Carolina Politics Online

RALEIGH — State Rep. Thomas Wright is scheduled to appear in court today on six felony charges for illegally obtaining or misusing more than $350,000.

Prosecutors say Wright fraudulently obtained $160,000 in loans for a foundation he chaired and converted nearly $195,000 in foundation or campaign donations to his personal use. The 52-year-old Democrat from Wilmington has been out of jail on a $50,000 unsecured bond.

Asheville Citizen-Times

A Web site has been launched addressing much of the controversy surrounding Nick Mackey.

http://www.nickmackey.com

Fed up with the status quo and traveling the United States as an independent trucker has driven 37-year-old, Lexington resident Duskin Lassiter to run for U.S. Senate.

The first-time office seeker threw his hat in the ring in early November. So far, it looks like Lassiter, a democrat, will run against Jim Neal, a Chapel Hill financial advisor, and N.C. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-Guilford, for the party’s nomination. For a seat in Washington, D.C., the winner will face Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Thomasville Times

Duskin………. I can’t get enough of those southern names. You can view his campaign Web site here.

I’ll go through a few of his issues. I don’t think his ideas on health care are feasible. He is, of course, pimping universal health care. That is too much of a monster to start getting into why I and about half the country oppose that idea. It’s been debated enough as to why I don’t support it. Universal health cards with computerized records makes the libertarian in me rather nervous. Limiting the profits on pharmaceutical companies is foolish as it will only result in less companies manufacturing certain drugs. That will create rationing thus sacrificing the health of many who need those drugs. Don’t believe me? Why do you think the country was short on flu vaccine a few years ago? See Hillary Clinton’s Vaccines for Kids program.

His bullet points on the Iraq War are reasonable, although I’m not sure it’s our place to dictate to the Iraqi government and spend our money on installing green technology in their nation. It’s not cheap.

I like his views on the environment, but I do have one objection. I disagree with mandating the use of fluorescent light bulbs. While I do use those bulbs in my home, they are considerably more expensive than the traditional halogen bulbs and that will put a burden on lower income Americans. Let the free market sort this one out, Mr. Lassiter.

On the economy he is so far in the outfield that he has left the ball park. I don’t disagree with repealing the free trade agreements, but this guy clearly has no understanding of a free market economy and how it functions. Pension plans are expensive and very burdensome to a company and that is why they don’t do them anymore. If companies start diverting more finances to pensions again, then that is less workers they will be able to employ. So a few more get a great deal, but a lot more are out of a job. Same with strengthening collective bargaining. Overly powerful and greedy unions have driven companies out of business and jobs overseas. If you want to see the result of powerful unions go visit Michigan. They were one of two states to actually experience a population loss this past year and one of four states the previous year. And a $12 minimum wage? I would take that as a joke, but I know he’s serious. Hell, why stop at $12? Let’s make it $20 an hour. Better yet, let’s be really ambitious and go to $25. We’ll all be rich, right? Unemployment will be at 20% but the rest of us will be rolling in the dough.

He discusses other issues as well involving education, illegal immigration, etc. I’m not impressed. He has too many foolhearty pursuits to be taken seriously and lacks a sufficient understanding of the Constitutional functions of the Federal government. I’m not overly concerned about Mr. Lassiter because I am quite certain that State Senator Kay Hagan will emerge triumphant in the Democratic primary.

Starting next week, jails will have to ask whether prisoners are illegal aliens. Bars and restaurants will have to recycle beer and wine bottles. And smokers who work in state buildings will have to take it outside. A bevy of new laws take effect next week. Here’s a look at some:
Born identity

NO! Not that guy!

This change in the law makes it easier for adopted children to find information about their birth parents.

Fresh air

On Jan. 1, there will be no smoking inside buildings owned or leased by the state. The law also spells out what municipalities can do to limit smoking.

Status check

Every jailer in the state must ask everyone arrested on either a felony charge or for impaired driving whether they are legal residents of the U.S.

From there, it is up to the feds.

Green beer

This law requires those who plow through an awful lot of glass to start recycling it. Bars and restaurants will have to submit a plan for recycling as a condition for getting alcohol permits.

And a few more laws that can be read about here

Joe McLaughlin and Marshall Adame have declared they will both run for the 3rd District seat. McLaughlin, a Republican, will face Jones in the primary. Adame, a Democrat, will face the winner of that race in the general election if no other Democrats file in the race.Jones’ chief of staff, Glen Downs, said Jones has made a “conscious decision not to talk about the campaign until the filing period,” which runs from Feb. 11-29.Jacksonville Daily News

Congressman Walter Jones is going to have to stay on his game this election season. Not only does he have to deal with the normal general election, but he also has a challenger in the Republican primary.

The biggest issue, McLaughlin said, is the war in Iraq - which Jones opposes. Jones continues to support a troop withdrawal and voted against the recent troop surge. McLaughlin, a retired solider, calls it “a message of despair.”

“On virtually every major national security vote on the War on Terror in the last year, he’s voted with the liberals,” McLaughlin said. “The man we sent to Washington in (1995) is no longer the conservative member (he was).”

It is hard to gauge how successful McLaughlin will be. Jones represents a district that is heavily populated by military personnel who have been irked by his stance on Iraq. However, recent polls have showed that the majority of North Carolinians are not in approval with how the war has been fought. That could help give Jones a boost in addition to the advantage of incumbency.

Assuming he beats McLaughlin, he then goes on to face Marshall Adame in November.

“There is chaos in Iraq today, and there will be chaos when we leave. But until we leave, the beginning of the end of the chaos cannot start,” said Adame, who retired from the Marine Corps and spent three years in Iraq as a civilian contractor and state department official. Two of his sons have served in Iraq - one is recovering now from an injury he received there, and the other is still in Tikrit, he said.

Adame said he believes the U.S. should maintain logistic and administrative support in Iraq’s civil affairs.

“But I believe our combat troops need to come out,” he said. “We do owe something to the Iraqis, but we owe more to our own people. The best way to support the combat troops is to bring them home.”

Adame is a veteran and spent more time in Iraq than any current member of our Federal government. His opinion on this issue is not to be taken lightly. I trust the judgment of someone who has actually lived and breathed the situation far more than a stuffed shirt in Washington D.C. who goes and visits for a few days and never steps out of the Green Zone.

For now, McLaughlin must focus on beating Jones in the primary - a challenge he said he is ready to undertake.

“We’ve put together a very good team that’s helping us build some momentum,” he said.

He called the district a Republican one, in which it is “unlikely” that a Democrat - any Democrat - would win the election.

I think both Jones and McLaughlin would be foolish to write Adame off. If Jones barely eeks out a primary win against McLaughlin, there might be enough voters irritable with Jones’ Iraq stance to vote for Adame as an anti-Jones vote. If McLaughlin prevails in the primary that gives Adame better odds because there is no incumbency advantage to compete against. Open seats are almost always easier to win.

Furthermore, Adame appears to be, based on what I have read, a more centrist Democrat, much more representative of the traditional southern Democratic party and that plays well in North Carolina. Regardless, I have a feeling this will be one to bite your nails over.

And so the new jail remains empty, and Hyde County Sheriff David Mason is spending money instead to send prisoners to jails elsewhere. So far, that’s included making trips to Raleigh — 230 miles to the west.

The old courthouse and jail for the sprawling rural county that borders Pamlico Sound were damaged by Hurricane Isabel in 2003. New facilities opened in October.

But the county needs more than $600,000 a year to pay for the 15 to 20 staff members the state says are needed at the jail.

Interim county manager Carl Classen said that would require a 14 percent property tax increase, leading the county to instead pay neighboring counties to hold its prisoners while it figures out what to do.

The Daily Advance

I have been accused of being too logical at times and perhaps this is one of those instances, but isn’t this something they should have considered before spending millions on building the jail in the first place?

Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission Chairman Kevin Hollinshead is being investigated by the State Ethics Commission after using a county credit card to buy $213 worth of tickets to an Indianapolis Colts game, an upgrade to first class and about $300 in other personal charges during a September trip to Indiana.

He later wrote the county a $571.57 check to cover those expenses, but records obtained by The Post and Courier show it bounced.

Hollinshead said Thursday he used the county credit card because his wallet was stolen during the trip, and he plans to reimburse the county soon.

“That’s in the works,” he said. “I didn’t do anything wrong, so I’m not sweating it.”

The Post and Courier

Something about this doesn’t sit quite right with me.  To begin with, and this is just a minor observation of mine, but I think it’s kind of strange that he didn’t have the county credit card in his wallet with everything else.  I have a corporate credit card with my company that is for travel expenses for company business and it is in my wallet with all of my other cards.  Apparently Hollinshead had his kept elsewhere on his person while he was traveling.  I just think that’s a little strange unless these were online purchases where he didn’t have to physically present the card in order to use it.

Assuming that his story is true and that his wallet was stolen and the only access he had to money was the county credit card then I could understand him needing to use it for necessary expenses until he returned home.  However, I must again raise an eyebrow because Indianapolis Colt tickets and a first class airline upgrade are not necessary expenses.  Regardless as to whether or not he intended to pay these off at a later time, I would consider that abuse of the credit card.

Then last but not least, the guy bounces the check he wrote to pay for these personal charges he made.  This is not very reassuring.

Perhaps Hollinshead is not guilty of any wrong doing here, but I don’t necessarily know that this man should be the chairman of this commission.  That just makes me a little uneasy.

MOREHEAD CITY — A new motorcycle helmet law is going into effect Tuesday, but some riders – and even a safety official – have concerns with its implementation.

While some riders just don’t like the fact that they are being mandated to wear a specific type of helmet, Matt Shamblin, state director of the Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Program and a resident here in Carteret , said there are deficiencies with the law that make it difficult to comply with.

The law states that riders of motorcycles and mopeds, as well as their passengers, must wear safety helmets approved by the state commissioner of motor vehicles on their heads, with a retention strap properly secured. The helmets must also comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards.

The new law has created its own controversy among riders.

“Let those who ride decide,” said rider Dan Ropp of Newport concerning helmet models. “Most of those making these laws don’t even ride.”

Carteret County News-Times

I agree with Mr. Ropp.  I believe that God has endowed us all with the right to be stupid if we so desire.  If you are going to ride a motorcycle anywhere be it at 35 MPH or 70 MPH without a helmet then you aren’t the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but I don’t think that is an issue that the legislature should be dealing with.  It’s a matter of personal responsibility.

Spruce Pine – A state lawmaker said Thursday he would plead guilty to a drunken driving charge after hitting a parked car near his Spruce Pine home.

Rep. Phillip Frye, who serves on a budget subcommittee that deals with justice and public safety, is seeking help from a court-ordered substance abuse treatment center.

Asheville Citizen-Times

It doesn’t really say what his sentence is, other than the substance abuse treatment center visits. No ethics complains have been filed against Frye and it is stated that the top House Republican leader will not call for his resignation. Should Frye resign, however? If he cannot uphold the very laws that he is responsible for maintaining as a member of the State Legislature should he continue to serve as a steward of those laws? He could have killed someone after all. Frye says he intends to run for reelection so I guess the voters in the 84th House district will decide in November.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, for the period between July 1, 2006 and July 1, 2007 both North and South Carolina experienced some of the largest percentages of population growth out of all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.  North Carolina placed sixth and South Carolina came in at number ten.

Washington – Today, the Club for Growth released its 2007 Senate RePORK Card, compiling a scorecard of all senators’ votes on fifteen anti-pork amendments throughout 2007. These amendments were offered by taxpayer heroes Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Jim DeMint (R-SC).

“For all the talk about fiscal responsibility, it is clear that many senators are more interested in securing pet projects than living up to their campaign promises,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “Fortunately, taxpayers can look at the Club for Growth’s House and Senate RePORK Cards and hold their senators and representatives accountable for wasting taxpayer dollars on hippie museums and beaches.”

Some interesting numbers to consider:

• Only three senators received a perfect score of 100% (and were present for a majority of the votes): Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK), Jim DeMint (R-SC), and Richard Burr (R-NC).

The Club for Growth

Only three Senators scored a 100% on anti-pork amendments and two of them come from right here in our own neck of the woods.  Lindsey Graham scored a 92% and Elizabeth Dole a 62%.

Hillary Clinton is competitive in the state against four leading Republican Presidential candidates. The former First Lady has a two-point edge over Mitt Romney (42% to 40%) and trails Rudy Giuliani by a statistically insignificant single percentage point (Giuliani 40% Clinton 39%).

She also trails John McCain by five (45% to 40%) and Mike Huckabee by seven (46% to 39%).

Against all four Republicans, Clinton’s support is steady and ranges from a low of 39% to a high of 42%.

Rasmussen Reports

This really doesn’t surprise me. North Carolina has been a reliably Republican state when it comes to Presidential elections, but the state is growing and the demographics are changing. We have many northerners moving down here for the lower cost of living and these people overall tend to be more liberal on many issues than your native southerners. Virginia has already moved into a genuine swing state status and I think that by 2012 North Carolina will certainly be up for grabs by either party in that year’s Presidential election.

In the gubernatorial contest, Pat McCrory, a Republican who just won his seventh term as mayor of Charlotte, has a three-point margin over two possible Democratic nominees. McCrory leads both Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue and State Treasurer Richard Moore by identical margins of 42% to 39%.

Pat should be smiling over those numbers and I’m betting the local politicos are scratching their heads. All we have heard is how Charlotte mayors are 0 and 6 when it comes to running statewide. While that is certainly true the focus needs to be on the candidate moreso than historical voting patterns, particularly in a state like this which is quickly evolving into one large melting pot of Americans from every part of the country and every walk of life.

In the race for U.S. Senate, Republican Senator Elizabeth Dole, the wife of former Senate Majority Leader and presidential candidate Bob Dole, is standing for reelection. She currently enjoys a 20-point advantage over Democratic State Senator Kay Hagan, leading her 55% to 35%.

That gap is going to drop once campaign season is in full bloom. I think Dole will prevail in the end but I think it’s going to be a much closer race than many may be expecting.

Retha Pierce Sturdivant was arrested Tuesday evening and charged with reckless driving, failing to give a proper signal and resisting arrest. An officer stopped her van after seeing it swerve, forcing other cars to do the same to avoid a wreck, according to a police report.

Once stopped, the councilwoman got out of her van and locked the doors, explaining to the officer she had to go to the bathroom. When she tried to run away, the officer grabbed her and put her against the van to arrest her, the report said.

The Greenville News

Whoa, I didn’t catch the fleeing from police part yesterday.  LOL!  I think Ms Sturdivant’s ambitions for the office of mayor are now kaput.

“It’s certainly unfortunate,” said Mayor Irene Armstrong, declining to say more.

And grinning ear to ear I’m sure!

Illegal immigrants who are injured on the job are entitled to workers’ compensation, the South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled.

The court issued the opinion after an employer claimed a Mexican citizen who injured his right eye on a demolition job in Charleston should not get workers’ compensation benefits because federal law prohibits hiring illegal immigrants.

In an opinion issued late last week, the court disagreed.

“Disallowing benefits would mean unscrupulous employers could hire undocumented workers without the burden of insuring them, a consequence that would encourage rather than discourage the hiring of illegal workers,” Justice James Moore wrote in the unanimous opinion.

The Greenville News

I agree with Justice Moore’s reasoning.  He is absolutely correct.  It gives sleazy employers another way to exploit cheap, illegal labor.

The employer in this case claims that the employee committed fraud by providing phony documentation of proof of citizenship.  I suppose we have to take his word for it that he really didn’t know the guy was illegal, but common sense tells me to be skeptical of that claim.  Let’s be real here, a native Mexican applying for a construction job should raise some red flags.  That’s a typical profile of an illegal immigrant.  Extra care should have been taken in verifying the authenticity of the man’s documents.  Perhaps in the future this employer will be more cautious.

The Berkeley County School District wants a judge to dismiss a Post and Courier lawsuit seeking the release of Superintendent Chester Floyd’s performance evaluations.The district wrote Friday in its response to the lawsuit that the information is not under the district’s control and is not public record. A motion for judgment says the records are protected by attorney-client privilege and their release would represent an invasion of privacy.

The district is one of several in the state that uses its attorneys to collect and compile board members’ individual evaluations of the superintendent. The evaluations are then reported anonymously to the superintendent.

The newspaper had made numerous requests for Floyd’s detailed evaluation under the Freedom of Information Act since he received an overall favorable review and a pay increase in September.

The Post and Courier

Floyd received a 5% raise, which would be fairly hefty in the private sector.  Being that Floyd is public employee being payed with public tax dollars, I see no reason why the residents of Berkeley County should not have access to his evaluations.

GREENSBORO — Former Greensboro Councilman Don Vaughan said Wednesday he is ready to take a shot at state Sen. Kay Hagan’s seat in 2008.

Vaughan, a Democrat, served on the City Council from 1991 to 2005, when he lost a re-election bid.

Vaughan, who said he has already filed the paperwork to run, currently serves on the State Banking Commission.

“I have the desire for public service in Raleigh and to serve Greensboro again,” Vaughan said. “I feel I can do our community a great deal of good in the N.C. General Assembly.”

Vaughan, an attorney, has had a small lobbying practice but said he has only one bill pending before the legislature right now. He would have to give up lobbying should he become a member of the legislature.

The News-Record

The new Democratic majority in Congress came to power in part on a promise of fiscal responsibility.

But if last week demonstrated anything, the practice of making federal taxpayers foot the bill for projects in lawmakers’ districts is alive and well.

Take freshman Rep. Heath Shuler. The Waynesville Democrat didn’t skip a beat in learning how to rake it in for the 11th Congressional District.

His name is next to at least two dozen projects totaling $20.5 million in gifts he’s taking home with him this winter from the 3,400-page, $555 billion “omnibus” spending bill Congress slammed through before leaving for the holidays.

Charlotte Observer

I don’t why anyone would be surprised by this.  Traditionally, the Republicans have ran on a message of lower taxes and less spending and the Democrats are for higher taxes and more spending.  If the Republicans weren’t able to control their spending addiction in the six years they had complete control of Congress, what would make anyone think the Democrats would fare any better?

A journalism student at the University of North Carolina who apparently drew the ire of the John Edwards campaign has won a job with MTV.

In October, Carla Babb posted a report on the Chapel Hill location of Edwards’ campaign office on YouTube. Her professor later said the Edwards campaign tried to kill the story and demanded it be removed from the Internet.

Asheville Citizen-Times

If you recall, Babb was the one who wrote the piece criticizing the Edwards campaign for choosing an upscale shopping center to house his campaign headquarters when his message is one of reducing poverty and his infamous “two Americas.” The Edwards campaign allegedly demanded the story be pulled and the corresponding video be taken down from YouTube. Apparently Babb never received that memo about how when it comes to John Edwards’ hypocrisy nobody is allowed to tell the truth.

Retha Pierce Sturdivant, a candidate for Atlantic Beach mayor in the town’s disputed election, was arrested early Wednesday morning and charged with reckless driving and failing to give a proper signal.

She was booked at J. Reuben Long Detention Center at about 3 a.m. Wednesday morning and stayed overnight. She will appear in magistrate’s court this morning, jail officials said.

Pierce Sturdivant defeated incumbent Mayor Irene Armstrong by one vote in the Nov. 6 election. Armstrong said four voters who were turned away should have been allowed to vote.

On Nov. 15, the town’s election commission voted to hold another election, but that decision is being challenged by Pierce Sturdivant in court.

The Sun News

I’m sure that after this she’ll be quite passionate about not having a second election held.  Getting arrested while running for mayor is certainly a great way to get your name out there, though I’m not sure notoriety is one of the qualities your average voter is wanting in their town leadership.  Then again, New Orleans reelected Williams Jefferson to Congress so maybe I’m wrong.  This could be a badge of honor for Ms Sturdivant.