Daily Archives: July 14, 2011

Clueless Salon article about ALEC

Written on July 14, 2011 at 3:00 pm, by

Salon’s Alex Pareene calls the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) a “Match.com for state lawmakers and the nation’s worst industry lobbies.”  Pareene thinks he has it all figured out, GOP state legislators go to fancy conferences where they sit down with lobbyists and right-wing activists and draft right-wing legislation together. They return home and introduceContinue Reading

Mistrial in Clemens Case

Written on July 14, 2011 at 2:48 pm, by

The federal government has managed to waste even more taxpayer dollars. In only the second day of the trial, the prosecutors in the Roger Clemens case tried to bring in evidence that the judge had warned them not to mention to the jurors. Feeling that he couldn’t “unring the bell” and ensure that Clemens gotContinue Reading

A hard knock life for community colleges

Written on July 14, 2011 at 2:36 pm, by

Times are still tough for our state’s community college system. This was made clear at a budget work session this morning for the state board of community colleges. Here are a few interesting tidbits from the meeting: No bonuses this year for presidents, faculty, or staff No raises this year, with a few exceptions forContinue Reading

Please read the bill before writing the screed

Written on July 14, 2011 at 2:04 pm, by

You might have noticed a recent column in the News & Observer from Gene Nichol of the UNC Law School’s Poverty Center. Nichol takes Republican legislators to task for passing legislation designed to ensure that the Ten Commandments are posted in North Carolina’s public schools. There’s one problem with his argument; it’s not true. SinceContinue Reading

Perdue sets new standard in latest jobs announcement

Written on July 14, 2011 at 1:25 pm, by

We thought it was odd that Gov. Bev Perdue took the time to announce a Main Street Solutions Fund grant to “create or retain” three jobs at a nail salon. But she topped that today with the latest Main Street Solutions Fund grant of $41,419 to help rehabilitate an old house in Salisbury so thatContinue Reading

There’s no tooth fairy and politicians often lie

Written on July 14, 2011 at 12:17 pm, by

James Bovard provides a superlative review here of a book on lying by government officials.

Is gold money–Paul v. Bernanke

Written on July 14, 2011 at 11:56 am, by

Abolish Fannie and Freddie

Written on July 14, 2011 at 10:36 am, by

The Heritage Foundation argues here that the way to end the housing crisis is to abolish two of the primary instigators of the housing bubble, Fannie and Freddie.  Instead, it seems the Obama administration is yearning to repeat the same mistakes. In a town hall last week, President Obama remarked that “the continuing decline inContinue Reading