Posts by Carter Wrenn
The End of the Bush Era
Former CIA Director George Tenet (in his new book) says the debate within the Bush Administration before the invasion of Iraq ‘was not about imminence, it was about acting before Saddam did.’ In other words, President Bush invaded Iraq not because Saddam was on the verge of giving al-Qaeda weapons of mass destruction but because…
Read MoreA Simple Bill
First, State Treasurer Richard Moore hired Quellos money management to help him invest state pension funds, then he paid them hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees, then he solicited their executives for contributions to his campaigns. Now the Charlotte Observer reports Quellos has some problems of its own. It has been sued for violating…
Read MoreHistory Repeating Itself
The Basiji Force is a militia group in Iran. It is not unlike the ‘Brownshirts’ in Germany in the 1930’s and just as the ‘Brownshirts’ had Hitler’s approval the Basiji Force has the blessing of Iran’s President Mahmoud Ah’madinejad. Not long ago six members of ‘the Force’ were convicted of five murders in an Iranian…
Read MoreMore on Moore
Democratic State Representative Linda Coleman has sponsored legislation to take control of the State Pension Fund away from Treasurer Richard Moore and give it to a fourteen member Board of Trustees. Democratic Representative Bill Faison of Hillsborough and two Republicans – including Rep. Nelson Dollar of Cary – have joined Coleman has co-sponsors of the…
Read MoreJohn Edwards: Back in the Soup
As he runs for President, John Edwards is undergoing a level of scrutiny he’s never experienced before. Mr. Edward’s is not the first candidate the press – or his opponents – have caught doing one thing while saying another. But he may be one of the most careless. According to the News and Observer during…
Read MoreThe Republican Silence
Are the Republicans in Raleigh intent on ending the corruption in state government? It’s impossible to say. Because by and large they have been silent. The latest scandal involving Richard Moore is an example. Just as Jim Black was leaving office and Democrats were praying they would never hear the words ‘pay to play’ again,…
Read MoreWould the Real John Edwards Please Stand Up
In his presidential campaign, John Edwards portrays himself as a mill town boy who pulled himself up by the bootstraps. He knows the poor. He feels their pain. His political speeches are filled with his compassion. But, now, the News and Observer (4-19-07) reports that while Edwards has been out crusading to eliminate poverty, he…
Read MoreYankee Politicians
A little over a decade ago I spent a sojourn in New Jersey working on a presidential campaign. It was my one immersion in âYankee Culture.â The first time I saw a true-blue, street-smart, dyed in the wool Yankee politician in action it was pretty impressive. I remember a reporter asking him a tough question,…
Read MoreThe Hoax – Part II
Thomas Crowder has perpetrated the ‘Great Pawnshop’ hoax and he’s gaining steam. Two weeks ago, Crowder, Mayor Meeker’s bosom-ally, announced a legion of pawnshops is moving into Raleigh neighborhoods. The threat doesn’t exist. A city detective testified to Crowder’s committee that he couldn’t even recall a pawnshop opening in a neighborhood in the last five…
Read MoreSeparate Powers, Witch-hunts and Good Ideas
The Democrats in Congress are pounding President Bush over the head and he’s punching right back. Speaker Pelosi says – but not in so many words – that Bush is an arrogant jerk. He says she’s for cutting off bullets to the troops in Iraq. Senator Harry Reid adds Bush thinks he’s king – when…
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