Carolina Politics Online

Dan Besse said a pro-choice group made the wrong decision. The Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor said he has a strong record on reproductive choice and should have received the endorsement of NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina, which announced it is backing Hampton Dellinger in the primary today.

The News & Observer

Why would anyone want NARAL’s endorsement?  They aren’t exactly in the mainstream, but then neither is Besse or Dellinger.

Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday it was imperative that Congress make strong yet prudent decisions to revive the nation’s economy, touting President Bush’s economic stimulus plan as a means to spur growth and minimize the country’s economic downturn.

Cheney, speaking to about 150 people during a quick stop at the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, said the country rests on a “solid platform” of economic growth because of policies established during Bush’s seven years in office.

Now, Cheney said, “it’s time to take wise and vital steps” to avoid or minimize the effects of a recession.

The News-Record

Bush’s stimulus plan is a fraud. Plenty of economists have pointed to the 2001 one “rebates” that did next to nothing to spur the economy. The growth came after the tax cuts. This stimulus plan is nothing more than a CYA measure in an election year.

There are new accusations that Nick Mackey and his supporters rigged the sheriff’s election — some say they put precincts together with people they knew would vote for the Charlotte lawyer, and purposely didn’t give a voice to his opponent’s supporters.

John Andrews was the chair of Precinct 109 before it was retooled for the Dec. 6 sheriff’s election. He says he had no idea there was even an effort to reorganize the precinct. No one ever called him.

“I think that’s wrong,” Andrews said. “I don’t think they followed the rules.”

He says he didn’t even know his neighbors had voted in the recent election until we told him.

“They organized the precinct to specifically vote for him,” Andrews said.

He means Nick Mackey, the candidate precinct 109 voted for.

WCNC

It seems fairly concrete at this point that Mackey and those close to him cheated in order for him to “win” the selection process by the Mecklenburg Democratic Committee to make him the new county Sheriff.  These allegations are very damaging and there are several of them out there now.   I don’t see any legitimate reason at this point for the County Commission to approve his appointment and he should also be indicted with fraud.

Moore’s staff has been accused of using state property for political purposes in the past. In April 2006, a state audit found that former Chief Deputy Treasurer Joe Stewart used the department’s computer network for political purposes. Stewart left the treasurer’s office in February 2005. In Perdue’s office, Merritt found that Perdue had installed privately funded Internet access and a wireless router. Employees said they used the Internet access for campaign business, but only on breaks, during lunch and after business hours. Perdue had no way of monitoring whether employees stuck to those rules, Merritt found, although she told auditors that she had confidence in her employees and trusted them not to abuse the privilege.

“A state-owned building, equipment and property were provided to the lieutenant governor’s office to conduct official state business only,” Merritt wrote. “It is inappropriate for the lieutenant governor (or her campaign) to provide equipment that invites the abuse of those policies and statutes.”

In her response to Merritt, Perdue wrote that she had the private Internet connected shut off in November and that her staff is regularly reminded of the rules for use.

Moore’s office had also accused Perdue of misusing state troopers, who are assigned to protect the lieutenant governor. Merritt found that troopers had transported Perdue to campaign events. The security detail, assigned to the lieutenant governor for protection, has followed that practice since 1989, Merritt found.

The Charlotte Observer

The rules are the rules and they have to be followed. This is why it is good to have a representation of both parties at the state level so that one keeps a check on the other.

Attorneys general from eight states have signed a letter asking South Carolina environmental officials to deny a permit to build a coal-fired power plant.The group says the plant, proposed by Santee Cooper, would release millions of tons of carbon dioxide in the air, hindering efforts to reduce greenhouse gases.

The state-owned electric utility wants to build two 600-megawatt generators along the Little Pee Dee River near Johnsonville.

The letter sent to DHEC was signed by attorneys general from California, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont.

The State

Does our Attorney General here in South Carolina send letters telling New York or Vermont what to do?

I hope we build this coal plant.  In fact, I hope we build ten of them now and then after we build then, we build a huge fan and point it straight to New England and blow all of our smoke up their behinds!

A South Carolina lawmaker says underage military servicemen and women should be allowed to drink alcohol.

Representative Fletcher Smith has sponsored legislation that would allow alcohol purchases if service members younger than 21 show a military identification card to a bartender or store clerk.

The Post and Courier

Of course they should be allowed to drink at 18. What sense does it make to say an 18 year old can off to Iraq and shoot people but they can’t go into a bar and have a beer. It’s preposterous. Frankly, the drinking age should be 18 for everyone.

South Carolina raised the drinking age to 21 from 18 to comply with federal law in 1984.

Safety advocates oppose the Greenville Democrat’s bill. They say many studies show that giving alcohol to people younger than 21 does not make life safer for the military, nor for others on the nation’s highways.

Studies show that, huh? Then how come every other country in the world doesn’t seem to have a problem with people under 21 drinking alcohol? It is absurd what we go through in this country when it comes to alcohol. How much money is wasted on enforcing the drinking age? It’s not stopping anyone from doing it. I’m 31 years old and I still have to show my freakin ID every time I want a drink somewhere. If we put this much attention on our borders we wouldn’t have 12 million plus illegal aliens here.

Governor Mark Sanford today issued the following statement on the S.C. House’s passage of S.392 and H.4400, matching bills aimed at addressing illegal immigration in our state that the governor called for during his State of the State address as part of his “First 30 Days” agenda:

“Since Washington has failed to act on this issue, I think that as a state we have to be very clear about not creating incentives for illegal behavior,” Gov. Sanford said. “I want to thank the House – in particular Speaker Harrell, Chairman Harrison, and over on the Senate side Senator Ritchie – for acting quickly to address this issue. It’s important because with other states in the Southeast contemplating or having passed similar legislation, if we don’t act we run the risk of becoming a sanctuary for illegal immigration. Legal immigration has been and continues to be part of what makes this country great, but at the same time we have to send a clear message that South Carolina won’t sanction illegal behavior with a wink and a nod. As we’ve long said, the ultimate fix for this problem will have to come from Washington, but this bill is a step forward and I’d urge both the House and Senate to get it to my desk as soon as possible.”

The Post and Courier

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Richard Burr wants a national sales tax holiday to goose the ailing economy — figuring discount prices would do the nation’s cash registers more good than rebate checks.

Reaction to his idea ranged from “crackpot” to it-ain’t-gonna-work, as economists said sales tax holidays don’t inspire consumer spending so much as change the date that shoppers are pulling out their wallets.

The News & Observer

I have to go with the naysayers on this one. A moratorium on sales taxes aren’t going to make people jump out of their beds and run to the store to spend lots of money. Sales taxes are a very small portion of the price you are paying when you buy something. Eliminating them won’t be enough to make a difference to anyone unless you are planning on going out and buying a really expensive item like a car or something.

Democrat John Edwards bowed out of the race for the White House on Wednesday, saying it was time to step aside “so that history can blaze its path” in a campaign now left to Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. “With our convictions and a little backbone we will take back the White House in November,” said Edwards, ending his second campaign in a hurricane-ravaged section of New Orleans where he began it more than a year ago.Edwards said Clinton and Obama had both pledged that “they will make ending poverty central to their campaign for the presidency.”

Associated Press

It’s about time. Every time I have to hear John Edwards open his mouth I want to punch him in it. He really is the textbook sleazy, pandering politician. I wonder which of the two Americas will benefit from his exit.

Two teenagers have been kicked out of school for kissing on a school bus, and now their families are challenging the decision.

Dominique Goyner and his girlfriend were expelled by the Richland County District Two school board in October for the rest of the academic year.

School officials told Jody Free her son was being removed from school for “sexual misconduct.”

WLTX

Assuming we are hearing the whole story, this is another perfect example of mind-numbed morons running our education system.  It’s no wonder why American schools are graduating dumber kids every year when you take a look at the people teaching them.

Standing in the middle of a glass fabrication company in North Charleston, Gov. Mark Sanford on Monday called on the Legislature to pass three key reforms by mid-February on immigration, DUI and small-business health insurance.

The Post and Courier

The small business health insurance legislation is a good one because it will allow small businesses across the state to ban together to buy insurance for cheaper rates, thus allowing more uninsured employees to become insured and for cheaper premiums.

Dorchester County Sheriff Ray Nash announced today that he will be retiring at the end of his term in January 2009. Nash, who has held the post for 11 years, said a number of factors influenced his decision.

“My wife and I have talked for years about the right time for me to retire from this office. Since I started out in the retirement system at age 17, I will be eligible to retire with full benefits at the end of this term,” Nash said. “And now that Terry Boatwright has announced that he is running for sheriff, we have a candidate who I can confidently pass the baton to.”

Boatwright, Folly Beach’s public safety director, announced last week that he’s running for sheriff. Retired State Law Enforcement Division supervisor L.C. Knight also confirmed that he will file in March for the June primary.

The Post and Courier

This is for the best.  There has been too much monkey business with this guy.

Brett Bruce Belflower thought there was something suspiciously familiar about the green shirt he saw a man wearing Sunday night on S.C. 170 near Regions Bank.

He pulled a little closer and recognized it as one of the items that went missing from his Beaufort home about three weeks ago.

So, he jumped out of the car and asked for his shirt back. The problem is, he asked with a baseball bat in his hand, police said.

Belflower, 19, has been charged with armed robbery for relieving a juvenile of a shirt and a pair of blue jeans that the juvenile confessed to stealing from Belflower’s home, according to Beaufort Police Department spokesman Maj. Matt Clancy.

The Beaufort Gazette

That’s a bunch of bullshit.  Belflower should be given a medal.  It’s his property and he has the right to take it back.  That kid who robbed his house is lucky the guy wasn’t home at the time and shot his ass dead.

“It’s kind of a complicated situation,” Clancy said. “You can’t just threaten someone with a bat three weeks after the fact. He should have called 911 and said, ‘Hey, someone’s walking down the street in my clothes.’”

Yeah, sure, and by the time the police got there the kid would be gone and nobody would know where he went or who he was.   It’s nice to see the authorities are looking out for the criminals.

Pittenger, a prolific fundraiser for Senate Republicans and conservative causes, said he raised $1.15 million during the second half of 2007, the period that the most recent reports cover.

Among Democratic hopefuls, Winston-Salem city councilman Dan Besse reported raising $29,178, with $4,000 in loans. He had $122,402 in cash to start 2008.

Sen. Walter Dalton of Rutherfordton said he had $904,192 in cash entering 2008 after raising $382,909 in the second half of 2007.

Slightly behind was Hampton Dellinger of Durham, who reported $726,439 on hand after raising $243,536 during the period, including a $100,000 loan from his parents.

Canton Mayor Pat Smathers, who also is seeking the Democratic nomination, reported raising $60,270 in the second half of the year, with $13,500 in loans, and had $5,178 on hand as of Dec. 31.

Greg Dority, the only other announced Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, announced yesterday that he was starting a fundraising committee with a goal of raising $100,000 before the primary.

Winston-Salem Journal

The State Treasurer’s Office is no longer making public the pensions of state retirees, citing a prohibition in a 2007 law that had been originally intended to give the public more access to the pay and perks of public officials.Senate Bill 1546 was initially intended to make bonuses, incentives and other compensation public. State Sen. David Hoyle, a Gaston County Democrat, filed the legislation after the Carolinas Healthcare System denied that information to The Charlotte Observer. But as the bill moved through the Senate, changes were made to limit other information that had previously been public, including pensions.

It’s not clear who added the provision that now prevents the treasurer from disclosing how much taxpayers are paying for a state employee’s pension.

The News & Observer

That’s a crock.  The taxpayers have every right to know how much of their tax money is going to fund the pensions of state employees.  They are paying for it.  This should be challenged in court.

U.S. Rep. Howard Coble was the only member of the N.C. Congressional delegation to vote no today on the economic stimulus package that passed the House.

Only 35 members voted against it, Barb Barrett reports.

The Greensboro Republican said the $150 billion package, which included rebates for individuals and tax incentives for businesses, would worsen the national debt. Coble also was upset that the bill was brought up under a suspension of the rules, meaning there was no debate about its merits on the House floor.

The News & Observer

Apparently Coble is the only member of North Carolina’s House delegation that understands what a fiscally irresponsible bill this is. It’s not a stimulus package; it is a free hand out at most taxpayers’ expense.

A federal judge has removed former Durham County prosecutor Mike Nifong from a civil lawsuit filed by three Duke University lacrosse players falsely accused of rape.Nifong filed for bankruptcy two weeks ago, citing more than $180 million in liabilities. Almost all of that amount is the estimated damages from pending civil litigation.

U.S. District Court Judge James Beaty left open the possibility that Nifong could again become a defendant in the civil suit, saying in Monday’s filing that could happen within 90 days of the end of his bankruptcy case.

The News-Record

Well that sucks, but hopefully they’ll get him later.

North Carolina can use its current legislative district boundaries in the May primary, federal judges ruled Monday, denying a request by Republican voters who sued over the maps.

The GOP voters argued the boundaries for dozens of state House and Senate voting districts are unconstitutional and the maps should be redrawn for this year’s elections.

Writing for the three-judge panel, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Louise Flanagan said the lawsuit can continue. But she denied the request for a preliminary injunction to block the use of the boundaries and order new maps be created.

The Herald Sun

I agree with the judge’s decision.  The primary is too soon to expect the whole legislative map to be redrawn.  They can pursue the suit and have them redrawn afterwards.  The best course of action would be to have an independent commission draw them, but we all know that will never happen.

A dozen online travel companies have failed to pay millions of dollars in Mecklenburg County taxes over the last several years, the county claims in a lawsuit.

A spokesman for the online travel industry, however, says the suit is just another, likely unsuccessful, attempt by a local government to grab a piece of a service fee that isn’t taxable. Of more than 30 similar suits across the U.S., he said, none has resulted in a judgment for a local government or in a settlement.

The Charlotte Observer

As if Mecklenburg County doesn’t have enough money already.  I don’t see why they would be entitled to collect any tax off of these transactions anyhow.  The company is collecting a fee for its services.  How exactly would an occupancy tax apply for a payment on a service?  I would imagine this is why past suits have not been successful.

ASHEVILLE – K. Ray Bailey, the former longtime president of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, announced today that he is a Democratic candidate for the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners.

Asheville Citizen-Times