Posts by Carter Wrenn
A Fumble
The non-profit foundation that sponsored the North Carolina A & T “Aggie” vs. North Carolina Central University “Eagle” football classic has fallen on hard times. Attendance at Carter-Finley stadium fell in 2005 when the game was moved to Monday, to avoid a conflict with NC State’s first home game and the foundation ended up in…
Read MoreJim Black: Dodging Hand Grenades
In an odd sort of way it’s a tribute to House Speaker Jim Black that after the Video Poker scandal, the Optometrists scandal, the Lottery scandal and Representative Mike Decker’s bribery conviction, he has survived. But, in fact, the Speaker has more than survived. He has retained power without a single serious challenge. Kevin Geddings…
Read MoreUNC Health Care Pays Big Bonuses
Last month, the News and Observer reported the UNC Health Care system filed a lean on a man’s home when he was unable to pay his bill, after being struck by a crippling disease. Now, the newspaper reports the UNC system has paid executives $2.5 million in bonuses. Its CEO received a bonus of $110,000…
Read MoreThe D’Amato Strategy
In New York, they used to say of Senator Alfonse D’Amato, one of the legendary pork-barrellers, ‘He’s a crook, but he’s our crook.’ In other words it wasn’t the scandals it was the pork that mattered. After House Speaker Jim Black’s debate with opponent, Hal Jordan, Black told the press, “This is not about Kevin…
Read MoreUrban Correctness: Meeker Style
When it comes to downtown Raleigh Mayor Meeker has his own version of political correctness â it could be called âurban correctness.â The Mayor and two of his allies on the City Council, Russ Stephenson and Thomas Crowder, have very definite â and rigid â views about what they do and donât want downtown and…
Read MoreNo More ‘Stay the Course’?
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow says the words “stay the course” may never pass his lips again. But does that mean the President’s policy in Iraq has changed – or is Mr. Snow simply abandoning what has become an unpopular phrase, two weeks before the election? It’s not exactly clear. Has the policy has…
Read MoreNew Scandal on Easley’s Doorstep?
Two years ago, when Governor Easley was campaigning hard for reelection the state paid $21.5 million for 5,600 acres of land in Caldwell County. Three weeks later, the Governor’s campaign received $40,000 from ten people with ties to the land owner. Later, three more donors gave $16,000. Two of the donors were nineteen and twenty…
Read MoreSchool Bond Crossfire
The School Bond Referendum is caught in a crossfire. The opponents of the billion-dollar bond referendum seem to agree on one thing: Defeating it is the best way to send the School Board a message that it is headed in the wrong direction. But they differ on the right direction. (News and Observer; 10-22-06). Americans…
Read MoreFoley Questions: Who Knew What When?
The question in the Foley scandal is not what former Congressman Tom Foley did but when House Speaker Dennis Hastert and other Republican leaders knew about it. Foley’s former aide, Kirk Fordham, says he told the Speaker’s Chief of Staff “about Foley’s approaches to male pages” three years ago. (News and Observer; 10-13-06). Hastert and…
Read MoreDick Morris Suggests An Ad…
Last week, in his newsletter, Dick Morris described the tidal wave impact the Foley scandal has had on Republican base voters. This week he proposes an imaginary ad for Republican to run before the elections. He describes the ad this way: “We see and hear a wiretapped conversation, with a terrorist revealing his worst plans…
Read More