Thursday, April 27, 2006

UNC and NCState ROTC Buildings Vandalized

News & Observer:

Vandals staged attacks early Wednesday on the buildings used by the Reserve Officers' Training Corps at N.C. State University and UNC-Chapel Hill, echoing similar assaults on three Triangle recruiting stations last month.

You don't like the war, fine. You don't want to serve in the military, fine don't sign up. But that and the first amendment does not give you the option to damage public and or private property.


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posted by David at 11:31 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Why Should Oil Companies Profit From Your Need

Yesterday evening during my drive home from work I was listening to Fox News on my XM radio when I heard a sound bite from a woman talking about the price of gas. What she said struck me the wrong way. I didn't write down her quote but she basically said this:

I have to use gas to get where I'm going, why should oil companies profit from that?

That is a very ignorant statement. Is she saying that she has a basic right to gas? Does she have a basic right to travel?

Anyone that is an American and supports the ideas that America was founded on supports free enterprise, capitalism and making money (and yes I know there are more ideas). We are a mixed republic with a capitalist economy. Businesses are in business to make a profit from the things you want as well as the things you need or think you need. Yes oil is needed. The world economy and our life as we know it depends upon oil but oil in the US is found, drilled, transported and refined by private companies. We are not a socialist state where the government runs and operates oil for the good and well being of everyone. Why would you want the government to run businesses? It didn't work for the USSR; it wasn't working for China, which is why that communist state now has a limited capitalist economy. Capitalism works, has worked and will continue to work. The cost of gas in the US is market driven, with many factors driving the cost per gallon and that is the way it should be.

So why should oil companies profit from your need to travel, because that is the American way.


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posted by David at 4:19 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (0) ::

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Boortz on Price Gouging

I've not had but a few minutes a day for internet time the last few days (busy at home and busy at work), but I did get time to see this at Nealz Nuze.

Here we go. As expected, President Bush has decided to order an investigation into high gasoline prices. He is scheduled to announce the probe today in Washington. This is in response to an ignorant public that demand politicians "do something" about high gas prices. This is so pathetic on so many levels...so we'll cover just a few.

Just like with the other calls for investigations into price gouging...this will go nowhere. A lot of money will be spent investigation oil companies...and just as a bunch of times before, no evidence of any such price gouging will be proven to have taken place. Besides, what is price gouging anyway? Just a buzzword used by the anti-capitalist, government-educated among us.

Most people think that one oil company owns the oil rig that gets the crude out of the ground, the tanker that delivers it and the refinery that makes the gasoline. This is also false. In many cases, every step in that chain is owned by a different party. Then, when it comes to the actual gasoline, the gas station is most likely an independent dealer...who may have a franchise from one of the big oil companies. We are to believe that all of these separate companies and individuals got together to fix gas prices artificially high?

There's also the pesky law of supply and demand. In case you haven't checked lately, the supply of crude oil and refined gasoline is limited, but the demand is increasing worldwide. This leads to temporary shortages and higher prices. It's not Bush's fault, and it's not the fault of the oil companies. If you want someone to blame, try the environmental lobby that fights any and all exploration for new sources of crude oil.

So no amount of investigations are going to do anything about gas prices. it sounds good, but you're still looking at between $3 and $4 a gallon this summer. If that's too high for you, time to warm up your tricycle ... or try walking. Maybe you'll work off some pounds.

I agree with Boortz 100% on this as I'm sure anyone that reads 1492 knows. The subject of investigating gouging comes up everytime gas gets high and people start whining and I don't remember a single time when evidence of price gouging was found. All this is politicians (Bush including) pandering to the public. It's all a waste of time. Here is a list of reasons why gas is high:
*China
*India
*Iran Nuclear Threat
*Environmentalist
*Refineries Taking Down Time for Maintenance (they put this off after Katrina to keep supply up, downtime is always needed for a 24/7 plant)
*Federal Taxes
*State Taxes
*Special Blends for Certain States
That isn't every reason but it is a good picture of what is going on.

BTW NC state gas tax is 29.9 cent per gallon. This is suppose to go to the Highway Trust Fund and it does. But then every year a set amount is pulled out of the HTF to go to the general fund, this is to cover the removal of taxes from the GF to the HTF when it was created. Then extra $$$ is removed from the HTF and put in the GF and is never replaced nor used for roads.


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posted by David at 5:30 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (2) ::

Friday, April 21, 2006

Border Fence

The Minuteman Project

Chris Simcox, President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, today announced plans by the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (“MCDC”) to work with local Arizona land owners to build border security fencing on private land along the border with Mexico.

At present, six private land owners have partnered with the Minutemen for the commencement of construction of border fencing on their land. Surveillance cameras on the fencing will be monitored via computer by registered Minutemen across the country. Two construction companies to date have offered to inaugurate groundbreaking, coordinate volunteer construction crews and donate the use of the necessary heavy construction equipment.

Simcox says those involved in the planning hope to keep costs near $150 per foot.

The rest of the release can be found in the extended section.

The groundbreaking will begin in Arizona on Memorial Day weekend, unless in the interim President Bush deploys troops to immediately secure the out-of-control southern border.

The fencing will be built with privately donated funds, engineering and labor and will be used as an example to educate the public about the feasibility and efficacy of fencing to secure America’s borders from illegal incursion by aliens and international criminal cartels. A non-profit organization dedicated specifically to this purpose will facilitate and administer donations for construction of the fence. Monetary and in-kind contributions for this effort will go directly into building materials for this private, volunteer fencing project.

Simcox issued the following statement on the MCDC border fence project:

“President Bush once said he would not wait on events to act to protect our country. He has been president for over five years, and still he has not acted to secure our territorial frontier, even as his administration admits the United States government does not have operational control of our borders.

“On Memorial Day weekend, the American people will exercise their God-given rights to protect their lives and property by initiating construction of border fencing along the border on private land unless President Bush immediately deploys troops along the breadth of the Southwestern border line with Mexico, thereby retaking the region from the international criminal cartels who presently are in operational control of the border. The existing border crisis is a dereliction of duty by those entrusted with American security and sovereignty, leaving America vulnerable to terrorist infiltration and an unprecedented crime wave caused by drug smugglers, rapists, thieves, human traffickers and murderers who currently cross our border at will.

“President Bush and Congress have taxed the wages of the American people to pay for the protection of our country, and expended those dollars to subsidize millions of low-wage illegal workers with housing, education, medical care, and welfare benefits. Yet even the most basic level of national territorial integrity requires that our elected representatives secure the border. Should they continue to refuse to do their Constitutional duty, the Minutemen will again step into the breach and commence building the required border barriers on private land and with private donations.

“Should President Bush and Congress fail to fulfill their oaths of office, and meet their Constitutional obligation to protect these United States from invasion, we, the sovereign people of the United States, having suffered a long train of abuses at the hand of a willfully insolent government, do hereby declare that these States ought, should and will be protected by American Minutemen.”

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posted by David at 1:03 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Relay for Life

This Friday and Saturday is Relay for Life at SCC. Our Church has a large tent area set up every year. Saturday my wife is in charge of the tent during the kids day events. So as I'll be supporting this wonderful event blogging will be light to zero this weekend.

Support Relay for Life.


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posted by David at 12:59 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (2) ::

Dow Hits 6 Yr High

FoxNews

Stocks were mixed Thursday after earnings reports from General Motors Corp. (GM) and Merck Co. Inc. (MRK) pushed the Dow Jones industrial average up to a six-year high while the Nasdaq composite sagged along with eBay Inc. (EBAY).

Dow component General Motors' stock gained 10 percent after the automaker record revenues along with reported its sixth straight quarterly loss. Drugmaker Merck & Co., also a Dow component, reported an 11 percent jump in first-quarter profit.

The Dow rose 64.12, or 0.57 percent, to 11,342.89. That was the blue chips's best close since it settled at 11,351.30 on Jan. 20, 2000.

Broader stock indicators were barely mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.53, or 0.12 percent, to 1,311.46, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 8.33, or 0.35 percent, to 2,362.55.

Stocks were mixed Thursday after earnings reports from General Motors Corp. (GM) and Merck Co. Inc. (MRK) pushed the Dow Jones industrial average up to a six-year high while the Nasdaq composite sagged along with eBay Inc. (EBAY).

Dow component General Motors' stock gained 10 percent after the automaker record revenues along with reported its sixth straight quarterly loss. Drugmaker Merck & Co., also a Dow component, reported an 11 percent jump in first-quarter profit.

The Dow rose 64.12, or 0.57 percent, to 11,342.89. That was the blue chips's best close since it settled at 11,351.30 on Jan. 20, 2000.

Broader stock indicators were barely mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.53, or 0.12 percent, to 1,311.46, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 8.33, or 0.35 percent, to 2,362.55.

"The message this week is pretty simple: People are looking for an excuse to buy stocks rather than sell stocks," said Ryan Larson, equity trader at Voyageur Asset Management, a subsidiary of RBC Dain Rauscher. "A year ago, $70 oil would have been the death of us; today, the market is able to digest it and look for positives."

Don't expect Hillary Clinton to blame the economy on Bush, he can't do it all.


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posted by David at 12:28 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Lawyer Says Accursed Has Alibi

CNN

North Carolina (CNN) -- Defense attorneys for two Duke University lacrosse players charged with raping a woman hired to dance at a team party say they have proof of their innocence.

Reade Seligmann, 20, and Collin Finnerty, 19, have been charged with first-degree sexual offense, first-degree forcible rape and first-degree kidnapping stemming from the alleged March 14 incident.

But their attorneys say they have evidence showing their clients had left the party by the time the attack is alleged to have happened.

The rest of the article can be read in the extended section.

The accuser, a 27-year-old student at nearby North Carolina Central University, told police she and another woman arrived at 610 North Buchanan Blvd. to dance at the party shortly before midnight on March 13.

"After a few minutes, the males watching them started to get excited and aggressive. The victim and her fellow dancer decided to leave because they were concerned for their safety," said a document attached to an application for a search warrant in the case.

The report said the women were outside when "one of the suspects" came out and apologized and asked them to go back inside the house to continue to dance.

A neighbor who reportedly witnessed what was going on next door said the woman returned inside around 12:30 a.m., according to a written statement to police and provided to CNN by a source with knowledge of the case.

The district attorney has said that the woman was raped afterward.

Police were called to the parking lot of a Kroger store not far from the party at 1:22 a.m., search warrant documents said, and found a woman in a car who told them she had been raped.

The woman said she was "sexually assaulted for an approximate 30-minute time period by the three males," according to a police report cited in the search warrant documents.

Defense attorneys said they have records showing that Seligmann called the On Time Taxi company at 12:14 a.m. from his cell phone that night. (A cabbie may be key to the defense)

On Time Taxi owner Moez Mostafa showed CNN his computer phone log, showing a call coming in at that time.

Mostafa said he picked up Seligmann and a friend at 610 North Buchanan Blvd. at 12:19 a.m. He said he could tell that Seligmann had been drinking, but that he didn't appear drunk.

"They seemed calm, like normal," Mostafa told CNN. "I didn't recognize anything different."

The cab driver said he then drove Seligmann to a Wachovia Bank to get money, and defense attorneys say an ATM receipt shows he withdrew cash at 12:24 a.m.

Mostafa said he next drove the lacrosse player to a restaurant, then back to his dorm.

Defense sources said a card reader at the door of the dorm shows Seligmann's student ID card was swiped to get inside at 12:41 a.m.

The defense says a timeline and witnesses will show Finnerty also was at a restaurant when the alleged attack took place.
Taxi returns to the alleged crime scene

Less than an hour after he says he picked up Seligmann and a friend, Mostafa says he got another call -- at around 1:07 a.m. March 14 -- to pick up people at the same North Buchanan address.

He said he saw about 20 people on the lawn of the home, "yelling, talking back" to each other, including one African-American woman who he said didn't appear to be injured.

Four men got into the taxi, Mostafa said, and they appeared to be drunk.

One of them said, "She's just a stripper," Mostafa quoted.

District Attorney Michael Nifong would not comment on the defense attorneys' claims. He has said he has solid evidence in the case, including a medical examination conducted by a nurse saying the young woman was a victim of sexual assault.

But DNA samples from the players failed to match material collected by investigators, defense lawyers for some players announced last week.

Nifong said on Tuesday that authorities are trying to determine the identity of a third suspect in the alleged rape.

The allegations have resulted in the cancellation of the lacrosse season, the resignation of the team's coach and public scrutiny of what Duke President Richard Brodhead called the "history of boorish behavior and underage drinking" among players.

In addition, the case has inflamed racial and economic divisions in Durham, North Carolina, which is home to both the accuser's historically black public university and the elite Duke.

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posted by David at 12:25 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (2) ::

US To Crackdown On Companies Employing Aliens

The Bush administration unveiled Thursday what it said is a new strategy aimed at companies employing illegal immigrants, illustrating it with a crackdown on the German-based firm IFCO Systems.

Law enforcement officials will "use all the tools we have, whether it be criminal enforcement or immigration laws to break the back" of businesses that exploit undocumented immigrants, said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff at a news conference.

"We're looking at them in the same way we look at criminal organizations," he said.

Good. It's about time something like this was started. But it won't be enough with the influx of illegal aliens making it into the US daily. We need to be tougher on the border.


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posted by David at 12:17 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (0) ::

Bush Caused Katrina, States Hillary

NewsMax

2008 presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is celebrating Earth Day by unveiling her new energy plan and by blaming President Bush's environmental policies for Hurricane Katrina.

In a fundraising email sent out to donors on Thursday, Mrs. Clinton alleges:

"In the last five years, the Bush administration has left no major environmental law untouched in their push to deregulate, undermining or rolling back decades of regulations put in place to protect our heath.

"The results are all around us," she says, citing "more greenhouse gases, global warming, rising seas, more violent storms like Katrina."

Gotta love the liberals for speaking their minds, even if it is crazy talk.


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posted by David at 12:13 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

ACLU Warns Against Prayer

WRAL

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina has sent a letter to the city of Raleigh to watch its words.

The group sent Assistant Deputy Clerk Ralph Puccini a letter complaining about the use of religious language during a recent City Council meeting.

The ACLU objected to a minister's opening prayer, in which he said "in Christ's name we pray."

"We ask that you instruct the invited clergy through a letter to refrain from using sectarian invocations," the letter said.

The group argues that government shouldn't mix with religion and cites legal cases. It also sent similar letters to elected officials in Clayton and Pittsboro.

A City Council committee will study the issue. The letter asks that the city inform the group of its proposed course of action by April 24.


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posted by David at 12:11 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (2) ::

Former US Attorney Charged With Tax Evasion

News & Observer

Former U.S. Attorney Sam Currin walked into the courthouse Tuesday where he prosecuted criminals in the 1980s, this time facing charges of his own.

Federal prosecutors said Currin, a familiar face in the state's political and legal circles, was involved in a scheme to help people set up offshore bank accounts, offshore credit cards and foreign trusts, all to help them evade federal income tax.

They also accused Currin, 57, of Raleigh, of lying to and withholding evidence from a federal grand jury in Charlotte that is investigating a complex securities fraud scheme.

Currin faces seven felony charges, including tax conspiracy, witness tampering and perjury.

Also involved is Wilmington tax attorney Ricky Graves.



Sam Currin


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posted by David at 12:06 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (2) ::

She's Back For One 'Moore' Lawsuit

WWAY TV 3

Former Wilmington City Council member Katherine Moore has filed another lawsuit against the City she used to represent.

The lawsuit deals with a 2002 DUI arrest, in which the charges were later dismissed.

Katherine Moore filed the lawsuit against the City on last Monday, April 10. She is seeking more than $1 million in damages.

On the night of November 6, 2002 two Wilmington Police officers pulled Mrs. Moore over after she stopped in a local restaurant following a City Council meeting.

An officer administered two breathlyzer tests. Neither one showed the presence of alcohol. Another officer took her to the magistrate, where Mrs. Moore was charged with driving while impaired.

About two weeks later District Attorney John Carriker dismissed the case for insufficient evidence.

The police chief at the time, John Cease, disciplined the two officers involved in the arrest.

Wilmington City Attorney Tom Pollard said he doesn't think the claim is valid and he will be defending the City vigorously.

This woman will never stop.


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posted by David at 12:04 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Chatham Co. Attorney Arrested For Soliciting Sex With A Minor

WWAY TV 3

A Chatham County attorney is accused of soliciting sex over the Internet from someone he thought was a 14-year-old Florida boy.

Authorities say Bradley Lamb of Pittsboro will be extradited to Florida and charged with ten counts of promoting the sexual performance of a child, three counts of lewd or lascivious exhibition and one count of computer pornography/solicitation of a child.

Lamb is accused of contacting an undercover investigator posing as the boy in an online chat room. Police say Lamb sent the "boy" pornographic pictures and talked about going to Jacksonville, Florida, to have sex.

Police searched Lamb's home and took his computer.



Bradley Lamb


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posted by David at 11:41 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Don't Do It

I don't read a lot of Ann Coulter, but this piece really hit the nail on the head. Well worth reading.Townhall.com

You can severely reduce your chances of having a false accusation of rape leveled against you if you don't hire strange women to come to your house and take their clothes off for money.

Also, you can severely reduce your chances of being raped if you do not go to strange men's houses and take your clothes off for money. (Does anyone else detect a common thread here?)


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posted by David at 11:29 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Thomas Sowell Asks: 'Why Not Everybody?'

Real Clear Politics

While American citizens are legally entitled to welfare state benefits, Mexicans get those benefits only if they cross the border into the United States. In short, immigrants add to such costs while Wal-Mart's American employees do not, because they can get those benefits whether they work for Wal-Mart or not.

Whatever the decision as to how many and what kind of immigrants should be let into the United States, why should that decision be made by people in Mexico, instead of being made here by Americans?


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posted by David at 11:23 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (0) ::

Ban Potter!

Gwinnett Daily Post

The next challenge Harry Potter will face has nothing to do with horcruxes, Hogwart’s or the half-blood prince. Instead, it will be a group of concerned parents looking to take the series off the shelves of all Gwinnett County Public Schools.
Laura Mallory of Loganville filed an appeal last week to get the best-selling book series out of the schools’ media centers. She is an evangelical Christian who has three children at J.C. Magill Elementary School.
“I think the anti-Christian bias — it’s just got to stop,” Mallory said. “And if we don’t say something, we’ll just keep getting pushed out of the schools. And I pay taxes, too, and I think that gives me a voice to speak out about this.”
On Thursday, she will present her appeal at a public hearing at 2 p.m. Many parents and other community members are expected to attend to support or oppose Harry Potter’s place in Gwinnett schools. A hearing officer will listen to all of the testimony and submit recommendations to the Gwinnett Board of Education. The board will have to make its final decision within 15 days of the hearing.

I don't see anything wrong with the Potter series. I've read all the books and my daughter has read the first 3. I read daily and I encourage her and my 5 year old to do the same. As she gets older I tend to read the books that she has interest in first just to check them out and I have found books that I think are a bit older for her and won't let her read yet. But I would never ban a book from a library.

Jessica Grimes, a 10-year-old student at Duncan Creek Elementary School, faxed a letter to the school system in support of the books series.
“The books never at any time turned me into a wizard or witch,” Grimes said. “I go to church every Sunday, go to Sunday school and never at any time did I think the books are true.”

I love that part of the story.


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posted by David at 11:08 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (2) ::

Duke Lacrosse Update: 2 Accused are Suspended

Duke University has suspended two of its lacrosse players who were arrested Tuesday on rape and kidnapping charges, a source familiar with the investigation said Wednesday.

The suspension is effective until the case is resolved, the source said.


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posted by David at 1:24 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (0) ::

Report Says That McKinney, 'struck [him] in his chest with a closed fist'

CNN

A Georgia congresswoman struck a Capitol Hill police officer "in his chest with a closed fist" after the officer tried to stop her from going around a metal detector last month, according to a police report.

The report, obtained Wednesday by CNN, called the March 29 incident involving Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Georgia, an "assault on a police officer."

It happened about 8:55 a.m. at the Longworth House Office Building when McKinney -- who has admitted she was not wearing a pin that would have identified her as a member of Congress -- tried to bypass a metal detector, as members of Congress are allowed to do. (Watch the new chapter of congresswoman vs. cop --1:41)

When the officer -- identified in the report as Paul McKenna -- tried to stop her because he didn't recognize her as a member of Congress, the altercation began. (Read the police report -- PDF)

McKinney, whose name is not listed in the report -- she is described as "suspect" S-1 -- has charged that the officer used racial profiling against her and inappropriately touched her, and has said she acted out of instinct.

The report said that "C-1 (the complainant, McKenna), while performing his official duties as United States Capitol Police officer and in full uniform, stated that he was physically assaulted by S-1. S-1 struck C-1 in his chest with a closed fist."

Although previous reports alleged that McKinney hit the officer with a cell phone, that is not mentioned in the police report.

Police sources said McKenna has been with the Capitol Hill Police for a little more than three years, and has a clean reputation.

One Capitol Hill Police source said McKenna has never faced disciplinary action, and described him as "a very squared-away officer ... he knows his job, and is very professional."

A grand jury in Washington is investigating the incident and has not yet decided whether to bring charges against McKinney.

On April 6, McKinney apologized on the House floor regarding the incident.

"There should not have been any physical contact in this incident," she said. "I am sorry that this misunderstanding happened at all, and I regret its escalation and I apologize."

She also expressed her support for Capitol Hill police.

Contacted by CNN, two of McKinney's attorneys, Bill Moffitt and Mike Raffauf, would not comment on the report. Moffitt, retained recently by McKinney, would only reiterate that McKinney has not been charged with a crime.

A press aide for McKinney also would not comment, saying only that this is an ongoing legal matter.


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posted by David at 1:20 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

1000 Illegal Aliens Gathered Up

CNN

Federal immigration authorities rounded up more than 1,000 illegal immigrants at dozens of sites and charged nine individuals of the firm that employed them, federal law enforcement officials announced Wednesday.

Seven current and former managers of IFCO Systems, which has offices in several states, were arrested and charged in connection with the employment of illegal immigrants, said U.S. Attorney Glenn Suddaby in Albany, New York.

Suddaby said two lower level employees were also charged in the case.

The action against IFCO Systems -- an industry leader in the manufacture of wooden pallets, crates and containers -- came as Homeland Security and Justice Department officials prepared to announce steps to toughen internal enforcement of the nation's immigration laws.

It's a start, but only a drop in a swimming pool.


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posted by David at 1:18 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (0) ::

Quote of the Week: 3rd Week of April '06

This weeks quote comes from Walter E. WIlliams. He is a syndicated columnist at Townhall.com.

In this article he is asking, 'Is there a federal deficit?'

The average taxpayer, depending on the state in which he lives, works from Jan. 1 to May 3 to pay federal, state and local taxes. That means someone else decides how four months' worth of the fruits of the average taxpayer's labor will be spent. The taxpayer is forcibly used to serve the purposes of others -- whether it's farm or business handouts, food stamps or other government programs where the earnings of one American are taken and given to another.

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posted by David at 1:15 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (2) ::

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

SC Homeless Make Demands

I stumbled over this and it really made me laugh.
Daily Gamecock

According to their fliers, the group has a number of demands for Columbia: ending the arrests of homeless individuals for nonviolent crimes such as loitering; a fully funded and furnished homeless center within downtown; an end to the "corporate-welfare and city-supported renewal of downtown"; the resignation of Coble, Austin and all other city government officials; the disbandment of the Columbia Police Department; the conversion of the State House into a homeless shelter; the riches of Columbia's wealthiest distributed to the homeless; and free distribution of food by Wal-Mart, Food Lion and all other grocery stores in the city.

Now that is funny. Ten to one the Democrates in SC will get these people to the polls to vote.


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posted by David at 5:19 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Vote For Judge Gore

As you can see by my new support button on the left, I'm supporting Judge William C. "Bill" Gore, Jr. for the NC Supreme Court seat vacated by Judge Wainwright. You can read up on him at his website.


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posted by David at 3:02 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (3) ::

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

“Nothing Mexican on Cinco de Mayo”

I understand Bobs point but I don't see trying to hurt legal Mexican immigrants as being helpful. And besides, who in the Whiteville area can pass up San Jose's shrimp quesadilla? So while I support his feelings I can't support his tactic. Here is an excert from his post at BobGriggs.com

For example, I have finally reached the boiling point on illegal immigration. We are a nation of laws, including those that control how visitors can enter this country, how long they can stay and how they can become permanent citizens. I expect those visitors to obey the same laws that citizens are expected to follow; and I expect my government to enforce the law when those visitors choose to ignore it.

It’s bad enough when the invaders (and that’s what they are) sneak across the border by night, then hide in the undocumented crevices of society. It is quite another thing to then demand, by the light of day, that their lawlessness be excused. Such have been the marches staged across the nation and in my Capitol– thousands of lawbreakers protesting my representatives’ efforts to control our borders and stop the lawlessness.

It angers me when the interlopers so brazenly demand the protection of the same law that they flaunted with their very first steps on American soil. My blood boiled as I watched student illegals skip the classes that you and I paid for to protest that you and I aren’t doing enough. I fumed as I watched illegals, waving the Mexican flag, insist that I “treat them like Americans.”

The post is very well done and I recommend you check it out.


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posted by David at 10:49 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (3) ::

Kevin Ray Underwood Goes Before Judge

The murderer Kevin Ray Underwood (can't bring myself to call him allegded)of 10 year Jamie Rose Bolin went before a judge today in Purcell, Oklahoma. Death would be too quick for what this so called man did to this little girl. I have a 11 year old daugter and just thinking of this crime brings tears to my eyes. I don't know what I would do to any SOB that even thought of doing this to her. His actions are sick, disturbing and unforgiveable. I have no idea what form of justice our legal system has that is good enough to punish this person.The Post Chronicle

A grocery store stock clerk accused of killing a 10-year-old girl appeared meek and personable during his first court appearance Monday, however the courthouse quickly became loud when revelations were revealed by authorities that the suspect allegedly planned to eat the girl's corpse.

First there was Joseph Edward Duncan III, of "Fifth Nail" infamy and now we have Kevin Ray Underwood.

On his blogs, Underwood described himself as "single, bored, and lonely, but other than that, pretty happy."

Kevin Ray Underwood, 26, was led into McClain County Court with his hands and feet shackled and spoke softly as he told the judge he needed a public defender. Underwood has been formally charged in the case of the murder of Jamie Rose Bolin.

Authorities believe Underwood killed Jamie Rose Bolin last week when she disappeared after going to a library. Her funeral was scheduled for Thursday.

The body of Jamie Rose Bolin was found in a storage bin in the bedroom closet of Kevin Underwood, 26 - in Purcell about 40 miles (64 km) south of Oklahoma City - said Tim Kuykendall, district attorney for McClain County.

During the arraignment, a man in the hall outside the courtroom yelled, "Let's string him up. Let's string him up, baby killer, and hang him." Police led the man away.


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posted by David at 10:34 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (3) ::

'Whatever Happened to Limited Government?'

I found this wonderful opinion piece from Justin Darr on NC Rumors.

For some reason, Republicans are scratching their heads and wondering why their poll numbers are crashing, their public support waning, and the fact they might lose seats in Congress during the mid-term elections

Well, here is a reason or two why; over the last 6 years our Republican controlled government has produced the highest levels of government spending in history, soaring deficits, excessive government regulation that intrudes even further into the lives of regular Americans, the belief that the best way to solve the problems of a massive, government bureaucracy is to make it even larger, and the systematic replacement of the promises made to the Conservative base with lip service.

It might seem like a long time ago, but once, the Republicans were the party of limited government. A party that believed the best way to govern Americans was to let them govern themselves, make their own choices, and decide on their own what was right and wrong, rather than relying on some faceless bureaucrats. A party so bold as to make a “Contract with America,” that challenged the voters to take them at their word, and if they did not live up to it, then elect them out of office.

Those days are just a dim memory today, because the Republican Party has fallen in love with big government.

Republicans have forgot the obvious. The only thing government is good at doing is spending money and screwing up. And, for the past several years, Republicans have placed their faith in the ability of government agencies and legislation to solve our nation’s problems rather than common sense and personal responsibility.

In the wake of September 11th, when our nation faced the new challenge of protecting itself at home from foreign enemies, the obvious solution to the problem was the mobilization of the American people to assist in their own defense. Our government should have urged us to be vigilant. Stay alert for suspicious activities and report them to the authorities for investigation, cooperate with law enforcement, and show solidarity for the war effort with our friends and neighbors.

However, this common sense approach to Homeland Security was, evidently, not quite politically correct enough for the Republicans. After all, simply acknowledging the fact that every one of the 9/11 terrorists was a young Muslim male of Mid-Eastern descent is now considered hate speech. Taking the next logical step and saying, “If there is ever another 9/11 type attack in America, its perpetrators will almost definitely come from the exact same demographic,” will get you branded with the Scarlet “I” of “intolerance” faster than you can say G.O.P.

Instead, our government chose to grant Islam “Most Favored Peaceful Religion Status,” spend billions of dollars on the Department of Homeland Security and federalize airport security.

Do not let all those people killed and embassies burned because Mohammad was portrayed in a cartoon, or the fact that every instance of international terrorism over the past five years has been committed by Muslims fool you. Islam is a religion of peace and the best way to combat the subversive elements that seek to distort it is to harass business travelers with and extra carry-on bag, and a color coded threat assessment scale that would stay on yellow if the world was cracking in two.

Who knows, maybe the next Mohammad Atta will be Grandma Maynard with her walker. More than likely, this is not the case, and all the time, money, and resources spent so far on upgrading domestic security with the exclusion of actively profiling likely terrorists has made the entire endeavor a waste of time. But wasting time, money, and resources is what government is good at, so I guess in a perverted sort of way, we have got both our money’s worth, and what we asked for.

The sad truth is the Republicans should have known better. The very fact that they chose this path is indicative of just how far they have moved away from their Conservative base.

Whether it is Republicans proposing nothing but expanding Federal authority and spending to solve the illegal immigration issue, or trying to address of the failures of Hurricane Katrina by making the federal bureaucracy even bigger by adding F.E.M.A. into the Department of Homeland Security, more and more the Republicans are looking like the Democrats they ousted from power over a decade ago. And, if the Republicans continue to act like the Democrats of the past, they will share their fate.

© April 2006, Justin DarrJustin@justindarr.com.
www.justindarr.com

Justin Darr is a freelance writer living in the Philadelphia area with his wife and twin children. He can be read widely on the Internet and in publications across North America and in Europe. Justin Darr is a staff writer for The New Media Alliance, and proud member of the MoveOff Network.

Excellent article, and I agree with it.


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posted by David at 9:35 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Did They Have A WIndow?

The News & Observer

A principal trying to prevent walkouts during immigration rallies inadvertently introduced a lockdown so strict that children weren't allowed to go to the bathroom and instead had to use buckets in the classroom, an official said.

Worthington Elementary School Principal Angie Marquez imposed the lockdown March 27 as nearly 40,000 students across Southern California left classes that morning to attend immigrants' rights demonstrations. The lockdown continued into the next morning.

Marquez apparently misread the district handbook and ordered a lockdown designed for nuclear attacks.

Tim Brown, the district's director of operations, confirmed that some students used buckets but said the order to impose the most severe type of lockdown was an "honest mistake."

"When there's a nuclear attack, that's when buckets are used," Brown told the Los Angeles Times. The principal "followed procedure. She made a decision to follow the handbook. She just misread it."

In some cases, teachers escorted classmates to regular restroom facilities, students said.

Appalled parents have complained to the school board. Brown said the school district planned to update its emergency preparedness instructions to give more explicit directions.

Parents and community activists asked the school board at its April 5 meeting to explain the principal's decision. They also sought promises that the lockdown wouldn't be repeated.


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posted by David at 9:35 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (0) ::

Lottery Sales Are Good

The News & Observer

The state lottery said today that sales of tickets for the first four games have been at a fast clip, topping $70 million in the first 19 days.

That averages to about $3.7 million in sales per day of the scratch-off games. To beat its first-year estimates -- which include adding 50 or more instant games and the Powerball jackpot game -- the state predicts selling an average of $3.5 million in tickets per day.

Lottery chief Tom Shaheen said North Carolina's start in the lottery has gone well.

"I would venture to say we are one of the top startups in the U.S. as far as total sales," he said.

Two new games went on sale today, and more are expected in two weeks.

The lottery said that Powerball is on track to start May 30.

A five-digit pick 'em game will begin in the late autumn and a three-digit pick 'em game will begin next spring, the lottery said.

So far I've bought 0 tickets, at least I'm consistent.


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posted by David at 9:29 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (3) ::

2 Duke Lacrosse Players Charged

WRAL

Two members of the Duke University's men's lacrosse team are now out on $400,000 bond. This comes after both surrendered to authorities Tuesday in connection with an alleged rape in March.

The two men, who attorneys say are 20-year-old sophomore Reade Seligmann of New Jersey and 19-year-old Collin Finnerty of New York, surrendered to authorities at the Durham County Magistrate's Office at about 4:55 a.m. They are charged with first-degree forcible rape, first-degree sexual offense and kidnapping.

The alleged victim, who is a student at North Carolina Central University, told police that three members of the team raped, beat and sodomized her while she was performing at an off-campus party. The woman also alleged that the men shouted racial slurs at her and another dancer.

They are still trying to identify the 3rd alleged attacker. For a bit of background on the 2 accursed you can read the rest of the article.


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posted by David at 9:19 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Local School Systems Put In Their Budget Request

Read it at the The News Reporter

The city and county school systems are asking the Columbus County commissioners for increases of $2.1 million in local expense funding and $3.9 million in capital outlay funding.


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posted by David at 9:00 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (2) ::

Senator Charles Schumer Says High Gas Price Is Gas Companies Fault

CNN Money

New York Senator Charles Schumer, speaking in front of a Hess station in Manhattan, called Tuesday for a federal investigation to see if oil companies and refiners are deliberately withholding gasoline production, taking advantage of the normal switch from winter gas to summer gas in an attempt to bid up prices.

"The bottom line is they are producing at 85 percent capacity when they should be producing over 90 percent," said Schumer. "Are they scaling back production? Only by subpoenaing the companies and looking in their books will we get that answer."

Schumer is just pandering to the masses, my wife included, I'm sad to say. I show her the figures from their SEC filings and do the math on profits and profit margins, but she still has a hard time believing me on this issue. Of course I'm use to it, as I have to go through the same thing at work from time to time. What would really help lower gas prices and increase production is less government regulation and intervention, but that seems to be the last thing on most people's mind.

What does the FTC have to say:

A spokesman for The Federal Trade Commission, which is the agency that would look into Schumer's request, said it will take the senator's letter seriously and will respond appropriately, although the spokesman couldn't give a timeline or any other information because the agency had yet to review the letter.

However, the FTC spokesman did point out that two previous investigations into unfair business practices by the oil industry conducted in 2000 and 2001 turned up no evidence of wrongdoing.

And I doubt they will this time either.

And for the oil companies' response:

For their part, representatives for the oil industry flatly denied Schumer's suggestions.

"Prices are high, there is no incentive to hold [gas] back," said Bill Bush, a spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute. "If you have a gallon of gas, you want to get it out in this market."

Bush said refineries are only operating at 85 percent capacity because some are still recovering from last fall's hurricanes along the Gulf Coast. He added that some refineries are undergoing more maintenance than usual this spring - maintenance that was put off following the hurricanes in order to avoid taking the refineries off-line at the time.

John Felmy, the Institute's chief economist, said Schumer's call was "nothing more than political rhetoric with no basis in fact."
Spoken like a true capitalist.

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posted by David at 8:57 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (2) ::

Federal Judge Says Planned Execution Can Be Carried Out

The News & Observer

The state of North Carolina has taken sufficient precautions to ensure that an inmate scheduled to die this week will remain asleep during his execution, a federal judge said yesterday in ruling that the execution could proceed.

Attorneys for condemned inmate Willie Brown Jr., 61, had objected to the state's procedure, saying there was a chance that Brown could awaken but be paralyzed and suffer pain. The state said that there would be a physician and a registered nurse present and that they would watch over a brain-wave monitor that would help determine whether Brown remained asleep.

Brown is scheduled for execution at 2 a.m. Friday at Central Prison in Raleigh. Brown was sentenced to death for the killing in 1983 of a woman during a convenience-store robbery in Martin County.

"It is now clear that plaintiff will not be satisfied with anything less than an experienced, licensed, board-certified anesthesiologist standing at his bedside in plain view of attending witnesses," U.S. District Court Judge Malcolm Howard said in a seven-page order denying a stay of execution.

"Plaintiff attempts to force a conflict of medical ethics by taking the issue of the positioning of medical professionals in and around the execution chamber and dressing it in constitutional clothes."

Howard said in an earlier order that he would stop the execution if the state didn't prove to him that officials would prevent Brown from waking up after drugs were injected.

Defense attorneys contend that the state's plan to require that a doctor and a nurse observe the bispectral index monitor from an adjacent room wasn't sufficient. The defense also questions the medical team's credentials and said that an anesthesiologist should be present.

"Wherever the medical professionals are located, they will be able to verify that plaintiff is unconscious after administration of sodium pentothal or, if he remains conscious at that time, they will be able to bring about the injection of additional sodium pentothal until plaintiff is rendered fully unconscious," Howard said.

The judge also rejected a defense request for specific information about the medical team, saying that there was a "strong need to maintain the confidentiality of the identities of medical personnel who participate in executions to prevent them from being subjected to scorn or intimidation."

The state's use of the brain monitor raised complaints from the manufacturer and anesthesiologists, who said that the machine wasn't intended for executions.


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posted by David at 8:51 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (0) ::

One-Stop, No-Excuse Voting

One-Stop No-Excuse voting began last Thursday with a light turn-out. The News Reporter

Fewer than two dozen voters turned out last Thursday for the first day of one-stop, no-excuse voting.

Three new voting machines, representing all of the county’s precincts, were set up at the Columbus County Board of Elections office.

The elections office was closed Friday. One-stop, no-excuse voting resumes today and will continue at the Board of Elections until Saturday, April 29 a 1 p.m.

On Wednesday, April 19, off-site, one-stop or “satellite” voting begins with polling places at Bolton Town Hall, the East Columbus Senior Center, the Chadbourn Municipal Annex, the Fair Bluff Fire and Rescue building and the Tabor City Courthouse.

These polling places are open from 4 until 8 p.m. April 19-21 and April 26-28.

Tuesday, April 25 is the last day to request an absentee ballot in writing, except due to sickness or disability.

Primary Election Day is Tuesday, May 2. Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.

I thought about using it, but decided that I actually enjoy going to the poles on election. Call me weird.


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posted by David at 8:51 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (2) ::

Col. Co. Charter School Moves Forward

Dispite the negative impact both local school superintendents said a charter school in Columbus County will have on the current school system, it was one 0f nine to accepted at this stage in the process.News Reporter

Last Thursday, the North Carolina Charter School Advisory Committee selected the Columbus project as one of nine to be forwarded to the interview process.

“We are pleased that when the committee reviewed the education that our students at the Brunswick County (Charter Day) School were receiving they saw fit to lift our Columbus application up to the next phase,” said

If the school is created I hope to send my youngest child there.


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posted by David at 8:51 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Sunday, April 16, 2006

The Gruesome Murder of Jamie Rose Bolin

I heard the statement from Tim Kuykendall the DA in the district where this terrible crime took place yesterday on FoxNews. IN the extended section you will find the story reprinted from CNN.

A 10-year-old Purcell, Oklahoma, girl was the victim of a horrific plan of kidnap, rape, torture and cannibalism, authorities said Saturday.

Investigators late Friday found Jamie Rose Bolin's body in a plastic storage tub in the bedroom closet of 26-year-old Kevin Underwood, said Tim Kuykendall, the district attorney for McClain County.

The medical examiner said the girl, who had been missing since Wednesday, died of asphyxiation and blunt blows to the head, Kuykendall told a news conference Saturday. The district attorney added that her injuries were also consistent with a "serious attempt to cut the head off the body." (Watch reaction of horrified neighbor -- 1:58)

Underwood -- who is in custody but has not been formally charged -- and the girl lived in the same apartment complex. He does not have a felony criminal history or known mental illness.

Evidence seized from Underwood's apartment included a decorative dagger authorities say was used to try to decapitate the girl, a hacksaw, a meat tenderizer, barbecue skewers and a wooden cutting board, Kuykendall said.

Also found were a dismantled bicycle under a bed, a mug thought to have been carried by the girl into the apartment, a video of a cable television documentary on serial killers and a computer, Kuykendall said.

Underwood purchased the hacksaw, skewers and meat tenderizer in the months before the girl died, Kuykendall said.

The girl was struck on the head with the cutting board "three to four times," Kuykendall said, and Underwood suffocated her using duct tape and covering her mouth with his hand.

Kuykendall said it was believed the girl screamed "numerous times." It was unclear how her cries apparently went unheard.

"She pled for her life," he said. "The first thing out of her mouth when he first hit her was, 'I'm sorry.' "

After the news conference, Kuykendall said authorities believe she did not die immediately.

An autopsy report is being finalized.
'This was well planned out'

Authorities believe the girl was molested after she had died, Kuykendall told CNN after the news conference.

Her clothes had been removed and placed with her inside the tub, along with a towel to soak up blood, Kuykendall said.

Authorities think she was killed before police were notified that she had disappeared.

"This was well planned out," said said Purcell Police Chief David Tompkins. He added that other individuals, including an woman and a 5-year-old boy, also were targeted and considered.

"But Rose was the one who was selected for this plan," he said.

Police suspect she was selected simply because she walked past Underwood's apartment on Wednesday.

The two were acquainted, authorities said. Underwood had a pet rat that would sit on his shoulder, Tompkins said, and the girl had previously seen and petted it.

The night before her death, she had intended to use a pay phone in the apartment building to order pizza, according to Kuykendall. Underwood had offered his phone, but the girl responded that she would get in trouble if she went into his apartment because she was not allowed to enter strangers' homes, Kuykendall said.

However, she apparently did use his phone to place the order, according to Kuykendall.

The next day, she is believed to have gone into Underwood's apartment voluntarily, Kuykendall said.

"Whether you term that 'lured in' or not, I believe she went into the apartment of her own free will," he said.

Underwood is being held without bail at McClain County jail and is scheduled to appear before a judge Monday to face a charge of first-degree murder. Other charges are also possible, said Kuykendall, who added that he would seek the death penalty.

Underwood did not have an attorney as of Saturday, according to Kuykendall.
'He was very quiet'

Balloons, flowers and a teddy bear have been left outside the apartment building.

"It's very hard to talk to a family about things like this," said Kuykendall, who informed the Bolin family of Underwood's alleged plan.

"I kind of look at it in terms of, would I want to know what happened to my daughter, my child?" he said.

Underwood had lived in the apartment for about a year and a half and, according to Tompkins, and had worked at a grocery store for a year and at a fast food restaurant before that.

FBI investigators first identified Underwood as a person of interest when they stopped him at a roadside checkpoint near the apartment complex, Kuykendall said.

After an interview, Underwood consented to a search of his apartment, during which investigators found the child's body, Kuykendall said. A search warrant was then obtained, he said.

"He was very quiet ... comes from a nice family" and had a close relationship with relatives, Kuykendall told CNN describing Underwood.

"Nothing in his background that we know of would have indicated that he could have done this. He was the guy next door."

I had just pulled into my yard from work when the DA started to talk. I sat there until he was finished. I was in such a state of shock, I had tears, and I yelled at my radio. This completely overwhelmed me. This tragic event has produced so many different emotions within me I don't know what to do or how to respond. The only emotion I have for Kevin is pure hate. I know that that is wrong according to the Bible, but I'm only human and that's 1 sin I can live with.


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posted by David at 12:58 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (9) ::

You Want Painless, How About the Guillotine?

WWAY TV 3

RALEIGH, N.C. Lawyers for a condemned inmate are objecting to the state's proposal to use a brain wave monitor to be sure the execution is as painless as possible.
In a filing in U-S District Court, attorneys for 61-year-old Willie Brown Junior say the state's plan to use a bispectral index monitor to be sure Brown is unconscious doesn't comply with the court's order.

Brown was sentenced to death for the 1983 slaying of a woman during a convenience store robbery in Martin County and is scheduled to die next week.

Correction officials told a judge that a doctor and a nurse normally in the execution chamber's observation room would watch the monitor as well as a heart monitor and order more drugs if Brown showed signs of wakefulness.

The judge said he would stop the execution if he weren't satisfied that Brown would be unconscious when fatal drugs were administered and that properly trained medical personnel were present.

I'm getting tired of all the fuss about death row inmates and their laywers cry about the pain they might, not will but just possibly might feel during the lethal injection process. Suck it up and take your medicine (pun not intended). You gave no concern about the pain your victims went through so why should we care about yours?

If you want a quick and painless death then request the guillotine.


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posted by David at 12:44 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (0) ::

Effects of the New Medicare Prescription Drug Plan

WWAY TV 3

A local pharmacist had to close his doors after 13 years in the business. He blames it on the new Medicare prescription drug program.

We've known for months that the program is confusing for patients. It turns out it's confusing for pharmacists too. Many have dispensed thousands of dollars worth of drugs to find out they may never be reimbursed.

Randy Spainhour has been a pharmacist for 30 years and spent more than a decade running his own store, the Penslow Pharmacy in Holly Ridge.

He'd never had financial problems until the new Medicare prescription drug benefit went into effect.

"I was getting no money," Spainhour said.

Reimbursements for prescriptions Mr. Spainhour had been filling for years were suddenly being rejected.

Where there used to be about a dozen companies that handle Medicare there are now over 100, and each has its own set of rules for coverage.

Mr. Spainhour says the large chain pharmacies like CVS and Eckerd have more resources to fight for reimbursements. It's the small, family-owned pharmacies like his that are suffering the most under this new government program.

"It was overwhelming because I was by myself. It took me an hour to collect one."

When all was said and done Mr. Spainhour dispensed more than $50,000 worth of prescription medicine that he may never be reimbursed for. And he had to close his doors to devoted customers like Wilbur Hines.

Mr. Hines said, "I don't know what's going to happen to a lot of old people. The people who helped build this country and make it what it is are being left to die."

Recent studies estimate that a third of all pharmacies nationwide could go out of business within a year.

With his store closed Mr. Spainhour is now having to make ends meet, working for somebody else.

Congressman Mike McInytre is aware of Mr. Spainhour's situation. He's taking the issue to Capitol Hill to talk to Medicare and Medicaid officials.


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posted by David at 12:40 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (0) ::

Some State Democrats Are Asking For Speaker Black To Step Down

WRAL

Two Democratic state senators this week called on House Speaker Jim Black to step down from his leadership post, saying his legal troubles are a distraction and could damage the public's view of the General Assembly.

"Because of what he's done, he has lost the trust of the people of North Carolina," Sen. Julia Boseman, D-New Hanover, said in calling for his resignation from the post.

The State Board of Elections is examining whether criminal charges should be filed against Black, D-Mecklenburg, or his campaign for accepting incomplete contribution checks from eye doctors and forwarding them to a close ally.

Sen. John Snow, D-Cherokee, said in a letter to the editor in a weekly newspaper that it was the House's decision whether to remove him from the position.

"For the good of the General Assembly as an institution, I personally think Speaker Black should step aside until these questions are resolved so that the Legislature can focus on doing the people's business," he wrote to The Cherokee Scout.

Three House Democrats also have asked Black to resign of step down temporarily. House Democrats will meet early next week and are likely to discuss the future of the four-term speaker.

Black has said he has no plans to resign. The speaker believes he has the support of most of the other 62 House Democrats, a spokeswoman said.

Black's office also has provided thousands of pages of documents to a federal grand jury examining about 28 people or organizations, including many linked to the video poker and lottery industries. His former political director, Meredith Norris, is also being investigated by the state for possibly lobbying law violations while working with the speaker.


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posted by David at 12:33 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Duke Lacrosse Scandal: My Thoughts Today

WRAL has a very good article about the Duke lacrosse scandal. It starts off with Rev. Jackson's pledge to have RainbowPush Coalition pay the accusers college tuition even if her claim turns out to be false. Then the story goes into the racial tension caused by this case and whether or not the media coverage is causing it. Durham, North Carolina is a southern city, but is a hub of world commerce with many tech companies, banks and other global interprises located there and in the surrounding area. The area is racially diverse with some of these large companies owned and operated by blacks. The mayor, police chief and many other officials are also black. Yet the media plays up the upper class white Duke boys against the lower class Central black woman.

If the 3 accursed men raped her then they and anyone that tried to cover it up should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But if she made it up then she should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Are the accursed guilty? I don't know.
Is the alleged victem lying? I don't know.

I just hope that truth and justice can manage to find it's way to the light of day in this case.


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posted by David at 9:19 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone has a blessed Easter.


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posted by David at 4:49 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Friday, April 14, 2006

DEA Agent Shoots Himself In View Of 4th Graders

Fathers Canada 4 Justice

An undercover DEA Agent has now suspended for a week without pay, after video surfaced on the internet showing him shoot himself in the foot while giving a gun safety lecture to a group of Orlando fourth graders. During the lesson, the agent goes through a safety routine and even asks another agent to verify that the gun is not loaded. The agent, holding a Glock 40 handgun, referred to how rappers who tend to boast about this type of gun, and even hold it incorrectly. With the gun pointed downward, the firearm misfired and the agent shot himself in the right foot. Despite the shock and injury, the agent continued his lesson warning kids about the danger of accidental shootings, like the one they had just witnessed.

Sources close to the investigation suspect the video was leaked from someone inside the DEA.

The agent is sueing the government for leaking the tape and blowing his cover. My question is how undercover was he if he is going around to schools wearing huge DEA letters on his vest. Dummy.


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posted by David at 4:48 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Rumsfeld Under Fire

CNN

President Bush said Friday that his embattled Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has his "full support and deepest appreciation" after a number of retired generals called for Rumsfeld's resignation.


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posted by David at 4:47 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (0) ::

Stuck On Stupid

Authorities in Brunswick County have charged a high school teacher and assistant football coach with sex offenses against a student.

David Hamilton Arrowood of Holden Beach faces seven counts each of sex offense with a student by school personnel and indecent liberties with a student by school personnel. He was arrested Wednesday, and Brunswick Sheriff Ronald Hewitt says his bail remained at $500,000 after a bond hearing yesterday.

Hewitt says authorities learned of the allegations from a resource officer at West Brunswick High School. He says school officials walked into Arrowood's classroom and found him engaging in improper activity with a 17-year-old female student.

The sheriff's office says Arrowood has taught math and coached at the school since 1990.

Brunswick Superintendent Katie McGee says Arrowood was suspended with pay as of Wednesday afternoon pending the results of an internal investigation.

They catch him in the act, red handed if you will and yet he is suspended with pay pending an investigation. It all seems pretty cut and dry to me. So why waste the tax payers money? If at a later time he is found innocent (fat chance) then reimperse him and make him whole.


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posted by David at 4:44 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (2) ::

'N.C. closes deal on land for port'

WWAY TV 3

The state Ports Authority has taken ownership of 600 acres of land earmarked for a massive port in Brunswick County.

The authority yesterday closed a $30 million deal to buy the land near Southport.

The port will cost an estimated $1 billion and won't be in operation for eight to ten years.

Backers hope to transform it into one of the largest international ports on the East Coast.

The port's expected to help create 50,000 jobs statewide and generate $50 million in local and state tax revenue. A firm is now being sought that will manage development of the site.


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posted by David at 4:41 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Cliton Helped Tehran

NewsMax

In a hairbrained scheme that was personally approved by then-President Clinton, the CIA deliberately gave Iranian physicists blueprints for part of a nuclear bomb that likely helped Tehran advance its nuclear weapons development program.

The allegation, detailed recently in the book "State of War," by New York Times reporter James Risen, comes as the Iranian nuclear crisis turns white hot, with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad boasting ominously on Wednesday that his nation has joined the world's nuclear club.

I admit Bush isn't the best President ever (not even close) but Clinton wasn't very good either. Bill put us in more conflicts then the several previous Commanders In Chief combined. Most under UN control. He gave tons of tech to third world countries, many of them our enemies or future enemies. Thanks Bill, thanks a lot.


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posted by David at 4:37 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Corporate Welfare

RealClearPolitics

Most of the big public policy debates in Washington these days somehow involve homeland security. It animated the controversial ports deal, for example, and it underscores the battle over illegal immigration.

And that's as it should be. As I write in my book, Getting America Right, national security is the federal government's most important obligation. What could be more critical than that? Judging from the government's spending pattern, we have an answer: corporate welfare.

Last year, Washington spent $53 billion on homeland security -- and $60 billion on corporate welfare. Clearly our priorities are misplaced, and it's time to change that.

Anyone that hears me talk in the breakroom knows that I strongly dislike all our welfare systems. And corporate welfare is one of the worse. If a company can't make money on it's own then it deserves to fail. Period. The big airline carriers, let them go belly up. The cheaper carriers seem to be doing a good job and have a higher customer satisfaction rating then the big ones. Let Micky D's use it's own cash to set up ads in Europe. Why should I have give tax money to make a European desire a Big Mac?


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posted by David at 4:31 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Illegal Alien Stories On the Web

Here are some of the illegal alien articles from the last couple of days.

Macleans.ca

Migrants rush to Arizona border anticipating passage of guest-worker plan - The shelter's manager, Francisco Loureiro, said he has not seen such a rush of migrants since 1986, when the United States allowed 2.6 million illegal residents to get American citizenship.

This time, the draw is a bill before the U.S. Senate that could legalize some of the 11 million people now illegally in the United States while tightening border security. Migrants are hurrying to cross over in time to qualify for a possible guest-worker program - and before the journey becomes even harder.

"Every time there is talk in the north of legalizing migrants, people get their hopes up, but they don't realize how hard it will be to cross," Loureiro said.

See? This is what I said. We first have to make the border as secure as possible then decide what to do with those law-breakers already here.

But it is not enough to speak in the right cadences. You need to know how to articulate and frame your goals. Americans instinctively know the difference between these two civil rights crusades. Blacks were owed. For centuries they had been the victims of a historic national crime. The principal crime involved in the immigrant crusade is the violation of immigration laws by the illegals themselves.


Real Clear Politics

But it is not enough to speak in the right cadences. You need to know how to articulate and frame your goals. Americans instinctively know the difference between these two civil rights crusades. Blacks were owed. For centuries they had been the victims of a historic national crime. The principal crime involved in the immigrant crusade is the violation of immigration laws by the illegals themselves.

To be sure, that is not a high crime. But it does not behoove one who has stealthily stolen into another's house to then make demands about rights -- or to march under the banner of ``The National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice.''

Justice? On what grounds do those who come into a country illegally claim rights? They seek good will and understanding. And Americans might give it -- but on request, not on demand.

This article is of course on the subject of comparing illegal aliens with blacks and how their struggles are not the same.

Townhall.com

There is only one group of people with less credibility on the immigration issue than Washington politicians. It is the illegal immigrants protesting violations of their "rights" while parading the Mexican flag and disrespecting the one symbolizing the great nation from which they're demanding favors.


Send-A-Brick Project

The Send-A-Brick Project was created by concerned citizens to send bricks to Washington encouraging our Congressmen to stand tough on border security.

Each brick sends a message to our Senators and Representatives that we want our borders secured before any other action is taken on illegal immigration.

We believe that if everyone who visits this site sends a brick to their Congressmen, we will send a BIG message that the American public wants secure borders NOW.


WorldNetDaily

While presidential press secretary Scott McClellan today failed to directly address a question about the Council on Foreign Relations' desire for establishing a coordinated border around North America, he defended President Bush's record on U.S.-Mexican border enforcement and admitted illegal aliens meet "an important economic need."

If we need them, fine as long as they come here legally and do what they say they will do. This is just more of the Administration's big talk and no action on the illegal alien problem.

RealClearPolitics

In the fierce debate over illegal immigration, the particular terms used by those who argue our porous borders are not a serious problem can tell us a lot.

There are somewhere between 8 and 15 million citizens from Mexico and Latin America in the U.S. unlawfully. Those who want cheap labor or relatively unimpeded entry into the U.S. for even more people try to mask the almost inconceivable enormity of the problem through euphemism as well as name-calling of their opponents.

Very good article.


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posted by David at 4:03 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (0) ::

Oh My!

Check this out. NYTimes

Alan Moldawer's adopted twins, Matt and Andrew, had always thought of themselves as white. But when it came time for them to apply to college last year, Mr. Moldawer thought it might be worth investigating the origins of their slightly tan-tinted skin, with a new DNA kit that he had heard could determine an individual's genetic ancestry.

The results, designating the boys 9 percent Native American and 11 percent northern African, arrived too late for the admissions process. But Mr. Moldawer, a business executive in Silver Spring, Md., says they could be useful in obtaining financial aid.

[snip]

Prospective employees with white skin are using the tests to apply as minority candidates, while some with black skin are citing their European ancestry in claiming inheritance rights.

One Christian is using the test to claim Jewish genetic ancestry and to demand Israeli citizenship, and Americans of every shade are staking a DNA claim to Indian scholarships, health services and casino money.

"This is not just somebody's desire to go find out whether their grandfather is Polish," said Troy Duster, a sociologist at New York University who has studied the social impact of the tests. "It's about access to money and power."

This is crazy. I don't care what my DNA might show I do not want entitlements.


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posted by David at 3:49 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Good Read On Brootz Today

Nealz News

The Georgia Public Policy Foundation steered me to a rather interesting (though not shocking) facts on taxation in America. The source is an article by Michael K. Evans posted on IndustryWeek.com. Do you have any idea just how huge your total tax load is? Take a look at these facts.

First -- and this fact is now beyond debate -- all taxes are paid by individuals. All taxes are levied against wealth, and only individuals hold wealth. For those of you who attended government schools, and are thus a little slow on concepts like this, corporations are not wealthy. Corporate shareholders hold that wealth. Individuals. So ... for the sake of Evan's article, he says that the taxes are paid by employees or proprietors, the owners of small businesses. Now .. the tab:

* Total federal income taxes collected last year: $932 billion. That works out to $6,650 per employee.
* In addition to income taxes, the federal government collected another $1.286 trillion in taxes, mostly Social Security taxes.
* The total state and local tax burden amounts to $1.14 trillion.
* The grand sum here -- paid by employees and proprietors -- is $3.358 trillion. That's $3,358,000,000,000.00
* This works out to $24,000 per employee.
* The total compensation earned by employees and individual proprietors last year was $8.2 trillion.
* This means that 40% of income goes to taxes of some sort.
* That rate, of course, is much higher for those earning higher incomes. Much lower for those in low income brackets.
* Nice, huh?

Now ... grab this fact. Where did most of this money go? National defense? Homeland security? Hardly. In terms of Federal expenditures you have:

* $495 billion for national defense.
* $272 billion spent by the federal government for the purchase of goods and payment of employees
* $1.69 trillion sent to someone else. $1.69 trillion in income redistribution.

This is just fine with those on the left who believe that income is distributed, not earned. For the rest of us? Well, I don't know about you, but I have a wee bit of a problem with all of this.

The main job of our federal government is protecting our borders from invasion yet $1.69 trillion of our tax money is spent on welfare and only $495 billion for defense. Nice, very nice.


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posted by David at 3:42 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Governor Easley Doesn't Support Energy Independence

WRAL

Gov. Mike Easley said Monday he doesn't want the federal government to allow a possible oil and gas lease sale off the Virginia coast in 2011 because the North Carolina coastline could be harmed by the exploration.

"While it is clear that the United States must become more energy independent, such independence must not come at the cost of the fragile ecosystems and vital tourism economy of our coast," Easley said in a statement quoting the letter.

Easley said any decision involving Virginia would effect North Carolina, but no thorough regional analysis of such exploration has been performed to date. A federal moratorium bans exploration along the East Coast until 2012, but it's possible such an order could be overturned.

North Carolina has fought offshore drilling since the late 1980s, when Mobil Oil held an offshore lease. Congress banned drilling off the Outer Banks in 1990, just before Mobil planned to sink its first exploratory well.

Given North Carolina's support for the moratorium and concern about the effect of drilling, "I respectfully request that you remove any sale off the Virginia coast from consideration," Easley wrote to the Minerals Management Service of the U.S. Department of Interior as it collects comment on its proposed oil and gas leasing program for 2007-2012.

Earlier this year, a Virginia state report recommended that Virginia allow offshore exploration for natural gas and oil deposits but take environmental precautions before taking action.

The federal Minerals Management Service has estimated that the outer continental shelf along the Atlantic coast could hold as much as 33.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 3.5 billion barrels of oil. Virginia makes up only 11 percent of that potential, with estimated profits ranging from zero to over $10 billion, that state's report said.

We depend on the oil of foreign way to much.

Top 5 U.S. Crude Oil Importer (Jan, 2006)
Source The Energy Information Administration (EIA)
(http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_impcus_a2_nus_epc0_im0_mbbl_m.htm)
1 - Canada
2 - Mexico
3 - Saudi Arabia
4 - Venezuela
5 - Nigeria


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posted by David at 1:46 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (0) ::

Follow Up On Duke DNA Results

WRAL

Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong said he plans to move forward with his case against three members of Duke University's men's lacrosse team despite DNA results that do not match evidence collected from a woman who says the athletes raped her.


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posted by David at 1:45 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (2) ::

$1,000,000 Drug Bust In Pender

WWAY TV 3

The Sheriff's Office is calling it the biggest drug bust in Pender County history.

Three men are behind bars tonight accused of trying to sell five kilos of pure cocaine.

Sheriff Carson Smith says the street value of the cocaine is $500,000, but he says by the time local dealers got a hold of it and added filler and cooked some into crack it would have been worth well over a million bucks.

After tracking three suspects for half-a-year- Pender County and ATF narcotics agents made their move Wednesday afternoon.

Sheriff Smith says they made two traffic stops in the western part of Pender County where they knew drug deals were about to take place.

Agents seized five kilograms of cocaine, a hand gun, two cars and made three arrests.

The three arrested were of Hispanic origin. Two of them we know to be illegal. The third we are not sure about. One of them had gang markings -- tattoos from the Latin Kings Gang.

The three suspects were living in Duplin County. Marcos Guzman is 23-years-old, Jorge Perez is 20 years old and Onan Escotto is 20 years old.

Sheriff Smith says others may be involved and expects more arrests could be made.

Agents tell us they're confident the cocaine made its way to southeastern North Carolina from the Mexican border.

All three men are facing identical charges:

* Three counts of trafficking cocaine
* Felony possession of cocaine
* Possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver cocaine
* Manufacturing cocaine

The suspects are in the Pender County jail under $4,000,000 bond each.

So now when someone tells you that illegals are hard-working and honest people hear just to find work and make a living and support their family the American way, you can point them to this story.


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posted by David at 1:38 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::

Teddy On Immigration

Found this on Longstreet's blog, Insight On Freedom

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Teddy isn't one of my favorite Presidents but he was right on with this.


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posted by David at 12:00 AM :: Permalink :: Comments (0) ::

Monday, April 10, 2006

County & Whiteville School Superintendents Respond to Charter School

News Reporter

The superintendents of both local school systems have sent official responses or impact statements to officials in Raleigh concerning the application filed last month by the Roger Bacon Academy to create a charter school just north of Whiteville.

The proposed Columbus Charter School would target students from the Bladen, Columbus and Whiteville City schools, specifically students in Whiteville, Chadbourn, Clarkton and Bladenboro.

Roger Bacon Academy operates the 600-plus-student Brunswick Charter Day School near Leland, which already attracts nearly 200 students from the eastern portion of Columbus County.

Roger Bacon Academy is seeking one of four available charter school slots to be awarded this year. There are 19 applications pending with the Office of Charter Schools in Raleigh. It was to that office that Superintendents Danny McPherson, of the Whiteville City Schools, and Dan Strickland, of the Columbus County Schools, responded.

Roger Bacon officials hope that the Columbus Charter School will have as many as 850 students within a decade. Per-student funds from the state and federal governments will be re-assigned to the charter school.

McPherson asked the Department of Public Instruction and the N.C. Board of Education to deny the application, citing both short and long-term effects for the city schools, including re-segregation of the schools.

“I strongly fear the proliferation of re-segregation in the schools of Columbus County if this charter is approved,” he wrote. “Even now, the Columbus County Board of Education is re-examining its student transfer policy in part because of racial imbalance as well as facilities, space and related issues. There are schools in Columbus County that have ‘re-segregated’ and I believe this charter will accelerate what (author) Jonathan Kozal calls ‘apartheid schooling in America’ (from) ‘The Shame of the Nation.’”

Of the nearly 200 students that Roger Bacon Academy reported as transfers from Columbus County, the majority are white students from Acme-Delco Elementary and Middle schools.

Fair Bluff Elementary is trying to recover from the “student flight” it has suffered during the past decade. The majority of students, including nearly all of its remaining white students, transferred to other school districts, other school systems or to private schools. Some went into South Carolina.

McPherson worries that local schools will find themselves in similar predicaments.

He wrote that he favors accountability and, “I do not fear competition IF we compete fairly. When I asked the charter representatives about equal access for all students, they responded that everyone was invited and no stipulations prevented any child from attending. But … transportation is not provided; free or reduced meals are not provided and children who demonstrate persistent ‘behavior inconsistent with the school’s mission or standard of conduct’ will be ‘dismissed’ from the school if other interventions fail.”

McPherson wrote that those issues filter students and families and create barriers that prevent them from attending.

“Quite frankly, lower socio-economic families are not accommodated and children’s total needs are not met. We in the regular public schools can’t ‘dis-invite’ children when they don’t; behave according to our ‘standard of conduct’. Last week, we administered writing tests to four children who are on house arrest. We don’t have the option to send the ‘nonconformists’ back to their home schools. We are the ‘home.’”

McPherson cited the improvements in student achievement, test scores and decreased rates of student violence and teacher turnover.

McPherson wrote that a charter school might come into some communities and accentuate the work of the public schools and the health, vitality, economy and long-term life within those communities.

“Yet I cannot adequately express the trepidation this proposal causes me for our county for generations to come,” he wrote. “Our public schools have been the ‘equalizer’ for many children and families. The success of our public schools will mirror the success of our citizens and everyone’s quality of life.”

Strickland’s response dealt with the success the county has enjoyed and the financial hardship a charter school would impose on such a cash-strapped school system.

Columbus County is one of the poorest school systems with 19 campuses stretched out in the geographically third largest county in the state.

“We are a very poor county,” Strickland wrote. “The percentage of our county’s budget going to Medicaid is almost the highest in the state. Consequently, little discretionary money is available for education.

Strickland wrote that required expenditures do not drop proportionately when students on a bus route or in a school move to a charter school.

“The buses still run, the teachers still work with the students and the electricity bill continues to arrive in the mail,” he wrote. “Local money must be budgeted to maintain buildings, pay for unfunded mandates and hire teachers to meet class size requirements.

“As a public school system accountable to the local taxpayers and parents, we provide more than classroom instruction. We have breakfast and lunch, transportation to and from school and specialized services for students who meet certain criteria.”

Strickland said that 80 percent of the children in kindergarten through grade eight receive free or reduced price meals.

“For some, these meals are the best nutrition they get during the day. The public school serves the children of all citizens who live in the county and welcomes all who arrive at the school door.

Strickland requested that the board deny the application.

The Office of Charter Schools will make its recommendations this month and forward them to the State Board of Education and the General Assembly for final action.





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posted by David at 8:34 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (0) ::

Richardson Pleaded Guilty

News Reporter

Former county electrical inspector Michael Ray Richardson of Nakina has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of conflict of interest and repaid the county $1,160 after an investigation by the state’s Department of Insurance (DOI) accused him of defrauding the public.

Richardson was not arrested on any type warrant, but appeared with his attorney in District Court and agreed to a charge produced by the district attorney’s staff.

Richardson was placed on unsupervised probation for 12 months and a court review of his case is scheduled for April 27, according to records.

A misdemeanor statement of charges shows that Richardson admitted that he, on April 5, 2005, “ … unlawfully and willfully while an employee of Columbus County and employed as a building inspector engage(d) in work inconsistent with his duties or with the interest of the county by performing inspections for the county while having a financial or business interest in the project to be inspected.”

The fact that Richardson pocketed fees for electrical inspections made in the towns of Tabor City, Brunswick and Fair Bluff – money that should have been turned in to the county – was not a part of the court statement.

Assistant District Attorney Sarah Garner said Richardson repaid the county fees for 16 inspections he conducted during 2005. The conflict of interest charge was in reference to the approval of an electrical inspection done by Richardson on his own building project.

The plea bargain came after District Attorney Rex Gore announced on Sept. 29, 2005 that neither his office nor the State Bureau of Investigation – following a probe by the SBI -- would pursue charges of embezzlement by Richardson lodged by former Columbus County Manager Billy Joe Farmer.

34 jobs questioned

The Department of Insurance, however, announced in early October 2005 – two weeks after the district attorney announced there would be no charges – that Richardson pocketed fees for 34 inspections in Tabor City, Brunswick and Fair Bluff.

A question concerning Richardson’s inspection license is still up in the air. Kristin Runger, spokeswoman for the Department of Insurance, said Friday that a hearing in the matter is still scheduled, but no firm date has been set.

Richardson faces the loss of his license for one to five years.

The DOI report noted that records showed “that on Oct. 12, 2004, Richardson was employed as a full-time (Columbus County) employee at an annual rate of $35,276.04 per year with the understanding that he would turn in municipal fees from the towns …”

Richardson, the DOI report showed, did not start remitting fees to the county until April 27, 2005. Farmer, claiming several violations, fired Richardson and the DOI probe supported Farmer’s findings. County commissioners did not renew Farmer’s contract in July 2005.

There was a parallel charge by former county manager Farmer that Commissioners David Dutton, Sammie Jacobs and Lynwood Norris threatened to fire Farmer if he did not drop an administrative investigation into Richardson’s activities, and should be charged with obstruction of justice.

DA Gore announced in his September 2005 release that there was no evidence of the obstruction of justice charge by Farmer. This situation was not addressed in the DOI report.

County employee

The DOI probe noted “Columbus County Inspections Department records include at least 25 (Town of) Tabor City inspection certificates from Oct. 12, 2004 to April 7, 2005; (Town of) Brunswick inspection certificates from Jan. 19, 2005 to Feb. 17, 2005 totaled 8, and there was one inspection certificate for (Town of) Fair Bluff dated Dec. 22, 2004.

“All certificates were signed by Mike Richardson. All inspections were conducted after Richardson became a full time Columbus County employee. No fees were turned into the county for these inspections,” the DOI report shows.

One particular electrical inspection case was Tabor City’s welcome center, which was approved by Richardson on June 30, 2005, one day after being turned down by Kyle Duncan, another county inspector.

The report noted the county’s chief building inspector Kenny Davis on July 5, 2005 found “loose wiring hanging from the ceiling, new wiring with no switches, exposed old wiring, incomplete circuitry, additional fixtures including ceiling grids, lighting and base plugs needed for building function, and doors and windows not installed.”

The DOI report, written by Suzanne Taylor, came after an on-site investigation and interviews with appropriate people last October, nearly three months after Richardson had been fired.

“All I did was approve temporary service so the licensed contractor could make this change over. Any old wires photographed and the mention of doors being opened were all done after the building met code on June 15,” Richardson responded to the state.

“Obviously, during this modification process some windows, doors, old duct work or old wiring would have to be addressed,” the inspector said in a Sept. 12, 2005 letter to DOI’s Taylor.

Explains his project

Richardson’s response to inspection of his own electrical work and building project included, “Mitchell (Stephens), interim chief building inspector for Columbus County, knew full well that I would be doing the electrical, plumbing and carpentry work associated with this job, because I told him so.

“Mitchell told me that for what I was doing, the permit fee would be a total of $150, which seemed to be in line with what we would charge projects of a similar scale anywhere else in Columbus County,” Richardson’s statement continued.

Richardson wrote himself an electrical permit and inspection certificate on April 5, 2005 and inspected his own work and failed to pay the county for the permit, according to county records.

“The secretary in the office filled out the permit and checked ‘building’ and not ‘plumbing’ or ‘electrical.’ I am somewhat dismayed that I am being accused of stealing money when I did not calculate the fee or fill out any forms. I paid what I was required to pay, and there was no theft at all,” Richardson’s statement noted.

Then County Manager Farmer charged Richardson with embezzlement because his report showed agreements between Tabor City, Brunswick and Fair Bluff became effective Jan. 1, 2005, and was signed by Sammie Jacobs, chairman of the county commissioners.

The agreement stated Richardson was to “collect and deposit into the county’s bank account all fees associated with electrical inspections.”

Dates in question

Richardson said he was hired at the rate of $28,000 a year and was told to keep municipal inspection fees. However, county records show Richardson was employed full time on Oct. 12, 2004 at the rate of $35,276.04 per year with the understanding he would turn in municipal fees from the three towns in question, the DOI report showed.

It was during the Oct. 12, 2004 and April 7, 2005 period that Richardson made the 34 inspections in question and kept the fees, but Richardson was a full-time employee of the county, the state report said.

Richardson’s action made him guilty of a felony, the DOI report stated.

Richardson addressed the political infighting between Farmer and the county commissioners. The inspector said Farmer interviewed uncertified candidates “in an effort to not hire me. It was at this point that the County Commissioners encouraged their Manager to hire a local certified candidate for the job.

“This suggestion is at the heart of this whole issue. Mr. Farmer misinterpreted this encouragement and set out to destroy me as a way of swinging back at his bossmen,” Richardson wrote to the state.

Richardson is a former county commissioner.


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posted by David at 8:25 PM :: Permalink :: Comments (1) ::