As published in the Chapel Hill Herald on September 9th, 2006:
If you have a strong stomach and some free time on Tuesday night you can head over to Memorial Hall at 6:30 p.m. to hear John Ashcroft speak. Of course, you might have a previously planned date to wash your hair.
Ashcroft is just the latest in a succession of right-wing extremists to speak on the UNC campus. Other recent appearances have come from well-known conservatives like Ann Coulter, Alan Keyes and Patrick McHenry. There have also been the lesser-known folks like Rush Limbaugh's brother and a speaker billing himself as the "conservative Jesse Jackson."
There is a consortium of conservative groups on the UNC campus that sponsors these events. The College Republicans are often involved, and this week's event is being sponsored by the UNC chapter of the Federalist Society and the Committee for a Better Carolina.
In what the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau has highlighted as a national publicity coup, Mark Kleinschmidt takes viewers on a tour of Chapel Hill in an episode of the LOGO Channel's U.S. of Ant show:
Ant talks politics with Mark, an openly gay city council member in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He shows him around town and is soon introduced to Thomas, a student at Chapel Hill who was the victim of a gay bashing.
I don't doubt that the Visitors Bureau is correct about the public relations value of this segment for its audience. Says Director Laurie Paolicelli, "Special thanks to Mark and Mike for carrying the torch and making national viewers/travelers even more aware of our area."
We locals will find the bussing and hugging a salutary alternative to the serious business of mainstream TV journalism.
[Note: those of you who've been around as long as he has will forgive Mike's forgetting that he first ran for Alderman in 1989, not 1993.]
On Friday, September 22, residents of Carrboro and Chapel Hill will for the third straight year join millions of others around the world in celebrating World Car Free Day, leaving their cars at home and using other means of transportation instead.
Residents of Orange County who formally pledge to go Car Free or at least Car Lite (reduced car use) for September 22 will be entered into a drawing for prizes that include Amtrak tickets to Washington, DC & New York, a new bicycle, gift certificates for Squid's, Spanky's or 411 West, and more. Anyone can pledge on-line at www.gocarfree.com; pledge forms that can be mailed will also be available in the Chapel Hill News and Chapel Hill Herald over the next three weeks.
The following is an announcement I got this weekend from Linda Convissor in UNC's Local Relations department. The Development Plan was a 300+ page document outlining the next 10 years of development on campus. Under the terms of the OI-4 zone created in 2001 for UNC, the University submits these plans to the town in return for the removal of a cap that had limited them to 14 million square feet on development on the main campus.
Under the terms of OI-4, the Town will have 4 months to review and approve the plan modifications, which range into hundreds of pages, plus maps, and the inevitable corrections and clarifications.
Dear Friends and Neighbors:
On Wednesday, September 13, 2006, the Town of Chapel Hill will hold a public information meeting on the University's application to amend its campus Development Plan. The meeting will be at 5 p.m. at the Chapel Hill Town Hall. The Town has mailed notice to property owners within 1,000 feet of campus.
Announcement from Peggy Misch
Ira Chernus
University of Colorado
Homeland Insecurity:
From Terror and Fantasy to Hope and Reality
Wednesday, September 13, 7:30 PM
Chapel Hill Town Hall Council Chambers
405 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
The Bush administration's War on Terror has undermined our civil liberties at home and created more enemies abroad, especially in the Middle East.
Commemorate September 11 and Constitution Day, September 17. Reconsider the War on Terror, its consequences, and some alternatives.
Presented by the Curriculum in Peace, War, and Defense and the Orange County Bill of Rights Defense Committee
Cosponsored by Charles M. Jones Peace and Justice Committee of the Community Church of Chapel Hill UU, Coalition for Peace with Justice, Committee to End the Cycle of Violence, Elders for Peace, Jews for a Just Peace-NC, Peace 1st, Students United for a Responsible Global Environment, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom-Triangle Branch
For more information: 942-2535
Pages
About Us
OrangePolitics is a not-for-profit website for discussing progressive perspectives on politics, planning, and public policy in Orange County, NC. Opinions are those of their authors. Learn more.
Community Guidelines
By using this site, you agree to our community guidelines. Inappropriate or disruptive behavior will result in moderation or eviction.
Zircon - This is a contributing Drupal Theme
Design by
WeebPal.
