Lottery on a Roll

The directors of the State Lottery are not only going to get salaries higher than most others in State Government – they’re going to get more time off. At least the top nineteen employees will. Technically, lottery employees are state employees. But that hasn’t stopped the Lottery Commission from giving them higher salaries and more…

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Salesman of the Year

It’s only March but I’m for giving Jaume Plensa, the Spanish artist who’s sold Mayor Meeker on $2.5 million in ‘art’ for downtown, the Salesman of the Year award. The good news here is this $2.5 million – it appears – is going to be paid for by Jim Goodman, of Capital Broadcasting, and not…

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The Rumsfeld Doctrine

Here’s a point of view on the War in Iraq that is being, unfortunately, ignored. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, in a commentary in the News and Observer today (3-6-06), argues that our problems in Iraq are a result of “President Bush’s decision to approach the Iraq invasion with the Rumsfeld Doctrine, which calls…

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The Ports Deal and ’06 Politics

Carter and I spoke to a class of aspiring political operatives this week. Just before we started, CNN broadcast the story about Bush’s approval rating dropping to 34 percent. Apparently, he is about where Nixon was when he resigned. But Democrats shouldn’t start celebrating. Bush’s 10-point drop came because his administration wants to let a…

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