Posts by Carter Wrenn
Legal Ethics Revisited
Last fall, defense attorney Tommy Manning did what appeared to be a clever thing. He got a case against his client, a Durham policeman accused of assaulting a short-order cook in the parking lot of Blinko’s Restaurant, dismissed on a technicality. But it turns out Manning wasn’t so clever after all. He told Judge Debra…
Read MoreJohn Edwards Finally Takes a Stand
John Edwards finally took a controversial stand on Sunday on George Stephanopoulos’ TV program and it was a doozie. Edwards didn’t put it quite this bluntly, but when Stephanopoulos asked if he supported ‘gay marriage,’ Edwards shook his head and said, ‘Well, I’m just not there yet.’ That was a first for Edwards. For years,…
Read More“Why Not? That Money Was Given to Me.”
State Representative George Holmes took $79,000 out of his campaign committee and put it in his pocket. Then, when the Winston-Salem Journal asked why, Holmes dug the hole a little deeper. He said, “Why not? It’s legal. That money was given to me.” Let’s examine his logic. Campaign contributions are not bribes because the money…
Read MoreTalk About Spin
Politicians aren’t the only ones who know how to ‘spin’ facts. The City of Raleigh is doing a pretty good job too. The headline of its latest newsletter is an example: Officials Approve Increase of Less Than 3 Percent in Convention Center Funding. The city ‘spinners’ made it sound like that little ole’ 3 percent…
Read MoreJohn Edwards’ Charm?
In November of 2004, after People Magazine named John Edwards ‘the sexiest politician alive’ and John Kerry lost, I thought Edwards’ fifteen minutes of political fame were over. Instead, he leads Hillary Clinton in two polls in the crucial Iowa Caucus and may be elected President. John Edwards’ campaign is a study of style over…
Read MoreNix to Syria, Iran
I was dead wrong about the Iraq Study Group. I said the fix was in because Jim Baker was leading the study. I thought the President would wrap his arms around Baker’s proposal and use it for a fig-leaf to get us out of Iraq in short order. Instead the President looked Baker (and company)…
Read MorePolitical Double Talk
Four Democratic candidates for Speaker of the State House – Jim Crawford, Bill Faison, Hugh Holliman and Drew Saunders – have pledged to limit the new Speaker to two terms. The other three candidates are dodging the issue – but they’re being plenty careful about it. Representative Dan Blue says, “A limitation on terms is…
Read MoreMoney and the State House
It came as a surprise when Representative George Holmes landed in the News and Observer with his photograph beneath a headline, Representative Holmes Beat Deadline on Checks. After all, George Holmes has served in the State House thirty years without a hint of scandal. But, now, it seems George has succumbed to temptation. He transferred…
Read MoreConvention Center Costs: Up $30 Million This Year
It comes as a shock: After the Mayor has spent $215 million on the Convention Center he says that’s only enough to build a “grade-B facility.” (News and Observer 12-15-06). Mayor Meeker wants – and he’s gotten –$6.4 million more. For what? He got a cool million for stone floors. Two million for kitchen equipment.…
Read MoreYes, I will. No, I won’t. Yes, I will.
From the News and Observer: “Chuck Williamson was mad, already, about Interstate 40 repairs expected to suck up $20 million that taxpayers planned to spend for other Triangle road work. He was mad about the prospect of waiting another 18 months, if we’re lucky, to get the I-40 paving job unbotched. Now, after a personal…
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