Issues
Good Luck, Bad Luck
Talk about a fellow being star-crossed – after the election as everyone took a deep breath and settled back peacefully for Thanksgiving the Governor, without a lot of hoopla, quietly launched his reelection campaign, blanketing the Internet with a nice pleasant new video – then, the next day, an environmental group announced it had found…
Read MoreDemocrats and Education
One thing Democrats did right this year was push education onto the public agenda. But will it last? And the key question: Where do they take it now? The Hagan campaign came close largely because they almost turned a United States Senate race into a school board election. The same thing was true…
Read MoreStraight Out of the Dark Ages
Fleeing toward the mountains from her burning village, fifteen years old and trapped on a dusty road packed with refugees, she was captured and carried across the border to a town on the Euphrates River filled with captive women from other towns. The soldiers sold part of the women at an auction as slaves…
Read MoreA Waste of Time
The Governor sent a letter to Thom Tillis and Phil Berger taking the legislature to task for asking for an independent audit of the Department of Health and Human Services. Then the next day, when the Governor needed it least, the News and Observer reported that when DHHS’ new computer didn’t work the Department…
Read MoreThe Whole Tarbaby
Pat McCrory had one of those days. First, a typist switched an ‘h’ for an ‘f’ so he sent out a press release announcing a Wilmington company was ‘firing’ 1300 new workers instead of ‘hiring’ 1300 workers. Then a passing photographer snapped a photo of the Governor with his arm draped across…
Read MoreCloud Cuckoo Land
President Obama set out to restore his political fortunes by going to China – and announcing a new climate change agreement. Then, still intent on repairing his fortunes, he traveled on to Australia where he announced he was giving $3 billion to the U.N to help poor nations fight the harm done by…
Read MoreYou Can’t Make This Up
Governor McCrory needed a lawyer to advise him on cleaning up Duke Energy’s coal ash ponds but the one he found raised eyebrows: He hired a Duke Energy attorney. The press naturally asked if that wasn’t a bit like having the fox guard the hen-house so the Governor had his spokesman explain to reporters,…
Read MoreLeft or Right?
Carter and I spoke Wednesday at a post-election panel sponsored by the Public School Forum, a group of education advocates. I suggested they have nothing to worry about in the coming legislature, since Republicans ran as Democrats, promising to raise teacher pay to the national average and improve the public schools. Tom Murry, who…
Read MoreGiving Up Roy’s Trophy?
The provost was heartbroken, the former faculty Chairwoman felt betrayed, and the poor tenured lambs on the faculty felt humiliated which, at the faculty meeting, bred a fervor not unlike a foot-washing Baptist in pursuit of the Devil which, of course, led to the demand the sinners – who’d caused the heartbreak and humiliation –…
Read MoreUp’s Down
It’s hard to sort out: Kaci Hickox sees healing the ill in Africa as a noble calling but protecting Americans from Ebola as pure villainy. Ole Obama rides to Hickox’s rescue, saying Chris Christie’s a mean-hearted varmint stigmatizing heroes with his quarantine then, in his next breath, Obama announces the Army’s going to quarantine soldiers…
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