Did I Do This?

First of all, let me state upfront that, yes, I have a very high opinion of myself. The fact that I have no credentials or accomplishments or anything else of any substance to back up that opinion is pretty much lost on me. I say this because I don't want anybody wasting their time explaining it to me, because that would be pointless. That said, follow me past the fold so you can get another glimpse into the Steve-centric Universe I live in. In which I live. Whatever.

It appears that Red Clay Citizen is packing up their digital belongings and moving to Civitas Review Online, and I can't help but think I may have precipitated this move by stinking up the neighborhood.

While I've often lurked at RCC, just to get a whiff of their anti-planning philosophy and Civitas "poll" bragging, I had refrained from commenting there in the past, partially because I don't want to let out my inner troll, plus you never know (unless you're smart) if registering to comment somewhere can expose you to a cyber attack, where wyrms and viruses come marching into your computer and wreak havoc. It can happen!

But just the other day I threw these concerns to the wind and made a few observations when RCC patted Bob Orr on the back for winning his court case:

Before you get too carried away, Bob, you might want to digest what your friend at NCICL would have done if he'd been elected Governor. You know, like making June Atkinson's job an appointed position and not "duly elected".

And yes, I fully realize that Judge Orr approached this case from a purely Constitutional angle, and bringing up his previous campaign promises might be "inappropriate" to the context of this discussion. But it's plain to me that Bob Orr (with or without Civitas' blessings) envisioned that he himself (as Governor) would be the sole conduit for "the people" on the subject of public education. Which sounds kind of familiar, if you catch my drift.

Don't worry, I haven't decided to start trolling here. You guys are way too smart for me to try to outthinkify. ;)

Geez, I even said I wasn't planning on moving into the neighborhood. So Justin (bless him) pops in and makes a comment, at which I replied:

I get that, Justin. Amending the NC Constitution to bring that about was part of his plan.

But that doesn't change the fact that Bob thought the Governor should have total control (and responsibility) over education: Appoint the Superintendent, have some elected Board of Education members, but make them "advisory" in nature, with no real authority, etc.

While this decision may be a victory for (proper) Constitutional interpretation, it's not (necessarily) an ideological victory of "the People" over a powerful Executive. The General Assembly (through Rand) is now making noises about doing exactly what Judge Orr put forward in his campaign: amending the Constitution so the Governor could appoint the Superintendent (or CEO, whatever).

And I am very interested to see what position Civitas takes on that Amendment, if it actually does find some footing/support in the GA.

I ain't gonna quote anybody else because, in addition to wyrms and viruses, I'm also skeered of legal troubles and such. I can't imagine Judge Orr dragging me up to the Supreme Court because I copied and republished Puppet writings, but you never know.

So anyway, this thread languished for four days after this, and was pushed over to page 2, which is the equivalent of tumbling into the blogosphere abyss. And then Francis posted a response, four days after my last post. Which he's done to me before over at the Dome, I might add. Francis, if you're reading this: getting the last word in is only clever if other people know. It's like a tree falling in the woods. Or popping off a snappy comeback when you're driving home from the dinner party. Pointless.

So that's my story. Red Clay was chugging along just fine until I showed up with my powerful analytical skills, and then the mules were hitched to the snake oil wagon, and off they went. :) I have to say, living in a fantasy world is awesome. I can do anything here!

p.s.: Betsy and James, if you don't think this is appropriate for front page status, feel free to take it off. I generally work from the assumption that anything I write is pure gold, and relevant, and timely, and much-needed, etc. :)