Beginning of candidate filing period in North Carolina calls to mind the aphorism of the fictional Mr. Dooley, creation of the humorist and editor, Finley Peter Dunne.
The part that's frequently quoted says, simply: "Politics ain't beanbag." The reader is left to surmise that there must be a game using bags of beans, not likely to cause lasting damage to the participants.
It is worth recalling the whole quote:
"Politics ain't beanbag: 'tis a man's game, and women, children 'n' pro-hy-bitionists had best stay out of it."
A quick glance at the list of candidates who have filed so far reveals that women are no longer staying out of the game of politics, even if it still "ain't beanbag." And that's a mighty good thing.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
A Really Super Bowl
Our household faced a dilemma deciding who to root for in last night's Super Bowl.
As graduates of Ole Miss, we were mindful of the fact that Peyton Manning's father, Archie Manning, had quarterbacked for Ole Miss in the 1960's, had been drafted by the New Orleans Saints and played superbly for about a decade for what was otherwise a dreadful team. Archie Manning has made his home in New Orleans. Peyton's younger brother, Eli, also played at Ole Miss and quarterbacks for the Giants.
Since there was an Ole Miss/Manning connection to both teams, we decided to go with sentiment and root for the team that had never been to the Super Bowl before. Besides, we had lived in Washington DC when the Baltimore Colts left that town surreptitiously and shamefully relocated to Indiana. In Baltimore (and Washington), that is still seen as perfidy. Like the Dodgers moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.
For all of those reasons, we rooted for New Orleans.
The game was a delight to watch. When did you ever see a second half begin with an onside kick? The offensive coaching was daring. The New Orleans defense was superb. Plainly the strategy was to keep Peyton Manning off the field. Good idea.
A game that lived up to the hype.
Can't say as much for the ads. Not up to par.
And the halftime show? My wife remarked that she'd rather have seen marching bands. Would have been more entertaining. Maybe it's a generational thing.
As graduates of Ole Miss, we were mindful of the fact that Peyton Manning's father, Archie Manning, had quarterbacked for Ole Miss in the 1960's, had been drafted by the New Orleans Saints and played superbly for about a decade for what was otherwise a dreadful team. Archie Manning has made his home in New Orleans. Peyton's younger brother, Eli, also played at Ole Miss and quarterbacks for the Giants.
Since there was an Ole Miss/Manning connection to both teams, we decided to go with sentiment and root for the team that had never been to the Super Bowl before. Besides, we had lived in Washington DC when the Baltimore Colts left that town surreptitiously and shamefully relocated to Indiana. In Baltimore (and Washington), that is still seen as perfidy. Like the Dodgers moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.
For all of those reasons, we rooted for New Orleans.
The game was a delight to watch. When did you ever see a second half begin with an onside kick? The offensive coaching was daring. The New Orleans defense was superb. Plainly the strategy was to keep Peyton Manning off the field. Good idea.
A game that lived up to the hype.
Can't say as much for the ads. Not up to par.
And the halftime show? My wife remarked that she'd rather have seen marching bands. Would have been more entertaining. Maybe it's a generational thing.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Keep Shooting Until You're out of Bullets
There are a lot of different attitudes toward fate and inevitability.
The thirteenth century Persian poet, Omar Khayyam (as translated by Edward FitzGerald) wrote:
"The moving finger writes: and, having writ,
Moves On: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it."
The 20th century theologian, Reinhold Neibuhr, composed a prayer, known as the Serenity Prayer, that takes a somewhat more activist approach:
"God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other."
Today on one of the Sunday morning talk shows, LA Times columnist Steve Lopez offered yet another approach to dealing with the future (of newspapers):
"I'm going to keep shooting until I'm out of bullets."
Or as the poet Dylan Thomas put it:
"Do not go gentle into that good night..."
The thirteenth century Persian poet, Omar Khayyam (as translated by Edward FitzGerald) wrote:
"The moving finger writes: and, having writ,
Moves On: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it."
The 20th century theologian, Reinhold Neibuhr, composed a prayer, known as the Serenity Prayer, that takes a somewhat more activist approach:
"God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other."
Today on one of the Sunday morning talk shows, LA Times columnist Steve Lopez offered yet another approach to dealing with the future (of newspapers):
"I'm going to keep shooting until I'm out of bullets."
Or as the poet Dylan Thomas put it:
"Do not go gentle into that good night..."
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Didn't We Just Have an Election?
No one ever said Democracy was easy.
In North Carolina, we have elections every year. This year the filing period opens at noon Monday, February 8, and closes at noon Friday, February 26.
Offices up for election include: United States Senate and House of Representatives; State Senate and House; District Attorney for our district; Pamlico County Commissioners District 3 and District 4 and two at-large seats; County Sheriff; Clerk of Superior Court; Board of Education District 4 and two at-large seats. In addition, we will vote for one seat on the NC Supreme Court, four seats on the Court of Appeals and two Superior Court Judges.
The above offices may have both a primary election May 4 and a General Election November second.
Just to make things easier to understand, there are two seats on the Pamlico County Soil and Water Conservation Supervisory Board. The filing period for those seats is June 14 to July 8.
The Board of Education seats are elected at a nonpartisan election held during the May 4 primary.
Oh, yes. There will be one-stop voting and instant registration for the Primary election, the second (runoff) primary if held, and the general election.
Everyone will have plenty of opportunities to vote.
Mark February 26 on your calendar. That would be a good day to start finding out about the candidates.
In North Carolina, we have elections every year. This year the filing period opens at noon Monday, February 8, and closes at noon Friday, February 26.
Offices up for election include: United States Senate and House of Representatives; State Senate and House; District Attorney for our district; Pamlico County Commissioners District 3 and District 4 and two at-large seats; County Sheriff; Clerk of Superior Court; Board of Education District 4 and two at-large seats. In addition, we will vote for one seat on the NC Supreme Court, four seats on the Court of Appeals and two Superior Court Judges.
The above offices may have both a primary election May 4 and a General Election November second.
Just to make things easier to understand, there are two seats on the Pamlico County Soil and Water Conservation Supervisory Board. The filing period for those seats is June 14 to July 8.
The Board of Education seats are elected at a nonpartisan election held during the May 4 primary.
Oh, yes. There will be one-stop voting and instant registration for the Primary election, the second (runoff) primary if held, and the general election.
Everyone will have plenty of opportunities to vote.
Mark February 26 on your calendar. That would be a good day to start finding out about the candidates.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Town Board Special Meeting - Interim Audit
The Town of Oriental has called a special meeting for February 10 to discuss "interim professional accounting/auditing assistance, and to address additional personnel matters."
This appears to be for the purpose of addressing a proposal made by Commissioner Venturi at last Tuesday's town board meeting that the town contract with the auditing firm of Pittard, Perry and Crone to perform a mid-term audit. The cost: $2400. The reason: "the books haven't been balanced since October."
This is a superficially reasonable proposal that completely misses the point of an audit.
The reason that municipal audits are governed by the NC Local Government Commission is because the LGC is the agency that issues bonds on behalf of towns. Audits are for three purposes:
(a) to determine the financial health of the municipality (we are healthy);
(b) to verify that enterprise funds like the town's water system are financially separated from other funds, including the general fund (our audit raised a problem about that, but the Town Board had already identified the problem and was working to correct it);
(c) to determine that financial controls as required by state law are in place. Our auditor identified a number of problems in that area (e.g. lack of a purchase order system) that have existed for years.
What the audit doesn't do is "balance the books."
If there is, as alleged, a problem with the books, we need to identify the problem we're trying to solve. Then decide what is the proper instrument to solve it.
If the problem is that the books don't balance (whatever that means) or that the bank statements can't be reconciled, or that the town manager (as he admitted Tuesday) has made some incorrect Bay River entries, we don't need an auditor to correct that. We need a bookkeeper. We used to have a part-time bookkeeper. What happened?
Even if there is no present problem with the books, we should retain a bookkeeper.
It never occurred to me when we hired Mr. Cahoon that we were looking for a qualified bookkeeper. We shouldn't be paying him as much as we do to keep the books. He needs to manage. He needs to watch budget line items. He needs to make recommendations about budget amendments or other changes in priority in a timely fashion and bring problems to the Town Board's attention. He needs to supervise the town's affairs.
An auditor is not a bookkeeper. No one on town staff, so far as I know is a qualified bookkeeper.
The town should hire a part time bookkeeper.
This appears to be for the purpose of addressing a proposal made by Commissioner Venturi at last Tuesday's town board meeting that the town contract with the auditing firm of Pittard, Perry and Crone to perform a mid-term audit. The cost: $2400. The reason: "the books haven't been balanced since October."
This is a superficially reasonable proposal that completely misses the point of an audit.
The reason that municipal audits are governed by the NC Local Government Commission is because the LGC is the agency that issues bonds on behalf of towns. Audits are for three purposes:
(a) to determine the financial health of the municipality (we are healthy);
(b) to verify that enterprise funds like the town's water system are financially separated from other funds, including the general fund (our audit raised a problem about that, but the Town Board had already identified the problem and was working to correct it);
(c) to determine that financial controls as required by state law are in place. Our auditor identified a number of problems in that area (e.g. lack of a purchase order system) that have existed for years.
What the audit doesn't do is "balance the books."
If there is, as alleged, a problem with the books, we need to identify the problem we're trying to solve. Then decide what is the proper instrument to solve it.
If the problem is that the books don't balance (whatever that means) or that the bank statements can't be reconciled, or that the town manager (as he admitted Tuesday) has made some incorrect Bay River entries, we don't need an auditor to correct that. We need a bookkeeper. We used to have a part-time bookkeeper. What happened?
Even if there is no present problem with the books, we should retain a bookkeeper.
It never occurred to me when we hired Mr. Cahoon that we were looking for a qualified bookkeeper. We shouldn't be paying him as much as we do to keep the books. He needs to manage. He needs to watch budget line items. He needs to make recommendations about budget amendments or other changes in priority in a timely fashion and bring problems to the Town Board's attention. He needs to supervise the town's affairs.
An auditor is not a bookkeeper. No one on town staff, so far as I know is a qualified bookkeeper.
The town should hire a part time bookkeeper.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Use it or Lose it
Some people out there think since I failed to be reelected last November, I should sit down and shut up.
Fat Chance!
I value free speech and open discourse too much to do that.
If you simply observe public events quietly and passively without exercising the right to speak freely, there may come a time when your speech organs have atrophied.
The challenge to those who wish to speak up is to speak clearly while avoiding personal invective, pejorative labels, and ad-hominem arguments. That's my goal. I hope I write dispassionately, but please do not mistake dispassionate discussion for a lack of passion about the issues.
What I seek to do is identify whatever the real problem may be and to offer logical, well thought out solutions.
I may not always succeed, but I'd rather try and fail than not to try.
Fat Chance!
I value free speech and open discourse too much to do that.
If you simply observe public events quietly and passively without exercising the right to speak freely, there may come a time when your speech organs have atrophied.
The challenge to those who wish to speak up is to speak clearly while avoiding personal invective, pejorative labels, and ad-hominem arguments. That's my goal. I hope I write dispassionately, but please do not mistake dispassionate discussion for a lack of passion about the issues.
What I seek to do is identify whatever the real problem may be and to offer logical, well thought out solutions.
I may not always succeed, but I'd rather try and fail than not to try.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
February Town Board Meeting
Last night's (Feb 2) meeting of Oriental's Town Board was another discouraging excursion into recriminations. Most of the acrimony was on the sidelines, but for those who have been following town affairs, it was evident.
In January, one of the commissioners voted against adopting the minutes. Last night, all of the commissioners rejected the minutes. There was a lot of back and forth about audits and bookkeeping. One of the commissioners suggested scheduling a mid term audit, though exactly what the problem is to which that would be a solution was not apparent. In any event, she got no support for the idea.
Not brought up explicitly, but implicit in the agenda meeting and in other discussions is an alleged requirement for emergency access to the town manager's inner sanctum. Again, it is unclear what the problem is to which this is the solution. Nor does the discussion address the very real problem of protecting the integrity of sensitive personal and financial information which it is the town's duty to protect and of which the town manager is the custodian.
We need to get beyond the blame game and associated personal acrimony and into the business of identifying problems and developing solutions.
I have some ideas, which I will share over the next few days.
In the meantime, I have to get ready for a meeting.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
South Avenue and Commissioner Styron
I just saw today's edition of the Pamlico News and noticed on page 5 the statement that "Defendants named in the suit are Lacy B. Henry and spouse, Judy B. Henry and Sherrill Styron and spouse Phyllis H. Styron."
The Styrons are no longer defendants.
Sherrill Styron was named in the original suit because he and his wife then owned a small piece of land which included two hundredths of an acre within the South Avenue right of way. The late Garland Fulcher acquired the two hundredths of an acre by quitclaim deed from Ann Wadley Wing about 1995 and combined it with an adjacent tract fronting on the harbor. He transferred ownership to Sherrill Styron before the town filed its suit. Sherrill Styron sold the parcel afterwards to Chris Fulcher, disclosing in the deed that there may be encumbrances on the property.
Neither Sherrill Styron nor Chris Fulcher responded to the suit, and as a result the town won with respect to that parcel. That two hundredths of an acre is no longer at issue. Both Sherrill Styron and Chris Fulcher acted properly, and the town no longer has any dispute with either of them concerning South Avenue.
The Styrons are no longer defendants.
Sherrill Styron was named in the original suit because he and his wife then owned a small piece of land which included two hundredths of an acre within the South Avenue right of way. The late Garland Fulcher acquired the two hundredths of an acre by quitclaim deed from Ann Wadley Wing about 1995 and combined it with an adjacent tract fronting on the harbor. He transferred ownership to Sherrill Styron before the town filed its suit. Sherrill Styron sold the parcel afterwards to Chris Fulcher, disclosing in the deed that there may be encumbrances on the property.
Neither Sherrill Styron nor Chris Fulcher responded to the suit, and as a result the town won with respect to that parcel. That two hundredths of an acre is no longer at issue. Both Sherrill Styron and Chris Fulcher acted properly, and the town no longer has any dispute with either of them concerning South Avenue.
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