RALEIGH, N.C. – Luther H. Hodges Jr., a long-time North Carolina public servant and business ambassador, will soon be blogging as he travels to Sulaimani, in the Kurdish region of Iraq.

You can track Luther’s adventures, currently an adjunct professor at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, by following his daily blog at www.tarheeldemocracydispatch.com, presented in association with Kohn Associates, LLC.

Tarheel Democracy Dispatch provides media outlets, institutions of higher learning, and all engaged North Carolinians with a direct look into the culture of a developing northeastern Iraq city, through a daily blog composed by Luther himself.

The first blog post from Iraq will begin on Feb. 6 as Mr. Hodges is expected to arrive in Sulaimani to begin his stent at American University’s Executive MBA program teaching business law and ethics. 

The American University of Iraq in Sulaimani is a private, non-profit, comprehensive liberal arts, American style university situated in the progressive and safe city of Sulaimani, in the Kurdish region of Northern Iraq and opened its doors in October 2007.  At all levels of instruction at AUI-S, learning is enhanced by way of small, interactive classes and close student-faculty relationships and the language of instruction is English throughout.

Hodges currently lives in Chapel Hill with his wife Cheray and their three wonderful Labrador Retrievers. 
Luther graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1957 and went on to Harvard to receive his Masters in Business Administration, which he completed in 1961. 

Upon his graduation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he served as an officer in the United States Navy.  He ran for United States Senate from North Carolina in 1978, later he served as Acting Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Commerce under President Jimmy Carter.  Currently, he serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, along with serving on various boards of directors.

U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay “continues to provide key intelligence” for the United States.

The Senator wrote the comment on his blog.

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DENVER – The Democratic National Convention you see on TV is not the same convention as experienced in the Pepsi Center.

You see delegates cheering, dancing, waving signs. You don’t see the army of men and women in lime-green vests patrolling the aisles, distributing American flags and signs and instructing delegates in their “spontaneous” demonstrations.

Humanity clogs the area behind the prime floor seats and in front of the risers. Delegates push to find their seats. Gawkers want a glimpse of network news stars broadcasting from the floor.

“My God, that’s Katie Couric!” a woman screamed as she snaked through the crowd.

Others in the lumbering mass are celebrities whose conversations cause those around them to stop and stare. A jam quickly formed when comedian and TV talk show host Bill Maher stopped to talk with Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio. I couldn’t hear their conversation and was blinded by camera flashes. Kucinich’s beautiful wife, Elizabeth, stood off to the side, almost unnoticed.

Many of these wanderers are guests or staffers who have no seats – but they do have cameras and cell phones and the need to share. Others are members of the news media – who outnumber delegates here better than three to one – who must take the temperature of their delegation, again. Is the party unified yet?

So, hundreds, if not thousands, of people roam the hall – or they would if there was room to roam. We may be in a city on the wide-open plains, but here in the Pepsi Center the proximity to other human beings is worse than anything New York commuters experience on rush-hour subways. In the bottleneck, it’s hot and close and an unconventional reality.

During former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner’s keynote address Tuesday, I tried to make my way to Media General’s seats in the press stands near the podium after visiting with North Carolinians. Here’s some of what I heard from the podium and on the floor:

Warner: “The most important contest of our generation has begun…”

Lime-green vest man: “Put the signs down for now. We’ll tell you when to put them up.”

Warner: “I believe from the bottom of my heart with the right vision, the right leadership, and the energy and creativity of the American people, there is no nation that we can’t out hustle or out compete. And no American need be left out or left behind.”

Man to friend: “You coming to the party tonight?”

Friend: “Which one?”

Warner: “In America, everyone should get a fair shot.”

Lime-green vest woman speaking urgently into phone: “We have a press bottleneck between Alaska and New York! They won’t move!”

Warner: “You know America has never been afraid of the future, and we shouldn’t start now.”

Young blonde woman on a hot pink cell phone: “You can drop your bags at my place. … We’re staying at the Sheraton.”

Warner: “Barack Obama has a different vision – and a different plan…the status quo just won’t cut it.”

Lime-green vest man, shouting: “Guys, you can’t stand there. You’ve got to keep moving. Move! Move! Move!”

Tue, August 26, 2008 – 2:12 p.m.

Last night’s opening session of the convention set quite a tone for the rest of the week. The two highlights were the primetime speeches of Senator Ted Kennedy and Michelle Obama. Caroline Kennedy introduced a video tribute to her “Uncle Teddy” and when the lights came up, Senator Kennedy brought the house down as he emerged on the podium. For someone fighting brain cancer, he showed a strength and resolve that have marked his career in the United States Senate. There were not many dry eyes in the Pepsi Center when he promised to be present on the floor of the Senate next January. As Senator Kennedy and his family left the stage, the energy level in the building reached a fever pitch.

A short while later, Michelle Obama was introduced to the delegates (and the nation) first in a video narrated by her mother and then in a speech by her brother Craig Robinson, the head basketball coach at Oregon State. Michelle Obama then emerged in front of a sea of delegates who were all holding “MICHELLE” signs handed out by volunteers. Her life story and her speech were inspirational. I was particularly touched by how she described the sacrifices that her parents made to ensure a better future for her brother and her. Her speech echoed the themes of family and unity and made me think of everything my parents have sacrificed for my brother and me. She did an excellent job of reaching out to Hillary Clinton supporters and making the case for Barack Obama to be President.

Following the speech, her daughters Malia and Sasha joined her on stage. I was touched again as I thought about my two daughters back in North Carolina and how, like the Obamas, the first thing my wife and I think about in the morning and the last thing we think about at night is our family and what we can do to make sure our daughters’ futures are secure. My take away from last night was that Michelle and Barack Obama face the same issues that we as parents face every day.

For anyone worried about the location of the North Carolina delegation, our view is great from Section 130 and we are in good company. The New Jersey delegation is just in front of us and our two large delegations are enjoying getting to know each other. Last night, Senator Joe Biden sat in a box behind us and drew great applause when he entered the floor. Members of the Kennedy family, including Maria Shriver, also sat behind us. Governor Mike Easley and First Lady Mary Easley joined us last night and drew plenty of television cameras and reporters our way.

Tonight is another big night. I fully expect Hillary Clinton to hit her own home run tonight and stress party unity. I am looking forward to her speech and seeing the delegates acknowledge her accomplishments in this campaign. So long for now. It’s time to head back downtown.

– R. Bruce Thompson, II
Keep Up with Herd On The Trail from Media General

R. Bruce Thompson, II, is an attorney in Raleigh, N.C.

By MARSHA MERCER
Media General News Service

DENVER – Democratic National Convention organizers proudly tout the diversity of the 4,438 delegates at the Pepsi Center.

Blacks, Asian and Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, Native Americans and members of other groups are represented in greater strength than at previous conventions.

They’ll nominate Barack Obama, who hopes to make history as the first African American president.
Multiculturalism and historic symbolism are huge with the Democrats.

So when I heard that Denver’s Native American community was welcoming the conventioneers with a Tribal Unity Day Powwow Sunday, I stopped by Civic Center Park.

Not far from protesters noisily voicing their demands on issues ranging from the Iraq war to taxing meat, was a different kind of convention, steeped in its own traditions.

At the powwow, men played drums while colorfully dressed American Indian families danced, talked and ate freshly deep-fried Indian tacos. Few Democratic delegates came to the welcome, but that didn’t seem to matter.

As I sat under the trees talking with A.J. and Ace No Braid, I sensed a disconnect between the extravaganza at the Pepsi Center and the concerns of ordinary voters.

The city’s hospitality couldn’t be warmer, but some here feel cool toward the party. The Democrats’ flashy festivities are remote from voters’ lives.

The No Braids and their daughters Lara, 10, and Larissa, 14, were dressed in beautifully beaded tribal costumes decorated with symbolic bones. They wore and carried eagle feathers. A.J. and Ace trace their roots to tribes in the Dakotas, and both are Army vets.

Their daughters are learning tribal ways, including beading. The family spends almost every weekend involved in American Indian activities.

Politics was in the air, though, and between dances, several local candidates asked for people’s votes. The response was tepid.

A.J. No Braid knows what it’s like to reach for the American dream. Her mother took out a second mortgage to help her attend a private Denver prep school, and A.J. spent a year at Dartmouth College, until finances forced her to drop out. That’s when she joined the Army.

I asked No Braid, who works in sales support for a telecom company, what she thought of Obama.

“I wanted Hillary,” she said. She caucused for Clinton earlier this year. Obama won Colorado’s caucuses.

“I really support women in leadership roles,” she said.

Ace No Braid told me didn’t care much for either Republican John McCain or Obama.

“What are either of them going to do to help people of America, to help them keep their jobs?” he asked.

No Braid, a plumber, was laid off Friday.

“We feel like we’re constantly playing catch-up,” his wife said.

The No Braids don’t hear either presidential candidate or those running for Congress talking specifically about how they’d help working families.

Come Election Day, Ace said he’ll probably vote for Obama, because he wants the war in Iraq to end.

And Obama’s historic moment? He shrugged.

Will the convention and Barack Obama reach people like the No Braids this week?

That, and not the demographics of delegates, is the challenge facing the Democrats in Denver.

“Maybe [Paris Hilton] would be a great candidate. Okay, as long as the fancy lasts, I’ll indulge it. But by far the most priceless reaction to the ad was from Ms. Hilton’s own parents — or rather, their non-reaction. They made some sort of magnanimous declaration that the commercial was a waste of money, money that the Hiltons themselves donated to Mr. McCain. Why did they not repudiate the commercial?”

–From Your Civic Doody

“As we head into the the Democratic convention, the Edwards scandal isn’t over. It’s really just beginning. Don’t blame the media, blame John Edwards.”

– From Lee Stanahan of The Huffington Post