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Macon County Commissioners

Coverage of the meetings of the Macon County Board of County Commissioners.

Franklin Town Board of Aldermen

Coverage of the meetings of the Franklin Town Board of Aldermen.

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Coverage of the meetings of the Macon County School Board.

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Photos from my photoblog.

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Thursday, January 24, 2008

"Asheville Municipal Golf Course " Flyover Tour

Here is an interesting video I found recently:

You can find out more about the creators of the video at their website.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Play Presidential Candidate Paintball!

Choose your candidate, and take on the others in a winner take all game!
At least Hillary can't double-team me in this contest.

Although I must warn you that Giuliani has a mean roll that makes for a hard target.

Found at Hillbilly White Trash.

Britain Cracking Down On The Counterjihad?

DRACONIAN ACTION against counter-jihadist bloggers in Britainistan is probably imminent. One has to consider why there is limited or no publicity about Islamic gang-rapes, SJS incidents and other forms of 'street jihad' in the national MSM.

If publicity and the press is controlled, which it is, local people in areas which are regularly affected will tend not to realise that there are many similar incidents across the country.

They will feel that the one they do know about, the local incident, is unusual and and consequently, they will not make too much fuss.

They may also think that their feelings about all the Muslim problems and spin-offs affecting them are not shared by many others across the country. They therefore do not react particularly strongly.

Suddenly though, through the blogosphere, they are now realising that they are not unique in their opinions and that many others feel exactly as they do.

Source: Infidel Bloggers Alliance

On a related note, London has emerged as the biggest center of Islamic Finance in the west, so that might help you understand how enormous the problem has grown.

On one of the recent radio shows covering this, I suggested that American Tourists start paying attention to this problem, and reporting on it as well. Perhaps British citizens could start e-mailing details on these events to their friends in America, and we could start blogging about it ourselves if the Brits manage to shut them all down.

The Lefty-Islamist Alliance will almost always resort to seeking ways to shut people up. I hold that they must do this because they have no alternate message that can hold water against the truth.

The people in Britain are akin to a frog in a pot of warm water that is slowly being warmed up, heading toward the boiling point. The time to act is now, and now is the time to start squawking.

A recent event online has taught me that lesson well, and has radicalized me into quicker action, instead of the slow progress I have have been making on the path I envisioned in 2005.

They say that fortune favors the bold.
Well, I am about to be bold...


...the conservative revolution in western North Carolina is about to see some major moves...

...stay tuned...


**update** 12.28pm

1389 left these links in the comments where he has been blogging about censorship: Check them out!
Blog Censorship

Cartoon Censorship

Litigation Jihad

Censorship, in general

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Who Needs Oil or Ethanol When You Can Grow Algae?

...PetroSun BioFuels Refining has entered into a joint venture to construct and operate a biodiesel refinery near Coolidge, Arizona. The feedstock for the refinery will be algal oil produced by PetroSun BioFuels at company owned and operated algae farms to be located in Arizona....The refinery will have an annual production capacity of thirty million gallons and will produce 100% renewable biodiesel. PetroSun BioFuels will process the residual algae biomass into ethanol....Petrosun claims that Independent studies have demonstrated that algae is capable of producing in excess of 30 times more oil per acre than corn and soybean crops.

Source: Al Fin

The Free Market will find a way to solve our problems, if only the givernment will get out of the way...

My Man Fred Drops Out of the Race




NAPLES, Fla. (AP) - Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson quit the Republican presidential race on Tuesday, after a string of poor finishes in early primary and caucus states.

"Today, I have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort," Thompson said in a statement.

Thompson's fate was sealed last Saturday in the South Carolina primary, when he finished third in a state that he had said he needed to win.

Source: Breit Bart, via an on-air announcement by Rush Limbaugh.

I guess that makes me an orphan. I'm thinking Romney is gonna be Plan B.

God Bless you Fred Thompson. Thank You for running, and your mother is in my prayers.

Asheville Progresives React To The Carolina Stompers



The above video was inspired by the continuing dismay of Progressives, Progressitarians (a new word?) and the Pagans to The Carolina Stompers in Asheville, NC.

In particular, this comment thread over at Mountain Xpress.

You can visit The Carolina Stompers to find out what has them so very upset.

**update 1.59pm**

This is getting even better than I had expected!!! Lady Passion has threatened to sue me for the video satirizing their behavior!

Her comments:

Rash, unwise act, Thunderpig.

You and the Stompers may be legally liable for posting that video:

You either plagerized the opening sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey — thereby possibly violating Intellectual Property Rights law — or possibly violated copyright law if you posted actual snippets from the movie without permission from the production or distribution company.

If you’re a Stompers member and they supported you uploading this, the entire group could conceivably be sued.


[Preserved Page]

Here is where I obtained the video.


I have known many who practiced Wicca, and none of them have acted in this manner. Most have been good-natured, with a live and let live attitude. Methinks it is something personal...

(VIDEO) Democrats Debate In Myrtle Beach

Here is the full debate, courtesy of You Decide 2008:


I'll have more links and commentary after I get to the office around 8 or so this morning.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Task Force ODIN Kills 2,400 Bombers in Iraq!

Another story you won't hear about in the Legacy Media:




In Iraq, a hundred-man Army unit is using an array of drones, manned surveillance planes, helicopters, and video downlinks to kill 2,400 bomb-planters and capture 141 more.

The 14-month-old, once-classified Army outfit is called Task Force ODIN, for “observe-detect-identify-neutralize.” It was first disclosed in May. But now, additional details about ODIN are emerging. And the Task Force's "success has led Army officials to expand it and to bring its tactics to Afghanistan..."


Source: Danger Room
Related: DVIDS News

West Carolina Report and Ten Myths About Nuclear Power

Not that they have anything to do with one another, I just didn't want to do a post for each topic.

West Carolina Report

First, I have updated the first four pages of West Carolina Report with news headlines that link to the news of the day. Of course, the widgets on those pages are always up-to-date, thanks to the miracle of RSS Feeds. I will have my state and local widgets ready soon. I also have upgraded the hosting because I exceeded my bandwidth allocation for last month. I've got 600GB now...and I'm not likely to exceed that anytime soon (unless one of the big boys link to me again!) and it also affords me more hard disk space that will allow me to make the next phase of improvements I have been planning.

Ten Myths About Nuclear Power

  1. Uranium is running out
  2. Nuclear is not a low-carbon option
  3. Nuclear power is expensive
  4. Reactors produce too much waste
  5. Decommissioning is too expensive
  6. Building reactors takes too long
  7. Leukemia rates are higher near reactors
  8. Reactors lead to weapons proliferation
  9. Wind and wave power are more sustainable
  10. Reactors are a terrorist target
Source: Amy Ridenour's National Center Blog

Be sure to click over to read Amy's post, and follow her links and arm yourself to combat the Lies From The Left on nuclear power. I'm still disappointed that Duke Power didn't go through with the nuke plant in Macon County. That would have been cool, and a great boost to the local economy, not to mention giving the local greenie weenies a heart attack!

Patrick McHenry Conference Call

Last week, NC-10 Congressman Patrick McHenry had a media conference call, in which he addressed many issues of significance, including economic stimulus and immigration reform:



McHenry says the stimulus will be rebate of $250 or $300 and similar to one implemented in 2001.
“Anytime we can give people back their money, I’m for it,” McHenry said. “This is a bill I can be for.”
Still, he says the best economic stimulus is to “control (government) spending and make tax cuts permanent. We can right our economic ship if we do that.”
The nation’s current economic woes come from the mortgage crisis and, specifically, the liquidity problem.
“The effects on Wall Street are hurting Main Street,” McHenry said.
McHenry fears Congress will overreach, harming residents who want to refinance their homes.
The congressman recently hosted a home mortgage seminar in Lenoir. Seventy people attended. A surprising fact is about half of residents who undergo foreclosures don’t ask for help.
“We want them to know the options they have,” McHenry said.

Congress also is working on a border security immigration bill. McHenry expects the bill will address “a dire need” for immigration reform. About 100 Republicans and 40 Democrats are signed on to the bill, he said.
Source: Hickory Daily Record

It's good to see conservatism at work in the U.S. Congress.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Democratic Candidates Converge on Asheville,
And Scrutiny Hooligans Were There

Arratik and I, after loading up with kegs of Caffiend’s finest roast, ventured into the blowing snow and made our way to UNC-Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium for the first of six scheduled debates between the Democratic candidates for Lieutenant Governor. Moderated by NC 11th District Democratic Party Chairman, Luke Hyde, and organized by the NC Young Democrats, the debate allowed too much time for each response and too little chance to compare candidates stances. Each of the four men meandered away from the prescribed questions. They’re politicians, after all, and they’re going to keep talking if you let them. Very few questions were answered at the Jan. 19th debate, but the ones that were reveal four distinct personalities running on four different records.

The debate was dominated by environment and energy issues, and this being Asheville, that’s no surprise. I imagine that each debate will have its own set of pet issues, so I’m hopeful that we’ll have a comprehensive picture of each candidate by the end of the series.


Source: Scrutiny Hooligans

Gordon and Arratik have done good work in with their coverage of the field jockeying for the nod to be the Democrat candidate for Lt. Governor of North Carolina.

It is a safe bet that their coverage will be better than what you will read in the Asheville Citizen-Times.

Honor Major Andrew Olmsted:
Give To The Children of Captain Thomas Casey

Andrew Olmsted was killed in Iraq, and his family have responded to those who wish to honor him by instructing us to donate to a fund set up for the four children of Captain Thomas Casey, who died while trying to save Andrew.

Capt. Thomas Casey Children’s fund
P.O. Box 1306
Chester, CA 96020


Anon Robo Callers Against Barack "Hussein" Obama

Looks like either the HildaBeast or The Breck Girl have decided to capitalize on Obama's middle name. Listen Here.

Source: Political Punch

My guess is that it was Edwards' people, who is the most likely to imitate the Huckabee strategy of push-polling.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Update: Jan. 20

The following is a briefing from Rear Admiral Gregory Smith:

We have provided several briefings over the past year focused on operations against al-Qaeda Iraq, and while considerable progress has been made we still have much work to do. Operation Phantom Phoenix, an Iraq-wide operation targeting al-Qaeda, has been underway for two weeks and the effects of these combined coalition and Iraqi Security Force operations has been substantial.

Since January 1, Operation Phantom Phoenix has conducted 18 battalion-level operations, detained 1023 terrorists and killed 121 terrorists. Among those captured or killed were 92 high-value targets. Coalition and Iraqi forces have also found and cleared 351 caches, 410 IEDs, 3 VBIED and IED factories, and 4 tunnel complexes.

I thought it would be helpful to spend some time today discussing what still remains as Iraq’s most lethal enemy and its greatest threat to peace … al-Qaeda Iraq.

What is al-Qaeda Iraq? Who are its leaders and who makes up their rank and file? How are they organized, funded and how do they operate? What are they hoping to achieve in Iraq? And finally, what effect have they had on the people living here? These are questions I hope to be able to provide some perspective on by summarizing the fight against al-Qaeda Iraq over the past year.
Source: MNF-IRAQ


The Surge Succeeds!

The Problem With John McCain I

First, let me clear the decks on his wartime service...he served our nation well. He behaved honorably during his imprisonment, and torture, at the hands of the Communist Vietnamese. [There are those who claim otherwise...I will not link to them because most of them are 9/11 Twoofers, and I do not consider anyone who is a twoofer to be menatlly competent.]

During his years in the Senate, he has championed pork-busting, denying pork projects for his own state, and stopping some pork projects for other Senators. [According to the St Pete Times, that is a lie.]

That is about all the good things I can say about him.

If he is the nominee of our party, I will find it very difficult to vote for him, and I will not lend him any material, or psychological, support. I will not give his campaign one dime, I will not make one phone call in his behalf.

In fact, I believe I had promised during the Shamnesty debate that I would man the phones for Moveon.org if they had a phone bank I could get to at some point during the campaign.


Here are some demographic numbers based on exit polling in South Carolina:

Veterans: McCain 36, Huckabee 25, Romney 20, Thompson 13
Evangelicals: Huckabee 41, McCain 27, Thompson 14, Romney 11
Independents: McCain 37, Huckabee 23, Paul 15, Romney 14
Conservatives: Huckabee 32, McCain 26, Romney 19, Thompson 17


Source: Race 4 2008

Defeating McCain

The first thing I garner from the above numbers is that either Romney or Thompson must withdraw from the race if we are to deny McCain the nomination. The Thompson Surge began too late. Even though I like him over Romney, the numbers do not support him remaining in the race.

He should withdraw, and throw his support behind Romney.

I see a Romney-Thompson 2008 Ticket as the best I can hope for at this point.


Reason Number One

There are many reasons McCain must be denied the nomination. Here is the first:
  1. McCain-Feingold [1] [2] [3]
Senator John McCain co-wrote, and championed a piece of legislation that did severe damage to the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Should I ever be ruled to fall under it's provisions, this is one law I will not obey, even under force of arms.

...there will be more forthcoming...

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Peak Oil: Meet Marcellus Black Shale

Al Fin has a post up you should read:
Up to 500 trillion cubic feet-- US$ 1 Trillion -- of unconventional natural gas deposits lie within the north Appalachian Plateau, within the US. New gas drilling technologies--spurred by higher prices for natural gas--make possible an extended era of natural gas in the US.

As Another Snow Approaches,
Dreams of Spring

The current forecast calls for a snowstorm to skirt us in western North Carolina, and hit South Carolina, where the first conservative state has it's primary...hopefully, this will keep the moderates at home.

Anyhow, I have updated my war page, and national page on West Carolina Report, and have this photo from Thursday to share. The exposure was 4 seconds long since I took it while it was still relatively dark. Notice the snow was already turning to slush under the merciless assault from a cruel light rain that lasted until about 10 or so that morning.

My internet connection gave out, so I couldn't post it then, and forgot yesterday. I've already got spring fever, and am planning my garden with fevered anticipation. I have been too busy for the past ten years to have one, and I can't stand it any longer...this year, I'm back in the garden! Even if I have to just work part-time to have the time to play in the dirt, and raise something good to look upon, and something good to eat.

Spain Faces Terrorism Despite Fleeing Iraq

The Civil Guard detained the suspects in Barcelona as part of a joint operation with Spain's National Intelligence Centre (CNI).

Several premises were searched and, as the operation is ongoing, more arrests have not been ruled out.

Spain suffered at the hands of Islamist militants in 2004 when 191 people were killed in the Madrid train bombings.


Source: BBC

Shortly after the 2004 Madrid Bombings, the Spaniards elected a Lefty, and they fled the field of battle. Not surprisingly, the terrorism has continued, putting the lie to the claim by Lefty Democrats, and Lefty Ron Paul Supporters that if we just leave Iraq, the terrorists will be okay with that.

Riiiight!


I have said time and again that this is a World War, and I have called it World War IV for several years. The objective for the Muslim Terrorists is control of the Earth. Since we don't have any moon bases or colonies on Mars, that kind of leaves us with no where to go, doesn't it?

I've always believed that the best defense is a good offense. And we civilians should do what we can to clear the decks for our leaders in the government, and in the the military, by exposing the harmful politicos in our own system, and getting them out of office.

First, we should identify, and get behind candidates who support our war effort, and elect them instead of Quislings [1] [2] and Dhimmis [1] [2] who are either in league with, or are afraid of the enemy.

Here are the candidates in the Presidential Race I feel are best suited for such a thing as taking the fight to the enemy:
  1. Fred Thompson
  2. Duncan Hunter
  3. Mitt Romney
  4. Rudy Giuliani
There are no others beside them. The rest are cowards, or worse.

Clinton Democrats Decry Union Thuggery In Nevada,
Obama Waxes Nostalgic For The Reagan Years

I laughed aloud when I read the following:

This is an open caucus. Union members will be standing in the same room with other union members. Or maybe even their shop steward. Or their foreman. Or possibly even a union official. Everyone will know which candidate you're backing. And if you're a member of Culinary Workers Local 226, and you don't caucus for Senator Obama???


The above was actually written by a diarist at MyDD! I'll bet that same person was for the Card Check Bill that our Congressman, Heath Shuler ,supported. The statement by that Democrat is just too full of delicious hypocrisy to let by unremarked upon. That "union gal" has just been bitten by the Beast that is Moral Relativism.

I wonder what Obama Democrats will think of their guy wishing for the optimism of the Reagan years again?

Quoting the Obama:

"Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not, and a way that Bill Clinton did not. We want clarity, we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing."

Senator Barack Obama (D-IL)
January 16, 2008
**UPDATE** I found the video:



I am still looking for videos of the HildaBeast and The Lecherous One...

Source: Washington Post

Me too, Barack, me too. Who would have thought that a Marxist like Obama could let down his guard for one second and let his fellow Democrats know that he admired the man who destroyed the Soviet Union?

Well, the HildaBeast (Hillary Clinton), the Breck Girl (John Edwards), and President Bill Clinton couldn't let that stand unchallenged:

First, the Beast:

"I have to say, you know, my leading opponent the other day said that he thought the Republicans had better ideas than Democrats the last ten to fifteen years. That's not the way I remember the last ten to fifteen years.

"I don't think it's a better idea to privatize Social Security. I don't think it's a better idea to try to eliminate the minimum wage. I don't think it's a better idea to undercut health benefits and to give drug companies the right to make billions of dollars by providing prescription drugs to Medicare recipients. I don't think it's a better idea to shut down the government, to drive us into debt."



Now, the Breck Girl:




The last two items were found on Gateway Pundit.

And, the Leacherous One (Bill Clinton):

"Her principal opponent said that since 1992, the Republicans have had all the good ideas," Clinton told a crowd in Pahrump this morning. "It goes along with their plan to ask Republicans to become Democrats for a day and caucus with you tomorrow, and then go back and become Republicans so they can participate in the Republican primary. I'm not making this up, folks."

He then asked which ideas were better in the last 15 years "than the new ideas I brought to Washington," outlining issue-by-issue where Republicans stood on his accomplishments.

"I can't imagine any Democrat seeking the presidency would say they were the party of new ideas for the last 15 years. But it sounded good in Reno I guess," he said. "So now it turns out you can choose between somebody who thinks our ideas or better or the Republicans had all the good ideas."
Source

This is some really funny stuff, and I hope the eventual GOP Nominee is smart enough to have some fun with it, and run some commercials on how even the Democrats are starting to come around on Reagan. Who knows, in 20 years, we may have Democrats waxing nostalgic for the President George W. Bush years while they debate whether or not Social Security should be completely privatized, and left up to the private sector!!!


Friday, January 18, 2008

A Special 2 Hour Gathering Storm Radio Show

One of my favorite Blog Talk Radio Shows is "The Gathering Storm," which features WC of The Gathering Storm Blog, and Always, of Always on Watch.

They host a weekly show on Fridays, starting at 3pm, with the theme of tracking the progress of the jihad against the west using the framing device of noting the tactics used by Islamists as they attempt to soften up western civilization for the coming war via Intimidation, Infiltration, and Disinformation. They also track the Appeasers & Apologists, and WC gives out a weekly "Winston Churchill Golden Balls Award" to someone who has had the stones to stand up to them and their fellow travelers and appeasers.



This weeks guests are:

1. Ilana Freedman of The Gerard Group, which states at the site's header, If you want to ignore the terrorist threat, that's your business. If you want to protect against it, that's ours. See this list for articles by Ms. Freedman.

2. Brigitte Gabriel, author of Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America and founder of the web site ACT For America!, where Ms. Gabriel states I founded ACT! for America because Islamic militants have declared war on America....We are in for the fight of our lives....

3. Blogger Lionheart from the UK. He will be arrested if he returns to the UK for violating Britain's hate crime law. This is a travesty of freedom and a show not to miss because what's happening to Lionheart can and may happen to you.

4. Lee Kaplan: undercover investigative journalist and a contributor to Front Page Magazine. He is also a regular columnist for the Israel National News and Canada Free Press and a senior intelligence analyst and communications director for the Northeast Intelligence Network. He heads the organizations Defending America for Knowledge and Action (DAFKA) and Stop the ISM. Mr. Kaplan hast a weekly radio show entitled "The Islamic Agenda" on Jerusalem Radio. Additionally he is on the air every Tuesday from 8-10 PM on the Jim Kirkwood Show.

Source: The Gathering Storm

If you are unable to listen to the show live, it will be podcast here, sometime after the show Friday, perhaps before 6pm.