What’s at Stake for Greensboro FY 2011-12?

•Electricity Franchise Tax.....................$10.0M
•Telecommunications Tax.....................$4.7M
•Refund of Sales Taxes.........................$2.8M
•Video Programming Distr.....................$2.8M
•Natural Gas Excise Tax........................$2.0M
•Transitional Hold Harmless...................$1.3M
•Beer and Wine Excise Tax....................$1.2M
•Solid Waste Disposal Tax.....................$0.2M

Total State Tax Revenue risk for GSO....$25.3M

Did Nancy, Jim, Robbie, Dianne and Zack
know North Carolina State could cost the city about $25 million,
when they voted for a $19 million swimming pool?

Council Direction to Staff

7% cut to the General Fund budget, or $18M
(General Fund Only: Water and Sewer, 41% Greensboro's budget, not included:
ie... Lake Jordan rules etc...)

$18 million from $259 million or $250 million?

Capital Funding

$35M in Bonds proposed to be issued in Spring 2012

•2006 Bond Projects = $11.55M
–$3.285M Old Randleman Road Fire Station
–$750,000 Land Acquisition for Reedy Fork Fire Station
–$2.105M Hilltop Road Recreation Center
–$2.0M Economic Development Bonds
–$3.5M Lake Jeanette Library

How much does the Water and Sewer department intend to borrow?

•2008 Bond Projects = $15.19M
–$8.25M Street Improvements

How much does the Water and Sewer department intend to borrow?

•Merritt Drive, High Point Road Streetscape, HorsepenCreek Road, Alamance Church Road,
Sidewalks, Cone/NealtownRoad Extension, and Maintenance
–$100,000 Neighborhood Park Renovations
–$500,000 Gateway Gardens Phase II
–$6.0M Aquatics Center
–$335K Housing Loans for Energy Efficiency / Affordable Housing

How much does the Water and Sewer department intend to borrow?

•2009 Bond Project = $8.26M
–$8.26M Natural Science Center

Source: Community Conversations
City of Greensboro FY2011/2012 Budget
(General Fund Only: Water and Sewer, 41% Greensboro's budget, not included: ie... Lake Jordan)

How did the City of Greensboro close last year's budget gap, to spend more than $1 million more than the previous year and what now?

City Manager Rashad Young...told residents and city leaders Monday night
...that everything is up for cuts as he tries to balance the budget by June.

...He said the city has a $9 million budget gap to close.

That’s $2 million more than what he last reported to City Council in January.

Amanda Lehmert
Greensboro News and Record, March 22, 2011

City Manager Rashad Young proposed $9.26 million in cuts last week..."

Amanda Lehmert
Greensboro News and Record, April 11, 2010

"Libraries, loose-leaf collection and crossing guards are back.

And a tax cut may be on the way.

...City Council members agreed to keep a variety of services that had been slated for cuts..."

Amanda Lehmert
Greensboro News and Record, June 9, 2010

Newsbusted is new for March 22, 2011 Please Enjoy The Embedded Video Compliments of Newsbusters

Newsbusters is new for 3-22-2011 topics in todays video.

-- Obama takes time off from Libya, Japan, budget

-- Libya bombing underway

-- Obama out of touch?

-- House votes to defund NPR

-- Batman-themed hotel in Taiwan

-- LeBron launches 'stay in school' initiative

Starring: Jodi Miller
Director: Bruce Roundtower
Executive Producer: Matthew Sheffield

Text 'NewsBusters' to 85944 to make a $10 contribution to keep 'Busted going strong.

NewsBusted is a comedy webcast about the news of the day, uploaded every Tuesday and every Friday.

If Greensboro expects to spend $423,791,632 in 2010/11, why would Rashad Young tell a budget meeting $250 million?

Revenues are projected to drop from $254.9 million this fiscal year
to $250.0 million in the next, Young said,
while current-level expenditures are on track to increase to $259.0 million.

Jordan

If Greensboro spends $423,791,632 in 2010/11
with net revenues minus Appropriated Fund Balances of $393,327,363,
why would Rashad Young tell a budget meeting $250 million?

PDF Page 1 of 3, City of Greensboro Adopted 2010/11 Total Budget Revenues
.

Why would Rashad
not want to talk about 41% of Greensboro's total budget?

.

$423,791,632

-$393,327,363

= $30,464,269

.
If the City of Greensboro intends to spend more than $1 million more
in 10/11 than 09/10,
what is the $30,464,269 being spent on,
and why hasn't any of the city reporters
reported on citizens being lied to?

Kotlikoff and Stanley on Japan and the reactors

"The authorities have serially indicated that exploding reactor housing is not a big problem,
that released radioactive steam is not a big problem,
that the significant cracks in containment vessels are not a big problem,
that burning spent fuel ponds are not a big problem,
and that the contamination of food and water is not a big problem.

...What’s already occurred is horrible enough,
what with death and severe injury to plant workers and the contamination of local milk,
spinach, beans, and, presumably, fish.

...this at a site just 150 miles from Tokyo’s 14 million inhabitants,
whose water is already showing traces of radiation.

...When it comes to earthquakes,
what we’ve recorded to date is a minute span of geological history.

...Four of the nine largest quakes to strike our planet since 1900
have occurred in the last seven years.

This list doesn’t include Japan’s 1995 Kobe earthquake,
which was, until now, the costliest on record.

...[No one] knows the statistical distribution governing earthquakes of different magnitudes.

...the probability of extremely powerful earthquakes and their attendant tsunamis
may be much higher than we think.

Case in point -- the 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the northeast coast of Japan
was 10 times bigger than the maximum quake the builders of the Fukushima plant
considered possible.

...Thanks to Chernobyl, an area the size of Switzerland,
or 16,000 square miles (41,000 square kilometers), is uninhabitable for the next 300 years.

Japan is about nine times bigger than Switzerland."

Laurence Kotlikoff and Eugene Stanley

On the extension cords and cooling pumps of Fukushima, Japan's reactors

"Cooling pumps at one of Japan's crippled nuclear reactors
are damaged beyond repair and will need to be replaced...

An emergency order has been placed for new pumps for Unit 2 at the plant,
but it's unclear how quickly they would arrive...

...reactor 2 is the only one of the critical 4
which did not in fact suffer massive explosive damage.

So if that one is beyond repair, what happens to the other three?

And just what will this much praised power supply at Fukushima actually be connected to?

Concerns about the core issue at crisis management most certainly remain,
as all those behind operation Extension Cord finally realize
there is nothing to connect the power to."

T

Technology allows citizens to be part of redistricting process - USATODAY.com

Technology allows citizens to be part of redistricting process - USATODAY.com

Fec on Fec

"I am not an anarchist...

...I will not countenance attacks on minorities, gays, old people, children or the poor.

...I am not anti-religion, but contend spiritual beliefs are an intensely personal matter,
with no place in politics or government.

Those who seek political office by use of a Godbag will rue the day.

...I am not unreasonable.

...A fire in the belly to serve must also be accompanied by a desire to listen
and the humility to admit when you’re wrong.

The average sociopath running for office generally has a problem with the last two...

If I write something you consider objectionable, email me and I’ll probably take it down.

I’m the first to admit I don’t know all the particulars of an issue
and frequently exercise bad judgment.

My primary goal has always been to drive stupid people out of politics.

It is not personal.

Don’t take me seriously.

I’m usually bored and simply trying to entertain myself.

Anyone who gives anything I write credibility deserves the outcome."

Fec

E.H. Hennis Calls Greensboro City Councilwomen "Lying Hussy" Video Embedded

E.H. Hennis our local candidate for a spot in the 2011 edition of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest has been on a roll lately in the past month he got kicked out of the Greensboro City Council meeting and on March 17, 2011 he got to speak at the Guilford County Commissioners meeting which you can see on the video embedded above.

In the video E.H. Hennis had to say that in his 89th year this will be pay back year. He dislikes liars and thieves as well as corrupt politicians. He then went on to talk about some barbie twins who were despicable lying hussy's and named Phyllis Gibbs. Then to the end of the video at around the 2:16 mark on video you will hear E.H. Hennis talk about how sitting Greensboro City Councilwomen Mary Rakestraw caused him to be in court for 3 days in a attempt to expose her as a lying hussy. After that rant you can see that the microphone was turned off and E.H. Hennis was escorted off and tried to get something out of his pants but was led out of the meeting real quick by the sheriff's department.

Here is what was written from the rhino times in a article titled "Hennis Hustled Out After Hussy Harangue"
CLICKHERE

in the article from March 3, 2011 here is a little from article.

Hennis, who is 87 or 88, had been banned from council meetings for his previous misbehavior, and this was his first opportunity to get back to the microphone for speakers from the floor. Hennis got his name out and the fact that he calls himself the mayor of Groometown Road, and then when he started off calling Rakestraw a "hussy" and some names not so kind. Knight cut off the microphone and Hennis called him a "skinny headed SOB," except he didn't say SOB.



Assistant City Manager Mike Speedling and a police officer escorted Hennis from the room and the building. Hennis was shouting and cursing the whole time they walked him out the door, but once he got out of camera range he quieted down. He is an angry, bitter old man and it is a shame that he has chosen to spend his last years on this earth disrupting government meetings in Greensboro.


In 1998, when Rakestraw was a Guilford County commissioner, Hennis was arrested for bringing a fake bomb to a Board of Commissioners meeting and displaying it at the podium. Hennis was convicted on bomb hoax charges and banned from Guilford County commissioner meetings for a time. He evidently still holds that conviction against Rakestraw.

It is time to have a lifetime ban on E.H.Hennis for speaking at local government meetings or can we get a Nurse Ratched to take care of the situation.

Think = Chess = Libya + Syria + Iran + Hugo + Japan + Oil + Saudi + Yemen + ?

A metaphor.

If there are 9,183,421,888 ways to play the first nine moves,
9,417,681 the first six, 72,078 the first four, 5,362 the first three,
and 20 to play the first, are early moves more important than later?

Life is a kind of chess in which we have often points to gain,
competitors or adversaries to contend with,
and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events…

By playing at chess…we may learn foresight, circumspection and caution.

Benjamin Franklin

The more captured opposing pieces the less risk, and vice versa.

Does the player who doesn’t make the last mistake usually win?

After the game, the king and pawn go into the same box.

Italian proverb

Is chess non-violent war?

Newsbusted is New for March 18, 2011 Please Enjoy The Embedded Video Compliments of Newsbusters

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Greensboro City Council Member Robbie Perkins Gets Front Row Seats With Dook as Team Host, Please Explain?

Reading the Greensboro News and Record this morning with a great article on the trumpet played during the ACC basketball tournament by Jim Isley. We have a interesting tidbit that came out at the end of the article. Sorry that i could not link the article because it is in the e edition of the Greensboro News and Record which you need to be a subscriber to access.

In the article this is what was written

"It was a outpouring of patriotism that you don't see everyday", said Robbie Perkins, a City Council member who sat behind the Duke Bench and served as an official team host. 

Can someone please explain what are the job duties of a team host and where do we sign up to be the team host. It would be nice to get front row seats for the ACC Tournament especially when it is a UNC Vs. Dook final game where tickets were going for well over the $100 upper level and $250 lower level and could only imagine what front row tickets would go for. I am sure a elected official would not be taking free tickets and can prove that he bought those tickets or can the councilman explain what a team host actually does.

Is there a formal process to become a team host for all the ACC schools and if so please show us the process for becoming a team host. Maybe Ed Cone would like to be the team host for the UNC Tar Heels.

Also at the Greensboro City Council meeting on 3-15-2011 a few of the elected officials mentioned the ACC tournament and the great job that was done and some actually attended some of the games like councilman Zack Matheny mentioned at end of meeting. It would be nice to see if these elected officials paid for these tickets or were they freebies from who knows where.

Newsbusted is New for March 15, 2011 Please Enjoy The Embedded Video Compliments of Newsbusters

Newsbusted is new for March 15, 2011 please enjoy the embedded video compliments from our friends at newsbusters.

Recent earthquakes, the West Coast, the Pacific Plate and the San Andreas Fault

"...There was a horrifically destructive Pacific earthquake in New Zealand on Feb. 22,
and an even more violent magnitude-8.8 event in Chile almost exactly a year before.

All three phenomena
involved more or less the same family of circum-Pacific fault lines and plate boundaries
—and though there is still no hard scientific evidence to explain why,
there is little doubt now that earthquakes do tend to occur in clusters:
a significant event on one side of a major tectonic plate is often
—not invariably, but often enough to be noticeable
—followed some weeks or months later by another on the plate’s far side.

...Now there have been catastrophic events at three corners of the Pacific Plate
—one in the northwest, on Friday;
one in the southwest, last month;
one in the southeast, last year.

That leaves just one corner unaffected—the northeast.

And the fault line in the northeast of the Pacific Plate is the San Andreas Fault,
underpinning the city of San Francisco.

...the San Andreas Fault is due to rupture one day—it last did so in 1906,
and strains have built beneath it to a barely tolerable level.

To rupture again, ...some triggering event has to occur.

Now three events have occurred that might all be regarded as triggering events."

Winchester

Newsbusted is New for March 11, 2011 Please Enjoy The Embedded Video Compliments of Newsbusters

Newsbusted is new for 3-11-11 please enjoy the embedded video compliments from our friends at newsbusters. Have a great weekend and GO HEELS win the ACC Tournament.

On the Rhino and journalism ethics: publishers, reporters and those who endorse political candidates "giving" complimentary anything

Back scratching exposed,
newspaper publisher offers gifts to city council member

Roch101

Why are some bloggers who report on some of what most mainstream media won’t,
often criticized or ignored by some well-established for-profit pundits
who receive political advertising revenues from local campaign war chests?

Keith Brown at Triad Watch uncovers an email from William Hammer,
publisher of the local weekly newspaper The Rhino Times,
offering [a] Greensboro City Council person...free event tickets.

Roch101

Why would some mainstream media personalities criticize policy positions of some,
while swapping undisclosed and/or indirect compensation from others
interested in non-attributed dissention?

Let me try to explain to all local elected officials.

You should not be taking free tickets to any event or concert, PERIOD.

Kieth Brown

Should owner/employees of a "news" source
with a trade/barter agreement with a publicly owned venue
(The Greensboro Coliseum),
offer local candidates or elected officials free anything
if the "news" source intends to solicit political candidate advertising dollars
and publishes "endorsements" before local elections?

Could "giving" away free bees to elected officials be considered a bribe?

Could some believe accepting free passes to a publicly owned venue,
as opposed to elected or the municipally employed paying for entry
be considered to be stealing from taxpayers?

Why would the Rhino Times, which receives ad revenue and free tickets from the taxpayer owned Coliseum, explain a free ACC ticket issue with a caveat?

Tournament Tickets

...Do you know how many ticket books are given to the Coliseum and…who gets them?...

Anonymous [Rhino Letter to the Editor submitter]

[Rhino] Editors Note: Elected officials do not get free tickets to the ACC tournament from the Coliseum.

Rhino Times


Why the qualified response?

Does any entity give elected officials free tickets for anything
at the Coliseum or anywhere else?

If the Coliseum receives $1.8 million from Greensboro taxpayers per year,
how much does the Rhino receive in advertizing dollars
indirectly paid for with some of the community’s money?

If the Coliseum receives $1.8 million from Greensboro taxpayers per year,
how many complimentary tickets have the Rhino or its employees received from whom?

If some have received free tickets,
has any reporting and/or budgetary appropriation been compromised?

Aren’t gifts to elected officials supposed to be reported?

If those who received free tickets did not attend said events,
who did, and what was the face value of any admissions
relative to any campaign contributions?

If China and Russia are inclined to veto a UN res. over aLibyan no- fly etc..., who else wants the same, and are most unaware of the opposition?

"Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told a Senate committee on Thursday
that he believed Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi and his regime would prevail
in their struggle against opposition forces,
[and] that China and Russia pose the greatest threat to the United States...

Both Clapper and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Ronald Burgess
said they believed the opposition could not displace Qaddafi...

...Later in the hearing, when Sen. James Manchin (D-WV) asked Clapper
what two countries presented the greatest "mortal threat" to the United States,
Clapper said China and Russia.

Clapper said that China and Russia
have the greatest capability but he could not judge their intent."

Josh

Dear Doug Clark: What about the ethics of the News & Record's "barter agreement" tickets?...Why not mention the N&R's Conflict of Interest?

A Different Ball Game

The crowds and the quality of basketball aren’t the only things in decline at the ACC tournament. So is its political prestige.

Back when, the tournament was The Place to Be for The Powers That Be. A walk around the concourse was a power walk among legislators, decision-makers and North Carolina’s elite.

But long-time tournament-goers tell me it has changed dramatically. One long-time lobbyist said that, the last time he went, he walked around the concourse twice and didn’t see a soul he knew. He came home Thursday and watched the rest of the games on TV.

What happened?

Ethics happened. Legislators can no longer accept free tickets from the universities and corporate lobbyists. And they’re too cheap to buy their own.

And so another great political tradition dribbles off into history.

Gary Pearce, via Doug Clark

Previously:

If the Coliseum receives $1.8 million from Greensboro taxpayers per year,
how many free tickets has the GN&R’s Editorial Board received from whom?

The Greensboro News & Record's Code of Ethics

Why would the Rhino Times, which receives ad revenue from the Coliseum,
explain a free ACC ticket issue with a caveat?

Bartering With The Greensboro Coliseum Part #2 Greensboro News and Record

Shameless cheerleading / propaganda without disclosing conflicts of interest,
by Greensboro’s News & Record Editorial Board?

Why are free meals out of bounds for ABC managers
but free tickets to the Circus OK for City Council Members?

Free Tickets To The Circus Handed Out By Greensboro City Council Members,
Is This Legal or Ethical or Conflict of Interest?

Elected Officials in Charlotte Have Their Own Version of Free Tickets,
Time for a State Law Banning Free Tickets

ABC Board and unreported City Council Ticket Scandal Revisit:
Regulator on the pay to play take, gets job with those regulated?

Should the ABC Board Resign?

Greensboro City Council Member Zack Matheny
Did Receive Free Tickets To Greensboro Coliseum Video Embedded

Greensboro City Council ...Email from Rhino Times
for Free Skating and Concert Tickets ...Mary never saw the email...

On the Rhino and journalism ethics: publishers,
reporters and those who endorse political candidates "giving" complimentary anything

Rhino Times Barter Agreement with the Taxpayer Owned and Funded Greensboro Coliseum

Ringling Brothers Circus Solicits Free Tickets to Greensboro City Council Member Trudy Wade

Golden Leaf: A Web of Political Cronies and Corruption by N.C. Civitas

HAT TIP : Brian Balfour in a post at the Civitas Institute CLICKHERE

This is a must read for all the citizens of North Carolina who have wondered what the Golden Leaf Foundation does and now we have a good understanding especially with the title of the post "Golden Leaf: A Web of Political Cronies and Corruption " CLICKHERE

It is time that our state representatives need to look real hard at this foundation and if it is time to make the tobacco settlement money close to 600 million be a part of the budget process or will it stay the same as a political cronyism area for the Governor to do a she pleases.

If the City of Greensboro had what may be at least $394,451,589 as of June 30, 2010, why would who want to curtail early voting to save money?

"The quiet pruning of early voting

Hard to figure why Mayor Bill Knight would change the early voting protocols for city elections
without consulting the entire City Council
and without making the case for it in the open, before all of the voters.

The mayor instead conducted a straw poll among a few council members
(those with whom he typically agrees), then simply made the call on the elections.

To be clear, what the mayor did was perfectly legal.

...this doesn’t look good.

It especially doesn’t look good because Mayor Knight has a personal stake in this decision.

He plans to run for re-election.

So does each of the council members who voted with him on this issue in his informal straw poll
(Zack Matheny, Mary Rakestraw, Danny Thompson and Trudy Wade).

As was the case with public comment periods at council meetings,
Knight sometimes does not seem particularly enthused to hear what the public thinks,
much less his colleagues on the council."

Allen

Why would Rashad Young and Greensboro City Staff not want to disclose basic financial information?

George Hartzman 030411

If the City of Greensboro had what may be at least $394,451,589 in short term savings on 6/30/10, what happened to the $56,098,176?

Fund Balances - June 30, 2010..................................$115,582,210
2010 Greensboro CAFR
PDF, Page 56 of 311, second number above bottom right hand corner

+

Investments..................................................................$278,869,379
Total Fair Value
PDF, Page 95 of 311, middle

= ......................................................................................$394,451,589 in 2010?


http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/D0E2C0F2-4642-45BB-90A5-55A7385AA93C/0/2010CAFR.pdf
.
.
.

Fund Balances - June 30, 2009....................................$136,731,968
2009 Greensboro CAFR
PDF, Page 52 of 305, second number above bottom right hand corner

+

Investments.....................................................................$313,817,797
Total Fair Value
PDF, Page 86 of 305, middle

=.................................................................$450,549,765? in 2009?


http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/0875886F-1223-4F2D-8681-8CEE59044D32/0/2009CAFR.pdf

.
.
.
$450,549,765

- $394,451,589

= $56,098,176

City of Greensboro Information Request: Please provide all redistricting maps Zach Matheny wanted "kept private until public comment has been heard"

"Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small tried to set up an appointment with Stephen Sherman,
the city staff redistricting guru who will help draw the new district lines.

Councilman Zack Matheny, who has been appointed to oversee the redistricting effort on behalf of the board,
didn't appreciate what he saw as her attempt to go around the council's decision.

"To me that goes against what the super majority of City Council voted for,"

Matheny said today.

...Bellamy-Small and Matheny both drew their own maps the last time the council redrew the lines in 2008.

Matheny's map was adopted.

Bellamy-Small was at the losing end of the vote.

The Neighborhood Congress opposed the whole process,
because the public did not get to see the map before it was adopted.

Flash forward to 2011, when Matheny is appointed to oversee the redistricting.

Matheny pledged to run an open and transparent process.

He also asked Sherman to keep the Census info between the two of them.

From an email from Matheny to Sherman, via Councilman Robbie Perkins,
who has Bellamy-Small's back in this fight:

"...I request that you do not show anyone other than you and me
how the census interacts with our redistricting...,

...I am simply asking for just the maps to be kept private until public comment has been heard**)

...This will allow you and I to fulfill our duty."

...Councilwoman Nancy Vaughan -- as neutral a third party as one can get
-- gave Matheny the benefit of the doubt.

"It’s a public record.

The census is a public record.

I don’t think it's proper to say, 'Don’t let folks see this.'

I am thinking Zack just wanted to coordinate letting the information all out at one time,"
she said."

Amanda

Was the City of Greensboro sitting on $394,451,589 in short term savings on June 30, 2010?

Fund Balances - June 30, 2010...............$115,582,210
2010 Greensboro CAFR
PDF, Page 56 of 311, bottom right hand corner

+

Investments...........................................$278,869,379
Total Fair Value
PDF, Page 95 of 311, middle

=>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>............$394,451,589?


http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/D0E2C0F2-4642-45BB-90A5-55A7385AA93C/0/2010CAFR.pdf

Warning: Graphic Violence: The Battle for Zawihah, Libya

Nesbusted is New for 3-8-2011 Please Enjoy The Embedded Video Compliments from our Friends at Newsbusters

Topics in today's show:


-- Tea Party cleans up after unions

-- Border patrol officer shooting beanbags

-- Gas prices soar

-- Huck blasts Natalie Portman for out-of-wedlock child

-- John Galiano fired for anti-Semitic remarks

-- Christina Aguilera taken into police custody

-- Matthew McConaughey on Men's Fitness cover

-- Never buy used mattresses

Starring: Jodi Miller
Director: Bruce Roundtower
Executive Producer: Matthew Sheffield

Text 'NewsBusters' to 85944 to make a $10 contribution to keep 'Busted going strong.

NewsBusted is a comedy webcast about the news of the day, uploaded every Tuesday and every Friday.

If you like the show, be sure to tell your friends and family!

Feel free to post your comments on this video, we love them. We also love seeing how many people won't read this disclaimer and realize the laughtrack is a joke itself.

Think you're funny? Send your (short) jokes to newsbusted at dialognewmedia.com. If we use them, we'll pay you USD $50 for each one.

Newsbusters CLICKHERE

If Robbie's firm was involved with the parking lot sale, why didn't he recuse himself like in 2010?

City of Greensboro Information Request: What happened to the $4,300,000?

If City of Greensboro "Total Governmental Funds" were $101,243,293 on June 30, 2007,
.

PDF Page 48 of 288, second number above bottom right corner
.
http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/18741440-9081-43DE-98D9-7B18C03C22B5/0/CAFR2007.pdf

why were "Total Governmental Funds" $96,943,293 on July 1, 2007?

.

PDF Page 65 of 310, second number above bottom right corner
.
http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/211A367B-6771-45F8-830B-678EFF2285F5/0/CAFR2008.pdf

.

$101,243,293 - $96,943,293 = -$4,300,000 in 24 hours?
.
.
.
Emailed on March 8, 2011 to:

bill.knight@greensboro-nc.gov
nancy.vaughan@greensboro-nc.gov
danny.thompson@greensboro-nc.gov
bellamy.small@greensboro-nc.gov
jim.kee@greensboro-nc.gov
mary.rakestraw@greensboro-nc.gov
trudy.wade@greensboro-nc.gov
robbie.perkins@greensboro-nc.gov
zack.matheny@greensboro-nc.gov
rashad.young@greensboro-nc.gov
cindy.briggs@greensboro-nc.gov
john@rhinotimes.net
John.Robinson@news-record.com
ajohnson@news-record.com
amanda.lehmert@news-record.com
editor@carolinapeacemaker.com
jordan@yesweekly.com

"Greensboro City Council and City staff invite you to attend a community conversation about the City of Greensboro’s upcoming budget."

"Attend one of the meetings below to help set priorities for the coming year.

Your Council representative wants your input!

Council District 1
Hosted by T. Dianne Bellamy-Small
10 am on Saturday, March 26 Brown Recreation Center
302 E. Vandalia Rd.

Council District 2 Hosted by Jim Kee
6 pm on Monday, April 4
Eastern Division Police Station
1106 Maple St.

Council District 3 Hosted by Zack Matheny
6 pm on Monday, April 11 Natural Science Center
4301 Lawndale Rd.

Council District 4
Hosted by Mary C. Rakestraw
6 pm on Monday, March 21 Lindley Recreation Center
2907 Springwood Dr.

Council District 5 Hosted by Trudy Wade
6:30 pm on Thursday, April 28
Trotter Recreation Center
3906 Betula St.

and

6:30 pm on Thursday, May 12
Oak Ridge Meadows Club House
5400 Sportime Place

Call 373-2723 at least five days prior to a meeting
if you have special needs or need assistance."


http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/7A804657-8EF9-4585-9315-E468C87D8518/0/AllMeetings2011.pdf

If every new beginning is another beginning’s end, where’s the middle?

If US mainland oil discovery peaked in the 1930’s,
leading to a production peak in the early 1970’s,
and world discovery peaked in the 1960’s, when should global oil production peak?

Think of the Earth as a living organism…being attacked by billions of bacteria,
whose numbers double every forty years.

Gore Vidal

If more money and energy equals more food,
and more food equals more people,
will less fossil fuel lead to less food …?

Why did Hitler invade Russia?

Why was Mohammad Mosaddeq overthrown in Iran?

By some estimates there will be an average of 2% annual growth in global oil demand over the years ahead,
along with conservatively a 3% natural decline in production from existing reserves.

Richard Bruce Cheney

Why did America “liberate” Iraq?

Why do survivors survive?

I don't have a clue of what weapons will be used in World War III,
but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.

Albert Einstein

80% in Triadwatch Poll Agree That Greensboro City Council Did Not Need To Hire A Federal Lobbyist

Triadwatch had a poll question from this past week in regards to the City of Greensboro was voting on if they wanted to hire a federal lobbyist . With a overwhelming 80% of the vote for NO to a federal lobbyist for Greensboro it is determined that the CIty of Greensboro made the right decision in not voting for wasting taxpayers money going after taxpayers money. Here is a link to what was talked about before the vote CLICKHERE

 than after the vote here is a break down on who voted yes and no for the federal lobbyist CLICKHERE

Ernest Hemingway on current events

The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency,
the second is war.

Ernest Hemingway

Are there times when compromise isn’t appropriate?

What could happen if international financial transactions
become denominated in assets other than US dollars,
and Federal Reserve Note supplies exceed demand?
.

If one day the world's largest oil producers demanded Euros for their barrels,
it would be the financial equivalent of a nuclear strike.

Bill O'Grady

Should you do what you need to whether you like it or not,
sooner than later?

Can the definition of “civilized” change?

Why have so many people shown up in the last 250 years?

10,000 BC...............1,000,000
8000 BC...................5,000,000 x5 in 2,000 years
6000 BC.................. 10,000,000 x2
4000 BC.................. 20,000,000 x2 +10,000,000 in 2000 years
2000 BC.................. 35,000,000 x1.5
1 ...............................200,000,000 x5.7
1750 .........................650,000,000
2000........................ 6,070,581,000 x30.35 in 2000 years
2005......................... 6,453,628,000 +383,047,000 in 5 years
2008......................... 6,700,000,000 x33.5 in 2008 years
March 2011...............6,904,353,980

Redistricting In N.C. The GOP's Golden Goose by Washington Post

The Washington Post has a new article out from Chris Cillizza in a online post titled "North Carolina: The GOP's Golden Goose redistricting" CLICKHERE

In the post this is what was said:

_____________________________________________________________________

The Tarheel State stands out as the one state where Republicans will be expecting to gain multiple seats in the election following redistricting, and they could gain three or four if things pan out close to perfectly.



The reason for all that opportunity is two-fold.



One is that the current map was drawn by Democrats in 2001, which means many of the marginal districts were drawn to their liking. "Ten years ago, Democrats drew the most perfect map in the history of gerrymandering," remarked one Republican familiar with the state's lines.


Two is that Democrats stood tough in the state in 2010. While Democrats in swing and conservative-leaning districts across the country went down to defeat, North Carolina Democratic Reps. Heath Shuler, Mike McIntyre and Larry Kissell all won -- though Republicans did unseat Rep. Bob Etheridge.


The result is a map on which Democrats maintain a majority -- seven to six -- of congressional seats in the state. Of the 17 states where Republicans control redistricting, North Carolina is the only state where that is the case.


Because of those two factors -- the Democratic-drawn map and the continued Democratic majority -- there is plenty of room for improvement for the GOP. And the most likely Democrats to bear the brunt are McIntyre, Kissell and Rep. Brad Miller.

As we see in what was quoted from one republican above in that the 2000 redistricting game brought by the  N.C. Democratic Party, the most perfect map in the history of gerrymandering . Hearing the political connections this weekend it seems like the Chairman of the Senate Redistricting Committee Rep. Bob Rucho wants to have this all done by June 1, 2011 . There are a lot of different scenarios to make this a fair process for all to be a part of  we will see what happens after all the numbers from the census are looked at by all in charge but if you would like a link to plenty of information here is a link the the State of North Carolina on redistricting CLICKHERE.

Newsbusted is New for March 4, 2011 Please Enjoy The Embedded Video Compliments of Newsbusters

Newsbusted is new for March 4, 2011 please enjoy the embedded video above compliments from our friends at newsbusters  CLICKHERE

Amanda Lehmert: "What AmEx wanted"

"The council was told that a Fortune 500 Company,
going by the nickname "Project Doublewide,"
planned to invest approximately $650 million either here or in Des Moines, Iowa.

Local economic development officials asked the council to consider giving American Express a $2.2 million incentive.

Why didn't AMEX get the incentives?

"Local economic development officials"

Whom specifically?

Some of the stats the board heard that night:

The company would invest $223 million to build the two data centers.

What properties were shown to who by whom?

The total capital investment would top $501 million.

What diferentiates the $223 million "invested" from the $501 million total?

In three years, the economic impact to the local economy could be as much as $445 million.

Where is the economic impact study?

Over what time frame?

In property taxes, the city might expect to earn $2.75 million over three years, starting in 2016.

$445 million economic impact over three years?

.

Mayor Bill Knight also asked council members to keep the info confidential.

Amanda

Did they disclose their plans for the call center?

New Study: More Than 130 Top Congressional Staffers Are Former Lobbyists -. Senator Kay Hagan from N.C. Joined The Club

New Study: More Than 130 Top Congressional Staffers Are Former Lobbyists - OpenSecrets Blog OpenSecrets

With permission from Opensecrets.org and Center for Responsive politics

At least 130 current congressional chiefs of staff and legislative directors are former lobbyists, new research by the Center for Responsive Politics and Remapping Debate indicates.


And some of these powerful staffers -- both Democrats and Republicans -- have worked multiple lobbying jobs prior to working in their current congressional capacities, the project finds.

The majority of chiefs of staff and legislative directors represented corporations, trade organizations, or worked for lobbying firms that represented corporations, but a wide range of entities were represented: from the National Right to Work Committee to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; from King & Spalding to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group; and from the American Insurance Association to Human Rights Campaign.

"The bottom line is that many of the most powerful congressional staffers, who are now responsible for working on behalf of the public's interest, used to make a living convincing the government to benefit a client's special interest," said Sheila Krumholz, the Center's executive director. "Such relationships could present conflicts of interest and deserve continued scrutiny."

Said Craig Gurian, editor of Remapping Debate: "People have begun to appreciate that the flow of public officials and staffers to lobbying entities -- particularly to those who serve interests regulated by Congress -- has a significant and corrosive influence on the shape of public policy. The new tool that we have developed with the Center for Responsive Politics makes clear that those risks can be present when the revolving door brings former lobbyists -- especially those serving a narrow private interest rather than a broad public interest -- into government."

The public is already able to explore where outgoing senators and representatives from the 111th Congress are now employed thanks to a tracking tools deployed this January and available both from Remapping Debate and from the Center for Responsive Politics. Since then, the Center and Remapping the Debate the organizations have regularly bolstered the tracking tool.

Help the Center and Remapping Debate continue to expand the tracking tool by adding your own insight to the comings and goings of former members of Congress.
===

Remapping Debate, an online public policy news journal, believes that there is a fundamental (and democracy-corroding) paradox about the media ecosystem that needs to be addressed: for all the outlets and for all the bytes, the “why” and “why not” questions of public policy are too rarely addressed. Remapping Debate seeks to address this deficiency through probing reporting that asks these questions and thereby encourages more robust public policy debate.

The Center for Responsive Politics is the nation's premier research group tracking and reporting on money in U.S. federal politics and its effect on elections and public policy. The nonpartisan, nonprofit Center aims to create a more educated voter, an involved citizenry and a more transparent and responsive government. The Center's award-winning website, OpenSecrets.org, is the most comprehensive resource for campaign contributions, lobbying data and analysis available anywhere. The Center relies on support from a combination of foundation grants, individual contributions and custom data work. The Center accepts no contributions from businesses, labor unions or trade associations.

________________________________________________________________________________

Now we find out that our own local Senator  Kay Hagan just in the past few months hired a new Chief of Staff in Thomas O'Donnell a former lobbyist , here is what was said in media on this appointment;

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan says she has hired a former senior official in the Clinton administration as her chief of staff.


The North Carolina Democrat said in a news release that 52-year-old Tom O'Donnell will replace Crystal King who had been chief of staff since Hagan took office in 2009.


From 1993 to 1997, O'Donnell was chief of staff of the president's Council of Economic Advisers then the White House National Economic Council. O'Donnell graduated from the University of Texas School of Law at Austin and comes to Hagan's office from the D.C.-based firm of Crowell & Moring where he was a partner.


Hagan says O'Donnell has been a senior manager of presidential nominating conventions; experience that will be valuable as Charlotte hosts the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

Let's take a closer look at Tom O'Donnell from opensecrets.org CLICKHERE .

Now we have our own Senator from N.C. in Kay Hagan on this list of hiring a lobbyist as a congressional staffer.

John Hammer: Battle Lines Should Be Drawn Over Loop

"The section of the so-called outer loop – aka Painter Boulevard, aka I-85/I-40, I-840, I-785, I-73 and US 421 – planned to go through northern Greensboro is going to be a disaster, much more so than the section that cuts across western Greensboro.

...The northern loop hasn't even been funded, much less built.

...The western loop blindsided people.

They didn't realize that Painter Boulevard was not like Cone Boulevard or Bryan Boulevard, but is part of the massive interstate highway system. In short they didn't know that huge tractor-trailers would be barreling past their homes at 70 mph and 80 mph, 24 hours a day. The interstate slows but never stops. Those who live near the northern loop when it opens will have the same thing – huge tractor-trailers going past homes much closer than anyone thought, at all hours of the day and night.

...The problem with the western and northern portions of the loop is poor planning. ...Look at Greensboro and you will see examples of poor transportation planning all over the place – Murrow Boulevard, Yanceyville Street, Greene Street, Spring Garden Street. All were widened way beyond anything that was needed.

People's property was taken from them for a public purpose. They were paid, but many didn't want to be paid; they wanted to keep their property. It turned out there was no public purpose because the planners miscalculated, not by inches but by miles. Murrow Boulevard is a divided highway that doesn't go anywhere.

...But look at where the outer loop south and east of Greensboro is. It is a couple of miles out past the city limits, except that the city managed to annex the loop. But from any other section of the city it is way out there. Then look at section slated for the north and west. It is a couple of miles inside the city limits. The outer loop is supposed to go around the city, not through the city. It is why it is called an outer loop, or bypass. The state highway planners who planned the road evidently had not been told that cities grow. They planned the road as if Greensboro were stagnant.

...What is sad is that our state legislators say, and city councilmembers say, "Well, it's already planned," and "There would be ramifications to moving it." ...If you plan to take a month long vacation in Europe and are downsized out of your job, you will probably change your plans. We are constantly changing our plans because of changes in circumstances and in the economy.

...The planned northern loop will go just north of the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park. The park includes much, but by no means all, of the land on which the battle took place. The area should be preserved. ...This interstate will go across an area where battle activity certainly took place, and it is simply too close to the battlefield itself.

...knowing what we know now about the road and about the growth of Greensboro, a better decision can be made.

They say hindsight is 20/20. Here Greensboro has an unusual chance to use hindsight to prevent a big mistake."

John Hammer

"I do not recall a case I voted on
where I was intimately knowledgeable about the Urban Loop”

City Council member Zack Matheny
said of the two years he served on the city’s Zoning Commission
before his election to the council.
Greensboro News and Record, May 31, 2009

If the noise associated with the Southern half of Urban Loop
was much more than advertized,
I believe the last section of the Urban Loop through Greensboro’s 3rd District
should be cancelled or rerouted North.
Why did who purchase so much of Greensboro’s Urban Loop real estate so early?

What is the "free" world's obligation to oppressed populations trying to achieve a better life, if the "free" world is dependent on them staying poor?

What do you do
if you possess a brief case that may contain either $0 or $1,000,000,
and are offered $200,000 for the case?

What if the majority of a civilization collectively chose the case and lost,
but don’t know?

We can ignore reality,
but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.

Ayn Rand

If technological civilization
advanced more in the last 10,000 years than the previous 1,000,000,
the last 1,000 than the preceding 10,000,
and the last 100 than the prior 1,000
and the last 10 compared to the last 100 with a petroleum based economy
as the number of humans more than tripled,
what could happen if many come to believe Earth’s population is unsustainable
if oil and food supply fails to meet demand,
or it becomes too expensive,
or unavailable?

What should the "free" world do if Gaddafi gains an upper hand in Libya, and does what Saddam did to some of his subjects after the 1990-1 gulf war?

Whoever has his foe at his mercy and does not kill him is his own enemy.

Shaikh Sa’di Shirazi

.
What do you do in a battle in which you die if you don’t fight or lose?
.
Should NATO or whoever make a move before he regains an advantage?

I don't care if I follow your rules, if you can cheat, so can I.
.
I won't let you beat me unfairly, I'll beat you unfairly first.
.
Ender Wiggin
Fictional Military Strategist

How could the rest of the world respond, if Saudi Arabia's "government," eliminates a few hundred thousand Shia?

Are there correlations between currency, debt, natural resources, peace and war?

All who surrender will be spared,
whoever does not surrender but opposes with struggle and dissension
shall be annihilated.

Genghis Khan

If ~20% of the world’s population uses about 80% of global energy production,
do most with less want more at the expense of those using more?

If there’s only so much oil and unlimited currency production capacity,
could energy demand exceeding supply ignite inflation?