The Spag Report

Nancy And The Boy

It certainly looks like Nancy Vaughan has cast her lot with Robbie Perkins and the rest of the Greensboro liberal establishment in the ongoing effort to discredit the current conservative, smaller government oriented City Council as ineffective and unworthy of renewal.

"When a small group of council members decides issues behind closed doors, they violate the spirit of open government and transparency - ideas which every council member claimed to embrace during the last election."

Maybe I'm wrong and Nancy is referring to the non-transparent backroom deals and maneuvers made by Robbie Perkins and a few others, but I doubt it.

I guess we were all better off in the Democrat-liberal controlled City Council era that gave us Mitch Johnson, Linda Miles, Project Homestead, and the David Wray fiasco. The same people who brought you that wonderful pleasure cruise want the levers of power back.

After all, major controversies such as fighting over porn in the library, reopening the White Street landfill, and whether the new City Attorney should have a license to practice law in this state aren't nearly as fun and scandlous as the good old days of lies and corruption when the Council was under liberal control.

Lorenzo Charles

Nobody could ever forget his game winning dunk at the last second that delivered a national championship to the underdog Wolfpack in 1983.

Rest in peace Lorenzo Charles.

The Rhino Cartoon

There is much discussion on Ed Cone's blog about a cartoon that appeared in The Rhino Times yesterday having racial overtones.

A few of my own thoughts:

1) It certainly did appear that the two figures were black and the cartoon was playing into a stereotype. My initial reaction was "Now that was pretty dumb and unproductive".

2) Rhino editor John Hammer said this was a coloring error and there is evidence to support this explanation as it has been pointed out that caucasian County Manager Brenda Fox had previously been colorized using the same hue.

3) Hammer said that the artist intended for the inmates to be "New York mobster" types. The dialect does support this.

4) Some people on Cone's site are claiming that the dialect explanation is a myth because they don't know anyone who talks like that. These people have clearly never watched any Warner Brothers animated cartoons such as Bugs Bunny where shady characters were routinely portrayed using similar types of dialect.  

5) I don't know how many mobsters from New York are in the Greensboro jail and I don't think that's the point. Those who argue that the New York mob explanation still doesn't make sense for this reason are in effect admitting that the black stereotype they find offensive is more believable because it makes more sense in Guilford County. If it is more believable then it should be far less offensive, shouldn't it?

6) Regarding # 5, sometimes a cartoon is just a cartoon. Bunny rabbits don't talk either and politicians rarely have such big noses and ears.

7) "New York mobster" is bigoted code language for all Italian Americans so now after reading Hammer's explanation, I am offended and demand an apology.

The Big Man

Clarence "The Big Man" Clemons has died.

I hate to say that I think I've seen my last E Street Band concert, but without Clarence I fear it is so. I just don't think Bruce would do it without him.