Charlotte

Inspirational

Just 20 minutes ago, I got to watch the most misnamed vehicle ever — the "Straight Talk Express" — rumble down Tryon Street. It reminded me again of just how much of a disaster a McCain presidency would be. I'm going to take an extra measure of satisfaction voting in the Democratic primary tomorrow.

Early Voting in NC

Today was the last day for early voting in the May 6 primary, so Mary and I walked a whole block and a half to the library in the hopes of fulfilling our civic duty. Deterred by the long line, however, we grabbed lunch first and checked back later. The line was even longer, so we gave up and went home. We'll just vote on Tuesday, but it was kind of exciting seeing all those folks today so eager to cast their ballots.

Why Am I Not Surprised?

When I heard a few weeks ago that Charlotte might be hosting a Democratic Presidential debate, I was excited. When I heard last week that the state Democratic Party was involved and that Raleigh was now in contention to host, I just knew Charlotte would be passed over. And I was right.

The state party's longstanding pattern of excluding Charlotte is getting more than a little annoying. I'm enough of a yellow dog that it won't affect my vote, but I can't say this won't effect my donations. I'll give money, but I would be more likely to be more generous if I got more out of it than a thank-you page on a website.

Making a 5 hour round trip to Raleigh doesn't make for a fun day, and springing for an overnight hotel stay is just money that the party is missing out on. But these would be things I would consider more seriously if I didn't have the distinct impression that the state party isn't willing to hit the road and visit the largest, richest city in the state from time to time. There are supporters with money here — don't ignore that.

Happy Birthday to Me

Once a year, whether I like it or not, I have a birthday. And today is the day — I'm now 43. When I woke up this morning, I discovered that I was having a "White Birthday", just like the ones I used to know. Today it was just a little sleet and rain, but you take what winter weather you can get in the South.

My friend Julie pointed out that this is a prime number birthday, which is kind of cool. It's also the second such birthday for me in the last 3 years (41 is also prime). The last time this happened was 12 years ago (29 and 31); the next time, and probably the last, will be 18 years from now (59 and 61). If I get really lucky (or unlucky, depending), I'll see another shortly after I cross the century mark (101 and 103).

McCrory for Governer

Yesterday, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory's campaign sent out an email announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination for Governor. In the email was an image of the campaign logo in which "Governor" was misspelled as "Governer". When asked about this by the press, you're supposed to say "Oops, thanks, we'll get that fixed," and make some self-deprecating joke about not having had enough coffee yet. That's not quite what happened.

"There's no way this was misspelled," said Victoria Smith, McCrory's campaign manager. She said a hacker had accessed the campaign's computer to alter the word. Smith said someone has been hacking McCrory's mayoral Web site for six months, though the campaign had not contacted authorities.

Then, a campaign spokeswoman, who was with McCrory as he announced his candidacy in Jamestown, said there was no hacker after all — that an overworked graphic designer had simply made a mistake when designing the logo.

That was not the end.

Smith, reached by phone, insisted the spokeswoman was wrong. The errant spelling — which had been fixed even as the e-mail sat in reporters' computers — was indeed the work of a hacker. She said the hacker must have re-hacked the campaign to fix the error.

Finally, McCrory himself weighed in. There was no hacker, he told a reporter. The campaign's designer spelled the word wrong.

This all should have been no big deal, a minor embarrassment at most, and not something that would get written up in the paper. But as they say, it's never the crime, it's the cover-up. And a very badly-handled cover-up as well.

Mary points out that going around and telling people that your IT security is nonexistent and that you haven't really done anything to fix it doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the campaign. Certainly, it's a far worse approach than admitting to a simple typo. The fact that the campaign manager that McCrory hired was oblivious to this fact doesn't inspire much confidence, either. And then for that campaign manager to publicly bitch-slap the campaign spokesperson who tries to control the damage? Sheesh. I bet it's a fun day at campaign HQ.

The campaign's finance director must be thrilled with how this went down, too. I bet people will be lining up in droves to give online now that the campaign has used the "H" word.

My Backyard

The condo building that Mary and I live on sits right next to the Old Settlers' Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Charlotte. Since it was a nice day, I grabbed my camera and went out back to see if I could find anything interesting to shoot. Whether I did or not I'll leave for you to decide.

Harry Taylor is Running for Congress

Yes, that Harry Taylor.

He's running against the loathsome Sue Myrick in NC-9. If you happen to live in that district, sign up for his email list. And if you like helping elect Democrats, drop some change in his cookie jar.

Come On Down

I just got an email from Howard Dean urging me to buy tickets to the Sanford/Hunt dinner, an annual fundraiser for the North Carolina Democratic Party. And you know, I wouldn't mind going.

But for the two and a half years I been in NC, I can't recall any of these big fundraising events being held in Charlotte. I realize the Party is based in Raleigh, but Charlotte is the biggest and richest city in the state. I doubt I'm the only Democrat here that wouldn't mind shelling out for a ticket, but isn't going to do that if it means also spending several hours in the car going back and forth.

The Vision Thing

DC Mayor Adrian Fenty is bent on taking control of the District's school system. He's got the vision and he's got the plan — and he got them both from Charlotte.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's administration copied significant portions of its education strategy verbatim from a plan developed by a North Carolina school system, even as the mayor seeks to show he has the vision and expertise to restructure governance of the District's troubled public schools.

Fenty's 31-page document is a blueprint of his plans to improve students' academic performance. It contains passages that are virtually identical to some in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools' strategic plan — including the opening statement describing the administration's vision. Fenty's document was submitted to the D.C. Council in late February in support of his proposal to take control of the public schools.

Now, I don't know if the Charlotte plan is any good or not, but if you're going to claim to be able to do what others have tried to do and failed, the least that people can expect is that you can think for yourself. And to let an aide take the fall for this "mistake" only means you care more about covering your ass than you do about your "bold initiative."

"It's in the Hole!"

Friday and Saturday I found myself at the Wachovia Championship, Charlotte's stop on the PGA tour. This was the third time I've gone and, as always, I had a great time.

Friday I went with my father. It was a little cold and rainy, but better that than clear skies and 90. We ended up having some pretty good luck, too. We parked ourselves along the 4th fairway when we arrived, and sure enough, 20 minutes later, Tiger was on the tee. His tee shot landed about 20 feet directly in front of us. By this time, his army had descended, but we were able to hold on to our spot along the rope line. Tiger then proceeded to hit a 150-year pitching wedge to within 6 feet of the hole, and made the putt for birdy. Pretty sweet.

Most of Friday was spent walking the course. Saturday, however, I went with my friend Jerry and we camped the whole time behind the 8th green. We were able to see most of the players' approach shots, and had an excellent look at their putts. I'll have to remember this spot next year.

Of course, not liking people all that much, there were plenty of annoyances because of the large crowds. Here are five reminders for some of the ruder patrons I saw:

1. If you're smoking a big cigar in the middle of a large crowd of spectators, that doesn't make you sophisticated — it makes you an ass.
2. If you're drunk and keep humming porno music and saying "There goes the herd" every time a group of women walk by, you probably have a very hard time getting laid.
3. If you're standing in a two-minute line for the restrooms and spend those two minutes bitching about how unfair it is that you can't use the handicapped bathroom, you are an ignorant and insensitive bastard.
4. If you bring your kids to the tournament and they start making fart noises as players are getting ready to tee off, you probably need to rethink a few decisions.
5. If you are the only people talking in a 50-yard radius, get the message and shut the hell up.