Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
An Attitude Adjustment
It turns out the eminence grise behind the $30 million no-bid contract to Prodigy Corporation (whose owners – Ramzi Abuldhai and Rich Admanj – were found guilty of patent stealing, went bankrupt and then were accused of transferring millions out of the bankrupt company to hide their assets from creditors) is Secretary Lanier Cansler’s aide…
31 Million Reasons
President Obama and the Democrats are doing a better job ramming health-care reform through the Senate than explaining it. They should try this message: 31 million. That’s the number of uninsured Americans who will get health insurance over the next decade because of the bill. That’s not Democratic rhetoric. That’s from the nonpartisan…
Capital Potty-Break Putsch?
Are Washington Republicans learning from Wake County Republicans? Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, a leading opponent of the health-care reform bill, said Sunday: “What the American people should pray is that somebody can’t make the vote.” Democrats protested that Coburn was wishing misfortune on a Senator. Maybe Coburn was just hoping that…
Politics Getting Stranger
With the State Board of Elections and a Federal Grand Jury investigating Mike Easley, and the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission asking questions about Tony Rand manipulating penny stocks Democrats can’t catch a break — and now a state Grand Jury has found probable cause Senator R.C. Soles, one of the Democratic old bulls…
No Bid Contract Backfires
Secretary Lanier Cansler’s gone and landed Governor Perdue in the soup again with one of his no bid contracts. This time Cansler got caught by WRAL giving a $30 million contract to a company that’s only been in existence two months and whose owners – Ramzi Abulhaj and Rich Admani – got sued in…
Putting the Fun back in Politics
The cat is out of the bag – Bernie Reeves may run for Congress against Brad Miller. Bernie, who publishes Metro Magazine, is a sort of irrepressible force of nature – brash, charming, outspoken and not at all impressed with a single politician walking around on two feet. I’d buy a ticket to watch…
Perdue and the Courts
Editorial writers, defense lawyers and letter-writers claimed that Governor Perdue was defying the courts and the “rule of law” in the life-doesn’t-mean-life brouhaha. But now one judge has agreed with her – and the Supreme Court has decided to review the matter. In truth, her critics’ rhetoric was just as overheated as the…
Kissell’s Bad Bet
The Washington Post had a story Sunday about how Larry Kissell’s vote against health care reform – and President Obama – has angered passionate Democrats who elected Obama and Kissell. The story concludes with a quote from me about Kissell: “That’s why they call them freshmen — because they make freshman mistakes. That’s why…
Penny Stock
It looks like – from the newspaper – Democratic Senate Leader Tony Rand had a scheme to turn 140,000 shares of ‘penny stock’ he owned in Law Enforcement Associates (where Rand serves as Chairman of the Board) into a windfall. First, it seems, Rand tipped (or otherwise persuaded) a few of his political friends…