It’s a new year. And that means new goals. Many of my goals are the same as last year…Goals that I’ve failed at achieving. But, we never let failure stop us from trying to succeed. We’d really never get anything done if we did!

There’s a number of things I want to do this year.

Writing: I want to start writing more and better. 2009 saw me get hired on as one of the parent-bloggers for Onslow Memorial Hospital’s Mom-Talk blogging network. I’m hoping that will continue through 2010 and flourish into some new opportunities. New opportunities that include include publishing in magazines and other websites. I want to start and keep a journal. My goal is to write one non-blogging piece a month for submission to magazines. I’m focusing on publications that look for creative non-fiction like The Sun Magazine. If you know a similar magazine that’s looking for something new, please let me know.

Reading: I want to actually finish a book this year. I’ve read horribly little the last few years. I want to read some creative non-fiction to help build the writer I want to be…But I also want to read good fiction. My goal is to read one book a month. Starting this month with Jack Kerouac’s Town and Country. I’ve been reading off and on (mostly off…) for months. I’m looking for recommendations, so if you’ve got them, send them my way.

Photography: I want to start taking photos…Again. To that end: I’ll be taking a self-portrait a day. Today it’s with the iPhone (at left). Future self-portraits may be well-planned shots, others on-the-go. The idea is to get back into the habit of taking pictures. I also want to start using my Nikon D40 more. I want to take more photo-walks and maybe even take the camera along on some bicycle rides and commutes. My goal: Post weekly to the Photography blog. Post daily self-portraits there, here and on Twitter and Facebook.

Bicycling: I have been extremely lazy when it comes to bicycling since October. I want to get back into using the bicycle as my primary form of transportation. I also want to get back into blogging more about bicycling and working harder to advocate for the bicycle as a viable form of transportation in Jacksonville, NC. My goal:  250 miles ridden a month by bicycle.

Fitness/Weight-loss: I have completely failed at all previous attempts to get into better shape. This year, I hope to make real and lasting lifestyle changes to get back to a reasonable weight. My goal is to lose 25 pounds by May 2010. I can achieve this by making better food choices, exercising and bicycle commuting more. Tools like the Lose It, 100 Push Ups, 200 Sit-Ups and 200 Squat iPhone apps will help me. As will getting to the gym and not being a slave to sodas.

Activism and Issue Advocacy: I’ve been remiss in advocating for the issues that are important to me for some time. In 2010, I want to take a more active role in the world around me. That means making more time to research issues and contact the elected leaders that can influence them. More letters to the editor, more letters to elected leaders (local, state and national) and more work pushing the ideas and ideals that I believe. It also means a more active role in the City of Jacksonville Recreation and Parks and Trails and Greenways Commissions.

So. Those are some of my goals this year. What are yours?

It’s a move I’ve called sexist, ignorant and foolish.

Certainly, moms have a particular perspective on raising children. Certainly, in Jacksonville and Onslow County moms have to deal with particular issues that other moms (you know, the non-married-to-military kind) don’t. But, also certainly, dads have particular perspectives.

Dads in Onslow County deal with particular issues that other dads (you know, the non-military and non-married-to-military kind) don’t. Further, some  dads are dealing with being a “part-time” dad, whether it’s because of military deployments, separation or divorce and some dads are single parents.

Dads in these circumstances (in all circumstances, really…) are not just being ignored by Onslow Memorial, but relegated to a completely secondary role as a parent in most of American society. That’s pretty jacked up, isn’t it?

Back to Onslow Memorial’s search for bloggers…

I thought about sending in my own application and qualifications through their online form, but I imagine that I’d either be completely ignored (though, interestingly enough, there’s no “gender” box) or accused of fraud or…Something. Either way, it probably wouldn’t work out well for me. Instead, I’ll copy/paste the questions and answer them here. Follow the jump for the “application”.

Below are the questions from Onslow Memorial Hospital. My answer will be added as an indented bullet.

• Which blog would you like to write for? Check all that apply.
• TummyTime
• CuddleBugs
• TweenBeat
• RealiTeen
• TweenBeat (described as: “Conversations for, by and about Mothers of Kids 6-12”). Mini is 9 going on 16. It’s something I’m not looking forward to, but I seem to have been left out of the decision process on this.
• Have you contributed to any blogs in the past? Please describe briefly.
• I have indeed contributed to blogs in the past. In addition to having been the primary writer on three blogs (Brock Log was my first attempt at blogging; Onslow County Politics was my attempt at blogging local politics; and Bloviations, my current blog in which I cover just about anything), I’ve contributed to BlueNC, the foremost progressive/Democratic blog in NC. I also participate in many other blogs by way of comments.
• Are you currently writing and/or editing for any blogs? If so, please describe briefly.
• I am currently writing a blog. My blog is titled Bloviations (http://blogs.brocknet.net/blovations). I use this blog to write about my life, local events, local, state and national politics and just about any and everything else. I act as a webmaster/editor for several blogs in the BrockNet family, the premier blog is Eriepressible (http://blogs.brocknet.net/eriepressible).
• What is your previous writing experience?
• I have extensive writing experience as a blogger, as detailed above. I also have experience as a writer of government letters, awards, reports and training curricula over a nearly-14 year career in the United States Marine Corps, in and out of uniform.
• Submit 300 word autobiography.
• My biography is here. If I were submitting the online form, I’d paste it.
• Submit sample blog entry #1. Each entry should be at least 300 words.
• Interview: Delmer Asks Me Questions – If I were submitting the online form, I’d paste excerpts and links.
• Submit sample blog entry #2. Each entry should be at least 300 words.
• An Assortment of Dissociated and Disjointed Thoughts – If I were submitting the online form, I’d paste excerpts and links.
• Submit sample blog entry #3. Each entry should be at least 300 words.
• It’s not the worst day imaginable, but man, it’s been close. – If I were submitting the online form, I’d paste excerpts and links.

That’s my application to be a mommy-blogger for Onslow Memorial Hospital. Not that it matters, because I’m not a mommy…

Since there’s not much campaigning to analyze so far, I figure that it’d be useful to lay a baseline…Which is how I would campaign for Jacksonville City Council, were I a candidate.

Follow the jump for the details on how I’d reach out to the residents of Jacksonville.

The key to a successful campaign in Jacksonville is voter outreach. There’s a ton of ways to get your message to the voters today. Not only do you have snail mail and newspaper advertisements, but there’s email, Twitter, Facebook, web pages and internet advertising (which is significantly cheaper and can be more effective (depending on your target audience) than print advertising). If I were a candidate, the first thing I’d do is set up a web-presence. Twitter and Facebook are free, so I’d start there, but you could purchase a website domain and hosting for not a whole lot of money and set up a proper website. I’d sketch a budget for print advertising, but hold my fire until October (any print ads read before 30-days prior to an election are forgotten by voting day).

Those aren’t necessarily the most effective ways to get name recognition in Jacksonville…Especially considering that the primary source of voters in municipal-only elections are the elderly and politically-fanatic. The key to winning an election in Jacksonville is individual communication. Once you’ve developed your platform and message, you’ve got to be the one out there. The candidate has to knock on the doors and dial the telephone numbers. It’s the only way to win in this city. I’d spend $25 at the Onslow County Board of Elections and purchase a CD of all the voter data they have. That would give you names, mailing addresses and telephone numbers for the nearly 85,000 voters in Onslow County. Why the whole county? Running a political campaign isn’t cheap. You can make calls-for-cash to County voters and, if you’re good, you’ll be able to convince them that Jacksonville controls quite a bit of revenue for the county. That may net you a few hundred dollars, not to mention volunteers for your campaign.

I’d spend no-less-than three hours a day on the telephone calling voters. Provided that you have your message in a five-minute speech, and that you can keep someone on the phone that long, that’s approximately 3,000 contacts between now and November.

Telephone calls alone will not guarantee a win, or even much name recognition. Getting on the streets and knocking on doors and talking to residents will. Every weekend between now and November I’d be walking through Jacksonville and knocking on doors. Pre-plan the neighborhoods. Get smart on the issues that are important to those residents. Find an issue where you agree and push the message. In conversation with voters, find out what they want for Jacksonville and their neighborhoods. Find out what they’re looking for in a City Council-member.

In addition to that, as a candidate, you’d want to tap the most knowledgeable, active and experienced citizens for information. The obvious place to find those citizens is Jacksonville’s citizen advisory commissions. If I were running for City Council, I’d visit every commission at least once and my preferred appointments (Council-members are assigned commissions as liaisons) several times. I’d take those citizens to the side, before or after meetings, and ask them for their concerns, ideas and opinions.

And that’s how to win an election to Jacksonville City Council: Meet the people. Talk to the people. Learn about the City and the people and their needs.

It’s not pretty and it’s not fancy and it doesn’t take a lot of money for signs, t-shirts or bumper stickers. It takes time and sweat and effort. But, my guess is…It’d be worth it.

Filing fees (MS Excel) and more information on the municipal elections is available at the Onslow County Board of Elections website.

There are four seats (Willingham Ward 1, Sullivan Ward 2, Thomas (At-Large) and Williams (At-Large) on the Jacksonville City Council which will be on the November ballot. I’m interested to see who will be seeking re-election and who will be signing up to run against them.

If you thought recent dramas in Jacksonville were over, you were wrong. The folks at Americans for Prosperity have attacked Mr. Phillip Cherry (Director of the Onslow County Library System) for sending out an email requesting citizens speak at a recent Onslow County Commission meeting to advocate for library programs. Members of the Onslow County faction of AFP claim that Cherry has undertaken “political and partisan” action while using government systems and information. I find it odd that the chief advocate for the library would be attacked for advocating against serious cuts, but I think it’s more likely that the local group hasn’t gotten much play in the media. The AFP has been taking a more active and public role in attempting to force local governments into cutting budgets, laying off or furloughing employees and trimming services since their organized “TEA parties” (which they tried to pass off as “grassroots”). AFP is a group of right-wing zealots that believe in reducing anything that doesn’t directly benefit themselves (usually Social Security, MediCare and MedicAid, etc). It’s quite pathetic, actually.

There’s a new blog covering local politics. Onslow County Politics is written by a former-Onslow County employee and he’s got some good insight on stuff. Check him…Erm, his blog, rather…out on a regular basis.

The Onslow County Board of Education has approved a budget nearly $3 million smaller than they wanted. Among the results are deferments for non-essential building renovations and repairs and a hiring freeze (leaving nearly 200 vacant positions) are the results.

Freedom Communications, Inc has instituted a 5% pay cut across the board for employees. Freedom Communications has a firm grip on Eastern NC’s news sources as it owns the Jacksonville Daily News, New Bern Sun Journal, The Havelock News, The Kinston Free Press and other newspapers in the area. 

There’s a few other things rolling around, but none are currently…Ready for release. So. Keep an eye open.

What’s happening in your world?

I haven’t heard the names “Joe McLaughlin” or “Delma Collins” in a while. Isn’t that nice?"

And it was, it was very nice…But it wasn’t to last very long. Follow the jump for details.

On Wednesday morning, my co-worker laid a clipping from the day’s Jacksonville Daily News. It was a paid advertisement, sponsored by Joe McLaughlin, which detailed a small slice of funding from the Economic Stimulus Package recently passed by the Congress and signed into law by President Obama.

And it looked exactly like this:

It says:

Did you know?

Under the new stimulus package recently signed into law the,

NATIONAL FOUNDATION OF THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES NATIONAL ENDOUWMENT FOR THE ARTS

GRANTS AND ADMINISTRATION

For an additional amount for “Grants and Administration”,

$50,000,000 OF YOUR MONEY!

to be distributed in direct grants to fund arts projects
and activities which preserve jobs in the non-profit arts sector
threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during
the current economic downturn: Provided, That 40 percent of such
funds shall be distributed to State arts agencies and regional arts
organizations in a manner similar to the agency’s current practice
and 60 percent of such funds shall be for competitively selected
arts projects and activities according to sections 2 and 5(c) of
the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 951, 954(c)): Provided further, That matching requirements
under section 5(e) of such Act shall be waived.

"Ultimately, this is your money, and you deserve to know where it’s going and how it’s spent.” – President Barack Obama – Radio Address, Feb 14th, 2009

The advertisement takes text directly from H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and quotes President Obama.

McLaughlin placed similar advertisements in Friday and Saturday editions as well. His targets were AMTRAK and volcano monitoring funding within ARRA.

I understand McLaughlin’s choice of targets. Arts, science and AMTRAK have long been targets of the Republicans. They seem to feel that any government spending related to the three (as well as public/mass/alternative transportation, alternative energy, climate change, and more) is waste. It’s obviously a wrong-headed and misguided point of view, but it’s something I’ve accepted from right wing Republicans.

What has plagued me for the last few days is McLaughlin’s motives. Why is he paying for these advertisements? Just to educate Jacksonvillians? What’s his angle?

Could he be gearing up for a Jacksonville City Council battle this year? Onslow County Commissions (a post he held before resigned to spend his time campaigning for Congressman Walter B. Jones, Jr’s seat, a campaign at which he ultimately failed) aren’t due for a contest for four years. A run to get into the NC General Assembly? But against who? Would he challenge George Cleveland, Robert Grady or Harry Brown in primaries or Russell Tucker in a 2010 General Election? Is he ramping to challenge Mr. Jones, Jr. in 2010? Can he possibly believe he’d have a chance against Jones, Jr. after the primary? Or is he planning another primary challenge against a different opponent in 2010? Perhaps McLaughlin has senatorial aspirations.

I’m keeping my eyes and ears open. Joe McLaughlin is bad for Jacksonville, bad for Onslow County and bad for North Carolina. His  political career has ended and it needs to stay that way.

Congratulations on your appointment to the NC House/NC Senate Transportation Committee. As a member of this Committee, you are in the unique and important position to assist the Jacksonville/Onslow County area and Eastern North Carolina in getting North Carolina Department of Transportation funding and assistance for badly needed transportation projects.

The City of Jacksonville is sorely lacking in pedestrian infrastructure, such as sidewalks and crosswalks. Recently the lack of crosswalks along Western Boulevard contributed to the death of a high school student. The City has planned the installation of a crosswalk at the nearest intersection but it is not scheduled until 2015. Jacksonville has also planned to build a network of sidewalks which will connect all areas of the city. Increased NCDOT efforts and funding will allow these planned projects to be implemented years earlier than expected and will save lives.

NCDOT could help expand local transit in Jacksonville and Onslow County. The Jacksonville Transit system is well-designed, but increased funding would allow for an expansion of the routes and more buses to support increased ridership. NCDOT support could also expand a county-wide transit system, allowing for those residents in outlying communities to travel to Jacksonville for business or shopping.

Eastern North Carolina lacks a low-cost connection to metropolitan centers such as Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte. A Wilmington-to-Charlotte high-speed train would connect the Eastern region with these larger cities and provide an inexpensive form of transportation. Residents from the Western and Central areas of NC would be able to quickly and cheaply travel to the coast for vacations, shopping or business. Coastal residents would enjoy the same benefits heading west.

Your position on the House Transportation Committee can be advantageous to the Jacksonville/Onslow area and the greater Eastern North Carolina region. Transit, pedestrian improvements and a state-wide rail system would greatly benefit this area and its residents. I urge you to work for smarter and better transportation in Jacksonville and throughout North Carolina.

Your constituent,

Thomas S. Brock

Are you interested in bettering transportation options? I urge you to write your elected representatives.

In the article, Pollard claims that his “research” into other Registers of Deeds’ salaries was an attempt to ensure that Pollard (who has zero experience as a Register of Deeds) maintained the level of pay that Maryland Kaye Washington (who has worked for nearly 30 years in the Onslow Register of Deeds office) received.

Onslow County Commission Lionell Midgett says he didn’t feel pressured by Pollard to give Ms. Pollard a raise. Commissioner Paul Buchanan wasn’t so forgiving.

Becky Pollard’s pay should be a discussion between her and the commissioners and no one else…The taxpayers also have input, but not her husband.

Kay also got Ms. Pollard’s point of view on the issue.

Becky Pollard said she should earn more than her staff and as an elected official should be paid what the outgoing register was making.

That’s an interesting point of view…Especially given that Ms. Pollard has exactly no experience in the Register’s office while Ms. Washington had nearly 30 years worth…The position has a pay span, approximately $41,000 to $50,000 (Ms. Washington was being paid at the higher-end of the span).

For Becky Pollard to believe that she deserves the same pay as someone with 28 years of experience while having none is outrageous and certainly not in the best interest of Onslow County’s taxpayers. Ms. Pollard may be on the road to having a stunningly unsuccessful political career.

Lindell Kay reports in the Jacksonville Daily News:

Tommy Pollard passed out information to county officials last week comparing the salaries of several registers of deeds across the state to what former Onslow register May Kay Washington was earning. The paperwork shows a list of the pay for the register of deeds in 10 North Carolina counties with a population of 168,000. The average pay is around $70,000. Washington earned a salary in the mid-$50,000 range.

Let’s ignore that Ms. Washington, the previous Register of Deeds, had worked in the Onslow County Register of Deed’s office for decades longer than Ms. Pollard. Let’s ignore that Ms. Pollard hadn’t even been sworn in when Mr. Pollard provided his unofficial and unrequested study to the Onslow County Commissioners. Let’s even ignore that three of the members of the Onslow County Board of Commissioners hadn’t been sworn in when they received this unrequested study.

We’ll toss all that aside and look at the most significant factor:

Tommy Pollard has been accused of using his political clout for personal benefit before and he’s clearly interested in using his wife’s clout now.

My friends, that’s not change I can believe in…And if Becky Pollard wants to have a significant political career in Onslow County, it may not be change she can live with.

Added to Update: Lindell Kay blogged about Mr. Pollard’s actions, as well. He even pointed out an oddity with a photograph taken during Ms. Pollard’s swearing in…Can you spot it?

Added to Update: The commenters at the Jacksonville Daily News article are clearly not happy with Pollard’s efforts. I’ll go into more detail later, but I wanted to point them out now.