Afghanistan, Bananastan

I was glad to see in Pamlico Today that Congressman Walter B. Jones, Jr. has come out publicly for a withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Senator Aiken of Vermont once observed during the Vietnam War that the US could well declare victory and bring the troops home, leaving the conflict to be resolved politically.

Not a bad idea for Afghanistan today. We need to get over the illusion that we can remake the world by force of arms. We may have better success by using the force of ideas. Or example.

New England

We got out of New Hampshire just in time to miss the debate.

Still cold here in the Boston area. Visited Winchester, MA today, where I lived while studying international relations, including courses in international economics. Lovely place. While it's a bit chilly today, it becomes really chilly in midwinter.

The house we lived in still looks over the street as it always did.

Much has changed, but much is the same.

Graduation Day

Hanover, NH Sunday, June 12, 2011. The Dartmouth class of 2011 graduated this morning. It was cold and rainy, but both funny and exciting.

The commencement address was delivered by Conan O'Brian.

There were two valedictorians - both were young women. Forty years ago, no women were admitted. Now, about half the student body are women. And most of the honors graduates.

The same number of graduates were named Wang as were named Smith.

It was a diverse student body. Many of color, including Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Oriental Americans, South Asians and Africans. They are America's new elite.

Today we saw the future in Hanover, NH. And the future is good.

It's Cold Up Here

If you plan on going to New Hampshire from Oriental anytime soon, remember it gets cold and rainy. Be prepared. I wasn't.

Traveling North

Just a word to the wise: when traveling north on I-95, if you can avoid Delaware, do so. Big delays from construction.

On Outgrowing Earth

Today's article in the New York Times by Thomas Friedman should be alarming.

But don't worry. Oriental's member of Pamlico County's Board of Commissioners reported at the last Board meeting that she and others have successfully blocked an effort by NC planners to push restrictions on construction based on predicted sea rise. The objection: the plan was based on computer modeling. Presumably, we are supposed to wait until the water actually rises. That would be scientific.

Travel

We'll be on the road for a couple of weeks. Posts will be sporadic at best.

Religious Exception to Zoning

I was pleased to learn this evening that the Oriental Town Board had decided to postpone the public hearing on the five amendments to the Growth Management Ordinance proposed by the town's planning board. There was a recognition that maybe the public notice hadn't been as clear as it might have been.

The board decided this evening to schedule public hearings on all five proposed amendments at the July meeting. I would have been happier if they had decided to act first on the proposed amendment on how to amend the ordinance, but that's ok.

In the meantime, we should all be thinking about the proposal to exempt "religious institutions," including buildings owned by such institutions, even if they otherwise resemble ordinary houses, from some of the dimensional regulations affecting other structures in the zone.
A point to remember is that, just because a religious institution owns a building today doesn't mean it will own that building tomorrow, next year or ten years from now. In the meantime, an allowed deviation from dimensional restrictions could have significantly changed the look of the neighborhood and affected the housing value of neighbors.