Posts by Carter Wrenn
A Lesson from New York
Up north in the land of the Yankees, about a decade ago New York hired Computer Services Corporation to process its Medicaid payments. But there was a hitch, according to the New York State Comptroller: The corporation’s computer system was “so inefficient and unable to detect deception” it’s allowed hundreds of millions in bogus payments.…
Read MorePerdue and Indians
It’s hard to tell whether Governor Perdue’s deal with the Indians proves you can sell a Democratic Governor just about anything by saying it’ll help education or whether it proves our Democratic Governor figures she can sell the rest of us just about anything by saying it’ll help education. Last Tuesday, the Governor announced…
Read MoreObama Waltzing Matilda
The country’s up to our eyeballs in debt. Congress is on the verge of cutting defense spending $600 billion. And one way or another just about everybody in Washington is looking for ways to cut, cut, cut. Except one fellow. Barack Obama’s opening a new military base to defend… …in…
Read MoreWhat World…
Brutal jailers locked mentally ill prisoners in ‘isolation cells,’ took their clothes and mattresses, and left them to sleep naked on the concrete floor – it sounds like a prison in Bangkok or Rangoon only it didn’t happen in Bangkok it happened in Raleigh. The wardens at Central Prison called it “therapeutic seclusion.” Governor…
Read Moremajority-Minority Districts
Well, in a minor miracle, the Obama Justice Department said yes and put its seal of approval on the North Carolina Republicans’ new House and Senate Districts, then, before the ink was dry on the page, the North Carolina Democrats filed a lawsuit to stop the plan Obama had just approved. It’s an odd…
Read MoreOne Sin
Over in Orange County the Democratic Commissioners would like to raise sales taxes, so there’s a referendum on the ballot on Election Day, which, normally, would lead to a fight between Democrats and Republicans – but that’s not how it works in Chapel Hill. Instead, the tax raisers have spared themselves a lot of strain…
Read MoreConglomerates and Push Polls
Thom who’s twenty-eight and, after managing three campaigns for State legislature, has decided he’s ready to be a political consultant stopped in mid-sentence and pointed to the back of Albert’s newspaper, ‘Geez, look at that.’ The waitress poured coffee. Albert, who’s a pollster, turned over the paper and stared at a full…
Read MoreSound Familiar?
The more things change…the more they stay the same. The European Union has come up with a master-plan to cure the Greek debt crisis and avoid financial Armageddon. The European Bankers are going to eat half (instead of all) of their bad Greek loans. Then the Euro-Union is going to set up a…
Read MoreA Sure-Fire Way…
It’s a near-perfect metaphor: We’ve got Congress in debt up to its eyeballs and the President’s cutting the cost of government subsidized student loans. It’s classic. And unstoppable. Just before the election Obama’s going to make millions of new friends: He’s going to lower their student loan debts by increasing the government debts…
Read MoreTrial By Ordeal
In 1996 six months after Steve Forbes began his campaign for President his brother Tim told me, Here’s how Presidential campaigns work: They stand my brother up on stage then they strip all his clothes off and beat him to a pulp. But in a way it makes sense. Because, I guess, people figure if…
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