Politics

Politics

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Ted Kennedy

Ted_Kennedy,_official_photo_portrait_crop

One one of our weekend trips early in our marriage, Kelly and I were waiting at the Boston airport for our flight back to Raleigh. I happened to look up from my Boston Globe long enough to see an older gentleman in a suit walking with an assistant up to the gate.

My jaw dropped. It was Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy. Before me was a living legend, one of the most powerful politicians in America. This man had seen so much history in his political life (and had so many triumphs and tragedies in his personal life).

I just stared at him because one does not approach a living legend unless invited. I kept a respectful distance as he finished up his conversation with his assistant and then boarded his U.S. Airways flight to Washington. I know Sen. Kennedy was holding up his flight but I still was kicking myself for not asking for his autograph.

Early this morning, Ted Kennedy succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 77.

Downtown amphitheatre

I was glad to see the city move forward with plans for the downtown amphitheatre. I actually brought this up with the mayor last week, inquiring where we were in the process and expressing my dismay that Live Nation was involved (y’all know how I feel about them). I’m glad to see that the city’s moving forward without Live Nation’s support, financially or otherwise.

I still believe an amphitheatre would be a great addition to the downtown mix. Moore Square is just not designed to be a concert venue, nor should it be. Having a dedicated facility would be a great improvement. The idea is that the amphitheatre would be a placeholder until the convention center gets expanded. Perhaps when that happens the amphitheatre can move up to the Devereaux Meadow location: the former site of a city ballpark that now houses the city’s sanitation trucks. The success of the Seaboard Music concerts proves that folks in the area would support outdoor music. And when the show’s over, it’s just a short walk or bus ride over to Glenwood South. Wouldn’t that be great!

Another stellar East CAC meeting

Just when I think I’ve hit the high mark for the East CAC meetings, a meeting comes along that tops it. Tonight’s was such a meeting. We had probably 70 neighbors in attendance: the largest crowd in my time as CAC chair and possibly its largest crowd ever. We had so many neighbors we had to open the back room to accommodate them all.

The folks weren’t there to hear me tell jokes, but to become informed. We first had a presentation about the nomination of Longview from Martha Hobbs about Longview Gardens’ nomination a historic district. Then Police Chief Harry Dolan conducted a brainstorming session to see what the residents’ concerns were. We also heard about the RPD Volunteer program as well. In attendance were two City Councilors. It was great to see everyone enjoying the meeting and building a community.

Before the meeting began, one longtime attendee asked me if being a CAC chair was a full-time job for me. I laughed and said it was simply a hobby. She complimented me on how well I was doing and how informative and tactful my emails have been. I thanked her for the compliments!

On the way home, though, I realized I gave her the wrong answer. Leading the neighborhoods is not simply a hobby of mine. It’s more than that: it’s a passion! It’s a bona fide passion. Sure, it takes organization and planning and setting a course – and there’s some effort behind all that. But when the third Monday rolls around and I walk out of the room with a smile on my face, knowing I’ve made a real difference in my neighborhood – that’s the reward. That makes it all worthwhile.

Big day for a day off

I had a big day today for it being a day off. I started the day with a trip to Wilson to take a tour of the city’s municipal Internet system. After lunch in Wilson, I headed back to Raleigh to meet a friend for coffee and a discussion of local politics. Then I headed home to have dinner with the family before I left again for the Raleigh CAC meeting.

That’s a pretty busy day off, if I do say so myself!

Cyber attacks … from North Korea?

Officials are blaming North Korea for the recent cyber attacks against U.S. and South Korean government websites.

Yeah, right. Have you checked out North Korea lately? While South Korea has some of the fastest home Internet connections in the world, North Korea has … well, maybe a 56k dialup connection? Broadband companies aren’t exactly falling over themselves to offer service there and I can imagine that the quirky communist government isn’t exactly encouraging it, either.

I know Kim II Jong is a movie buff but I’m betting money he isn’t exactly streaming his shows from Netflix!

S1004 reportedly gutted

Jay Ovittore has been following the broadband backwater fight and reports that the N.C. Senate version of the bill, S.1004 was gutted yesterday.

Says Jay:

S1004 will be in the Public Utilities Committee tomorrow and for the first time I don’t have to worry about it. The Senate used a procedural rule to gut the bill and replace all text with new text that allows Progress Energy to convert some of it’s Coal fired plants to Natural Gas.

The is not a mere mention of cable, municipalities, Time Warner, none of it.

HB1252 is still alive and I will track it as always.

For now we can all claim another victory against Big Cable!

Fantastic news.

Robert McNamara

A few months ago I watched The Fog of War, an interview with Vietnam-era Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. It was a candid, riveting interview where McNamara’s explains in his own words the decision making that pushed country deeper into the Vietnam War. It was sobering, too, to hear him call it a “terrible mistake,” but as his critics have said, he was three decades too late admitting that. It was also shocking to hear him describe how trigger-happy General LeMay almost got us all nuked during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I’m glad a cool-headed guy like McNamara was there to keep us from Armageddon.

McNamara died in his sleep this morning at the age of 93. While he’ll always be remembered for Vietnam, he also was the long-time president of the World Bank and worked for nuclear disarmament.