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Chapel Hill Herald, Saturday April 16, 2005

The Town Council adopted the prudent course in its response to the keg registration bill. The feeling was that, with or without Chapel Hill's encouragement, this bill was gaining traction elsewhere in the state. Thus, the town and its legislative delegation can best safeguard the privacy of consumers by adding strong language to that effect to Joe Hackney's and Verla Insko's House Bill 855.

A unanimous council was concerned about the need for keg purchasers to obtain a permit from the ABC board, the provision for criminal background checks, potential unintended consequences of requiring identification of where the keg would be consumed and the unnecessary intrusion into individual privacy from maintaining keg permits as public records.

Still, it was an odd process for Chapel Hill. Support for keg registration was proposed for a council legislative request by Jim Ward back in February. For most proposals, the town gets a report back from staff and receives citizen comment before taking action. Ward's timing pre-empted such input.

Chapel Hill Herald, Saturday, March 19, 2005
[modified slightly from published version to reflect that the event is now past]

Last Saturday's March and Rally to Bring the Troops Home Now in Fayetteville was not your typical peace rally. The location was chosen to focus on support for the troops.

Among the main sponsors were Veterans For Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War and Military Families Speak Out.

Fayetteville, of course, is the home of Fort Bragg, one of the largest military installations in the country. Twenty percent of those serving in Iraq hail from North Carolina.

The event promised a supportive environment for soldiers and military families concerned about the Iraq war. It allowed them to speak out and to raise their questions about Bush administration policy while still having their patriotism honored.

I joined about 100 other self-identified "progressives" on campus this evening for an event focused on how to win more arguments, and therefore more elections, for the causes we believe in. The gathering was focused on the teachings of linguist George Lakoff, of whom I am admittedly a fan. He is on a mission to help the left catch up with the billions of dollars spent developing right-wing think tanks and media outlets over the past 30 years.