Politics
There are 1,056 posts filed in Politics (this is page 78 of 106).
A federal appeals court ruled today that the FCC lacks the authority to enforce Net Neutrality in a case against Comcast.
“This decision destroys the F.C.C.’s authority to build broadband policy on the legal theory established by the Bush administration,” said Ben Scott, the policy director for Free Press, a nonprofit organization that advocates for broad media ownership and access.
I just sent this letter to the N&O. I hope they print it.
In light of our area’s high unemployment rate and sagging housing market, I can’t think of a worse time for a costly social-engineering experiment with the Wake County School System: the heart of Wake County’s economic engine.
We’ll have five members of Wake’s school board to thank when our taxes get hiked to pay for this boondoggle.
Obama said he would do it, and and today he did. It gives me hope that all the problems I’ve seen with healthcare may one day get solved.
Update: Not a chance. The bill’s a mess. Maybe it’s a step in the right direction, but not the one I would’ve hoped.
The N&O’s Mark Johnson reported on state Senator R.C. Soles’s guilty plea to assault charges yesterday. I don’t know the true circumstances of what took place at Soles’s house, though when a homeowner shoots a stranger in their home it’s often in self-defense. Soles pled guilty and that’s that.
I do take issue with the way Johnson painted the picture that it’s almost always Democrats in trouble. Johnson seems to forget state Rep. Cary Allred, the Burlington Republican who was about to get ticketed for driving 102 MPH but pulled rank on the trooper and got off – at least until the news broke. He was also said to have showed up drunk to the General Assembly and gave what many witnesses considered to be an inappropriate hug to a female teenage page. Not exactly Boy Scout behavior, is it?
I’m just as upset as others are of the shenanigans taking place with state politicians. Unlike most politics lately, though, this truly is a bipartisan effort. Let’s not omit that, Mr. Johnson.
My friend John Beimler decided to take advantage of the Public Records law and get a copy of all the email addresses from all the email lists the Town of Cary maintains. The following email went out to all the folks on those lists:
We want to let you know that a person has requested a copy of the e-mail addresses from all Town of Cary electronic mailing lists, and as a subscriber, your email address is included in this database. Therefore, you may begin receiving emails from others outside of our control. As a reminder, the database is a public record under North Carolina law (see our Public Records Policy and our Privacy Statement).
The email lists are being requested by:
John Beimler
1206 Castalia Dr
Cary, NC 27513
919-926-7264
jbeimler at radiomind dot com.
As always, we apologize for any inconvenience this may bring and hope that the actions of others will not result in your deciding to unsubscribe from the Town’s e-mail service. Please contact us if you have questions or need further information.
Susan Moran, APR
Town of Cary Public Information Officer
susan dot moran at townofcary dot org
Wake County Schools superintendent Del Burns put in his resignation yesterday. This is the best thing to happen to Durham in a long time.
The N&O’s long slide towards the right is bearing fruit. I hope John Drescher is happy when growth in the county screeches to a halt.
The story of the ten Americans arrested in Haiti on charges of child trafficking is very, very disturbing. There is a huge story here. Now news comes that lawyer Jorge Puello who volunteered to represent them is wanted on child trafficking charges himself – in multiple countries.
I know the whole innocent-until-proven-guilty thing, but the evidence here isn’t looking good. Some of the kids who the group tried to “rescue” were not even orphans. It sounds to me that at the very least the alleged ringleader, Laura Silsby, had some mental problems, crying when no orphanage would give her kids. Perhaps a bit fanatical?
Regardless of this groups guilt or innocence, I hope this case shines a light on the underworld of child trafficking and causes some real changes in how kids in these poor countries are treated.
Bonus: Salon’s Glenn Greenwald has some commentary on the hypocrisy of those who decry the group’s Haiti detention but who had no problem with the U.S. jailing Muslims in squalid, hidden prisons without charges or representation.
I was sad to read tonight that former congressman Charlie Wilson (D-TX) died of a heart attack today at the age of 76. Wilson represented east Texas in the U.S. House and was instrumental in funding the Afghan mujahedeen in their fight against Soviet occupation.
I was just reading his Wikipedia entry two weeks ago to learn more about him. Sorry to hear that a man who was so full of life lives no more.
Today Google announced that it will be stringing fiber around a few lucky cities to study how ultra-high-speed Internet service might be used. Speeds of up to 1Gb will be offered and competitively-priced with fiber being deployed directly to the home.
I think the Triangle would be ideal with its concentration of networking companies (Cisco), storage companies (EMC, NetApp), software companies (IBM), and pharmaceutical companies. Raleigh was one of the North Carolina municipalities to oppose Time Warner’s efforts to close off competition, so I would hope the city would be looked upon favorably.
Google expects interested municipalities to respond to the RFI via the web, but you don’t have to be a city official to express interest. Google provides a link for interested residents to nominate their city.
Let the jockeying begin!
I’m conflicted about Raleigh’s proposed Clarence E. Lightner Public Safety Center. On one hand, it’s always irked me that Raleigh always seems to settle for mediocre, to go for the practical or least controversial option rather than aim for greatness. Raleigh loves to hedge its bets. Raleigh’s habit is to look only at the short-term. Putting aside the current economy, I like that the Lightner Center has been designed to be the home for our police and fire departments for many decades. I can think of very few things Raleigh has ever discussed that had that long an outlook.
There should be no doubt that our police department desperately needs a new home. The current police headquarters is an embarrassing ratrap that should have been demolished twenty years ago. The current 911 center is also a travesty. On a slow day the basement call center seems cramped and chaotic. I’d hate to see what it looks like during a major event like a hurricane. Pandemonium, probably.
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