Carolina Politics Online

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Todd Poole

July 30, 2008
202-225-2071

Legislation sponsored by Foxx passes U.S. House

Bill will save millions of taxpayer dollars each year and protect federal employees from identity theft

WASHINGTON, DC-Legislation sponsored by Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (NC-05) today passed the U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. 6073, the Electronic Pay Stub Act, gives federal employees the option of receiving their pay stubs electronically. The legislation promises to save the federal government millions of dollars each year and deliver employee pay stubs faster and more securely.

“Moving to all electronic pay stubs is a common sense step for the federal government to take,” Foxx said. “This legislation gives every federal employee the opportunity to receive their pay stub via a secure web site instead of in the mail. It will save millions in taxpayer dollars, dramatically reduce paper consumption and reduce the risk of identity theft for federal employees.”

Many private companies, corporations and state governments like Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, South Dakota and Nebraska offer the option of accessing employee pay stubs electronically (e-stubs). Until now the federal government has not offered this option to all federal employees. Giving federal employees the option of accessing their pay stubs electronically will save taxpayers millions every year. In fact, a study conducted in Idaho found that paper stubs cost ten times more than e-stubs: $.30 vs. $.03.

E-stubs not only save money and paper, they are also safer than sending pay stubs via ground mail, reducing the chance of them getting lost or falling into the wrong hands. Employees who receive electronic pay stubs will be able to instantly access their pay information with considerably less risk of this information falling prey to identity thieves.

“Federal employees should be allowed the option of accessing their pay stubs electronically and this bill will allow them to do just that,” Foxx said. “It’s time to make the process of receiving pay stubs faster, safer and less costly to taxpayers.”

H.R. 6075 is the second substantive bill authored by Foxx that has passed the House of Representatives. Her first bill, the HERO Act, was signed into law on Memorial Day 2006. The HERO Act changed the law to allow members of the armed services to save for retirement by investing
their combat pay into Individual Retirement Accounts.

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S.C. taxpayers will pick up the $100,000 tab for a group of German politicians to visit Grand Strand attractions and party at the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort this fall.

The week long visit from Germany’s Partnership of Parliaments is part of a controversial $10 million competitive grant program approved last month by a five-person state committee appointed by the governor and legislators.

The grants, funded by taxpayer dollars, have been derided by Gov. Mark Sanford and others as being a slush fund for legislators’ pet projects. Sanford has said the pork-barrel spending often receives little or no oversight.

However, Horry County legislator Liston Barfield, R-Aynor, said the Germany grant might prompt more people from that country to vacation in the Myrtle Beach area.

Barfield sponsored the $100,000 grant, which was the largest for any area group or project.

The Sun News

State Representative Liston Barfield apparently got the idea that it’s perfectly ok for him to take the money that you have worked hard for and use it to wine and dine foreign dignitaries for a week in Myrtle Beach and he didn’t think you’d mind.  Evidently, this is his idea of promoting tourism.  I find it interesting that it’s all going to his home county.

Now I am no expert travel agent, but I really don’t see how blowing 100 grand on a lavish vacation for politicians will have a positive effect on bringing German tourists to South Carolina.  I would imagine $100,000 on ads and commercials would be a more favorable method, assuming the state government should even be spending our money on this in the first place.  Is this Barfield’s idea of small government or is he another Republican liar pretending to be a conservative at election time?  I know where my bets are hedged on that question.

Perdue Hypocrite on PAC Contributions

Charlotte, N.C. – Mayor Pat McCrory, the Republican nominee for governor, today called Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue a hypocrite for accepting over $850,000 in PAC and committee money since 2000 and then criticizing McCrory for sending a fundraising letter to PACs.

“The lieutenant governor has criticized me in recent news reports for sending a letter to political action committees requesting a contribution,” said McCrory.  “My request stated it would help me make constructive change to state government.  There was no promise of any political favors in return.  Perdue, on the other hand, has a record of slipping special provisions in the budget to help special interests who give her large contributions.  She is part of the culture of arrogance and corruption I intend to change.”

In 2008, Perdue reported $376,293 in contributions from PACs and committees while McCrory reported $62,657.  McCrory campaign consultant Jack Hawke dismissed Perdue’s criticism by saying, “the PAC lady sitting in the smoke-filled rooms making deals has no standing to criticize her opponent.”

Perdue has been investigated by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) for illegal contributions from the health care industry and for contributions alleged to be in return for road paving.  During the primary with Richard Moore, a member of the state Board of Transportation resigned in controversy over fundraising for Perdue.  In addition, Perdue was editorially criticized for a fundraiser by the Chairman of the ABC Board and for fundraising efforts by a liquor industry executive.

On Wednesday, however, the former U.S. senator, presidential candidate and 2004 vice-presidential nominee refused to answer questions that took a tabloid turn.

About a dozen reporters and photojournalists attended a speech Edwards gave to an AARP Foundation symposium on poverty and aging in Washington.

Afterward, he avoided a crowd of waiting reporters, at least some of whom wanted to question him about recent reports in the National Enquirer that alleged a sexual relationship between Edwards and a former campaign videographer and an ensuing coverup.

Citing unnamed sources, the Enquirer published a story in October claiming that Edwards was having an affair with a woman who had filmed a series of campaign videos, and that he had gotten her pregnant.

Charlotte Observer

I told you Edwards was an absolute scumbag.  Of course, that’s been obvious for far longer than the past couple of weeks.  Any objective person who listened to this guy campaign for President over the past four years could hear the sleaze in his very words and actions.

What kind of a man goes out and has an affair with another woman while his wife is suffering from a fatal disease?  People actually wanted this guy to be our President.  Scary.

“I personally would want to see our tragic history, or the tragic elements of our history, acknowledged,” the Democratic presidential hopeful said.

“I consistently believe that when it comes to whether it’s Native Americans or African-American issues or reparations, the most important thing for the U.S. government to do is not just offer words, but offer deeds.”

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin

 

Did the presumptive Democrat Party nominee and the favorite to become the next President of the United States of America just say that he supports reparations for slavery? And if he did, why the hell isn’t this a bigger story???

Actually, one can’t be that surprised when one considers the company the Obamessiah kept for so many years.

H/T to Gateway Pundit and Michael Graham

A quick national interlude, but I’ll toss is Sen. Dole’s name to make it relevant…

WASHINGTON – Several GOP colleagues of indicted Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens distanced themselves politically Wednesday by donating campaign contributions from him to charity.

Stevens, meanwhile, returned to work in the Senate, actively participating in a committee bill drafting session and casting votes on the floor, where he received warm embraces and gestures of personal support from several colleagues.

At the same time, at least five Republicans up for re-election shed contributions from Stevens and his political action committee. They included: John Sununu, R-N.H.; Gordon Smith, R-Ore.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C.; and Pat Roberts, R-Kan.

The shaky support for Stevens was evident in the wake of accusations he lied about accepting gifts from oil services contractor Veco Corp. His indictment on seven felony counts adds to his party’s already bleak electoral prospects in November, and could cost the GOP a Senate seat that should be safe.

The N&O

 

Sam the Admin said it best over on SavetheGOP.com: Ted Stevens is a cancer on the GOP that needs to be excised ASAP. To that end…

 

While Stevens has vowed to fight charges and, through a spokesman, to move “full steam ahead” with his re-election bid, he’s received little support from Alaska’s Republican governor and no comment yet from his own GOP leader in the Capitol.

Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, chairman of the campaign committee for Senate Republicans, declined to restate his earlier endorsement of Stevens, who is running for re-election to a seventh full Senate term, in a six-way Aug. 26 GOP primary.

“There’s an electoral process in place and a legal process in place, and we will let the process play out,” Ensign said.

 

Y’know, I like Sen. Ensign, but I’m calling B.S. on him. The National Republican Party has taken sides in Senate primaries -often the wrong side- way too often. They supported Humphries over Coburn in OK. back in ‘04; they supported Specter over Toomey in PA., also in ‘04; they supported that spineless squish Mel Martinez in Florida in ‘04 too. But now, when you have an indicted political hack dragging down your ticket and possibly costing you a state, Alaska, that you should NEVER lose, Ensign won’t step up and do what needs to be done.

Sen. Ensign, please, for the love of God, freedom, and the American way- reach down, squeeze whatcha got, use whatever powers you have at your disposal, and get this old clown out of that Senate race!!!

According to a recent survey by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee had 46 percent support, Republican McCrory had 37 percent, and Libertarian Mike Munger had 6 percent. Eleven percent were undecided.

Perdue’s support was higher than in previous polls, which pollsters said could be due to former rival Richard Moore’s recent endorsement.

The survey of 823 likely voters was taken July 23 through 27, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

The N&O

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards is pulling the plug on a scholarship program he started at an Eastern North Carolina high school — a program he once promised would be a model for the nation under an Edwards presidency.

Edwards’ presidential hopes have evaporated. And he recently informed Greene County officials that he would end the pilot program at Greene Central High School.

The N&O

 

Don’t cry for the Hollow Armani, though. He still gets live in his ginormous mansion while imploring the rest of us to do something about this whole “Two Americas” thing.

 

Pamela Hampton-Garland, the director of College for Everyone, said the Greene County effort was always designed as a three-year pilot.

“The program was a huge success,” she said. “The numbers soared. The interest from students and parents and the community rose. It seemed the whole notion of college access changed.”

Patrick Miller, Greene County school superintendent, said the Edwards program helped raise the college-application rate from about 26 percent several years ago to 94 percent this year.

 

Without any knowledge to the contrary, I’ll take Ms. HyphenHyphen’s word that this was always a three year thing. And I want to acknowledge that it IS all kinds of awesome that the application rate soared and that more kids were able to go to college. But if it works so well, why is ol’ Two-America Johnny stopping it? God knows he’s sued enough doctors to keep this program kickin’ for perpetuity. C’mon, hair gel ain’t that costly, Johnny. Put your vast amounts of money where your big mouth is and send more kids to college!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 30, 2008
Contact: Brock McCleary
(202) 225-2576

McHenry: No Vacation for Congress Until Energy Votes

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Patrick McHenry issued the following statement in response to the Democrat-controlled Congress voting to give itself a 5-week vacation in the midst of the worst energy crisis in United States history.

“The American people demand action to address the energy crisis. But the Democrats who control Congress have made it clear that their vacation plans are more important than finding solutions to record-high gas prices. We should be rolling cots onto the House floor and staying here as long as it takes to debate and vote on real legislation that will help solve the energy crisis. The families of Western North Carolina deserve nothing less.”

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The News & Observer ran a story today about a 23 three year old librarian in Alamance County who was arrested by the Sheriff’s department for being here illegally.  Sounds pretty cut and dry, right?  Well, there’s a little more to it than that.  Obviously you have the standard uproar from the bleeding hearts who find it tragic that law enforcement would actually enforce the laws against an illegal immigrant who has been here since she was a toddler and is a productive member of the community.  Admittedly, I feel a little bad for her too being that she was brought here before she was old enough to speak, but there is a little more to it.

Marxavi Angel Martinez, the said illegal immigrant, was using a stolen Social Security number of a dead person.  She may not have been able to do anything about her status as a child, but when she became an adult she could have begun to take responsibility for her situation.  Even if the person is dead, she still engaged in identity theft and that is a criminal act, no matter how nice or hardworking she may be, so that’s where my sympathy ends.

The main crux of this arrest that is causing concern is how they figured out she was illegal.  It’s alleged that the Sheriff’s office identified her status through public health department medical records.  We are now getting into an issue of expected privacy and that is where the ethical dilemna comes into play.  Was it ok for the Sheriff’s department to benefit from access to medical records to identify Martinez as an illegal immigrant or did they tread too far and cross the line into an expected area of personal privacy?  I don’t know that I really have a problem with this.  They received a tip regarding this woman resulting from a public health department investigation so it’s not like Sheriff’s deputies were sitting down digging through everyone’s medical records in Alamance County.

Others are concerned that this will discourage illegals from seeking health care, which I could care less about.  That just means the taxpayers will save money by not having to foot the bill for these criminals getting their free E.R. care at our expense.

BURLINGTON — A local man faces identity theft charges after Alamance County deputies found more than 100 Social Security numbers written in notebooks.

The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office said that Apolonio Ceja Salinas, 25, of Burlington is in jail without bond on charges of trafficking in identity theft and manufacturing fraudulent identity cards. The sheriff’s office said other charges are pending.

The News and Record

And yet today business as usual will continue in D.C. and the borders will remain porous and the Bush administration will continue its love affair with alien criminals and the government of Mexico actively encouraging them.  Yes, Salinas was illegal.

The sheriff’s office said Salinas is in the United States illegally. He first appeared in a national criminal justice database in 2003, when he was arrested on a traffic offense in Clinton County, Pa.

What happened to him after his arrest in Pennsylvania?  Was he deported back to his home land or was he given a slap on the wrist and let go so he could make his way down here to North Carolina and steal Americans’ identities?

Democracy North Carolina filed a complaint Wednesday with the State Board of Elections. Group leader Bob Hall argues the method by which the Republican Governors Association is raising money for the independent expenditure committee is unlawful.

Campaign reports show the RGA North Carolina 2008 Political Action Committee already has raised nearly $390,000.

Hall says the association raised money from out-of-state donors who aren’t being told the money is going to the North Carolina committee. Hall argues that state law doesn’t allow that.

The News and Record

We’ll see where this goes.  I don’t know how the RGA raises their funds.  If they raise funds for specific candidates then Democracy North Carolina may have a legitimate grievance assuming the law actually does agree with their claim.  If the RGA just raises funds in general and then dispurses them to candidates as they come along, then how can they possibly disclose to donors who specifically the money will go to?

RALEIGH — Democratic candidate for governor Bev Perdue is criticizing Republican rival Pat McCrory for turning to lobbyists to help fund his campaign.

McCrory, Charlotte’s mayor, last week sent a fundraising letter to political action committees. PACs help those aligned with an interest group – such as employees of a company or members of a trade association – to focus their political giving.

Charlotte Observer

And Bev Perdue isn’t getting the aid of all the unions and teachers’ organizations and Andy Griffith?  Come on, this is weak.  It’s the pot calling the kettle black.  All political candidates get help from special interest groups.  It’s impossible to eliminate such influences nor should it be.  PACs enable your every day Joe Sixpack to have their voice heard more easily by banding together with others of the same views and pooling their resources to get their message out for a particular candidate.  There is nothing wrong with that.

Mayor Pat McCrory blocked the City Council’s efforts Monday to buy an option on a small grocery store in the Belmont neighborhood.

The council had hoped to improve the community by purchasing the store at Parkwood Avenue and Pegram Street for about $472,000 and replacing it with new businesses.

The motion passed 7-3, but McCrory vetoed it, saying the money should not be spent in a neighborhood that already is attracting significant private investment. He pointed out that the city has spent millions on road improvements and a mixed-income community on nearby Seigle Avenue that is also subsidized with federal money.

“There is a certain point in time that we have to transfer funds to other neighborhoods that are hurting more,” McCrory said.

Charlotte Observer

The city is trying to play marketeer and it doesn’t work that way.  Creating a business and residential friendly community comes with low taxes and low crime rates.  The government should not be engaging in wealth redistribution to prop up blighted neighborhoods.  They will take care of themselves if the environment is right.

Raleigh – North Carolina businesses must get rid of machines offering online gambling by Dec. 1.

A spokesman said Gov. Mike Easley signed a bill Monday that bans the Internet-based games, a new kind of entertainment that took the place of video poker in some convenience stores, restaurants and other spots.

Lawmakers like Rep. Ray Rapp, D-Madison, said the games are nothing more than a way to get around the 2006 ban on video poker machines.

One store owner said the ban just gives the state lottery a monopoly on gambling.

Asheville Citizen-Times

The government doesn’t like competition.  The revenue from the State Lottery has been lackluster, far below expectations and so I would have to agree with the store owner that this ban is so the state can keep its own monopoly on gambling and grab all the profits from it.

Members of the Stanly County Republican Party and the Stanly County Republican Women, announce the opening of a satellite office in Locust for the 2008 voting season. The office is on Main Street (N.C. 24-27) in the shopping center next to the Crutchfield Campus.

“The satellite headquarters will be available for people to learn more about the candidates; for members to gather for meetings and constituencies to pick up campaign materials,” said Don Abernathy, chairman of the Stanly County Republican Party.

The Stanly News and Press

McCrory: When it comes to public safety, where has Perdue been for the past eight years?

New Bern, N.C. – Mayor Pat McCrory, the Republican nominee for governor, today presented his plan to improve public safety and reform North Carolina’s criminal justice system at the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association Conference in New Bern.  He highlighted many key differences between his record of effective executive leadership and the lieutenant governor’s record of supporting a failed status quo for the past eight years.

“When it comes to fighting crime, I’ve been on the front lines for the past 12 years while the lieutenant governor has turned a blind eye to the problems,” said McCrory.  “I’ve seen county jails overflowing with people sleeping on floors, gangs infiltrating our schools and illegal aliens filling our jails.  I’ve seen our state judges and district attorneys work out of cardboard boxes and I’ve seen our state mental health patients transferred to local jails.  When I led a bipartisan group of mayors and law enforcement officials to Raleigh to work on solutions to these problems, the lieutenant governor was nowhere to be seen.  Now she’s ‘forming a plan’ that’s ‘emerging and changing’ that calls for another government commission to meet in Raleigh and talk about the problems. Where has Lt. Gov. Perdue been for the past eight years?

“Now that she is campaigning for governor, Perdue is drafting a plan that should have been written eight years ago.  North Carolina needs a governor who cares about public safety even when it’s not an election year.  We need action and effective executive leadership.”

As Mayor of Charlotte, McCrory responded to an inadequate state criminal justice system by:

• Hiring hundreds of new police officers;
• Opening a local crime lab because the state lab couldn’t handle workload; and
• Transferring local funds to state district attorneys.

McCrory defined his vision for improving public safety if elected governor by saying he will work to:

• Increase salaries for judges and district attorneys;
• Lobby for an immigration court and detention centers for juveniles;
• Build a bigger and better crime lab;
• Pass anti-gang legislation with stronger penalties;
• Provide more flexibility for local administrators of courts;
• Build more prisons;
• Reform mental health program so we don’t have overflow patients going to local jails; and
• Lift the death penalty moratorium.

      I do believe that Perdue-D has been a do nothing Lt. Governor on many issues. She has failed to do anything as a member of the State Board of Education and on issues involving public safety.

What a piece of work this guy is.

Climate change is no longer just an environmental issue. It’s now an issue of race, according to global warming activists and policy makers.

“It is critical our community be an integral and active part of the debate because African-Americans are disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change economically, socially and through our health and well-being,” House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., said July 29.

Clyburn spoke at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to help launch the Commission to Engage African-Americans on Climate Change, a project of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Business Media Institute

What a great way to unify the country and promote cultural harmony.  Tax one group and give it to another all based on the color of their skin.  His statements don’t catch me by surprise.  This is what the global warming hoax is really all about, Marxism.  The U.N., the Europeans, the left, all of this bologna about climate change is to make reality the concept of global wealth redistribution.  Don’t believe me?  Read below:

The report suggested implementing a “fee, tax or allowance auction on polluters,” which was meant to “eliminate the financial burden on low-income and moderate-income households.This would pay for efforts to reduce global warming. Hoerner said that although it would cause product costs to increase, under his policy, the revenue from the “fee, tax, or allowance auction payment” would be redistributed to consumers to offset the higher costs.

See?  Create a tax to solve a problem that doesn’t exist and use it to redistribute the money from one group of people to another group that has allegedly been “desparaged” mainly through no fault other than their own.  This is the true motivation behind the global warming religion.  Clyburn is so full of shit, but no doubt his rhetoric will play well with the “bruthas” back home.

 

 

I seem to have this bad habit of waiting until a movie has been out for a month or so before seeing it. It’s not really a bad habit, per se -not having to arrive a half-hour early to find a good seat has its perks- but since I’m going to start giving conservative and libertarian-minded movie and book reviews for CPO, I should probably try to remain current. That, and I hate when people inadvertently reveal plot twists to me because they assume that if a movie’s been out for a month, I’ve either seen it or don’t care. There will be no spoilers in any of my reviews- I promise.

 

This brings us to WALL-E, Pixar’s newest computer animated flick that has been out for a month, but which I only saw this past weekend. Most everything that could possibly be written about WALL-E probably already has been, so I doubt I’ll add anything new or earth-shattering to the discussion. But I’d like to discuss this movie because it’s been pretty savagely denigrated by a lot of conservatives, many of whom I respect, who see it as just another round of environmental scare-mongering and Al Gore-ish greenie weenie propaganda.

 

Setting aside the political discussion briefly, the movie itself is very good and merits a viewing or two, or nine or ten if you have kids and buy them the DVD. I’m beginning to think that it’s truly impossible for Pixar to make a bad movie. WALL-E has the same sort of original and creative whimsy that define Pixar’s creations and make them so much better than the average kids’ movie- or most any movie for that matter.

Continue Reading »

GASTONIA – Gov. Mike Easley signed a bill Monday that establishes minimum 25-year sentences for sex offenders who commit certain crimes against children.

The measure, known as Jessica’s Law, is named after former Gaston County resident Jessica Lunsford. The 9-year-old girl was kidnapped, raped and buried alive by a convicted sex offender in 2005 in Florida.

The N&O

I’m hard on Easley and the General Assembly. But when they do something right, I’ll pat ‘em on the back. Good job.