General
Behind the Scenes at the Lottery Trial
Watching the lottery trial is like being invited to go behind the curtain and see how legislative politics really works in North Carolina. Democratic House Speaker Jim Black has said for months he came up with Kevin Geddings’ appointment to the Lottery Commission, more or less on his own. Now, we learn from the prosecutors…
Read MoreHow Bad is the Foley Scandal?
For us Republicans, I’m afraid, pretty bad. The Foley scandal is a microcosm of what’s wrong with Congress: Arrogance, Hypocrisy and Venality. And it has two elements that make it politically lethal: It’s simple. And it’s sex. There are no clandestine deals with lobbyists. No labyrinthine money trails. Just sex and instant messaging. There are…
Read MoreWhich Finger?
Governor Easley didn’t know about Kevin Geddings’ ties to lottery companies. He didn’t know his chief political aide orchestrated ads attacking three senators opposed to the lottery. But when he testified at the trial he did know how he felt about the press. “Easley spent less than 15 minutes in the courtroom, offering perfunctory testimony…
Read MoreParties and Good Times
The newspapers are reporting more good times in Governor Easley’s administration. Last summer the Governor’s folks at the Department of Transportation arranged a $30,000 ferry cruise with lobster, hors d’oeuvres and a band so they could enjoy seeing the tall ships. Now, two of the Governor’s appointees to the ABC Board have taken an excursion…
Read MoreRandom Political Notes
With the campaign in its final month, here are some predictions and observations: Speaker Black’s troubles won’t hurt Democrats in North Carolina. Oh, voters don’t like what they’re hearing. They just don’t know which party controls the House or whether Black is a Democrat or Republican. The Wake County school bonds are going down to…
Read MoreMemories Like Elephants
Washington Republicans are suffering from bad memories these days. Condi Rice can’t remember a “supposed meeting” in which she was briefed about Osama’s threat before 9/11. Dennis Hastert can’t remember two fellow congressmen telling him about Mark Foley’s electronic adventures with teenaged pages. Who are they kidding? Click to Read & Post Comments
Read MoreOn Terrorism
Opium production is up in Afghanistan and the Taliban, not coincidentally, is making a comeback. The day before these reports ran in the newspapers New York Times columnist David Brooks pointed out a flaw in the war on terrorism (News and Observer, 9-29-06). “To his eternal credit,” Brooks wrote, “After 9/11 George Bush quickly understood…
Read MoreGeddings’ Political Sin
A jury will decide whether former Lottery Commissioner Kevin Geddings violated a criminal law. But he clearly broke the first law of politics: Don’t surprise me. Geddings argues that he did not deceive anyone about his ties for Scientific Games. At the time he was appointed to the Lottery Commission, he argues, he was not…
Read MoreRisky Business: Taking the Heat for Mayor Meeker?
Lately, City Manager, Russell Allen, has been gone from a low-profile to a high-profile city manager. I agree with him on some of the issues heâs speaking out on like the Plensa Plaza. But one result of his new âhigh-profile is heâs got the arts crowd mad at him, the sanitation workers mad at him,…
Read MoreYear Round Schools
The school board meeting the other night was packed with parents opposed to year round schools. One mother let the ‘chips fall where they may,’ put it bluntly and said “switching to year round schools would force her family to eschew the annual beach vacation.” (News and Observer; 9-26-06). Now, there’s something about all this…
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