Carolina Politics Online

A woman in Charleston who has been feeding about a dozen stray cats every morning is being threatened by Charleston County Animal Control with a few thousand dollars in fines if she doesn’t get the cats spayed or neutered and vaccinated.  This is a good example of stupidity within bureaucracy.

This woman does not own these animals.  They aren’t her pets; they are just neighborhood strays that she puts out for so they don’t starve.  I do it and my neighbors do it for two stray cats that “live” around our condos.  It’s an act of good will.  Instead of thanking her or finding a way to assist her, the government lackeys at animal control, who evidently haven’t done a very good job themselves or there wouldn’t be a dozen strays running around her neighborhood, want to penalize her.  If this is such a concern to them, why don’t they come out and get the animals and take them to the local SPCA or animal shelter where they will be off the streets and hopefully adopted?  That sounds like a simple solution to me.

The budget proposal pushed by President Obama is “completely unsustainable and unacceptable” because it would burden the nation with annual deficits of more than $1 trillion, U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, said Saturday.

Hagan, D-N.C., drawing a contrast from the nation’s top Democrat, said she has been working to limit the growth in non-defense spending in the budget. She questioned the Obama plan that the Congressional Budget Office estimated would place the country under a $1.2 trillion annual deficit even a decade from now. Hagan said she’s not sure how she’ll vote, saying changes could still come.

“I agree with a number of ideas in President Obama’s budget, but I was particularly concerned about the deficit spending in his proposal,” Hagan said in a speech at the N.C. Associated Press Broadcast annual meeting at Elon University. “It’s completely unsustainable and unacceptable.”

Charlotte Observer

It’s nice to see Hagan finally showing a little bit of independence from her party, considering she has pretty much been a lackey her first two months on the job.  She was touted as a “moderate” Democrat, after all, but this is about the first example I’ve seen of that.

Obama’s entire vision for America is indeed unsustainable, let alone his budget.  He intends to spend well over $3.5 trillion, still leaving behind a $1.75 trillion deficit.  How any member of Congress can even consider going along with this is reprehensible, but then when you consider that a novice like Barack Obama was considered the gold standard for Presidential politics last year, how can we expect any more from our other representatives?  The American people have really lowered the bar and we’re going to pay for it badly.

The purpose of the legislation is to “prohibit unreasonable and excessive compensation and compensation not based on performance standards,” according to the bill’s language. That includes regular pay, bonuses — everything — paid to employees of companies in whom the government has a capital stake, including those that have received funds through the Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP, as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The measure is not limited just to those firms that received the largest sums of money, or just to the top 25 or 50 executives of those companies. It applies to all employees of all companies involved, for as long as the government is invested. And it would not only apply going forward, but also retroactively to existing contracts and pay arrangements of institutions that have already received funds.

In addition, the bill gives Geithner the authority to decide what pay is “unreasonable” or “excessive.” And it directs the Treasury Department to come up with a method to evaluate “the performance of the individual executive or employee to whom the payment relates.”

The bill passed the Financial Services Committee last week, 38 to 22, on a nearly party-line vote. (All Democrats voted for it, and all Republicans, with the exception of Reps. Ed Royce of California and Walter Jones of North Carolina, voted against it.)

The Washington Examiner

You know, if politicians had tried something like this 200 year ago we’d have probably killed them.  It’s lucky for folks like Congressman Jones and his parasitic brethren on Capitol Hill that we are now “civilized.”

I wonder if this bill would also apply to Congress, considering that their salaries are completely funded by the government.  If we had to compensate them based on their performance would they even get a paycheck this year?

The North Carolina Young Republicans would like you to know that their state convention is this Saturday, April, 4th, in Jamestown, NC (just south of Greensboro).

On the agenda:
-Workshops by the John Locke Foundation and the Civitas Institute.
-Nominations and elections for state chairman, vice chair, secretary, and treasurer.
-A chance to hear from NCGOP Chairman candidates.

It’s $15.00 to register on-line.

So if you’re young, and a Republican, check it out.

Governor Sanford has not budged on his position to reject the $700 million in stimulus money he controls.  He has been making trips around the state explaining his reasoning and the possible future harm the stimulus money could do to the state by accepting it.

Regardless, some are not going to accept his decision and continue to whine like children who’ve just had their candy taken from them.

“The governor of our state has put us in the most unnecessary crisis in the time I’ve been here,” said Democratic Minority Leader Sen. John Land, D-Clarendon, a 32-year Senate veteran. “It’s the worst thing I’ve seen, and it makes no sense.”

The State

It makes perfect sense, Mr. Land, but your pea sized brain has no concept of responsibility.  Accepting the money creates another problem, that of increased future obligations we will be unable to pay for without big tax increases, but you probably don’t care about that anyway.

It appears that “Earth Hour” has come and gone, so in case you missed it, here’s a recap: a bunch of liberal pussies turned their lights off for an hour last weekend. When they turned their lights on again, all their stuff had been stolen.

No, not really. But it would have been deliciously ironic, wouldn’t it? Instead, the lights came back on and they patted themselves on the back and got to feel really good about doing absolutely nothing. I suppose I should be thankful- unlike a lot of other liberal ideas, “Earth Hour” isn’t gonna take away my freedoms or put my grandkids in debt.

Still, in celebration of “Earth Hour”, I’ve decided to post something I wrote about two years ago. If you really believe that human activity is causing the Earth to heat up… well, I hope  this post smacks some knowledge into your head.

Continue Reading »

Two Lowcountry cities soon hope to use video-surveillance cameras to give police an edge over criminals. But with more than a million such cameras already in use in the United States, questions persist as to how effective they are in curbing crime.

Charleston police want to use federal grant money to buy as many as 15 cameras to monitor public spaces for signs of trouble. North Charleston police plan to use a mobile surveillance camera to keep watch in high-crime areas. In doing so, they join New York, Chicago and a host of other cities making use of video technology.

The Post and Courier

I have a few reservations about this.  I think the first should be obvious.  We are increasingly moving towards a society envisioned in George Orwell’s “1984″ in which a Big Brother state is becoming more commonplace, what’s worse publicly accepted, and intrusive in our lives in the name of security.  So, when I hear about proposals like this I get a bit unnerved.  If you have seen the movie “Minority Report” with Tom Cruise you will recall the few scenes where every building people would walk in they would be immediately recognized by a computerized retinal scan.  How far from reality is that really?

There is also another issue I have with this.

A recent study from New York University, however, raised questions about the effectiveness of surveillance cameras as a crime-prevention tool. Researchers examined five years of crime data from two private housing complexes in Manhattan and found little evidence that surveillance cameras deterred much crime between 2002 and 2006.

Four previous studies in the United States produced mixed results, the authors said. Three of the studies found little to suggest closed-circuit cameras helped reduce crime. But a fourth study, conducted in the high-crime town of East Orange, N.J., charted a 50 percent drop in crime between 2003 and 2006 while police used cameras with other tools, such as gunfire detection.

Overall, these cameras don’t appear to be affective and the one study with a high drop in crime could be attributed to other factors.  Enough of our tax dollars as well as money that doesn’t even exist yet has been subject to waste.

Some good news in a bad economy is always nice to hear.

Leading the way is Raleigh, N.C., which grabbed the top spot for a third straight year on the strength of strong job growth (both past and projected), low business costs and a highly educated workforce.

Employment is expected to fall during 2009 in Raleigh after jobs were added at a 4% annual clip the past five years. But the job picture is expected to brighten in 2010 and 2011, and the three-year projected annual employment gain is 1.4%. according to Moody’s Economy.com, 15th best in the country.

Helping fuel Raleigh’s strong economy is the Research Triangle Park, one of the oldest and largest science parks in North America. It is located between Raleigh and Durham and is home to 170 companies employing 42,000 people. Big employers include Biogen Idec, Cisco Systems and IBM.

“Raleigh is holding up better than any other place in North Carolina,” says Matthew Martin, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va. He cites the significant higher education presence and low manufacturing base in the area for Raleigh’s steady economy.

Keeping Raleigh company at the top are fellow Tar Heel State metros Durham (ranked third), Asheville (sixth), Wilmington (13th), Winston-Salem (18th) and Charlotte (19th).

Yahoo Real Estate

I was actually a bit surprised to see Charlotte in 19th place.  I would have thought that the city would rank higher than that, but perhaps the many bank lay offs have had a negative affect on the city’s ranking.

NEWS and OBSERVER

Taking his cue from an insurance company ad, Wake Commissioner Tony Gurley on Monday engaged in a little political theater to accentuate his opposition to the county granting $25,932 in seed money for a new African-American Cultural Festival.

I think we’re wasting taxpayer money to plan a party,” said Gurley, a Republican. “Our responsibility is to meet the needs of our community first, not a party.”

North Carolina is now in the top five of states in the union in the category of unemployment. With the city of Raleigh planning to spend millions in the city on Inside the Beltline art projects and the waste of the Wake County Public Schools. Isn’t it time to take stock of what is essential and what is a want for local government? I am putting in for a Welsh-American festival!

The Raleigh City Council will match the county’s expenditure to provide an initial $51,864 to plan a framework for the cultural festival.

News Release
FOR
Monday, March 23, 2009

Contact: Victor Kocher
Phone: 803-788-2226
E-Mail: Libertarian29223@AOL.com
Website: http://www.meetup.com/central-midlands-libertarians/

MIDLANDS LIBERTARIANS REMIND OF ANNIVERSARY OF THE STAMP ACT
CALL ON ALL CITIZENS AND GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS WORKING FOR LIMITED GOVERNMENT TO JOIN IN THE NEW AMERICAN TEA PARTY MOVEMENT

Statement by David Morris, Chairman of the Midlands Libertarian Society:

The Midlands Libertarian Society reminds all citizens of central South Carolina that yesterday was the anniversary of the Stamp Act which was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. This example of government overreaching its boundaries led Patrick Henry to call this “taxation without representation”. He then introduced the four resolutions which were adopted by the Virginia House of Burgesses that are now known as the Stamp Act Resolves. These essentially told the British Parliament that it had gone too far.

Likewise, in 1773, after the British Parliament passed the Tea Act, there was a strong and public reaction from the colonial citizens. They again made the statement that government had gone too far. They emphasized this by dumping large quantities of tea into Boston Harbor.

On the anniversary of The Stamp Act, the Midlands Libertarian Society urges all voters to remember this example of unrepresentative government and the American response to it. We also urge you to remember the Tea Act, a case of excessive taxation and regulation by an unresponsive government. This government excess also prompted a strong public reaction.

We now urge all citizens who believe in the principles of limited and representative government to join in preparations for the New American Tea Party. There will be a Tea Party Rally at the South Carolina State House on April 15th, 2009 from 12:30 – 2:30 p.m.; we hope that many will attend.

At a time when the Congress has passed a bill with a marginal tax rate of 90%, it is obvious that government has gone too far. When the Chairman of the tax writing Ways and Means committee, Mr. Rangel, says he chose that rate because he thought that state and local taxes would take away the remaining 10%, we are now subject to taxation without limitation.

At a time when the South Carolina General Assembly can operate without recording 92% of the House votes and 99% of the votes in the Senate, we have taxation without freedom of information.

Government has gone too far. We put you on notice: the citizens and taxpayers are not going to tolerate exorbitant taxation and secretive legislating. Remember the Stamp Act that lead to the Stamp Act Resolves. Remember the Tea Act that lead to the Boston Tea Party. We remember them and we will note and remember what you do from now until the next election day and beyond.

###

Thanks, Civitas:

You of sore and hurting feet, life may get more expensive thanks to Sen. Fletcher Hartsell (R- Cabarrus). He is our “Bad Bill of the Week” winner with Senate Bill 619, otherwise known as Pedorthist Licensure. Most people would not even know what a Pedorthist is much less feel there is a need to license them. Pedorthists specialize in the use of footwear and supportive devices to address conditions which affect the feet and lower limbs

Sen. Hartsell desires to make anyone who sells footwear or devices register with the state and pay a licensing fee – which they will promptly pass on to us. This law will also expand state government by giving the new board the power to “Employ and fix the compensation of personnel that the Board determines is necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this Article and incur other expenses necessary to effectuate this Article.”

As we have seen this week, licensing fees are just another way for the state to raise money. Gov. Perdue’s new budget raises fees on currently licensed occupations anywhere from $50 – $200 per license. You will be seeing those costs in higher prices on everything from getting your teeth fixed to a picture taken. New regulations and new taxes…

And to think we have gone all these years without this. How did we survive?

I don’t know about you, but I look forward to the day when I can walk the streets again knowing that a raging unlicensed pedorthist isn’t gonna chase me down and measure my feet.

The ban would cover virtually all public workplaces, including bars and restaurants.

“It’s close,” Rep. Hugh Holliman said of the count measuring support among the chamber’s 120 members. “We’ve got some people working on it.”

Holliman, the bill’s chief sponsor, said the floor vote would likely come early next week. In 2007, a similar bill failed on a 55-61 vote, which is an uncommonly close margin for all but the most controversial of legislation.

This year’s version of the bill cleared the House Judiciary I Committee Tuesday morning on a voice vote.

The News-Record

Call your State House Representative and tell them there will be a consequence for voting against private property rights.

Meanwhile, the following “Republicans” either sponsored or co-sponsored this atrocity:

Jeff Barnhart, Dist. 82
Pearl Burris-Floyd, Dist. 110
Pat B. Hurley, Dist. 70
Wil Neumann, Dist. 108

To their names I will add every other fascist posing as a conservative who votes for this rights-killing bill.

To the Rev. Les Puryear, a prayer without Christ is not a prayer.

So when Puryear, the pastor of Lewisville Baptist Church, recently offered a prayer at a meeting of the Forsyth County commissioners, he prayed in the name of Jesus Christ.

Prayer to a specific deity is at the heart of a lawsuit against Forsyth County and a controversy that has dragged on since 2006. The issue could, however, be coming toward an end. A judge could rule on the lawsuit next month.

The lawsuit is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two county residents. The county hired, at no cost, a conservative organization called the Alliance Defense Fund, to defend against the lawsuit after being contacted by the fund.

The W-S Journal

For cryin’ out loud! Honestly, if you get all heebie-jeebie when a Reverend invokes Jesus in a prayer, you’ve got some real issues you need to work out. Personally, I don’t think we ought to have any sort of prayer -Christian, Hindu, Non-Sectarian, etc.- at these meetings. Prayers are for home and church; government meetings are for taxpayers to get screwed. Actually, maybe a few prayers before the bureaucrats meet isn’t a bad idea after all…

Anyways, I happen to believe that government meetings are an inappropriate forum for religious displays. I keep my religion private.  But I also don’t freak out and start suing people when someone else prays. These two plaintiffs need to get a freaking grip.

As for the Constitutionality of this, I remind our dear readers that there is no such thing as a “separation between church and state”. The 1st Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”. Inviting a reverend to give an invocation before a meeting does not violate that.

Meanwhile, as we continue our journey through the world of the stupid…

The N.C. American Civil Liberties Union says programs that allow local sheriffs to help deport illegal immigrants need more scrutiny, and it is demanding scores of records from the 13 state departments that are checking their inmates’ immigration status.

Legal Director Katy Parker says the ACLU wants to see whether departments with immigration programs are arresting more Hispanics and setting up more driver’s license checkpoints than in the past.

“All of the sheriffs will tell you that [the program] doesn’t affect how law enforcement is operating on the streets,” Parker said Monday. “But what we’re hearing is that the tail is wagging the dog, that checkpoints start going up and immigrants are being arrested for things like driving without a license and minor traffic issues.”  

The N&O

Sometimes I feel like the entire world, except me, is taking stupid pills.

Let me explain this slowly and in small words for the ACLUeless: If you are arrested, police can ask if you are here illegally. If you are here illegally, you have broken immigration law and the law you were originally arrested for. The 287(g) program is not an excuse for Deputy Do-Right to break down some random dude’s door and check his citizenship status. It IS a way to determine if people who have already been arrested for other crime are here illegally.

To be fair, however, I agree with the ACLU in one area- I don’t like license or DWI checkpoints. Forget the racial or immigration component of this- checkpoints are just wrong. Period.

Damn. Can’t accuse this judge of mincing words, can we?

Halifax County’s public schools do such a bad job of educating students that they are committing “academic genocide,” a state judge said in ordering a hearing next month on who should run the schools.

Superior Court Judge Howard Manning ordered that a hearing be held April 29 on the schools in the northeastern North Carolina county, making it clear that he thinks the state should take over their management.

“This is academic genocide, and it must be stopped,” Manning wrote in a letter Monday to the chairman of the State Board of Education and the superintendent of the state Department of Public Instruction.

The N&O

Oh, I’m sure much fault can be found with the local bureaucrats indoctrinating Halifax kids instead of teaching them how to learn. And certainly there are no excuses for the parents who’ve allowed this to continue.

But the Halifax School District is nothing more that in incompetent government trashpile. The solution isn’t to pass on responsibility to another incompetent government trashpile- in this case the state government.

The solution is to minimize government involvement as much as possible and to start letting schools compete against each other. Then let the parents decide where their kids go.

Senator Robert Ford (D-Charleston) is getting a taste of what it’s like to buck his party and challenge status quo leftists with logic, facts, and reality.  Now, Republicans and us libertarian minded folks go through this daily so we’re well equipped for these kinds of battles, but actually Ford seems to be holding his own quite well.

Black legislative, community and education leaders joined state Superintendent Jim Rex on Thursday in denouncing a bill filed by Sen. Robert Ford that would offer tuition tax credits to students who attend private schools.

The opposition comes two days after Ford, a Charleston Democrat, advocated using public money to allow students to transfer out of failing schools. It’s the latest battle in the state’s ongoing debate about private school choice. While Ford’s bill would give money to public school students who transfer to higher-performing public schools, the most controversial part of the legislation is its redirection of public money to private schools.

“As an African-American and an educator, I’m shocked and appalled that this is the position that someone who is supportive of our community would propose,” said former state Teacher of the Year Traci Cooper. “It’s bad legislation.”

The Post and Courier

A former Teacher of the Year finds it appaling that someone would want to get kids out of dangerous, failing schools.  I wonder if the committee that awarded Ms Cooper with this honor were the same people who gave Yassir Arafat the peace prize.

Here comes the good part.

After hearing the names of those who spoke out, Ford said that none of them have made “one contribution to black people or to education.” None would send their children to a failing, predominantly black school, and they should be more worried about the hundreds of thousands of black families in that situation rather than criticizing him, he said.

Ouch!

I bet that stung and it should have because Ford is right.  All of these Chicken Littles, where do their kids go to school?  What have they done for these communities?  Not a damn thing.

I wonder how long these piss poor schools are to be given chance after chance after chance to clean themselves up before these kids are finally allowed their right to a real education instead of being turned out as a dumbed down deficient product of the government education system.  Then again, I also sometimes wonder if that is really the actual intention of those who would seek no change.

There is a movement afoot by some local activists who are trying to get an amendment on the ballot to change South Carolina’s constitution to provide for a “high quality” education.  Currently the constitution reads that the state must provide for one that is minimally adequate.  Should they get the necessary signatures I would care to guess that it will pass with flying colors.  It’s one of those warm, feel good issues that you hear about.  Who wouldn’t want children to get a high quality education after all?  That’s what people will be thinking when they go to the polls to vote and that’s all they will be thinking on the issue.  Since most voters don’t have enough brain cells to spark the necessary intelligence to engage in actual critical thinking, these people will not look at the whole picture and realize what it is they will actually be getting.

What and/or who will define a “high quality” education?  That is the first question anyone should be asking before voting for something like this.  How will these standards be set?  How will they be monitored?  What is the corrective action to take when a school district is not performing this new standard?

Now ask yourself why the “Corridor of Shame”  exists the way it does.  This is a section of the state in which most people are poor and barely educated.  Incompetence breeds incompetence.  I have stated over and over that the number one problem with the schools all across this country are the parents.  I will bet my entire life savings that the Corridor of Shame is full of parents who barely involve themselves in their childrens’ educations, probably don’t know what they’re doing half the time and likely don’t give a damn anyway.  So when the Constitution is changed to reflect this new language what will be the solution to these failing schools?  This is an easy question.  They’re going to demand more funding.

A lack of funding is always the reason by those supporting the status quo of public education as to why schools fail.  Never mind that the U.S.A spends more on public education than any other nation in the world already, with subpar results to show for it.  Never mind that here in South Carolina some of the worst performing schools also have the most money spent on them per student.  They will ignore all of the other politically incorrect factors involved and just scream for more money.

When voters then flock to the polls on Election Day and pass this amendment, which they will, they will essentially be voting to give their school district a blank check for as much money it wants when it wants.  Lawsuits will be filed, the first of which will probably be in the I-95 corridor, resulting in school boards being forced by the courts to hike up your taxes to pay for this “high quality” education.  The first time it happens, I’ll refer you all back to this post.

With South Carolina holding the second highest unemployment rate in the nation leaving thousands of people out of work, it is foolish not to accept stimulus funds to maintain and create jobs, state Sen. Vincent Sheheen, (D-SC) said Thursday.

“It’s one thing to debate whether the funds should be passed in the first place, but now that we and our children are responsible for paying them back, South Carolina deserves its fair share,” he said.

Aiken Standard

If we accept the funds, as Senator Sheheen suggests, what happens to these newly created jobs, propped up by a false economy, when the stimulus money runs out?  In order to accept the stimulus money South Carolina has to change its laws to raise the minimum spending on unemployment and Medicaid.  When the stimulus money runs out and then taxes have to be raised to maintain the funding and then unemployment rises again as a result, then what is Mr. Sheheen’s solution?

The fact of the matter is Governor Sanford is looking at the long term picture.  Sheheen is taking a populist view of only the short term.

This coming from Rex?  I don’t know.  There’s a got to be a catch here somewhere.

Bills now filed in the South Carolina Legislature could provide parents more choices regarding how their children are educated, officials said.

According to the South Carolina Education Department, twin bills filed Tuesday in the South Carolina House of Representatives and Senate would require school districts to create school choice committees and create new instructional choices at the elementary-, middle- and high-school levels within two years.

Already across the state school, districts are moving toward providing choices in the courses of study they offer, according to education department officials.

Some of the choice programs now offered in the state include single-gender initiatives, middle college/early college, Montessori Education, evening high school, language immersion, academic academies, arts integration and international baccalaureate programs.

The Independent Mail

Well, I must say, I’m impressed.  This is an excellent start but I still want to see parents having the option of taking their children out of failing and dangerous school districts and enrolling them in an entirely different district.  In other words, just get rid of the districts altogether and let the kids go where ever they want.  Nevertheless, this is a step in the right direction.  There has to be some kind of variety in education in this state because right now our state school systems suck pretty bad.

I wonder if this new initiative has anything to do with him considering a gubernatorial run next year.

Chief Justice Jean Hoefer Toal on March 23 issued a one-paragraph memo to county and city administrators, attorneys and council chairs that says she received information that some counties and municipalities “are attempting to create by local ordinance another tier of courts, typically designated as ‘administrative hearing courts’” to deal with smoking bans and other local ordinance violations.

The city last year passed 15 new ordinances and amendments, one of which sets up an administrative hearing system, and others that create administrative infractions, including the controversial local bike-helmet ordinance.

Toal calls the administrative hearing system “repugnant” to the state’s uniform judicial system, and says setting up administrative hearing courts violates articles V and VIII of the state constitution.

The Sun News

I was questioning the constitutionality of Myrtle Beach’s helmet law in the first place, but this will do for now.  As long as the city council continues to be made to look like a bunch of fools over this I am quite satisfied.  Myrtle Beach is trashy anyway.  The bikers would probably have a better time in Wilmington.

The House estimate puts the expected $1.7 trillion fiscal year 2009 deficit at 12.1% of GDP.

House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt (D., S.C.) said cutting the deficit to 3.5% in 2014 will put the spending deficit on par with annual economic growth, which will take it out of the danger zone. “We’re still unsatisfied with that, and in the long run we’d like to see it come down further,” he said.

The Wall Street Journal

This is not acceptable.  The American people need to stand up and demand a balanced budget and an end to the debt spending.  The Congress can balance the budget today if they wanted to, but they are spineless wusses who won’t make the tough decisions.

People are growing leery of our debt and losing confidence in the American dollar.