If you have to stop bloviating on the web, I’m happy it sounds like it is for all the right reasons - your life is simply too full of good things to fit blogging in the mix.

I’m glad things are going so well even if I do think you are wrong on just about every issue. Will look for you out and about.

Justin, thank you for your work here. It has been my path to Cabarrus County activism, and I’m not expecting that to change anytime soon.

I hope everyone will make the jump to ConservativeNC. It really is a great up and coming site. See you all there!

Good Luck and GOD Bless. I will miss the Cheap Seats but I see big things for you.

Union County, much like Cabarrus has had it’s political neanderthals in office, we still have a couple, so I still have work to do.

You noted a lack of readership and while the Village Scribe’s traffic has subsided a bit recently, I really think people are just numb over the Obama blitzkrieg and our thumbsucking Republicans in Congress.

I’ll have enjoyed reading your blog and of course the comments. Well Done!

Come on down to the VillageScribe, put your feet up and comment when spirit moves you — your always welcome.

From our first joust about the NCRC (You changed my mind on that one) to all of our cajoling of guys like Thierry and Brad: It’s been a good run!

You’ve always been the Yin to my Yang. Keeping things highbrow and of the issues while I was aiming below the belt and going ad hominem on folks.

I’ll always remember the good times like the disemvoweler on Ric-ee and the fun we had with the other liz and all the fun lovers, the moon bats and the blog trolls.

Oh, and we even covered a few important issues too…

Who knows, without a venue such as this to vent from, folks might see a resurrection of the Brain Cell Destroyer. All be it with a better, more user friendly name…

Good luck with the new ventures.

I only have one final question: Where will Palmer be posting? That kid is freakin’ hilarious!

Keep the domain, because you never know…

Seriously, great job Justin! It was from this site that I started getting more involved in local politics and issues. It was from this site that I have met many amazing people whom I look forward to working beside in the future. From spirited debates over national and political issues to the openness of so many local leaders, this site definitely has served its purpose.

Congratulations on your time running the top blog in Cabarrus County the past four years.

Thanks for catching my mistake. Sorry to all for forgetting but it will be held April 18th from 12 noon till 2 PM Saturday. I promise the pork will be better than my blogging.

I take from your first response, that you visit this site to see what the other side is up to. That being said, you probably don’t know that I agree with many of Thierry’s stances on various social issues. Probably more so than almost any other person who visits this site and isn’t a total card carrying liberal democrat.
Also along those line’s your probably one of the thousand readers here who just skim’s the posts looking to poke holes in anything you disagree with.

The topic at hand was the whining and crying of “idealistic types” because their local messiah isn’t towing the line of the national messiah.

Thierry has long touted hard line socialism as the cure to all our nations ills. I was simply stating that it’s easy for people who don’t contribute to capitalism to complain about it. It was a simple misunderstanding about the meaning of ideals versus idealism. He’s well aware of my personal opinions and also more than capable of taking up for himself as is shown above and in about a million other posts on this site.

Finally, please discontinue the whole “lets not get distracted” stuff. How many policy discussions took place in 2006 or 2007 when Bush was defending the war in Iraq? Or was the vast majority of the news coverage dedicated to how mean and evil he was? Or how stupid? Or any of the other pointless attacks?
Don’t wait until “your guy” gets into office to start complaining about civility…

While I understand I’m fully capable of “skipping over” one contributors statements, this is all a discussion, and I’d love to think we;d all be capable of keeping the topics relative and productive. I guess some are below that. Alas, I digress…

And “di*khead” is NOT a personal attack????? Come on, Aaron is Aaron, always has been and always will be. If your skin is too thin to read Aaron’s comment, then don’t. Kinda of like the radio, just turn it off.

I usually visit the site as often as I can, and while I don’t agree with a lot of content here, I do appreciate the discussion and the passion of local folks. I’m not above a friendly back-and-forth with Justin and others here, and luckily so far I haven’t had the “honor” of addressing you. Your comments in this thread are awfully childish and do almost everything possible to not only promote partisan bickering, but completely avoid the ACTUAL issue at hand.

Here’s to some lively ongoing discussion and debate at Cheap Seats. Avoiding personal attacks will help you come off as less of a total dickhead to those that have respectfully remained above the childish bickering.

Now, let’s discuss what’s best for our county.

I don’t know you well enough to determine whether you have ideals you are passionate about or whether you are an “idealist.” I’m definitely the former. Folks like union members and environmentalists are “Idealists.” That meaning that they’re one note songs who couldn’t care less about anything else as long as the one or two narrow things they’re concerned about get taken care of.

Those morons on BlueNC who are complaining about Kissell are one note song Idealists.

Most probably fall neatly into the class envy Idealists or the anti wealth idealist category.

Idealist’s definitely should be talked down to! White Supremacists are Idealists. Anti-Abortion zealots are Idealists. Should we hold a nice quiet comparison of ideologies over coffee or should we be more concerned when they lynch other races or blow up abortion clinics?

How civil were most Obama Zealots during the election process? I couldn’t count the number of times I was called a racist or a bigot when someone asked me who I was voting for.
Was it the McCain camp who printed and sold “Palin is a C$*t” T-shirts?
(I thought they were hilarious by the way. I called them douche bag shrouds.)

Sorry if you were offended by my initial statements. Civil discourse was a class I skipped in school.

Please come down from your cross too. Your “volunteering” for a political party is about as useful as me volunteering to dig holes in my backyard all day. We can both come home feeling like we’ve done something but the terminally ill kids are still lonely in the hospital and the old lady’ grass still didn’t get mowed.

If you want to prove something to me or anyone else. Volunteer to do a job that pays a salary and then donate 100% of your paychecks to someone who is homeless. Then you can get on that cross with pride.

I’m not debating you or Aaron’s ideals, we can do that another time.
I’m debating if anyone who has ideals should be talked down to.
Thats definitely the impression i get when i read a sentence like “I absolutely love it when idealistic types get exactly what they want and then grow bored…..”

Justin just became the vice-chair of the local Republican Party, congratulations by the way (or condolences, whatever you feel is more appropriate). Since he works for a political party, I’m sure you think his life also revolves around what happens inside the DC beltway?
We don’t work for a Party, we volunteer. Yes, that means we don’t get paid for it *gasp*. We’re pretty crazy huh?

I’m just asking for some respect, whether you agree with me or not, you don’t have to belittle me or anyone else for that matter.
That’s the job of that Oxycontin addict with a microphone, with all due respect

I will grant you this - you’re a lot more level-headed than some of your compatriots over there. The fact of the matter that Aaron, I, and a large segment of the population don’t believe that government can or should even attempt to do a lot of what the Obama Administration is trying to do - namely shielding adults from the consequences of their stupid choices at the expense of everyone else.

I don’t think that the fact that I’m not looking for someone else to mitigate the consequences of MY stupid choices is a lack of ideals - I think it comes from an abundance of them.

And you don’t know what marketable skills I had before you came to the US. Let’s not grasp at straws.

Your reason for waking up and going to sleep seems to revolve around what happens inside the DC beltway. If that were not so, you wouldn’t be working for a political party unless you took a page out of the communism book and figured you get in on the ground floor of what is yet to come. I find that fact pathetically boring. The US political system has been corrupt for many years, regardless of who is in charge, the little guy is always the one getting screwed. In this particular presidents case, that “little guy” happens to be Palmer or my son. Once the anointed one leaves, they’ll be some other guy who’ll screw some other little guy.

Honestly, do you think ANY congressman gives one little damn about the medical care system in this country? They’re all covered by the taxpayer until the day they die. Same with social security. They’ve got 5 times that retirement benefit just for getting elected.

As for my “marketable skill” well, I’m no one special, just the kind of guy you have to pay 50 dollars an hour when the clothes dryer stops working or the toilets clogged. It’s easy for you to say things like that because you don’t respect the people who ACTUALLY make this country work. You’ve diluted your self into believing that the great Obama could unclog your toilet, fix your washing machine or wire in that new energy star rated furnace with the right language in an omnibus spending bill.

I too have many ideals, most don’t revolve around some politician deciding what’s best for me at some office in some federal building so I think that stating them would be slightly, to quote the president “Above your pay grade…”

I suggest we don’t make this personal. You have no idea what marketable skills I have, you have no clue what i did before i got to the US. I could say the only marketable skill you have is being able to make the lights go on.

The thing that always irritates me about you is the way you talk down to anyone who dares belief in making this world a better place, no matter what you think better is.
When you mentioned “idealistic types”, you didn’t specify and i took that as meaning that anyone who has any ideals, no matter what they are, is a loser.
Seems to me Justin and you, even if you don’t realize it, have ideals, otherwise you wouldn’t be on here.

All i wanted to say is that if you don’t have any ideals, life sure is boring. Maybe you like it that way.

I could get into another discussion with you about how since you were born into socialism and never knew anything else you just don’t understand.
I could also talk about how, since you posses no marketable skills other than those required to work for a political party you just don’t understand.

Instead, I’ll just agree with Justin’s last comment and leave it at that.

Justin:
I’d say that 99.9 percent of those that voted for Kissell also voted for the great one. That being the case, they should’ve just nominated a magic eight ball with all of the no answers erased. Or a robotic head with a speaker that just says “Yes Master” in a funny Igor voice. Either would’ve been better than a person with a slight amount of logic and reasoning.
I doubt we’ll see too much more of this insubordination so I’d like a framed signed copy of the photo that was undoubtedly taken as he broke ranks and violated the order of his pants suit wearing master!

Thierry - There are those of us who have ideals beyond The Glory of the State.

Aaron - I wouldn’t say that they are idealistic…just very, very intolerant.

It doesn’t matter what Bush did, he’s gone

It seems very strange to me to say we have a major problem, which is true, but at the same time saying that the cause of that problem is not important, “after all it was in the past”.

If the past doesn’t matter then why are you referencing to 2003 when you talk about the County?

I absolutely love it when idealistic types get exactly what they want and then grow bored or disgusted with it before the new car smell even gets out of it.

Any time a democrat follows a republican in office, they get to blame the republican for everything that doesn’t work for the next 3 years.

Any time a republican follows a democrat, the democrat gets to tell the world what the republican is doing wrong for the next three years. Then when the next democrat gets into office he gets to cycle through it all again.

Advice is not taken from someone just because of a title in front of the name - but it also doesn’t take a PhD to have common sense.

As for the county, I agree - that’s why we almost went in the tank in 2003 and 2004, before good, solid, conservative, fiscally responsible Republicans took over the board of commissioners.

While i agree with your statement that we all have a spending problem, you have to admit it’s a little surprising hearing this from some republicans right now, knowing that almost none of them let out a peep when the previous President took this country from a $127 billion budget surplus to a $455 billion deficit.
The deficit was a lot bigger even if you include the emergency spending bills to provide funding for the war in Iraq, which were conveniently left out of the budget, thereby hiding the real cost of the war.

I also agree we all have to live within our means, so does our County government.

Finally the truth from a Government Official. Maybe we need to move you to Washington, DC.

I’ll go a little low brow to explain my “personal attacks” as you call them and paraphrase a quote I heard from a college poli-sci professor: “Debate without passion is like sex without orgasm; What’s the point?”

As for you most recent post let me break it down:

Vegas would love it.

So, I’m assuming that you are under the impression that the people who live in Las Vegas and work in Las Vegas do so for free? How does an increase in business in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, or even Cherokee Casino not directly benefit Americans?

Blowing a sick amount of our nations cash to give half the nation a good week is just folly.

First, we’re blowing it anyway on an increase in the size and scope of the federal government not seen since the administration of FDR… err uhh make that Dubya.

Second, you don’t seem to understand what CASH is so I’ll give you the blue collar definition. Cash is what you spend on payday. Credit is what you spend the day before payday.
I’m unaware of any 787 billion dollars just lying around that Obama can just release.

This leaves only 2 options:

1. He can Tax it

2. He can inflate it.

He’s chosen the latter for now as it’s not good for approval ratings to start your first 100 days with a tenfold tax increase.

We need to fix this problem by stopping the fire at its source.
I actually agree with that statement. The government caused the collapse so we should be putting out that fire. Economist Walter E. Williams said it best: “If you saw a house on fire would you call the arsonist who set the fire to come put it out?”

Did FDR fix our economic crisis during the 30’s by giving out checks?
FDR didn’t fix our economy: WWII did. Although, Obama is following the pre-WWII playbook page by page at this point. Using fear and loathing to expand the size of the federal government.

Matter of factly speaking, prior to this past Tuesday, FDR was and is still responsible for the greatest calamity of in government: I give you the expected 65 TRILLION dollar Social Security Shortfall. That being said, I’d suggest you curtail any further use of the FDR card.

The housing Projects that were encouraged in the 70’s were examples of this type of handout.

I also agree with that statement. FYI: It was LBJ who started that, He was also a Democrat. It was further expanded under Carter (AKA Obama Version 1.0) and it has only expanded since it’s inception. Try googling Little Rock Apartments or Logan Community Housing or Carter Projects.
This “stimulus bill” will only expand these handout programs and you are in favor of it? Look at how much HUD gets in the stimulus bill.

I hate to sound partisan but you gotta pick a side. You can’t have socialism and at the same time have a fierce independent spirit. You must give in to the collective good my friend.

But lets think to the future and use smart economics to solve this crisis at the source and not find temporary solutions.
Again, Quintupling the national budget deficeit seems like smart economics to you?
The best course would have been to do, get this: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

Have you taken a gander at the stock market lately?

Plain English: You may like the idea of a money pass-out, but frankly, I don’t trust numerous fiscally irresponsible people in this nation. I believe you when you say that you would spend your 23 grand well but judging by the practices seen thus far, many Americans wouldn’t. Vegas would love it. Blowing a sick amount of our nations cash to give half the nation a good week is just folly. As you said, use common sense. As you said, think of the children. Does blowing 787 billion bucks on today’s America, and leaving tomorrows Americans to deal with that additional debt sound good? Perhaps spending the money on a bunch of buildings in DC isn’t the best idea, but handing it all out is far from smart. A handout is like a garden hose and this economic crisis is a house fire; you’re wasting your time and money for a temporary fix. We need to fix this problem by stopping the fire at its source. Give tax breaks to small businesses, the same businesses that create jobs. Let Americans work for their money. Encourage this type of responsible and economically productive decision-making. Did FDR fix our economic crisis during the 30’s by giving out checks? No, he encouraged small businesses, created jobs, and helped Americans work for their money. The housing Projects that were encouraged in the 70’s were examples of this type of handout. We can all see how those turned out (gang and drug infested ghettos). I’m sorry but this, “Let the government baby-sit you” attitude is not wise. Argue about whether using the money to make buildings in DC helps YOU or not, but continue to advocate this shortsighted “handout” idea and I will fail to take your claims of caring about the future of our nation seriously.

Perhaps you, I, or any other person who reads this thread will agree with the plans Obama has for helping our economy, Probably not. But lets think to the future and use smart economics to solve this crisis at the source and not find temporary solutions.

Here’s the breakdown I heard:

50% of 306,000,000 equals 153 Million people. That’s taking an approximation of the people who pay taxes. If we looked at it demographically it would probably be a lower number as this 306 million takes into account children and illegal immigrants who, like children: don’t pay taxes…

Take that 153 million and divide it by 4.5 as this is the average household in the country and that number becomes 34,000,000.

Take that 34 million and divide it by the 787 billion and you get: $23,147.50 per household. That would pay off over 1/3 of my mortgage, buy me two new(er) cars OR pay off all of my short term and credit card debt and leave me with about $22,147.50 left over to put into savings.

I guess the counter point to it all is this simple question:

The President has said that he isn’t sure if this 787 billion will cure all the financial ills. If that’s the case then how much would cure it and why didn’t we just make the stimulus bill that amount?

Why are we putting a cap on the amount of imaginary, inflationary money we are going to spend?

I understand the logic of the Obama administration. They’re using the same false panic that the republicans used to pass the patriot act. He’s getting everything he wanted to do in a term, taken care of in his first 45 days in office.

On another subject, are we still at war in Iraq? I haven’t heard anything about it since late January?

For clarification, if you divided the $787,000,000,000.00 spending bill evenly among all Americans it would come out to roughly $2,500.00 apiece since there is approximately 306,000,000 people living in America.
http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html

However, if you divided the spending bill evenly among ONLY Americans who pay taxes, each person would receive nearly $10,000. I saw this figure on CNN so I am assuming it is accurate as I do not have the demographics for how many Americans (excluding Democrat law makers) who pay taxes.

But here are some interesting things http://www.Boston.com lists that could be bought with the spending bills money:
1. According to campusexplorer.com, there are about 1,509,180 elementary school teachers in the US, who are paid an average salary of $45,570 per year. The stimulus could pay every elementary school teacher’s salary for 11 years.

2. The stimulus package could pay off the $550 billion in outstanding student loan debt in the United States, and still have $237 billion left over. That is ALL college debt.

3. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney’s Utah ski home was just recently put on the market with an asking price of $5,250,000. You could purchase this estate about 149,904 times over with the stimulus package.

4. Auto enthusiasts could use the stimulus funds to purchase over 45 million new 2009 Pontiac G5s before GM shrinks it down to an affordable performance brand to help the company stay afloat during hard times.

5. Forbes magazine estimated that the Celtics were worth $447 million last year. With the stimulus funds, you could buy the Celtics about 1,760 times.

6. Bernard Madoff, a prominent money manager and former chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market, was accused of a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. The stimulus costs could cover the total money lost in this enormous scam 16 times over.

7. With all but six of the state’s 100 top-paid workers employed at the University of Massachusetts, the stimulus could pay one the university’s highest earner (Derek Lovely rakes in $613,065.44 as associate dean of the College of Natural Resources and the Environment) for the next 1,283,713 years.

8. There would be no shortage of government sponsored digital TV converter box coupons if the stimulus funds were used to supply over 19.6 billion of the $40 coupons.

9. Since many look to the Bic Mac index to understand exchange rates, it might help put the stimulus package in perspective. With the Big Mac currently worth about $3.54, the stimulus could purchase over 222 billion of the beloved burgers.

10. Brandeis University may sell off some of its 6,000-object art collection due to budgetary issues. The stimulus could purchase the entire collection, estimated to be worth $350 million, 2,248 times over.

Which would you all do??
- Since we are still paying on my wife’s grad school debt, I might take that one first. That would probably still leave enough in the bank to help out with paying off my car and MAYBE I could squeeze in a Big Mac or two!!

But then again, I guess my extra $13 / wk will allow me to buy 2 Big Mac meals with a coke and frye so scratch that… Maybe I can just get a Starbucks card or something.

If we can please cut the “Hope and Change” nonsense and use a little common sense!

We are staring at the beginning of the end of this country. I am wondering if the Romans felt this way. Was there a single point that most of them could point to or was it just the straw that broke the camels back.

I’m going out on a short and very strong limb by saying you’re probably one of those mystified Obama voters who watched the most expensive inauguration in the history of this country with more joy and glee than a 6 year old girl on Christmas morning. You were elated and completely clueless as to why.

Now you’re blindly following the new messiah and taking his words as some form of biblical truth. You’re either ignoring your better instincts or you don’t possess any.

90% of the jobs being “created” are in construction. Illegal immigrants make up a majority of construction workers these days with unions covering the rest. I’m not illegal or in a union so if I were a construction worker, I’d be last in line to get one of those jobs. That is the point I’ve been making over and over again by asking you this question.

I pray for the sake of my children future that you cease this “we gotta do something” blind ambition and start paying attention to the reality that is the single biggest spending bill in the history of America.

Experts said during the campaign that Obama would increase the deficit by 1.4 trillion in his first four years. He’s currently on pace to do that in his first four months.

But I’m guessing you don’t have, want or care about the children…

But thanks for sharing your opinions I’m glad there are people like you with serious concern about our nations future.

Watch CSPAN much lately? The big 3 are apparently broke because no one wants their cars anymore. Would you really care about value or MPG if you had a few million to spend?

IF banks were brought into total liquidity through the massive paydown of debts, wouldn’t they have billions more to loan to businesses looking to open or expand?

All of this is beside the point. We’re facing a budget defecit of around 65 TRILLION dollars over the next 40 years. I’ll probably be dead by then but my kids and grandkids will be faced with either a 99% tax rate or the $7.2 million dollar cost of a loaf of bread. And for what?

You still didn’t answer my question: How does a bunch of construction inside the beltway of DC land me a new job? Am I supposed to move to DC? What about my family? Where will they live?

“Perhaps there are facts about accountability for this money that I don’t know.”
That makes you and every other congressman in the world! Doesn’t it feel good to know you could be a politician too???