Thursday, May 28, 2009
(6/2 Update: Fetzer wants his day in court.)
From TomFetzer.com, the latest on former Raleigh Mayor Tom Fetzer's campaign for state Republican party chair:
Members of the Fetzer for NCGOP Chairman Steering Committee fought back against the baseless smear campaign which alleges that Tom Fetzer is gay. “The dirty tricksters are out in full force to run down a good man’s reputation,” said former Congressman Bill Cobey. “It offends me that people would spread lies about Tom. I have known Tom for over 25 years and I know him to be an honest, moral person.”Former State Senator Fred Smith echoed Cobey’s sentiments. “Our Party has an opportunity to elect a strong leader who has all the skills to lead us to victory. With the future of our Party on the line, we cannot be distracted by outrageous lies and petty personal attacks. I am more committed than ever to helping elect Tom Fetzer as our State Chairman.”
Richard Vinroot, former Mayor of Charlotte, decried the cowardice of those responsible for authoring the libelous letter about Fetzer. “It takes guts to stand up and run for a Party leadership post – a heck of a lot more guts than it takes to anonymously write lies about someone. Tom Fetzer is a man of true character, he is my friend, and I am confident he will be one of the best State Chairmen to have ever led our Party.”
The Fetzer Campaign continues to build momentum at the race enters its final weeks. “As I travel across North Carolina, I consistently hear that our grassroots activists want a leader who will stand up and fight the Liberals. As your State Chairman, our Party will raise the money we need to compete with the Democrats, we will out-organize them and we will unabashedly stand up for our conservative values. This is the winning formula for electoral success – and when I’m Chairman, we will make that success a reality,” Fetzer said.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
The N&O reports on the ex-Raleigh mayor's outburst.
He wants to be state GOP chair.
Pam's House Blend asks all the questions you're asking.
Friday, May 22, 2009
"There are no bad schools in Raleigh" -- and no debate about it last night.
I'm not sure why I expected the other side to come last night to challenge Syracuse University's Gerald Grant, whose new book posits that urban schools are a disaster in America with few very exceptions ... and posits that the one great exception, the "hope" in his title, is the Raleigh/Wake County school system. (Subtitle: "Why there are no bad schools in Raleigh.")
Anyway, it didn't happen. Speaking at Quail Ridge Books & Music, Grant asked the 100 folks in attendance how many were teachers? (Some.) How many principals? (Some.) How many other school administrators? (Superintendent Del Burns' hand went up.) Several school board members and former members were also on hand along with County Commissioner Stan Norwalk.
And how many here, Grant asked finally, want to vote the school board out and change its policies, the policies he so strongly endorses?
No hands went up.
"They're probably too busy blogging," Grant quipped.
Ah, well. They're definitely out there. I've made it to one meeting so far of the Wake Schools Community Alliance, the banner under which some of them are gathered, and there are more than a handful of folks (but fewer than you might imagine) who utterly and completely reject the policies that Grant likes so much. They might concede his point that there are no bad schools in Raleigh. But I believe they'd argue -- more reporting needed here -- that it comes at a price to "their" schools in Apex, Holly Springs, Cary, Garner and the other towns in the county where most of them live.
For now, though, they're staying in their corner, getting organized to answer the bell when the filing date comes for the Wake school board elections this fall.
In the interim, what I'll call the pro-diversity side -- the incumbent side -- lapped up what Grant had to say, which could be boiled down to this: "Both the leadership and the teacher talent in this system is just outstanding." Grant talked about why in the Indy this week: You can read either the excerpted or the full transcript of it here. He elaborated on two key points last night, though, that I think bear some more scrutiny:
++ The critics who are using Charlotte's policies as a cudgel against Wake's just don't get it about Charlotte;
++ Far from costing us money (for "busing"), Wake's diversity policies save taxpayers' money compared to Charlotte and every other urban school system in the country. In fact, he said, we've been getting great results "on the cheap."
More on these two points below.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
It’s a hurried, incomplete telling, then, interspersed across what amounts to a long essay about grief and how hard it is disentangling from broken dreams.
For Edwards supporters, though, who presumably will be its chief audience, it serves mainly as a disquieting reminder of how much we didn’t know, or knew but set aside, as we climbed aboard for the thrill ride of a presidential run that wasn’t safe for anyone.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The outcome was never in doubt at last night's meeting of Democratic party officials to choose a replacement for the late Sen. Vernon Malone. Dan Blue wanted it -- the "it" being the state Senate District 14 seat representing Southeast Raleigh and the eastern part of Wake County -- and he won it easily on the first ballot, with 52 of the 84 votes cast. (Eligible voters were the district's party precinct chairs and vice chairs plus some elected Democratic officials who live in the district.)
But the meeting did serve as an audition of sorts for candidates who might be chosen to take Blue's House seat (House District 33). It was also a reminder, as Blue acknowledged in a short speech after his selection, that Southeast Raleigh and the African-American community of Wake County is still looking for that next generation of political talent who will take over for the Malones and the Blues.
Sorry about that! Here it is: http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/may-16-cr…
by Denise Prickett, Indy Editorial Web Director on May 9 crossword puzzle (Crossword Puzzle)
wow interesting reading...I was particularly moved by the section discussing the "scalpeling away of our gender" by people.......Hahaha I really …
by Melissa Ann on How beauty pageants view transwomen (Eva Hayward)