Conrad Hardy18 minutes ago near Cary, NCThe waitress comes up to the table at Gypsy's and says.. "Clay Aiken is here" and I said Jake wants corn dogs and I will have a Texas Tumbleweed Cheesesteak. I guess he is some celebrity politician singer guy. He is with his kids and some other dude... Huge celebrities are just like regular people... They eat at Gypsy's in Cary too!!!
7 people like this. Marcus Bennett The real question is do they eat at Waffle House after 3AM?
Clay Aiken ?@ClayForNC Ft. Bragg is an important part of our community. I look forward to discussing how to protect it from potential cuts. http://www.clayaiken.com/news/playing-offe...e-spending-cuts …
Playing Offense on Proposed Defense Spending CutsPosted July 3, 2014The military community and the citizens of Fayetteville have spent too much time preparing for the worst and hoping for the best during these past few weeks. And the situation seemed to only worsen with last week’s report from the U.S. Army Environmental Command that projected Ft. Bragg could lose up to 16,000 soldiers and defense civilians by 2020. The Fayetteville Observer reported:“According to Army projections, the region could lose 21,563 jobs if the cuts take place, and the local economy could take a nearly billion-dollar hit.Local governments would lose $11.3 million in estimated sales tax receipts, and more than 40,000 residents would be expected to move out of the region.”These massive cuts to Ft. Bragg are considered a “worst-case scenario.” This report is for planning purposes, and post cuts aren’t being considered in Congress yet. But that doesn’t mean it’s time to sit back and simply hope everything turns out all right for the folks in Fayetteville and on base at Ft. Bragg.Even if Ft. Bragg isn’t hit with the worst-case scenario in the immediate future, it’s clear the current Congress plans to put Ft. Bragg on the chopping block in attempts to save money in the defense budget. We’ve witnessed that in just the past few weeks with the proposal to shut down the 440th Airlift Wing at Pope Field — something that would not only negatively affect our district, but would also be a massive misstep for our country’s military readiness.Our Congressional representatives should be the first line of defense on these issues involving defense budgets and potential cuts. They should be early advocates for the interests of our district — and they should be responsible for identifying legislation that’s harmful to our district before it’s put up for a vote.For now, the fate of the 440th Airlift Wing is still to be decided. But back in May, when Congress was considering amendments to save the wing, Renee Ellmers’s amendment was submitted late and subsequently rejected by the House Armed Services Committee.There’s no excuse for sloppy work and missing deadlines when the folks in your district are relying on you. Especially when it involves service men and women and our military readiness.It’s the job of our representatives to get out in front of the issues — nobody else is going to stand up for the folks back home if our representatives don’t. This is about our country’s defense needs, but it’s also about our communities and fighting to protect our local interests. The Army’s report clearly lays out the devastating effect these cuts would have on Fayetteville’s local economy. A proposal to cut thousands of military personnel is too drastic and severe to be accepted here at home or in Washington, and I intend to be vocal about my opposition to this proposal as it’s being considered by the Army and Congress.At some point in the future, these cuts may be brought before Congress for a vote. But before that happens, we need to do everything we can here in our community to fight back.In their Sunday editorial, the Fayetteville Observer noted that simply being present and engaged in these early conversations of potential cuts is a good start to protecting our district from hardship down the road. In the coming weeks, I will host a roundtable with community leaders to identify how we can not only protect Ft. Bragg from cuts, but also protect our community and its economy from the ripple effects a future potential downsizing would bring.-- Clay
