The Man from Hemp

HEMP, NC

Bill Clinton was known as The Man from Hope, as that was where he grew up...in Hope, Arkansas. John Edwards is The Man from Hemp...and no, I don't mean marijuana. I mean Hemp...a small town in North Carolina whose current name happens to be Robbins.

Hemp was not the first name of Robbins though. The town of Robbins began in 1795 when Alexander Kennedy, a revolutionary war soldier (who happens to be my 5th great-grandfather, and the son of John Kennedy, the immigrant), settled in the area and established what would become the largest gun factory in the South. The promise of jobs drew others to the area, which became known as Mechanics Hill. In 1838, the gun factory closed and the townspeople cleared the land for agricultural purposes. It was during this time that gold was discovered in the area, and the town experienced a minor gold rush.

FUR ELISE

"At the turn of the twentieth century, the Durham-Charlotte railroad came through, and a depot was built in the town. In 1900, the town registered its name as Elise, in honor of the daughter of the president of the railroad. The railroad brought many more jobs and people to the town. In 1904, Elise Academy, now Elise Middle School, was established to educate the children of Elise. It was at this time that the townspeople applied for an official U.S. post office; they were notified that there was already a town in North Carolina with the name Elise. The post office assigned the town the name of Hemp, and after much argument among the townspeople, the new name was begrudgingly adopted in 1915. However, many people continued to refer to the town as Elise for years to come. In 1935, Hemp was incorporated as a town."
http://www.hsl.unc.edu/phpapers/robbins00/RCommDescr.htm

"During the 1920's, the town experienced industrial growth. Hemp was supplied with power in 1923, and the following year, Moore Mills Textile plant, the first textile mill, was established. The mill was purchased by Karl Robbins in 1930 and renamed the Robbins Silk Mill. The textile industry continued to play a significant role in the town until 1990. "

I believe it is this mill that John Edwards' father worked in.

ECONOMY: Kennedys, Guns & Gold

"The economy of Robbins has been marked by periods of growth and decline. In 1795, the Kennedy family opened the largest gun factory in the south in an effort to supply revolutionary war soldiers with rifles. The Kennedy gun factory created 75-100 jobs for the area; the factory continued to grow through the early 1800s, employing 150 people at its peak (Changing the Name of Hemp, 1943). When the gun factory closed in 1838 the land was cleared for agriculture. It was at this time that gold was discovered (City Government of Robbins, n.d.). Mining kept the town alive through the transitions in major industries. The gold mines are now being utilized to mine for talc."

My family still has ties and land in Moore County, where not only one may find Robbins, Elise, Hemp and Mechanics Hill (which are the same place), but one may drive to the southern end of the county and play fine golf at Pinehurst. It is a testament to the American Spirit that a small-town boy can, through hard and good work, rise to become the de facto leader of the world. I, for one, think the world would be well served.

ConvergeSouth 2007: Where Bloggers Meet and Share

We at anonyMoses Blog Manumissives are extremely pleased to note the approach of this year's blog bash called ConvergeSouth. In order to remind myself, it is quite likely that i will post a few items regardingthe venerable event, so do not be alarmed. Rather sign up before it gets too full. You have waited long enough...

friday theme: "The Fifth Estate"
KEYNOTE
JASON CALACANIS
STEP BY STEP
Owning the news - the challenges of moving from old media to new.
Panelist: Dan Conover
Panelist: Will Bunch
Moderator: Joe Killian
Interactive Panel: WE DO AGREE TO DISAGREE
How community-driven nontraditional news sites have changed the
way we perceive what is news or newsworthy
Panelist: Ruby Sinreich
Panelist: Chris Rabb
Panelist: TBA
Moderator: Ed Cone

WORKSHOPS
To Be Announced
Dr. Abdul Alkalimat
Legal Issues Online
Eric Fink

Affiliate Marketing, Web 2.0 and Social Media
Sam Harrelson
Science Blogging
Bora Zivkovic

We Don't Need No Titles
Billy Jones
Get Your Political Foot in the Door
E.C. Huey

saturday theme: "The Making of the fifth estate"
KEYNOTE
Dr. ABDUL ALKALIMAT
SOCIAL NETWORKING
Creative people and groups are
providing new context to the world around them
Panelist: Anil Dash
Panelist: TBA
Moderator: Sean Coon

MOVING PICTURES - IMAGES AND VIDEO ON THE WEB

HOW-TO
Podcasting and Beyond
PRESENTER: Amber Rhea


HOW-TO (part 1)
CurrentTV
How to make a Current pod, demo pods, answer questions and take pitches
HOW-TO

Videos that Don't Suck
PRESENTER: TBA

HOW-TO
Better Blogging
PRESENTER: Ed Cone


HOW-TO (part 2)
CurrentTV
How to make a Current pod, demo pods, answer questions and take pitches

HOW-TO
Riffing an Existence with Lenslinger
PRESENTER: Stewart Pittman

Sustainable Journalism
PRESENTER: Kirk Ross

AMATEUR SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

Hosted dinners throughout downtown Greensboro

Music downtown

David Beckham's First Goal for America

Becks brings them to their feet with his famously bent futbol.

AFL-CIO Debate, Chicago, Aug.7, 2007

Here is the entire debate from last night, which was shown to MSNBC customers. The first clip shows Carolina's own, Senator Edwards, as he arrives at the debate.

Senator Edwards connecting with seniors of Iowa

From The Des Moines Register

The Web 2.008 Campaign

By Edward Cone

Web video and social networks are two of the hottest technologies for Campaign '08. Video is ready for prime time, social networking is a relative unknown...

MORE

Yearly Kos 2007 - The videos, the bloggers & the candidates

OUTFOXED: Why Democrats Needn't Appear on FOX News

OUTFOXED:
Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism

Featuring
BILE ORALLY
THE YELLOW "JOURNALIST"

Exhibit A

The Edwardian Age: John Edwards TV

Start it up, and one video will flow into the next. You can put down your mouse, relax, and enjoy...

The Virtual Bohemia Channel

The Virtual Bohemia Channel

Ingmar Bergman - July 14, 1918 – July 30, 2007

Rest in peace, sweet genius.





A powerful scene from "The Serpent's Egg"

Pussilanimous GOP afraid of American people & their pesky questions

Ready for the Vagina Monologues?

GOP Won't Play in Youtube/CNN Debate?
by: Matt Stoller

Digby speaks to the Take Back America conference

Ladies and Gentlemen, Digby...


That's Digby in the middle

(Thanks to FireDogLake, TBA, and the Supreme Cogitatrix.)

Hagee, Lieberman & The Princes of War

Pastor Pigboy Hagee will not rest until America bombs Iran, igniting Armegeddon, and providing the catalyst for the removal from this world of the "true Christians" (and converted Jews). And now he has enlisted the convertible Joe Loserman to his satanic and bloody cause.

Watch as the Nation's Max Blumenthal take on these killer "Christians".

(Thanks to Huffington Post and the Nation for airing this, the Supreme Cogitatrix for bringing it to my attention, and Max Blumenthal for his ground-breaking journalism.)

Walk the Earth

"Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth
Unseen, both when we wake, and when we sleep."
- "Paradise Lost", John Milton

John Edwards - HAIR

The 2nd most popular video on YouTube...



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10 Britain's got Talent : Paul sings Opera Daily Motion 20 new links 15,194,885 views

The Criminal Negligence of Rudy Giuliani

...and you thought he was a hero??



According to a Mr. Dante, there is a ring of Hell reserved for opportunists, and after seeing this report, I can't help but think this one-trick pony is a major candidate for inclusion therein.
Basking in the adoration of the media circus, Mr. Giuliani, it turns out, was little more than, say, Michael Brown, who did a "Helluva job" during Katrina.

Helluva job, Rudy! Step right up!


See also:
Giuliani: Worse Than Bush
He's cashing in on 9/11, working with Karl Rove's henchmen and in cahoots with a Swift Boat-style attack on Hillary. Will Rudy Giuliani be Bush III?

Green-Collar Jobs: John Edwards on Creating the New Economy

MoveOn members overwhelmingly selected John Edwards as candidate with the best plan to deal with the climate crisis.






"Over 100,000 people attended 1300 parties across the country to listen to the Democratic candidates answer questions on how to deal with the climate crisis. John won in a landslide with over 33% of the vote, the next closest candidate receiving only 15%."

ReadOn

"Achieving Energy Independence & Stopping Global Warming Through A New Energy Economy"

INCLUDING!!!!

Open the Electricity Grids to Distributed and Renewable Generation: Traditionally, electricity has been produced at large, central power plants and transmitted through miles of power lines. Distributed generation of electricity promises reliable, clean, cost-effective production that is less vulnerable to natural disasters and attacks. Farms, factories, schools, and communities ought to be able to establish their own power sources and compete with traditional plants to sell wholesale capacity, as New England has pioneered. [DOE, 2000; New England ISO, 2006]

Expand Smart Meters and Smart Grids to Use Energy More Wisely: By simultaneously displaying energy use and price, smart meters encourage consumers to use less energy and to use energy when it can be generated less expensively. Utilities can also use information technology to monitor electricity demand, allowing them to plan their production more efficiently. [Nemtzow, 2007; Regulatory Assistance Project, 2006]

Reduce the U.S. Government's Energy Use by 20 Percent and Make the White House Carbon Neutral. The U.S. government is the nation's single largest energy consumer, with a $15 billion energy bill in 2005. However, its investments in energy efficiency have been cut in half since 2001. Edwards will overhaul federal buildings and vehicles to emphasize efficiency, reducing the
use of energy by 20 percent, and expand the government's use of renewable sources. After taking energy efficiency steps at the White House, he will purchase carbon offsets to make it carbon-neutral. [DOE, 2006; Alliance to Save
Energy, 2007]

Create GreenCorps: Idealistic young Americans can help fight climate change by conducting volunteer energy audits, weatherizing homes, installing home solar panels, and training neighborhood groups to do the same. Edwards will create a GreenCorps within AmeriCorps to create opportunities for
them to serve.