As we near the first two contests on the 2016 election calendar, I want to make clear why I'm supporting Bernie rather than Hillary. Anyone who knows me knows that my main complaint with Obama is that he's run a center right government while he ran as center left. Hillary will be slightly to the left of Bill Clinton mirroring political realities and lessons learned from observing her husband's and Obama's tenure I would see her as an extension of and hopefully a mild improvement on Obama's (mostly successful presidency) . As for Bernie, he has a progressive track record that matches his rhetoric and honestly that's all I really care about. Its important what you do not why you are doing it.

New Year's Miscellany

So I went to Cafe Europa for New Year's alone. I'm still fairly recently single by my standards. I can't resist talking to new people and I couldn't help but notice that New Year's seems not to be a holiday for single folk. Now it certainly isn't as in your face about it as Valentine's day which manages to be a pushy arrogant and self satisfied holiday which I can't help loving when I have someone to celebrate it with and hating when I don't.

Honestly though New Year's does make you take stock and honestly taking stock is never a good thing as we always seem to concentrate on stocks that tank and can't really think about those that went up. If you're wondering this last year was extremely bearish for yours truly I put all my money on what I thought was blue chip but turned out to be wildcat stock.

When I was there though I found people open and friendly and unfailingly gracious to a lone interloper like myself. I'm glad I went out. I met someone who works in foreign service, a proprietress of a small shop, a behind the camera person from a local news station, really tall people from brooklyn that still love North Carolina enough to be here rather than in NYC donning Mad Hatter haberdashery from a skin care company in Times square. So fervent was this Amazonian's love for the tar heel state and this city in particular that she had had a tattoo of it on her wrist with a star where Greensboro would be. I met a sweet woman who paid me a complement whom I hope I'll talk to again. I met a rapper for the second time and his producer. I paid people compliments and enjoyed the presence of an amiable crowd.

I went home alone happy with the world and with myself as a part of it.

Success Story with the City of Greensboro

So this weekend my girlfriend and I were returning from an outing and we witnessed what we interpreted as the excessive use of force with a suspect by Lankford Protective Services across the street at the Depot. Concerned I called 911 hoping that uniformed police officers might help but my concern was apparently not taken seriously by the operator. After doing some digging I realized the person I needed to speak with was one Michael Speedling . On calling I was told by the receptionist that he had adjacent calls and meetings scheduled and that he would call back on getting my message. She kindly took my message and I hung up expecting a call maybe late the same day or perhaps the next day. Imagine my surprise when he called back within minutes of my call and took my concern quite seriously. So seriously in fact, that he followed up (again within the hour) to let me know that he'd located the report and that he'd be reviewing a surveillance video of the incident to make a determination as to what actually happened. Sensing that I might have more general concerns with the conduct of the police department we talked at length about the low incidence of complaints against the police relative to the number of contacts with the public and recent crime statistics. Honestly public servants like this guy rarely get the credit they deserve Greensboro is lucky to have such an erudite, responsive, and wildly overqualified person occupying this Assistant City Manager for Public Safety position.

Psalm 109: read the whole thing it isn't that long.

So you've probably heard about the Psalm 109:8 merchandise on CafePress. Here is what I think.

The people who buy this merchandise are defining themselves as the people David (the Psalmist) is talking about in verses 1-5, 20 of the same Psalm and therefore I guess that means Barack is David.

Psalm 109

Prayer for Vindication and Vengeance To the leader. Of David. A
Psalm.

1Do not be silent, O God of my praise.
2For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking
against me with lying tongues.
3They beset me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.
4In return for my love they accuse me, even while I make prayer for
them.*
5So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6They say,‘Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand on his right.
7When he is tried, let him be found guilty; let his prayer be counted
as sin.
8May his days be few; may another seize his position
9May his children be orphans, and his wife a widow.

Later, he wishes all the evil they speak against him in verses 6-19 to be visited upon them in verse 20

20May that be the reward of my accusers from the Lord, of those who speak evil against my life.

It is sort of a biblical "I'm rubber you're glue" kinda thing.

Just more evidence these nutjobs can't or won't understand and/or read the Bible.

News 2: Pitting low income people against lower income people.

Here was the letter I wrote to "News" 2 about their awful story about Foxworth Condominums.

Dear Ms. Bagg et. al,

I found tonight's report to be an horrendous abuse of the public trust. It openly disparaged recipients of public assistance and clearly promoted a selfish and irresponsible NIMBY attitude at the expense of the well being of one's neighbors.

This report was ostensibly focused on the question of the effect that subsidized housing or section 8 householders had on property values. However, even a cursory glance at the facts involved shows that it was more about the perception of who is moving in next door rather than any substantive loss of investment value.

At no time during the report did anyone mention the fact that published reports show this particular condominium development had been in foreclosure proceedings as far back as March 31st of this year which as I will note below would have a much stronger effect on their property value than having renters or section 8 recipients as neighbors.

A recent study by the Metropolitan Studies Group at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte concluded that:

The importance Section 8 households in explaining the change in residential property values is weak. In the research model, less than 5 percent of the explanatory power is attributable to the this factor In the research, 12 other real estate and neighborhood variables displayed a much stronger capacity to explain housing price variability. The stronger performing variables included sales as the result of foreclosure, and the homeownership level of the neighborhood

The story stipulated the obvious fact that these 14 units weren't likely to be bought anytime soon. So home ownership rates in the area were not affected by the GHA purchase.

I found the anchor's suggestion that there had to be special zoning for public housing recipients offensive.

As I've noted previously I found the promo particularly slanted and objectionable.

As a former resident of section 8 and public housing I found the clear implication of this reporting which was "you don't want that element living near you do you?" to be especially vile. This is the kind of despicable product which appeals to your viewers' basest instincts.
No advertiser who values the integrity of their brand would knowingly associate themselves with this kind of tripe.

Perhaps contacting your advertisers might persuade you to correct the inaccuracies omissions, and deliberate misrepresentations that I've noted above.

Apparently we don't Get Answers from News 2 we get opinions. As the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan said "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own fact"

Regards,

Juan

waitingforvizzini

Murphy in the Morning/ Prison Health Care

Drive time radio has extensive reach. My market according to Arbitron is the 45th largest. WKZL has a 5.6 AQH share for the most recent quarter. That translates to a particularly loud voice for Jack Murphy of Murphy in the Morning. This morning Jack was talking about the Department of Corrections new facility for inmate health care and well I think you should read the email he sent him. I've emailed him once before correcting him on a missatribution of the term straight edge (he associated it with Mormonism after having seen an episode of Big Love). He was kind enough to read it on the air. Hopefully he'll do the same with this one.

Dear Murphy,

First off, thanks again for reading my previous correspondence on the air.

On your show today you lamented that prisoners get health care while poor people don't and asked "Where is the justice?" The inference if not the implication of this statement is that being allowed to deteriorate physically and mentally is an acceptable punishment for crime.

Prisons have a responsibility to care for those in their custody.

Custody \Cus"to*dy\ (k?s"t?-d?), n. [L. custodia, fr. custos guard; prob. akin to Gr. ?????? to hide, and E. hide. See to cover.]
1. A keeping or guarding; care, watch, inspection, for keeping, preservation, or security.A fleet of thirty ships for the custody of the narrow seas. --Bacon. 2. Judicial or penal safe-keeping.Jailer, take him to thy custody. --Shak. Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Your statement also pits two relatively powerless groups against one another. Taking care of our prisoners health care and the health care of the less fortunate in this society are not mutually exclusive. We can and should do both. Your statement perpetuates the idea of health care as a privilege rather than a right. Health care is not a perk. You also seem unaware of the fact that the prison population to a significant degree is filled with nonviolent offenders. Human Rights Watch notes that:

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) data, 53 percent of all state and federal prisoners are incarcerated for nonviolent crimes. Indeed, an estimated 337,872 men and women are serving state or federal prison sentences because of drug convictions, most of whom are low-level offenders.

Overly punitive prison sentencing practices mandated by legislators (as opposed to judges) desiring to appear tough on crime contributes to an aging prison population which mirrors the outside world in its need for medical care. According to the AP:

A 1994 state law meant to do away with parole has increased the number of inmates who are expected to die behind bars.There are nearly 3,500 state prisoners over age 50. That's about three times what it was ten years ago.

Thank you for at least talking about the issue. I hope that this provides some context for a more informed discussion.

Sources:

here

here

here

and here

Best Regards,
Juan Vasquez

Let me know what you think. Are you keeping Morning Radio honest?

H1-B

It should also be noted here that H1-B recipients as I understand from a friend of mine who had one are at the mercy of the employer. As any future employment with another firm would involve an expensive lawyer intensive process. My friend was of course underpaid.

Peak Oil

Cindy Sheehan's Visit to Greensboro

I had the pleasure of attending a get together where Cindy was the guest of honor the evening before the protest. While there I mingled with a lot of people I'd first met on the way to the DC protest. When Cindy arrived she did so as she apparently always does with little fan fare. I am struck by her un-celebrity. I've never met someone so salient who seems so unaffected by the attention that accompanies the spotlight.

On the morning of the protest my mom and sister arrived at my apartment complex only a block away from the protest in downtown Greensboro's Governmental plaza. Both my mother and my sister were confined to wheelchairs. My mother temporarily my sister permanently. We took Davie to Washington Street and Washington to Greene Street. At Greene Street we were turned away by a congregation of people calling themselves Eagles but whose cries sounded more like those of chicken-hawks. We then attempted to enter the plaza from the Washington Street side where there was a wheelchair access ramp but we were turned away this time by aggressively rude police officers. The police were out in force and in numbers that seemed disproportionate to the crowds gathered. None of whom could provide a cogent rationale for not allowing us access to the protest. We continued to Eugene Street where our progress was again blocked this time by a fire hose connected to a hydrant. Next we made our way to the Market Street ramp only to be waved off again by police. Finally after walking all the way around the plaza we made our way to the protest proper. Once there we were treated to good music and numerous speeches. Fairly or unfairly none of these speeches were kind to Democrats. The speakers included representatives of the communist party, green party, UNC-G's ad hock anti war group, a young member of the Nation of Islam and a student at NC A&T a labor organizer, an Iraqi-American, A cute little Palestinian girl who read a touching poem, Cindy Sheehan and finally Terri Johnson. Before she spoke Cindy spoke with the media on the steps next to me. I took note that she remembered my name. She was patient with the reporters and listened to my mom and sis. Cindy spoke well and the crowd loved her. After Cindy was Terri who recounted her experience exiting the military on family day. Her talk was informative and touching. There is more information available about her and the event including pics here. The event ended without any violence or arrests. When I returned home I found oddly that the most balanced coverage of the event was on WGHP a Fox affiliate who after doing the interview with protesters and counter-protesters the accurately quoted an Elon University poll that showed anti-war sentiment clearly in the majority. Thanks for reading.

UPDATE: Apr. 24, 09:35:30 PM EDT In the above writing I noted some concerns about the protest since then I've had a chance to talk with the Captain of the Special Operations Division of the event and in a phone conversation this evening addressed many of my concerns.

Me This was a march and I did not show up for the march and thus was not funneled into the access point. It was my responsibilty to read the materials or seek them out and I did not.

Access points/Separation Given Greensboro's history with protests and counter protests a police presence and restriction of access to the opposing groups makes sense.

The fire hose blocking the side walk. He said they could and should have put up ramps over it.

Directions/signage is the responsibility of the event organizer and not the city (this is also true of the port a johns).

Police presence The 150 number seems right although he would not confirm it. The ratio seems high. I told him that it seemed like a "show of force" He explained that he'd calculated the number of police needed based on estimates made by the respective organizers. the World Cant Wait folks mildly underestimated turnout on their side. his estimate for actual turnout for our side was 450. The eagles however, for their part wildly overestimated their turnout. given the estimates he had to work with the police presence seems understandable.

I hope this presents a more complete view of the protest than my initial diary had done.

Because It Is Friday

They delete emails

So we have fired prosecutors, deleted smoking guns, and a guy named Fred Feilding. Does this sound familiar?

They write letters

Live Blogging Daughtry

Here I am near the intersection of McGee and Davie in downtown Greensboro. Oh the humanity!!! It is 7:23 ET I gots my green tea and my sparks I'm chillin' kickin' it. More lata.

update ok a local radio station is playing the same 5 songs over and over again. LAME What? could'nt find a local indie group(s)? Where's the love?!!!

Ok now there's some kick ass little kid wailing on the drums

ok Athenaeum is playing K daughtry time love each other.

Taking Prosperity Theology Down One Verse at a Time

Are you sick an tired of seeing Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Joel Osteen and their ilk? Are you tired of having your Christian freinds foist their books on you? We'll you may not ever be able to get your freinds to stop watching T.D. Jakes but you can get them to stop bothering you about the one armed bandit in the sky that is their God. The answer is elegant in it's simplicity the bible. Unless specified my quotes are from the NRSV See ya after the Jump Simulcast at StreetProphets, Waiting for Vizzini, and DailyKos

I had a long exchange with a co-worker about the book he had by Paul Yongi David Cho, a Word of Faith heretic. Anyway, I provided him with alot of what you see below. I thought it might be helpful when you get in conversations with your freinds.

Acts 4:32-35
32 Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. 33With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. 35They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

Timothy 6:3-15, 17 18
3Whoever teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that is in accordance with godliness, 4is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about words. From these come envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, 5and wrangling among those who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. * 6Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; 7for we brought nothing into the world, so that * we can take nothing out of it; 8but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

The Good Fight of Faith
11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made * the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords

17 As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share

Mark 10:17-25

The Rich Man
17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' 18Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19You know the commandments: "You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother." ' 20He said to him, 'Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.' 21Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, 'You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money * to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.' 22When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, 'How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!' 24And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, 'Children, how hard it is * to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.'

Here I am debunking some common cherry picked prosperity verses

2 Corinthians 8:9 (King James Version)
9For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

Here you might want to read the whole passage. Paul is encouraging his flock to be generous to the poor

13-15... it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written,'The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.'

3 John 1:2 (King James Version)
2Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

Here John is doing a letter intro. e.g. I hope you are doing well. Its a well wish and a compliment nothing more.

Ecclesiastes 5:19 (New King James Version)
19 As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.

From the same passage:

10 The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity.

11 When goods increase, those who eat them increase; and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes?

12 Sweet is the sleep of labourers, whether they eat little or much; but the surfeit of the rich will not let them sleep.

Psalm 35:27 (New King James Version)
27 Let them shout for joy and be glad,
Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually,
"Let the LORD be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant."

Here's a better translation NRSV

27Let those who desire my vindication
shout for joy and be glad,
and say evermore,
'Great is the Lord,
who delights in the welfare of his servant.'
28Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness
and of your praise all day long.

emphasis mine


Deuteronomy 8:18 (New International Version)
18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

again it is instructive to read the entire passage

2Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments. 3He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. * 4The clothes on your back did not wear out and your feet did not swell these forty years. 5Know then in your heart that as a parent disciplines a child so the Lord your God disciplines you. 6Therefore keep the commandments of the Lord your God, by walking in his ways and by fearing him.

emphasis mine

I summed up my argument with him this way.

Buddy,

The thing is your words seem to suggest a sense of entitlement that
somehow you were promised or owed something above your basic material
needs by God due to your belief or good intentions but this is not so.
You say I'm making a connection but you are mistaken it is the
scriptures that are doing that. Bottom line is is that every
scripture I can find says that accumlation of wealth is a spiritual
problem to be dealt with not a sign of gods favor per say. Look at all
the evil rich folks the Ken Lay's,The Burnie Ebbers, the false
prophets the Cho's, Joel Osteens, Creflo Dollars, Kenneth Copelands,
and Joyce Meyer's of this world God has stored up judgement and wrath
for them here

2nd Peter 2 1-3

1But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be
false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive
opinions. They will even deny the Master who bought them—bringing
swift destruction on themselves. 2Even so, many will follow their
licentious ways, and because of these teachers* the way of truth will
be maligned. 3And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive
words. Their condemnation, pronounced against them long ago, has not
been idle, and their destruction is not asleep.


Malachai 3:5

5 Then I will draw near to you for judgement; I will be swift to bear
witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those
who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in
their wages, the widow, and the orphan, against those who thrust aside
the alien, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

or James 5 1-6 if you prefer

Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are
coming to you. 2Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are
moth-eaten. 3Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be
evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have
laid up treasure* for the last days. 4Listen! The wages of the
labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry
out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord
of hosts. 5You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you
have fattened your hearts on a day of slaughter. 6You have condemned
and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

To your question I'm not sure what my thithing has to do with how much
money I make. I don't titthe for reward but rather to give to a cause
I belive in. Same as giving to the Dems but more reverent lol. I'm
still waiting on you to answer my question about Mr Cho. Cho is
promoting heresy and the occult wrapped in the guise of Christianity.
He's giving you false hope and putting you in danger. I encourage you
as your Christian Brother to ditch that book you are reading and
instead pick up Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship or
Henri J. M. Nouwen's Making All Things New. I'm sure those will feed
you much better. I'll loan you the latter. Consider Matt 6:31-33 This
is the only material promise we have from god be satisfied with it or
be ever dissapointed. It's your choice.

31Therefore do not worry, saying, "What will we eat?" or "What will we
drink?" or "What will we wear?" ... and indeed your heavenly Father
knows that you need all these things. 33But strive first for the
kingdom of God* and his* righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well.

You might also find comfort in

Psalm 73
A Psalm of Asaph.
1Truly God is good to the upright,*
to those who are pure in heart.
2But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped.
3For I was envious of the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.



4For they have no pain;
their bodies are sound and sleek.
5They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not plagued like other people.
6Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them like a garment.
7Their eyes swell out with fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues range over the earth.



10Therefore the people turn and praise them,*
and find no fault in them.*
11And they say, ‘How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?’
12Such are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13All in vain I have kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14For all day long I have been plagued,
and am punished every morning.



15If I had said, ‘I will talk on in this way’,
I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
16But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I perceived their end.
18Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20They are* like a dream when one awakes;
on awaking you despise their phantoms.



21When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22I was stupid and ignorant;
I was like a brute beast towards you.
23Nevertheless I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24You guide me with your counsel,
and afterwards you will receive me with honour.*
25Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
26My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength* of my heart and my portion for ever.



27Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;
you put an end to those who are false to you.
28But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
to tell of all your works.

Because it is Friday

Al Announces

Go See him at http://www.alfranken.com/

The Real McCain

Check out The Real McCain

Beer Goggles

Funny

Walkentalk