Be sure to watch this week’s NC SPIN. Our balanced debate begins with Governor Cooper’s appointment of a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to replace Mark Martin, who is resigning at the month. We speculate as to who the Governor might appoint to fill the vacancy of the high court. Next we debate the […]
Archive for August, 2014
Candidates off and running
by John Hood, John Locke Foundation and NC SPIN panelist, published in Greenville Daily Reflector, August 30, 2014. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan has been running hard for re-election for more than a year. Republican nominee Thom Tillis, the speaker of the North Carolina House, has been campaigning against Hagan for nearly as long. […]
The difficulty of defining what a good teacher is
by Bill Massey, retired teacher and principal, published in News and Observer, August 30, 2014. The latest federally orchestrated attempt to close the achievement gap between public school students from low-income families and those from middle- or upper-class homes mandates that all school districts submit to the Department of Education, by May, plans outlining how […]
Hagan, Dole and the 90s
by Gary Pearce, Talking About Politics, August 29, 2014. WRAL’s Mark Binker says the claim that Senator Kay Hagan votes with President Obama 95 percent of the time is “something of karmic payback for Hagan, who benefited from a similar claim leveled against then-Sen. Elizabeth Dole in 2008.” There is a little-noted back story to […]
Raleigh’s revolving door
by Chris Fitzsimon, NC Policy Watch and NC SPIN panelist, August 29, 2014. That swooshing sound you hear in Raleigh these days is the revolving door between government and private industry spinning away, as legislators and top administration officials are cashing in, taking their taxpayer-funded experience and insider knowledge and using it on behalf of […]
Incumbents have the money
by Patrick Gannon, Capitol Press Association, published in Greenville Daily Reflector, August 28, 2014. Chalk it up as another way that incumbent legislators in general have a distinct advantage over challengers in N.C. General Assembly races this and every other election year. Besides the name recognition and the drawing of legislative districts to favor one […]
Our costly epidemic
Editorial by Greensboro News-Record, August 30, 2014. Diabetes is a costly epidemic in North Carolina, and it is rapidly expanding. That’s a disturbing finding headlining a report by Harvard University researchers released earlier this year. While North Carolina is fortunate to be the focus of a diabetes study by the Center for Health Law and […]
A $40 million loss as film crew leaves
Editorial by Fayetteville Observer, republished in News and Observer, August 29, 2014. The first reviews are in and they’re bad: The audience walked out. The sequels may be worse. Somebody needs to rewrite the script. Fast. When state lawmakers decided they didn’t like economic-development incentives, and they especially hated giving them to the film industry, […]
A modest proposal: charter schools for all NC students
by Gilbert C. Brown, former headmaster, published in News and Observer, August 29, 2014. About 60 years ago, the musical satirist, Tom Lehrer, wrote a song about the results of the next major war with nuclear weapons proliferation. He had a rhyme that went, “Universal bereavement, an inspiring achievement.” Perhaps we can update this to […]
5 Things to watch in North Carolina’s elections
by Gary Robertson, Associated Press, published by WRAL, August 30, 2014. North Carolina government has undergone a dramatic shift to the right. How voters feel about Republican control should shade Election Day results for the U.S. Senate and on down the ballot. A state government dominated by Democrats for generations turned when the state House […]
NC SPIN episode # 826 – Air Date 8/31/14
Topics: School Vouchers, Election Laws, The Three Judge Panel, Balance of Power, Gay Marriage and #TellUsSomethingWeDontKnow Panelists: Rufus Edminsten, Former Secretary of State Chris Fitzsimon, Director of NC Policy Watch John Hood, President, The John Locke Foundation Bob Orr, Former Supreme Court Justice Tom Campbell, Moderator
