Politics

Politics

There are 1,050 posts filed in Politics (this is page 64 of 105).

Occupy (insert place name here)

I don’t know what to make of the Occupy Wall Street protests and the other protests that have spawned from these. I mean, I too am shocked at the wealth disparity between the very rich and the rest of us and am sick like everybody else of corporations shirking their tax obligations. Still, I don’t see how staying put in some place can be considered a “movement.”

This quote crystallized it for me. A protester at Occupy Chapel Hill was asked how long she intended to stay camped out:

“Till things are better,” Stephanie Daugherty said when asked how long she plans to sleep outside the Franklin Street post office. The 30-year-old unemployed IT worker was among the first 31 people to pitch tents and lay mats Saturday night after an Occupy Chapel Hill rally.

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Datacenters in North Carolina


Earlier this month much hoopla was made by the Governor’s office when Gov. Bev Perdue visited Facebook’s datacenter in Forest City in Rutherford County. Facebook announced it was adding another building to the site, doubling its capacity.

In a press release, Perdue touted the jobs it would bring:

“Creating jobs is my top priority. Facebook’s additional expansion into North Carolina means more high-tech jobs and investment in Rutherford County,” said Gov. Perdue. “Facebook continues to be a ‘friend’ to North Carolina.”

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Iran assassaination plot

Over the past few days, the US claims it uncovered a clumsy plot by Iran’s Quds Force to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States. The Iranians supposedly approached an informant posing as a Mexican drug cartel member in an effort to bomb a DC-area restaurant that the diplomat frequents.

I’m having some trouble buying into this plot. Yes, Iran engages in terrorism and assassination but this plot that officials have called “amateur hour” isn’t keeping with Iran’s history. This is the same Iran who allegedly carried out truck bombings in the past which obliterated the bombing vehicles to the extent that only scraps of metal were recovered (with no serial numbers)? How could this Iran suddenly have gotten so sloppy? Iran has shown that it is perfectly capable of carrying out its own bombings. Why would it need to enlist a supposed member of a drug cartel?

I’m a little wary of these charges until I learn more.

Political, not principled, stand on gay marriage

The Charlotte Observer rightfully takes Gov. Perdue to task for her mealy-mouthed stand on the marriage amendment.

Yes, jobs are important but so is taking a principled stand against constitutional bigotry.

In a press release late last Friday afternoon, Perdue said she’d vote against the amendment. No, not because she supports gay marriage but because “I cannot in good conscience look an unemployed man or woman in the eye and tell them that this amendment is more important than finding them a job.”

We agree that this ill-advised constitutional amendment could hurt the state economically, deterring good businesses and workers from locating in North Carolina. Some N.C. business leaders have begun belatedly speaking out on that issue.

But the governor missed a chance to stand up against the amendment for a bigger reason: The amendment is discriminatory. Her johnny-come-lately assertion came across as spineless and political.

via Political, not principled, stand on gay marriage | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper.

Good election day

It’s been a long but good election day! All of the candidates I supported won election, with Nancy McFarlane becoming Raleigh’s next mayor, Russ Stephenson reelected as at-large councilor, Eugene Weeks being elected outright to the District C seat, Randy Stagner winning a seat as the District A councilor, and Kevin Sutton reelected to the school board. Also, both the housing and transportation bonds passed by a good margin. To top it off, school board chairman Ron Margiotta was sent packing when Susan Evans defeated him tonight. There’s still a runoff pending for the District 3 school board seat held by Kevin Hill, but that’s within reach.

A fantastic day, politics-wise!

Hagan is not paying attention

Tens of thousands are protesting how big corporations own our government and Senator Kay Hagan wants to sell us out even more. Has she not been paying attention to Occupy Wall Street?

I can’t think of a bigger blunder than introducing this bill now. This is not going to go over well with the “99%.”

North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan Thursday introduced a bipartisan bill to entice U.S. corporations to bring home offshore profits at a sharply discounted tax rate – a move she said could help jump-start a stagnant economy.

At a news conference with Republican Sen. John McCain, Hagan said that offering a tax holiday – a temporary lowering of corporate taxes for offshore profits from 35 percent to 8.75 percent or lower – would encourage companies to hire more American workers.

“More than $1 trillion of American company earnings are stranded outside of America where it is not doing one bit of good for the American economy,” said Hagan, a Democrat from Greensboro. “Companies with a North Carolina presence have roughly $200 billion sitting overseas. I want that money back in America and I want it back in North Carolina.”

via Hagan backs corporate tax holiday – National – NewsObserver.com.

Press released

In my inbox today was a request from the City of Raleigh’s public affairs department for my resume and bio. The city is apparently working up a press release about my becoming chair of the city’s Parks board and my fellow boardmember Kimberly Siran becoming vice-chair.

Of course, it would have to take a really, really slow news day for this to get into print anywhere. I’m talking like double-dog slow. Even so, it’s pretty novel for me to be the subject of a press release.

At least one news source will be covering it: my blog! Once it’s released I’ll post a copy!

St. Aug candidate forum

I attended a candidate forum at St. Aug Monday where two mayoral candidates and all the District C candidates were addressing the mostly-student audience. The audience was a bit reserved and the candidates mostly spoke of vague goals. In general, the forum seemed kind of dull.

Then Raquel Williams, one of four candidates for the District C seat, stood up and told her remarkable story. Ms. Williams is a smart, hard-working woman who has far more education than I’ll ever have and she earned it as a single parent of four children. Her personal narrative described her path through college, which was sidetracked four times by pregnancies.
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