9600 to 500

Every now and then a fellow stumbles across a fact so eye-popping the moment he sees it he feels the ground shifting beneath his feet.   The other day in the newspaper a headline blared in big black letters that North Carolina’s unemployment rate had dropped, which sounded like good news until I read (in…

Read More

Prosecution Complex

Ten days before the election, we learn there is a federal investigation into Governor Perdue’s 2008 campaign.   It drowns out her push on state government reform. Which I seriously doubt was going to solve her political problems anyway.   The first thing I heard from Democrats: Why is George Holding still there? Would a…

Read More

Silly…

The economy’s in tatters, fifteen million people are out of work, Obama’s stimulus plan’s a bust and in Raleigh state government’s got a $3 billion hole in the budget – but, not to worry, the Governor’s got a plan.  She’s ready to make the tough choices.  And she’s already announced the first step:  SHE’S GOING…

Read More

Remain Calm

A wise old Democrat I know offered this thought about the prospect of big Republican gains next week:   “Sometimes the best offense is a good defense. This may not be too bad a time to let them have the ball.”

Read More

I Apologize If You’re Offended

It has to be the most insincere and overused political phrase of the year: “I apologize if anyone was offended by what I said.”   In other words, “you’re an oversensitive wimp to be upset about what I said but I’ve got to make some kind of apology to satisfy the media.”   The latest:…

Read More

One Hundred and Thirty Seven Times?

When Zahra Baker – who is 10-years-old – showed up with bruises and black eyes her friends and relatives reported their concerns she was being abused by her parents to the Department of Social Services.   Then, a week ago, Zahra’s disappeared.   And now the police, saying it looks like homicide, have jailed her…

Read More

Masters of the Universe

There ought to be a play in the theatre of the absurd about Wall Street: After making trillions in bad loans, and then getting bailed out by taxpayers, the banks and finance companies are staring into the abyss again: This time because foreclosures have ground to a standstill.   And the reason (Wall Street is…

Read More

What’s wrong with this Picture?

The economy’s in the tank, the deficits soared past a trillion dollars, and the economy’s so shaky all that’s saving the government from bankruptcy is the Chinese loaning us money.   Listening to the news it sounds like half the country’s being foreclosed on and half is out of work – but, while the rest…

Read More

Unstable Times

Historians and politicos yearn for stable, predictable political eras.   Arthur Schlesinger Jr. wrote about the “cycles” of American politics – the Progressive Era, the Republican Roaring 20s, the Age of Roosevelt, etc.   After 2008, James Carville predicted 40 years of Democratic dominance.   After 2000, Karl Rove predicted a permanent realignment.   So…

Read More

That’s Politics…

By now most everyone has figured out the two things Democratic politicians love to talk about more than anything else on earth are Education and Health Care.  Beverly Perdue talked about both so much two years ago she got herself elected our first woman Governor.   But there was a peculiar fact – about health…

Read More