Franklin TDA September 2015 Meeting Lacked a quorum for vote to subsidize ads in Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine

Press Packet for September 2015 Franklin TDA by Thunder Pig

The Franklin Tourism Development Authority convened a meeting on Monday, September 14, 2015 without a quorum present. A quorum is defined as five members in their Rules of Procedures. The board has eight seats, two of which are vacant. Chairman Candy Pressley was absent and member Josh Drake did not arrive until just after the 35 minute mark in the video. Before his arrival, the board amended their agenda to add a representative from Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine for a presentation. The board voted 4-0 to spend up to $3,000 to subsidize ads for local businesses in the November 2015 issue of Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine. Since a quorum was not present for this vote, the vote was not valid and will have to be re-voted on at another meeting that has a quorum present.

The board heard a proposal from Rob Gasparo for the Franklin TDA to sudsidize the Macon county Transit to run a shuttle service for hikers to use to come into Franklin. He said it would cost $6,750 to run the shuttle twice a day from February to May. The county commissioners voted earlier this year to not fund a shuttle, citing they would prefer not to interfere with local businesses and individuals who already transport hikers to and from the trail. Gasparo said that regardless of whether or not they found funding from the TDA or TDC, he would seek frunding from private sources to pay Macon County Transit to run a service. He will be presenting the proposal to the Macon County TDA today (Sept 17th) at the noon meeting. Macon Media will be covering that meeting.

The board declined (5-0) to subsidize a coupon book for Major Display to be handed out to visiting ball teams at Parker Meadows promoting local businesses.

The board voted 5-0 to fund the Naturalist event being organbized by Outdoor 76.

The board also discussed a vacation guide, but I missed the disposition of that because I was researching the quorum question, and upon review of the video, the board members were speaking so low I still could not understand what they wee saying to one another. I apologize for that.

After the meeting had been adjourned, members of the board and representatives of press (Macon Media and The Franklin Press) discussed whether or not the board had a quorum present for the meeting. Town manager Summer Woodard reported a conversation she had with the board attorney, John Henning, Jr, who was of the opinion that four did constitute a quorum. I disagreed and referred to the Rules of Procedure for the board, which defines a quorum as five. I have embedded a copy of the section of the Rules of Procedure that define a quorum for your convenience. [FULL COPY]

The day after the meeting, the Town manager sent out a notice that a quorum is indeed five members and the vote that the board took will be ratified at the October meeting. I have included a copy of that as well.

From: John Henning [mailto:john@csedlaw.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2015 3:26 PM
To: Summer Woodard
Subject: Tourism Development Authority

Dear TDA Board Members,

I understand that at the beginning of your meeting yesterday, four of you were present. A majority of the members currently appointed to the TDA were present (four (4) out of the current membership of six (6)). Approximately 30 minutes after the meeting started, a fifth member joined the meeting. Since Section 5.5 of the TDA bylaws currently sets a quorum at five members, the TDA will need to take action to ratify any votes that were taken before five members were present. This bylaw appears to anticipate always having all nine (9) memberships filled, and unfortunately, the TDA Board only consists of six (6) members at this time.

At your October 12, 2015 board meeting, and assuming five members are present, the Board will need to reconsider the item(s) that were voted on while only four members were present. My understanding is that there was only one such item, to participate in publishing Blue Ridge Outdoor Magazine, which will be recognizing the Town in an upcoming issue. Since that expenditure will come due sometime after November, the Board can ratify that vote and there will be no other problem with making that approved expenditure.

By and large, this is a problem caused by the language setting the quorum at five members, which seems to be based on the assumption that all nine members will be appointed at any given time. Despite the Town’s best efforts – including web and print advertising – to find persons willing to serve on the TDA Board, your current membership totals six. That makes this an appropriate time to say a heartfelt thank you to each of you for your willingness to serve on the TDA Board. Your time is very much appreciated. And if any of you knows anyone who might also be willing to serve, please ask them to get in touch with Candy Arvey or Summer Woodard about joining the Board.

Finally, and keeping in mind that the Town greatly appreciates your time and willingness to serve, please make every effort to attend the October board meeting.

In the near future, we will also look at amending the quorum bylaw, to avoid this difficulty in the future.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me directly if you have any questions or concerns.

Best regards,
John


John F. Henning, Jr.
Attorney

Even though my research is not needed, I am posting it anyway for future reference.

Here is an excerpt from an article on the UNC School of Governemnt website:

"...the first step in identifying the quorum for a committee or appointed board will usually be to find out whether the governing board has adopted a rule imposing a method of quorum calculation."

and

"Simply saying that a quorum is a majority of a body’s members or membership doesn’t explain how vacancies should be treated in a quorum calculation. For city and county governing boards, this issue is addressed by statute. Pursuant to G.S. 160A-74, vacant seats aren’t counted in quorum determinations for city councils. The opposite is true for boards of county commissioners: G.S. 153A-43 provides that the number of commissioners required for a quorum “is not affected by vacancies.” The blog post by Frayda Bluestein linked to above explains in detail how these rules work.

Local governing boards generally have the power to decide whether vacancies must be included in quorum calculations for their committees and appointed boards. (Sometimes those bodies are permitted to adopt their own procedural rules. In those situations, the committee or board itself may specify whether a quorum is a majority of total seats or of current members.) It often happens, though, that local rules don’t address the effect of vacancies on the quorum for committees or appointed boards."

Source >> "Quorum Calculations: The Impact of Vacancies and Members Who Don’t Vote" by Trey Allen, UNC School of Government

Supporting Documents

Franklin TDA Rules of Procedure

NC General Assembly law that created the Franklin TDA

Franklin Town board of Aldermen Occupancy Tax Resolution



ROLL CALL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

BOARD MEMBERS

Summer Woodard
Vickie Springer
Connie Gruberman
Cheryl Pullium
Josh Drake (arrived after 6 pm)

LOCAL PRESS

Macon Media (me)
The franklin Press
Macon County News and Shopping Guide

The TDA Board will meet again in the lower level of town hall on Monday, October 12th at 5:30 pm.

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A Review of Franklin TDA Meetings: From July 2012 to October 2012

I've been covering the meetings of the Franklin Tourism Development Board from the beginning of this fiscal year in July, and since things are about to get much more interesting with this board in the coming months, I thought it was pertinent to post the videos of the meetings that have been recorded so far so you can see exactly what has been taking place...

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July 9, 2012

Link to my blog post

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Jul 25, 2012 Special Called Meeting

Link to my blog post

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July 31, 2012 Continuation of Special Called Meeting

Link to my blog post

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August 13, 2012

Link to my blog post

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September 10, 2012

Link to my blog post

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October 8, 2012 Board Retreat

Link to blog post 

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NC Governor Convicted of Campaign Law Violations Failed to Report $1,600 Helicopter Ride as Donation

Former Governor of North Carolina, Mike Easley, was convicted of violating campaign finance laws for failing to report a helicopter ride he took with a supporter valued at $1,600 as a donation.

Easley's voice cracked at times as he answered questions from the judge about whether he understood his plea, known as an Alford guilty plea. It means that he did not admit guilt, but acknowledged there was enough evidence to convict him on the charge, which is the lowest level felony in North Carolina.


Easley's wife, Mary, and son, Mike Jr., were not in court because, according to one of Easley's lawyers, it was too painful for them to watch.


"I have to take responsibility for what the campaign does," Easley told the judge. "The buck has to stop somewhere. It stops with me, and I take responsibility for what has occurred in this incident."


The judge accepted the plea agreement, which specified that Easley would avoid jail time and receive a fine of $1,000 plus $153 in court costs.


Easley now risks losing his law license - and he enters the history books.


"Any good he did as governor is overshadowed by this," said Gary Pearce, a longtime Democratic Party consultant. "[F]rom now on, whenever someone writes about him, or when his obituary is written some day, the first phrase following the comma after his name will be, 'the first governor convicted of a felony.'"

Source: The Raleigh News & Observer


Last year, his campaign committee was fined $100,000 for various unreported airplane flights. My coverage of that is here and here.

Commentary

 Governor Mike Easley has gotten off very easy. This amounts to a mere slap on the wrist for the crimes he has committed. 


The effort to convict Governor Easley is a long one. If you care to, you can peruse the posts that appeared on News and Observer blog Under The Dome for a history of the Easley case. They have done a good job keeping up with this criminal probe of Mike Easley.




**5.26am** [News-Record] Did Easley accidently get immunity?
 

In the courtroom today, right before Easley pleaded guilty, William Kenerly, the special prosecutor assigned to the case, made note of a 1973 that may confer immunity on those subpoenaed to give testimony before the State Board of Elections. Although it’s never been tested in court so far as anyone knows, Easley’s lawyer Joe Cheshire said he thought it would apply in Easley’s case.

The specific statute appears to be GS 163 278.29:

No individual shall be excused from attending or testifying or producing any books, papers, or other documents before any court upon any proceeding or trial of another for the violation of any of the provisions of this Article, upon the ground or for the reason that the testimony or evidence, documentary or otherwise, required of him may tend to incriminate him, but such individual may be subpoenaed and required to testify by and for the State relative to any offense arising under the provisions of this Article; but such individual shall not be prosecuted or subjected to any penalty or forfeiture for or on account of any transaction, matter or thing concerning which he may be compelled to testify or produce evidence, documentary or otherwise, and no compelled testimony so given or produced shall be used against him upon any criminal proceeding, but such individual so compelled to testify with respect to any acts of his own shall be immune from prosecution on account thereof. (1973, c. 1272, s. 1.)

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Why Was Devin Norris Arrested By the FBI?

**update** April 3, 2010


 I have, courtesy of David Turner, a pdf copy of the indictment against Devin Norris. If these charges are true, then I can understand why Norris has been held in solitary confinement. It would be for his own protection from the other inmates.


A Grand Jury has returned a true bill against Devin Ray Norris for the charges of:


Count One--Transportation of Child Pornography (several hundred images) dating from November 2008 in violation of 18 USC 2252 (a)(2).


Count Two--Possession of Child Pornography dating from July 2009 in violation of 18 USC 2252 (a)(4)(B).


I hope that these charges are in error and are not so. Either way, I will be praying for Devin and his family. And for the alleged victims.


This is a sad thing, and shows that we can never really know anyone, whether they are leading a double life or are hiding a dark secret. I wrestled over whether or not I should blog about this, and decided that since Devin is running for President in 2012, and he has a Blog Talk Radio Show, that he fits the definition of a public figure.


I did not know who Devin was until I saw a posting on Facebook alleging that the FBI had arrested him for having a guy on his Blog Talk Radio Show who is peddling a book that claims there is a government-run ring of pedophiles. My previous post (which is below) has more on that.


If Devin is guilty, I hope that he finds the help he needs. If he is not, then I hope that he will win his case in court and be able to seek compensation for the damage done to him due to the nature of the charges.

Devin Norris has been arrested after his radio show with Nick Bryant.


The FRANKLIN SCANDAL is the story of a nationwide pedophile ring that pandered children to a cabal of the rich and powerful. The ring’s pimps were a pair of political powerbrokers who had access to the highest levels of our government. Nebraska legislators nearly exposed the ring in 1990, but its unveiling had the potential to produce seismic political aftershocks.The legislators’ efforts resulted in rash of mysterious deaths and the overpowering corruption of federal and local law enforcement, including the FBI, Secret Service, and Justice Department, effecting an immaculate cover-up of the trafficking network.


Within 24 hours after the show Devin Norris was detained.

Source: The World's Prophecy

Commentary

I can't believe that no one has picked up the phone and called the FBI to ask about this case, and to request the records of such. There is a legal requirement for charges to be filed within a few hours of arrest, and that information is a matter of public record, and should be easy to find instead of this endless speculation I read as I tried to research this story at 4am.


After 9am (when offices start getting populated), I'll make some phone calls to see what I can find...


I hope this isn't a publicity stunt or hoax. I really despise people who do crap just to get attention. If the guy was arrested for a legitimate reason, the news should be disseminated so some of this speculative chatter can be stopped. (Of course, a lot of the chatter is from Alex Jones types...so no amount of evidence will stop them).


And if I should disappear after I start my investigation...AVENGE ME!  

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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.

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Chicagoans For Rio 2016

Graphic Courtesy Chicagoans for Rio 2016




In response to the heavy-handed and thuggish tactics of the Chicago Olympic Committee, I am throwing my support behind Chigagoans who support Rio as the site of the 2016 Olympics. 


According to The Drudge Report, the Chicago Olympic Committee succeeded in getting the following report pulled from FOX TV in Chicago after airing only once...and ironically guaranteeing that even more people would see the video report...



Visit the Chicagoans for Rio website to find out more of the dark side of hosting an Olympic Games. 


Shame on the thugs at the Chicago Olympic Committee for their criminal attempt to control what news is reported.

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Full Run Down of Johanns Amendment Vote to Defund ACORN in HUD Budget

Last night, I blogged about the breaking story in the US Senate as word spread on Twitter of the Johanns Amendment being passed 83-7. One thing that slipped my mind at the time was that 9 Senators, for whatever reason, did not vote. I'll be checking with each of their offices today to get a reason for their non-vote (something President Obama did quite frequently during his career).

I'll let you know what I find.

Here is the text of the Johanns Amendment:

SA 2355. Mr. JOHANNS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 3288, making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

After section 414, insert the following:

Sec. 4__. None of the funds made available under this Act may be directly or indirectly distributed to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).

and the details of who co-sponsored the amendment:

Sponsor: Sen Johanns, Mike [NE] (submitted 9/11/2009) (proposed 9/14/2009)

AMENDMENT PURPOSE:
Prohibiting use of funds to fund the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).

COSPONSORS(14):

Sen Enzi, Michael B. [WY] - 9/14/2009
Sen Chambliss, Saxby [GA] - 9/14/2009
Sen Bunning, Jim [KY] - 9/14/2009
Sen Kyl, Jon [AZ] - 9/14/2009
Sen Burr, Richard [NC] - 9/14/2009
Sen DeMint, Jim [SC] - 9/14/2009
Sen Bennett, Robert F. [UT] - 9/14/2009
Sen Roberts, Pat [KS] - 9/14/2009
Sen Barrasso, John [WY] - 9/14/2009
Sen Coburn, Tom [OK] - 9/14/2009
Sen Isakson, Johnny [GA] - 9/14/2009
Sen Hatch, Orrin G. [UT] - 9/14/2009
Sen Thune, John [SD] - 9/14/2009
Sen Wicker, Roger F. [MS] - 9/14/2009

Here is the full roll call, which includes some Republican Senators who are widely regarded as RINOs, specifically John McCain and his Princess Lindsey Graham:

Not Voting:

Burr (R-NC) Byrd (D-WV) Coburn (R-OK)	Graham (R-SC) Gregg (R-NH) Hutchison (R-TX)	McCain (R-AZ) Mikulski (D-MD) Vitter (R-LA)

Roll Call # 275 [link to Roll Call]

YEAs ---83
Akaka (D-HI) Alexander (R-TN) Barrasso (R-WY) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Begich (D-AK) Bennet (D-CO) Bennett (R-UT) Bingaman (D-NM) Bond (R-MO) Boxer (D-CA) Brown (D-OH) Brownback (R-KS) Bunning (R-KY) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Chambliss (R-GA) Cochran (R-MS) Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID) DeMint (R-SC) Dodd (D-CT) Dorgan (D-ND) Ensign (R-NV)	Enzi (R-WY) Feingold (D-WI) Feinstein (D-CA) Franken (D-MN) Grassley (R-IA) Hagan (D-NC) Harkin (D-IA) Hatch (R-UT) Inhofe (R-OK) Inouye (D-HI) Isakson (R-GA) Johanns (R-NE) Johnson (D-SD) Kaufman (D-DE) Kerry (D-MA) Klobuchar (D-MN) Kohl (D-WI) Kyl (R-AZ) Landrieu (D-LA) Lautenberg (D-NJ) LeMieux (R-FL) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (ID-CT) Lincoln (D-AR) Lugar (R-IN) McCaskill (D-MO) McConnell (R-KY) Menendez (D-NJ)	Merkley (D-OR) Murkowski (R-AK) Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL) Nelson (D-NE) Pryor (D-AR) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Risch (R-ID) Roberts (R-KS) Rockefeller (D-WV) Schumer (D-NY) Sessions (R-AL) Shaheen (D-NH) Shelby (R-AL) Snowe (R-ME) Specter (D-PA) Stabenow (D-MI) Tester (D-MT) Thune (R-SD) Udall (D-CO) Udall (D-NM) Voinovich (R-OH) Warner (D-VA) Webb (D-VA) Wicker (R-MS) Wyden (D-OR)

NAYs ---7
Burris (D-IL) Casey (D-PA) Durbin (D-IL)	Gillibrand (D-NY) Leahy (D-VT) Sanders (I-VT)	Whitehouse (D-RI)

Not Voting - 9
Burr (R-NC) Byrd (D-WV) Coburn (R-OK)	Graham (R-SC) Gregg (R-NH) Hutchison (R-TX)	McCain (R-AZ) Mikulski (D-MD) Vitter (R-LA)

Another interesting amendment put forth by Senator Johanns is as follows:

SA 2356. Mr. JOHANNS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 3288, making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

After section 414, insert the following:

Sec. 4__. None of the funds made available under this Act shall be distributed to--

(1) an organization which has a pending indictment for or has been convicted of a violation under Federal or State law relating to fraudulent voting in any Federal or State election; or

(2) an organization which employs an individual who has a pending indictment for or has been convicted of a violation under Federal or State law relating to fraudulent voting in any Federal or State election.

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US Senate Votes 83-7 to Strip HUD Funding for ACORN!!! Update: List of 7 Senators Who STILL Support ACORN

According to Michelle Malkin, the US Senate has passed the Johanns Amendment #2355 to HR 3288 to strip ACORN of HUD Funding!!!

This is a Victory for our Constitutional Republic!

More from the Senate Republicans website:

Senator Johanns: (3:14 PM)

· Called up the Johanns Amendment #2355 to H.R. 3288.

· Spoke in favor of the Johanns Amendment #2355 to H.R. 3288.

o "Mr. President, the people of Nebraska sent me to Washington to protect them from waste and fraud and abuse, and they asked me to change the status quo. And I take that responsibility very seriously. That is why my amendment would prohibit one more penny, one more penny of taxpayer money from going to ACORN in the Transportation and Housing Appropriations bill...Until a full investigation is launched into ACORN, no taxpayer money should be used to fund its activities. A vote in favor of my amendment is a vote in favor of the taxpayer and a vote against the status quo."

Source: Republican Senate

I'll have the roll call and video up when it becomes available.

This action follows evidence of widespread corruption of ACORN that was first broken on Glenn Beck's radio program. Here are a couple of the videos of ACORN employees assisting what they believed was a future politician who was setting up a brothel for underage girls from Latin America:

Part One

Part Two

**6.40 pm**

Here are the seven Senators who STILL Support ACORN after massive corruption revealed:

• Dick Durbin (D-IL)
• Roland Burris (D-IL)
• Robert Casey (D-PA)
• Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
• Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
• Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
• Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

Here is the full roll call, which includes some Republican Senators who are widely regarded as RINOs, specifically John McCain and his Princess Lindsey Graham:

Not Voting:

Burr (R-NC) Byrd (D-WV) Coburn (R-OK)	Graham (R-SC) Gregg (R-NH) Hutchison (R-TX)	McCain (R-AZ) Mikulski (D-MD) Vitter (R-LA)

Roll Call # 275 [link to Roll Call]

YEAs ---83
Akaka (D-HI) Alexander (R-TN) Barrasso (R-WY) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Begich (D-AK) Bennet (D-CO) Bennett (R-UT) Bingaman (D-NM) Bond (R-MO) Boxer (D-CA) Brown (D-OH) Brownback (R-KS) Bunning (R-KY) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Chambliss (R-GA) Cochran (R-MS) Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID) DeMint (R-SC) Dodd (D-CT) Dorgan (D-ND) Ensign (R-NV)	Enzi (R-WY) Feingold (D-WI) Feinstein (D-CA) Franken (D-MN) Grassley (R-IA) Hagan (D-NC) Harkin (D-IA) Hatch (R-UT) Inhofe (R-OK) Inouye (D-HI) Isakson (R-GA) Johanns (R-NE) Johnson (D-SD) Kaufman (D-DE) Kerry (D-MA) Klobuchar (D-MN) Kohl (D-WI) Kyl (R-AZ) Landrieu (D-LA) Lautenberg (D-NJ) LeMieux (R-FL) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (ID-CT) Lincoln (D-AR) Lugar (R-IN) McCaskill (D-MO) McConnell (R-KY) Menendez (D-NJ)	Merkley (D-OR) Murkowski (R-AK) Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL) Nelson (D-NE) Pryor (D-AR) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Risch (R-ID) Roberts (R-KS) Rockefeller (D-WV) Schumer (D-NY) Sessions (R-AL) Shaheen (D-NH) Shelby (R-AL) Snowe (R-ME) Specter (D-PA) Stabenow (D-MI) Tester (D-MT) Thune (R-SD) Udall (D-CO) Udall (D-NM) Voinovich (R-OH) Warner (D-VA) Webb (D-VA) Wicker (R-MS) Wyden (D-OR)

NAYs ---7
Burris (D-IL) Casey (D-PA) Durbin (D-IL)	Gillibrand (D-NY) Leahy (D-VT) Sanders (I-VT)	Whitehouse (D-RI)

Not Voting - 9
Burr (R-NC) Byrd (D-WV) Coburn (R-OK)	Graham (R-SC) Gregg (R-NH) Hutchison (R-TX)	McCain (R-AZ) Mikulski (D-MD) Vitter (R-LA)

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General Assembly Votes to Change Law for Governor Perdue

The text of the bill is below, and you can listen to the committee meeting on Conservative Thunder.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2009

S 1

SENATE BILL 198

Short Title: State Bd. of Educ./Membership Restrictions.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Senators Malone and Stevens.
Referred to:	Education/Higher Education.

February 17, 2009

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to modify the restrictions on service on the state board of EDUCATION.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1. G.S. 115C‑10 reads as rewritten:

"§ 115C‑10. Appointment of Board.

The State Board of Education shall consist of the Lieutenant Governor, the State Treasurer, and 11 members appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly in joint session. Not more than one two public school employee employees paid from State or local funds may serve as an appointive member members of the State Board of Education. No spouse of any public school employee paid from State or local funds and no employee of the Department of Public Instruction or his spouse, may serve as an appointive member of the State Board of Education. Of the appointive members of the State Board of Education, one shall be appointed from each of the eight educational districts and three shall be appointed as members at large. Appointments shall be for terms of eight years and shall be made in four classes. Appointments to fill vacancies shall be made by the Governor for the unexpired terms and shall not be subject to confirmation.

The Governor shall transmit to the presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives, on or before the sixtieth legislative day of the General Assembly, the names of the persons appointed by him and submitted to the General Assembly for confirmation; thereafter, pursuant to joint resolution, the Senate and the House of Representatives shall meet in joint session for consideration of an action upon such appointments."

SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law.

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Smoking gun: caller explains Stimulus as Obama plan to fund permanent Democratic patronage system

"Chicago Bob", calling into a radio talk show, explains the need to rush on the Stimulus package before anyone gets a good chance to review its sordid details. The transcript: "I really feel that what I'm gonna give you here is a smoking gun. I'm a conservative Democrat and I'm from Chicago... and I, I feel that I was betrayed. I was in a meeting after Obama got elected and I was told by the Democratic officials in that meeting that we were gonna give billions of dollars that was gonna come down the pike, our way, and what we were to do with it was we were supposed to do with it... We are gonna build an army of Democratic patronage jobs.... gonna completely freeze up the Republicans forever and ever... It's a job-capturing system, the same one they have in Chicago... everyone's asking 'why isn't that money being released until 2011 and 2012?' Because it needs to be released at a time that's close to the election, so that they don't go blow the money and spend it. So they're gonna hold some back and that's where... the real bucks will be spent, right up close to the election. ...It's not a stimulus package, it's not pork! It's a job patronage system... there's gonna be more [people] working for the Democrats in a patronage system than the United States Army... Source: Director Blue (read the whole thing) I've tried to tell the Republican party that the election of Obama portends a complete overhaul of the political system in this nation, and that chances are slim that we will be able to get it back in four years. If the Republicans in the Senate do not grow a spine, our Republic is gone forever.

North Carolina has had a patronage system for a very long time, and the majority of elected Republicans play along with it.

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Bush Commutes Sentences for Two Former Border Patrol Agents

Ever the stubborn "Fill in-the-blank", President Bush waited until virtually the very last minute before acting to free the political prisoners, Ramos and Compeon. He commuted instead of pardoning them to ensure that they will never be able to work in the chosen line of work again:

On his last full day in office, President Bush commuted the controversial sentences of two former Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a Mexican drug runner in 2005. 

The imprisonment of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean had sparked outcry from critics who said the men were just doing their jobs and were punished too harshly. They had been sentenced to 11- and 12-year sentences, respectively. 

Their sentences will now expire on March 20 of this year. 

Ramos and Compean were sentenced in connection with the shooting of Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, who was shot in the buttocks while trying to flee along the Texas border. He admitted smuggling several hundred pounds of marijuana on the day he was shot and pleaded guilty last year to drug charges related to two other smuggling attempts. 

Nearly the entire congressional delegation from Texas and other lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle pleaded with Bush to grant them clemency. Conservatives hailed Bush's decision Monday. 

Source: Fox News

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Edenton Water Quality Meeting Videos

I found these little gems of information via an email sent out by Don Yelton of a meeting held in Edenton, NC last week. I have embedded all nine videos into a playlist in what I think is the proper chronological order:

Here is a quote from Fern Shubert I found on the WNCT-TV website:

I’m just reporting what others have said that seems worthy of discussion. For example, a 1995 report by the EPA on the PCS mine in Aurora says in “the early 1970s, a ground water monitoring study conducted by the state detected levels of arsenic, cadmium, and lead above the Federal Primary Drinking Water Standards” and the Coastal Federation in 2001 said “decades of mining have caused levels of cadmium in reclaimed soils and ponds to concentrate at more than 300 times background levels.”

An August 2007 Conference Report prepared by The Nicholas Institute at Duke University notes that “North Carolina’s coast is among the most vulnerable . . .[because]  Over 1.2 million acres in North Carolina are below one meter in elevation. Further, North Carolina’s coastal sea level rise is effectively double the global average because of land subsidence at the coast.”

PotashCorporation’s 2007 financial statements say “The USEPA has notified the company of various alleged violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act at the company’s
Aurora and White Springs plants. The company and other industry members have met with representatives of the US Department of Justice, USEPA and various state environmental agencies regarding potential resolution of these matters. . . The company is uncertain if any resolution will be possible without litigation, or, if litigation occurs, what the outcome would be.”

Previously:


Don Yelton Gives Pep Talk Down East

Water in Eastern North Carolina Endangered?

How Hard Is This Puzzle? A Guest Commentary by Fern Shubert

Read More

Don Yelton Gives Pep Talk Down East

Don Yelton, perpetual gadfly to corrupt government officials, has given a pep talk to some of the folks down east who have been dealing with corruption in their local and state government in refence to pollutants in their water supply:

Previously:

Water in Eastern North Carolina Endangered?

How Hard Is This Puzzle? A Guest Commentary by Fern Shubert

Read More