FT. BRAGG TO CLOSE?

 

Raleigh, N.C.- In light of the United States Supreme Court's ruling striking down, as unconstitutional, the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, Republican, North Carolina, was asked what she intended to do in regards to the thousands of military personnel stationed in her state, who now have federally recognized marriage equality rights that contrast with the state's recently passed constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage.  Congresswoman Foxx replied that she would have to consider moving all federal workers, including the military, out of her state.

 

When asked if the loss of the eight military bases, and thousands of other federal employees, would significantly and adversely effect the local and state economy of the state, she claimed that there are enough like-minded people across the country who would be  willing to move into the state to take up the economic slack, when they see the strong stance North Carolina is taking to uphold "traditional" marriage.

 

Foxx, who ignited national outrage with comments on the floor of Congress, that called the death of gay teen Mathew Shepard, a "hoax", has been a strong opponent of same-sex marriage rights. When satirical absurdity hits so close to an elected official's persona, it is clearly time for a change.

The Myth of Prepardness

OK, here’s the scenario… You are driving by the local school and you notice a young man pull an assault weapon and a handgun from the trunk of his car and move quickly towards the school. A woman and child are coming out of the front door and he shoots them both.  You just happen to have your assault weapon in the car.  You pull up, jump out and head toward the entrance. As you enter the school, you see the gunman calmly walking down the hallway shooting children. You raise your weapon and order the gunman to stop. He turns, raises his weapon towards you and you shoot him down. 

 

You’ve saved countless lives. Your face is on the cover of People, Newsweek and Guns and Ammo Magazines. You are interviewed on FOX, MSNBC and The View. President Obama has a state dinner in your honor.  Sounds great!

 

Except many of the people with children in that Connecticut school, had guns. Some were highly trained. But when they received word that their child had been killed by a gunman’s bullet, they were at work, or in the mall, or at home baking cookies. They believed they were safe as long as they had their gun with them if they visited a Colorado movie theater, or a Virginia college, or maybe a Colorado High School. 

 

We arm ourselves to be ready for that scenario that never seems to happen. We believe we are ready for that scenario, but the scenario we are most often confronted with is loss of loved ones, loss of security and loss of innocence. We want someone to do something about the bad man’s guns, but fear the loss of our own, because we want to be ready the next time… In the aftermath, many will simply add another location, where they will keep their guns with them….now... an elementary school.

Why The GOP Deserved To Lose

       Excuse us on the Left for still feeling drunk with glee about the election. We view this as a classic Good Vs. Evil story and we were the good guys. For instance: We didn’t say your guy was lying about his religion or his place of birth. We didn’t say “DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD” and offer no alternative for poor women seeking healthcare screenings. We didn’t yell “Repeal Obamacare and offer no alternative for people without health care coverage to be cared for. We didn’t look the other way when our side refused to pass any job bills and then blame President Obama’s “POLICIES” for the unemployment rate.  We didn’t support Republican governors and legislatures when they put into law, state required shaming of women by sticking a vaginal probe in their vaginas to MAKE them not have an abortion through embarrassment.

         We didn’t try to change the wording in law to redefine “RAPE” to appeal to a religious constituency.  We didn’t turn a blind ear to a congressman yelling “YOU LIE!” to The President of The United States during a state speech and give him tons of money afterwards for his disrespect.  We didn’t give money to support a governor after she stuck her finger in the face of the President of The United States in a disrespectful tarmac incident. We didn’t support governors and secretaries of state that sought to suppress the vote and when asked about it, simply say with a straight face “No we’re not… It’s about voter fraud!”

        We didn’t support an entire political movement that was created with teabags hanging off their hats, purely to oppose and disrespect The President of The United States, or turn a blind eye to the overwhelming racist rhetoric of it’s members.  We didn’t say for years that criticism of the President of The United States, stops at the water’s edge and then support multiple people that went around the world doing just that.  We didn’t boo the First Lady and the Second Lady at a Nascar event when they were there to support the troops.  We didn’t criticize the first lady for stating that America should eat healthier. 

        We didn’t demand to see the birth certificate of President of The United States and when he produced it, claim it must be fake.  We didn’t demand to see the college records of The President of The United States, because we believed he couldn’t be intelligent. We didn’t lie and say The President of The United States dislikes Israel even though his policies are the same as all recent presidents towards Israel.  We didn’t pull our kids out of school because The President of The United States was going to speak there that day. 

        We didn’t turn down a visit from the First Lady to speak at an elementary school, simply to show disrespect to her. We didn’t support an unprecedented increase in filibusters to keep The President of The United States from moving our country forward.  We didn’t support members of Congress who, to be disrespectful, refused to attend a speech by The President of The United States.  We didn’t support a Speaker and Majority Leader who refused to take a phone call on election night from The President of The United States and claimed they had already gone to bed. 

         We didn’t support candidates that believe that women shouldn’t be paid the same as a man, that climate change is a hoax and a woman or girl who is raped, should nevertheless carry that rapist’s baby to term, NO MATTER WHAT. We didn’t call women sluts because they wanted contraception covered in their healthcare plan.  We didn’t support people like Sarah Palin, Allen West and Michelle Bachmann, whose only qualifications seem to be their ability to say the most vile and untrue things about The President of The United States. 

         We didn’t have a primary that each week voted different candidates as front-runner, based on their promise to say the most disrespectful things to The President of The United States at the upcoming debates.  We didn’t praise children, but demonize teachers.  We didn’t buy big beautiful houses but demonize firefighters. We didn’t complain about crime, but demonize police.  We didn’t usher our celebrities out to disrespectfully talk to chairs or claim, as Chuck Norris did, that we would experience a thousand years of darkness if Obama were re-elected.

         We didn’t claim that the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would ruin the military and after it didn’t, remain silent with our apology. We didn’t demonize our Chief Justice because he chose the law over ideology.  We didn’t pretend that a network that is clearly not fair or balanced, actually is, simply because it criticizes The President of The United States continuously.  

         In short, we watched this litany of lies, obstruction and disrespect for four long years. We watched how those on the Right cared less about our country, than the color of the person leading it. They cheated and did so blatantly.  So ultimately, we will come to be the gracious winners we were always told to be, but it will take a little time to get there.  In this election, more than any other in our lifetime, the opposition truly deserved to lose….and they did. 

Why Lance Armstrong Should Go To Prison

 

 

Way back when I was much younger and I used to ride my bicycle everywhere. I once rode from Carson City, Nevada to Reno, up to Lake Tahoe, around the lake and back down to Carson City again.  I recently drove a car the same route and I was exhausted.  Bragging about who I was or complaining about who I've become; aside, I once biked with guys that were seriously training for the Olympics.  I don't don't know if they ever made it...I lost touch during my army years.  But through the years, I found myself frequently defending Lance Armstrong.

 

Those French were simply handing up sour grapes because an American with one testicle was consistently beating their best at a competition that bore their country's name.  Too bad. So Sad. We're Americans. Get over it.

 

Now it seems we were wrong all along.  This nut job (pun intended) was lying to us and the world...all the while dating rock stars and supermodels; and collecting millions that should have gone to someone else.  He's given the United States another international black eye and given skeptics around the world fodder to question our athletes and their accomplishments in the recently concluded Summer Olympic Games.

 

Remember that short period when Marion Jones' husband was was banned for life for doping and she divorced him immediately?  We all said "Poor Dear!" Such a great athlete..saddled with a big dumb loser.  Then the other shoe dropped and it was discovered that she had lied to a grand jury...she was a doper too.  The U.S. prosecutors weren't moved by her tears, her child, her good looks. Sista went to prison.

 

Closer to the biking world, Floyd Landis lost his 2006 Tour de France title to a doping conviction and barely stayed out of prison by repaying the money he collected from lied to donors who contributed nearly $500,000 to his legal defense.  Under an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, his case was to be dismissed if he repayed the donors within three years.

 

Lance Armstrong lied to everyone, went back and repeatedly dipped from the well to win again and again; in effect stealing from those who rightfully should have been making the money, dating Sheryl Crow and getting those endorsements.   If there was a Tour de America and some Frenchie had stolen the title from us repeatedly for years, we'd ban all the French cyclists forever.  Armstrong should be told to report to a federal courthouse...and Oh yea...bring your toothbrush.

GOP: You've Been Schooled

The vote against Attorney General Eric Holder comes down to nothing more than a symbolic gesture that did little but highlight how racist and devisive the GOP can be. 

Facts and Furious

Time to adopt a "Throw the Bums Out" policy for members of Congress who are running scared of the Tea Party crowd or the GOP witch-hunters.  We sent Democratic Congressmen Larry Kissell and Mike McIntyre to Congress to represent us.  By shamefully chosing to vote to find Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress when all evidence supports the fact that it was Holder who shut the Bush-era operation down; suggests that these two North Carolina congressman lack the moral backbone needed to stand up to an increasingly partisan, and yes, racist GOP.

The leader of this "which" hunt, Congressman Darrell Issa has stated that he was going to investigate President Obama out of office, although Issa has got lot's of skeletons in his own closet. In a profile, the New Yorker" dredged up a series of scandalous allegations from the House Oversight Chairman's criminal past. Among them: Issa has been accused of burning down a building, arrested for carrying a concealed weapon, and stealing a red Maserati.  And this is the horse Kissell and McIntyre chose to hitch North Carolina's wagon to?

Call yourselves "Blue Dogs" all you want, because we on the left have gotten tired of this. Scared of everyone but your base? Stay tuned...

Judge Baddour: UNC Chapel Hill's Judge: Bought and Paid For

A recent article appeared in the press:

HILLSBOROUGH -- An Orange County judge on Wednesday declined to order UNC-Chapel Hill to resume paying salary and benefits to physics professor Paul Frampton, who is in an Argentinian prison on drug charges.

Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour denied attorney Barry Nakell’s request for a temporary restraining order that would have required the university to pay Frampton his salary and benefits pending a hearing on a preliminary injunction.

Frampton, the Louis D. Rubin Jr. Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy at UNC, was arrested Jan. 23 in the Buenos Aires airport after two kilograms of cocaine were found in his checked luggage. He says he is innocent and is confident of being exonerated in court.

University officials informed Frampton in February that his salary and benefits would be halted until he was able to resume his duties.

Nakell argued that the university cannot legally do that.

“The university has no legal basis to terminate Professor Frampton’s salary and benefits,” Nakell said. “Even if the university took action to discharge or suspend him, there are detailed procedures that have to be followed.”

Baddour didn’t rule on that argument Wednesday.

He denied Nakell’s motion because, he said, it failed to meet two of the requirements necessary for a temporary restraining order.

First, Baddour said, the complaint failed to demonstrate that Frampton had a likelihood of success on the merits of an “underlying claim,” such as an allegation of breach of contract or some other violation.

Frampton’s complaint included no such underlying claim, and therefore, Baddour said, “the court is unable to find that a likelihood of success on the merits is possible.”

The judge also said the complaint failed to demonstrate that Frampton would suffer “irreparable harm” without a restraining order.

The matter will almost certainly come before the court again. Nakell said he intends to file an amended complaint.

When are people going to realize that Baddour is a lap dog for UNC Chapel Hill. He will rule in their favor EVERYFREAKINTIME on every matter, no matter what. He went there. His father worked there, before they dumped him, the school even named a building after his disgraced father after they booted him (go figure); and he is as good as their judge, bought and paid for!  

Baddour believes that a person sitting in an Argentinian prison, fighting for his very life WITH HIS PAY NOW STOPPED isn't facing irreparable harm? Clearly he is biased for the university.

Watch how he finds a way to dismiss the amended complaint too! He has got to go. Show Baddour the Door!

North Carolina to Change the Flag

Not really, but with the passage of Amendment One, the majority in North Carolina has shown the world that civil rights, left to the whims of an electorate that voted for Jessie Helms time and time again, will consistently be abridged.  Helms, supported by this electorate, called homosexuals "weak, morally sick wretches." 

Progressives in this state look at the fancy new buildings going up in Raleigh and the Democratic Convention prep in Charlotte; and we think maybe this state with such a divisive and racist past has been sufficiently diluted with northern, western, or eastern relocation, to counter-balance the old diehards.

With one of highest unemployment stats in the nation, we just spent our money and effort, not to help jumpstart our economy; fund educational programs, or assist many of the homeless people hanging out in downtown Raleigh; but instead to include an "I'm better than you bastards" statute in our constitution.  In our freakin CONSTITUTION.

I hate saying, "I'm not gay" as prelude to a point, because it purports to infer that there is something inherently wrong with that, but for context, I will say, if my state just voted to deny me the same rights that everyone else enjoys, I'd be pretty P.O.ed.

And African Americans....If you voted to deny civil rights to gay couples when not too long ago we were not allowed to vote in this state, you should be ashamed...this same legislative house that threw their bodies down in front of us at polling places and now they are trying to do the same, once again, with these new voter suppression laws cynically targeting potential Democratic voters.  You were used like a slave overseer given better chow to keep the others in line.

Let's take it a little further... Let's add the date "1952" to the flag so people living in 2012 and beyond can get a heads-up as to the mindset of the state.  That way if they have a large company that can provide jobs, or are looking for some nice place to hold a convention, they can look elsewhere.

In Defense of John Edwards

I met John Edwards once at a Best Buy, I think it was. We were both buying a computer. Being rich, he was getting the one I had wanted. We chatted about the recent lost to President Bush and I told him that he should have gone after those lies harder about John Kerry and he told me he had wanted to, but that the advisers had ruled against it. He went on to say that he would definitely be more aggressive in the future.

Flash forward 2012. He is facing a trial for what many people believe is a political and judicial over-reach at best, for something, post Citizens United, isn't even a crime anymore. The thing that gets me is even those people that believe he really didn't do anything essentially criminal, still preface their remarks by saying "Sure, John Edwards is a despicable human being, but..." Really? Despicable?

I'm going to say what everyone is thinking, but are too politically correct to say. Basically, the facts. John Edwards is a fairly good looking man...a millionaire...a politician and he was married to a woman that was not as good looking as one would think someone like him would have on his arm. There. I said it. Now I know, she gave him several kids, she was not 20 anymore and she was sick with cancer. This isn't an indictment against her...it's just the facts.

So you are good looking. You are rich. You are a politician. You have women throwing themselves at you 24/7. You are on the road in a thousand hotel rooms on the campaign trail and, Oh yes, you have that inconsiderate penis with you at all times, telling you to do crazy crap. I know mine never shuts up! Enter the not so cute videographer gal, constantly giving you that come heather look. How many of us wouldn't say "Oh what the Hell. Maybe just this once...OK just twice...Oh what Hell, I'll just go for it."?

Now if you say "Not me! I'd never have tapped that! I love my wife!", I'd say "Ah yea...me neither!", (Seinfeld eye roll)but there is an inconvenient and constant truth. Wait for it, wait for it....MEN CHEAT! That's what we do. Women have known this for years. The naive ones still believe that we only cheat with the younger gal or the thinner gal or the prettier gal. The fact is, as Chris Rock says, "A man is only as faithful as his opportunities." They asked Woody Allen once, "What makes a woman good in bed?" His answer? "Being there!" Say it isn't so, but it's so.

Edwards made alot of mistakes to be sure, but the one mistake he made that nobody talks about, is he made his late wife, a talk show darling. We all felt sorry for her, but even more so, after we got to know her on the TV machine as being articulate, sweet and funny. After falling in love with her, we felt her humiliation and pain even more so. And now we wants some blood. We want(s) it as a final tribute to Elizabeth. Having lost her battle, left her kids...we find it so unfair that the cheater with the money and the good hair is still here and she is gone, so we want to take him down.

Some news organization said in a poll, that John Edwards was the most hated man in North Carolina. Are you freaking kidding me? There are some truly despicable people in this state. We got murders, rapists, child abusers and dead beat dads...we even got people that want to change our constitution to include hateful and discriminatory language; and John Freakin Edwards is the most hated man in the state?

If he gets convicted, does a bunch of years in the slammer (when Nifong got one day), comes out and his hair isn't as pretty, his wallet isn't as fat and , Oh yea, his kids have grown up without either parent, we can all say we got the cheater with the fancy hair and the Romney walk (what's with that?) and we can all turn to our wives and say "See Honey? We'd never have done that; and you're right that woman over there should be ashamed of herself, wearing that short skirt. What decent man would even look at that?" (out the corner of our eye...).

Unlike Nifong: Can The N.C. State Bar Ever Touch Jack Nichols?

If you ask a crooked attorney from Crook, Colorado or a lying lawyer from Happyland, Connecticut; about the State Bar in their state, they'd probably tell you that the state bar don't play. An independent review of the disciplinary process of every state's State Bar, by the watchdog group HALT, found that Colorado and Connecticut were among the best state bars in the nation, at keeping unscrupulous attorneys from using their considerable power, as officers of the court, from violating the law and the Rules of Professional Conduct; and basically harming the rest of us.

HALT's report card gave Colorado a "B-" and rated them 2nd in the nation; and also gave Connecticut a "B-" and found them to be the best disciplinary agency in the nation overall.

Now if you ask these same attorneys to speculate on how good the North Carolina State Bar is, they'd probably surmise that it must be pretty tough. After all, didn't they go after that rouge prosecutor Nifong, when he went after those innocent lacrosse players at Duke? And they even suspended the law license of a former governor, Mike Easley, after he pled guilty to one count of certifying a false campaign finance report. And Easley had once been the North Carolina Attorney General. So they must be pretty tough....right? Not so fast...

HALT's report card on attorney discipline for the State of North Carolina, gave the State Bar a grade of...wait for it, wait for it...."D" and ranked it 50th in the nation overall. That's right. In a country where we have "Chicago-style" corruption, "Big Easy Louisiana brand justice" and "Texas-It's like a whole other country" style justice; North Carolina ranks 50th? What the Hell?

Kinda unbelievable until you look at the systemic reasons why. In 2006, the year of the study, the Chair of the North Carolina Grievance Committee was a woman named Barbara "Bonnie" Weyher. Under her (I hate saying this word here) "leadership", North Carolina ranked 50th in lawyer discipline.

The year before that, the NC State Bar was essentially forced to hold a hearing to address a public outcry over what many believe was bias and cronyism by State Bar staff prosecutors.

Carolin Bakewell, a senior Bar staff attorney, was personally acquainted with David Hoke and Debra Graves, as were other senior staff lawyers. Hoke and Graves were prosecutors that lied a man, Alan Gell onto DEATH ROW.  After the misconduct was discovered and Hoke and Graves went before the Bar, they were given (sit down for this one) reprimands.  The public went freaking crazy!  The State Bar was kinda forced to hold a hearing...surprise, surprise...they found no misconduct, but made a couple of "suggestions" as to how this sort of thing could be prevented in the future...None of which seems to have been adopted in the pending case of North Carolina State Bar vs. Jack Nichols. (ie: its been 6 months, no witness interviews, etc.)

In fact, one of the people that sat on the hearing panel and signed the report that gave suggestions as to how to prevent the public perception of cronyism and bias in the future, was Barbara Weyher.  Soon after she signed the report, she was a Defendant in a lawsuit that alleged, among other things, that when she received a state bar complaint against her law partner, Sean Partrick, she used her position as Chair of the Grievance Committee to dismiss the charges.  The complaint challenged her upcoming rise to President of the State Bar.

This time, however, the state bar arrived in mass at a pre-trial hearing and Top Gun Katherin Jean argued that the signature on the dismissal form wasn't Bonnie Weyher's at all.  It was an electronic signature and some unknown staffer must have signed it! (Sound familiar, Jack Nichols watchers?).  Judge Donald Stephens threw out that part of the lawsuit, and Bonnie Weyher became president of the State Bar shortly after...

A review of the North Carolina State Bar website's disciplinary page then and now, highlights a strange pattern. Most North Carolina attorneys that run afoul of the State Bar seem to fit into a few consistent catorgories. Most that get disbarred are brought down because they "misappropriated entrusted funds." If you outright steal a client's money and aren't clever enough to hide your trail, the North Carolina State Bar will come after your tail.

Along with the stealing of client cash, the next thing you'll find is...and it's almost ALWAYS, the case, the attorney has been convicted by a court somewhere for doing some-thing. Easley got caught up in this. He was convicted of a felony...certifying a campaign finance report. Egregious to be sure, but had it not been an issue in the public media, the NC Bar wouldn't have sent their top gun, Katherine Jean to take him down. When Kat Jean shows up on your doorstep, its time to put a hold on that remodel to the sunroom. Easley was ultimately KatJean-ed for a helicopter ride. Tough...but consistent? Hardly. It's alleged that Judge Allen Baddour, in violation of campaign finance laws, comingled campaign funds in his personal account. Think he'll get KatJean-ed?  No. He won't.

This is all relevant because the state bar is now considering a 133 count COMPLAINT against former county commissioner Jack Nichols.  The complaint is accompanied with over 512 pages of supporting documents and audio exhibits.  Seems like even Jack won't be able to slick his way out this time.

Don't be so sure.  The complaint also mentions Sean Partrick, the law partner of Barbara Weyher and allegations that he also engaged in misconduct as a representative of Yates, McLamb & Weyher; Barbara's law firm.  Within days of receipt of the complaint, Weyher stepped down from her position as state bar president and the complaint was handed over to a state bar staff prosecutor, Fern Simeon (never heard of her).

An inquiry as to why the complaint has taken so long (Oct 2011) to be resolved, was answered a couple of weeks ago and Fern says the over 500 pages of supporting documents are under review and it takes time.   Hope they aren't trying to find a way let Nichols off the hook. Insofar as Nichols and Weyher are very much intertwined in this debacle, the state bar may not be able to touch Nichols without him point the finger back on them. Stay tuned...

Judge Allen Baddour- The Naughty Librarian

I thought about it and thought about it and I have come to the conclusion that Judge Baddour may (emphasis added "may") be qualified to be a Naughty Librarian, but not a judge. He hates it when you haven't paid a fine on time, although the state of North Carolina found him delinquent because he failed to timely pay over $7,000 in taxes. Some say he only became a judge because his daddy "Big Dick Baddour" used his influence as the athletic director at UNC Chapel Hill, prior to his scandal-fueled ouster, to get former governor Mike Easley (prior to his federal charges) to appoint his kid to the bench. It is not working. Judge Baddour has no ethical core, so let us all commit to "Show Baddour the Door" (now on facebook)

Baddour Country: Due Process Stops Here!

Baddour did it again. Inferior Court judge Allen Baddour denied the request of a Chapel Hill man to remove his name from the North Carolina sex offender registry after a prosecutor said the man has never accepted responsibility for what he did 10 years ago.

Rush Douglas Greenslade, 63, appeared with his attorney during the brief hearing held in Orange County Criminal Superior Court last week. He was convicted Feb. 27, 2002, of two counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor, and he first registered as a sex offender on March 5, 2002.

According to records from the North Carolina Department of Corrections, Greenslade was given a probationary sentence and never served time for his convictions.

The minimum time he had to stay registered as a sex offender under state law was 10 years, and during those 10 years, according to his attorney, he always maintained his registration and never was charged or convicted of any other crimes.

Assistant District Attorney Lamar Proctor told Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour that Greenslade had originally been charged with first-degree kidnapping and first-degree rape but in a plea agreement, Greenslade pleaded no contest to two counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor.

Over the objections of Greenslade’s attorney, Proctor told Baddour the facts of the case, which in summary were that a 12-year-old girl woke up in Greenslade’s bed, and he had vaginal intercourse with her. He told her to keep what happened between them, but the girl told her mother, Proctor said.

Proctor argued against Greenslade’s name being removed from the registry.

“It doesn’t appear that he accepted responsibility at the time,” Proctor said about Greenslade’s plea of no contest.

Proctor said he worried that if Greenslade’s name was removed from registry, he could be put into a position of trust and confidence around another young girl.

In denying the motion, Baddour said he could not find that Greenslade wasn’t a current or future threat to the public, and that he was concerned about the lack of evidence of any acknowledgement of wrongdoing or treatment.

Greenslade’s attorney said she had witnesses in court she could put on the stand, but Baddour denied her request saying she had lost her chance at that.

“I asked you if you had anything further, and you said, ‘No,’” Baddour said. “What am I supposed to do, say, ‘Are you sure?’”

Baddour told Greenslade he could try again in a year.

The victim, who is now a young woman, attended the hearing with a former employee of the Orange County Rape Crisis Center. She did not speak, and they left quietly after the hearing ended.

On the other side of the aisle, five or six people attended the hearing to support Greenslade.

At first blush this sounds like a good result. Another Sex offender gets his. But the question we have isn’t necessarily about the end game, but if Judge Baddour is taking seriously, his sworn oath to uphold the Constitution and the due process rights of those that appear before him.

We’ve seen Baddour do this tactic before. He sits upon his throne and purports to be this tough guy (LOL) flanked by the ever-present elderly bailiff. He tries to appear intimidating and most of us in the courtroom try not to laugh.

Then the tactic… Baddour will ask a couple of questions on some side topic…for instance, “Was it Mrs. Kennedy that chose to ride in the convertible or was it the only car available?” Attorney responds. “No, that decision was made by the Secret Service.” Baddour then asks, “Could she have insisted on a closed roof vehicle?” Attorney states, “Those decisions were not hers to make judge.” Baddour says, “Anything else?”

Now the attorney or other party believes that Baddour is asking if there is anything else concerning this line of inquiry and so he replies, “No your honor.” After some procedural issues, the attorney says, “Your Honor, if I may, I have six citizens here that have taken off from their jobs and traveled to your court, risking public scrutiny, but they believe in this issue strongly enough to want to testify about the shooter’s actions.” Baddour then says, “Oops! I asked you before if you had anything else! So sad, so sorry! Ha, Ha, Ha!”

Baddour does this kind of thing repeatedly. In a recent case, he found a defendant guilty of failure to pay a fine. The attorney stated at the end of the hearing, “But Your Honor, he did begin to make payments…” Baddour replied, “You didn’t give me any evidence (10 minutes ago when we were discussing it) so I find him in contempt and sentence him to 45 days in jail.”

This guy is a clown. He’s playing clown games with people’s lives. He needs to take himself off of the public stage before he runs into someone who, unlike the ones that have already been harmed by him, decides to take him off the stage themselves. You sentence someone to prison on a “gotcha” technicality, they will be sitting there for years contemplating payback. Although, I wouldn’t do it, there are some very bad dudes out there that are more cerebral than to attack a judge in a courtroom with tons of bailiffs present…they’d simply Google him. Show Baddour the Door!

Outlier Magazine Is Growing...

Outlier Magazine is growing. We are now on facebook! Over the last few weeks, we have been contacted by several nurses, who have offered their support and inquired into what they can do to help. These nurses are terrified that Donna Mooney or Jack Nichols or some other person working for the Board, will come after them for speaking out.

Outlier Magazine does not and will not identify ANYONE who contacts us. We are seeking justice for the nurses of North Carolina and we are not intimidated by anyone.

In the future it may a need to set up a legal defense fund, but for now we are not seeking any cash donations. We do accept information about these people and their practices.

You can contact us through our facebook page or at OutlierMagazine@gmail.com

The Big Valley's Lost Son

One of my favorite shows, when I was a kid was “The Big Valley”. The Big Valley was an American western television series which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, as Victoria Barkley, the mother of several grown children, played by Richard Long, Peter Breck, Linda Evans, and Lee Majors. However, I never knew until recently that there was another actor that played yet another son in the series.

The youngest Barkley son was Eugene, a medical student studying at Berkeley, played by Charles Briles. He was seen sporadically in only seven first season episodes and then written out. Only once was his name ever mentioned again.

Charles Briles was drafted but the army gave him a deferment long enough for him to complete the first season. However, his unit did all their training in California and was never shipped to Vietnam. By the time he got out of the army the series “The Big Valley” had been cancelled.

He sure got a bumb deal. He actually never deployed to Viet Nam, but his army service interrupted a potentially great career. The others went on to fame and fortune. However, it wasn’t all happy ever after for the others.

Richard Long, went on to play a professor in “Nanny and the Professor” and died 3 years after the show ended, just 4 days before Christmas in 1974 of a heart attack at the young age of 47. Peter Breck has Dementia (Alzheimers). Lee Majors lost wife Farrah Fawcett to “friend” Ryan O’neal, who he had asked to keep her company when he was away (stupid). Stanwyck got cheated on by her husband, Robert Taylor, but she got him in the wallet during the divorce, but died years later from special effects smoke and a lifelong cigarette habit. She was also beaten and robbed in her Hollywood home some years before her death. Linda Evans went on with life fairly well, although she did marry John Dereck, who was also married to Ursula Andress, and Bo Dereck. Don’t know what all these beauties saw in him. He’s dead now too.

Great show; and I still love the re-runs.

Dick Baddour will step down as athletic director at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill this summer. The announcement came a day after the school fired football coach Butch Davis amid an NCAA investigation into the program. "It was pretty evident to me as the decision unfolded that that's in the best interest of the football program," Baddour said at a news conference. "That's a realization that if you're in this business, your head football coach needs to know who the athletic director is going to be.” Baddour's contract is up in June 2012.

But Dick left a virtual cornucopia of carnage in his wake. The NCAA has placed North Carolina's football program on three years' probation and banned it from the 2012 postseason, the governing body announced. The school had already self-imposed several penalties, including vacating all 16 wins for 2008 and 2009, reducing nine scholarships over the next three academic years and putting the program on two years of probation. But the NCAA didn't stop at UNC's self-imposed penalties, finding that the school was responsible for violations including academic fraud, impermissible agent benefits, participation by ineligible players and a failure to monitor the football program.

Think of all those kids who are paying such a harsh price for the decisions of the ethically challenged adults in charge of the athletic program. I think they should do a little time in the slammer! Just plain sad…

The facts are clear. Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of healthcare for lower and middle income women. Simply saying that all they do is abortions, doesn't change the facts. The GOP War on women and Planned Parenthood is simply shameful. Show your support for Planned Parenthood. Do it for your wife, your daughter, your sister; and your country. Go to PlannedParenthood.org. This video was crafted as a fair use fan video and is not associated with anyone from Planned Parenthood or any other organization.

Demario Atwater: The Plea Deal That Should Have Been DENIED

We here at Outlier Magazine have routinely stated that Judge Allen Baddour is no friend of the bruthas. His rulings are stark in their consistent disregard of due process in cases involving defendants and other litigants of color.

So in reviewing the Eve Carson case, we couldn't understand why Demario Atwater did not receive the death penalty. From the evidence, it appears that very few people in our lifetimes deserved it more.

Consider the strikes against Atwater: His victim, Eve Carson was a beautiful (people always say that, but she actually was) blond college student and student body president of UNC Chapel Hill, which just happens to be the university that Judge Baddour attended and where his father, Dick Baddour was the athletic director, before his scandal-fueled ouster. Already not looking good for Atwater...

Eve Carson wasn't some simple honey-dip walking through life and school, having a good ole partying time either. By all accounts, she was widely known and beloved by faculty, students and her community. She was a star ladies and gentlemen.

Atwater and his co-defendant, Lawrence Lovette, who at 17, was too young at the time to get the death penalty, kidnapped Carson, got grabby with her in the back seat, used her ATM card to get $1,400; and then killed her.

And they didn't just kill her. They shot her first in the face with a .25cal pistol...still alive and talking...they shot her again in the right shoulder...still alive and talking...they shot her in her right upper arm...still alive and talking...they shot her in right side of her buttocks...and after all that torture, she was still alive and still able to speak. In fact Atwater confirmed that she was still able to speak and in pain and fear, she put her hand over her head as they shot her in the temple with a sawed off shotgun. After that, she was dead...not able to speak.

We searched and searched the news accounts looking for a justification for not imposing the death penalty and as far as we can tell, the only reason was that Carson's family are against the death penalty...and there in lies the problem with the death penalty. Although, the family is in mourning and we should really want their input, the family shouldn't get to decide the punishment. Hell, if the family gets to decide, I want the state to execute the creep that broke into my house and stole my Beretta all those years ago. (Not really, but you get my point!) It was my favorite!

Many conservatives believe we are all bleeding heart liberals and want to save all the criminals from the death penalty. What they don't realize is that the death penalty, AS APPLIED is the problem. The poor and minorities are more likely to get the death penalty and innocent people are executed even when there is evidence of their innocence or a question to their guilt.

There should be no death penalty until they work out those issues, but someone that could torture someone by shooting them here and there a few times and then shooting them in the face with a sawed off shotgun, is quite simply sick on so many levels; and should be put down.

This isn't a black-white thing or a rich-poor thing. This is predator-prey thing. We are the prey to these kinds of predators and when they are brought to justice, they should face the ultimate penalty.

I'm not sure why the prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty in this case or why Baddour agreed to the plea deal, but if Atwater doesn't deserve to be executed, then nobody does!

Newt Gingrich Is Afraid Of A Girl

It has been frustrating on one hand and slightly amusing on the other to watch Newt Gingrich destroy these purported members of the "Elite Media" when they have the audacity to ask him questions that everyone is wondering about.

During those memorable moments from the CNN debate, John King asked Newt Gingrich about his ex-wife’s accusations about wanting an open marriage, and Gingrich got deep in his azz.

During a recap with Anderson Cooper, King explained why he asked the question and even described a conversation he had with Gingrich after.

“I had a conversation with the Speaker after and said, ‘Look, you’ve moderated these debates, this is one of those damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” King said. “It is a story that is making the rounds in the campaign. Is it an issue I’m happy came out in the last 48 hours of the South Carolina primary? Of course not.”

“I knew he was going to challenge the question,” he said. “I’ve been covering politics for 25 years — I understood that if I asked the question he was not going to be happy with it and he was going to turn on me.”

“It was my judgment, my decision, and mine alone. If we’re going to deal with it, let’s deal with it up front, let’s not try to sneak it somewhere into the middle of the debate,” he added.

What John King fails to realize is that Newt is a bully; and he should have been ready for it. He knew Newt would go after him if he asked the question, but he wasn't ready for the attack. He just sat there looking like Dan Qualye during his "You're no Jack Kennedy" moment.

His ex-wife's accusations had just come out right before the debate. Had he not asked Newt if he wanted to respond, we all would have thought he was in Newt's pocket or simply scared of him.

The result is that the people who support Newt are left believing that he is some tough, take no prisoners saviour of the Right; and he'd give President Obama hell in a debate.

Newt has said as much. He has challenged President Obama to "Seven Lincoln-Douglas style 3 hour debates with a timekeeper and no moderator so the American people can see past the billion dollars of false advertising and the bias of the New York times and various mainstream media..." Gingrich even jokes that "Obama can even use the teleprompter."

Now ask yourself, why Gingrich would want this type of debate. First, with no moderator, Newt doesn't run the risk of someone asking him about being the only Speaker of the House run out of town on a rail by his own party years ago; or about his many wives and disgusting sexual exploits in and around his office; one of which snared his current wife and proposed First Lady.

Second, Gingrich would spend those 21 hours of debate, simply throwing out (we'd be throwing up) red meat to the Rabid Republicans, by making wild baseless allegations that he knows his base will lap up like rooting pigs. President Obama would say "I believe all Americans should have access to health care."

Newt would respond by saying nothing of substance, but to the uneducated, which is his core base, it would sound very impressive. He'd use the terms fundamental, secular social, and Saul Alinsky; and although most of his supported have no idea what the Hell he's talking about, it will seem highly intellectual to them because it "sounds" like how smart people talk after they've got lots of book-learning.

If Newt is such a toughy, let him go on the Rachel Maddow Show. She would eat him alive. She wouldn't let him get away with the crap he does to other moderators. She'd ask him a question. She'd have her facts straight; and when he launched into this blame the media crap, she'd stop him and say, "Interesting, but can you now answer the question?"

Next time one of these mouth-breathers start touting that Newt ain't-a scared of Obama or the right wing media, simply say "If he's so tough, let him face Rachel Maddow!"

The Ultimate "Shut The Hell Up!"

Sometimes Karma simply wants you to shut the hell up!Sometimes Karma simply wants you to "Shut The Hell Up!" Andrew Breitbart, a noted conservative activist, author and publisher,and general pain the butt, died suddenly Wednesday at the age of 43.

While a note on his website specifically referred to the death as "natural causes," that hasn't stopped Breitbart's friends in the right-wing media from speculating on all manner of terrifying scenarios, such as one rumor suggesting he was murdered because he was threatening to expose compromising videos of President Obama in college.
Now if you think you can constantly give crap to the guy that got Bin Laden, and you end up dead, I'm not gonna say you had it coming, but Karma Don't Play That!


Read more: http://www.bluenc.com/blog/blewnc#ixzz1nwwf9zEn

Devine Intervention?

Makes you wonder...

Not So Good Deeds

Tyler Perry has a new movie coming out. It's advertised as "Tyler Perry's Good Deeds." From the trailer and the pre-advertising, it is another movie with the same narrative...poor black men bad, rich black men good.

Now Perry's movies are usually peppered with contrasts to this myopic narrative, but the overall pattern and practice of his movies are based upon stereotypes that continue to harm the people that he seems to, at first blush, praise.

His character of Mr. Brown in his T.V. show "Meet the Browns" is an embarrassing caricature of the uneducated black man in funny clothes, dancing around the room even when he's simply walking from the kitchen to the ever present couch.

The many stereotypes of black people in Perry's movies and T.V. shows often coexist and sometimes tend to challenge themselves. Take the overwhelming stereotype of poor black men being mean and dangerous. In "Diary of a Mad Black Woman", Steve Harris' character is rich and successful; and in one of the most horrific scenes of screen violence against a woman that I ever saw, he drags his dark-skinned wife by her hair, out of their home and replaces her with a fair-skinned "trophy" wife.

We later find out that he is only rich because he is a corrupt attorney working with drug dealers. Then the discarded black woman is rescued by a poor black man. Great? No. Although he is poor, he nevertheless is played by Shamar Moore, the bi-racial and very light-skinned, actor with Caucasian features.

Now, I am not saying that Tyler Perry shouldn't make his money anyway he wants to, but we need positive role models of color. Yea, its funny to see Perry dressed as Maedea running around shooting up the place and acting a fool, but it shouldn't have taken the very white George Lucas, who is dating a black woman, to fight for the film "Red Tails", an action movie about the Tuskegee Airman, when we have black people in Hollywood with the resources that could be and should be making the films.

Almost every black super actor has to have a fair-skinned female lead; or Hollywood says they can't sell the film. Will Smith almost always is paired with a white or light-skinned Latino woman.

Oprah said she ate 30 pounds of macaroni and cheese when she found out that her movie "Beloved" got beaten its opening weekend by "Bride of Chucky." What Oprah doesn't understand is black people cannot be constantly taken back to our slave history; and run with delight to plop down cash at the ticket booth. We are not just 2 dimensional characters. After the "Color Purple" we got it. Show us something else.

I once asked a white friend of mine, "Where are the black love stories like "Sleepless in Seattle" or "You Got Mail?" He said "Jason's Lyric!" No...drug dealer brother shoots Jada in that one. He thought for awhile and couldn't come up with one romantic comedy with dark-skinned male and female leads that was based upon love, not sex, with no violence as an undercurrent and no black stereotypical slapstick.

This weekend "The Help" will go up for the Oscar and if the actresses win it will be a great achievement. Most likely they won't use the Hattie McDaniel line "...credit to my race..." I guess?...that's progress?

You Have The Right To Remain Silent...Now Spread 'em!

It used to be that Republicans were just these misguided people that pretended that they had tightly held beliefs; simply to hide the fact that they were simply interested in running interference for the very rich.

They courted the votes of the uneducated and the lottery hope-minded, to maintain the financial inequality in our system of government.

Now, however, it seems clear that as they found themselves with unchallenged majorities in the statehouses and in the House, they've opened up the floodgates of radical wish lists of the crazy fringe that heretofore has been kept at bay.

To rail against the president for purportedly stomping on religious liberty and then to support laws that would require unnecessary vaginal intrusion for no other reason than to shame and humiliate women that seek abortion, is the definition of hypocrisy; and they can no longer be seen as anything but bad actors in our government. This is evil. It would be evil if our side did it and it would be called out as such.

The time for being nice is over. This is the enemy in a war against our daughters, wives, sisters and mothers...and it should be viewed as such. The vote is our only weapon and we need to wield it with stark determination.

Curb Judicial Discretion

Here is yet another reason why we need to place tighter controls on judicial discretion. SILSBEE, Texas — Rakheem Bolton approached the free-throw line as his school’s cheerleading squad rooted for him to hit the shot during a 2009 playoff game.

One cheerleader stepped away from the group, folded her arms and stood in silence, refusing to cheer for the star athlete who she says raped her at a party in this Southeast Texas town.

Now, two years later, that silent protest is drawing new attention across the nation as the result of an unusual series of events. Those events left the family of the victim, who was then 16, facing $45,000 in penalties from the legal proceedings that followed the incident, while her alleged attacker was freed after reduced charge plea bargain.

An online campaign is now under way to help the family with the legal costs, which were assessed by a judge who dismissed the lawsuit they filed after she was suspended as a cheerleader for her protest. The effort has gained momentum on Facebook and Twitter and collected more than $23,000. An appeal of the financial penalty is pending in federal court.

“It’s really an awful statement to send on how you treat a teenage sexual assault victim,” said Alex DiBranco, whose petition on Change.org has gathered more than 94,000 signatures asking the district to not to make the family pay the fees. DiBranco, a New York-based women’s rights advocate, got involved after reading about the case.

The girl’s allegations stem from an October 2008 party in which she claims she was pulled into a darkened room with Bolton and several others and raped under a pool table while she was drunk. Bolton and two others were arrested after the party. A grand jury declined to indict him in January 2009. A second grand jury indicted him 10 months later. Bolton eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser assault charge in a plea deal and was given a suspended one-year sentence. Charges were dropped against two others indicted in the incident.

The girl, who was reinstated to the cheerleading squad two weeks after being suspended, filed a federal lawsuit in May 2009, claiming the school district violated her First Amendment rights as well as her rights to liberty, property and equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.
In court documents, school officials said they were justified in punishing her, saying that at the time of the 2009 playoff game Bolton was not facing any charges. Her conduct violated school rules and her allegations appeared to be “the story of a girl who became angry with a boy about something that may or may not have happened at a private party,” the schools’ attorneys said.

U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield in Beaumont ruled the girl’s lawsuit was “without foundation.”

“There are no facts to support a finding that the school, or its officials, owed her any additional process,” Heartfield wrote, and ordered the family to pay the district’s legal costs. The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in May declined to review it, leaving the legal fees the only issue pending.

The school district remains unwilling to give the girl’s family a break on the payment. “I think the district has a fiduciary responsibility and obligation to the taxpayers to try to collect on any money that is due them,” said school board President John Griffin.

But news on the case reached sympathetic ears in others parts of the country. After reading about the case, Jessica Mills, an actress and writer in Los Angeles, started an online fundraising campaign to help pay the costs.

“I just thought this girl, she’s been through so much already, regardless of the right and wrongs and legalities of it,” said Mills, who with her friend set up the “Help the Cheerleader” web site, which lets people donate money to a bank account set up by the cheerleader’s attorney.

The girl’s father said he is humbled by the rising balance, mostly from donations of less than $20. He runs a landscaping business, and said paying the money would be a financial hardship. He said his daughter has had her ups and downs. After graduating in 2010, she took a year off and plans to attend Lamar University in Beaumont in the fall.

We here at Outlier point to this case as yet another instance of these crazy judges exercising extreme overreach in judicial discretion. This judge sided for the school district. Crazy, in our opinion, but whatever. Where he screwed up though is ruling that the case is without merit and frivolous. We've written before about how easy these judges throw around the word frivolous to justify awarding attorney fees and court costs to the other side.
To truly be frivolous, the girl would have had to believe the school could force her to hail her sexual attacker; or it had to be unreasonable for her to to believe that. Absent that, the judge was out of bounds.

Someone should ask the judge's daughter, Jennifer Heartfield Fleming; or the judge's wife, Cornelia if THEY'D be up for singing their rapist's praises.

Jack Nichols...We Want Our Money Back!

Billing records obtained through a public records request, indicate that Jack was paid $1,005.48 by the North Carolina Board of Nursing to attend a FARB Conference in Chicago in October of 2009.

Seemed kinda odd, so we asked the North Carolina Board of Nursing why their attorney had to attend the conference and how much of our money was spent to send him. Their response? "Jack didn't attend the conference." and any other inquires concerning the matter should be directed to Jack himself. So we asked Jack himself why there were billing records saying he attended the conference at public expense and the board said he didn't attend. His response? Essentially, "the law says I ain't gotta tell you nuttin! But I will say, I didn't attend the conference."

He was then asked AGAIN to explain the descrepancy. We are still waiting for his response. If North Carolina state agencies are just giving away the store, I needs ta gets me one of dem law licenses! He even was reimbursed for handing out tips! Since he was on North Carolina's expense account, I wonder if we are good tippers or bad tippers?

If Jack can't come up with a better explanation than "I ain't talkin and you can't make me", as a citizen of North Carolina, I want my money back. Forget Mitt Romney...Jack Nichols has our entire state credit card in his wallet!

UPDATE: After several weeks, The Board turned over the documents. They reveal that although Jack Nichols did not attend the conference, his co-counsel did. It seems that Nichols was trying to get us to file a complaint with the State Bar and other agencies; then he could produce the documents showing that the trip was indeed authorized; and then use that to say "See, that guy is just out to get me!" Trouble is, I have battled Jack for several years and I am aware of his straw-man tactics. Nice try there though Jack...nice try indeed.

Life Is Hard For A Pimp

Recognize this man? This is Judge Allen (actually Richard[Dick]Allen) Baddour's dad, the recently resigned UNC of Chapel Hill athletic director Dick Baddour making the rounds at the Atlantic Coast Conference women's swimming and diving championships in 2007.

Did Baddour also wear such jewelry at league ethics meetings or before the NCAA infractions committee? The photo comes to us from the fine 850 The Buzz, which has a larger version, and they provide evidence that the image has not been altered.

I guess life is hard for a pimp...

Petition To Change Susan G. Komen Logo

In light of cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure's decision to turn their backs on women's health in favor of bowing to GOP political pressure to defund Planned Parenthood, I suggest they change their logo to one that more accurately reflects how they really feel about women. As I have designed the logo, I will sell the rights to use it to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure for the low, low price of what they used to give to Planned Parenthood to help low income women receive breast exams. Please send the check to Planned Parenthood , thank you. NOTE: There is no petition. This is satire!

Susan G. Komen Joins GOP Assault on Women

The news that cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure has decided to end its long time partnership with Planned Parenthood caused mass outrage. Rep. Jackie Speier said it clearly: “Komen’s decision hurts women – it puts politics before women’s health. @komenforthecure should be ashamed.”

Komen clearly has decided that the GOP’s political assault on women’s health and reproductive rights is more important than their mandate to support and care for women. Komen should be made to die on the vine. They are not too big to fail and if they have allowed politics to infect their brand, their brand should be killed in its crib and thrown out with the GOP bathwater.

What's With Judge Baddour & Sexual Predators?

In our November article entitled "Judge Allen Baddour is a Sexual Predator's Get Out of Jail Free Card" we raised the issue that Baddour's decision to allow sexual predators to have unrestricted access to churches with on-site daycare. We questioned his myopic decision making ability, in that he focused on the sexual predator's right to worship, but did not consider the simple solution of saying they could worship at the overwhelming number of houses of worship without on-site childcare.

Now, we have discovered that he also ruled that because a Chatham County man was convicted of sex offenses before the state adopted a monitoring law, he does not have to wear a satellite tracking monitor.

Judge Baddour's decision was yet another setback for North Carolina's attempts to track sex offenders who have finished their sentences.

Guy Reeves was convicted in January 2006 of taking indecent liberties with a 7-year-old, his third (emphasis added) sex-offense conviction. He left jail in May 2007.

The General Assembly passed laws on sex-offender monitoring in 2006 and added specific procedures for the program last December.

Assistant Chatham County District Attorney Marci Trageser argued that lawmakers intended the statute to be retroactive as a safety measure for the public and that made tracking part of the original sentence, not additional punishment. "It clearly specifies in the session law that this is also to apply to any person released from prison," Trageser said.

Baddour's rejection of that argument made Reeves the 29th convicted sex offender in North Carolina to get a tracking device removed.

What is it with this judge? He has a questionable record of violating people's civil rights (usually persons of color), but he seems to bend over backward to let sexual predators run free. We are looking into his pre-judicial history and associations to see if there is some personal associations or history with these types of criminals, in hopes we can shed light on his curious rulings.

In the mean time, maybe we should take up a collection to build a half-way house on West Street in Pittsboro so he can be close to his favored constituents.

Racism Trumps All Other Concerns

Hockey MVP Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins snubbed the trip to the White House. He did it because of racism, pure and simple. When he saw that there would be public push back and not just back slapping praise from his good ole boys, he released a long-winded statement of how he was protesting against both parties and yada, yada, yada.

The clearest sign of progress in our country on the racial front appears to be the acceptance that racists must now use the term "socialist" instead of the "N" word and claim dissatisfaction with the size of the federal government to mask the fact that they just can't accept a black man in the White House.

Most of us see the shell game and pretend to take these idiots at their word, but if the Nascar and Hockey types can constantly snub an invitation to the White House to appease their redneck fans that have the nerve to boo the First and Second Ladies of our country, and do so with impunity, they will continue to do so, which may cause the rest of us to disrespect the next cowboy boot wearing president and his family.

One of the most surprising things to people that haven't been paying attention, is in this country Racism trumps all. Just look at the evangelicals that are supporting Newt Gingrich. This wife cheater wouldn't have a prayer of winning the South Carolina evangelicals in any other time in our history, but the idea that he could possibly yell and disrespect President Obama in his Lincoln-Douglas style 3 hour debates with no moderator, at which he has graciously conceded that President Obama could use the teleprompter, as if he'd need it to compete with the likes of Gingrich, has the racists foaming at the mouth.

"Sure Newt is a liar, a cheater, a lobbyist, and hated by his colleagues, but he'll really give it to that black guy, so forget what I've said about religion and character all these years...I'm going with Newt now and I'll address my religion and ethics later." Next time some Evangelical Christian tells you that the country is going to hell unless it gets on their bandwagon....just say one word......Newt!

Was Judge Donald Stephens Black-balled?

When considering why it is so important to have an informed electorate prior to our judicial elections, consider this: Former House Speaker Jim Black was sentenced to federal prison for corruption and was allowed to pay off half of a $1 million fine with the transfer of some land he used to own. Wake County School Board member Ray Margiotta and many others voiced their opposition to the deal and said that Black should have paid off the entire $1 million fine in cash. (Hey, look, the guy had the resources!)

Margiotta especially objected to the deal because Wake County schools, the recipient of the proceeds of the fine got $500,000 in cash and the property, which was assessed (wink, wink) at $613,000. Margiotta and others noted that the Mecklenburg tax valuation was really only about $149,000, and it was discovered that the appraisal had been arranged by Black's family.

Now this is a cool deal. If I ever get in trouble in Wake County Court and I have to pay a fine, I could turn to my collection of antique stereographs valued at anywhere from $500 to $3000, depending on who's buying. So if my fine is $2,500, I won't go out and try to sell the darn things...I'll just turn the collection over to Judge Stephens and simply tell him they are worth $3,000.

Anyway, when Stephens learned of the criticism from Margiotta, the News & Observer's Rob Christensen reports, Stephens was "livid at the remarks and summoned a Wake County School Board attorney to his court room to be chewed out. The judge called the remarks 'idiotic' and noted that he had not been obligated to levy any fine against Black."

King Donald was right. He could have simply told former speaker Black to take is Black-as* home and not to do it again....under the law he has that power. However, having accessed the million dollar fine, King D had an obligation to the people of North Carolina to secure the darn money.

Judge Stephens actually said publicly, that he would have to give serious thought to whether he would levy fines in the future that would benefit the Wake County school system.

WTH? ("H"ell sounds better in polite company). Let me get this straight. You are a judge hired by the people of North Carolina to I-N-T-E-R-P-R-E-T the law. You make a decision that some of the people have questions about and you get sooooo upset at them have the nerve to question your reasoning and decision, that you decide to punish their kids in the future? Now THAT'S Royal reasoning.

Now Margiotta, an Art Pope, Koch Brothers supported Republican, apparently bent on segregated schools in Wake County, was most likely more concerned to make sure that the knife in the chest of the former Democrat Speaker, would be pushed in deeply and turned real sweetly, so his views may have been more myopic than it appeared at first blush.

However, Judge Stephens' threatening comments concerning future fine-based financial support to the children of Wake County, prompted The Wake County School Board to send a letter King Donald Stephens thanking him for devoting fines and forfeitures to the school system.

The letter was signed by school board chairman Kevin Hill and said in part: (read between the lines boy and girls...)

Wake County Public School System is extremely fortunate to have been the recipients of fines and forfeitures granted through the courts. These resources are extremely valuable in supporting the education of our children.

As a Board, we hope you will continue to support education in this manner. The education of our children is one of the most important responsibilities of a community, and commitment such as yours has a positive impact. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Talk about having to kiss the ring... (stop it...I said "ring")

Now the facts. If you read this story or see the video, you may come away believing that the King was simply scolding one of the court jesters, but (and I hate to say this about any republican) Margiotta was right. The land wasn't worth the $613,000 that Stephens had accepted that it was at the time; and the latest revaluations from 2011 show that the property’s value has fallen 3.4 percent to $143,900 since 2003.

So North Carolina, Wake County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Donald "Wellington Alowishus Beauregard" Stephens von Wake, the 3rd (not his real name. He just seems like he'd have a name like that. LOL) made a mistake that cost the children of North Carolina $356,100. It was a mistake that was brought to his attention prior to him making it. It was mistake that legally cannot be challenged or amended. It was a mistake that he easily could have avoided had he been more of a judge and less of a king.

The citizens of North Carolina shouldn't be afraid to raise questions or criticisms with elected officials and judges shouldn't threaten our children if they are criticized. Stephens wasn't blackballed...he was Black-balled! The Jim Black team threw him a ball and watched with glee as he ran full court for the lay up!

This time, his animus, hubris, ego and myopia cost us money! November 2012...it's time.....

The Liberals seem to have stolen away all of the once reliable GOP talking points. The Republicans may still TRY to claim that only a GOP president can keep the country safe, but they will spend most of their follow-up explaining away Bin Laden.

They have completely lost the argument on taxes as the country has finally discovered that they are only concerned with rich people's taxes.

Today is Christmas. As a Die-hard Democrat, concerned with gun violence nationwide, the GOP may think I would be tactically unarmed, however, although Santa didn't bring me my AR-15, I did get one this year.

The increased rise of hate groups in response to the election of the first African American president, may have pushed some liberals to "cling to OUR guns and religion," also. Guns and ammo, more like it.

As a liberal, I believe that nobody really should own an assault weapon, but if the feces hits the fan, I don't want to get caught bringing a 9 iron to a gunfight. I've always believed that had Emmett Till been better armed, he coulda whistled at any gal he wanted. Outrage always seems to be enhanced proportionally with the vulnerability of the accused...

Conservative candidates, as well as the once unchallenged hate groups, dismiss the ever changing dynamic of the liberal electorate at their on peril...

Have A Raleigh Jolly Christmas

As the 2012 Judicial Elections begin in earnest, we at Outlier Magazine are taking a look at these judges we have given so much power to rule over our lives. Case in point. Business Court Chief Judge John R. Jolly, Jr. (kinda rolls right off your tongue doesn't it?). I once drove an hour and a half to appear before him for a Monday morning calendar call. When I got there, he proclaimed my case wouldn't be held that day, but later "sometime" during the week. Maybe Wednesday or Thursday. He wasn't sure. (scheduling...hey it happens).

I asked him if he could let me know the day so I could get a hotel room in town the night before or schedule the case for the afternoon of whatever day he chose so I could be sure to be there because I-40 is a bear in the morning and the inclimate, snowy weather was brutal. He simply said "No!"

Well, I arrived the morning of the hearing about 35 minutes late. As I walked into the courtroom, he pronounced loudly and with glee, "You weren't here and I dismissed your motion!" His subsequent order stated the motion was dismissed due to "failure to prosecute!" No mention of my request to be informed of the hearing date early enough to get a hotel the night before or to have a afternoon hearing out of concern for the inclimate weather. Pretty slick there Jolly!

Anyway, Not wanting to jump back on the road during rush hour traffic, I sat and watched the next case. The attorney was from the same law firm as the one I was facing (YMW) although I didn't know this one.

I was initially confused. The YMW attorney was representing a white lady (let's call her Lucy) whose child had been bitten by a dog owned by a black pro se litigant (let's call him Martin). Martin looked like he was some simple under-employed guy and I was left wondering why Lucy had paid all this cash to a high priced law firm to go after some guy that looked like he didn't really have any cash. I later found out that the guy and his brother (no, not brutha...brother)(let's call him Bill) owned their home and Lucy was going after that asset.

First the YMW attorney told the judge that they had served the Complaint on Martin and Bill and although Bill had replied, Martin had not, within the time limit and therefore he was in Default. There was a little problem... They had served the Complaint on Martin and Bill (let's call it "Peterson"), when in fact Martin and Bill were actually named (let's call them Philips).

The attorney and Judge Jolly knew that failure to serve someone under their correct name should have voided the service and the Motion for Default should have been dismissed, so he asked Jolly to rule the improper service was inconsequential. Surprise civil libertarians...Jolly did just that!

Now that Martin could not object to the improper service, they moved to have Jolly rule that the failure to timely respond was fatally consequential. Jolly did and granted the Default. No, no wait....it gets better!

Martin was now in Default. He was going to have to give up some cash. The only question now was "How Much?" So they had a hearing. Lucy was sworn in and testified that Martin and Bill's dog jumped up, bit their little girl's face and she needed medical care and stitches. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Then Lucy testified that her husband went over to Martin and Bill's house and said that Martin threatened to whip up on him and called him names yada, yada, yada. She also testified that the child had long-range school issues, had made statements of fear of dogs and continuing medical issues "according to the doctor..."

As I am sitting there, I am wondering when Judge John R. Jolly, Jr. was going to stop the witness from testifying for the hospital, the child and the husband, but the pro se litigant had no clue this was improper and Jolly did nothing to protect his right to cross-exam the non-present testifying witnesses.

We later learned that the child had left Lucy's house, walked across the street, climbed over the fence and was bitten by the dog IN THE ENCLOSED YARD of Martin and Bill. It is doubtful any jury would have given Lucy a dime under these circumstances. Nevertheless, Jolly, not a jury was the trier of fact and Lucy won; and although Bill had responded to the Complaint, it didn't matter because Martin lost the home as a Default judgment.

Now did Jolly do anything illegal? Probably not. But was justice applied fairly in this case? Ask yourself had the parties been different, would the results have been the same? A black child climbs a locked fence of a white couple, the complaint incorrectly misnames the Defendant, the black litigant testifies for her husband, child and the hospital; and in the end the black couple ends up with the white couple's home....in Wake County, North Carolina...Judge John R. Jolly presiding.... Ya think?

The courts are very crowded in Wake County. I propose to streamline the system: Take all of the cases where a litigant is black or pro se or ESPECIALLY BOTH. Have the judge's clerk send them a note that simply says "YOU LOSE! Pay the man!" In the alternative, make the parties pay $20 to file any motion. That way in civil litigation cases that typically end after dozens of motion, the pro se litigant can be outspent and lose that way. What? Oh I forgot. The $20 rule went into effect October 1, 2011.

North Carolina Business Court Chief Judge John R. Jolly, Jr. With Liberty and Justice for Ya'll.....