Blog-IT-o ergo sum

	7/23/2006

Why things are screwed up...

Got the answer when looking in my son's Roget's college thesaurus for the word persistence. Flipping pages my search was cut short when my attention was momentarily fixated upon the page header labeled Orgasm. The entry below read:

Orgasm n. paroxysm, spasm; climax. See VIOLENCE.

Who reviews these things? Catherine MacKinnon?

9:49:09 PM

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	7/22/2006

View of the US Congress circa 1860

One American institution the Japanese found particularly perplexing was the United States Congress. Following a visit to Capitol Hill on May 23, Muragaki Norimasa wrote in his diary, "the scene in Congress we viewed today - we whispered among ourselves - resembled that of a fish market in Nihonbashi."

10:03:05 PM

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	7/16/2006

Birching off the coast of Israel

Look for your friendly North Carolina State Coordinator (and JBS National Coordinator on Trade Policy) on the Tamar Yonah show this Monday night at mid-night: Broadcast live off the coast of Israel...hopefully out of the range of Katyusha rockets.

Stop the Oman FTA!

11:15:49 PM

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	7/15/2006

National Council Dinner of The John Birch Society - Raleigh, NC

Looks like we have two U.S. Congressmen and one best-selling author/Harvard Phd. lined up to be our keynote speakers in Raleigh on October 28th. $50/plate, black-tie optional. Tickets going fast. RSVP ASAP.

11:49:19 PM

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The State of the Union - July 2006

Was in Washington this week. This shot of our Capitol building sums up the current state of affairs.

Purpose of my trip was to do some re-con in the effort to stop the Oman FTA...Another shameless give away of not only US sovereignty but also North Carolina textile jobs - pay off for a Sultan who has been wise in not refusing the offers Dick Cheney's business partners have presented him with.

This deal smells so bad, even CAFTA boosters Richard Burr and Elizabeth,"I honestly don't give a flip about North Carolina," Dole could not bring themselves to vote for it.

Main event in DC was my attendance of the "Trade Summit 2006 - Crisis and Opportunity" hosted by the AFL-CIO and The US Business and Industry Council at the National Press Club. Both sides representing middle class American workers and business owners have figured out that the fix is definitely in on the trade game...and that the elites in both the Democratic and Republican parties can't be trusted to save them.

Ohio Congressman Sherod Brown, now running for US Senate, was the keynote speaker. He was willing to admit the the Clinton adminstration sold the unions and middle class Americans (as well as small Mexican farmers) down the river with NAFTA. Brown's interim solution to our trade imbalance problem was the same as that announced by the AFL-CIO / NBIC: Use the WTO Article 12 clause to levy an immediate across the board tariff on all imports of 25%.

Brown is likeable and a real smoothie. Since he is a Yale man though like Bush and Kerry, I am going to guess he has been assigned a role as the false opposition. Basically, his way forward is to forget the US Congress, and instead grovel to the WTO for a new global approach to trade "fairness."

On the way out of the Summit I was compelled to take picture of the media moocher staring at me from the wall of the National Press Club. I also took one of the doppleganger who had gotten lost on his way to the Ed Cone impersonators luncheon.

SIDEBAR: Biggest trade vote looming is on the Oman FTA. Get the details here, then contact your representative. We are looking to scare Team Bush off from attempting a vote. Currently, they claim this coming Thursday the 20th is the day they are going to break the arms it takes to pass the deal. If it does come to a vote we need to see our North Carolina delegation move from 2-0 against to 15-0 against.

While in DC, I popped in to the extravagent offices of Howard Coble. For a guy who has hardly left a mark on Congress, he certainly has done well for himself. I tried to refuse the waste of taxpayer funds, but his friendly junior staff member insisted I take a this souvenier back from my visit.

10:57:54 PM

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	7/7/2006

An outsider's view of the NC Senate

from Barbara Howe 2004 Libertarian candidate for governor

Re: HB88 (Electoral Fairness Act)

In my journey into the belly of the beast today, I paid a visit to "my NC senator," Doug Berger. He's a Democrat. He came right out and told me without batting an eye that he couldn't support lowering the signature numbers because he doesn't want the Greens on the ballot. Well, at least he's honest in regards to this issue. (He blames 3rd parties for Gore's loss in 2000. )

"Senator Phil Berger, the Republican Leader, says he can probably get all the Rs to vote for it, but we would still need five Ds. The Ds pretty much vote as the leadership tells them to. I don't imagine Marc Basnight supports the change. I know Tony Rand is against it.

9:11:39 PM

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	7/6/2006

Slip of the tongue

"We are ahead in the election for the presidency, and the remaining votes to be counted will be in our favor..."

Reminds me of the old joke about the store owner with the punchline: "Shhh, the fire's not till tomorrow."

8:46:14 AM

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	7/5/2006

North Carolina pork goes kosher

Thankfully, for now, this kind of reckless spending has not yet made it into the NC General Fund Budget:

There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Jewish Heritage Foundation of North Carolina, a nonprofit corporation, the sum of four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) for the 2005‑2006 fiscal year to assist the organization in producing its heritage project, "Down Home: Jewish Life in North Carolina."

When this orgininal porker did not fly, its benefactor did not give up. This deal is still alive in the budget process under a new more innocuously titled bill, which will route the $400,000 through a third party company.

"When I was in public school, " we had people from our community that volunteered their time to come talk to us about our local history. The Down Home project is a perfect example of where because they're there, taxpayer dollars are being earmarked for something that could likely be had for free. I am confident that there are many people out there who would glaldly volunteer their time and personal touch to promote this kind of educational experience at no cost to the NC taxpayer.

$400,000 here and $400,000 there and pretty soon you're talking about real money.

10:56:15 PM

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Tired of having no choices on the ballot in NC?

The Electoral Fairness Act (House Bill 88) is on the agenda of the NC Senate Judiciary 1 Committee. The vote is on Thursday, July 6th, probably around 9:00am. Get on the phone to the committee members.

Currently, Republicans actually are more willing to support this bill. Seems the Democrats like things just as they are - being in absolute control. Call your Democrat friends in the Senate first.

The Electoral Fairness Act (EFA) originally was designed to significantly reduce both the signature and retention requirements for political parties to get and stay on the ballot in North Carolina. Currently NC is the third hardest state in the country to get on the ballot (according to Ballot Access News). EFA would bring us closer to the national average. The Libertarian Party already has gathered enough signatures to meet the proposed new requirements.

However EFA was amended in the middle of the night to eliminate all the positive gains of the bill, while retaining a new filing fee and other barriers. So now the EFA would actually make things worse for the Libertarian Party and other third parties!

Get more info from the NC Open Elections Coalition

8:37:30 PM

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Dependence Day

This was too mean spirited to post yesterday.

12:55:25 PM

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