When is drunk driving not drunk driving?
When you're running for NC House in the Republican Party.
Uncle Festzer sez: A DUI is in a different category.
Uncle Festzer and NC GOP Rep. Thom Tillis ran fellow GOPer Jamie Earp out the race for NC House District 34.
Nevermind that they er...give a pass to worthless check writer Steve Henion -- who is still in the GOP primary for that House 34 seat in Wake County.
More on the GOPs preferred candidate from the story:
A Wake County court renewed a $7,000 judgment against Henion in January, ordering him to pay a debt to BB&T that he was ordered by the court to pay a decade ago but has ignored. Courts have ordered Henion to pay more than $1,700 in claims to workers and other businesses in other cases since 1999.
I mean, who do we want writing the state budget if not someone who doesn't pay judgments on bounced checks?
What confuses little ol' me is that Festzer and Tillis didn't get ol' Phillip Frye to give up his House seat in NC House 84.
Is it because drunk driving in the mountains is less dangerous?
Nah.
IOKIYAR
Comments
They condone whatever vices
they can get away with. Family values my ass.
If You Say It Enough Its Still Not True
The blog standard is reasonably truthful? Guess that doesn't apply to Blue NC and N&O writers. Henion is repaying a scheduled debt with BB&T which required legally renewal at the 10 year mark. Have any of you libs ever worked in homebuilding? You are sued constantly. Henion may hold a record (only $1700) for least suits during his homebuilding years.
If you read here, or the N&O, you'd never know that Henion was shaken down by the IRS and had to pay $45k out of pocket in legal expenses to get an unjustified IRS lien dismissed. You'd never know that he has run a successful Raleigh realty business for 12 years, making significant contributions to the Raleigh economy despite severe market downturns.
I'm sure Blue NC is screaming for the N&O to subject other 34 GOP contenders, and the incumbent Grier Martin, to the same examination they gave Henion. Word to Blue readers, N&O sat on Earp's drunk driving problems for weeks before the news broke. They ran a major smear piece on Henion before being forced to discuss Jamie Earp's indiscretions.
I would love Blue NC and N&O to consume electrons in demanding accountability from a state legislature that is bouncing checks every day, promising my money for programs we cannot afford while delaying sending me the money that I have lent them all year without interest.
This is the corrupt Raleigh Democratic machine which has run this state for nearly a century. Grier Martin has sat in the 34 seat for 3 terms and done nothing to tame Raleigh spending. Fool me four times...no way.
Steve Henion is directly over the target. Keep firing libs. Bring on the smears. This man of conviction and courage is determined to return responsibility and accountability to Raleigh.
Are you always this much of a jerk?
You've been a registered user here for one hour and have already drawn your judgments about how we operate? How bizarre!
BlueNC is a website on which anyone can write almost anything they want at anytime. If you want to shift the discussion in a new direction, feel free. But attacking a website is like attacking the weather. It may make you feel good, but it doesn't create much of value.
I love it when I hit a nerve, though this is too easy
Despite utterly missing the point of my post -- that the NCGOP overlooks drunk driving for some NC House members (Frye) but not others (Earp, or Allred bwahahah), this response would still rant in support of the GOP?
Read up on the law, Henion is being forced to make payments. NC tax refunds, while later than in non-Great Recession years, are still being paid within the time the law requires. And you didn't even have to go to court for it -- unlike GOP home-builders!
If anyone cared to do any research, or just simply remembered, Grier Martin has actually bucked his party leadership and voted against the state budget before.
Facts are simply facts.
If they are smears, then it's because you are ashamed by the moral value you bestow on the facts, and the hypocrisy that stares unflinchingly back at you.
Esse Quam Videri
Blue,
If you were only pointing out inconsistencies regarding the GOP dealing with drunk driving, you had no need to mention Henion. You drag the leading 34 GOP candidate into the discussion, reflexly reverting to liberal form when confronted by a man of principle, try to destroy him.
So what's your beef with Henion? Henion has the initiative to start a business which does poorly and is repaying a loan on a schedule approved by the lender. Paperwork is refiled every 10 years. Readers in the building business will know that builders spend a good portion of their lives dealing with lawsuits. That would be a result of the altrusitic legal climate created by the Democratic Party. Most builders would love to have a record of a handful of suits totalling $1700 over several years; and in fact, Henion won several of these suits. Calling a man with a 12 year history of running a successful business, a community leader, a "worthless check writer?" Well, if the N&O says it then it must be true. All about dealing with drunk driving? Not so much Blue.
On to your love affair with Grier Martin. Spare us the sophomoric statement that Grier has voted against budget measures. Grier has one of the most "progressive" records in the House. The notion the Grier Martin is a man of the people who's voting is based on conscience, not liberal ideology, is laughable. He has never voted against a budget bill desired by Dem leadership that went down to defeat.
Re tax returns, didn't realize that NC Blue is the sheeple pen where residents bleat support for the maze of a tax code that allows a borrower (NC) to repay the lender (us) with no interest and at their leisure. See what happens if you are one day late making a tax payment Blue. Henion knows, he's been shaken down by the IRS, fought an unjustified lien on his home and won.
If the purpose of media is to inform voters on matters that may affect how a candidate will govern, the same analysis needs to be applied to all candidates. Sadly, you and N&O set the bar in the dirt. So will we hear about checks Martin may have bounced in his life? Lets make sure we all walk through his personal and finance records. We should know about the trials and travails of the businesses that Martin has started, if any. Has he ever been sued? You get my drift.
Back to the liberal angst Henion inspires. You are afraid of Henion. He is kryptonite to liberals. He is a true conservative. These are the facts Blue and I suspect when voters hear the whole story, Grier Martin will be going back home to Charlotte in January.
Fear Henion? I think not
I'm begging for Henion to be the NCGOP's nominee for House 34.
I can't wait for the general electorate to view his business record and court ordered payments.
And I can't wait for more posts from you that gloss over easily verifible facts -- voting records, places of residence -- you know, basic stuff.
You've still delivered no defense of the Uncle Festzer, Thom Tillis, and the NC GOP giving cover to one GOP drunk driver (Frye), but not others (Earp).
By the by, my handle isn't "Blue" but you haven't gotten any other basic facts right, so I guess I shouldn't even expect you to be able to direct a response properly.
Can't wait to face the likes of you in the general!
Remember Jim Hunt's nuke of Jim Gardner?
the greatest bumper sticker of all time.
"Honk if Jim Gardner owes you money"
"Man is free at the moment he wishes to be." -Voltaire
Do you prefer usernamehere?
Do you prefer usernamehere? Are you Lance? No idea who you are bud but that's the transparency Libs love!
Voting records, places of residence? Steve long time Raleigh guy. Grier...uuuhhh...Charlotte family, no community roots in Raleigh, no record of community service in Raleigh, no business credentials.
I have no interest in the GOP record on drunk driving. My concern is with the district, the state and proper representation of a man making great sacrifice for the privilege of serving the citizens of the district he loves and lives in.
Thanks for the vote of confidence regarding Henion's chances in the primary. For Steve the most important game is always the next one. Tinga and Ross are good men but Steve is the best in show, IMO. God willing we'll see you after May 4th.
Then the fun begins. Grier knows this. He's already got the Dem grease guns firing trying to take down Henion overflights. And have you noticed Martin signs are popping up around town, in April, for a General in November? Grier has to carry not only his own personal baggage but the ballast of a liberal ideology which has galactically failed this state and nation.
After May 4th, two men enter, one man leaves. If its Steve, you may want to consider whether you'll be returning with your guy Grier to his real home, Charlotte, in January.
the irony train leaves the station
Unless SereDoc is your real name, I find it mildly humorous that you would attack someone else for using a pseudonym, and then try to cast that as a common "Liberal" trait.
Here's me referencing a common "Conservative" trait: You won't be able to comprehend how foolish that makes you look.
Verum Serum
Since the focus of this discussion has moved from mudslinging to which is less transparent, SereDoc or usernamehere, I'll consider you checkmated.
Re my name, check the N&O. I shared details with Henion assassins there who were interested in my identity. Fact is I am one of many. There are legions of us willing to stand by this model father and husband, successful small businessman, community servant, and churchgoer who beleives he is called to sacrfice for something far greater than himself.
Bring on the name calling, muckraking, and all manner of efforts to demean Henion. It is expected from opposition that has no principle to stand on. Wait till we get to core values, philosophy and vital issues. It is my hope, prayer and belief that voters will see beyond the desparate tactics of proponents of failed liberal ideology.
In 2010, in 34 and other races, voters will have a chance to continue the journey of this state and nation on the path of greatness and exceptionalism. In Henion, voters have a candidate who will dare greatly as he joins others walking point on this mission.
The alternative is to cast lots with misguided, cold and arrogant liberal souls who promise a perpetuation of statism and freedom from the consequences of freedom.
Your next comment
Please.
Your next comment is should be apology for walking into our virtual living room and pissing on the floor. Otherwise you'll find yourself banned from participation here.
You must not know Grier
"beleives he is called to sacrfice for something far greater than himself. "
Did Mr. Henion serve with Grier Martin in Afghanistan?
Or did I miss something in your definition of sacrifice?
"Man is free at the moment he wishes to be." -Voltaire
SereDoc can't answer your questions...
...because he's been banned from BlueNC.
Dave
Emitte Lucem et Veritatem
Well, I guess I was mistaken. Heard this was where NC comes to think. Maybe better would be the echochamber where NC liberal ideologues come to think.
Banned from participation? Why, is my language not vulgar enough?
Sorry that you have only a virtual living room, but that's what statism gets you. Maybe you should talk with Henion and see if he can set you up with a house?
Godspeed.
Bye
You don't have to use vulgar language to be an asshole.
James, I'm disappointed
I don't know who SereDoc is, but I'd like to. His messages
arewere articulate and very informative.When I read what he wrote, I learned things which I didn't know before. I'll bet you did, too.
Am I right?
Contrast SereDoc's messages with the messages from usernamehere, to which he was replying. Both were equally vehement, but usernamehere made a false and malicious accusation against Steve Henion (that he is a "worthless check writer"), and SereDoc set the record straight with a healthy dose of truth.
You are annoyed that SereDoc made unkind judgments about "how we operate." But I think his judgment was understandable. He was reacting to an outrageous false accusation against someone whom he obviously respects and admires, and to the fact that you had read unsernamehere's false accusation and responded uncritically.
So what was SereDoc to think? What would anyone think?
His response was, by blog standards, restrained. He questioned bluenc's standards, asking, "The blog standard is reasonably truthful?"
Note the question mark! That was your invitation to demonstrate bluenc's commitment to truthfulness, by distancing yourself from usernamehere's false accusation. Instead, you criticized and demanded an apology from SereDoc, the guy who told the truth.
You should have demanded an apology from usernamehere, for making that false and reckless accusation.
If you want bluenc to be a place for healthy and informative debate, where readers and participants can actually learn things that they didn't already know, then please un-ban SereDoc. He is exactly the sort of participant that we need, the sort of participant who is much too rare in the blogsphere, where the information-to-noise ratio tends to be dismally low.
Or would you rather have bluenc be just another blog echo chamber for one point of view (yawn)?
Dave
And it has got to be worth something...
...that SereDoc writes subject lines in alliterative Latin! “Verum Serum” -- come on, how cool is that!
Dave
Here's your truth, Dave
And it was well-researched truth, which isn't always the case these days:
Well, okay...
...a quarter century ago, when he was in college, he got sloppy with his checking account. When I was in college I did things a lot stupider than that.
(And if he paid the debts then the checks weren't worthless. A worthless check is one that could never be redeemed. So the accusation is still false.)
What's more, there are other ways to bounce checks. Has it never happened to you? It is a rare person who has gone a quarter century and never bounced a check -- sometimes though no fault of his own.
It has happened to me. Many years ago I wrote a $1000 check on my business account at BB&T, and deposited it in my personal account at First Federal S&L of Raleigh. Then I mailed out a lot of checks to pay my bills, and left on vacation. When I got back from vacation, there was a stack of bounced check notices in my mailbox!
I thought I must have made a mistake of some sort, so I rushed down to First Federal, and made another deposit. It was after 2pm, so I asked them to please make a call to the main office and ask them not to bounce any more of my checks. They were unsympathetic, and refused.
So then I asked them to verify that my last deposit had gone through. They checked and found it had gone through -- as $10! Apparently, someone at First Federal missed the decimal point key when he typed the amount, and a $1000 check turned into $10. I guess that once those magnetic ink digits were printed on the handwritten check, it was effectively a $10 check, even though I'd written it as a $1000 check, and even though the deposit slip had been for $1000. No human being at either First Federal or BB&T ever looked at the check again, until I made my inquiry.
In my case, I demanded that First Federal make it right, and they refunded all the overdraft charges, and paid the bounced check charges, and supposedly wrote letters of apology to all the recipients of the erroneously bounced checks. (Then I moved my account to a different bank, and a couple of years later First Federal of Raleigh went bust.)
But suppose that I'd not seen the bounced check notices. Or suppose my vacation had been longer, and I'd not read the bounced check notices soon enough. Or suppose I'd been a college kid, and the bounced check notices were waiting for me at my dorm, while I was away for the summer.
What would have happened? Why, I'd have had worthless check charges filed against me, charges which would have eventually been dropped, when the stores got their money. But the record of those charges would have persisted forever, ready ammo for political assassins, should I ever run for office.
OTOH, if I'd been Rep. David Price, I could have written just as many overdrafts on my House Bank account, but the checks would never have bounced, and none of the liberals at bluenc would have ever criticized me for it.
What, you say that was 18 years ago, and I shouldn't dredge it up again after so long? Well, it's a lot more recent than Henion's, and Price wasn't just a poor college kid with his first checking account, he was a United States Congressman, with a six-digit income, and the overdrafts were a lot bigger.
Dave
I forgot
Are you a homeowner? Do you have a mortgage or did you pay cash?
Huh?
That was random! You're changing the subject. The subject is why you shouldn't have banned SeroDoc, and why you should un-ban him.
Will you please do so?
Dave
Dave, he made his feelings known
with numerous insults to members here, like this one:
There's nothing that says we have to allow people with opposing viewpoints to air them here, but we do. But when someone expresses such extreme contempt for BlueNC and the people here, the line has to be drawn somewhere.
Will you please do so?
No.
I asked him to apologize for his obnoxious rudeness and told him I would block his account if he didn't.
He didn't. I did.
He wasn't obnoxiously rude. He was vehement.
There's a difference.
Okay, so maybe he'd have been wiser to be a bit less vehement. But so would we all. He was no more vehement or rude than usernamehere, in fact no more vehement or rude than the typical bluenc-er -- just more conservative.
"Libs" and "Sheeple" (short for "sheep-like-people," I think) are milder insults than some of the things I get called around here, and a lot milder than the "Festzer" insult (a cross between "Fetzer" and "fester") that set the name-calling tone for this thread, and a lot milder than the "denier" (as in Holocaust denier) and vulgar "tea-bagger" (as in, well, you and the N&O know what) names that liberals (including President Obama!) call people like me, who oppose climate misinformation, the federal takeover of healthcare, etc..
So, I would not expect SereDoc to apologize. He owed no apology. Or, if he did, then so do a lot of other folks here. You should not have demanded an apology of him while encouraging them.
Yes, I realize that "everybody does it" is a weak excuse even for mild incivility, but incivility is an even weaker excuse for banning a conservative who, in fact, was not less civil than the liberal participants here on bluenc.
The information-to-noise ratio in SereDoc's messages was much higher than most other participants' messages, including mine and (please take no offense) yours. You should invite him back.
Please?
Dave
Ya know, ncDave, you've not been around very long
and you're not only passing judgement on "most other participants" but also criticizing the guy that makes this place possible...and who works his tail off making sure things work...while also making numerous timely, informative, and cogent posts.
We've seen a lot of schmucks come and go here. After a while one gets a feels for who's feisty but honorable and who's just here to make trouble and/or be an ass...or if someone just had a bad hair day.
James did the right thing.
Maybe you should start your own blog. Then you and SereDoc can play jerk-each-other's-chain all you want.
Capisci?
Stan Bozarth
Please?
Thanks for the well-meaning comment, Dave. But there's a fundamental flaw in your logic.
BlueNC is a private company, owned by me. Like most organizations, it has a mission, a vision and values. Those foundational elements have never been articulated in any explicit way, so I'll used this opportunity to do just that.
The mission of BlueNC is to further an enlightened, progressive agenda in North Carolina and beyond. The vision is to create a market-based community of thoughtfulness and action, where individuals are supported and empowered to fulfill that mission. The core values are mutual respect, integrity, collaboration and transparency.
In my view, the progressive agenda often aligns with the tradition of the Democratic Party, but not always. There have been and continue to be many unaffiliated community members here, including me, as well as a strong contingent of Libertarians. This sense of independence gives us the freedom to be critical of injustice, corruption, and incompetence, no matter which side of the aisle. This quality distinguishes BlueNC (and most progressive blogs) from conservative communities, which tend to be more hostile to diversity of opinion.
The vision of a market-based community of thoughtfulness and action is where you come in. At BlueNC, we are constantly asking ourselves, "What if I'm wrong?" That philosophy means we are open to engagement with people like you, people who stand squarely against most of what we are striving for. We believe in the marketplace of ideas, literally. We are not a non-profit organization, like those in the Puppetshow, that takes advantage of public policy for financial benefit. BlueNC is a business.
At first blush, the values of mutual respect, integrity, transparency and collaboration create a certain tension with our our mission and vision. Sparring with people who are diametrically opposed to our goals can be tricky. But in the tradition of good progressive thinking, we tend to err on the side of tolerance and engagement.
Seredoc waltzed into our community, our virtual living room, and pissed on his host (me) and his fellow guests (long-standing community members). I put up with it for awhile, grudgingly, because I welcome opposing views. But when the discussion shifted to ad hominem attacks, even if they were mild, I quickly intervened and asked him stop and apologize. He did neither, and so I banned him.
___________________________
You are mixing apples and oranges when you compare Seredoc's insults to, say, my criticisms of Tom Not-Gay Fetzer. Tom is not a BlueNC community member, to my knowledge. If he were to visit, though, I assure you that he would be treated with more respect than Seredoc displayed in his brief tenure here.
You and Seredoc are not aligned with our mission in any way. Quite the opposite is true. Yet after a rocky start, you personally agreed to play by our rules. You have been generally respectful, and it's often interesting to hear what you're thinking. I don't have any illusions that you come with an open mind, however, which is why I don't often respond to your comments.
That's a very long answer to your simple question, but no, I will not reinstate Seredoc.
I appreciate this opportunity to clarify my own thinking about our operating principles. In the finally analysis, "intolerably obnoxious" is a judgment call that I personally make. An individual who does not know how to make an authentic apology will almost always qualify for that harsh judgment.
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(My reply is here)
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(moved)