N&R reporter Matt Williams blogs about his interview with our Congressman Howard Coble over at The Inside Scoop.

"Coble said 'the post-invasion strategy was inadequate at best.... We're there now and don't appear to have a good strategy."

Williams then cites a 2002 N&R Coble interview which followed President Bush's request of Congress for the authorization to invade Iraq:

"...Coble said he would avoid war altogether if thorough inspections of the country showed that Saddam wasn't developing weapons of mass destruction."

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I went out for an errand a few minutes ago and had my radio tuned, as usual, to WUNC.  The program in progress was "On Point" and tonight's subject was the future of US foreign policy.  Former National Security Advisor Zbegniew Brezinski and former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, two men whom I have always admired, were the guests.  Brezinski made two statements in the short time I was listening which I can't get out of my head.   Audio is available on the site if you want to indulge.

I'm sure what I post here are not exact quotes, but damn close. 

"...Continually saying that we are 'fighting a war on terrorism' is baffling and simplistic.  Terrorism is a tactic, not an enemy.  Stating that the U.S. is fighting a war on terrorism is akin to saying World War II was fought to defeat the blitzgrieg...."

"...The way to win a war is by uniting your allies and dividing your enemies.  The US  is pursuing a war that divides our allies and unites our enemies.  This baffles me also..."

Smart man, that Zbigniew.

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I received the following from Aycock Middle School last night regarding dress, pay attention to the last part titled 'Alternate Dress Days':

Dear Parent/Guardian,

As we approach a change in season, I want to give some clarity about our dress code and provide direction about what children can wear on alternate dress days.  I will also post these on the website.

Coats and Jackets - Students can wear any coat or jacket to school.  They are allowed to wear the coat or jacket until they reach their locker before 1^st period.  They are expected to leave their coat or jacket in their locker at that time.

Sweaters and Sweatshirts - If students are cold-natured or find that they need extra warmth during the day, they can wear a solid color button up or zipper sweater or sweatshirt.  The sweater or sweatshirt must be white, light blue, navy, orange or black with no hood worn over their standard dress shirt during the day.  These must have no designs or logos on them.

Alternate Dress Days - On days that students are able to wear alternate dress – the last Thursday of the month or picture days, students are guided by the following rules:

All shirts must be tucked in and pants must be worn at the top of hips; midriffs must be covered; shirts should have sleeves; length of shorts and skirts must be no more than 4” above the crease in the back of the knee.  Hats, sunglasses, bandannas, hoods, pajamas, earrings for boys, bedroom slippers, bathrobes, doo rags, wrist and sweat bands may not be brought to school.  Pants with straps must be hooked.  Girls may not wear any tops with spaghetti straps or halter tops.  Profanity, suggestive slogans, offensive messages and/or references to alcohol, drugs, or tobacco products on clothing are prohibited.  The administration will determine if clothing distracts from the learning environment.

William Price

During all of last year - when "alternate dress" was the "standard mode of dress", nothing was ever dissiminated regarding what was expected of students like what is imparted in this message.  If these high expectations had been communicated clearly and forcefully, Aycock's new uniform policy would not be necessary.

I suggest that Aycock make the 'Alternate Dress Days' policy the "Standard Mode of Dress" policy. 

The above announcement validates my contention that school uniforms are not what is changing the learning atmosphere at Aycock, what happened is that the school's administration developed a spine.

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Matt Williams reached me yesterday while I was 'fixin' the winders' of a very impressive mansion over in Winston.  He was looking for some background on the story he filed in today's N&R about War Memorial Stadium (WMS).

Seems the City advertised an RFP (Request for Proposal) concerning WMS in the paper and it piqued his interest, it would have piqued mine too, but I depend on others, like Matt,  to actually read the "announcements" section.  The RFP was a surprise to most everyone.

I am going to make sure the request gets to the folks to whom my neighborhood has already paid $60,000 to study the stadium and how it relates to the rest of the area.  The lead stadium architect in the group we got to know so well back in 2002 was Rolondo Llanes, of Fenway Park fame.  Philip Bess needs to get back involved also, and I will get him up to speed.  Hpoefully they will submit their own proposals.

In a related update, the City has turned Aycock down on our efforts to get them to waive or pay the fee to have the stadium and surrounds re-zoned into the Aycock Historic District.  According to assistant City Manager Bob Morgan, getting the property so designated is not a priority in the timeline for getting the area studied for what it will become.

Aycock's position is that if the stadium is placed under the Historic District Guidelines, the structure will pretty much be preserved in its current form - by force of ordinance.  Implied in the City's reticence to have their own property placed under their own Guidelines is that they might have other ideas.

Euphemisms are utilized by everyone I speak to with the City regarding the future of the old stadium's actual structure.  "Reduced seating", "fitting it to it's new roll as an amatuer facility", "seating options" and so on.  The truth is, and as Williams alludes in his article, the guts of the structure along the third base line have deteriorated almost beyond repair.  Demolition of part of seating bowl is almost inevitable as a result of years of neglect.

The question is, how will the structure will be rebuilt and what will it look like 5, 20 or 50 years from now?  Under the Guidelines the stadium would likely be rebuilt much like its current configuration.  Lacking those guidelines, the architects who will be submitting the proposals will have much wider latitude with regard to the National Historic Registry property and the property could be inappropriately altered.

I am very pleased with Mayor Holliday's remarks in the article, chiefly this one:  "I'm bullish on trying to not just maintain it, but improve the stadium," Holliday said. "I'm happy that we're opening up to all possibilities."

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