Politics

Politics

There are 1,058 posts filed in Politics (this is page 41 of 106).

Helen Thomas, bulldog reporter, passes away

Helen Thomas, legendary White House reporter, died today.

Helen Thomas, whose keen curiosity, unquenchable drive and celebrated constancy made her a trailblazing White House correspondent in a press corps dominated by men and later the dean of the White House briefing room, died Saturday at home in Washington. She was 92.

Ms. Thomas covered every president from John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama for United Press International and, later, Hearst Newspapers. To her colleagues, she was the unofficial but undisputed head of the press corps — her status ratified by her signature line at the end of every White House news conference, “Thank you, Mr. President.”

I loved Helen Thomas. She was a reporter who wasn’t afraid to ask the tough questions – and to keep on asking them if she didn’t get a straight answer.
Continue reading →

Sen. Hunt’s school board bill

Sen. Neal Hunt sponsored a bill stripping the Wake County Board of Education’s responsibility for school construction and giving it to the Wake County Commissioners.

In the Senate debate on the bill, Sen. Hunt claimed it was a “common sense bill” that would save taxpayers money. He cited an offer to purchase a school site that was twice the property’s appraised value.

The only problem is that the purchase was vetted first by a committee consisting of citizens jointly appointed by the school board and the Wake Commissioners. It wasn’t just the school board’s responsibility.

And do you think the inflated price had anything to do with the fact that the committee co-chair Billie Redmond’s Trademark Properties real estate firm stood to make $250,000 on the sale? Certainly not.

Ultimately, both boards rejected the offer and, in any case, the Wake Commissioners always have the last say in land purchases. So why the need for a separate bill? It’s just another example of the state butting into the business of local governments. These supposedly small-government Republicans are anything but.

Game Change

Game Change

Game Change

Over the weekend I watched the HBO movie Game Change, based on events in the MaCain-Palin presidential campaign of 2008. I expected to be bored with it, already knowing the outcome and that we’re already one election removed from it. Instead, I was absolutely captivated. The acting was superb, with Julianne Moore’s depiction of Palin especially noteworthy. Moore brought Palin to life, depicting a very complex character with skill and pity. Woody Harrelson’s performance was also strong, as was the supporting cast. Ed Harris gave a very convincing performance as McCain as well, though the story centered around Palin’s evolution as a VP candidate.

If you want a fascinating view into the world of presidential campaigning, rent Game Change. Just don’t turn up the sound too loudly as the dialogue is about 30% profanity (acceptable in the context, however).

Morsi and Egyptian revolutions

Last week’s military ouster of Egypt’s first freely-elected president, Mohamed Morsi, had me troubled about what to think. Is this a coup and, if so, how do we address it? One can’t say one supports democracy and then support the overthrow of a duly-elected candidate, right?

Then I decided there might be more than meets the eye here. Morsi may have won a relatively fair and clean election but once he did, did he uphold democratic principles? Once president, he essentially put himself above the law by flatly refusing to be bound by judicial oversight. Was that the will of the people? It’s hard to argue that it was.

This is the inevitable tension that arises in a democracy, where the majority rules but must still respect the rights of the minority. I don’t believe you can have democracy without this balance.

So, do I think the Egyptian military took power in a coup? I’m not convinced. Instead, I think what Egypt has is more of a democracy “do-over.” The country’s been ruled autocratically for decades: it doesn’t have much experience with true democracy. Morsi’s ouster may actually be Revolution Part II in a country still trying to sort itself out.

Regardless of the pros and cons of the lastest activity, Egypt’s transition to democracy remains incomplete.

Weaver’s waste

In a recent city council session, Mayor McFarlane asked then-city manager Russell Allen for an estimate of how much the ongoing Moral Monday protests were costing the city. Allen replied there’s an interagency agreement where the Raleigh Police Department cooperates with the General Assembly Police and vice-versa. “We could ask,” he replied when the mayor asked if the GA Police could reimburse the city.

This interagency arrangement seems a bit one-sided if you ask me. There’s what, probably a dozen or GA officers at most, compared to over 700 Raleigh police officers? What does Raleigh get in return from this arrangement? A dozen officers wouldn’t even cover a shift in one Raleigh police district.

General Assembly Police Chief Jeff Weaver could hand out citations to these protesters rather than put them through the booking process but he chooses to so he could “disperse the protesters.” That sure is easy for him to say, with RPD muscle doing all the work, the City of Raleigh paying overtime for their cops, Wake County doing the booking, and Colin Willoughby having to schedule court time. It seems to me that Jeff Weaver is happily spending other peoples’ money when he could be taking a more sensible approach by handing out tickets.
Continue reading →

Are You Smart Enough to Be a Citizen? Take Our Quiz – Eric Liu – The Atlantic

The Atlantic’s Eric Liu totally stole my idea.

By the way, I scored a 73. Those dadgum Supreme Court justices need to get out more.

To become a citizen of the United States, naturalizing immigrants must take a test. Many native-born Americans would fail this test. Indeed, most of us have never really thought about what it means to be a citizen. One radical idea from the immigration debate is the repeal of birthright citizenship—guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment—to prevent so-called anchor babies. Odious and constitutionally dubious as this proposal may be, it does prompt a thought experiment: What if citizenship were not, in fact, guaranteed by birth? What if everyone had to earn it upon turning 18, and renew it every 10 years, by taking an exam? What might that exam look like?

via Are You Smart Enough to Be a Citizen? Take Our Quiz – Eric Liu – The Atlantic.

Moral Mondays and angry voters

I’ve been watching the foolishness taking place in the General Assembly building. No, not the Moral Monday protests, I’m talking about the damage Republican legislators are doing to the state. Yet, for every outrageous far-right bill telling folks how to live and every cut to vital safety-net programs in a down economy, there are legions of Democrats who become rightfully outraged and motivated.
Continue reading →

Cheney Says Leaks Were Traitorous – NYTimes.com

The New York Times decided to report on this appearance by Dick Cheney on Fox News Sunday:

Former Vice President Dick Cheney defended on Sunday the newly disclosed electronic surveillance programs operated by the government and called the former National Security Agency contract worker who disclosed them a criminal and a traitor.

“I think it’s one of the worst occasions in my memory of somebody with access to classified information doing enormous damage to the national security interests of the United States,” said Mr. Cheney, a forceful advocate for the classified programs when he was in office.

There’s no polite way to put this but you’ve got to be fucking shitting me.

Hey, Dick, does the name Valerie Plame mean anything to you? You remember her, the career CIA agent you outed when she and her husband proved your case for war with Iraq was built on a pack of lies? You destroyed her career not for any greater good, but simply as revenge for proving to the world that you’re a bully as well as a pathological liar?

Yeah, Dick Cheney was a “forceful advocate for classified programs” except for those times he betrayed them himself. Dick Cheney recklessly ended the career of a CIA agent. The only career that Edward Snowden ended is his own.

Dick Cheney makes my blood boil. He’s got zero credibility. Zero. He doesn’t belong on TV, he belongs in prison. And shame on Times reporter John Broder for writing this tripe.

via Cheney Defends Surveillance and Says Leaks Were Traitorous – NYTimes.com.

Avila and the broadband divide

It’s refreshing to see Rep. Marilyn Avila express some concern about the lack of broadband.

Avila was praised by N&O executive editor John Drescher in her defense of requiring local governments buy newspaper space for their legal notices:

“Are our citizens going to have to bookmark every website for every department in every division and check it every day to figure out what we’re up to down here?” she asked, adding that many residents don’t have Internet access.

Continue reading →

World’s largest midget?

Went out to dinner with some family friends when my friend leans over the table.

“I see you all the time on public access,” he tells me.

“Really?” I reply. This was news to me.

It brought up all kinds of questions, namely

  • there are people who actually watch public access
  • I’m friends with one of them, and
  • I have no clue what could be showing that has me in it.

I don’t have cable so the only time I can see what’s on Raleigh Television Network is the streaming the city does of its government channel. I might show up at an occasional city council meeting but more often than not there’s other stuff showing.

Being on public access all the time is kind of like being the world’s largest midget.