Prominent Greensboro bloggers are hotly debating the number of porn site hits up at the city’s central library. John Hammer joins the debate, reporting the disputed numbers as fact in this week’s Rhino Rumors:
City Councilmember Danny Thompson, who has become the point man on pornography at the Greensboro Public Library, is compiling some of the information that he now knows he should have had the first time he brought it up.
Last month there were 21,000 hits on porn sites at the Greensboro Public Library, but over six months there were only 18 reported incidents of people looking at porn. If the taxpayers don’t want to provide free pornography for all comers, it appears something needs to be done.
Tony Wilkins doesn’t name his source, but one would have to assume that Thompson is Hammer’s source. I don’t know what to believe, but Hammer’s absolutely right when he says Thompson —who’s been doing his homework— was unprepared when he first raised the porn issue. That’s been my major criticism, and perhaps Thompson will convince when he raises it again —–and it sure looks like he will.
Compare this issue with Greensboro’s equally-volatile garbage issue, which is in the news again as various vendors pitch the city on different ways to gasify municipal waste.
Remember a couple of years ago when then-council member Mike Barber raised the issue, suggesting —heaven forbid —– that the city reopen the White Street landfill to municipal waste. In the face of stern opposition, Barber provided real leadership on the issue, providing concrete reasons why White Street should once again be a real dump. Barber didn’t prevail, but he at least earned my respect.
Unfortunately, Hammer reports that Thompson and Mayor Bill Knight aren’t providing necessary leadership on this issue, either, allowing landfill opponent Dianne Bellamy-Small to take over:
After the meeting both Knight and Councilmember Danny Thompson said they did not think reopening the landfill was off the table.
Knight said, “We do need to change from what we are doing now. I will say that.”
Thompson said, “I will look at all the options.” He added that reopening the landfill was an option in his mind and that he never said he was opposed to reopening it.
However, neither Knight nor Thompson argued when Wade said that nobody up there wanted to reopen the landfill, nor did they argue with Bellamy-Small…..
Guarino nails it when he says “(i)It is quite apparent that, in spite of the election results last November, the city of Greensboro still has a long way to go.” But that’s because the people we elected last November aren’t providing the necessary leadership to bring about real change.
