Category Archives: Politics: North Carolina

The NAACP – Racists

Posted on February 12, 2013 | 2 comments

The definition of the word “racist” has changed.  Today, its use has been co-opted by the left to instill a form of faux outrage against groups, or more accurately, policies that they don’t like.

To be sure, given any group of people and any sufficiently random problem to be solved, there will be disagreement.  And, in my opinion, in that disagreement lies the secret to America’s success; what a horrible horrible world it would be if it worked exactly like I wanted it to.

Or if it worked exactly like YOU wanted it to.

However, some of us engage in an especially caustic form of objection.  See, it’s one thing to disagree on merit, to debate rationally, emotionally even, but in a realm of reality.  But that doesn’t always win elections, it doesn’t always move people to act, to anger or to vote.

To do that, you have to make it that your opponent is “against” something.  And one of the most often used targets for that is race.

See, if I can make it look like your position on an issue is racist, I win.  Not because my position is stronger or more valid, not at all.  It’s because I have successfully cast you as a racist.  And who is for racism?

No one.

And this is how the left, liberals and democrats operate.  They ignore the merits of the policy and instead, and effectively, manipulate race.

And here in North Carolina we have an elected official going after the source:

Raleigh, N.C. — A Republican House freshman will be in the spotlight Friday at an NAACP press conference for an email he sent to the state organization, calling the group and its leader “racist” and “race-opportunists.”

Rep. Michael Speciale, R-Craven, along with all other state lawmakers, received an emailed version of a statement last week by NAACP state president William Barber on proposed voter ID legislation.

In the statement, Barber calls voter ID initiatives “national propaganda efforts by the far-right to justify the obvious tactic to suppress the votes of minorities, youth, disabled and the elderly,” and urges Republican legislative leaders to abandon their push for such a law in North Carolina.

Sing it brother!

The e-mail in full:

Dr. Barber,

This is as insulting a diatribe as I have seen in years. The NAACP has a proud history of working on behalf of black Americans to address the problems of society directed at them. You tarnish that with your racist diatribes and your race-baiting attitude. The photo requirement to vote is to prove that one is who they say they are. Nowhere in anyone’s minds but yours and your fellow race-opportunists is race, ethnic background, or color of one’s skin mentioned, insinuated or inferred regarding the proposed voter ID laws.

You do minorities and the elderly a disservice when you assume that they are incapable or incompetent to the point that they cannot provide a photo ID to vote. Photo ID’s are required in nearly every aspect of American life, and most Americans over the age of 16 have some form of photo ID. Your talking points make no sense, as you ramble on with Constitutional phrases to give an impression that you know what you are talking about, and it is apparent that you are grasping at straws. Your attempts to make minorities and the elderly believe that they are victims in this effort is contrary to common sense but apparently necessary to your economic survival

Your comments, both today and in the past are racist and inappropriate, therefore, I request that you remove me from your email list.
Michael Speciale

The new definition of racism, the “urban-dictionary” version of racism, calls out anyone that would use race as a reason to promote a policy.  Anything from immigration to voter-id to pre-k education to unemployment reform to you name it, if you don’t agree with it you can defend your position best by calling racism.

And it’s about time that someone called the left on it.

When someone uses “racism” as a lever to push an agenda that they disagree with, they are as guilty of this “urban dictionary” version of the definition as those they themselves accuse.  In this case it’s voter-id.  The North Carolina chapter of the NAACP is calling out state officials for engaging in racist policy as it pertains to voter requirements.  Yet they are silent on ID requirements for alcohol, cigarettes, the lottery, sudafed, and -as I learned today- mailing packages in a box through the mail.

Is it true that voter fraud is a problem in North Carolina?  Probably not.  Is it true that we want people who are casting votes to be able to prove who they are?  Probably so.  Given the economic circumstances is it the best policy to pursue at this time?  Debatable.

But is it racist?

If you ask that question, think that question, in those words, you don’t know what you are talking about.

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Posted in Liberty, Politics: North Carolina, Race

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Higher Education And North Carolina

Posted on January 31, 2013 | Leave a comment

Our new governor, Pat McCrory, made some news this past week when he commented on higher education, and some majors, in North Carolina:

On the show, McCrory said “educational elite” had taken over, offering courses that have no path to jobs. He said he instructed his staff Monday to draft legislation that could alter the state money that universities and community colleges receive “not based on how many butts in seats but how many of those butts can get jobs.” (Listen to the audio here.)

The governor joined Bennett in criticizing certain academic areas, such as gender studies and philosophy. When Bennett made a crack about women’s and gender studies at nationally ranked UNC-Chapel Hill, McCrory said, “If you want to take gender studies that’s fine, go to a private school and take it. But I don’t want to subsidize that if that’s not going to get someone a job.”

In typical fashion, the response from the University:

“I wasn’t surprised,” said Joanne Hershfield, chair of UNC-Chapel Hill’s department of women’s and gender studies. “But it is kind of frightening. These kinds of attacks on women’s and gender studies are pretty prevalent.”

Indeed – Attack.

In any event, the general response to push-backs like these are:

McCrory’s comments on higher education echo statements made by a number of Republican governors – including those in Texas, Florida and Wisconsin – who have questioned the value of liberal arts instruction and humanities degrees at public colleges and universities.

Sign me up as one of those question that value.

I went to the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology.  We openly mocked the general population at large, the CLA’ers – College of Liberal Arts. *  The idea being that the truly rigorous study took place in the hard sciences and not the softer social ones.

Now, do I think that the knowing of things “softer” is valuable?  Sure, to a degree.  I think it rounds a person out, I think it contributes to their awareness of themselves and of others.  But when I hire, I hire on the basis of the hard sciences; computer science, math, engineering.  And given equal qualifications in such, I may give the nod to the more generally rounded individual.

In a larger point, is there room for the PhD in Scandinavian  Art History?  Sure, but in what quantity?

Finally, I’ll leave you with this.  The cry from the left has been that of wage inequality.  All the while claiming that education should be valued for its own merit; career be damned.  So, it’s one or the other.  If education has merit on its own, then so be it, study your philosophy, your women’s studies and your art appreciation.  Just don’t come bitching to me when you find that no one is willing to pay you for those services.

* Full disclosure, I graduated with a degree in Mathematics, a minor in Philosophy and a teaching license.

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Posted in Education, Idiots on Parade, Life, Politics: North Carolina

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North Carolina Senate Seat – Kay Hagan

Posted on January 27, 2013 | 3 comments

Already there is talk about the 2014 elections.

Ugh.

I never really cared about politics until about 2006.  That’s when I heard a bit of trivia concerning the upcoming 2008 Presidential primaries.  For the first time in a long time there would be no sitting President or Vice-President running.  It would be a wide open primary on both sides.

Interesting.

Since then I’ve paid more attention and am just now learning that there isn’t a time when someone isn’t thinking about the next election.  With that said, North Carolina has a senate seat up for bid this time around.

And the front runner is democrat Kay Hagan:

 The Rothenberg Political Report ranks U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan’s seat “leans Democrat” in the first 2014 Senate election ratings. The report – a leading Washington handicapper – says: “Given the GOP’s recent victories in the state, Hagan is almost guaranteed a serious challenge.”

…

The Washington Post’s political prognosticators rank the race No. 4 on their list of most competitive Senate seats. The write-up: “A recent poll from Democratic-leaning automated pollster Public Policy Polling shows Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan’s approval rating is underwater, but she nonetheless leads potential GOP competitors. If Republicans can find the right candidate, Hagan will face a tough road to reelection.”

Ms. Hagan ran in 2008 when Barack Obama’s ticket carried many a democrat to office.  However, even without Obama carrying her, I would have voted for her except for one thing: The senate was in danger of, and then did in fact, move into democratic super-majority status.  Our sitting senator at the time was Elizabeth Dole, a rather nondescript politician without a large base.  Further, she ran an especially nasty ad featuring Hagan that sealed the deal for me – almost.

I like the idea of splitting senators.  I like that Hagan spent time in the state government of North Carolina and I thought she was moderate enough.  But I just couldn’t vote for her and let the democrats get 60 seats.  Of course, as we all know, they did.  Alaska elected a democrat after their republican was subject to scandal.  And then Minnesota allowed that dipshit Al Franken to cheat his way into office and seal the deal.

Hagan is going to vote for Harry Reid if she wins.  And she’ll support most of his legislation.  However, she is relatively moderate scoring 56,52 and 76 percent more liberal than her senate peers on issues economic, social and foreign policy.

If we have to have a democrat represent us in Washington we could do worse.  And with the recent republican domination in the state, sending a moderate liberal voice to the senate might be a good thing.  The only condition that might sway me from supporting her is the balance of the senate.  If it gets close to moving past 55-45 like it is now, I am going to pull for a Hagan loss.

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Posted in Election, Politics: North Carolina

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North Carolina GOP – Unemployment Benefits

Posted on January 25, 2013 | Leave a comment

Another legislative agenda for the state’s republican dominated state government:

 Tens of thousands of unemployed workers receiving federal emergency unemployment will likely lose their benefits starting July 1 as legislators overhaul the program.

Legislative leaders said this week that they will push ahead with a July 1 start to cuts in weekly benefits for unemployed workers. The measure would put the state in violation of the recently passed federal relief package that would have provided benefits to laid-off workers through December 2013. The federal legislation specifically forbid the states from altering the weekly benefit amount, which the General Assembly is poised to do as it returns to session Wednesday.

The reason for the change?  Well, it turns out that the federal government funded the North Carolina’s unemployment payments.  Funded to the tune of nearly $2.5 billion.  And until that debt is paid, North Carolina businesses are required to higher federal unemployment taxes, or FUTA.  In fact, each year that there is an outstanding balance, businesses in NC have to shell out an additional $21 per employee per year, cumulative.

As a response to this ever growing tax burden faced by employers, the idea is to reduce the scope of the state’s UI payout to reduce the normal tax payed.

Is it popular?

Worker advocates called the measure unnecessary and shortsighted.

“This will push thousands and thousands of North Carolinians off an artificial cliff and deny hundreds of millions in dollars to businesses and communities. That money adds nothing to our debt and had already been appropriated,” said Harry Payne, former labor commissioner and worker advocate for the North Carolina Justice Center.

The extended benefits was being funded entirely by the federal government. Each week, that program funnels $25 million in benefits to about 85,000 laid-off workers.

“If anyone wants an example of thoughtlessness, I’ll hold this piece up high,” Payne said. “This is about not understanding what people are going through.”

Certainly not.

However, as the tax per job increases, more and more NC businesses will look to get out of the way of those taxes.  And the only way to do that is to constrain jobs.  Something we certainly don’t wanna do.  Further, by reducing the size of the UI check, the incentive to look for work increases, driving more and more people into the labor force.

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Posted in Debt - Deficit, Economics, Economy, Politics: North Carolina

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North Carolina GOP – Welfare Reform

Posted on January 24, 2013 | 2 comments

In what is looking like is going to turn into a trend, the North Carolina GOP feels emboldened by their recent ass-whipping of the democrats in 2012.  The next target in their sites?

Welfare reform:

State lawmakers are discussing draft legislation that would prohibit lottery retailers from knowingly selling tickets to customers who receive public assistance, such as food stamps, or are in bankruptcy, Pat Gannon at the Insider reports. “We’re giving them welfare to help them live, and yet by selling them a ticket, we’re taking away their money that is there to provide them the barest of necessities,” said Rep. Paul “Skip” Stam, R-Wake. He acknowledged it would be difficult for lottery clerks to know whether players get government help. But he suggested that in obvious cases, such as when customers pay for groceries with food stamps, they shouldn’t be allowed to buy lottery tickets at the same time.

So, there’s a bit to think through here, the first of which is this:

Is it really the role of a government to dictate how people spend their money?  Is not a grown adult able to make a decision to spend their money in any way and manner that they desire?

I don’t wanna bring up whether or not government CAN do this, after all, if New York City can ban large sodas, so then can the state of North Carolina ban the sale of lottery tickets.

So yes, the government can, but should they?  I, personally don’t think so.  Not that I don’t resonate with the whole, “They shouldn’t play the lottery” thang – they shouldn’t:

Combining the players making less than $25,000 per year we see that just about HALF of the population plays the lottery. Further, those people who play are spending near $600 a year! This means that these players have near $600 of annual disposable income that they are choosing to spend on the lottery.

The law maker is right, folks who don’t have money have no business spending money on a system that is, in essence, a tax on the mathematically challenged.  However, we don’t live in a world, or at least we don’t wanna live inn a world, where we need our government to protect us from every. single. bad. decision. there is to make.

The last point I wanna make is concerning the lottery itself.  I get the impression that state run lotteries are the domain of the democrats.  That, typically, republicans are against the lottery.  Which begs the question, how can a caucus that rages against class inequality support a system that takes money from the general public, aggregate it, and then give an amount of money to an individual that places them in not only the top 1%, but the top .01%?

Fascinating.

 

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Posted in Politics: North Carolina

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North Carolina GOP – Tax Reform

Posted on January 24, 2013 | Leave a comment

The GOP didn’t do so well at the national level in the 2012 elections.  However, here in North Carolina, the GOP cleaned house.  Not only did North Carolina break for Romney, the only battle ground state to do so, but they elected a republican governor  for the first time in 20 years.  In fact, including this current governor, there have been only 3 republicans in the mansion since 1901, well over 100 years.

Further, the GOP extended their majority in both the state house and senate.  Those majorities are now so wide that the republicans can propose and send to the ballot box amendments to the constitution without a single democrat voting with them.

I don’t think that such dominance is healthy, either way – democrat or republican.  So it isn’t a surprise that one of the first things on the agenda is tax reform:

RALEIGH — Republican lawmakers outlined a proposal Wednesday to revamp the state’s tax system, offering a slew of reforms that would radically shift the tax burden in North Carolina.

The proposal would eliminate personal and corporate income taxes in exchange for higher state sales taxes levied against groceries, medical expenses and other currently tax-free services.

I suspect that this is going to go over like a lead balloon.  So it shouldn’t be a surprise that opposition is already forming:

The N.C. Budget Center, a liberal think tank, conducted a simulation analysis that suggested more than half of taxpayers, particularly the middle and lower class, would see their overall tax burden rise, while the most wealthy would get a significant cut.

Now, I’m not as familiar with the state numbers as I am the familiar national numbers as they pertain to who pays and who doesn’t pay state income tax.  And while I am sympathetic to the argument that an increased sales tax would hit the lower and middle class harder, I am not as sympathetic to an argument that takes a citizen from paying no tax to having some burden to the state.

With that said, I do agree with “Friend of Tarheel” Dave Ribar when he claims:

But critics caution that the proposals represent a fundamental change in who pays the state’s tax burden, and economists said that low-income people would feel the brunt. “For this particular proposal, the responsibility would shift from rich households and prosperous corporations to poor households and smaller businesses,” Dave Ribar, a professor at UNC-Greensboro, concluded in his analysis of the proposal.

North Carolina funds its budget through various taxes working in balance.  While we have high income taxes and corporate taxes, we have a lower sales tax combined with a very inexpensive tax on housing.  Further, our gasoline tax is high compared to our region.

So, while I get the republican’s desire to change the income tax and corporate tax scheme, I’m afraid that they aren’t going to take the whole picture into account and maybe, just maybe, make the whole thing worse.

Here are the details released so far:

It costs roughly $12 billion to eliminate the corporate and personal income taxes and business franchise taxes, as the GOP proposes. The money accounts for more than half the state’s $20 billion annual budget.

Proposed tax hikes

To offset the cuts, Senate Republicans are considering:

• Eliminating all 318 existing tax breaks in the state’s tax code, which account for $9 billion in revenue. The breaks cover everything from motor vehicle taxes to prescription drugs and insulin to sales taxes paid by nonprofits.

• Generating $12.9 billion in new revenue by increasing the 6.75 percent combined sales tax rate levied in most of the state to an 8.05 percent combined state and local tax rate.

The higher rate would apply to all goods and services – including those currently exempt from taxes, such as lottery tickets, haircuts, dentist visits, housekeeping and lawyers’ fees.

One major increase would be the sales tax on groceries. It currently sits at 2 percent but would increase to 8 percent.

Together, the sale tax changes would provide $12.9 billion.

• Levying a 1.05 percent tax on businesses, indexed to either net worth or gross receipts. Republicans are calling this a “license fee” that would produce $4 billion.

• Increasing the tax on all commercial and residential real estate sales, from the current 0.2 percent rate to 1 percent, generating $400 million.

Expect much hand wringing to take place.

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Posted in Economy, Politics: North Carolina

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2012 Election in North Carolina

Posted on January 22, 2013 | 2 comments

Some interesting stats from the 2012 Presidential election:

A new analysis of voter turnout data for the November 2012 election proves North Carolina has earned its reputation as a swing state.

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney evenly split the 10 counties with the highest turnout. Beaufort, Davie, Greene, Moore and Person voted for Romney, while Chatham, Granville, Hertford, Wake and Warren voted for Obama.

Living in Raleigh I’m disappointed that Wake county broke for Obama.  However, I continue to take immense pleasure that we were the one battle ground state that Romney carried.

More tidbits:

  • Overall, turnout in 2012 was 68.3 percent – down slightly from 69.6 percent in 2008.
  • Republican women picked up a percentage point, from 72.3 percent in 2008 to 73.4 percent in 2012.
  • GOP men made an even bigger gain, from 70.7 to 72.2 percent.
  • The number of registered Democrats who voted in 2012 actually dropped by nearly 53,000, even though the party added about 8,800 registered voters since 2008.
  • Turnout among black voters dropped slightly, from 71.9 to 70.3 percent, that’s in line with the drop in overall turnout.
  • Turnout for voters 18-25 dropped by more than 5 percent from 2008
  • [Hispanic] turnout was 4.9 percent lower than in 2008.
  • Senior citizens … picked up 4.2 percent at the polls, with a 2012 turnout of 76.6 percent – the highest of any demographic group.

With a commanding majority in the state political picture, it’ll be interesting to see how the republicans govern and lead the state for the next two years.

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Posted in Elections 2012, Politics: North Carolina

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Romney Was Right And Obama Has Been Covering Up Benghazi

Posted on November 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

For a long time now I’ve been advocating the position that Benghazi has been a big deal.  I thought that Obama mismanaged the event in real time, the next morning I felt he was off.  Further, in the weeks that followed the man-made disaster, I felt that Obama was feeding us information that didn’t ring true.

And all the while there wasn’t mention of it at in the media; Fox was the only organization that was prosecuting Obama on this issue.  And guess what?  It was Fox that was being accused of “foul play.”  As if the media doesn’t have a job to ferret out administrations and get the real truth.

Well, in recent days I’ve seen CBS doing some good work.  I didn’t finish the post I started by there was an article this past week where CBS reported on e-mails they obtained.  Good stuff.

And now we learn that CBS interviewed Obama on 60 Minutes but didn’t include the whole interview.  Fine, we all know that not every single bit of film makes the cut.  However, CBS DID release the full interview later and this is part of what was left on the floor:

“Mr. President, this morning you went out of your way to avoid the use of the word terrorism in connection with the Libya attack,” correspondent Steve Kroft asks the president. “Do you believe that this was a terrorism attack?”

“Well, it’s too early to tell exactly how this came about, what group was involved, but obviously it was an attack on Americans,” Obama answered. “And we are going to be working with the Libyan government to make sure that we bring these folks to justice, one way or the other.”

Obama would. not. answer. the. question.

Mr. Kroft straight up asked the man a yes or no question, “Do you believe that this wasn’t a terrorist attack?”

And the President would say it was.

This should have come out the minute the interview was over.  This shouldn’t have been cut.  This was the EXACT point Romney made during that second debate when he was pounding the Barckness Monster over his handling of the attacks.

Obama and his team were clearly out of their element.

At least now we know.

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Posted in Government, Politics: National, Politics: North Carolina

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The State Of The State Of North Carolina

Posted on October 30, 2012 | Leave a comment

Back and forth – forth and back.

Carolina is back to trending Romney:

Raleigh, N.C. — Mitt Romney has moved ahead of President Barack Obama in North Carolina in the final week before the election, according to a WRAL News poll released Tuesday.

SurveyUSA polled 682 likely voters statewide between Saturday and Monday and found that 50 percent would vote for Romney and 45 percent for Obama if the election were held now. The remaining 5 percent were either undecided or voting for another candidate.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

In a WRAL News poll conducted four weeks ago, Obama and Romney were in a virtual dead heat for North Carolina’s 15 electoral votes, with Obama at 49 percent and Romney at 47 percent.

 

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Posted in Election, Politics: North Carolina

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These People Really Believe That We Need To Ban Profits

Posted on September 11, 2012 | 4 comments

I was a political ignoramus just 6 years ago.  Certainly I could express my views on the big ones, capital punishment, immigration and abortion.  But the more nuanced perspectives would come later.

What surprises me is that at one time, I may actually have held views that I now hold in disdain.  I’m not sure I was ever this far left, but the views expressed by delegates at the Democrat Convention regarding corporate profits are without defense.

By the way, whats up with Van Jones not shaking hands with Peter Schiff?  I mean, not even shaking hands?

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Posted in Economics, Idiots on Parade, Politics: North Carolina

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