Orange Politics

  

Frequent contributor at BlueNC and all around good guy Brian R., posts today at Orange Politics on the Chapel Hill Town Council's decision NOT to pull into the fastlane on the digital super highway.

Last night the Chapel Hill Town Council rejected a proposal to create a committee to explore the creation of a municipal network. What ensued was the first public discussion by council of what they really think about this topic. In short they will not charter a WiFi committee. Looming large is the need for the town to completely overhaul itself in regards to technology. Where are the citizen tech experts? Will the town create a technology master plan? What will the new Town Manager do? Read on to get a “play by play” account of the discussion.

Check out Orange Politics for a complete run down in the latest chapter in relations between UNC and the Town of Chapel Hill. At issue is planning for a mega campus that UNC wants to build right in the middle of town over the next 50 years. The town rightfully wants to have a say in the project, but UNC would rather not have to worry about the impacts of its development decisions on the people who live here. Of special note in the current dust-up is UNC's perennial nukular option, thrown on the table this time by Trustee Rusty Carter.

I got an e-mail from someone who is producing The State of Things on WUNC 91.5 FM tomorrow (5/9/06) with Markos Moulitsas and Jerome Armstrong on their Crashing the Gate book tour. She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to me about some local context for blogging or to have me on the show.

Everyone, including national bloggers like Markos, talks about the importance of local politics, but not a lot of folks are doing anything about it. I suggested to the producer that she contact Lance from Blue NC as well, since that's more relevant than dailyKOS. At this point, she hasn't even called me. So don't look for a lot of local relevance on the radio tomorrow, I guess.

dent isn't sure, but does dent smell something burning? dent also offers a quick Orange County rundown. Needless to say, OrangePolitics.org does too. You can read WataugaWatch on the elections starting here, and Matt Hill has gay and Greensboro covered. Finally, the good folks at the Locker Room offer an outcome summary.

Over at OrangePolitics.org, guest author Al McSurely reminds us of that other duty of the House of Representatives: impeachment. Al's point (and I think it is a good one) is that an important criterion in selecting a representative should be their willingness to perform that duty when called.

The challenge for those of us who take seriously our sworn vow to protect it is to select a members of the House in November 2006 who are strong, respect the Constitution, and who believe in the rule of law. When I size up our Congressional candidates, I rely on the same approach I use in picking juries. I look for people who will stand up for what they believe in. When you sue the government, like I do, you want jurors who are not afraid to challenge powerful people. You want someone who believes in the old saying: He may be President, but he puts his pants on one leg at a time. We need House members who believe that every person has to abide by the Constitution and the laws. And, given Bush/Cheney’s repeated use of vicious attacks when they are caught with unclean hands, we need people who are not afraid of a fight.

OrangePolitics.org : Selecting the grand jury in 2006