In Case You Missed It - CMPD's DNC 2012 Police Department Badge

An email sent to CMPD staff on June 27 outlines the 2012 Democractic National Convention Commemorative Badges which are being offered to CMPD employees, both officers and civilian employees.

According to the email the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Benevolent Fund is offering the badges in celebration of the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

The email continues:

The cost of the badge is $40. Proceeds from sales support the Benevolent Fund’s efforts, which always have a direct impact on CMPD employees and their families.

 

These commemorative badges, which are two-tone with red, white and blue accent colors, will be available for a limited time beginning in early July. You can reserve yours now by visiting the CMPD Portal page and clicking the COP Shop link. Click on the DNC Commemorative Badge link to access the instructions to purchase your badge.

The badge will be made available to CMPD employees (sworn and non-sworn), as well as, those who come to Charlotte to assist us during the Democratic National Convention.

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Wednesday Change-Up: The Newsroom

If you watched the Bachelorette Moday night and can't wait for the next instalment of the train wreck that is Emily Maynard, then you probably will hate The Newsroom.

The entire first episode is here on Youtube.

CP thinks The Newsroom is ground breaking, in as much as it is Television News as it was, it is a swan song. A funeral of what once was, something akin to the days when CNN was epic and not Nancy Grace.

But HBO is in the entertainment business and not the news business and at least it won't make you feel like you need a shower.

And with Thomas Newman scoring the music, it will be good.

But The Newsroom is dialogue, yes you have to "pay your attention bill" to watch this television.

Those in the TV news biz will of course pick it apart and give it two thumbs down, but for the rest of us it is good Televison.

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Obama Bridal - Make That "Event' Registry

I thought the Pendergraft/Pittenger runoff election was the new low in American Politics. Alas I was wrong. The Obama Campaign and the DNC have set the bench mark for low, tacky and just plain embarrassing. Enter the "Obama Event Registry" the DNC's latest grab for cash.

No it isn't an email hoax this is for real.

Got a birthday, anniversary, or wedding coming up?

Let your friends know how important this election is to you—register with Obama 2012, and ask for a donation in lieu of a gift. It’s a great way to support the President on your big day. Plus, it’s a gift that we can all appreciate—and goes a lot further than a gravy bowl.

Setting up and sharing your registry page is easy—so get started today.

Register with Obama 2012

Got a special milestone or event coming up?

Instead of another gift card you’ll forget to use, ask your friends and family for something that will go a little further: a donation to Obama for America. Register your next celebration—whether it’s a birthday, bar or bat mitzvah, wedding, or anniversary—with the Obama campaign. It’s a great way to show your support for a cause that’s important to you on your big day.

Just log in or sign up to build and customize your page—and congratulations!

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CMPD's Anti Jesus Fall Out Continues

Earlier this month Charlotte- Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) said it was removing "Jesus" from prayers during department ceremonies and ordered all CMPD Chaplains to follow the new guidlines.

CMPD's Chaplains have always included Jesus' name in their invocations at official department ceremonies, but the department says they want the prayers to be more inclusive.

The story has gained national attention as news outlets coast to coast have picked up the story from WBTV and The Charlotte Observer.

So the question that begs asking is why now?

Cedar Posts did just that and turned up a few answers and some theories. They range from threats from the ACLU, DNC and others to Chief Monroe is just feathering his nest, by showing the nation that CMPD has become a modern and progressive police department under his leadership.

CMPD Chaplains aren't the first to be constrained. In February of 2006 the Secretary of the Navy quietly issued new regulations governing Naval chaplains. The regulations, known as SECNAVINST 1730.7C which is short for "Secretary of the Navy Instruction 1730.7C, called "explicitly" for nonsectarian prayers at official events.

Military Chaplains have been around since July 29, 1775 when they were recognized as necessary by the Continental Congress as the founding fathers began to build the nation's first army. Chaplains up until 1730.7C have always been allowed to pray in a whatever manner they felt necessary.

SECNAVINST 1730.7C was short lived as Congress rescinded the instructions in the 2007 Defense Authorization Act the following summer. Interestingly the United States Air Force created their own instructions authorizing Chaplains to use Jesus' name at the same time SECNAVINSY 1730.7C was created.

All of this points to "political theater" which is often at the expense of so many. Rodney Monroe doesn't care if Jesus' name is invoked during events, he is just using the department and his position as chief to throw his weight around in hopes of being "noticed".

The odd thing is the "new guidelines" seem to coincide with Capt Pless' EEOC action over being forced to attend church services and on the heels of devout "Christian" Vicky Foster's promotion to Deputy Chief.

Cedar's Take: The solution is simple, from now on those in attendance at CMPD events need to come to our chaplain's aid in closing his/her prayer properly by saying aloud, "In Jesus Holy Name Amen". Just saying.

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WCNC Reporting Officer Involved Accident

A wreck involving a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer is under investigation.



Photo Credit: Jason Boyd

The rear-end collision happened Friday evening on East Independence Boulevard. According to police, a female officer slammed into the back of a pick-up truck. No one was injured.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the officer will receive a citation or face charges. Police told NewsChannel 36 that the officer will immediately undergo drug testing.

Emails sent to CMPD’s public information department asking for additional information were not immediately returned.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/06/23/3337310/cmpd-officer-slams-into-pick-up.html#storylink=cpy

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Another Friday Night in Chalotte Another Homicide

A 21-year-old was found fatally shot at an East Charlotte apartment complex early Saturday morning.

Around 3:30 this morning Charlotte-Mecklenburg police responded to 2520 Lanecrest Drive, off Milton Road where they found Dantonio Gerrick Hamilton in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Officers determined that the victim had been shot and paramedics pronounced him dead at 3:43 a.m.

Dantonio Gerrick Hamilton

Witnesses described the suspect as a black male with short dreadlocks, wearing a black T-shirt and jean shorts. He was last seen fleeing toward Barringer Road.

According to MCSO records Hamilton was charged with murder in the death of 20-year-old Devon Clement, who was gunned down in front of dozens of people at a Cook-Out restaurant on West Sugar Creek Road in May of 2010. Hamilton and two others were arrested in the case. Prosecutors said the only gunshot that struck Clement was fired by another suspect, Cherelle Griffin. She pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder.

Last November, Hamilton pleaded guilty to discharging a gun into occupied property. He was sentenced to 25-39 months in prison, but that sentence was suspended pending his successful completion of three years on supervised probation.

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In Case You Missed It - Rodney Monroe on Serial Rapist Lavatae Evans

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If You Think The Obama Presidency is Circus - Just Wait To You See The Clowns They Invite to the White House.

A pair of LGBT activists who were invited to the White House for a first-ever White House "gay pride" event last Friday stirred a controversy after being photographed giving President Ronald Reagan’s official portrait the finger.

The guests, Philadelphia gay rights activists Matthew Hart, and Zoe Strauss, traveled to Washington, DC, at President Barack Obama’s invitation to observe Gay Pride Month.

The event also came on the heels of Obama's recent declaration of support for same-sex marriage.



Reagan-haters and classless clowns, Matthew “Matty” Hart (top), and photographer Zoe Strauss (above).

During the Friday reception, a transgender man also dropped down on one knee and proposed to his partner also a man, errr woman, (seriously I have no clue who or what was who or what) while Strauss and her partner were later photographed swapping spit on a couch under Reagan’s portrait.

The photos featuring Reagan-flipping images surfaced online when Hart posted his photo on Facebook with the caption: ‘F--- Reagan.’ Strauss posted hers without commentary. Both images have since been removed.
The White House has not commented on the incidents or photos.
As if his photo did not speak volumes, Mr Hart made his feelings about the 40th U.S. president abundantly clear in an interview with Philadelphia Magazine a week after the reception.

‘Ronald Reagan has blood on his hands. The man was in the White House as AIDS exploded, and he was happy to see plenty of gay men and queer people die,’ Hart said. ‘He was a murderous fool, and I have no problem saying so. Don’t invite me back. I don’t care.’

Strauss, kissing her partner beneath the Reagan portrait.

Cedar's Take: Don't you think four years of this garbage is enough? Isn't it time to clean house?

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It's Time To End Public Prayer in America

Glenn H. Burkins is editor and publisher of Qcitymetro.com. His commentary on the recent CMPD decision to remove the name of Jesus in public prayer is a bold and well made statement.

As much as it makes CP despondent, he's right. When we removed school prayer we landed on the well greased slippery slope. But the First Amendment which the church and state debate is based on requires that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." While for the past 60 years the emphasis has been on the first part "establishment" maybe it is time to focus on the last part, "or prohibiting the free exercise thereof".

Should we eliminate prayer before Panthers games? What about NASCAR, and boxing? Don't our gladiators of sport deserve and need prayer? What if there is no prayer and some tragic accident happens? After all tragic accidents happen all the time in sport even with prayer, so without how bad could it get without?

But what do you think?

By Glenn H. Burkins:
So, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has asked its chaplains to stop invoking the name of Jesus when they pray at official department ceremonies.

John Diggs, who heads CMPD’s volunteer chaplain program, told the Observer’s Mike Gordon the move was not meant to “demean anyone’s Christian beliefs” but rather to show greater sensitivity to all religions practiced by the department’s 2,000-plus police employees.

A bold stroke in a town sometimes called “the city of churches.”
Sadly, though, not bold enough.

If Chief Rodney Monroe had asked for my opinion, and clearly he did not, I would have advised him to go one step further and eliminate prayer altogether at events such as police promotions and graduations.

No, I have not taken leave of my Christian senses. Neither have I forsaken the teachings of my father, who every Sunday of my youth called his wife and children around the breakfast table and led us all in family prayer.

What I have done is come to the reluctant conclusion that public prayer – be it of the Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Jewish variety -- has no place when Americans gather for secular events.
In explaining the police department’s move, Diggs told the Observer, “CMPD is not anybody’s church.”

Precisely. Neither is it anybody’s synagogue, mosque, temple or prayer closet – all appropriate places for personal expressions of faith.

Who among us has not attended a business or community luncheon where all in attendance were directed to stand for a public invocation? For me, those occasions rank among my most uncomfortable moments as a Christian.

Will the person praying call on the name of Jesus and risk offending every Muslim or Jew in the house, or will he ignore the name so sacred to my faith and leave me feeling ambivalent? And what about the guy fidgeting next to me who desires no faith at all?

In our noble attempt to avoid every offense, we have watered down public prayer to a point where it has become more rote than religious. At that point, it ceases to have significance.

In a conversation I had with Bishop Claude Alexander late last year, he touched on this topic. Increasingly, he said, he is being asked to pray at public events in Charlotte without mentioning the name of Jesus.

“Well, personally,” he said, “I’m accepting fewer invitations to pray.”
I often hear people whose opinions I otherwise respect lament the day that prayer was taken out of our public schools. Look where it got us, they say.

For me, it was a no-brainer.

I remember watching in elementary school as a quiet kid who seemed to have few friends exited our classroom every time we prepared to pray or hold Bible study. (Yes, we actually had Bible study in school back then.)

How strange it was that our schoolmate would leave us, we all whispered, which only added to this kid’s alienation. It wasn’t until years later that I learned that he was a Jehovah’s Witness and that his parents did not want their child participating in what amounted to our classroom worship service.

The beauty and genius of the United States is our racial and cultural diversity. China and India will never touch us in that category. But it’s also the quality that, more than any other, may lead to our undoing.

As much as some might desire it, we will never go back to the days of big-finned automobiles when practically every American was either black or white but all most likely were Christian. If we are to survive as a nation, we must find a way, somehow, to respect our growing differences while avoiding situations that might allow our differences to become nation-busting fault lines.

Public prayer, alas, is one of those situations.

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Things You Suspected All Along - Jerry Orr on Email

WFAE's Julie Rose is really good at what she does and her story "Assessing Access To Public Records In NC" which aired Monday was no exception.

Her news story points out that getting the City of Charlotte, Police Department and City Attorney's office to respond to FOIA requests is a tiring and often frustrating experience. And while CMPD and the City of Charlotte is required to provide requested information they really have no reason to be expeditious.

But buried in the last 100 words is this amazing quote from CDIA Direction Jerry Orr, regarding his lack of use of emails.

"Cause once you hit that key, it's there," says Jerry Orr, Charlotte Aviation Director. He says he uses email, but sparingly. "You want to say as little as possible. In case you change your mind, you have that much less to deny."

"Much less to deny" which is pretty much what we saw with the Tisdale death and security issues, denial after denial. Notice Orr didn't say "explain" he said "deny", amazing.

Cedar Posts Foot Note: My apologies to Julie Rose for not answering her email last week. For the record Cedar Posts doesn't make FOIA requests, instead CP relies on CMPD and City/County insiders to provide information and documents regarding wrong doing, corruption and excessive spending.

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The Boat In Kenny Chesney's Come Over

Another video that makes you wonder what a pretty popular guy is thinking. Perhaps Chesney is wanting to distance himself from the loathsome redneck, "Bass Tracker" crowd that folks like the Zac Brown Band attract.

So he had some director use the standard MTV hot girl format, added an even hotter boat and Kenny Chesney has another music video hit.



The video is fun, but no one seems to care about the song or the girl they want to know about the boat.

First off it is not Kenny Chesney's boat. Just a loaner they used for the video. Last Cedar Posts heard Chesney still owns a small but nice SeaRay that is normally found in the Bahamas.

The yacht in question is a Riva Domino in Metallic Ice, and at 86 feet she is the real stunner of the video. Cost you ask? Trust me if you have to ask..... but upwards of 6 million.

The Offical Sales Pitch, can be found below. As for the pool and night scenes, props to the CP reader who pointed out that the luxury home for the video is located at 2501 Mercedes Drive (SE 15th Street if you are old school) which is just the other side of Los Olas from CP's docks at Fiesta and Royal Plam Court in Ft. Lauderdale Florida.

The Ferretti Group's comentary on the Riva:

This 26 metre coupè, result of the working relationship between Officina Italiana Design, the exclusive designer of all the yachts in the Riva range, AYT - Advanced Yacht Technology - Ferretti Group's naval research and design centre, and the team of architects and designers of Centro Stile Ferrettigroup, is an evolution of the 68' Ego Super model, featuring larger spaces and several living areas which allow ever more socialising. These characteristics make this yacht ideal for both long cruises and daily life on board.

The clean, seducing lines of the new 86' Domino are softened - in this new optional version of the model - by the new Grey Sand colour covering the hull and the deckhouse and creates a final effect of great elegance and simplicity.

A large sundeck in the foredeck area features a dinette with a table that can seat up to 6 guests. Perfectly integrated into the upper part of the deckhouse is the sundeck, where a second pilot seat is also located, ideal for mooring manoeuvres. Another table seating 6 and a comfortable divan are located in the cockpit.

The closed, air-conditioned upper salon creates an open space area with the dinette, and is separated from the helm station by a large 55'' LCD television. This solution ensures the area is extremely well-lit as it guarantees the passage of natural light both through the large side windows and the windscreen. The design of the furnishing elements, and the choice to match the special shades of Canaletto walnut with chocolate-coloured leather inserts and white lacquering make this an attractive, welcoming environment, emphasising the available space.

The fully-equipped galley is located on a mezzanine level, and accessed from the left hand side of the helm station, whilst the crew cabins - for 4 people - are accessed from the stern cockpit. They feature a head and dinette, guaranteeing total privacy for Owners and their guests.

The special design of the large window, in correspondence with the full beam master cabin located amidships, follows the surface of the hull integrating into it perfectly and ensuring as much light as possible in this environment. The light is also emphasised by the Canaletto walnut and white lacquering which alternate with the Africa coloured lacquering. Equipped with an en-suite head and walk-in wardrobe, the master cabin also has a private living-room area and vanity.

The VIP cabin, with en-suite head, is located in the forward area, whilst two twin-bedded guest cabins with en-suite heads, are located between this and the master cabin. The starboard guest cabin also features a system of sliding beds on tracks transforms it into a second queen size cabin.

86' Domino is equipped with two MTU 16V 2000 M93, power 2435 mhp; they deliver a maximum speed of 38 knots and a cruise speed of 34 knots.

Weather Dog tells CP that the girl in Chesney’s new music video is Courtney McCann, a west coast girl who looks right at home in Ft. Lauderdale on a million dollar yacht. see. More of Ms. McCann here http://www.emshowcase.com/portfolio-view/courtney-mccann/

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CMPD Chaplins Take Another Hit - This Time Jesus Gets The Pink Slip

You should have seen this one coming.

WSOC-TV reports that CMPD Chaplins have been ordered not to invoke the name of Jesus in prayers at public events.

From WSOC: “When I heard this I was sad," said Pastor Terry Sartain, who has been a chaplain with CMPD for seven years. Sartain said he learned of the policy when he got a phone call before a recent promotion ceremony saying he could not use Jesus' name in his invocation. "I asked if I could withdraw, because Jesus is the only thing I have to bless people with," Sartain said.

He was allowed to withdraw from the ceremony and was told it would hurt his standing as a chaplain.

Major John Diggs, who oversees the chaplain program, said the policy is a matter of respecting that people may have different faiths and that it is not aimed at any one religion or denomination.

Some say the policy is long overdue. "It's past time when they should've made a policy," said Jim Gronquist, a former Methodist minister who has been a practicing lawyer and member of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Gronquist said it's important to keep the separation between church and state -- in this case, between specific faiths and the police department. "It's improper to mix up religion with the function of state agents, and as long as they're state agents, they should not be able to do that," Gronquist said.

Controversy is nothing new to the police chaplains. Several resigned two years ago when the department took on a lesbian chaplain. But Terry Sartain did not walk away then and he said he's not going to leave his ministry with the officers, whatever their beliefs.

“They know when I ride with them that I love them for who they are," Sartain said.

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Tuesday's Odds and Ends

CMPD FOP Petition - The wife of one CMPD Officer has created an online petition addressed to Charlotte City Council asking Council Members to support the FOP recommended pay changes.

"Step-raises for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department have been frozen for years. This has posed a hardship to our officers, especially our most junior officers. This affects not only their pay, but also their 401(k)s, since retirement contributions by the city are based on a percentage of earnings. With the DNC coming up, we are asking more and more of our officers, but with increased responsibility should come increased pay.

We entrust CMPD with our safety, and it is important that we compensate them according to the scope of their efforts and risks taken. If we don't, someone else will, and we will lose dedicated, talented officers to other cities who are willing to value them in a way we have not.

If we can afford to bring the Knights to uptown, we can afford to fairly compensate our police department. Charlotte City Council, it is time to show your citizens that their safety is more important than entertainment."

Cedar's Take: CMPD Officers are paid on average 20% less than officers in more than a dozen cities the size of Charlotte. Take a few seconds this morning and sign the petition which is here, it is the least we can do to support the men and women on our streets.

Facebook's Facepalm  - Nothing says bad press like an IPO that heads south right out of the gate. Everyone knows "investment are not FDIC guaranteed and can lose value" but the vast majority of investment experts expect IPO's to hold up and not plummet like a rock. Turns out that the usual system of "peer review" was lost in the buildup to Facebook's 38.23 opening. More from the Wall Street Journal here.

But the emerging theme behind the Facebook Facepalm is a series of contorted numbers and assumptions and outright lies. Amazing considering the technology of the Internet and instant communication ability of investment bankers whose Achilles heel is still greed. Greed and the thought that each was getting an inside deal, lead thousands of otherwise smart investors to lose their minds and a couple of billion in the process.

WSJ Excerpt: "With the deal size expanded and some institutional investors scaling back orders, demand dropped to about 4.5 times the available shares, says one person familiar with the book.

Morgan Stanley, led by its chairman of global capital markets Daniel Simkowitz, said demand remained strong, according to people involved in the deal. Morgan Stanley told Facebook that the number of shares ordered by institutional investors had increased that week.

Individual investors often are shut out of hot IPOs because the shares usually are coveted by big, fee-generating clients of investment banks. But individual investors weren't excluded from Facebook.

On May 15, three days before the IPO, Knox Massey, a 49-year-old Atlanta investor, was in his office when he got an email from Bert Madden, his Morgan Stanley Smith Barney broker, asking if he wanted any Facebook shares.

Mr. Massey, who manages the Keith-Massey Family Investments for his family, says he hadn't requested any Facebook shares. He says he called Mr. Madden and told him he was surprised at the last-minute offer but was interested in buying. His broker, Mr. Massey says, told him he thought he could get 500 shares or more. "See what you can do," Mr. Massey recalls telling his broker."
The rest is history and Facebook goes down as one of the greatest IPO swindles ever.

Harris Teeter Beefs Up Security - It might not come as a surprise to those who live in Charlotte's "trouble spots" but out in the Stonecrest and Rea Road neighborhoods I'm not used to seeing uniformed officers on duty at banks much less grocery stores.

But ever since the armed robbery at the Harris Teeter at 11516 Providence Road last month and similar robberies in Cornelius, Union County and South Carolina the locally based Harris Teeter grocery store chain has hired off duty CMPD and MCSO Officers to stand watch over their locations.

Charlotte Harris Teeter Robbers

Harris Teeter is also offering $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspects which may have ties to one or more gangs according to one CMPD Officer Cedar Posts spoke to.

The inside story is that the crooks aren't from Charlotte and the same two thugs will no doubt strike again. Harris Teeter has been targeted since late last year and no other grocery store chain has reported any smilier robbery or attempt.

Investigators say since Christmas Eve 2011, two masked men have held up seven different Harris Teeter stores in High Point, Winston Salem and Greensboro in addition to those in the Charlotte area.

Greensboro Harris Teeter Robbers

Harris Teeter has responded by shutting down some stores 24 hour operations in the Greensboro area reducing the hours with a 1AM close and reopening at 6AM.

Anyone with information can call 911 or CrimeStoppers, at 704-334-1600 but apparently the calls have been scarce dispite the large cash reward.

US Open Golf - Ron Green pays homage to all things golf including "Bird Man" here. Next up across the pond to "The Open" and then the PGA Championship in our own backyard at Kiawah's Ocean Course. Having played the resort island's sandy windswept course a dozen times and stood next to the greatest golf talent at the time on the tee at number 17 during the final day of the Ryder Cup back in 1991. I'm looking forward again serving as a course marshal and hanging out "inside and ropes" in August.

As for the "Bird Man" who goes by the name "JB" for "Jungle Bird" admits he had a few beers before jumping in front of Bob Costas and Webb Simpson during the trophy presentation.

JB says it was a premeditated mission to raise awareness about global deforestation ... explaining, "I want people thinking about saving trees."

Of course, security ripped him off the course and handed him over to the San Francisco PD but JB says the officers were laughing with him and making bird noises at the station. They eventually let him go because the USGA did not want to press charges.

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In Case You Missed It - Cal Thomas On President Obama

Cal Thomas here http://www.calthomas.com/ John Calvin "Cal" Thomas[1] (born 1942) is an American syndicated columnist, pundit, author and radio commentator.

Those “cannibals” who recently turned up in Miami aren’t the only people eating their own. Following President Obama’s 54-minute snoozer of a speech in Ohio last week, even his “friends” are beginning to feed on him.

In 2008, David Brooks of The New York Times played the sycophant when he admired the crease in Obama’s pants and concluded that it was a sign he would be “a very good president.” Last Thursday, Dana Milbank of The Washington Post wrote a scathing column, the headline of which suggests the media worm may have begun to turn: “Skip the falsehoods, Mr. President, and give us a plan.”

Boring was one of the kinder things said about Obama’s speech, which rivaled Bill Clinton’s address to the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Clinton’s speech was so boring he received his loudest applause when he stopped talking.

In his Ohio speech, President Obama failed to offer a new formula to increase employment and repair the economy, which he as a candidate promised to do, saying that if he failed his would be a one-term presidency. Instead, he doubled down on class warfare that has solved nothing. He blamed gridlock for stifling progress toward a better economy, but he was no more successful at repairing the economy when Democrats held both houses of Congress. Unlike Clinton, who claimed to have heard the message from voters when Democrats lost the House in 1994 and moved to the center, President Obama seems clueless about the message voters sent in the 2010 election that they are unhappy with his leadership and with where the country is headed.

On liberal MSNBC, Jonathan Alter called Obama’s Ohio speech, “one of the worst speeches I’ve ever heard Barack Obama make.” That network’s Mike O’Brien tweeted before the speech was over, begging the president to stop. ABC News reporter Devin Dwyer tweeted that the speech was “more lecture or courtroom arg than rally.”

The president said the coming election is a chance for voters to break a “stalemate” about America’s direction. Yes it is. They can vote him out and deliver the Senate to Republicans.

There was no humility in the speech, no reaching out to Republicans, no sense that “we’re all in this together,” just the boilerplate narcissism and hubris that defines this president and his presidency.

The White House advertised the Ohio speech as major and significant. It was major in terms of length, but it was insignificant in content. His solution to everything continues to be raising taxes on the successful. Though the national debt is $15 trillion and climbing, the president maintains that $1.9 trillion in new taxes on the “rich” will put things right. Even a poor math student can subtract the smaller number from the larger one and be left with $13 trillion.

While the media and the political left may dislike Obama’s performance in Ohio, their greater concern is loss of the White House and Congress to those “extremist” Republicans. They fear a President Romney will put two or three conservative members on the Supreme Court, shifting the divided court to the right.

Perhaps fear will drive more Democrats to the polls in November, but fear is not a policy and Obama’s policies are not working. As Democratic strategists James Carville and Stan Greenberg wrote in a memo to fellow Democrats, the president needs a “new narrative” that “focuses on what we will do to make a better future for the middle class.”

He can’t, because he is aprisoner of an ideological “cult” that cannot broker any belief but its own.

Here’s Bill Clinton in 2010, trying to persuade voters not to vote Democrats out of their congressional majority: “Give us two more years. If it doesn’t work, you have another election in just two years. You can vote us out then.”

That’s good advice to follow.

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Charlotte Observer's Elizabeth Leland Writes About Charlotte

How about a little vomit with your coffee this morning? If that sounds like fun have a read of the Observer's last remaining writer's take on Charlotte here.

Leland's attempt at humor falls flat and rather than being an informative piece it does nothing but dumb down the area while trying to promote Charlotte as the nation's "21st Century energy hub".

Charlotte from back in the 1980's

Her take on DNC 2012 attendees: "Some people are sure to show up with the usual stereotypes about Southerners as bigots and rednecks, slow-walking, slow-talking, slow-thinking. They may be wary of venturing here because of the ugly legacy of slavery. Or they may arrive with a cinematic vision of magnolias and mint juleps."

And it gets worse:  "We’re only a few generations removed from separate water fountains and the lynching of hundreds of innocent black people."

It becomes comical as Leland pens the follow up about how Southerner's speak with "Y’all ever wonder why Suthinas talk the way we do? With the sub-hed "Like many things, our accents date back to the Civil War" which is here.

According to Leland "The Southern drawl owes its lyricism to those first black Southerners. While forced to work as slaves, they created an unwritten creole language of their own".

Leland is of course wrong, but understandably so, a reporter's job is to condense a lot of information into a news story. However when the subject is something as complex as language the result is garbage.

Immigrants from England, Scotland and Ireland who arrived in the Southeastern states in the 16th and 17th centuries are the foundation of our southern way of speaking. Nearly 150 years before the war of northern aggression.

Leland is also wrong in that her piece promotes the misconception that speaking "Southern American English" is limited to a small geographic area. The truth is SAE is the language of choice for almost 1/3 of Americans.

Read them both of Leland's stories if you like, but if you grew up in Charlotte as I have, and if your family's southern roots go back to the early days of the American Revolution as mine do, you might just grab your coffee and head outside to take in the beauty of a surprisingly cool Carolina morning, instead.

Thankfully, my New York Times Sunday Edition "is fixin" show up in my driveway right about now.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/06/16/3323284/yall-ever-wonder-why-suthinas.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/06/16/3323284/yall-ever-wonder-why-suthinas.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/06/16/3323269/this-place-we-call-home.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/06/16/3323269/this-place-we-call-home.html#storylink=cpy

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The Saturday Change Up - Jimmy Buffett Live in Anguilla

The video below runs nearly continuously on our boats while guests are aboard. It embraces everything about the water, the islands and boating that our crew and guests love. If you had the right connections, you scored an "invitation" to charity concert which by most accounts still stands as the ultimate parrot head adventure. And just might explain why the CP blog suddenly goes silent from time to time.



The concert, took place on March 24 2007 at 3pm, and was hosted by international reggae icon and Anguilla's favorite son Bankie Banx at his acclaimed beach hotspot Dune Preserve. The late-afternoon show began with an opening performance by Banx and his bandmates, followed by Buffett and his renowned Coral Reefer Band. Tickets for the concert where only $100, and all the proceeds benefited Project Stingray, an acclaimed music and education program on Anguilla, the Anguilla Tennis Academy and the Anguilla Community Foundation.

A few photos from the event:

The patron saint of Anguilla himself.

Something you won't see at a concert in the Carolina's a real parrot.

It won't be a Buffett concert without some wild hats

or not much at all.

And then there was Jim P. sporting a Southern Comfort Abaco Islands 2007-2008 t-shirt.

We now return to our regular programing.

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Crackheads Among Us

The Charlotte Observer is reporting that James Edward Robinette Jr., 49 and Eva Marie Rankin Robinette, 35 were arrested and now face drug charges after officers discovered a methamphetamine lab at their Monroe, North Carolina home.

Eva Marie Rankin Robinette, 35. Photo courtesy of Monroe police

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/06/14/3315045/meth-lab-discovered-2-charged.html#storylink=cpy

James Edward Robinette Jr., 49. Photo courtesy of Monroe police.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/06/14/3315045/meth-lab-discovered-2-charged.html#storylink=cpy

Robinette is a registered sex offender who is on probation after being convicted earlier this year of more than a dozen counts of taking indecent liberties with a child, records show.

Both were being held in Union County jail, charged with manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of precursor chemical, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Cedar's Take: I think her mug shot pretty much sums it up.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/06/14/3315045/meth-lab-discovered-2-charged.html#storylink=cpy

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Friday Wrap Up - What City Do We Live In? Edition

Another Killer Walks - Mecklenburg county prosecutors, citing uncooperative witnesses and a lack of evidence, on Monday dismissed murder and assault with a deadly weapon charges against a 21-year-old Antoio Thompkins.

Thompkins a thug with a mile long list of priors, was charged with fatally shooting 22-year-old Antwan Terrell Smith was shot in the head and wounding 22-year-old, Durante Kavon James during the May 2011 Speed Street riots.

However Mecklenburg DA Andrew Murray told the local paper “We cannot try cases without the help of individuals who witness criminal acts,” explaining further, “We simply don’t have the evidence. It is unfortunate we cannot proceed in this case for the families of the victims and the people of the community"

Cedar's Take - Amazing failure of both Andrew Murray's homicide team and CMPD. With all the camera's in uptown, and a couple hundred CMPD officers within a block of the shooting this pile of human trash walks. - Amazing.

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, - said he was disgusted at the City Council’s rejection Monday of City Manager Curt Walton’s 8 percent property tax hike Monday.

Kevin Siers take on Anthony Foxx

While the rest of Charlotte is shocked and amazed, that finally a small glimmer of common sense has emerged from the "Potted Plants" of Charlotte's City Council. Only a bureaucrat like Walton and a blood sucking lawyer like Foxx would think a property tax hike would be a good idea and become "disgusted" that those who were elected to look out for the interest of tax payers did their job.

Republicans Dulin and Cooksey were expected to be the only no votes on Curt "The Clown" Walton's tax increase, and no one expected democrats to break rank and listen to their citizens but they did.

Does this signal a new era in Charlotte? Do we suddenly live in a city where leaders realizes who they work for? Is Charlotte's newest elected council members sending a message to Curt Walton, "clear get off your ass or start looking for a new job"?

Cedar's Take: Walton and Foxx continue to "sell the idea" of a tax increase saying Charlotte taxpayers have not had a tax increase in years. Why should there ever be a tax increase when we have continual revaluations that increase the "tax revenue"? Charlotte is in trouble, and anyone who has lived here more than 20 years can see it, the changing demographics and the flight of Charlotte's upper middle class are clear. Add an aging boomer population who are "down sizing" and moving to the coast and mountains, plus the reverse migration of former southerners of color. Charlotte is on the decline. Once solid bastions of middle class Charlotte have fallen to white flight and diversity. Example Sharon Lakes and the once golden mile of Eastland Mall.

Hickory Grove Charlotte's New Homicide Capital? - Those who remember the old days at the Charlotte Police Department will recall a time when Charlotte homicides came at a rate of about 2 a week. It is hard to imagine 100 homicides in a year, but Charlotte was that place not so long ago.

During the late 1990's drug related murders were as common as shop lifting arrests. The number of "tit for tat" killings among Charlotte's lowest class residents spiked and all officers could do was tape off the crime scene and call the next of kn before the next call came In.

Charlotte's Hickory Grove division has become the Grier Heights, Boulevard Homes of the "New Charlotte".

CMPD Captain Jeff Pless - has apparently filled a claim with the EEOC who has agreed with his claim that he was singled out and removed as head of the Hickory Grove Division because of his religious beliefs. Pless, an admitted agnostic (corrected from earlier post that said atheist), was required to attend services at an area church as part of his job as CMPD Captain.  When Pless objected saying that he felt uncomfortable, he was told he was being ordered to attend. When Pless objected again and ultimately failed to attend he was removed as Hickory Grove Division head.

WSOC TV Eats an Extra Large Crow Pie - Last month WSOC ran a number of teasers with tags lines: Racy photo found in local high school yearbook, Racy yearbook photo blown out of proportion, $100 high school yearbook tainted with ‘porn’ photo.

The story went on to report that a photo showing a 17 year female student exposing herself had been published in the school year book and that police were considering making arrests under child porn statues.

Turns out none of this was true.

WSOC posted in part this statement:

THESE STATEMENTS ARE IN ERROR. IT APPEARS THE STATEMENT THAT THE YOUNG LADY INTENTIONALLY RAISED HER GOWN WAIST HIGH AND EXPOSED HERSELF WAS MERELY THE UNSUPPORTED OPINION OF ONE OF THE PARENTS OF A STUDENT AT THE HIGH SCHOOL AND THAT THERE ARE OTHERS WHO DO NOT BELIEVE THIS TO BE TRUE. MOREOVER, THERE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE ANY EVIDENCE THAT THE YOUNG LADY WAS STANDING, LIFTING HER GOWN OR INTENTIONALLY EXPOSING HERSELF; ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A LASTING IMPRESSION AND LEGACY AT THE SCHOOL; CREATING PORNOGRAPHY; OR THAT THERE IS ANY CONSIDERATION BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OF BRINGING CRIMINAL CHARGES.
  
WE DEEPLY REGRET THESE ERRORS, HAVE REMOVED THE FORMER POSTED ARTICLES AND COMPLETELY RETRACT AND CORRECT THEM.

WE OPENLY AND FULLY APOLOGIZE TO THE YOUNG LADY SHOWN IN THE PHOTOGRAPH AND TO OUR READERS FOR THESE ERRORS AND ANY EMBARRASSMENT OR DISCOMFORT THEY MAY HAVE CAUSED.

No word on the tenure of the WSOC producer and those who ran with the story.

Bed Bath and Beyond Customer Robs Bank - Monday morning this guy robbed a SunTrust bank branch off Sardis Road North in southeast Charlotte armed only with a Bed Bath and Beyond shopping bag.

Authorities say a man entered the bank, in the 1900 block of Galleria Boulevard, shortly before 9:45 a.m. and took money from a teller. A spokeswoman for the Charlotte office of the FBI says the man did not display a weapon during the robbery.

Anyone with information in the case is asked to call the FBI in Charlotte, 704-672-6100, or Crime Stoppers, 704-334-1600.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/06/11/3309221/bank-robbed-in-southeast-charlotte.html#storylink=cpy

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Fox News First to Report CMPD's Use of Cellebrite? (not really)

The story was the lead item on the Thursday evening news at Fox Charlotte. The lead in by Morgan Forgerty came with the usual "first and only" on Fox catch phrases.

Charlotte, N.C. -- A YouTube video promotes the products available from a company called Cellebrite. Their technology can break password protection on 8-thousand different cell phone models and tablets. Investigators can extract existing and deleted information including phone calls, text messages, contacts, photos and video.

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department has the system. Cellebrite's C.E.O. Jim Grady wouldn't reveal the details of the contract but he says the Charlotte program is typical."We give police a powerful tool just like any other tool that the police department uses," Grady said. Grady said rules for gathering evidence are set by their communities.

CMPD Spokesman Rob Tufano said "The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department always obtains a court order in compliance with state and federal law before tracking mobile phones except in cases involving exigent circumstances."

The A.C.L.U. has been looking into the information cell phone companies give to police. They are seeking ways to safeguard against abuse of our constitutional right to privacy. "Things like who you're talking to and what you're talking about those are enormously personal and we need to make sure that information isn't out there being freely exchanged," said A.C.L.U. of N.C. Spokesman Mike Meno.

Tufano said they'll provide more details about Cellebrite on Thursday.

But City News Watch had the story two months ago.

CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG POLICE DEPT. PURCHASE TO DOWNLOAD ALL YOUR DATA?

Should police be permitted to download all of that data in under a minute ½ just because you were, say, pulled for speeding?  Stopped at a “Checkpoint”? Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department has spent tens of thousands of dollars with a company called Cellebrite that sells devices which do exactly that. 

There is no known policy in place for how such a device would be used, but citynewswatch would like to hear from CMPD if that is incorrect.  Cellebrite literature explains that their devices can break password protection, work on over 3000 different models of mobile equipment and can 'Complete extraction of existing, hidden, and deleted phone data, including call history, text messages, contacts, images, and geotags.'

The DOJ has tested the device to accomplish download of all phone, text, photo, and video in under 1 ½ minutes from mobile devices.

An ordinance passed by City Council on March 8, 2010, just prior to the Cellebrite expenditures totaling $25,000 against funds converted from Asset Forfeiture Funds to Public Safety Grant 4386-x.  

There is no explanation except “various programs and equipment” for $370,000.  Compare this to the kind of detail other cities provide to the public and even to what Charlotte did a few years earlier, and the secrecy in police and other spending should raise alarm bells. 

Cedar's Take: Blogs like CNW and CP spend countless hours pointing and clicking, digging through miles of data seeking the truth. We know the local media feeds off the blogs and at the same time completely refuses to offer so much as a hat tip for our efforts.

In this case CNW did all the ground work, all Kris Kirkland had to do was call Cellebrite and email CMPD. It would have been nice, not to mention professional to acknowledge the source.

Cedar Update: Seems more than a few people miss the point of this post. First Fox News Charlotte clearly used information found on Charlotte News Watch to develop their story without so much as a casual mention.

Second, CMPD dropped a large chunk of change without any oversight from Charlotte City Council, by simply calling it "Various Programs".

Third, The big brother aspect of the Cellebrite contract wasn't the point.

But calling me Paranoid? Seriously? 

I know the old line, "if you are doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about".  But as we have seen overzealous law enforcement, and being the wrong place at the wrong time, add some vague evidence and suddenly you are a suspect.

We have a constitution that protects us from unreasonable search.

Scanning your cell phone or iPad for text messages or your latest tweet to build a case against you crosses that line. How many times have you sent a text or tweet only receive back a "huh?"

As Americans we have an expectation of privacy, cameras, drones and downloading your tweets and text messages goes against the most basic of our rights. Privacy.

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CMPD Officers Work Another East Charlotte Shooting

CMPD Officers along with ddetectives from the CMPD Homicide Unit and ADW Unit were called to the El Paisano Restaurant and Bar located at 5846 Albemarle Road, in East Charlotte early this morning.

El Paisano Restaurant and Bar 5846 Albemarle Road

The shooting happened shortly after 2 am, according to police and witnesses, an argument started when several men were leaving the business, and the dispute grew into some sort of physical disturbance. Officers say a security guard went into the parking lot to break up the dispute.

Moments later, shooting broke out. Two men fled a short time afterwards in a green two-door pick-up truck, possibly a Chevrolet. The men fled eastbound on Albemarle Road.

When police arrived, they found the guard on the ground, and he was pronounced dead when Medic arrived. Investigators said Tuesday morning that the guard was shot five or six times. A handgun was found in the restaurant’s parking lot.

Also on scene was a female that was transported to CMC Main with non life threatening injuries.  The victim is an employee of the business and was attempting to ensure that several male subjects causing a disturbance were leaving the property when he was shot.

Police are looking for a small, green two door truck, possibly a Chevy, that was last seen fleeing outbound on Albemarle Road.  Detectives are currently canvassing the area to determine whether there are additional witnesses to this incident. 

Cedar Bonus: El Paisano (The Friends) Restaurant and Bar (my Spanish might be a little off) is one of a few businesses that have opened in an area that is the vast waste land of a once thriving retail corridor. Closed businesses out number open shops 2 to 1 and most if not all new businesses cater to the Asian and Latino new comers.

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