Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Happy Halloween
Well, I hope it was a Happy Halloween for all. No parties this year to go to. Not sure why, but it was pretty much a non event for me this year. I'm still on vacation for one more day and plan on doing a lot of nothing. Hope you all have fun and kept safe!
Monday, October 30, 2006
Foxx Doesn't Like Reporters...
Foxx refuses to tape debate unless reporters are barred
By Bertrand M. Gutierrez
JOURNAL REPORTER
Monday, October 30, 2006
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th, is refusing to tape a debate with her opponent, Democrat Roger Sharpe, on Wednesday unless reporters are barred from the broadcast studio.
Jim Longworth, the debate moderator, said yesterday that the congresswoman would not agree to the debate if reporters were there. The full debate is scheduled to be broadcast Nov. 5, two days before the general elections.
"According to (campaign manager) Todd (Poole), Ms. Foxx felt that any coverage of the debate content prior to the Sunday night broadcast would violate her agreement to hold the first joint appearance on Triad Today," Longworth explained in an e-mail.
Foxx was in Washington and could not be reached for comment.
Her request to keep reporters out of the studio is an about-face in campaign strategy from how she ran for Congress two years ago. Foxx, in her first run for Congress, appeared on the program twice: in August 2004 against Vernon Robinson to run for the title of Republican 5th District nominee, and a month later as the GOP nominee against Democrat Jim Harrell.
Each debate was covered live by reporters and got front-page coverage.
Sharpe said yesterday that Foxx is shortchanging voters by keeping reporters out of the TV studio.
"It's regrettable," Sharpe said. "I don't think she can call herself a representative. You can't have it both ways. If she wants to be a public servant, then you have to be held accountable."
The full debate between Sharpe and Foxx will be televised Sunday at 10:30 p.m. on WMYV-TV, Channel 48 (Time Warner Channel 15). Excerpts of the debate will be shown at 6:30 a.m. Friday on WXLV-TV, Channel 45 (Time Warner Channel 7).
By Bertrand M. Gutierrez
JOURNAL REPORTER
Monday, October 30, 2006
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th, is refusing to tape a debate with her opponent, Democrat Roger Sharpe, on Wednesday unless reporters are barred from the broadcast studio.
Jim Longworth, the debate moderator, said yesterday that the congresswoman would not agree to the debate if reporters were there. The full debate is scheduled to be broadcast Nov. 5, two days before the general elections.
"According to (campaign manager) Todd (Poole), Ms. Foxx felt that any coverage of the debate content prior to the Sunday night broadcast would violate her agreement to hold the first joint appearance on Triad Today," Longworth explained in an e-mail.
Foxx was in Washington and could not be reached for comment.
Her request to keep reporters out of the studio is an about-face in campaign strategy from how she ran for Congress two years ago. Foxx, in her first run for Congress, appeared on the program twice: in August 2004 against Vernon Robinson to run for the title of Republican 5th District nominee, and a month later as the GOP nominee against Democrat Jim Harrell.
Each debate was covered live by reporters and got front-page coverage.
Sharpe said yesterday that Foxx is shortchanging voters by keeping reporters out of the TV studio.
"It's regrettable," Sharpe said. "I don't think she can call herself a representative. You can't have it both ways. If she wants to be a public servant, then you have to be held accountable."
The full debate between Sharpe and Foxx will be televised Sunday at 10:30 p.m. on WMYV-TV, Channel 48 (Time Warner Channel 15). Excerpts of the debate will be shown at 6:30 a.m. Friday on WXLV-TV, Channel 45 (Time Warner Channel 7).
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Call For Change
You might notice the link to the left from MoveOn.org. I'm not getting any money from them for it, but I do agree with what they are trying to do. This election is critical. The so called "Republicans" that have been ruining this country the last six years have to be stopped and held accountable. They only way to do that is to get out the vote for Democrats, NOW.
I have already voted and will be working for the Sharpe campaign this coming week. It's time to help yourself and the country. It CAN be done. It's time for the Middle Class to rise up and take the country back. Voting locally means everything.
I have already voted and will be working for the Sharpe campaign this coming week. It's time to help yourself and the country. It CAN be done. It's time for the Middle Class to rise up and take the country back. Voting locally means everything.
From The 10/29/2006 Winston Salem Journal
Dear Editor - I am 500 years old. My little elves say there's no Virginia Foxx. Tell me truthfully, does she really exist? - Santa Claus
Santa, your little elves are wrong. They believe only what they see. And since all they've ever seen of Virginia Foxx is her photograph on misleading fundraising flyers, they don't believe.
Yes, Santa, there is a Virginia Foxx! She exists as surely as inflexibility and evasiveness exist. How hopeful a place the 5th District would be without her. As hopeful as a thousand Santas - no, 10 times 10,000 Santas! No cheerleading for a nonexistent Iraq strategy. No whining for the immediate deportation of all illegal immigrants.
Not believe in Virginia Foxx! You might as well not believe in protecting pistol manufacturers from handgun-crime victims. If you spent years searching for Virginia Foxx and never saw her, what would that prove? Nobody ever sees Virginia Foxx! Have you ever seen loggers clear-cutting federal timberlands? Of course not! But, heck, those trees went somewhere!
No Virginia Foxx? She's our congresswoman! And years from now, Santa, she might still be here, stumbling mindlessly after her mischievous national leaders and ignoring the Fifth District.
This was a letter to the editor in the Sunday paper. I thought it was well done and just wanted to share....
Santa, your little elves are wrong. They believe only what they see. And since all they've ever seen of Virginia Foxx is her photograph on misleading fundraising flyers, they don't believe.
Yes, Santa, there is a Virginia Foxx! She exists as surely as inflexibility and evasiveness exist. How hopeful a place the 5th District would be without her. As hopeful as a thousand Santas - no, 10 times 10,000 Santas! No cheerleading for a nonexistent Iraq strategy. No whining for the immediate deportation of all illegal immigrants.
Not believe in Virginia Foxx! You might as well not believe in protecting pistol manufacturers from handgun-crime victims. If you spent years searching for Virginia Foxx and never saw her, what would that prove? Nobody ever sees Virginia Foxx! Have you ever seen loggers clear-cutting federal timberlands? Of course not! But, heck, those trees went somewhere!
No Virginia Foxx? She's our congresswoman! And years from now, Santa, she might still be here, stumbling mindlessly after her mischievous national leaders and ignoring the Fifth District.
This was a letter to the editor in the Sunday paper. I thought it was well done and just wanted to share....
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Friday, October 27, 2006
Typical RNC Stuff
Now, I know this isn't a local race, but I belive that to make change happen, we need to support candidates nationwide. This RNC ad is just shameful.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Taking Some Time Off
Not from blogging, but from work. I'm off till next Thursday. Then I go back to face the upcoming Holidays, arrgh! I'm going to see a movie in Cary, NC this Saturday and hang out around Cary for a while. It will be nice to take some time off before having to work the six day work weeks that the holidays bring. I'll try to post some pix during my time off.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Good News Locally
Radio station may build public media center
It would encourage 'citizen journalists' and more community involvement
By Laura Giovanelli
JOURNAL REPORTER
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Public radio station WFDD 88.5 is studying the possibility of creating a center devoted to public media and education and outreach for citizen journalists.
"Citizen journalists" are nonprofessional journalists who gather and print news, mainly online. They include individual bloggers and larger scale, collaborative news sites.
Preliminary plans call for the center to have and develop forums, Web sites, conferences and other training sessions for public-radio and television journalists, students of Wake Forest University and members of the community. The preliminary plan also calls for it to teach ethics, mechanics and responsibilities of digital media.
It would draw on the university's resources, such as political-science professors, said Jay Banks, WFDD's general manager.
"It's kind of the next evolution, in a way, for public broadcasting," Banks said. "I think society's changing from a very few people acting as gatekeepers to people communicating within communities. Some of it might be about blogging, but more of it would be about civic engagement."
The plans could include putting the center in downtown Winston-Salem in the Piedmont Triad Research Park. WFDD is a National Public Radio affiliate licensed to Wake Forest University, which still needs to approve the center. The radio station and the university must also find financing for it.
In the past 18 months, WFDD has shifted its schedule from one that focused on classical music throughout the day to nationally produced news and public-affairs programs. And Banks said that more changes will be announced after Jan. 1, 2007.
Many public-radio stations are "trying to determine what they will be," Banks said, and WFDD is facing increased competition for listeners - and donors - in the eastern part of its coverage area. WUNC, the NPR station affiliated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been beefing up its local reporting and expanding its reach across the state. As it does, WFDD finds itself trying to maintain and expand its Greensboro audience.
It's possible to pick up WFDD and WUNC in Greensboro, and even as far west as Winston-Salem.
Banks said that WFDD's proposal isn't directly related to WUNC's plans to move west, but it is aimed at establishing a niche for the station.
"I like the notion that there is a Triad, as opposed to one-half of the Triad being absorbed by the Triangle. I think there is an identity that needs to be protected," Banks said.
Radio, television and newspapers have struggled to figure out business models and how to stay relevant in the world of the 24-hour news cycle and increasingly accessible technology through e-mail, blogs, podcasts, photos and video.
Rick Edmonds, a writer and researcher covering the business of news at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., a nonprofit journalism training and research center, said that online content will continue to supplement traditional news rather than replace it.
"I think it's a very long jump from going where those types of media are now.... I just haven't really seen a lot of that kind of capacity."
But new technology has also widened the definition of news, Edmonds said. It's allowed soldiers in Iraq to post homemade, first-person documentaries of their lives on YouTube, a video-sharing Web site.
"That certainly gets into the range of real news," Edmonds said.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which supports journalism, recently announced that it will give away $5million next year to groups and individuals who want to develop online media. Banks said that WFDD is aware of the money and may apply for a grant.
From the Winston Salem Journal
It would encourage 'citizen journalists' and more community involvement
By Laura Giovanelli
JOURNAL REPORTER
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Public radio station WFDD 88.5 is studying the possibility of creating a center devoted to public media and education and outreach for citizen journalists.
"Citizen journalists" are nonprofessional journalists who gather and print news, mainly online. They include individual bloggers and larger scale, collaborative news sites.
Preliminary plans call for the center to have and develop forums, Web sites, conferences and other training sessions for public-radio and television journalists, students of Wake Forest University and members of the community. The preliminary plan also calls for it to teach ethics, mechanics and responsibilities of digital media.
It would draw on the university's resources, such as political-science professors, said Jay Banks, WFDD's general manager.
"It's kind of the next evolution, in a way, for public broadcasting," Banks said. "I think society's changing from a very few people acting as gatekeepers to people communicating within communities. Some of it might be about blogging, but more of it would be about civic engagement."
The plans could include putting the center in downtown Winston-Salem in the Piedmont Triad Research Park. WFDD is a National Public Radio affiliate licensed to Wake Forest University, which still needs to approve the center. The radio station and the university must also find financing for it.
In the past 18 months, WFDD has shifted its schedule from one that focused on classical music throughout the day to nationally produced news and public-affairs programs. And Banks said that more changes will be announced after Jan. 1, 2007.
Many public-radio stations are "trying to determine what they will be," Banks said, and WFDD is facing increased competition for listeners - and donors - in the eastern part of its coverage area. WUNC, the NPR station affiliated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been beefing up its local reporting and expanding its reach across the state. As it does, WFDD finds itself trying to maintain and expand its Greensboro audience.
It's possible to pick up WFDD and WUNC in Greensboro, and even as far west as Winston-Salem.
Banks said that WFDD's proposal isn't directly related to WUNC's plans to move west, but it is aimed at establishing a niche for the station.
"I like the notion that there is a Triad, as opposed to one-half of the Triad being absorbed by the Triangle. I think there is an identity that needs to be protected," Banks said.
Radio, television and newspapers have struggled to figure out business models and how to stay relevant in the world of the 24-hour news cycle and increasingly accessible technology through e-mail, blogs, podcasts, photos and video.
Rick Edmonds, a writer and researcher covering the business of news at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., a nonprofit journalism training and research center, said that online content will continue to supplement traditional news rather than replace it.
"I think it's a very long jump from going where those types of media are now.... I just haven't really seen a lot of that kind of capacity."
But new technology has also widened the definition of news, Edmonds said. It's allowed soldiers in Iraq to post homemade, first-person documentaries of their lives on YouTube, a video-sharing Web site.
"That certainly gets into the range of real news," Edmonds said.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which supports journalism, recently announced that it will give away $5million next year to groups and individuals who want to develop online media. Banks said that WFDD is aware of the money and may apply for a grant.
From the Winston Salem Journal
I Voted
Yes, you can vote early, atleast here in Winston Salem, if you like. Seven days a week. Drove down with some others this past Saturday morning and it took all of 10 minutes. There really is no excuse not to vote. Frankly, if you don't, you're worthless.
I look forward to the upcoming Dem landslide. How anyone can vote Republican at this time, with what this government has been upto, and be able to live with themselves is beyond me.
I look forward to the upcoming Dem landslide. How anyone can vote Republican at this time, with what this government has been upto, and be able to live with themselves is beyond me.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Friday, October 20, 2006
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Internet Explorer 7
I just downloaded it and an giving it a good work out. So far I'm much happier with it than I was 6. I know this is a bit more geeky than I usually get. Just wanted to pass on my approval.
Has Ohio Gone Insane?
Blackwell to disqualify Strickland?
Voters in Ohio can be forgiven if they feel they have been beamed out of the Midwest and dropped into a third-world autocracy. The latest news from the state's governor's race is that the Republican nominee, Kenneth Blackwell, who is also the Ohio secretary of state, could rule that his opponent is ineligible to run because of a technicality. We'd like to think that his office would not ultimately do that, or that if it did, such a ruling would not be allowed to stand. But the mere fact that an elected official and political candidate has the authority to toss his opponent out of a race is further evidence of a serious flaw in our democracy.
Ted Strickland, the Democratic nominee, is leading Mr. Blackwell by as much as 28 points, according to one recent poll. In their panic, some Blackwell supporters have hit on the idea of trying to prevent the election from occurring. One of them filed a complaint alleging that Mr. Strickland, who is a member of Congress, does not live in the apartment where he is registered to vote. Mr. Strickland owns a condominium in another part of Ohio, and the complaint alleges that he actually lives there. If Mr. Strickland was not a qualified voter, he would be prohibited from running for governor.
This was from a press report (sorry, lost the link) in Ohio.
Voters in Ohio can be forgiven if they feel they have been beamed out of the Midwest and dropped into a third-world autocracy. The latest news from the state's governor's race is that the Republican nominee, Kenneth Blackwell, who is also the Ohio secretary of state, could rule that his opponent is ineligible to run because of a technicality. We'd like to think that his office would not ultimately do that, or that if it did, such a ruling would not be allowed to stand. But the mere fact that an elected official and political candidate has the authority to toss his opponent out of a race is further evidence of a serious flaw in our democracy.
Ted Strickland, the Democratic nominee, is leading Mr. Blackwell by as much as 28 points, according to one recent poll. In their panic, some Blackwell supporters have hit on the idea of trying to prevent the election from occurring. One of them filed a complaint alleging that Mr. Strickland, who is a member of Congress, does not live in the apartment where he is registered to vote. Mr. Strickland owns a condominium in another part of Ohio, and the complaint alleges that he actually lives there. If Mr. Strickland was not a qualified voter, he would be prohibited from running for governor.
This was from a press report (sorry, lost the link) in Ohio.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Monday, October 16, 2006
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Out and About for Sharpe
I was surprised by the turn out. I'd say a total of 40 people were there on a Thursday afternoon showing support for Sharpe and for a more responsive government.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Funky Animal
I don't know if you can see it or not, but this one had some attitude. It managed to "bark" at me while eating a nut it had found. Luck for him, I needed to run.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Randy Kuhl- Clueless
Randy Kuhl (Republican-NY), gives his closing arguments to a debate with fighting dem Eric Massa at a Rotary Club. He rambles for quite a bit. But then he wants to talk about how the Republican government does so much for the people. His example? Katrina. Is he Clueless? Stupid? He's trying the spin game and failing.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
The Fair is Here!
You know it is fall when the Fair comes 'round. I'll most likely go during the week and do some bad things (like, eat food that isn't good for me). I miss the bumper cars. Those were my favs as a kid and they runied it when we had to all go in the same direction. Injury/Lawsuit concerns, I guess.
Also, there is a fund raiser at Speakeasy Jazz tonight for Sharpe. He's the Democratic candidate for the House's 5th here in NC. Go and give money, ok?
Also, there is a fund raiser at Speakeasy Jazz tonight for Sharpe. He's the Democratic candidate for the House's 5th here in NC. Go and give money, ok?
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