School Bond Supporters Need to Listen Up

Some supporters of the Wake County school bonds are unhappy with my blog – which was reprinted in The News & Observer Sunday – saying the bond issue is dead with the voters. I’m not their problem. Their problem is the voters. And – more specifically – their problem is a failure to realize that…

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Morality, Politics and John Edwards

“The Democratic Party is focused on filling the void of moral leadership in America.” – John EdwardsNews and Observer The question, when a politician starts talking about morality, should be – is his real interest morality or politics? If the answer is he discovered “morality” through a poll, there’s not much more you need to…

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What Now for Capital News?

The McClatchey chain, which bought The News & Observer from the Daniels family some years back, now has bought the entire Knight-Ridder chain. Knight-Ridder’s biggest paper in North Carolina is The Charlotte Observer. As they always do, the corporate execs promise that this will mean nothing less than a golden age for readers. Bull. The…

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Morality, Politics and John Edwards

“The Democratic Party is focused on filling the void of moral leadership in America.” – John EdwardsNews and Observer The question, when a politician starts talking about morality, should be – is his real interest morality or politics? If the answer is he discovered “morality” through a poll, there’s not much more you need to…

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1984 in Raleigh

If you haven’t seen the hilariously clumsy censorship job that the North Carolina Department of Labor tried to do on a newspaper story, click here to read about it. Not long ago, my daughter’s seventh-grade class read George Orwell’s 1984. After she told me about it, I borrowed her copy and reread it. Winston’s job…

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The Election System is Rigged – Against the Voters

Apparently we Democrats have lost our best hope of beating Congressman Robin Hayes. Iraq war vet Tim Dunn has withdrawn from the field of battle. So the odds are that – once again – 100 percent of North Carolina’s congressional delegation will return to Washington next year. Just as – nationally – some 98 percent…

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Will Jim Black Survive?

There are two words that strike fear in a politician’s heart: Grand Jury. Especially when they appear in a newspaper headline like this: ‘Top Black Aide Appears before Grand Jury’ (News and Observer, March 15). Which is what happened last Wednesday in Raleigh. Why were two of Democratic Speaker Jim Black’s aides testifying before a…

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Follow the Money

Not too long ago, Morrisville gave Chinese computer giant Lenovo a million dollar tax subsidy to get it to move its plant there from the Research Triangle Park. The theory was the jobs were worth the million dollars. Guess what? The News and Observer reported (March 17), “Lenovo, the Chinese company that bought IBM’s PC…

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Raleigh’s Trash Policeman

Raleigh City Councilman Thomas Crowder – like Barney Fife – wants to nip it in the bud. He’s targeting a problem that “is drastically affecting the quality of life” in the Capital City. Gangs? Drugs? Overcrowded schools? Traffic congestion? No. Trash cans that – in Crowder’s opinion – are being left on curbsides too long.…

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Raleigh’s Trash Policeman

Raleigh City Councilman Thomas Crowder – like Barney Fife – wants to nip it in the bud. He’s targeting a problem that “is drastically affecting the quality of life” in the Capital City. Gangs? Drugs? Overcrowded schools? Traffic congestion? No. Trash cans that – in Crowder’s opinion – are being left on curbsides too long.…

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