Tag Archives: North Carolina Politics

Tarheel Red Favorite

Posted on January 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

I really enjoy reading and listening to Mike Munger.  Mr. Munger is a professor of economics and chair of the Political Science department at Duke University.  He was also the Libertarian candidate for Governor of North Carolina in 2008.  Further, I LOVE reading reason.com.

Mixing the two is always good pleasure:

…will they burn the castle of the Al Franken monster in Congress, or will they join Sarah Palin and her populist following and simply go RINO (Republican In Name Only) hunting? The point is that we could be heading toward 1994 all over again. Or toward 1964. The tea leaves are there for the reading. Either way, it should be interesting.

Interesting indeed.  And a worthy read.

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Posted in Politics: North Carolina

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The Logical End

Posted on December 24, 2009 | Leave a comment

When we begin to teach our children that it’s okay to grow up to depend on other to provide for us, this is what happens.

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Posted in Politics: National

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Que Pasa

Posted on December 24, 2009 | 2 comments

It would appear that ruling is much much different than campaigning.  Mr. Obama has failed to deliver on many of the promises that he made while he was on the trail.  However, ones concerning International Diplomacy make me giggle the most.

See, things like the economy and health care, these are things that can be “seen”.  That is, they are not secret, kept under tabs or otherwise covered up.  But this diplomacy thing?  Please.  It’s ALL secret.  And he should have know that.  Which either make him naive or those who voted for him naive.  I mean, just look at Cuba:

Rebuffed this month by skeptical lawmakers when it sought finances to buy a prison in rural Illinois, the Obama administration is struggling to come up with the money to replace the Guantanamo Bay prison.

Officials now believe that they are unlikely to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transfer its population of terrorism suspects until 2011 at the earliest.

I mean, come on.  This man RAN on promises and hope.  What else Ought we expect.  He didn’t run on a body of work that he could call upon and say “I have done this and that, so therefore it is reasonable that you can count on me.”  No.  He ran on HOPE.  And it is becoming more and more clear that we can only hope.  Hope for change.  This guy is a disaster.

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Posted in Politics: International, Politics: National

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Jerk-Ass Radio Show Host

Posted on December 15, 2009 | 1 comment

Brad and Britt.  Man, ya gotta love ’em.  I mean, even when you hate ’em, you gotta hand it to ’em.

This morning they are talking about health care legislation and Joe Lieberman.  I guess Joe is to the Democrats as Snowe is to the Republicans.  Anyway, that’s what they were talking about.

Then, during a break, Neil Boortz came on and pitched his show; a quick 15 second bit advertising his show at 10:00.  During his bit, he made mention that this health care legislation was “Government takeover of health care.”

Heh.  Brad went nuts.  He lashed out in his typical 2 octaves above normal voice and began ranting and raving.  Finally, he ended with the comment that “this is not government takeover of health care, I don’t care what a jerk-ass radio talk show host says.”

Stay classy guys, stay classy.

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Posted in Health Care, Politics: North Carolina

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Getting it Done the Right Way

Posted on December 10, 2009 | 4 comments

I am a firm believer that education dramatically shapes the adult life of a child.  Take two children from similar backgrounds and have one graduate high school and the other drop out–the graduate will see dramatic social and economic benefits.  Further, the society around him will be better off as well.  High school drop-outs cost us, all of us, millions of dollars a year in physical damage and management.

And so, of course, it makes sense to have a system of public education.  What I find interesting is how each side of the political spectrum would explain such an entitlement program.  For example:

  1. The Left.  This one is easy.  The Left clearly feels that wealth and accumulation is something that springs up from the ground and is obtained by the “lucky” or “greedy” by muscling and elbowing out the less fortune or the week.  The Left would gladly take from the rich and distribute to the poor so that everyone had an equal chance.  Predictably, this typically make me lose my belly whenever I think about it.
  2. The Right.  This one is harder.  The Right, you see, is against entitlement programs almost all of the time.  No government provided health insurance.  No government provided mass transit.  No government provided welfare.  All of it.  “Man is free; let him obtain that which he needs” is their mantra.  While acknowledging that the Right could use a marketing approach that vastly improves the tone of their message, I emphatically agree with this take.  It is one of Individual Liberty that necessarily acknowledges Individual Responsibility.  The subtle and yet critical distinction is that in almost ALL cases, children in our society are incapable of expressing their Individual Liberty.  They either are lacking the intellectual capacity to express that Liberty [they are children after all, incapable of crossing the street in many cases] or they lack the legal status to exert that Liberty.  As such, it becomes incumbent upon us to restore to that child a reasonable course of action, which, through no fault of their own, they have been prevented from following.  In other words, just because Johnny’s mommy and daddy are fools who don’t take care of their child by sending him to school, does not make it Johnny’s fault.

And so it is that I agree with both the Left and the Right.  But I feel that the path each takes to their respective positions is wrong and illogical.  Further, because I believe as I do as expressed in #2 above, I do NOT agree with the right that we Ought take public monies meant for Public Education and dispense it in the form of vouchers for private education.  The monies collected and spent is for the general public, not for the individual child or family.

The way to make sure that kids get the education they need?  By doing it the right way:

Durham, N.C. — Family income should not determine a child’s destiny. That’s the premise behind Union Independent School, a new private school that opened this year in Durham.

…

Thanks to private donations and contributions, including $2 million from Union Baptist Church, the school has 74 students in kindergarten through second grade. The students are chosen by lottery and attend for free.

…

Thanks to private donations and contributions, including $2 million from Union Baptist Church, the school has 74 students in kindergarten through second grade. The students are chosen by lottery and attend for free.

This, ladies and gentlegerms, is how things get done in the real world!

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

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And I Will Name Him — Success

Posted on December 9, 2009 | 6 comments

I can’t prove it, of course.  And, in fact, it may not even happen.  But I swear to you that I won’t be surprised if the recent reports of H1N1 vaccine being available is reported as reducing the number of cases of H1N1.

Back in late November, experts were calling the H1N1 peak:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak in the Northern Hemisphere, global health officials said on Friday, but they cautioned it was far from over.

Not sure that a lot of people caught that.  And for those that did, they may have responded like I did:

Big “effin” deal.  My family already got it.

But, when you combine the news that the outbreak has peaked with this bit of good news:

Raleigh, N.C. — About 200 people showed up Tuesday morning at the Wake County Public Health Center in Raleigh to get the H1N1 flu vaccine.

…

Tuesday was the first day the county opened the vaccine up to anyone over 6 months old.

Traffic was slow and steady at the Sunnybrook Road location, as well as three other health department sites in Fuquay-Varina, Wake Forest and Zebulon.

Ray Martin, 71, said he was in and out of the Raleigh site in 15 minutes – a stark contrast to earlier this year, in which hundreds lined up and were turned away due to a limited supply of the vaccine.

Now look, I for one am very pleased to see that those folks who need a shot are getting one.  But really.  Providing a shot to people older than 6 months of age fully 2 weeks AFTER the peak is not really A-Okay in my book.  Especially considering that the vaccine takes nearly 2 weeks to fully “bake-in”.

Sadly, I am afraid that this is what we have to look forward to in the Government sponsored health care.  See, in the world of government, a vaccine is an expense that needs to be minimized.  In the private world, the vaccine is a product that needs to be available, marketed and sold.

‘Nuff said.

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Posted in Economics, Health Care

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Where a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Posted on December 8, 2009 | 2 comments

I like this picture:

National Job Approval" Barach Obama December 8, 2009

Partly because it’s showing the shine is wearing off and America is starting to understand what many of us saw at the outset.  But also because this is a “poll of polls”.  Go to the site and see for yourself.  Each dot in the graph shows the results of an independent poll.  USToday, CNN, Gallup and so on.  And, in short, the survey SAYS!

NoBama.

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Posted in Politics: National

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Barely Legal

Posted on December 3, 2009 | Leave a comment

I was thinking about this last night as I was posting on the “Night is Day” thing:

All eight initiatives were the result of a series of private meetings in the past month between the four new members and the new board chairman, Ron Margiotta. Those meetings also included members of private groups that Margiotta declined to identify. Members of the new majority defended their private meetings, saying they didn’t violate state mandates because they had yet to be sworn in.

Look, I get it.  The old Board did things, and in ways, that some people didn’t like.  Because of that, the election process removed them from their seats and gave new people with new voices the ability to shape things.  That’s ho it’s supposed to work.  I’m very happy that it did work.

But these shenanigans are really really over the top:

Malone said they met before Tuesday because heading into the meeting unprepared would have sent their supporters a bad message.

“It’s not illegal,” Malone said. “We needed to be prepared. I had nightmares about walking into the meeting not being prepared.”

It’ll be fun to continue to watch this.  Fun to see if anything really changes.

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

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Tap'ing Out

Posted on November 30, 2009 | Leave a comment

Wanna know why public education can’t keep up with private industry?  One word.

Unions.

It’s the teacher unions in this country that have the educational process in a strangle hold.  These organizations restrict innovation, creativity and mobility.  It becomes virtually impossible to implement any sort of meaningful change as a result.  All of which gives me great joy to see this happening in Wake County:

Wilburn Elementary is the only Wake school that offers merit pay, in which some teachers could get bonuses while others get none based on how their students and the school perform.

Finally a system that incents people act in a manner that closer resembles the goal of the organization.  We want teachers to teach better.  Therefore, we should, as closely as possible, offer more money to teachers who teach better; not just longer.

As excited as I am over the policy, I am very concerned with how the new Board of Ed is couching it; and why we need it:

“Under community-based schools, we may have more schools with higher needs,” said Debra Goldman, a newly elected school board member. “We need to figure out how we can get more resources to those schools. TAP is a way we can do that.”
It would seem that the Board is more concerned with providing cover for the sure to come “high poverty schools” than with the actual program itself.
Right idea.  Wrong reason.

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Posted in Economics, Education, Politics: North Carolina

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Honduras

Posted on November 20, 2009 | Leave a comment

This one I don’t get.  There is a country.  This country has a Constitution that says a President can only serve 2 terms.  The current President wants to serve at least 3.  The legally sanctioned Vice-President along with the Constitutionally called for “Senate” arrest said President and strip him of his power.  The Vice-President, a political ALLY of ex-President, reluctant to do so, accepts the job of President and is willing to hold elections and step down to the winner.

Obama calls foul.

So, America crafts a deal that would call for the disgraced President to regain his office IF he recognizes the elections in November, per the Constitution.

Now, the rascal is backing out.  He even sent a letter to Obama.

Obama: Love – 40

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Posted in Politics: International

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