So You Wanna Go To Bele Chere?

If you are going to Bele Chere this weekend, pick up the latest Mountain Xpress from your favorite newstand, or check out their website, which has a downloadable map of what is where and even has a live streaming webcam from the corner of Haywood Street and College Street so you can watch from a safe distance.

Hat Tip: BlogAsheville

And no, I'm not going. I went one time when (now WZGM) was broadcasting live from the event in 2005 and I was still a newbie blogger. Besides, doesn't it always rain at Bele Chere?

Dunn Drops Out of Buncombe Commission Race

Statement by Joe Dunn:

As many of you may know, I have been struggling with a decision to stay an active candidate for a position on the Buncombe County Commission. Indecision is a crippling load for your mind and heart to carry. I have been torn between family and service to my community. I have four wonderful grandchildren and a family that has always been supportive in the past. I no longer feel I should live my life and place my political future ahead of my family. Serving four years on Asheville City Council was an honor, but not without stress and worry about where this city is headed.The Buncombe County Commission is now taking on the same potential look as the current "progressive" city council. Voters had better wake up before it is too late. City and County politics should not be about who is a Democrat or Republican. The leadership should be decided by voters who are informed and who is the most qualified to look after the taxpayer's best interests. I don't see that happening. That being said, I feel the best interests for myself is to place my family above everything else. Both my children do not want me to run and my wife is very concerned as well. She has seen my mood change already as the campaign is not far away from swinging into action. Those of you within my inner circle of friends have seen my frustration growing day to day. I have never been afraid to take a stand on conservative issues. My greatest frustration is with local politicians in the city and county that place power and turf over the real needs of hardworking taxpayers. I feel it is time for some other people to fight the good fight. Politics and holding on to public office are not what motivated me to run for council or for mayor. I think my past votes on many issues came in a loosing cause, but I never compromised my core beliefs. Unfortunately, most local, state, and federal politicians are making holding on to office a career and being reelected is all they really care about. Therefore, I am now dropping out of the race for County Commissioner. Those folks who have given me money will have it returned. Anyone who has given me cash needs to contact me as I plan to pay all of you back. I made the mistake of listening to others who asked me to run when deep inside my heart I did not have that burning desire to do so. I thought I could overcome that feeling, but I just could not. For that I am sorry. It would not be fair to my party nor my supporters to run a half-hearted campaign. I have decided to let all of you know at the same time as to not offend any one person. This is not an easy decision, but it is the right thing for me to do in this period of my life. I want to thank all of those folks who are supporters and I hope to see more of you in the future.

Good luck and God bless.

Sincerely,

Joe Dunn

###

Commentary

Joe Dunn has been a voice for reason in local politics, especially when he served on the Asheville City Council. I respect his decision to drop out of the race and wish him well, and would hope that he would make himself available from time to time to share his wisdom and advice on issues that affect Asheville and Buncombe County.

The Pagans in Asheville Celebrate Transformus 2008

DSC02709.JPG, originally uploaded by gr00vy.

The photo to the left was taken at the 2007 Transformus Neo-Pagan Festival near Asheville, NC.

Many of you may be familiar with the Burning Man, which is a revival of the Druid Wicker man witnessed by Julius Caesar in Britain over 2,000 years ago. From Wikipedia:

Today, a wicker man is burned as part of neopagan festivities, especially Beltane, a rite of spring. Wicker men are tall, humanoid wooden structures, woven from flexible sticks such as those of willow as used in wicker furniture and fencing. The Wickerman Festival is an annual rock and dance music event that takes place in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland; its main feature is the burning of a large wooden effigy on the last night. Similarly, a Wicker Man is burned each year at Butser Ancient Farm in Hampshire, England, and the American Burning Man festival features a large burnable man as well.

Neo-Paganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly those influenced by historical pre-Christian European "pagan" religions.

Below is a video of this year's burn near Asheville:



This year, the Burning Man Organization revoked Transformus's status as an Official Burning Man Regional Event. In a letter to the Transformus Community, Burning Man cited a lack of transparency in accounting, ticketing, and overall operations by the Transformus LLC as the reason that the status was revoked. So, were local Pagans skimming a little off the top, or were they merely too capitalistic for the Burning Man Organization, despite an official policy banning cash transactions at the event?

Here are the ten principles of the event, which should provide a further clue about the agendas behind the gathering:

Several themes and/or ethics are encouraged during the event, based on the 10 principles of Burning Man. These include:

* Leave No Trace (or LNT) - everyone at the event is asked to clean up after themselves so that when the event is done, the campground looks as good or better than when it was started.

* Gift Economy - no sale or barter is allowed at the event. Participants are asked to bring what they can and share with any and all as they are able.

* Radical Inclusion - everyone is welcome.

* Radical Self-Reliance - do what needs to be done and don't be a burden to others.

* Radical Self-Expression - be yourself, however you wish. Allow others to do the same.

* Communal Effort - work together to make the best possible.

* Civic Responsibility - do the right thing.

* Participation - no one attending is only an observer.

* Immediacy - participants are to become part of the event and explore their inner selves in relation to the event and surroundings.

* Decommodification - rejection of corporate branding and sales.

For those of us who are Christians, we can recognize this as part of the falling away spoke of in 1 Tim 4:1:

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils..."

Don't believe me? If you are near Asheville, just visit Pritchard Park on any given Fridqay evening to witness the Drum Circles and the gathering of the pagans, or just check out youtube.

Asheville picked a very appropriate motto recently, with "Anyway you like it." The City of Asheville has taken to celebrating the anti-Christian nature of the people to be found wandering the streets, and burning effigies at all the appropriate Pagan Holidays.



For More information, visit the following websites:


Satanic Origins of the Burning Man

Official Website of Transformus

Wikipedai article on Neo-Paganism

Satan's Birthday Party

Dedication:

This article is dedicated to the Carolina Stompers, who have served as an example for me to begin addressing the Satanic influences in, and around, Asheville, NC.

**update** 3.10 PM

There are more videos being uploaded to youtube, so here is a playlist:


And here is Google Maps showing you where the event took place:


View Larger Map

Nathan Ramsey Kicks Off 2008 Campaign

Chairman Nathan Ramsey has kicked off his 2008 Campaign to be re-elected to the Buncombe County Commission, and Richard Bernier, of URTV's Sound Off Buncombe was there:


Candidate Website

Rep. Bruce Goforth To ALLOW ILLEGAL ALIENS To Steal College Entry From Lawful Citizens!

~PRESS RELEASE~
FROM: The Committee To Elect Paul Purdue
DATE: June 21, 2008

Background: Bruce Goforth, on the House Committee on Education, has the opportunity to keep illegals from stealing spots in college which should be reserved for rightful citizens.

The House Standing Committee On Education Membership Roster

Paul Purdue, Candidate for NC House 115, is opposed to NC House bill 2717 and recently commented:

"Illegal aliens should not receive access to NC Community Colleges or public universities. Because college is a selection process, for every illegal alien allowed into our colleges, one North Carolina citizen student or American student will not get to go to college. Our NC Community Colleges are in place to help citizens of North Carolina get a better education and job skills, not to train illegal aliens to take jobs from North Carolina citizens."

"If this Bill gets though Bruce Goforth's committee, it demonstrates he is in favor of illegal aliens taking a rightful place from a North Carolina citizen!"

On the subject of immigration enforcement, Paul Purdue, a new American citizen states:

"As an adjunct to enforce existing immigration laws, I am in favor of requiring companies doing business with the State of North Carolina to use the federal government's E-Verify system to make sure businesses are only hiring legal U.S. residents."

It is time to tell Goforth to go home. Elect Paul Purdue. He'll DO what's right!

- The Committee To Elect Paul Purdue - NC State House District 115.

-30-

Paul Perdue Campaign Website

Nesbitt Ethics Problems Surface Again

I have blogged about this before (see end of current post for links), and Buncombe Senator Martin Nesbitt has revealed that he has been the target of an ethics probe by the state auditors office:

RALEIGH --A state senator from Asheville, his son's Hooter's Pro Cup racing team and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina are at the center of a dispute over who has the right to police the state ethics laws.

The case surrounding Sen. Martin Nesbitt, an Asheville Democrat, has led to a bill that would prohibit the state auditor from investigating the recently overhauled ethics statutes.

“The Nesbitt case illustrates the danger of the misapplication of a complicated law,” said Perry Newson, executive director of the state ethics commission.

Nesbitt waived confidentiality and allowed Newson to discuss the case.

State Auditor Les Merritt, a Republican, released a report Tuesday in which he explains why he believes Nesbitt should have disclosed on ethics filings that he worked with his son's racing team. Nesbitt was an unpaid crew chief.

Merritt's report came several months after the state ethics commission advised Nesbitt he did not need to disclose his involvement with the racing team on his ethics form, an opinion they reiterated after Merritt began his probe.

Until recently, the team was sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state's largest insurer. The General Assembly frequently deals with legislation affecting the health care industry and insurers.

Source: Charlotte Observer
Related: State Auditor Report [PDF File]

Commentary

I would like to point out that the North Carolina State Ethics Commission was created in the wake of corruption scandals involving many elected and appointed state officials, most notably the NC Speaker of the House Jim Black, is composed of members appointed by the Gov. Mike Easley (Democrat), Speaker Joe Hackney (Democrat) and President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight (Democrat).


There is a turf battle ongoing to decide who investigates ethics violations, members appointed by the ruling political party, or the elected state auditor.

We have seen the results of the Governor and his friends in Raleigh who have blocked every attempt at investigating corruption in North Carolina government, with a breakthrough only achieved by the Feds, then the state charges followed.

Just as with Jim Black, there were whispers of misdeeds for years...and the state would not act. The same allegations have floated around about Martin Nesbitt for years also. And now Blue Cross Blue Shield has withdrawn their sponsorship of the racing team that was at the center of the controversy.

Previously:

North Carolina Conservative Disavows Indictment

BREAKING-- NC Senator Nesbitt To Be Indicted?

More on Corruption in North Carolina Politics

The Soviet-Style Master Plan for Asheville, NC

Robin Cape Wants You To Learn About the History of Downtown Asheville !

And she also wants you to join in the Soviet-Style "Master Plan for Downtown" in Asheville...where budding Apparachik can exercise their skills in applying "progressive philosophy" to making everyone reliant on the government. And to give homeless people parks to crap in, too.

Asheville---Anyway You Like It, As Long As We Planned It.

From her newsletter...

Hear from local experts on the history of downtown. You'll hear why downtown developed the way it did, fell into disrepair and was ultimately revitalized. We'll also talk about segregation and urban redevelopment projects and the effects on downtown and local residents.

Thursday, May 15
7:00 pm
Asheville Public Works Building
161 S. Charlotte St.

Leslie Anderson - former Director of the Downtown Development office and expert on downtown revitalization

Jim Samsel - local architect and member of the Pack Square Conservancy

Harry Weiss - Public Interest Projects and former director of the Preservation Society

We hope to have an additional speaker to talk about the East End and downtown.

This evening promises to be full of interesting stories. Even if you know the general history of downtown, you will learn something new!

Source: Robin Cape Newsletter

The Master Plan for Asheville

The announcement and agenda:

Community Educational Session:
Current Issues in Downtown Development
Friday, May 30
6:00 - 8:00 pm
Asheville Community Theater
35 E. Walnut Street

This session will be an important opportunity to explore specific urban issues such as height & design, affordability and local business retention.

To put this effort into perspective, say that long ago, in a budding city far away...there was such a monstrously evil "Master Plan" for Manhattan. With the desire to impose height restrictions, design restrictions. Imposing a "mandate" to provide affordable housing, and here is the kicker...the very same people express a desire for local business retention when their plans drive away commerce!
Manhattan would not be as we know it today. There would be no skyscrapers in Manhattan. There would, in all likelihood, be skyscrapers around Manhattan, outside the reach of the Killers of the Free Market. And the same thing will happen to Asheville. It will drive out commerce of the sort that generates real wealth, inspire building of unique buildings in places other than Asheville (hopefully in the newly forming incorporating cities around Asheville).

This desire for "central planning" is straight out of the failed "command economies of the Socialist Soviet Union. It has been demonstrated to not work every time. The socialists on the Asheville City Council need to realize that the Free Market is far superior than their "Managed Utopia in Asheville, NC".

The normal people of Asheville, if there are any left, should get together and sabotage this Master Plan, and scuttle it to the dustbin of history. That is, if you want Asheville to be something other than the laughingstock of the region.

YMI Cultural Center Gubernatorial Debate Clip

The last of the Gubernatorial debates took place last night at the YMI Cultural Center in Asheville, NC and Richard Bernier of URTV's Sound Off Buncombe was there to capture the action. Here is a short preview clip of the program he expects to have ready sometime this weekend:

Paul Purde Speaks at The Action Club

Paul Purdue, candidate for NC House District #115, spoke at the April meeting of The Action Club, and here is what he had to say:

Joe Dunn Speaks at The Action Club

Joe Dunn, candidate for Buncombe County commissioner, sopke at the April meeting of The Action Club:

Don Yelton Speaks at The Action Club

Don Yelton, of Citizens Speak, and a candidate for Buncombe County Commissioner spoke at the April meeting of The Action Club. Richard Bernier, co-host of Sound Off Buncombe (on URTV), was there to capture the event:



Here is an audio clip of what Don refers to:

It took place in the second hour of Take A Stand on April 11th.

Personally, it very gratifying to hear the professor say what I have tried to tell Matt for years on the radio, and that his dearly held positions are wrong, and play into the hands of forces that will destroy this great Republic if it continues. That is why I have taken to calling his brand of libertarianism Progressitarian, because they have become useful idiots for the Progressives.

Here are links to that entire show:

Hour One

Hour Two

Hour Three

Mike Fryar Speaks at Action Club Meeting

Richard Bernier is busy as a bee editing video he took of the April Meeting of the Action Club in Asheville. Richard is co-host of Sound Off Buncombe, which airs on URTV.



Mike Fryar Campaign Website

I will be posting more as Richard posts...

HK Edgerton Spotted on Patton Avenue

Danny Lack captured the moment on video:

Citizens for Change April 2008 Meeting

Here are some videos taken by Sound Off Buncombe of URTV at the recent April Meeting of Citizens for Change:

Jerry Meeks And His Fancy Dinners

Or so the progressive blogger at greenasheville says:

In your home County during this Primary season, there are very deserving Candidates who will get absolutely nothing from Jerry Meek's NCDP, nor from your County Democratic Party. Aren't these local Candidates, friends and neighbors who stuck their necks out to represent you, also worthy of financial support?

They dig deep to float their own Candidacy, while Jerry spends untold millions of Other People's Money floating fancy Dinners and expensive Staff salaries just to suck up all the gravy he can, building his New Age Progressive GLBT Democratic Party.

Just for fun, I dug through my files, and found some photos I took at the 2007 Vance Aycock Dinner at the Grove Park Inn last October, and made a slide show from the photos. I wonder if it would be worth it to go all the way to Raleigh and pay $25 to sit with the "riff-raff" and take pictures and video of the rich Democrats?

A Libertarian for Governor and Ballot Access

There is a libertarian running for North Carolina Governor. His name is Mike Munger and he wants your signature so that his name will appear on the ballot in November.


I used to sign every Libertarian and Green Party candidate's petitions for ballot access. I will still sign for Green Party access, but no longer will I sign a petition for Libertarians to have access to the ballot. Here's why: Idiot Ron Paul Supporters and a radio host named Matt Mittan [1] [2] [3] [4].

The first group is a collection of malcontents who are psychologically unable to build a coalition, and hold it together long enough to have a political party that can affect real change in our system. They cannot build a big tent of Liberty because, to put it bluntly, most of them are idiots who have no real knowledge of how to effect a political compromise. So, they try to takeover something they cannot build, like 19 hijackers who took over the controls of aircraft their society could never build. And the end result of their effort will be the same. They are bent on destruction, not construction. They have lost their chance to prove to the Republican Party that they are not sore losers by refusing to accept the nominee of their party...especially since he is closer to libertarianism than the other choices, Obama [an outright Marxist] and Hillary [a closet Marxist].

This is why I coined a new term for them, Progressitarians, because they are lefty libertarians. They claim they are for liberty, but their actions and the candidates they support on the local levels gives lie to their posturing.

Now, view the following video with a new perspective:

Latest Cancer Treatment Fails Paxten Mitchell

ASHEVILLE – The treatment that held so much hope for leukemia patient Paxten Mitchell and his family has failed. The 3-year-old’s white cell counts rose again Sunday.

According to the family's CaringBridge site this morning, the family has taken the boy home. Plans have been made for a Make a Wish trip to Disney World and the family will be leaving today for Florida.

Doctors stopped the chemotherapy Paxten had been receiving, athough he was still receiving drugs to lower his white blood cell count.

Source: Asheville Citizen-Times

Paxten's Journal

Pray for Paxten. Donate to his fund to help his parents with the cost of cancer treatments the insurance company won't pay.

Robert Mitchell
c/o Paxten Mitchell Fund
Premier Federal Credit Union
148 Charlotte Street
Asheville, NC 28801
or inquire further at 828-252-2346

Previously

Paxten Mitchell and the City of Asheville

The Definition of Socialism: Asheville City Council

I realize my title for this post is redundant because they are both the same.

An excellent writer over at the local John Locke Blog, has a post listing some of the goals of the Asheville City Council, and I have stolen a few to share:

a) Continue public outreach strategies to communicate city council’s strategic goals.
b) Enhance commitment to public safety and drug enforcement priorities through a coordinated, holistic approach.
c) Promote and support the economic viability of local foods and agriculture through tailgate markets and other long-term strategies.
d) Develop youth and education programs that support job and career placement in Asheville; begin with a redesigned summer youth program.
e) Pursue the development of city-owned property to achieve strategic housing, economic development and land use goals.
f) Develop strategies to support diversified job growth and support small businesses.
g) Develop a sustainable funding structure for Asheville transit.
h) Develop neighborhood and corridor plans with citizen participation.
i) Use visualization technology and modeling to assess growth impact analysis for transportation needs, housing needs and neighborhood enhancements.

Source: The Wild West




Commentary

Where to begin?

The first big one that hits me is the wish to develop city-owned property for strategic housing. That is all we need, for the city of Asheville to get involved in screwing up the local housing market!

And the plan to develop a sustainable funding structure for Asheville transit. I presume this means taking tax money from people who do not, and would never use the system, to give a government subsidy to the program...a sort of government welfare to the Transit Authority.

Why not just raise fees to what the market will bear? The last time I rode the bus in Asheville, I think the boarding fee was a dollar (less, if you purchased a book of tickets) and transfer to another bus was about a dime or so. This was in 2003.

Some of the buses were packed full, other routes had less than six on board.

Here in Macon County, there is a Transit System as well. I looked at the pricing structure, and it is inline with what I thought bus fares should be in Asheville. Here is a sample list:

* Local Fares per Boarding
o Franklin - $2.50
o Highlands - $3.50

* Out of County Fares
Round Trip
o Sylva - $15.00
o Waynesville - $20.00
o Bryson City - $20.00
o Asheville - $30.00
o Clayton/Dillard - $15.00

Source: Macon Area Transit Service

As you can see, the prices are at a level where user fees pay a significant amount of what the service costs, which is better for the taxpayers, and it allows the users of the service to pay a larger fraction of their cost upon society. This allows some preservation of self-esteem, and helps to somewhat lessen the negative effect of being on the dole.

I will try to obtain figures for the percentages of who pays what for the MATS program. On the website, there is mention of a federal grant that pays for part of the service.

Paxten Mitchell Donation Fund

The address and name for donations to benefit Paxten Mitchell:



Robert Mitchell
c/o Paxten Mitchell Fund
Premier Federal Credit Union
148 Charlotte Street
Asheville, NC 28801
or inquire further at 828-252-2346

Paxten Mitchell and the City of Asheville

ASHEVILLE- Offers of help for little Paxten Mitchell began coming in early Friday morning.

Paxten, 3, has a rare form of leukemia, and payment for the unusual treatment he is receiving at Mission Hospitals has been denied by the company that administers the city of Asheville's insurance plan. His father, Robert Mitchell, is a firefighter with the city.

Jessica Miller, of Alexander, has set up jars for donations on the counters of several local stores, hoping to help the family with bills.

"I have a little boy 13 months old, and he's healthy, thank God," Miller said, "I just cannot imagine hearing my child has leukemia and then finding out the insurance company won't cover his treatment."

Source: Asheville Citizen-Times
Hat Tip: Carolina Stompers

What you can do to help this child, visit his online journal and make a donation to Caringbridge after you read about him and his struggle. There are also photos to look at as well.

I will be contacting the Credit Union tomorrow to see if there is a procedure for online donations...bookmark this post and return for an update.

Until then, you may send checks to:

Robert Mitchell
c/o Paxten Mitchell Fund
Premier Federal Credit Union
148 Charlotte Street
Asheville, NC 28801
or inquire further at 828-252-2346

You might want to contact the people who refused insurance coverage, Primary Physician Care.

The Carolina Stompers have another angle on this story:

Apparently there was a guy named John Miall who did a great job as the Risk Manager for the City of Asheville. He supposedly spent years on the insurance situation in Asheville and was nationally recognized for his solutions such as “The Asheville Project”. Under his leadership, the City of Asheville invested a small amount of money and built a corporation called “Asheville Claims Corporation” to handle critical insurance payments and pay city employees premiums. This “Asheville Claims Corporation” had a total worth of 5 million dollars. Sources tell us that when John Miall retired the Finance Director dissolved Asheville Claims Corp. and dumped all the money (5 million dollars) into the city’s General Fund which only lasted 1 fiscal year. Note, money in the General Fund can be used for any purpose. This money could save Paxton Mitchell’s life.

If you recall, in 2007 the City of Asheville had a 2.4 million dollar deficit. A few months later the City Budget Dept. announced they had a 2.5 million dollar surplus...

Source: Carolina Stompers



Just when you thought it was safe for the corrupt politicians in Asheville, the Stompers have opened another can of worms.