The Seventh Sense

Independent Cinema Coming To Winston-Salem

About time, too.

I heard it on the local NPR this morning.  A new arts cinema is opening -- 2 screens, 160 seats, beer, wine, and a whole bunch of movies you’ve probably never heard of -- all in downtown Winston-Salem.

It's called Aperture Cinema and as the video shows, it's coming together fast....

Their first showings are scheduled for January 2010.  They'll be showing A Town Called Panic...

and New York, I Love You...

More details here.

Asheville Seeks To Prevent Atheist From Serving On City Council

Here I was thinking Asheville was one of the more progressive little big towns of North Carolina, but nope.  Opponents of a man named Cecil Bothwell are seizing on an obscure law to argue he should not be seated as a City Council member today.  The North Carolina Constitution, according to this newspaper report, states that a peson is not qualified for public office if he or she doesn't believe in God, and Mr. Bothwell (opponents claim) does not believe in God (For his part, Bothwell says he more of a "post-theist", but claims it is irrelevant anyway).

I found uit hard to believe that the North Carolina Constitution contains such a requirement, but yes, it's true.  Right there in Article VI, Section 8:

The following persons shall be disqualified for office:

First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.

Second, with respect to any office that is filled by election by the people, any person who is not qualified to vote in an election for that office.

Third, any person who has been adjudged guilty of treason or any other felony against this State or the United States, or any person who has been adjudged guilty of a felony in another state that also would be a felony if it had been committed in this State, or any person who has been adjudged guilty of corruption or malpractice in any office, or any person who has been removed by impeachment from any office, and who has not been restored to the rights of citizenship in the manner prescribed by law.

Now, Article VI of United States Constitution clearly states that "“no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”  And since federal law trumps state law, Cecil Bothwell's opponents don't have a legal leg to stand on. 

In fact, this exact same issue with the same fact pattern went to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1961.  The state was Maryland and the job title was notary public rather than city councilman, but otherwise, everything else was the same.  The case was Torasco v. Watkins and the court unanimously found that such constitutional provision requiring a belief in God violates the First and Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution:

There is, and can be, no dispute about the purpose or effect of the Maryland Declaration of Rights requirement before us - it sets up a religious test which was designed to and, if valid, does bar every person who refuses to declare a belief in God from holding a public "office of profit or trust" in Maryland. ... We repeat and again reaffirm that neither a State nor the Federal Government can constitutionally force a person "to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion." Neither can constitutionally pass laws or impose requirements which aid all religions as against non-believers, and neither can aid those religions based on a belief in the existence of God as against those religions founded on different beliefs.

What strikes me about the Asheville controversy is that it is SO clear-cut.  This issue was resolved legally almost 50 years ago.  Seriously, do we have to re-argue slavery, too?

Asheville actually is VERY progressive, but there is a small vocal (and aging) demographic of ultra-conservatives in its citizenry.  The city council is almost ALL progressives; this objection to Mr. Bothwell is just the death cry from a dying breed.  Still, it makes me shake my head in disbelief.

Stimulus Spending In Forsyth County

I don't want to create problems for anyone, but $221,000 seems like an awfully big chunk of stimulus money to go to a psychiatrist's office (Christopher Spaulding PSY.D). [Source]

Recovery.gov states that the purpose of the loan was:

TO ASSIST SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS BY PROVIDING LONG TERM FINANCING THROUGH THE SALE OF DEBENTURES TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR

and also says there was a separate $6,000 loan. 

I think that's the largest stimulus award from the Small Business Adminstration to a Forsyth business.  It's probably legit, but I'm not sure it will stimulate that many jobs -- it looks like a one-person (plus staff) operation.

New Laws Which Take Effect Today In NC

Let's take a quick look at some of the new laws which take effect today in North Carolina.

The big one is, of course, no texting while driving.  Now, don't think you can be cute about this.  But no, it applies to emailing, too.  In fact it applies to any time you "manually enter multiple letters or text in the device as a means of communicating with another person" while driving.  You can do it while parking, though.  Exceptions are carved out for GPS devices.  And you can still use voice activation.

Kids are being protected better, as of today.  There is a criminal law on the books, as of today, for cyberbullying a minor, or using a minor to cyberbully a parent.  School buses have better protection: a new law allows for cameras on school buses to get at drivers who don't stop -- the penalty for failure to stop and killing a kid is increased as well.  Sex offenders cannot drive school buses anymore (this was a problem?).  And solicitation of a minor by computer now extends to mobile devices.

Other stuff:

• New rules regarding preservation of DNA evidence that is used to convict criminals
• It is illegal to "target picket" a single residence in a manner that would cause severe emotional stress to the occupant.
• School board members are now held to the same standard as police, sheriffs, court clerks, etc. when it comes to failure to discharge their duties
• Certain glass tubes which can serve as crack vials are now regulated.
• Stonger penalities against deadbeat dads who defy court orders to pay child support.
• Stronger penalities for removing or altering serial numbers on guns.
• With some exceptions, it is now illegal to own a venomous snake, crocodile, or a boa constrictor (or other "restricting snakes").

And my personal favorite:

AN ACT to create the offense of LARCENY, DESTRUCTION, DEFACEMENT, OR VANDALISM OF PORTABLE TOILETS OR PUMPER TRUCKS.

SECTION 1.  Article 16 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

"§ 14‑86.2.  Larceny, destruction, defacement, or vandalism of portable toilets or pumper trucks.

Unless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing greater punishment, if any person steals, takes from its temporary location or from any person having the lawful custody thereof, or willfully destroys, defaces, or vandalizes a chemical or portable toilet as defined in G.S. 130A‑290 or a pumper truck that is operated by a septage management firm that is permitted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources under G.S. 130A‑291.1, the person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor."

SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2009, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 21^st day of May, 2009.

Foxx's Latest Stupid Statements

During a debate on the House floor today over designating 21 miles of the Molalla River as "wild and scenic," Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), who opposes the legislation, tried to claim a progressive environmental record for her party. "Actually, the GOP has been the leader in starting good environmental programs in this country," said Foxx.

She didn't say what those environmental programs were, tellingly.

But then she went into loony-land territory.   Foxx extended her claims of the GOP's progressive history to the issue of civil rights. "Just as we were the people who passed the civil rights bills back in the '60s without very much help from our colleagues across the aisle," said Foxx. "They love to engage in revisionist history."

Fortunately, Foxx was slapped down by Dennis Cardoza (D-CA):

CARDOZA: Today, what I'm hearing on the floor really takes the cake. The gentlelady from North Carolina, in her statement just now, indicated that the Republican GOP had passed the Civil Rights Act legislation with almost no help from the Democrats. I can't believe my ears. It was the Kennedy and Johnson administration where we passed that Great Society legislation. It was over the objections of people like Jesse Helms from the gentlewoman's state that we passed that civil rights legislation. John Lewis...

FOXX: Would, would the gentleman yield?

CARDOZA: No, I will not yield. John Lewis, a member of this House, was beaten on the Edmund Pettus bridge to get that civil rights legislation passed. Tell John Lewis that he wasn't part of getting that legislation passed.

****

The truth of the matter is that it is a bit more complicated.  Of course, there were Southern Democrats (Dixiecrats) who opposed civil rights legislation.  But as Think Progress points out:

To support the claim that Republicans were actually the architects of civil rights, conservatives often point out that a "higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats supported the civil-rights bill." But this ignores the "distinct split between Northern and Southern politicians" on the issue. When this is taken into account, the facts show that "in both the North and the South, Democrats supported the 1964 Civil Rights Act at a higher rate than the Republicans."

Steve Benen also provides this refresher:

This comes up from time to time, and since some confused people like Virginia Foxx have trouble remembering the details, it's worth the occasional refresher.

The Democratic Party, in the first half of the 20th century, was home to competing constituencies -- southern whites with abhorrent views on race, and white progressives and African Americans in the north, who sought to advance the cause of civil rights. The party struggled, ultimately siding with an inclusive, liberal agenda.

As the party shifted, the Democratic mainstream embraced its new role. Republicans, meanwhile, also changed. In the wake of LBJ signing the Civil Rights Act, the Republican Party welcomed the racists who no longer felt comfortable in the Democratic Party. Indeed, in 1964, Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater boasted of his opposition to the Civil Rights Act, and made it part of his platform. It was right around this time when figures like Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond made the transition -- leaving the Democratic Party for the GOP.

In the ensuing years, Democrats embraced its role as the party of diversity, inclusion, and civil rights. Republicans became the party of the "Southern Strategy," opposition to affirmative action, campaigns based on race-baiting, vote-caging, discriminatory voter-ID laws, and politicians like Helms, Thurmond, Pat Buchanan, and Virginia Foxx.

Finally, it's all very nice to talk about Republican's civil rights initiatives of the past (after all, President Lincoln -- a Republican -- freed the slaves, yes?), but even assuming there is cause for the GOP to crow, that's what we call "resting on one's laurels".  Where is the Republican party today on issues like gay marriage or immigration?

Virginia Foxx (R-NC): Still Fearmongering on Health Care

Her past hits include:

• Health care reform means that Americans will be "put to death by their government."
• "There are no Americans who don’t have healthcare. Everybody in this country has access to healthcare.."

Today, on the floor of the House, Rep. Virginia Foxx rolled out another song to complete the crazy con hyperbole fear trilogy -- a little ditty called "I believe we have more to fear from the potential of that [health care reform] bill passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country."

Watch:

It's ironic that she invokes "terrorism".  "Terrorism" is, after all, designed to spread fear -- that's why it's called terrorism.

But listen closely to Rep. Foxx.  She uses the word "fear" or "fright" 8 times in the first 40 seconds.

WHO is spreading fear, Virginia?

RENT at Theatre Alliance

I realized this morning that 1,000 people have either seen RENT at Theatre Alliance, or have bought tickets to see it.  That's damn impressive.

I'm not plugging it -- it doesn't need plugging, but if you are in the Triad, you really don't want to miss it.  Info in the right column.....

Rent at ArtsFest 2009 from Ken Ashford on Vimeo.

The piano-only preview performance above doesn't begin to do justice to the cast's talents.

But it's just a tease....

An Opening Paragraph We Didn't Particularly Enjoy Reading

From the Boston Herald:

RALEIGH, N.C. — Twenty murderers, rapists and robbers sentenced to life in North Carolina prisons in the 1970s will be released at the end of October as a result of recent court rulings.

Why?

Well, basically it comes down to this.  These murderers, rapists, and robberts were sentenced to life in prison in the 1970s as a result of their crime.

In 1981, the NC sentencing guidelines were revised.  Essentially, all sentences were cut in half.  The new guildelines were applied retroactively.

One industrious lifer argued to the court that, back in the 1970s, the sentencing guidelines interpreted "life in prison" as meaning "80 years".  Therefore, when the 1981 changes came along, that meant that their sentence was, effectively, 40 years.

Last week, the highest court of North Carolina agreed with this interpretation.

So, with some staturorily-recognized time off for good behavior, some "lifers" are now being set free, having served their sentence.  More will be released in the decade to come.

Thank you, legal fluke.

[For what it is worth -- since 1994, when North Carolina eliminated parole, a life sentence in North Carolina has meant the convict will die behind bars. But only first-degree murder can carry a life sentence, and now, the shortest sentence someone convicted now of first-degree forcible rape can serve is 12 years.]

Here's A Halloween Hootenanny For Ya!

Instead of trick-or-treating, how about piling those kids in the pick-up truck and taking a trip down the road to Canton, NC (near Asheville)?

Here's what you can expect (image from their website):

[NOTE: The website has been changed recently to include a burning fire background, rendering this page virtually unreadable.  Still, the text shown here remains the same.]

From Raw Story:

The website for the Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Canton, N.C., says there are "scriptural bases" for the book burning. The site quotes Acts 19:18-20: "And many that believed, came and confessed and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts, brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed."

Church leaders deem Good News for Modern Man, the Evidence Bible, the New International Version Bible, the Green Bible and the Message Bible, as well as at least seven other versions of the Bible as "Satan's Bibles," according to the website. Attendees will also set fire to "Satan's popular books" such as the work of "heretics" including the Pope, Mother Teresa, Billy Graham and Rick Warren.

"I believe the King James version is God's preserved, inspired, inerrant and infallible word of God," Pastor Marc Grizzard told a local news station of his 14-member parish.

***

David Lynch, a resident of nearby Asheville, N.C., told Raw Story "it's a little disconcerting how close this is to my home."

"They are burning so much stuff I've dubbed them the hypocritical Christian Taliban," Lynch said in a phone interview with Raw Story. "Just the scope of all the information they want to destroy is pretty disturbing."

Church leaders did not respond to Raw Story's requests for comment, but the website notes they will be providing "bar-b-que chicken, fried chicken and all the sides" at the book burning.

Well, given the amount of fire there, I expect the chicken will be burnt to a crisp.

My reaction?  Wonkette says it all:

...and don’t even attempt to answer this: How does a human being become this insane? Imagine how hard you would have to work, mentally, for your whole life, training yourself to be as insane as fucking possible about everything, every object you see, every interaction you have, to the point where you would plan or attend this church’s Halloween book burning non-ironically, agreeing with each aspect of this itinerary on earnest grounds, actually believing that this event would result in some sort of pure, positive good, and then telling people in public, on the publicly available Internet, about this event. Try to imagine for yourself a hypothetical psychological path that would lead you to this sort of existence. “Clinical psychosis” won’t even get you halfway.

Seriously, I have a problem with book-burning in general, but I suppose if one must burn books, James Dobson's work won't upset me too much.  And I can certainly think of some country music records that deserve to burn.  But to burn James Dobson, Billy Graham, Rick Warren and Chuck Colson because they are insufficiently religio-conservative?  That takes a special kind of batshit insane. 

UPDATE:  From the church website's joke page:

TOP TEN SIGNS YOU MAY NOT BE READING YOUR BIBLE ENOUGH:

10) The Preacher announces the sermon is from Galatians ... and you check the table of contents.
9) You think Abraham, Isaac & Jacob may have had a few hit songs during the 60's.
8) You open to the Gospel of Luke and a WWII Savings Bond falls out.
7) Your favorite Old Testament Patriarch is Hercules.
6) A small family of woodchucks has taken up residence in the Psalms of your Bible.
5) You become frustrated because Charlton Heston isn't listed in either the Concordance or the Table of Contents.
4) Catching the kids reading the Song of Solomon, you demand: "Who gave you this stuff?"
3) You think the Minor Prophets worked in the quarries.
2) You keep falling for it every time when Pastor tells you to turn to First Condominiums.
And the number one sign you may not be reading your Bible enough:
1) The kids keep asking too many questions about your usual bedtime story: "Jonah the Shepherd Boy and His Ark of Many Colors."

Ok, now the whole burning thing is starting to sound appealing.

David Joy Gets Good Press

Geez.

Best quote:

Jokes Lawson: “Truth be told, he owes all of his success to me, and the rest is history.” Joy plays right along. “It’s true,” he says. “I’m Jamie’s bitch. He works me like a slave driver and I keep coming back for more. I’m a prison bitch.”

New North Carolina Laws Day

Being the beginning of another fiscal year, about 100 new laws go into effect in the State of North Carolina today.  They're all listed here (PDF).

But just so you know, here are a few:

• Local governments get to regulate golf carts now. Phew.  Our long national nightmare is... uh... over?
• It's now illegal to sell novelty lighters. (A "novelty lighter" is defined as a lighter which is designed to look like a "cartoon charactor, toy, gun, watch, musical instrument, vehicle, animal, food or beverage, or similar articles, or that plays musical notes" -- in other words, a lighter that might attract kids,  A regular lighter with a logo, however, doesn't count)  
• "Truth in Music Performances" Law: It's now illegal to give a live musical performance pretending to be somebody else (e.g., Elvis) unless you make it clear that it's a "tribute".
• You can no longer object to the location of an ABC store, if the municipality allowed the store to be located there after a public hearing.
• North Carolina will conduct a swine flu-related study to see if it needs to change the wild boar hunting season.
• Municipalities can take vehicles abandoned on public property to the junkyard if the vehicle is more than five years old and worth less than $500 (it used to be $100).
• It's still illegal for motor vehicles to stop on a highway in a way which impedes traffic, but now there's an exception for garbage trucks collecting garbage.  Lovely.
• Beaver traps with a mouth greater than 7.5 inches and less than 26 inches can only be placed in water where beavers hang out. [Insert your own joke here]
• Municipalities can go after chronic violators of public nuisance ordinances by serving a single notice.
• It's now easier for residential areas off of state roads to get speed bumps put in.
• Before, stray dogs and cats which bit a human could be tested for rabies and if needed, euthanized; now, it applies to stray ferrets as well.
• Safety rules which applied to skiers also apply to snowboarders and other winter sports people.
• It's still illegal to drive while watching TV or a computer screen, but GPS screens don't count.  Neither do factory-installed video screens which provide weather or radio information.  Glad we got that straightened out.
• Public wine-testing events were always legal (with a permit); now beer-tasting events are legal (with a permit) as well.  NASCAR enthusiasts rejoice.
• If you want to be a licensed marriage or family therapist in NC, they have to run a criminal background check on you now beforehand.
• Dealers who buy gold or other precious metals from the public have to be licensed. That law is probably a fallout from the Cash4Gold.com scandal.

Big intrusive government bastards.... messing with my beaver traps and boar hunting.

Oh, and while I'm on the topic, there are two other notable new criminal laws on the books:

• It's now illegal -- a Class 1 misdemanor -- to vandalize a Port-a-potty (NOTE: Actually, this law isn't effective until December 1, 2009, so you have a couple months of scot-free Port-a-potty destruction ahead of you, if you are so inclined).
• TEXTING WHILE DRIVING IS ILLEGAL -- Okay, this doesn't start until December 1, 2009, but don't do it anyway.  I'm driving NC roads...

Knickers Twisted

Letter to the Editor recently:

Increasingly common

My wife and I recently attended a performance of Moonlight and Magnolias at Twin City Stage ("Movie Stage," Sept. 13). What we were hoping for was a wholesome comedy. What we experienced was a profanity-laced production that made frequent use of a variety of obscene language.

This is the type of language that is becoming increasingly common not only at Twin City Stage and in movie theaters, but also throughout our society.

A sewage pond is not pleasant to smell. Most people would try to avoid being anywhere near it. Yet, it seems as if many people in our society today don't mind hearing -- and even speaking -- obscenities.

Ephesians 4:29 instructs us to "let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth."

Likewise, Colossians 3:8 instructs us to rid ourselves of "filthy language out of your mouth."

It would be no stretch to assume these biblical passages also imply that Christians shouldn't casually stand by and listen to such language when it is spoken by others. Such language not only contaminates the person who is speaking, but may also contaminate those who are listening to it. Consider what the psalmist says in Psalm 19:14: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer."

How pleased God would be if each of us tried to honor him through the words we speak and the words to which we listen.

HARVEY E. ARMOUR
Winston-Salem

Ah, vox populli.

My favorite paragraph starts:

It would be no stretch to assume these biblical passages also imply that Christians shouldn't casually stand by and listen to such language when it is spoken by others.

"No stretch to assume these biblical passages also imply...?"  In other words, he's saying the Bible commands him to condemn, although it actually doesn't.

People like Mr. Armour drive me nuts.  It's not his objection to foul language.  It's his supposition that we all must conform to his sensiblities.  I call it the "prude veto".  Mr. Armour can choose to live his life as he chooses, and take whatever steps he needs to avoid the cesspool of language which offends him so.  There are off buttons on remote controls.  There are knowledgeable people at the theater who can tell you language content.  But to sanitize all things -- especially all entertainment -- to cater to the the likes of Mr. Armour is simply ludicrous.

People, in this country, you're allowed to clutch your pearls and swoon onto the fainting couch.  You're not allowed to make other people do that.  It's one thing to ask people to respect your religion; quite another to ask them to respect your taboos.

The Shoot

I didn't know what was going on.

I knew I had been cast in a very small part in "Hellphone", being shot in Madison, NC.  My original part was one line, spoken into a phone, and then I die.  But a scheduling conflict preventing that from happening.  But they put into another part.  I just had no idea what part, or when it was being shot.

So every morning, I would get by email a call sheet.  And yesterday, I was on it.  I was "John" and I was to be at Dan's Coffee Shop in Madison at 6:30 pm.  That's all I knew.

I arrived there and there were already a bunch of extras in semi-formal dress.  I was in a polo shirt and jeans.  Uh-oh.

Fortunately, Jaye Pierce was there.  I just ended a show with her -- The Great American Trailer Park Musical -- she played my stripper-girlfriend.  Her brother is the director of "Hellphone".  She was there, with much of her family, to be extras.  She had on a snazzy evening dress.

She got a copy of the script, and it turned out to be a scene at a dance hall.  It was a "Support The Troops" benefit where people turn in their cellphones in exchange for a bluetooth phone that fits in your ear.  This is early in the film.  Apparently, outfitting most of the fictional small town with bluetooths is important for the plot -- the demon can now kill them better through the bluetooth.  Or something.

Anyway, as luck would have it, I was able to get myself dressed up, pulling from my Trailer Park costume which was still in my car.  Now it was just a matter of learning my lines.  And knowing when to say them.  One of the lines was "Well, as a vet, I seriously appreciate the community coming together to support our boys."  Dummy me -- it took me a while to realize I was a veteran, and not a veterinarian.

As luck would also have it, the woman playing my wife Sharon, was unable to make the shoot, so Jaye took her place.

Our scene was basically a brief conversation with the lead, Graham (played by Nathan Moore) and Elisha (a reporter who has a crush on Graham, played by Caroline Granger, a Charlotte-based actress).  I talk to Graham about the event, but he is distracted and excuses himself from the conversation.

Shooting was fun.  It was a long process though, because it was a crowd scene.  There was a band and the extras were dancing.  Meanwhile, there's several conversations going on.  So we had to shoot wide shots from various angles.  Then we had to shoot closer shots of particular conversations (including the one I was in).  And you had to remember your movements from the wider shots to the closer ones, which sometimes were shot an hour-and-a-half later. 

Again, Jaye was a big help.  She would remind me, "...and here's where you turn around after I point at the fat lady".  Of course, we had to mime a lot when the camera wasn't on us -- the boom wanted to pick up the main conversation and not all the background noise.  So there was silent talking, silent dancing, etc.

The extras were, uh, interesting.  Some of them had clearly never done it before, but they were very attentive to Jason's direction.  Others seemed to be "extra groupies" -- people who apparently have nothing better to do that to be extras in movies.  Some people drove from Florida and Marylan, just to be in the background of this one 3-minute scene.

Anyway, my scene went off without a serious hitch, and I managed to remember my lines.  Nathan was a great guy and a very good actor.

Jaye had her baby with her, and the baby was acting up, so she had to leave the set shortly after our close-up scene was shot.  They still had more party scenes to shoot (reflecting later on in the evening when the party had died down a little), and since my "wife" was no longer there, it stood to reason that my charactor wouldn't be there either.  So I was done at 11:30 pm.

Nice time.  Hope to see the film itself someday (my co-actor in Rounding Third, Scott Stevens, is playing the demon).  Might even get me on IMDb.

P.S.  Forgot to mention.  My charactor, John, and Jaye's charactor, Sharon, are named after Jaye and Jason's actual parents.  Waiting around to shoot, I asked Jaye if her father had any mannerisms that I could incorporate (you know, just for fun).  Jaye's niece said the he sometimes scratches his chin.  Unfortunately, I forgot to do that on most of the takes, so I'm not sure if my chin-scratch will make the final cut.

Making It Local

Excellent resource here showing what passage of HR 3200, American's Affordable Health Choice Act, would mean for every Congressional district in the country.

For example, I live in NC 5th District, so my Congressperson is the brain-dead Virginia Foxx.  What would passage of HR3200 mean for my district?

America’s Affordable Health Choices Act would provide significant benefits in the 5th Congressional District of North Carolina:  up to 14,200 small businesses could receive tax credits to provide coverage to their employees; 13,100 seniors would avoid the donut hole in Medicare Part D; 800 families could escape bankruptcy each year due to unaffordable health care costs; health care providers would receive payment for $113 million in uncompensated care each year; and 85,000 uninsured individuals would gain access to high-quality, affordable health insurance.

Why is Ginny against it?

Film-Friendly North Carolina

As a follow-up to this post, I'm glad to see that Gov. Perdue signed SB 943 hours ago.  North Carolina now offers 25% tax credit to qualifying film productions which shoot here (effective January 1) 

Our Local Senator Representative Is Entering Crazy Michele Bachmann Territory

In a telephone town hall yesterday, Senator Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) said:

"The Constitution doesn’t grant a right to health care, and most of us are living as much by the Constitution as we can. It also doesn’t give the federal government the authority to deal with health care. As you may know, the 10th amendment, it says if it isn’t mentioned in the Constitution to be done by the federal government, it’s left to the states or the people. [...]"

Okay, well I dealt with this before.  But, for a lark, let's play in her ballpark okay?

Call Virginia Foxx's office -- (336) 778-0211 -- and tell her you agree with her and we should therefore end Medicare and the Veteran's Administration.

Oh, yeah, she also said this:

"I think one of the problems we have in this country right now is the fact that the federal government is trying to do too much. We need to leave things to the states and the localities. … And unfortunately, we are distracting ourselves from looking after the defense of this nation because we are dealing with issues that should, by right, be the state and individual’s."

You can also tell Senator Rep. Foxx that you agree with her on that too.  Government shouldn't be meddling with medical issues that belong to individuals.  That's why you want her never ever to support bans on abortions.

P.S. Virginia Foxx is the one who called Matthew Shepard's murder an "unfortunate incident" which occurred during a robbery.

Hellphone Promo

Nice little write-up about the movie I'm supposed to be in (in an insignificant role) here.  Also mentions a friend, Rebecca Clark.

Winston-Salem: The Frontier

First bears, now coyotes.

Maybe it's my New Hampshire upbringing, but I don't see what the big deal is.

North Carolina Perspective On Obama

Perhaps some of my friends up north don't understand why I blog so often about the birthers.  And that might be because the birther movement truly is fringe up north.

But not here in North Carolina.

According to a Public Policy Poll released yesterday,  only 24% of self-identified Republican voters in North Carolina believe Barack Obama was born in the United States.  47% do not believe that Obama is American born, and 29% of Republicans aren’t sure.  I'll spare you the math, but that means that 900,000 Republicans in North Carolina don’t think the president of the United States is legitimate, or aren’t sure about the matter.

That's why I write about it.  Because I'm knee-deep in stupid.

Now, certainly not ALL Republicans in North Carolina are stupid.  Not really really stupid  After all, according to the same poll, 7% of those who voted for John McCain do not believe Hawaii to be a part of the United States.  A further 4% weren't sure.  That means that one out of every ten North Carolinian Republicans can't say for sure whether Hawaii is part of the United States.

I can see now why Republicans are against improving education in this state.  Because if people got smarter, then Republicans would lose more elections.

Film-Friendly North Carolina

They like us!  They really like us!

From the Hollywood Reporter:

By the early 1990s, North Carolina had become the No. 3 production center in the U.S., behind California and New York, with a steady stream of productions flowing into the state -- including such high-profile features as "The Color Purple," "Dirty Dancing, "Bull Durham," "The Last of the Mohicans" and "The Fugitive" and numerous movies of the week. They were drawn by the studio facilities and the relatively inexpensive (it's a right to work state) crew, as well as the mild weather and a diverse topography capable of standing in for the Northeast, the Deep South, the Midwest and the West Coast.

But almost as quickly as the state came charging on to the scene, it began to fade as Canada lured away productions with increasingly generous subsidies and the big networks virtually abandoned the movie of the week. Production revenue fell from a high of $504 million in 1993 to $230.8 million in 2002.

When the tax credit was raised to 15% in 2007, production spending in North Carolina shot up 60%. Then Georgia and Michigan passed new incentives, along with South Carolina, Connecticut and Massachusetts, and the state was back on the ropes again.

"They all just leapfrogged us and we just saw our market share dissipate," says Aaron Syrett, director of the North Carolina Film Office. "The thing about North Carolina is we've always had an infrastructure here that people can call on. Now with those more competitive incentives around, we're seeing our crew base leave and follow those jobs. I'm sure they want to be home, but they have to make a living."

The NC House has passed a bill raising the incentives to 25%, and Dream Stage 10 -- the third-largest film and television production stage in the country -- opened for business last month.

You Still Can't Take It With You

I learned today from the local Yes Weekly that "You Can't Take It With You", a show I was in last year with the Little Theatre of Winston-Salem, is being produced again by the Little Theatre of Winston-Salem this year on the exact same dates. 

Either that, or Mark Burger is recycling an article from last year.

Local Hunger

Not for nothing, but North Carolina has the nation's second-highest hunger rate for children under 5 years old, second only to Louisiana (which is still suffering the after-effects of Katrina).  More than 422,000 children in North Carolina are "food insecure" – , i.e., unable to consistently access adequate amounts of nutritious food that is necessary for a healthy life.  That amounts one-in-four of all NC kids under the age of five who are "food insecure".

With an unemployment rate in Forsyth County of 11.6%, you can be sure that many of those hungry children are within miles of where you are (assuming you are a local person reading this).

So, you know, would it kill you to do something?

Storm's A-Brewin'

One of the nice things about working in one of the tallest buildings in a small city is that you can see things like this coming -- literally:

  

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RALEIGH HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... FORSYTH COUNTY IN CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA

* UNTIL 415 PM EDT

* AT 338 PM EDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER LEWISVILLE... OR 6 MILES WEST OF WINSTON-SALEM... MOVING NORTHEAST AT 10 MPH. PENNY SIZED HAIL AND WINDS IN EXCESS OF 58 MPH ARE LIKELY WITH THIS STORM.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... WINSTON-SALEM... PFAFFTOWN...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAN PRODUCE LARGE DAMAGING HAIL... DAMAGING WINDS OF 58 MPH AND GREATER... DEADLY LIGHTNING... AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. GO INSIDE A STURDY SHELTER. MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

Arts NC License Plate

 

Pretty cool, huh?

No, it's not available.  Legislation hasn't been passed to approve the new plate, but Arts NC is working hard to get it done.  Their message to you:

The arts specialty plate has taken front and center in our advocacy efforts the last two weeks as the Senate and House debate revenue sources and the budget remains in limbo. Thank you to all who have responded to recent Call to Action messages.

We are close to a breakthrough on the arts license plate but we need you to help us gather persuasive data. ARTS North Carolina would like to demonstrate support for the arts plate through an email survey. Take a look and please tell us if you are interested in having this plate by a simple email to licenseplate@artsnc.org We will compile the numbers and take our report to the Legislature as soon as possible, so please act now. Just include your affirmative response, your name and address, and your email information. Be one of the first to receive information on plate sales when the legislation is passed. Your response in no way obligates you to buy the plate.

 

We want The Creative State on 100,000 cars before Christmas. Think of the visibility our plate can create for all the arts. Imagine the sustaining revenue and what we, your advocacy organization, could accomplish with substantial plate sales - statewide arts marketing, better networking and communications, arts education advocacy, reinstatement of Professional Consulting Services, local "on the ground" advocacy training and support, the beginnings of a trust for facility development...the options and potential revenue are unlimited!

 

Please forward this to colleagues, friends, and family who would want our arts specialty plate and personally ask them to respond. The more people interested, the stronger the case.

You know what to do....

It's Official: Korner's Folly Is Haunted

So says the Southern Paranormal and Anomaly Research Society:

The self-billed Strangest House in the World was officially declared haunted by the Southern Paranormal and Anomaly Research Society at a news conference Wednesday, the News & Recod of Greensboro reported.

The organization's Carolinas chapter in May investigated the 19th century Kernersville home of artist and interior decorator Jule Gilmer Korner (pronounced Kerner). The recordings they made revealed several disembodied voices and some mysterious specks of light.

"When you look at the evidence, there may be 1,000 ways to debunk it," said investigator Deonna Kelli Sayed. "And that's OK. You don't have to believe in any of it if you don't want to. But ... the evidence we have, we can't really offer you an explanation for it."

SPARS is a family member of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS), best known for being featured on the Syfy series "Ghost Hunters." The show stars Rhode Island plumbers and ghost hunters Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson. The Carolinas chapter has roughly 30 members, including about a half-dozen in the Triad.

Sixteen SPARS members came together for the Korner's Folly investigation over Memorial Day weekend, bringing with them infrared cameras, digital thermometers, tape recorders and electromagnetic field detectors.

Among the findings revealed Tuesday were the sound of a little girl saying "peek-a-boo;" some wailing noises recorded at the site of the outhouse; and a woman saying "Anne" in response to a SPARS member asking, "Can you tell us your name?"

The group also showed video clips of what looked like dots of light flying across a room.

"Stuff like this, someone might say, 'Oh it's a bug or a moth,"' said SPARS investigator Iris Carter. "But the pattern and the way it goes across is a clue in determining whether it's dust or a bug."

"Yeah, you constantly see dust," Sayed added. "We see bugs, and it's quite clear what they are. This, it just seemed too 'intelligent."'

Having seen and done shows in the Folly (there's a little theater in the attic which was designed for one of the household kids back in the 19th century -- see picture at right), I can attest to some of these things. 

There are indeed bugs and dust -- things not uncommon in a house that old.  And yes, the bugs and dust tend to move in a pattern -- towards the light or along with the draft that blows through the old home's rafters.  I wouldn't exactly call that "paranormal" though.

As for the voices and wailing, well, I don't know what to say about that.

I will say this: haunted or not, I would get creeped out spending a night in there alone.  Not that I have to.....

FYI: About Those Bears?

More from the Winston-Salem Journal:

Tom Mutton was almost certainly among the last unarmed people Monday night to encounter a small black bear that wandered through a neighborhood in northwest Winston-Salem.

As he was getting ready to go out to dinner about 7, Mutton heard a noise coming from his garage. A second rustling sound prompted him to investigate.

"I didn't see anything at first, but when I walked around my car I saw it by the back of the car," Mutton said. "It turned and looked at me, then went out on the lawn behind my house."

Then the bear did exactly what Mutton has been told black bears will do sometimes when they encounter humans: It took a few steps toward him in a bluff charge, an attempt to intimidate.

"That's when I remembered that you're supposed to stand your ground, but look away from them," said Mutton, an experienced hiker who has seen bigger bears in Alaska. "Doing that is supposed to be a sign of aggressiveness to the bear. If you run away, I've been told, they'll chase you."

Whatever he had done worked, Mutton said, because the bear fled into woods that separate his property from the house where police officers killed a black bear about an hour later.

When he heard that bear had been shot, Mutton naturally wondered if something had gone wrong.

"I would have thought that maybe they could have tranquilized it," he said. "I hate that it got killed like that."

Okay.  So that's what you do.  Now we can stop shooting them.

Bearing Arms Against Bears

The west end of Winston-Salem, where I live (just over the city line in Pfafftown) is being subjected to urban sprawl.  We've got a few housing communities being built (although God knows why in this crappy housing market); we've got a new shopping complex with a Harris Teeter, etc.

A few years ago, these were all heavily wooded areas.  It wasn't unusual to see wild turkeys or grouse or the occasional deer (annoying though they can be).  But now, with things being built left and right, the wildlife has no place to go.

It all started yesterday, where there were reports of a bear in the neighborhood near mine.

And the Winston-Salem police responded by, well, shooting it dead.

And now it is the talk of the town.

The police are responding to the controversy by claiming that the bear fell out of a tree and they "had" to shoot it to put it out of its misery.  But people aren't really buying that.  I'm not buying it.  Bears climb trees; they're good at it.  This particular bear just happened to fall out of the tree while police were there?  I don't think so.

The question on people's minds is: why didn't they just shoot ther bear with a sedative?

Here's some choice comments from the Winston-Salem Journal, from the bear defenders (many of them sarcastic).

This bear was reported to be armed and dangerous with WMD. Therefore, his invasion into a local neighborhood qualifies as an act of terrorism and will not be tolerated.

"Cunningham said that police would have preferred that a wildlife agency handle the situation, but said officers had to deal with it immediately because the bear was in a populated area." I still can't find where the wildlife agency "refused" the call - just sounds like they couldn't get there fast enough to suit the cops. So, why not just follow the dang thing instead? The cops ARE the ones armed, right? They do still carry radios, right? Follow the bear, keep an eye on him, and keep in contact with wildlife agencies so they can find him - good grief! "We didn't think it was worth it to wait for the bear to become hostile," Cunningham said ~ you're kidding? Sounds like the bear wasn't hostile yet, but hey, let's kill it just in case ~ c'mon guys! Yeah, the cops have a hard job, and a times a very dangerous one. But stories/actions like this do not help the image of law enforcement

oh no! more bears in the area? gosh send out the militia and kill em all before we all are doomed.

Typical police reaction to wildlife of any form. Shoot first. The bears are hungry and foraging for food in what used to be their home. Now its ours. The humane solution would have been a coordinated effort by Animal Control, Police and State Wildlife officials to relocate the problem bear.

Based on what the defenders of the officer here are saying, I suggest we kill everything that's wild and consider no other alternatives. If something doesn't belong, kill it. Seriously, everyone knows that bears are wild, but there were options - unless you want to believe the bear was attacking humans while the officer went to his vehicle to get the shotgun.

And most everybody else was writing: "OMFG!!!  It was a BEAR for crying out loud!!  A BEAR!!!!   Run for the hills!!!"  Here is one of my favorites:

Having a wild bear at large in a suburban neighborhood unaccustomed to dealing with these powerful animals is a recipe for disaster. I would have liked to see the bear captured or tranquilized, but that is probably an unreasonable expectation given the very limited local resources for dealing with an animal that is almost unknown in Forsyth County, which is easily 50-75 miles beyond the normal range for bear in our state. Furthermore, a bear that is seeking food in garbage cans and backyards is already desensitized to humans and more likely to pose a threat in a human-bear encounter.

Right.  The bear was going through the garbage -- how gauche.  Obviously, you can't reason with a garbage-trawling animal.  Best shoot it.

The simple facts are that, yes, bears are wild animals.  Yes, they can be dangerous.  Yes, they can -- in theory -- attack and maul someone.  But, with that said, there needs to be some perspective:

• You are 12 times more likely to die of a bee sting than a bear attack (120 times more likely compared to a black bear)
• You are 10 times more likely to die from a dog attack than a bear attack (45 times more likely compared to a black bear attack)
• 1 person out of 16,000 commits murder but only 1 grizzly bear out of 50,000 ever kills someone and only 1 black bear out of one million does.  
• There are about 750,000 black bears in North America and on average there is less than one black bear killing per year.
• For each person killed by a black bear attack there are 13 people killed by snakes, 17 by spiders, 45 by dogs, 120 by bees, 150 by tornadoes, 374 by lightning, and 60,000 by humans.

People in Asheville are used to this.  Winston-Salem people can adjust as well.

What I Did For Love

An anonymous patron who recently saw the production of Sordid Lives that I am a part of:

I just want to tell you how much we enjoyed the play.
 
I learned recently that my hours at work are being cut and am losing my health insurance (at almost 62 years old) & have been in bummed mode lately. I bought the tickets thinking that I may get a laugh or 2, especially after having enjoyed "Plaid Tidings" so, so much.
 
Well, I just want you to know how much we enjoyed "Sordid Lives," and how much it brought my head up. It was the best $25 bucks I ever spent. The whole cast was terrific. Gray Smith is a joy. He made me laugh, he made me cry. The play just lifted my spirits. Thank you all so much for helping me to feel better.
 
By the way, I'm the woman who danced with that very gorgeous young woman at intermission.
 
Can't wait for for "The Great American Trailer Park Musical."
 
Thank you, thank you!!!

Tonight is the last night of our four(!) weeks of performing this show.  We're all a little tired, but we're all ready to move on....

We're No. 25!

Allstate released its Fifth Annual ''Allstate America's Best Drivers Report(TM)" which ranks which cities in the country have the safest drivers.

The safest is Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  The least safe is Washington, DC.

Winston-Salem ranked a remarkable 25th.

Well, not that remarkable when you think about it.  The people here drive at an average speed of 30 mph.

Mysterious Creatures Living In Raleigh Sewers

This unmanned camera was sent into the Raleigh sewer system the other day and revealed these... uh.... things that nobody can identify:

Actually, the mystery has been solved, although it still remains creepy.

NC Senate Passes Film Incentives

Good news:

The movie industry got a step closer to better tax treatment in North Carolina as the state Senate on Wednesday approved a bill on a party line vote 27-17 to increase tax credits for qualifying expenses to 25 percent. It still has to be approved by the House before it is implemented, though.

Sweetening the incentive pot for the motion picture companies came to the forefront in recent weeks after the state lost out to Georgia for the production of “The Last Song,” which is based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks.

North Carolina’s present incentive of 15 percent has not kept up with the escalation other states have offered. Georgia’s package of incentives includes a 30 percent credit, and that has helped that state attract numerous productions that otherwise may have landed in North Carolina. North Carolina and Georgia were the finalists to produce “The Last Song,” but it went to the Peach State after the revenue officials here ruled that certain expenses would not qualify.

Opponents of the bill tried one final time to amend the bill and place a hard cap on the total amount of tax credit the state could offer in a year. That amendment also failed on a party line vote.

Sen. Julia Boseman, D-New Hanover, called the amendment bad policy because movie companies wouldn’t consider North Carolina if they were about to bump up against a tax credit cap.

“Movie companies wouldn’t come here if they knew they couldn’t get the tax credit,” Boseman said. “The movie industry can have a positive impact on the state because of the type of jobs it brings to the state.”

Sen. David Hoyle, D-Gaston, spoke in favor of the bill and explained how small businesses have benefited from being hired by production companies.

“In my area, there are a lot of commercials produced and when the production companies come here and contract with small businesses, those dollars are spent locally,” Hoyle said. “They’re hiring carpenters, electricians. Those jobs are easier to hire locally. It means a lot.”

How the tax credit fits into the final state budget picture remains unclear. It could be taken up as a separate issue by the House or it could just be rolled into the final state budget bill. By passing the Senate, it definitely is in play as the House and Senate budget negotiators begin their talks to finalize the new budget.

People I'm Missing This Week

David Sedaris:

America

NC Anti-Bullying Statute Debate [UPDATE: Passes!]

I'm listening to the feed from the NC House as they debate the School Violence Prevention Act (the so-called anti-bullying bill) -- full text here -- and some moron is up there saying that the problem with the bill is that it is centered around the victims, rather than the bullies.  According to this idiot, anyone can be victims, so rather than having a bill that singles out "special protections" for "certain" victims (he means gay kids), he thinks the bill should focus on the bullies.

It's a stupid argument on its face.  First of all, we all went to high school, and no, some kids weren't picked on.  Not everyone was a victim.  Secondly, the bill, as written, doesn't create "special protections" for gay kids -- it applies to anyone who is bulliled on account of "race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, socioeconomic status, academic status, gender identity, physical appearance, sexual orientation, or mental, physical, developmental, or sensory disability, or by association with a person who has or is perceived to have one or more of these characteristics".

Now another idiot is getting up there and trying to stop the bill by complaining that it doesn't protect kids whose "sexual orientation" includes pedophilia and S&M.  That's called being a "concern troll" -- he's not actually trying to keep pedophiles and sado-masochists; he just is trying to kill the bill.  Those things are not sexual orientation, and even if they are, the bill covers ALL "sexual orientation" without limitation.

Now another concern troll is up there, complaining that the bill only requires that schools set policies and procedures to deal with bullying, but it doesn't actually punish the bully. Uh, what?  If you set up the procedure to deal with the bully, then you ARE dealing with the bully.  And now he's trying to add a corporal punishment amendment so that teachers can beat up bullies.  Now he's backtracking and saying that corporal amendment can only be allowed in constituancies that allow corporal punishment.

Well, they sure are right about laws and sausage-making.

UPDATE:  If I heard correctly, the bill passed the House by one vote!  All amendments failed.  Senate has already passed, so now the bill goes to the governor.

NC GOP Leader Says Same-Sex Parents Are More Dangerous Than Second Hand Smoke

Nice, huh?  But that's what House Minority Leader Paul "Skip" Stam (R-Wake) said.

What's more, he said that in open public debate, in front of an audience which included the children of a lesbian congresswoman.

Even more surprising, his comments were made in the course of debating the School Violence Prevention Act (Senate Bill 526).  Now, the impetus behind that bill comes primarily from the homosexual community, since it is gay kids that tend to get beaten up and bullied in school nowadays.  But the "bully ban" doesn't apply just to gay-bashers -- it applies to any student or school employee who "bullies" or harasses another student on the basis of that student's race, national origin, sexual preference, gender, etc.

Hard to fathom why anyone would be opposed to it.

But that's the NC GOP for you...

Perdue Adminsitration Blows It

When a movie is shot in North Carolina, it brings in a lot of money, which we need.

The new Miley Cyrus movie (she's a big thing, I'm told) was set to shoot in Wilmington, and it would have brought in an estimated $17.5 million in movie-related revenue, and provided 500 jobs.  In fact...

Wilmington was the preferred location for the shoot, and state leaders, after almost three months of negotiations, came within five minutes of making it official.

But the deal fell apart over a $125,000 disagreement with the state's tax collectors.  Full story here.

 

You Would Think All I Own Is A Blue Shirt And Jeans...

but it's just a costume....

Big Media Me

Interview/promo on Fox 8 went well this morning, I thought.  I'll try to have a viideo (or link) up soon.  I'm not sure if Fox 8 will put up the clip.  Their website seems obsessed with the strawberry pie segment of the Morning Show which immediately preceded us.

North Carolina Rep: Matthew Shepard Incident Was a "Hoax"

You will recall that Matthew Shepard was the young gay man in Laramie, Wyoming who, a decade ago, was tied to a fence, Jesus-like, pistol whipped in the head some 50 times, then left for dead in the cold fall night, only to be found a day later clinging to life. Shepard died five days later.

Here is what this state's Republican representative, Virginia Foxx, had to say about Shepard's horrific murder:

If you didn't vote for this bill -- against this bill and against this rule for anything else, you could vote against it because we are spending additional money. I also would like to point out that there was a bill -- the hate crimes bill that's called the Matthew Shepard bill is named afte a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. it wasn't because he was gay. this -- the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.

Now read what really happened:

During the trial, Chastity Pasley and Kristen Price (the pair's then-girlfriends) testified under oath that Henderson and McKinney both plotted beforehand to rob a gay man. McKinney and Henderson then went to the Fireside Lounge and selected Shepard as their target. McKinney alleged that Shepard asked them for a ride home. After befriending him, they took him to a remote area of Laramie where they robbed him, beat him severely (media reports often contained the graphic account of the pistol whipping and his smashed skull), and tied him to a fence with a rope from McKinney's truck. Shepard begged for his life. Both girlfriends also testified that neither McKinney nor Henderson was under the influence of drugs at the time. The beating was so severe that the only areas on Shepard's face that were not covered in blood were those where his tears had washed the blood stains away.

This is why Virginia Foxx was Olbermann's "Worst Person in the World".  And here's the "Hardball" takedown:

UPDATE:  Foxx released a statement today, backtracking from her earlier statement (sort of), attributing it as "a poor choice of words":

"It has come to my attention that some people have been led to believe that I think the terrible crimes that led to Matthew Shepard's death in 1998 were a hoax," she said. "The term "hoax" was a poor choice of words used in the discussion of the hate crimes bill. Mr. Shepard's death was nothing less than a tragedy and those responsible for his death certainly deserved the punishment they received.

"The larger context of my remarks is important. I was referring to a 2004 ABC 20/20 report on Mr. Shepard's death. The 20/20 report questioned the motivation of those responsible for Mr. Shepard's death. Referencing this media account may have been a mistake, but if so it was a mistake based on what I believed were reliable accounts."

So she apologizes for the use of the word "hoax", but (apparently) stands by her belief that the death of Matthew Shepard was not gay-hatred motivated.

As for the "2004 ABC 20/20 report"?  Well, that was a report where three people claimed that the killing of Matt Shepard was not out of gay hatred.  Those three people were: (1)  James McKinney (one of Shepard's killers); (2) Russell Henderson (the other killer); and (3) Kristen Price (McKinney's girlfriend). 

Kristen Price is an interesting witness.  At the trail, Kristen Price had a different story: she testified under oath that the boys intended to rob a gay man.  And then there was Price's first interview with 20/20 in 1998, in which she said (of McKinney and Henderson's attack): "They just wanted to beat him bad enough to teach him a lesson, not to come on to straight people, and don’t be aggressive about it anymore."

So what are the "reliable accounts" that Foxx believes?  The two killers (model citizens, them) and the girlfriend who changes stories all the time.

Nuff said.

P.S.  When Foxx said those remarks on the House floor, Matthew Shepard's mother was sitting in the gallery (PDF).

Nice.

D'OH!!!!!:  I am corrected in the comments that Ginny Foxx is in the House, not the Senate!!!

Conservative Talking Point: "We Have The Best Health Care System In The World"

Hmmm.  Well, it looks like North Carolina didn't get the memo.  What are the waiting times to get medical treatment here?

Just six months ago, the [Greensboro] clinic delivered same-day care to most callers, the gold standard from a health perspective. But in October the delays crept to four days, then 19 in November and 25 in December. In January, HealthServe temporarily stopped accepting new patients, and almost immediately 380 people put their names on a waiting list for when the crunch eases.

In North Carolina, more than any other state, the recession has triggered a burgeoning medical crisis. A steep rise in unemployment has fueled a commensurate increase in the number of people who do not have health insurance, including many middle-income families.

In the past two years, North Carolina's number of uninsured has climbed 22.5 percent, the biggest jump in the nation, according to an analysis by the North Carolina Institute of Medicine, a quasi-state agency. Nationwide, about 22 percent of adults do not have health insurance. Here in North Carolina, 25 percent of adults -- or 1.8 million people -- have no coverage. An additional 9 percent are underinsured.

Read the whole thing.

 

Eye Of The Beholder

A short film made for the 2007 Greensboro 48 Hour Film Festival starring some friends of mine (Heather, Karen, etc.).  The film was written, shot, and edited in 48 hours.

Eye of the Beholder from Dan A. R. Kelly on Vimeo.

It won Audience Favorite and first runner up.

The Natives Are NOT Happy

Readers comments at the local Winston-Salem newspaper:

• I too am a devoted Wake fan but was so embarrassed last night. In fact, I need to go pull my 'Proud to be a Deacon' sign from my yard!! and maybe burn it? These kids are very talented and started their season GREAT. But lack of an outside shooter and bad coaching didn't sustain them. What a shame. But let's keep rolling and supportive. And don't count out our football team! Football hasn't even started yet! Sure, we lost a lot of key defensive players but there are more that will step up hopefully. See you in the stands! GO DEACS!
• I'll admit - it got to a point I couldn't watch the game. All I could do was check back periodically to check the score - and that game was a heartbreak, and our guys just didn't look like they wanted it as bad. But could you all possibly crucify Gaudio any worse??? Yeah, he's a good guy - he's also a good coach. Nothing beats the "Monday morning quarterbacking" that's been a constant against Dino and our players since our 16-game win streak came to an end. Besides, how many of you were considered for the job before Dino was chosen to take Skip's place??
• Dino desperately trying to get the team to listen with 1 minute left said it all. That was a sad scene and it looked like a first year rec league guy trying to pull the Bad News Bears together. After zero game plan adherence against Maryland, they decided to "free-style" again. Dino's a really nice guy, but he can't handle these kids. Skip used to bring in Mike Drum and sit Strickland to deal with discipline. That didn't work either, but Dino just doesn't enforce ANYTHING. The sad fact is that we haven't actually played with discipline since Odom left. I've had the same take all year in my comments around the web, but I actually thought our talent could carry us a bit. The ironic thing is that these teams this decade are the antithesis of the University. Wake is a grind and demands utter discipline from every student; our basketball teams lately make a mockery of that reputation. I am a seriously devoted Wake fan, but I finally have to admit that I don't like this team.
• Just a complete embarrassment tonight for Wake fans and the ACC. The turnover saga continued as it appears a lack of coaching that should have made the statement that Aminu and Johnson are NOT dribbling guards!!!. I'm married to a UNC grad which always delivers to me more hope of a winning team. But hey, we even beat them in the early season. WHAT HAPPENED?
• This is what happens when a group of good players with coaching play a group of great players without coaching. Dino seems like a good guy who is in over his head. VCU has a fine young head coach who gets everyting possible out of his players and would be a great fit. His teams have never been an embarassment like last night. Time to turn the page.

Triad Jobless Rate

December 2008:  8.5%

January 2009: 10.4%

Not Octomom, But Still....

A Kernersville couple, Patricia and Matt Asbury, just gave birth to quads...

Shovel-Ready Projects In Winston-Salem

The total cost of all the projects submitted by Winston-Salem  in the 2008 U.S. Conference of Mayors report is $618,050,000.  This does not mean these projects will get done with North Carolina's federal stimulus gift.  That's up to Bev Perdue.

Description	City	State	Jobs	Cost	Program Type	Vote Ratio
Union Cross Road widening	Winston-Salem	NC	160	$60,000,000	Streets/Roads	-70
Salem Creek connector and Research Parkway	Winston-Salem	NC	80	$16,000,000	Streets/Roads	-28
Peace Haven and US 421 interchange improvements	Winston-Salem	NC	75	$15,000,000	Streets/Roads	28
Resurfacing of streets	Winston-Salem	NC	60	$14,000,000	Streets/Roads	6
Peters Creek Parkway Interchange Replacement at Business 40	Winston-Salem	NC	70	$12,000,000	Streets/Roads	-14
Roadway projects supplemented by local bonds	Winston-Salem	NC	120	$12,000,000	Streets/Roads	-15
University Parkway widening	Winston-Salem	NC	20	$11,000,000	Streets/Roads	-35
US 52 ramp and Vargrave Street Reconfiguration	Winston-Salem	NC	10	$8,000,000	Streets/Roads	-21
Traffic signal sytem upgrades	Winston-Salem	NC	50	$6,000,000	Streets/Roads	19
Sidewalk construction	Winston-Salem	NC	80	$6,000,000	Streets/Roads	-11
Clemmonsville Road extension	Winston-Salem	NC	50	$5,000,000	Streets/Roads	8
Brookstown Phase II, $7,000,000 could create up to 500 jobs at build out	Winston-Salem	NC	100	$5,000,000	Streets/Roads	-22
Kernersville Road super-street at Sedge Garden Road	Winston-Salem	NC	50	$3,000,000	Streets/Roads	-11
Bridge Replacement projects	Winston-Salem	NC	50	$2,000,000	Streets/Roads	35
Greenway construction (Transportation)	Winston-Salem	NC	50	$1,000,000	Streets/Roads	-8
Two Way of 3rd, 4th, and 5th Streets	Winston-Salem	NC	30	$800,000	Streets/Roads	-23
Old Salem Sidewalks Repair, Streetlight Upgrades and Tree Replacement Project	Winston-Salem	NC	20	$750,000	Streets/Roads	-11
Intersection Traffic Safety Projects	Winston-Salem	NC	20	$600,000	Streets/Roads	10
Martin Luther King Jr Drive traffic calming and pedestrian safety	Winston-Salem	NC	10	$500,000	Streets/Roads	-38
Elledge Waste Water Plant system rehabilitation and land buffer enhancements	Winston-Salem	NC	150	$51,000,000	Water	19
Chitty High Service Pumping Station - Standby Power	Winston-Salem	NC	160	$51,000,000	Water	16
Rebuld of Thomas Water Treatment Plant	Winston-Salem	NC	125	$25,000,000	Water	19
Water Supply reservoir dam rehabilitation	Winston-Salem	NC	125	$25,000,000	Water	20
Neilson Water Treatment Plant	Winston-Salem	NC	100	$15,000,000	Water	18
PTRP stormwater project	Winston-Salem	NC	150	$12,000,000	Water	6
New Elevated Water Tanks	Winston-Salem	NC	20	$6,800,000	Water	6
Neighborhood water/sewer rehabilitation	Winston-Salem	NC	20	$6,000,000	Water	12
Drainage Improvements on Private Property	Winston-Salem	NC	80	$5,500,000	Water	-14
Winston-Salem State University Campus Distribution System Improvements	Winston-Salem	NC	25	$4,600,000	Water	-23
Replcement of 2" water mains	Winston-Salem	NC	50	$4,000,000	Water	9
Water Tank Rehabilitation	Winston-Salem	NC	20	$3,700,000	Water	6
Construction and Maintenance Facilities Improvements	Winston-Salem	NC	25	$3,500,000	Water	-5
Muddy Creek Find and Fix Project	Winston-Salem	NC	15	$3,000,000	Water	7
Water and Sewer GIS/Work Order Management System	Winston-Salem	NC	10	$2,700,000	Water	9
Wastewater Collection Improvements	Winston-Salem	NC	50	$2,000,000	Water	4
Yadkin River Land Protection Buffer Purchase	Winston-Salem	NC	10	$1,000,000	Water	-6
Reentry job corp for water suply creek cleanups	Winston-Salem	NC	20	$400,000	Water	-1
PTRP: road, utility and other infrastructure, could create up to 20,000 new jobs at build out	Winston-Salem	NC	300	$26,200,000	CDBG	18
City Yard relocation and redevelopment	Winston-Salem	NC	80	$8,000,000	CDBG	-15
Goler (workforce/affordable housing)	Winston-Salem	NC	100	$8,000,000	CDBG	-26
Airport Business Park, could create up to 1200 jobs at build ou	Winston-Salem	NC	50	$5,000,000	CDBG	5
Sedge Garden Gymnasium	Winston-Salem	NC	50	$5,000,000	CDBG	-32
Playgrounds parks and recreation centers	Winston-Salem	NC	25	$4,500,000	CDBG	3
New C&D landfill construction	Winston-Salem	NC	10	$4,000,000	CDBG	-23
Civic Plaza Park	Winston-Salem	NC	30	$3,000,000	CDBG	-18
Storm drainage projects	Winston-Salem	NC	80	$3,000,000	CDBG	12
Storm water floodplain housing buy-out and open/park space creation	Winston-Salem	NC	20	$2,400,000	CDBG	-3
New industrial park, could create up to 2500 new jobs at build out	Winston-Salem	NC	200	$2,000,000	CDBG	0
Public infrastructure to support film and theater production	Winston-Salem	NC	20	$1,000,000	CDBG	-24
Greenways and trails (Parks access)	Winston-Salem	NC	30	$1,000,000	CDBG	1
Revitalizing Urban areas Redevelopment,	Winston-Salem	NC	100	$500,000	CDBG	-5
Swimming pool spray park conversions	Winston-Salem	NC	100	$500,000	CDBG	-38
Public Safety Center LEED based renovation	Winston-Salem	NC	250	$9,500,000	Energy	9
City Parking Deck Energy Efficient Lighting and other Upgrades	Winston-Salem	NC	150	$6,000,000	Energy	-9
Energy efficient lighting upgrades at and around City facilities	Winston-Salem	NC	80	$4,000,000	Energy	-7
Business 40 lighting replacement	Winston-Salem	NC	20	$3,000,000	Energy	7
Energy Efficent HVAC upgrades at Coliseum, Convention Center and Bowman Gray Stadium	Winston-Salem	NC	50	$3,000,000	Energy	-3
City building renovations for LEED	Winston-Salem	NC	50	$2,000,000	Energy	4
Johnson Square Apartments repair and renovation	Winston-Salem	NC	80	$3,600,000	Housing	-45
Law Enforcement Training Facilities-completion of up fit to training building and construction of in-door city-county firing range	Winston-Salem	NC	150	$40,000,000	Public Safety	-25
Firing range	Winston-Salem	NC	30	$12,000,000	Public Safety	-104
Emergency Operations Center	Winston-Salem	NC	100	$6,000,000	Public Safety	11
Defensive driving vehicle training facility	Winston-Salem	NC	50	$5,000,000	Public Safety	-33
Additional special puropse officers	Winston-Salem	NC	46	$4,600,000	Public Safety	-30
Fire Station 8 relocation	Winston-Salem	NC	25	$3,000,000	Public Safety	13
Construction of fire station 19	Winston-Salem	NC	25	$2,700,000	Public Safety	19
additional school resource officers	Winston-Salem	NC	25	$2,500,000	Public Safety	5
Fire Station 21	Winston-Salem	NC	25	$2,000,000	Public Safety	15
Fire Apparatus replacement	Winston-Salem	NC	0	$1,200,000	Public Safety	16
Additional patrol officers -expansion of police visibility and crime prevention efforts	Winston-Salem	NC	20	$1,200,000	Public Safety	18
Fire Station 22	Winston-Salem	NC	25	$1,000,000	Public Safety	18
Decentralized district substations	Winston-Salem	NC	30	$1,000,000	Public Safety	2
Fire Station renovations	Winston-Salem	NC	50	$1,000,000	Public Safety	20
Fire vehicle maintenance facility	Winston-Salem	NC	20	$700,000	Public Safety	17
Mobile command post (for police and fire)	Winston-Salem	NC	0	$500,000	Public Safety	-8
Tasers for law enforcement officers	Winston-Salem	NC	0	$500,000	Public Safety	-25
Reentry job corp for grafitti removal and city parks and public space maintenance	Winston-Salem	NC	20	$400,000	Public Safety	-8
Crime lab/forensics equipment	Winston-Salem	NC	0	$350,000	Public Safety	17
Youth gang prevention education materials	Winston-Salem	NC	0	$250,000	Public Safety	-24
Streetcar	Winston-Salem	NC	80	$14,000,000	Transit	-167
Fixed Route and Paratransit Buses	Winston-Salem	NC	20	$7,100,000	Transit	-21
Union Station/Davis Garage, could create up to 250 jobs at build out	Winston-Salem	NC	100	$5,000,000	Transit	12

[Source: Stimuluswatch.org]

2,116 North Carolina Sex Offenders Are On MySpace

CNN has the story:

More than 2,100 registered North Carolina sex offenders were found on the social networking site MySpace, the state attorney general's office said Tuesday.

In response to a subpoena from state Attorney General Roy Cooper, "MySpace turned over the names, IP and e-mail addresses of 2,116 convicted North Carolina sex offenders found on its social networking Web site," Cooper's office said in a written statement.

Cooper has requested similar information from Facebook, another popular social networking site, the statement said.

MySpace has told North Carolina authorities that the sex offenders it identified have been removed from the site.

***

North Carolina passed a law last year banning sex offenders within the state from social networking sites where children are members, making it a felony offense.

My first reaction is: OMG?  There are that many sex offenders in North Carolina?

I mean, 2,100 is a high number -- especially since it represents only those who are on MySpace.

But I went to the NC Sex Offender Registry, and found out that 27 registered sex offenders live within 5 miles of my house.

Very disconcerting....

Jumping Over The Moon

Could the rumors be true?  Is Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance going to mount a production of Rent this year?  The real version of Rent (not the "school edition")?

Stay tuned...

 

Winter Wonderland

Broad-based Sex Education Popular In North Carolina

From Public Policy Polling survey results released earlier this week, the question was asked:

A bill being considered in the Legislature would give parents the choice of having their children receive comprehensive sex education or abstinence only sex education. Would you support this proposal?

69% said "yes"; 31% said "no".

Even conservatives (58%) and Republicans (54%) supported the bill by a slight majority.  So did senior citizens (63%) and rural voters (69%).

Groups whose support exceeds 80% include liberals (88%), urban dwellers (86%), and African Americans (83%).

Full results here (PDF).

The Charlotte Ikea

Yeah, I'm excited.

What Will The Stimulus Bring To Forsyth County?

According to this fact sheet (PDF) put out by the White House, 7,800 jobs will be saved or created by the stimulus package in North Carolina's 12th District.  The 12th District covers most of Forsyth County, parts of Guilford County, and extends to Charlotte.

 

The 5th District (where I actually live, just west of Winston-Salem) will see 7,700 jobs saved or created.

 

North Carolina as a whole will see 105,000 jobs saved or created by the stimulus package over the next two years.

Well, that's the hope.....