Category Archives: Civic Duty

What’s My Responsibility? What’s My Role?

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There’s an ongoing issue at Lewisville Elementary that I’ve written about a couple of times (most recent here).  I could be wrong but I think the comments on those posts are the only real ongoing public dialog about the situation, and the evolution of those comments have caused me to question my role or, more accurately, the role of my blog in the community.  Let me explain. 

So far I think the commenters on the posts have been polite, and the comments not particularly confrontational.  I honestly think that the commenters have the best intentions and even if they may come from different sides of the issue they also want the same things: better communication from the school and the conclusion of the investigation of the teacher who has been suspended.  That said, here are my concerns:

  • This blog is a personal endeavor of mine, something I do for fun and to feed my writing jones.  Normally most of the stuff I write about is inconsequential and goofy, but when issues like this arise I feel compelled to write about it.  Is that something better left to "mainstream media"? 
  • So far I think the comments on the posts have been good and in some ways helpful in revealing the viewpoints of some folks within the Lewisville School community.  But I worry that the comments could turn cruel or vindictive and that I’d be facilitating more harm being done.  Do I have that right?   I would certainly delete any bad comments as soon as I saw them, but the cat would be out of the bag for the few people who might see them before I do so.  I could also change my blog’s setup so that I moderate all comments before they’re published, but somehow that just doesn’t feel right.  I’ve never had cause to worry about it before, so this is new territory for me.  And here’s the key question: if someone does write something really negative am I responsible, are they responsible or is it a shared responsibility?  I’m not talking in the legal sense, but in the moral sense.
  • As a member of the community I’ve heard lots of rumors and different sides of the story.  All of this information comes from sources I trust and in a private conversation I’d feel fine in sharing it, but I wouldn’t feel right sharing here.  Am I being overly cautious or is this the right approach?
  • I’ve been thanked on more than one occasion for providing this outlet for people to write about the issue.  I’m glad some see it that way, but I worry that others might think I’m doing a disservice to those involved in the issue.  The last thing I want is to add fuel to the fire and I hope that’s not what I’m doing, rather I hope that by having a forum to look at this situation we are illuminating it.

The funny thing to me is that when I started this blog I figured maybe some friends and family would read it occasionally. I never dreamed it would be read by others or that it would be used in this way.  On the one hand I’m glad that it is, but on the other hand I’m humbled by the prospects.

Job Offer!!

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Somehow the email I’m copying below made it through my spam filter.  I share it because it openly, one could say even enthusiastically, invites me and the million other people it targeted to join them in being an international scumbag.  It also purports to be from the chairman of a major investment firm in Singapore.  Actually it looks like an investment firm tied directly to the government in Singapore.  Really in terms of spam it’s a nice change of pace from all the stuff that’s supposed to put hair back on my head and give me a renewed sexual vigor.  Here it is:

From: notice01@optonline.net
Subject: JOB OFFER!!

From The Desk Of
Mr Lim Siong Guan Chairman,
EDB (Chairman of the Board)

250 North Bridge Road
#28-00 Raffles City Tower
Singapore 179101.

Date; 9th /Feb/ 2007

EDB CO LTD SEEKING YOUR ASSISTANCE IN OPENING
OF NEW OUTLETS IN YOUR LOCALITY.
Dear Friend,

This email comes to
you from the desk of Mr Lim Siong Guan chairman EDB SEMICONDUCTOR COMPANY
LIMITED based in Singapore.EDB is a Global manufactural of Gray market goods,and
this are items manufactured abroad and imported into the US without the consent
of the trademark holder. Examples of such goods are REFRIGERATORS of all
kinds,Electronics and Home Appliances.

We import this products into the
World Trade Market at large and due to the high demands of our products , we
have been able to acquire outlets all over Europe,Asia and America where our
products can be bought. And as at today, there are 10 EDB companies in
Singapore, including its Asia-Pacific headquarters and eight manufacturing
companies in various sectors, ranging from refrigerator compressors to consumer
electronics to advanced displays and semiconductors.

Due to the high
rate of sucess in the last fiscal year of trading in the United States and
Canada,we have deceided to embark on major expansion plan in these Countries
even as the global economy is showing optimistic signs of pick-up.We intend
doing this by wanting to open new outlets where our products can be bought from.

This idea of more outlets is making us to contact you today to know if
you would be able to perform the following task for us which are listed below
1
Helping in the sales of our products to willing customers that are wanting to
buy.
2 Receiving payments from customers by all means of payment method that
is available, and one that suits their convinent at that point in time. We want
to bring to your notice that this position does not require any relevant
experience and it is best suited for all{ graduates, professionals and non
graduates}.

If you deem you are fit enough for this job,we would want
you to supply or furnish us with the following information via email
1 Your
Full Name As It Would Appear On Your Letter Of Appointment
2 Your Contact
Address
3 Telephone Number { Both Home And Mobile} / Fax
4 Your Present
Occupation
5 Lastly,we would want to know if you have any form of
dis-ability

Note that if we eventually deem you fit for this
position,you would be placed on a 10% commision for each sales and any amount
you help receive from customers.

Thank you so very much for having the
patient and time to read this email.We look forward to hearing from you.

Wishing you a Blissful day,
Mr.Lim Siong Guan,
Chairman,
EDB
SEMICONDUCTOR.
officeoflimguan@yahoo.com

Really it’s a thing of beauty don’t you think?

21st Century Neighborhood Watch

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Over at Life in Forsyth Lucy has a post titled "Another White Van" that highlights the strengths and weaknesses of a vigilant neighbor armed with email.  It seems that a man was seen trolling their neighborhood in a white van.   A neighbor noticed him, did a little research on the tag numbers, got a name and thought they found evidence that the driver was a registered sex offender.  They fired off an email to warn the neighbors and the neighbors forwarded it to their friends and pretty soon everyone was on the alert.

Well, it ends up that there the person they spotted had the same name as a registered sex offender but he himself had a clean record.  In addition, he was in the neighborhood with his girlfriend to pick up a dance student and since he’d never been there before he was slowing down in front of houses in an effort to find the right house.   Unfortunately the person who knew this wasn’t part of the email loop so didn’t know what was going on. Luckily one of the people in the loop found out the truth and let everyone know.

Lucy, who is also a 2004 transplant from the DC area, points out the the Beltway Snipers were originally thought to be a white guy in a white van, but in fact were two black guys in a blue sedan.  Her point is a good one: while it’s always good to be vigilant we can often be led astray by half truths and speculation. This case also points out the inherent flaws of email; just ask anyone in the working world to tell you stories about someone left out of the loop for a project or meeting because they were accidentally left off the "cc" list.

Luckily no one got hurt in this case, and it seems that at least one of the neighbors did the right thing by contacting the police instead of handling things themselves.  The police were the folks who figured out it was a case of mistaken identity.  I’m assuming they contacted the driver and found out why he was there  so he might have gotten a little fright when they called, but that’s infinitely better than getting a beat-down from a bunch of scared neighbors.

More on Diebold’s Electronic Voting Machines

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I’ve written before about the dust-up over the proposed use of electronic voting machines here in Forsyth County, NC.  That dust-up led to the resignation of the longtime director of elections because the Board of Elections wouldn’t support her proposal to use the Diebold machines, and over time the Board of Elections has been proven correct in their negative assessment of the machines.

Ed Cone has a piece about the trouble election officials are having with the Diebold systems being used in the Maryland primaries.  Things are so bad that Maryland’s governor is calling for a return to paper ballots for the November elections.  David Allen, whose been on top of this issue for a long time, has some interesting comments himself.

This is VERY important stuff and we need to get it sorted out by November since this mid-term election has the potential to have the greatest impact on our country’s future as any mid-term election in a generation.  And we definitely need to have all this figured out before ’08. Is there any doubt that ’08 will be the most important presidential election in decades?

Forsyth County Commissioners Show Thin Skin

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After the recent Forsyth County budget was announced the number one issue in terms of publicity was the fact that the Downtown Health Plaza lost all county funding (about $600k).  That caused a bit of a stink because of the politics involved, but it got even stinkier when the county’s director of health, Dr. Tim Monroe, wrote an opinion column for the Winston-Salem Journal that basically said the county’s policy, and by association the commissioners themselves, does not fit with the Christian values of compassion and charity.  In Winston-Salem those are fightin’ words!

Two of the commissioners replied in the Journal:

"I think he’s very
disrespectful to the commissioners. I think he’s being misleading to
the community," said Gloria Whisenhunt, the chairwoman. "Tim has never
been a team player."

Debra Conrad-Shrader, the vice chairwoman, agreed.

"I thought it was
inappropriate, and I’m sure the board of health will take care of it,"
Conrad-Shrader said. "He’s their responsibility, and they are in charge
of who the health director is."

Well, pardon me but I think the Bush administration has shown what a mess you can make of things if you insist that everyone be a "team player."  The public is not served well if our public servants just sit on their hands when they feel an injustice has been done.  We don’t have to agree with what is said but we do deserve to hear all sides of the debate.

For what it’s worth I don’t like higher taxes any more than the next person but I think it is perfectly legitimate to question how our government spends its money.  Quite frankly the healthcare system is tough on more people than just the desperately poor.  Every day more people go without health insurance and every day it costs more and I think that you’ll find more people needing the services of places like the Downtown Health Plaza.  Public health policy is one area that deserves heated debate, not meek acceptance by "team players."

And for the record, Dr. Monroe really points the finger at us, the citizens of Forsyth County.  Here’s what he wrote:

But we should not
judge the commissioners. We placed them there, and we sent them the
unmistakable message of our true values – that they would not be
re-elected if they raised taxes. We must judge ourselves. Would it be
an unreasonable burden on property owners to pay a 1-cent increase so
that the disenfranchised might enjoy an incremental improvement in
needed services? Would it damage our economy, as is so often argued by
the no-more-taxes-for-nothing-never-no-how contingent? Below are some
county property tax rates for comparison. Are the property owners of
Mecklenburg, Durham and Cumberland Counties reeling under their burdens?

So if anyone should feel disrespected it is us, but to be honest I’m glad we have at least one public servant with the cajones to stand up and be counted.  Good on ‘ya Dr. Monroe.  And to our esteemed councilwomen I can only say, "Grow up."

Another Reason the Forsyth County Elections Board Made the Right Call

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A while ago the Forsyth County (NC) Elections Board caught some heat when it didn’t support the recommendation of the long-time director of elections to go with a touch screen voting machine.  The dispute caused the director to leave her position to take a job with the state’s election office.

David Allen made a convincing argument at blackboxvoting.com for why the board was right and now comes more evidence that the board made a good call.  There’s a new report out about some of the security flaws in Diebold’s touch-screen system which supports some allegations made against Diebold.  Note that some of this dates all the way back to 2003.

Yup, I’d say the board made the right call.

North Carolina’s Part-Time Citizen Legislature

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The Raleigh News & Observer has an interesting article (found via Ed Cone) about North Carolina’s traditional part-time legislature.  The basic thrust of the article is that most of the people serving North Carolina are retired, self-employed or independently wealthy due to the fact that the legislators aren’t paid much and the job requires an almost full-time commitment that precludes your average person from serving.  There’s some mention of creating a “professional” legislature with full-time pay, but others argue that the legislature should remain as it is.  Some of the interviewees also say that they worry that there are not enough young people in the body which might skew the body’s deliberation.

One of the points the article makes that I find to be totally irrelevant is this:

It’s noteworthy who does not serve in the legislature:

North Carolina has more than 120,000 store sales clerks and 107,000 retail cashiers — but none in the General Assembly.

There are no lawmakers who make their living as food preparers, freight haulers, assemblers, office clerks, truck drivers, registered nurses, customer service representatives or waitresses — the rest of the state’s most common jobs.

The point of a representative democracy is not that it literally have a representative from every walk of life, but that it enable people from every walk of life to choose who represents them.  If the person chosen to represent them does not satisfy their needs then they are free to choose a replacement during the next election.

It is also highlighted in the article that the percentage of black and hispanic representatives is lower than their respective percentages of the population.  This is an old saw in politics and feeds into the whole gerrymandering debate, but again it really is irrelevant.  No matter our color our vote still counts the same whether we are black or white, rich or poor.  Sure each person’s individual influence varies outside of the voting booth, but inside it we are equal and we have the same opportunity to choose our representative in the government.  Does that mean we will always get what we want?  No, but that’s not what a representative democracy is all about.  It’s about our ability to SAY who we want not our ability to GET who we want.

BTW, I think this argument holds true with regards to age as well.  I know quite a few retirees who are younger at heart than any 30-something I’ve ever met.  Hell, most of us thirty-somethings are too worn out by our everyday lives (i.e. kids) to feel anything but broken-down and old.  If my old-codger of a rep isn’t doing what I like I’ll just vote against her next time.

And for the record I am completely opposed to a full-time, professional legislature.  There’s enough corruption with them working part time…imagine what some of these jokers could do if they had all year to do it!

Reading List September 12, 2005

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  • Swimming to New Orleans (AlterNet via Moore’s Lore) – A first-hand account of a New Orleans native’s venture back into the city the weekend after Katrina.
  • Hurricane Katrina Timeline (PMwiki) – A wiki with a timeline of the Katrina disaster.  Fascinating, even if a third of it is factually off (which I doubt) due to the "citizens media" aspect of this, it’s a damning statement on the performance of the US government.

Open Invitation to All Winston-Salem, Forsyth County Elected Officials

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If you’re an elected official from Forsyth County or Winston-Salem and
are interested in having your own blog I’ll be happy to host it for you
and even train you to use it.  Just shoot me an email.

I’m making this offer for a few reasons:

  1. Blogs are a great way to communicate with your constituents.  If you want feedback, this is a great way to get it.
  2. Blogs are easy to use once you know how.
  3. We in Forsyth are being left in the dust by the folks in Guilford County.  Frankly it’s embarassing, especially considering it’s Guilford County.  (I’m kidding!)
  4. I just finished reading a book that reminded me, among other things, of the importance of civic duty.  This is one of the best ways I can think of to get involved in the community and "give back" as they say.

Now I have no idea if there’s some law or rule against an elected official taking me up on an offer of this kind, but if there is I’d appreciate it if someone would let me know.  Barring that I hope to hear from some of you soon!

Sacrifice

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I just found this transcript via Lex Alexander’s blog.  To be honest I don’t have time to read the whole thing right now, but given this quote I feel compelled to make sure that I do later today.

Dad also held steadfastly to a posture that would
seem quite foreign in our day, and which was a bit enigmatic even then. He argued that paying taxes was a great privilege of our national democracy, for it helped us to undergird the common good. Dozens of times during my childhood I heard him say: “It
is no burden for us to sacrifice for the sake of others
less fortunate than ourselves. It is our responsibility.”  It was, he argued, the obligation of people and governments
to take care of those who were in need. “It is no burden to sacrifice for the sake of others,” he said. “No burden to sacrifice.”