Sunday, June 14, 2009

Do Our Kids Need To See This Art ?

I know right now in our current economic meltdown that this may seem trivial to some. However, I think this issue should be brought to the attention of the officials in the City of Rocky Mount. I recently attended a free concert at Down Town Live here in Rocky Mount. The Holiday Band played and put on a great show. Everybody had a great time and I think it is a good thing that the City is doing with the outdoor concerts.

My issue doesn't have anything to do with the concerts. My issue is with the so called "art" that the City has chosen to display in and around the Imperial Centre. Granted, the Centre is all about The Arts and I have no issue with art. I do have an issue with nude art that children will see .The Centre has a childrens museum that has great educational things for the kids to see and do. No problems here, however just outside the door leading to the museum, there is a "nice little piece of art" on display. As you can plainly see in the pics, kids really do not need to see this. I am sure someone will say, "well they see more than that on television", or "it is art, there isn't anything wrong with it". I say to you, there is something wrong with it. It needs to be relocated to an indoor room where only adults will see it, or it needs to be removed completely. Please help me let the Mayor of Rocky Mount know that this is unacceptable! You can email Mayor David Combs here. You can find the rest of the City Council here. Thanks for your help!






Tuesday, May 5, 2009

I need to get back to blogging

I have been really slack lately as have let other committments keep me from blogging. I promise I will get back to this soon. Until then, y'all take care !

Friday, February 13, 2009

Reply from Senator Burr R-NC

Recently I wrote my United States Senators concerning the "stimulus" legislation. I also wrote Specter, Collins, and Snowe. I received a reply from only one of them and that was Senator Richard Burr. I would like to share the content of this letter with you now.

Dear Mr. Stanley:

Thank you for contacting me about economic stimulus legislation.I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

As you know, our economy is currently facing enormous challenges.People and employers are still having a difficult time getting credit-credit that allows them to make large purchases,buy equipment,invest for the future, and fund their daily business operations. As a result, businesses are struggling to stay afloat, workers are being laid off, and families are bearing the brunt of the economic storm.This downturn is also impacting state budgets,since state governments are collecting less in revenue from their state sales and income taxes while at the same time trying to mantain current services. In fact, the State of North Carolina is currently facing a budget shortfall of $2 billion.

President Obama and Congress are currently working on a stimulus bill in the hopes of jumpstarting our economy. Current proposals under consideration include spending almost a trillion dollars to help state governments balance their budgets and to increase federal spending in hundreds of government programs,ranging from Medicaid and education to highways and wildlife refuges. While I have long supported many of these programs as part of the federal government's regular budget, I have serious concerns about the stimulus bill and adding another trillion dollars in spending.

First and foremost, for this fiscal year alone, the federal government is projected to have a budget shortfall of $ 1.2 trillion, and this does not include the cost of the stimulus legislation. This budget deficit is the largest our country has ever faced. While these are indeed extraordinary economic times, we cannot ignore the fact that budget deficits this massive will have severe long-term consequences for our country after we weather this temporary economic crisis.

Second, we need to be certain that any proposals for stimulating the economy will actually do just that - stimulate the economy - and do so quickly. Any proposal must create jobs, and not just jobs that are tied to a temporary increase in spending for a program or a project, but good-paying jobs that will still be here two years from now. For example, if in the stimulus bill we temporarily increase spending to hire more teachers, what happens to these newly-hired teachers and the children in their classrooms next year if we cannot provide the same injection of funding again?

If the President and Congress want to pass a massive spending bill to stimulate the economy, we better get it right. If not, our economy will be no better off, and Americans for years to come will be facing either massive tax increases orsevere cuts in federal programs to pay off the enormous debt we have accumulated. Decisions about how to address today's economic problems do not come without long-term consequences for all of us, and I can assure you that as your U.S. Senator I will weigh these matters very carefully and do what I believe is right for all of my constituents over the long-term.

Again thank you for contacting me. Should you have any additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to let me know or visit my website at http://burr.senate.gov .

Sincerely, Richard Burr
United States Senator

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Christening a Rubber Raft

Over the past month or so I have been using the quote " they must have been christening a rubber raft again". Many of you probably haven't understood what I was talking about. So to help you out a little, I thought I would share this with you. My cable network is owned and operated by Suddenlink. They started a new ad campaign in October, 2008. Their main idea is "Easy". I won't go into further detail on this concept, as you will see it for yourself in a moment. I laugh so hard I almost fall out of my chair every time I see this. You know how you are supposed to visualize everyone in a crowd naked if you are speaking to them? Well, I don't visualize them naked(that is a nasty thought!), but I see Reid, Pelosi, Murtha, etc. in place of the little old lady. I really believe that nine out of ten times these libs have hit their head this hard. I hope you find this as hilarious as I do !

Monday, January 5, 2009

How do we reach them?

Recently my clothes dryer just decided to quit. Just like everyone else over the past month, I have been extremely busy and have not made time to fix it or have it looked at. So I drag all of the dirty clothes to the laundry mat. Usually it is pretty quiet and no one really talks to anyone else. However, tonight turned out to be a little different. I am not a big "gamer", so I don't usually play video games, but I decided to play a game tonight. While I am doing so, two young boys walk up and start watching me. They seemed to be interested in playing and with me not really caring about the game, I let them take over. I had an extra fifty cents in my pocket and give that to them as well to share. Not realizing at the time that I was missing an opportunity, I walked away and made a call on my cell. I was wrapping up my call as my clothes finished drying. I proceeded to retrieve my clothes and started folding them. As I did this the older of the two boys walked back up to me and started talking. I learned that he is 13 years old. His brother is 9, and he has a sister that is 6. He talked to me about his life and how he hated his sister. He also told me that all three of them have different fathers. He is the only one of the three that sees his dad. Apparently he doesn't see him often and it was pretty clear that he didn't feel loved. His sister's dad used to beat him until mom kicked him out. I looked around to see where mom was, and she was there with a guy. I am almost certain that he isn't much of a father figure either. So I just started talking to this young, impressionable boy. I asked him about church and if he ever goes. Naturally, his reply was no. I asked him if he loved his family and again he said no, not really. So I talked to him about God and his love. I talked to him about the importance of family. And I talked to him about being a role model to his younger siblings. He was partially receptive, but I could tell he wasn't sure if he could trust what I was saying. Even though he felt that way he was still crying out for attention and love. Reaching out to a total stranger who showed the slightest bit of kindness. This hurts my heart that there are so many kids like him out there. Wanting and craving the love of someone. Wanting someone to show them the right direction. But we fall short because we are too busy with all of the other things that we do. My question to you is this: What can we do to help these kids? I am asking myself this same question and I hope I can find an answer. I would love for you to respond to this question and look inside yourself to find what you can do as well.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Mileage-Based Revenue System

Recently I have noticed more and more talk of a mileage-based revenue system in addition to the fuel taxes we already pay at the pump. In a story on Fox News, The National Commission on Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing thinks the long-term solution to raising revenue for road construction and repair is a mileage-based revenue system. They are also urging a 50% gas tax hike in the mean time to gain lost revenue as Americans are driving less and using less fuel. I don't know which story is bigger. The fact that they want to raise taxes or the fact that they want to equip every car and truck with a device that uses global positioning satellites and transponders to record how many miles the vehicle has been driven, the type of roads and time of day. The latter is really scary to me. The government knowing where I am at all times. How Big Brother is that? It's not that I am doing anything wrong, it is just the fact that it is none of their business. In a related story, Pink Elephant Pundit writes " Think about how many people hated the Patriot Act - people do not want to give the government access to their personal information. " Tabitha's post was in response to NC seriously looking at mileage-based revenue. NC is not the only State to look at this method. Oregon and Minnesota have also considered this. Now the federal government is jumping on the bandwagon. Where will it stop? We are already taxed beyond belief, and with the new administration coming in 19 days, what are we in for?

In a side note, Adrian Moore, vice president of the Reason Foundation did say ,"commission members were initially concerned that using technology to track driving might violate drivers' privacy, but they've been assured that such a system could be designed to prevent vehicles from being "tracked in some big brotherish way."I wonder who is doing the assuring here? Care to take a guess?