Politics
There are 1,056 posts filed in Politics (this is page 87 of 106).
Just got back from a Raleigh CAC meeting that was delightfully fun and also a bit contentious. I’ve been to a handful of them now and this one by far was the most productive. There are still individual concerns about the body and how it’s supposed to work, though. It’s totally herding cats.
I’m finding myself stretched pretty thin with all I’ve got going on. I’m glad I still have a job, though. For as long as it lasts, at least. There really is no such thing as “safe” anymore.
It turns out President Obama didn’t need a “Beast” of a Caddy to keep him safe. Wired says he was wearing a bulletproof suit.
Watch as Ryan Duffy of the Vice Guide guys (creators of the great Vice Guide to North Korea) visits the manufacturer and takes a bullet wearing these clothes (Warning: salty language and self-starting Flash video).
Absolutely amazing stuff.
Snowbama. That’s what area folks are calling yesterday’s snow-and-inauguration mashup.
I thought the inauguration was fitting, and was glad Prez O didn’t promise the moon and the stars. I was also thrilled to see that he and Michelle hopped out of their limo to walk the parade route, a la Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. One of the first signs of problems with George W. Bush’s term for me was the tank of a Cadillac he rode in during his inauguration. While admittedly Bush likely didn’t have any say about the car, something about that rubbed me the wrong way.
Anyway, time for Prez O to get to work. And what a daunting job it is.
President Obama … and former President Bush!
I conducted another meeting of the East CAC this evening. It was one of those meetings that sent me home feeling great. I get a rush out of being with a group of people passionate about their neighborhood.
It’s no small amount of work supporting my neighbors through the CAC, but it sure is a blast to see how much it’s appreciated.
The year 2008 was the year that I got much more involved with civic affairs. I’d always been interested in playing a bigger role in Raleigh but it was after the Raleigh Neighborhood College that I began to consider it more seriously. As I mentioned in my RNC post, it led me to become the East CAC chair and a member of Raleigh’s Parks, Recreation, and Greenways Advisory Board.
The East CAC thing seemed like a natural fit for me. I’d been to a few meetings and got a lot out of them. I was also impressed at the large number of neighbors who came each month. When the former chair, Lynette, said she was stepping down, I felt I had to step up. Besides, the easiest election to win is the one where you’re unopposed!
I was perfectly happy being CAC chair when word came ’round that there was an opening on the Parks board. I’d been angling for a spot on a city board for over a year and couldn’t turn down the chance when I finally got it.
Both are lots of work, but the CAC probably takes more of my time. I have a newfound appreciation for the kind of time our volunteers put forth in improving the city of Raleigh.
One of the big highlights of 2008 was the 12 weeks I spent in the Raleigh Neighborhood College (RNC) program.
I found out about RNC one day from a flyer posted in my downtown office building. I called and found that because of the late date the class was already full. Fortunately, someone canceled and I got in.
Twelve weeks I spent time at Peace College and other area locations, hearing presentations from city staff about what the city does. Even better, I spend those wonderful weeks with a class full of outstanding citizens, from whom I learned as much as from the presenters. At the end of it all, my fellow classmates elected me valedictorian: an honor I deeply appreciated. I was sorry to see it end.
The RNC got me thinking that I could spend more time helping the city as a volunteer. It led me to seek appointment on the Raleigh Parks board and encouraged me to become a leader in my CAC. Both of these responsibilities take lots of time but have provided me exceptional exposure to some of Raleigh’s finest people.
I would be a very different person today had I not responded to that flyer. No doubt about it!
This morning K and I split up the things needing doing. She took the kids on errands and I was given the task of wearing out our dog. After seeing F/A-18s fly over our home this morning, I got the idea of taking the dog with me to see the Governor Perdue’s Inauguration Parade. As I remembered that local amateur radio operators would be assisting in the parade, I grabbed my dual-band HT and Rocket and I began walking.
The walk from here to Fayetteville Street takes a little over 30 minutes. We got there just as the parade was beginning. I must have made the security teams nervous with my backpack and a radio on my belt, but also having a big, dumb Labrador kind of evened that out.
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I pity the fool who robs Crazy Fire. He’s lucky he didn’t get a beat-down from all the geeks who eat there.
I wouldn’t be surprised if his rap sheet mysteriously gained a few prior convictions.
The MT.Net reader knows I’m a political junkie. Some say its incurable. The year 2008 offered many fixes for my habit.
First off, America (and North Carolina!) elected Barack Obama to be its next president. What a breath of fresh air he promises to be! While he did disappoint me last summer, he still was better than the alternatives. I said a year before the general election that he’d get my vote and he did.
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