Pilot of Embraer Jet Had Survied Crash At Same Airport Before

Health Decisions (Durham, NC) CEO Michael Rosenberg was reportedly at the controls of the Embraer Phenom 100 as it crashed into a Gaithersburg subdivision killing all aboard as well as a mother and her two small children on the ground.

Rosenburg had survived a crash at the same airport in 2010. The Montgomery County Airpark is located in Gaithersburg, MD, a Washington DC suburb.

In the 2010 crash Rosenburg walk away from the accident that destroyed his aircraft.That plane a Socata TBM 700, a turbo-propeller plane that seats up to eight people was registered to Michael J. Rosenberg and Nova Aviation LLC, based in Port Orange, Fla., according to FAA records.

 

Rosenburg was an accomplished pilot having logged over 4000 flight hours with multiple certifications, including: Airline Transport; Flight Instructor; Commercial; Multi-engine Land; Single-engine Land. 

The pilot of the single-engine turboprop was on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight and cancelled his IFR flight plan after being cleared for a visual approach to the destination airport. He flew a left traffic pattern for runway 32, a 4,202-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, asphalt runway. 

The pilot reported that the airplane crossed the runway threshold at 81 knots and touched down normally, with the stall warning horn sounding. The airplane subsequently drifted left and the pilot attempted to correct with right rudder input; however, the airplane continued to drift to the left side of the runway. 

The pilot then initiated a go-around and cognizant of risk of torque roll at low speeds did not apply full power. The airplane climbed to about 10 feet above the ground. At that time, the airplane was in a 20-degree left bank and the pilot applied full right aileron input to correct. The airplane then descended in a left turn, the pilot retarded the throttle, and braced for impact. 

A Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that the airplane traveled about 100 feet off the left side of the runway, nosed down in mud, and came to rest in trees. Examination of the wreckage by the inspector did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions, nor did the pilot report any. The reported wind, about the time of the accident, was from 310 degrees at 10 knots, gusting to 15 knots.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:

The pilot’s failure to maintain aircraft control while performing a go-around.

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You Want An Indictment?

How about you indict black culture, hateful rap lyrics that promote killing cops, fathers who abandon their sons and brag about how many baby's mommas they have to support.

Why don't you indict a nation that accepts African Americans short comings and gives them welfare over justice and equality. 

Indict Sharpton and Jackson who scream for equality while they drive their Mercedes and fly in their private jets to create more hate.

Indict a mindset that says cops deserve no respect and that acting up and mouthing off will keep you from being arrested (has that ever worked).

Indict a lifestyle of lying, thieving and posting Facebook photos of your mugshots like they are some sort of badge of honor.

And finally indict the main stream media who play fast and loose with the facts, and fail to point out that the Garner grand jury was randomly selected from the citizens of the State of New York, and that no doubt each of the 23 members of the grand jury had seen the video of Eric Garner's arrest and death, and still knowing that it only took a simple majority to indict the NYPD Officer saw that facts did not warrant an indictment.

Indict a President who refuses to say, stop resisting arrest, stop being noncompliant, stop saying Fuck The Police, stop acting like animals.

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Media Hype is killing Mike Brown and Eric Garner

"Hands - Up, Don't - Shoot" is a myth perpetuated by mainstream media. Mike Brown did not have his hands up.

The myth continues with Eric Garner's "chokehold death" again perpetuated by MSM. A recent CNN piece on the Eric Garner grand jury decision, starts by saying "Eric Garner initially has his hands up" which is utter bull shit, unless you count wild gesturing as holding your hands up.  

Garner died as police tried to arrest him, but his death was not caused by the chokehold, but rather his own weight, being forced to lie face down and another officer lying on top of him.

The officer who applied the chokehold released Eric Garner from the chokehold after less than 20 seconds, once he was down and rolled on to his stomach. But the other officers failed understand that Garner's diaphram was no match for his 400 pounds and the added weight of one or more officers who where on top of him.

And then there is the myth of the war on young black Americans and that a racist white government is condoning the killing of blacks by white police officers.

"Michael Brown’s death on August 9 was a nationwide wake-up call to the death-by-cop of young minority men at the hands of law enforcement." Claims a New York Times sub headline.

But according to FBI data stretching from 1999 to 2011, African Americans have comprised only 26 percent of all police-shooting victims. 

Since Brown’s death, at least 14 other teenagers have been killed by law enforcement in a variety of circumstances. But only six of them were African Americans.

This is the photo used over and over again to illustrate the death of Eric Garner, but this chokehold didn't kill the man. 

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CMUD To Raise Rates Again

No real surprise here, Charlotte's Utility Department is a crazy mess of inefficiency.

An example is as close as your last water bill. Date my meter was supposedly read was October 28, 2014. That reading was for water used as far back as September 30th. The date the bill was prepared was November 11, 2014, the date yours truly received the bill November 22, 2014 and the date the bill is due? December 9, 2014. More than a month after the meter was read and more than 2 months after the last reading.

But it gets worse! I'm on auto draft so the payment is credited to my account on December 9th but in most cases it doesn't post to my account until four days later. Worse yet, people who are not on auto draft and don't pay until the day before the next bill date pay no late fee at all.

Bottom line; CMUD provides a service that isn't paid for until as much as 90 days after the toilet flushes, and that's money down the drain.

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Charlotte Fire Department's Crystal Eschert Fired Over A Facebook PostOr Was She?

Oh what a tangled web, WCNC uncovered:

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Charlotte's city manager has ordered an independent third party investigation into the firing of a former Charlotte Fire Department employee, who says she's a whistleblower.

Crystal Eschert was a fire investigator who complained the air quality and working conditions in the arson task force building on North Graham Street were unhealthy.

But City Manager Ron Carlee says Eschert broke the rules with an inflammatory Facebook posting on her private account and her firing appears to be justified.

The city manager points to a statement Eschert made on her Facebook account about the Ferguson Missouri police shooting, saying it's in violation of the city's social media policy.

But Eschert's attorney says the former fire investigator promptly took the statement down and the firing was really about Eschert complaining about working conditions.

"She made it on a private post and she took it down when she found out it was being circulated," said attorney Meg Maloney. Maloney points out that Eschert originally thought that the Ferguson police officer had shot a white man and took the post down as soon as she learned of her mistake.

The fire department shared the post with media:

"White guy shot by police yesterday near Ferguson…Where is Obama? Where is Holder? Where is Al Sharpton? Where are Trayvon Martins parents? Where are all the white guys supporters? So WHY is everyone MAKING it a racial issue?!? So tired of hearing it's a racial thing. If you are a thug and worthless to society, it's not race – You're just a waste no matter what religion, race or sex you are!"

Charlotte City Manager Ron Carlee says he thinks the firing was by the book. He's concerned about charges of retribution, however, so he's ordered an independent outside investigation of the whole affair.

At the same time the city hired a company to test the air and the working conditions at the arson task force headquarters, the Charlotte Fire Department is having problems with another building - a brand new one.

The contractor working on a new fire department headquarters at Statesville and North Graham is more than a year behind - with a glass contractor suing the general contractor over the project.

Cedar's Take: I might be alone on this idea but is seems just a little too convenient that a Facebook post saying pretty much what the Grand Jury said would be considered a violation of the departments social media policy.  I've read the policy and it is way fast and loose with the rules and there are no clear limits, except to say that criticizing the department on social media is forbidden.

Cedar's Take Two: Not really sure what attorney Meg Maloney's spin effort is all about, but she needs to stop. The case stands on its own without spin. Eschert voiced her opinion and she shouldn't have been fired over it. Seems the department has a few bullies that should be shown the door. Do we need to start naming these people?

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First Daughters Attire In The Spotlight Nothing New

The attention first daughters Sasha and Malia get over their lack of ceremonial decorum as the father pardons a couple of turkeys, is not surprising or new. This sort of uproar has been going on at the White House for decades.

Democrats were aghast when the Ford White House released a series of photos showing then teen daughter Susan Ford washing her car at the White House complete with barely there shorts and bare feet. 

By the way - The GOP would be wise to draft Susan Ford Bales for President in 2016. She's a die hard republican from a well liked presidential family, attractive, smart and lacking the baggage that comes with every other possible GOP contender. 

She could very easily become the new face of the GOP that so desperately needs an image makeover.

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So Long Cactus

I'm going to miss the "Cactus" call sign. 

US Airways adopted Cactus with the merger of America West, who used the western symbol to avoid confusion with American.

Next year the US Airways logo will join these iconic logos of aviation past.

(counter clockwise from the top).

US Airways

Piedmont

Allegheny

Ozark

Trans Caribbean

Reno Air

Air Cal

Mohawk

Lake Central

PSA

America West

TWA

And so it goes....

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CMPD Stingray

Nice uproar among Charlotte City Council members over privacy concerns because CMPD has deployed StingRay cell phone tracking devices.


But what remains really shocking are the council members who claim they don't remember voting to approve the purchase.


Dig a little deeper and you'll find that Raleigh and Durham spent considerably less to aquire the contraption and used a Federal grant to pay for it.

CMPD's appetite for new spiffy stuff is boundless. Shot Spoter, ATVs, Dirt Bikes, Take Home UCO Cars, Helo Upgrades, Golf Clubs. The items hidden and glossed over by CMPD that council approves is embarrassing.

Raleigh spent $126,000 on the system, while Durham spent more than $200,000. Both cities used Federal grants to cover Stingray purchase costs.

So where did Charlotte's money come from? Taxpayer pockets, and by default officer salaries.

Have a look at the Harris Company price list. 

This just got to have item that most of the country is doing without. 

CMPD wants you to believe that Stingray is used only to track serious violent felons. If crime is down and this is such a rare event why not just borrow a unit from the FBI? After all they don't use the system that often, right?

Here's an interesting tidbit from a response to a request made of the North Port Police Department in the Tampa Florida area regarding an arrest where StingRay was apparently used:

 "In the past, and at the request of the U.S. Marshalls, the investigative means utilize to locate the suspect have not been revealed so the we may continue to utilize the technology without the knowledge of the criminal element. In reports or deposition we simply refer to the assistance as " received information from a confidential source regarding the location of the suspect" 



The reason CMPD has these items and we the taxpayers are paying the price in dollars and our constitutional rights is that these units are up and running 24/7/365 and they are tracking you!

Note to Thugs and Hoodrats, upgrade to 4G and unless the popo has the latest and greatest you are untrackable. As an alternative get a real job and stop your thieving and killing. 

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Cedar's Pick and Pans Election 2014

Tomorrow the Nation will go to the polls to cast votes that will make a difference in our lives, in some cases just for 2 years in others for 6 and still others forever. Choose wisely America.

United States Senate - Hagen - Tillis Most see this race as a choice between the lesser of two evils. Hagen is a complete failure, Tillis a whack job Republican who has about as much business being a US Senator as Pat McCory has being Governor.




Hagen is such an ineffective Senator that even the Charlotte Observer slammed the Democrat:


"Hagen has been a disappointment to many voters who sent her to the U.S. Senate six years ago – and to this editorial board, which recommended her. She has done about the minimum you’d expect from a U.S. senator, with few if any notable legislative achievements. She has a chronic reluctance to take firm positions on controversial issues, leaving voters wondering what she believes in and will act upon."




Never the less, The Observer's editorial board goes on to endorse Hagan. No real surprise, but considering the Observer's readership decline it is doubtful the local paper's endorsement carries much weight outside the Blue Zone that has become Charlotte.




Let's face it Love him or hate him, North Carolina had one hell of a Senator in Jesse Helms. And that said, that neither Elizabeth Dole or Kay Hagen have lived up to the high bar that he set in his 30 years representing North Carolina. It is doubtful Thom Tillis will either, but a vote for Tillis will at least be a hope for change.




Mecklenburg County Sheriff - This race has been largely under the radar. Republican Chris Hailey and Democrat Irwin Carmichael are hoping to replace out going Chipp Bailey.




Neither candidate has extensive experience in running a large business, neither has been employed by the city or county in the past. Unlike Police Chief Rodney Monroe the Mecklenburg County Sheriff reports directly to the voters which give both an unique opportunity and a chance to improve on the operational efficiency of the MCSO.




Carmichael has run a campaign as any elected official would, public speaking engagements, signs posters, twitter and facebook posts. Hailey has remained mostly out of the spotlight running a behind the scene face to face press the flesh get out the vote push.




Hailey has relied of the racial divide within the MCSO to win election, he has the endorsement of the Mecklenburg Black Political Caucus, a rare event considering Hailey is running as a republican. Hailey's very quiet campaign may ride a republican wave combined a crossover vote from democratic voters who are voting based on color.




Carmichael is running on the "status quo" hoping to ease into the official with a promise of "its good enough".




What Cedar knows, is that there is a very deep divide within the MCSO based on race and uniform. Jail staff are considered 2nd class citizens versus those in judicial and process divisions. The secondary employment opportunities for jail staff are zero whereas many deputies enjoy the perks of take home cars and lucrative off duty employment.




Mecklenburg voters would be wise to vote for change rather than status quo, but a black sheriff and a black police chief may be too much for South Charlotte republicans. Sadly Hailey isn't a republican at all and it is doubtful he would bring a budget axe with him to office.




CP will hope the Irwin Carmichael continues the long tradition of the MCSO but also addresses the racial divide with in the department and looks to reduce the department ever expanding budget.




Many of the state and local races where decided during the primaries, which shows just how segmented and divided our region has become of the offices still in contention CP offers some "suggestions".




Mecklenburg County At Large - There is no better example of "the lunatics running the asylum" than the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners. From Vilma Leaks Flower to Bill James endless attacks on Gays, Un-wed mothers and liberals there is seldom a sense of normalcy on the MBOCC.




Five candidates looking to fill one of three seats on the at large board are Scott Carlisle, Pat Cotham, Trevor Fuller, Ella Scarborough and Emily Zuyus.




Here the choice is easy; Ella Scarborough was a voice of reason during her 10 years on Charlotte's City Council. Scott Carlisle a native of Charlotte should bring a fresh approach, while still somewhat rooted in the county's past to the dysfunctional board. Emily Zuyus is an exceptional choice and should be considered an ally of those of us, and there are many, who are overburdened by our local property tax.




Charlotte voters won't have a chance to unseat Bill James or Vilma Leake so removing the black political caucus leg humper Pat Cotham and pro tax at all costs Trevor Fuller would be a good option.




Board of Commissioners District 1 - Karen Bentley has decided not to run for reelection. Mecklenburg voters would be wise to vote Jim Pucket to recapture his former seat.




Board of Commissioners District 5 - Matthew Ridenhour who Vilma Leake routinely calls Eisenhower, has earned re-election. Often the only sane person on the board, Ridenhour seems to be the only one on the dais that is playing with a full deck of cards.




U.S House of Representatives 8th District - Richard Hudson




U.S House of Representatives 10th District - Patrick McHenry is seeking his 6th term and the incumbent republican should win decidedly.




U.S House of Representatives 12th District - Voters in the gerrymandered 12th district need to pay attention as Mel Watt's vacant seat is on the ballot twice. Once for his current term and again for the new term. Vince Coakley should be able to turn his media presence into votes. His challenger Alma Adams is a Vilma Leake spinoff complete with the nutty hats and flowers.






Foot Note: By the time the polls open tomorrow nearly 1/4 of all votes will already be cast. CP feels this "early voting" dilutes the sense of community election day should bring to not only our nation but to every neighborhood in America. It is clear that early voting also offers a greater chance for voter fraud.


It is CP's hope that in the coming years we roll-back early voting and establish the First Tuesday of November as a national holiday on which we celebrate and exercise our right to vote.

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Charlotte Weekly Picks Up Cedar's Rant - South Charlotte Middle School Kids At Risk

A few weeks ago I banged out a half dozen tweets (twitter rant) after seeing 2 near pedestrian vs car accidents within a quarter mile of each other. The victim in each case, a CMS Middle School student trying to cross speeding traffic on South Charlotte's Pineville - Matthews Road (Highway 51 to Native Charloteans).

Main stream media types fail to take notice of such things, unless of course there is the dead body of a 14 year old lying in the road. 

Case in point, Park Road where there were no crosswalks or signals until a South Meck freshman was struck and killed while trying to cross the street several years ago. 

Even though main stream media types including WCNC's Dianna Rugg blew it off my direct appeal as not newsworthy, South Charlotte Weekly's Ryan Pitkin saw the need to spotlight my concerns. 

His in depth look at the situation follows in part here:

South Charlotte Middle School students and parents cross Pineville-Matthews Road around 4 p.m. as they do every school day. Ryan Pitkin/SCW photo

Students At A Crossroad

Ryan Pitkin October 31, 2014

Five middle-school-aged children and three adults peer down Pineville-Matthews Road as westbound traffic barrels by at 50 miles per hour. It’s nearing 4 p.m. and traffic levels are starting to increase.

(Note: on the afternoon CP saw two students nearly hit while trying to cross highway 51 they were on their own, with no parents in sight.)

When given a wide enough gap, the entire group walks to the median, which consists of about four feet of concrete. They wait together a few minutes longer before crossing the two lanes of eastbound traffic. This game of “Frogger,” as one parent calls it, is a daily thing for these families.

The kids are students at South Charlotte Middle School (SCMS), which is tucked behind a daycare at the intersection of Strawberry Lane and Pineville-Matthews Road. The subdivisions they live in are just a three-minute walk from the school, save for the minutes spent waiting for traffic to zoom by before giving them a chance to cross the dangerous road.

Susan Slade, a resident of the Alexsis subdivision and mother of a seventh-grader at SCMS, spent nearly two years contacting the Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) to advocate for road projects that would ensure the safety of children in her neighborhood.

After hitting a wall of red tape from government agencies and not hearing anything back from the school system, Slade became discouraged and is now skeptical any such project will come. She and her neighbors rotate turns, acting as a walking carpool, to meet their children on the south side of the highway and help bring them back home safely.

“I come out here because I’m a parent,” Slade said. “A lot of kids are impulsive. They want to get across safely but sometimes they just don’t make good decisions. They will do these dashing efforts, and sometimes they can’t anticipate a car’s speed. It’s just a bad scene.”

Although there is a crosswalk across Pineville-Matthews Road from Strawberry Lane, no students from the Alexsis or nearby Windswept subdivisions use it because it does not lead to their neighborhoods. Kids who use the crosswalk would walk through grass that slopes toward the highway and is often either muddy or covered in a green dye applied by the nearby golf course.

Parents have decided that crossing closer to their own neighborhood was safer, as the existing crosswalk is at the top of a slope for westbound drivers and the lack of a school zone on Pineville-Matthews Road means most drivers have no reason to slow down as they approach the intersection.

School zones are placed according to the school’s “frontage,” meaning the pieces of property that face the street. SCMS’s only frontage is on Strawberry Lane, and that’s where the school zone lies.
SCMS hired crossing guards on Strawberry Lane in the past to help children who live in the Raintree neighborhood cross safely, but the number of kids crossing to Alexsis and Windswept is comparatively low, and no crossing guard has been employed to help children cross Pineville-Matthews Road.

SCMS administration did not return calls by South Charlotte Weekly’s press deadline.
Kevin Earp, director of safety for CMS, said that a bus is available for residents of Alexsis or Windswept, if requested. Parents have said they don’t consider using the bus, which comes more than an hour before they would normally leave for class to take them one-fifth of a mile to school.

Parents have been told the relatively low amount of foot traffic between the school and the small neighborhoods on the north side of Pineville-Matthews Road is also a reason a crosswalk will probably not be placed in front of the subdivisions.

The rest of Ryan's article is here: http://www.thecharlotteweekly.com/news/2014/10/students-at-a-crossroad/

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Thriller - Vincent Price

Cedar Posts is no fan of Michael Jackson, however "Thriller" remains one of the best Music Videos of all time. Beyond Jackson's dancing and John Landis' direction, the short is still rather thrilling due in part to Vincent Price and his voice over "rap" Thriller.


What better way to kick of a Friday edition of All Hallows Eve.


Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y’all’s neighborhood


And whosoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
And rot inside a corpse’s shell


The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom


And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller

Additional details at Wikipedia here  

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Ghost Fleet Of Mallows Bay

A little Halloween Tale without the macabre horror.

There’s a small bay on the Maryland side of the Potomac River, 30 miles south of Washington, D.C., that is an eerie final resting place for hundreds of ships. More than 230 were scuttled here, and most of them were never put into service.

In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson rallied the nation to join World War I. Germany’s submarine offensive was fearsome, and the United States was woefully unprepared.

To counter the Kaiser’s forces, the nation would have to launch the greatest shipbuilding program in history; 1,000 wooden steamships would need to be built within 18 months. Each vessel in the fleet would be 240 to 300 feet, the total built from 1.5 million board feet of yellow pine or Douglas fir.

On Dec. 1, 1917, the first ship was launched in the Pacific. Almost a year later, only 134 wooden steamships had been built and 263 were less than half-finished. When Germany surrendered, a grand total of zero had crossed the Atlantic.

A congressional inquiry soon followed. Vessels were alleged to have been poorly designed, the construction was shoddy and the boats leaked. Years of debate followed about what to do with the obsolete armada. After many twists and turns, the wooden fleet was towed to Mallows Bay and torched.

You can visit Mallows Bay today by kayak and see the eerie remains of the largest shipwrecked fleet in the Western Hemisphere. It has been nominated to become a National Marine Sanctuary.

For much more on this spooky story, read Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay and Other Tales of the Lost Chesapeake by Donald G. Shomette.

A search of Mallows Bay on Google Earth might also be in order.

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Tina McCard Fraudster Thief Convicted Felon - Spotted In Charleston and Still on the Loose

BOLO - Tina McCard

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CMPD Stingray - Beyond The Constitutional Issue

A lot of chatter over the Charlotte Observer story concerning the use of Stingray, a super tech spy gadget that LE is using across the nation to track and ease drop on thugs and ghetto rats.


Of course the story line is all about constitutional rights and the ever increasing scope of government in the "big brother" age.


But the back story is rather interesting:


As with much of CMPD the budget and expense approval process is all smoke and mirrors.


From the Observer:


"Charlotte City Council voted unanimously without debate in 2012 to spend about $357,000 to update the equipment for CMPD. Some members now say they don’t remember the vote and do not know much about the surveillance."


Well no surprise there, these folks are actually paid to at least read the motion that is put before them and hopefully understand the facts. But more often than not they approve budget requests without discussion.


Autry said he plans to meet with city attorneys. "I am a Fourth Amendment kind of guy,” Autry said, referring to constitutional protections. “I have some pertinent questions that will spark some discussion.”


Council member LaWana Mayfield said she would also talk with city attorneys. Mayfield said she did not know about the surveillance technology before she was contacted by a reporter Monday.


The issue is concerning, she said, because since the Sept. 11 attacks “rights that have been taken for granted are being slowly eradicated.”


Senior Assistant City Attorney Judith Emken did not respond to questions on Monday. City Manager Ron Carlee said he could not talk because he was in a meeting.


Cellphones send signals to nearby towers whether they are in use or not. A device city officials call a cell site simulator tricks phones into electronically identifying themselves and transmitting data to police instead of the closest cell tower.


Privacy groups say the equipment is powerful enough to collect cellphone information from an entire apartment building. They claim it gives law enforcement the ability to gather voice, text and other data from phones.


Charlotte officials have refused to divulge details about the city’s equipment but did defend how CMPD uses its cellphone tracker. CMPD does not capture the voice contents of phone calls, Emken has said. She said officers do not store data that is retrieved.

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Observer Bill Scam Tied To Charlotte Biz Journal

GDid you get one of these bogus bills for The Charlotte Observer last week?

Of course it is a scam, but the interesting twist is they got my name from the Business Journal!

Seems the CBJ sold this this scammer my name! 

You see my CBJ subscription has this odd little typo unique only to that once a week bit of USPS Mail! 

Which prompts me to say WTF ( well that's funny)!

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On Patrick Cannon Cedar's Take:

Later this morning former Mayor Patrick Cannon will be sentenced by Federal Judge Frank Whittney. He'll get probation and here's why.

Cannon was targeted by someone in the Obama administration because it was concluded that His-honor was just the tip of the iceberg and that corruption ran deep all the way down to the cellar of the government center. 

Turns out Cannon was a big mouth talker who believed his own hubris lies, an amateur targeted by professionals.

Cannon was all talk and no action, all take and no give he had nothing to offer and apparently caused nothing to happen. 

If there is any wrong doing it is the waste of untold amounts of money to target an idiot with no connections, whose only incentive was to reduce a pile of debt he had accumulated.

Cannon was no angel but to send him to prison does nothing to remove the stain of this unproductive adventure sponsored by the Feds.

Judge Whittney will, I suspect, see this for what it was; a fishing expedition that returned to the docks with not Moby Dick but with Mr. Impotent Dick.

Five years suspended, three years probation, community service and restitution. For Charlotte to move, on this is the only answer.

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Gay Marriage Why It Is Not A Win For The LGBT Community

The Supreme Court's Refusal to review the lower court's ruling and subsequent North Carolina court decision opens the door to same sex marrige in North Carolina. But this is not a win for the LGBT faction any more than proabition was a victory for the Bible Belt crowd.

North Carolina was and still is opposed to gay marriage, most of us in the metropolitan areas are just tired of hearing about it, and just as many don't really care. It's a perversion, an anomaly that effects about 10 percent of the population and so we'll just shake our heads or look the other way.

A court ruling won't change adittudes, and the next series of battles with not be as simple. Let's face it, the homosexual community is up against serious discrimation in this country, whether on not we care to admint it.

Heath Insurnace has long been impossible with a majority of insurance carriers for certian occupations, ACA has changed that somewhat but try being Gay and getting approval for disability insurance. 

The idea that one judge can turn away the will of the people because of his own agenda should be troubling to all Americans. Notice the same courts that provided shelter to gay marriage supporters, smashed the ranks of those enjoying the benifts of same day voter registration. In other words allowing the courts to overturn laws enacted by voters means your vote is meaningless.

The thinking is that the public is too stupid to have any real say in the laws of this country. This thinking seems to be pretty common lately.

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American - US Airways Public Relations Fail

Wearing his dress ASU ribbon rack with at least, bronze star, army commendation medal, plus army combat infantryman badge, air assault badge, parachutist badge and unit commendations.

This First Sergeant on a six hour flight from Portland to Charlotte asked a US Airways flight attendant if he could hang his jacket so it wouldn't  get wrinkled. 

The answer was NO First Class passengers ONLY!

The story has since become a PR nightmare for the airline.

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Throw Back Thursday: Gordonton, North Carolina Circa 1939

Raney Currie Baynes (1891-1942) owned this country store in Gordonton, Person County, North Carolina, and is seen standing in the doorway. Note that some claim that the store was owned by Ivey Baynes, brother of Raney Currie Baynes.

If your are new to the South you might find it odd that a scene like this is still pretty easy to find. 

Eastern North Carolina, Western South Carolina, Southern Georgia, most of Alabama and damn near all of Mississippi. 

Screen doors that slap shut, boiled peanuts, pickled eggs, pigs feet and orange soda. 

Crickets and worms for sale, tall tales to be told and next year's crops to be sold. 

It's still there, just got to drive a little farther down the road. 

The orginal photo by Dorthea Lane:

 

The Original Caption: Country store on dirt road. Sunday afternoon. Note the kerosene pump on the right and the gasoline pump on the left. Rough, unfinished timber posts have been used as supports for porch roof. Negro men are sitting on the porch. Brother of store owner stands in doorway. Gordonton, North Carolina.

Before computerized color process artists painted the scene in color.

The store as it looked in 2009

Reports are the building is still there just off highway 49. 

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Novant's Presby Problem

Hard to tell what's going on at the former Presbytierian Hospital. The once five star and must for Charlotte's well heeled has apparently fallen behind since Novant took over operations nearly ten years ago.

Dozens of rooms in one wing of the hospital are abandoned and posted with the above notice. Apparently theft from the "out of service" wings of the hospital is an increasing problem. 

The eerrie stillness of finding yourself on the empty fourth floor has a hollywoodeques quality. Gleaming floors, room after darkened room of empty patientless beds are a surprising find in the once booming hospital. 

The unused hundreds of rooms is a stark reminder of how out of control our health care system is.

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October 5, 1993 CMPD Officers Burnette and Nobles EOW

John and Andy were the first two officers killed at one time in the history of Charlotte and Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department.

The officers patrolled Boulevard Homes - a housing project that was notorious for crime.

On October 5, 1993 John and Andy were chasing a suspect who ran into a wooded area near the Boulevard Homes housing project.

The suspect shot and killed the two officers.

In the 21 years since, Charlotte has erected a memorial Uptown to honor all officers who died in the line of duty. Burnette's and Nobles' names are there.

That's not the only place.

City officials tore down Boulevard Homes and built the Renaissance Development.

Two roads in that development are now named after the officers. 

Related http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/June-2008/Crime-Time/

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Steve Smith Is a Raven Now

Sunday morning Steve Smith was known as a former Panther.

Now, in the pre dawn mist of Monday morning, Steve Smith is Raven and 1/4 of the way through the season, Baltimore is better because of it and the Panthers are not.

Cedar's random thoughts on Steve Smith's Sunday of Blood and Guts Everywhere:

Smith's performance was a much needed respite from the ongoing domestic violence saga at both teams.

 

Everyone expected Smith to turn it up, but Smith never was a slacker or on and off player.

 

“Yes, [the Ravens] have two [Super Bowls], Carolina has zero. I know I went to public school, but two plus zero, I’ll take that. They understand. They know, and they have the recipe. It says a lot without even saying anything, and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to come here.” Steve Smith Senior on what's different about being with the Ravens

 

No one can say Steve Smith ever had a game where he gave less than 100%. And Sunday was not different. 7 receptions, 139 yards, 2 Touchdowns and a number of very near misses, giving Smith more than 400 yards on the season.

 

 

It may take the Panthers all season to recover from this Ice Up Son moment! 

 

Call it what you like, karma, vindication, redemption, validation whatever you like but 10-38 really was blood+guts everywhere as Smith schooled his former teammates.

 

Finally one touchdown would have been enough, but the 10-38 rout was a beat down that was simply beautiful as it was unscripted. 

 

It wasn't just payback time for Steve Smith Senior, it put a smile on the faces of thousands of Steve Smith fans in the Carolinas and anyone else who has ever been wrongly or unfairly fired from a job they loved.

 

The proverbial middle finger to Gettleman, Richardson and Riverboat Ron, in the way that only Steve Smith could do it, all class total class.

 

“That film was a coaching session. They’re going to be coaching. I’m 35 years old, and I ran around those boys like they were school yard kids". - Steve Smith Senior

 

The entire post game Steve Smith Senior transcript is here.

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Obama's Latte Salute

Cedar's Take:

Obama doesn't know how to salute, I'd rather he just not do it.

Prior to Reagan, Presidents did not return the salute. Reagan pulled it off, but he was an actor.

There is no law requiring the President return the salute. 

There's a photo of Bush 43 is being tweeted and emailed around, where Bush is carrying a 40 pound dog in a rain storm and saluted with his free hand. 

The Marine to Barry's right has no less than six service stripes, yet I'm pretty sure Barry doesn't have a clue that the man he gave the latte salute to, has more years of service to our country than the big O will ever have.

Best part of the whole episode is that the White House posted the video not even noticing the faux paws.  

If you have ever stepped on a set of aircraft or Helo stairs you know they aren't the most stable things, yet POTUS does not extend a hand to the First Lady.

Shockingly even without the Starbucks cup he looks dazed and confused. Almost like he's not sure where he is or where he is going.

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485 Fake Tree - The Mystery Widens (File This Under I Told You So)

More than a year ago, Cedar Posts noted the totally out of place cell phone tower disguised as a pine tree. A tree that was better suited to the Northwest than South Charlotte, that just didn't make sense.

Photo Credit: Cedar Posts

Turns out I wasn't the only one interested in the odd tower and placement on CMS property. Now the info trail has become rather interesting with the posting of a YouTube video from the blog Info Wars.

Trouble is that while it ups the steaks it raises more questions than gives answers.

 

 

The thinking is this tower isn't your normal cell phone tower, rather one operated by "Big Brother" to spy on you. According to records searched by Info Wars the tower is not leased to AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, or T-Mobile. And the tower owner refuses to say who is operating the tower.

NSA? CIA? FBI? Rodney Monroe? Well apparently someone is using the tower these things aren't cheap. If it is indeed an "intercept tower" reading your text messages, tracking your movements, listening to your dirty talk with your girlfriend, why is it on CMS property and why is it so damn ugly and obvious.

Hat Tip to Jeff Taylor for pointing CP to the video.

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Greensboro Speeding Ticket Earns Woman 1 AM CMPD Wake-Up Call

Charlotte's main stream media looking anyway possible to shame CMPD Officers.

Take WSOC's report on the arrest of Mazoe Anderson. Anderson had an outstanding warrant out of Guildford court for failure to appear on a traffic ticket.

For some reason Anderson's warrant found its way to CMPD, let's assume her DL address and Officers came to her home to make the arrest.

As you might expect Anderson wasn't happy about going to jail at 1 AM over a traffic ticket. Now she's charged with resisting and assault on a CMPD Officer.

WSOC's interest in the story comes from after her arrest when she took a bus to the hospital for a shoulder injury she sustained during the arrest.

 

WSOC's report below:

A local mother and veteran says Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers woke her up at 1 a.m, arrested her without showing her a warrant and then separated her shoulder while taking her into custody.

CMPD is investigating.

Mazoe Anderson told Channel 9 two CMPD Officers banged on her door to arrest her for an outstanding warrant on a speeding ticket out of Greensboro.

She says when she refused to step out her front door, one of the officers pulled her out of her home by her shoulder.

Her son recorded the incident.

Anderson said officers refused to show her the warrant and one wrestled her to the ground.

She showed Channel 9 a picture of her in the hospital after she bonded out of jail. A medical record shows she has a separated shoulder.

"Somebody pulling you out of your home, out of your sleep in the middle of the night, and you never having any issues, you're confused," Anderson said.

After serving and retiring from the Army, Anderson suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. She said the experience caused her to have flashbacks.

CMPD released this statement following the incident:  “The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is currently investigating the complaint from Ms. Anderson to determine if any policy or procedures were violated.  The department has and will continue to hold its members to the highest level of professionalism and accountability as they serve the public.”

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Mecklenburg County Manager Acknowledges Unaccompanied/Undocumented Youth

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

I have just learned of a human services issue that the Board should be aware of. 

Last Friday, DSS staff engaged in a work group discussion on the topic of unaccompanied - undocumented youth living in the County. There are currently 488 unaccompanied youth in Mecklenburg County.

According to the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY), unaccompanied homeless youth are youth experiencing homelessness while not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. It is estimated that 1.6 to 1.7 million youth experience homelessness on their own each year. These youth live in a variety of unsafe, temporary situations -- including cars, parks, shelters, motels and homes of other people. Many unaccompanied youth are also undocumented residents.

DSS is working with the Latin American Coalition, CMS, Legal Services of Southern Piedmont, area churches and medical service providers to develop a working plan. The group is in the very early stages of addressing this issue and is still in the process of creating a complete action plan with a timeline.

I will continue to update you on this issue as more information becomes available.

For more information about this topic, contact Community Resources Division Director Darrell Cunningham at Darrell.Cunningham@mecklenburgcountync.gov or call 704 336-3286.

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