Archive for 2010
Ethics North Carolina Style
As House Democratic Leader Joe Hackney and House Republican Leader ‘Skip’ Stam watched beaming, Governor Perdue signed the states latest ‘Ethics Law.’ Hackney then said it was wonderful that Democrats were cleaning up the mess in state government, and Stam said it was a shame the Democrats had created the mess in the first…
Read MoreThe Will of the People
Some people must have superpowers. How else can they divine “the will of the people” all by themselves? Frequently, people comment here that Obama and the Democrats are defying “the will of the people” or “the majority.” I hate to break it to you, but under our beloved Constitution the only way…
Read MoreImmigrants and Gays
Federal judges have turned out to be President Obama’s worst nightmare; first a Clinton judge in Phoenix threw out Arizona’s immigration law and landed Obama in the middle of a political war over the next to last issue he wanted to fight over; then a judge in California landed him in an even worse fight…
Read MoreNC-SBI
Over in Davie County a dentist tells the District Attorney his wife stabbed him with a spear, then he stabbed her back with his pocket knife, and she died; the DA calls in the SBI’s Chief ‘Blood Splatter’ expert to figure out exactly what did happen; two investigators stare at the bloodstains on the husband’s…
Read MoreRunning Hard
If you think running for office is easy, you should have seen Rep. Grier Martin yesterday. The heat index on my street in Raleigh’s North Ridge was somewhere north of 100 degrees. And here came Grier, drenched with sweat through his knit shirt, his khaki slacks and shoes. He was going door to…
Read MoreThe GOP Show
North Carolina Republicans are a long way from winning this fall’s legislative elections, but they’re winning the battle of perceptions. And that battle has big implications for fundraising. Three sources have told me in the last week that the Republicans’ presentations on their prospects for the fall are blowing away the Democrats. …
Read MoreUgly Facts
Not long after we took up the burden (or had it forced on us) of fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq we decided ‘Democracy Building’ (wherever our army went) sounded like a noble idea. And no doubt it was noble but nearly nine years later we’ve had an education and learned not everyone agrees.…
Read MoreLet the Mosque Go Up
I understand the emotional reaction against building a mosque near the site of the World Trade Center. And I understand politicians who demagogue the flap to score points. That’s what politicians do. But I don’t understand the logic. Carter wrote in his blog yesterday, as I read it, that the mosque shouldn’t…
Read MoreA Cesspool of Corruption?
Back when Beverly Perdue was running for Governor, just before the election I needed a piece of election law clarified before I ran two ads – so I called the State Board of Elections. I wasn’t too hopeful. I thought, Here I am asking a bunch of Democrats about running ads attacking a Democrat –…
Read MoreA Mosque in Manhattan
When an email floated in out of the blue saying a fellow named Oz Sultan wanted to build a Mosque a block from where the Twin Towers used to be I thought it had to be a joke – but darned if it wasn’t true. The next thing I knew New York Mayor Michael…
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