It appears that Heat Miser wins the contest this year in my neighborhood as we are forecast to get rain on Christmas Day. Maybe next year our luck will be better.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Snow Miser versus Heat Miser Dance Contest
It appears that Heat Miser wins the contest this year in my neighborhood as we are forecast to get rain on Christmas Day. Maybe next year our luck will be better.
US Senate Passes Health Care Legislation 60-39
By a vote of 60 to 39, the Senate passed its version of health care reform. Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) was the only member not present for the vote.
The next step is a conference with the House to form one bill to be voted on by both chambers.
Image courtesy C-SPAN.
Nocturne
Nocturne from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.
Nocturne was shot at ISO 6400 ASA with a Canon 1D Mark IV using available light. According to Vincent Laforet, a reflector was used only on the scene involving the little girl!
If you want one of these cameras, be advised they cost more than $5,000.
Read more about the video project an Vincent Laforet's blog.
Read more about this camera at Engadget.
Moderate Islam: Western Ally or Western Myth?
Hosted by The Middle East Forum
This video is an hour long and comes from Fora TV, which is an excellent source of video regarding public discourse on many issues from many viewpoints.
The above event was hosted by The Middle East Forum, a Philadelphia-based think tank, seeks to define and promote American interests in the Middle East and protect the Constitutional order from Middle Eastern influences. It does this in several ways. The Middle East Quarterly provides in-depth analyses. Campus Watch critiques Middle East studies in North America. Islamist Watch focuses on the lawful promotion of radical Islam. The Legal Project protects public freedom of speech in this subject area. The Washington Project monitors and seeks to influence U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Source of description: The Middle East Forum
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
"You're Mean One, Mr. Grinch" Sung By Tay Zonday
I don't necessarily agree with his analysis at the end, but the guy can sing...so I had to embed it anyway.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Senator Richard Burr Discusses the Price of the 60th Vote
Burr is up for re-election this year, and he will need all the help that conservatives can give him...because the Progressives are going to go all out to win this seat in 2010.
Democrats Ensure America Will No Longer Be the Last Best Hope of Earth
As the passage of the bill that will start the process of nationalizing health care in America becomes almost inevitable, so, too, the process of undoing America's standing as The Last Best Hope of Earth will have begun.
That description of America was not, as more than a few Americans on the left believe, made by some right-wing chauvinist. It was made by President Abraham Lincoln in an address to Congress on Dec. 1, 1862.
The bigger the American government becomes, the more like other countries America becomes. Even a Democrat has to acknowledge the simple logic: America cannot at the same time be the last best hope of earth and increasingly similar to more and more countries.
Either America is unique, in which case it at least has the possibility of uniquely embodying hopes for mankind -- or it is not unique, in which case it is by definition not capable of being the last best hope for humanity -- certainly no more so than, let us say, Sweden or the Netherlands.
Indeed, President Obama acknowledged this in April, when asked by a European reporter if he believes in American exceptionalism. The president's response: "I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism."
Source: Real Clear Politics
Go read the whole thing. We are being sold a bill of goods, encouraged to give up liberty in order to acheive a measure of security, as the quote that has been attributed to Ben Franklin says:
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety" --Ben Franklin
Saturday, December 19, 2009
After the Storm
Here is a video of my drive through Macon and Jackson Counties this morning sped up about ten times faster than normal...except for the snowball fight at Topcat's Grocery.
Video Views of the Snow in Western North Carolina
Here are some videos people have uploaded to the Internet of the snow that hit our region yesterday, so enjoy the scenery!!!
This last one is a three hour webcam view with the local scanner traffic I webcast over the Internet yesterday as it happened.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Snowcam Live Recorded with Scanner Audio
The view from my house this afternoon in the loverly snow.
I added scanner audio to the feed as well.
Live player has been replaced with the recorded video.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
West Carolina Report for December 17, 2009
I've been VERY remiss in not keeping a regular schedule of posting here, and I mean to change that, starting today and getting back to overwhelming you with posts.
Here are some clippings of the news in western North Carolina from newspapers, blogs and news sites on the Internet, especially those West of the Balsams that are eschewed by the Main Stream types who think the world revolves around Asheville:
Winter Weather Forecast (most of this should be East of the Balsams)
...MAJOR WINTER STORM TO AFFECT THE AREA FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON...
.A COASTAL STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO SPREAD PRECIPITATION OVER THE MOUNTAINS FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE WARM ENOUGH FOR PRECIPITATION TO FALL MAINLY AS SNOW ACROSS MUCH OF THE MOUNTAINS...WHILE A MIXTURE OF RAIN...SLEET AND SNOW IS EXPECTED IN THE PIEDMONT. SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW ARE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS...AND PIEDMONT AREAS ALONG THE I-40 CORRIDOR.
...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH
SATURDAY AFTERNOON...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
SNOW...POSSIBLY MIXED WITH SLEET AND RAIN...WILL SPREAD INTO THE
WESTERN PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA...AS WELL AS NORTHEAST PORTIONS
OF UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA FRIDAY MORNING. THE PRECIPITATION IS
EXPECTED TO FALL MAINLY AS SNOW THROUGH MUCH OF THE AFTERNOON...ALTHOUGH A CHANGE TO A MIX OF SLEET AND RAIN IS POSSIBLE ALONG AND SOUTH OF I-85 DURING THE EVENING. PRECIPITATION WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF SATURDAY NIGHT BEFORE GRADUALLY TAPERING OFF EARLY SATURDAY.
STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 2 TO 4 INCHES
IN AREAS SOUTH OF I-40...TO 4 TO 6 ACROSS THE NORTHWEST PIEDMONT.
LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITHIN HEAVIER BANDS OF PRECIPITATION.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW...SLEET...OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL.
CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS.
Source: National Weather Service
WEST OF THE BALSAMS
Andrews...it's the infamous cartruck...
During this time of year, law enforcement is called a lot with noise complaints all coming from two guys.
Steve Clark and Robert Hamilton spend a lot of time cruising the streets of Andrews and the surrounding areas with loud music blaring from their car – cartruck, that is.
With almost 200 hours put into the project each year, Clark and Hamilton use Gorilla tape and coaxial cable to attach more than 71,000 lights to the Chevrolet Celebrity, which is welded with a Datsun pickup bed and an exhaust pipe from a Mack truck.
“We’re bringing Christmas cheer,” Hamilton said.
“You could look at the people’s houses and they didn’t have any lights up. They didn’t have a Christmas tree in the house, but it was full of people. They all came out to look,” he added of the first year he drove cartruck around the area. Clark said it’s easier than the traditional way of spreading cheer.
Source: Andrews Journal
You know me. I was not satisfied with the story above. It lacked a visual aid, like a photo or something. I found a video (probably taken with a cellphone) of the Car Truck of Andrews in action:
Cherokee County...Local Farmers branching out...
Farmers who make their entire livelihood from working the land are almost a relic from the past in Cherokee County.
As the number of large farms has steadily dwindled, a new type of farmer has emerged, one who can forge a living from an acre or two growing for a specialty market.
Keith Wood has farmed with his brother Eddie Wood in the Andrews Valley for years. He also works full time for the N.C. Extension Service in Cherokee County. “I don’t know anyone who derives 100 percent of their income from farming anymore. There are a few who get most of their finances from farming,” he said. “There are more part-time farmers than anything.”
According to the N.C. Agricultural Census, in 1940 Cherokee County had 2,000 farms. That number declined to 288 by 2007.
Source: Cherokee Scout
Graham County...County Commissioners challenge accuracy of voter registration list...
The Graham County Board of Commissioners wants the county’s election office to develop an accurate list of registered voters in Graham County.
The commission last Thursday issued a directive for elections officials to perform a “wellness check” of the voter registration list because of concerns the current list isn’t accurate.
Commissioner Billy Cable said he wanted to get an accurate list prior to the recent court battle between commissioners and the Graham County Election Board.
“I just want to know how many registered voters there are in Graham County,” Cable said. “People ask me all the time. This came up before the court case. This has nothing to do with it.”
A superior court judge ruled Nov. 30 the county’s election board — and not the county commission — is empowered by state law to hire and fire within the elections office without interference from commissioners as long as the election board stays within budget.
The election board filed the lawsuit because the commission refused to pay a part-time worker the election board had hired.
Source: The Graham Star
Swain County...Candlelight procession tells the Nativity Story...
While a light, chilly rain may have watered down attendance, organizers of last Saturday's Spirit of Christmas event didn't let it extinguish the mood.
About 50 people came out for the event in downtown Bryson City. This was less than half last year's turnout of 120 people, said event organizer Sharon Chilson.
The evening started at 5 p.m. Children were able to post letters to Santa and enjoy cookies at the Swain County Chamber of Commerce.
Then, at 7 p.m., the Light-A-Light memorial tree at the intersection of Main and Everett streets was dedicated. Afterward, participants lit candles and walked down Everett Street, singing traditional Christmas songs as they went.
Source: Smoky Mountain Times
Macon County...REACH of Macon County has handled 800+ court cases in 2009...
REACH of Macon County and the services they provide in the community, including a new outreach program to the Latina population, were discussed at the League of Women Voter's meeting on Thursday, Dec. 10.
REACH stands for Resources, Education, Assistance, Counseling and Housing. Ann Van Harlingen, executive director of REACH of Macon County, said that REACH is a very small agency with a staff of about 12 people plus 12 board members and volunteers. REACH partners with other agencies in the community, including law enforcement, Kids Place, the Department of Social Services and the District Attorney's office.
"As of today's date, from January first of this year we have had more than 800 court cases in Macon County, which is a huge number," Van Harlingen said.
Some 25-35 percent of the case loads involved individuals from other cultures, according to Van Harlingen.
"We serve a large Hispanic community," she added.
Source: Franklin Press
More in Macon County...Highlands School students to receive free dental care
Fluoride rinses aren’t usually part of the school curriculum, but a new program at Highlands School will make weekly rinses available to students to help improve dental health. Rinses are expected to begin in January.
“I think it’s great,” said Principal Brian Jetter. “What a great service for kids who aren’t getting enough fluoride. Plus, it’s a way to have an annual check-up to make sure there are not any problems arising. It’s a great thing for the Rotary clubs to do.”
The program is a joint effort of Mountaintop and Highlands Rotary Clubs. The program has been implemented and modeled after one at Blue Ridge School and Summit Charter School and has been deemed a success.
Source: The Highlander
Even more from Macon County...Road failures cast uncertainty on Wildflower’s future
In 2005, two investment partners from Atlanta broke ground on a massive project on the slopes of Cowee Mountain in north Macon County with hopes of creating a new paradigm for mountainside development in Western North Carolina.
However, four years later, the road system is plagued by landslides, many of the lots are in foreclosure and only two homes have actually been built on the 2,500-acre development.
When a mid-November rain storm dumped three inches in Macon County, Thompson Road, a key road through the development, gave way, triggering a landslide, burying a home site below under a half-acre of debris. More significantly, the slide raises questions about the stability of the remaining 30 miles of roads in the development. After the slide, Macon County Emergency Services Director Warren Cabe contacted the North Carolina Geological Survey to ascertain if the road collapse posed a threat to property owners down slope from the Wildflower development.
“After we noticed there was a slide there, we notified property owners in the valley just so they could know what was going on above them,” Cabe said. “We wanted them to hear it from us instead of reading it in the newspaper.”
The study conducted by North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources Senior Geologist Rick Wooten concluded that the area affected by the slide was still unstable.
“The lowermost portion of the deposit spilled over a steep road cut for a driveway above Thompson Road. Large trees, many with root balls still attached, were pushed over, snapped off, and partially buried by debris flow material in the toe area,” the report read. “Unstable embankment material remains below the eastward and westward extensions of the main scarp. This unstable material will probably continue to move.”
Source: Smoky Mountain Times
Jackson County...Parent taking complaints about teen club to Sylva board
Local parent Brian Bartel will be asking Sylva leaders during their regular meeting Thursday morning, Dec. 17, to shut down a club aimed at teens in the area.
Bartel will address town board members during their third-Thursday meeting at 9:15 a.m. at Town Hall and says he will ask them to look into Club Offspring, which is located next to the Flowers bread store in the former REACH Thrift Shop location. Bartel said his teens came home from school with a flyer promoting the club that worried him.
“It said ‘come as wasted as you want, dressed how you want,’ ” he said.
More than 100 residents have signed a petition requesting that the club be shut down. Bartel said he would present those signatures to the board Thursday.
Club Offspring co-owner Nathan Lang said the club was started as a way to minister to at-risk youth in the area by him and his son Russell. Though the flyers promoting the club were “on edge,” he said that no alcohol, drugs or fighting are allowed in the facilities.
“With so much media clamoring for our teens’ attention, one must be a little on the edge to get noticed,” he said. “You may notice that we didn’t say to come to Club Offspring to get as ‘wasted as you want,’ or to get as ‘high’ as you want, or to dress/undress as you want. These at-risk teens are already doing these things. And we welcome them in to our no alcohol, no drugs environment to have fun with their friends regardless of how messed up they are. They are getting messed up without us already. We are there for them when they are ready to make a positive step in their lives and have fun without the illegal element.”
Source: The Sylva Herald Blog (The Sylva Herald Website is currently down)
More from Jackson County...
One of the many joys of my life is to listen to the owls call out at night. I hear owls much more often than I see them. Sunday, when a foggy day turned surprisingly warm, I took off to examine the neighborhood.
A flash of wings caught my attention and I turned to see a barred owl landing on a tree limb. The owl stared at me. I stared at the owl. Even though I’d left the “right” camera and the “right” lens at home, I snapped away and bagged a few grainy shots.
It is one thing to know how an owl can turn its head almost completely around and another to actually see it. The owl was facing me and then smoothly swiveled its head around until it was looking at me again...and then swiveled its head back to where it started. I stayed there for a few minutes and so did the owl. Neither of us was in any hurry to go anywhere.
Source: Ruminations from the Distant Hills
I hope to return to making reports from West Carolina at least a twice weekly feature, and to include other areas during the rest of the week.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
The Truth About Congressman Heath Shuler
"The NCGOP produced this video to highlight Rep. Shuler’s blatant disregard for the truth and his attempt to use his office as leverage in a land deal with the TVA. The citizens of Western North Carolina deserve better representation."
NCGOP Chairman Tom Fetzer
The GOP of WNC is grateful to the NCGOP and Tom Fetzer for producing this ad.
"I challenge the Congressman to dispute one second of this ad. He can not because facts don't lie."
Robert Danos
Henderson County GOP
Read more about this at The Tenneseean.
Do Republicans in Buncombe County Understand the US Constitution???
Or Do They WANT A Religious Test for Officeholders?
**2.14pm** I've had several emails from Republicans in Buncombe County objecting to my use of the term Republican in my headline, several of whom I respect. I'm letting the descriptor stand because I feel it fits, and I know of no significant numbers of Republicans who have come out in support of Cecil Bothwell's religious freedom. If I am mistaken in this, please correct me.
I hope that certain people in Buncombe County will realize the folly of allowing themselves to be stirred up by listening to a moron on the radio regarding Cecil Bothwell. That guy has done nothing but cause trouble for Republicans, and as soon as they realize that, the better.
One of his latest efforts has succeeded in making the target briefly on the national radar (see AshVegas) while simultaneously exposing our side as hypocritical idiots who don't understand the US Constitution. (As many Republicans are want to do these days since it is the style of the times). I'll wager less than one in a hundred "Republicans" have read the US Constitution and the documents that supported it, The Federalist...also known as The Federalist Papers. Or, for that matter, the Anti-Federalist Papers written by people who opposed the Constitution, and were in favor of religious tests of office.
Here is the 3d clause of Article VI:
That is very simple language, and should be easy to understand. The US Constitution trumps the state constitutions in this case.
Further, requiring a religious test for office violates the 1st and 14th Amendment rights of the person in question, as Torcaso v. Watkins has decided in a very similar case.
The Supreme Court ruled on this case, so it is the law of the land unless you are willing to take this all the way to the Supreme Court and get it over turned. That will not happen.
I dislike Cecil Bothwell being in the Asheville City Council. However, the voters have spoken.
If you want anyone to blame, you have no need to look past what John Jay, an author of The Federalist Papers, the first Chief Justice of the United States and the second president of the American Bible Society, said when he declared, "Providence has given our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as privilege and interest, of a Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." If you wanted a religious test, the time to apply it would have been during the election campaign...not afterward.
I hope that certain people in Buncombe County will realize the folly of allowing themselves to be stirred up by listening to a moron on the radio regarding Cecil Bothwell. That guy has done nothing but cause trouble for Republicans, and as soon as they realize that, the better.
One of his latest efforts has succeeded in making the target briefly on the national radar (see AshVegas) while simultaneously exposing our side as hypocritical idiots who don't understand the US Constitution. (As many Republicans are want to do these days since it is the style of the times). I'll wager less than one in a hundred "Republicans" have read the US Constitution and the documents that supported it, The Federalist...also known as The Federalist Papers. Or, for that matter, the Anti-Federalist Papers written by people who opposed the Constitution, and were in favor of religious tests of office.
Here is the 3d clause of Article VI:
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
That is very simple language, and should be easy to understand. The US Constitution trumps the state constitutions in this case.
Further, requiring a religious test for office violates the 1st and 14th Amendment rights of the person in question, as Torcaso v. Watkins has decided in a very similar case.
The Supreme Court ruled on this case, so it is the law of the land unless you are willing to take this all the way to the Supreme Court and get it over turned. That will not happen.
I dislike Cecil Bothwell being in the Asheville City Council. However, the voters have spoken.
If you want anyone to blame, you have no need to look past what John Jay, an author of The Federalist Papers, the first Chief Justice of the United States and the second president of the American Bible Society, said when he declared, "Providence has given our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as privilege and interest, of a Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." If you wanted a religious test, the time to apply it would have been during the election campaign...not afterward.
So blame the conservative candidates running, blame the 80% of Republicans who did not go to the polls that day, blame the party leadership in that county for not having an organized GOTV plan for Election Day that could have been adapted by the candidates running for City Council.
Maybe next time there is an election campaign going on, these people will be involved in walking the precincts, seeking voters and donations to help get someone who shares their values elected to office. If they are not doing that, then they are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Maybe next time there is an election campaign going on, these people will be involved in walking the precincts, seeking voters and donations to help get someone who shares their values elected to office. If they are not doing that, then they are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
WCU Young Americans for Liberty Congressional Forum
Introductions
Here are the first 5 videos of the Congressional Forum held by the WCU Young Americans for Liberty on Monday night dealing with the introduction of the group, the format and the candidates.
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Monday, December 7, 2009
Watch NC 11 Congressional Debate Live;
Hosted by WCU Young Americans for Liberty
The player will start playing the event when I start webcasting live, which should be just before 7pm tonight. If you are a webmaster or blogger, feel free to grab the embed code and post it on your own webpage and help spread the word about the candidates, and where they stand on the issues!!! After the event is over, I will replace the live player with the archived recording of the event.
Young Americans for Liberty is a Constitutionally-focused student organization that promotes fiscal responsibility, unabashed individual liberties, and equal legal protection for all.
The goal of this debate is to not only inform students of the candidates and issues surrounding the 2010 election but to seek out candidates who most-closely align with YAL principles.
Visit their facebook page for more information.
Video clips at Ustream
And here is the social stream that will allow you the ability to discuss the event with others on Twitter...
I am looking forward to seeing how the Republican field stacks up tonight.
Remembering Pearl Harbor
NEVER FORGET!!!
The USS Shaw exploding on December 7, 2009
KGU in Honolulu calls NBC to report Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor while it is in progress.
An NBC Radio report on the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
"December 7th," directed by John Ford, begins with the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, nicknamed "the Navy's hundred million dollar fist." Authentic footage of the invasion is mixed with reenactments to provide a complete portrait of the events of that fateful day. An extended sequence pays tribute to the American soldiers killed in the attack, many of whom are individually profiled, complete with testimonials offered by surviving family members. American bravery is not only embodied by the fallen, it is proven by the resolve that comes in response to the attack. The film culminates in a profile of the Navy's recovery of one sunken vessel in particular, employing the effort as a metaphor for the American cause, "a symbol of the fighting spirit of our men who build and man our ships." Much like this successful refitting, the film suggests that American forces will rise from destruction, stronger than they were before.
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