Politics

Politics

There are 1,056 posts filed in Politics (this is page 42 of 106).

Public service resume

Just for fun I decided to compile a list of my public service accomplishments. It was a bit surprising to me to see how much stuff I have been involved with!

(The earlier dates are approximate as I’m lazy and don’t feel like looking them up right now!)

  • 1999-2001 – Boardmember, North Carolina Museum of Art Contemporaries
  • 1999-2001 – Member, Garner Land Use Ordinance Rewrite Committee
  • 2001 – Graduate, Garner Citizens Police Academy
  • 2001-2002 – President, Garner Crimestoppers
  • 2005-2006 – Steering Committee, Triangle Linux Users Group (TriLUG)
  • 2008 – Valedictorian, Raleigh Neighborhood College
  • 2008-2011 – Chair, East Citizens Advisory Council (East CAC)
  • 2012 – Chair, Raleigh Citizens Advisory Council (Raleigh CAC)
  • 2008-2010 – Boardmember; Raleigh Parks, Recreation, and Greenway Advisory Board (PRGAB)
  • 2008-2012 – PRGAB Liaison; Mordecai Historic Park Advisory Board (MHBAB)
  • 2011-2012 – Vice-Chair, Mordecai Historic Park Advisory Board (MHPAB)
  • 2010-2011 – Vice-Chair; Raleigh Parks, Recreation, and Greenway Advisory Board (PRGAB)
  • 2011-Present – Chair; Raleigh Parks, Recreation, and Greenway Advisory Board (PRGAB)
  • 2010, 2011 – Assistant Coach, Salvation Army Youth Basketball
  • 2011, 2012 – Assistant Coach, City of Raleigh Youth Baseball
  • 2012 – Volunteer, Triangle Radio Reading Service
  • 2012-Present – Board Chair, Little Raleigh Radio
  • 2012-Present – Volunteer, Friends of World Music

Russell Allen

I was surprised and saddened to hear that Russell Allen had been let go by the Raleigh City Council. Russell was as responsive as you’d want any city manager to be; I can’t recall a single time I sent him an email and he did not respond. I know many others contacted him about issues and he would respond, often no matter how big or small the problem was.

Russell led the city through some of its biggest growth and through some of its greatest financial challenges. He’s always been a professional, and as even those who clashed with him will attest, you always knew where you stood with him.

He made some fantastic hires with the city’s other leaders, picking great police chiefs, planning staff, and other crucial roles. It doesn’t matter what else the city has going for it, Without a great staff it won’t deliver on its promise.

I expect Russell will soon be snatched up by another city looking for a great manager. I wish him well and look forward to learning more about the Council’s decision and points of view.

North Korea’s virtual war

As I groggily woke up before dawn this morning I had some insight on North Korea pop into my head. North Korea has been broadcasting bellicose statements to the world, escalating international concern much higher than in decades. Curiously, these threats have come in the middle of the night, Korea-time. The North Korean populace seems completely unaware.

The insight is that, no matter how large the North Korean army is, Kim Jong Un can’t win. If he nukes someone, he definitely loses, but it wouldn’t take a nuke to destroy his society.

Let’s say he’s dumb enough to send troops to invade South Korea. This is an army, while formidable in numbers, doesn’t trust its soldiers at the DMZ to go sprinting across to the South. If they get to South Korea, what will keep them from not returning?
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Remote control death

I read about the death of 8-year-old Martin Richard in Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings and it brought a tear to my eye. Here’s this innocent little kid who never hurt anyone, waiting to give his dad a hug and he gets killed by a bomb blast. Whomever would do this to an innocent kid is a coward.

Then MT.Net reader Aetius points out that this is what happens when U.S. military pilots, flying drones from miles away, fire rockets meant for terrorists into foreign homes. If I were a Pakistani father whose innocent 8-year-old son was just murdered by a man sitting safely miles away, would I feel any less outraged than we do with the Boston attacks? Would I consider the killer any less cowardly than the perpetrator of the Boston attacks?

Does our President have the right to express outrage about the Boston attacks when he knows full well that he has approved the killings of potentially hundreds (if not thousands) of innocent people through secret drone strikes? At what point did we Americans acquiesce to our President becoming judge, jury, and executioner without any oversight whatsoever?

Any innocent death is one death too many. Does it really matter whether that death comes from a jury-rigged pressure cooker bomb or on the tip of a Hellfire missile? The Defense Department is withdrawing its plans to award medals to drone pilots. What does it say when even the DoD has doubts about the bravery of its remote control killers?

Is remote control death the business America really wants to be in?

Is Peace University plotting to demolish Seaboard Station?

The neighbors are up in arms about rumors that William Peace University (formerly Peace College) is interested in buying the popular Shops at Seaboard Station. The retail space has finally turned a corner with a thriving mix of shops and restaurants, becoming a community focal point in the process. The rumors allege that Peace wants to purchase the property and slowly drain it of its tenants, after which it will demolish the complex to provide space for expanding its campus.

Here’s what the Mordecai CAC had to say:

MCAC Community:

You may be hearing about some changes in the works for the Shops at Seaboard and the possibility that William Peace University is interested in buying that property. We’d like to tell you what we know, what we don’t know, and what we’re trying to find out!

1. First, WPU is requesting permission from the City Council to seek financing through the issuance of tax-exempt bonds to be issued by the Public Finance Authority located in the State of Wisconsin. As part of the process, City Council will hold a public hearing on the bonds at 2 p.m. tomorrow (Apr 16) at City Hall. According to the attorney’s memo, the educational facilities revenue bonds would not exceed $16 million, and would be used to refinance existing loans at lower interest rates, to renovate Finley and Ross Residence Halls, construct a new residence hall on campus, construct Delway Street adjacent to the campus, and other projects. (See attached memo.) These bonds, if approved, MUST be used for the purposes as stated.
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How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing

I hate Intuit already for their horrible customer service when I was a QuickBooks customer. Now it seems I have a new reason to hate them: they lobby against the IRS offering simple tax filing.

The idea, known as “return-free filing,” would be a voluntary alternative to hiring a tax preparer or using commercial tax software. The concept has been around for decades and has been endorsed by both President Ronald Reagan and a campaigning President Obama.

“This is not some pie-in-the-sky that’s never been done before,” said William Gale, co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “It’s doable, feasible, implementable, and at a relatively low cost.”

So why hasn’t it become a reality?

Well, for one thing, it doesn’t help that it’s been opposed for years by the company behind the most popular consumer tax software — Intuit, maker of TurboTax. Conservative tax activist Grover Norquist and an influential computer industry group also have fought return-free filing.

via How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing – ProPublica.

Solar tax credits safe … for now

Kelly and I were concerned that the current shenanigans in the North Carolina General Assembly might put the kibosh on our claiming tax credits for our impending solar PV installation. Southern Energy suggested we reach out to Randy Lucas of Lucas Tax and Energy for his take.

Randy responded with this:

I can say as a licensed CPA with 20 years of tax experience, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the NC Sustainable Energy Association, despite the current activities in the NCGA, it is highly unlikely that any potential changes to the NC renewable energy investment tax credit would have any impact on any activity/transactions made by NC -based taxpayers in calendar year 2013. It would be unprecedented for the tax laws to change within the active tax year and would cause an administrative catastrophe for the NC Dept of Revenue to carryout the tax law change mid-year. That said, if you are making a purchase of renewable energy property in 2013, and have plans/intent to complete the install in 2013, you should be safe to claim both the Federal (30%) and North Carolina (35%) investment tax credits on your 2013 income tax return.
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North Carolina Is Going Out Of Its Mind – Esquire

Esquire takes a look at the craziness that has been the North Carolina General Assembly under GOP rule.

I have a number of very close friends in North Carolina whom I love dearly, so I ask this in all Christian charity.

WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE LIVING, BREATHING, TATTOOED GOD IS GOING ON DOWN THERE?

Whom did you people elect? The people with the brightest bulbs for a nose? The people with the biggest, floppiest shoes? Does every member of the Republican majority in your legislature all arrive at work every morning in the same tiny car? First, we had the We-Can-Establish-A-State-Religion bill, and then we had the Tax-Yo-Mama-If-You-Vote-Obama bill. Caligula would be ashamed to bring his horse before these people for a vote. And now, because everybody went back to the big steaming bowl of stupid for seconds — and thirds — they have decided to put the force of law and the power of the state behind The Palmer Method.

via North Carolina Cursive Writing Bill – North Carolina Is Going Out Of Its Mind – Esquire.

Outstanding Parks board meeting

I don’t know how I did it. I’m into my second week of an intense new job, getting up to speed with an extraordinarily sophisticated product, waking up before dawn to put in a full day before picking up the kids in the afternoon, and feeling flat-out exhausted most evenings. Still, somehow, somewhere, I found the energy to lead what might have been my best Parks board meeting yet.

I was dreading tonight’s meeting, knowing how behind-the-eight-ball I’ve felt over the past two weeks. The agenda was a heady one, with multiple votes to be taken on multiple projects. I thought we might be stuck there all night. The best I was hoping for was to get through it without nodding off in the middle of it. Honestly.

In spite of all this, though, everyone was in a jovial mood. The wisecracks were constantly flying, with everyone fair game for a little ribbing. With our packed agenda, we ran later than we usually do but no one seemed to mind. If that weren’t enough, every single vote tonight was unanimous. We have come together almost like one big family.

Where did all of this energy come from? Why do I feel so energized after meetings like tonight’s? I wish I knew these answers. A friend asked me tonight how I do this and my answer is I don’t know. It just seems to happen.

I was musing afterward that successfully leading a board (or any team, whether it be work colleagues, a sports team, or whatever) takes a light touch. It’s kind of like good sailing, where you just know what adjustment is needed in the sails to get the best performance. I imagine it’s also like leading a team of horses (like I would know, but humor me here), where you know the horses’ personalities and what it takes to get the best from each one. Good sports coaches do this constantly with their players. They know what it takes to get the best from each athlete, and – most importantly – how to put them in a position to succeed.

I’m not a coach (unless you count assistant coaching for little league baseball), I’ve never driven a team of horses, and I get to sail about once a year. Even so, every now and then I’ve seen magic happen in a meeting I’ve happened to lead. Few things to me are more fun than that.

Bored mom surfs porn on school computers

The paper covered a story (can’t link, sorry) about a North Raleigh mom who’s upset that she was able to figure out a way around the school’s Internet content filters. Mom Carolyn Homan has launched a crusade against this vile material being accessible from school computers:

“Kindergarten computers have access to porn,” Homan said at Tuesday’s board meeting, as she held up photos of graphic images she said came from Brassfield’s computers. “Filters filter out only a few sites such as Playboy, leaving billions of explicit videos and sites.”

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