Jamal Fox Confirms He Lied

When I broke the news that Jamal Fox was leaving the Greensboro City Council because he was moving with his girlfriend to Oregon, Councilman Fox accused me of lying. Now the North Carolina Democratic Party gets an admission out of him.

Let's hope folks in Oregon find this and the many other stories about him when Jamal Fox starts playing politics again.

Was Jamal Fox Blackmailed?

Now granted, I can't prove this to be true but the evidence I am about to present and the failure to communicate on the part of Councilman Jamal Fox, Mayor Nancy Barakat Vaughan, and the rest of the Greensboro City Council no doubt leads to distrust and speculation on the part of the residents of Greensboro.

On June 22, 2017, Jamal Fox posted to his Facebook page that he would not be running for reelection but gave no explanation as to why:

It is worth noting that Councilman Fox has attended several recent City Council meetings not in person but via telephone.

Then, out of the blue, on June 28, 2017, with his term not ending until December, Councilman Fox announces he will be leaving office 6 months ahead of schedule. What's up with that?

Now here is where it starts to get weird.

Why announce you are not running for reelection then resign 6 days later?

One story I was told was that he was resigning under a court order because of some crime he committed. I was unable to confirm that story.

Another story I was told was that Jamal was being shipped away to the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan Oregon, not far from Portland. Again, not much to go on there either.

The most plausible story that I managed to track down and the story I reported first was that Jamal Fox Lives In High Point where he would be ineligible to serve as Greensboro's District 2 representative.

Then as more information came in I posted my Update On Jamal Fox in which I wrote:

"I learned late last night that Jamal has been living with his girlfriend at her home in High Point for at least several months if not longer. She recently accepted a job in Portland, Oregon. That was when he announced that he would not be running for reelection.

Then somebody threatened to go to a city council meeting and bring up the fact that Councilman Jamal Fox, Greensboro City Council District 2 doesn't live in Greensboro.

In the beginning, Fox was going to recommend Goldie Wells to run in his place but the rest of city council plans to appoint someone named Tim Vincent to replace him.

This makes it appear as if someone connected to City Council is using this opportunity to put who they want on City Council so that just like Tony Wilkins and Justin Outling, an appointed council member will have better name recognition and at better chance at reelection."

But as I reported in Jamal Fox Denys Accusations,  Councilman Fox has been quick to call me a liar but has yet to explain himself,

And over 24 hours later he still fails to tell us his side of the story.

Is Jamal Fox living with his girlfriend in High Point while claiming to represent the citizens of District 2 in Greensboro? Worse yet, is Jamal Fox living in Portland, Oregon and claiming to represent the citizens of District 2 in Greensboro?

If yes then he has committed a crime, possibly even a felony depending on how long he has lived outside of District 2 while still collecting his paychecks from Greensboro taxpayers.

And his sudden change from not running to resigning immediately? Could that be because Nancy Barakat Vaughan and the rest of Council are blackmailing him? No, not blackmailing Jamal for money, everybody knows Jamal is broke. But blackmailing Jamal so that Mayor Vaughan and the rest of her crony council can appoint whoever they want to fill the District 2 seat just as was done with Tony Wilkins and Justin Outling?

Now like I said at the beginning, I can't prove this to be true. I can only prove that Jamal is hiding something he doesn't want you to know. But as a resident of District 2 I will be very wary and will not support for reelection, any candidate that is appointed by the Greensboro City Council to finish Jamal's term.

And I would tell you the same if I were appointed.

Jamal Fox Denys Accusations

As you can see in the screen grab, Jamal Fox is denying accusations made on this blog and on Facebook about his unexplained, and sudden departure from the Greensboro City Council.

As you can also see I've given him the chance to explain in writing so that there is no chance that I might somehow alter his explanation.

I'm not afraid of being proven wrong, but you have to actually prove it to make it so.

Your move Jamal.

Update On Jamal Fox

According to my sources...

I learned late last night that Jamal has been living with his girlfriend at her home in High Point for at least several months if not longer. She recently accepted a job in Portland, Oregon. That was when he announced that he would not be running for reelection.

Then somebody threatened to go to a city council meeting and bring up the fact that Councilman Jamal Fox, Greensboro City Council District 2 doesn't live in Greensboro.

In the beginning, Fox was going to recommend Goldie Wells to run in his place but the rest of city council plans to appoint someone named Tim Vincent to replace him.

This makes it appear as if someone connected to City Council is using this opportunity to put who they want on City Council so that just like Tony Wilkins and Justin Outling, an appointed council member will have better name recognition and at better chance at reelection.

Who ever heard of a city council with 1/3 of its members appointed to office? In America?

Thank you, Jamal, for screwing the residents of District 2 even as you skip town. May everything about Jamal Fox recorded here at EzGreensboro.com and throughout the rest of the Greensboro media forever haunt you.

Oh, and Jamal, this one is for you, Dog.

Jamal Fox Lives In High Point

Rumor has it that the reason that Greensboro City Councilman Jamal suddenly resigned today was because someone found out that Jamal lives not in Greensboro but in High Point.

Who Paid For The Councilman's Trip To Germany?

Were you aware that Greensboro City Councilman Jamal Fox recently made a trip to Germany?

Now just in case you think I made that up, the following link will direct you to the same document hosted on City of Greensboro servers: http://gsoapps.greensboro-nc.gov/downloads/PIRT/6801/PIRT%206801.pdf

Now this document is said to be Jamal's travel and expense reports. The trip was said to be made to bring back jobs but it's not certain if Councilman Fox brought back anything more than Sauerkraut.

Okay, bad joke, but I'm trying not to be so negative.

That's a pretty cheap trip to Germany and back, don't you think?

Especially when Public Information Request #6801 specified:


"all the costs associated with sending Mr. Jamal Fox to Germany."


Seriously, that is also located on City of Greensboro servers: http://gsoapps.greensboro-nc.gov/GSOSiteForms/frmViewPublicRequests.aspx?PREQID=6801


And interestingly enough, while Mr Brown also asked for:

"Also, could you please identify the companies he spoke with concerning their moving to Greensboro."


The City of Greensboro replied:

"Please find the attached records responsive to your request. We have no records responsive to the portion of your request pertaining to companies that Councilman Fox met with."

The City has no records? Lack of records never looks good. If Councilman Fox failed to provide records for the work he did then why was he reimbursed for his travel expenses?

I earned my living traveling for 28 years. Receipts of travel expenses were never enough. We had to provide records of the work we did and when we did it. If we didn't turn in the paperwork we didn't get paid, nor reimbursed.

So did Jamal Fox travel to Germany and back for just a little over $500.oo, meals, motels, airfare and all? Or did someone else foot the bill? Someone who might hold sway over decisions made by Councilman Fox?

Someone like say, Jim Melvin? Sam Simpson? The Megasite backers?

And was the trip really for economic development? Did Mr Fox not have records of the companies he met with? Aren't meetings involving economic development supposed to be public record? Why does the City of Greensboro not have such records?

Or did Jamal and a bunch of Greensboro high rollers simply go to Germany so no one in Greensboro would see them partying their asses off in public?

What Greensboro's City Council and Staff didn't/don't/won't watch out for, for their own employees' retirement plan

"...Paying too much: You have to care about expenses. They are the most predictable characteristic of explaining future returns of funds, experts say. And expenses are a more reliable signal than past performance.

They don't care about their own employees

Choosing the right mutual fund is different from choosing stocks, because you're effectively choosing a money manager rather than a management team. Controlling costs is key to successful fund investing.

They had the chance to do the right thing, 

and they didn't do it

It can’t be said enough: with funds, costs matter. Annual expenses eat into total return, year after year. With high-cost funds, you pay more and pocket less. Moreover, studies show that low-expense funds are more likely to outperform their costlier counterparts over time..."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-to-buy-mutual-funds-2016-07-24

If you are a City of Greensboro employee,

Nancy Vaughan, Nancy Hofmann, Tony Wilkins, Justin Outling, Jamal Fox, 

Mike Barber, Yvonne Johnson, Sharon Hightower, Marikay Abuzuaiter, 

Connie Hammond, Rick Lusk, Jim Westmoreland 

Mary Vigue and Donnie Turlington are directly responsible for your not making more

in your ICMA-RC 457 retirement plan

They chose Wall Street over those they have a responsibility to represent

Jamal Fox And Sharon Hightower Are Lying About The Animal Shelter

And I've Challenged Them To Prove Me Wrong

Over the course of the weekend I asked some of the County Commissioners the following questions concerning the property Marty Kotis is attempting to buy-- the same property where Greensboro City Councilwoman Sharon Hightower and Councilman Jamal Fox have been expressing opposition to a proposed East Greensboro animal shelter:

“The answer is no,” Greensboro City Councilmember Jamal Fox said of a recent proposal by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners to build the county’s new animal shelter at 3307 Burlington Road in east Greensboro.
 

“No, we don’t want it over there,” Fox added.  “I object to everything about it.”

The Rhino article I linked to mentions Hightower as well:

“I don’t support it and I will not support it,” an animated Hightower said this week.  “I’m sick and tired of people trying to come dump every negative thing on our community.  I’m pissed off and, if you want, you can put that in the paper.”

Hightower said she felt as though the majority of the Greensboro City Council would refuse to go along with putting the animal shelter on that spot.  She said the City Council had been working for a long time to bring positive changes to the area, and they had been working hard to lure beneficial businesses back to east Greensboro – so, she said, she didn’t believe they would support such an egregious step backward."

So what did I ask our County Commissioners?

"Who else has bid on that property besides Kotis?

When and where was the property advertised for sale?

Were the County Commissioners advised before Kotis first attempted to buy the property last year?"

Our County Commissions, not knowing the answers, forwarded my questions to the current Guilford County Property Manager, Robert McNiece who wrote:

"The property has not been advertised. The only offer is an unsolicited proposal."

 So apparently Marty Kotis thinks he can just buy any municipal property he wants to buy even if it's not for sale. And with nobody bidding against him.

As to Councilmembers Fox and Hightower: On Friday I challenged them in a Facebook thread at Greater Greensboro Politics to tell me who objects to the animal shelter besides themselves who have both benifited greatly from Marty Kotis campaign contributions:

It's Monday, I'm still waiting on replies from Fox and Hightower. But just to make sure I eventually get a response from someone I submitted the following public information request to the City of Greensboro on Friday as well.

"Please provide me with all communications to the Mayor and City Council Members voicing opposition to Guilford County's efforts to build a new animal shelter on county owned property in East Greensboro.

Thank you
-Billy Jones"

We'll find out where the objections are coming from and/or prove Fox and Hightower to be the bought and paid for liars I believe them to be.

And finally, in my conversations with these county commissioners which were forwarded to John Hammer. Jeffrey Sykes, Alan Johnson and others in local media I pointed out that the last time Mr Kotis and I spoke with one another the conversation was about that particular piece of property.

In that conversation Kotis relieved to me that his intentions were to build a shopping center there in 10-20 years, not anytime in the near future. As I pointed out to Mr Kotis in our angry conversation my East Greensboro neighborhood will starve to death before 10 years and his was no plan to solve our food desert issues.

In my final e-mail to the County Commissioners, Hammer, Sykes and Johnson, I suggested they ask Kotis about his timeline for construction. I also recommend the Greensboro City Council and citizens of Greensboro do the same and that a requirement for quick development be placed on any purchase of municipal properties.

And finally, may I remind you that 40 years ago, Marty's father purchased a property 3 miles east of the proposed animal shelter site at the intersection of East Wendover @ the Interstate Bypass and two years ago the City of Greensboro gave Marty Kotis taxpayer dollars to defray the cost of developing a shopping center there and to date there remains nothing there and not one shovel of dirt moved.

Marty Kotis isn't investing in East Greensboro-- Marty Kotis is investing in a portfolio for Kotis Properties buying up cheap land where he can find it and using the power of political graft to avoid competition.

Prove me wrong-- I dare them.

Update: Monday May 23, 2016, 1:20 PM. Got the following reply from the City of Greensboro:

"Dear Mr. Jones,

Thank you for your public records request (PIRT 5761) in which you asked for “all communications to the Mayor and City Council Members voicing opposition to Guilford County's efforts to build a new animal shelter on county owned property in East Greensboro.”

Please provide the time frame that you would like us to use for your email search.

Sincerely,

Katherine Carter, Public Records Administrator

Communications and Marketing Department - 336-373-3282

City of Greensboro

PO Box 3136, Greensboro, NC 27402-3136

www.greensboro-nc.gov"

My reply to Ms Carter:

Do a 60 day time frame ending on Friday May 20, 2016 and I'll be very happy.

Thanks

-Billy"

Let's see what this brings, shall we?

Update 2: Sunday, June 6, 2016. I'm still waiting having gotten no response from Council members Jamal Fox, Sharon Hightower or the City of Greensboro.  Guess it's really hard to forward communications that never existed in the first place.

Update 3: June 15, 2016: Still no word. From May 23 until June 15, almost a month, this has remained one of the most well read posts here at EzGreensboro.com and still neither Jamal Fox, Sharon Hightower, Mayor Vaughan nor any other member of the Greensboro City Council has produced communications showing objections to placing the new and bigger Guilford County Animal Shelter and the jobs that come with it in East Greensboro.

 I promise you, if you elect me Mayor of Greensboro I will continue to call these liars out publicly and will do so in front of the television cameras. I'm not scared, are they?

Update 4: July 6 2015: May 19 to July 6 and still no reply from Jamal Fox, Sharon Melvin Hightower or a reply to my public information request #5761: http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/index.aspx?page=3765

Is anyone still willing to make the claim that Fox and Hightower have the best interest of East Greensboro in heart? Share this post, show me any who still believe in them.

Update 5: July 6 2015 PM. I decided to push the issue today and force a reply and in just a couple of hours I got 9 copies of a single e-mail that I had sent to Mayor Vaughan and the rest of City Council in support of the Animal Shelter. Seems that's all they had and no one was opposed.

Six weeks and one day to receive copies of one e-mail that I sent and already had a copy of.

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

"What John Oliver learned [which Greensboro's City Council and City Staff Didn't] while setting up a 401(k) plan for his employees"

"John Oliver, who has famously exposed the questionable practices of various industries on his HBO show “Last Week Tonight” ...recently took a look at the onerous fees that some retirement plans charge.

When presented with the opportunity to do right by City of Greensboro's employees, 

Tony Wilkins, Marikay Abuzuaiter, Nancy Vaughan, Mike Barber, Yvonne Johnson, 

Jamal Fox, Sharon Hightower, Rick Lusk, Mary Vigue, Connie Hammond, Jim Westmoreland 

and Zack Matheny, who was a stockbroker and knew better, 

supported cronies connected to the financial industry

instead of more than 2,800 employees who are still getting skimmed off of by ICMA-RC, 

the administrator for the City's 457 retirement plan.

“As a favor to your future self, it is worth watching this for 20 minutes because you could easily make small mistakes that could seriously cost you down the line,” he says toward the beginning of the June 12 episode.

Those current and former City employees mentioned above are thieves

They stole from those who they are supposed to look out for

He goes on to say that most actively managed funds don’t beat the market, and that anyone can call himself an investment adviser whether he has official credentials or not. And he explains what it means when an adivser is bound by a fiduciary standard: “It’s currently legal for advisers to put their own interests ahead of yours unless they’re a fiduciary.”...

The News and Record refused to look into Greensboro's retirement plan

and North Carolina State's retirement plans

for the benefit of Warren Buffett, who owns the paper and Wells Fargo

of which Berkshire Hathaway owns more than 10%

...he dedicates much of the show to what he learned after asking his production company to set up a 401(k) plan for his employees. Namely, that there are a lot of fees.

Susan Ladd betrayed City of Greensboro employees 

and our community by inaction, while she tries over and over to save some trees

instead of thousands of residents millions over time

“Compound interest works both ways,” he says. The company managing the show’s 401(k), John Hancock, gave him and his staff a presentation. After looking at the plan’s paperwork, “Last Week Tonight” realized there were the following fees: A combined 1.69% fee, plus a $24 per person per year fee, plus a fee for a broker who was acting as an intermediary. The broker received 1% of assets the first year and 0.5% every year after that. Oliver points out that if his 35 employees saved $6,000 a year for 30 years, it would cost them $1 million in fees overall. In addition, the broker said he was not a fiduciary, and when he sent the show a table showing how much the plan could grow, he was off by more than $10 million because of bad arithmetic, according to Oliver.

ICMA-RC is not considered a fiduciary for Greensboro's employees,

letting City Management including Jim Westmoreland, Mary Vigue, members of ICMA,

mislead and overcharge City participants with the active help of ICMA member Jamal Fox

and the rest of City Council.

...A spokeswoman for John Hancock told MarketWatch via email that the show’s 401(k) plan was placed with it after “an open and rigorous competitive review,” and it was competing against other prominent companies for the account. She said John Hancock disagrees with the way its business practices were characterized.

ICMA-RC doesn't act in the best interests of the City of Greensboro's employees,

but the best interests of ICMA-RC with the help of Council and Staff

“We feel that the analysis and presentation of fees and services by the show is flawed and misleading,” she said, adding, “We believe in the value of the services we provide and feel they add to the success of the plan in helping participants for retirement.”

By not making an endorsement for the NC Treasurer Democratic primary,

Greensboro's News and Record, along with most of the other state papers

fucked hundreds of thousands of municipal employees out of more than $500,000,000 per year

and most don't know.

In the end, Oliver offered five tips for people saving for retirement. You can see these starting around the 18-minute mark of the video, where they are much more humorously presented than they are here:

1. Start saving now
2. Invest in low-cost index funds

The City of Greensboro lied in response to a public records request,

has been caught red handed, and our local press won't report it

for the benefit of local City executives and entrenched City Council incumbents

to the detriment of City employees and they are going to get away with it

because it may harm the financial industry's profit margins.

3. Ask if your adviser is a fiduciary
4. Gradually shift investments from stocks to bonds as you get older
5. Keep your fees under 1%

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-john-oliver-learned-while-setting-up-a-401k-plan-for-his-employees-2016-06-13
.
.
The News and Record didn't report how Clayton Homes rips off poor people.

Jeff Gauger didn't report how Wells Fargo makes money from North Carolina's retirement plans.

The News and Record didn't report how mimicking the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan
 could save Greensboro's employees more than $500,000 per year, 
to preserve Warren Buffett's profitability at the expense of their readers.

Jeff Gauger and friends steal hundreds of millions from their readers 
via lies of omission so Warren Buffett can make more money.

Joe Killian and Jeff Gauger betrayed North Carolina's employees
for Warren Buffett

Allen Johnson and Doug Clark betrayed North Carolina's employees
for Warren Buffett
.
.
How to save $20,967,663 for the City of Durham's employees invested in ICMA-RC's 457 retirement plan

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/05/how-to-save-20967663-for-city-of.html

Greensboro's News and Record is directly responsible 

for North Carolina and the City of Greensboro's employees 

paying more for pension and retirement investments than necessary,

as they have known for years and did nothing

Now Mary Vigue is in charge of a legal Ponzi scheme called Say Yes to Education and Say Yes Guilford whose business model skims profits for administrators and vendors meant for college scholarships for Guilford County students with monies donated by local foundations, managed for a profit by the Community Foundation of High Point, and the Community Foundation of Greensboro, who's Walker Sanders lied to get additional taxpayer funding for Greensboro's STPAC with the help of Matt Brown, City Council and City staff, including Rick Lusk.

Dear Tony Wilkins, Nancy Vaughan and Hoffmann, Jamal Fox, Mike Barber, Sharon Hightower, Marikay Abuzuaiter, Connie Hammond, Yvonne Johnson and Jim Westmoreland; You stole from your employees by keeping fees high

“In U.S. equity funds, the cheapest quintile had a total-return success rate of 62% compared with 48% for the second-cheapest quintile, then 39% for the middle quintile, 30% for the second-priciest quintile, and 20% for the priciest quintile. So, the cheaper the quintile, the better your chances [of outperformance]. All told, cheapest-quintile funds were 3 times as likely to succeed as the priciest quintile.”

...Morningstar research breaks out active vs. passive funds in its research, and shows that the average expense ratio for passive investments was 0.18% vs. 0.78% for active funds.

...while many have touted index funds for only their lower costs and the simplicity of buy-and-hold, the fact remains that you also make more money."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-revolution-investors-have-been-fighting-for-is-here-2016-05-17
.
.
When presented with the opportunity to do right by City of Greensboro's employees, Tony Wilkins, Marikay Abuzuaiter, Nancy Vaughan, Mike Barber, Yvonne Johnson, Jamal Fox and Sharon Hightower supported cronies connected to the financial industry, Jim Westmoreland, Mary Vigue, Rick Lusk and Connie Hammond rather than more than 2,800 employees who are still getting skimmed off of by ICMA-RC, the administrator for the City's 457 retirement plan.

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/12/why-north-carolina-treasurer-janet.html

The City of Greensboro shafted their own employees; "401(k) Fees, Already Low, Are Heading Lower"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-city-of-greensboro-shafted-their.html

This is what winning reads like for those who oppose the status quo; City of Greensboro ICMA-RC 457 retirement plan edition

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/10/this-is-what-winning-reads-like-for.html

Say Yes to Education Red Flag; Mary Vigue; She is about to be in charge of more than $25 million for a 'non-profit' after shafting City of Greensboro employees out of investment fee cuts

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/10/say-yes-to-education-red-flag-mary.html

Associated Press misleads for Wall Street; "Correction: Primary-Council Of State story"; Don't expect the News and Record to tell anyone in print

The News and Record and other Warren Buffett owned news outlets
are going to try to take down Ron Elmers for Wall Street profit
instead of more money in North Carolina employee pockets

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/03/associated-press-misleads-for-wall.html

"Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway boosts Wells Fargo stake to 504.3 million shares, or 10%"

Warren Buffett owns Greensboro's News and Record.

The News and Record didn't report how Clayton Homes rips off poor people.

Jeff Gauger didn't report how Wells Fargo makes money from North Carolina's retirement plans.

The News and Record didn't report how mimicking the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan could save Greensboro's employees more than $500,000 per year, to preserve Warren Buffett's profitability at the expense of their readers.

Greensboro's City Council is in on it, including Tony Wilkins, whose cowardice from the right is a complete disgrace.  They fucked their own employees with the help of Jim Westmoreland, Mary Vigue, Connie Hammond and Donnie Turlington.

Nancy Vaughan led the Council into shafting their own employees by letting the financial industry continue to grossly overcharge fees in the City's 457 ICMA-RC retirement plan.

It's inexcusable.

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/03/buffetts-berkshire-hathaway-boosts.html

The News and Record didn't report how mimicking the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan could save Greensboro's employees more than $500,000 per year, to preserve Warren Buffett's profitability at the expense of their readers.

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/04/recent-jeff-gauger-and-news-and-record.html

The City of Greensboro shafted their own employees; "401(k) Fees, Already Low, Are Heading Lower"

"Employers, advisers shave retirement-plan costs as they face pressure to monitor expenses

Companies are stepping up efforts to offer lower-cost 401(k) retirement plans, a trend that has already sharply driven down average fees and is likely to continue.

But the City of Greensboro didn't lower costs

with the help of Tony Wilkins, Nancy Vaughan and Hoffmann, Jamal Fox, 

Mike Barber, Sharon Hightower, Marikay Abuzuaiter, and Yvonne Johnson

for the benefit of Jim Westmoreland's plan management providor

An explosion of information about plan fees has helped increase bargaining power for companies in negotiations with fund providers. And a wave of successful lawsuits against companies alleging their plans had high charges has also led many to seek out lower-priced options for employees.

Yet the City of Greensboro chose to betray their own

for Wall Street

...Plan administrative costs fell to their lowest level in a decade last year..

Except the City of Greensboro's fees went up

While the changes are adding up a few hundredths of a percentage point at a time, the reduction can make a big difference. According to Vanguard Group, investors in a plan that charged 0.25% a year could in theory amass 20% more money over a four-decade career than they could in one that charged 1.25%, all else being equal...

On average, the fees 401(k) participants pay for funds that invest in stocks fell from 0.77% of assets in 2000 to 0.74% in 2009, before dropping sharply to 0.54% in 2014...

But not th City of Greensboro with the help of Tony Wilkins, 

Nancy Vaughan and Hoffmann, Jamal Fox, Mike Barber, Sharon Hightower,

Marikay Abuzuaiter, Connie Hammond, Yvonne Johnson and Jim Westmoreland

Chobani LLC, a Norwich, N.Y. yogurt manufacturer, reduced its annual plan expenses from about 1.5% of assets in 2013 to about 0.50% in 2014 as it switched mainly to index funds...

Which was suggested and ignored by the City of Greensboro

More than 60% of 144 large employers said they were very or somewhat likely to move money this year into less-expensive share classes of the mutual funds on their plan menus

Not Greensboro

14% said they would switch some or all of their investment options from actively managed funds to index funds, which generally cost less.

Not Greensboro

...an Edwardsville, Kan., food distributor, reduce administrative fees from about 1% of plan assets a year to 0.41%. In all, the plan will save more than $17,000 a year in fees on the $2.9 million employees have invested...

Not Greensboro

http://www.wsj.com/articles/401-k-fees-already-low-are-heading-lower-1463304601

Tony Wilkins, Nancy Vaughan and Hoffmann, Jamal Fox, Mike Barber, Sharon Hightower,

Marikay Abuzuaiter, Connie Hammond, Yvonne Johnson and Jim Westmoreland

betrayed their employees by keeping fees high

These folks are thieves

They stole from those who they are supposed to look out for

The unnamed "developer" in the following News and Record article is Marty Kotis; Interesting thing about Jamal Fox lobbying for Marty

"City, county clash over where to build Guilford animal shelter"

Guilford County is moving forward with plans to build a new animal shelter on several dozen acres of land it already owns, officials said last week. But to do it, they’ll have to get the approval of the Greensboro Planning Board.“We own the property, but it’s within the city of Greensboro,” said Rob McNiece, the county’s planning and facilities director. “So building there would require rezoning approval from them.”

...Commissioners voted 6-3 at a work session Thursday to request a special-use permit from the city, which would allow the project to move forward.  ...The property sits in District 2, represented by City Councilman Jamal Fox. During a work session Thursday, Guilford County Commissioner Ray Trapp told the board that Fox had sent him a text message expressing his disapproval of the proposal.

...Fox did not respond to a request for comment. 

Other commissioners had previously been concerned about using the property for an animal shelter when there’s a possibility of developing the land for commercial use later. 

...At least one developer had expressed interest in the property, said Commissioner Jeff Phillips... 

“It’s not a deal-killer for this developer to have a shelter next door,” Phillips said. “And if they could get six or seven acres, it appears that they’d continue to be open-minded to pursuing an opportunity to develop that other portion of the parcel.”...

Kate Elizabeth Queram kate.queram@greensboro.com

Funny how the rookie reporter at the News and Record doesn't mention Marty Kotis' campaign contributions to those who voted to sell a property for $900,000, supposedly worth $1,035,000
which was supposed to be worth $3,054,100 in 2012.

I wonder if Kate Elizabeth Queram knows that Jamal Fox misled Guilford County Board of Elections and Greensboro's African American Community on Marty Kotis' funding of his campaign?

I wonder if Kate Elizabeth Queram knows Marty Kotis used taxpayer funded Zack Matheny as his lobbyist for even more city of Greensboro money?

I guess once Marty figured out how easy and inexpensive it is to purchase local politicians, he just couldn't stop doing it.  Once a parasite, always...  I wonder what he paid for Jeff Phillips. Abner Doon had it right;

Kotis got another $30,000 for fees last year the City Attorney said he could not legally receive, City Council voted for it and no one reported a fraud committed upon Greensboro's taxpayers by City Council, City staff and Marty Kotis, who recieved the end of taxpayer owned Madison Avenue recently beforehand.
When Marty came back for more because of "unknown" fees and "inflation" for water and sewer, City Council, on video, figured out how to fraudulently funnel him the money under a different set of auspices for a multimillionaire at the expense of Greensboro's taxpayers .
It was a fraud upon taxpayers by both Kotis, City Council members who vote for it, and the city staff who let it get to a vote, and now he got more by buying off most of Greensboro's Council with campaign cash.
These are the same people who let Zack Matheny pre-apply for Downtown Greensboro's CEO job as a sitting City Councilman, who voted to fund DGI's giveaways to DGI's members, many of whom have contributed to Zack Matheny's campaigns, and the News & Record's editorial department supported it, and now advocates Zack's lobbying efforts to transfer wealth from everyone else into the pockets of those worth more than $100,000,000.
Zack Matheny violated his oath of office by applying for the job as a sitting council member.  The rest of City Council didn't have a problem with it.  If no one else on the City Council had a problem with it, something is very wrong with Greensboro's City Council.
I guess they think that because Mike Barber can make money off taxpayers with First Tee of the Triad at a City owned and operated golf course, it's okay for Zack to get a taxpayer funded gig he voted to preserve for himself.
Maybe they believe that if Mayor Nancy Vaughan can make money from Greensboro's taxpayers funneled to her husband Don via free methane for Wilbur Ross while Nancy served on the Solid Waste Committee, it was okay for Zack to unfairly use his position as City Council member to land the top DGI job, and now it's okay for Marty to take some taxpayer owned real estate for a third of its value.
The methane issue has been raised tens of times without objection from the mayor and without the Greensboro's News and Record reporting it after being informed in 2013.
They didn't mind letting a fellow Council member taking advantage of DGI funding after Nancy Hoffmann used her position to benefit herself via DGI's handouts to her tenants and business partners, whose Spice Cantina went under without the News and Record reporting the story.
Maybe Greensboro's City Council is just comprised of a bunch of crooks and accomplices who either are too stupid or don't care enough to object.
Our community has been betrayed, which financially benefited many on City Council and their "supporters", with allocations of everyone else's money to a small circle of "friends".  We're paying for it.  Other small businesses lose because of it.
Our biggest hurdle is a compromised press.  If they don't report what is actually happening, its going to get worse.

Let's play "how sold out Greensboro's local press and so called fiscally 'conservative' City Council members are"

http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentID=30824

About $449 million in 2014-2015 divided by about $520 million proposed for the next fiscal year 
= about 13.7% more than two years ago

Next time you hear Tony Wilkins talk about saving money after he oversaw another $55 million in new debt without calling for a referendum or some kind of sanity, tell him he is a fucking misleading asshole for selling out to his campaign contributors.

Tony is no different than Mike Barber and friends.

Leaches

Water and Sewer for Randolph County based on hidden tax increases served up as increased fees by Tony Wilkins
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Greensboro City Manager Jim Westmoreland recommends regressive tax increases on Greensboro's poorest citizens


http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/05/greensboro-city-manager-jim.html
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Tony is for fucking poor people more than they already are to pay for handouts to his financial backers.  Touting "no property tax increase" as he shafts Greensboro's poorest along with Justin Outling, Yvonne Johnson, Marikay Abuzuaiter, Jamal Fox and Sharon Hightower among the others.

Nancy Vaughan, Hoffmann, Tony and Barber don't mind kicking 'East Greensboro' in the nuts a little bit more, but that City Council's African American league is in on it is disgusting.

They are shitting where they eat.

Will Jamal Fox Act?

Yesterday I reported Update On The Sunday Night Stench. Today makes the fourth day and our media has yet to pick up the story despite my having proved they know it happened.

At the risk of being tossed out of yet another Facebook group I posted my link to the group Citizens for Economic and Environmental Justice where it was seen by none other than District 2 Greensboro City Councilman, Jamal Fox:

Cone Mills and the White Street Landfill are both located in District 2 where Mr Fox is elected to serve. Will Councilman Fox make any effort towards a permanent solution to this problem? Or is he, like the Vaughans, in the pockets of Greensboro's elites?

What must we do to get Greensboro's leaders to speak out and act in the best interest of the communities they are elected to represent?

See also  Will Greensboro's Media Smell This?

Define Who Are We, Councilman Fox

Tuesday night's Greensboro City Council meeting included some comments about Black on Black crime from Greensboro City Councilman Jamal Fox in which Mr Fox accused the community of not working to reduce black on black crime. In his comments Mr Fox said we are working on it but when the speaker from the floor asked Mr Fox to identify who we is, Mr Fox failed to reply and Mayor Nancy Barakat "Grasshopper" Vaughan cut off the speaker's microphone.

Why that's just rude as shit! Especially coming from a man with domestic violence problems of his own.

The fact is: there are numerous groups in Greensboro working to solve the problems of black on black crime. There are also other groups who seem to only want to talk about black on black crime while listening to no one else. Apparently Mr Fox and his unidentified group is among those who want to do all the talking and no listening.

The following is a Facebook post I'm reusing as a letter to the editor with permission from its author Irving Allen:

"Just watched the city council meeting from yesterday only to see Rep. Jamal Fox blame his community (District 2) for not addressing violence in the community, which he classified as "Black on Black crime". I lived in district 1 and 2 for 10 years. I attended Middle and high school in district 1 and I still work in both those communities and well Mr. Fox is totally wrong on this one and here's why. 

1) Indeed there is violence in our community, there is also rampant poverty, food deserts, failing schools, and no investment in the people. I would argue that these conditions left unaddressed is what lead to the violence and hearing him address this without any mention of that context or the role that the council and police department play in creating and sustaining these conditions is irresponsible and dangerous. 2) to juxtapose protests against systematic racism within the police culture and judicial system against acts of individual violence and crime is a misleading and disingenuous response to an institutional problem that has been in our community for decades. 3) the Police department has never earnestly come to the table to partner with the community. A partnership involves access and input on many levels the community conversations that are being offered is not a partnership it's a therapy session. If GPD can't come to the table willing to open the doors to their back rooms when it's time to make decisions then it serves little purpose. The GPD just showing there face in the communities they have terrorized, even with there trusty city councilman by their side, does not create trust or security. 4) Jobs, Jobs, Jobs...if you want to help with violence in our community then you should focus on bringing job and development to district 2, partner with the school board to raise local teacher pay and invest in our schools and communities and not the police department!

Justin Outling Sharon Melvin Hightower Marikay Abuzuaiter Nancy Barakat Vaughan 

The community has been engaged in combating violence in our community from individuals and institutions. Instead of suggesting that nothing is being done uplift and support the efforts that have been for years active on these issues. We affirm that Black Lives Matter and it would be great if you would affirm that also! I am open to any dialogue around this issue as always but I am extremely disappointed with the statements made with lack of context and perspective. 

Revolutionary Love!"

As usual, Jamal Fox and the Greensboro City Council has shown a refusal to listen to both sides for fear of having the "Grasshopper's" own political agendas overturned. Liberal and conservative, we here at EzGreensboro.com are not scared of the voices of the left and the right as we work to empower Greensboro's working classes as we know the corruption being hidden by our political elite through discrimination and the improper use of taxation is our mutual enemy.

Why North Carolina Treasurer Janet Cowell isn't running for reelection, and how the City of Greensboro's retirement plan committee betrayed their co-workers

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/12/pensions-investment-editorial-savages-trustees-for-failing-to-perform-fiduciary-duty-over-private-equity-fees.html
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When presented with the opportunity to do right by City of Greensboro's employees, Tony Wilkins, Marikay Abuzuaiter, Nancy Vaughan, Mike Barber, Yvonne Johnson, Jamal Fox and Sharon Hightower supported cronies connected to the financial industry, Jim Westmoreland, Mary Vigue, Rick Lusk and Connie Hammond rather than more than 2,800 employees who are still getting skimmed off of by ICMA-RC, the administrator for the City's 457 retirement plan.

Same thing only different.

When presented with the opportunity to report to the public how the financial industry rips off local investors and retirement plan participants, the News and Record's Joe Killian, Susan Ladd, Stephen Doyle, Jeff Gauger, Margaret Moffet among others including the Rhino Times John Hammer and the Triad Business Journal's Mark Sutter didn't lift a finger for their readers against the parasitic interests who prey upon their readers.

These folks let the banking and investment system steal from you.

And they know it.

And they didn't bother to tell you, as it would upset their benefactors.

Now Mary Vigue is in charge of a legal Ponzi scheme called Say Yes to Education and Say Yes Guilford whose business model skims profits for administrators and vendors meant for college scholarships for Guilford County students with monies donated by local foundations, managed for a profit by the Community Foundation of High Point, and the Community Foundation of Greensboro, who's Walker Sanders lied to get additional taxpayer funding for Greensboro's STPAC with the help of Matt Brown, City Council and City staff, including Rick Lusk.

Rick knew better and went along to keep his job as far as I can tell.

He must throw up a little every time he has to go along with the facade.

Cecil Brockman And Jamal Fox, Both Whiter Than Me

I what to bring your attention to a recent incident involving North Carolina State Representative Cecil Brockman who was recently cited by NC State Troopers in Archdale for a seat belt violation.

WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC

As Marc Ridgill writes in Don't you know who I am??

"What does the video show?
A vehicle that is passing cars left and right on wet, rainy roads.
A vehicle that is not responding to activated blue lights and audible siren.
A trooper who shows restraint in reporting that the vehicle is not stopping but waiting as long as he possibly could before classifying it as a chase.
A driver who wastes no time in identifying himself as a State Representative in such a manner as to indicate he believes he should be released immediately.
A driver who uses the term "ridiculous" several times in defiance of the Trooper enforcing a law he is not only sworn to uphold but actually specializes in per his job description.
A driver that does not have his vehicle registration in his possession as the law requires.
A driver who uses his "elected" position when demeaning the Trooper for doing his job.
A driver who eventually if not somewhat predictably resorts to the "race card" in an obvious attempt to intimidate the trooper into not writing him a seat belt violation.
Troopers inside the patrol vehicle that not once mentioned a stolen car or indicated ANY racial motivation whatsoever."

Marc, himself a retired Greensboro Police officer, goes on to write:

 "You have the NERVE to question a Highway Patrolman's integrity to his face, play the race card and attempt to intimidate him into letting you go after you have committed on video violations of;
A seat belt violation
Exceeding a Safe Speed for Conditions
Failing to Heed to Blue Light and Siren
Speeding
Failing to Carry a Vehicle Registration"

But wait, it gets better.

As I commented on Marc's blog post:

"Are you aware that Representative Cecil Brockman is also close friends with City Councilman Jamal Fox who also has a history of using his position as a means of getting around the law. Except in Fox's case, James Hinson helped him to do it."

That's right, you can read all about Jamal and Hinson's antics including police reports from the Greensboro Police Department by reading Councilman Jamal Fox's Domestic Violence Incident.

What really makes these two cases interesting besides the fact that Councilman Fox and Representative Brockman are close personal friends, is the fact that not one of our local media outlets have reported either incident and are thus contributing to the entitlement of elected officials and other connected individuals throughout Greensboro, Guilford County and the Piedmont Triad.

As for the title, my closest African-American friends and readers will understand even if everyone else does not.

Update: 10: 34 AM. The News & Record finally picked up the Cecil Brockman story 4 days late but has yet to report the Jamal Fox story.

Jamal Fox For Donald Trump

In conversations with African-American friends and neighbors I have often commented that District 2 Greensboro City Councilman Jamal Fox, himself an African-American, is whiter then this east Greensboro redneck, first born son of a Southern sharecropper. Little did I know...

There's a Facebook app out there that lets people know which of their friends like Donald Trump. A mutual friend of Jamal and myself used the app and look who's name came up at the top of the list.

Yep, I told you Jamal is whiter than I am.

John Hammer on Mary Vigue and Say Yes to Education and Zack Matheny and Andy Zimmerman's play for tapayer money; Same things only different

As downtown grows....Developer has asked Greensboro for grant to assist Lewis Street projects https://t.co/Tu9d8Xl939 via @NewsandRecord

— Zack Matheny (@zackmatheny) November 11, 2015

"One of the selling points for Say Yes to Education was that it wasn’t going to cost the City of Greensboro anything to support it.  The representatives of Say Yes said all they wanted was Greensboro’s support.

If you graduate and get accepted to college, 

your tuition will be paid to the last dollar.

You just won a free college education. All of you. 

Susan Ladd

Greensboro's News and Record

September 17, 2015

It turns out that’s not entirely true.  All Say Yes wanted was the support of the City Council and free office space.

After Mary Vigue was tasked to lead the committee

for the City of Greensboro Say Yes to Education initiative,

and then after being hired by Say Yes to Education

to run the local program,

Vigue and Say Yes are now asking for City of Greensboro

taxpayer funded hand outs.

An item on the agenda for the City Council Community Services Committee meeting Thursday, Nov. 12, concerns 1,000 square feet of office space rented to Say Yes for $1 a year – well below the market rate."

http://www.rhinotimes.com/Content/Default/Columns/Article/Rhino-Shorts-Nov-12/-3/7/770
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This is no different from taxpayer funded Zack Matheny

using his position at taxpayer funded DGI

to get taxpayer hand outs for DGI board member Andy Zimmerman

who was a 2015 City Council campaign contributor

and overall supporter of the current City Council

in their election bids

"Zimmerman and Zack Matheny,
who is a former council member
and president and chief executive officer of Downtown Greensboro Inc.,
met Tuesday night in closed session with council members."

http://www.greensboro.com/business/developer-has-asked-for-grant-to-assist-lewis-street-projects/article_7b1b48e2-7d82-5c56-a5da-0b4d73bb4d12.html
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Now that Andy is officially a Greensboro taxpayer profiteer, taking payments from taxpayers after backing Zack Matheny's 'mistake' as a member of the board of DGI after being appointed by Nancy Barakat Vaughan, and then letting Zack lobby for $150,000 of everyone else's money to be transferred into Andy's pockets, he should be so very proud of himself for transforming from an independent business owner/capitalist into a corrupt, rentier fascist, sucking off the public teat with the help of some of the most crooked politicians in Greensboro's history.

Andy's patron's will be parking in a taxpayer funded for profit parking lot build by partners of Nancy Hoffmann, near a building Hoffmann sold to Zimmerman.  I'm sure Andy will get Nancy Hoffmann's vote for the $150,000, and it will be determined that there is no conflict of interest by the rest of our corrupt city council. 

Mike Barber should definitely vote for the give away, as he wouldn't want to make his money making deal out at Gillespie Golf course with First Tee of the Triad look like it's not a good thing. 

One parasite voting for another, while our poor population doesn't have benches at bus stops and who gets overly harassed by the police protecting Zimmerman's properties and profits.
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Look what you've turned into Andy. 

You are one of them now.

I wish you the best of luck taking food off my table with the help of Nancy, Nancy, Zack, Jamal, Justin, Tony, Yvonne, Marikay, Sharon and Mike 

What's it like to have been a entrepraneur who became a leach?

Congrats Andy.

Andrew Zimmerman's donation to Jamal Fox

http://candidatereports.myguilford.com/files/1703_FOX_JAMAL.PDF

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"Downtown Greensboro Inc. got two new board members this week

The Greensboro City Council’s appointment of high-profile downtown developers John Lomax and Andy Zimmerman could mean the embattled nonprofit agency may escape the cut in city funding that it has been threatened with this budget season.

“You could assume that,” said Mayor Nancy Vaughan, who appointed the two men at Tuesday’s City Council meeting."

Nancy Vaughan put Andy on the board of DGI

to help cement Zack Matheny into the driver's seat

to shovel everyone else's money to DGI board members

Andy is joined at the hip with Vaughan and Matheny.

"Lotus Lounge building under contract

by Eric Ginsburg

The prospective new owner of the Lotus Lounge property in downtown Greensboro is a familiar face on West Lewis Street. Andy Zimmerman, who does business as AZ Development, has the 120 W. Lewis St. building (housing Lotus Lounge nightclub) under contract as of today, according to a statement from Downtown Greensboro Inc. released this afternoon.

Zimmerman owns the buildings directly across the street that houses Gibb’s Hundred Brewing, the Forge makerspace and the newly opened HQ Greensboro co-working space. He also owns the building on the northwestern corner of South Elm and West Lewis streets, which is under development, as well as the property on the northern side of downtown where Crafted: the Art of Street Food and Preyer Brewing are located.

...Downtown Greensboro Inc. President Zack Matheny said. Matheny, a former Greensboro city councilman [and now professional lobbyist for DGI board members], said he — and by proxy, DGI — was integral to pulling together building owner Paul Talley and Zimmerman for the deal.

...Matheny declined to elaborate on what Zimmerman might do with the building. Paul Talley couldn’t be reached for comment, but Zimmerman gave a few details via phone.

“My ass is going to work really hard to ensure that this deal goes through,” Zimmerman said.

...“In order for me to make the deal, I’ve got to fill the space,” Zimmerman said, adding that he’s open to other ideas for the building.

In the statement, Zimmerman said he expects to close on the property in November.

Zimmerman and Talley both serve as new members on the board of Downtown Greensboro Inc. Matheny is also new to the organization, having been there for approximately two months. Zimmerman said Matheny worked very hard to help the deal happen."

http://triad-city-beat.com/lotus-lounge-building-under.../
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That's what parasites do.

Sounds great doesn't it, until Zack goes back to his funders at City Council to ask for money to line Zimmerman's pockets.

Greensboro's taxpayers are funding Zack, a lobbyist for City Council's campaign contributors, to get money for entrenched interests from Greensboro's taxpayers.

Same thing for Marty Kotis a few weeks back.
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On October 3, 2015, Guilford County's Board of Education was shown a "Full Tuition Scholarship Incentive" plan, for every GCS graduate who goes to college

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/on-october-3-2015-guilford-countys.html

How the Triad Business Journal got played for chumps by Say Yes to Education and Say Yes Guilford

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/how-triad-business-journals-reporter.html

Economic Development discussion @tangeroutlets @mkotis @KouryCorp and Roy Carroll leading discussion… https://t.co/5Go7fvbrEB

— Zack Matheny (@zackmatheny) November 5, 2015

#GSO business developer Marty Kotis eyeing new project near downtown GSO. http://t.co/15K08dHRvQ

— News & Record (@NewsandRecord) October 5, 2015

Marty Kotis has a lot going on in a most unlikely place beside the railroad tracks. http://t.co/GhZf63xvWf

— Richard M. Barron (@BarronBizNR) October 5, 2015

Good story on one of our latest projects in #soGSO. About time that Greensboro gets a Bier Garten. #DTGSO #beer https://t.co/CCFf7Hr19S

— Jeff Nimmer (@JeffNimmer) October 5, 2015

Marty Kotis plans new destination development under Eugene Street bridge http://t.co/EWTfiyp37z pic.twitter.com/ZzNjEQUPgG

— Greensboro NC (@GreensboroNCRR) October 5, 2015

How Corruption Works

Working class conservatives and liberals unite:

“The abuse of buying and selling votes crept in and money began to play an important part in determining elections. Later on, this process of corruption spread in the law courts and to the army, and finally, when even the sword became enslaved by the power of gold, the republic was subjected to the rule of emperors.” -Plutarch (AD 46 – AD 120) Greek and Roman citizen, author of Parallel Lives:

"As he explains in the first paragraph of his Life of Alexander, Plutarch was not concerned with writing histories, but with exploring the influence of character, good or bad, on the lives and destinies of famous men. He wished to prove that the more remote past of Greece could show its men of action and achievement as well as the nearer, and therefore more impressive, past of Rome.^{[citation needed]} His interest was primarily ethical, although the lives have significant historical value as well. The Lives was published by Plutarch late in his life after his return to Chaeronea and, if one may judge from the long lists of authorities given, it must have taken many years to compile.<sup>[1]"

And from</sup> The Great American Class War: Plutocracy Versus Democracy by Bill Moyers:

"Listen! That sound you hear is the shredding of the social contract.

Ten years ago the Economist magazine — no friend of Marxism — warned: “The United States risks calcifying into a European-style class-based society.” And as a recent headline in the Columbia Journalism Review put it: “The line between democracy and a darker social order is thinner than you think.”

We are this close — this close! — to losing our democracy to the mercenary class. So close it’s as if we’re leaning way over the rim of the Grand Canyon waiting for a swift kick in the pants."

Yes, I know Bill Moyers is an unabashed liberal but then so am I but listen my conservative friends: Isn't this the very same thing you call Agenda 21? Even I wrote of the fears of one world government in my book, Carrot On A Stick published in 2000. And this from Moyers:

"Although a liberal, he worried about the looming size of government. When he mentioned that modern science might be creating “a Frankenstein,” I asked, “How so?” He looked around his chambers and replied, “The very conversation we’re now having can be overheard. Science has done things that, as I understand it, makes it possible through these drapes and those windows to get something in here that takes down what we’re talking about.”

That was long before the era of cyberspace and the maximum surveillance state that grows topsy-turvy with every administration. How I wish he were here now — and still on the Court!"

Aren't those the very same issues conservatives worry about today coming from a liberal journalist talking to a liberal judge in a 1987 interview? You're damned straight they are!

And while my conservative readers aren't going to like everything you read in the Bill Moyers article I beg you to look past the little things at take with you what the left and the right shares in common:

" We don’t have emperors yet, but one of our two major parties is now dominated by radicals engaged in a crusade of voter suppression aimed at the elderly, the young, minorities and the poor; while the other party, once the champion of everyday working people, has been so enfeebled by its own collaboration with the donor class that it offers only token resistance to the forces that have demoralized everyday Americans."

It's true, the Republican and Democratic Parties, just like the Greensboro City Council, are controlled by big money. Being nonpartisan makes no difference as long as money influences votes.

And while Susan Ladd of the News & Record and Brian Clarey of Triad City Beat blame the voters for not showing up at the polls here's what we glean from Bill Moyers' article:

Writing in the Guardian recently, the social critic George Monbiot commented,

“So I don’t blame people for giving up on politics… When a state-corporate nexus of power has bypassed democracy and made a mockery of the voting process, when an unreformed political system ensures that parties can be bought and sold, when politicians [of the main parties] stand and watch as public services are divvied up by a grubby cabal of privateers, what is left of this system that inspires us to participate?”

It's true, you know. I've written before, these united states have a long record of voter suppression aimed at minorities, the poor and the disenfranchised. Voter IDs, poll taxes, requirements for employment, requirements that voters own land and literacy tests have all been used against minorities and poor people all over this nation to prevent the poor from voting. By both parties. If 90% of the population showed up to vote the system would fail-- people would be standing in line waiting the next day. They really don't want us to vote or they would make it easier for us to do so.

The fact is: they're blaming us for their planned failings and you are falling for it-- again.

No one can doubt Bill Moyers liberal credentials have been earned whether you like him or not-- Ladd and Clarey, they seem to be selling their liberal credentials to the highest bidder.

Here in Greensboro we can't change an entire nation but we have to look at reality. Campaign finance reports indicate that a handful of very wealthy developers are financing the campaigns of every incumbent on the Greensboro City Council. It's not quite the dark money that Moyers talks about in his article but the results are the same in that future votes by Council have already been bought and paid for by Greensboro's mercenary class Democrats and Republicans alike.

And while there's nothing we can do about it at the national level there is something we can do at the local level: show up at the polls and vote the incumbents out.

By the way, while preparing this post I was informed by a very good source that certain residents near downtown in District 2 are very angry that Jamal Fox signs appeared in their front yards without their permission. Seems some of that money given to Mr Fox by Marty Kotis went to waste as the signs were quickly pulled up.

Please share this post with everyone you know. Your very way of life may depend on it. Their way of life depends on your not sharing it.