Posts by Gary Pearce
Reshuffling
This headline should strike fear in us: “State government reorganizes, seeking more efficiency.” Pardon my cynicism, but I’ve seen this movie before. Every administration in Washington and every state capital promises to reinvent, reorganize and rethink government. Now, Rob Christensen reports in the N&O that North Carolina is scrambling the bureaucratic eggs again. This…
Read MoreIncompetence Rewarded
Just as the N.C. Department of Agriculture gets new responsibilities, we find out it bungled its current duties. Lynn Bonner reports in the N&O: “The state Agriculture Department failed to fine propane plants, dispensing sites and other facilities that mishandled the highly flammable gas, putting the public at risk and costing public schools…
Read MoreSign of the Times
Once upon a time, owning a newspaper was literally a license to print money. Then came Craigslist and EBay, there went profitable classified ads and then came the waves of layoffs and furloughs. How far a newspaper’s value has fallen is shown by the sale of 16 regional papers – including the Wilmington Star-News and…
Read MoreBowled Over
Lisa Piercy was right when she tweeted: “There are too many bowl games.” I figured that out as I sat freezing in temperatures in the 40s and winds in the 30s at the Belk Bowl. (When I tweeted about where I was, a friend replied: “Where are you sitting: Men’s wear, shoes, jewelry???”) …
Read MoreJobbed
Governor Perdue has been taking heat from Republicans for allegedly breaking the law by releasing federal job numbers. Which raises two questions: Since when did Republicans get so concerned about protecting federal-government information? Was it since the numbers were good for the Governor?
Read MoreThe Grinch Who Stole Gingrich
It’s going to be too funny if Newt Gingrich, who took negative politics to a new level in the 1990s, is undone now by negative politics. That’s karma. If his swoon continues in Iowa, the only way Iowans can pull off their quadrennial surprise is to give a victory to Ron Paul or Rick…
Read MoreBerger’s Bullying
It didn’t take Republican legislative leaders long to learn the high-handed ways that they used to complain about when Marc Basnight and Tony Rand were running the Senate. Witness Senator Berger’s threat to wreak vengeance on six cities that appealed the legislature’s curbs on involuntary annexations. There’s just something about being in power, especially…
Read MoreHave a Merry One
Our annual orgy of spending and consumption is nearly at an end. A day of peace and stillness beckons. Not that I’m going to get all holier-than-thou. An orgy of spending and consumption is exactly what our economy needs. But a question nags when you see cars lined up at the malls, shoppers…
Read MoreSuper Irony
Democrats have fretted over the emergence of Super PACs, fearing that their big money and negative ads will help Republicans. But, so far, Republicans are the leading victims of Super PACs. Newt Gingrich has been savaged by them. Mitt Romney feigns innocence while his millionaire friends dump a truckload of negatives on Newt. One…
Read MoreA Christmas Gift
On behalf of all Democrats, I thank Speaker Boehner and House Republicans for their unexpected and unbelievably generous Christmas gift. Of course, their gift for the country as a whole is more like a lump of coal. They want to give 160 million Americans a tax increase, cut off unemployment benefits and nip the…
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