DISQUS

sean coon · 3 years ago

great meeting you robert. come on back anytime.

AndrewTerry · 3 years ago

The video of you and Maryam receiving the key to the city is nice: Scoble lost for words... Hehehe - we'll never see *that* happen again! What a great gesture from Greensboro. Congrats to you both!

Anton Zuiker · 3 years ago

Robert, for a couple of years I've been reading your excellent blog, always peering up at you -- figuratively, because you're a blog giant, and literally, because of your header picture -- but yesterday I saw you on level. It was an honor to see how you interacted with the rest of us, how down to earth you are, how sweet you and Maryam were together. I had to leave dinner early last night, so didn't get a chance to tell you this face to face: thanks for being an inspiration.

francine hardaway · 3 years ago

I feel the same way about John and Elizabeth Edwards. I think it's patehtic that "real" people can't get elected. Community is what it's all about.

Dave Beckwith · 3 years ago

Robert -- I regret that I didn't get to meet you yesterday. I had hoped that I would get a chance to talk later in the day, but I suspect you had to leave early. I feel gratified that we at least got to exchange thoughts on the importance of headlines.

You and your lovely wife were such a refreshment. I only wish everyone were as authentic and open-hearted as the two of you.

Should you ever make it to Charlotte, please drop me a line, as I should love to show you around and share pithy apopthegms.

Peace,
Dave

James Robertson · 3 years ago

Not to understate the importance, but I'd go back to Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass for "where the civil rights movement was born". There were plenty of courageous people between them and the 1950s/1960s as well, and it was a lot more dangerous for them after US troops stopped occupying the south in 1877. After a certain political party demanded that we do so, I might add.

John C. Welch · 3 years ago

Yeah...Robert, you kind of forgot a few things...like Brown v Board of Education, which was started by a father who decided that his little girl was no longer going to have to take a rather dangerous route to school just because she was black.

The lawyer on that one was Thurgood Marshall.

The civil rights movement in this country is hundreds of years old.

John C. Welch · 3 years ago

And Dave...political parties swap positions constantly. What one or the other did a hundred or more years ago is meaningless unless you're completely ignorant about such things.

Robert Scoble · 3 years ago

John: the plaque outside the Woolworths claims that that is the birthplace of the civil rights movement. But, yeah, in light of the timeline, that doesn't seem to be a good claim to make since Rosa Parks and other events that you noted happened earlier. http://www.greensboro.com/sitins/timeline-state...

John C. Welch · 3 years ago

Robert, you HAVE heard of PR right :-P

I'm not saying it wasn't a watershed event in the modern civil rights movement, that would be ridiculous. But it wasn't the start either. However, "This was an important moment" doesn't sound as good.

deannie · 3 years ago

I loved Elizabeth Edwards too! It was just as refreshing for me to discover how down to earth both you and Maryam are as well. Great presentation! Sure hope you make it back to Greensboro another time.

LayZ · 3 years ago

@5 John Edwards..."real people" Really? This is a guy that has more money than people will EVER dream of having..even after this life. A guy that got rich chasing ambulances. I don't know about the rest of you, but I wouldn't put trial lawyers in the category of "real people" regardless of what side of the aisle they are on.

Look, I agree that it's a shame real people have virtually no shot at getting elected in this country, but please don't but John and Elizabeth in that category.

I mean, do "real peoople" do this?:

http://www.slate.com/id/2108216/slideshow/21080...

Do real people amass an almost $100MM fortune suing doctors and healthcare providers (you can partially thank Edwards and his ilk for high cost of healtcare. Malpractice insurance premiums, anyone?

We all know that the majority of funding Edwards gets for his political campaigns are from trial lawyers, right? Sounds like "real people" to me.

I understand the Edwards have to come across as "real people", Afterall, who loves a trial lawyer (unless he's getting you out of a murder conviction, or winning you unfathomable amounts of money from those evil HMO's)

I sure there are many "real people" out there trying to run for office and working for "the little guy". Edwards, however, is not one of them.

John C. Welch · 3 years ago

Oh yeah, the "Lawyers are TEH EVUL" meme. Hey LayZ, you gonna bring up the equally old saw about the infamous McDonald's case?

As well, I find it interesting that in the states which HAVE limited Malpractice awards, because the nice insurance people insist that's why Malpractice premiums are SO high, why there hasn't been an astounding drop in Malpractice rates. Could it be the insurance companies were full of crap? No, big business is NEVER full of crap. Maybe we should just disallow suing over malpractice en toto?

And of course, it's not like the government has ever arrested the wrong person, based on flimsy evidence. They've never bribed a witness. Or arrested someone for being the wrong color in the wrong neighborhood. Nope. Never happens. The government is always perfect in thought and deed.

Jill Foster · 3 years ago

Thx for investing time at that last-minute 'living with geeks' interview at ConvergeSouth and your humor, ideas, & BANANA PUDDING (will we ever be the same?!). Enjoy the week.

LayZ · 3 years ago

John,

I didnt' say NEVER. I didn't say businesses never made mistakes, or the govt is infallable. Where did I say ALL in reference to trial laywers. I'm not the one that made that leap, you did. Jump to conclusions much? You're smarter than that.

As for the malpractice rates issue, again, you are smarter than that. When was the last time your insurance premimums went DOWN not based on your demographic? When was the last time your insurance company said "you know, we think we are charging you too much. So,we lowered your rates" Happens about as often as a tax is repealed. But, nice try!

My point was, Edwards is completely beholden to the trial lawyer lobby, and he got rich by chasing ambulances,so to speak. So by any "real people" barometer he does not qualify. Did he earn is money for his clients? By all means he did. Would I hire him if I felt I was wronged by a company? Absolutely. But, go do your typical man on the street interview and see how high up trial lawyers rank on the "real people" meter. That's all I'm sayin'

Benny · 3 years ago

Robert, I'm wondering when you and Maryam's interview of Elizabeth Edwards will be released as a podcast or something we can hear/see?

Someday I hope to meet you and Maryam--I had hoped to go to CS. Alas, I will have to keep chasing you online! I'll be looking for other good stuff at the Business blogging Summit you are doing in Seattle at the end of the month.

Elizabeth is amazing, isn't she?

B