DJ Kool Herc street naming

The flip side to this news in 2011 is that the pioneer of hip has a street named after him

Greensboro bringing back red light cameras
So, the city hasn't learned its lesson. Just wait until someone sues like they did in High Point in 2005. On the other hand, it could be one of the ways that the Gate City plans on recouping lost revenue due to a lawsuit that has been filed against it due to police negligence.


Say Yes Guilford is collapsing
I'm sure glad I don't have any kids. It's not like others didn't try to warn the public of that Ponzi Scheme. I mean it's #UniquelyGuilfordCounty.

The N&R's demise

The News & Record in serious trouble? Color me not shocked.

For a few years starting in 2006, Greensboro was in the thick of it. With a lively corps of serious bloggers, we had some inspiring conferences, some big ideas and the local News & Record was, for about a minute, involved and forward-looking, seemingly ready to be a part of a revolution. It even created a new initiative to promote citizen journalism and put the very smart and experienced Lex Alexander in charge of it.
That lasted about six months, as I recall. Although the News & Record was still a robust organization then, especially compared to the shell it has become, it was bleeding print subscribers. Its response to that decline of print circulation is where the News & Record made a fateful turn away from possibilities and towards the comfort of a familiar but lethal past.

There's a reason why Greensboro is "The Stunted City." More from the Greensboro 101 blog post:

Under the guidance of then-publisher Robin Saul, instead of remaking the newspaper into a technologically robust enterprise of the future, the News & Record chose to turn away from the future and circle the wagons around its legacy business.

The dreaded "Culture of No" is so entrenched in the city's DNA that even the official paper of record wasn't about to shake it off. An old school publisher with an old school attitude towards new media only made things that more predictable.

It's been said by John Hammer and others that Berkshire Hathaway could potentially merge the N&R and the Winston-Salem Journal and have everything operate out of the Twin City. Given the Fishwrap's building situation, no one would be surprised.

Rest in peace, News & Record. I wish we could say you tried.

When the publication truly bites the dust, there will be three groups to look out for:

1. The city's elite interests. They'll miss the paper the most since it already echoes their talking points anyway.
2. Those in the know. By that, I mean bloggers ranging the political spectrum and other people who are more in-tuned to Greensboro politics. This group won't miss the paper at all. Some of them will cheer its downfall while others will just sigh due to everything Smith Jr laid out. The paper's unwillingness to embrace technological changes, longstanding claims of ideological bias, an aversion to creative ideas and its long known pro-establishment bias in favor of the various political clans will all be cited by this group.
3. The general public. Some will go with their lives while others are likely to panic. 

NC's 13th Congressional District

Lacking any enthusiasm for both major party candidates, I decided to go with a different tack: Who will be the most beneficial for the arts?

Both Ted Budd and Kathy Manning are disastrous for the arts community.

The case against Budd is that he represents almost everything that I’m against—a reliable rubber stamp for the president, he’s a disciple of Grover Norquist and his economic philosophy (IOW, a reliable rightist). He also enthusiastically supported the dreadful tax law which includes a provision that adversely affects musicians. If Trump wants a budget to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts, Budd will back it without reservations.

The latter is one of the chief architects of the STPAC boondoggle, which will decimate local arts by further widening the gap between the haves and have nots. Once the venue is up and running, Manning’s big money pals will have (even) less time for unconventional art projects.

On a side note, the Downtown Greensboro clique Manning remind me too much of Southwest Raleigh residents that I had to deal with during my days as a student at NC State: Arrogant, elitist, and dismissive of anyone deemed “lesser” than them.

Either Tom Bailey (Libertarian) or Robert Corriher (Green) would be better for Congress but I decided to back the latter since a vote for him would be a vote for something better than merely casting a protest vote against an ancient two party system. Also, it is not my responsibility to bail out a party that doesn't want to save itself merely because the majority party is so vile. It was that type of thinking that resulted in enough voters staying home two years ago.

Supreme Farce

These links accurately sum up my views on the Brett Kavanaugh hearings:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/09/11/the-kavanaugh-hearing-is-about-political-posturing-not-keeping-a-political-hack-off-the-high-court/
https://www.blackagendareport.com/freedom-rider-kavanaugh-farce

Welcome to a new age of regression

From the time Trump named him, Kavanaugh being the next justice was a done deal. Instead of the handwringing over abortion, my main concern was the new justice will eradicate what’s left of Civil Rights Era laws like affirmative action.
Kavanaugh’s past should have been enough to disqualify him but then, I realized who was running the show in D.C.—a president who has his own sexual skeletons in the closet.

Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him

The president’s quote along with the GOP’s “we heard you but we’re not listening” attitude demonstrates that it isn't an issue of being tone deaf, it’s really a matter of them being arrogant.
Trump could have nominated any right wing blowhard hellbent on overturning Roe vs Wade, rendering anti-discrimination laws useless and eviscerating environmental laws but the fact that he stuck with Kavanaugh is the truest reflection of his character.

Sports analogy

Under Anthony Kennedy, 5-4 votes were like Game 7s that were dramatic at times. Under Kavanaugh, those same 5-4 votes will now resemble Game 7 blowouts.

I was naive enough to believe that Berkshire Hathaway's purchase of BNSF in 2009 would lead to the railroad returning to the passenger rail business. As it turns out, this Nation expose makes a lot of sense as to why I was way off.

As it turns out, the wealthy are more interested in concentrating monopoly power than they are encouraging any kind of of true competition (for example, the newspaper industry has taken a hard blow as a result).

So, it's well past time to stop taking advice from people who want to use the capitalist system to revert America to an era where monopolies dominated the marketplace.

Re-running the Greensboro Election

I also decided to analyze what would have happened in the general election had the 2015 maps for the Greensboro City Council been reinstated.

Criteria:
• The nullified map vs the current setup
• The candidates’ raw numbers per precinct are displayed except where indicated
• Curbside, mail, and provisional votes are excluded
• Two precincts--JAM3 (Districts 5 & 6) and JEF (Districts 1 & 2)--that would have contained two districts are included in a candidate’s count 
• For FR5B (Districts 5 & 7), I have assigned all of the numbers to either Wilkins or Thurm
• The setup is based on voters only selecting councilmembers in their own districts as opposed to voting on all eight councilmembers citywide
• The October primary-November general setup is preserved
• * denotes incumbent

District 1
Hightower* 1,587
Hayes 261

Hayes absorbs Ritter-Lipscomb’s votes.

BALANCE OF POWER: ESTABLISHMENT HOLD

District 2
Johnson* 1,958
Kee 809

Due to Fox’s resignation, his seat is actually unfilled since he would have been double-bunked with Johnson. The scenario in JEF1 has been changed: Allen only absorbs seven of Brinson’s 12 votes, meaning that Kee advances to the general election by two votes.

BOP: ESTABLISHMENT HOLD

District 3
Barber* 2,448
Hoffmann* 918

BOP: ESTABLISHMENT HOLD

District 4
Brinson 1,464
Wils 444

Brinson absorbs Bellamy-Small’s votes.

BOP: DEMOCRACY GREENSBORO GAIN

District 5
Nelson 1,566
Wilkins* 1,215

The only way that the centrist leaning Nelson would win this seat is if the backlash to Wilkins were really strong, and I just don’t see it in this scenario. 

Revised District 5
Wilkins* 1,215
Nelson 764

BOP: ESTABLISHMENT HOLD. Factoring in the shift of all FR5B votes to the incumbent, Nelson’s vote total would then be cut in half, turning an upset victory into an anticlimactic contest.

District 6
Kennedy 662
Bellamy-Small 631

This contest would be much closer than I anticipated but if Kennedy were to win in this scenario, then it would be a blown opportunity as a white woman would be representing a majority black district.

BOP: DEMOCRACY GREENSBORO GAIN

District 7
Leone 572
Thurm 549

Leone would have to run a very intense campaign for that result to even be accurate.

Revised District 7
Thurm 549
Leone 262

BOP: DEMOCRACY GREENSBORO GAIN. Factoring in the shift of all FR5B votes to Thurm, Leone’s vote total would then be cut in half, meaning that the well-funded newcomer would cruise to an easy victory. 

District 8
Abuzuaiter* 2,672
Kenton 602

BOP: ESTABLISHMENT HOLD

THE ULTIMATE BOP:  6 ESTABLISHMENT SEATS, 3 DEMOCRACY GREENSBORO SEATS. The political clans would still hold influence the city council but their supermajority would disappear.