Wasting Time
We are not even a full week into the legislative session, but some very consistent patterns are beginning to emerge about what the priorities of the new majority in the General Assembly will be. Here’s a hint: it isn’t jobs. Of the 26 bills introduced this week, the most aggressive was a bill designed to …
Day 1
It hardly seems fair that the first day of the legislative session would open the morning after the State of Union Address. We barely recovered from absorbing the lofty goals set before us by President Obama when we were thrust back to reality by the sound of the gigantic gavel the new Speaker of the …
Job, Jobs, Nowhere
The NC Employment Security Commission released December’s numbers this morning, and despite adding more than 2,000 jobs last month, NC managed to increase the unemployment rate to 9.8%, well above the national rate of 9.4%. This marks 35 consecutive months of North Carolina’s unemployment rate exceeding the national rate of unemployment (using data not seasonally …
JFK + 50
Today marks the 50th anniversary of JFK’s iconic inauguration speech in Washington, DC. At the time, the country was struggling to accept the new realities of a burgeoning new world order, ongoing warfare, social upheaval, and political unrest. Sound familiar? Many of us are familiar with the ending of this speech (Ask not what your …
Miracle in Chicago
When you hear someone mention “Chicago politics”, you don’t exactly think good things. Corruption… yes. But progressive tax reform? No. Well, maybe it’s time to think again. Last week, the state legislature in Illinois decided that in order to solve their budget problem, they needed to do something. But instead of pandering to the cut-and-run …
Recognize our Humanity
Today is a holiday unique to the United States: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It’s one of those quasi-holidays to many, when some people have the day off, but most do not. It probably falls somewhere between Veterans’ Day and Columbus Day on the scale of visibility and importance to the proverbial “average American”, …
Blowhard Brown
We are having a difficult time coming up with an example of State Rep. Larry brown opening his mouth and not saying something stupid, bigoted, or homophobic. You may remember a few months ago he referred to homosexuals as “queers” and “fruitloops” on the House floor, prompting a flurry of public outrage, or when Saturday …
Pooh-Pooh Tata?
We have been trying to give the new Wake County Superintendent Anthony Tata some time to get acclimated to the area before we say anything about him, either positive or negative. Sure, we were not huge fans of his background, but change is change, and we’re more than willing to give the guy a fair …
Be Quiet
As details continue to emerge about the tragic events in Arizona this weekend, one thing is clear: no one really knows anything. No one is able to take this isolated event, look at the players involved, and credibly extrapolate anything from it. No one is able to accurately predict the future of political discourse in …
Assignment Proposal Signup
Want to tell the Wake County Board of Education what you think about their assignment plans? Then sign up now! You have to pre-register, and it’s on a first come, first seve basis. The hearing pre-registration period ends at 9:00 a.m., Jan 20. You may sign up to speak at only one meeting. The hearings, …