Carter Wrenn
Gary Pearce
Moore Trouble
The storm flags are flying again for State Treasurer and would-be Governor Richard Moore. Now it’s a report by David Ingram in The Charlotte Observer that: “The employees who manage the $70 billion N.C. public pension fund are traveling out of North Carolina on official business more than twice as often as they did just…
The Hoax – Part II
Thomas Crowder has perpetrated the ‘Great Pawnshop’ hoax and he’s gaining steam. Two weeks ago, Crowder, Mayor Meeker’s bosom-ally, announced a legion of pawnshops is moving into Raleigh neighborhoods. The threat doesn’t exist. A city detective testified to Crowder’s committee that he couldn’t even recall a pawnshop opening in a neighborhood in the last five…
Separate Powers, Witch-hunts and Good Ideas
The Democrats in Congress are pounding President Bush over the head and he’s punching right back. Speaker Pelosi says – but not in so many words – that Bush is an arrogant jerk. He says she’s for cutting off bullets to the troops in Iraq. Senator Harry Reid adds Bush thinks he’s king – when…
Trial by Media Fire
The Don Imus and Duke lacrosse cases had three things in common: race, money and media frenzy. Imus had all three factors against him, so he lost. The Duke players had two with them: money and, in the end, media. They won. From the start, the Duke case was justice by media. The DA convicted…
Barack Obama
The history of presidential elections is filled with âflash in the panâ candidates â charismatic, articulate young leaders who wanted to take the country in a new direction, enjoyed their fifteen minutes of fame and faded into oblivion. But none of them ever raised $25 million. Barack Obama has. In politics the golden rule is…
Meeker’s Conflict of Interest?
It was just one line in a News and Observer article. But, as far as I can tell, it’s first time it’s been reported Mayor Meeker’s son, David, works for downtown developer. (News and Observer; 4-9-07). Meeker’s son’s employer, Empire Properties, is “one of the largest landlords in downtown Raleigh.” (News and Observer; 7-18-04). It…
Charlotte Envy
I once thought deep in his heart Charles Meeker might be a Francophile, who secretly wanted to turn Fayetteville Street into the Champs-Elysées. But, Iâve decided the Mayor doesnât want to turn downtown Raleigh into Paris at all. He wants to turn it into Charlotte. For years, while people have moved out of downtowns (for…
Joe Sinsheimer and the Democrats
From the time Joe Sinsheimer first called for ex-Speaker Jim Black to step down, people asked me who I thought was paying Joe. Having known Joe for many years, I said: nobody. He’s much more dangerous than a paid operative. He’s driven by his conscience. And he has three qualities that are rare in politics:…
Why We Geezers Rule
OnPoint Polling and Research of Raleigh released some numbers that stunned me. Not polling results, but demographics. According to OnPoint, here is how the active-voting population of North Carolina breaks down by age: 18-19 1% 20-29 5% 30-39 7% 40-49 23% 50-59 22% 60-69 24% 70-79 14% 80+ 5% In other words, only 13 percent…