Carolina Politics Online

Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Norton is expected to soon consider whether S.C. prison officials were out of line when they forced inmates who commit sex acts behind bars to wear the bright pink jumpsuits. The color could incite “attacks on a person’s manhood” in an all-male environment, one inmate claims in a lawsuit.

“It can only be seen by a reasonable person as a way to exploit homosexuals and endanger those who may not be homosexuals by grouping them with homosexuals,” argued Sherone Nealous, who is serving a 10-year sentence for assault and battery with intent to kill.

“The color ‘pink’ in an all male environment no doubt causes derision and verbal and physical attacks on a person’s manhood.”

In June 2006, Nealous, 31, filed a federal lawsuit over the policy, claiming that the Corrections Department “is placing inmates’ lives and physical well-being in danger.”

The Sun News

Are we supposed to care?  Why should anyone be concerned what happens to a convicted sex offender behind the prison walls?  Perhaps they should have thought about the prospect of being violated in prison before they violated someone else.  As far as I am concerned, it’s just punishment.

A state database detailing agency spending is now online.

The Web site, created by Gov. Mark Sanford in an executive order, lists itemized agency spending by month, as well as year-to-date agency spending by categories of spending. The site, at https://ssl.sc.gov/SpendingTransparency, is available to the public and the data can be downloaded.

For instance, according to the database, the Lieutenant Governor’s office reported $1,782 of in-state mileage for its employees in October. The report also shows how much each employee received for mileage.

Expenses on the site are broken-down according to the source of the funding, whether General Fund, an earmark or federal money.

The State

Now the public can get a firsthand look at how much of our money the state lawmakers are allocating appropriately and wastefully. I can’t wait to start digging through it myself.

ISLE OF PALMS — Isle of Palms Mayor Mike Sottile plans to run for the state House seat being vacated by Rep. Ben Hagood.

“I’ve worked hard as Mayor of Isle of Palms to be a strong voice for issues unique to coastal South Carolina. We’ve got a lot done and our area is booming, but we’ve run into a lot of roadblocks that must be addressed from the state level,” Sottile said in a statement. “I’ve got the energy, experience, and desire to get the job done.”

The Post and Courier

COLUMBIA — Lawmakers are debating how much to increase South Carolina’s lowest in the nation 7 cents per pack cigarette tax and how to spend the money.
Tax proposals:
– Increase the tax 30 cents, raising $141 million. House approved this increase last year.
– Increase the tax 45 cents, raising $198 million. A Senate panel is considering the larger increase.
Other cigarette taxes:
– $2.58, New Jersey, the nation’s highest.
– $1.12, U.S. average.
– 37 cents, Georgia, ranked 43rd nationally.
– 35 cents, North Carolina, ranked 45th nationally.
Spending proposals:
– Gov. Mark Sanford wants to use the money to offset costs for an optional flat-tax program.
– The House last year called for the money to be used mostly to cover elimination of sales taxes on groceries.
– The Senate wants the money put in a trust fund and used for health care, including expanding Medicaid programs and creating tax credits to make insurance more affordable.

Aiken Standard

Why in a Republican controlled Senate are there discussions of expanding Socialist entitlements?

An attorney for Rep. Thomas Wright says a state House ethics panel that could recommend the chamber kick the lawmaker out of office is racially biased.

Attorney Douglas Harris told the panel today that Wright is being treated differently than a white House member who was the subject of a joint House-Senate ethics allegation last year. Wright is black.

Wilmington Star

False allegations of racial prejudice such as this are exactly the reason why most people roll their eyes and don’t even care anymore when they hear them made.  The result of this is that when an actual incident of racism occurs that victim suffers because people are less inclined to believe it.

CONCORD — James C. “Jim” Johnson Jr. and Mike Helms have filed as Democrats for the 36th N.C. Senatorial District seat currently held by Republican Fletcher Hartsell.

Johnson, a well-known Cabarrus County attorney, said that after being off the political scene for several years, he decided to once again seek office.

Johnson served in the State Senate as a Republican and a Democrat during the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.

Salisbury Post

I like Helms because he is more libertarian minded, but I don’t know if he’ll be able to compete against Johnson’s advantage of political connections due to this past service in the State Senate.

Several Democratic candidates are targeting Blackwater.

Congressional candidate Marshall Adame, U.S. Senate candidate Jim Neal and U.S. Rep. David Price have attacked the Moyock-based security contractor, the Virginian-Pilot reports.

Adame, a diplomat who spent in Iraq, called them “guns for hire.”

Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, introduced legislation requiring more oversight of contractors after Blackwater guards killed 17 Iraqi civilians in September.

And Neal, who is running against state Sen. Kay Hagan for the Democratic nomination, responded “Hell, no,” when asked whether the U.S. military should “outsource warfare.”

The News & Observer

Based on the numbers alone, it would be easy for Republicans in the General Assembly to be more than a little discouraged headed into 2008.

The GOP holds just 71 of the Legislature’s 170 seats — the party’s lowest total in a decade — after Democrats handily outspent Republicans to win nearly all of the competitive races in the 2006 election.

“We’re at our low point now,” said Sen. Tom Apodaca of Henderson County, the deputy Republican leader in the chamber, where 31 of the 50 seats are held by Democrats.

But there’s another set of numbers that gives GOP legislative leaders hope that things could soon change. The party recruited more candidates to run against Democrats than in the past two election years, helping to cut down on the overall number of House and Senate candidates who will run unopposed in November.

“It’ll be a lot of work, but we’ve got a chance to have a real majority,” said House Minority Leader Paul Stam, R-Wake.

The Herald Sun

On Wednesday, Vines filed to run for the District 64 state House seat. Come Nov. 4, the Democrat will square off against incumbent Republican Cary Allred.

A number of people have come to him and said it’s time for a change in the district’s leadership, Vines said. Vines thinks his rural ties give him an edge over Allred when it comes addressing the needs of farmers and farming communities.

If elected, Vines pledges to go to Raleigh without an agenda. “I just want to be sure there’s a representative who’s willing to listen,” he said. The biggest thing I would like to do is take your voice to Raleigh and listen with an open, objective mind.”

The Burlington Times

He has his pros and cons. I like the fact that he advocates fiscal stewardship, but he also says he would be willing to increase taxes if necessary. There is no possible reason in North Carolina’s near future to have to raise taxes. The state is already spending too much money.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr will be the keynote speaker at the Henderson County Republican Party’s Lincoln Lunch at noon Saturday at Apple Valley Middle School.

The lunch will follow the county convention.

The event is also expected to draw other candidates for office.

Pisgah Mountain News