Message on a church sign

Something I love to do whenever I'm driving around is look at the signs outside of churches. Because whenever they're not advertising potluck dinners and Cub Scout meetings, they will usually have some wise and often witty messages.

There is one on north Church Street in Greensboro (I forget which church exactly but it's one of the Baptist ones on the left-hand side as you're driving north) that has really stuck in my head since seeing it the other day...

Thanksgiving is good.
Thanks-living is even better.

Or something like that. Anyhoo, I thought it was a good thought that deserved a post here :-)

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New CLOVERFIELD trailer!

No screencap 'cuz I wouldn't know what the heck to use for one. This movie is 2 months away and we still barely know anything about Cloverfield, the monster flick produced by J.J. Abrams. It's even an open question as to whether Cloverfield will be the final title or not! Anyhoo, if you (like me) have been salivating for the least bit of morsel about this movie ever since that strange-as-heck teaser that ran with Transformers back in July...

Mash down here for the Cloverfield trailer in lots of Quicktime including high-definition!

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A hearty welcome to the world for Avery Lillian James!

Brien James passes along the word that as of a few days ago he is a proud father! Avery Lillian James was born on the afternoon of November 14th. If you go to Brien's above-linked Myspace page you'll find a bunch of good pics of baby Avery.

Congratulations Brien and Mandy! God has certainly blessed you guys with one beautiful bundle of joy :-)

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Vintage SESAME STREET is now adults-only

The very first episodes of Sesame Street are out on DVD. But they carry a warning label: "These early 'Sesame Street' episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today's preschool child." And this is not intended to be a joke either, according to this New York Times article. Seems that a lot of things have changed since Sesame Street's first broadcast 38 years ago this month. Among the items listed as unacceptable for today's children: Cookie Monster smoking a pipe during "Monsterpiece Theater", Oscar the Grouch is now seen as having untreated depression, and how there are too many "rural — agrarian, even — sequences" in the early episodes.

I have a question: how many of the "child experts", who sit around all day finding stuff like this to nit-pick about, actually have children?

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Civil Merits Panel: A proposal for tort reform regarding frivolous lawsuits

I wouldn't mind saying out loud, even though I've now given on-the-record testimony during deposition, that Ron Price's lawsuit against Richard and Debbie Moore is a steaming pile of horse manure. Except that doing so would be a dire insult to horses everywhere.

(Here is my own report about being deposed and here is Richard's account, which includes not only my own time on the "witness stand" but his own and that of Debbie and Ron Price... who I especially heard did not do so well.)

In my admittedly non-legally trained estimation, this case is going to be laughed out of court. But that won't be before Price and his attorney Doug Hux will have (a) wasted a lot of our valuable time and money, (b) wasted a lot of the public's valuable time and money, and (c) continued to set a horrible example to this county's young people who Price swore to serve when he became a member of the Rockingham County Board of Education. In fact, what Price and Hux are doing is nothing less than gross abuse of the Constitution.

In a sane world, this should not have been allowed to happen at all. There is no reason why Ron Price should have been able to proceed with this kind of ridiculous litigation against the Moores (and he will probably be coming after me too in time, since word on the street is that he really doesn't like how I've lampooned him with my Adobe Photoshop handiwork over the past year).

After reading for years about frivolous litigation, this is my first time personally experiencing it. And it's downright damned honked me off. Especially when I think about how this sort of crap happens all the time throughout the United States.

So over the past few days I've been thinking about what can be done to remedy this problem. And I think that I might have hit on something...

One of the best things about American law - even though it's not our original idea but rather something old enough to have been codified in the Magna Carta - is the concept of the grand jury, which most countries do not have. In matters of criminal law in the United States, before a defendant can be brought to trial he or she must be indicted: meaning that evidence must be presented before a grand jury first. It is the grand jury members who decide whether or not there are sufficient grounds to prosecute a full courtroom case against the defendant. Obviously this keeps the courts from being overwhelmed with full-fledged trials that would otherwise bog down the system. But it also demands that the prosecutors realize fully-well what they are attempting to do in bringing a case against an individual. The grand jury is a check against abuse of power that is as detrimental to the public which must pay for the courts as much as it is to the individual who possibly finds him-or-herself on trial.

If we have grand juries deciding the legitimacy of criminal proceedings, then why not have something like that for civil matters also... such as lawsuits?

Here's my idea:

Establish a three-judge panel, which is randomly drawn from a small pool of judges who are publicly elected for the position every two years and are not appointed for this panel. Call it the "civil merits panel". There will be one for each judicial district. This panel will be charged with "weeding-out" the frivolous lawsuits from those which have serious grounds for proceeding with the serving of lawsuits and issuance of summons.

So before a lawsuit can even begin to be served, the plaintiff's attorney must bring it before the civil merits panel. Much like the courts of appeals, the judges on the civil merits panel vote on whether the lawsuit should or should not proceed. If at least two of the judges agree, then the lawsuit is allowed to go forth as it does now. If the panel does not agree that the lawsuit has merit, it gets tossed out.

In the event that the panel decides not to let the lawsuit proceed, the plaintiff will have the right to appeal the panel's decision, and have the merits of the lawsuit heard by a panel of three different judges drawn from the same elected pool. This panel will also decide if there is basis for a full lawsuit to proceed. If they agree, then the lawsuit goes forth. If not, it all ends right there and the plaintiff will have no more opportunity for appealing this lawsuit before the civil merits panel.

(The angels of my lesser nature would also like to recommend that in the event of a lawsuit's merits being turned down after a second hearing by the panel, that the plaintiff and all of his or her attorneys will be forcefully seized and pistol-whipped hard across the bare buttocks in the town square for not less than one-quarter of an hour, including not less than five minutes by the would-be defendant. However as this is Sunday morning I am trying hard to maintain a Christ-like manner in putting forth this proposal.)

So there's my idea: instead of outright obligating a defendant to hire an attorney and make allowances for the plaintiff's possibly preposterous petition for proceedings, let a panel of judges (who being publicly elected would be held accountable for their rulings and could be periodically removed if need be) decide whether the lawsuit has weight enough to become a nuisance for all involved.

There at least needs to be some kind of oversight at work here. Otherwise, civil litigation will continue to be a right that is abused and a drain on public resources.

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Richard Moore's account of the Ron Price lawsuit deposition

Here's Richard Moore's write-up about what happened during deposition in the Ron Price lawsuit against Richard and his wife Debbie. There are two big reasons why I'm posting it here too: one, because Richard gives his perspective on what happened when Doug Hux interrogated me. And two, because Richard Moore, although he's not the lousy blogger like Ron Price is, is a man who just can't leave stuff consistent on his Political Soup website. Richard, haven't you heard of archiving stuff?! Anyhoo here it is for permanent record (and with proper citation, which I always do anyway)...

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THE INCOMPLETE BUT ENTIRELY FACTUAL
ACCOUNT OF THE RON PRICE LAWSUIT DEPOSITIONS

D-DAY NOVEMBER 15, 2007. It wasn't exactly the allies storming the beach at Normandy, but it was a bloody, painful assault on one witness. I am talking about Deposition Day in the Ron Price defamation lawsuit against my wife Debbie and me.

For my readers who have been living under a rock without internet access for the past year, Rockingham County School Board member Ron Price is suing Debbie and me for libel and slander because I said Price stole Congressman Brad Miller's campaign signs from the roadside.

Reidsville Police Department officers found Miller signs in Price's car trunk just minutes after two independent witnesses saw Price pulling them up along Highway 14 between Reidsville and Eden.

Price is also suing Debbie and me because Debbie went to a magistrate with a copy of the Reidsville Police Department report that said Price had committed larceny by stealing Brad Miller's signs. The magistrate read the Police Department report and the law and then issued a warrant charging Price with removing or vandalizing public notices (NCGS 14-384).

Price subsequently confessed to taking Miller's signs on his own web site, in several newspaper articles, and on live television.

Price has convinced himself he has been defamed and charged with a crime because I was attempting to take his seat on the Rockingham County School Board.

According to Price, because I received the highest number of votes of the eleven losing candidates, I would have been automatically appointed to fill the seat to which Price had been elected if he abandoned it or was removed from it.

Price believes my accusing him of stealing has nothing to do with Price actually stealing Brad Miller's campaign signs. And, Debbie asking a magistrate about charging Price with removing public notices has nothing to do with Ron Price actually stealing Brad Miller's campaign signs.

I didn't report Wendy Hoover for embezzling money from the school system because I thought I would get her nice paying job. I reported her because it was the right thing to do when the School Board tried to cover up the crime. Debbie felt the same way when she went to a magistrate about Price's "sign incident".

Click here to watch Debbie talk about the charges against Ron Price. The video was recorded in late January, 2007.

Unfortunately the facts do not support Mr. Price's view of our motivations for accusing him of stealing.

There is nothing automatic about selecting a replacement for a vacancy on the Rockingham County School Board. The law says the School Board can make recommendations to the County Commissioners, but the Commissioners decide who fills the vacancy. It doesn't matter why or when the vacancy occurs.

Debbie and I have never for a moment believed the Commissioners would ever select me to fill a seat on the School Board, and we're damned sure the School Board would not recommend me. Would I accept an appointment if hell freezes over? Of course I would. I ran for School Board, why wouldn't I?

Anyways, on November 15, Debbie and I were summoned to the office of Doug Hux in Eden. Hux represented Ron Price during his brief legal problems with the "sign incident." Hux is also representing Price in his lawsuit against my wife and me.

Price was summoned to the deposition by our attorney, Seth "THE SAW" Cohen.

We were all called to give testimony relating to Price's lawsuit.

For those who don't know what the purpose of a deposition is, as best as I can understand it, it's a pre-trial mini-trial. The "witnesses" are under oath and the lawyers ask them a lot of questions. There ain't no judge or jury. The lawyers just size up the potential witnesses. One might call it scouting.

There is a court reporter present who records everything said, puts numbered stickers on documents, and changes tapes in what looked like two oversized cassette tape players. Our court reporter wore a high-altitude fighter pilot mask on her face during the entire deposition. I'm not sure what the mask was about - maybe she has emphysema, a germ phobia, or she was afraid somebody was going to fart in the small conference room in Hux's office.

The deposition questions, at least in this lawsuit, seemed to be as much, or maybe even more, about motivation than the simple facts - otherwise known as the truth. I'm told lawyers ask questions during depositions and then ask the same questions during the actual trial to see if they can catch you giving two different answers. If your answers differ, the lawyer puts you on the spot at the trial.

The beginning questions are fluff designed to put you at ease with the nice man who is about to strap you down on a rack and attach electrified barbwire to your nuts. At first you are asked things like when you were born, where you went to school, your job history, why your web site server is located in Germany.

I felt pretty good with my answers about my birth date, schooling, employment history, etc., but then Hux threw me a real curve ball. The question definitely rattled me for a few seconds, and I'm sure it was obvious to everyone in the room that I was not at ease with my answer.

Hux asked, "Mr. Moore, can you tell me why your web site is located on a server in Germany?"

Damn! Hux is a clever devil! From out of nowhere, Hux nailed me with a question that I couldn't answer. I was never expecting this. I thought I knew the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the "sign incident." I had no fear of the truth. I had no reason to hide from the truth. In fact I wanted the truth about the "sign incident" plastered all over Doug Hux's office.

Prior to Doug Hux asking me why my web site server is located in Germany, I never knew my web server is located in Germany. I don't know how Mr. Hux knows where my web site server is located. He seemed very computer/internet savvy for someone who said he doesn't even have an email address.

Anyways, Doug, wanted to know why my web site is located on a server in Germany. I didn't know the answer, but I thanked Mr. Hux for providing me with a tidbit of useless information that I didn't previously have.

By the way, Doug has a very nice office. Hux said it used to be an old post office. The original brickwork is visible on the interior, there's a high ceiling, an original hardwood floor, a couple of pretty plants line a hallway leading to offices and a conference room. Doug's receptionist was very nice. She told me she really enjoyed my Political Soup program on WGSR-TV. She also likes our My Home Kitchen cooking show, but it comes on too late for her to see it very often. Her sister loves My Home Kitchen.

I should mention Doug was very cordial to Debbie and me, but he didn't indicate whether he ever watched Political Soup for any reason other than to sue me and my wife.

Mr. Hux let me use his toilet a couple of times and he gave me some bottled water to help lubricate my answers. Mr. Hux seems to be a nice man, but so does Ron Price when you first meet him.

Hux let me have a blank writing pad that appeared to have been lifted from a Clarion Hotel. When I showed my lawyer the Clarion logo on the pad, Hux immediately explained the pad was lawfully obtained. Yeah, sure Doug, whatever you say.

There's a bigger story behind the Clarion pad and Hux's reaction to me showing it to Seth Cohen, but I can't say any more right now. If you read Chris Knight's comments on the deposition, you might figure it out.

By the way, my lawyer has a real nice office too. It looks like something you see on a TV legal drama. I have to admit Doug's plants are nicer than Seth's, and Seth has never offered Debbie and me any refreshing beverages. I think Doug Hux may be my new best buddy. I hope Ron doesn't mind.

Chris Knight was also summoned to give a deposition, but nobody could ever understand why.

Chris didn't understand. My wife and I didn't understand. Our lawyer didn't understand. And by the end of Chris' 15-minute deposition, I'm guessing Doug Hux and Ron Price weren't sure why they deposed Chris either.

Seth Cohen didn't have any questions for Chris because Seth had no idea why Chris was even there. Chris was summoned by Price and Hux, not by Debbie and me or our lawyer.

We (Debbie, Seth, and myself) didn't understand why Chris was summoned before the deposition, and we understood even less after the deposition.

One thing we did understand after Chris' deposition was Chris worked for and supported Ron Price's school board candidacy. According to Chris, he even offered to make a campaign TV commercial for Ron for free.

Chris' said he did an abrupt about-face after Price was caught stealing Brad Miller's campaign signs. During the deposition, Chris made it very clear in a very dramatic style that he now considers Price to be a scoundrel who sacrificed integrity and honesty on the altar of political gain when Price took Miller's signs and replaced them with signs for Miller's opponent Vernon Robinson.

Chris was considered a "witness" for the Plaintiff (Ron Price) because the Plaintiff summoned him to the deposition. If Chris Knight was deposed as a witness to support the Plaintiff's claims against Debbie and me, it probably didn't work out quite the way Ron and Doug hoped.

I had planned to give you all the juicy details about the deposition, including posting the actual verbatim transcripts. My lawyer asked me not to do that right now. I don't exactly know why because I think the depositions are public records, but I am paying Mr. Cohen for his advice, so I'll follow it.

I think I can tell you a few things without disregarding Mr. Cohen's advice.

I was the first "witness". Hux spent about an hour interrogating me. Except for the Germany question, I was pretty comfortable with everything.

Several times Hux asked questions that I didn't quite understand what he was getting at. A queerly phrased question can be a bit unsettling because you have to struggle to figure out which answer goes with the question.

There is only one truth in the "sign incident", but that truth is composed of many facts. It was sometimes puzzling as to which particular fact Mr. Hux was seeking. Although I'm not entirely sure I answered the questions that were being asked, I tried my best to answer everything as honestly as I possibly could.

There were a lot of theoretical questions, a lot of "what-ifs". I was very puzzled about those kinds of questions.

There were questions about what I thought Mr. Price's intentions were. Hell, I don't know for sure what Price's intentions were with the signs or are with the lawsuit. I just know Price stole the signs because he admitted he took them, and the police found them in his possession, and the police said the signs were stolen, and the police took them away from him.

My wife tells me I did too much answering, but my lawyer said my unnecessarily lengthy answers weren't detrimental. If my answers were excessive, it was because I was trying to figure out what the hell the question was. I got a little confused by some of the questions, but none of them made me angry or anxious.

Debbie was much more concise in her answers, although she too was somewhat buffaloed by some of the questions. Maybe it was just the way Hux phrased things. Debbie was on the "witness stand" (a nice leather-covered chair in Hux's conference room) for about 30 minutes.

Debbie and I were very composed. I think we were good witnesses. Debbie is always composed, and I took a 10mg Allakhazam before the deposition.

Everybody went to lunch after Debbie's deposition. Did you know lawyers take 90 minutes for lunch? Debbie and I ate a tasty breakfast at Chaneys. You can really linger over your pancakes when you have 90 minutes to eat. Seth went somewhere by himself. Ron and Doug went somewhere on what Doug called a "business lunch". I guess "business lunch" means tax deductible.

After lunch, Chris Knight was called in for a brief, unproductive, and pointless interrogation. Much of the time was spent on Chris' employment history. In addition to being brief, unproductive, and pointless, Chris' deposition was also weird. I got the feeling if Chris had worn his Jedi light saber to the deposition, he would have gone over to the Dark Side of the Force on Hux.

Hux seemed really interested in whether Chris and I were friends. Hux asked the question of both Chris and me. My answer was Chris and I are casual friends. We know each other, but I've never been to Chris' home or met his wife. Chris has never been to my home. We are cordial when we meet, but we've never gone fishing together.

When Chris was asked the friend question, his answer was much, much, much longer than mine, but the bottom line was the same.

Chris and I have no more idea what the friends question was about than why Chris was deposed. It was just another mystery in this whole bizarre "sign incident".

Next up was the star of the deposition - Mr. Ronald Filer Price. As I have said, I have been asked not to go into details, but in summary I don't think it went well for Mr. Price.

My lawyer, Seth Cohen, grilled Price for almost two hours. For most of that time, it did not seem Mr. Price was comfortable with the questions, his answers, or the circumstances of the deposition. Price did a lot of hand-wringing, twitching, grimacing, squirming, stammering and hesitating. There were a lot of contradictions and back-peddling that were driving Price's dramatic body language.

A couple of times I noticed Mr. Hux snickering. I could be wrong, but I got the impression Mr. Hux was snickering at Mr. Price's answers to Seth's question. I have to admit I snickered a time or two myself. I even noticed the court reporter's eyes twinkling a bit. I couldn't tell if she was in a full-out snicker because that damn pilot's oxygen mask was covering most of her face.

In summary, at the end of two hours Seth Cohen had Price tied up in so many knots I don't know if he'll ever get himself untangled. Seth Cohen's nickname is "THE SAW", but "THE SHEEP SHANKER" (a type of knot) might be more appropriate.

Speaking of knots, at one point Chris and Hux got into a verbal scuffle about who was the best Boy Scout. Chris easily won because Chris achieved the top rank of Eagle Scout and Hux didn't. I told you it was weird.

At the conclusion of the deposition, Seth Cohen indicated he might depose Ron Price's wife because she was riding around in the car with Price when the "sign incident" occurred. Apparently, Seth thinks Ms. Price might have been yet another eyewitness to Ron stealing Congressman Miller's signs.

Hux said he might want to depose Chris Knight again. Hux may have been joking, but I couldn't tell for sure. I know if Hux drags Chris into his office one more time, it'll be a lot worse than weird. Remember the bar brawl in the first Star Wars movie?

THINGS WE LEARNED. 1) Debbie and I learned for the first time exactly how much Mr. Price wants from us for his suffering over the "sign incident". Hold on to your hats, here it comes - $250,000. Yes, folks, Ronald Filer Price wants Debbie and I to pay him a cool quarter of a million dollars for accusing him of stealing and tattling on him to a magistrate. For the record, if Debbie and I sold everything we own, including our home, our cars, our business, our clothes, our furniture and appliances, including a big screen TV and a DVD player, and tossed in all the cash we have, we couldn't begin to come up with $250,000. Price might as well have asked for $100 gazillion dollars.

2) Although Ron Price has been promising for months to give everyone a "complete and factual account of the sign incident" once his litigation against us has been settled, if Price's testimony during the deposition was the real "complete and factual account of the sign incident", and we have to assume it was because he was under oath, then nothing has changed. The "complete and factual account" is the same account as what you've read here and in other newspapers, and heard on WGSR-TV. Price's account given during the deposition is more detailed, but no different. I won't say more about the details at this time.

3) According to Price's deposition testimony, I am the real thief rather than him. Price accused me of being a thief because after the election someone gave me a Ron Price for School Board sign which I displayed in last year's Christmas parade. I posted on my web site a request for people to bring me Ron Price and Brad Miller campaign signs which they had come by honestly. Only one person responded to my request and he brought me a Price sign and a Miller sign. I think I still have them somewhere.

Although Ron has never asked me to return his sign, Ron is sure I am a thief because I have not returned his sign. Indeed, even as he was accusing me of being a thief for keeping his sign, he still never asked me to return it.

Ron did say if he runs for School Board again, he will need his sign back. I think if Ron has any sense at all, he won't run for School Board or anything else ever again. Even in Rockingham County, I am confident Ron Price is a one-term School Board member.

Price suggested it was OK for him to take Congressman Miller's signs before the election because he was going to take them to the DOT storage yard because they were illegally planted on the highway right-of-way, and he wanted to make it hard for Miller's supporters to find their signs to replant them before the election, but someone giving me a Ron Price sign two weeks after the election was theft. It was just one of many logic knots in which Price found himself ensnared.

Seth Cohen told me Doug Hux had told him to expect some major fireworks (startling revelations) during the depositions. Neither Seth nor I could imagine what Hux was talking about. Again I'm guessing here, but I think Hux thought tossing out a photo of me holding a Ron Price for School Board sign was going to be the smoking gun that proves Ron Price didn't steal Congressman Miller's signs.

If there was any kind of startling revelation during the deposition, it was Ron Price's dismal performance on the witness stand. In defense of Price, no one would have an easy time getting out of the corner into which Ron Price has painted himself. Performing miracles is not simple work, even for Ron Price.

I told Debbie that Ron should go to a magistrate and take out a warrant if he believes I stole one of his campaign signs a year ago. I can handle it. Defending myself against a charge of vandalizing or removing a public notice will be a helluva lot cheaper than defending myself against a frivolous lawsuit.

Whether Price charges me with sign theft or not doesn't change the fact that Price stole Congressman Miller's signs, and then filed a quarter-million dollar lawsuit against the people who complained about what he did.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT. The deposition is over. Everyone is packing up to leave while doing some friendly chatting. I have just returned from Doug's toilet to hear Ron in the process of telling Seth Cohen that he went to the Berger law firm to find someone to help him with his problems. The Berger firm turned him down. Ron asked if they had a recommendation for another lawyer. The Berger people told Ron to call Seth Cohen. Ron told Seth that he just never got around to calling him and then finally decided to hire Doug Hux.

During the entire four hours of testimony, I made only two comments to Ron Price. The second and final one was, "Ron, I think you made the right decision hiring Mr. Hux rather than Mr. Cohen." I looked at Hux, who was standing right beside me, when I paid Mr. Hux the compliment. I hope the remark didn't hurt Seth's feelings.

My first comment to Ron Price was "Good morning, Ron" when I arrived. Much to my surprise, Ron politely returned my greeting.

STANDBY FOR LAUNCH. Be patient. As soon as it's possible, I will report the "complete and factual account of the sign incident", including the sworn testimonies of Ronald Filer Price and myself. You've already heard mine, but I think it's important for you to hear Mr. Price's side of the story too.

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School board member Price says "public education is not a right" (plus: Price talks to himself?!)

Since I've commented on what happened at the deposition yesterday, I might as well throw in my two cents on something else regarding disgraced Rockingham County Board of Education member Ron Price. It has to do with something that he wrote on his own blog last week...

"It should be acknowledged that public education is not a right but a privilege given to the youth of today to secure the future. Over 75% of the public paying for public education do not have students in the public schools but all pay for public education to provide a means of securing the blessings of liberty and prosperity for ourselves and our posterity."

So now Ron Price, school board member, is telling us that our children have no right to public education.

Funny that he didn't mind telling us that during last year's school board race.

Ron Price has obviously never examined the Northwest Ordinance, which not only established that there is a right to public education but also that government had a high responsibility in funding it. We can debate the extent of government's involvement in education (including whether or not the federal government should play the role that it has now with it) but as the Northwest Ordinance was written, education was certainly a right that local government was called upon to make allowances for.

I don't mind saying this either, after following his blog from the beginning: Ron Price is a terrible bore and a far worse blogger. He speaks of concepts that he has the least grasp of and makes as if he were some statesman at the Continental Congress. And then there is the peculiar manner in which Price manages his blog: this post of his from August was originally something by, I think it was Franklin Roosevelt. Price wiped that one and replaced it with a quote by Ronald Reagan, while keeping the original date. You can still see evidence for the initial post in its permanent link: "Pillar of our Republic", which was about the Bible. I'll hold off on commenting as to whether Price has read his.

Ahhh what the heck, I might as well go three for three...

Word has reached The Knight Shift blog that in the words of one very credible source, Ron Price "talks to himself".

Apparently, Price has a "very strange" habit of writing e-mails to people and then responding back to his own e-mails. The effect is in the words of one source "as if he's talking to a whole different person".

I have not seen these e-mails myself, but there are now multiple sources - all very reliable - who are telling me this.

I suppose it's possible that Price is attempting something along the lines of "Socratic dialogue": the style of philosophical discussion that Socrates and his pupil Plato (and Plato's student Aristotle) were known for. But in light of how he bungles his blog, color me skeptical.

(Maybe we should start calling him "Socrates Price" ...?)

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After-action report on the deposition: Ron Price's sign-stealing now hinges on Reidsville Christmas Parade

So yesterday afternoon - and a half-hour earlier than I had earlier been summoned to appear - I appeared for deposition in the lawsuit that Ron Price has filed against Richard and Debbie Moore.

What can I say about it? I'll hold off on too much about it right now but I will say this: the more I think about it, the less sense it makes.

It was mostly about Price's attorney Doug Hux showing me a photo from last year's Reidsville Christmas Parade (?!?!?). Hux asked me if I recognized it and I was like "Uhhh well DUH 'cuz THOSE ARE MY PICTURES that WGSR is using in their commercial for this year's Reidsville Christmas parade so OF COURSE I was right there!" Those weren't my exact words but you get the idea. Anyhoo, Hux showed me a photo that's very much like this one that I took at the 2006 parade, a few weeks after what Price called "the sign incident":

The actual photo that Hux confronted me with was a screengrab from WGSR's coverage of the parade, but as we were standing close to WGSR's setup, the two are quite similar. Hux made a big deal about how it was that Richard Moore is holding one of Ron Price's campaign signs. And Hux grilled me a lot about what I thought of that. I told him (using a coupl'a uses of the word "hell" but at this point I don't care) that I didn't know how Moore got his Ron Price sign but I could assume it was acquired legally. I didn't say this during the deposition 'cuz it didn't occur to me later, but I absolutely remember Moore asking on his website last year a week or so before the parade if anyone had a Ron Price campaign sign that was in their legal possession, that they wouldn't mind Moore having or borrowing. So I know for a fact that Moore at least did make a sincere attempt to get a Ron Price sign legally. As I told Hux, Moore could have been given the sign by someone who had it legally to begin with. In which case that person could have done whatever he wanted to do with it: give it to Moore or burn it or whatever. All I can say is, so far as I know Moore didn't pick the sign up off the highway... whereas Ron Price did pick up several signs off the highway.

So far as I can tell, Hux's line of questioning had nothing to do at all with anything mentioned in Price's lawsuit. At one point I even told Hux that he was making a ridiculous "leap of logic" with it. He replied back that I was entitled to my opinion.

I answered the questions as best I could, in spite of the fact that this deposition was one of the most inane nuisances that I've had to deal with in quite awhile.

I did get in something on the record that I've been saying almost since this whole thing started: that Price's actions in stealing the signs (I don't care about the semantics: he illegally took the signs) for sake of a political party, set nothing less than the worst sort of example for the children of this county. And that as far as I was concerned, all 16 of us who were candidates in that school board race were pledging to do right by those students, whether or not we won a seat on the board. That our commitment didn't come to an end on the morning of November 8th, 2006. I told Hux that I was an Eagle Scout and that honor was something I had to uphold every day of my life. I then asked Hux "were you an Eagle Scout?" He said that he wasn't.

The main reason I'm feeling compelled to make a post about this though, is to address something that I was asked yesterday, just for clarification...

Doug Hux asked me the question of whether I considered Richard Moore to be a friend. I didn't know exactly what he meant by that. I told him as best I could the nature of our relationship, which goes back now about 20 years or so (I first remember meeting Richard Moore when he and Debbie opened their first bookstore - K.C. Books - on Freeway Drive in the Ashcroft Commons in the fall of 1987). But as for friendship...

Richard Moore and I, no doubt do disagree on plenty of things. In the greater scheme of things though, those don't matter too much. So yes, he is a friend. I'm glad to have him as a friend. And differences of opinion have never come in the way of that. I'm the kind of guy who doesn't let stuff like that interfere with friendship. You have to do something pretty darned rotten - like stealing campaign signs for political gain - to get on my bad side. And you would probably be surprised at the diversity of people that I am glad to count as my friends. They range from professed "conservatives" to professed "liberals" and quite a few "libertarians". Many are Christians. Some are atheists. Some are homosexuals... and though I have my beliefs about whether that is right or wrong, I still can't do anything but hold them in high regard as individuals. If that is a sin that they struggle with, then they are no different than the rest of us - myself included - who have our own sinful natures that we struggle with handing over to God.

What a person believes has never mattered to me so far as friendship goes. I just hope that that person is sincere in his or her beliefs. It's what he or she chooses to do with those beliefs, is what defines whether or not I'll want to keep considering them as a friend.

Richard Moore and I on the surface will probably disagree on a lot of things. He is still a friend. In the world's way of looking at things, Ron Price and I should be friends because he calls himself a "conservative". Price threw that away when he put his political party over his principles and refused to own up to that. There's no way that I could possibly support such a person.

And if there are any lingering questions as to whether or not Richard Moore and I are friends, my short film The Baritones should put those to rest...

A few last things before I wrap this post up: I have heard that my involvement with this may not be over with, because Doug Hux expressed interest in deposing me again.

And during the time that he was being deposed yesterday, Ron Price apparently said that any campaign signs that get put out on the highway are, as I have heard it, "fair game"!

This is gonna be one hella mess for Ron Price if he wants to bring this to an actual courtroom.

I'll post the full text of my deposition as soon as I get it.

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Here it is: YouTube video of THE SOUP on E! showing my school board commercial!

I think... I think... that this should be safe to post. And I not only say that in light of how the Viacom situation was eventually resolved, but also because on this one I did take extra steps to illustrate how hosting this on YouTube is fair use under the Copyright Act of 1976, and that proper citation is given.

So that bit of peskiness out of the way, and especially for benefit of those who for whatever reason haven't been able to see and laugh at this yet ('cuz I sure have :-) here is the November 9th, 2007 edition of The Soup on E! Entertainment Television featuring the first commercial that I made for my school board campaign last year...

Here's the original post about it from the night it started airing, by the way.

Thanks again to Joel McHale, the staff of The Soup and E! for a great laugh :-)

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Finally found TRANSFORMERS: THE SCORE in a retail store!

It was actually my wife Lisa who discovered it. A few days ago she was at the Best Buy in Burlington (North Carolina) shopping with a friend and she spotted Transformers: The Score, the soundtrack CD composed by Steve Jablonsky from this summer's smash-hit movie (and also the CD that this blog may or may not have played some role in trying to expedite its release :-) sitting on the rack in the music section. Although Transformers: The Score came out on October 9th, it has been notoriously hard to find in regular retail outlets. In fact, just about the only way most people have been able to reliably purchase a copy is via Amazon.com, where it's been selling consistently well (currently #80 in music overall and #10 in soundtracks).

Here's a photo of it at Best Buy (looks like they've got quite a few in stock)...

And since Lisa's known how much it's meant to me to be able to have bought it in a real store (oh yeah, we've still got the copies that Steve Jablonsky signed and gave to us but it's never felt right to be able to listen to those while most people haven't been able to get their hands on it yet) she was really sweet and bought it for me!

The signed copies by Steve Jablonsky, I'm still planning on putting those in a shadowbox, along with a printed-out copy of the online petition (including all of the signatures) and a little plaque that says "NO SACRIFICE, NO VICTORY!" In the meantime, I'm finally listening to Transformers: The Score and getting to enjoy it guilt-free :-)

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Various and sundry updates for 11-13-2007

It's 2:53 a.m. in the morning and I'm up making tea and working on a new website and some other stuff at this way late hour. Thought I'd make a post to chronicle the past few days developments...

Ever since Friday night a wazoo-load of e-mails and phone calls have been coming in from good folks who caught my school board commercial on E! Television's The Soup. I'm still a bit overwhelmed by the attention the ad seems to have gained lately, now over a year since it ran (for only a week and a half on WGSR Star 39 in Reidsville). One neat thing that has happened because of it is that I've been hearing from a lot of people that I've somehow lost contact with over the years. I honestly had no idea that The Soup was so popular! I'd heard of it before but until now had never caught it. It's a darned funny show, and I'll certainly be tuning in regularly from now on :-)

By the way, this week's The Soup wound up getting the commercial mentioned in a number of places, including on a website called ParentDish. It is, as the name implies, a resource devoted to parenting and issues related to children. Thanks to Ann Adams for passing along the link as that might be a place that comes in handy and Lord willing hopefully sooner than later ;-)

It now looks like my Toyota Corolla - which was involved in an accident a little over a week ago - is not going to make it. I haven't heard anything official yet, so there is still hope. But right now it's a slim one. That car and I have been through a lot together. And not just the myriad of adventures that I've had with it either. That little Corolla represents a considerable chunk of my life's story. In many ways it embodies much of my personal growth, even. Looking back on the person I was when I got it and what I was going through then, and the person I am now, seven years later...

When I was told yesterday that it might be totaled, the first thing that popped into mind - the thing that most described how I felt upon hearing it - was the destruction of the Enterprise in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock...

"My God, Bones... what have I done?"

But all the same: it's just a car. And nobody was hurt. Life will move on. This chapter has ended. Another begins.

Speaking of Star Trek, during the past few weeks I've been hearing some rather intriguing tidbits about J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Trek feature film. Enough to finally make me stand up and take notice about the project. I will admit: I'm not the biggest Star Trek fan. I don't know if I've ever been a big Star Trek fan at all. But whenever Star Trek has been at its best, it has never been anything less than astonishing. And whenever it is good, it deserves to be noted. I think that Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is one of the all-time greatest movies ever made, I've nothing but fond memories about when Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country came out and the Borg are perhaps the most horrifying and best-realized race of bad guys in all of science-fiction. When Star Trek is hitting on all cylinders, it is worthy of praise. And then when it does stuff like Star Trek: Nemesis, I have to cringe. The only time I saw that movie was a few hours before the midnight premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King almost five years ago. I went to the cinema that night and bought my ticket early and it was cold and raining. The nice ladies at the theater told me that I was welcome to come inside to stay warm and that I could watch Star Trek: Nemesis for free while waiting for The Two Towers. It was sooooo bad, that I don't know if you could have paid me to watch it again. "Star Trek"? More like "Star Drek".

Things got so bad for the franchise, that I've wondered plenty of times if it should be outright abandoned forever.

And then I start reading about J.J. Abrams - one of the people most responsible for Lost - and what he had in mind for Star Trek (that's the full title of the movie right now) and how he wanted to reinvigorate, maybe even relaunch the thing. And then I heard about how Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (who scribed Transformers) had been brought aboard to write the script. And then some of the casting: Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy, Simon Pegg as Scotty.

And then yesterday I read IESB.net's report on the storyline for Star Trek. And right after that, I saw the first pics of Zachary Quinto - who plays Sylar on Heroes - as the young Spock.

I can't believe that after the unholy convoluted mess that Star Trek had become over the past two decades that Abrams and his crew, apparently, are turning this story into something that is not only exciting but makes sense. It's enough to make me suddenly feeling very hopeful about Star Trek again. If word of this stays good, I will definitely be buying a ticket for Star Trek a little over a year from now.

Speaking of film-making, yesterday I made a bit of an investment in my own, and purchased a Canon HV20, which is an amazing high-definition camcorder! I'll still be using my trusty standard definition Sony Handycam Digital 8 for plenty of stuff, but I'm doing a few projects now that... well, are a bit more ambitious. One of the things that I love about the Canon HV20 is that it has a 24P high-def mode. That's geek-speak for "24 progressive (as opposed to interlaced image) frames per second of high-definition footage", which after you remove the pulldown, this will look very, very much like real film. Okay, a lot of it also depends on lighting and lenses and whatnot, but as opposed to shooting on real film which costs beaucoups of coin this snazzy lil' high-def camera is the best thing on the market right now if you are playing the line between "hobbyist" and "semi-pro". It also has audio input for an external microphone... which is something that I absolutely demanded in a camcorder. And it records on MiniDV tapes, not internal hard-drive or DVD (for which I've never understood the logic).

Finally, about the "Chris Knight for Congress" thing: sometime soon, and I'm putting the finishing touches on this, there's gonna be something that... well, we'll just have to see where it goes. It occurred to me over the weekend that this might make for quite a fascinating experiment: how far can a regular citizen go in running for Congress?

I'm not wealthy. In fact, I'm a struggling small businessman. I don't have powerful connections. A lot of the things that I hold to, and the things that I would do if my running for Congress went all the way to the ballot next November, would not be very popular among those The Powers That Be.

My current assets for this include a blog, a video camera, a set of beliefs that I've developed over the course of many years... and a few friends who are now telling me to go for it.

Long story short: there is going to be a website - an entire, full-fledged website - going up about this soon. It's going to detail a lot more about what I believe and why I'm now considering this. Nothing is changing from my earlier stipulations: I'll run if someone out there starts a petition and it gets enough signatures from voters in the 13th North Carolina congressional district to convince me to run. There's a few other things I'm working on lining up too. If this doesn't go anywhere by the end of the filing period, then I go on to grad school and probably become a teacher and I'll make my films and write and go be a husband and Lord willing a father and I'll die happy.

If this does turn into something more, then I'm going the distance. And serve a few years in Washington and then come home and still be a teacher and filmmaker and writer and husband and father and then die happy.

So I'm not really risking anything here: one way or another, I'll have my fulfilling life. I've just decided to offer a few years of it first to serving others. And there's still no way in hell that I would stay there for more than three terms.

Lots more soon :-)

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My school board commercial being shown on THE SOUP on E!

I've just learned that the first commercial from my school board campaign last year - the "Star Wars" one - is being featured on this week's edition of the E! Entertainment Television series The Soup! I checked the airtime schedule and it looks like it'll be running throughout this next week...

Friday, Nov 9, 10:00p
Saturday, Nov 10, 12:30a
Saturday, Nov 10, 10:00a
Saturday, Nov 10, 11:30p
Sunday, Nov 11, 2:30a
Monday, Nov 12, 6:00p
Monday, Nov 12, 10:30p
Tuesday, Nov 13, 1:30a
Wednesday, Nov 14, 2:00a

I'll be checking it out later. And comment about it here. And if I can figure out some way to do it without getting hit with a copyright infringement again (E! isn't owned by Viacom too is it?) maybe I'll post the YouTube clip of it :-P Thanks to Courtney Willis for the heads-up!

EDIT 11-10-2007 1:10 a.m. EST: I just saw the show and it is hilarious! It comes in the final segment, and they even put a quick shot of me wielding the lightsaber in the bumper as they were going out from the previous segment. It features plenty of Melody Daniel's terrific voice-over, too! As for Joel McHale's commentary: it's been a very long time since I've laughed so hard :-) Great job E!!

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The only way that I'll run for U.S. House

Long story short: A lot has happened since I first posted about this. Some people that I know and respect plenty made me think about some things.

There is only one way that I could possibly run for U.S. House of Representatives right now, at this point in my life.

And the only reason why I'm even posting this much, is that maybe one person out there will see this and run, really run, wherever they are. Someone who not only has the principles and the desire to serve others, but could also give this thing the commitment it deserves.

I honestly don't know if I could offer up that last one.

I'll admit it: I'm struggling with a bit right now. Some things in my personal situation could stand to be better. I am not "comfortable" as some might put it. I'm working to start up a business and right now, it's not an easy thing to do. I'm not looking for a fast way out and I'm sure as hell not looking for sympathy. Things have to be earned in this life. It's what you work for, that is what makes it worth having.

I received 4,648 votes in the election last year.

For me to seriously consider doing this, I would need to have at least three times that amount of signatures on a petition. That's not any legal requirement (that I know of). It's just something that I would need personally.

If (and it would NOT be me instigating this) a petition garnered at least 14,000 signatures from registered, eligible voters from across the 13th North Carolina Congressional district (meaning it couldn't be all in Rockingham County either) asking me to do this, if there could be at least that many signatures by January 9th (two months from now), and if some contributors would be willing to pay the filing fee before the deadline in February...

...then and only then I would run. And it would be in the Republican primary this coming May.

But there are stipulations. As I've said, there would be no negative campaigning from my end of things. If I have to produce a negative commercial or do some "dirty trick" to get elected, then I don't deserve the job and I'll bow out of the race and will never run for office again. As in, "ever". Not for school board or even for dog catcher.

I will not destroy a fellow candidate's reputation, or speak ill of him or her, for sake of increasing my chances. Running for Congress isn't worth hurting someone over.

I wouldn't run as a "conservative". I can't do that any more than I can run as a "liberal". If people are going to cast a vote for me then I want them to know why it is that they are doing so and what I believe in. Yes, those beliefs are very much what could be considered "paleo-conservative", but I'm past the point where I find labels like that to have any meaning.

Concordantly, I wouldn't refer to any opposing candidate as a "conservative" or "liberal" either. Fellow candidates deserve more respect than that, than to shove them into some box for sake of convenience.

If I wound up getting past the primary, I don't even want to think that I'm running "against" Brad Miller for his seat. I'd rather it be said that we are running for the same seat. I wouldn't have anything against the guy to think of him as an "opponent". And it's time that we began to step away from that mindset. Heck, I was one of sixteen candidates in last year's Rockingham County school board race, and not once did I think that I was running "against" anyone of those people. You'd be surprised at how many of us wound up good friends, even.

I wouldn't accept contributions from any political action committee. It would solely be individual contributions. PAC money, if contributed, would be promptly returned.

If, Lord somehow willing, I actually land the seat, I might run for re-election once. And maybe once after that if I were to win again. But after that, that's it. I'm out of there. That would be plenty enough time and some would probably say six years would be too much time. I'm not going to spend my life as a "career politician". So it would be at most six years and then get out and let the next guy serve.

Just because I would be running as a Republican, doesn't mean that I would automatically lend my support to any other Republicans. You want me to believe in a cause? Then you'll have to convince me. Having an "R" stamped next to someone's name is not enough reason to give them my support. The only reason I'd be in the Republican primary is because I do realize that right now, this is the only way to mount a serious-enough campaign for that high an office.

Yes, I guess I would be a Republican In Name Only. But what does the Republican Party stand for these days, anyway?

I don't know. If you read this blog and saw me campaign last year, you know what I believe in at least: limited government. No more income tax. I think Roe v. Wade is horrible legislation and that abortion should be done away with. We should pull out of Iraq, because we should have never gone in there to begin with. We should scrap No Child Left Behind. We should scrap the PATRIOT Act. We should do what we can to revitalize domestic industry but that's something that can't be legislated into being: we've legislated it away, if anything. We should do away with the Department of Education, because the federal government doesn't need to be involved in such a local issue anyway.

I wouldn't make any promises either. Because I know that I can't necessarily deliver on them. All I can tell anyone is what I believe in. They'll have to decide from there whether they want me doing this or not.

If after all of that is understood, and those conditions are met, then and only then would I run. And I would absolutely give it as good an effort as I can muster.

If none of those things happen, then I go on to grad school and hopefully make a better future for myself and my family, and we'll see if God leads me to do something like pursue elected office again in the future. Even if that doesn't happen, I'll still be happy somehow.

I can promise one thing though: if... if... after all of this that I were to wind up running, I have some amazing TV commercials in mind that I would be producing for my own campaign. One of them in particular would definitely trump the "Star Wars" school board ad :-)

If I win, this blog is going to stay up and active.

And that's all that I know to say about the matter.

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How in the world did I get associated with The Artist Formerly Known As The Artist Formerly Known As Prince?

Click here for "The Home Video Prince Doesn't Want You To See", a story on the ABC News website. It's about Prince, AKA The Artist Formerly Known As The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, scouring the Internet for "copyright infringement". The Lenzes, a family in Pennsylvania, had a video of their 18-month old son Holden on YouTube. The clip is only a few seconds long, but in the background you can hear Prince's song "Let's Go Crazy".

That was plenty enough for Prince to have YouTube yank the family's video.

Well, little Holden's mom Stephanie Lenz fought back and filed a DMCA counter-notification claim through YouTube against Universal Music Publishing Group - which is Prince's label - and their claim of copyright infringement. A few weeks later the video was back up.

And somehow, my similar recent situation with Viacom was brought into the discussion...

Caught to some extent in the middle of the takedown notice wars, (YouTube spokesman Ricardo) Reyes declined to address the Prince controversy directly, but said YouTube had been down this road before.

He cited the case of a North Carolina school board council candidate, Christopher Knight, who produced a daffy commercial in which he donned a "Star Wars"-like light saber and promised to protect the school district's students from a metaphorical Death Star.

The VH1 cable television show "Best Week Ever," which highlights amusing online content, featured a clip of the video on their show.

Knight "thought that was so cool he put up the VH1 clip up on his channel on YouTube,'' Reyes said. "And VH1 sent us a take down notice." (To view Knight's video, go to YouTube and search "Christopher Knight.")

If you go to this link on ABC News' website you can watch the televised news report about the Lenz's situation, and about halfway through they play the clip of my school board commercial on VH1!

Okay, that's... kinda... strange to be brought up in an article about Prince (never thought that would ever happen). But seriously folks: after what I went through with Viacom, and now what the Lenzes have had to put up with because of Prince's over-zealousness about his image (anyone else remember the thing about his bodyguards back in the 80s?), this is extremely frustrating to read about, to say nothing of how ridiculous this entire situation with DMCA abuse has become.

Do you realize that per the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, that every video on YouTube could be simultaneously claimed as "infringing copyright" and YouTube would have no legal choice but to pull all of them, without considering the facts of the matter in any individual case of infringement claim?

What if one political candidate did not like the YouTube-hosted videos that are favorable toward an opposing candidate, and filed DMCA claims forcing YouTube to remove all of those videos? YouTube would legally be forced to comply. And the candidate who had his videos removed, or his supporters, would have to spend weeks filing DMCA counter-notifications back with YouTube to have the clips restored.

In my mind, it's not a matter of "if" this is going to eventually happen, under the DMCA, but "when".

If this ever does happen to you, and you want to know how I was able to contest Viacom's taking-down of my own video, here's the full text of my DMCA counter-notification claim, along with all the associated correspondence that happened between YouTube and myself. This is absolutely the biggest arrow you will have in your quiver, if you ever get hit with a DMCA removal.

By the way, Stephanie Lenz - with help from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (a very good bunch of folks they are and I still cannot thank E.F.F. enough for how they helped me out) - is currently taking Universal to court over this. So I suppose it's possible that we might see some legal re-interpretation of this nonsense at some point. Let us hope so.

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Recipe for chili

Look, I'll admit: I'm not the best cook by a long shot. Ever since that tragic night at the National Boy Scout Jamboree in 1989, I've been very timid about turning myself loose in the kitchen again. But along with deep-frying turkey and bagna cauda (something I haven't made in quite awhile) this is one dish that I've become rather good at, and other people seem to enjoy it a lot. So I thought that it might be fun to post my chili recipe here.

Credit goes to my aunt, Glendora Roberts, for coming up with this. So it's not really "my" recipe at all. It's just my preferred way of making chili. My only real contribution is the Tabasco sauce and, if you like, the Dave's Ultimate Insanity sauce.

Aunt Glendora's chili (Chris Knight variant)

- 1 pound of ground chuck
- 1 cup of water
- 3-4 tablespoons of chili powder
- Bottle of ketchup
- Bottle of original Tabasco brand Pepper Sauce
- Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- Bottle of Dave's Ultimate Insanity hot sauce (OPTIONAL)

Chop up the ground chuck very finely in a pot. Add water. Turn on the stove to low-medium and brown the chuck. Add chili powder and 2-3 good squirts of ketchup. Pour in 3-5 generous dollops of Tabasco sauce. Pour it a pinch of salt. Mix well. Turn the stove down and let chili simmer very low for an hour until thick. Stir occasionally. Add sugar toward the end.

OPTIONAL: For extra-spicy chili, pour in one drop of Dave's Ultimate Insanity hot sauce while simmering. Mix this very well! Do not use Dave's Ultimate Insanity sauce if you are also cooking dinner for your wife and you do not wish to be threatened with divorce.

Enjoy! :-)

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Ron Price has hit me with a summons

Look! Lawsuit!

That's the full text of the lawsuit that admitted sign-stealer and disgraceful Rockingham County Board of Education member Ron Price has filed against Richard and Debbie Moore. And as was revealed here a few weeks ago, I was expecting to be called in for deposition in the suit by Price.

Indeed, a short while ago a Rockingham County Sheriff's Department deputy came to my door and served me with this summons...

So I'm supposed to show up at the Eden law office of attorney Douglas R. Hux (note: I have no idea of what Douglas Hux looks like so for right now I'm using this depiction of attorney Lionel Hutz from The Simpsons) next Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. And testify, or something, in Ron Price's lawsuit against the Moores.

I don't mind saying this out loud and for everyone to hear, that this entire thing is so much steaming ca-ca.

Ladies and gentlemen, Ronald Filer Price is not a good Christian man. I don't care what some people say about how much money he's donated to causes, or whatever. Real followers of Christ do not steal things. Real followers of Christ certainly do not steal things for political advantage. If they do, real followers of Christ at least express earnest and sincere remorse about their actions and do their darndest to make amends and restitution. Real followers of Christ do not file lawsuits against people who call them out for their sins.

Ron, you have absolutely no comprehension at all of 1st Corinthians, chapter 6. For sake of your own pride, you are destroying whatever witness for Christ you have claimed to have.

Ron Price, a lot of people have told me that they think of you as a spiritually vacuous man. And not a true Christian at all. How is this helping to prove otherwise?

Is your madness really worth destroying the example that you are setting, not only as a school board member but as a professing believer?

Because if it is, then I will have no problem at all with putting that down on the record when I testify at your lawyer's office next week.

I still can't believe that any lawyer actually took Ron Price's case. Where the heck did Doug Hux get his bar certificate from... Woolworth's?

Well anyway, in honor of this turn of events, here is the music video for "Weird Al" Yankovic's song "I'll Sue Ya", from the Straight Outta Lynwood album...

I'll Sue Ya

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Regarding those suggestions about running for Congress ...

Hard to believe that as of this morning it's been an entire year since Election Day 2006, when I was on the ballot for Rockingham County Board of Education.

If you were reading this blog then, you'll remember that throughout that day I was posting a series of "live reports", to convey the sense of what happens in the life of a candidate on Election Day. It's been a pretty neat thing, to have gone back over them in the last little while and reflect on that day and everything that led up to it and has transpired since. You can find them here on the school board articles archive, along with everything else that I posted here that was associated with my campaign.

You wanna know what's one of the funniest things about my having run for school board? That in the entire year since the night of the election, when the results came in, not once... not once... have I regretted not winning a seat on the board. And you wanna know why? Because this entire thing was too much of an amazing experience!

That by itself made doing this worth it. It didn't matter that I didn't win. By the end of it I was a much wiser, more mature, and stronger person than I had ever been before I became a candidate. Running for school board was a growth thing. And it was the perfect experience for the kind of person God made me to be because it was one of the most serious things that I had ever done... and I still did it without compromising on the more fun-loving and creative aspects of my life. I ran on my principles and stayed true to them in my own unique way. In the end, that's a pretty neat thing to be able to confidently boast.

And since I'm looking back on that election, maybe it's time to address something else...

Ever since the school board election last year (which you should bear in mind, that I did not win a seat), quite a number of people have been making some ummm... "interesting" suggestions, through e-mail or in person, and lately there've been a lot of comments posted to this blog about it: that I should consider running for U.S. House of Representatives.

I honestly didn't know what to think about those. It was certainly a bit flattering. I've definitely gotten a chuckle out of thinking about what a "Christopher Knight for Congress" campaign would be like.

If that ever happens, I can sincerely promise that there will be no negative campaigning or "dirty tricks". Personally, I believe that candidates who resort to negative advertising against their opponents do not deserve to be elected at all. Their doing so demonstrates that they're running for the power, not for the opportunity to serve others.

I can also promise that if I were to run, the TV commercials that would come out of my campaign would be every bit as clever and entertaining - and hopefully thought-provoking - as those that I did for my school board campaign, if not wildly more so. And you thought the Death Star blowing up a schoolhouse was something...

Well, all of this was fun to inwardly speculate about, no doubt about it. And then last week someone that I respect an awful lot told me that I "should" seriously consider running. If it had been from anyone else, I would have probably still dismissed the idea. But that it came from this particular individual, it made me start to more soberly contemplate the idea.

I'm at the point in my life where I want to work on my own, more personal projects. For years I've been involved in what has been a long, never-ending series of struggles... and last year's school board campaign was definitely one those (albeit a good one). For the first time in a very long time there's finally light at the end of the tunnel, and I'm wanting to come out and see what's out there and make the most of my opportunities. Yesterday I took the GRE. I did well on it by the way! The part that's scored automatically by computer anyhoo :-)

So I'm finally starting to take the steps toward earning my master's degree in history, which in retrospect I should have done a long time ago. I'm trying to get a business going. There is a book that I'm working on and my full-length feature film project, that's still in the pipeline.

Most of all, the thing that I want more than anything else in my life... I want to be a father. You've no idea how much that means to me. Especially lately. A few weeks ago we were at a wedding and my cousin Walter, his four-year old daughter was the flower girl. I'm telling you all right here and now, that Walter is one lucky guy for God to have blessed him with a terrific son and a beautiful little girl like Morgan. And then there's Adam Feldman's newborn daughter (doesn't she look sharp wearing that Georgia cap? :-).

I do want to run for Congress. I won't deny that. Not because I want to make a "career" out of it though: ever since high school the notion hasn't left me alone that I should run for Congress, serve two or three terms, and then come home and let someone else take the job. If I can do that much, then I'll believe that I've done my part to serve the community. That doesn't jibe with conventional wisdom though: these days, just about everyone who runs for high office does so already knowing that they want to stretch it out as long as they can.

I don't want to do it like that. If I ran and won, I would go and serve and then come back and spend the rest of my life being creative and productive, being a husband and a father, and doing what I can to grow spiritually.

Be a career member of Congress, or be a regular guy who's trying to make the most out of the life that God has given him. Only one of them is, to me anyway, a meaningful way to live.

Besides, I don't believe anymore that in order to change the world for the better, that you must possess political power. The world is changed and made new every day, and it's not by politicians in Washington either. They wreck stuff more than they create.

So yes, I do want to run for Congress. I don't know if I'm ready to run for Congress right now though.

Let's say that I were to run for Congress, for the seat from the 13th district here in North Carolina. Politically I'm very much an independent. And I'm currently non-affiliated. But I'm not so naïve as to not realize what it takes to mount a serious campaign in America these days... even if I don't particularly like that it is that way. So if I did run on a party ticket it would be as a Republican. Meaning that I'd have to run in the primary and if I won that, then against Representative Brad Miller.

If I did run as a Republican, it would be as an "old-school" Republican. The kind that believes in limited government and individual freedom. If you read this blog then you know what I believe: I'm against abortion, I think the income tax should be abolished. I also believe that George W. Bush is the worst President in American history for his being impotent on defending our borders, for things like No Child Left Behind and the PATRIOT Act, and for bogging us down in meaningless wars that sap away at our youth and resources. I'm basically against everything that the current regime of "neo-conservatives" has pushed on us.

You see? Already, there are a lot of liabilities against me running right now. 'Cuz the Republican party, by and large, isn't what it used to be. I would get no support from it.

I also believe that so-called "Christian leaders" who prostitute their principles for political power so that they can have a seat at "the king's table" are the biggest bunch of hypocrites that I've ever seen. There would be at least one Christian candidate who wouldn't give a flying rat's butt about wanting an endorsement from Pat Robertson or James Dobson.

And then there is the simple fact of the matter that, like I said before, I want to get on a bit with my personal life. That means creating things. That's what makes me happy. How much time would I have to devote to those, if I were serving full-time in Congress right now?

Would you really want someone whose heart may not be fully into it, serving you in high elected office?

And then there is the biggest reason at all for why I shouldn't run right now: I don't know if I have enough wisdom at this point to serve in that capacity. I don't know if I possess enough to resist the power that comes with that kind of a position. The greater part of me believes that I should have some more life experiences, and build up that wisdom and gain more knowledge and insight, before offering myself up to serve others in so high an office.

(I will absolutely promise you though, that if I ever do run and Lord willing should I win, that I'm going to fill up that congressional office with the best people that I know. And they will be people who I trust will not only do their jobs well, but will also not be afraid to hold me accountable in my own job.)

Maybe someday, if God really puts it on my heart to run and if enough people would support me, I will do that, and run for Congress and let things happen as they may. If I don't win, it won't bother me anymore than I was bothered by not winning the school board election a year ago. And if I win well like I said, I'll go and serve a few years and then come home and let the next guy take over.

I'm not ready to run for Congress right now. But there is still something else that I can do in that regard, that in many ways is much better than running for Congress myself...

America desperately needs men and women who will rise at this hour to serve her. And I will do whatever it takes to find them and encourage them to take the lead.

I'm going do my best to inspire other people - especially "regular" citizens - to run for office, be that the local school board or the U.S. Senate. At whatever level they might feel led to go for.

That's why I chronicled my own campaign so thoroughly on this blog: so that other people could find it and think to themselves "I could do that. I can do that. Maybe I WILL do that!"

And you should do that. Because if it's not you... then who is it going to be?

Why should elected offices only go to the wealthy and the powerful and the well-connected? How the hell do most of them get off believing they're "owed" that, anyway?

Why should we be expected to believe that only "they" deserve to be the ones running this country? The Founders wrote the Constitution so that anyone could read and understand it. You don't have to be a lawyer or a corporate bigwig to appreciate and follow through on it.

So yeah: if you have a thorough-enough grasp of the Constitution, and personal responsibility and sincere selfless sense of duty to your community, what more do you need to run for office?

It's well past time for us to step up to the plate and become the government that the Founders envisioned.

Don't think that I'm trying to make this sound like it's easy, because it's not. Running for office is a hard thing to do... but what worthwhile things in life are ever easy? But it's also an awful lot of fun.

It's like this: you can either go with the flow, and die in your bed many years from now after a life of comfort and contentment, with not much to show that you were here.

Or you can get up and do something to rattle the cages, and make damned sure that "they" never forget that once upon a time, here you stood and would not yield.

If you do this, you will be opposed. Especially right now. And more from those who you would normally think of as allies as opposed to your opponents. Look at what's happening to presidential candidate Ron Paul: some of the most vicious attacks on him are coming from what are supposed to be "conservative" outlets, like the GOP leadership and Red State and Free Republic and Fox News, and others of their kind.

Don't think that I don't know what I'm talking about in that regard, because I used to be a long-time member and contributor on Free Republic. Free Republic has not accomplished a single worthwhile thing in its entire existence. Not anything at all. Oh sure, they'll boast about standing up to Clinton and meaningless pageantry like that... but what about seriously shaking things up? They can't do it because they're too locked-in to the party mindset: it's impossible for them to think outside the box. I don't know of a single person on that board who actually ran for office on their own, except for me... and that probably wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been banned from it to begin with.

If you are expecting leadership or even sympathy out of those places, you are greatly mistaken. Their sole purpose is to corral and control for sake of power. They aren't about encouraging and building up people to take control of their own lives. So of course they oppose people like Ron Paul and what he stands for: because in his worldview and that of many others, people like "them" aren't needed anymore.

A new day is dawning in America. There are many of us who know what's going wrong in this country and we've resolved to do something about it. We have a dream of a new world. A better world. And people from "the old way of things" have no place in that world.

They've had their chance. They've been weighed in the scales and found wanting. They are dying off. But they can do a lot of damage on the way down. Which makes it all the more important that people like you and me stand up and make sure that they go down hard and that they stay down.

What do you have to lose? You are going to die someday anyway. You might as well slam the door as hard as you can before you leave.

As C.S. Lewis said: "Die before you die. There is no chance after."

If you are reading this, please, I urge you: wherever you are, run for office. However you can. Don't do it for the power. Do it because you want to serve others. And if you do, please e-mail me and let me know and I'll do what I can to support you in your endeavor.

You don't need "them" telling you what to think anymore. You are much more than what "they" expect you to be.

Americans are supposed to be a people of liberty and free will. Ain't it about damned time that we started using those attributes?

I know you are out there. You have the strength and the ability to do something with what God has given you. He doesn't want you to waste those gifts. And neither do I.

It's time to rise to the occasion, my friends.

And when you do: be bold, but be humble. And you'll no doubt be as amazed as the rest of us at how far God will take you.

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