Feel the love

The most anticipated (or dreaded) speech of the night was that of former Prez. Bill Clinton.  It was a well-crafted speech that rang all the necessary bells, technically speaking, but he clearly hasn’t lost his gift for parsing language.  His much-anticipated “endorsement” of his wife’s opponent was ever-so-carefully qualified.

Michelle Obama, lips pressed tight, looked peeved, while Hillary and Chelsea were shown giggling together at something probably unrelated. 

Still though, Bill Clinton had some excellent lines tonight, and the audience ate them up. Like this one.

“People abroad have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.”  

I suppose it’s foolish to expect the guy to praise his wife’s opponent over his wife.  He didn’t.  (Frankly, I thought he sounded more comfortable saying nice things about John McCain than Barack Obama.)  But Clinton did at least succeed in painting Obama as the lesser of two evils. 

Playlist Editorial

Looks like the Democrats’ DJ enjoyed a little joke at the former President’s expense:   Bill Clinton left the stage tonight to the unmistakable strains of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love.”  Excellent!

NextGen?

On the other end of the credibility spectrum, there was Beau Biden. One word: Wow.  He was absolutely magnetic. If Obama’s sister Maya and Jesse Jackson Jr didn’t convince you there’s a genetic factor in political talent, this guy should’ve sealed the deal in ink. Here’s hoping he makes it back safe from Iraq. 

Veep material

Biden gets big ups for a job well done tonight - a big improvement over his teleprompter issues at his VP introduction Saturday in Springfield. 

My very favorite moment of the night was watching Biden’s elderly mother in her navy blue and pearls, listening to her son talk about all the things she taught him growing up.  I’m pretty sure elderly mothers don’t get much more endearing than that – though I haven’t seen John McCain’s mom yet, so I may have to take that back next week.

Comments? Drop me a line.

It’s apparently trendy for insider journos in Denver to rate the convention coverage of other insider journos in Denver this week.  I'm neither an insider nor in Denver, but I thought I’d still add the 2 cents I found in my couch cushions as I've been watching this thing from home.

• MSNBC: Spare me.  It’s like letting the cheerleaders call their own team's game.  The only saving grace is the network’s internal grudge match.  For sheer entertainment value, it’s hard to beat Chris Matthews mouthing off at Keith Olbermann.   
• CNN:  More commercials than coverage, and the roster reads like the Top Ten list of DC special interest groups.  But hey, who doesn't love "clean coal"?   
• PBS:  Sorry, Gwen, I love you, but PBS wins the award for Dullest Talking Heads Ever. It’s like sitting through a four-day-long grad school seminar. 
• NPR:  Nice job of covering the big speeches, but audience reaction matters, too. Unfortunately, the medium doesn’t allow them to rescue boring speeches by cutting away to visuals of people in funny hats.
• FOX:  Peanut Gallery central. The convention only shows up as background noise behind various talking heads dissing whoever’s on stage.  And either they’ve got the worst set lighting of all time, or there’s been a network-wide bronzer mishap.
• DISH cable coverage:  Straight feed, but a little too minimalist.  Who IS this person talking, anyway?

Winner:

CSPAN.  No blather, no spin, just live coverage -- plus helpful chyrons that identify the speakers and keep you updated on the schedule.  Bonus:  well-produced DNC commercials you can actually watch.  Well, at least the first ten times.

Closer to home:

BlueNC’s got a handful of folks blogging from the floor.  Speaking of people in funny hats, Chapel Hill’s Graig Meyer is doing a video blog that caught the attention of the BBC today. 

UNC-TV’s Eszter Vajda’s out in Denver, too, reporting live and blogging about it here.

The N&O's Rob Christensen and Charlotte's Jim Morrill are teaming up for print coverage of the Denver scene.  Updates from both are showing up at McClatchyLand's Legion of Dome.

Comments? Drop me a line.

North Carolina lawmakers have voted for the first time ever to override a veto by the governor. The bill in question, H 2167,  allows boats up to nine and a half feet wide to be towed on state roads at night without a permit. That’s one foot wider than current law allows.   

Governor Mike Easley had vetoed the bill last week, citing safety concerns on narrow roads.  The state highway patrol also spoke out against the bill.  But lawmakers voted to uphold it at the request of Beaufort Democrat Arthur Williams.

"This is not a safety issue. This is an issue about economics and tourism. We have lost 700 to 1000 jobs during this recession in the boating industry. I think this bill stands on its own merit, and the people have spoken out.”

 The final House vote was 95 to 8 to override the veto.  In the Senate, the vote was unanimous.  The bill now becomes law over the Governor’s objections.  

"No way, no how, no McCain."

Hillary Rodham Clinton lived up to her (positive) press in Denver tonight with an elegant, warm, persuasive endorsement of Barack Obama.  I thought she hit it perfectly. There was nothing conciliatory or half-hearted in her tone - she pulled out all her considerable rhetorical skill to encourage her diehard PUMA supporters to get behind her former opponent.

She paid tribute to all those who'd backed her through tough months on the trail:

"To my supporters, to my champions, to my Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits [camera cut to Bill, laughing], from the bottom of my heart, thank you, because you never gave in, and you never gave up. "

Then she spoke about the people she'd met - the disabled veteran, the mother on minimum wage, the sick boy with no health insurance.  She paid tribute to both the late Arkansas Dem chair Bill Gwatney and OH Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs-Jones.  She talked about the importance of standing up for "all those who've been invisible to their government for eight long years."

"I want you to ask yourselves, " she said:  "Were you in this campaign just for me, or for [them]?"

Okay, so maybe it wasn't the most Original Line Ever in a de facto concession speech.  But camera pans of the audience showed it was the right thing for her to say and the right time for her to say it, which counts.   What counts even more is the conviction with which she delivered the message.  I'd say she came through and then some.

Wright update

Or not, as the case may be.  The jury retired about 4:15 this afternoon.  They came out 45 minutes later with a forewoman, but no verdict.  They're back in at 9:30 tomorrow morning.

Meantime,  there's a new wrench in the works.  Thomas Wright was indicted on a charge of felony obstruction of justice, a charge Judge Donald Stephens says requires proof of malice or intent to deceive.   Before sending the jury out today, Stephens today added a new option to their verdict sheet:  misdemeanor obstruction of justice, which covers "willful" actions that fall short of proven intent to deceive.

It's hard to say whether that's good news or bad news for Wright.  Jurors who might have been wary of the common-law haziness surrounding the felony OOJ charge might seize on the more concretely defined misdemeanor as a more comfortable verdict.  On the other hand, jurors who might initally have been inclined to acquit Wright might see the lesser charge as a slap on the wrist they could accept. 

On balance, though, it looks like a good gamble for Wright's bottom line. The misdemeanor option carries a 45-day sentence, while the felony charge could add anywhere from 4 to 25 months to Wright's current 6-8 year sentence.

Back in town

Lawmakers are back in Raleigh today to reconsider their vote on allowing wider boats to be towed on state roadways. Governor Mike Easley vetoed the bill a week ago Sunday.  Constitutionally speaking, Wednesday's the last day for an override session.

G'boro's Mark Binker has more on the pro-big-boat argument, plus word from House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman that it won't be a party-line vote.

That might explain the rumors that the House won't override the veto. Some Dems apparently want to let the veto stand and re-craft another version of the bill next spring. NCNN's Matt Willoughby says one old House Dem explained it this way (off-mike, natch):  "Ïf you're gonna mess around, you'd better do it with a pretty girl, not an ugly one.  This bill's the ugly one."   Un-PC, sure, but still a pretty trenchant analysis.

An override would require the approval of 3/5 of all members present for the vote.  The House gets first crack at it.  If they vote to override, then it goes to the Senate, where's it expected to pass by an overwhelming margin.  Stay tuned for the latest.

Comment? Drop me a line.

Former State Rep. Thomas Wright's obstruction of justice trial is already headed to the jury. 

The prosecution rested its case just after noon today.  Deputy Elections Director Kim Strach spent most of the morning on the stand, detailing what Wright took in and spent versus what he reported.  To her and the state's credit, "Victoria's Secret" did not come up in the latter discussion.  But Strach's famous pie charts did, and the jury seemed to follow them just fine.

Defense attorney Doug Harris opted not to present evidence.  The crux of his case isn't about Wright's campaign reporting, which he concedes is bad.  Harris is arguing that, incorrect as the reports were, they still don't amount to obstruction of justice - he says the state hasn't proven malice or intent to interfere with investigation.

I suspect we'll hear a lot more on both sides of that issue during this afternoon's closing arguments.   More when I get it.

Comments? Drop me a line.

No, I’m not in Denver.  I can’t say I’m totally okay with that – not when my statehouse compadres from across the US are texting me from fabulous press parties, and especially not when 75,000 people are expected to pack a stadium to watch a candidate accept a presidential nomination.  That’s a spectacle I’d love to see.

Still, it makes sense not to be there.  As my G'boro friend Mark Binker likes to say, “Conventions are kabuki.”  There’s no surprise ending, no plot twist - no story there that a thousand other journalists aren’t chasing, too.

And for the sky-high price of sending a reporter to Denver and St. Paul, WUNC can cover dozens of stories here at home in NC – stories the big networks wouldn’t touch.  That I’m definitely okay with, bitter or not.  And hey, there’s no shortage of multimedia coverage I can absorb on my couch, with my shoes off, like normal people do.   There are far worse ways to go through two weeks of speechifyin’.

Verbing weirds language, DNC edition 

From the Obama press handlers tonight:

"Satellite?"  Is that “appearing via satellite,” or “flying by over your head, glittering and remote?”  Depends on your point of view, I guess.   Come on, people, we’re not paying by the word on telegrams anymore.  Buy a preposition.  Pixels are cheap.

Seriously, though, I gotta say – Michelle Obama was great.  She was smart and compelling, plain-spoken and powerful.  Her story about Obama driving her and their newborn daughter home from the hospital was textbook perfect.   So when’s she running for office?

Wright back

Former State Rep. Thomas Wright was back in court today for round 2 of his criminal trial.  During Round 1 in April, he was sentenced to 6 years for obtaining a loan under false pretenses and pocketing charitable donations. This time, he’s charged with felony obstruction of justice for filing false campaign reports that failed to include the provenance or usage of $185K worth of contributions.

Today’s courtroom scene was a far cry from April’s, when the benches were packed. The only folks watching today were a sparse handful of reporters, Wright’s wife and sons, and Fern Shubert, the former Republican state senator who’s anointed herself Wright’s standard–bearer for reasons that are less than clear to most of us observers.

Anyway, the day started with an argument by defense attorney Doug Harris that the charge against Wright doesn’t fit what he did.  Harris says obstruction of justice, by definition, involves an attempt to interfere in or block the judicial process – something no one has (yet) accused Wright of.  Prosecutors countered that Wright’s filing of false campaign reports violates common law. After giving it some thought, Judge Donald Stephens denied Harris’s motion to dismiss, but left the door open for Harris to reintroduce his motion after state testimony concludes.

Opening arguments were short, simple, and not terribly compelling.

Here’s Wake DA Colon Willoughby's opener:

And Wright defense attorney Doug Harris's: 

Sorry the audio's rough.  It's a courtroom, not a studio.

On the stand

The first state witness was Johnnie Umphlett, the SBI Agent who conducted the investigation into Wright’s finances.  In what could be a hint about where this is headed, Asst. DA David Sherlin’s questioning of Umphlett took a straight line toward Wright’s involvement in two controversial measures involving the Hugo Neu landfill and nurse anesthetists.  Wright’s critics say he pushed the former and stymied the latter while collecting fat (and unreported) campaign checks from corresponding interest groups. 

On the stand, Umphlett testified Wright knew there were rumors he’d intentionally failed to report receiving donations from Hugo Neu executives until he’d won reelection in 2006. Umphlett says Wright told him he didn’t need to hide anything.

 
Umphlett's Wright/Hugo Neu testimony is here.

Then there was the 2005 bill the nurse anesthetists didn’t like.  Wright, who was House Health Chairman at the time, effectively blocked the bill even after his committee had overwhelmingly approved it.  A couple of months later, Wright collected $18K from a nurse anesthetist fundraiser, but reported only $5K of the take on his disclosure reports.   Umphlett testified Wright told him he held the bill back because it was “bad policy,” not because of the money.  

Hear it for yourself:

Harris:   Sloppy, yes. Criminal, no.

In his cross-examination and again later in the hallway, defense atty Doug Harris argued all the prosecution is proving is bad bookkeeping.

"I think the problem is, they’re proving something that’s not a crime. They’re trying to make something that’s, you know, certainly not proper – you’re certainly supposed to file your campaign reports right – but it doesn’t mean it’s obstruction of justice if you don’t. "

Harris also argued that other Dem leaders received a lot more money from interests on the other side of the nurse anesthetist bill.  I don't know whether his allegations are true – he didn’t provide proof, and I haven’t found it – but even if they are, what does that have to do with whether his client is guilty?  “He started it” doesn’t even work on the playground, let alone in the courtroom.

Next up

Tomorrow, Deputy State Elections Director Kim Strach returns to the stand with her Pie Charts of Doom.  The almost-all-female jury seemed to respond really well to Strach's opening testimony this afternoon.  Smart money says tomorrow’s slam dunk has her name on it.

Harris says he doesn’t know yet what if any witnesses he’ll call, including Thomas Wright.  So far, he says, he hasn’t heard anything he feels requires a response. But realistically, there isn’t much anyone can say to counter the huge disparities between Wright’s bank records and his campaign reports.  And, given that Wright did himself no favors on the stand in April, I’d be surprised to see him up there again this time around.

Comments? Drop me a line.

All eyes on Denver

The NYT says it’s the "Year of the Political Blogger" at the Dem convention.  Nice to see local Durham blogger Pam Spaulding leading the story.  Inexplicably, the NYT opted to run the piece on the front of their “Fashion and Style” section.  I guess it’s only "politics" if it’s in ink.  Sigh.

Reporter Amanda Fairbanks misses what I think is the most interesting angle on this story.  For the first time, as far as I know, delegates themselves will be taking “citizen journalism” to a whole new level by reporting live from the convention hall floor. 

Chapel Hill delegate Graig Meyer has a video blog over at BlueNC, and Wake County delegate Terry Grunwald and alternate delegate Mark Ezzell will be blogging, too.  And they’ll have plenty of company among other states’ delegations. No disrespect to my media-credentialed friends, of course, but I’ll be even more interested to hear what actual participants think about the process. 

BTW, the “Demver” blogathon’s already underway at BlueNC.  This morning’s thread is here.

In ink...

• The N&O's Rob Christensen has a to-do list for Obama this week.
• The AP’s Stephen Ohlemacher reports mixed reactions to the Biden pick among Clinton backers.
• Greensboro's Mark Binker catches up with the Guilford delegation.

Where’s the money?

Word came out late this week that neither national party will be spending what it said it would in NC. 

On the Dem side, the Obama campaign announced Friday they’re backing off their ad buys for the week of the convention in seven Republican-leaning states, including NC.  Rob Christensen has more here.

Obama’s chief strategist David Axelrod told George Stephanopoulous this morning his campaign’s ads will be back on the air after the Dem convention.  That makes sense, actually: when you’re all over the airwaves with “earned media” – aka news – why spend more money on ads?  Guess we'll have to wait and see what happens next week.

On the GOP side, the NRSC told Politico Wednesday they won’t be following through on a promise of $6M in ad buys for Elizabeth Dole.  The money just isn’t there.  Dole responded that she’s known for some time she’ll need to raise all her own money.  The AP has more here.

Dole is an outstanding GOP fundraiser, and if anyone can hurdle this obstacle, it’ll be her.  But NRSC’s reversal just doesn’t look good – especially when the DSCC is funneling big money into this race on behalf of her Dem opponent, Kay Hagan.

New numbers

A new Winthrop poll out of SC shows the South, as a region, still firmly in the GOP column. The State’s Roddie Burris has details. 

Closer to home, the latest Carolinas Poll is all about finances – and only 1 out of 10 think they’re better off than they were a year ago.  Unsurprisingly, perhaps, respondents’ opinions tended to mirror their tax bracket:

"Among respondents who made less than $40,000 a year, only 8 percent said they were better off than last year, while 55 percent said they were worse off. Among those who made more than $80,000, 16 percent said they were better off, and 28 percent were worse off."

Charlotte’s Jefferson George has the rest.

Paying the piper

Former state Rep Thomas Wright is scheduled to be back in Wake County Superior Court Monday for a second trial for alleged campaign fraud.  This time, the New Hanover Democrat is facing a felony obstruction of justice charge.  Prosecutors say Wright failed to report receiving and spending almost $200K in campaign donations. He’s currently serving 6 to 8 years on fraud convictions handed down in April.  Here’s a refresher.

The Asheville Citizen Times says Mitchell County Republican Rep. Phillip Frye was sentenced Friday to a year of probation after pleading guilty to a DWI connected to an accident last winter in Spruce Pine.

Comments? Drop me a line.

Governor Mike Easley issued a statement today in response to the naming of Delaware Sen Joe Biden as Barack Obama's running mate:

"Joe Biden is just what the country needs.  He’s a straight shooter, smart and a hard worker.  We’ve worked together on numerous criminal justice issues and talked in depth about education.  He is an expert in foreign affairs.  I consider Joe to be a good friend to me, law enforcement and to North Carolina.  This campaign just got real interesting and a whole lot more fun."

Well, that's one way to look at it.  I bet a lot of Republicans are saying the same thing -- Biden's notoriously, um, frank.

All things being equal, though, I think it was about the smartest pick Obama could've made.  Biden's working-class Catholic background should help the ticket. His experience fills in some soft spots in Obama's resume -- his foreign policy chops are pretty much unrivaled among the Dems.  He's tough enough to go after McCain like a pitbull, but funny and charismatic enough to get away with it when he does.  With Biden minding the hatchet work, Obama can stay above the fray (for the most part) and stick to his positive message, which is unarguably his strongest suit.

Next: the GOP.  Will it be Romney?  I don't think he's McCain's strongest pick.  More on that later.

Comments? Drop me a line.  

I was wondering last night what’s driving the legislative imperative to make sure rich folks can tow their big boats on tiny NC roads at night, even after Governor Easley vetoed the measure and the State Highway Patrol demonstrated pretty clearly why it’s a dangerous idea.

A reader emailed me a name to look into:  Reggie Fountain.

Follow the money

Fountain’s company, Fountain Powerboats, builds big luxury boats, precisely the kind current law makes it difficult to tow on NC roads.   His firm’s been the apple of eastern NC economic developers’ eye for the last few years. Just today, the local outlet Washington Daily News had a glowing article on a Fountain expansion plan that won a JDIG grant worth $2.5M this week.

Turns out Fountain’s an up-and coming player on the Dems’ side of the political money game. Not that he’s a novice political donor -- he isn’t -- but up till last year, much of his largesse was aimed across the aisle.  He backed Republican former Governor Jim Martin’s US Senate campaign in 1998, Republican Chief Justice Bev Lake's campaign in 2001, and the unsuccessful campaigns of conservative Supreme Court candidate Rusty Duke and Republican state Senate candidate Hood Richardson in 2006. 

SBOE campaign finance records show Fountain started paying a lot more attention to Dems this year. In the past, he’d given House bill sponsor Arthur Williams a little money - $1000 each in 2003 and 2006. He’d also been a smallish contributor to Senate Pro Tem Marc Basnight, donating $5200 over five years from 2002 to 2006.  But then he got serious. Campaign records show he gave Basnight another $5000 – almost doubling his prior five-year total – between 12/07 and 5/06.

This is NOT proof of malfeasance. Business owners have right to lobby like everyone else.  And giving a campaign donation doesn’t, in itself, constitute an attempt to buy influence any more than accepting one constitutes an agreement to sell it.  But you can’t help but wonder about the timing.  Fountain’s monetary interest in Basnight peaked just before a session that yielded legislation favorable to Fountain’s business – the big boat bill.  And when the Governor vetoed the bill, Basnight was one of the first to say lawmakers should override it.  That's some coincidence.

(Fountain, BTW, is also a Perdue contributor.  Campaign records show he gave her campaign an in-kind gift of  $1,170.81 earlier this year.)

Pool report:  Not THAT Edwards

Today's Obama pool reporter, Nia Henderson of Newsday, had the unenviable job of standing VP watch.  Here’s her third pool update of the day.

"Barack Obama departed the Park Hyatt hotel about 20 minutes ago for dinner with his family. A crowd of about 200 gathered outside to watch the motorcade depart. Folks cheered, took pictures, and some gave chase. Obama waved at the crowd and was on his cell phone as the motorcade left.

A small but enthusiastic crowd gathered later in front of the restaurant.  And your faithful poolers (call time was 6:30 this morning, I remind you) positioned ourselves so we could all ask in pitch perfect harmony: "Where's the text?" He laughed (with us? at us? hard to tell...)...and said "Hi guys" to the crowd, which let out a cheer.

Again we asked, "Where's the text?" shaking our phones for emphasis this time.  And again, he laughed, maybe with us, maybe at us.

Texas Rep. Chet Edwards was revealed today as a name on Obama's VP shortlist.  I know nothing about the guy, but I'm betting he's really hating his last name right about now.  Think about it: What political strategist in his or her right mind would want to spend the next 3 months explaining that this Dem VP Edwards guy isn’t the same one who’s been stepping out on his cancer-stricken wife? 

I'm betting it's Biden, and we'll get the text message about it around noon tomorrow.  I'm also betting 95% of America couldn't care less.

Update:  The Biden text msg came through at 3:32am Sat. morning. 

Comments?  Drop me a line.

House of Pain

In an interview with Politico yesterday,  GOP presidential contender John McCain couldn’t remember how many houses he and his wife own: “I’ll have to check with my staff.”

This comes three days after McCain told Saddleback's Rick Warren his idea of rich is an annual income of “5 million dollars”  - a threshold that disqualifies his “elitist” opponent Barack Obama, who eked out a paltry $4.2M last year.

From Jonathan Martin and Mike Allen’s Politico article:

Brian Rogers, a McCain spokesman, did not question Politico's analysis, but said his boss's bungling of the how-many-homes question is a nonissue.

Riiiiight.  If it were two or three houses, maybe.  If he could remember, maybe.  But a candidate who can’t remember how many houses he owns – Newsweek  says seven, Politico eight – when so many voters are worried about losing the one and only house they have?  

It’s a gaffe on the scale of Kerry’s “I voted for it before I voted against it” moment in the last election. And, just like 2004, you can bet you’ll be hearing it everywhere as November draws closer. 

Obama’s team already has a web ad out on this one.  If they don’t get it on TV ASAP, they aren’t serious about winning in November.  It’s that simple.

Strike two

McCain spokesman Brian Rogers tried out another damage-control tactic on the WaPo’s Michael Shear:

As the stepdaughter of one Army veteran and the partner of another, I mean it when I say I respect John McCain’s stellar service to his country.  But I don’t understand how having been a POW thirty-odd years ago has anything to do with knowing how many houses you own today. Neither of my veterans gets it, either.

Homing instincts

It took local Dems no time at all to capitalize on McCain’s mistake.  Congressman GK Butterfield and former House Speaker Dan Blue held a presser this afternoon to remind anyone who needed it that most folks know exactly how many houses they own, even if they’re not running for nationwide office.  Ouch.   Charlotte’s David Ingram has more over at the cross-pollinated Dome.

They’re back.  (Probably.)

State House Majority leader Hugh Holliman said today he expects lawmakers will return to Raleigh next week to uphold the passage of the big boat bill.  Governor Easley vetoed the measure Sunday, citing safety concerns. But math-challenged House Dems, led by Beaufort Rep. Arthur Williams, don’t see why anyone ought to be worried about encountering a 9 ½ foot wide boat in a 9-foot lane in the dark. 

Holliman says the House took safety under consideration before overwhelmingly approving the bill last month - 

“And, of course, we have a lot of boat manufacturers in this state that it certainly does have an impact on, as well as the fishing tournaments down at the coast, and we’re hearing from all these people.  So you’re hearing a lot of pros and cons.

So, really, how many NC boat manufacturers are shipping their products after sundown or on a Sunday?   

My favorite moment of the day was when a Senate staffer told me with a straight face that he’d had a caller who praised lawmakers for “standing up for the common man” by supporting the big boat bill.  As it turns out, said caller was a retired corporate bigwig from Charlotte.  How…common.

Seriously, you have to wonder what’s driving this.  Think about it:

• The state health plan is expected to be insolvent by the end of the year. 
• Our mental health system is making national headlines for rampant dysfunction and patient neglect.
• Some state employees are missing their mortgage payments because their new payroll system doesn’t work.

But legislators aren’t coming back to Raleigh to fix any of these problems. Instead, they’re ready to spend tax dollars on a veto session to ensure that rich people can tow big boats whenever they want.  Now, that’s public service.

Comments?  Drop me a line.